For His Service

Happy New Year!  2015 is here!   I have a few resolutions for the new year, things to shoot for to make an even better 2015.  I want to  practice  an attitude of gratitude and make a conscious effort to find things to thank God for.  None of us are going to have perfect lives this side of Heaven, but we can still be to be thankful.   I am going to focus on the good and let go of the bad. I am not going to compare myself to others.  God made me ... He knit together my "in most being" ... my personality.  I have to be me. .. and not worry that I am not as neat and organized as other moms, that I am not as pretty as another, that I am not as smart as another, etc.     Comparison is a thief of joy because comparison tells us that we have been cheated.  However, we are not walking in their shoes.  We really do not have a clear picture of what their struggles are... even if we are facebook friends with them. ...

  There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man. Sir Winston Churchill Churchill was right.  That's why my family wants to see more children have time  with horses of all sizes.  If you google programs for a children and horses, thousands will come up.   What makes Stable Moments  different?   Several of the board members are adoptive families and have witnessed the power of horses in the lives of our own children.  Our niche is working with foster and adoptive families. .. providing resources to all of the family members, especially the parents and the fostered or adopted children.  Services start as young as 2 ..working with Pistol Pete, a miniature horse... and Gigi, our blonde miniature horse.  Even Farm cats are great cuddlers.  Pistol Pete with John-Michael Why horses with kids?  Due to trama of being neglected or aban...

John-Michael has wanted his own dog for some time.   We already have two dogs,  Olivie; , a deaf, loud Papillon poodle mix and Dirk, an old schnauzer poodle mix who doesn't like other dogs.   I thought we had to wait until Dirk passed away from old age, but at 12 he is still active and healthy.  So, we started the puppy search.  So Enters this face: We thought instantly that he looked like WolfMan Jack.  We call him Wolfie for short..    With all of his doctor's appointments and all of his surgeries, we knew a cuddle bug was needed.  He fits the bill.   We love Wolfie. Welcome to the family.  He was born in June and has been a part of our family since early September.  He is finally potty trained.  Now if I could get him to stop chewing on shoes and on the furniture.  Ideas?

One of my friends who is a great writer posted many months ago why she doesn't blog regularly as she used to.  This is part of what she said: Anyway, the second and probably most influential reason I haven't been able to pick up my blogging pen much is that it's just not as easy to blog about older kids. Dare I say they don't do things so cutely anymore? That's not to say my joy in sharing life with them has in any way been diminished; in fact, I am enjoying them more now than ever. ...... . I have such a love/hate relationship with any media that falls under the social label. It's hard enough being a patient homeschool mom to four kids and a loving wife to a traveling husband without being barraged by daily reminders from photos and status updates about how incredibly awesome other moms are, what supermoms they are. Of course, they probably think the same about me; we tend to post the highlights of our lives that we think others will admire. It's more ...

 http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/two-big-reasons-evangelism-isn-t-working John Piper recently posted why evangelism isn't working: “ Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season” ( 2 Timothy 4:2 ). “Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt,  so that you may know how you ought to answer each person ” ( Colossians 4:5–6 ). “So faith comes from  hearing , and hearing through the word of Christ ” ( Romans 10:17 ). He goes on to say:  Paul says “know how you ought to answer each person.” This means that most of your gospel explanations will be different, not canned. It also implies a listening evangelism. How can we know how to respond to each person, if we don’t know each person? He drives his point home by saying: Love is inefficient. It slows down long enough to understand people and their objections to the gospel. Love recognizes people are complex, and meets them ...

Will people talk about you behind your back no matter what you say or what you do? Will they judge how you raise your kids?   Will they judge how you spend your days? Weeks?  Years? Will they judge you if you homeschool your kids (You don't trust God to take care of your kids/ you aren't salt to the world)  or if you send your kids to public school (you have given up your kids to the world/ you have taken the easy way)?  Will they judge you by the recreational activities you do and do not let your kids participate in (you are going to let your kids do that/  You are NOT going to let your kids do that?  Will they judge you if you have an occasional glass of wine (you are being immoral)  or if you never touch wine at all (You live under the law) ? Thankfully, God has a different calling for each person. He directs our path.  If we aren't listening to the lies of our own hearts, but listening to His word and His Holy Spirit, then, let them talk....

The older I get ... the more my gratitude grows for those older than me who keep young by living out a purpose.  Think about it!  A thousand years ago, the typical lifespan was 24 years of age.  A child that was born 100 years ago lived to be 50.   A child born today can expect to live to 80.   Why?  Why is this generation living longer than any other generation?  Is it to just fish through retirement?  To walk the beaches in Florida?  Is it to check out on others before you "check out"?   Of course NOT!    Psalm 92: 14 tells us that we shall "still bear fruit in old age".    Fruit... that's our purpose.  Purpose keeps you young.   I am thankful for the older people in my life who look for ways to bear fruits of   love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,   gentleness, self-control.    I am thankful for my dad who doesn't let  the chronic  pain ...