Monday, September 21, 2009

Well it is Sept




and praise God almost OCTOBER! We have had a long year with record visits from family and friends. It was great but I think it is safe to say we over did it. We talked and have decided to stay home for Christmas and enjoy our last Christmas as just the three of us. Paisley will be such a great age to better grasp all the traditions we have and take a bigger part in them with us and not just watch. I have received news that my Dad is getting married however, and possibly by the end of the year, so if that is so we will of course make it up to Oregon to be a part of that to welcome Kim and her beautiful daughters to the family!
It has been the hottest summer EVER (for us) and we are barely surviving with out AC... cooking or should I say not cooking has been the hardest part. I enjoy cooking and since it is so HOT I can not use the oven or stove, and well it has been months... needless to say I have never been SO ANXIOUS for fall. October 1st Jason and I will be celebrating 4 years of marriage. We are humbly proud. We know we could not have made it this far with out Jesus Christ in the middle of it. Of course the years where He was more accurately on the sidelines and not exactly in the middle where very rough and we had some close calls to giving up, BUT thankfully the Lord had other plans for us. Now days we work hard to keep the Lord in the middle of our everything, and as often as possible pray that He goes ahead of us in our day to day routines, it is amazing (amazing but no surprise) that those days always go much smoother then the days I do not make time to call on Him.
I called this year (2009) out to be MY year. It has been just that. The Lord has worked in me like never before. I feel so full of love and better understanding of my Heavenly Father. As we learned Sunday at church that the better we understand God, the better we KNOW Him. Some days I don't make time and find myself feeling "further away" than I am comfortable with, and others I stop myself and slow down... I love those days. We also learned that God has called out upon each of us an authority. That hit me pretty hard. I know I am a courageous person and that I have never had a problem standing up for things that I believe in, but this was a different twist. It encouraged me to get even closer with the Lord so that by understanding Him more I will KNOW His will for me, and once I know His will for me as a daughter of Christ, a wife and a mother (among other things) I can go forth more boldly than ever before. Pastor Ryan read through Mark chapter 4 and brought up something I had never considered when reading that story. Ryan explained that when Jesus asked His disciples to go across to the other side He meant it, that was their calling out. When the wind and rains came and began flooding their boat, they cried out to God and asked him why he was letting them perish. God calmed the wind and the rain, but then looked to his men disappointed that THEY had not called the winds and rain knowing in faith that God was the one that asked them to go to the other side in the first place. I had always just seen the miracle in the story that God saved them and controlled the weather... but there was so much more there in that story, and for me it hit home. So before I can call out in faith authority over my home, family neighbors and whatever else, I need to get down to the basics and understand God better. One other thing I wrote down in my notes that sums this up for me is the definition of Authority. Authority-is the freedom to act, the power to act. Well I am going to work on understanding and doing just that. Walking Tall in the Kingdom.
I ordered some new books to help me along the way that I think will be very encouraging, once I start reading them I will let you know if I would suggest them or not.
In short (haha) life is going good. Baby is healthy and the pregnancy is going by faster at least for a little while now... Paisley is growing like a weed inside and out. She is definitely living up to the meaning of her name even at the age of 2. She is full of life and spreads life wherever she goes, praise God! She got a bike and started her first dance class to give her a creative outlet , independence and learn to be with other kids and listen to a teacher, we were so proud of her. She is of course our child though and we work daily on her stubbornness and strong will, both can be good in ways and not in other ways, so we are trying to stay on top of those characteristics as well. She loves "reading" and singing to my belly and kissing it often. Jason puts her to bed each night and I guess last night she said her own prayer " Jesus thank you for, five... Jesus love Momma, Daddy, baby... Jesus amen" haha gotta love it!
Well again we are just waiting for fall and all the wonderful Holiday traditions that come with it. This is going to be a perfect ending to a wonderful year. I can't imagine what the Lord will be bringing us next year, besides a new bundle of joy to complete our family! Oh my...
Thank you for taking the time to read my rambling, but now you are caught up.
Love Traci