Whisper in the Darkness

I am involved in a women's Bible study on Wednesday evenings at my church and we are studying 1 Kings.  Last week it was on 1 Kings 19 and how that relates to discouragement and depression.  I feel so strongly about this that I wanted to share it with you. 

Key Point: No believer is immune to discouragement.  We must listen to the voice of God to know the truth and feel His love in our darkest hours.  We must look to the people of God to surround us with purpose, hope and joy.

1. We can't walk in faith when we are running in fear (of loss, pain). vs 2
2. When we are discouraged we tend to isolate ourselves from our support (run from the reality that we don't like). vs 3
3. Our focus can be on ourselves and not on our mission when we feel down (must shift our focus from looking at pain to looking at God's grace). vs 4
4. Exhaustion and poor self-care can magnify the crisis (skipping meals, not enough sleep). vs 6
5. Our bodies and minds can affect our spiritual health (making that little thing the straw that broke the camel's back). vs 7
6. We must be certain we are putting our energies into the right tasks. vs 8
7. We must evaluate what choices led to our low point (don't try to run someone else's race). vs 9
8. When we are empty, our view of reality is skewed (pain is like blinders). vs 10
9. We must filter out the chaos to hear the voice of God (God will get our attention with a BIG thing then gently tell us). vs 12
10. God will tend your soul through relationships centered on truth (God has people in place to support you and me). vs 18

When dealing with discouragement/depression:

• Don't isolate yourself.
• Be open about your feelings.
• Don't try to fake it.
• Don't neglect washing your mind with the truth and aligning your feelings with worship.
• Ask for help.

Check out these encouraging Bible verses: 1 Peter 5:7, Zeph 3:17, Isaiah 30:18
Ecclesiastes 4:10 - If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!
I am often over-scheduled and too exhausted to be the Godly friend that I should be BUT I am here for you if you need me.

Hello Fall or Winter?

Read Read Read...Summer definitely wants to be read to these days.  We typically start the day with about 5 books while Mama sits and drinks her coffee.  And most we then reread.  We are focusing on colors and counting.  The colors Summer is doing well at but the counting is still in her own language.  Here she is this weekend on the computer and Mimi is reading her a book on Skype while we get ready to go to Waffle House (yum!).

Winter decided to stop by for the weekend and the temperature on Saturday was in the 40's the entire day.  Chad built a fire over at his parents house to keep warm.

Since Summer began her antibiotics for her ear infection a couple weeks ago we have had issues with you know...poo pooing.  I think it is a domino effect where it was painful once and since then she tries to hold it when the urge comes.  I have resulted to bribery.  If she poo poos in the potty then she gets a lollipop.  Let me tell you, she will pick out the color she wants and carry it in her pocket all day knowing that once she goes she can eat it.  I am impressed with her restraint.  Here she is reading a book to her babies while enjoying her lollipop.

My pregnancy is going well.  I am feeling good minus being more tired than usual (which was already tired).  We will find out the sex of the baby in 3 weeks on our 8 year anniversary, October 25.  That is very exciting and we will be thrilled, genuinely, with either a boy or a girl.

Things Summer Loves

I have said it before but Summer loves taking her medicine.  Because we don't do it often she thinks it is special and a treat.  Here is a video of how she does it.

Ok, so Summer also loves the "Yellow Bus."  When we are in the car she is always asking me for a yellow bus.  Earlier this week we passed one on the main road and it only peaked her interest to see more.  As we turned into the neighborhood it was a dream come true...a broken down yellow bus!  We got home and hopped in the wagon as fast as possible to get a closer look.

This is quite possibly the happiest photo I have ever taken of Summer to date!

 Well as we got closer to the yellow bus you can see her excitement turned into a little nervousness.  She reacted the same way when we saw the train up close.

That's right, this mama hung out with the bus driver and waited for a second yellow bus to arrive to move the kids...pure joy for Summer.

This was a magical day because with the 2 yellow buses still parked wouldn't you know it but a red fire truck drove down the same street!   

Last night was a wonderful event at church called The Gathering (Pink Pajama Party).  It was a women's event and I was the hostess for my table.  There were 1000 women there and we got to spend some time refocusing on what our priorities should be, how we should value friendships and having a good time.  I am going to make an effort to commit myself less to events outside of the home so that I have time and energy to see that my quiet time, family time and maintenance of my home are taken care of first (Chad said that sounded like music to his ears). 

Papa and Grammy's visit

This past weekend Papa and Grammy came up for a quick visit...and they came bearing gifts.  Summer absolutely loved her new desk/easel and has since put her laptop on it and types really fast and really hard.

 Summer and Grammy (aka Mammy) posing

There is nothing better than grandparents coming to visit.  Summer took full advantage of the play time and welcomed Papa into her playhouse.

Welcome fall!  Overnight the high dropped from 78 when they arrived to a high of 58 the next day.  We bundled up and went to Skytop apple orchard and indulged in their famous apple cider donuts, delicious!

A baby chick had escaped its pin and Summer got to pet it before Papa reunited it with his family. 

 Wow sheep and goats!

What you can't see is the goose with a really long neck sticking his head far outside the fence.  Summer was momentarily stunned.

A walk with Grammy and Papa through the bamboo forest. 

Papa asked her if she wanted to go outside and play and she got ready real fast. 

This was Grammy's favorite part of the trip! 

We had a fun time.  The day after they left I took Summer to the doctor to see if her persistent cough was anything of concern and sure enough it was diagnosed as her 9th double ear infection.  She sure is a pleasant sick child.  In fact, she loves her medicine.  She askes for "mo" and I have to tell her that if she is "good" she can have it twice a day...after she finishes her meal.  Do I get a great parent award for that?

Summer Pics

This September has turned out to be very busy for me so as you can see I don't have much time for blogging but I do want to share some of Summer's personality through photos.

She loves her baby dolls.  Here she is taking them all for a ride on her horse.

 My daughter loves putting on lipstick.  Usually I have a practically empty small container of lipgloss that she carries around and applies when needed.  However, it has gone missing and she helps herself to my purse at any moment it is accessible (or she pulls a chair across the house to stand on to make it accessible).  She did manage to keep it mostly in the lip region though!

 A child with lipstick is a happy child!

 Oh yeah Summer, very pretty!

 Summer pushing baby Ella while wearing her very first ballcap that we got her in Crested Butte.



Roll Tide

Annual Colorado Trip

We always look forward to our first taste of fall (and sometimes winter) during our trip to Crested Butte, CO.  It is so nice to spend time outdoors and actually have to put on extra layers to stay warm.

 We stay in Mt. Crested Butte and always do a walk down to the town.  It is beautiful and great exercise.

 We do a LOT of eating out! 

 We hiked some waterfalls and they were gorgeous. 

It was nice to get away but even better to come home to this sweet little girl...I mean BIG girl!  She will correct you if you don't say BIG.