Great is Thy Faithfulness

Wednesday evening Todd checked his messages just before he went to bed. There was a message that we weren't quite expecting to get. Basically the guy said, "I'm trying to get a hold of you, I have a job offer for you." - Needless to say, going to bed that night was a challenge after hearing that (um that, and THERE WAS A FREAKIN SNAKE IN THE HOUSE!!! But thats a story for another time...) - When Todd came into the house Thursday morning, first thing he said to me was "go check out the sunrise..." So I walked out the door, down the walk way, and as I approached a break in the tree's all of a sudden, somewhere deep down inside me started, I felt the lyrics to that classic hymn, "great is Thy faithfulness" start to swell up inside of me, and the tears began to flow... It was a moment that will stand still in my mind for a long time. It was in that moment, that once again God showed up, and reminded me of His faithfulness, and His great love for me and my family. He lifted my burdens that I had been carrying these last 16 months. I didn't know what would happen that day, but I was once again reminded that it didn't matter, He loved me and would take care of me regardless of my circumstances... It was a beautiful moment for me... 

 

Great is Thy faithfulness," O God my Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.

• "Great is Thy faithfulness!" "Great is Thy faithfulness!"
    Morning by morning new mercies I see;
  All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—
      "Great is Thy faithfulness," Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above,
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thy own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

As the day progressed we did get a call back, and did in fact get offered a job. It may or may not surprise you that we gladly accepted it. At this point, Todd has one last physical test on September 5th at 7am. As long as he passes that, September 15th will be the day he swears in, then on the 19th he leaves for training. Graduation from the 1st portion of training is December 15th. He will then go on to the second portion that will end Mid-February. We will be moving to an even more remote area of Arizona in February. Ya see, we have a whole new adventure and opprotunity for growth happening now :-) Unfortunately we will not be going with Todd to training. This will obviously be a very challenging time for all of us, so if you wouldn't mind continuing to pray for us, we'd greatly appreciate it. I will be splitting my time between here (with Todd's family) and NY (with my family). Thankfully I am homeschooling the two older this year so that allows us some flexibility in where we can be during this difficult time without daddy :-( 

 

This next chapter of our life is sure to be an adventure, prayers as always are appreciated.  

I know this last year I've kinda been a bit of a prayer hog ;-) I'm not sure that simple "thanks" is enough, but until we're in Glory and God allows you too see the impact of your prayers, it will just have to do... :-) Thank You, to each and every one of you who at some point said a prayer for our family... The timing was perfect, and the blessings were abundant.

To God Be The Glory! 

choosing to have a happy heart

Today, I'm choosing right now, in this moment to have a happy and thankful heart... Well, lets be honest, it might be a one character trait kinda day for me, so I think I will choose happy because it encompasses a more "positive" outlook all around, right?

So Today, I'm going to be happy...

I choose to be happy I have shelter over my head...
I choose to be happy I have food on the table...
I choose to be happy I have a loving family
I choose to be happy we made it to Arizona without any injuries...
I choose to be happy that I am well enough to care for my family...
I choose to be happy that even though we are "under-employed" that we are still in the top 5% richest in the world today, it can be really easy to loose perspective...
I choose to be happy that even though my future seems uncertain and very unclear at the moment, that God has a plan for my family, and He is our source of provisions and He will always take care of us!
I choose to be happy that even though my emotions are all over the place at the moment, that I do have a peace that can only come from God in regards to our decision to come to Arizona...

I'm choosing happiness today, so Satan, don't piss me off! 

Contracts.

con·tract

 [n., adj., and usually for v. 15–17, 21, 22 kon-trakt; otherwise v. kuhn-trakt]

–noun

1.

an agreement between two or more parties for the doing or not doing of something specified.

2.

an agreement enforceable by law.

3.

the written form of such an agreement.

 

 

Whatever you do, wherever you go be sure you have one... 

 

 

HAPPY WEEKEND EVERYONE!

I need a hero!

Recently we've had a special guest in our home... He's actually pretty cool, although he has some identity issues. Some days he likes to be called Peter Parker some days he prefers Spiderman, but more recently he goes back and forth multiple times throughout the day between the two which can get a little confusing.  Oddly enough he only shows up when our little Warrior is not around which is a little sad because I'd love for the Warrior to see how kindly Spidey treats the Bear and the Bulldog.

Spidey/Peter Parker I appreciate your kindness to my littles. I hope the Warrior meets you someday soon, he thinks your pretty amazing and it'd be a dream for him to get to shake your hand!

 

In other news, the Bulldog is getting a bit more balanced and I'm pretty confident will be running before we know it! 

 

The Bear is more emotional than ever and I find myself praying through the day with her... She is sooo strong-willed/strong-minded, yet emotionally she is a "delicate flower" and I am struggling to find out the "best method" with her...   She is undoubtedly my mini-me, and I worry about her. I so want her to have the comfort, support she needs to become a healthy little citizen of this country and most importantly of HEAVEN! As always prayers are appreciated :-)

 

 The little Warrior is showing more signs of a fighters spirit. Tonight was insane when bedtime was approaching... The dude lost 4 days of TV (they always watch a show before bed and maybe one or two during the day)! I couldn't believe how feisty he was being, it was so out of character for him. I finally left and went back to my room to fold laundry because I was done with his 'tude. When I cam back down the hallway I hear this sweet, completely genuine voice coming from his bed saying "mom, I changed my heart, could you please come in and pray and sing with me?" and what do you think my answer was?

HECK YES!
He's got such a sweet tender heart.



As far as our preparations for the upcoming "adventure" - things are moving. Boxes are everywhere, the house is a mess, my mind is going 10 different directions at once, but one thing remains and that is peace about this decision. Our prayer is that God would continue to show up and show off as we wait for exactly what He has planned for my hubby as well as our entire family unit.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

James 1:17

The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

Psalm 18:2

There's a storm-A-comin'

I'm attempting to be one of those blogging moms... You know, those moms who blog several times a week, who write in a way that makes you want to be there doing exactly what they're doing? Yeah, one of them.

What can I tell you about myself?

-  First and foremost, I'm one of those Jesus lovin' folks! I'm not perfect nor do I ever pretend to be but I've got the GOD OF ALL CREATION on my side, and He loves me whether I'm bad or good, and His love is beyond any love I could find anywhere in this crazy world we live in.
-  I'm also a husband lovin woman. "He completes me!" :-) He's the greatest thing that has happened to me (besides Jesus) and I'd be lost without him.
-  We've got 3 little blessings keeping us busy, a 5.5 yr old "Warrior", a 3.5 yr old "Bear" and a 13 month old "Bulldog" - I learn something new everyday with these little ankle-biters around. They bring a joy and excitement to life that keeps putting a smile on my face.
-  I'm also known to feel at home with a camera by my side, in fact strangely I feel most comfortable when I'm behind my camera capturing precious moments in time. Photography is about capturing life as its happening, and being able to savor those emotions years down the road when you look back at that photograph...
-  I'm also one of those coffee lovin' creamer usin' sugar scoopin' folks... Mmm, one of my favorite beans that the Lord created is the coffee bean. It's one of God's creations that helps me be a better person, a better wife, a better mom, mmm, yes, I love me some good coffee! 

If you don't know anything about me, this blog may seem all over the place and you may find yourself confused, but if you know me and my family personally, hopefully this will be a taste of me, no matter how many miles may now be between us.


ANY-WHO:
I posted a new update on my FB earlier, and I'm just going to re-post it here if your to lazy to check FB :-)

Greetings Family and friends,

I hope this "note" finds you all healthy and well.

Over the last 48 hours, Todd and I needed to make a big decision regarding our life here in California. The last few weeks have given us great hope in a future with the US Border Patrol. A gentleman from the government recently came to our area to meet with Todd and begin Todd's background check (which is one of the final few steps in the Border Patrol process before training school). Given our current circumstances we need to make a change fast, and therefore think it wisest if we move down to Arizona and live with Todd's family while we wait. The reason we chose this is because if BP goes through and we get in (which we're fairly confident we will, the question is when?) we will be stationed in the Southwest, and there is great probability that we will actually be in Arizona  (or so we have been told both from his oral boards interviewers and the background investigator)...

This is a huge step of faith for us right now. Our plan is to leave Sunday August 7th (I know, its really soon!). We are asking for prayer from you all as we begin this new and strangely exciting journey into the unknown. We believe that God is in this, and will take care of us, just like he has over the last year. There is a small possibility that we could still stay in the area, however after prayer and talking with some of our mentors, we're going for it!

We'll be loading up the truck on the August 6th at 10am - Any help would be GREAT!


 Arizona will be a BIG CHANGE for us (more me and the ankle-biters than for the hubs since he spent part of his childhood there)... Stepping outside and hearing nothing but critters in the grass and maybe a train whistle in passing compared to a distant hum thats fairly constant when you step out your back door can rock your world... Better yet, stepping out your front door and finding a cow that doesn't belong to you blocking your path to your car can take even more getting used to, especially if he has horns! Yes it will most definitely be an adjustment, but we believe that God has a plan, and at this point there was an urging in us to make some kind of decision, and we're praying for His blessing on it.

As always your prayers are appreciated. Especially that Todd will get "the call" sooner rather than later...