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Hello February and fresh starts! I love new beginnings and today is what I have termed it a "grace day" at my house because it's Monday and school was cancelled due to weather conditions here in Michigan. Instead of snowing, blowing and sub-zero temps, we instead have blue skies and sunshine! So it is simply a good day to relax, kick back, stay in pj's {we do that a lot in the winter around here!} and just enjoy this unexpected break in life.
To that end, I have decided that it was the perfect time to jump back on to my laptop and share a tiny bit of my heart. Okay. Maybe a bit more than just my heart, as I am feeling mixed emotions about sharing these photos and thoughts behind them. I think this month of February is a wonderful backdrop for me to post "love notes" to my kids and this blog has always been a spot for me to get things down and out and saved in a spot for future reference.
As much as I want to express my thought and heart toward my kids {my girls especially} I sort of believe that this is a message that others might need to hear too. If you can see past the images- which I didn't realize had so much to 'say' when I ordered prints of these photos, then maybe the true message can start to settle in.
I have been self-conscious about my body, shape, size and flaws since as long as I can recall, and yet even so I think there is such worthwhile lessons in embracing ourselves- just as we are and as God created us to be. He never makes mistakes or messes up- certainly not on people whom He loves so much! That is the heart of this scrap layout and if my kids realize I love them just as they are...then how much more must God love them too!
I am so humbled and blessed to be able to stand in front of a camera, snap a few photos and then be brave in sharing the struggle and beauty that comes from learning to love it all. He loves us in spite of all we will never be- none of us can measure up to perfection- and yet we are loved in spite of our failures, flaws, insecurities, pride, and His grace covers it all so that in His eyes we ARE perfectly whole because of who He is! His love never ceases to amaze me. His grace has changed me from inside-out and I hope that His love will be the one thing my kids seek more than anything else this world has to offer. There is nothing greater than knowing God's love firsthand. It is the greatest love of all!
The world tells us that things or being a certain size of having financial security or a job or spouse or house or degree or adventure or happiness or any other number of things will fill us up. But the truth is only God's love and grace can be enough to fill us with true peace, contentment, and assurance of Hope. To that end I pray that I will be a tool for Him to shine that message to my kids and anyone else who has ears and open heart to receive that message. He is Love and all we ever need!
This has been quite a winter all over the nation and world, I believe. We are in the midst of another 'arctic blast' here in Michigan and on our 3rd consecutive snow day...with a weekend in between. So the days all sort of blur together, but we are cozy, warm and we love staying in jammies all day long. Last week's days off were added fun since Grandma Genie {my mom} was in town staying with the kids and I while Chip was in Orlando for the PGA merchandise show. The unexpected time the kids got to spend with her and the low-key schedule compared to getting ready and doing school drop-offs and pick-ups was nice for all of us! We played games, had Ava's room painted {pale pink}, baked and ate good food, sang songs and hymns, watched funny DIY shows and a couple of movies, ate popcorn and just all-around had a great time enjoying Grandma at our house. We were sad to see her go, but happy for my dad, since we know how much he was missing having her around too!
I didn't get much scrapping time in, and had actually planned to do quite a bit while she was here. But the time spent doing other stuff just filled up my craft free time. Still, I am so excited to share peeks of the layouts I made with the next Cocoa Daisy kit for February...called Color Swatch! It is one of my favorites! I received the paper add-on as well as the Paint Chip add-on kit and it is a wonderful mix of items for crafting. I have plans to make some Valentine's a am hoping to make a couple of other little projects too. The pinks and fun watercolor/paint patterns and designs add some charm and whimsy to each project. Tomorrow night is the big reveal for this kit, so join us over at the message board and see for yourself! If you sign up for a subscription there is a special 40% discount for your first kit right now. And trust me, when you get snowed in with a box of Cocoa Daisy goodies, it's a wonderful thing! Stay warm and safe everyone, and have fun crafting!
Merry two days after Christmas, everyone! I hope you have enjoyed or are still enjoying this extra special time of year! My family and I have had a quiet, cozy first Christmas in our home here in Michigan. There was lot of snow and cold outside, but we have found ways to stay warm, busy and have full tummies inside! From Santa brunches, to my birthday to Christmas services and chocolate soufflés, it has been a pretty great time together. We sure miss being with others and sharing these moments with family and friends, but we are grateful for our home, our health and all the other undeserved blessings we have received this year.
Our tree was cut by Chip, Brock and Ava and although it's an 11-ft Frasier Fir {for only $25!}, it almost feels too small for our living room space. We definitely thank God for the home He opened the doors for us to move into and even as we are finishing off a bedroom and bathroom in our downstairs and have had some frustrations with that project, we know that this place is a real gift for all of us.
I have a mini tour of my scrap space on the Cocoa Daisy blog if you enjoy seeing where I create and scrap in my free time. I have sort of liked the slow pace of just the 8 of us being here for Christmas because I have been able to make several cards to send to friends, and I just loved the January Cocoa Daisy kit~ "Blueprint", which debuts live tomorrow night at www.cocoadaisy.com at 9pm eastern time. It is always so fun to see the layouts and projects that my friends on the design team create too. They always inspire me and the kits that Christine puts together each month are just so full of great things that fuel the creativity in all of us! I feel so lucky to be on the team at Cocoa Daisy and I am looking forward to lots of fun memories to be made AND to be scrapped in the coming year too! Merry Christmas and all the best to each of you who still stop by here and read the slim posts at Nitty.Gritty. This next year could be the year I get back to blogging like I used too!
Somehow November had a way of slipping by very quickly and here it is December again! We had a quiet Thanksgiving Day weekend, just our family here in Michigan. The snow came down most of the day before and during Thanksgiving, and we ventured out around the corner and had our meal at the clubhouse. It was nice to not have any prep or clean-up. But we missed the warmth and smell of turkey dinner- not to mention leftovers! So the next day we made a Thanksgiving dinner at home. It was just as delicious the second time around. =)
I am doing some Christmas crafting and if you are wanting a deal on some supplies too, today is your day to grab some at Cocoa Daisy. There is a special on Daisy boxes and stamps for cyber-Monday. You can also get the December kits or add-ons right now too. I made a mini December album and a couple of layouts with mine. I am loving the washi tape in the kits for some holiday crafting too! Always one of my favorite things; one can never have too much cute tape, if you ask me!
I hope that this month brings you some special holiday memories, and some good food and most importantly, a deep peace and thankfulness for the gift of our Savior! Jesus is the reason for the Season!
This week is already the week of Thanksgiving. It feels like it has come from nowhere all so quickly. Our lives here are so busy and full from day to day. I know I am a broken record for saying that, but between school for 5 of the kids, a house project under construction in our basement, band concerts and sleepovers and everything in between, it just turns into a blur from day to day. This last week I had high hopes of getting on top of some things around the house and I was motivated to get ahead of myself with all that comes with Christmas too. Instead, I ended up laying on the couch for 2 full days due to a fever and cold that hit me hard and knocked me out! I was miserable and barely did a thing as I stayed bundled in blankets and tried to let my body rest in order to fight off the crazy virus.
Isn't that how it goes sometimes?! We think we are going to go one direction, and life takes us a different way. I know that on so many different levels! It is a hard lesson to learn to surrender and roll with it. I am still feisty and love being the one behind the reigns as much as I can.
I couldn't help but be reflective as I opened up my Cocoa Daisy kit for December this past week. I had very little energy to do anything with it, up until this weekend. It is called Home Again- and the reveal is happening tomorrow night on the boards, instead of the traditional 28th of the month due to Thanksgiving going on that same day. It is a kit filled with some adorable Cocoa Daisy exclusives, including the sweet wood veneer home and heart cut-outs. As we continue to settle in and finish up {we're completing a bathroom and bedroom in our downstairs for Brock} some home projects, I am so thankful and overwhelmed with the gift of home and family that we have to celebrate and say thanks to God for this year. It has truly been a wild ride to get here and it is still crazy for me to wrap my head around how it all came about. I have looked back at how many moves Chip and I have had since we first got married~ 9 of them, if I counted correctly. How life changes from year-to-year is amazing to me. Seeing my kids in this picture above taken in 2006 and looking at us all now is a wonder to think about. The growth, the changes, but most of all to me the reality that home has very little to do with where you are, and everything to do with the love you pour out wherever you may be. People thrive on love. I hope that you feel it where you are at right now, and that you can pour it out to people around you too- no matter where or what you are doing.
They say home is where the heart is. I believe that to be true. And having a set of antlers there makes it even better if you ask me too. =)
I have been busy behind the scenes of Nitty.Gritty. Our fall slipped very quickly into the first white of winter this week when we awoke to a whole backyard/golf course covered in snow. The good news is that it has already melted again, and we also learned how cozy our fireplace heats and makes our house feel. My scrap loft is just up and over the stairway from the living room, so all the heat rises and I was happy to plunk myself down in there and make a pretty mess! =)
The next kit is just about to be revealed. It's called Stargazing and it is full of Cocoa Daisy exclusive designs and products. It is my favorite kit and combination of 'stuff' and has made me happy as I cut it up and crafted with it. I get to be the host on the message boards on Monday night when the kit goes live, so feel free to stop in and say hi while you get the first look at everything in this kit. It's a good one!
The following weekend- Nov. 1-3 is the fall online crop. I am teaching a class called, "Layers of Goodness:: 1 class, 3 ways" and it has been fun putting it all together, so I am excited to share it with whoever wants to log on next Friday night. I promise it is easy, fun and hopefully it will kickstart some ideas in your own head that you can turn into a cool project of your own. This is such a great time of year to settle down and make pretty things. If you're like me, you wish someone would jump in and make dinner and do your laundry so you can scrap some more! =)
My kids have had three days off of school this week due to parent-teacher conferences and fall break. They all received really great reports and assessments from their respective teachers. I am a proud mom to them as they have been through so many transitions and yet still are making the most of it and trying their best through all of it. I am thankful for teachers and staff that have helped them succeed too. Wyndham also started school and has gone to her new classroom for the past 10 days. She attends a local area learning center and we have been so proud of how she has settled into her new routine and she is very happy to be back it school it seems. There are about 10 students in her class with various challenges and issues. There are several other classrooms at her school too, where we have seen just how blessed Wyndham is to be functioning at the level that she is at. There was a bit of heartache and heartbreak for me when we first toured the school and I saw just how many kids there are with life challenges far greater than the ones we deal with every day.
I'll be honest, it was hard to see the severity of some of their special needs. This world throws out a lot of curveballs and when they hit innocent little kids it is hard to swallow. But in those same hallways and classrooms I saw people helping and caring and meeting needs that made me realize just how lucky these kids are too. There is something very special about those who serve and teach and love people with disabilities. I am sure the ones serving and caring would tell you story after story about how they feel blessed to do what they do too.
As Chip and I dropped Wyndham off on her first day we stayed and helped her get settled in and just observed her interactions for a bit. The first part of her class the teacher goes over the basics, such as calendar, weather and lunch orders. You know, the important stuff in life! =) Each student gets a chance to respond to what month and day it is and the teacher goes around the room letting them say or point to the answer on the smartboard on the screen up front. It was quite the lesson for me as I watched this unfold. First of all, it was a Monday in October. I don't know about you, but a Monday in October can be a pretty challenging thing just getting up and going. But these kids taught me something and I want to share it with all of you...and hopefully revisit this life lesson often, as needed.
It went like this: As the teacher announced to the class that today was Monday and the month was October, some of the kids started cheering and getting excited as they raised their hand to repeat the answer. One little guy especially could hardly contain his excitement. She called on him first. Willie answered, "Monday and October" and then he clapped loudly and repeated 'Monday' in sort of a chant/cheer format. He was all smiles and even though it was a cold Monday in October, his enthusiasm and sheer happiness over answering correctly was contagious. Little Willie has no idea that so many people hate Mondays. He has no idea that Monday is the dreaded day of the week for countless people going back to school and work or whatever it is that they do on Monday. He has no idea that some people wake up on Monday counting down the days til Friday.
And it hit me in such a vivid way that we ALL need a little more joy and contentment and excitement and enthusiasm in 'this moment'- even when, or should I say especially when it is Monday! Several of the other kids were all smiles and seemed very happy to announce that it was Monday that day too. Despite all the challenges they had going on in their bodies and minds, they had something going so 'right' too. Far better than many people who aren't labeled "special needs or challenged". Their attitude toward life and learning is something to be envied. I walked into that building feeling sorry for all the kids and heavy-hearted for the families who even need the extra assistance and care of the staff at that school. However, I walked out of that building softened and changed a tiny bit as I realized that maybe I am the one with the challenges and they are the teachers to the rest of us. Disability is only that when we allow it to hold us back. These kids and teachers are ready and even experts, I think, at taking on life just as it is handed to them and making the very best out of it. Even on Mondays. Now that is something to aspire too!
I think Wyndham is lucky to be in such a special place.
This is the day that for the big reveal of Cocoa Daisy's October kit~ Sweater Weather. Here in Michigan the weather is actually more summerlike than fall, but I don't mind a bit! We still have some settling in to do at our house and I have had fun getting my scrap loft area unpacked so that I could scrap again. This kit is definitely filled with touches of autumn, but the colors and patterns of everything in it speak to much more than that too! I played with the pale orange and blue combo on a couple of my layouts. It has a lot of woodgrain and nature in it, which is always one of my favorite things! So feel free to join a bunch of us on the message boards tonight and get in on the sweater weather action firsthand. It's a fun night to be online at Cocoa Daisy!
I had to share a picture of our bed that we had ordered and was delivered this week. It is tall compared to our former bed, but we love the look of it and I am now watching for some fall/winter bedding to make it extra cozy when the cool weather does show up! For now the windows are still open during the day and the leaves around us have yet to change color. The golfers are still passing through our backyard all day long as we look out onto the 9th tee. The kids are still playing chalk on our driveway and the air is fresh and warm. I am soaking up as much of this kind of late summer-like weather as possible.
As always, I hope to blog more than I do as well! Maybe one day life will settle down into a routine. For now, it is still busy, busy busy. The kids all started school at one place, and then within a week we had transferred them to a new school. So between 5 school campuses and moving into a new house in the past month we still don't have a 'normal' schedule and are still making sense out of all the new things in our lives and spaces. But so far the transitions have gone mostly well. We feel very blessed. The sunrises are still beautiful each day, and with the exception of a few mild colds, we are all doing great. Just this morning Chip, Teague and I went to the local Farmer's Market. We have a bushel of Honey Crisp apples to enjoy as a result. There will likely be some baking in my future, and if you have a tried and true favorite apple recipe, feel free to share it with me in the comments today. Sometimes I love the changing seasons. When it means new recipes and warm weather, what's not to love?! Happy Autumn to you and yours! xo
I almost don't know what to say. Life, as we start to settle into our new house, after just one week since our moving date is almost too good to be true. That's not to say that we haven't put in long days or worked hard for what we have. But all in all it has gone so much better and easier than Chip and I had anticipated.
We have already enjoyed the early morning sunrises, with beautiful pinks and orange hues right outside our bedroom window. We have checked out the local Farmers' Market and have enjoyed cooking some meals and making brownies in our new kitchen as we get unpacked and make it feel like home around here. The space just seems to work so well for the needs of our family, and having a clean slate to set up has gone smoothly just having it be fresh and clean too!
Today half of our kids started school. They are at three different schools and each of them seemed comfortable and even a bit excited about the new changes ahead of them. I have done a lot of praying about the friends they will meet and make, and I know they are ready to be challenged and grow in many ways as a result of this new experience in their lives too. Wyndham still has a few details to be worked out before she starts her classes and therapies, and Crew is in the registration process for starting preschool too. The house could get very quiet around here on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursday mornings! I haven't been home with just one child in years!
I am pleased to tell you that Cocoa Daisy's September kit~ 5th and Main ~ is available for purchase now! You can get some of the extra papers too. The rest of the add-ons and The Day in the Life kit have sold out, but as you can see, the main kit is still full of so many great items that I can't wait to get back out of boxes and get to scrapping again! I have lots of unpacking to do when it comes to the kids' closets, my scrapbook space and we have a few big purchases to make- including the bed we are thinking about pictured above. SO much going on in such a short amount of time! It sort of makes my head spin when I pause to think about all of it. But at the same time it truly feels like home here already. It's as if a weight was lifted off of our shoulders when we moved into this place. I don't fully know how or why that it, but I can honestly tell you that it feels good.
So good in fact, that I am about to go make chocolate chip cookies so the kids have a yummy first-day-back-to-school snack when they walk in the door. Oh yes, for now anyway, life is sweet. and this place feels like Home.Sweet.Home.
It's 3:47am. I am blogging. That means a couple of things are going on. One is that I am awake and my mind is spinning. The other thing is that the house is quiet and calm because everyone else is sleeping. I guess this is the only time I have available to blog in my life as there is never a dull moment in my day. This also explains the lack of posts. I am usually asleep at this time of the night. I already know I am going to regret being up right now and doing this, even in just 4 hours or so. But I am here for now. So I will squeeze in as much as I can- even though the past few weeks in the life of the Ferlaaks deserves it's own book. It's been that wild and crazy!
But even a tad fun.
And a whole lot of amazing.
And that is why my head is spinning and I am here typing.
Sometimes life gets going. Going in a certain direction. Other times it just stands still. And it drags. Or just is. Still at other times life starts moving, and I can tell something is up. I might not always know why or what or how come, but there's a feeling that something is going on.
That is what I write of today.
To do so, I need to finish a blogpost that I started a couple of weeks ago, and never got around to finishing, much less posting. It was a typical summer morning. Chip got up, showered and was saying his goodbyes for the day. The kids aren't always awake. At least not all of them. And sometimes some are eating breakfast and playing on the iPads and Chip and I have yet to get up. We're all over the place with our schedule in the summer. We like late nights {not normally as late as the one I am having right now!} and long mornings. We have very little on our agendas. Except to say goodbye and give Daddy hugs and kisses before he leaves for work.
This particular morning Chip was saying his goodbyes and as he did I could just begin to hear Teague start to fuss in his bedroom. He still sleeps in a crib {he just turned 3 and we love that he loves his crib and stays put in there!} and so someone has to come and get him out each morning. He got a bit louder just as Chip was putting his hand on the doorknob to leave, and I looked at Chip and said, "Go now so Teague won't have a meltdown saying goodbye". That's what Teague does.
He loves his daddy. He loves his dad a whole lot. With Chip's long hours at work in the summer, sometimes we don't see him a whole lot. So when Chip leaves, Teague cries. And throws a fit on the front step. Then Chip leaves and feels guilty. And I am left with a little guy doing limp body and fussing in the front step for several minutes some mornings. It makes me want to drink more coffee. That's what was ahead of us if Chip stuck around while I got Teague up, so instead Chip quickly left, and I went to go get Teague out of his bed. He started to fuss louder when I got him out. I gave him some morning hugs and kisses. But he just put on his best pouty face and started crying. "Do you want some orange juice, Teague?" "Do you want your little lamby and yellow blankie?" I started asking questions. "Calm down, mister...it's morning time and we get to have a fun day!" This is what I was saying to him as his crying started to get louder and louder. The other kids had joined my question party by this time and they were all using their "happy voices" wishing him a good morning and offering kisses and other ideas like toaster waffles.
Nothing was working.
I just held him for a minute longer. He kept on crying. I asked him to "use your words" and tell Mommy what's wrong. His crying finally got quieter, and he looked right at me and said, "I wanted to give Daddy a kiss."
My heart basically melted.
He had been listening to the other kids say their goodbyes, and he had no way of getting in on the hugs and kisses and send-off. I was happy to finally know that there actually was a "real problem" and my "real solution" was that we could call Daddy on his phone and say good morning and goodbye all at once. I took Teague to the kitchen to get my phone and I told him my plan. I dialed Chip and he answered. Which I typically don't like him to do if he's in a car. "What's up?" he asked. He never knows what to expect when I call him. I don't do it often, but there's always a 50/50 that it's a good or bad thing. I said, "Teague was just waking up when you left and he is so upset that he didn't get to hug you goodbye." I fully expected Chip to say, "Put him on and I'll talk to him for a minute." Instead, Chip said, "I'm on my way home."
I was more than a bit surprised. Chip has a lot on his plate in life and at work these days. Several minutes had gone by since he had left home, so this wasn't just a quick turn around at the end of the block. I set the phone down and Teague just about had another meltdown right then and there. I grabbed his little hand and said, "come outside on the front step...Mommy wants you to get a surprise!" Kids love surprises, but not so much when they are just coming off of a meltdown and the drama of crying for the first several minutes of their day.
We sat on the front step. Brock joined us. We looked at the sky. We listened to a couple of birds. We saw the grass. And flowers. It must have felt to Teague as though I was the biggest phony surprise thrower of all time. At one point I finally told him to be quiet and listen. I could hear Chip's car coming down the street. Teague was on my lap on the front step clueless that his morning wish was about to come true!
I think Teague was about to start crying all over again when I told him to look down the street as far as he could to see if he could see anything. Brock was starting to grin at this point. And a few seconds later Chip's vehicle pulled back into our driveway. "Daddy's home!! Daddy came back! It's Daddy!"
Teague was so excited. I am getting a knot in my throat right now even as I type it out, because it was a truly magical moment. My little clueless, upset two-year old {at that time} suddenly had his whole morning turned around. His little heartbroken request that he had finally spilled out to me when "he used his words" hadn't just been a cry of hurt and disgust that fell on deaf ears. Instead, his cry had been heard, and more than loud and clear, his heartbreak at not being able to say goodbye and give a hug had turned to complete and utter joy at the surprise return from Chip coming back to more than meet his need.
I actually caught part of the whole scene on one of our iPad cameras. I snapped the picture in this post of Teague and Daddy together for that brief couple of moments that morning too, and those smiles are the real deal! Teague's fussing was so quickly forgotten and his tiny arms wrapped so tight around his dad and the 'drama' of our morning up to that point all melted into a beautiful embrace. I was so happy for Teague.
I was so proud of Chip and my heart melted at just how big his heart is at times too. He chose to come home, when a simple hello on the phone would have salvaged a part of Teague's hurt. He went beyond what he needed to do and it blew me and Teague away. The whole scene has played over and over in my mind the past few weeks.
It is so late and I am so tired, and there is so much more to this story. The part about how that picture in my mind so parallels what God has been doing in my heart and life too. It's been unfolding for months. Years, I believe.
God has been up to something.
I've been in a place where the only way 'out' {like Teague in his crib} was going to happen when God chose to get me out. I needed my Father to pick me up and open a door. I was kicking and crying, and even though I could have had a toaster waffle or juice or any number of things to bring me happiness, all the while He had a plan to bring me more than that. He has been up to something for awhile now. And I couldn't see it, hear it, or have a clue what it was. Just as Teague had no clue Chip was already on his way home with a big hug and kiss waiting for him on arrival.
He could have settled for a quick phonecall and chat with Daddy. But Chip had a better idea. And even though it temporarily broke Teague's heart for me to not let him talk on the phone, or even tell him that Daddy was coming home, I knew it was going to be a wonderful and even better surprise in the end.
I knew it would be worth Teague's confusion as he waited on a front step without a clue. I knew it would be more than worth it for him to see that Chip drove back home just to see him! I knew it was going to make the tears of the morning literally disappear. His sorrow would be turned to joy, and it was! Teague's whole morning was made!
My heart has been so hurt for a long time for many different reasons. Some days I haven't had a clue as to how life has played out the way it has for us. But for some reason- as reason I still don't know or understand- in the past few weeks too many things have happened that make me literally see God's hand in life's details. It has been wonderful. It has been amazing at times. It has been fun even! My heart has felt happiness in the truest sense of the word. Our house sold. A new one just happened to fall into place for us. At just the right place. At just the perfect time.
Chip and I somehow managed to go out on a date together. It has been more than a year since we have done that. And we didn't just get a date. We took a whole day trip together. And nothing went 'wrong' the whole day. In spite of the downpour we got stuck in as we walked from Navy Pier in Chicago to Millenium Park. We laughed together. We enjoyed each other. We had actual conversations. About things other than kids or work. There has been so much going on in the past few weeks that my head is still spinning and we still have a move ahead of us this coming Tuesday. I should be overwhelmed. I should be freaking out. I should be asking myself how on earth is everything going to get done that needs to get done?!
Instead I am blogging. I am doing something I rarely get a chance to do anymore. I needed to write. I needed to come here and tell the world that God is amazing. Even when we can't see Him or feel Him or have a clue if He is even listening to our fussing and cries. I want to assure myself and whomever else reads here that He is. He is real. He gives life to dry bones. He longs to do good things in the hearts and lives of those who love Him. He is trustworthy. He is faithful. He is good and kind and fun even! He is a God who listens, who loves, who makes time for us, who knows better than we know ourselves just how to fill our lives with goodness and joy.
I don't know if Teague even remembers the day that Daddy came back. But one day, maybe one day when all the world has let him down or life is threatening to steal his joy, I want to remind him of this story. That really happened. That was so beautiful and pure and true that it will hopefully stir in his heart a little something that makes him want to be a better person and believe in goodness and Love again.
I have sometimes wondered. I have doubted far too many times in my life.
I am ashamed because I have known since I was about Teague's size that I love a God who is bigger and more powerful than any mind can comprehend. Yet still my trust has worn thin at times and I have wondered if my prayers have even been heard.
He has heard every one. He has a plan to meet every need. His plans are good. His ways are higher. I am humbled and honored to give all my praise to Jesus, my Lord. I don't know what lies just ahead in this next adventure in life. I am just so thankful that I never need to doubt or wonder if God is real. He is. And He is so Good. He is so Good to me.
