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so thankful and blessed.. #1101-1110

Written by Joy
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so thankful and blessed.. #1101-1110

Psalm 34:18

18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

Matthew 5:4

4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

God is so good to us.  We are so blessed.  We do not deserve anything that he gives to us.  I look at my children and see the light in their eyes.  So much ahead of them, so much to live for.  Then I think of the tragedy that happened on Friday.  So many children lost their lives along with several adults.  It hurts.  I cried most of the day while I held my children near.  I am mourning with and for those who lost loved ones.  I truly do not know what I would do if something like that happened to our family.  I do know who would be there holding me up, helping me get through every day life.  God.  He will never leave us.  Join me in prayer for those who lost loved ones.  While I will be praying for the people in CT, I am also going to be thanking God for all the many blessings He has given me.

1101. my healthy children.

1102. being able to stay at home with my children.

1103. my husband’s job that is able to support us, while I stay at home with my children.

1104. my children’s laughter and smiles.

1105. being able to teach my children at home.

1106. a roof over our heads to keep us dry.

1107. heat to keep us warm.

1108. God for sending Jesus to us.

1109. Jesus dying on the cross for our sins.

1110. knowing that one day, there won’t be any more deaths, sorrows or tears.  We will be rejoicing and praising God in heaven!

I would love for you to join in counting the many blessings that God gives. Stop by A Holy Experience and visit others who are also sharing their many blessings.

2012, multitude Mondays, , , , , , , ,

over at The Homeschool Village today ~ talking family traditions

Written by Joy
over at The Homeschool Village today ~ talking family traditions

I am over at The Homeschool Village today talking about Family Traditions.   I love the family traditions that we have and we are all the time making new ones.  Do you have any family traditions?  Are there special places you go or special things you do together?  Stop by The Homeschool Village to see what family tradition I am talking about today!

Don’t forget to leave a comment and tell me about what special traditions you have with your family!

2012, homeschooling, The Homeschool Village, , , ,

so thankful and blessed… #1091-1100 ~ Joy Comes with the Morning

Written by Joy
so thankful and blessed… #1091-1100 ~ Joy Comes with the Morning

Psalm 30

1 I will extol you, O LORD, for you have drawn me up and have not let my foes rejoice over me. 2 O LORD my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me. 3 O LORD, you have brought up my soul from Sheol; you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit. 4 Sing praises to the LORD, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name. 5 For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning. 6 As for me, I said in my prosperity, “I shall never be moved.” 7 By your favor, O LORD, you made my mountain stand strong; you hid your face; I was dismayed. 8 To you, O LORD, I cry, and to the Lord I plead for mercy: 9 “What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness? 10 Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me! O LORD, be my helper!” 11 You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, 12 that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever!

The Psalm above is written by David.  It is titled “Joy Comes with the Morning”.  It is said that David wrote this song for the dedication of the temple.  It has also been mentioned that they think it was written  upon his recovery of being very sick.  It reminds me though, that through it all, the good and bad, Joy comes in the morning.  That God does get angry, but He loves us and is always there for us.  I am so thankful that God is there for me.  Even though I am a sinner, He still loves me.  His love, mercy and grace for me is amazing.  Yes, Joy truly does come in the morning.

1091. pain to slow me down, to have more precious time with my children and to refocus on what is most important in life.

1092. a husband and children who are so helpful and understanding, when I have pain and help me out.

1093. a chiropractor and message therapist to see me on short notice to help relieve the pain.

1094. a friend who helps me out with my blog when I have an issue.

1095. a new couch that is comfortable to sit on and big enough for all of us.

1096. our homeschooling neighbor who takes the kids to Lego night at the Lego store!

1097. phone calls from friends across the US.

1098. nature walks with my children.

1099. talking about memories with my children while looking at the ornaments on our tree.

1100. a new friend stopping by for a visit with her children. Such a blessing talking about Jesus with others.

I would love for you to join in counting the many blessings that God gives. Stop by A Holy Experience and visit others who are also sharing their many blessings.

2012, multitude monday, , , , , , , ,

making Christmas traditions and memories ~ ornaments

Written by Joy
making Christmas traditions and memories ~ ornaments

I love making memories and traditions with my kids.  It is my hope that my children remember these times and pass them on to their families when they are older.   One of the traditions that we have is making ornaments and collecting ornaments together.  I also love those special ones that have been given to us by people that we love.  Every ornament on our tree has a story and our children love reminiscing  about the ornament of where it came from and who gave it to us.  It makes my heart happy to see my children take such good care of these precious memories.

The angel below, Buddy and I got when our oldest son was 11 months old.  It was his very first Christmas.  That was 19 years ago.

our angel.

The beaded candy cane ornament was made by my oldest son when he was in elementary school.  The Angel is made from my youngest daughter’s footprint and hand prints.  The foam star was made by my oldest daughter.  The stocking ornament with the little girl on it was given to our youngest daughter by our neighbor in NC.   The Santa Clause, I painted when we lived in Florida, 10 years ago.  It was our first year of homeschooling and the kids and I painted ornaments.

Angel made from a foot print and hand prints.

This angel was given to our oldest son when he was just 4 years old.  His Sunday School preschool teacher, Mrs. Susie Douglas gave it to him.  She loves him so much and the feeling was mutual.  Michael loved her dearly.  She loved the children in her class.  Sadly, she passed away several years ago and will always have a special place in our hearts.

an angel given to our oldest son when he was 4.

I saw this ornament and had to buy it and paint it.  It is my favorite Christmas song.  It reminds me of that special night, so long ago, when God sent his only Son to be born of a virgin.

an ornament I painted with the kids.

The three Gator ornaments are from a very dear friend.  He sent these to us when we lived in NC.  We are huge Gator fans, since that is where we originally are from.  You can also see our sun catcher candles that we made from the very first lesson of the Advent study we are doing.

Gator ornaments given to us by a friend.

The ornaments below were made by all of our children.  We have a snowflake by our youngest son, a Christmas tree by our youngest daughter, the bear is painted by my oldest daughter and the CD ornament was made by our oldest son when he was in school.

ornaments kids made.

So many memories on our tree.  By looking at this tree, it shows just how blessed that we are.  God has been so good to us and has allowed so many special people in our lives.  I am so blessed by being able to stay at home with our children and able to make and do so much with them to make those special memories.  Yes, I am so thankful and blessed.

Do you make ornaments with your children?  What other special traditions do you have?

2012, family, , , , , , , , ,

so thankful and blessed… #1081-1090

Written by Joy
so thankful and blessed… #1081-1090

1 Timothy 4:4-5

4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving,

5 for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.

While I do my best throughout the year, it seems like I tend to focus much more and more intently on Jesus during the Thanksgiving and Christmas season.  I think about how God sent His Son to us, knowing that one day, He would die upon a cross just to save us, poor wretched sinners.  I then look at my children and know that it would be extremely hard to do.  Yet, He did it.  I don’t deserve the love, mercy and grace that He sends me daily.  I don’t deserve the many blessings that He gives us daily.  Yet, He continues to give.  Yes, I am blessed.  So blessed.

1081. sickness to slow me down, to get refocused on what truly matters.

1082. being able to bless someone else.

1083. spending an afternoon with my oldest daughter.

1084. Christmas and birthday shopping with my daughter.

1085. baking with my children.

Sammy, Claire and Sarah.

1086. family traditions ~ getting our Christmas tree.

1087. watching my husband put lights on our tree.

1088. watching my children go through the ornaments, talking about who made them and when they were made.

1089. seeing my oldest daughter bake cookies with the younger two children.

1090. being able to make more memories with my children in a new place.

I would love for you to join in counting the many blessings that God gives. Stop by A Holy Experience and visit others who are also sharing their many blessings.

2012, multitude monday, , , ,