pack rat

If you walk into my daughter's room you will find in the corner a bunch of ecclectic things: Headless dolls, random clips, lip gloss and lost toys of all sorts. She has taken my body pillow that has lost most of its fluff and has managed to create a sort of covering over these items.

She is a classic pack rat. If I need to find a missing toy I go to her make shift tent. It drives me crazy so I don't look at it often, but it is her own. I need to respect the things she makes her own. To encourage her individual expression in life.

When I do take the time to glance at her "tent" I smile, for I know she will not always have this little corner of goods, and one day her mess won't be there anymore. What will my little "pack rat" become I do not know. But I pray she always remembers that I let her be a little girl with eccentric qualities and a curiosity for life that I need to steer and encourage.

What are your pillars?

One of the benefits of living in England is that we have the opportunity to fly for a fair price around the EU. Joey's grandma is visiting relatives in Italy for the month of Aug. and Joey thought it would be special to take Maddie and go visit. It was a very special trip for it allowed one on one time with grandma and established connections with distant relations in Italy as well.

During the trip, Joey and Grandma Connie took the train into Rome where they spent the day admiring the city and its sights.
Now if any of you know my Joey well you would know that he is obsessed with pillars. I know it seems strange when you first hear it, but there is something very significant and cool about his fascination with them.

I have been reading through the books of Ezra and Nehemiah in the last week or so and am so blessed by the lives of these men. They both had a burden to lead the people of Israel back to a place of worship to the Lord. They both were motivated to rebuild the temple and the walls around the city of Jerusalem. Up until this point the children of Israel had been in captivity in Babylon and some had compromised in their faith. There was worship of other gods and marrying pagan women. There needed to be a purification.

So Nehemiah commanded the people to put away the foreign women and purify themselves before the Lord their God and prepare their hearts to worship Him. So they obeyed.

In Ezra you see King Darius' approval of the rebuilding and gave favor to the Jews. He gave permission to take from the kings treasury anything they needed to pay for the provisions of the temple. Now as the Jews obeyed God and the men in charge there was great favor. They had opposition, but God was so delighted in what they were doing that He took care of the opposition.

These men of faith, Ezra and Nehemiah, based there strength on the Lord. He was their pillar. The support to their existence. They understood the need to be focused on God and the need to worship Him. They understood that the temple represented this purpose as it was to be built in the center of the city and as they looked upon the temple it gave the people the right mindset of what they were to do on a daily basis; to worship God and to pray always to Him.

The only way they were able to accomplish the task of rebuilding was to determine that they would not be moved, work together as one, and seek God's favor and direction. I really believe this is essential to any kind of ministry and personal walk with God.

Our pillars in this life are Christ first, His word, prayer and then the people that make up the body of Christ. As we utilize our pillars our building will remain solid. The main structure may ruin at times, but it can always be rebuilt around the pillars.

So my question to you today is "who or what are you building your life around?" Is it Christ and Him crucified? If not I pray that you find yourself at the place where you are looking upon the temple, knowing that you need to get back to a place of worship with Him. He is your solid support and foundation in this life. He desires complete surrender and worship from His children.

What a wonderful thing to be allowed to worship the Creator of the universe. Be blessed today. Take time to pray today and encourage someone.

Utmost for His Highest, Aug. 28th

"prayer is the way the life of God is nourished"

"It is not so true that prayer changes things as that prayer changes me and I change things."

Rain drops and mud puddles

Today was the beginning of a 3 day journey with just my boys and me.
I have been looking forward to having this time alone with Josiah in particular since he is the second child so being alone with him rarely happens.
He is creative, quirky, bright and overly sensitive.
He has been putting difficult puzzles together since the age of 2 3/4.
He has taught himself his letter sounds, how to write the letters and how to sound out words with the help of leapster. He understands addition and subtraction and cares about the precision of his car line up.

When he gets dressed in the morning, he makes sure his shirt has some kind of blue in it and he prefers shorts over pants (which must be blue as well). He will not allow his hair to be touched and hates to have wet clothes on unless its a bathing suit.

He enjoys staying home, which I do as well.
His favorite hobbies are train track building and trains. Specifically Thomas the Tank Engine.
He walks around humming the tune or making up words to the tune of Thomas and Friends.
He loves to sing worship music and dances when there is some cool beat on.
He is joyful, funny, bouncy and he loves food!
He is a Tigger for sure.
This is my Josiah.

I fell in love with him the minute he came out. The bond between a mother and a son is indescribable. He was a typical gassy baby which extended well into his first year of life and left me sleep deprived most of the time, but he stole my heart. He was so joyful and made me feel like I was the most important person in the world when he would look at me.
I remember the day he started playing with my hair. He never pulled it he would just run his fingers through it. Oh my heart would melt.

Don't get me wrong, I love my girl. But I suppose what Joey experienced with Maddie is what I experienced with Jo Jo. I had a mom say to me once that she could see the love streaming through my eyes as I looked upon Josiah. It sounds a bit cheesy, but that's how I felt when I would look at him.
My little man.
Well he is on the brink of turning 4 and he no longer holds still long enough for me to look into his eyes or play with my hair. I usually chase him and ask for a hug or a kiss.
He is a typical boy full of energy and curiosity. I love it. He is predictable and crazy. Total boy.

Which brings me to today...
My friend rang me up and asked me if I wanted to go to the local park today. Well, on any other day I wouldn't of hesitated, but today was a rainy, wet, soggy day. I like to hibernate on days like this. But wanting to be adventureous, I packed up and prepared for the soggy adventure.

She has two kids of her own so as we got out, they all made a mad dash for the first huge puddle.
Josiah was a bit more hesitant, but finally caught on. He thought it was great to break free and splash. Its a bit like being allowed to jump on the bed for the first time. You're told no for so long that when you finally get the chance you can't let go and just do it.
It was great to watch.
I enjoyed watching him play and interact without his sister dictating how he was gonna be.
Kids are so different when they are away from their sibling. They compete for eachother's attention and for their friend's as well.
We played hide and go seek in the woods and fed the swans for a bit. They climbed muddy hills and pretended to be king of the mountain.

After a while the kids were soaked and muddy, but happy.
We left feeling like we'd accomplished something. There was nothing to hold us back
from getting messy and from just being free. It is a memory I will forever cherish.

We went home and we had a cuddle on the couch just him and me, and you know what? He played with my hair. (Sigh)

Thank you God for little boys.

tea party

I am listening to the rain pound on my windows as I write this and smile. My Maddie has been going through a very difficult time adjusting to the lack of friends out here in the UK and has been a mess emotionally. She has been difficult and disagreeable most of the time for about a month now, so today I decided to beat the attitude with kindness instead of frustration.

I told her to bring her dolls down and place them at the table. We then proceeded to make scones together and place them in the oven. She went off to play while I brought out her ceramic tea set and set them on the table at each place, including one for Josiah.
I mixed hot chocolate and milk together and place the pot of "tea" on the table.
When the timer went off we all sat at the table with our scones and cups of "tea" and just giggled.

They thought it was great as Maddie popped in and out of her newly discovered English accent and Josiah kept remarking how, "this was the best tea party ever."

I have won her heart for a brief moment in time, but it has retaught me a valuable lesson...we only have a short time in this life to play with our kids and be silly with them. The moment will be gone soon enough and she will be embarrassed to be with me and play time will be forever over.

So I suppose I am thankful for moments of attitude that help adjust my view on parenting and give me the right perspective again...beat that attitude with kindness and love.

The stillness

Have you ever had the privilege of holding a newborn when they are calm and content? It is magical. They seem to be floating as their limbs slowly move around. Their sweet noises are not as frequent at this stage so their quiet is so peaceful. I often wonder what they are thinking about in this magical moment as they observe their surroundings. It causes you to take a moment and inhale deeply and then release it ever so slowly, allowing the frustrations of the day to take a back seat for the time being. If you have ever experienced this moment then you know what I'm talking about.

The stillness only lasts for the first 3 months, maybe part of the 4th. But it is wonderful.
I stare at my little Jordan who is just about to turn 3 months and I cherish these quiet moments. They bring me to a place of rest and peace in my heart and mind, allowing me to focus on my life and my King.

He is always wanting us to be at a place of rest with our lives and the plans that He has set in motion for us. I am blessed to know the plans He has for me and that there is no want in my life.

I home school my girl of 6 and watch her eyes light up when she begins to understand something for the first time.
I assemble a train track with my boy of 4 and see the amazing details that he puts into making it turn out perfect.
And right now I steal moments with my boy of 3 months where I place my nose to his warm soft cheek and whisper how much I love him and hear him sigh with contentment.

This is the plan for me right now beyond the redemption plan. As I pour into these little ones who are being raised as little soldiers for Christ, I find myself at a place of rest again, that still moment where all is right with my world.

Every moment is special and brings rest to my soul. My God is so pleased when we are in this place of rest. It is the hardest place for a person to be, that is why you will find so many verses in the Word that speak about resting, casting your cares on Him and being anxious for nothing.
He took all of our worries to the cross and said "it is finished" and yet resting is still the hardest thing for us to do even with our new nature in Christ.

The constant daily battle of surrender is always before us. The "Let go and Let God" mentality that we are told to have most of our Christian lives, but spend the majority of it ignoring this nice saying, is so difficult to master. We have the choice now by the power of the Holy Spirit to cast our cares upon Him and never take them back. Isn't that a wonderful thing?

That's the magical moment that I enjoy with my King. When I am at complete rest and peace with Him and He is whispering "Tiff, I love you. There is no need to worry. I did it all for you."
WOW!
Beautiful isn't it?

So today take advantage of that complete rest in Him. The moment when all is still and the world fades. He desires to have constant communion with us in this fashion.

Enter into His rest and be still.
"Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
Matt. 11:28
"Be still, and know that I am God..."
Ps. 46:10

Being sent out

My family and I left the States six months ago and moved to Cambridge, England

where we knew no one in order to share the love of Jesus with the people here. There seems to be a loss of understanding and fear of God among the English that we have seen and desire to reintroduce them to the One who created us all.

There was such a strong heritage rooted here in Christianity. Missionaries from the UK used to venture to the States in order to win souls for Christ and now it has reversed. Not that America isn't far behind, but there is a great need here.

We have experienced great moments of joy and revelation as well as dispairing moments of lonliness and sorrow.

I am reminded of the time when King David had numbered the people against God's will so the Lord commanded him to build an altar at the threshing floor that belonged to Araunah. Araunah wanted to give the land to David fo free but David replied, "No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God with that which costs me nothing."

That is exactly how I feel at this moment in my life.

Life is so valuable and my time is so precious that I don't want to waste it. I also know that what I have given up was costly to me, but it needed to be in order for the call to be worth it. It is so beautiful to Him. He desires to see us give up that which costs us something in order to see what is in our hearts. And why not? He gave us everything when He stooped down and became a human and died for us that we might spend eternity with Him.

I know that this season in my life has changed me forever for the better.

My heart has enlarged towards people. I have more compassion for others, I have a deeper intamacy with the Father, I know my husband in a deeper way and I appreciate those who have left all for the sake of the gospel more than I did before.

However, the tears still come especially when I'm over tired from being up with a new born and from dealing with my 6 and 4 year old during the day. Besides the Lord and my husband, they give me purpose and fulfillment. They are my ministry and I'm greatful to have them. Life is not easy, but I pray alot more fevently and I rely on Him so much more.

I know it will pass quickly and I will look back and be blessed that I went through this time. I pray I come out refined and ready for the next adventure. It is wonderful to be counted worthy even when I don't feel like I am. He does remind me through His word and other people that we are in His will and to be patient. Which brings me to my next thought...

I am so thankful that He sends people our way just when we need it.

Joey's parents were here when Jordan was born and then a bit later my parents arrived. God ordainded the visits for sure. There was wonderful fellowship and we got to know eachother on a whole new level. Now we are enjoying two young adults who are taking turns visiting us. We have Monica here now and Stephanie is coming in 2 weeks time.

We are greatful that God loves us so much. He is good.

So that is a bit of my life. I love the Lord and I love serving Him no matter where I am living.
My Uttmost for His Highest, Aug. 11 speaks volumes of where my heart is today. If you have a copy pick it up and take a look. Then examine your heart and ask the Lord to speak to you. This is where I am so pray for me.

Blessings to you all.

Tiffany