awe-struck.

"The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."
James 5:16b

Our prayers have been answered.

Our prayers to strengthen the Gray family have been answered in a tremendous, incredible, amazing way! Praise be to God!

Brian told Kristy tonight that Helen had not survived the crash. I got a few texts from my good friend Reagan recapping for me, and I was so encouraged and in awe of Kristy's reaction that I needed to share with you.

Kristy said that she felt like God was trying to comfort her because she felt like Helen was gone, but was waiting on Brian to tell her. Our God is good! Her first words to Brian after he told her were, "And you've been dealing with this all by yourself?"

Wow.

I have the greatest desire to go embrace my Sister in Christ, for her example, her strength, her courage. For facing something that no parent should ever have to face, with such an attitude. I am amazed. Kristy Gray is such a wonderful example!

I just had to share this with you all this night! Hopefully it will help you all end the day with a smile on your face and hope in your heart! Please continue praying! It is quite obvious to me that there is power in prayer!

Glory be to God!

Not Me! Monday

In an attempt to lighten the mood over here (but not at all trying to mollify the urgency of your prayers being needed for the Gray family), I have decided to participate in Not Me! Monday.



Saturday night, I did not go to bed at 10:30 (unheard of in this household, unless you're Benjamin) and lay there for about two hours unable to sleep because my neighbors across the street were certainly not outside shouting and hollering. They certainly weren't drunk, nor yelling about their sexual exploits...

Oh wait, this isn't Not My Neighbors! Monday...

Ahem...

Anyway, Hubby didn't go over and ask them to be a little quieter... and the next day, while I am certainly not more sleep deprived than usual, said neighbor didn't come and yell at Hubby, telling him he'd do as he pleased.

I didn't spend the afternoon bawling until I finally took a nap because I was so, so tired... And Benjamin certainly wouldn't laugh at his mommy while she was crying (which actually made me feel better - I mean, it would have, if he had been... ahem.).

I would never look up the county code of ordinances concerning noise regulation to take to the police, and Hubby certainly didn't go over there this morning, and come back with a cop to try and reason with the neighbors... and you know, they would never desire to file a harassment claim against us, because they certainly don't hate us...

All this would never stress me out, two days before going on a two week vacation... two days in which I definitely don't have to clean my house and pack two suitcases, not to mention everything else baby related.


Phew... what haven't you been doing? Or your neighbors? Or your husband? Or ... whoever...?

Prayers for Brian and Kristy Gray

I have made two buttons for you all to add to your blogs if you wish to. Please see them in the sidebar and feel free to add them both, or just one.





You can join the Facebook Group Here, and read the news story here.

Please continue to pray.

To see what I'm talking about, please see my previous post, thanks.

URGENT PRAYERS & My Thoughts on Suffering

UPDATE:

Brian has been released from the hospital, Kristy has a broken back. Please please please pray. He still has not told Kristy.

UPDATE:

Brian is okay, Kristy is being "worked on" - whatever that means. Please keep them in your prayers, still.

ORIGINAL POST:

I do not want to make this post. In fact, I feel physically ill just thinking about it. My stomach has been twisted in so many different knots, and I just do not want to tell you all this, but I have to, because friends of mine need your prayers desperately this night, and in the future I am sure for a while.

Today a family which I am friends with and have known for nearly 4 years got into a car accident. They have a 3 year old daughter - one of the most beautiful children I have ever seen - and she did not survive this crash. Brian and Kristy are in critical condition, and we don't even think they have been told yet that their only child did not make it.

I know that most of you do not know this family. In fact, I was not extremely close to them, but they are a part of God's family and that makes them my family too.

Please lift up their names in prayer tonight. Please pray that they come through okay, that the doctors attending to them care for them the best that they know how to. Please pray for Brian and Kristy - when they find out about Helen, I am sure their world will shatter. Pray for strength, pray for comfort. This family has touched so many lives with joy and encouragement. I am blessed to know them, and they need your prayers desperately. Please pray.

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This post I have been working on for well over a week now. I figured that tonight may be an appropriate time to finish it up, and to share with everyone.

You don't have to agree with my views here. I'm posting this in hopes that some people might be encouraged or helped. I don't want to seem like I am saying I know what a lot of you go through when you're losing family members who are very close to you, children or siblings or parents, what have you. I've lost family as well but I will not pretend that I know what it is like to lose a child especially. I do not know the heartache associated with that. I hope that I never will know, but at the same time, I am doing my best to sympathize as best I can.

Please don't take this the wrong way!! As I am a preacher's wife, I do think that I will encounter many instances where I may have to help console people during their time of loss. This is as much (or maybe even more) a study for me as it may be for you as well.

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I want to do a study on God. I feel a better understanding of God is something we need in order to have a good relationship with Him. On the topic of suffering, I think a lot of people have misunderstandings about our Father's nature. I know a lot of people out there say things like, "If there is a God, how come there is so much suffering in the world?" "If there is a God, why did my mother/father/grandparent/sibling/child have to die?" and other such things. There are people who have experienced loss who ask the question, "Why?" I have been there. I have asked that question.

I have heard many people say that the death of a loved one is just "God's will". They often quote Job 1:21 and say, "The Lord gives and the Lord takes away".

In my studies of God and His nature, I have come to the conclusion that this is not so. While Job has stated this, we have to remember his situation. He just lost nearly everything. We've all said things when we were upset, and this is this same sort of situation.

God does not take away.

He just doesn't work that way. The fact is that humanity is just that ... humanity. Human. People have choices, make choices, others may suffer. Things may happen naturally, and while all this is unfortunate, Christ did not come to this earth to save humanity from being human. The righteous and the innocent sometimes are subject to suffering, sometimes even death. God is not blameworthy for having created a world in which righteous, innocent, and wicked people experience suffering or pain.

God is not our enemy. Death is a sting from the enemy, "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" I Corinthians 15:22.

Suffering does not happen because of His meanness, His ignorance, or weakness, because God lacks no love, no knowledge, and no power.

So why does this happen? The very first book of the Bible tells us why death exists in this world. In Genesis 3, the serpent tempted Eve and she ate of the fruit and gave to her husband Adam. Because of this, sin entered the world, and thus death as a result.

Suffering happens because sin entered the world. It is not always a result of what someone has done (i.e. a child who is born addicted to cocaine because it's mother subjected the child to it in the womb, or a man dying in a car accident because a drunk driver hit him head on). Sometimes suffering just happens because it is the way of the world.

If God does not take away, then why is Job 1:21 in the bible? I believe with all of my heart that the Bible is the inspired word of God - that He inspired the writers and everything written down has been put there by God's inspiration. However, this does not mean that every word spoken by those in the Bible is inspired. There are lies recorded in the Bible. God did not make these people lie. As I mentioned before, think of Job's situation. It is not hard to understand how he must have felt this way.

When people say "It was just their time" - they do not know this. When people say "It was God's will" - they cannot know this.

I write this to try and help those who may be suffering, and also because I know that as a preacher's wife, this is a topic I will have to deal with. We are commanded in Galatians 6:2 to bear one another's burdens, and it is important that we understand God's involvement in our suffering before we try and comfort others.

One of my favorite verses in the Bible displays God's involvement with our suffering. "Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort, who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God." II Corinthians 1:3-4. God is the God of all comfort, not suffering. And what a comfort it is to know that God will always be here for us when we need His comfort.

Remember, He was in a similar situation once, too, as He watched His only begotten Son suffer and die on the cross, blameless and perfect, for the sins of the world.

Benjamin's First Thanksgiving

A total success! Although we were unable to spend it with blood family, we spent it with God's family! We had such a wonderful, meltdown-free, tummy-filling, thanks-giving, laughter-sharing, volleyball-playing (for some), friendship-strengthening Thanksgiving day!

We ate...




And ate ...




And acted really cute at the table, showcasing our new skill (raising and waving arms when we say 'Ta-Da!'), and laughing if anyone even chuckled as if he had just heard the best joke...




Those who could muster up the energy (aka: not me) played volleyball. Benjamin and I sat on the swing for a while and watched...



And we also watched the Gibbs' adorable puppy, who occasionally came to nibble on Benjamin's toes. I don't blame her. Benjamin is so very edible!




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When we got home, Benjamin conked out, and so did I. I expected him to sleep longer, but he woke up after about an hour wanting to eat... and then realized he was still sleepy, so he crawled on top of me and laid his head down, and after I had rubbed his back for a while, he slept again. While it is very hard to breathe and sleep with a twenty pound baby laying on top of you, I also slept, and I loved all two hours of it. It is very rare that Benjamin will even stay still to cuddle with us, much less nap with us anymore. It brought back so many memories of his first few months after birth. I am so Thankful for moments like those.

We woke up sweaty and sweet, and ready to eat leftovers.

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Looking back over this past year ... I have so many things to be thankful for. I am thankful for my husband, who is ever helpful, who goes out of his way to help me out around the house and with dinner and with Benjamin. My husband, who does what he can to make things easy for me, who listens when I need someone to listen to, who holds me when I need someone to hold me after a long day of holding a baby (or sometimes babies). Who is my rock, my biggest fan, my loving spouse... I love you, Carl! Thank you, and I thank God for you!

I am thankful for being blessed with a child, the sweetest boy I could ever ask for, who amazes me daily with his curiosity and love for knowledge (and cookies!). I am thankful for the moments he seeks me out for comfort, for snuggles. I am thankful for the numerous kisses he showers upon me, even the sloppy ones. I'm even thankful for the four AM wakeup calls so I can snuggle my baby and help him go back to sleep (even if I don't feel so thankful at the time). I'm thankful for the messy floors, the dirty laundry, the lost socks and pacifiers. I'm thankful for all the moments I'm able to catch with my camera, and the moments that are much too sweet to interrupt with a camera.

I am thankful for my mother and father, and my brother. I am thankful for the support they have given me, the love and care they have shown me. I am thankful for they love they have for Benjamin. They have always been there and I love them more than they could ever know! I love you! Thank you!

I am thankful for one of the best friends I could ever imagine, my future Sister-in-Law, Melanie. She has been closer than a friend, closer than a sister. I love her so much and can't wait until she is part of our family! Thank you, Melanie, I love you!

I am thankful for my Kindred Spirit, Autumn, and her wonderful family, who have always loved my family, and have always been wonderful family to me! Thank you!

I am thankful for our best friends out here in middle Georgia, Chris and Kayla and Mariah. They have made us grow to love this area with their friendship! Thank you!

I am thankful for the congregation here in Fort Valley, for our friends in Middle Georgia, for our Preachers Family friends, for God's family! To the Gibbs, the Paces, The Duncans, The Johnsons, the Ruckers, The Burnettes, the Adams, and so many more - to many to even think of individually - Thank you!

I am thankful for my blogging friends! You all have been so encouraging to me during this journey as a young mother! Thank you!

Most of all, I am thankful for God, for His Son, for the Holy Spirit, for the Word. I am thankful for my salvation, which I do not deserve. I am thankful for His Church, His comfort, His love, His protection, His blessings!

I am so thankful.

I am so blessed.

"Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.
Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations."
- Psalm 100

Thanksgiving Eve is...

A good excuse to bake (three loaves of) pumpkin bread!








Also a good excuse to try out an early Christmas present...







And a good excuse to give kisses to your mommy...




I love this holiday!

Wordless Wednesday: Whatcha Doin, Mom?

For more WW, visit 5 Minutes for Mom.

Truthful Tuesday, and Two Tidbits

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alt="Confessions from a Working Mom" />

This is my first time with Truthful Tuesday! The question is "How early is too early to decorate for Christmas?"

January.

No, I'm kidding. (Actually, I'm not. That is way too early. Or is that considered late?)

I thought rule of thumb was after Thanksgiving. I know that is always when we did the decorating in our house. In fact, as soon as all the turkey was stored away in tupperware, I would want to turn on Christmas music! I'm a huge sucker for the Christmas music, and I love decorating for Christmas. Too bad I'm married to



Ebenezer Scrooge. (I love you, Honey!)

Actually, he refers to himself as a Scrooge and recently he has said "Bah, Humbug!" a few times. Needless to say, if you drive down our street, you will not see lights or decorations of any sort in our front yard. The only thing I "Bah, Humbug!" about is the Christmas tree that my parents passed down to us, which is one of those where you have to put every individual branch on, risking stepping on the metal ends (Stephanie, you know what I'm talking about). The reason behind my hatred for that tree is simply this: I was always the first one to get enthusiastic about the Christmas tree and so they would always make me pull all the branches out of storage (the box wouldn't be pulled out), and carry them all downstairs. By myself.

Bah, Humbug!

That'll teach me to be enthusiastic and have so much Christmas spirit!

I don't know if we're going to do much decorating this year. We won't be here for Christmas because my brother is getting married on December 29th (by the way, check out his fiance's blog - I designed it!) and we are going to be up there during that timeframe.

I digress, back to the question.

So, how early is too early?

Before Thanksgiving. Let's have one holiday at a time, shall we? But that isn't to say I look down on all you super enthusiastic folks! Unless you are starting in January. That's just too much jolly for one girl to handle!
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Two more things:

1. You know that haircut I mentioned? Never happened. I am sad.

2. Please check out the button in my sidebar, and please pray for little Isabelle Joy, who is battling Leukemia at 2 years old!

Fleeting

It just is not fair how big my little baby Benjamin is. I took this picture today and realized that Benjamin is not itty bitty anymore. He is getting so big. He's only 10 months old - it is so not fair for a mommy to see her baby looking this big already!



See what I mean? So, moms out there, how do I make him stop growing so fast, eh? I know, I know ... impossible. Well. I thought it was worth at least a shot!

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As Benjamin has been getting older, he has inevitably been getting hurt a lot more, especially recently! This poor child has gotten hurt so often this past week. Just today he was standing (naked - somehow wiggled out of his diaper) next to his walk n' ride toy, and suddenly fell down. I always give him a moment to see if he is going to roll with the punches or not, and today he shrieked. So I knew something was wrong. I especially knew something was wrong when blood poured out of his mouth. Poor thing had chomped down on his tongue! Hubby was just leaving but I banged on the window for him to come back inside just to make sure Ben was okay. I gave him one of those waterbottle frozen inserts to lick on, and he enjoyed that!





He has so many teeth now, he's gotta train that tongue to keep out of the way (and those wobbly legs to stop all that wobbling!)! Oh, and that mark beside his eye is from where he randomly slammed his head onto my desk and cut the corner of his eye with the edge of the wood. Poor thing!

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I have been holding off for a while now on getting Benjamin's hair cut. He was born with so much, lost it all, and got his shock of blonde hair back in abundance! It's getting long now, and I'm finally giving in. So, as long as they don't ask for $15 to do a snip, snip here and a snip, snip there, tomorrow is the day! I hope I don't cry (I will, however, take pictures and keep a lock of hair).

This childhood thing is kind of fleeting, and I'm not really sure if I like it or not. I guess I'll get used to it, but I feel like Karen in her latest post, where she, mother of nine, said,

"Oh! How I wish I could just prop my eyelids open with toothpicks and focus on being more thankful for the little things in my life!"

I know how you feel, at least a smidgen.

Ben's childhood is already fleeting. I'm going to try not to blink!

It's Not Me! Monday!

Time for Not Me! Monday!

Okay ... I have totally NOT left all the food Benjamin has dropped over the past *ahem* week on the floor of the dining room with the excuse that my vacuum cleaner is toast... I mean, it's not like I can't drag the shiny handvac to come suck it up which would take like ... four seconds, tops! You know me - I am the epitome of clean!

And I am certainly not completely nuts and already starting to pack up stuff for our vacation the first weekend in December ... I mean it's not like I get that excited over getting out of the house for a week or so! I don't need one that bad, right?

Oh, I didn't just throw up in my mouth after a pretty raunchy dirty diaper... Shudder...

I certainly did not squeal with delight when Kelly sent me a friend request on Facebook. It's not like you can totally make my day with being my friend on Facebook or anything...

And lastly, I didn't just realize last night that I only was charged $.42 for a $10 bag from my AVON site, and I totally don't love that representative discount! Woohoo!

Thanks for stopping by!

Confessions

Okay, I confess.

I am not perfect.

I know, it is hard to believe. I know you all think (regardless of the sock issue) that I am a perfect mother. I know you're all wondering how such a young mother could be so absolutely perfect - and besides that, a perfect wife, daughter, friend, sister...

Maybe not. But I'm going to come out and say it: I am not perfect.

Guess what? No mother is. No mother is going to be. No mother ever has been. And you know what? Instead of stressing out over that fact, it comforts me. If I make a mistake, I am pretty sure I'm not the first one to ever make that mistake. Learn and move on, right?

Another confession is that I am a really laid back type of mother. I don't know if you read that one post about letting Ben crawl at the church building, but I am clearly not the kind of mommy who freaks out about icky germs. I also don't give into all sorts of hype about things like walkers being unsafe because I believe anything can be unsafe without the proper supervision. We don't own a walker, no. But Benjamin does sit in one during Bible class, and you would never be able to tell but he actually moves around in it (a lot - sometimes I wish I could pop those wheels off so he'd stay still) - and would you believe that he's not developing crooked legs or oddly shaped torso or ... whatever it is those folks are freaking out about?

I'm not saying every mother has to be like me! I really am not! This is just my parenting style. You know everyone loves to give advice and stuff? And sometimes it makes us feel bad about the way we do things? Well please don't take this like that at all. I am just saying what we're like over here in our pond (it has been RAINING ALL DAY!).

Anyway ... another thing:


From September

Benjamin eats hot dogs on occasion. He also eats animal crackers. He's had an M&M or two. He's had bits of a cookie. He drinks juice. He's also not overweight, won't take formula if it's the last thing on earth, super healthy (except that one time when he got sick a couple weeks ago - and then back in April), extremely happy, excessively active, heartbreakingly adorable... you know, all that good stuff. And I do get it - healthy habits start early. But I also believe a lot of our unhealthy habits stem from portion control and moderation. Ben will maybe eat a hot dog every other week, if even that. I'm pretty sure I had hot dogs when I was a toddler, and so far, so good.

I guess I'm just not an up-tight mommy. I let Benjamin cry it out when he was 3 months old. He screamed for 45 minutes one night and after that he has gone down really, really well ever since. I think a lot of us mommies stress out over stuff that is just so trivial. If we could all just take a breath, and maybe loosen up (not toooo much!), we can enjoy our time with our children a little better.

Oh yeah, and Benjamin watches Winnie the Pooh nearly every morning while he eats breakfast, and sometimes watches Blues Clues or Pokoyo. I don't have an X-Ray or anything but I'm pretty sure his brain is not turning to mush.

Again, though, this is just the way we do it around here. No offense meant to anyone who does it differently. Just something that is on my mind tonight!

Hope you all had a fantastic weekend! If you're like me - your feet are freezing but your heart is warm!

Mobile Uploads.

First and foremost, I want to give a HUGE thank you to everyone who commented on my post earlier this week and left me so much encouragement! I tried to get around and comment back, but we have been so busy this week that I haven't been able to remember to do so! So here it is: if you commented and I haven't (or even if I have) said thank you to you:



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Tonight was pretty busy. We went over to our friends' house and ate pizza while watching some of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (Have I told you guys about my freakish Johnny Depp obsession during my teenage years? ... well, we will save that for another time.). We had a lot of fun and it was good to visit with our friends - we only see Kayla for a few minutes when she drops Mariah off, and Chris well he stays a bit longer chit chatting when he picks her up.

Well, I really didn't know what I wanted to write about tonight, but I just have to please the masses, don't I, all ... 2 of you (just kidding)! I wanted to share with you guys some of the mobile uploads that I have taken. I've posted most on either my Facebook profile, or Twitter, but just in case you all don't follow me or aren't friends with me (why not!?! I'm not THAT scary!!), here are some of the more recent highlights:

First Off, one from tonight while I was getting ready to go:

Can anyone guess who the last person to use that bathroom is?

Another one from today:

There are the three babes who keep me on my toes a few days a week, except for Benny, who keeps me hopping constantly! Aren't they cute?!

My mom says they could be twins...

What do you think? Similarities?

Reading with Daddy

I love moments like these ...


At Quiznos...

Who said he could be a big boy already?! Because I sure did not!

Give it up, Ben...

You know you wanna!

Eating cookies...

On the floor ... is that "acceptable"?! Hehehe...

Lumberjack is a good look for Ben...

Don't you think?

One last drop!

Daddy won't miss it ...

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And that is about as far back as I think I'll go! Maybe after I rack up a few more I'll do another similar post. But ya know, if you'd just befriend me elsewhere, I wouldn't have to do this! Ha!

Hope y'all have a blessed weekend! I am working on another Spiritual post for y'all, hopefully we will have it up within the next week!

Benjamin, You Are 10 Months Old!

I just can't fathom this milemarker. I mean, in 2 months, you are going to be One Year Old! Really?! Why can't you just be a little bitty baby a little while longer? You have grown so much in this past month - I can scarcely believe it! I wish I had a camera on you at all moments (sometimes it feels like I do) so I could capture every single giggle, smile, even the tears. I must say this a lot, but this has gone by too fast!




You have eight teeth all together now! Wow! You are really great about taking bites of your crackers and chewing your food, but sometimes (like tonight at dinner) you just take a little bit too much and daddy has to get it out of your mouth. You pretty much eat everything that we eat, as long as it doesn't have eggs or purple grapes in it! You love your nightly yogurt and your Winnie the Pooh Animal Crackers that your Nana brings you in big tubs! You are still breastfed but I am afraid you're going to need something more soon - at your rate! But you really don't like the bottle!!




We continue to be interrupted everywhere we go by strangers who just can't help but to comment on your adorableness. We still get "Boy or Girl?" sometimes, but it is happening less and less - thankfully! You always act like you are shy when someone comes to talk to you, but we all know that you are a big fat ham!



You've been standing on your own, little by little, but you're not walking yet (thank goodness!). You will walk if we hold your hands, but that's it! I think you're ready to get up and go any day now, though, which is a really scary thought for mama! You dance all the time now, when you hear music. It is the cutest thing! I love it! You will hold onto the table and just bob away, or your sit down and rock out! You also are learning about the word 'No' and have just about got it down that you're not supposed to climb the stairs. You are such a good little boy (most of the time!). You still love Bathtime, as long as you have all your toys and shampoo bottles!



You love to play peek-a-boo, still, and have even started holding stuff in front of your face and bringing it down really fast to play with us! You have learned how to clap really well and if I start singing "If You're Happy and You Know it", you know where to put the claps in! You are such a smart boy! You've started tucking your bottom lip in all of the time, and while it is super cute, I really don't know where you get it from!



Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you and love you more than you can ever know! We are so excited when you learn new things (we just wish you'd learn them slower so we can enjoy you being a baby longer!). We can't wait to see what's in store for this next month! Lots of laughs, lots of cuddles, lots of kisses, and hopefully NO WALKING, ya hear me?