Hello?
Is this Aubrey?
It is.
This is Dr L... Your pathology report is in and your results are NEGATIVE!
They are benign?!?
Yes, you are good!
YIPEE!
Thank you, Jesus!
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
My Health
It has been a LONG time since I have posted on the blog. Life has been on "GO" for our family for several weeks!
To update what is going on tomorrow... I am having surgery on my thyroid as I discovered a small 8mm nodule about 9 months ago. I have had a couple ultrasounds and it has not had any significant growth during that time. I had a biopsy about 6 weeks ago and the results came back "undetermined". GEEZ! It is still undetermined whether it is cancer or not.... so the endocrinologist said "take it out". So, that is the plan for the morning at 7:40. This is not exactly what I would like to do, but for my health, it needs to be done. I would really like to not have to pop a pill for the rest of my life, so the surgeon said he may only remove the right lobe of the thyroid. We shall see.
My health is just satan's way of attacking me. He knows that I am very weak there, so he bombards me with his arrows to bring me down. On Monday, I had a weak moment and I asked God to just let me know that I am his. And guess what?!? He did. He came straight to me walking across Shoney's empty parking lot. He has told me TRUTH all week and I love you by way of friends and family. He is using His children to bring me peace, hope and comfort.
My precious sister just read me this earlier tonight:
To update what is going on tomorrow... I am having surgery on my thyroid as I discovered a small 8mm nodule about 9 months ago. I have had a couple ultrasounds and it has not had any significant growth during that time. I had a biopsy about 6 weeks ago and the results came back "undetermined". GEEZ! It is still undetermined whether it is cancer or not.... so the endocrinologist said "take it out". So, that is the plan for the morning at 7:40. This is not exactly what I would like to do, but for my health, it needs to be done. I would really like to not have to pop a pill for the rest of my life, so the surgeon said he may only remove the right lobe of the thyroid. We shall see.
My health is just satan's way of attacking me. He knows that I am very weak there, so he bombards me with his arrows to bring me down. On Monday, I had a weak moment and I asked God to just let me know that I am his. And guess what?!? He did. He came straight to me walking across Shoney's empty parking lot. He has told me TRUTH all week and I love you by way of friends and family. He is using His children to bring me peace, hope and comfort.
My precious sister just read me this earlier tonight:
To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:7~9
Lord, I need you! Oh, I need you! Every hour I need you. My one Defense, my Righteousness, oh God how I need you!
You crush the enemy underneath my feet. You are my sword and shield, though troubles linger still... Whom shall I fear? I know who goes before me, I know who stands behind... The God of angel armies is always on my side!
AMEN!
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
~ something to ponder ~
I found this on another blog and wanted to share... post your comments please!
Modern-day Christian parents can’t figure out why their children are turning away from God in droves and rejecting the faith they were raised with, and it’s not uncommon to hear older couples in churches speak with regret about their children “who aren’t following the Lord.” Bewilderment and confusion surrounds their thinking as they try to grasp how their children could have walked away when they had tried so hard to “raise them right.”
It’s undeniable at this point that Christianity is losing its youth. Although many fall away from faith during high school, the college-aged population is where Christianity is being hit the hardest.
When Christian couples set out to raise a family today, they are well aware of these statistics, but they begin their journey with the best of intentions of raising their one to two children up as godly Christians, hopeful that their children will be an exception. They may even consciously intend on making choices that they believe will help their children remain faithful and moral–taking them to church, restricting what movies they can see, and heavily monitoring and overseeing their interaction with other “worldly” children. Every Sunday morning, they faithfully bring their child to Sunday school, and every Wednesday night, their child is in attendance at Awanas or the other church children’s program. For years, they are involved in every possible church activity, but as the child grows older, the parents wonder why their child isn’t making the faith his own or doing things of his own initiative. By the end of high school or college, the parent is tired of the battles. They don’t want to fight and drag their children to the youth group; they are tired of arguing about modest clothing choices, CDs, movies, boyfriends, and everything else. They look around at the other children in the church and shrug their shoulders. It’s just hard to raise kids in this culture, and they did their best. Apparently, they were just given a child that would not be a Christian. They are saddened and downcast, thinking that they were helpless victims and couldn’t have done anything better.
So said the older mother across from me, a year ago, as we sat in the church nursery rocking babies. She told me her story: how her son had walked away from the Lord, was living with his girlfriend, and was about to have a baby. She talked about how she had always brought him to church and youth group, but she ended with a shrug of her shoulders, saying, “But we tried to raise him right, he just wouldn’t listen. I don’t know what else we could have done.”
I continued to rock the baby asleep in my arms, as she went on, “But your parents, they’re so lucky to have children like you two. Such good examples, ministering and going to a Bible college. Your parents must be so happy!”
I smiled and replied something along the lines of, “Yes, my parents did an excellent job of raising us. The tireless effort my mom put into homeschooling us has really shaped us into who we are today.”
The mother’s tone changed slightly and she replied, “I don’t know how she did it! I would have killed my two kids, I tell you that! Your mother was so lucky to have such good, patient, and quiet kids.”
She continued, “You don’t intend on doing that with your children, do you?”
“Absolutely.” I replied. “It is one of the things I look forward to the most!”
At this, shock and slight repulsion started to show on her face, and she went on to try to convince me why I should work and put my children into public school. Although I tried to present my reasoning, she was incapable of understanding where I was coming from, and she ended our conversation by saying, “Well, you’re young. You might change your mind once you have kids and have to put up with it every day!”
When I walked away from the nursery that day, my mind was just completely boggled by this interaction. Though this woman had admired the results of the training we had received at home from our parents, she failed to see the role that it played in shaping children into mature and God-loving individuals. You see, she may have thought my parents were “lucky,” as in “You must have hit the lottery jackpot and gotten two great kids!” but the truth of the matter was that my parents had put in tireless effort into shaping us into who we were. They were not “lucky,” they were obedient to God’s call to train up your child in the way they should go.
My parents did not simply take us to church and hope that Sunday school and sermons would bring us to the Father. They read us the Word, had nightly devotions, prayed and conversed with us about all of life from a Biblical viewpoint. They also led by example, and showed us what it meant to minister, love, forgive, and put God before all else.
Christian parents who trust in church ministry programs will be disappointed. There is only so much that a church can do for a child, and in the end, it was never the church who had responsibility for the child in the first place. God’s Word calls parents to train up their children, and God gives the responsibility for shaping the child’s worldview squarely into a parent’s hands.
“These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” ~Deuteronomy 6:6-9
Notice that this verse speaks of the home having an atmosphere of godly instruction. It is all good and well to have Scripture training at church, but if the home is not the foundation of the child’s Scripture learning, results are doubtful, and the parent is not fulfilling his God-given responsibility.
In a culture where getting a “Christian” child out of the child-rearing experience appears to be “hit or miss,” it is understandable why people react even more harshly to me when I say anything about wanting a big family. To them, this is merely my way of trying to be more spiritual or a “supermom,” while increasing the chance that I will bring up children who walk away from the Lord.
But, let me tell you, I am not setting my mind on this because I think there is anything about having babies that is holy or righteous in and of itself, or because I hope to one day be viewed as “supermom.” Having children for the wrong reasons can be done with any family size in mind. Even Christian parents who have two kids because it’s “the next life step” can be wrongly going about the idea of child-rearing.
Any parent who brings a child into this world ought to do so with fear and trembling and prayer and supplication before the Lord, because a new soul–one that will live eternally–has irrevocably been created, and that soul will end up one of two places. If Christian parents truly believe what they claim to about eternity and Heaven and Hell, than I urge them to think more carefully about what choices they will make in raising their children.
It may not mean homeschooling–though I think public schooling your child will only increase those exhausting battles, and is comparable to swimming upstream–but it most certainly will mean providing a foundation of truth and Gospel learning at home, and not merely Sunday school or church camps.
May God help us to bring up godly children who will glorify Him with their lives, whether we are parents now or will be in the future!
This article orignally appeared on Tiffany’s blog, True Femininity ladiesagainstfeminism.com
Modern-day Christian parents can’t figure out why their children are turning away from God in droves and rejecting the faith they were raised with, and it’s not uncommon to hear older couples in churches speak with regret about their children “who aren’t following the Lord.” Bewilderment and confusion surrounds their thinking as they try to grasp how their children could have walked away when they had tried so hard to “raise them right.”
It’s undeniable at this point that Christianity is losing its youth. Although many fall away from faith during high school, the college-aged population is where Christianity is being hit the hardest.
When Christian couples set out to raise a family today, they are well aware of these statistics, but they begin their journey with the best of intentions of raising their one to two children up as godly Christians, hopeful that their children will be an exception. They may even consciously intend on making choices that they believe will help their children remain faithful and moral–taking them to church, restricting what movies they can see, and heavily monitoring and overseeing their interaction with other “worldly” children. Every Sunday morning, they faithfully bring their child to Sunday school, and every Wednesday night, their child is in attendance at Awanas or the other church children’s program. For years, they are involved in every possible church activity, but as the child grows older, the parents wonder why their child isn’t making the faith his own or doing things of his own initiative. By the end of high school or college, the parent is tired of the battles. They don’t want to fight and drag their children to the youth group; they are tired of arguing about modest clothing choices, CDs, movies, boyfriends, and everything else. They look around at the other children in the church and shrug their shoulders. It’s just hard to raise kids in this culture, and they did their best. Apparently, they were just given a child that would not be a Christian. They are saddened and downcast, thinking that they were helpless victims and couldn’t have done anything better.
So said the older mother across from me, a year ago, as we sat in the church nursery rocking babies. She told me her story: how her son had walked away from the Lord, was living with his girlfriend, and was about to have a baby. She talked about how she had always brought him to church and youth group, but she ended with a shrug of her shoulders, saying, “But we tried to raise him right, he just wouldn’t listen. I don’t know what else we could have done.”
I continued to rock the baby asleep in my arms, as she went on, “But your parents, they’re so lucky to have children like you two. Such good examples, ministering and going to a Bible college. Your parents must be so happy!”
I smiled and replied something along the lines of, “Yes, my parents did an excellent job of raising us. The tireless effort my mom put into homeschooling us has really shaped us into who we are today.”
The mother’s tone changed slightly and she replied, “I don’t know how she did it! I would have killed my two kids, I tell you that! Your mother was so lucky to have such good, patient, and quiet kids.”
She continued, “You don’t intend on doing that with your children, do you?”
“Absolutely.” I replied. “It is one of the things I look forward to the most!”
At this, shock and slight repulsion started to show on her face, and she went on to try to convince me why I should work and put my children into public school. Although I tried to present my reasoning, she was incapable of understanding where I was coming from, and she ended our conversation by saying, “Well, you’re young. You might change your mind once you have kids and have to put up with it every day!”
When I walked away from the nursery that day, my mind was just completely boggled by this interaction. Though this woman had admired the results of the training we had received at home from our parents, she failed to see the role that it played in shaping children into mature and God-loving individuals. You see, she may have thought my parents were “lucky,” as in “You must have hit the lottery jackpot and gotten two great kids!” but the truth of the matter was that my parents had put in tireless effort into shaping us into who we were. They were not “lucky,” they were obedient to God’s call to train up your child in the way they should go.
My parents did not simply take us to church and hope that Sunday school and sermons would bring us to the Father. They read us the Word, had nightly devotions, prayed and conversed with us about all of life from a Biblical viewpoint. They also led by example, and showed us what it meant to minister, love, forgive, and put God before all else.
Christian parents who trust in church ministry programs will be disappointed. There is only so much that a church can do for a child, and in the end, it was never the church who had responsibility for the child in the first place. God’s Word calls parents to train up their children, and God gives the responsibility for shaping the child’s worldview squarely into a parent’s hands.
“These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” ~Deuteronomy 6:6-9
Notice that this verse speaks of the home having an atmosphere of godly instruction. It is all good and well to have Scripture training at church, but if the home is not the foundation of the child’s Scripture learning, results are doubtful, and the parent is not fulfilling his God-given responsibility.
In a culture where getting a “Christian” child out of the child-rearing experience appears to be “hit or miss,” it is understandable why people react even more harshly to me when I say anything about wanting a big family. To them, this is merely my way of trying to be more spiritual or a “supermom,” while increasing the chance that I will bring up children who walk away from the Lord.
But, let me tell you, I am not setting my mind on this because I think there is anything about having babies that is holy or righteous in and of itself, or because I hope to one day be viewed as “supermom.” Having children for the wrong reasons can be done with any family size in mind. Even Christian parents who have two kids because it’s “the next life step” can be wrongly going about the idea of child-rearing.
Any parent who brings a child into this world ought to do so with fear and trembling and prayer and supplication before the Lord, because a new soul–one that will live eternally–has irrevocably been created, and that soul will end up one of two places. If Christian parents truly believe what they claim to about eternity and Heaven and Hell, than I urge them to think more carefully about what choices they will make in raising their children.
It may not mean homeschooling–though I think public schooling your child will only increase those exhausting battles, and is comparable to swimming upstream–but it most certainly will mean providing a foundation of truth and Gospel learning at home, and not merely Sunday school or church camps.
May God help us to bring up godly children who will glorify Him with their lives, whether we are parents now or will be in the future!
This article orignally appeared on Tiffany’s blog, True Femininity ladiesagainstfeminism.com
Sunday, April 28, 2013
~Welcome~
It is amazing how powerful one word is : welcome.
By definition it means:
1. to greet hospitably and with courtesy or cordiality
2. a kindly greeting or reception, as to one whose arrival gives pleasure: to give someone a warm welcome.
3. to greet the arrival of (a person, guests, etc.) with pleasure or kindly courtesy.
By definition it means:
1. to greet hospitably and with courtesy or cordiality
2. a kindly greeting or reception, as to one whose arrival gives pleasure: to give someone a warm welcome.
3. to greet the arrival of (a person, guests, etc.) with pleasure or kindly courtesy.
Have you ever felt unwelcome? The feelings that come along with that are heartbreaking, I believe. If for any reason I have ever made any of you feel unwelcome, I sincerely apologize. I actually truly enjoy having people visit. I wish our home was big enough to hold the multitudes! Most of all, Lord God, You are welcome in this place.
Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.
1 Peter 4:9
Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
Romans 12:13
Monday, April 15, 2013
Love my Engineer
You never know what the kids will come up with...
After school work was finished today, Engineer headed outside to enjoy the beautiful weather. I was washing dishes and looked up to see him carrying post hole diggers across the yard. Hmmm.... what was he up to? Big Daddy said he took his golf clubs outside and that he was probably making a hole for his golf ball. He was right.
Next thing I knew, Engineer was asking for tape as he was holding a "flag" he made out of a stick and construction paper... hehe, smart boy!
After school work was finished today, Engineer headed outside to enjoy the beautiful weather. I was washing dishes and looked up to see him carrying post hole diggers across the yard. Hmmm.... what was he up to? Big Daddy said he took his golf clubs outside and that he was probably making a hole for his golf ball. He was right.
Next thing I knew, Engineer was asking for tape as he was holding a "flag" he made out of a stick and construction paper... hehe, smart boy!
And then the whacking began...
Hole in one! Whoopie!
God gave him a creative brain, that's for sure. And a HUGE praise... he has started reading CHAPTERS out of his Pathway Reader! Can you say ecstatic?!?!? Thank you, Jesus!
The Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Psalm 100:5
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Lesson Learned
You never know when a life lesson is upon you~
We have had a relaxing weekend with the girls as the boys are away fishing for the weekend. We ran to Target yesterday to pick up a tube for Sweet~n~Sassy's bike and proceeded to mosey through the toy aisles with Mother Hen and Sweet~n~Sassy. Of course, the "I wants" took over the rest of our browsing the toys. We came to the Our Generation dolls, you know, the dolls that replicate the American Girl dolls at a fraction of the cost. Because they receive the American Girl catalog in the mail, they had a heart attack when they saw the dolls at Target! So, knowing they had Christmas money saved for a rainy day.......... they decided that this was the day to spend their money on their own doll! Unfortunately, they left their money at home, so momma and daddy picked up the tab until we got home............
Mother Hen was quick to pay back her debt with no questions asked except "how much do I owe you?"
Next was Sweet~n~Sassy...........
As we began counting her money, she exclaimed, "I have a lot of money!" We agreed. We continued counting and laying out each dollar so she could visibly see $32.76.
And then, she realized that money was not hers anymore. But that she had to hand it over to momma and daddy to pay her debt.
We have had a relaxing weekend with the girls as the boys are away fishing for the weekend. We ran to Target yesterday to pick up a tube for Sweet~n~Sassy's bike and proceeded to mosey through the toy aisles with Mother Hen and Sweet~n~Sassy. Of course, the "I wants" took over the rest of our browsing the toys. We came to the Our Generation dolls, you know, the dolls that replicate the American Girl dolls at a fraction of the cost. Because they receive the American Girl catalog in the mail, they had a heart attack when they saw the dolls at Target! So, knowing they had Christmas money saved for a rainy day.......... they decided that this was the day to spend their money on their own doll! Unfortunately, they left their money at home, so momma and daddy picked up the tab until we got home............
Introducing Mother Hen (with Katlyn) and Sweet~n~Sassy (with Emily)
Mother Hen was quick to pay back her debt with no questions asked except "how much do I owe you?"
Next was Sweet~n~Sassy...........
As we began counting her money, she exclaimed, "I have a lot of money!" We agreed. We continued counting and laying out each dollar so she could visibly see $32.76.
And then, she realized that money was not hers anymore. But that she had to hand it over to momma and daddy to pay her debt.
OH MY GOSH!
You can see in the following pictures that Sweet~n~Sassy learned the value of a dollar today.
Poor girl~ Ahhhh, and so goes a life lesson.........
Proverbs 22:7The rich
rules over the poor, and the borrower becomes the lender’s slave.
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Thank you, Charlotte
As our school year starts to wind down, my brain is already skipping ahead to starting again in the fall. Actually, we aren't going to take a summer break. We will continue are lessons with a day off here and there. I think it's what works best for us. We will continue using My Father's World curriculum next year and Engineer and Mother Hen will be added to the cycle that Camo Boy is already using. This year, he is studying exploration to 1850. Next year, they will be studying 1850 to the present. We are super excited about studying the Civil War and WWII as we have some history lovers in the house!
I have to admit, my heart aches because my precious Engineer isn't reading fluently yet. One day, I am secure in knowing that he will "get it" or it will "click" and then, the next day, I feel like a failure and that I am not doing my job as his teacher. And yet, I know in my heart that it will happen in God's timing and that we must be patient. I am currently reading Charlotte Mason's The Original Home Schooling Series and read this tonight.......
....... ahhhh! Thank you, Charlotte! Just to let you know, this momma will be a weepy mess when that glorious day comes and he is READING!
In the morning, oh Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation. Psalm 5:3
I have to admit, my heart aches because my precious Engineer isn't reading fluently yet. One day, I am secure in knowing that he will "get it" or it will "click" and then, the next day, I feel like a failure and that I am not doing my job as his teacher. And yet, I know in my heart that it will happen in God's timing and that we must be patient. I am currently reading Charlotte Mason's The Original Home Schooling Series and read this tonight.......
"Learning to read is hard work.- Probably that vague whole which we call 'Education' offers no more difficult and repellent task than that to which every little child is (or ought to be) set down- the task of learning to read. We realise the labour of it when some grown man makes a heroic effort to remedy shameful ignorance, but we forget how contrary to Nature it is for a little child to occupy himself with dreary hieroglyphics- all so dreadfully alike!- when the world is teeming with interesting objects which he is agog to know. But we can not excuse our volatile little Tommy, nor is it good for him that we should. It is quite necessary he should know how to read; and not only so- the discipline of the task altogether is wholesome for the little man. At the same time, let us recognise that learning to read is to many children hard work, and let us do what we can to make the task easy and inviting." Charlotte Mason Home Education Vol. 1
....... ahhhh! Thank you, Charlotte! Just to let you know, this momma will be a weepy mess when that glorious day comes and he is READING!
In the morning, oh Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation. Psalm 5:3
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Removing and Replacing
I am a blessed girl. Really. My Daddy loves me so much that he has been removing relationships that are not healthy for me. You know, the ones that weigh you down. The ones that when you look at your phone and see that text or incoming call... you cringe.
Instead of those "relationships", He is replacing them with relationships that are causing me to grow in Him. He has made my path cross with some amazing women who are wise, who love me for me, who encourage me, who challenge me, and who hold me accountable. I am thankful. And also thankful for the One who calls me friend.
Instead of those "relationships", He is replacing them with relationships that are causing me to grow in Him. He has made my path cross with some amazing women who are wise, who love me for me, who encourage me, who challenge me, and who hold me accountable. I am thankful. And also thankful for the One who calls me friend.
Monday, April 1, 2013
In the beginning...
So, here it is, 12:43 am... and I decided to start this blog tonight... or shall I say this morning! I have thought about doing this for a long time as a way to record our crazy, busy life!
We are taking a few days off from school work as many of our friends are on Spring Break. It is so wonderful to wake up and not have the day planned out. To just do whatever we want to do. Whenever we want! We were thankful the sun finally made an appearance and the 3 littles could play outside all day. Helping their favorite neighbor/adopted grandfather pick his dandelions for a dollar, chalk artwork covering the driveway, bikes thrown about the yard, friends coming over, Camo Boy leaving to spend the night, Butterfly working today, throw in a little crying and tattling every once in a while... it makes for a good day :)
We are taking a few days off from school work as many of our friends are on Spring Break. It is so wonderful to wake up and not have the day planned out. To just do whatever we want to do. Whenever we want! We were thankful the sun finally made an appearance and the 3 littles could play outside all day. Helping their favorite neighbor/adopted grandfather pick his dandelions for a dollar, chalk artwork covering the driveway, bikes thrown about the yard, friends coming over, Camo Boy leaving to spend the night, Butterfly working today, throw in a little crying and tattling every once in a while... it makes for a good day :)
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