Out of the Miry Clay

lots of rainy days = 1 gigantic, muddy mess.....

I waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Psalm 40:1-3

As a child of God I have experienced slime, mud, muck, & mire. It is a aweful place to be. It is the state of a sinner. A sinner who has sunk low in guilt and corruption because that is ALWAYS where his sinful nature will lead. It's a sad situation because apart from God, he is an outcast. It steals all the beauty that he could have in sight of a Holy God. Without Christ, all this life has to offer is pain, sorrow, and a dark state of sin.

So to speak, we wallow in sin and the harder we try to "get-out" the deeper we get stuck. We slide from one side to the next. It is miserable as there is no firm footing or stability in sin. And their is no way of escape....

It is not until we cry out for our Redeemer to come and lift us from that muddy, icky mess. Salvation comes as a result of us asking for it. It can even be the faintest cry and God will hear and deliver. The great news is that Salvation is free! It is a gift; a gift that God expects every weary and sin-laden sinner to use.

It is a beautiful word picture of God reaching down with His strong, loving arms and lifting us out, mud & slime dripping off as He lifts, and then He sets us on a firm place to stay. That is the Rock of Jesus Christ. It is a sure and firm place where we can stand. It is our foundation and on it we build our hope, our life, our character.

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On this particular day, my 3 yr. old daughter literally got exposed to mud, muck, and "getting stuck." She had a ball for awhile; until she was sick of the goopy mess. She would come to the back door and holler to come in.

I was babysitting for a little boy and at the moment was giving him his bottle; hence the clean-up had to wait. In fact, I encouraged her to "play" some more...I gave her a spoon, old muffin pan, and cupcake liners and told her to go make mud pies for dessert. That seemed to occupy her for awhile longer. (and just in case you were wondering, that dress went straight to the trash!)

mud pies...anyone??

We've had so many rainy days this past week. I slop on their boots and let them go digging for worms & bugs....I know, it's such a girly thing to do!

my solution for a mud room....a modern day boot garden

peonies are just getting ready to bloom...ahh, the smell!

...and these are my favorite flowers in bloom, but don't know what they are called?

Today I'm singing a new song....it's the song of the Redeemed!

cjs

April is a good month- it is full of promise and hope. It is newness and freshness all around: couples walking hand-in-hand in the park, softball, the smell of fresh-turned earth, housewives hanging out winter clothes to air out, neighbors calling across fences, rain on the weekends, mud in the kitchen, dirt and grass stains on little girls skirts, storm windows coming out, screens going in, sparrows carrying bits of straw up under the porch eaves, the arrival of baby chicks, gardeners planting pansies, lawnmowers getting a fine tuning, lambs being born, thunderstorms popping up, farmers working the ground, and prepping their planters. April is the great stirring...

This April has been ups and downs for me. I've had some rough moments.....like the news that my sister is fighting colon cancer; fighting depression, being unmotivated, laying awake for hours with nightmares....and I found myself in the valley of despair!

God got a hold of my heart and showed me that I can gather unto my heart the thorns of disappointment, failure, dismay in my present situation or I can gather unto my heart the flowers of God's grace, boundless love, and unmatched joy.

Today I want to gather the flowers...

life is too short to keep this child's hair combed & shoes on her feet

trying to soak up some of that good Vitamin D

my sweet rays of sunshine

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This month I turned 1 year older. Trust me, it's not a time when I get all pumped up about this occasion, but it is a reminder of how blessed I truly am. Friends out of the corners of the world blessed me with birthday wishes and encouragement, I had a fabulous date night with my one & only, I got pampered, my brother flew home from Haiti & we had a late night hanging out with family. Treasured times.

I have been challenged with the thought: "What do I want my children and husband to remember me for?" This motivates me to give my all, my 100%. This requires me to divorce myself and live a selfless life. To lay down my desires and wants and give, give. Sad to say, I have a lot of divorcing to do....

a walk in the park

Silliness} this is my daughters joke: what flower is between your nose and chin?

cjs

Heart Issues

This past week has been one that I will never forget...a reminder of how life is so very fragile and precious. My heart is full of emotions. So many different ones at one time makes it hard to sort through them all.

A large part of my heart is so, so grateful that my dad's life was spared this past week. He had a large, let me repeat, very large blood clot in his leg - 2 ft long to be exact! Part of the clot broke off, went through his heart, and lodged in his both of his lungs. The dr. called him a 'lucky man'. He spent 5 days in the hospital, but is back home and doing remarkably well. I am overwhelmed at how many people cared...so many phoned, texted, dropped off a meal, did my laundry, babysat the girls....thank you, thank you!

Another large part of my heart hurts deeply for my dear friend Mary who lost her beloved husband, Mark, to cancer last Saturday. My heart is torn & full of questions as I watched a 8 year old lad throw dirt on top of his daddy's grave with tears streaming down his face, and his 3 older brothers doing the same. I see their raw pain & anguish. It doesn't seem fair. Not for 1 minute. Why does God allow this to happen? I don't understand God fully...in fact, I never will this side of Heaven. But I do know characteristics of Him...He is in control, he is a God of love, a God of mercy, He is faithful....HE IS SOVEREIGN. That is what keeps on coming back to me. And I cling to that.

Mark's life will not be forgotten and he leaves an incredible legacy. He was a devoted, humble, godly man. He truly had the heart of a servant. He was driven to serve others....God gave him that talent and he maxed it out to the fullest! His life is an inspiration to me.

Visiting Grandpa @ the hospital

Grandpa is explaining what all the tubes, wires are for...

oh my, she just couldn't understand... 'Why I can't jump on Grandpa's bed?'

sick or not sick....they are the best parents! I am so blessed...

In the midst of all the pain....Sunday was the day to celebrate LOVE - Valentine's Day. Kevin says it's a women's holiday. I tend to agree. He got me a dozen red roses, chocolate, & the sweetest card. I apologized and said "I'm sorry, honey, I didn't get you anything." He shrugged, smiled, and quietly said "Like I said, it's a women's holiday." We both laughed....and I was off the hook. However, I am not taking for granted the love we share!

I am so often blown away by his love for me - he is patient, forgiving, slow to anger, spontaneous, humorous, gentle, thinks the best for me, kind...it's a love that resembles my loving Heavenly Father and makes His love feel tangible.

...and of course some pics of our lil' Valentines.

attempting to bl0w mommy a kiss - only one nailed it.

Love is what makes the world go 'round.

cjs

Snowed in!

I can say this weekend has been one of my favorite of all times!

First of all Kevin came home from work early on Friday because of the snow. He had text me saying he has a suprise....it was a good one! He didn't have to work on Saturday. That just set the mood. We all enjoyed the snow immensely knowing that we could relax inside the house and not have to go out on the road anytime soon.

We had special family times....

playing a hardy round of memory

& half of a game of sorry

sleeping in

digging out our driveway

playing in the snow

drinking hot chocolate

staying in pj's all day

Friday as the snow was falling {fast} I heard giggling, zipping, doors banging...these little ladies were getting ready to out in the snow and this was there dress attire. The one that was least dressed for it took a loop in our back yard. By the time she came back to the deck she said in a rather raspy voice, "It's cold out here!"

starting to dig out our driveway

With all the snow piles and drifts we made tunnels and a little fort. The girls had a blast going through them. I was a bit surprised that Jasmine loved the snow the best. She had a total riot in it and heard her singing away! One time when I was helping make the tunnel I threw a handful of snow right back in her face. She just looked at me a little shocked and the gave me the biggest smile. After that there was snow in her hair and eyelashes and with the sun her whole face just sparkled. Out of all of them, I figured she would be the least to enjoy the snow.

the wind created some amazing snow drifts ~ some pretty crazy looking ones.

our snow covered street

my favorite house on our street...it's vacant (I dream of fixing it up!)

Today I got to get outa the house and get groceries(which is another story in itself), just as I was walking out of the house I grabbed my camera. I was grateful for it.

Two song that have been going through my head all weekend long~

Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow

&

I see Your Glory, the Glory that's all around me

I'm so very grateful that God erases our slate as white as snow. WOW. I saw some fairly white snow this weekend. It's pure, clean, radiant, beautiful ~only God can do that to our hearts!

feather dustings

truck 4 sale...excellent condition

We're supposed to get another 8-9 inches of snow starting early in the morning. Aaahh, I say bring it on! It's makes the cold winter truly a wonderland.

cjs