"Summer Lovin, Havin a Blast"

Summer has been so much fun this year. We have played in the water lots and lots. Here are some pretty good shots from our MN. trip in August. We went tubing with Brad's brother and his family. We were minus three kids but oh did we have some fun on the water!

What I have learned in almost 38 years...

I am going to be 38 very soon. I can't believe I am closer to 40 than 20. As I ahem... mature, I seem to think more of what it is I need to do in life or who I need to be. I look at "younger" people and think, "if you only knew!" I have learned many things and I am sure my millions of faithful readers would love to know what it is I have learned or am learning and trying to place into my life.

I have learned from the book of Romans I am not the judge. I am not the jury and I am not better. I have learned I need to leave the judging up to God. I have learned I am no better than the person not doing anything for God's kingdom if I am going to judge anyone while I do my work.

I have learned I can try very hard and still fail. I have learned God can pick me right back up, pat the dust off of me and say try again. I have learned my time is only my time. God's time is the ultimate and I must wait on His timing. That one is a hard one. I have learned a person was talked to by a donkey and a thistle in the bible. I have found that to be amazing and crazy, yet a lot of the old testament is amazing and crazy to me. I have learned I CAN read through the bible in a year and it is actually really fun! I have learned Paul's letters are some of my favorite new testament passages. I have learned I am definitely not mature in my faith even though I have been a Christian for 33 years!

I have learned I love Jesus very much and that means more to me now that it ever has in my life. I have learned the urgency in wanting my children to all know Him as I know him. I have learned money is nothing in really loving God, but money is a way to help others when I am showing the love of God.

I am still learning to hear the Holy Spirit when he speaks. Or maybe I am learning I do hear him but don't always want to obey. I am learning how much I am blessed with my dad, my sister, my husband's family, my dad's wife and her daughters. I am learning I am blessed even though I don't have my biological mother here on this earth. I am blessed with the examples she set, the time I had with her, the memory of her and the legacy she left behind.

It is amazing how much learning goes on even when one is almost to 40. I am also learning I need to keep praying God uses me to bless him and others in my life even if I have to learn some harder lessons along the way. I am learning it is scary to pray this because it is hard to get out of my comfort zone. I am learning I need to get out of my comfort zone so I can be used, I can bless others for Jesus. Won't you join me in praying for teachable moments for myself and others. That God would use me and use you for his glory, for his greater plan? Take the leap of faith, don't look back and say yes Lord, use me please!

Jesus needs to be enough.

I have been challenged in my prayer life and bible reading time this year. I have completely enjoyed reading thru the one year bible! I am so caught up in the stories and the stupidity of humans. Yet God still works for the good, still works his plan, still accomplishes what he needs accomplished through us. In our Sunday school class we have been listening to Louie Gigleo. He challenges us to quit praying routine prayers. Mine at night go something like this... "Dear Lord, thank you for this day. Thank you for loving me, help me to have a good night sleep....." and then I fall asleep. Now, my prayer life during the day time is much better and I journal it so I stay on track. That is the best way for me to pray. Otherwise I have trouble sticking with it and really praying. BUT... Louie says we as Christians so often pray the same thing over and over and over and over. Lord, be with us, Lord bless us, Lord for give our many sins. Lord watch over us, Lord bless us as we meet together, bless our time, our fellowship, be with us. He doesn't condemn these prayers, but he wants us to check our quick relationships at the door and begin a real one. We wouldn't say these same things over and over to our spouse. We need to talk with Jesus, God the creator of the Universe! Give HIM something more of us! Maybe just maybe say to him, "Lord I pray I bless you today. Lord God almighty, I need you to put your fingerprints in my business, make it flourish and expand but not with who I am but with who you are. Let my business show who Jesus Christ is and bless others and teach others all about you. Bless my business in that way Dear Father. Lord, we are traveling. We pray we can bless you as we travel and all we do acknowledges you. Lord God almighty I have sinned, I have spoken with a wagging tongue against ______. Lord I am weak and need to work on being stronger. Forgive me please Lord and may the Holy Spirit use me the next time I am put in that situation.

These are all examples of being specific with our Heavenly Father. The Creator of Heaven and Earth. The One that can wipe away all with a blink of His eye. We need to think of Him as EVERYTHING. Nothing else matters but what we do for him. Whether or not we get that boat, Ipad, Nook, what ever it may be we need to not worry about those insignificant things but look toward our creator and ask what we can do for him to bless HIM. Don't be complacent in your stuff and more stuff. Stretch yourselves, look for ways you are able to bless God. Buy the Nook and give it to someone that will never be able to afford one! Put the money going towards your Ipad that you can really live without towards blessing someone who will go without food tomorrow. Make Jesus enough for your life and heart.

Don't get me wrong, you can enjoy God's blessings. There is nothing wrong with doing this. Just not wait and want like I have and do for the next great thing coming your way. Bring the next great thing to the next person instead. Make it stretch you. After all, Jesus is our everything as a Christian and if he is our everything, shouldn't we give him everything in return?

Summer

Stream of consience...

We went to family camp this past week. It was fun, exciting, energizing, tiring, wet, scarey, godly and just plain old GREAT! It was so much fun having uninterupted family time, godly staff that were amazing to us and especially our children. Feeling safe, learning more about our walk with the Mighty Creator God. It was humbling to see and hear about other families and their situations, about what everyone learned at camp. It was a weekend that was well worth it!

The down sides? Having to come home to real life where I have to get stuff done like laundry and cooking and dishes. Oh, and I played Monopoly City again with Brant and Kale. Can you say 3 hours? Ugh... I think I will keep that game to once a month.

My boys love to swim. They were fish at family camp and Kai especially still wants to get in our tiny pool here home. Camden got ear infections from swimming at camp and has tonsilities now too.

In two days I leave with my niece Tessa and my friend Kim and her family to go horse camping. I am excited but have so much to do before then. Right now I am waiting on lunch to cook so I can feed my family. We are having taco salad with lettuce I grew in my garden. What fun! I will have fresh green beans too, but I am the only one that will eat them. Well, maybe Barney will too. We will see. I have eaten a few cherry tomatoes from my garden. Can you say yum? I can! YUM!

We don't have much more time before school starts. The summer is flying by. We still have baseball a few nights a week, but it is slowing down. We had been going every night of the week but Saturday. My two eldest will be going to camp at the same time in July. Right after our cousins wedding. Then in August our thrid son will be going to Trout Lake Camp. I am so excited about this because this is where I went to camp as a kid and where my parents worked many summers! It is fun to see a child of mine go to this awesome camp!

When school starts my youngest will be in Kindergarden. I can't believe my youngest is that old already. People ask what I will do with my time. I am sure I will enjoy a little bit of quiet time, but I am also sure I will find plenty to do or Brad will find plenty for me to do. My boys while I type this are asking when they can date. I told them when they can drive a car leagally they can go on a date. We will see how this goes. My youngest just said, "please don't be mad that I say this mom, but when a girl wants to date a guy she says he is a hot guy. Is that okay to say?" I told him it is okay to say, but not very polite. I said he could tell her she is very pretty or she could tell him he looks very hansom. Much better sounding. I am sure my children think I am like 80 when I say something like that. Okay... lunch is ready, I need to get back to real life. How was my first stream of concience?

15 Years and counting!

My hubby and I went to Kearney last night. We were celebrating 15 years of marriage. I consider myself so blessed! I have a wonderful husband who loves God. 4 great boys I adore. I live on a farm which is the plan I had all along as a kid. I own a horse and actually ride her! My husbands family is wonderful to live near. They are good christian people with hearts for God. I still have my daddie and my big sister as well as have two younger sisters by marriage. I have a very sweet step-mom and some day I will see my mom in heaven. God is so good to me. Thank you Father in heaven for loving me, blessing me and allowing me to come into saving grace because I believe in you. Annie

The excitement at our home!

We have a new family memeber. Want to know his name? You will never guess! He is named by my 5 year old son. Ready for it? Okay... his name is Jr. James Bond. Quite the name for a baby goat that is 12" tall and weighs about 7 lbs! I call him J.J. for short. He is an adorable Nigerian Dwarf Goat with beautiful blue eyes. He has quickly stolen my heart and the heart of the boys. Each morning before school they go out to say good morning. He eats a whopping 3 to 4 ounces of milk at each feeding. Crazy how tiny he is. That is the excitedment in our home these days!

How am I supposed to know????

For three years I have been praying about adoption. In the last year I have never given up the thought of adopting internationally. We just renewed our license to foster/adopt. I also spoke to an international adoption agency yesterday. They said we can not do both consecutively. That means.... we have to choose one over the other. Hmmmm.... Now, Brad is not on board yet with international adoption. I guess that means we keep our license for now with fost/adopt. BUT.... what do I do with this feeling we should adopt internationally. I guess I continue with what I have been doing, praying. I have prayed God would open both my eyes and Brad's eyes to where our little girl is. Where is our daughter? I don't have a clue. Is she a waiting child in China? A child in Ethiopia? Is she in the foster system? I don't know. A friend of mine said recently, "what if God doesn't care where we adopt from but wants us to just get moving on it?" I don't know the answer to that either. Does God have a specific place we are to get our daughter or does he find our daughter when we pick a specific place?

A time line is sort of in effect.... at least in our human brains. Brad and I have discussed adoption but do not want to have a HUGE gap in our kids. That means... the clock is ticking. Kai is already 5. How much longer do we have before a huge gap begins to open up? I know I am rambling. Sometimes it is just nice to get my thoughts out, even if they don't always make sense.

On a perfectly wonderful note, my son B. is officially 13 as of April 5th. My first baby is now a teen. Time just flies! I know when a mom is in the thick of many young children she can sometimes wish that time away. I know I did. Now I wish I could just have each of my children for 4 years alone with no other children to enjoy every last thing they do that is wonderful, new and totally cool to parents. Ah.... life with a teen... so far so good. It has been 2 days!

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter. I know I did. I got to reflect on what God did for us with his son. Oh how much he gave up and Jesus took on so I could find redemption in him. To God be the Glory great things He has done! Annie