Is it really April already?!?!?!

Where in the world has 2014 gone?  Time is just flying by!!!  I'll go ahead and apologize now, this post is going to be crazy and random and probably hard to follow.  I feel like that's been my brain for the last two weeks, so this will let you know how I've been feeling!  ;)

--Both of my children have birthdays this weekend.  Sophie will be 8 and Ethan will be 5.  Talk about time flying!  What a blessing both of them have been in our lives.  I am so thankful I get to be their mom and get to see them learn and grow everyday.  Sophie is such a loving, sweet, funny girl quickly becoming a young lady.  Ethan is a silly, loving, creative boy who will be a young man far before I am ready for that.  I love that I have the privilege to teach them so many wonderful things.  I love watching E as he is learning to read.  I love how excited he gets when he sees a word he recognizes or when he sounds out a word correctly.  I love the light Sophie has in her eyes when her next great idea pops into her head.  I love the stories they each tell and the wonderful way the play together (even though they don't always agree on what or how to play.) I also love how excited each of them get when they hear a scripture verse they've memorized in a sermon or in a song.  I love watching them sleep, cuddling up and watching a movie, and reading books together.  What a gift it is to parent these to precious children, even on the hard days.

--Easter is coming!  I am looking forward to celebrating the death and resurrection of Christ with our kiddos in a new way this year (more on that after, and I can include pictures!)  I am also excited (please don't hate me when I say this) that there is no Good Friday service at church this year.  This will be the first year we'll be able to celebrate this amazing, sad, cruel, necessary event of the crucifixion, just us and the kids.  Pretty sure there will be some What's in the Bible involved, but we have yet to fully decide what to do.  What an amazing thing to be able to celebrate our hope because of Christ and His sacrifice on our behalf.  How grateful I am that He sent Christ to take the punishment for my sins.  Lord, help me to teach this truth to my children.  Help them to see their need for Your salvation and grace in their lives everyday.  Help them to see their need for a relationship with You.

--I am thankful for a loving and caring church body.  I am thankful for friends who lift us up in prayer, love our children, and walk beside us in this crazy life here on earth.  I am thankful for technology that allows me to see friends far away, to get a laugh when I need it, to help others laugh when they need it, and helps me to minister alongside some of the best women I know.  I am thankful for the gift of prayer that allows me to seek God more deeply, plead on behalf of friends and family, and hear the voice of my Creator.  I am thankful for His word and that it is so readily available for me and my children.

--I gave up drinking anything but water for Lent.  I still have a few weeks left, but it has gone well so far.  I am so thankful that God laid this on my heart to do.  So many people don't have the option of running to the sink for a quick glass of water, grabbing that nice clean water bottle out of the fridge, brushing their teeth with water that won't make them sick.  How blessed I am that I can do all of those things and never even have to think about it or wonder if that water will be there tomorrow.  Lord, give me a burden for those whose stomachs are empty and need the basic necessities each day.  Show me how to love other by caring for their needs, loving them with Your heart, and showing Your love to them each day, here and around the world.

--It's been a lot of fun, and very therapeutic, to clean out our closets, etc, to give things away for a yard sale benefiting church members heading out onto the mission field. Even the kids have really gotten into it this time.  Sophie has a two-page list of things she wants to try and make/or sell so that she has money to donate to them, too.  I love her heart.  Some of her ideas are a bit crazy, but I love the heart behind it.  I pray that I don't squash that spirit of giving she has.

I am sure there are hundreds more things that I could share, but they wouldn't be all that exciting and you'd probably get bored reading it!  Looking forward to sharing with you our Easter celebration idea.  It may end up being a disaster, but we've had fun thinking about it and planning it!  Praying that God uses this to draw all of us closer to Him and to help us see our true, deep need for Him in our lives.