where does my help come from?

Life can be so hard.
In just one day, our old church family was struck by a very unexpected death and  a sweet friend lost a baby.
In that same week, a wise older woman shared her six year old grandson is dying.  Another woman shared a coworker committed suicide.
My heart is breaking for my dear friends.   
In times like these, where does our help come from?  In times like these, when everywhere we look is death and destruction, where do we turn for peace and comfort?  Where do we put our hope?  Where do we put our trust?

Psalm 121

I will lift up my eyes to the hills-from whence comes my help?  My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.  

He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber.  Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is your keeper, the Lord is your shade at your right hand.  The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.

The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul.  The Lord shall preserve your going out and your going in, from this time forth, and even forevermore.

I love this psalm.  It speaks straight to the heart of all of my questions.  The Lord is our helper.  He will not shelter us from trials and tribulations, but He promises that our foot will not be moved.  He does not keep us from having to walk through deep, dark times, but He promises the sun and moon shall not strike us.  And through all the rough waters, He shall preserve us.  He is with us, always.

I'm praying for my dear friends in their time of need.  I'm praying this psalm over them.  I pray these words would be truth and life in their hearts.

  

buckets

singing a random tune on our walk this morning, jaden belted out:
buckets of gold, buckets of spring.....buckets of gold, buckets of spring....it's springtime!

so cute =)

thankfulness

I'm reflecting on some things I'm thankful for today.  Not just today, but small things over the past couple weeks that the Lord has used to encourage my heart.
*A hubby who is mechanically inclined
*Jaden's very thought-provoking questions...example: what do hammerhead sharks hammer with their heads?
*Friends who encourage me to walk with the Lord
*Friends who actively pray for me (and my family)
*A church family that is willing to help with a need, genuinely and whole-heartedly
*Rain that brings cooler weather
*My in-laws for lots of reasons, but specifically because they are willing to drop everything and come to our    aid

our first garden

Jaden and I are growing our very first garden!  I will (hopefully) remember to post occasional updates.

the small planter is an herb garden I hope will grow and the large planter is for our flowers

we had to add water to make the pods grow to plant the seeds

my freshly planted herbs!

jaden's little fingers were perfect for planting the flower seeds

wisdom for parenting

The Lord is teaching me a valuable lesson on wisdom in my parenting.

Psalm 34:11 says "Come, my children, listen to me, I will teach you the fear of the Lord".

I learned the word "come" is an imperative, a verb calling to action.  When it's used in the Word, it's usually followed by some kind of instruction.  In this verse, it's followed by the instruction to listen and be taught the fear of the Lord.

This struck me powerfully. 

Jaden is very, very honest and calls it like it is, whatever "it" may be.  Here's an example:
We were in the grocery store yesterday, and he commented very loudly about the cashier.  "MOMMY!  DAT MAN WIHT DERE HAS A FAT TUMMY!"  I was absolutely mortified!  I'm pretty sure my face turned red.  I finished checking out and we were headed to the car.  The whole time we're walking, I was asking myself how I should discipline this, if it even merited discipline.

The scenarios with Jaden in the past few weeks have been very similar to this story.

I want to know the difference between punishing my child because he embarassed me, and punishing my child because his action/words/thoughts are wrong and go against scripture. 
So I think the Holy Spirit is stirring these questions in my heart.  Am I teaching Jaden to fear the Lord, and walk with Him?  Or am I teaching Jaden to fear me, and my opinions, and what others' opinion is of me?  Am I teaching Jaden to put the Lord above all else, or am I teaching him to follow what our culture dictates?

You can pray for me, friends.  Pray that I learn and remember this lesson.  Pray that I discipline Jaden's heart issues and not the outward actions.  Pray that Lord continues to shape and mold my heart, and become the person He wants me to be.

trusting

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not upon your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths" ~Proverbs 3:5-6

We go over this verse with Jaden every night at bed time, and still I have a difficult time living in my life.  We are house hunting.  My car just broke down.  Jaden has soccer.  I'd like to (ideally) get a workout in sometime during the day.  The house has to be cleaned, laundry needs to be folded, and dishes are piling up in the sink.  And all the while, I worry, worry, worry. 
My father in law always tells me worrying doesn't change anything, but prayer does!  This is my reminder that I need to pray instead of worry.  I need to remember the Lord loves me and He will take care of me. He will provide for my family, in His timing.  I need to trust even when His plans don't happen in my timing.  His timing is perfect.

the power of music

Jaden's playing quietly in the corner.
I'm drinking some coffee while I sit at the computer checking emails.
Music is playing softly in the background.  It's really quite soothing.  It's relaxing and mellow and full of good melodies and harmonies.  Kinda makes me want to sit here forever listening.
I love music....and the power it has to soothe, to mend, to refresh.  It has just about every emotion you can think of, really.  It can be played quietly or blasting.  From a computer or in a car or on an ipod.
If music was a love language, it'd definitely be mine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1mFtnyjJng&feature=related