Beautiful Vessel

2 Timothy 2:21
Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.

This was the foundation for my blog when I first created it. I remember doing a Beth Moore study and one of the lessons was on being a beautiful vessel, so I thought, to keep my mind focused on this truth, I would name my blog after that lesson. Skip forward 6 years or so and just last week I was reading a book in which the author stated "Beautiful people don't just happen" And lastly, over the past 6 months to a year I have been praying for God to make me into a Proverbs 31 woman...Man, be careful what you pray for, right?!?!

All that to say, when I read the "beautiful people don't just happen" statement it made me realize that being a beautiful vessel isn't just following God, reading His Word, and doing good in all situations. It's going through the fire and coming out refined, like gold. "Beautiful people" are those that have hurt, suffered, doubted, submitted, and loved through all circumstances. They cling to God when there is nothing else left to cling to. And when the trial moves on, God has created something new, something beautiful, because it is more like His image.

It never occured to me that we HAVE to go through the fire. There is no set preparation to getting around it if you are truly seeking Him and wanting to be made in His image. To be honest, I thought if I lived right, followed Him, and served others He would pave the way smooth, so my first instinct in all of this was to tell others of my mistakes so they could avoid the same pain, but that it false. We all have to go through the fire. I think you can spot true Christians, ones that are stepping on Satan's toes, by those that have gone through the trials and come out on the other side more like Christ. I don't think I would have ever been able to be a Proverbs 31 woman without going through this ordeal that I am currently struggling with. And, make no mistake, I am no where near that woman yet, but I can see glimpses of her at my weakest state and know that God is truly creating me into that Beautiful Vessel that I started a blog about so many years ago.

Oh No the big 3-0

I enjoyed a great birthday spread out over a few days. The girls from church surprised me with dinner out and a basket full of goodies. My aerobics class surprised me with chocolate cupcakes and another basket full of goodies! I then got to spend the weekend with my family for a good meal and chocolate cake and presents. That night I even went country dancing with my sister. I haven't been danicing since college and it was so much fun to do something I enjoy. It was a great birthday spent with those that care about me! Thank you all for making my day so special!




I thought this picture of Amber and Teague is soooo cute!!

My blog

Definitions

Blog - Noun
web log, blog - a shared on-line journal where people can post diary entries about their personal experiences and hobbies

1st Amendment - Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Opinion - Noun
a personal view, attitude, or appraisal
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The previous blog post sure did cause an up roar! To be honest though it wasn't the post, it was the Anonymous comment that set things in motion. I have contemplated blocking my blog from some or closing it all together but that would not bring the glory back to God when He has brought me through this trial. So to those that continue to read my postings let me make clear what this blog is about...

I created this blog long before I had children and it was a place where I could update family and friends on my life since we were spread across the state, and world for that matter. It was a place that I celebrated the good times and asked for support during the uncertain times and begged for prayer during the bad times. As children have come into my life they naturally took the blog by storm, as I think they are such cute angels, but they are not my entire life. This has always been, and will continue to be a blog about my life and my personal experiences as I live this life.

The great thing about a blog is that my 1st amendment right lets me express my opinion regardless of what others feel about that opinion. And to be frank, if you don't like my opinion, start your own blog and write about it. Blogging is very therapeutic and an easy way to spread news or prayer requests or just to let people know you are still hanging in there. I firmly believe in the verse "where two or more are gathered He is there" So to all of you who are praying diligently, I am grateful for you and I know that is one of the only ways I am surviving day to day through this whole ordeal. I am choosing to leave my blog public and moderate all comments that come through so that God will continue to work through His Word, through my pain, and through your support to show us all His faithfulness.

Satan's Handiwork

I have always believed that Satan was real. I would see bad things happen around the world and would say that Satan probably had a hand in that or that God was allowing Satan to work in that situation. But now, as I continue to get deeper into this trial, I see Satan like I have never seen him before.

Most people reading this blog know my husband, Daniel. He is a passionate follower of Christ, has a love for children, adores his own 2 boys, has a zest for adventure, is super romantic, has a tender side those close to him get to see, loves to joke around, enjoys learning, is alway first to try something new, stable in all he does, honest to a fault, and he loves deeply...or at least that was Daniel up until about 3 months ago.

Don't get me wrong, Daniel, myself nor our relationship was perfect but I have watched Satan cover Daniel's eyes, take a truth and twist it into a lie, and lead him down a path in which there seems to be no return. The Daniel that I spoke of in the above paragraph is gone. Now who I encounter is a shell of a man with no sparkle in his eye, no confidence in his step and no joy in his heart. The words from his mouth proclaim that he is happy with his choices and when he goes "home" he is happy with that family. How in the world could he possibly be happy with a counterfeit family when his real family is loving, praying and wanting him to come home?? And the answer is in James 1:15 -
"Our desires make us sin, and when sin is finished with us, it leaves us dead."
The man I knew, that we all knew, is dead. Sin has had its way with him and now has left Daniel to "enjoy" his choices.

But here is the Hope. John 14:6 "I am the way, the truth and the life!..." Christ is Daniel's only hope, his only help at this point, and his only way back to the joy he once knew. Please pray for Daniel and that God would bind Satan from anymore damage, that God would open his eyes like he did Saul in Acts 9:18 - "Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized..." and that God would show Daniel His unconditional love.

I truly believe that God will use this situation for His glory, and I have already started to see the tip of that. Again, I have no idea how this whole ordeal will end, but I do know God is faithful to those who trust Him and the boys and I know our future will be secure as long as we continue to follow God.

Trick or Treat Party

Since Troy didn't get to have a birthday party with all his friends on his real birthday we decided to have a Trick or Treat Party, as he called it. I had chili and corn bread for the adults and mummy wraps for the kids with punch and of course adult beverages...how else would you get through a kids birthday party AND trick or treating in the same day!! :) I had a small little scavenger hunt for the kids before cupcakes and presents and then we hit the trick or treat trail. It was an eventful day and I had two tired jungle animals on my hands as the night came to a close.

Blowing out his candles!!

Such a cute smile!

Bearly enough time to stop and turn around for a picture. All the kids were running so fast from one house to the next. One little girl ran right out of her shoes so many times she decided to take them off and just go in her stockings!

Teague doesn't know what to think of this hat!

7 Months Old

Teague is 7 months old today. He now has 4 teeth, is getting the hang of crawling and is starting to pull up on things. His hair is continually getting lighter and he is growing into such a sweet boy. Troy is pretty rough with him, but he never seems to mind and never crys so I bet he will be one tough little brother.

Here are his two bottom teeth

My little tiger

Troy and Eilonwy

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I have been watching a little girl the past few weeks and she and Troy have become close friends. It is neat to see the difference in girls and boys and also how they both just fall into male and female roles. Eilonwy asks for help from Troy on things throughout the day and Troy, usually while playing outside, always lets me and Eilonwy know that he will protect us, either from cars driving by or airplanes flying over. With all the drama going on around here it is nice to be able to provide stability for the kids and also an occupation to keep my mind busy.