Thanks to all!

Thank you so much to my friends for the care, concern & prayers yesterday. My husband had to have a labrum (hip) repair. The cartilage in his hip was torn and had to be fixed. He is home recovering and will be on crutches at between 2-4 weeks. Ironically, as he watched ESPN this morning, they announced that Alex Rodriquez (A-Rod) of the Yankees will be having the same surgery.

Special thanks to my sister, My ADHD Me (Mary), for helping with the kids and for the moral support too. Thanks to Tammy (not a blogger) for the after-school to evening childcare, and to my bible study gals for lifting me up. Sue J led the group in my absence, and The Patterson 5 lifted us in prayer all morning. And all of YOU bloggy friends who prayed for us, or offered comments of support.

I am so blessed with so many loving people in my life. Thank you all!

Matthew 25:40 -- {Jesus said} 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

One Word

Chatty Kelly is going to try to use only ONE WORD, in this cute meme that's going around bloggy land. I picked it up from Edie. (My hubs is having outpatient surgery tomorrow, so I'm preoccupied with that. No devotional today. Thanks for understanding!) Have a great weekend!

Where is your cell phone? purse

your hair? big

your father? preoccupied

your mother? Unloving

Your favorite thing? Joy

your dream last night? Unknown

your favorite drink? coffee

your dream/goal? Published

the room you are in? office

your fear? devil

where do you want to be in 6 years? Best-sellers

muffins? Pumpkin

one of your wish list items? Vacation

where you grew up? Suburbs

the last thing you did? Dishes

what are you wearing? jeans

your tv? Off

your computer? Appreciated!

your life? Busy

your mood? Tired

missing someone? No

your car? Minivan

favorite store? Starbucks

your summer? Hot

your favorite color? Pink

when is the last time you laughed? Today

last time you cried? Forget

someone who emails me? Everyone!

a favorite food? Chinese

place I would rather be right now? Vacation

Thankful Thursday - 3/4

The 5 things, big or small, I am thankful for this week:

1. Cici's 5th birthday and the gift of my daughter. Thank you Jesus!

2. Snow Days (#1 & #2!) The rare opportunity to play in the snow and enjoy lazy days at home!

3. My generator - we lost electricity for 15 hrs in the snow, but the generator kept us warm, well fed, and generally happy throughout it all. yay!

4. Snow Day (#3!) spent at Sonya's house with more sleigh riding and fun, fun.

5. School Days! When the children go back to school after too many snow days at home! (they went back today, after a 2 hr delay).

What are you thankful for this week? Join the meme by clicking the button below.

iChristian

I have horrible posture. I tend to stand & sit slouch shouldered. Every one has probably read that by standing up straight, you look taller and thinner. But I have a slight curvature of the spine, plus bad muscle memory. It's hard to remember to stand up straight.

I'm thinking about purchasing a new device I saw advertised. This product is called iposture.* It is a small device that you clip on your apparel near the chest, and whenever you slouch it sends out small vibrations. This alerts you to stand up or sit up straight. I don't know if it works, but wouldn't it be neat if it did??

What about an ichristian device? You'd clip it on, and whenever you got ready to sin, it would send out that small vibration. This would alert you to straighten out your behavior. Wouldn't it be neat if we could be alerted to our sins before we acted on them. Would we stop?

Before Jesus left the disciples, he told them he was going to leave them with a "device." This was called the Holy Spirit. It too was attached near your chest (at the heart or soul) and would give you a subtle signal before you sin. This signal can only be felt if we are alert. We must be reading the Bible to realize what sin is, and we must be in conversation with God (prayer) to build that relationship with the Holy Spirit.

In order for the iposture to work, you must make a conscience effort to use it every day. If I purchased it and just kept it on my dresser or in my jewelry box, it wouldn't, it couldn't work. In order for the Holy Spirit to work, we must also apply it in our lives. A Bible on my night stand doesn't do anything. I must read it and apply its principles. I must pray for the power of the Holy Spirit to guard my heart and mind against sin.

The Holy Spirit works. It doesn't even cost $64.95, like the iposture. It's a free gift. Apply it in your life today! It may not straighten your back, but it will straighten your paths.

John 14:26 -- But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

1 Corinthians 6:19 -- Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own.

Proverbs 3:5,6 -- Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.


* I am in no way affiliated with the makers of iposture, nor can I vouch for the reliability of the product. This is not an endorsement of the product.

Snow Day - Virginia

10" of snow! Everything is closed, and I suspect school will be out several days. The girls loved it! This is our first big snow in a long while, and since we don't have snow pants, notice Cici's pants. It's called saran wrap over boots & jeans...and it did in fact keep her dry! The picture below is awkward, as I was trying to show the pants, but she was leaning down so her whole self would show in the picture! :-) The aspect makes her legs look about 1/2 their normal length.

Happy Birthday - 5 Years Old!

Today is Cici's 5th Birthday! We celebrated with a pool party with preschool friends, Happy meals, and of course cake & ice cream. As you may remember from my "Faith & Mustard Seeds" post, Cici was a long waited for and prayed for child. Her arrival was definitely the answer to many prayers.

However, Cici has never been an easy child. First she was a very late talker. While most children have 3 words by 12 months, Cici had none by 18 months. After speech therapy, she finally began speaking at 22 months. It was so hard to understand anything she said.

Cici's terrible twos, were TERRIBLE. She was the most stubborn child ever. Many days I was left frustrated. She is very strong willed. It seemed like everything was a battle of the wills with her, and some days her will was stronger than mine was.

When she turned four, I finally started to see her stubbornness (perseverance) in a positive light. She is a kid who will keep trying until she gets it, whether trying to ride a 2 wheeler or learning to swim. The child who couldn't talk, now never stops talking, singing, dancing and performing. She is full of life and truly the most joyful child I've ever seen. She always has everyone laughing.

Being Cici's mom has taught me perseverance as well. But more than that, it has taught me about hope. Whether that hope was for the blessing of my child, for my child to talk, or some days just the hope that I would get through the day with my sanity intact, I seemed to always been hoping in something.

Cici taught me about hope. But the greatest hope I have is in Christ Jesus. He is the one who gave me Cici, and the one who fills me with hope.

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13

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To read more about The Power of Hope, read part 3 of my 4 part Power series at ithirst. Click here to visit ithirstnw.net.