Wanting to change your circumstances?!

Feeling like running away from your problems?!  Wanting to change your circumstances and take matters into your own hands?!  Don't do it just yet...

In my personal time with the Lord, I have been going through the Word chronologically and really digging deep in each chapter.  This week I have been studying Abram (later Abraham) in Gen. 12-16.

Gen. 12 when God calls Abram to leave his father and mother and go to a land that He will show him hits home with us.  This scripture has been part of our "story" for years.  I am always amazed at how he obeys without question despite how hard this task had to have been.

BUT Abram was sinful and didn't obey perfectly.  He {slightly} disobeys and it starts a spiral effect of problems, disobedience and ultimately he pays a large price.

God tells Abram to leave his family, yet he takes his nephew Lot.  Lot, in turn, tends to be a problem all along the way.  You all know the story….Lot and Abraham go their separate ways and Abram ends up having to rescue Lot from trouble.

Then there is a famine and instead of trusting God to provide for his daily needs, Abram takes matters into his own hands and goes to Egypt (which was not THE land God would show him).  From there, he brings home a maidservant Hagar which also ends up being a problem later on.  But God uses this in a cool way…bear with me.

Long story short, God gives Abram a promise that he would be the father of many nations and even gives him an illustration of the stars in the sky.  But 10 years later, Sarai still hasn't conceived and the long wait discouraged them and caused them to act in the flesh.  So they decide to take matters into their own hands and use their maidservant Hagar to conceive.  Hagar does conceive and then runs away from her problem because Sarai treated her with contempt.

But I learned something really neat through this…regardless of how hard Hagar had it, an angel comes to her and tells her to RETURN HOME and to submit to Sarai, the one that treated her harshly.  God didn't tell her it was ok to run away, he asked her to do something very difficult.  Oh I can't imagine!

My commentary stated that today's battle between Jews and Arabs can be traced back to Abram and his decision to "help God out".  The effects of our sin may reach far beyond what we could ever imagine. (Guzik)  Wow crazy to think that our sin could not only affect our family and children, but also thousands of year later!

Then Guzik said something that hit home to me and I had never thought of before.  He said, "If we seek to change our circumstances, we will jump from the frying pan into the fire.  We must be triumphant exactly where we are.  It is not a change of climate we need but a change of heart.  The flesh wants to run away, but God wants to demonstrate his power exactly where we have known our greatest chagrin."

I don't know who needed to hear this today, but the Lord instructed me to share this with you.  Maybe you are in a really hard situation in your marriage, with your family, at work, or all the above.  But don't run!  Allow God to show His power in your life.  Stay and submit….and watch God do amazing things.  And just like Abram…don't get impatient and take it into your own hands.  It will cause more problems that you don't know how to handle and could affect generations behind you.  TRUST HIM!

And seek to find out what change of heart He wants from YOU.  He isn't finished with you yet.

Just some randoms

We visited a little spice store across from our house for the first time the other day and although things were expensive, it was fun to explore and they have some really neat things.  But the floor…amazing!

This week I had chai with some ladies in my apartment complex and this one was especially neat because in this picture are 4 women that speak 4 different languages (English, Arabic, Turkish and Kurdish).  Yes it is a bit difficult to communicate without language but it doesn't make things impossible.    It was a great afternoon!

Thirsty Karis?!

Love having some alone times with this sweetheart while Brayden is at school and Karis is out with her friends at the playground.  She has quickly become my cooking buddy!

This week the ground keepers started getting things ready for spring and did a lot of tree trimming and cutting.  It smelled like Christmas around here (in March!)….

Lucy almost made all of the dumplings the other night when we made chicken 'n dumplin's and she did great.  I love cooking with her.  She especially loves to get music and us have a dance party while cooking!

The sunset was beautiful the other night but this panoramic shot looks kinda crazy!  It wasn't that dark on the right but somehow the camera adjusted the light and it looked like this.  Kinda cool but also a great illustration of light vs. darkness and good vs. evil.

We received another package this week!  Thanks Mrs. Regina!

I was cutting some strawberries the other day for chai with friends and I came across this strawberry…strangest looking one ever!  Kinda made me giggle!

Family fun day

Today was one of the best days we have had in a while.  It was a BEA-U-TI-FUL day today and the sunshine was just perfect.  We slept in a little (7 is sleeping in right?!) and then enjoyed some Bible readin', coffee drinkin' time with the crew, enjoyed some homemade banana chocolate chip muffins, went to the park so I could run and the kids could play (Sunday mornings here are the best…it is everyone's day off here so nobody is hardly stirring before 10 you have all the parks to yourself!), came back to shower/pack a picnic lunch, then walked over to a new park in town to spend the day.  We picnicked, studied language, talked with some new friends, came back home, ate some ice cream together and then I studied some more while the kids played outside at our apartment, then we ate dinner together.  Then we topped off a great day with some family worship.

IT WAS A GREAT DAY!  

So sad the weekend is over.  Oh well…let's kick Monday in the rear!  

Blessed beyond measure.  :)

TWO packages in a week!

We received our first package since moving this week….but it gets better!  

We received TWO packages this week full of love!

The first package came from Jay's dad's wife Roxy who has the kindest heart of anybody I know.  She is so giving and has been collecting to send us a package of just the things we wanted.  It takes 2-4 weeks to get a package from the States so we have been anticipating it for weeks.  We were all jumping up and down when it showed up at our doorstep!!!  We couldn't' wait for Brayden to get home from school so we could open it!

The first thing the kids saw was their favorite…American candy!

Look at all these goodies…YUM!  We are so grateful!!!!  You don't realize the things you will miss until you can't get them anymore. 

Then a few days later we got ANOTHER package from a sweet friend of mine, Chrissy who out of the kindness of her heart wanted to bless us in this way.  AND it was such a blessing indeed….I seriously cried when I thought about what it cost her to send it, the time and effort that went into the things in the box, and not only did she send us some things on our wish list, but some extra happies too.  Want to know my favorite?!?!  THIN MINTS!!! Seriously, that was like the best surprise ever!  I could have kissed her…thanks Chrissy!

Thank you ladies…you seriously made our week!!!!

Our days in pics...

This store is in the mall across the street and it makes me hungry every time I pass it.  They have AMAZING stuff in here!

Every morning you will find Brayden and I sitting at the salon table doing his English homeschool work.  He also goes to public school every day and reads outside of these times.  It's hard core 1st grade around here!

I was reading Matthew 4 to Brayden and Lucy the other day about the temptations of Jesus and Lucy (in all seriousness) looks at me and says, "Mom if satan every tries to tempt me, I will look at him like this (with this mean face)!"  Haha

Then we got silly....

This looks so pretty I didn't want to eat it!

Love special time with this girl…I am watching her grow up before my very eyes!

Heart shaped fruit and veggies today….

She is soooo growny lately…it's killin' me!

Afternoon language sessions call for afternoon coffee.

  Great helpers in the kitchen...

 Love face timing with the cousins….

We face timed with some friends this past weekend in Italy and that is just the ALPS out their front terrace….awesome!!!

 See?!  I told you…4 going on 16!!!

We received our very 1st package today!  Thank you Roxy!!!!  We love you and are so thankful for your giving heart!  The kids were sooooo excited they couldn't hardly wait!

We were beyond thrilled with a bunch of things we can't get here.

Woohoo you don't realize the things you miss until you don't have access to them anymore!!!!

My girl is soooo me….she was organizing her skittles she got in the package tonight ha!