make a joyful noise

{via}

i've been a little grouchy, ho hum, bah humbug, lately.reading this this morning was so good for me! 
God sure is faithful in giving us what we need exactly when we need it. i am so thankful!
make a joyful noise yo!'nuff said

childlike. a much needed reminder.

on tuesday evening my husband, youngest son and i went to visit my grand while my oldest was at youth group. when we walked in to the long term care center my heart was so sad. all of the elderly that are at risk for falling were lined up in their wheel chairs around the nurses station. i spotted my grandma and she had her hand in the air like a student.

i approached her and asked her what was the matter. she said pleading "can you please help us? we have been sitting here for over an hour and no one will help us."

 I asked "do you need something?"

she said "yes i do i need to go to the restroom."

i grabbed her wheel chair and as i was doing so, she said. "i was praying to God that he would help me and he sent you. God listens See mi hija God talked to you and you listened."

about that time my son reached us and bent down and gave my grandma a kiss on the cheek. she straightened herself up tall and announced to everyone "this is my great grandson"

i melted.

after we took her to the restroom we took her out side. it was just before dusk all the little birdies were singing their good night songs, the air was cool it was a perfect evening. we listened to her tell her stories. she gave us a much needed laugh.

just before the sunset my mom drove up. when my grandma spotted her she turned to me and said "did you tell your mom that you were coming to visit me?" i hadn't and i told her so. she shook her head in disbelief and said again "God listened. I prayed all day for my family" and point at us all she said, "i prayed for you and you and you and all around." pointing in a circular motion.

she began to yawn, so we took her back in and got her ready for bed. as we were saying our good byes and tucking her in my mom asked her if she wanted to watch t.v. grand said, "no i want to pray." it was so sweet and childlike.

for the last few weeks i have been so distracted that the time i spend with God got pushed aside. no pushed aside isn't accurate. i was deliberately not spending time with God. awful i know. this visit with her was such a good reminder to give God the glory and time that he deserves. he listens and cares even when we don't think so. he's always waiting for us to come to him. and when we do his arms are opened wide.

and HE said: "i tell you the truth, 

unless you change and become like little children, 

you will never get into the kingdom of heaven."

Matthew 18:3

i was pondering sickness and suffering today, because i have been so upset that i have had to see all of my grandparents suffer. when we are sick and suffering we revert to being childlike. maybe that's the point of it. to be childlike to get us to turn back to God. to really really turn to him. and love him as the little children do. 

grand told me recently that when i was little i would dance and sing sunday school songs. my favorite one was "i've got the joy down in my heart" i remember sing and dancing well more like twirling like it was yesterday. anyway, she said she asked me why i loved Jesus. and i said. "i just do!"

after all how does a child elaborate their reasons why. we are born with a love for the Lord, we were created to worship and praise him. 

life is beautiful.

each day is a gift. 

love the Lord innocently & without any reason with all your heart.

&

today just for fun do something childlike.

 

what i learned from the bible 

a challenge.365 link up 

 the idea is for everyone to write a post about

 1}what you read in the bible recently.

 2} how it spoke to you. 

3} how you applied it in your own life.

 4} what you learned form it.

 5}please link up your post not your blog.

 my hope is that through this link up we encourage each other to remain in the word.

 life sure is a heck of a lot easier when we spend time with God each day.

breakdown

 {source}

my grandma was hospitalized again over the weekend. they thought she had another stroke, but she didn't. however the MRI did show that the tissue in the two areas she suffer strokes in in january has died. it's called narcosis. what that means is that the ailments she now due to the original stroke are irreversible. She is not going to get better and will only continue to decline. 

her left side is extremely weak she can move it, but only ever so slightly. her swallow is weak and she can only eat pureed food. she has dementia which has gotten so much worse over the last few months. it hurts so bad to see her like this. she so confused and spends most days crying.

over the last few weeks we have been really busy. like marathon busy. on tuesday night i had a ticks to myself. and everything regarding my grandma hit me like a ton of bricks. i brokedown. if it had ended there i think it would have been okay. but it didn't. when i breakdown i rehash everything that i don't understand and ask why. it was awful, but at the same time it was a much needed release.

i am thankful for my husband for listening, and the tenderness in his voice when he reminded me that God is directing my path.

 in the time that my grand has left we are going to continue loving her well. i'm going to curl up to her on her left side, put my arm through hers, my nose in the crook of her neck. (her smell is one of my favorites) and sing just as i have done for as long as i can remember.

God's in control and i know it.

 

what i learned from the bible 

a challenge.365 link up 

 the idea is for everyone to write a post about

 1}what you read in the bible recently.

 2} how it spoke to you. 

3} how you applied it in your own life.

 4} what you learned form it.

 5}please link up your post not your blog.

 my hope is that through this link up we encourage each other to remain in the word.

 life sure is a heck of a lot easier when we spend time with God each day.

Pray Without Ceasing

what i learned from the bible 

a challenge.365 link up 

 the idea is for everyone to write a post about

 1}what you read in the bible recently.

 2} how it spoke to you. 

3} how you applied it in your own life.

 4} what you learned form it.

 5}please link up your post not your blog.

 my hope is that through this link up we encourage each other to remain in the word.

 life sure is a heck of a lot easier when we spend time with God each day.

this photo...

i saw it.

got supper excited because i have been looking for a photo like this.

i'd take my own photo but clearly i am NOT a photographer,

SO, i pinned. i saw it on pinterest but i sourced it to it original spot

because the person who shot this photo deserves the credit.

IT IS OH SO LOVELY

do you know what that black thing is in the photo?

if you don't 

 it's your lucky day because i am going to tell you.

.source.

the bible says:

"pray without ceasing"

~1 thessalonians 5:17 

"rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, 

continuing steadfastly in prayer;" 

~ romans 12:12

with that being said,

the black thing in the photo above is called a
prayer rope. 


 in greek it's called
komboskini


the prayer rope in the above picture goes on your wrist it has 33 knots.
 however they also come in 50 knot and 100 knot versions.
the 100 knot rope being the original.

it is a tool to help us remember to pray without ceasing.
when you have private moments throughout your day you take it off your wrist
hold it in your left hand, that way your right hand is free to make the sign of the cross over yourself.
on each knot you say this:

The Jesus Prayer
"Oh Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner!"

here is another prayer that can be said using the rope.

"Oh Most holy Theotokos pray to God for us."
i really want to take a minute to talk about this. 
the Theotokos is what many people all over the world call the Virgin Mary.
in greek it literally translates to God-bearer. 
i also want to clarify that in the Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church for that matter we do not pray to her we call out to her and ask for her to intercede to Christ our God for us. 
because after all, what son would turn down his mother!?


if you are interested in a more in depth explanation of the prayer rope read this  it is wonderful.
i could never do it justice.


have you read the way of the pilgrim? it is about one man's journey of wanting to learn to pray without ceasing and what he finds along the way...peace and joy in Christ and how to pray without ceasing using The Jesus Prayer.

what i learned from the bible 

a challenge.365 link up

the idea is for everyone to write a post about 

1}what you read in the bible recently.
2} how it spoke to you.
3} how you applied it in your own life.
4} what you learned form it.

5}please link up your post not your blog.

my hope is that through this link up we encourage each other to remain in the word.

life sure is a heck of a lot easier when we spend time with God each day.

{via}

“Be on Guard. Stand Firm in the Faith. Be Courageous. Be Strong. And do Everything with LOVE. ”
1 Corinthians 16:11

This week has been busy. When we get busy. I get crazy.
Seriously.
Loving & Kind Kelly fly right out the window.
It’s game time. And my game face shows it’s ugly head, and i turn into a nasty barky, grouchy, coachish mom, & a super bossy wife.

 yuck!

When I read this the other day I was super thankful.

I needed the reminder.

Be on guard of the thing that sidetrack me.

Stand firm in the Faith. HELLO!

Be courageous and know that yes,

WE can do all thing through Christ who strengthens us.

Be strong when life gives you lemons make lemonade.

I love lemonade HOLLA!

And

DO EVERYTHING IN LOVE.

Thanks GOD I super needed this.

life's lessons

what i learned from the bible 

a challenge.365 link up

the idea is for everyone to write a post about 

1}what you read in the bible recently.
2} how it spoke to you.
3} how you applied it in your own life.
4} what you learned form it.

5}please link up your post not your blog.

my hope is that through this link up we encourage each other to remain in the word.

life sure is a heck of a lot easier when we spend time with God each day.

+++

i'm solomon.

my journey through the old testament has been a really good one.

i was pleasantly surprised by how much how many stories i already knew.
(i've never read the bible in it's entirety) 

because honestly i know nothing.

back to solomon. 

the entire time i have been reading the old testament i have been thinking to myself 

good LORD why don't these people just get it? why don't they just LOVE God?

it's so easy right?

RIGHT?

for the last few days i have been reading in 1 Kings 1-11 about Solomon's succession of King David.
the Lord had such high hopes for him, and Solomon did do some really great things.
 but like me he lost his focus
he married women who were not israelites, and said women led him to worship their idol gods.
hello solomon that's a big NO. NO.
God gave the instructions to Moses.
  yeah dude remember the 10 commandments.
 it's in the ark of the covenant that you had put inside the temple that you built for the Lord.
commandment numero uno...
DO NOT WORSHIP ANY GOD EXCEPT ME.
RE-MEM-BER

if only solomon would have been like his father, and truly loved the Lord with all his heart and soul and listened oh if he'd listened.

 it's easy to be judgey. i keep trying to remind myself that one day i will be face to face with the ultimate judge and i had better stop judging others peoples mishaps and simply learn from them.

i feel like i am solomon and all the silly kings before David
because i know what i am supposed to do...
"love the Lord my God with all my heart all my soul and with all my strength and with all my mind"
luke 10:27

i feel like i do but, do i? do i show it?
i mean when no one else is looking does the
 Lord My God
know everyday that my heart beats for Him, and Him alone.

i have a ton of work to do. and believe me when i say
i'm not making excuses for myself, but there truly is so much in todays world to distract us.
like the time my niece and i tried to perfect our duck face for our facebook profile...
oh to be in jr.high again NOT

{i have since closed my personal facebook page} one distraction down 9 billion to go.
i know that for the rest of my earthly life it will be trial and error.
i know that some seasons will be good and some will be hard.
distractions creep in.
but my hope is that the good seasons, the seasons where i am on my A game and living and breathing the word will become the majority of my seasons.
and all the poo that distracts me will be come less and less.

i really want to let my light shine.

By God's Grace



i can't stop sing this song.
i {heart} it!
i especially love it when my boys join in.



+++

Life's Lessons Thursdays

i feel like i have been a really bad steward of my time lately. i can tell you a million excuses as to why.{this week it was watching every episode of Downton Abbey} but what i have come to realize is that if it takes work i don't want to do it. 

lame. i know. 

the 365 days of his word challenge is near and dear to my heart. i wasn't a good steward of that either, but it's time for a change. 

i really want to make the time and put forth the effort in my life each day to live in the word of God

 i feel so much better when i do. facing the day with my armor is so much easier than not.

somehow even the gravest of situations seem manageable when actively spending time with the Lord.

i found some really cool quotes about reading the bible 

The Bible is a book that has been read more and examined less than any book that ever existed. 

~Thomas Paine

When you read God's word, you must constantly be saying to yourself. "It is talking to me, and about me."

~Soren Kierkegaard

Bible reading is an education in itself.

~Lord Tennyson

Reading the Bible without meditating on it 

is like trying to eat without swallowing. 

~Anonymous

all of these and the bible itself {of course} 

got something stirring inside of me.

so, here is the deal.

on the first and third thursday of each month 

i am going to host a link up called 

lessons in life: what i learned from the bible.

the idea is for everyone to write a post about 
1} what you read in the bible recently.
2} how it spoke to you.
3} how you applied it in your own life.
4} what you learned form it.

easy enough right?

it's on two times a month. 
the first link up will be on March 1st.

i do hope you'll join me.

Never place a period 

where God has placed a comma.

 God is still speaking. 

~Gracie Allen

*side note* you do not have to be signed up for challenge 365 to participate.