All things Beautiful

I don't know where that title came from frankly and I have no idea where this post is going. I am just typing....Eli is still asleep, bless his heart. It has been a long few days for him (and Chris and I) as far as taking care of a toddler that has been sick. He is extremely over sensitive when things aren't going well on his inside. It's hard for us to know the best way to handle these times are. It becomes exhausting to a degree, but then we are reminded that this is part of being parents. You take the good and the bad...and the exhausting times...because you realize it's all overwhelmingly worth it at the end of the day.
So anyhow, the delayed blog post has been hard for me. I discussed the dilemma with Chris about the desire to share so much of my heart through the blog...but at the same time being able to figure out what might potentially be used for other things (such as a book....which somedays looks like a small wish instead of God given passion). So, I have been trying to figure out where to go from here. Chris suggested to maybe just share a little less of my heart and a little more about what is going on in family life...which I thought was probably a good idea for a little while...just because I have lacked doing that and therefore, forget what things have been going on with us. So, for now...this work in progress might shift just a little until I can figure out a better way to organize it all!
Bare with me! So with that said...let's try to catch up on family stuff...
Chris celebrated his 31st this month, which was a sweet reminder to me of who the Lord allows me to go through life with on a daily basis. It was a good celebration with friends and family. We also celebrated Mom Keith's birthday which was a good time in fellowship as well. We took a family vacation, which I blogged about that was a good time of rest for the most part. It is a little eery to go to a beach that was so empty, but overall it was a good trip for us. Eli is growing so fast and still loves preschool...though it seems like he hasn't been much this month due to a fall break and his sickness..I am praying that he will be able to go Thursday. This past weekend we ventured to Nashville, which resulted in Eli getting pretty sick at night while we were there, but it was a successful trip for us because I got to see my sister's fun new place (loved it) and Chris got to spend some quality time in nature mowing the land...so, it was a success overall...just wish we were able to bring a well child home instead of a sick one...bless his little heart.
Chris got a wii for his birthday which Eli loves to play....he loves step aerobics...this cracks us up! That is all I can think of on the home front. Hopefully, there will be more to come this week....stay tuned!!

Sir Frances Drake

I know this is something you have probably heard, but I was reminded of it from another blog (Living Proof Ministries Blog)..which I love reading...It was a sweet reminder to not settle for anything but Jesus...and if you think you have enough....you have settled for not enough.

Disturb us, Lord, when
We are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.
We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push into the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.
[Sir Francis Drake]

Beach

So as all three of us lay in the bed here at the beach enjoying one of Eli's music videos I can't help but be grateful for the time we have had to relax and just be a family. We have only seen a handful of people while we have been down here which is nuts for us because we are not use to a nearly empty beach. We have yet to see anyone at the pool here, so it has been a new experience for us. We were praying that we would be able to find people here to be able to just talk to and listen to while we were here, but that has been hard to do. The trip is not over yet and we are about to head to another little town to explore a little and have dinner. Maybe we will meet some people there. Needless to say we have had a good time relaxing. It is a bit hard relaxing with a toddler, but the Lord has been gracious to us, especially after Eli has gone to bed at night. Ha. I thought I would be able to have a ton of time to write on the laptop that I finally have a working battery for, but that time has been slim.
You are reminded of the things in life that matter and the things that don't. So much of what captivates my mind is useless and has no kingdom effect. I struggle with this...but am reminded that the Lord has much bigger things to fill my heart with if I continue to give it to Him.
....so, we are about to go...I will hopefully write more tonight or tomorrow....I just thought for the two people that read this I might give an update as to why the blog has been so delayed in being updated....hope to write more very soon.
The glory of the Lord is evident to me this day through what His hands have created!