Hearing the Whisper...

It's been a long time again. Right now I'm once again in the clubhouse computer room. It's dark and stormy outside, so this will be short. I admittedly get a little scared in here at night by myself and rarely ever do it. I really had to blog this, though. God taught me something amazing yesterday. Here goes:
Psalms 107:1-32 is an amazing passage. You should study it sometime if you get a chance. It's the passage my devotional Bible took me to yesterday, and I spend way more time than I had planned reading it. The Holy Spirit showed me one thing after another. The main thing, though, was in verses 23-32. It talks about "others on the sea" and being in a storm. It talks about how they were scared and "cried out to the Lord in their trouble." Verses 29 and 30 were God's response to their fear; to their cries. It says, "He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven." How awesome! The thing that really stuck out to me was that God stilled the storm. He didn't take it away. It was still there; in a whisper. The men could "see" it if they looked hard enough. I completely feel like this in my life. I know it's been a long time since "our storm," but I can still hear the "whisper." Sometimes it brings me to tears; sometimes to my knees in thanksgiving. It's all about how I choose to listen; how well I want to listen; what I want to hear! In this same devotion yesterday, I also read an amazing poem by Anna Waring. It says:

In heavenly love abiding,
No change my heart shall fear;
And safe is such confiding,
For nothing changes here.
The storm may roar without me,
My heart may low be laid,
But God is round about me,
And can I be dismayed?

Wherever He may guide me,
No fear shall turn me back;
My Shepherd is beside me;
And nothing shall I lack.
His wisdom ever waketh,
His sight is never dim;
He knows the way He taketh,
And I will walk with Him.

Green pastures are before me,
Which yet I have not seen;
Bright skies will soon be o'er me,
Where darkest clouds have been.
My hope I cannot measure,
My path to life is free;
My Savior is my treasure,
And he will walk with me.

Last night, before I went to bed, I looked at the date on my cell and realized it was May 27. It's been 1 year and 9 months since the biggest storm of our lives. And to think, even yesterday, God remembered and had the perfect devotion for me! Hope you are encouraged! He's always there!

Friends...

Stephen's soccer pictures (It's a picture of a picture. That's why the quality is bad. He loves these pictures though, and calls his team "his friends!")



Me (with my brown hair) and Stephen at Thomas Live



Jeremy and Stephen at Thomas Live



The Canter family at Stephen's soccer game



Stephen and Erin at the Museum (the cow was mooing loudly!)


This past week was busy but fun. Let me start with last Wednesday. The boys spent the afternoon and night with my parents, and I took the free afternoon and got my hair re-done. I'm am back to my natural color...brunette...Good bye blonde! I'm praying the upkeep is better; time-wise and financially. Jeremy likes it, and that's what really matters.=) On Thursday, Stephen and I enjoyed a day at the Durham Museum of Life and Science with our friends Ruth and Erin. We had a great time, and I am actually thinking about getting a membership there, so we can visit more often. On Friday, the Canter family came down and spent some time with us. We are so greatful that the miles have not distanced our friendship. We walked to Chic-Fil-A Friday when they got here for some icecream and then laughed as their son, Corey, jumped into the freezing cold pool at the clubhouse! Stephen thought that was so cool...I just hope he doesn't try it!=) After putting the boys to bed, we stayed up late and watched the series finale of Prison Break. I truly hate scary/bloody shows and movies but, for some crazy reason, I have loved Prison Break. Jeremy and I have been fans since the first episode and are a little sad that it's over. We'll just have to anticipate new episodes of 24 now! Saturday morning we got up (the Canters slept in our living room...God bless them!) and went to Stephen's soccer game. He did well again, and a woman I had never met actually came up after the game and complimented me on how well he plays. Who knew? We've got 2 more games and then we prep for t-ball, which starts late June. I am loving having an active little boy!=) After Stephen's game, the Canters kept Caleb at our apartment while we took Stephen to see Thomas Live at the Raleigh Auditorium. I had bought second row, center seats off Craiglist for very cheap! Yay! The seats were great, but the show was so-so. Jeremy and I thought it was cheesy, but Stephen thorougly enjoyed it! We went to eat with the Canters for a late lunch, and they headed back to Winston. We spent Saturday night at the apartment. Sunday was busy with church, but it was great. JD is preaching through a series on prayer, and it has really challenged me. I'm trying to pray as if God was actually sitting there listening (which He is). My words and approach are so different, though, when I consider what I would really say if standing before His throne. This is a new and exciting area of growth for me. This week has been good also. On Monday, Stephen, Caleb, and I hung out at our new friend Jen's house. She has a little boy, James, who is about Stephen's age. They had a great time. On Tuesday, we went to a playdate at another new friend's house. Stephen had fun playing with the other little boys there. I'm praying that he would begin understanding and developing true friendships. Today's Wednesday and right now, my Mom and Maw-Maw have Stephen and Caleb down by the pool. I've stolen a couple minutes to run to the clubhouse and blog. We're headed to Winston tonight. I'm very excited to see some family and friends that we miss so dearly. UG's graduation is Friday night, and I'm excited to see the students! God has blessed us so much here, in our new home, but we still love so many people back in Winston. I am thankful for perserving friendships and new ones!=)

Mother's Day Weekend

Jeremy and Stephen built a "tent" that connected to the TV. They watched WonderPets until Stephen's naptime. Stephen sure loves his Daddy, and I love seeing them love each other!


Caleb "so excited" about Parent Commissioning Sunday!


Stephen and Caleb chilling under a tree at church Sunday.

Sunday was great! Not only was it Mother's Day, but it was also Parent Commissioning Sunday ("Baby Day" at the Summit). The boys surprised me with a Barnes & Noble gift card. I've already used it to buy a planning book for our trip to Disney. The book is huge, and I can barely get enough of it! I love Disney!=) The best part of my Mother's Day gift was that Jeremy volunteered to keep the boys one night while I enjoyed some reading time at Barnes & Noble. I haven't yet taken him up on this but definitely will when "another one of those days" comes up in the near future!=) After service on Sunday, there was a special meal and prayer time for parents "dedicating their children/really dedicating themselves" to the Lord. Both my parents and Jeremy's came, and we enjoyed the fellowship time with them. For Mother's Day supper, Jeremy said we could go anywhere I wanted. We were already home at this point, and I really didn't want to go through the hassle of getting the boys ready. Plus, our time at the restaurant would be nowhere near relazing. We'd be pre-occupying them instead! So, for my special Mother's Day meal, I chose McDonalds! Jeremy went through the drive-thru and for the first time since December (when I started Weight Watchers), I had McDonalds' fries!...Perfect!=) Jeremy and I will get our romantic meal another time! This week has been good so far. We did the Chic-fil-a family night thing again last night, and I completed my first successful Craiglist sale!=) This weekend should be busy with Stephen's soccer game and our trip to see Thomas: Live on Stage!=) I'll post pictures of that later!

Lessons in Life...From a Stroller!!=)

Stephen had another soccer game this morning. He did well, minus any goalie highlights like we had last week! While walking to his field, however, I had a "Holy Spirit teaching time" moment. Jeremy had ran back to the car, so I was pushing Caleb in the pop-up stroller with Stephen walking beside me. The walk to the fields is pretty long. In fact, we usually take our sit-n-stand but couldn't this morning due to limited space in the trunk. So, this morning, Stephen had to walk. Walking, however, was boring, and he insisted on pushing. At first, I let him push Caleb and the stroller by himself. This was taking way too long, and we were going everywhere. I just wanted to get to the field! Then, I met him in the middle and let him hold one handle while I held the other. We pushed together for awhile until again, I got frustrated.=) We were not moving as quickly I would have liked, plus we were pushing against each other more than working together. Finally, I convinced Stephen to let me push, and I took the reins. We made it to the soccer field in record time (although Jeremy did still catch up with us...we had lost some time!). During this whole stroller escapade, I learned a seemingly simple life lesson. The Holy Spirit brought to mind something I seem to learn over and over again. In this journey on earth, Stephen represents me, the stroller represents my life, and I (as the Mommy) represent God. So often I try to take control as Stephen did and do things my way. I do okay for awhile, but then God sees that things could be better if He was in control. I then relinquish one "handle on the stroller," and we "push" through this life together. We do alright, but my path is not the perfect one that God could take me on. Finally, and admittedly I haven't reached this point in every area of my life, I give God the reins. I let go with both hands and give Him total control. He will get me to the "soccer field" at His own pace and along the best route. It may not seem best to me; my way may have seemed easier, but He knows best. He's much wiser and can see beyond what I see. It just seems so hard (kinda like a stubborn 3 year old) to let go! Letting go, however, is the only way for me to truly see that God, my Heavenly Father, knows best. He's waiting for me to give Him control. He will "take me as far as I want to go, as fast as I want to go." Thank You, Father, for being so patient!=) And thank you, Holy Spirit, for teaching me in the every day moments!

Stephen...The Goalie!=)

Yesterday, Stephen had his second soccer game. Based on his performance (not even sure if that's a good word for it), neither Jeremy nor I honestly expected a whole lot. We knew this going in. The league is for 3-4 year olds. Stephen actually missed the cut-off date by a couple days, but they let him anyways. He's undoubtedly the youngest on his team, with some of the other boys having recently turned 5. Jeremy and I have decided to consider this next month of soccer as more of a social time for Stephen as opposed to actually learning soccer! We want him to learn how to "win" and "lose," to interact with other kids, to understand that there are rules, and to listen better to his authorities (in particular, his coaches). This Saturday, however, Stephen exceeded way more than our expectations. He was still his cute, little distracted self, but at the end of the game, he was a star! (at least that's the way his Mommy saw it!) The coach asked if anyone wanted to be goalie, and Stephen immediately raised his hand. His buddy, Corey Canter, is a goalie, so no doubt, Stephen wanted to try that position. With about a minute left in the game (I can't tell you the score, because they don't keep it...so no one gets their feelings hurt, which I think is crazy, losing is part of life...anyhoo...), a big kid (like Goliath compared to little Stephen) came dribbling down the field. Jeremy and I immediately said, "Oh, no" and assumed the Red Dragons were about the score another goal on Stephen and the Carolina Blue Birds. To our amazement, though, this "big kid" kicked the ball (right at Stephen but hard, nonetheless), and our little #2 stopped it like a champ. Literally (this is no exaggeration, you can watch the video!) everyone there watching the game cheered! It was so unexpected that Stephen actually stopped that ball! Jeremy and I busted out laughing! We have bragged on Stephen so much and told him over and over how proud we are of him. Stephen must have watched the video 20 times! He's even went out back in the grass and re-played his "moves" over and over. And now on a more serious note, when we got back in the car Saturday after the game, "Praise You In The Storm" was playing. Jeremy and I took a moment just to thank the Lord for our little boy. We will not forget. We've seen a much greater miracle than one that can happen on a soccer field!