Thankful November- Day 2

Day #2

I am thankful for my husband.

 

He has loved me since he first laid eyes on me, or so that's the story he tells. He says he saw me on July 4th, 1991 at the Newport News Airport where the city held it's 4th celebration. He even knew what I was wearing and where I was standing, so I have to assume that what he says is true, even though that totally blows my mind. According to him, he saw me and told his friend that he was going to marry "that girl." He didn't meet me that night. He met me a few months later at a local college. 

 

The Lord caused our paths to collide. Just last night he asked me if I'd go back and do it again and my response was, "Yes, I'd definitely choose you all over again- no doubt at all." 

 

Honestly, it still makes my head spin to think of all the girls that were "interested" in him and he chose me. Seriously, he had more girlfriends that I can even count! But, he chose to spend his life with me.

 

Of course there are days where I am not overflowing with thankful sentiments. (Gasp!) We are NOT a perfect couple. However still, when I lay my head down on my pillow, I am thankful to the Lord for having joined us together. I have no idea what the future holds for us, but I am thankful to have his strong shoulders to cry upon and his loving arms to wrap around me whenever I need them. 

Thankful November

Alrighty, I am going to try something a little different this month. Since it's November 1st, I am going to try and blog something everyday that I am thankful for. Truely, thanksgiving should happen in our lives everyday, but purposefully reflecting on giving thanks is never a bad thing.

Today, I am thankful that the Lord did not leave me where I was.

I was just thinking about the woman I am today. I would not be who I am without having gone through the things that I went through as a teenager, but I sure do wish I could go back and talk to that "love-crazed" girl and enlighten her. I'm not sure where the train of thought came from yesterday, but I know there are people in this world who knew me back then, and because they are human, I fully expect them to have opinions about the girl that I was. The girl who was "looking for love in all the wrong places." Funny, as soon as the thought entered my mind, I understood Grace in it's truest sense. Luckily, I knew, and still know, a Savior and He took all that sin and removed it -as far as the East is from the West. It does not define me.

I am thankful for the blood of Jesus Christ, that has redeemed me and kept me for His own.

Just a moment

I wish you could see and hear the things I can right now. The cat is laying behind the computer in the warm sunlight. The grass is green and out the picture window I can see the church's red shed, a yellow butterfly dancing her way among the tall grass by the railroad tracks, and a blue/green ball that the kids play with outside. Right this very moment, things are peaceful here even though all the children are awake.

 

Praise be to God! Seriously, these moments pass me by all the time. He called me this morning, in the quiet, and I heard Him. I'm not kidding you that it is a moment in time. Even now, as I continue to type, Caleb walks in singing, "Holy, holy, holy..." While I love that he's singing, I want to hush him and say "I was having a God moment here!" I want to, but I don't. Doesn't he deserve to sing praises to God this morning? Yes, he does. You know, I want to be the kind of mom that encourages my kids to sing when they feel led. So, I be quiet.

 

It really supports the theme for today. Today, in one of the devotions that I read, it spoke about praise. Praise has always been something I know to do. It comes naturally to me. I have been known to burst in to song in the middle of very stressful moments. And you know, I think it's scriptural.

 

  Isaiah 61:3  ...the garment [expressive] of praise instead of a heavy, burdened, and failing spirit--that they may be called oaks of righteousness [lofty, strong, and magnificent, distinguished for uprightness, justice, and right standing with God], the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.

 

I think this verse is key to peace in the different seasons we face in life. "Singing while you are doing the dishes and folding laundry will put a spring in your step and joy in your heart. Are you one of those spiritually anorexic Christians who only sing songs of worship on Sundays? You are missing the best part of life!" -YouVersion Holy Emotions Devotion.  When I read that, I thought, oh man are people missing out if they only worship on Sunday! I hope that you will begin to worship at all times of the day. I hope that you will wear a garment of praise instead of a garment that's heavy and burdened. I do believe that it is a choice.

My moment has passed, but His sweet presence lingers on....the door bell just rang and someone needs a diaper change!  

Who Knew?

A wise friend told me a few years ago that writing was a great outlet and encouraged me to continue writing, even when I have nothing poignant to say. I may let the creative juices flow again and begin to write again. I guess I've been in a "season" where even writing seems like a luxury that I cannot afford. And I don't want this is become a place where complaining reigns- that is NOT going to happen. Complaining, in my opinion, doesn't get you anywhere and is a waste of energy.

Our life has been crazy busy, but a good kind of crazy. These 2 little boys keep us on our toes from the time they get out of their crib to the time they go back in! As I type right now, Benjamin is walking around with a Walmart bag filled with a dirty diaper, saying "poop." Life is never dull around here. These are the times, I pray that I am able to remember, these moments when they still care what my opinion is, when they love to still sit in my lap and my hugs are the most important thing before bed. I know that life can be short and I know that in a moment life can change.

I am actually glad to be homeschooling my kids this year. I hope and pray that I have finally overcome the battle that I go through every year. I was thrilled to get started today and love the time we get to have together. I want to make clear that I in no way think this is the only way...it's just our way. It is the way the Lord has led us, for our family. So, as I talk about my happiness please don't be offended or feel that I am condemning your choice. It is one of the reasons that I love the country we live in- choices. I will respect your choice to send your kids to public school and you need to respect my choice to teach them at home. It really is that simple.

Life is interesting and we are KrinerChaos but I wouldn't have it any other way. To God be the glory!

Financial Peace University

We are taking Dave Ramsey's class, called Financial Peace University, to get our $$ under control. I wish we had taken this class 20yrs ago! Seriously, oh my goodness, where we would be financially and what we could have avoided!

I will admit that our 1st budget "meeting" was painful. There just aren't enough $ to go around and we must come to an agreement each month about what is and isn't going to go in the budget. I'll tell you we have pretty much operated on the "don't ask for permission, but ask for forgiveness" kind of life style. I am thinking that's what got us in to trouble for all these yrs. We've always shopped at thrift stores. I purchased a pair of brand-spanking new Nine West jeans last week for myself and paid $9.98. I honestly stood in the middle of the store and debated on whether I should spend that on myself! David just looked at me like I was being ridiculous. Shopping at the mall is a luxury that this family hasn't known. We also have had paid in cash for vehicles too. A family on one income must make some sacrifices, and that was the one thing we did make a decision to do when I stopped working. So basically, I feel like we have made some good decisions, but man, have we made some bad financial decisions.

You will never guess where the most of our money goes...come on, it's not that hard....FOOD! We spend more on food than any other bill we have. Now if you had asked me what we spent on food before we started this class I would have just guessed a round about number, and walked away feeling good about myself. However, when I added up all the debit swipes that were at a food place, the total began to rise. I will spare you the number, but it was totally a humbling experience. So, this month we are going to use cash to pay for all food related things. When the cash is gone, that's it. I have a feeling that dessert time and snack time are going to be what gets the crunch, so I hope my sweet baker is ready to make things from scratch, because this Momma isn't going to buy junk and not have meat in the house for dinner!

I am going to proudly drive my paid-for 15 passenger van to the store, use my coupons and we are going "live like no one else now, so we can live like no one else later." Take the class if you can, it will challenge you to think about where your money is going and if that's really where it should be going.

Let's Give It a Try Again

You know, life has really been crazy and I feel the need to write again. I seem to go through spells where writing helps me make the trip to sanity and back each day. I am in need of that, or it could be that I just need a listening ear....I think it's the latter of the two.

So many things to talk about...where should I begin. Things haven't gone as I thought they would since I last started to revive this blog. I wonder why we think that we can plan life? We plan and plan and you know what...it can all go a totally different way than we'd have ever planned. I can tell you this, my new motto is "Lord willing and the creek don't rise." Not sure where on earth I heard that saying, but it does help me place my trust in what I don't know...I don't know what tomorrow is going to hold, or next week, so I can plan and plan, but it may not turn out quite like I had thought.

Basically, this week I will venture to write again, about something that I think is interesting or just my ramblings, of course that is- Lord willing and the creek don't rise.

Abandoned Blog

This blog has been abandoned for a long time, but I've decided to resurrect it! I've decided that it would be a great tool to journal the newest journey we've started on- ADOPTION.

He's been in our home since Dec 13th, and what an adventure it has been!

To make a very long story short, a dear friend of ours called with a serious problem involving a newborn baby and we offered to give his son a home and family. I have been praying for another child for 7 yrs. I have been praying that the Lord would open my tied tubes or open the door for us to adopt by way of funding. I never in a million years imagined that the Lord would open this door. It amazes me how the Lord answers prayer in ways that we couldn't have even thought up! He was named by his birth father, David and myself. We all had the same name in our minds and I don't believe that it was a coincidence. We named him Benjamin Michael.

I flew to Louisiana, on Sunday the 12th, picked this precious baby boy up and flew home the following day. I cannot even fully explain all the emotions that I went through that day. He was a perfect angel on the trip and amazed all the other passengers. One of our fellow travelers was a corporate Pepsi guy on his way to his annual meeting in Atlanta. He was, just like many, interested in hearing about tiny Benjamin.

The adoption isn't final, we've just begun actually, but he is here and we are going to love him just like he is a Kriner. My hope is this- that we will give him exactly what he needs- love and lots of it!