Another story on disobedience..

I know that blogging really puts our family out there for "the world" to see what I share so freely most of the time deals a lot with the cute little things my children are doing these days. Lately, I have been convicted to explain my pictures and write more. I hope in this picture you can actually click on it and see the lightning bugs. For the past few days Makayla has had a urge to have Josh and I run out and catch as many as we can only to put them in her little bug catcher so she can watch them glow as she falls asleep at night. Tonight her and I both learned something..Josh and I read our bible as normal and decided that we would watch another "Way of the Master episode" It was on "True church". Two times during this episode Makayla gets up, comes to our room to tell us she wants to catch the Lightning Bugs, (which we have already told her not tonight due to the short nap, long day we would let her tomorrow night) So this time as she comes back the 3rd time I had to spank her, tell her how she has disobeyed and how she also lied and said she would stay in her bed the past other 2 times she got up and she now was going to lose the opportunity to catch lightning bugs tomorrow night too! These moments are getting NEAR and DEAR to mine and Josh's heart as we are learning just how SINFUL our PRECIOUS CHILDREN ARE. Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." That scripture holds TRUE over and over again to ALL!! After praying and yet again placing Makayla back in her bed. She looks at me with those sweet blue eyes right after I prayed with her and said "Mom God just told me that if I quit crying I can go outside and catch lightning bugs." My heart just ached at how many times I too have formed God into MY will and MY desires. After explaining that Yes God is LOVE, and HE LOVES to watch us Enjoy things HE CREATED such as these "Lightning Bugs", HE is also a JUST GOD. A HOLY ONE! DO we really get that?? I so want that for my children. Don't you? So when do we teach them? The TIME IS NOW!! So then I told her that she would not be able to catch those amazing bugs tomorrow but I would take her outside and let her LOOK at them. I proceeded to tell her the story of when Moses disobeyed God, he wasn't allowed to enter the Promised Land. However, God did allow Moses to look and gaze at it, and that is just what I will allow Makayla to do for her disobedience.

Now I know most of our family read our blog everyday and many will not comment and that's ok. I simply don't write or post to get negative or positive feedback. I am learning to write in my own prayer journal of where I have been and watching God work and move in my life, some will spill over to my blog so I'm preparing you grandparents now. So Mamaw and D'Bo as hard as it is to hear of how your precious grandchildren may be punished and seeing these on our family blog I trust and pray that you guys will back us up as you always have in raising our children to FEAR THE LORD. Actually this is to all our Brothers and Sisters in Christ as well. I believe that we are called to come alongside one another in this process. We need all the help we can get. According to scripture that again states very plainly of how satan is alive and thriving. We are seeing this in our families today with divorce, busyness (Being Under Satan's Yoke), fatherless homes, gambling, pornography, alcohol ect. ANY ADDICTION! 1 Peter 5:8 "Your enemy, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." WE MUST BE TEACHING, CORRECTING, and REBUKING. It is up to us! If you have read this long email, Congratulations, I believe this is my longest one yet so thank you in advance and reading just a little of what God has laid on my heavy heart! Blessings!!

Our Busy weekend...

We took the kids to the zoo...and also for their first time they played Putt Putt and they had a blast!!










































I liked this picture, not just because it is of Downtown Nashville, TN but because Makayla talked about how it looks like a kitty cat (aka..The Batman building) Too funny!!

Memorial Day

GO TEAM JIM!!!

Today Eli will run her marathon run on behalf of her husband who is fighting Leukemia. Please continue to pray for this sweet family.

Happy Birthday Mamaw!

Drew Brady took this picture. He likes the up close and personal pictures...

Family NIght

Popcorn and Candy land...Can't get any better than that!

Yay! no rain today.. It's 80 something degrees outside, whatever will we do...

Surprise for my husband

Today was such a blessing as my mom came to watch the kids so I could surprise my husband and take him to lunch. JUST THE TWO OF US...( I think thats a song..) Anyway times like this is really making us realize that we need to make every minute we get some alone time COUNT.

Mother's Day 2009

D'Bo (my mom) Grandma Gill, and Mawmaw

They were all making silly faces at first.


Uncle Tommy, Aunt Patty, Papaw, Aunt Gina, and Grandmama

Dawne, Mamaw, Josh and Sarah
























Me, Tony Lee, Mom and Charisse

















All our neices and nephews on Josh's side.


















My kids and my neice Caitlin on my side.

Happy Mother's Day!

Some one definitely needs to get a serious picture of me and Mamaw..This is the only one I had. Happy Mother's day!!

We are so proud of you Tony Lee!

What an accomplishment to finish college. We love you!!

Teaching (and as always learning) as I go...MY MISSION FIELD

Why We Pray (Makayla and Drew Brady praying for our day today)

As American troops stormed the beaches of Normandy, President Franklin Roosevelt called for our nation to unite in prayer. He also offered a prayer to prepare each citizen for the road ahead. "Let our hearts be stout, to wait out the long travail, to bear sorrows that may come, to impart our courage unto our sons wheresoever they may be. And, O Lord, give us faith. Give us faith in Thee." The victory that followed on June 6, 1944-also known as D-Day-began the march to Berlin. Eighteen months later, WWII was over and one of the world's greatest evils had been defeated. The prayers of a nation had been a powerful force.

Prayer has always been used in this country for guidance, protection and strength-even before we were a nation or a handful of colonies. The Pilgrims at Plymouth relied on prayer during their first and darkest winter. Our founding fathers also called for prayer during the Constitutional Congress. In their eyes, our recently created nation and freedoms were a direct gift from God. And being a gift from God, there was only one way to insure protection-through prayer.

President Abraham Lincoln knew this well. It was his belief that, "it is the duty of nations as well as men, to owe their dependence upon the overruling power of God." When it came to the fate of the nation, he practiced what he preached. Before the battle of Gettysburg, he turned to God in prayer. "I went to my room one day and I locked the door and got down on my knees before Almighty God and prayed to him mightily for victory at Gettysburg." Won by the Union, Gettysburg was one of the turning points in the war that ended slavery and kept the states united. Today the need for prayer is as great as ever. Our nation again faces battlefields, along with an epidemic of broken homes, violence, sexual immorality and social strife. As the heroes of our nation did in the past, we must again bow our heads in prayer. We must ask the Lord to bless our leaders with wisdom and protection, and that we will have the fortitude to overcome the challenges at hand. If Roosevelt, the Pilgrims and Lincoln never underestimated the power of prayer, neither should we.

It is our goal that you, your family and friends would participate in the National Day of Prayer. We pray that the event impacts your life, and that praying for our nation moves from a one-day event to a lifetime endeavor. So join us on the first Thursday in May and pray with conviction that God would continue to shed His grace on thee.

For a couple of weeks now I have been convicted that before we start our day doing anything that Makayla, Drew Brady and I should be praying first thing. Inviting HIM into our day and as always as I am growing, I pray that somehow as a stay at home mom that these two toddlers are seeing HIM everyday through me in some small way. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says to pray continually. Jesus gave us an amazing example in Matthew 6: starting in verse 9. Who wouldn't want to have fellowship with the ALMIGHTY??

Makayla asked who and what do we pray for? Keeping in mind she is four..I just went with it and said EVERYONE! From our families, church, church family, our nation and leaders, the sick and "the lost", (people who don't know Jesus)

I am to BLOOM where I am planted... Thank you Father for allowing me to be home with just 2 of your beloved, and calling me to be their mother. May I give you the honor and glory that you so well deserve.

Spiritual Taste Buds

I have been reading "He speaks to me"by Priscilla Shirer. Something in her book reminded me of the pictures you will find at the end of this. Some of this I will quote word for word and some I will try to paraphrase since you all know.."I'm a talker". Like my husband says..."Just get to the point, April!" I don't want to miss out on words that "Make ALL the difference."
Receiving God's direction and following it are two different things. What if I dont want to walk into the way He say's to go?(is it too hard? too convicting? would it offend anyone?) I've often claimed to desire God's direction for my life, but what I've really wanted is for HIM to bless the path I've already chosen for myself. How can I follow God's direction when my heart's not really in it?

Paul gives you a bit of truth you need to know: "God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases HIM' (phil 2:13) This verse says that desiring and doing God's will are not our responsibility; they are HIS. In other words "God will cause you to want to do what is right and give you the power to pull it off. What a relief, huh?" ( I dont believe we are to just sit around though expecting HIM to do it ALL. HE has already done that. I do know that as we want to learn our husbands and wives likes and dislikes and when you meet a new friend you have to find out more about them in order for your relationship to grow.) That means doing YOUR part. When I met Josh I didnt automatically know him. My goal was to WOW him. I wanted to cook his favorite meals, bake his favorite desserts. Play his favorite sport and (secretly try to beat him at..ha ha which I couldn't and still can't do, since his favorite sport is GOLF!! I can almost beat him at putt putt though) Anyway, you put in alot to a relationship to know the person. I believe that is what we are to do to HEAR and KNOW the LORD. TO learn HIS likes and dislikes. TO love the things from HIM.
"When I was pregnant,I began a love affair with chocolate. I had never had a taste before until about my 8th month of my pregnancy. One day, all I wanted was chocolate. Something happened while the new life was growing inside me that completely changed my taste buds and made me desire something I had not really wanted before. Now I couldn't seem to get enough of it.

When the new life of the Holy Spirit takes up residence in you, He begins to change your spiritual taste buds. He causes you to understand and desire God's will for you. This means that when you and I are in fellowship with God and REMAIN in HIS WORD, our emotions and understanding will change so that we desire the same things GOD desires.
No longer do I frantically search for God's will; now I just desperately search for God. I trust that it is His responsibility to show me what HE wants me to do and how I am to go about doing it. As I SEEK HIM, STAY IN HIS WORD, and CONFESS EACH OF MY SINS to HIM, HE transforms my mind and emotions to align with HIS PLANS and purposes for my life.

It's still unbelievable to me that my tastes changed so radically because of my pregnanacy, but that's what happens when NEW LIFE TAKES UP RESIDENCE IN YOU. When the Holy Spirit takes up residence in us, HE changes our tastes more and more every day so that we desire to do what pleases HIM.

Sorry so long but again these pictures of Makayla and Drew Brady fell right into this today. Thanks for sticking in there and reading. God Bless You!

Spending the weekend with Megan and Maddie

They were all drawing.

They loved playing downstairs in the basement.
























































The Bibleman adventure team....

Playing in the Rain!!



































Waiting for their turn playing the Wii










Playing baseball in the basement.