Blessings to Knock Your Socks Off!

Did you know that God ALWAYS provides?

I have a tendency to forget this truth. I've seen Him provide for our family time and again, yet somehow I'm often surprised when He comes through and gives us what we need or want.

The Bible says in Philippians 4:19, "And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus."

In fact, that's where the name of this blog comes from. Our 4 year old son memorized this verse, but instead of "glorious riches" said "glory itches". You'd think that with my blog named after a verse that talks about God's provision, I might expect it and rely upon it a bit more.

Just yesterday though, something happened that has amazed me once again. Our neighbors brought over some baby socks.

This may seem rather ordinary. The neighbor's daughters were cleaning out their rooms and had used baby socks (baby BOY socks) for their dolls. They no longer needed the socks but instead of tossing them they delivered 36 pairs of baby socks to our door.

Big deal, right? Well, yeah, kinda!

You see, when Jesse was born, I dressed him for the first time and realized that I had never remembered to purchase little baby socks for him. But since we were still experiencing summer weather, I figured we'd just get around to it sometime in the future.

Yesterday the weather turned cool. And Jesse had no socks. Until our neighbors knocked on the door. God met a need that I had barely recognized and definitely hadn't had time to think or pray about. But because He cares for my little guy, He provided socks just in the nick of time. That's how great my God is.

Need more examples? I've got 'em!

We gave away all of our baby stuff (except our crib, pack 'n' play, and cradle) because we thought we were done having kids. Obviously, God challenged us on that and along came Jesse.

Incredibly, God has provided ALL that we need for this baby. I can only think of three things that we purchased: our changing table pad/cover, burp cloths and a nursing cover-up. Although the nursing cover was a 2 for 1 deal, so I got one of them free! Sure, I bought one or two outfits, but those weren't necessary. Here's all the stuff that was provided for us through other's generosity (and I'm sure I won't get everything listed!).

- a baby swing
- a car seat
- two bouncy seats
- clothes through the first year at least
- 1290 diapers through size 4!!
- over 1000 wipes
- a diaper bag
- monitors
- a high chair
- hats, socks, booties, baby mitts
- lotion, shampoos, towels, etc.
- winter outerwear
- bedding
- a baby bathtub
- an electric breast pump
- a glider rocker and foot stool
- toys
- 2 weeks of meals
- a Baby Bjorn carrier
- extra birth and after birth supplies
- maternity clothes
- an exersaucer
And all other accoutrements that go along with a new baby.

So, I ask myself. Why do I doubt? Why do I worry?

I have never gone without. My children have never lacked for food or clothing or shelter. We have more than we need. And so often God even provides for our wants.

Indeed, God's riches are beyond measure! And He takes great delight in raining down - no, sometimes pouring out - His blessings.

I will choose to see those blessings and give the credit where it is due. I will praise the Lord.

She's Baaack!

I'm finally back from my long hiatus! It wasn't a hiatus taken by choice. My computer died. I mean, really died. It wouldn't even turn on. We tried going to the Geek Squad and the price they wanted to charge for fixing it was over $500! Instead, we sent it to Dell and although we did have a minimal charge, much was covered under warranty.


The other day, my computer finally arrived back in the mail. Glory be! It's amazing how quickly you come to rely on technology. It's also amazing how much you store on your computer. I had backed up my memory about 6 months ago, but didn't even think to back up my emails. All of my contacts and emails were gone for two months. Thankfully I now have those back since they didn't have to erase my hard drive. Lesson learned, though. I'll be backing up EVERYTHING in the future.


The other reason I've been remiss in blogging is because ...


I HAD A BABY!


If ever a good reason existed, this is it!


On August 20th our fifth child entered the world and captured our hearts. Jesse Hosea is a mello, cuddly little guy who looks just like our other three boys.


Here's David:

And Zack:

And Gabe:

And here's a few of Jesse:

Suffice it to say, I think he's perfect.

I look forward to sharing Jesse's birth story with you. Along with the meaning of his name. But I'll save that for another time.

To You Be The Glory

Really loving this song recently. It's gonna have to go on my play list for during labor. :) Enjoy!

Pack Rats, Hoarders ... and Joy?

The other day I needed some time to veg out. It had been a long day and my brain needed some time away from the reality of kids, housecleaning, pregnancy and to-do lists.

I checked out Netflix and decided to watch an episode of Hoarders. I admit it, I wanted something that was going to make me feel good. I've been working to declutter and organize my home lately and although I wouldn't have admitted it at the time, deep down I was hoping to gather some "Ha! My house doesn't look like that!" kind of good feelings from the show.



All began well. Until I heard people say over and over again that they were called "pack rats" as children and that many hoarders grow up in homes with organized parents. I started to freak out a little bit as I thought back to the day before when I had spent two hours cleaning out my boys' room. And then I freaked out a little more as I realized just how often we call a couple of our children "pack rats". What if my children grow up to become hoarders??!!! What can I possibly do to prevent such a difficult road for them?

I ended the show second guessing my parenting skills. Certainly not the feel good fuzzies I'd been hoping for.

And now I've spent two days contemplating the show, my life and the lives of my children.

But I'm more encouraged now. Because I have realized several very important things. First, I am not a hoarder. Although my house is often a mess and we certainly have more than we need, in reflection I can see that I've made a deliberate decision to spend time with my children rather than focus on a perfect house.

Second, although hoarding is definitely often tied to psychological issues, there was something that stood out in each hoarder's comments. Their joy is in their stuff.

Several times I heard the hoarders or their spouses confess that they derived great joy from shopping for these items. Others found joy in the actual stuff - sometimes because of the memories attached to the items and sometimes because it gave them a sense of worth or self-confidence.

Why do I find these things to be so encouraging? Because it means that there is hope for my pack rat children. It means that I have the opportunity to teach them to find their joy in a source that will not destroy them. What source is that? The one true Source of joy: Jesus Christ!

As I was looking up verses in the Bible about joy, I found this one:
"For to the one who pleases him God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner he has given the business of gathering and collecting." Ecclesiastes 2:26
Hmmm. Interesting.

There are many verses that talk about joy. There are a few that I really like.

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 16:11

Speaking of the righteous: Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion; instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot; therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion; they shall have everlasting joy. Isaiah 61:7 (I found this one particularly appropriate given that with hoarding also comes a deep sense of shame because of the messy and sometimes unsanitary conditions. And so many hoarders have 2, 3, or 10 of the same item simply so that they can have whatever they need on hand at any given time. They collect to provide for themselves, but God will provide a double portion for the righteous - a portion we don't have to buy!)

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. 3 John 1:4

That last one is the kicker. I want my children to walk in God's ways - which the Bible says again and again is the source of our joy.

If I'm to understand Scripture correctly, I can protect my children from hoarding and so many other destructive behaviors by teaching them the truth found in God's Word. If I consistently model trust in God's provision - and draw their attention to the many ways He provides - they will be much more likely to place their trust in Jehovah Jireh once they leave the nest.

I have no desire to come down hard on those who are hoarding. I'm not trying to point my finger and say, "Shame on you!" But for the grace of God, that would be me! Instead, I'm thankful for the opportunity to reevaluate what I'm teaching my children. Stuff is simply that ... stuff. You can't take it with you when you die. But joy in the Lord? That can last eternity!

Where do you place your joy?

Surprise from the Packrats!

To be honest I didn't expect to do any housework today. I had to head out shopping this afternoon and now that I'm entering the 3rd trimester of this pregnancy I'm finding that I really have much less stamina for lots of walking and shopping. Or anything afterwards.

Since I didn't want to clean, I figured I'd have the kids do a little work. (What else do I have little minions for, right?) Thinking I'd get about 15 minutes of productvitiy out of them, I asked all four to head upstairs and begin cleaning their rooms.

Meanwhile, I headed to my own room to fold laundry.

But as I did, I overheard my oldest and youngest working together. The oldest would ask, "Is this to keep or throw away?" And the youngest answered time and again, "I don't want that. Let's throw it away."

Shocking!! My kids are packrats and NEVER. THROW. ANYTHING. AWAY. Never.

I stood in stunned silence listening to the rustle of papers and the sound of said papers hitting the inside of the trashcan. Oh, what bliss!

Now although I had no intention of doing any major cleaning, I couldn't let this moment pass. This sweet and unexpected moment of time when my children were working together to actually declutter our home. Maybe all my work really is rubbing off on them in some way!

So, I did what any sane mother would do. I walked into their room, asked if I could help and began the arduous task of COMPLETELY decluttering their room.

We checked behind and under dressers, we went through bins, we pulled everything out from under the beds, we filled an entire garbage bag with trash - mostly papers and McDonalds type toys - and we sorted, sorted, sorted.

And right now, their room looks awesome. So awesome that I really would like to say they can't play there anymore. But that would be mean.

And what of my sweet daughter? As I worked with the boys for two hours, she worked on her own room. I haven't yet gotten in there with the vacuum, but I know she did her best. I'm guessing we'll work a bit more on it tomorrow, but I'm so proud of her for trying to tackle it on her own. Thankfully, her room isn't nearly as bad as the room where three boys collect everything from buttons and corks to rocks and every card ever given to them.

So although unplanned, it was a hugely productive day. And just in time too. Grandma's coming on Sunday!