Crusaders for Christ Camp

didn’t even know what to do with myself this week. My children were blessed by our church, and were able to go to summer camp this year. They had never been to camp before. Sending them was a little nerve racking but I knew that they would encounter God in a different way. And they sure did!!!! The three younger kids went. Sam will go next week. The girls were together and Preston was with our small group leader from our church so he was with people he knew.

Each day the kids has praise and worship, times to pray for each other and others. They raised their hands and they praised God! This just blesses my heart to no end. Knowing that my children are “getting it”. Getting that God is not religion, that God is life, God is love, God is relationship. Blessed so blessed that they got to go.

At the closing service the children who had made a profession of faith or who had made a promise to rededicate their lives to Christ were invited to write their names on the cross

There was typical camp stuff as well. Swimming, horse back riding, crafts, hiking etc. They had a wonderful time.

Family legacy

My grandfather died when I was a teenager, and I remember how broken everyone was. I remember thinking often back then about the times I spent with him and thought about how my (future) children wouldn’t ever get to know him. That broke my heart. Fast forward to me now being a mom of four! I was so thrilled when Sam decided last year that he wanted to play an instrument and he chose a trumpet. How exciting for me! As his grandfather was a trumpet player. We still have my grandfather’s trumpet in our family. And Sam has been using it this year! He is in band as well as taking private lessons. How exciting to experience his first music recital performance! I know his great grandfather Papa Nadeau would be so proud.

My Happy Place

e have the privilege of having babysitters that love our kids like they are apart of their family. The Creech family, has loved on us basically since we moved to North Carolina. Even when Matt was still up in Massachusetts they went out of their way to love on our family. Well their oldest Morgan celebrated her birthday the other day at the farm where she works. We had so much fun! My girls are truly animal lovers, and are thrilled whenever they get the opportunity to be around animals. We had so much fun. The farm is a rescue for animals that may have been bought by families who have decided they are no longer wanted, or animals that need some extra TLC. Yes that is a baby kangaroo!!! He is the sweetest and I can’t even begin to tell you how soft his fur is. His name is Hamilton .

Saying Good bye

Today was a pretty hard day. My sweet brother Dennis and his wife Johanna are moving away. God has called them to Texas, and it is so hard to see them go. My brother has been such a tremendous influence in my life and in my faith walk. As a military soldier that has had to bury too many friends, and who has seen his friends suffer horrifically, as a police officer who has seen the worst of human kind, he has remained true to our God, true to the knowledge that God is with us in whatever comes our way. My brother has reminded me continuously about claiming God’s promises over my life and the lives of my children. With all the illness, hospitalizations and anxiety that comes along with that, I often times get worried and stressed and he brings me right back to the realization that God has totally got it all under control. It is going to be hard not seeing him as often as I would like.

We had so much fun planning his party. It was texas as well as patriotic themed. My brother DJ and his wife Lyndsea came up from Florida and the rest of us were all here as well as my parents.. I also love getting all the cousins together. There are now 12! And they range between 2months to 15 years. SO MUCH FUN!!!!

The working mom struggle

As a nurse I am fortunate to not have to work 5 or more days a week. But unfortunately that also means that my days are 14 plus hours….. I got up this morning at 04:15 and didn’t get home until 8:30pm. If tonight was a school night I wouldn’t have gotten to see my babies today. It breaks my heart. I hate being away from my babies but I love caring for others.

It is so hard. I feel that God has called me to be a nurse and I truly feel blessed to have the opportunity to compassionately care for his children. But then I am feeling guilty because I am paying someone else to care for my own babies😔 Do you feel that way? Blessed to have a calling? But struggling with guilt over other parts of your life?

How would you know?

A beautiful reminder…..

*I didn’t write this and am unsure who did. But was posted on Facebook and I asked that person if I could share…..

If you never felt pain , then how would you know that I am your HEALER?

If you never went through difficulties, then how would you know that I am your DELIVERER?

If you never had a trial, how could you call yourself an OVER-COMER?

If you never felt sadness then how would you know that I’m a COMFORTER ?

If you never made a mistake, then how would you know that I am FORGIVING ?

If you knew all, then how would you know that I will answer your questions?

If you never were in trouble, then how would you know that I would come to your rescue ?

If you never were broken then how would you know that I can make you whole ?

If you never had a problem, then how would you know that I can solve them?

If I gave you all things then how would you appreciate them ?

If I never corrected you then how would you know that I love you?

If you had all power then how would you learn to depend on me?

If your life was perfect then what would you need me for?

~GOD

This speaks directly to me. I worked last night and came home this morning exhausted and desperately wanting to nap. But due to the current weather here in the south my kiddos had no school. No rest for the weary. 😀 I so wanted to go to church tonight but road conditions are deteriorating. But I am warm and dry with a full belly with a beautiful family. I am blessed! My kids got new masks today to protect them from all the nasty germs out there

Trying to find my calling

We all know that God calls us. We don’t all know what He calls us to do…. I have struggled so often with this. God what is it that you want me to do. How can I love your people like you want me to. How can I be your hands and feet extended? And as I am seeking His will, I am shown the day to day, the seemingly small interactions with people are a part of my ministry and yours too.

God places people in our path every day that need Him! EVERY DAY! You can change a life EVERY DAY! By being His hands! Giving someone a hug, reaching out and serving someone who is weak or sick. Paying for the person’s coffee, baysitting for that young mom who has no one else. Telling someone that they look nice, thanking someone for their kindness or hard work. We have so many opportunities. I have been seeking His will and His direction, and He has been directing it all along.

Now I am not saying that there isn’t more. That He doesn’t have something else, but I am just saying that as you are seeking and desiring His will, use each step along the journey.

I am really excited to be able to take a journey with a Christian counseling center for pregnant women. I have been feeling his call for me to serve here for a while now. I just didn’t know how I could financially pay for the class to become able to counsel these girls. You know what happened? My small group leader Yvonne mentioned how she knew that God was calling me into ministry she just hadn’t had confirmation about where yet. And then I mentioned Grace Connection to my small group leader at church. And she said that they would pay! WOW GOD!!!! I was blown away. I didn’t even think to ask God to send someone to pay for this. But God in the midst of my desire sent the right person to talk to me about serving.

This weekend was supposed to be a weekend away with our church family. But my kids have the flu. Matt took my oldest and youngest and I stayed home with Preston and Sophia since they have the flu. I was tired. I was worried. When Sophia’s temperature hit 105.4 I was scared. BUT GOD! My mom came, my friends and family were praying, and today this morning both Preston and Sophia are no longer out of it, are no longer running fevers, and are playful and happy.

I was so disappointed to not go away this weekend. But staying home has allowed me to listen to church on line. My home church in Winchendon Massachusetts has a new pastor, And he is wonderful. I don’t often get to listen to his services, but my desire is that I can make the time each week to listen to it moving forward in 2018.

Today my prayer for you and for me is that you begin to realize that yes God has called you and He has an amazing plan for your life. But that He also has amazing plans for every step of the way. God’s got you, ALWAYS

GOD BLESS!!!!

Battles and Blessings

This walk, this journey, is full of battles and blessings. My scripture reading for today discussed this topical thoroughly. “When we are in the battle it is hard to believe that it will ever come to an end. When we are in a period of blessing we sometimes expect it to go on forever. But life is not like that. There are battles and blessings.”

Proverbs 1:1-7 gives us wisdom for daily living. Joyce Meyer says, that wisdom “is choosing to do now what you will be happy with later on” Wisdom is the fear of the Lord, wisdom is to respect and honor Him. If we honor Him daily, with reverence, if we seek His wisdom and guidance, we will be blessed by His presence in every aspect of our lives, whether we are in a period of battle or a period of blessing.

Sometimes as a mom of 4 children every day life can feel overwhelming, and like a battle. The days when there is lots of whining, or when kids are sick and feeling terrible, when they are short with one another and not getting along. Or when your to do list seems miles long, and your days to do it are just too short. Today was one of those days for me. We are originally from Massachusetts but since we have moved south we are in a area where snow causes everything to shut down. My kids had school cancelled for today and tomorrow, there isn’t even an inch of snow that fell. And therein lies my problem, my battle….. I have so much to do and now am unable to. The kids are home and I absolutely love having the time with them, to do puzzles and games and play…. but that eradicates any time to do my mile long to do list.

Tonight as I did my little Sassy’s infusion, I was reminded that God is with us in all of lifes battles. Some days my sweet 4year old doesn’t mind those needles and some days I am the meanest mom ever for doing it to her. A little snuggle, a little singing and a little Doc McStuffins made this all better.

Battles are always going to come, but God will prevail throughout it all. Be blessed!!!

Walking

Lets face it, I am a tired mama. I have four kids, I am a nurse who works night shift. I sleep in approximately 4 hour increments. I am tired. I feel like I am on that perpetual hamster wheel….. you run and you run and you run. You get some things accomplished but not necessarily all that you were hoping to. Yesterday my intention was to fold all the laundry, my sweet Sassy decided that she needed a fort, she needed a blankie for her baby. And Bug decided that he needed to snuggle. So the laundry it is still waiting…. and waiting…. and waiting….. My kids went back to school yesterday after Christmas break, and I thought that there might be that down time that I so desperately want. Yeah right! There is always something right? Oh gosh do I love these four. I feel as though I don’t really want to put all their info out there… so my babies will be SS, Beautiful, Bug, and Sassy.

Todays scripture readings discuss walking with God. Walking in close companionship, developing the type of relationship that allows constant contact/conversation with our Creator.

And then there is that thing called exercise. And we all know that we should do it. We all know how important it is. We all know that it would make us feel so much better. But why then is it so hard to get started? What about walking? What if we could plan to meet with our friend every day for 20 minutes and catch up? Vent? Share hopes and dreams with? What if the plan was a 20 minute power walk with a dear friend? God wants to be that dear friend. He wants us to walk with Him in all of our daily life. He wants us to share our hopes and dreams, fears and failures. Noah “walked with God” and he communicated so deeply with Him. “Walking with God” is how we were intended to live. (Micah 6:8) says that we should walk humbly with him. We should be speaking with him like he is our best friend walking right along side us. He wants to be the one to carry our burdens, rejoice in our triumphs, sustain us in our exhaustion. Let’s aim to walk with Him daily, to keep Him close and to speak with Him as our constant companion.