Loved?

What do you think about this? Did you have a boyfriend in High School that you *loved* but you don't have any feelings towards now (and rarely even think of him)? Maybe you were married before and would not say that you love that ex-husband now? Does that mean you never loved them in the first place?

I think I could write a book about this, but I'll try to keep it to one blog post - we'll see if that's possible (*wink*).

(1) I watched an interview with Paul Tripp where he excellently explained some of the problems in marriages. This is a quote from that interview:


"I was meant to live in these two communities: Loving worship of God and inner dependent love of my neighbor – but sin turns me in on myself.

Sin causes me to think: “I don’t actually love you – I like you in my life as long as you are loving me as much as I love me – Sin actually causes me to dehumanize the people in my life.

People become either vehicles or obstacles.  

 

If they help me get what I want – I love them, cards and flowers. If they stand in the way of my desires……I’m spontaneously angry.”


So we go through the courtship process (flowers, cards and chocolates - dreams are made and hearts are filled) in smiles because we have met someone who loves us as much as we love ourselves. Who WOULDN'T love someone who worshipped the same idol (and this feeling is mutual)?

But then life happens. You have in-laws. You have children. There are struggles. All of a sudden, the other person is not showing us all that attention. Maybe they have other hobbies. Maybe they have a rigorous work schedule. Whatever it is, they are simply unable to continue the high maintenance courting relationship - and you suddenly feel as if you never loved them in the first place.

This is exactly what Satan, the father of lies, the hater of marriage and family, would have you believe. This makes you vulnerable to temptation of a new love (which will have the same tragic ending).

This friction and disappointment was designed to show us that we are looking for Someone to fulfill all our dreams. We are looking for Someone to love us unconditionally. We are looking for Someone to sacrifice it all for us. We are looking for Jesus, the Savior who sacrificed His life for us. He is the only One who can fulfill all our desires. No man can ever meet all our expectations, but Jesus can not only meet them - He exceeds them!

(2) There are different types of love. Unfortunately the English language has only one word for this *feeling*, but the Greeks had four (reference Wikipedia)

• Storge (Affection) is fondness through familiarity, especially between family members or people who have otherwise found themselves together by chance.  

• Phileo (Friendship) is the love between friends. Friendship is the strong bond existing between people who share common interest or activity.

• Eros (Romantic) is love in the sense of 'being in love' or loving me.

• Agape (unconditional love, charity) is the love that brings forth caring regardless of circumstance. C.S. Lewis recognizes this as the greatest of loves, and sees it as a specifically Christian virtue...focuses on the need of subordinating the natural loves to the love of God, who is full of charitable love.

So when we first fall in love we are experiencing an Eros love. It is erotic and emotional. All we have to do is think of the other person and we feel all bubbly inside. Sometimes, if two people really do have a lot in common (although I find that God usually desires to grow us through marriage so He chooses to put opposites together), they may develop a Phileo love for each other - so they become good friends.

But then something happens. Maybe someone is in an accident or experienced a debilitating disease like a stroke or cancer. Maybe this person's heart gets hard and they grow meaner and colder as each year passes. Maybe you experienced the loss of a baby or infertility. Maybe they are addicted to alcohol or drugs and life is not the fairytale you pictured.

At this point, if a person does not have a greater love for God than they do for themselves or their spouse, the marriage will crumble. Agape love is the love of choice. I choose to love and respect you because of the love God has for me. Because while I was still an ugly sinner in complete rebellion against God, He sent His Son to die for me on the cross at Calvary.

If He can do that for me, I can choose to spend my life - for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer - with you.

Unless you have experienced a heart transformation by the power of the Holy Spirit, this will sound like nonsense. Once you have experienced this undeserved, fulfilling love from God, then you know that you can love the unloveable because you have the power of God on your side.

I can do all things through Christ

who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13

(3) And my last point is that be careful with your emotions. They can blind you to reality. They cannot be trusted. I once convinced myself that I did not love my husband and that I had made a wrong choice when I got married. I gave up on my marriage when it got difficult. The horrible thing was that I used God as part of my excuse. My ex did not love God (I knew that going into the marriage, but the eros love told me that love can fix anything) and I used that to excuse my horrible behavior. My emotions could not be trusted, even though I told myself I was looking for a new mate who loved God.

The ironic thing is that I did find a man who said he was a Christian - although neither of us were walking with the Lord. Soon after the trouble began in our relationship, God did a big, humongous work in both of our lives. He showed us how ugly in sin we were and then He saved us.

So now I have an ex-husband. We did not have children together so I don't have a need to talk with him. Do I still love him? Not in an eros sense of the word, but I do still care about him. I pray for his soul and that God will show Himself to him. I pray for his current family. But I do not hate him and I do not even dislike him. I am thankful for the time we had together because I know God used all of that to make me the person I am today. It can all - even the selfish, ugly, sinful choices I made - be used for His glory!

Merry Mail #3

Here is your Merry Mail for the week. :)

I am not sure how much you have kept up with the Code Orange and Elephant Room II controversies, but the Sola Sisters do a fantastic job of pointing out false teaching and explaining what all the fuss is about. Last night I watched the sermon preached by Matt Chandler at the Code Orange revival (if you want to call it that) and it was excellent. He pointed out how the God did not send Jesus to die because you and I are so awesome. He did it because HE is so AWESOME! It is all about God - always has been and always will be (can I get an Amen?). Matt Chandler also gave a wonderful gospel presentation (the Way of the Master format) at the end of the sermon, in case the congregation had not heard the gospel before. In fact, he might have been the only preacher to give the gospel presentation at the revival. That's sad. Isn't a revival supposed to be about winning souls into (or back to) the Kingdom of God? We need to all pray for the pastors and churches caught up with this heresy and easy believe-ism.


 We as Christians need to be very discerning when it comes to matters of our faith and what seems to be the latest mainstream Christian 'teaching'. Just because a church has grown quickly and just because it all sounds good does not mean that it is biblical. In fact, if it is pleasing to the ear and comfortable for your soul, it is probably not biblical. John McArthur has a Foundations of the Faith series that I would recommend for any new believer that needs to be grounded in the basic principles of Christianity. This is the "why we believe what we believe" series that we all need to hear and refer to often. It is on sale at Christian Book Distributors (www.cbd.com).


Homeschool Creations has some very fun Valentine's Day ideas.


Sola Sisters also wrote an interesting (and scary) article about a little girl who came home with instructions from her teacher on how to practice Buddhism mindlessness mindfulness. Parents, you must be aware of the schemes of the devil if you are going to protect your children! He will sneak in and try to deceive them just like he did with Eve and the fruit that was pleasing to the eye. Yes, it all looks harmless and good on the surface, but when you use your mind and look into the meanings of these teachings - it is a gate on the path to destruction!


Have you noticed that you can now purchase almost anything in pink? A girl's favorite color, eh? Everything is more fun if it is pink. NOT! Please know that these products profit the organization Susan G. Komen. Yes, they might do a lot of good for cancer patients and research, but they also give money to Planned Parenthood, the nations top provider of abortions.

A Picture is worth 1000 Words

Are you the type that learns visually? What about your children? Truth is, most of us learn better if we can picture what the other person is talking about. We can also retain something to memory that is in short snippets (think about how your social security number and phone number are broken down into 3 or 4 digit sequences).

How about this visual for the 10 commandments? It is my first attempt at creating something that is visually pleasing to look at that also honors God. In my own words, I explained why we need to obey the commandments given by God. I also listed out each scripture and a short summary that might be easier for children (and parents, too) to remember. I hope you enjoy it!

Click for the pdf version.

Love the Lord your God Pt 4

Love the Lord your God with all your heart

and with all your soul

and with all your mind

and with all your strength.

Mark 12:30

I have already posted about loving the Lord your God with all your heart, loving the Lord your God with all your soul and loving the Lord your God with all your mind. So far we have talked about obeying with a whole, loving heart, seeking only God's wisdom when it comes to spiritual matters and loving God so much that our every thought is centered on Him (similar to how we act when we first fall in love).

I wanted to add a little note about loving God with our minds.

Do not be conformed to this world,

but be transformed

by the renewal of your mind,

that by testing you may discern

what is the will of God,

what is good and

acceptable and perfect.

Romans 12:2

I am not sure how much time you have spent reading and studying Romans, but chapter 12 is an especially convicting and difficult chapter (especially if you are attending a mamby pamby church that says you can live the same as others and Jesus just wants you to have your best life now).

In Romans 12:2, we read that we are not to be conformed to this world, but renew our minds so that we can determine the will of God and know what is good, acceptable and perfect. In order to do this, we must be in God's word daily. We must know what He has to say that is so very different than the culture that is screaming at us from all directions (TV, radio, songs, politicians, magazines, newspapers, and even children's cartoons).

So I encourage you brothers and sisters (and myself) to read the Scriptures daily. It is even better for your heart than Cheerios or Oatmeal.

4. Love the Lord your God with all your strength.

Do you consider yourself to be a strong woman (or man)? There was a time when I was at the gym a lot (obviously before I had children) and I truly felt *strong*. But when I was blessed with children (and entered a new decade of life) my body seemed to fall apart. I say that my warranty must have expired. I had several surgeries in just a couple of years and was battling ulcers, GERD, and IBS. I was weak.

I had worked so hard to become a strong woman (because I didn't want to have to ask for help for anything - especially to lift heavy objects or open a jar of pickles) and now I had to have help with so many every day tasks. I lost my ability to be self-sufficient.

But that is just where God wanted me. He showed me that in my weakness, He is my strength. I grew closer to Him when I realized how much I truly needed Him.


Self-sufficient. That word is so deceiving. None of us can even take a breath on our own. Every single breath is a gift from God.

So we need to love the Lord our God with all our strength. So now I realize that every ounce of energy I have is a gift from God and I want to use every ounce of energy I have to glorify Him (not myself). I want to love Him with all my strength. I want to work for Him. I want to raise my children in a fear and admonition of the Lord. I want to clean my house as if working for the Lord. I want to love my husband as a gift from the Lord. I want to serve others

We need to use our strength to be courageous. We should never be fearful. We should be bold to stand up for the things that the Lord loves and quick to share Jesus with anyone who may listen. 


I recently heard the testimony of Darlene Deibler Rose and my heart was touched by how strong (because of her faith and love of God) she was during her incarceration at a prison camp in Indonesia during WWII. Her body was weak and frail as she suffered from several different diseases and such horrible torture from her captors, but her faith was strong and she never stopped loving God. I pray that if you take time (which you should) to read or listen to her story, that you are equally blessed.

Merry Mail #2

Don't forget to enter your email over in the sidebar so that you can have Merry Mail delivered right to your inbox each week.



I have been listening to two fantastic worship songs that focus on Christ coming to live as a man, dying as a sacrifice and then being raised on the third day. I also love how they speak of His return (which I long for). The first is Christ Is Risen by Matt Maher and the other is Glorious Day (Living He Loved Me) by Casting Crowns.


Butterball Turkeys - Did you know that these are sacrificed as a part of an Islaamic ritual before they appear at the grocery store? Now I do not think we are sinning by having a Butterball turkey for dinner, but do we, as Christians, want to knowingly support this sort of company when there are other brands of turkey available? Hmmm...



The Long Winter - This Ingalls family is quite different than the one you saw on TV, but it is a very faithful adaptation of the book, and is quite entertaining. It is the ONLY “old time radio” adaptation of any of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books, and if you love those stories, you’ll treasure this.




Our Simple Country Life is celebrating 3 years of blogging with a bunch of give-a-ways. You have to be entered by the end of the day on Friday and are announced on Saturday - so hurry up and enter!


The Unplugged Family has an excellent article on gender, phobia and toys. I will probably link to her blog over and over again. I love how she is not afraid to confront hot topics and speak the truth (in love) in a world full of gray areas. 



January 22 is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday and Focus on the Family has created a fantastic video reminding us all that being pro-life is much more than a political issue. Take a few minutes to watch this powerful video.



Seven Lies About Homeschoolers is a must see (hilarious and true) video, so much so that I included it. It is about 4 minutes long and very funny!!

Love the Lord Your God Pt 3

Love the Lord your God with all your heart

and with all your soul

and with all your mind

and with all your strength.

Mark 12:30

I have already posted about loving the Lord your God with all your heart and loving the Lord your God with all your soul. We read that if we love God, we will obey His commandments with our whole heart. We know that His commandments are for our good (Romans 8:23) and we can trust Him. As His children, we lovingly obey Him. We will also seek God for all of our spiritual desires, not being led astray by schemes of this world.

We should no longer be children,

tossed to and fro and

carried about with every wind of doctrine,

by the trickery of men,

in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,

but, speaking the truth in love,

may grow up in all things into Him

who is the head—Christ 

[Ephesians 4:14-15]

Today let's talk about the next portion of the text:

3. Love the Lord your God with all your mind.

Do you love the Lord your God with all your mind? I mean, do you even think about God all the time? God tells us that we are to pray without ceasing. Prayer is how we communicate with God and we are to stay in constant communion with Him. We are to use the beautiful minds that God blessed us with to think about, meditate, and learn about God so that we can share Him with others.

When you begin a new hobby (maybe you are like me who recently started sewing), you become obsessed with reading about the hobby. I know I started to read blogs about sewing projects, watched youtube videos to figure out how to use the machine without running the needle through my finger, and studied patterns for (what seemed like) hours just to figure out what language they were speaking.

When we first become a Christian, we want to soak up as much as we can about God. The Bible becomes alive and we are fascinated by the stories of those who have gone before. The miracles and power of Jesus capture our attention like none other. We listen to sermons online. We ask questions and research online to learn more.

But something happens. Life starts to get in the way. We find new hobbies. There are other books that fill our time.

Let us strive to fall in love with God again. Let us all love Him with our mind and seek to know Him better. Let us never cut the line of communication with our loving Father.

I was challenged to read through the Bible this year and I thought, "How can I say no?" Is there anything more important than reading God's word? Could I possibly say, "maybe next year because this year I'd like to sew more or write more on my blog?" Heaven forbid!

I want to love my Lord with all my mind, don't you?


What will you do to love God more with your mind? Make a plan, otherwise the devil will fill your time with less important things. After all...

Merry Mail

I read many fascinating things throughout my week and I love to share this with anyone who may be interested. So, I will try to start (hopefully on a weekly basis) writing up what I have found to be super interesting during the past week. This is something I will add to during the week and typically publish at the end of the week.


This may include clips from other blog articles, books, e-books, reviews, quotes, sales, freebies, recipes, fitness and nutritional tips.



*** Please enter your email in the box in the right side panel in order to receive this information right in your inbox. ***



The information for this week is:

Visual Theology - The Order of Salvation - This is a fantastic visual explaining the ordo salutis, which is to say, the order of salvation, which refers to the sequence of conceptual steps involved in the salvation of the Christian. Thank you Tim Challies. I may print this off and hang it in our house in order to spark good conversation with visitors.



Book Review of Real Marriage by the Driscolls - This is a review written by Tim Challies (again, thank you Tim Challies!) discussing the latest book by Pastor Mark Driscoll and his wife. I have a lot of opinions, but since I have not read the book (and do not plan to), I'll just let the review speak for itself. All I have to say is that of course it is going to be at the top of the charts because - sex sells. They put the stuff in the book that they knew would get people talking and have people running to the closest bookstore to purchase a copy.



A wonderful quote from Fanny Crosby, "It seemed intended by the blessed providence of God that I should be blind all my life, and I thank him for the dispensation. If perfect earthly sight were offered me tomorrow I would not accept it. I might not have sung hymns to the praise of God if I had been distracted by the beautiful and interesting things about me."


Holy Spirit Led Homeschooling - If you like her page on Facebook, you can download her free e-book, 100 Free Indoor Activities to do with Kids (TV not included).


The Ugly Duckling - Free Kindle Download of the Ugly Duckling (illustrated in color).


50 People Every Christian Should Know - I am super excited to read this book. There are wonderful examples of our faith, such as Fanny Crosby, A.W. Tozer, Charles H. Spurgeon, Amy Carmichael and others. This looks like something I will want to read and pass along to as many people as I can.



If you have something that you would like for me to include, please email it to MerryMarriedMaryMom at gmail dot com.

Love the Lord your God Pt 2

Love the Lord your God with all your heart

and with all your soul

and with all your mind

and with all your strength.

Mark 12:30

We talked last week about loving the Lord your God with all your heart. We read that if we love God, we will obey His commandments with our whole heart. We know that His commandments are for our good (Romans 8:23) and we can trust Him. As His children, we lovingly obey Him.

 

Now let's get to the next part of the verse.

2. Love the Lord your God with all your soul.

To love God with all your soul means to love him with all of your spiritual being. I don't often think of my spiritual being, but I do think of the battle that is taking place in the spirit realm all around me.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood,

but against principalities, against powers,

against the rulers of the darkness of this age,

against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Ephesians 6:12

Since there is a battle for my soul, my spiritual being, I need to focus myself on God at all times. I need to trust Him for anything and everything that involves spiritual things. We know that Satan is the ultimate deceiver (Revelation 12:9). He is the father of lies(John 8:44). And we know that we are easily deceived.

But I fear, lest somehow,

as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness,

so your minds may be corrupted

from the simplicity that is in Christ.

2 Corinthians 11:3

So when new teachings are presented (books, blogs, quotes, articles, magazines, TV shows, celebrity religions), we need to be discerning. We need to compare everything against God's Word. We love God and we know that we can trust His word for everything.

 

 

So when people of a specific religion claim they are Christian and they seem like good, moral people, we need to look at their statements of faith. If they do not believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God and that He is the only way we can be saved from our sins, then they are not true believers. We can only be saved by trusting in Jesus for our salvation. Works, good moral choices, living a good life, being kind to others, giving to and serving the poor and religious observances cannot save our souls.

 

 

We can only be saved by repenting of our sins (turning away from) and trusting in the death and resurrection of Christ for our salvation.

 

 

When we open our newspaper (does anyone get a real newspaper anymore except on Thanksgiving?), and we see they have printed our "future" based on when our birthday falls, we know this is deception and we should not even read it. A little leaven leavens the whole lump (1 Corinthians 5:6).

How often do we say that something was "luck"? Or are we anxious and nervous about "bad luck" circumstances like a black cat crossing our path or Friday the 13ths? Knowing that God is Sovereign in all things, is there really any room for luck (either good or bad)? No. Knowing and loving God will give us peace and assurance in all life's circumstances.

 

 

So leave the salt on the table and off of the floor behind your right shoulder. When your nose is itching, just scratch it. Feel free to take the shortcut under the ladder. Know that it will all be ok for the next seven years if you accidentally break a mirror. Your financial security is in God's hands, not your own itchy palms.

When popular books denounce Biblical truths like hell, the judgment before God and true justice - we can know that this is false teaching (Luke 13:22-33). Any gospel that does not teach about heaven and hell being real places is a different gospel.

 

 

One blog that I have recently started reading that is full of wisdom and discernment relating to the spiritual deceptions of our time is the Sola Sisters blog. There are many small deceptions and half truths in our world today and the Sola Sisters spend a lot of time to research and shed God's light on these lies.

 

 

We are to love the Lord our God with all our heart and soul. We are to obey His commandments with all our heart and we are to trust Him with all of our spiritual being.  

As for God, His way is perfect;

The word of the LORD is proven;  

He is a shield to all who trust in Him.

2 Samuel 22:31

Budget - What's that?

I am excited to purchase a copy of Crystal Paine (better known as the Money Saving Mom)'s new book,
The Money Saving Mom's Budget: Slash Your Spending, Pay Down Your Debt, Streamline Your Life, and Save Thousands a Year .


I have degree in Computer Technology. When I was taking the classes to fulfill the business portion of my degree, I took the one and only class I hated: Accounting. Don't get me wrong. I LOVE math! But I loathe accounting. I am not sure the difference, but it is huge (or maybe not so big since they say it is a thin line between love and hate).


Either way, I am not an accounting girl and I have never, ever, in my entire life, followed a budget.


But we need to.


I always used the excuse before of being a working woman and not having extra time to sit down and design a budget. But now, I am a SAHM. Although I am still busy, but in a different way, I see the great need we have to control our finances.


That is why I am looking forward to reading this book. I have no idea where to begin with a family budget.

The description on Amazon is:

FROM ONE OF NIELSEN’S TOP 50 POWER MOMS COMES ADVICE YOU CAN TAKE TO THE BANK—LITERALLY !

Crystal Paine, who has helped busy women everywhere take control of their finances, presents her most effective strategies designed for families of all sizes and income levels.

With hundreds of inspiring “why didn’t I think of that?” TIPS, plus WORKSHEETS, Paine breaks down your goals into easy, manageable steps so you can:

• Achieve a complete financial makeover
• Set up a realistic budget
• Never pay retail
• Slash your grocery bill
• Organize your time & your home
• Use coupons wisely
• Pay with cash only
• Live simply
• Become debt free
• Choose contentment
• Make every dollar count

I know, you want a copy now, too. It is on sale officially January 10, but you can pre-order your copy today by clicking the link above.

Do you have a resolution to control your family finances and start saving money? This book can help!

Love the Lord your God Pt 1

Love the Lord your God with all your heart

and with all your soul

and with all your mind

and with all your strength.

Mark 12:30

What does it look like to love the Lord with your heart, soul, mind and strength? The kids at our church have started to sing a song  with this verse (and it sounds wonderfully sweet) and it got me to thinking - what does this look like with my skin on it? What does it mean for me to love my God with all I have? And of course since I wondered about it, I thought you might be interested as well.

So, let's break it down over the next few days.

1. Love the Lord your God with all your heart.

What is a practical application for this our daily lives? Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my commands." [John 14:15]. So we show our love for God by striving to keep His commandments. In order to do this, we must know the commandments. We will talk more about that when we discuss the "mind". But for now we are on the heart issue.

Do you know what it is like to obey with all your heart? Obeying because you love God and trust Him, not because you feel forced? Here is an illustration of a child and her Dad.

Sally was sitting in church with her family. It came time to stand for worship, but Sally wanted to remain seated so that she could draw some more on the weekly bulletin (she was working on a pretty fancy picture of a princess and just knew God would understand her not standing for this one song). Her dad gave her "the look" that meant she had better stand up, however, she remained seated. Now her dad leaned over and whispered a gentle reminder of the consequences of disobeying. Sally stood up, however, she still had a defiant heart. She was not obeying because she loved God or even her dad. She was obeying so she would not be punished. She was standing on the outside, but still "sitting down" in her heart.

We need to choose to obey God with our whole heart because we love Him with our whole heart. Pray for God to shine His light on a commandment that you can work on.

One that the Holy Spirit has convicted me on is found in the Proverbs:

A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. Proverbs 15:1

God commands me to have a gentle and quiet spirit and all to often, I react in my flesh to my husband and children (the ones I love the most) with harsh words instead of soft answers. I want to please God with my words because I love Him - therefore, I will choose to work (with the help of the Holy Spirit) on this with my whole heart.

How about you? Is there a part of your heart that is still "sitting down"? Won't you lay that on the altar and start loving the Lord your God with all your heart?


Be sure to come back for the next part,  Love the Lord your God with all your soul.

For Better or For Worse

I take you to be my husband (or wife), to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part, according to God's holy law, and this is my solemn vow.

If you are married, then I am sure that you and your spouse made a similar vow at your wedding.

I am wondering -- how many of us actually take time to consider this difficult promise?

When things are at their worst (because there will be horrible challenges ahead), I promise to love you.

When you have to work overtime (or two or more jobs) to provide for our family, I promise to cherish the time we have to spend together.

When I find out that you are sick, very sick, I promise to be by your side, hold your hand and be the strong one. I vow to do whatever it takes to help you. We will research the treatments. We will talk to all the best doctors. When you are unable to work, then I will work until I am so tired I cannot remember my name - but I will smile when I come home and love you all the more. 

Even if death should separate us, I promise to remind our children of the great man you were. I promise to help grow their love for you. Your name shall be a legacy and your love will endure forever.

I have a friend whose husband died last night. They found out a year after they were married that he had ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). She has two girls and he has two boys (from previous marriages) but they are one family. If you do not know about this horrible disease - it is a death sentence. There is no remission and no cure. The victim's muscles just stop working. They end up imprisoned in their own bodies.

But my friend loves her husband. She has stayed by his side as he lost his ability to walk, talk and care for himself. She worked the long, hard hours and supported their family. They have been through so much and I am proud of her. She held fast to her vows and she loves her man, even when it has been so terribly hard. What a wonderful example she is!

It makes the dirty socks on the floor and crumbs left on the table seem so insignificant.

Lord, please help me to love and cherish my husband and children. Help me to remember that each minute is a gift.

I cried when I watched this video and thought of my friend.  Cherish every moment you have - the good, the hard, and even the unbearable.