a birthday blessing

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I'm hosting with Natalie, Beth Ann, and Jordan to share the blessings

God has placed in our paths during the week.

We would love to have you join us! Make sure to grab the box and link-up with us today!

Today, the blessing on my heart, is my husband! His 28th birthday is Friday...so what better topic than to share how crazy blessed I am by him!

Adeline and I are so blessed to have this man that...

has an amazing servants heart for God.

is a wonderful, patient husband.

is the best hands-on, fun-loving Daddy there could ever be.

and always puts family at the top.

We are truly blessed by this man that I get to call my husband 

and Adeline gets to call Daddy.

Happy Birthday, babe!

What blessings has God placed on your heart?
Take a moment to thank Him, the One from whom all blessings flow.

forever my heart will sing

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I'm hosting with Natalie, Beth Ann, and Jordan to share the blessings

God has placed in our paths during the week.

We would love to have you join us! Make sure to grab the box and link-up with us today!

Today I'm showcasing five blessings on my heart.  Five of SO many.  God's love amazes me.  The fact that He paid it ALL on the cross but yet His love doesn't stop there. That he blesses me daily with things that leave me speechless.

The way He pursues me and loves on me even though I'm so undeserving baffles my mind.  T love the words of Phil Whickham's worship song "Cannons"...

We're singing you are
Holy, Great and Mighty
The moon and the stars
Declare who you are
And I'm so unworthy
But still You love me
Forever my heart will sing
Of how great you are

(One.)

Gator ride with Nanna on the farm!

 my momma. for the mom she is to me and the grandma she is to adeline.  words can't fully explain the blessing she is.

(Two.)

this girl.  her joy for life. the joy she shares with others. she's just precious inside and out and I get to be her momma!

(Three.)

 my mornings almost always look like this.  including a warm cup of coffee and my bible app.  y'all have no idea how much joy it brings me to know that God has gifted me with this. there were so many painful, tear-filled moments when I didn't think I would ever be able to be without a full-time outside-the-home job.  crazy blessed.

(Four.)

 my dad.  he's just as much of a blessing in our lives as my sweet momma. such a man of determination and love.  truly a blessing.

(Five.)

this man.  the Christ follower he is.  the husband he is.  the daddy he is.  so full of love. so full of understanding. and so ready to hand out grace.

I have been redeemed by an amazing God.  A God that has blessed me like crazy for His glory.  A God that I pray my heart will forever shine of His love.

What blessings has God placed in your path this past week?

blessings in words (link-up)

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I'm hosting with Natalie, Beth Ann, and Jordan to share the blessings

God has placed in our paths during the week.

We would love to have you join us! Make sure to grab the box and link-up with us today!

Words are powerful to me.  I have always enjoyed quotes and lyrics of songs.  I eat them up.  Back in High School and College, I used to fill journals and pieces of scrap note paper with quotes and lyrics I loved.

So one of my favorite parts of Pinterest is "hoarding" these powerful words and quotes I find. Add the fact that they are always so pretty and creatively displayed...and I'm in heaven! The words are true blessings to me when they speak to me the way the ones below do.  Here are a few of them that have blessed my heart here lately...

source

source

source

source

source

What blessings has God placed in your path this past week?

prayers of a toddler

Adeline loves to pray.  Since she could sit up in her highchair, we have always made sure she was aware of our mealtime prayers.  And we have always prayed with her at bedtime.

From that, stemmed Adeline wanting to pray herself.  She tells us who she wants to pray for and will often stop and say "pay" and want to pray.  It is so touching to hear her say "jeesh-us" and "ayyyy-MEN" when we walk her through her own prayers.

So lately she's been very possessive and not liking other people (strangers) to come into her space.  When we stroll through a crowd, she will say "gih owa way" (get out of the way) and will say "NO!" and wave her hand as if moving someone out of the way when we are going down aisles at the store.  When we play at the train table or other places, she will say "no, no, no!" and do the same to other kiddos that come around.  This has seriously disturbed me! The only thing we can figure out is that we say these things to our dog...SO we are pretty sure this is where it stemmed from.  Adeline is such a sweetheart and has such a joy-filled, nice little heart...so it makes me sad to think other toddlers and Mommas see something different when we meet new people.

We started talking about nice hands and what nice hands do.  She will now tell you that nice hands wave hello, bye bye, blow kisses, hug and pray. Ha! So sweet.  We have also talked about how God and Mommy and Daddy want her to be a nice girl.  But putting that into action when we talk up "being nice and using nice hands" has been a different story!

So this morning on the way to library Toddler Time, we talked about nice hands again and as we were it hit me...SHE SHOULD PRAY FOR HELP! So while I was driving, I asked her if she wanted to pray about being a nice girl.  If she wanted to ask God to help her.  She of course said yes, because she always wants to pray. ;) So I led her through a prayer she prayed aloud in her own little language asking God to help her be a nice girl and to give her help and strength to do so.  This moment will forever be in my heart and mind.

And you know what? She was seriously a changed little soul at the library.  She shared.  She was sweet, and she used nice hands and words.  We talked and talked throughout the library and when we left about how proud I was of her.  We called Daddy at work and told him all about her prayer and how she was a nice girl.  She was proud in her own little toddler way and kept telling him about the duck stuffed animal she had shared with another little girl.  I was so happy for her and proud of her.

Why it hadn't dawned on me to have her pray for help with something before, I'm not sure.  I pray for help all the time.  And we want Adeline to know from this young that prayer is powerful.  That prayer changes things.  It changes hearts.  And the Holy Spirit at work in our lives is a mighty thing.

This mommy thing is just so amazing.  The ability to help shape and mold her into a Christ-like little one that will grow up hopefully loving Jesus with all her heart for all her life.  And sharing that joy with those around her.  For this gift to be that role in her life, I am just so thankful.

messy blessings

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As you are probably getting used to seeing on Tuesdays now, I'm hosting with Natalie, Beth Ann, and Jordan to share the blessings God has placed in our paths during the week.

I have joined a local MOPS (Mother of Preschoolers) group this year for the first time and oh how I'm enjoying it! There is just so much to be said about surrounding yourself with Mommies that can say "amen" and "oh my heavens, yes!" to so many things you face on a daily basis.  But in the end...remind you (as you remind them) to point straight back to Jesus.  That has been a HUGE blessing in and of itself.  But our theme this year is "A Beautiful Mess".  A constant, precious reminder that our lives are messy, but by golly, our lives are BLESSED.

My current messy blessings are...

-eating breakfast on the couch with Adeline most mornings of the week because I have been gifted with spending my days with her
-my sweet girl loves to paint and make a huge mess which means she's creative and artistic
-that I have piles of laundry because it means my home is full and alive
-that there are perpetual leaves in our foyer because it means we have a precious home with a beautiful surrounding
-my (very) full calendar because it means our lives are rich with church, family and community events
-my relationship with my husband because it means that we love like crazy and pour grace into our days together
-my kitchen sink because it means that we have food to eat and time together to eat meals
-Adeline's room that has toys all over the floor, at times dirty diapers thrown to the side, and clothes scattered throughout, because it means we have the blessing of wonderful little girl in our life
-my dog-hair covered floor because it means our sweet "pup", Boone, that was our first "baby" and is now Adeline's best friend is still alive and going strong
-the rug in our living room that is filled with spots as if it's a pattern in and of itself, because that means we have a warm place to put our feet and a cozy living room to snuggle as a family
-our basement because it means we have more than enough when others don't have all they need
-our tattered hallway carpet that is long in need of being replaced because it's a reminder that God has taught us to be wise and patient with our money
-our ongoing backyard projects because it's a reminder that my husband does such a wonderful job of dreaming and implementing creative/useful outdoor spaces
-my heart because God's still at work in me and has great plans for me (Jeremiah 29:11)

Need to turn a negative mood around or just remember how blessed you are amidst the "mess" of your own life? Let me encourage you to write your own messy blessings list.  Your heart will be instantly transformed in that moment.

What blessings has God placed in your path this past week? We would love to have you join us!

Make sure to grab the box and link-up with us today!

blessings

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As you are probably getting used to seeing on Tuesdays now, I'm hosting with Natalie, Beth Ann, and Jordan to share the blessings God has placed in our paths during the week.

{Blessing One}

Moments like these...
 

{Blessing Two}

My Momma.  I'm so blessed to have my Momma as a best friend and in our lives the way she is.  Her and and my dad are such a blessing to us in so many ways.

{Blessing Three}

It's fall y'all!

{Blessing Four}

Our Family Friday Nights we have started! We had our second this past Friday and it has quickly caught on to be a tradition.  We have a fun, yummy picnic in the living room while we watch a Disney Movie together! Two weeks ago was Peter Pan and last Friday was Tangled.  Adeline has a ball with this time together.  It blesses us tremendously!

{Blessing Five}

That these two have each other.  They are brother and sister...forget the difference in number of legs and body covering...they are siblings.  They love on each other.  They play.  The fight for window space.  They make our house a home.  And they are best friends.

What blessings has God placed in your path this past week? We would love to have you join us!

Make sure to grab the box and link-up with us today!