Come to Me All Who Labor

My kids are sick, Layne and I are very sleep deprived and needless to say that makes us a little more on "edge". God was so sweet to remind me this morning that this is the day He has made. I want to rejoice in Him despite my dread to face this long.........day.

As I was reading my Bible, this verse hit me. It is Matthew 11:28-29.

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

God calls us to come to Him. To learn from Him. He reminds us that he is gentle and gives rest for our souls.

I am so weak, yet God is so strong!!!!

May God bless you today!
Tanya

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j bear at circus

Tanya is mad at me

I taught Erin to ride her bike without training wheels. Now, Tanya thinks it makes her look too big and wants her baby back.
See video below - I helped with the bike riding, but the dance....She came up with that ALL by herself!
oops :)

Anger Issues.........

Two years in July, our family grew to 7 through adoption. We have been blessed in many ways through our journey, but continue to learn new things about ourselves and how that works out tangibly in our daily lives. One of the areas I have really struggled in is anger. God is ever so gently drawing this struggle to the surface so I can learn to turn toward Him when anger hits. I have been angry at my children in ways I never imagined before and toward my husband in ways I am not proud of. My anger has affected my children. One in particular is REALLY struggling. I believe my anger towards him has done damage, but I am hopeful that God can repair and I can use it as an opportunity to relate to my son in his struggles.

One of the hardest things for me is to NOT become angry when my child is using disrespectful, disobedient talk. Arguing........Arguing......! I want to PULL my hair out, run screaming up and down the street or hibernate in a hole where no one can find me. I confess it is humbling to experience this anger.

I begged God one morning to reveal to me something in His precious word that would help me turn to Him when I need to correct my child and instruct him, all the while trying to be a sweet aroma of Christ. (2 Corinthians 2:15a "For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved")

This verse is now hanging on my wall where I can see it:
Proverbs 23:9 "Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the good sense of your words." God opened my eyes to a new strategy..............when my children are not wanting to listen to my words and I feel my temper rising, I can send them to a designated spot and leave them there! I in turn take the opportunity to pray for my own anger and for that child. I am not letting the person leave there spot until they are ready to listen respectfully.

Today was a challenge because this process repeated itself over and over with one child through out the day. BUT finally at the end of the day I could see God penetrating his angry heart. I believe God blessed this because I walked away from the situation and prayed prayed prayed. It was HARD HARD work. I wanted to get angry but kept begging God for mercy. By HIS grace I did not blow up and speak harshly to my son. ( Believe me the temptation was there.)

This is another verse that God has used to help me:
Proverbs 15:1 "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up
anger."

I am thankful for a new day tomorrow.
Tanya

This post is for you, Greta!!!!

Last week a MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group in Meriden, Iowa invited me to come and share about our adoption story and things God is teaching us through our journey. I was enthusiastically greeted by my new friend, Greta. She was ooozing with warm hospitality and joy. I soon discovered that she had faithfully read our blog since it beginnings. How humbling!

What a JOY it was to be a visitor at this gathering. God's presence was very evident. Thank you for inviting me.

Humbly,
Tanya

PS. Greta, I would love to have a response from you on the blog....smile...........

Influenza A

This past week Erin contracted Influenza A. So far no other family members are showing any signs. The public schools did not have school this Thurs. and Friday so we had made fun plans with friends. Well bummer, we had to cancel these plans, but we tried to make our own fun inside.

Layne made me promise I would do NO housework or daily routines and declare it a total holiday. For any of you that know me well, this doesn't fit my Type A personality. I thrive on structure and routine. However, we all had a BLAST, including me! We made fun stuff for b'fast, stayed in our p.j's all morning and never made the beds the whole day!!! One fun thing we did was gather as many craft supplies in a laundry basket from around the house and pile them in the sun room. The kids spent hours off and on all day crafting, painting and glue gunning. Cool temperature glue guns are a perfect invention especially when used in collaboration with popsicle sticks. I keep learning new ways to keep 3 active boys busy indoors! Ha!

So if there are any people out there who can relate to the "hesitation" of getting out messy craft supplies because of the added mess, let me encourage you to take a risk and get dirty!

Thanks for reading!
Tanya