FaithFueledMama6

The "Last Bus Ride". That's what got me, Jachelle! I have never heard of such a thing! Thinking about you driving YOURSELF to the high school, in the the car that you helped your daddy build, just to take the last bus ride with the rest of the seniors has got me in my feelings! I remember the first time you got on a bus. You were so excited and I was NOT looking forward to letting you go into the world. When you brought me your book bag on the first day of school, I seen the excitement in your eyes. You've always been an excellent student and an even better daughter! I wanted to do something really special for your graduation. I knew Daddy was giving you the title for the Camaro but I wanted to do something for you on my own, without any help. SOOO, I went big! I ran into so many obstacles. Crooked wood, overheated tools, rain with nowhere dry to work on my "surprise" that ended up NOT being a surprise and having to take my wood working stuff outside every s...

  Aaaacchhoooo #JachelleNicole better LOVE the graduation sign I'm making her! I was going to have one made for her but I got a table saw and a Dremel for Christmas, so I figured, why not?! Lol #OverTheTopMama #CantHelpIt #AskHerHowBigHerBdayCakesWereGrowingUp #MyFirstBorn #OneSixthOfMyHeart #Graduating #SouthernUnion #HereSheComes #ProudMama

  My morning routine consists of getting up at 3am to spend the next 2-2.5 hours alone with God. I read several devotions, I write, I pray and before my social media break, I posted the verse of the day from 3 apps. Actually, for a couple weeks, I still posted those. I opened YouVersion on 12/31 to see my 2021 snapshot. I was shocked because I figured it'd be less. I never paid attention to my "streaks". I don't open the app for that. When we get to heaven, is God going to say, "There's 30 days that you didn't get your streaks, read the verse of the day, so therefore, I don't know you."? Notice, on my snapshot, there aren't many plans, highlights, bookmarks, or badges. Does that mean I'm not spending time with God? No. In fact, I intentionally set my alarm for 3am to make SURE that I do! He's important to me. I understand why they do streaks. I'm not knocking it. I'm just saying that people have become addicted to getting them...

  I'm thankful for parents that didn't give me everything I asked for. I'm thankful for growing up poor. I'm thankful for having to work for what I have. I'm thankful for homelessness. I'm thankful for the bumps & bruises I've received through life. I'm thankful for the horrible mistakes I've made. I'm thankful for the people who have hurt me. I'm thankful for the addictions I've had. I'm thankful for the loss I've suffered. I'm thankful for MS. I'm thankful for the excessive heat, the excessive cold, the days when it feels like we are in a drought and the days when it feels like the earth just might flood once more. I'm thankful for the hurt, the pain, that I've caused and what's been done to me. I'm thankful for brokenness. I'm thankful for experience in all that is wrong so that I can be thankful in all that is right! To be truly thankful, we must know what we COULD have instead... We couldn'...

  Four of my six kids were tested for Covid yesterday. Only sinus infection type symptoms but I still wanted to be sure. After receiving negative results, I stopped by Walmart for a few things that we needed. When we left, my daughter turned this song on. Even though I've heard the song many times before, each time feels like the first. It's no secret that 2020 was a stressful year and 2021 has proven to be the same. I'm sure that I'm not alone in feeling that. However, I'd have to say that EVERY year of my life has been stressful for me. Some of it, I brought on myself, some of it, I'm overcoming the stuff I've brought on and then some of it is just life. I always get emotional with this song because I've heard the testimony of Jason David and it always amazes me when someone not only survives something that should have killed them but praises God through the struggle of it. At this point, I'm starting to feel the emotions that I typically have du...

  I am sure there are quite a few people who can relate to what I'm about to share. It has been a rough 2.5 years for my family. Loss of income, our home, our normalcy in life, quarantining with 6 children (insert pulling hair out emoji here - why don't we have this emoji?) at the end of last school year... All moments where we thought we were going to fall apart but God has given us some unexplainable peace. We didn't even know why we felt so calm! We've had moments of pain or frustration which resulted in tears. A good bit, actually. However, He has put people in our lives at just the right time to show us that He's still in control. We've learned that there is a purpose for our pain AND that we can have peace in the midst of it. God is so good!

  I made kabobs for supper a few nights ago. My kids liked everything on it except for the baby bella mushrooms. I don't make them suffer through a full plate of stuff that they don't like but I do have them make an honest attempt at trying new things or things that they didn't like, cooked in a different way. I told them they only had to eat one mushroom. They almost always save it for last and start the "yuck" face before it even touches their lips. Why procrastinate? When they do get it in their mouth, they don't want to admit that there is a possibility that they could like it. As I'm watching two of my kids start their yuck stage, they don't even try to chew or swallow it. They just sit there with it in their mouth. My thought was, "I remember doing this as a child but why would I sit here for 10 minutes with something in my mouth that tastes nasty?!" So I asked them that, letting them know that they are delaying the inevitable because I...

 

  I ran across a picture this morning that I thought was absolutely beautiful but was unsure if it was edited or not. Upon further investigation, it turns out that a video was attached. As I'm watching the video, I actually seen a couple of rainbows appear. One, while the guy was in the middle of the storm and this one as the storm was going away. It is clear that the picture wasn't edited. I also ran across a meme that said, "It's funny because we ask God to change our situation, not knowing that He put us in the situation to change us." It can hurt, deeply sometimes, but ask God what He wants you to learn in the midst of the storm. Sometimes, it might just be that He wants someone else to watch YOU walk in faith. Trust His promises because He never fails. Pay attention to the entire video, and allow 7:00 to show you how He can be the center of every storm in your life! Edited to say that God does His best work in the middle of the storm.

  Embrace whatever situation you're in. You will get through it stronger if you allow His peace to bring healing. Ask him for strength and peace. "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:2-4

  The verse of the day is one that I didn't understand for a long time. How does being still change my situation? It doesn't. I eventually (took me a good decade or two) asked myself an even better question that changed my world. How does being upset, angry, anxious, and full of worry change my situation? It doesn't. In fact, it made me absolutely miserable. I couldn't focus on anything else but my problems. Nothing made me truly happy. At least, not until I truly gave it all to God. Truly giving it to Him requires us to leave it there, never to pick it back up again. Notice that Jesus is telling US to be still, not the storm raging all around us. It might not make sense to us but He knows the plans He has for us. His plan is flawless. It's perfect. Trust Him while the wind is swirling and the waves are crashing down. Trust and faith together brings peace. Psalm 46:10 - He says, "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be e...

  I used to hate this verse. Why would I be joyful when I'm hurting? Then I was faced with the 2nd hardest hit in my life. It was through that, I learned that if I truly relinquish all of my worries at the foot of the cross, He provides an abundance of peace. It still hurts but I see the healing. There are scars where there was once an open wound. You don't always see the wound healing while it is doing so but it is always amazing to look back on it. That makes it easier for the next trial to just trust Him. So... Just trust Him! Be joyful while you're trusting Him!