Day 31-Abundance

When Landon gets tired his favorite word is "No!"  He will argue with EVERYTHING you say.  My life is in a very, very good place right now.  My marriage is great, my house is in order, and my kids have never been better.  I think it is because I have my priorities straight and He has lightened my load (Matt. 11:29, 30.)   So when he was screaming at the top of his lungs last night, I was able to be patient.  It still wasn't enough.  He was still upset.  Then, he did the strangest thing.  He stop crying looked at me and said: "I want to pray the Rosary."  He climbed up in my bed and laid next to me and waited patiently for me to begin.  I started to pray and he calmly fell asleep with in ten minutes.  It is little sacred moments like this that I know He is there with me.   I have never felt so much peace.  I read the first chapter of Proverbs today the verse that struck me the most was:

Listen my son, to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching.  they shall be a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck. Proverbs 1:8-9   

When I watched him sleep last night thoughts of what his future would be like ran through my head.  I thought of all of my hopes and dreams for him.  Oh, I hope he loves Him. I hope he is blessed and serves the Lord.  I hope he lives a long and fruitful life.  I hope he finds a wife that loves him and fears the Lord.  I hope he has the gift of many children to love him and take care of him when he is old. I hope and I pray...Hail Mary, full of grace...   

Day 28...Amazing!

I have been sticking to the new format of reading from Proverbs every day.  I has been a very convicting but fruitful experience.  The Lord has put several things on my heart lately.  I feel the most important is a new search for true Wisdom.  I am experiencing a reformation that is beautiful but also a little uncomfortable.  Spiritual growth always is.  I am not wanting to leave my faith but evangelize within it through my Domestic Church.  It is a desire for Orthodoxy and simplification in my life.  That is the uncomfortable part; Catholics can be a lethargic lot.  I am already experiencing friction.  I think that when you have been given a gift it is hard to see its value.  We live in a society that moral relativism is rampant.  I am picking the "board out of my own eye" when I tell you I have succumbed on many, many occasions.  I am at a crossroads in my life and it is about to change in a way that is beyond words.  I am bringing my children home in order to prepare them for Heaven.  The task seems enormous but I know that it is God's will.  I am prepared for spiritual warfare because I know that anytime you prepared to put Him first the enemy is there to try and spoil your plans.  I call it the five D's: doubt, discouragement, diversion, defeat, and delay.  Right on cue the doorbell just rang.  It is my new curriculum.  God's timing is perfect!  

Proverbs 28:8 He who trusts in himself is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom is safe.

Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Prayer: Lord help me to not conform to this world.  Help me to look to you for what is right and keep Your Commandments.  Give me Wisdom to raise my children and prepare them for eternity with You.  Amen.

Family Picture

Okay, my husband wrote me in order to gently call my attention to my picture.  I have started getting up at 5am in order to pack everything into my day that I need to.  Obviously, this wasn't the right one!  It cracked me up so bad that I am posting it here.  Ah, motherhood!

Day 27-What I'm contemplating

Behold, children are a gift of the LORD,

The fruit of the womb is a reward.

Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,

So are the children of one's youth.

How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them;

They will not be ashamed

When they speak with their enemies in the gate.

Psalm 127:3, 4, 5 

NASB

I spoke to an old friend the other day.  I sponsored her through RCIA and it has been years since we have talked.  She is doing amazing but things have changed a little.  She has six beautiful daughters and is part of the fundamentalist "quiver full movement."  I think that this is probably the only protestant church that I agree with most of what they are saying.  It is the same faith as the Duggars.  When the liberal press describes this religion it says "they are more Catholic than Catholics."  They are completely open to life, Biblically based, and many opt to Homeschool their children.  They have very similar convictions to a small number of Orthodox Catholics left in our Church (92% of Catholic women are on the pill or have preformed some type of permanent sterilization).  I have looked up several of their sights and I am planning on using some of their tools for homeschooling.  One of the things that I loved was called "Wisdom Searching" scripture meditation.  I downloaded the e-book and I am using it as a guide.  I also loved Managers of Their Homes.  I already started my own version (see the sidebar).  Wish me luck.  I started today and I got up at 5:00 am.  The messages from Medjugorje speak of Wisdom from the Bible.  Our Lady of Peace says that we should be reading the Bible every day.  This is my next habit I will be working on.  I want to start a daily scripture meditation and Bible Study.  I am working on character values for the children.  They are doing so well, especially Alex.  I can feel God leading us to the "Narrow Path."  It is a difficult but Grace filled journey. 

40 day devotional-Day 24-What happend?

So sorry!  I have dropped the ball!  I hope you have been continuing with your own prayers and scripture study.  I have developed some (hopefully) lifelong habits over the past several weeks.  I hope it has helped you as much as it has helped me.  I appreciate all of your prayers.  We have been crazy busy.  Kids are finishing school and I am prepping for summer.  I am on a whirlwind cleaning spree here in my home.  Last night I darted off to the ER with Landon.  He busted his chin on the tub for the second time!  We did manage to get in a great afternoon with the kids.  We bought Willow a little pool to pass the summer with.  It was freezing cold but she stayed in for three hours!  Her brothers and sisters all ditched on her:-(  The summer is our scariest time of the year.  Willow stands at the door with her swimsuit and life vest on saying: "go see summer swimmy." If we let her, she would wander the neighborhood looking for pools.  We have to watch her like a hawk to make sure she doesn't run off.  Please, please pray that she stays close and she will quit running. 

Prayer:  Lord, please keep everyone safe this summer.  Send your Guardian Angels to watch all of your precious little ones.  Help us to make the most of our time with our children and utilize our resources well.  Amen 

Day 19-Giving Thanks.

This week I have so much to be thankful for.  My family is settling into what is our kind of normal.  All of the kids had an AMAZING week.  Tiana won third out of the entire fourth grade for her art.  Alex is having more "superstar" days than bad days and Lannie is just, well, adorable.  Did I mention spoiled?  Willow is doing so much better:-)  I am actively planning our summer activities and I am really excited.  We were able to get in a little extra therapy and I can tell it is already paying off.  I am blessed to have such incredible people working with her.  I am also thankful for the many prayers being offered up for my family.  I can feel them.  Many, many, thanks for all of you who are praying.  I love you.  You don't know how much.

40 day devotional-Day 18

Okay, I found this new blog and it ROCKS!  She did 30 days of prayers for Autism awareness month in April.  Short, sweet, to the point.  I am changing my format to not be so "wordy."  Laughs!  Through her blog I also found TONS of other bloggers with special needs kids.  Truly inspirational and amazing people.  The thing that inspired me the most is there are literally thousands of people out there walking this same road with me.  I am not alone even when I am stuck at home when I am too tired or afraid to venture out.    They get what I am saying.  The Internet is full of junk but it can be such a blessing  if you know where to look.  Recently, I wrote about how Willow's destructiveness guards me against materialism. 

"Liberality-Okay, if you are not a follower of my blog, you will get the condensed version. We are broke. Literally gave up everything so that my daughter would have even the slimmest chance at a good quality of life. I really could care less what we have or if it gets broken. I am not the least bit attached to anything but my DH and kids. Most people say they aren't materialistic but you should see the way they chase my daughter around so she won't break anything."

I got a well intentioned (anonymous) comment by someone who obviously does not live with Autism, or me, about why some people chase my daughter around.  I deleted it.  They don't get it, at all.  This person does.  This article touched me so deeply.  I can't begin to tell you.  She talks about things being "broken" and how God sees them whole, perfect.  The Great Healer.  I pray that today, that we find a cure for Autism.  I pray that someday my daughter can look at me and talk.  That she can can get married, have children, become a nun...or whatever she wants.  More than anything I pray that if God chooses not to heal her that he give me the wisdom to care for her and teach her.  I also pray that God surrounds her with loving people that are kind...and tolerant (Matthew 25:31-46).