Overwhelmed with the goodness of God....

I have so much fun during the day being at home with my three little munchkins. Yes, I do have moments of pure insanity and chaos, but I love it.  I look around and feel so blessed. Have you ever been driving or sitting on your couch when you just felt overwhelmed with the goodness of God? I had one of those moments this week. The girls and I like to dance in the living room! We turn on the ipod, and they take turns having me hold them as if we are slow dancing. It is too cute how they put their arm around me and lay their head on my shoulder. Timmy also loves to do this with his girls. Today, I had the ipod on "shuffle" and the song, When God Made You, started to play. I know this is typically sung as a love song, but today, as I heard it playing, I related it to Kamryn, Hadden, & Pate. I'm so thankful to be their mother.....He must have heard every prayer I've been praying (Amen!). He must've knew everything I would need. When God made you, He must've been thinking about me.

Thank you, Jesus!

I don't thank God for what He has done for me enough! None of us do. I also don't bathe my children in prayer 

near as much as I am commanded to. This has been on my heart lately and I know it is God just tapping me on the shoulder reminding me of it's importance..... As I danced with the girls today, I suddenly felt overjoyed, but also ashamed of how I let the little things in life get in the way of what's truly important. The older I get, the more I am reminded of this and the more I think about it. As a parent, I am commanded to "train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it, Proverbs 22:6." All I can say is....wow. What a big responsibility and what greater joy it is to train your child to love Jesus. 
Remember that children imitate their parents. How does your child imitate you (totally asking myself this question too right now!)? Do they know the importance of prayer, saying the blessing, being kind to others, having a strong work ethic, giving your best in all situations, reading your bible, etc??? I fail so much, but I am trying harder every day to imitate Christ so my children will imitate me doing this in return. Every minute counts and every minute that I am doing something (which is 24/7), my kids are watching me. It is crazy how they imitate me in so many ways already. I want to be a Godly mother. I want them to know without a doubt that I love them and love Jesus with all my heart. I want them to see a difference in me and in the way I handle certain situations of life. I saw it in my dad and I see it every day in my precious mom. What great council I have received from her! 
Timmy also said something the other day that really stuck with me.....He said, "I want my kids to see me reading my bible. I want them to point to my bible and say....this is Daddy's." He also said he wanted our children to see how much he loved his wife. This almost made me cry. I praise God for a Godly husband. He made this point...."how I treat you is how Pate will treat his wife one day." So true. Makes you think, doesn't it? I hope you will all make this one of your goals as well....to REALLY let your children know how much you love them and to also be the kind of person you want them to grow up to be. Yes, it is definitely easier said than done, but worth every minute of trying. This should be high up there on our priority list! And...if you are not a parent, I pray you will apply this to your life in other ways. The point is....life is short and we can't waste it worrying about the things that are temporary. We should focus on the greatness of God and all other things will seem so small. So, the next time you find yourself feeling down, frustrated, or unloved, just think about what God has done for you. As you do this, I promise your attitude will turn around. Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice! Philippians 4:4. This is important or it wouldn't have been written in the bible twice in a row. God is constant...all other things are temporary. If we remind ourselves of this truth (even if you have to every 10 minutes), you won't have time for your mind to drift into fear, doubt, worry, anger, negativity...whatever you struggle with!