headache and MOPS

This will be a short post I'm sure . . . since I have a headache and need to get to bed.

I was able to attend moms night out for MOPS tonight.  It was great to see some of my MOPS sisters.  I wasn't able to stay the whole time because little man was at my parents and I had to get him before it got to late.

Have I said how much I love MOPS recently?!  God is so good!  I need mommy friends and He provided! I look forward to anything having to do with MOPS.  I highly recommend it for any mother of preschoolers.

The one fall back for me is I feel so . . . well I'm not sure how to put this in words but I guess its I sometimes feel out of place.  Like maybe I'm too young to be there or something.  BUT don't get me wrong!  I love MOPS!!!!  I guess maybe its because I wasn't quite ready for a child when I had LM.  God used LM to bring me closer to Him though!

LM and I go on walks now :-)  Well he actually rides but minor detail.  I'm trying to do it every day.  We walked about forty minutes today around town.  It was nice.  I'm hoping it will help me to shed some extra baggage I have around my middle and such.

I'm going to be trying something new with my hair.  Don't want to go into details on it just yet but I think it will be awesome.

Okay this headache is starting to get on the verge of migraine :-(  time to lay down and see if it will go away.

TTFN
anc

What's your mission?

Little man is such a good boy.  We go on walks and he just enjoys the ride.  Although, he doesn't enjoy when we get home.  He always says "more, more, byebye, byebye."

I've decided to try out a menu plan for a few weeks.  I'm hoping it will help lower the grocery bill and keep down my trips to the store.  Also I'm going to keep track of all expenses this month so I can make a budget.

We are put on this earth to accomplish a mission.  Many make their mission to live a "good" life and enjoy as much as they can.  Others make their mission to work hard and earn lots of money.  I believe our mission as Christians is to bring in the harvest.  We still have to live in this world and survive but we need to reexamine what it takes to survive.

I'm working on letting go of self and living all for Him.  Not an easy thing and it will never be complete.

This is all for now
love anc

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a break

Not that many read this blog but I wanted to state for the eyes of the world to see that I am taking a break from most technology. I say most because my phone is a must since I do not have a land line.

No more facebook checking every hour.

No more reading countless blogs all day long.

No more constantly refreshing the email.

God is calling me...and I'm not wanting to listen because of these things. They occupy my time WAY more than they should. I need to get closer to Him. I need to give myself completely to Him.

I may still blog, we shall see.

It will not be easy, this I am sure. But I know it will be worth it.

love

anc

just have faith

God says for us to simply have faith in Him. Not money, not stuff, nothing but faith in Him.

That is not an easy thing. We are to be disciples and help to bring in the harvest! There will be persecution for us along the way as followers of Christ Jesus. Family, friends, the church . . . they may not understand. But we have a job to do while we are on this earth for this short time. Our treasure is in Heaven. Earth is just a pit stop or a camping ground along the way.

With HIS strength and HIS love we can pick up the cross and go to the lost, poor, and sick.

That is what God calls us to do as Christians. We are to go to the lost, the ones who do not know Christ. We are to help the poor, he gave us the resources so we need to use them to better HIS kingdom. NOT use them for more stuff! We need to help the sick, thousands die from malnutrition and PREVENTABLE diseases every day! So not cool.

It will seem like we have dove off the deep end to this secular world but God has plans for us. We love Him supremely and it will all work out.

Who did Jesus hang out with during His time on earth? The rich, religious pharisees? NO!!!!! He was with the prostitutes, tax collectors, sinners.

We need to live like Jesus.

Are we going to choose comfort or a cross? It is easy to choose comfort. We can turn the channel on our big screens so we don't have to see the suffering. We can simply not drive to that part of town that has poverty. We go on about our lives with stuff, stuff, and more stuff. A cross will not be easy. A cross will lead to persecution from the ones we love. It could even led to death. BUT we are already dead to this world if we are doing the will of Christ! Our treasure is not here! We are here only a short time.

I know I would much rather live for God for all its worth here and bring people to Him now than to sit back and enjoy the pleasures of this world and spend an eternity in damnation. Yes the road won't be painless but it is worth it when you look at the big picture.

If God is in your heart it won't feel like sacrificing or giving up the extra things in life, all the stuff we have. It will be giving to our brothers and sisters in Christ who are in great need.

It is easy to go to God and ask, "Why all the suffering in this world? Why do You allow so much poverty, unfairness, hurt, and inequality?" I bet He would ask us the same thing.

give me Your eyes

If you only have one dollar to your name and are starving and standing outside McDonald's praying to God to take your starvation away, open your eyes! God gave you that dollar so go eat!

Heard this from a very good friend. Although God does have the power to heal, move, and fix us, sometimes He provides in other ways. So we need to open our eyes a little bit more.

Danny, our pastor at church, described our viewpoint verses God's viewpoint very well. You can check out the sermon here. Take a look through a paper towel roll. You can't really see much at all. That is how we see the world around us without prayer and without God in our life. Now imagine a fifty gallon container with the bottom cut out. Put that up to your eyes. You can see a LOT more! This is what happens for those who pray for God's view. It is like God's view of the world (His is unlimited of course but this is a good way to actually picture the difference). God can see the big picture. We may be asking for a snake and not even know it, but God does know. ~Luke 11:11-13~ This is why he doesn't give us everything. He knows the egg we are praying for and demanding is really a scorpion. Danny spoke on this as well, just click here.

It is so amazing how much you can see and hear God when you simply listen and be still, taking the time to look. He has really shown Himself to me the past few days. But I can also see the devil trying to tear us apart. Bad news mister devil, you ain't breaking us up! I love the Lord!

My little sister is amazing, as I've said before. She feels God moving her but she isn't sure how He is going to use her for this awesome thing she knows is gonna happen. She is twelve! Her faith is such an inspiration. After church on Sunday we stopped in to talk to the middle school minister, Kenny. He is so cool! He helped her out a lot and even helped me! He wasn't speaking "to" me but God sure was :-)

God's will and the will of the world are a hard thing to mix together. It is a constant battle to figure out. We can't sit on our behinds and wait for jobs or schooling or spouses. God gave us choices. We have to start down a path, any path and He will help us along. Maybe you are unsure of a choice (I know I sure am) but sitting around waiting for something to drop from the sky isn't an option.

So having had that in my mind, I am going back to school in the fall or maybe even this summer! I've been praying A LOT about what God's will is for my life. I know I am meant to be a mom but since I am single, it is not possible to sit at home all the time with little man. We need income to support us.

I've always been good in math and science, it's how my brian is wired. Therefore I am going to be going to school for accounting! I feel at peace with the decision and know God is all I need to get through this! Plus my mom is happy I'm getting my behind in gear again.

Little man has NOT had a fever again! I am so thankful for all the prayers! He is almost eighteen months old! AHHHHHHHHHHHH! Where has the last year and a half gone?! He amazes me more and more everyday. I am so thankful to God for the blessing He gave me in little man. Here are some pictures :-)

He is so handsome.

He looks great in hats!

Most recent of us.

Although I was caught up in the problems life has been giving, the ball is in motion to get the moms group set up! Thanks to a great friend for being there to remind me about it! Hopefully we can start in June.

Putting your faith and trust in God seems easy enough but it is not so easy in this messed up world we live in. We have to be in constant communication with the Lord so that we can stay in His will.

I just love Him so much! He blesses us in so many ways!

Love through Christ,

anc

Baseball Gloves

My little man is doing better. I was very glad to have him home and I know he was happy to have momma. He wouldn't let me put him down for a second.

Life is going alright. God is in control so I don't have to worry much. I am going to be helping my sister finish up the school year. Sort of like a tutor. Works for me because mom and dad are paying me in rent :-) woot woot for parents as landlords.

The single moms group is almost a go! Have to talk to Dean and work out details and then we are good to go.

Tomorrow is the last MOPS of the year :-( It has been such a huge blessing in my life! I am going to miss all the friends I have made. BUT at least I will get to see them at church and such! Just won't see them on Wednesday mornings so much.

My neck is a little burnt. After picking up little man from the sitter (which he only has a week and a half left of) we go for a walk around town and to the park. It is a lot of fun. He enjoys being outside and I get some exercise. He is such an outdoors boy. The crazy thing is though he doesn't get dirty like most kids. For example, when I picked him up from the sitter today he was playing in the rocks . . . BUT he was not sitting on the ground like a normal kid. He was sitting on a baseball glove :-) He is so cute! I need to post some new pictures. He is actually getting hair!

I am off to try and go to bed.

God Bless!

love

anc

Motherhood is . . .

Kristen of We Are THAT Family asked what motherhood means to each one of us and to find a picture of just that.

Well I didn't have to think too hard about what picture I would choose.

This picture is of the very first time I got to hold my little man.

No matter the struggle or the hard times, motherhood is always worth it.

Breathing

First off, my little man is sick :-(

He has had a fever on and off for a couple of months now.

This episode has gone on since Tuesday.

It is his dad's weekend for visitation.

Little man is not with his momma.

He went to the hospital last night.

Had a fever of 103.4 . . . got up to 104.5 while he was there.

They think its just a mouth virus.

I wanted to be there so badly.

God was there. He always is. He is making sure little man is cared for when he is away from me. The doctors said not to worry. Yeah easy for them to say. But I am leaning on God for all I've got because I know He can handle it.

Little man may "just" have a fever and I know there are children far worse off than him but this is my baby boy. I can't help but be a nervous wreck about him not feeling well. Hopefully his fever broke by now. His dad is at work (he is with his great grandparents) so I'll have to wait for an update.

*deep breathing*

Now that I have that off my chest, lets move on to other news.

With the Lord's blessing we are moving forward to do a single moms study! It is going to be for seven weeks, the first week being introductions, focusing on adventures in mothering. I'm super excited for it. It is going to be great to connect with other moms who are in this same season of singleness.

I am so thankful for my little sister. She truly is amazing. :-) We are ten years apart. We hang out quite a bit. As far as sisters go I think we rock! She is so understanding for only being twelve years old. Love you Woo!!!

With little man being so sick, I no longer have a job. Part of being the only parent at home. My church has a position open for a ministry assistant. It is right up my alley! I applied. If it is God's Will then great! If not then I'm still super happy about seeing the job! Why you may ask . . . because it opens my eyes to different jobs that I could do. Ones that are glorifying to God!!!

Thanks to my beautiful MOPS sister for posting about my need of a lawn mower, I can mow my own yard! That is on the agenda for this weekend!!

To any mom out there that doesn't have time to get into the Word, I would highly recommend the Busy Mom's Bible. I got mine from Walmart and I love the way it is set up.

This is all for now. God Bless!!!!

love

anc

What's on the Heart

As I type this little man is screaming and crying. :-( He does not want to go to bed. He wants his momma. I don't mind holding him until he is almost asleep but this screaming is so hard to deal with. I want to hold him but I know he needs to learn to go to sleep on his own :-(

I'm trying to figure out what God is calling me to do and it's not easy. I don't expect it to be because the devil likes to knock us off the narrow path. Prayer and time in the Word will be the only way to figure it all out. As of right now the plan is to go back to school in the fall for something that I know is not what I want to do for the rest of my life and isn't my true calling. A post in the church bulletin spoke to me but I need to get more information on it. Not sure if I meet the qualifications.

A very dear friend of mine, basically a sister, is unsure of things as well. It is always nice to know someone is in the same boat and we can be in prayer for each other.

more to come later

not much

It has been a long while since I have had a chance to get my thoughts typed out. Little man and I have both had our share of sickness. Thursday evening he threw up all over me and the chair. It was not a fun time. But I will say it is quite amazing what a mom can withstand. In the past I have not been able to tolerate my own throw up but when it is your child, it is a different story. The chair still smells :-( Hopefully with a few more cleanings it will get better.

Seeing God in everyday things is becoming easier. Being in His Word (which I need to do more of) and being in constant communication with Him through prayer does that.

The church I attend had an amazing parent/infant dedication a few Sundays ago. I dedicated myself to raise little man to love the Lord. I have a long road ahead of me but I know all things are possible with God. My parents were able to attend and got to hear The Crossings pastor, Danny, so hopefully that planted a seed to get them to come to church!

God has placed on my heart a group for moms who happen to be single. I've talked with a few of my MOPS sisters about it and am figuring out what all it would take. To start we will probably end up doing a short six week study on Sunday mornings to get a feel for the need. I know for me it would be amazing to be able to talk to other moms in this season of singleness.

I thought I had a lot to get out for this post but apparently my mind doesn't think so.

love~anc

What a Week

This past week I worked hard for the first time in a long while. I work in a refrigerator basically. It's about 38 degrees and we repackage products. It was cold and the work was, well factory work. Standing on your feet all day in steel-toe boots. But at least it will bring in a paycheck.

I've been struggling this week in getting life and work to fit together. I slept A LOT this week. Working a new shift will do that to ya. Because of this new work schedule I have to miss the single mom small group I was a part of. That isn't so great.

The language at work is hard to deal with. I know I will never be able to escape it but man its hard! When hearing the words all day (well really afternoon/evening since its second shift), its easy to use them when you drop something or whatnot. One thing that has been really helping is watching what I put into my head.

I listen to christian music again and that's all I listen to. It helps to have those songs about grace and God's love running through my head. They make it easier to ignore the bad language.

Little man was sick pretty much all week. His fever started on Tuesday evening. Friday morning I was to take him to the doctor for an appointment and we ended up calling 911 on the way there because his hands were turning purple as were his lips. It was very scary. So Friday morning brought us to the ER, where they did a chest x-ray and said he has pneumonia. So he has to take medicine for ten days and hopefully that will take care of it. I was not looking forward to going in to work at three on Friday because I didn't want to leave my baby. He stays with my mom while I'm at work but still I miss him. Work let me go home early when they found out about the rough day I had. That was really nice. This weekend has consisted of catching up on sleep and cuddling my baby boy. He is doing a bit better but still has had a little fever today.

Can't forget to change my clocks for the daylight savings switch.

This week I also followed the Kenya bloggers through Compassion International. Wow. What an experience these people had. Being able to see and read about their journey was incredible. A little back story: Back in high school I decided I needed to sponsor a child. I had no idea what it meant to sponsor a child. I ended up not doing it for very long (I am truly sorry for the little girl I let down) because I was a poor high school student who wanted to spend her money on things she felt she "needed"...

A must read post

Having the love of God in my heart once again, I realize how truly blessed I am. I may not have a lot and money may be tight but He, the One who died on the cross for me, He gives me what I need. We are going to be sponsoring and loving a little boy from Kenya. I decided on Kenya because it had the most need for children being sponsored. At first I wanted to have a child with the same birth date as mine but then felt called to go a different route. Filemon Omondi is now a part of my heart and family! He has the biggest smile on his face and I love that! I can't wait to receive my sponsorship packet and have his picture and get to send him letters!

God is so good. Even when times are rough we can always lean on Him.

I have been limiting my facebook time here lately. It is not a good thing to be in allllll the time. I enjoy seeing my friend's pictures and updates but the negativity on there is outrageous. Call me what you like but I am working on getting to the spot God wants me to be.

Today little man and I watched LarryBoy and the Bad Apple. It was about temptation. They portrayed it so well. Temptation gets the best of everyone. You cannot go a day without encountering it. With God's strength we can overcome it though! I am striving to be more Godly. I know it is a difficult path to go down and the devil will be throwing things my way like crazy to try to knock me off but I have my mind set.

The devil can leave me and my son alone. We know the truth and strive to follow God!

Prayer requests:

-Little man's health

-Being strong in the Lord, even at work

-my sister

-mom and dad's Walk

Praises:

~I have a job!

~MOPS

~support of my family

~God's love

jobs

Changes are everywhere. Some are little and some are big.

I have another job. It is much better days and stability. They won't be changing my schedule every other week like the other. Its shift work and in a factory but it is full time and decent money. It works better for my family and everyone.

I can still attend church every Sunday which makes me happy! But sadly I have to miss my single mom's small group. MOPS is in the morning so I can still do that too!

I believe God helped out in this part of my life greatly. Without Him I'd be in an awful spot I'm sure! He is amazing.

I'm not feeling the writing bug right now so I will come back later and write more about this.

Shake

Blah...

I'm in a bad spot. It doesn't have to do with the job, that is going alright. I'll touch more on the job in a sec. I can't shake this feeling I have. I am having so many doubts and when I try to find someone to talk to they were busy. I didn't make it to small group tonight which made me mad. I hate this. it just needs to go away and leave me alone. I want to be God's light and although I know times will be hard He can make them great.

The job is fine. Lots of drama and I'm over that already but its money coming in.

Someone please help

I'm making myself go to MOPS tomorrow. I know I need the fellowship. I just hope they will watch little man. I don't have anyone to watch him like I used to.

Is it okay to let go of a friendship for spiritual reasons?

light

We are the light of this world.

Stop looking back and take in the now.

God loves me and made me special.

My body is the temple for His greatness to shine through.