To hear what I heard at the very moment my JD Green was born, go here My Rhapsody Playlist

I never hear this song that I don't think of my precious boy . . . and his Savior, Jesus.

Having a child so close to Christmas has always directed my gaze to that helpless, little baby in the manger and what Mary must have felt those first moments she held and inspected him. Her baby. Her Lord. I, for a few short breaths, felt what Mary felt as I gazed into the midnight blue eyes of my one and only son.

I felt the whisper of the Breath of Heaven on my skin. I felt the pleasure of the God of the universe as I, too, welcomed the one whom He had given me.

Now, I have rarely felt like Mary since, but those few captured moments immediately following JD Green's arrival are ones I will ponder and forever treasure in my heart.

Happy 8th Birthday, my precious son. I love you with my whole heart.


God has filled my tank in a myriad of ways this week, and I am sad I didn't have the time to recount them yesterday. Here is a quickie version as we are headed out to celebrate the birthday boy:

1. JD Green: only appropriate that I put him first today.
2. Libbyline and Sweetcheeks -- y'all have helped me make this holiday season special.
3. DP -- 14 years, and we still never run out of things to say . . . can't wait for the next decades with you!
4. Chocolate in the mail: Thanks, Jen!
5. Unexpected Blessings: I got one of these in the mail, custom made for me. I am naming it after her real name so I can pray for her and her family every time I wear it. I love it. Thanks, GiBee!

There's always more to share, but I have to run. We're off to see this and go here. I'll be back soon. Have a great Friday. Make every day a thanks-filled day!!

On His Adventure~

Pam

Labels: blessings, celebrations, gratitude, life, thanks tank

I have, for 15 years called my husband a prince . . . it all began before we were even married.

See, the animated version of this came out in 1992, and my then boyfriend got it for me for my birthday. I began calling him Prince Aliababwa in fun, and then I started calling him my Darling Prince, as he moved to Dallas to attend seminary during our courtship, ensuing engagement, and wedding planning and I began addressing letters to him in such a fashion. (I know, letters on paper -- a truly archaic form of communication . . .)

I barely knew then to what extent he would truly become my prince over the next decade and a half. We successfully got the wedding planned and accomplished, becoming husband and wife in record time (20 minutes, I think). We embarked on our honeymoon to Eureka Springs, AR, while staying here as our first stop along our journey as a married couple.

Though our first couple years were far from being turbulence free, we were somehow laying a foundation for a marriage that has been tested by circumstances beyond our control and come forth refined and shining more and more like gold with each year that passes.

My Darling Prince or (DP) as I refer to him here in bloggityville, has:

• held me when I've thought fear would overwhelm me.
• challenged me to look outside myself for strength and for perspective.
• prayed with me in good times and bad.
• forgiven me when I've neglected to make dinner, shouted ugly words at him, left him behind on a walk, been unwilling to see his point of view, or not given him the respect he deserves as the leader of this home and family.
• encouraged me to chase my dreams and cheered me on as I move forward in faith, using the talents and gifts God has so generously bestowed on me.
• rubbed my feet and legs, both during pregnancy and after when fibromyalgia has inexorably attached itself to my every move and relentlessly pounds me with pain beyond anything childbearing and childbirth could have dished out.
• understood my rambling thoughts and wishes, even when I don't feel like I can coherently communicate them myself.
• stood alongside me through financial struggles, weight gain and weight loss, hair color changes and hair loss, numerous moves from state to state, and more changes in both of us than I could ever begin to enumerate here.

What I want to share with all of you today is what I am ever so slowly beginning to realize is that if God gave me a prince of a man to share my last 14 years with, He also has given my Darling Prince a princess. I rarely let myself dwell on or believe that truth, but if I believe all I've said about my prince . . . then I must believe it about myself as well.

So, my precious, Darling Prince, on this our 14th wedding anniversary, I pray I will begin today seeing myself as a princess, as the one perfectly chosen for you forever. It was easy to repeat those vows on our wedding day all those years ago, but they ring true more so today than they did that beautiful day in Little Rock in 1993.

Thank you for introducing me to life as a "royal" all those years ago. I pray our next years together will be as full and focused on the purposes of our Heavenly Father, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Labels: celebrations

Welcome back to the Thursday Thanks Tank!

I've been struggling lately in the physical arena, so I took a break last week instead of making my list out of obligation alone.

It's been a crazy week so far, but one full of blessings. Let me get right to the filling of the tank. Here's how God is filling me up this week:

1. Warm weather: No, it doesn't feel like Christmas, but it sure does beat the weather found here or here. Please be praying for all those who have suffered damage and power outages as a result of the storms blazing a trail through the Midwest and Northwest. I am very grateful to wake up this morning to a smattering of fog alone.

2. New pets: I can honestly say I am thankful for the unending lessons being taught by the new members of our family. Read about the rest of the story here. We've already experienced being bitten (that's me), a death (that's Ghirardelli), a transfer of ownership (that's from Sweetcheeks to John Deere Green), and a name change (that's from Snickers to Skittles . . . all in the candy family, I guess), and a replacement pet for Ghirardelli (that's Everest, Libbyline's new Chinese dwarf hamster who filled the void left by the Black bear hamster). It's been a wild ride, and it's only been three days so far! Pray for me . . .

3. My precious DP: This man is truly the Darling Prince as the "DP" reflects daily. He willingly runs errands for me, takes surprise afternoon frolics in stride, holds dying hamsters to comfort our daughter, cleans up our kitchen nightly, negotiates with unwelcome phone callers, and brings me treats just when I need them the most. I love you so much, Honey!

4. Christmas Cards: I love this time of year! I haven't actually sent my own yet (hopefully today), but I eagerly await the mail every day so that I can see whose card is in amongst all the regular junk mail. So good to hear from all of you. I'll send you my address if you'll just send me a card!

5. Laughter: I find lots of things funny, but this one had me howling the other day. You've got to read this post and remind yourself how wonderful it is to grapple with the beast of technology and win. Pray for our precious "Siesta". How I love this woman!

6. Gift Cards: My DP received a card from here the other day. He spent most of it on me. No more need be said. I love, love, love this man.

7. Baking: I love the smells of fresh cookies wafting through my humble abode. Yum!! These definitely smell like Christmas to me.

8. Health: I am so grateful for the routine health we've had this year. Sweetcheeks is currently recovering from a tummy bug, and I am thankful it was nothing more serious. We are truly blessed.

9. Friends: How grateful I am to be loved and cared for, simply for being who God created me to be. I care for you in the same way, not because you can send me gifts on time or that you send me gifts at all. The gift of your friendship is more than enough. (That's especially for you Kate and Jen).

10. Unexpected Gifts: Today my little flip calendar said this:


I've found that to be so true this week. Finances have been tight, tight, tight around here for months. We are trying to be good stewards and use our money as God would have us do so.

Last week I bought a used purse at a thrift store for $1.99, only to find out it had $28 in it once I got home. Unexpected blessing. AND . . .

This week my children received a DVD in the mail from a great aunt they barely know, only to have it be the very one they've been hoping we'd one day own. This one by Janette Oke has brought great joy at just the right time. God really does give His children good gifts.

Well, I've rambled on long enough. How has God been filling your tank this week? Let me know in the comments or take my cute button from here and take it to your own site. Invite me over, and I'll come share in the ways God is blessing you today.

Have a Thanks-filled day!

On His Adventure~

Pam

Labels: gratitude, happies, thanks tank, thanksgiving

So, I've been a bit scarce lately out here in Blogland, but I do have good reasons. Two of them are right over there.

Yes, I have taken the plunge just like Shannon and willingly (maybe) invited rodents to live among us.

Libbyline is my animal lover. She adores anything with fur, four legs and a need of a vet. She has a tender heart and has longed for another pet ever since we had to give our black lab, Jazzie, away last spring.

In addition to Libbyline's love of all things animal, we also have Sweetcheeks who will not stand still for being left behind in any adventure that takes over our household.

Hence the reality of not one, but TWO rodents joining our family last night. We made our rounds at Target for bedding, food and a couple toys then made our pilgrimage over to the mecca of pet-dom, PetSmart.

Let me introduce you to the types of pets we got. We cannot actually get close enough to get such fabulous photos of our own hamsters yet, so I am relying on a couple of stock photos to give you a clear description of:

Ghirardelli (Delli, for short)-- Libbyline's black bear or Teddy bear Syrian hamster. He is currently snoozing and trying to get used to the idea of being someone's pet. The trip from the pet store to our house must have worn him clean out, because he's not real sociable today.

Snickers -- Sweetcheeks' Chinese dwarf hamster, who spent the entire night running miles and miles on his little hamster wheel. He gives a whole new meaning to this poem. So far, Snickers seems much better adjusted to his new habitat, and is friendlier overall. We are experiencing a little skittish behavior, but that is more frequent on the part of the new pet owners than the pets themselves.

Please pray for our transition as we get to know these little creatures and try to make them feel as welcome as is possible for a rodent. I'll pop in and out occasionally this week, but much of my time is going to be spent supervising the pet care and baking.

I must have 12 dozen of these done by Thursday, in addition to several other varieties that we only make at Christmas time. Oh, and I also need to buy pretzels, because I've got some real Ghirardelli's chocolate to make delicious treats out of them.

Labels: family, fun, pets

Labels: God's Word, Scripture, truth

Labels: photos, Wordless Wednesday