Week 34-39 52 week photo project

My favorite brother Silas came for a visit (He is one of the name sakes that I gave my son John Silas)! I love this man! It's been four years since we have seen each other, God is good giving us 3 days together, to catch up, to hang out, and just to laugh together! I really don't know where I would be if this man didn't help me through high school and encourage me to go to Ozark for college, I am guessing my life would look a lot different! We are just a year apart almost to the day, and I am grateful each and everyday that though we are not blood that God has created something deep and bonding in us as siblings! 

 Time for some camping! We set up some tents in the back yard, had our wonderful friends join us and started a huge new adventure. From setting up the tents to sleeping through the night, it was an adventure at every turn! We had smores, we got eaten by bugs, we slept on rocks, and we woke up cold, sounds like camping to me! The boys had such a great time and can't wait to do it again next year!

My handsome Ximon (photo taken by Shawn), I love this photo of him, one of my absolute favorites. Breathtaking is all I can say! 

It was a craft day in our house, theses boys were working for hours on these hats. I think they turned out so great! Each one so unique and awesome, just like the little men that made them! And of course nothing is complete with out a goofy face picture! 

Our great friends from California came for a visit. Adam, Lori and their gang of 6 kids (mostly girls) came and visited us for a week. We had such an amazing time, we (well ME) loved having some girls around (I got to do hair, snuggle, enjoy the awesome girly outfits). We so enjoyed catching up with our great friends, including this day out with Thomas the tank engine. These two amaze me on a daily basis, they have two sets of identical twin girls, + their two older children, Lori home schools this bunch and each and every day they conquer with patience, grace, and a mighty love of the Lord. They are a family that we admire and are honored to call friends! And I love that they join us in the full quiver club! :) 

Another great picture of this dude! Oh my Bryce, I think this is his mischievous look! :) Still and forever this little man makes me laugh!

Heavy hurt heart

Another great chapter this morning: Ps. 39. Oh how our Lord speaks to us! 

I have been having some horrible conflict with someone close in our life. I am attacked, slandered, hurt beyond compare, named called, just taking as much nastiness as some can throw at me. Yet I am silent, the hardest thing for me ever (even though I have slipped up from time to time in this) I am silent to just take it all, endure it all, creating a terrible heaviness in my soul and my heart, weeping, crying out to God to listen, to bring relief.

 All of that to say, I'm thankful for chapters like Psalm 39! God calls us to silence sometimes (no not always, but sometimes), so we don't sin and cause more harm than good(I know from experience), even though we boil inside, even though we are so sorrowful. God still hears, God will bring justice. We then can take that boiling, that sorrow inside and lay it before the feet of our Lord and watch him work, watch him do what he does best, comfort, listen, and yes even be our defender, maybe not today but some time in the future those things will be brought to justice.

We in this life are to error on the side of grace, no matter how hard that may be, no matter what people will throw in our face, no matter how wrong they are. We show grace and we keep silent. We continue to Love, to show mercy, to give to those what they don't deserve. Which in us will teach and grow us to be more like Christ. I know for me, that's so hard, to show kindness to those that spit on you. That ability only comes from the Lord because in us is the desire for self preservation, for self defense, but I know that by having mercy that I am dying to self and becoming more like my Lord. 

So for my friends and family out there today, hang tight to the promises of our God, he is Good, nothing gets past him, and error on the side of grace if you are going to error, love always, show mercy, and pray, none of those will ever be the wrong choice.