Our Rainbows... God's Promise!

My hubby and I have noticed in the last few months that there have been a few significant days in our life that the Lord has given us a Rainbow! All 3 of the times I am going to mention happened on the exact same property! After the 3rd rainbow, my hubby and I were convinced that it was definitely God's way of giving us a peace about what we were doing...

Our First Rainbow... December 21, 2002 - Our wedding day! The best day of my life! I married my VERY best friend and the most amazing man I know! I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Lord brought him into my life and gave him just to me! I'm so amazed at the Lord's leading in our lives that brought us to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (of all places)! God literally brought us from opposite corners of the world to Oklahoma... I'm so thankful for that! I have no doubt that it was the Lord's hand was in that! He confirmed HIS will for David and I to me many, many, many times in the months before we started "dating" (for lack of a better word!)
We got married at Eugene Baptist Temple (my childhood church and the church my husband is NOW the Pastor of!) Our Preacher did the ceremony... it was beautiful! I love the vows he wrote... they were perfect! It was truly a celebration of all the Lord had done in our lives and in the lives of our families! I had everyone there I loved... even all 4 of my parents! God was soooooo good that day!
We walked out of the church after the ceremony and there was a beautiful rainbow! That moment is forever engrained in our minds...

Our Second Rainbow... May 8, 2011 - Preacher Resigned from EBT. Now this might sound kind of weird! At this point we had been here for 9 months and my hubby had been made the Asst. Pastor. He had the opportunity to do a lot of the preaching, etc... we were loving church life! Preacher came to us and announced to us that he would be retiring and he was going to recommend to the church that they vote us in! We were BLOWN away... humbled... excited... scared... schocked... and then an overwhelming PEACE!
Everyone that night at church had such a mix of emotions. Ourselves included... Preacher had been MY Pastor for pretty my whole life. Yes, I had spent 10 yrs away from home but Eugene Baptist Temple was home! Preacher had been at EBT for 24 years... thats unheard of for most Pastor's! They don't stick around long... He stuck it out through alot of ups and downs! So for him to now not be the Pastor of EBT was a hard thing... but everyone was excited about the prospect of my hubby becoming the new Pastor!
We all walked out of church that night... with tears and smiles... and wouldn't you know it?! The Lord had painted a beautiful rainbow across the sky! We were all slightly in awe...

Our Third Rainbow... May 11, 2011 - The Church Unanimously votes in my Husband as Pastor! Great night at church!!! We still can't believe that the Lord has brought us here and allowed us to Pastor this church! We are truly honored!!!
And again, 3 days after the second rainbow God placed another one in the sky! This really got me because it was like the Lord was placing his "stamp of approval" on our wonderful, miracle church! I've seen the Lord answer some big prayer requests and work in some mighty ways already! I can't wait to see what the years ahead hold for us at Eugene Baptist Temple!

This last week or so has been a bit tough... and I was praying at some point yesterday and talking to the Lord about "Our Rainbows" and told HIM, "Lord, I really need to see another one of your Rainbows!!!" My hubby was fast asleep already as he has to get up at 3.30am to go to work but I was checking Facebook one last time before turning in for the night! And what did I see??! A RAINBOW... seriously! One of my friends posted a picture of a rainbow she had seen that day and posted above it, "A Reminder of God's Promise!" WOW! I couldn't believe it... God is so good to us! I love that HE remains interested in our lives... no matter what faults I have, no matter how many times I may fail HIM and others... I am so thankful for HIS unconditional love! As humans we are not good at that Unconditional Love thing but I am so thankful I have a Heavenly Father who is touched with my hurtings... and holds my tears in HIS hands! In that knowledge, I can pick up and go on! No matter what happens! He is holding me in His hands! What a thought... 

10 on Tuesday...

Another new thing I am going to start...

Sharing 10 random thoughts on Tuesday! I am great at random thoughts... just ask my Hubby! This is a way I can share it with everyone! I have a friend who does this on her blog and I love reading them.
So here it goes...

1. It is raining outside... been awhile since we have had rain. It kind of feels nice. The house is nice and cool and I absolutely LOVE the sound of the rain!!!

2. This is a hard day... the hardest in a LONG time. I'm not sure what the Lord is going to do in this situation but I'm trusting HIM. He led us here and HE will bring us through... just as HE has every time we are faced with a difficult situation!

3. In the midst of this tough time, the Lord has confirmed in our hearts that we are where we are supposed to be and doing what we are supposed to be doing... I just wish that I knew how this was going to end. I am PRAYING PRAYING PRAYING for a peaceful solution! Truth be told, I am not even sure what the problem is... makes it really tough to try to fix it!

4. My hubby is working right now but will be home in 2 hours... He likes his new job! The company is so employee friendly and his hard work is already paying off! They have given him a raise! Such a blessing right now...

5. My kids are wrestling on the floor... I love to watch them play together! Rainy weather is good for watching a bit of PBS (Clifford is on right now) and wrestling apparently! :)

6. I love how my sweet Noah sits back and just watches his brother and sister and plays! I'm pretty sure he thinks they are crazy! (He just might be right!  lol)

7. I miss my very best friend (in Florida)! I love that it even if we haven't talked in months, I can go to her with anything! She never misjudges my intentions and always seems to understand me better than anyone else... even being so far away! I LOVE YOU!!!

8. My Dad and Mom are probably going to be moving to Cheyenne, Wyoming... that is REALLY far away from Eugene, Oregon! It makes me very sad... but I am excited to see what the Lord is going to do in their lives!!

9. I'm looking forward to VBS... Really praying that we can get a bunch of extra kids in here! It would be so much fun!

10. Also very excited for the Church Garage Sale THIS weeekend! Never had to run one pretty much on my own so this should be fun! Its mostly set up and I just need to go price stuff! Feels good!! Praying the Lord send LOTS of people our way!

Favorite Foto...

I just saw that a friend posted her "Favorite Foto" on her blog and I immediately thought of this picture! This is my little Noah! He is 10 (almost 11) months old! I am completely in shock that that is even possible. This time last year I was 31 weeks pregnant and we were packing our house in Utah to move to Oregon... WOW! It seems like yesterday I was counting down the days til Noah made his appearance (makes it easy to countdown when you have a scheduled C-section).

This picture was taken on July 4th! We spent the day at a VERY dear friends house! It was such a great time... the weather was PERFECT... the fellowship was FUN... the atmosphere was RELAXED... I couldn't have asked for anything better! The kids enjoyed the time playing in the water with friends and the Moms got to get yummy food ready and not worry too much about what the kiddos were getting in to... THAT doesn't happen too often! LOL. Miss Lucy caught this sweet picture of my baby boy and it catches the whole feeling of that day... JOY! Praise the Lord for these moments!

As I look at this picture and think of the fact that my baby will be a year old far too soon, I realize that he is getting the sweetest personality! His joyful attitude is truly caught in this picture! I love you Noah Jericho!

Melancholy Mondays... or anyday, really!!

I've always been intrigued by personality studies! There are several different ones... each with different labels for the 4 different personality types! My favorite is the study done by Gary Smalley which refer to each personality type as different animals! They are as follows:
Lion (also referred to as Choleric)
Otter (also referred to as Sanguine)
Golden Retriever (also referred to as Melancholy)
Beaver(also referred to as Phlegmatic)

I am a Golden Retriever! No doubt in my mind about it... always have been! I took this test as a teenager and the results were the same! As an adult it portrays itself differently than it did as a teenager but for sure and for certain that is me that big ol' Melancholy! I've often heard people refer to this as though it is a negative thing! I will be the first to admit that it definitely has its downsides, however, there are so many positive aspects of being Melancholy that I wanted to share!

God has created each of us individually and I believe that none of us can fully put ourselves in a little tiny box labeled any one thing. We are each fearfully and wonderfully made by our Creator! He has a specific reason for giving each of us the personality traits that HE did!! These personality profiles can help us understand ourselves and those around us so much better though!

Golden Retrievers are the most deep loving people! We truly love FULLY. We also often literally FEEL the pain of others. We have an amazing ability to empathize with people!! We hurt with and for the people we love! We may not have many friends but the friends we do have are the most important people in the world to us! We tend to be loyal to the end! On the other side of this, we are likely to get hurt easily when those around us "let us down." However, we also tend to forgive easily and fully! We don't like thinking that people are upset with us or that we may have hurt someone... we know how that feels and wouldn't want anyone else to hurt! We definitely want everyone to like us! We feel everything deeply... goodbyes are hard for us! Especially if it is someone who is close to us... once we let someone into our inner circle we don't want that to change! We also DO NOT enjoy change! We want to feel secure in our homes and lives!

As you may have guessed I've had a bit of a Melancholy week... and thats OK! I can't allow myself to take it to an extreme... but the LORD created my emotions and created me to react this way to my environment! I'm so thankful that in hard weeks like this... when I've had to say good bye to my little brother who has shipped off to Boot Camp and also had to say good bye to a dear friend who has moved away... that I can look to my Saviour and HE comforts me and allows me to cry and HE picks me up and helps me move on! I don't do well with change, thats true, but I've learned that with my God I can still live life!

Thank you Lord for each of the personality types you have created... Thank you for my Melancholy moments and for loving me through them! Thank you for all those people in my life who are not Melancholies but who love me anway!!!

***Take this free Personality Test to see which personality type you are! Also check out the description of the different personality types for scripture references and examples of people in the Bible who had these different personality types!***

God's Little Miracles...

I spent a sleepless night last night praying for 2 very dear friends; each facing a day very different than the other, each a miracle in their own way! One friend woke up this morning and headed to the hospital to have her scheduled C section... to bring her precious baby girl into this world!!! The other friend, having only delivered her baby a short 3 weeks prior, faces watching her baby girl go in for an open heart surgery!

Each birth brings a Mother and her Child to the brink of death, whether it be a natural birth or a C-section because she is unable to deliver "naturally." Along with this comes the fear of the unknown... a Mother's mind has so many questions! Some completely reasonable; others maybe completely silly to other people and yet as Moms we have all thought them...
"Is my baby healthy?"
"Does he/she have all 10 fingers and 10 toes?"
 "Does he/she have hair?"
 "What if my baby is ugly??!"
"Am I going to be OK?"
"Can I do this??!"

Although we all have these worries of the unknown, I don't think any of us really think that we are going to really have to face something quite as scary as our baby having a heart problem! Yet, my friend went into labor 3 weeks ago having no idea that her baby DID have heart problems! She had a beautiful and fairly uneventful labor and delivery followed by a God-given 2 preciousl hours of skin to skin time before anyone realized there was a problem! She was then whisked of via Life Flight to a Children's Hospital 4 1/2 hours away from home!
What is the miracle in this, you might ask??! MANY THINGS... This friend of mine had several health issues that should have insured her giving birth a week or 2 early. Yet because of continuous scheduling issues, the Drs were unable to get her in. Which resulted in baby girl being born very close to hear due date! This was a miracle... every moment she stayed in Mama's womb gave her more of a chance to strengthen her lungs and heart! If she had been born a couple weeks early, the outcome of her delivery could have been very different! A coincidence? I DO NOT think so!
This friend was able to spend 2 hours uninterrupted time with her baby girl snuggling and enjoying each other! Who knew that in the next few hours their lives would have been turned upside down??! The Lord knew and I believe HE allowed those sweet moments because in the weeks to follow their contact would be limited!
Another miracle in this situation?? Just the fact that she was born in a generation where they could look at her tiny little heart, figure out what was wrong, and make a plan to fix it! Simply two generations before they may have had to sit and watch their daughter die, never knowing what was wrong! WOW... Praise God for Drs and the wisdom to fix the heart of a tiny baby!
So many other miracles I could list such as the testimony of her precious parents... I am so thankful that I have been able to sit back and watch this couple trust God in this circumstance in their life! The Lord has given me the honor of being a part of their circle of praying friends! God is so good... ALL the time!

As I sat and held the new baby daughter of my other friend today, I had to thank the Lord for His faithfulness, grace, and mercy... He is so good! I can't imagine going through the birth and forthcoming responsibility of a new child (let alone a heart surgery) without His leadership and guidance!

Thank You, Lord, that we know all things work together for good (Romans 8:28) and that You are a refuge in our times of trouble (Psalm 9:9; 32:7)!! Thank you that with You all things are possible (Matthew 19:26). AND THANK YOU for the miracle of life and the birth of these 2 precious little girls!
I pray you allow me to see some the amazing plans YOU have in the lives of these little girls and their families!

ABC's of ME...

A-Age: 29
B-Bed size: Queen
C-Chore you hate: LAUNDRY... I don't mind the washing/drying, but I HATE folding!!! :)
D-Dogs: None for now... maybe one day when the kiddos are a bit older!
E-Essential start to your day: Cup of Coffee... with Cinnamon Vanilla Creamer!
F-Favorite Color: Purple
G-Gold or Silver: Silver, ALWAYS silver!
H-Height: 5' 4"
I-Instruments you play: None unfortunately. Would love to play the piano!
J-Job title: Wife and Mommy! And they are each a full time job!!! :)
K-Kids: 4 ~ Chloe (6 years); Gracie (4 years); Micah often referred to as Bubba (2 years) and Noah (almost 7 months!)
L-Live: Thankfully back home in Eugene, OR... its been a long journey home though!!! :)
M-My Mom's Name: Jacque
N-Nickname: Mommy, Engeltje ("Little Angel" in Dutch), Babe
O-Overnight hospital stay: Only with each of my 4 kids!
P-Pet Peeve: People smacking thier food/gum!!!
Q-Quote from a movie: This would be a better question to ask my kids... they are always running around quoting the entire diologue to movies!!! Slightly obnoxious...
 R-Right/Lefty: Righty!
S-Sibling: 4 brothers/1 sis in law AND several wonderful friends who are LIKE sisters!
T-Time you wake up: When my kiddos wake up... usually about 8 am!
U-Unique information about yourself: I was born in Weisbaden, Germany! My hubby was born in Belgium and each of my 4 kids have been born in a different state!!! :)
V-Veggies you dislike: PEAS!!! Yuck...
W-What makes you run late: My Children... I use to never be late! Then I started having kids. Once I think I have a schedule worked out to be somewhere on time I have another kid that throws a kink in that! We are done now so we are finally getting better... :) Cause being late drives me CRAZY!
Y-Yummy food you make: Homemade Lasagna, Taco Soup!!
Z-Zoo animal: I love Monkeys... they are just sooooo cute!!! :) And fun to watch!

The Words I Would Say...

While cleaning this morning I had the radio on, as I often do to help motivate me, and this song came on! The words spoke to me! I have several friends and family going through very difficult situations right now! I dedicate this song to you. I am so thankful that the Lord allows us to bear one another's burdens (Galatians 6:2)...

Three in the morning,
And I'm still awake,
So I picked up a pen and a page,
And I started writing,
Just what I'd say,
If we were face to face,
I'd tell you just what you mean to me,
I'd tell you these simple truths,

Be strong in the Lord and,
Never give up hope,
You're going to do great things,
I already know,
God's got His hand on you so,
Don't live life in fear,
Forgive and forget,
But don't forget why you're here,
Take your time and pray,
These are the words I would say,

Last time we spoke,
You said you were hurting,
And I felt your pain in my heart,
I want to tell you,
That I keep on praying,
Love will find you where you are,
I know cause I've already been there,
So please hear these simple truths,

Be strong in the Lord and,
Never give up hope,
You're going to do great things,
I already know,
God's got His hand on you so,
Don't live life in fear,
Forgive and forget,
But don't forget why you're here,
Take your time and pray,
These are the words I would say,

From one simple life to another,
I will say,
Come find peace in the Father,

Be strong in the Lord and,
Never give up hope,
You're going to do great things,
I already know,
God's got His hand on you so,
Don't live life in fear,
Forgive and forget,
But don't forget why you're here,
Take your time and pray,
Thank God for each day,
His love will find a way,
These are the words I would say

**Song by Sidewalk Prophets**