The Loveliest, Most Perfect, "Straight From my Dreams" Morning

I had the loveliest, most perfect, straight from my dreams, mornings, and I'm still smiling. 

When I tell you what I did, some of you will get a blank, "I don't get it" look on your faces, while others of you will instantly get a faraway, dreamy smile and will have to fight back your jealousy.  

#1- I had two whole hours TO MYSELF.  

#2- I spent those two hours in a cozy corner of the library writing while it snowed outside.  (And I was all by myself)   

#3- I had a travel mug full of hot coffee.

#4- I made a lot of progress on a writing project I've been yearning to work on. 

Heavenly. 

This morning will definitely be included on my list for next Monday's Multitudes post. 

Did I mention I'm still smiling? 

I hope there are moments that make you smile today.

Love,

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Why Just a Day? How About All Month Long?

Thanksgiving is on its way!

In a few short weeks, my home will fill up with my family who are coming to help me celebrate, and I am so excited for that special day.

Amidst my busy preparations, house cleaning, and menu planning, I don't want to make it to December missing what the holiday is all about- Thanking God.

Last Sunday night, our pastor talked to us about Thanksgiving coming and challenged us to consider dedicating this entire month to giving thanks instead of relying on the one day.

His challenge resonated with me. I'm excited about how much better prepared I will be on the day, if I spend the whole month actively identifying my blessings and purposefully saying, "Thank You!"

It's been special already. Each morning during our drive to school this week, the girls have been listing the things they are feeling thankful for that morning. It's interesting to hear the creative things they appreciate, and it has given me fresh perspective. For example, one of the girls said, "I'm thankful for the colors. I'm glad the world isn't black and white." Now I've been looking around and seeing color in a new way.

"Yes, little girl, I'm glad this world isn't black and white, too!"


I want to use my blog as a place to highlight my gratitude and I know just where I want to begin.

This afternoon, I thought it would be interesting to see what pops up when I Google my name, and I stumbled across this article about me on my church's website. It made me incredibly grateful to re-read it today.

So, Father, I want to publicly thank you once again for your faithful presence in my life and the knowledge that you hold my future as well!

Love,

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Music Moves Me. What About You?

First, I'm so glad I was able to make so many of you laugh at my expense yesterday. : ) And I must report that Oldest Princess is VERY proud of being right.

And she is perfectly safe. She did not get carried off to Oz. Thanks for your concern. : )


I'm so moved by music.

I'm also moved by words.

I love it when beautiful music is combined with beautiful words. Some songs entertain me, some convict me, some lead me to worship. Others spark my imagination.

Sometimes God speaks to me through songs better than a sermon.

When my mind was too numb from grief, music was a way He delivered messages of hope to my heart. And recently, I noticed He is using songs to inspire my writing.

My latest favorite song is "What Do I Know of Holy" by Addison Road. I love how it speaks to me about my own past and my own heart condition. I love how it reminds me to not limit God and to remember He is not a tame lion.

I'm excited about how the lyrics of this song are helping me to define and create one of the characters in the novel I'm writing.






What about you? Do you have any songs that are speaking to you currently? What do you think of this one? Do these lyrics speak to you? I'd love to hear how.

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My Testimony

My testimony is featured here this month. I'm humbled and so grateful for God's healing and incredible blessings in my life.

"For you are good.
For you are good.
For you are good, to me!"

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I'm So Thankful "I Did"

Ten years ago today, I said, "I Do" to the man of my dreams.

A decade later, I am so grateful "I Did."

I remember being so nervous to walk down the aisle. But as I stepped up to the door and looked down to the front of the church, the only thing I saw was him. All fear and nerves left me instantly. I thought, "I can't wait to get down that aisle to him."

He is still the man of my dreams.

Thank you for continuing to sweep me off my feet, King Charming.

I love you more than you can know.

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My Story: Part Two

On June 22nd, I began to tell my story. It was a long story, so I promised to be back "tomorrow" with Part Two. Oops. Here we are 10 months later, and I'm finally back to it.

(You can click here for Part One if you missed it.)

Here's where I left off:

So, yes, my childhood testimony is my parents' story, but as time has gone on, I've seen how God has been faithful to give me my own story, a story that isn't my mom and dad's story, but Becky's story...

There are many chapters in "Becky's Story," so for this post, I'm focusing on a memory from my college years.

College was definitely a time of self-discovery. Throughout my teen years, my identity was wrapped up in being a "good" girl. I had perfect grades, I lived to please my parents and teachers, and I took pride in being a Christian. My support system was my youth group and other Christian friends. I had never even been to a "real" party.

I arrived at Washington State University one week early for orientation week. I got "oriented" all right. : ) As my parents drove away, leaving me outside the dorm, I stepped into a new and unfamiliar world. That first week was a constant party. Imagine three towers of 13 floors each, full of co-eds away from home for the first time, and no classes to go to for a week.

It was insane- booze, drugs, lots of puking. My roommate decorated her side of the room black, replaced her study lamp bulb with a black light, smoked pot laced with opium, and played Nine Inch Nails on her stereo over and over and over again.

I didn't know who to be in this new world. I didn't know who I wanted to be. I knew I didn't want to be my roommate! Ha Ha! I tried hard to find my place. Maybe this was what it meant to be "adult" and I had just been too sheltered to realize it. Maybe I was tired of being a goody-goody. Maybe I needed to live a little.

So I started living a little. I was living a double life, hanging out with my believing friends and doing some partying, too. I didn't give up on being a Christian, I just wanted to know what life was like out there.

I went to WSU for a year, tried Western Washington University for a year, and then transferred AGAIN the following year. I was a nomad. I'm thankful my parents just let me "find" myself without complaining.

I landed in a small Christian college which was a good place to land. It was refreshing and sweet to be back in a familiar world of Christian kids with similar values. I love that school. BUT I began to be troubled by the way the athletes were being treated. It seemed like they were idolized on the basketball court, and then no one knew what to do with them after that because they were "in to things" that were "sinful."

"Well, duh," I thought. They weren't there for the "quality Christian education." They were there for the FREE education.

I decided it was my mission to befriend the basketball players (didn't hurt that I had a crush on one of them...or maybe two...or three???) I was going to show them what a non-judgmental Christian was all about.

It was a noble idea, but I just got sucked into doing things that left me feeling so ashamed and not that great of a witness to these guys I wanted to share Jesus with. : )

As I drove home for Easter, I was crushed. Three years of "living a little" had left me feeling confused and ashamed and not at all ready to go to church. I felt dirty and lost and not sure who I was any more. I was supposed to be the GOOD girl!! I walked into church Easter morning and started crying. I don't think I stopped throughout that entire service.

At one point while everyone was singing, I looked up at the cross on the wall. All of a sudden, it was almost like I could see Jesus on that cross and he looked right at me, straight into my soul, and said to me, "Becky, I did this for you."

I've heard of something called godly sorrow. I had it that day in that church service. It became so clear to me. I NEEDED A SAVIOR. Me! The girl who had been a Christian her whole life. Me! The GOOD girl. All of a sudden I got it.

The Bible says that our righteousness, all the good we could possibly ever accomplish, when compared to God's holiness and His goodness is nothing but filthy rags. Even when I was good, I still needed His forgiveness. And sitting there in that church, stripped of all my spiritual pride to lean on, I knew I had His forgiveness.

My identity wasn't in how good I could be. My relationship with Jesus, my eternal destination, none of it was dependent on how good I could be either. I couldn't earn it if I tried. It was just a gift. And that day I was so grateful for that gift I thought my heart would burst. I felt forgiven, I felt free, I couldn't sing loud enough or long enough. And Easter has been my favorite holiday ever since.

I walked out of church feeling clean and light and all of the burdens gone. I had discovered myself. I was His!

And all the "living" I had been doing didn't hold a candle to the abundant life of being sold out to Him. I didn't leave ready to be perfect or to "get my act together." I went back to college that week ready to just be His period.

We all need Him. No matter how "good" we are, we aren't good enough. No matter how "bad" we are, we aren't outside the reach of his grace. He loves you.

And so do I! : )

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Mommy's Favorite Color

My girls are at an age where it is critical to have a favorite color. Not only do they have favorite colors, but they also have second favorite colors, third favorite etc. This categorizing of colors is important stuff for Kindergarten and First Grade girls.

Every time they ask about my favorite color, I always say, "sunset." This didn't make sense to these pink and purple girls. Sunset isn't a crayon, so they didn't know what I meant. I explained, "My favorite color is that pinkish, purplish, yellowish, orange-ish color you see in a really beautiful sunset." (There is no name for this color. My dad and I tried to name it once and failed. So now it is just "sunset" to me)

The girls finally accepted sunset as an answer and seemed to let the matter drop until last week when my youngest daughter burst through the front door, out of breath, yelling, "Mommy, mommy, come QUICK!!!! It's your favorite color!!!!"

She drug me out on the porch to show me this:

Oh, yes, little girl. THAT IS IT!! That is Mommy's favorite color!

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OK...I Told You I Was Boring : )

My sweet husband just informed me that my list of 7 interesting things were things I've already used before. In my defense, that was a different blog and after doing a 100 things post, it is hard to come up w/ 7 more! : )

OK..hmmm...lets try again:

1. I'm afraid of mice...silly afraid...jump on the chair afraid (all rodents included in this)
2. I do not like cats. Not even a little bit. Which is weird because I should be thankful they take care of the mouse problem.
3. If invited to a wedding I look forward to the little pastel mints, the dancing, and I feel cheated if the cake is some gourmet thing and not the traditional white cake.
4. I have a terrible singing voice, but my shower and my kids don't complain.
5. Sitting around a campfire, talking late into the night is one of my favorite things to do.
6. I feel compelled to pray for Katie Holmes and Mel Gibson on a regular basis. Don't know why : ) Maybe they need extra prayers?
7. I've had a lifelong crush on Gilbert Blythe and Mr. Darcy...I eventually got over Kirk Cameron, although I'm impressed with the man he has become

Is that better, King Charming? If not, I'll have to start making stuff up! : )

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I've Been Tagged...

I've been tagged by Sarah to share 7 interesting or weird things about me. Sometimes I feel like the most boring person on the planet, but I'll give it a try. : )

1. I'm completely blind in my left eye and have been since birth. That eye is much smaller than my other one and very sensitive to light, so I'm usually squinting in any picture taken of me.

2. I used to sleep walk a lot as a kid/teenager. For some reason I stopped doing it as I got older, but I'm still afraid it will start up again, and I'll do something really weird in my sleep. Most of my best embarrassing moments stories resulted from sleep walking.

3. I'm an all-or-nothing kind of person. I either work-out for two hours a day or I do nothing. My house is either "Better Homes and Gardens-ish" or it looks like Hurricane Katrina moved through. Hardly ever a middle ground for me. I'm working on that. : ) (current status of house: Hurricane Aftermath) Working on that, too. : )

4. I'm addicted to coffee and my favorite place to get it is Dutch Brothers. There is a Dutch Brothers a block a way from my house now. I'm in big trouble! : )

5. I acted in school plays in High School and college and won some awards for acting during High School. I miss it. Someday I think it would be so fun to be in a play again.

6. I am a telephone phobic. I would much rather speak to a gymnasium full of people than have to call someone on the phone. I get soooooo nervous and am usually hugely relieved when I get an answering machine.

7. Since my childhood, writing a book has been my dream. I can't count how many stories I've started or how many lists of characters' names I made as a kid and even as an adult. I had dreams of being the next Francine Rivers, but God had different plans for me and led me to write a non-fiction book instead. I finished it in August and am praying He will use it somehow to comfort women who have gone through pregnancy loss.

OK...That's me....

It's your turn:

Kimberly
Katy
Mia
Emily
Shiloh
Zandra
Andrea

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What's On Your Fridge?

It is about time to clean off my fridge. Every once in awhile I need to clean off old artwork and make room for the new. I'm sentimental about what's on there right now. Everything has a story behind it, so before I make any changes, I needed to document what's there. : )

Want a little tour of my refrigerator? : )

Chuck E. Cheese sketched our family portrait above. We don't make it there often...King Charming and I are not fans of the pizza...but our new tradition for birthdays is to let the girls choose two friends to go out to dinner with us on their special day. Princess K chose Chuck E. Cheese for her birthday restaurant. It was fun trying to squeeze us all into the booth.

Below our fancy family portrait are photos of my brother's kids. I don't get to see them often enough and they grow faster than I can keep up with photos on the fridge, but I love seeing their smiling faces every day.

These ultrasound pictures document our little miracle. The first was taken at 8 weeks, the next at 16 weeks, and the final one at 21 weeks. Can you see him sucking his thumb? By the way- Did you know that Monster Truck has a real name now? Hmmm....guess you'll have to keep coming back so you don't miss the big announcement. : ) (Blog Bribery)

Gallery of Fridge Art by the Princesses:

You've seen this before:

Princess Amy shows she's ready for Kindergarten: She's got the colors down for the rainbow. She sings a song Karissa taught her while she paints. "Red orange yellow green blue purple, red orange yellow green blue purple, red orange yellow green blue purple. These are the colors of the rain-bow!" It has such a catchy tune, I end up singing it all day afterwards. King Charming insists it isn't PURPLE, it's indigo and violet, but that just doesn't fit in the song! : )

More painting from Amy

I love this little butterfly- I have been reading Beverly Clearly novels out loud to the girls before bed and in Beezus and Ramona, Beezus paints a dragon with lollipops for scales up his back. The next morning, Karissa had a butterfly with lollipop antennae for me to put up on the fridge.

Well....there it is!

What about you? Want to post a fridge tour on your blog and invite us all over to take a peek. If you do let me know in the comments below. I think every fridge has a story to tell. : )

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My Story

I don't remember when I gave my life to Jesus. I was too little to know the moment, I just believed.

After late Saturday night parties, Mom and Dad wanted to sleep in on Sunday morning. My dad claimed to be an atheist, but my mom had been raised religious, so it was important to her that my brother and I had religion. She would wake us up, go back to bed, and my little brother, Ben, and I walked to the neighborhood church a few blocks away for Sunday School. That must be the place I first heard the Bible stories.

I remember how my little girl discussions went with Dad about God. They always ended something like this, "Becky, some people need God. I'm really glad you have him, but Daddy doesn't need God."

One day I walked down the stairs to our basement and saw Dad sitting on the couch reading "The Way" Bible, taking notes, and highlighting portions of it. I was so excited, but I didn't know he was reading the Bible to disprove it, not because he wanted to accept it.

Somewhere around second grade, my family life took a drastic turn. Three doctors in our small town became friends with Dad and invited him to weekly breakfasts with them. They were Christians, but my dad respected them as intellectuals. Eventually Dad said, "They put skin on Christ for me. They could never have argued me into believing, they couldn't have done that. Instead they loved me into the Kingdom. I saw Jesus in them so clearly, I couldn't deny the truth any longer."

My mom became friends with the doctor's wives and other Christian women in town, and she realized that the religion she had grown up with was meaningless without a relationship with God. Her life was empty and her marriage was falling apart. One night as they were about to fall asleep, Mom said, "Roy, I need to become a Christian."

His response was, "Me, too." They prayed together that night and we were all never the same.

I witnessed such a change in Mom and Dad and their marriage, it strengthened my faith in ways I'll never be able to describe.

At that time, we became your typical American Christian family. We went to church together, Mom and Dad got involved with Bible studies, and made great friendships with other Christian families. They were hungry for the Bible.

Ben and I went to Sunday School, summer camps, and as we got older, youth groups.

When people would ask me to share my testimony, I'd always clam up because I didn't think I had a story to tell. It was really my parents' story, I thought. My testimony is their testimony. I didn't have some dramatic life of being addicted to drugs and then healed. I didn't have a huge period of teenage rebellion that led to my life falling apart. There are amazing stories of God's healing in people's lives and how He transformed those lives. The church I go to now is full of stories of God's amazing rescues, but I always just saw myself as the goody goody girl who always believed in God, went to church and youth group, and really had nothing exciting to share. I often joked about making up a more exciting story.

One thing I can do is encourage parents. If you want to be a good parent, you need Jesus. I can personally attest to what a gift it is to children when their parents give their lives to Jesus and raise them to know Him. All of my life I have had the joy of knowing Jesus. I didn't have to ever go through a time without Him. It's a gift to grow up in a Christian home even if you don't end up with a very exciting testimony. : )

When people ask my parents what they did to raise Ben and I so successfully, they laugh and say, "Jesus did it."

My mom would often pray, "Lord, I don't know what I'm doing here. You raise them!"

So, yes, my childhood testimony is my parents' story, but as time has gone on, I've seen how God has been faithful to give me my own story, a story that isn't my mom and dad's story, but Becky's story, but because this post is already so long, I'll have to tell Part 2 tomorrow. : )

Seek the Lord Sunday is a weekly blog carnival hosted my good friend Daiquiri. Stop by and see what other bloggers are talking about this morning and join in. The more the merrier!

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About Me

Who I Am Today:

I was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest and continue to believe it is the most beautiful area of the world. I love the beauty and diversity of the Northwest and have no desire to live anywhere else.

I am a former public school teacher and currently a stay at home mom. I constantly say that I am living my Mom's dream. Although she longed to be home with us, she was never able to make that a reality. Seeing how much she desired what I now have, makes me so very grateful for the blessings of being "Just a Mommy."

The last three years have been the most challenging of my life as I've dealt with the heartache of four consecutive miscarriages and two failed adoption attempts. It has been a beautiful three years, however, as I've lived out my faith like never before and felt the incredible touch of love from Jesus.

After all of the losses, I am once again expecting a baby. We are celebrating each milestone crossed and each precious day of this pregnancy. Our whole family can't wait to meet this little one. We are all incredibly grateful for the gift of this little life.

When I am not busy being Mommy, I enjoy blogging, scrapbooking, as well as teaching a women's bible study and writing for my church's Women's Ministry.

My Dreams for the Future:

I am in the process of finishing my first non-fiction book and dream of pursuing a writing career in the future. I see this as my time of preparation and can't wait to see what God has in store.

For now, I am trying to be purposeful about enjoying every moment of my everyday life. I am blessed beyond measure and don't want to miss a moment of it living for the future.

As I said in my profile, above all else, I want to please God, know Him more, and make Him known.

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