Who Am I and Why Am I Here?

Who Am I?

I am a born again Christian. And although in this day and age calling yourself that does not carry with it the same kind of honor and respect as it once did, I am proud (in a humble way) to say that I am a follower of Jesus Christ…the One who died for me…the One who rose again so that I can have a relationship with God the Father…and the One who I look forward to seeing face to face.

I am a wife. I had prayed for the relationship I now have with my wonderful husband, Brian, and God answered my request in His time. Although I am still working on the area of submission (we all know we are right…if the other person would just do what we “suggest”), I know that God has placed Brian as the head of our family to guide us and lead us. As his wife, I need to keep him in constant prayer so that he will listen to God’s direction, and I need to do my job here at home so that he knows that I do not take his hard work for granted. I love you, Brian.

I am a mother. I have been given the privilege by God to have children, and although I only have one right now, I am open to having as many God wants to bless us with. I am not just a mother. I am a stay-at-home mother. God has blessed me with the opportunity to stay at home to teach our daughter. And although the world many times looks at women who stay home and take on “domestic duties” as cheating themselves of a grander life, I have chosen to do the unsung tasks, the chores, the cleaning, cooking, washing, child-care, etc., and to find joy in all of them. I have answered the greatest calling… to teach a new generation that there is a God who loves them and who is alive and well, and wants a personal relationship with them.

This is who I am. This is who I am proud to be. This is all I want to be. There are no better titles in all the world.

Why Am I Here (on a Blog)?

First and foremost, it is an avenue for me to share my faith in Jesus Christ and my relationship with Him. I am first and foremost a born-again believer in Jesus Christ, and my writing should (and hopefully does) reflect that at all times.

It is a way for me to keep track of the day-to-day events of our family in journal form. I have always enjoyed writing and journaling, and this is a way for me (and you, my dear blogging friends) to see what is going on in my thought process as I grow in my relationship with God and in my roles as a wife and mother. I have always found that it is easier to think new thoughts when the old thoughts have been written down.

It is also a way for me to generate journaling for my family scrapbook pages and also to share the journaling on my scrapbook pages with you.

This is who I am and why I am here. Hope your Thursday is as terrific as you all are!

The National Day of Prayer

Today is the National Day of Prayer. In celebration of this wonderful day, I have given you a link to a YouTube video that, in my opinion, is very well done (believe me, I looked through quite a few before choosing this one). This song, entitled "What if His People Prayed", is by one of my favorite groups, Casting Crowns. Everyone of their songs is powerful (I literally cried through half of their CD The Altar and the Door the first time I heard it). I hope you enjoy this selection, and may our prayers reach the heavens as a sweet smelling fragrance to God.

Preparing for the National Day of Prayer

This is a repost from my Yahoo 360 blog. Regaurdless what our leaders choose to do, we can still acknowledge tomorrow as a day of prayer to the one true God.

Tomorrow is the National Day of Prayer, and as such, I think it is important to prepare our hearts to spend more than our usual “allotted” time with God in prayer. Make a list of things that you want to pray about. Not the normal everyday things that come up in prayer, but things for our nation.


We need to remember that the Pilgrims came here so long ago with the purpose of being able to worship God without fear of persecution. Then, after their first year, in which half of those who came over here died, they celebrated a time of thanks to God for His provisions for them. Unfortunately, our children are being taught in school that the Pilgrims and Native Americans celebrated the friendship that had developed between them. God has been removed from a very historical event because time have changed. Remember that just because times have changed, that doesn’t mean history does.


Our nation was founded by God-fearing men and women who read His Word on a daily basis and lived His Word openly without fear of what others would say or think, without shame or apology. Scripture has been etched into the very walls of our monuments, and yet it is becoming increasingly difficult to see evidence of God or His Word in the lives of those in our nation’s authority.

It is vital to our nation that we the people come to the Lord in prayer not just on the National Day of Prayer but everyday to plead for God’s hand of mercy upon us for the decisions being made that so blatantly contradict the principals outlined in the Bible. We have become so inclusive of every belief system that is out there, and yet the one that our nation was founded on is quietly and stealthily being removed and replaced with secular humanism.


As we go into tomorrow let us remember some of what God has said about prayer:


2 Chronicles 7:14- “and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray, and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” Isn’t our land in need of healing right now? Aren’t the constant bailout programs proof that our nation is “sick” and in need of a touch from God? When we as a nation realize that we need to turn to God for help instead of the banks or the office of president, then God will reach down and touch our nation with His healing hand.


Daniel 9:1-19 - This is a long passage, but a powerful one. The people of Judah were in captivity and were suffering the consequences of choosing other gods over serving the one true God. Daniel prayed for the nation, confessed their sins (even though he was not guilty of many of them), and declared God’s awesome qualities and the open shame that of the people. What a perfect example his prayer is for us as we go into tomorrow! Let us remember to ask God to forgive our nation for turning our backs on what His Word says is right and for accepting what His Word declares is wrong.


Revelation 8:4- “And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel’s hand.” May tomorrow, the prayers of all of us rise before the Lord as a fragrant smelling incense. My prayer today is that tomorrow as we pray, the heavens will be filled with the sweet smelling fragrance of our prayers, and that God will act on our behalf in these troubling times.


And as our nation’s turmoil grows, may we pray as Abraham prayed, “…Wilt Thou indeed sweep away the righteous with the unrighteous? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; wilt Thou indeed sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from Thee to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked be treated alike. Far be it from Thee! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?” May God hear our prayers.

A Look Back at Yahoo 360

This was a post I had done in January of '09 when I was blogging on Yahoo 360. Addie was only 10 months old at the time of the original posting. As I reread it, I could "hear" myself getting fired up. I think the idea that the words we speak over our children can either build them up or tear them down has really stirred my heart. I have added some comments and updates to the post which will be in italics.

I am always hearing, "Oh, your daughter is so good! Just wait until she turns two... or starts walking... or starts talking...or becomes a teenager." (These were generally comments we heard from people in church since we kept Addie with us in the service for most of her first year.) It is never just, "What a good girl your daughter is!" I also hear, "Oh, Addie is so good. That means your next one is going to be a terror." (Also from church members, thank God it was never from family.) People in general seem to have the need to "balance" anything positive they say with something negative. Now I am not saying that Addie is perfect. She is a wonderful girl who loves to have fun, be around her family, and squeal when Daddy puts her on his shoulders and runs around the house. But she is also human. She makes mistakes just like every other 10 month old does- she hasn't reached the age of perfection yet:) I haven't reached the age of perfection for that matter! I guess I don't like the stereotype placed on all children in general- the low expectation of behavior and the complaints of parents when their children do exactly what the parents have expected all along.

I am a firm believer of the verse in Proverbs that says "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." To "train up" means to actually put in time with your child every day to teach them correct behavior and values, and then being consistent about it. Many people think that just by having a Bible on the coffee table and taking their children to church every time the doors are open is training their children. When their children grow up and depart from the Lord they can't understand why. Well, having a Bible on the coffee table is nice, but opening it and reading it to your children and explaining what God's Word says to your children is actually training them. Taking them to church is nice, but if they are not being shown at home the practical application of the Scriptures, your chances of them taking God's Word to heart lessens dramatically.

Addie and I spend much of our day together- except of course when she is napping. We read Bible books together, watch an occasional Veggie Tale, "talk" about everything that I am doing in the house, play with her toys (and put them away together), and sing. In the evenings, when we put her to bed, we say our nightly Bible verse. All during our day, we are looking for opportunities to come up where teaching and training can be done. Sometimes you have to really look hard for those teachable moments. We realize that God has not given the church the responsibility of training our daughter. He has given that responsibility to Brian and me.

As I was thinking about the comments I am hearing on a weekly basis, I got an idea for Addie's room. I had always seen the words that people either paint or apply to their walls, and I had wanted to do something similar. I decided to put up a Bible verse along the border of her ceiling. I used the Cricut machine that I had gotten for Christmas (trying to apply the lesson from Proverbs- from another Yahoo 360 post) to cut out the letters to Matthew 18:10 (thanks for the verse, Sherri!). It says "Take heed that you do not despise these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels are always before the face of My Father who is in heaven." This verse is just a reminder to me and eventually to her (and any other children that will fill that room) that people need to be careful of the unnecessary negative comments that they make. In a sense, those comments despise the little ones that they are made towards, and do not edify or build up their little spirits in any way (not to mention the spirits of their parents who love them).

Edit: We have now reached the Terrific Two's! Yes, children in this age group try testing boundaries, but when Biblically shown what the boundaries are, they comply and this can be a great time for both parent and child.

Addie has had times where she has tried to test the boundaries, but she has learned that the boundaries are firmly in place. When we have to correct behavior, we tell her, "Jesus wants Addie to obey Mommy (or Daddy) the first time without complaining. Not the second time or the third time. The first time." This is a consistent phrase in our correction. In fact on Sunday when I had to say "the phrase" Brian said, "One day she is going to say this to her own children and then say to herself, 'I sound just like my mother!'" When we begin to see a test coming, we say, "The first time," and it usually stops dead in its tracks.

If you have children who are in their twos or still have them to look forward to, don't let anyone put the terrible two's label on your blessings. Words have a great impact. Let those words be words of blessing.

Judges 2:10

Judges 2:10b “…and there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord, nor yet the work which He had done for Israel.”

 

I find this to be one of the saddest passages of Scripture.

 

How is it possible that a whole generation grew up in Israel who didn’t know the Lord?

 

Weren’t they the children and grandchildren of the people who had seen the ten plagues come upon Egypt, who had walked across the Red Sea on dry land, who had eaten manna in the desert, saw water come out of rocks, marched around the city of Jericho and saw the walls collapse, participated in the military campaigns of Moses and Joshua, and who themselves had gone into the land promised to them by God and conquered the remaining cities?

 

So how is it then that they did not know the Lord or the work which He had done for Israel?

 

Unfortunately, the answer is even sadder than the passage itself.

 

The parents failed to share.

 

The parents did not tell their children about the works God had done in their lives and for their people.

 

The parents had not reminded them constantly about God’s mighty acts and awesome power.

 

The parents did not mention on a day-to-day basis the Hand of God being present in their lives.

 

I think part of reason that my faith in the Lord is so strong is because my parents shared with Faye and me on a daily basis about the Lord (daily devotions with Mom and also on our own) and the works which He had done for them.

 

How many times had my mom shared with us about the time that as newlyweds they only had enough money left to buy meat for themselves for the week. An event at church was coming up and they were asked to bring milk and coffee. Knowing that by using their allotted money would eliminate their meat for the week, they purchased the milk and coffee for the church event, never mentioning to anyone the sacrifice being made. Because of a rainout, the event was cancelled, and my parents were sent home with the milk and coffee they had brought along with a good portion of the meat that had been purchased for the event.

 

I also remember the time God protected my mother, father, and aunt Alice from a mugger on Mugger’s Lane in NYC. The man put a knife to my father’s throat and ordered my mom and aunt not to scream. They pointed their Bibles at him and began shouting, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus!” and “Jesus help us! Jesus help us!” The man grabbed a $5 bill from my dad’s pocket and ran. When Dad shouted for him to stop, the man stopped dead in his tracks long enough for Dad to tell him that Jesus loved him before jumping a fence into the adjoining park.

 

These are only two of the many examples of accounts retold to us by my parents of God’s hand at work in their lives.

 

As I have gotten older and we have begun our own family, I have seen God’s hand at work in our own lives. From refunds coming in the mail to people giving us items for Addie, God has shown Himself to be very real to us. But if we do not share the things that God has done for us to Addie and any other children that may come (Ian), we will end up raising a generation who does not know the Lord or the works which He has done for us.

 

It is important for us to read God’s Word to our children on a daily basis. Have you ever noticed that the things that we immerse ourselves in (sports, crafts, fishing, etc.) become the things that our children take interest in? If we show our love for God and His Word to our children, they will develop a love for Him and His Word as well. What they see as priorities in our lives will become priorities in their lives too.

 

And, yes, I know that eventually our children will make their own personal choice about serving the Lord, but we have to make sure that as parents we do our part in teaching them about Him and His love for them. God does not expect us to leave that up to the church. He specifically tells parents to take on this responsibility in Deut. 6:6-9.

 

The generation mentioned in this passage of Scripture had not been taught, because they didn’t know God or what He had done.

 

Someone failed to share.

 

Maybe it was because the parents found themselves to be too busy (I’m sure conquering land takes up a lot of time and energy), too tired, or they just wanted to do other things. Whatever the case, the result was a generation who did not serve the Lord because they did not know the Lord.

 

The sad results of a generation that grows up not knowing the Lord or the work that He has done is found in Judges 2:11-12. “Then the sons of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals, and they forsook the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of Egypt, and followed other gods from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed themselves down to the; thus they provoked the Lord to anger.”

 

May it never be said that we did not teach our children about the Lord.

 

May it never be said that the next generation did not know the Lord or the work which He had done.

A New Perspective

Last year I did a year long devotional that took me through the lives of 52 women of the Bible. It was a great study, but I would recommend it to be done in addition to a Bible study since you only read out of the Bible once a week with this book. One week's lesson that really got to me was on B*thsheba. I don't think I will ever look at her the same way again, and I feel like I owe her an apology when I get to heaven for thinking the worst of her when, in reality, she was probably the victim. Unfortunately, because we live in a pretty sick world, I have put an * in the place of some letters to keep people who search for specific words from finding my blog. I'm sure you'll be able to fill in the blanks to understand the gist of the post.

I am sitting here with a cup of coffee and a new perspective about a familiar Bible account. I had always heard of the story of B*thsheba and David, and how they were both guilty of the act which this account is based on. My Bible, and most Bibles that I have seen, have "B*thsheba, David's Great Sin" as the heading (which, by the way, is not actually inspired- only the actual passages of Scripture are) of this particular section. But then in my devotions last week, I gained a whole new perspective of this great account- if you are looking for a good account to read that has drama, murder, sins forgiven, consequences doled, an innocent victim, and final justice, then this is the account for you. (Notice that I do not call them Bible stories, I call them accounts. Stories implies that they are not true or that they are fairy tales, and I believe with my whole being that the Bible and ALL that is contained in it is 100% accurate and true.)

The author of my devotional pointed out that B*thsheba was bathing, not to seduce the king, but rather in those days b*ths followed the time of uncleanness that women get every month (thanks, Eve). Next, when the King saw her, he had the choice to either continue watching or turn away- after all he was a married man. When the King inquired about this beautiful woman he had just seen (why didn't anyone question why he was watching her bathe?), he was told that she was "B*thsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the WIFE of Uriah the Hittite". The fact that she was the wife of another man should have stopped him in his tracks. However, according to verse 4, "And David sent messengers and took her,"- doesn't sound voluntary on her part to me. "...and when she came to him, he lay with her;"- Now in all honesty, this is where many self righteous people begin the, "She should have told the King 'No'" speech. But think about it. This is the most powerful man in the kingdom, and Bathsheba was literally alone. Her husband was out on the battlefield. She was probably younger than the King and couldn't imagine that this godly king of Israel could possibly do anything unrighteous.

When B*thsheba found out that she was pregnant, she let the king know immediately. She knew exactly who the father was. Doesn't this tell us that B*thsheba was not flirting while her husband was away? Then the Bible tells us that David is the one who tried covering up the whole situation- having Uriah return from the battlefield, trying to have him go home to his wife hoping that in the process Uriah might eventually think he was the father, and when all of his attempts failed, sending Uriah back to the front with a letter condeming him to death. B*thsheba is not mentioned in the Bible (the only solid authority on this account) as having anything to do with the cover-up. Then, after Uriah was killed, David fulfilled his duty and married B*thsheba. However, 2 Sam. 11:27 says, "But the thing that David had done was evil in the sight of the Lord." The Bible does not say "the thing that David and B*thsheba did". When Nathan confronts David, notice that he does not rebuke Bathsheba as well. In fact, B*thsheba is referred to in the parable that Nathan gave as "one little ewe lamb"- young, innocent, and greatly loved.

As punishment for his sin, the child that B*thsheba was going to have would die. David prayed and fasted, but God kept his word. However, B*thsheba became pregnant again, and this time God sent Nathan with a whole new message. God loved this child and gave him the name Jedediah which means, "beloved of the Lord." Now, this is the part that I could never understand. If you went into this account (like I used to) with the mentality that they were both equally guilty (and maybe you even thought that B*thsheba was somehow MORE guilty, like I did), than it doesn't make sense that God would bless this woman with a son that He loved who would become the next king of Israel. However, if you see B*thsheba as the Bible has portrayed her, a woman who was r*ped, whose husband was murdered to cover up the r*pe, within a few weeks married the man who r*ped her and killed her husband who loved her, had her innocent child die as the result of her new husband's sin, then you can see God's mercy towards B*thsheba with the gift of Solomon. Maybe the unfortunate death of her first baby was not just meant as a punishment towards David, but could also be seen as an act of Mercy by God. Everytime B*thsheba would have seen that child, would she have been reminded of all of the circumstances surrounding him? Maybe God in His mercy took that child to Himself to spare B*thsheba the harsh memories wrapped up in that small child, who through no fault of his own would always leave a terrible ache in his mother's heart.

I have learned through this journey to only see the Scriptures the way God wrote them. Yes, commentaries are good and headings are helpful for quickly finding things, but only God's Word accurately tells the accounts of those who lived the lives recorded for our learning.

Dear God...Thank You

Yesterday, I was looking through Addie's scrapbooks and saw a layout that I had made when she was still a newborn.

I had been caring for her and all day just saying, "Dear God, thank you." I decided to make a layout based on that phrase.

The following is the prayer that I wrote out for the layout, and the picture to he left is the picture used on the layout. In the picture she was one month old and had just come from getting a shot at her doctor's appointment. The soreness from the shot had just kicked in, so the photographer told me to just calm her down . The photographer began taking pictures, and we ended up getting the best pictures that day .

Lord, I thank you for motherhood...my little girl...the example that I had in my own mother...the women that You have placed in my life...and the love You have placed in my heart for this beautiful child that Brian and I have been blessed with. I ask for Your wisdom and guidance as I stay home with my daughter and teach her from Your Word. I pray that You help me to become an expert in knowing my daughter's needs as well as knowing how to care for those needs. I ask for a calm heart and diligence when it comes to training Addie so that I can raise a godly little girl who will bring joy to her parents and those around her. I ask that You give me the ability and health to care for my child(ren) throughout their lives and allow me to be around for my grandchildren (if You have not returned by then). Lord, as I teach her the academic subjects, I pray that You give me creativity, and allow Addie to "be like Daniel"- wiser than those around him and one who stood out among his peers. I ask that You help me to be brave and to stand up for my child(ren) if others choose to put them down. I ask that You give my child(ren) health as they grow. Never allow them to experience a debilitating illness. Lord, when the time comes for them to find a marriage partner, please bring godly young people into their lives. Give my child(ren) a teachable spirit and allow them always to accept correction from their parents and authorities. I give my child(ren) to You. Amen.

Another Lesson From Mom

Another lesson I learned from my mother was to always honor my husband.

The Bible teaches that the husband is the head of the home (Mom always said the wife was the neck and she can help him turn in the right direction), and just like in every walk of life where someone is "in charge" (a boss a work, the principal of a school, the county sheriff, a mayor, a governor, a president, etc.), the husband is the one ultimately responsible for the decisions made in a particular household.

Will wives always agree with the decisions that their husbands make? Probably not. However, is it our job to belittle our husbands (especially in front of others) in order to make ourselves look better and to clear us of any responsibility when things go wrong? No.

My mother taught us to pray. Pray for your husband all the time. Pray that God will give him wisdom in his roll as the ultimate decision maker. Pray that he will be a man of integrity and make right decisions when no one (besides God) is around to see him. Pray that he becomes a man of prayer and turns to the Lord everytime a decision needs to made. Pray for his safety as he goes to work. Pray and thank God for the man He has blessed you with. Pray that God will help you to be the wife that your husband needs you to be in this world where it can feel like everything is against him. And pray that God will give you wisdom as you take the other step that my mother taught us- the appeal.

This is a step that is demonstated in the book of Esther. Esther had to confront the King about a decision he made in ignorance that would lead to her death. Instead of belittling him for ignorantly signing the edict that would permanently become law, going along with his friends without looking into the facts of the matter, and letting his pride get the better of him, she chose to approach the situation in a tactfully wise way.

She made him dinner (didn't our mothers tell us that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach?). She not only made him dinner, but she also invited the king's right hand man (the one who actually came up with the death warrant). And not only did she make them both dinner one night, but she did this two nights in a row! Then, she waited until the king asked her if something was wrong (boy, do I admire her!).

How many of us would rather just get it off of our chest, say what we feel or think, and then spend the time later regretting taking such quick action? When she was given the opportunity to finally speak, she made her complaint with such grace, that the king ordered a law to be made that would counteract the previous law (in the manner of the Medes and Persians, once a law was made it could not be taken back).

The appeal gives us a chance to show our husband that we have a different opinion than his, but it does it in a way that respects his leadership and will offer him a way to save face (do we really want to crush our husband's spirit?).

I also believe that the appeal honors God in our approach to our husband, and He sees our heart and will take action on our behalf. Whether or not the appeal works, we have done what we can, and I believe our hands are clean when our husbands make their decision. I think the appeal also helps us to save face if our husbands' decision turns out to be right. We will not have made ourselves look ridiculous if we reacted with calmness rather than flying off the handle.

How different would the account of Esther have been had she blown up all over the king the minute she heard of the plot against her people?

Pray for your husband... and when you disagree with him, ask God to give you the words you need to appeal.

Lessons From Mom | Devotions

One of the lessons that Mom taught me- and she always practiced herself- was to let your children see you reading God's Word. Saying that you have a devotion time is one thing, but having your children see you is another.

We always say how important it is for our children to watch us doing our day to day activities because that is how they will learn to do them as well. How else will our children learn to read and study God's Word if they do not see us doing it? No, we don't need to make a show of it, or have neon lights pointing in our direction as we read the Bible (that would be a bit distracting to us as well), but we do need to make sure that our children see us reading the Scriptures as a part of our everyday life.

Ever since I was a little girl, I can remember my mother having a quiet time. I can remember her sitting on the couch in our living room when we were young (you can't leave small children by themselves) with her Bible and a pen (we still have her Bible with all of her notes written in the margins- priceless!). From watching my mom having her devotions and then sharing with us what she learned from her time with God, I learned how to study God's Word for myself. I even learned how to respectfully mark up my Bible with insights that God was showing me in my time with Him.

There were times, as I got older, that Mom would tell me that she had woken up in the middle of the night and had her quiet time then. We knew it was true because, first, Mom could not stand lies with a passion. She is someone I can honestly say ALWAYS spoke the truth. Secondly, she always had a scratch piece of paper with all kinds of notes that only she could understand, that she would share with us.

It was during my devotions with Mom that I learned godly behavior, how to behave around others (especially boys), how to treat others, how to love the Lord, and how to serve Him. Mom had devotions with me on a daily basis until the day before my wedding (I was 28 when I got married). Even after I got married, on my way to work (I was a teacher for ten years and a local Christian school) I would call her up, and she would share with me what God had shown her from His Word.

My mother took Deuteronomy 6:7-9 seriously. Those verses read as follows, "Impress them (the commandments) on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and on your foreheads. Write them on the door frames of your house and on your gates."

While watching TV or the news, if something came on that was wrong, as the channel was being changed, my parents would talk to us about "what was wrong with that picture".

As a little girl, when I was first learning vocabulary words, Mom would say, "See the tree? God made the tree."

Every evening as part of our bedtime routine, Mom would have us memorize a verse (we are doing that with Addie). We were taught one verse a week. Those were memorized so that when tough times came our way, God's Word would be the first thing we thought of, and His Word brings comfort like nothing else can.

My parents provided us with devotionals that were age appropriate for us to do first thing in the morning in addition to the Bible studies we would have with Mom.

My mother was known for her decorating skills. She always had beautiful pictures that had verses of Scripture written on them on our walls. I also remember that one of our houses had a chain link fence. She had tied a little plaque with the verse "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" on the gate of the fence so she could literally do what this verse talked about. I now have "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" on the main wall of our home.

Now it is my turn, and, yes, I have woken up at times in the middle of the night to have my quiet time. When Addie was still very small and eating every three hours, and I was still getting used to motherhood, the middle of the night was a wonderful time for me. I couldn't do any housework because everyone was sleeping (and who wants to at that time anyway?), and no one needed my attention right then. It suddenly became clear to me why Mom would sometimes have devotions then, also.

I pray that Addie is receiving the same teaching that I received.

In the morning I have my devotions. I put her in her "command center" exer-saucer, and I sit on the couch with my Bible and pen. We then read her little books of Bible stories, watch her little Praise Baby video, go over her Sunday School lesson (a new thing since she just started Sunday School), and when we take our walks she is told that "God made..."

As she gets older, more will be added to our devotion time together (Daddy even bought a little devotional for fathers and daughters to do together- too cute!).

It is a lesson I learned from Mom...one that I will never forget.