And He shall direct my path

Yesterday my kids ventured back to school after two wonderful weeks of Christmas break.

Two wonderful weeks, filled with lots of game playing...


cookie making...
{in my new kitchen, might I add!}


movie watching...
{Chloe with her new Rapunzel doll excited to go see 'Tangled'}


and Christmas blessings...


...all spent with these four goofy and wonderful kids I am blessed to call mine.



Mine, on loan from God of course. Because as much as they are mine, they are given to me by the Lord, who calls me to raise them up in His ways. To train them to be servants for Him. To ultimately surrender them to Him, for whatever He calls them to do.

How humbling is that! And yet, so reassuring at the same time.

Because I am so not capable of raising these kids up to be servants of Christ. Not on my own, anyway. And even with the help of my wonderful, God-fearing husband, together we are not capable of raising them up in His ways. No, if we tried to go it alone, we would fail miserably. Because how are we to raise them up in His ways without Him.

I've been thinking about how many times I try to do things on my own. I don't mean completely forsaking or denying God and going at it alone. No, I mean the little ways my own selfish desires creep in. How many times do I wake up in the morning and start my morning routine, get the kids breakfast, send them off to school, clean the house, do a little photography work, squeeze in some daily quiet time with the Lord, only to go on to the next task as if I'm crossing God off my to-do list along with everything else that day.

That is NOT God's plan for my life, to have Him be an item I cross off my to-do list. Because it's not about crossing off prayer time or Bible reading everyday. He is not a mere thought that should be given a little attention each day. He is a way of life. It's about living each and every day, all day, for Him.

In theory would I say I do this? Yes. But do I really do this? I mean, really live all day long for Him? I'm sad to say the answer is no. Way too much of me gets in the way instead. What I think I should be filling my time with. What I see as important tasks I need to get done on any given day. What I want to do, not what the Lord would have me be doing, or thinking, or living. Afterall, with my jam-packed, pre-planned schedule, how do I allow room for God to change things up? How do I allow Him room to work and to live in me in everything I do?

So to start this year off right, I am not making a resolution. I'm not much for resolutions. I'm just re-evaluating my life and my offerings to the Lord and realizing that I want more. More of Him and less of me. I want my life to SCREAM Him, with the whisperings of my wants and desires to grow ever quieter in the light of God's will for my life, each and every day.

Less judging others, more loving them. Less frustration with my four kiddos, and more patience for them. Less focus on me, more on others and more on Christ.

More.

And the more prayers I can get from you out there who may desire the same thing in 2011, the better! After all, not only can we not go it alone without Christ's help in all we do, but we also need fellow brothers and sisters to walk beside us, lift us up and keep us accountable. Because we should all desire more for our lives than anything this bleek world can offer. And in turn, our children will desire more too.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths." Proverbs 3: 5-6