The Beauty of Raising a Daughter

Molli. 

Simply adorable, little,  "Baby Molli". It is so hard to believe that she is going to be 3 years old in a few short months! I am so overwhelming blessed by knowing the Lord and discovering through prayer, friends, scripture, and books what it really means to mother a child.. especially a daughter. I have no experience with sons, but maybe in the Lords time- I will. I DO have a little girl who will someday grow up to be a mother and (through the Grace of God) she will be a good one from learning from me. My job is to nurture her heart and to be a godly example that she can look up to and learn from. Only problem is, I'm not that great! haha! However, through constantly seeking the Lord and purposely sewing seeds into her heart- we can make this work! I trust in the Lord that He will make a way for my family as long as we stay faithful to Him. 

She is such a special little ball of blessing to me. Every morning, this week, I have woken up to her clinging to my head, smiling at me, and sweetly cooing, "Mamaaa". She does this so I will wrap her in my arms and pray with her. And today, while I was loading the dishwasher, she crawls over to where I am and starts trying to help me. I watch her play with her "babies" and she holds and rocks them like a mother would. I guess the point that I am trying to make is that I have been starting to notice how helpful, nurturing, and "motherly" she has become. I had a conversation with my mother earlier this week about being able to see how children are raised through the way they act. I pray that my investment in my daughter's heart continue to grow her into a beautiful, Godly young woman and eventually a wonderful mother.

Ball of Sunshine!

This child is such a blessing to know!! She keeps us laughing with her silly little voices, faces, and interests!

This face cracks me up!!
We went to the public library today to get a few books to go along with her lessons this week and she had the best time!

Also, today while I was leading her little lesson- we BOTH had the time of our lives. It is so funny how worked up she gets if I work my self up! I have discovered the key to teaching Molli anything is to be extremely hysterical about it! I, in turn, looked like a crazy person- but she got it! It's amazing what loud silly voices, wiggly body movements, and a lot of high-fives can do! My throat still hurts from laughing. I would have taken a picture of her, but I didn't want to spoil the moment!
Ah, God is so awesome. I am looking forward to everything He has in store for us!

Miracle Molli Storms the Castle!

This is such an amazingly beautiful day that the Lord has made! The crisp breeze flowing through the trees that causes the leaves to shower down among this playground area is a simply wonderful sight. My two year old's little voice laughing as she plays and climbs around is one of the sweetest sounds that I've ever heard. On top of all of that, seeing her push herself a little harder and accomplish things that she hasn't done before (like climb her way to the very top of the castle by herself) is enough to bring tears to my eyes. God is so wonderful to bless me with such an opportunity to see His work first-hand. Don't you just love him? :-)
Here are some pictures.

She is sweet, huh??

God, You're Such an Amazing God..

... is what I repeated out loud today while standing in my kitchen, crying my eyes out.
I pray daily and read my Bible, but its not every day that I am bawling my eyes out giving Him the praise He deserves. So what brought on this sudden wave of rejoicing? Back up a bit.
New Years (morning.. about 2 a.m.) I decided to start reading a book between books (a goal of mine this year is to read a lot more books). So I went to my shelf of books that have been loaned to me and picked out Max Lucado's It's Not About Me. Amazing book if any of you are looking to read something that will put you back in the place God made you to be in. It is a 150 page book and I figured if I read 50 pages at a time I would have it finished quickly. Well, I finished it today and it really helped shed light on some things that I had been hanging on to.
See exhibit A: in one of the last chapters titled "My struggles are about God" (This whole book is about everything being about God and not about me)
This was a verse that was in the chapter:
 "As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. (John 9:1-3 NIV)"

Many of you reading this know that I have a special needs child. I have never read this verse the way that I read it today. That is my story! Here I've been wondering why in the world Molli is like this and what did Ryan and I do that would have caused her to be this way? And then God said, "I made her for ME. Not YOU." Molli is such a joy to everyone who loves her and I know that God has an amazing plan for her future. I am so excited for her!
I dwelt on that passage all day and then, as I was standing at my countertop taking a drink of tea, I just started crying out to God and all I could say was "God, You're such an amazing God!!" Over and over.
It's NOT about Me
It's about God!
I love Jesus.. His Grace is amazing.

Purpose.

Today I took Molli to Tyler to watch a movie. I had in my mind that it would be a good idea to go ahead and watch TWO movies. Uh, NO. She is two, by the way, and I suffer from "First Time Parent Syndrome" where everything is a good idea once or twice until you stumble into an epic fail! haha! Of course, I get agitated as we are leaving the theater because I just ate an $8.50 ticket for "The Lion King 3D". It wasn't entirely Molli's fault that we left.. I have bad eyes and motion sickness and a 3D movie is just not in the cards for this girl! As I drove home with my sleeping baby in the back seat, I started stressing about money and the cost of that ticket. I was frustrated and just letting Satan torment me about it. Then I started considering working. THEN, the Lord was so quick to remind me of His purpose for my life. I know that He gave me artistic abilities to utilize so that I am able to stay home and raise my daughter myself. If I wasn't with that sweet-faced little Blessing 24/7, I would miss so much! So when we got home, I devoted my afternoon to watching her merrily play in the yard. The weather was beautiful.. and so was she! God has put Molli and Me together.. and I am so thankful!

As I proofread this blog and these pictures, I got a great idea for a picture special! In the majority of the pictures I take, the children are posing. I like those kind of pictures.. but I LOVE the kind where they are just playing and being themselves.. Like the pictures of Molli on this post! So that is something that I am going to start offering.. me going and taking pictures of people/kids just being themselves.. forgetting there is even a camera pointed at them!

VICTORY in Jesus

A lot has been going on in my life the past two and a half years

two names stand out

Jesus and Molli

I have grown so much closer to Jesus since Molli entered my world and I am so thankful to be able to see and feel the Lord's love and blessing every single day!

It has been a pretty rough and tough season.. but by staying faithful to the Lord and being persistent in my pursuit of Him while trying to raise a two year old with physical delays due to Spina Bifida- I have been able to find JOY in the midst of heartache.

Molli walks now.. by the way. Not independently-yet.. but all she has to do is hold on to my fingers for balance support.

We had quite an eventful day! She walked all the way through Brookshires to the bakery to get a cookie and the baker man was so happy for her- he gave her a butterfly ring!

THEN.. she walked into Grammy's house for the first time ever! Grammy was happy to see her!

This verse in this old hymn always stood out to me.. now even more so:

I heard about His healing, Of His cleansing pow'r revealing. How He made the lame to walk again And caused the blind to see; And then I cried, "Dear Jesus, Come and heal my broken spirit," And somehow Jesus came and bro't To me the victory.

Amen and AMEN

JOY.

This past week has been one of those weeks where God has put so much in my path to remind me of one specific thing: Joy.

My devotionals, bibles studies, everything has either told me to have joy or reminded me of joy.

I love how He is so "hands-on" in my life. He puts things before me to build me up so that when I suffer a blow of some sort- I can easily handle it and remember Who is holding my hand.

I am doing a Bible study on facebook that Mark Hall (lead singer of Casting Crowns) is doing via facebook video everyday. And it has been a serious blessing. We are studying the book of James.

‎"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:2-4

That verse speaks to my heart on so many levels!

I have really been dwelling on it this past week.. and counting all of my blessings and taking joy in the trials that I have faced- because truth be told- I got through them all with Jesus' help! That perseverance did in fact strengthen my faith!

Yesterday, I got a little agitated by a news report that I saw about a little boy with Spina Bifida. His uncle had fabricated him some pretty awesome wheels out of a bumbo seat and some plastic tires. However, the reporter's words were "He smiles constantly.. though given what he's been through.. he has every reason NOT to.. He has Spina Bifida." That really got under my skin. I am sure she meant nothing by it.. but it still made me feel offended. Molli has EVERY reason to smile. She has a family who loves her, friends who adore her, and a Savior who died for her! How can we not smile?? How can we not have JOY?

Father God, I find so much joy in your love. Help me to spread that love and joy so that everyone will know You. I love You!