Does God really only give you no more than you can handle?

I look back over the past few years of surgeries, broken arms, health crisis', a move, and a new baby and I can without a doubt say that God gave me way more than I could handle. Did I make it through everything? Yes, but not without completely and totally relying on the mercy and grace of God. I did not make it on my own, it was not me who could handle these insurmountable odds, it was my Lord and Savior who carried me through to the other side. I learned that God will and does give me more than I can handle but that He will be there with me, even when I stumble and fall. Even when I cry out and say I can't do it anymore! God will comfort me, but that doesn't mean that He will take me out of that place. Am I without hope? No! I have come to understand that even when placed in hard times, I have an amazing Father who is with me and will help me to learn and help others during these trials that we all must go through. I have found myself, in the middle of hardships, learning to lean on Him and seeing for the first time the struggles of others. Once, when Isaac was quite young, the hospital scheduled his surgery for late in the morning. I was screaming out to God, this is not fair! He is so young! Why does he have to suffer this way? I cried and prayed for God to change his time, to make it a mix up and for him to be taken earlier. When we got to the hospital that day, it was a struggle for me. I wanted to take my little boy home and forget his surgery. I was ANGRY and HEARTBROKEN.

Then I saw him.

The tiny 2 month old baby who had taken Isaac's early surgery spot. He was soooo small and frail. His parents were so worried and anguish was written on their faces. Their eyes were red from tears and the grandmother couldn't stop crying. When that little boy went back with his parents to surgery, I held that grandmother while she cried. I sat with her in the recovery room after the surgery and told her that God was here and He was with her little grandchild.

It was then that I realized that it isn't always about me, sometimes we are put where we are, for others, who really need us.

Blessings, Lisa

My Menu for this week...

Lunch

Mac and Cheese
Tortilla Pizzas
Leftovers
Sandwiches


Dinner

Beef Stew, biscuits, salad and fruit
BBQ chicken, rice, and salad
Crockpot Beef sandwiches and salad
Crockpot Chicken Spaghetti, rolls and salad or fruit
Beef Stroganoff and salad
Porkchops, noodles, and salad


This week and this past weekend so far I've cleaned two out of three bathrooms, including scrubbing the floors, cleaned Jon's room (ugh.), cleaned most of the house, fed the baby 3.65 million times, went grocery shopping for the first time since Sophia arrived, worked on the laundry (which is taking forever because I didn't realize that the kids had used some of my good towels and then I washed them and got oil in my brand new washing machine. ugh.), and decluttered a few more areas in the house. My plans include for the rest of the week; finishing the laundry, making two crockpot meals that are doubled so I can freeze half, rearranging both little bedrooms in hopes of making those rooms easier to find things in, and picking out a good color paint for Jon's room/school room. I'm thinking blue, but may go with green. LOL We'll have to see how much I really get done. Sophia is getting a little fussy lately and I'm wondering if it's something I'm eating or just a phase. I've had to spend a lot of time bicycling her legs and bouncing her. Some days, that's all I accomplish in a day.lol Also, I'm only getting about 5 hours of severely interrupted sleep lately and it's wearing on me. I'm getting tired and cranky. Well, at least I already know that sleep is for wimps.LOL I'm doing o.k. though and I'm choosing JOY in all things.

I was given a real blessing at church yesterday. I had the woman in charge of the youth in church come and tell me that Allison is a real blessing and an amazing young lady. I also had the pastor write on her confirmation paper that her paper was excellent and honest. Sometimes, you NEED outside confirmation that your kids are turning out o.k. and what a timely moment! I've really been worrying about my older kids lately and wondering if they would ever be anything or do well in "real life" and this was just what I needed. I'll post her paper in a separate post.

Well, that's it for now. This has been the only time today when Sophia hasn't been fussy and I don't want to spend the whole time on the computer. Time is precious when you don't have much to spare.lol

Blessings,

Lisa

I know it seems like all I ever post about is organizing, menus, and the like but I also want to share with you about the heart issues that God has been working throughout all this. For the past few years, I had lost sight of the amazing blessings that God had given me. They were lost in a cluttered home, a disorganized mom, and mostly in my fear. I was afraid of what God had given me. I just knew that I couldn't handle it. I had a lot of people telling me that I couldn't handle my children, house, or life in general.lol I let that fear be my focus and I lost touch with how to make things better. A few months ago, I prayed that if my life was to be blessed by more children, that God would give me the strength to rise to the occasion and instead of drowning in the chaos of my, then, current life, that I would be able to have a vision of what our lives should be. God has given me that plan. He has, slowly over the past 4 months or so, helped me out of the fear and chaos that we lived in. I prayed for a schedule that would fit us and he has provided. I prayed for organization and he has met our needs--ten fold! I prayed for strength to keep my house in working order and God has not only given me the ability to keep it clean but he has given me more hours in my day to do it in.lol (Of course, I fight this one, but it's really been a blessing!) I prayed for the strength to be able to feed my family healthy meals from scratch and with my menu system, I've been able to meet that goal also. I am no longer afraid of my family and no longer do I fear more children. This new baby will be met with the same amount of excitement that the very first one produced in my heart, because, I know that I can do it and that my children are well cared for indeed. What a blessing God has given me! I am learning mostly about trust, to guard my heart from those who would have me lose focus, and not to fear anything that comes from my Lord and Savior. So in my cleaning, organizing, and my life in general, I am finding joy.

Blessings,

Lisa

The Voice of Truth

The Voice of Truth by Casting Crowns

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of faith it takes
To climb out of this boat I'm in
Onto the crashing waves

To step out of my comfort zone
Into the realm of the unknown where Jesus is
And He's holding out His hand

But the waves are calling out my name
And they laugh at me
Reminding me of all the times I've tried before and failed
The waves they keep on telling me
Time and time again. "Boy, you'll never win!"
"You'll never win!"

Chorus:
But the voice of truth tells me a different story
The voice of truth says, "Do not be afraid!"
The voice of truth says, "This is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of strength it takes to stand before a giant
With just a sling and a stone
Surrounded by the sound of a thousand warriors
Shaking in their armor
Wishing they'd have had the strength to stand
But the giant's calling out my name
And he laughs at me
Reminding me of all the times I've tried before and failed
The giant keeps on telling me
Time and time again. "Boy you'll never win!"
"You'll never win!"

But the stone was just the right size
To put the giant on the ground
And the waves they don't seem so high
From on top of them lookin' down
I will soar with the wings of eagles
When I stop and listen to the sound of Jesus
Singing over me

I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth


This song speaks to the very depths of my soul. I have battled fear for many years and this song really helps to put my fear into perspective. If what I'm doing is for God's glory, then fear is only a smoke filled mirror keeping me from God's plans. My faith has grown so much that I am able to step through this veil and triumph over my fear, with God's help, over and over again. I pray that someday, I will boldly serve our Heavenly Father, without fear or trepidation.

Blessings,

Lisa

We're Home.

What wonderful words! Almost like an exhalation, it always brings this cozy feeling of warmth, safety, and happiness. After a long journey it's almost like heaven to be able to say those words, like a prayer, and really mean it. For the past 6 months, I've missed those words. I've been anxious to say them but I wanted to wait until I really meant it. God has provided us a wonderful house to live in but until today it wasn't home. Today, I woke up and realized that I was home, not because we're all unpacked, or organized, or even slightly clean, (LOL) but because our home is finally a place where we want to be. We've made it home just by living here! The clutter of life is all around us and it feels good to finally be able to say, "We're home."

Blessings

I have much to be thankful for! God is providing for us in wonderful ways! When we moved up here, it was with the expectation that we would have to travel back to Miami once a month for Isaac's treatments until he no longer needed them. Probably around 2-3 years. Well, while we were buying this house I met a lady at Staples whose son was being seen by a doctor up here for the same treatments that Isaac needs! This doctor isn't a Dermetologist, he's an ENT specializing in facial reconstruction. We got an appointment with him only hoping that he might take Isaac as a patient. Well, he's decided to accept him! God is soooo good! Not only is this man a great doctor, he told us that he only has Isaac's best interest in mind. He will only do the laser surgeries once every three months instead of every month and he says that he has much better lasers than the one that Isaac's old doctor was using. What good news! His first surgery will be August 3rd. I am very happy because the stress of flying to Miami for these surgeries was just too much for me and Isaac.

And to think, if I had never needed to go to Staples that day, I would have never met this woman! God is good!

Blessings,

Lisa

Boundaries...

I am learning a lot from my youngest kids lately! I guess sometimes I forget that even the littlest ones need boundaries, they are just usually in the form of concrete things instead of them being mental. LOL

In other words, I put up gates today. I hate gates but it is amazing how the behavior of the kids changed, like they felt more secure. It made me realize that I feel better with boundaries too. I have been wrestling with lots of insecure feelings since the move. Things have changed and I am slowly beginning to see where my boundaries need to be for me to feel safe and secure. It's hard to put up those walls at first because it feels like your freedom is in jeopardy but once things are up and running you realize that this is how life should be. I have to admit that I wish I had put up those gates sooner. LOL

Blessings,

Lisa

Personality test...

Well, I received my copy of MOTH and I've been trying to implement it. lol I am just not the organized type. I keep thinking, why am I doing this again? lol Not the best way to get on a schedule but it's hard to change who you are. Genevieve, on the other hand, is definitely thriving on a schedule. She just loves going from one thing to another and being able to ask, "What's next?" I am trying to keep her busy because it sure is helping her behaviour. WOW, what a difference.

My dh has been obsessed with personality types lately and it's got me wondering...can you change who you are? What if you take one of those high falutin' tests and it says you're a lazy bum who likes to have people wait on you hand and foot. lol What then? Do you just say, "oh well, I guess I'm just never going to be anything." lol (Well, maybe this person would...lol) Or would you change? Does God change you or does He use you "as is?" I think MOTH is going to change me. I think that it will be a good thing for me and my family. I think that all I have to do, is be willing to change. So does that mean the test was wrong or does it mean that I'm becoming who I really was all along? lol

Blessings,

Lisa