My moment with God!

Okay, as I sit down to create this entry I am filled with mixed emotions. Great excitement that this moment finally occurred in my life and some hesitation because my relationship with God is something I have viewed as personal (which I believe is completely wrong by the way) so I am a bit uncomfortable on my "new legs" as I talk about my God moment, especially in such a public forum. Isn't it funny how you can be a believer most of your life (as far back as I can remember) but be so stingy with the things God has done for you for fear of scaring people away with your religion? I confess this sad fact about myself and pray that God will teach me to fearlessly share Him with others.........that's really what we're here for anyway, right?

Anyway, back to my God moment story. My whole life I have heard people say things like "God told me to do ........" or while I was praying God said to me......." I must admit for several years I thought these people were just a bit off their rocker but as I grew older I became jealous that others had experienced such intimacies with God. It's not that I had never felt God's nudging or that He was leading me, I have several times in my life, but I have never actually heard Him say something to me and I really longed for that. Well, I'm happy to say it finally happened!

On Monday afternoon, Annalise and I headed down to Trinidad to stay with my parents for a few days so that Annalise wouldn't be exposed to the sinus infection Trev is currently battling. Annalise was awake for the entire 2.5 hour drive and babbled or fussed most of the time. However, there was a moment when we were climbing the large hill to Colorado City that Annalise fell silent and all I could hear was my country radio blasting. I didn't hear a physically audible voice, but inside I heard a voice tell me to turn off my radio (those of you who know me well realize what a huge request this is since I don't enjoy quiet and ALWAYS have a radio or TV going to drown out the silence) and be quiet because God wanted a moment with me. (Yes, I know what some of you may be thinking because I have thought the same thing......she's out there, or she's a holy roller, or something along those lines.) So, I turned down my radio and awaited God's cue and sure enough, as I crested the hill I saw the most glorious sunset. It was God and He took the opportunity to show me something beautiful and let me know that He was right there with me. I can't accurately describe the experience with words but I knew God was there, He filled up my truck, I could feel His presence and it was incredible!

See, I have really been working on my relationship with God lately. Life has had more than its fair share of challenges for our family and I have naively tried to draw upon myself to find the solutions. I'm sure it won't surprise anyone when I say that I have failed miserably. Which is exactly what I needed to turn my stubborn head in the direction it should have been in the first place, up toward Him who loves me unconditionally and provides everything I will ever need. I have asked Him to be more obviously present in my life and to comfort me, I have asked the Holy Spirit to fill me and for God's hands to guide my steps in all areas of my life - wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend, etc. Let me tell you, He is doing it and it is wonderful. I pray that anyone who reads this and thinks I'm wacky will have the same amazing experience someday and will realize just as I have that God is not a distant God, but is a God that is intimate and reveals Himself to us - we just have to remove the scales from our eyes so we can see Him.

Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits-
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

Psalm 103:2-5

Have a blessed day!

To Curl or not to Curl, that is the question!

It's surprising to me the things that occupy my thoughts now that I am a mommy - such as baby hairstyles. Being raised in Colorado where hair, makeup, and clothes are generally determined by ease and comfort, I really never imagined spending so much time trying to decide what to do with Annalise's hair. When she was born she had this baby mohawk thing going, which has been really cute but now the top is getting long and the bangs are in her eyes. I'm hesitant to cut it because the hair around her head really isn't growing so I want to keep what hair is there.....so what to do about the bangs in the eyes? Well, I had the bright idea of putting a cute little curl on top. The idea was good but the results are questionable at best. At least she was a good sport!

Not only were the rollers fun to play with, they were tasty too!

And they also kind of tickled :)

One day I'm going to be upset with my Mommy for posting this picture!

Daddy and I are composing a little blues tune about baby hair mishaps.

And the first word is (drumroll please).........

Coco. Yes the Chocolate Lab gets the honor of being the recepient of Annalise's first purposeful word....sigh. Annalise has babbled Mama, Dada, Nononono, and Nana for months now but we have never consistently gotten the impression that she KNEW what she was saying. Dada has been her favorite word (which has made Brian very proud); however, while Dada can be Brian, Annalise has also labeled things such as a flushing toilet, the dogs, Mommy, and to my total humiliation almost any random teenage boy "Dada".

Yesterday morning, I was feeding Annalise her bottle when Coco wandered up to the edge of the sofa to say good morning. I rubbed her head and said "Hi Coco", just like I do most mornings and Annalise spit out her bottle and said "Coco". I looked at Brian and said "did you hear that or am I imagining things?" He agreed that she said Coco but we kind of wrote it off to be one of the other words she babbles without association. However, the rest of the morning she followed Coco around the house calling her name, she'd point to Coco from across the house and say "Coco" and last night she walked up to Coco as she was trying to sleep on the couch, gently patted her (which is drastically different from the fur, tail and ear pulling that normally occurs), laid her head on Coco's side, and said "Coco". At that moment, I knew my months of preaching Mama and Dada in hopes that we would be the objects of her first purposeful word were in vain. Coco has the honors.

Well, in this I will count my blessings. I'm thankful the word wasn't "no" or "mine", and I will admit Coco has endured much baby induced torture over the past few months so this is a nice reward for her. I will however keep this story in mind for the first opportunity I have to dole out a Mommy guilt trip. I can hear myself now. "Right in the midst of your second week with the stomach flu, after poor Mommy had spent day after day changing 2 to 3 poopy diapers an hour, staying up with you at 2 in the morning, making you special food, rocking you when you were fussy, etc. you decided to say your first word. And it was Coco, not Mama, but Coco" (all true by the way, I didn't have to resort to concocting some story about how it was an uphill walk both on my way to school and back home). Wow, even as I wrote this I am shocked at how easily the words of my future guilt trip flow........this must be a new super power I somehow acquired during the birthing experience!