Zak Being Zak

I found myself with a morning shared only with one child. When you have 5 children living in your house - one does not take long to note that this sort of thing does not happen often. So, with Zak in tow; I decided it was time to take a field trip and do a photo shoot with my youngest boy.

I tried to capture him being 'Zak'. I think I was successful! Enjoy:








Trust you are capturing your kids just being themselves - whether on camera or within your heart. These are the days we will long for years from now when they are gone and living life on their own.
Blessings,
~Martie

The Last Page



My life is a story - being written daily by the events and choices that come into my life. I am not guaranteed tomorrow. Someday I will awaken to my last day - I do not know which day or what time; but I do know that someday my story will end.

Where will the last page of my life be written? How will my story end?


Am I living my life in a way that will finish off the story the way God wants it to end?


Will I have accomplished everything that God intended?


Am I redeeming my time - am I making an impact?


How will my last page be finished?


My favorite quote: "When I die, will it have mattered that I lived?"


I am challenged to press on - to keep on - to reach forth. I want my life to count - not for me or for my name; but for His. I want to accomplish everything I can for Him. So, when the day comes for the last page to be written - however it is meant to end - it will have mattered that the story was ever even written.


I want to make a difference.


To point - to direct - to compel - others to come... to HIM!


Today I commit to live my life worthy of the authorship from the One who created me . Today I will walk worthy of the Almighty. Someday the story of my life will be finished. I want the last words of my story to read:


TO GOD BE THE GLORY - GREAT THINGS HE HAS DONE!



Living for Eternity,

~Martie

Of Such is the Kingdom of Heaven...


Zak on the way to VBS - (day 2): "My teacher's are going to LOVE me today!"



Mom: "Why is that, Zak?"



Zak: "Because today, I am not going to run away!"


We had a wonderful week last week at VBS. Zak did great after the first day - and has been talking about Bible stories and God everyday since the VBS week was over. We are thanking the Lord for his open heart - and praying that someday soon, he will understand his need for salvation and open his heart to God.

"Suffer the little children to come unto me; and forbid them not..."



Blessings to you, my friends!!

~Martie

Gifts of Entertainment


Kelli over at "There's No Place Like Home" hosts a show and tell every Friday. Hop on over and see her special treasures along with links from others who participate in this fun little activity!


This Friday I thought I would share with you my dishes that I use when we have company over. The dish set was an unexpected gift from my Mother-in-law several years ago. I say unexpected, because they came through the mail - it wasn't my birthday or Christmas and there was no special occasion for the gift to be given. (Somehow that makes it sooooo much more special!)





I was told that the dish set reminded her of me - I think this is funny, because these plates are not anything I would pick out on my own. Yet, I absolutely love the dishes! They make the table have so much more color and almost without fail I receive complements on my dishes every time I have company over.
Each dish setting bears the picture of a different fruit.
There are peaches -

...or if pears are to your liking...

no, perhaps grapes?

But our favorite one is the cherry plate - because Dad HATES cherries and Mom loves them. So, when the kids set the table - who gets the cherry plate? They laugh with glee because they always give it to Dad and think it is soooo very funny that he is eating off of a plate representing the fruit he dislikes the most.

If any of you have found a plate with peas on them let me know - he hates peas too. Then we could have two sets of dishes for him. LOL

Hope you have a wonderful weekend. I will spend mine packing - and yes, this weekend I will pack away my nice dishes. Glad I was able to get them into a show and tell before I got moved.



Blessings,

~Martie

Creepy Crawly


No, this is not a post about spiders - (hopefully I will only have one scary animal/insect post!)


Our new little one has figured out how to move!! My days of peace and quiet are numbered - wait a minute, my days of peace and quiet ended a long time ago - oh well, never mind!


We have a crawler on our hands here!! Watch out world - her she comes. Oh, and she is also saying, "Mama, Dada, and Baba..." Next thing I know, she will be going to college...


Blessings,

~Martie

Christ - My All in All


Some enjoy changes. The thrill that comes along with everything being different and new.

Some have grown used to life changing. Careers and employment that keep life in flux have acclimated some to a life that changes every few years.

I am neither one of those. Enjoying change does not describe me. I have evaluated this in the past several weeks. Perhaps it is because I am growing older. I think when I was young - I enjoyed change; but then again...

I have come to evaluate the familiar and have found myself evaluating how much of my trust and security is in this illusion of 'sameness'.

How much of the world would have been reached for Christ if missionaries and preachers of old had been unwilling to venture far from the familiar?

It is so easy to say that God has full control over everything in my life. That everything I have belongs to Him and is at His disposal. It is an entirely different thing altogether to actually have that statement put to the test.

Change is good for me. It helps me to evaluate the important. It is taking me out of my comfort zone and places me in a position of vulnerability. Interesting how much I cling to God when I feel most vulnerable. Ah, to realize yet again, "Christ is all I need."


"That I may know Him..."

Blessing,

~Martie

A Bit of a Break


I will be taking a blogging break this week - as we are spending a large part of our time looking for new housing. We are praying that God will open the doors and give us complete peace as to the house that we are to purchase. We appreciate your prayers.



Talk with you later this week.



Blessings,

~Martie

Answered Prayers


We are praising the Lord.
We have an accepted offer on the house and are scheduled to close at the end of August.



Just wanted to let you all know.



Blessings,

~Martie

Faith - "The Evidence of Things Not Seen"

The thermometer read 104 degrees - it was five o'clock in the morning and her cry assured me that she was very sick. A tepid bath was drawn and taken; a bottle made and drunk. The fever came down a bit - and plans were made to take her in as soon as the doctor's office was open.

I held her on my lap as we waited for the doctor to come in for the examination. Her fever already elevating again. He did what doctor's do first to little ones not feeling well; then proceeded to tell me his thoughts. He wanted to run a couple more tests. The nurse would be in to run the tests. The door closed and I was alone with my baby and my thoughts.


The thoughts went back to eleven years ago when I had awakened to find my baby's fever just as high. There was no opportunity to draw the bath, fix the bottle or call the doctor. As I sat there this morning, the tears came - as fresh and as new as they had come that Saturday eleven years ago. As I sat in that office and cried - I held my new little one close and wished that there had been something - anything that I could have done to keep my Ally with us just a bit longer.

The nurse came in and saw my eyes still moist with tears. She assured me that everything would be OK. Should I explain? I stammered.... "We lost a little one several years ago; and somehow the pain never quite goes away. My new little one is the exact same age; and I just hate it when their fevers get so high. Ally's was high too..." my words hung in the air; I could not finish.
They seemed to understand. They made sure that the doctor saw me before I left. He too had noticed my tears and asked about my other daughter. I tried to tell him; but I tried even harder to make my voice stop shaking as I related the memories. He assured me that he would call me with the results in an hour or so - or told me I could wait in the waiting room if I was more comfortable with that. A call would be fine.

The phone rang - the test results had given us answers and an antibiotic had been called in . The doctor himself called me back - and asked me to call him in the morning to let him know how she was doing. I am not sure if he was doing that for his benefit or more for mine. Either way, I was grateful. I headed out alone to pick up the medication. Alone with my thoughts and memories. The reminiscing quickly led to a conversation with God.

"Is it doubting your sovereign plan to wonder - review and wish that there had been something I could have done to keep her?"
Somehow I seemed to know that God understood my thoughts, feelings and fears. However, truth told me that a focus on 'what ifs ' would only lead down a road filled with spiritual detours.





I left that thought pattern and turned to the truth I knew:

*God is always good.
*God allows everything that comes into our lives; and if I but let Him beautiful things come from things that seemed completely hopeless.

* When God heals a broken heart he bring along people who are hurting so you can help them and give them hope that life does go on.


I focused on all the people that I have been able to minister to through the years because of this loss. Somehow, that fact alone seemed to bring everything into a clearer picture. I thanked God once again for the pain - asking Him to help me never forget - I need to remember in order to minister.
Once again, I was faced with the choice to place my life, my plans and my wants on God's altar and allow Him to work in my life. Would I entrust even my new little one into the hand of a God who loved her even more than I could ever love.

A few moments after ariving home phone rang. It was a pastor calling to let us know that a family in their church just found their little baby was gone just a few moments ago. He was heading over to them and needed our prayers. This couple needed our prayers.
Moments earlier when I was committing my little one to the Lord and trusting Him to do what was best - He was ushering this little one into His arms open wide - and a couple was left with broken hearts, broken dreams and the reality that death comes unexpectedly.

Please pray for us - this couple goes to the church that we are attending on Wednesday nights. I wonder if our house has not sold - and we have not been able to move from the area because there is one more family here that God has for us to minister to.

After the phone call was ended we prayed and cried for this couple. We have been there and we will walk there once again - this time with someone else.


"...Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

Resting ,Trusting, and Walking -- in Him,
~Martie

The Girls and Me - At Tea

Recently, my girls and I had the opportunity to go to an afternoon tea. What a wonderful time we had together. I love activities that promote the feminine side of womanhood. So much of our culture seems to want to pull us away from the fact that God made little girls to be girls - and there is a difference between boys and girls.


So, we got up and prepared ourselves for the tea by dressing up. We had the most fun dressing up our new little one - for she was invited too!

When we arrived at the tea we found the theme to be "Windows of the Heart". All throughout the room there were different decorated windows hanging down. The girls and I had a fun time picking out our favorite window decoration.

Our tables were set with a lovely tea pot that was used to serve us our tea. We ate dainty little sandwiches and fruit cups. We enjoyed homemade scones and tea cookies. It was fun to eat together and enjoy the company of other ladies - and ladies - in - waiting.




The afternoon was filled with games and giveaway prizes. Several ladies took home new tea cups that they won on their afternoon outing.

Our china cabinet now houses three new tea cups. Each of the girls were invited to bring their own special tea cup. We made a trip down to the local thrift store and came home with a few new treasures. The girls now have their own special tea cup for future use and also for a keepsake - reminding us of the wonderful afternoon together.

(I brought my special tea cup as my tea cup for the day)


(Rachel's tea cup)


(Abbey's tea cup)

(Our new little one's tea cup - you can't tell from the photo - but it is a very small cup!)

God really spoke to my heart to make sure that I stay clean before Him - free from attitudes and sin that hinder His light shinning through me. When I am not right before Him others around me can not see the Saviour they so desperately need. What a challenge the theme was to my heart! Each lady was able to take home a special made tea bag. How appropriate the verse on the bag - as the theme was keeping our lives clean - so others can see Christ!

The drive home was fun together - just us girls. Talking about girl things and giggling and laughing together. What fun God gave me when He blessed me with so many girls.
Trust you are able to find special occasions to allow your girls to enjoy being little ladies. Our world needs to see Christian's ladies embracing God's distinctiveness between men and women.
What better way to do that than to have little girls who have learned the attitudes of the heart that promote femininity.
Thanks so much for stopping by - I'm so glad for you visit!
Blessings,
~Martie

Great is Thy Faithfulness!

Today is a very special day. Today is the day our family grew. We have added two children to our family on this special day.

July 1, 1997 - Allyssa Hope Spurgeon joined our family. Even though her stay was brief - this day is still special for it is a day that helps us to remember that she was - and *is* - just not here.
July 1, 2003 - The little boy we had been waiting to adopt for 2 years finally became what he had been in our hearts from the first day we brought him home - a Spurgeon!

His adoption was such a beautiful picture of God's graciousness and sovereign working in our lives. How special it was to me as a Mom to have Ally's birthday be Zak's adoption day.

So many of our friends and relatives joined us at the courtroom that day. Zak was just hamming up all of the attention and both his Mom and his Dad had butterflies in our stomachs. We had waited for this day for so long and now it was finally here.

The judge had me come to the stand - raise my right hand and swear in that my testimony was true and accurate. I sat there and listened to the questions - answered them as accurately as I could. They went something like this:


JUDGE: Do you understand that this adoption will make him legally and solely your responsibility to care for and provide for him to meet his needs?
~

ME: Yes, sir.

~


JUDGE: Do you realize that any problems are issues that may come up in the future with his health and well being will be your responsibility?

~
ME: Yes, sir.

~~~
He then commented on all the support that we had in the courtroom with us that day and that he was sure with this much love - our new little guy would have a high potential to grow and mature and be a real part of our family.



It was then that he asked us what his name would be from then on out. We told him Zechariah Robert Spurgeon . It was important to us that he had part of his Dad's name for his very own. It was at this time that the judge used his gavel - and declared him to be what we had known him to be in our hearts for months before then - a Spurgeon.


On July 1, 2003 - my life long dream of adopting a child came true. I had always - for as long as I could remember - wanted to adopt someday. I left the courtroom that day blessed. God had heard my prayers - and answered them. He also had done it on a very meaningful day. It made me realize anew that God' plans are not my plans - His thought are not my thoughts - but His way is ALWAYS best. Somehow, adopting Zak on Ally's birthday brought such significance to her life.


"The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, blessed be the name of the Lord..."

Now, we await yet another adoption. We are so excited that the Lord has given us yet another child to love and raise for Him. I look forward to posting adoption photos this fall when our new little one becomes what she already is in our hearts - a Spurgeon.


"For this child I prayed..."

Rejoicing in His Faithfulness,
~Martie