Awareness of His presence.

I am with you in all that you do, even in the most menial task. I am always aware of you, concerned with every detail of your life. Nothing escapes My notice—not even the number of hairs on your head. However, your awareness of My Presence falters and flickers; as a result, your life experience feels fragmented. When your focus is broad enough to include Me in your thoughts, you feel safe and complete. When your perception narrows so that problems or details fill your consciousness, you feel empty and incomplete.

Learn to look steadily at Me in all your moments and all your circumstances. Though the world is unstable and in flux, you can experience continuity through your uninterrupted awareness of My Presence. Fix your gaze on what is unseen, even as the visible world parades before your eyes.

~ ~ ~

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”
—Matthew 10:29–31

By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.
—Hebrews 11:27

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
—2 Corinthians 4:18

{Jesus Calling by Sarah Young, devotion for Dec 7}

First snow.

today is quite possibly one of my favorite days of the year.... the first snow of the season!

it was all fun and games at first... cohen eating snow, jaxon making snow balls and loving seeing his trail of footprints... 

however, it went sour pretty quickly.

momma was apparently the only one having fun. 

so we headed inside... unfortunately the chaos didn't end.

safe from that evil snow...

hot chocolate and snuggles make everything all better.

i mean, seriously? who doesn't like snow!? 

hopefully they'll grow into it... or else i guess i'll be outside playing by myself this winter. 

:)

Xander.

Remember, this kind of thing is totally on my heart lately.

Then I stumbled upon this little guy's picture, and a fundraising opportunity.

There's a giveaway as well, but seriously --  I just want to spread the word about the little guy.  If you feel led, even $1 would help.

And, on that note I should go to bed before I start reading too many of these kinds of stories ...the ones that make my heart feel like it could beat outside of my chest thinking about the 143 million orphans in this world.

Just FYI.

If you missed out on the Plum District voucher for an Erin Condren planner, here's another chance!

https://doodledeals.com/r/ae9ba43fb1/1408

Doodle Deals has a $50 voucher to ErinCondren.com for just $25.

If you need a reminder of my love affair with a planner, you can see it here.

have a happy weekend! 

On my heart.

When I think about Christmas, I think about past years.  Especially as a child, my family cherished the season.  I can still sing you the songs that were played each year on a CD while setting up the tree... I can tell you the names of the nursing homes we visited... I can tell you the trips we took to see family... I can even remember a handful of the gifts I received.  I remember my Grandma being there with us, how much she loved to open any gift that had a cardinal on them, I can still see her smile.  I remember the years my Grandma Nancy was there, how her presence made the holiday even more special.  I remember going to bed each night filled with excitement, and Christmas morning waking up to stockings full of gifts... loving every minute.  This was my family.  These are my memories.  Some of these traditions I hope to pass on to my kids the older they get. 

Today my heart is heavy thinking about all of the children, throughout the United States and beyond, who will not experience any of that.  They are orphans, they are waiting for a forever family.  Maybe they are your neighbors, who live in a broken and abusive home.  They are innocent kids, all over the world, needing love.  Needing a smile, craving a hug.  They need a reminder of what Christmas is all about.  Can you pause for a moment and try to even imagine what it would feel like to not have a family to celebrate with... isn't that half the beauty of Christmas? 

Maybe it was my friend Grace's post that got me emotional.  Her paragraph that said "Pray for all the orphans, that are waiting to be loved and part of something that they don't know, have not experienced, something that we take for granted...the love of a family!" -- it hit me a little too close to home.

I hear a lot of people talk about adoption, and Tyler and I have talked and began to pray about it as well.  There's a startling statistic that talks about how 30% of people talk about adopting, and yet only 2% take the first steps in doing something about it. {source}  My mood today is somber.  Something needs to happen, I'm just not sure what it is yet. 

I have no idea what this means for me or my family.  Maybe my role is just to pray for orphans.  Maybe my role is to support people in prayer and financially who are adopting.  Maybe this is the Lord's way of asking us to sponsor a child.  Maybe someday, we will add another member to our family through adoption.  

I have no idea what is going on in my heart ... but I can't deny that it's something.