Sam,
I am a month late writing this. It's been a busy summer. On June 1, 2018, you turned the big 7! This has been an awesome year for you. This past year, you started dancing. You took hiphop and tap/ballet. You started piano lessons. You finished kindergarten for the 2nd time, but this time all in Spanish. Your Spanish is really good. Your best friends are Alec and Lewis from school, Parker, and of course, Mattox. You are Mattox are still best friends. In fact, you moved in together in the same room this summer. I pray you continue to be best friends in the year to come.
Sam, you are ADORABLE. You are kind and funny and you talk a lot. You are a peach keeper. You hate conflict, and when you see it coming, you do whatever you can to deflate it. You don't have a lot of tolerance for people who don't follow rules. You are skinny, but you want to be really tough and buff. You are mentally strong. You have a strong desire to get into God's word. You are very detailed in everything you do. You actually have an intense personality, but you are a different kind of intense, so you would only see that if you really paid attention. 7 years old looks good on you. You have a super cute body and your smile takes up your entire face. You just lost your front 2 teeth and your smile is so cute.
Sam, as you grow and become the man that God has called you to be, I pray that you will have the courage and strength to actually be the hands and feet of Christ. I pray that you will do great things for His kingdom. I pray that you will be an instrument, used by God, for His glory. I pray that your dad and I can continually point you to Christ.....for everything else in this world is temporary. I love you from the bottom of my heart. Happy 7th Birthday my boy.
Sunday, August 12, 2018
Sunday, January 14, 2018
Advance 2018
Silence, blank looks, wide eyes, confused faces.
That's what we see in these small circle spaces.
What in the world? Don't they hear what I do?
Then why are they shocked when I ask what I'm supposed to?
I bring up questions, related to God,
They can't think of anything, their thoughts in a fog.
When is this relationship thing going to click?
Some weeks I feel like calling in sick!
This Good News we speak of is foreign to them,
They come to Advance to chill with their friends.
But God, But God shows up in this place,
And over time, creates some space.
He plants a seed. The battle begins.
'Cause Satan is mad and fighting to win.
Kill and destroy is his ultimate plan.
Make them feel hopeless, like stuck in quick sand.
But God, But God, like it or not,
Is over this process and loves them a lot.
God is at work in each student's heart.
His hand in their life from the very start.
Their hearts, minds, talents-He will use for His Glory,
And one day it will all be part of their story.
So what do we do with this week after week?
When it seems we have tried every trick and technique?
Be honest, available, and point them to God.
Show up Sunday nights; let them think we are odd.
Strange we must be in this great commission,
Romans 12:2 actually gives us permission.
God wants our "yes," our, "Ill give it my best."
Give Him that, and He will handle the rest.
And week after week we will watch the progression,
and lay at his feet our personal imperfection.
So let God Be God, and do what He does;
In the life of these students He most certainly loves.
Advance, Advance, let's fight the good fight.
For we know darkness can't overcome the Light.
That's what we see in these small circle spaces.
What in the world? Don't they hear what I do?
Then why are they shocked when I ask what I'm supposed to?
I bring up questions, related to God,
They can't think of anything, their thoughts in a fog.
When is this relationship thing going to click?
Some weeks I feel like calling in sick!
This Good News we speak of is foreign to them,
They come to Advance to chill with their friends.
But God, But God shows up in this place,
And over time, creates some space.
He plants a seed. The battle begins.
'Cause Satan is mad and fighting to win.
Kill and destroy is his ultimate plan.
Make them feel hopeless, like stuck in quick sand.
But God, But God, like it or not,
Is over this process and loves them a lot.
God is at work in each student's heart.
His hand in their life from the very start.
Their hearts, minds, talents-He will use for His Glory,
And one day it will all be part of their story.
So what do we do with this week after week?
When it seems we have tried every trick and technique?
Be honest, available, and point them to God.
Show up Sunday nights; let them think we are odd.
Strange we must be in this great commission,
Romans 12:2 actually gives us permission.
God wants our "yes," our, "Ill give it my best."
Give Him that, and He will handle the rest.
And week after week we will watch the progression,
and lay at his feet our personal imperfection.
So let God Be God, and do what He does;
In the life of these students He most certainly loves.
Advance, Advance, let's fight the good fight.
For we know darkness can't overcome the Light.
Sunday, June 25, 2017
My 8 year old son....
Mattox,
I can't believe 8 years ago you made me a mom. It has been the best 8 years of my life. I honestly can't believe God gave me a son like you. You are such a good boy. You are smart, kind, generous, loving, responsible, a good friend, and an excellent brother. You are also impulsive and a bit silly at times. You love to be the center of attention. You love playing with friends, Pokemon, Beyblades, and basketball. You are just an all around awesome kid. There isn't much else to write.
Dad and I could not be more proud of you. You do great in school, sports, and love Jesus. So far, you have made great friend choices. I know God has big plans for you. I pray you continue to keep your eyes on Him. I pray you learn to say, "yes" to Him like you do with us. I pray His hand will protect you and you will grow up to be a strong man of God.
Happy 8th Birthday buddy.
Love,
Mom
I can't believe 8 years ago you made me a mom. It has been the best 8 years of my life. I honestly can't believe God gave me a son like you. You are such a good boy. You are smart, kind, generous, loving, responsible, a good friend, and an excellent brother. You are also impulsive and a bit silly at times. You love to be the center of attention. You love playing with friends, Pokemon, Beyblades, and basketball. You are just an all around awesome kid. There isn't much else to write.
Dad and I could not be more proud of you. You do great in school, sports, and love Jesus. So far, you have made great friend choices. I know God has big plans for you. I pray you continue to keep your eyes on Him. I pray you learn to say, "yes" to Him like you do with us. I pray His hand will protect you and you will grow up to be a strong man of God.
Happy 8th Birthday buddy.
Love,
Mom
Friday, June 2, 2017
Sam turns 6!
Sam,
Happy 6th Birthday. I can't believe I don't have a 5 year old anymore. Where is the time going? As you get older, I learn more and more about what is going on in that head of yours...and there is A LOT GOING ON IN THAT HEAD. This year has been an amazing year. You are completely in love with Mrs. Carlson, your Kindergarten teacher. She was amazing and gracious and pretty, so you have good taste. This year, you have grown so much. You are smart, funny, kind, sensitive, VERY TALKATIVE, happy, and creative. This year you quit gymnastics and started wrestling. You played your first season of basketball and second season of T-ball. You enjoy being around others, but you don't take sports too seriously. In fact, I think you would rather not compete. You love to perform. You just started taking piano, and you seem to like it. You love to sing and dance. I love hearing you perform. It is completely adorable.
Sam, you love Mattox. You follow him around everywhere. You quickly learn everything about what he is interested in and talk about it constantly. You both are really into Pokemon and Bayblades right now. You are best friends.
You absolutely love getting lost in stories. You fall asleep almost every night listening to an audiobook. You just listened to and watched Harry Potter for the 1st time. It was fun to watch you enjoy that.
I love you so much, Sam. You love me so well and offer me so much grace. You are going to do great things when you get older. I am not sure what, but they will be great. God has His hand on your little heart, and you seem to be growing in your walk with the Lord. I hope 6 treats you well. I hope that I soak in all the sweetness you offer me and those around you. You are a true treasure.
Love Mom.
Wednesday, February 8, 2017
Looking through the clouds to see the SON.
It has been a while since I have written. I have been good about writing a note to my kids on their birthdays, but this blog use to be a place where I wrote about things God was showing me on a regular basis. It use to be a fun place to express how God was loving on me in a very personal way, and molding me into His likeliness. As a stay at home mom, this blog was a very fun and creative outlet for me as I survived the early years of having 2 babies.
A few years ago, some things happened in our marriage that were hard. The struggle was very real, and although, He was moving mountains and honoring our decision to fight for each other, I couldn't write about it. Our broken marriage tainted the way I saw everything and I simply couldn't write about what God was doing in my life, how He was restoring our marriage, without going into personal details.
Hard times change the lens by which we look at the world. Hard times seem like they will never end, and just when you begin to see the light, sometimes, there are setbacks. Hard times keep us in constant communication with the Lord, but sometimes those conversations are very raw. Sometimes we are begging Him to follow OUR plan and not HIS. Sometimes, hard times end up giving us an amazing testimony that offers others freedom. Hard times refine us and strengthen us. However, they are sometimes dark times where you feel alone and unable to be transparent.
Yesterday, it was a beautiful day outside. The sun was shining and it was hot. I was playing on the driveway with my 1 year old who is obsessed with his pointer finger and birds. He loves to point out each bird he sees to me. So, there I was, birdwatching with my baby, and saw something I had seen several times in my life. I saw a big cloud, covering the sun. Because of the cloud coverage, I could see the perfect circle in this sky, giving off light. The light was completely contained in that circle. I am sure you have seen something similar at one point or another. It was really neat. As I was looking at the sun, through the clouds, I was reminded that often times it is through our hard times and dark clouds, that we see the Son most clearly. It is often during our struggles and doubts, that God reveals Himself most clearly. Often, it is during our hard times, that God is able to reveal himself to others as well. Hard times gives us compassion, and allows us to point others to Christ. I was reminded of 2 Corinthians 12:9-11, where Paul says,
My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weakness, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
My marriage hasn't always been strong. It is stronger now. We showed up weak...He made us strong...and is continuing to write our love story.
A few years ago, some things happened in our marriage that were hard. The struggle was very real, and although, He was moving mountains and honoring our decision to fight for each other, I couldn't write about it. Our broken marriage tainted the way I saw everything and I simply couldn't write about what God was doing in my life, how He was restoring our marriage, without going into personal details.
Hard times change the lens by which we look at the world. Hard times seem like they will never end, and just when you begin to see the light, sometimes, there are setbacks. Hard times keep us in constant communication with the Lord, but sometimes those conversations are very raw. Sometimes we are begging Him to follow OUR plan and not HIS. Sometimes, hard times end up giving us an amazing testimony that offers others freedom. Hard times refine us and strengthen us. However, they are sometimes dark times where you feel alone and unable to be transparent.
Yesterday, it was a beautiful day outside. The sun was shining and it was hot. I was playing on the driveway with my 1 year old who is obsessed with his pointer finger and birds. He loves to point out each bird he sees to me. So, there I was, birdwatching with my baby, and saw something I had seen several times in my life. I saw a big cloud, covering the sun. Because of the cloud coverage, I could see the perfect circle in this sky, giving off light. The light was completely contained in that circle. I am sure you have seen something similar at one point or another. It was really neat. As I was looking at the sun, through the clouds, I was reminded that often times it is through our hard times and dark clouds, that we see the Son most clearly. It is often during our struggles and doubts, that God reveals Himself most clearly. Often, it is during our hard times, that God is able to reveal himself to others as well. Hard times gives us compassion, and allows us to point others to Christ. I was reminded of 2 Corinthians 12:9-11, where Paul says,
My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weakness, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
My marriage hasn't always been strong. It is stronger now. We showed up weak...He made us strong...and is continuing to write our love story.
Monday, January 9, 2017
Happy 1st Birthday Elijah Kelly Reeder
Eli, Baby E, Little, E,
Those are just some of your nicknames. You just turned 1 and I can't believe how quickly the first year went by. So far, you have been a really good baby. You are very demanding and you don't like to be put down. You want to be carried around everywhere. You LOVE music and we listen to music all day together on my phone. We recently got a new dog named, Molly. She is crazy and needs a lot of exercise. You love it when we go on walks, so I try to take you every day. I put my music on speaker and we go around the neighborhood. You love it. You seem to love being outside and especially love the water.
You look so much like Sam and remind me so much of Mattox. You love books. You crawl (army crawl) around from one book to the next. You especially love books that are tactile. You love Grabby and especially get excited to see PawPaw. You can say a few words already, and you seem to be a smart little guy. This year has been so much fun. Earlier this year you were dedicated at church. This summer you went to the beach for the first time and in November, you went on a Disney Cruise.
Eli, I couldn't imagine our family without you. It has been so much fun to watch Mattox and Sam watch you grow over this year. They think everything you do is so cute. They love to try to make you laugh. You and dad have a special connection. You are constantly saying, "da da," and your face lights up when he walks into the room....as does his.
I love you so much. Happy 1st Birthday. My God's loving hand cover you and guide you this next year.
Love always,
Mom
Those are just some of your nicknames. You just turned 1 and I can't believe how quickly the first year went by. So far, you have been a really good baby. You are very demanding and you don't like to be put down. You want to be carried around everywhere. You LOVE music and we listen to music all day together on my phone. We recently got a new dog named, Molly. She is crazy and needs a lot of exercise. You love it when we go on walks, so I try to take you every day. I put my music on speaker and we go around the neighborhood. You love it. You seem to love being outside and especially love the water.
You look so much like Sam and remind me so much of Mattox. You love books. You crawl (army crawl) around from one book to the next. You especially love books that are tactile. You love Grabby and especially get excited to see PawPaw. You can say a few words already, and you seem to be a smart little guy. This year has been so much fun. Earlier this year you were dedicated at church. This summer you went to the beach for the first time and in November, you went on a Disney Cruise.
Eli, I couldn't imagine our family without you. It has been so much fun to watch Mattox and Sam watch you grow over this year. They think everything you do is so cute. They love to try to make you laugh. You and dad have a special connection. You are constantly saying, "da da," and your face lights up when he walks into the room....as does his.
I love you so much. Happy 1st Birthday. My God's loving hand cover you and guide you this next year.
Love always,
Mom
Wednesday, June 1, 2016
Happy 5th Birthday Sam!
Sam,
Happy 5th Birthday! I can't believe you are 5. You are no longer in preschool, and off to real school this year. This year has been a big year for you. You learned to ride a bike with no training wheels right after school started. You played Tball this spring. This school year, you learned to read. And most importantly, you became a BIG BROTHER!
This year I have learned so much about you. I see so many similarities between you and your dad. You are so sweet and kind. You make me laugh daily. You are slow to do everything, because you are in your own world. You enjoy snuggles on the couch and having my undivided attention. At just 4 years old, you can read a room…and work the room. Everyone loves you. You wear a smile all day, every day. You rarely cry or have any kind of melt down. You are smart, funny, loving, respectful, and strong willed. When you decide to do something, there is no holding you back. You don't let "no" stop you. You find another way to get what you want. You are persistent and at times manipulative. You are going to be a very talented man one day.
You still memorize commercials and love to dress up and pretend. You love legos and your imagination is AMAZING. You love to cook and help me in the kitchen. I always joke and say that you might have your own cooking show on TV, because you talk constantly and love to cook. :) Your handwriting is good for your age. You are gentle with Eli, and you talk to him a very sweet voice. You always call him, "big," and he loves when you talk to him.
Sam, you are an awesome son, brother, and friend. This year I have really seen you shine among your peers. I am obviously SO proud of you and pray that you grow strong in the Lord, as this world gets more difficult to navigate. Happy 5th Birthday. I pray God allows many more, and I couldn't be more thankful He gave you to me. I love you to the MAX!
LOVE ALWAYS AND FOREVER,
MOM
Happy 5th Birthday! I can't believe you are 5. You are no longer in preschool, and off to real school this year. This year has been a big year for you. You learned to ride a bike with no training wheels right after school started. You played Tball this spring. This school year, you learned to read. And most importantly, you became a BIG BROTHER!
This year I have learned so much about you. I see so many similarities between you and your dad. You are so sweet and kind. You make me laugh daily. You are slow to do everything, because you are in your own world. You enjoy snuggles on the couch and having my undivided attention. At just 4 years old, you can read a room…and work the room. Everyone loves you. You wear a smile all day, every day. You rarely cry or have any kind of melt down. You are smart, funny, loving, respectful, and strong willed. When you decide to do something, there is no holding you back. You don't let "no" stop you. You find another way to get what you want. You are persistent and at times manipulative. You are going to be a very talented man one day.
You still memorize commercials and love to dress up and pretend. You love legos and your imagination is AMAZING. You love to cook and help me in the kitchen. I always joke and say that you might have your own cooking show on TV, because you talk constantly and love to cook. :) Your handwriting is good for your age. You are gentle with Eli, and you talk to him a very sweet voice. You always call him, "big," and he loves when you talk to him.
Sam, you are an awesome son, brother, and friend. This year I have really seen you shine among your peers. I am obviously SO proud of you and pray that you grow strong in the Lord, as this world gets more difficult to navigate. Happy 5th Birthday. I pray God allows many more, and I couldn't be more thankful He gave you to me. I love you to the MAX!
LOVE ALWAYS AND FOREVER,
MOM
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)