in her Father's arms

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Before we moved, when Parker was already working in another state
and coming home on weekends,
he would get home late on Friday nights.
He couldn't ever resist going in and picking up his sleeping baby girl,
to love on her, and to just hold her in his arms.

I snapped this picture one night watching him hold her on the monitor.
This picture speaks to me about the love our Heavenly Father has for us,
and the comfort we can find in His arms.

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"I will lie down in peace and sleep,
for you alone O Lord, make me dwell in safety."
Psalm 4:8

There is something so incredible and comforting of a father's arms and touch.
I wish that physical memory would allow us to recall
what it felt like to be held by our fathers as infants.
It must feel so safe.


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Whether we had a physical father around us or not,
I am beyond thankful for the Father who is there,
who is willing to be our Daddy,
our Protector, our Provider, our Security.

I want to REST in that.
I want to "lie in peace, and sleep" knowing that
He ALWAYS has me in His arms.

And I want to always take comfort in knowing that He is that same Father
to Abigail. to my little girl.
That when she needs comforting, she has just as much access to Him as I do.
I pray daily and nightly that she would KNOW that,
that she would know and feel His touch.

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A few days ago, Abigail was reaching for her lovie,
while I was reaching to get a bow right next to her,
and she flipped off the diaper table.
She was physically ok, but definitely scared.
(I was too).

God allowed me to catch her head in my hands before it hit the floor.
I don't know how that happened...
its like He just have me the reflexes to catch her in slow motion.

I dropped her off at MDO a little later and
began to work through my own fear that had entered from her fall.
All kinds of lies like "you should've done better",
"what if she had broken her neck?"
"what if she had hit her head?"
It was a battle to trust Him that He had her in His arms at that moment,
and He will at every moment.

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I had finally found some peace, when I got a call from her school saying she had fallen on the playground and had hit her head.
just what I needed, I thought to myself.
well, yes it WAS what I needed.
To trust God AGAIN that He HAS her in HIS arms.
that He will protect her,
and that HIS plan for her is best.

She has a huge bruise on her head now, poor baby, but she is ok.
Parker was able to run across the street from his office to love on her after they called,
which was such a blessing.

She woke up last night, very abnormal for her,
crying and scared, like she has before when a sound or something has scared her.
I am convinced that the memory of her falls the day before allowed fear to come into her mind and she was having a bad dream.

I scooped her up and rocked her for a while.
She wouldn't calm, until I began to pray out loud over her,
against fear and for peace and rest.
she immediately relaxed and went to sleep in my arms.

Just as she needed the reassurance of loving, strong arms
to hold her when she is scared or hurt,
we do too.
We need to know DAILY the arms that hold us.
and the arms that hold our children too.
They make us dwell in safety,
Those arms allow us to rest in peace.

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GIVEAWAY!!!

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I have a LOVELY GIVEAWAY for yall today!!
I want you to meet my new bloggy friend Kristin over at Resourceful Red...
she is a gorgeous red-head :),
wife, momma, and creator of Red's Rosies!
(check out her shop here)

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She loves sharing what's on her heart, and also just the daily life of being a woman and mother.
One unique thing she bring to her blog
is that she offers "Eco Tips":
tips to live resourcefully on a budget.
I have enjoyed some of her tips myself, and even had a few
"duh, why didn't I think of that?" moments...
but thats why Im glad I bumped into her!
here are a few she shares...

Soak the labels to remove them off of glass jars and then use the jars to organize items around the house.
Read your news online instead of receiving a printed news paper daily. If you must have the printed news, opt to only have it delivered one day a week.
Choose one day a week and do not use your cars.
Use rechargeable batteries instead of purchasing one use ones.
Save left over pasta, veggie, or any other water used for boiling in a pot. Let it cool then water your plants with it.
Check out books from the library instead of buying them. Or if you do by them, get a group of friends, purchase one book, and pass it around
Share a magazine subscription with a friend to cut back on paper waste. When both of you are done with it, make sure to recycle

and look what else she does?!
i KNOW you want in on some of this pretty action!!

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WIN A 'RED'S ROSIES" NECKLACE!

to enter you MUST:
be a follower of my blog (click over there on the side!)
be a follower of Red's blog (click here)

for additional entries:
re-post, tweet, or facebook this giveaway and link up to it!
follow Racing Towards Joy on Twitter (click here)
follow Resourceful Red on Twitter (click here)
like Resourceful Red's Facebook page (click here)

**leave a comment for EACH entry**
(so you could have up to 6 entries/comments!)

loving my own "sunshine" rosie!
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check her out,
Giveaway is open until Sunday, winner announced Monday morning!!


Have a blessed day!!

pregnancy after a miscarriage

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I am beyond thrilled that we have another little baby on the way,
it is TRULY a blessing from God!!
Every day as my tummy grows, I am reminded of God's perfect timing and
purposes for our family,
and how important it is to surrender this little life to Him each day.

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I love being pregnant, it makes me feel beautiful and full of God.
(well, when Im able to see past the naseau and exhaustion)
It makes me feel whole, and I love the dreaming that comes with thinking
about a new little person in the family.

I want to be honest though, and say that it has been a little more difficult with this pregnancy
(I am about 16 weeks now)
to fully trust that everything will be okay.
And that if it's not, that God is still in control and still loves me.

I write this with a sincere and sensitive heart,
as many friends and women out there have losses which are greater,
or long for the day when they will have a baby in their tummy or in their arms.

Several friends have lost babies farther along that I did, or after birth,
and I cannot imagine the pain they still deal with.
To some, the 10 weeks I had a baby in my belly last Fall seems like an eternity.

But I know God's plan for this new baby is perfect.
His plan for Abigail is perfect.
His purposes for the baby that we never knew is perfect.
His plan for YOU is perfect.

(this is me 4 days before Abigail arrived)
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Having this surprise of a new baby on its way was and is a huge lesson for me
in daily dependence on God and His plans.

Last Fall when we got pregnant, I had been on the pill and breastfeeding still, and it was such a shock that we thought "this HAS to be God!"
But it wasn't His plan for that baby to grow and have life here on Earth.

When we found out this time, again I was on the pill and breastfeeding,
so physically, it was a big shock once again.
but it has taken that daily trust to be able to again say
"this HAS to be God"
and actually believe it.

here's what I want to be really honest about.
I still have to work through some of my hurt of FEELING like
"well that must NOT have been God",
after we stared into the still and quiet sonogram last November.

My belief that HE was clearly the one who had orchestrated that pregnancy
took a big blow,
and has allowed fear and unbelief to come in.

{to read more about our angel baby, click here}

Here are a few never-shared pictures that I consider to be a part of that
short pregnancy and life I had inside.
The middle picture is from our trip to Mexico, a week after we found out we were pregnant, and a week before we found out it had gone to Heaven.
That "big sister" shirt is what I had made for Abigail to wear, to tell our parents at dinner.
And that is a picture of Abigail that day we got the bad news..
For some reason this sweet faced picture from that terrible day speaks volumes to me.
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But I know what He's trying to teach me (and using this pregnancy to do it)
is that "Yes, Sarah. that WAS me."
That He WAS there when we found out about that pregnancy.
That He WAS with me when I woke up from the D&C feeling so empty that
I couldn't cry.
That He WAS part of us getting pregnant this time.
That HIS plan and purpose for me and this new baby will be good,
no matter what it is.
Because HE is good.

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the above pictures are a few from this new baby growing...
and my favorite one of all is the one of Abigail on the bottom right.
This deserves a whole post someday soon and I cannot wait to share it with you,
it was truly an act of God.
On our way home from our first sono, where we got to hear the strong heartbeat,
Parker and I were listening and praying to music in the car and turned around to see Abigail with her hands in the air...
worshipping Jesus for the new life He gave.


I am choosing today to depend on His goodness and His plan..
I want to say and recognize at the end of each day, that
"Yes, that WAS God."



read some more amazing women sharing what's on their hearts today.
click here:
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