all. the. things. (my brain today)

...so many things on the brain and the heart.

I gotta start somewhere, right?

(and just forgive the bluntness of this post..I'm just writing as I go.)

I just have so much that I mull over daily about what I'd like to blog about, but then sitting down to do it seems daunting for some reason.

But not right now...because I just realized "why? why does it have to be all neat and pretty in a package or a certain topic each time I write?"

(and by "each time" i obviously mean like every 2-3 weeks, lol)

no but really...I think there is a great aspect to blogging and writing for yourself, in that you can make your own rules.

And if there's a million "all the things" spinning round in your wound-up pregnant brain,

then by all means, share all the things, no?

so here ya go. :)

a little bit (well a few bits) of my heart and mind lately.

just go with it, mmmkay?

I am uncomfortable and so physically tired.

I LOVE being pregnant and I love this sweet baby we prayed for for so long,

but gosh my body is worn out!

I know its party because I have a 2 and a 4 year old to mother at the same time,

but also I think just having had so many pregnancies at this point, my body is like "woah"!

But here I sit with only 8 1/2 weeks to go and I know it'll all be worth it when we hold our baby boy.

I keep telling people that I honestly think I might feel better and less tired when he is actually here!

I know that sounds crazy (and you moms of newborns can whip my brain back into reality)...but I just personally don't do well with being physically uncomfortable and think I will prob feel so much better when I don't have 30+ pounds hanging on the front of me.

so there's that.

and on that note...EIGHT AND A HALF WEEKS LEFT.

Whaaaaat?! How did this happen so fast, y'all?

I feel like I was just announcing it and here we are so close!!

I have a weird inner-feeling that he is coming early. Not TOO early, maybe just a week or so.

Watch. he'll prob come on Bethany's birthday, Jan 4th. (I am due Jan 9th)

Both my girls came the day before the were due, so we'll see.

So ready for him to be here and our little family to have another sweet one to love on!

Mothering. (big sigh).

Mothering lately.

Not just the pregnancy thing making it more difficult, but I feel like both my girls are just in a tough season lately. Both are more whiney and more demanding.

Thus is life with a 2 and 4 year old though, right?

I think part of it is that Abigail is just growing so much and kindof starting to figure out things that are really important to her in her days, and I am learning to adjust/plan for those things.

I love figuring out what nurtures her gifts and abilities best, though it seems to be a little tough at times if I don' get it "just right". It's neat to see her grow though.

And Bethany, my sweet B. 

Let's just say I have been reading "Raising Your Spirited Child"...and learning a WHOLE lot. :)

(that's DEF a post to come, maybe even a series, lol)

She is my refiner that's for sure. but I also love learning how to nurture the ways God has made her different than her big sister. This book is teaching me a TON.

Really overall, I have just needed a lot of grace in my mothering lately.

I have had to repent to them both and ask forgiveness for my impatience with them, more often than I wish.

But you know what? I am glad for the chance (as much as it doesn't feel good to me) to teach them that even Mama can't do it all in her own strength. That even Mama messes up. That Mama needs Jesus too.

One day at a time, y'all, one day at a time. :)

Community.

On a different note, the Lord has been bringing us community that we have prayed for here in Norman.

Seems like we had to wait a while, but now we see why...it was for just the right group, at just the right time, without us even initiating it ourselves.  I love when God works like that, even though it requires waiting. Makes you realize HIS timings really are worth the wait.

So we have started meeting weekly with this new lifegroup, and I can already tell God is going to move big in it. I can't wait and am so delighted about it. Thank you Lord for rich fellowship!

Holy Spirit stuff.

(that's what I'm gonna call it)

I've gotten to have some good/interesting discussions lately with friends who are seeking out what "more of the Holy Spirit" means. 

People that are in the middle of some pretty awesome realizations that there is more to the Lord than what they have always known. 

That there is so much He offers to us as His children...and that there is NO need to be afraid of it any longer.

A large-church pastor in Dallas recently made a video basically stating the opposite of what we believe...

and not just what we believe, but what we have actually experienced and even OFTEN experience as Biblical works of the Holy Spirit. 

It grieved my heart so much because we know so many who hang on every word this man says. (which in itself is a problem, just sayin.) 

Anyways, it sparked some discussion and some really great thoughts about this matter.

Parker and I have been walking this road of seeing miraculous things and hearing prohetic things, etc for a long time now and are so happy to see others we know start to experience it too, as they break out of the box that "religion" has put God in.

If you know our story, and some of the testimonies I have even shared here on my blog...and if you know us...then hopefully you can see that God REALLY is that powerful. That he cannot be put in a box.

Or else a lot of my life and my story must be a lie, right? 

But instead, it's truth,  and it's founded in the love of a really good Father.

Also, it's pretty amazing to see people get healed and have prophetic words spoken over their life, when they least expect it! ha!

Yay, God!

hmmm. what else?

I guess that's all for now.

Just a few (long) tid-bits on the brain today

No real conclusuon, no real point, just sharing my life with you.

Thanks for listening!

Hope yall have a great Monday and start of the week...

now off to prepare for the Arctic blast.