a morning person

this is what my morning looks like. waking at at least 5am, and until i can finally muster the energy to get up and keep up with this wild cutie. 

my jolly, jumping alarm clock child. he squeezes my face and arms, gives a million kisses and says "wate UP wate UP!!!" for an hour straight. he chants about transformers, trains and animals. optimus. walrus, polar bear, dinosaur. choo choo! he belts out christmas carols and sings the alphabet loud and proud. elijah's awake. he's ready to get this party started. he loves mornings.

i love news days, but i am not a morning person. not one ounce of me. 

but when i think about the meaning of morning, my hate-early-rising heart softens.

morning means the first part of a thing. a beginning. a newness. fresh start. and that's exactly what i get with every new day. jesus meets me with the rising sun, lending his smile and strength. he covers me with brand new grace. that's the reason to get up. that's reason to sing. that's reason to celebrate! 

but i will sing of your strength; i will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. for you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress. o my strength, i will sing praises to you, for you, o god, are my fortress, the god who shows me steadfast love. psalm 59:16-17

elijah is teaching me to enjoy mornings. to start each one off with a party! saying thanks out loud, singing praise to the new day giver. that's the sort of woman/wifey/mama/friend i want to be. joyful, grateful, a light. i want to be a better morning person.

count your blessings, name them one by one

i woke up with this hymn stuck in my head:

when upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed, when you are discouraged, thinking all is lost, count your many blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the lord hath done.

are you ever burdened with a load of care? does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear? count your many blessings, every doubt will fly, and you will keep singing as the days go by.

so, amid the conflict whether great or small, do not be disheartened, god is over all; count your many blessings, angels will attend, help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.

count your blessings, name them one by one, count your blessings, see what god hath done! count your blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the lord hath done.

grateful for my husband. who's the best papa to our delightful boy. 

their play, their laughter, their snuggles, their exploring. together. a beautiful joy to behold. 

that's a great place to begin counting my many blessings.

where will you start? once we start naming our blessings, praising jesus for them, it's mighty hard to have a bad monday. or any day.

wham bam instagram

elijah was so excited to take photos with me this week. obviously.

my two favorite colors.

i took a little drive after my walk yesterday i walk downtown, and drive to the country and i was overwhelmed by the beauty of the day. i'm always sobered up when i stop and soak up god's creation. as i've been turning my eyes to him i've felt convicted about all the energy i waste. yesterday i was reminded that this is the day. every day is a brand new day to love. to be grateful. to forgive, to rejoice, to encourage someone, to accept god's comfort. to stop complaining. lord, help me.

p.s. harsh winter may not be your jam, but you really need to experience a north dakota summer once in your life! bliss, glorious, heavenly, relaxing, colorful are the words that come to my mind. visit me.

the color pop necklaces are a super favorite in my shop and i finally made one for myself! that was before i had this crazy busy couple of days. you know it's bad when you're in between errands, have the worst headache and remember you never had lunch! good thing i bought pistachios at target ;)

i recently discovered that the cute pizza place two blocks down has gluten free options. praise the lord, it's amazing!!! patrick took me out for a late lunch and we had a great time. i love sitting with him and talking about everything and nothing. he's my favorite. we'll be celebrating him being the very best papa on sunday!

elijah has been enjoying the summer program at his special school. only three more days to go and then it's party time! i see plenty of swimming, sliding and sweating in our future.

have you seen what's new in the shop? i've also been working on a few pretty custom projects. if you have a special event or gifts coming up, i'd love to work with you!

happy friday! are you on instagram? i'm @wifeysinger, come say hello!

linked up here today!

grab a cuppa and check these out

a few things i'm loving this week:

ruth at grace laced stole my heart with this recipe. can hardly wait to make some!

we have this print in our bathroom and i'm especially grateful for it lately. 

so needed this post on enjoying not enduring.

"are you at an end of yourself? 

do you live with a hidden list of expectations of what a good mom does? 

when you fail your kids or your husband, what is your reaction?"

is it weird to want one of these baby swaddle blankets. for myself?

this tweet was so encouraging and convicting.

if you're a hobbit fan like me! then you'll love this.

your turn! 

tell me something great you've noticed this week!

ten on ten

hello, fog and rain. frain?

early morning movie with this silly one.

coffee. coffee. coffee.

sunny straws to drive away the gloom.

packing eg's backpack for the day.

transformers at lunch. always.

new beads for new things coming to the shop.

walk around my neighborhood to late lunch with my babe.

small grocery delivery.

sending a baby gift.

visit more ten on ten photos!

hey, monday. hey!

it's a brand new week, praise jesus for fresh starts and new mercies!

patrick goes back to work tomorrow. i sometimes wish he could just stay home with me all the time. 

ok, i wish that every day :)

next week elijah finishes his summer school program and a new therapy schedule begins. his hours are being cut drastically. 

we're confident that the lord will provide as much help as he needs and use these few hours mightily to grow elijah well!

we've had one sunny day amid fifty stormy ones. at least it feels like fifty.

the sun will come.

i read this today in one of my fave devotionals:

"...thy lord, who sees the end from the beginning,

hath purposes for thee of love untold.

then place thy hand in his and follow fearless,

till thou the riches of his grace behold.

there, when thou standest in the home of glory,

and all life’s path ties open to thy gaze,

thine eyes shall see the hand which now thou trustest,

and magnify his love through endless days."

freda hanbury allen

amen!

we're passing the rainy days with painting and playdoh. and lots of messes.

looking forward to the coming sunshine, swimming and sidewalk chalk!

what are you excited about this week?

joining in here today, come say hi!

turning my eyes upon jesus

remember those tacky posters in your old church youth group room? particularly the one with the huge school of fish swimming one direction, and one lone fish going the opposite way. against the flow.

i never liked those posters. mostly because the lesson so often taught from such things is about what we don't do. what we should be abstaining from as a follower of christ. folks just really get so much of that wrong, i think.

as i get older i better understand what "going against the flow" looks like. and being separate costs something a bit more than the ache of being lonely or different. it takes all of my energy.

"for god, who said, “let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of god in the face of jesus christ." 2 corinthians 4:6

a heart transformed by christ is much more than avoiding particular sins. my heart is new. this means new desires, new temptations, new life. more than striving to resist sin and temptation, i ought to be intentionally seeking to bring god glory in all i do. this includes my thought life and how i spend my time. 

we're familiar with "guilty pleasures". things that are hollow and eternally useless. magazines, tv shows, music, books etc. that help us to check out from our own reality and just chill.  sometimes for me idleness itself is what i choose. 

while i don't at all think that god hates entertainment and certainly not rest. i do think he despises that which draws our hearts away from him. the things of the world. and that's what i'm examining in my life all over again because this will be a struggle for the rest of my time on this earth. 

i pray and i ask these terrifying questions. they're scary because once i ask and answer, i know. and if something needs dealt with, that process must begin.

when i'm happy

when i fear

when i grieve

when i worry

when i'm alone

what do i desire the most? what do i long for? what gets me most excited?

if the answer if anything other than jesus, it's an idol.

and that's basically the end of that conversation.

no way around that fact. no excuses.

if i am turning to anything else, i can't be filled with jesus. it's like trying to fill something that's already full. so i am praying about this. asking jesus to continue to strip these idols from my heart. because i want more of him. and i need him to show me the balance of healthy, beneficial entertainment. i know there must be such a thing, lord show me what it looks like! i need him to turn my heart from worthless pleasures and give me a fresh taste for the pleasures of god.

especially as a mother, i think about this. i want my son to see my life and see christ. 

are we "going against the flow"? what are we swimming toward? 

what am i living for?

who am i living for?

the answer should be jesus.

sadly, i often choose to live for myself or my family or some other thing that just doesn't matter. 

praise jesus for his patience and gentleness as he corrects my path. his grace is enough with each new step. 

so instead of despairing that i'm failing or not getting it right, i look to jesus. and keep on looking at him. like the newsboys version of a favorite hymn says:

When you're dull from all that glitters,
when you're thoughts have a hollow ring,
when you can't escape from the feeling
you're getting it wrong...
All your foolproof plans seem foolish,
all your status is status quo,
all your really need to know
is where you belong.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus. 
Look full in his wonderful face. 
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim 
in the light of his glory and grace.

I was used to the cold for so long
that I couldn't feel anything.
And I shivered and stared like a beggar
who won't lift his hands.
I was numb until he touched me.
I was deaf until he heard.
I was senseless 'til I met the one who understands. 

rather than chasing numbness, remember that day when the numbness ended. 

when he touched your heart, opened your ears and gave you knowledge. remember it every single day. because that's how our time matters. when we are in his light and not dulled by this world's shiny, fleeting things. we cannot afford to waste time on that which fades. so we must pray for god's help in fixing our gaze on him alone. ask him to remove the taste of idleness and increase the desire for more and more of him.

"god, i pray thee, light these idle sticks of my life that i may burn for thee. consume my life, my god, for it is thine. i seek not a long life but a full one like you, lord jesus." jim elliot

it feels like a monday.

we went away for a quick little overnight. odd to me how a brief trip can throw us off this much. time will tell how affected elijah's week will be. praying for a smooth return to routine. he did absolutely marvelous on the mini vacation! so proud of him, and so strengthened to try again very soon. 

praise jesus!

here's a few recent phone pics to catch up a little.

i got to babysit my nieces last weekend. hazel was so excited about it.

seriously, i don't know funnier girls than my sister's hazel and ivy. for real.

lots of rain. it's beginning to feel endless. but i love the way it makes the streets look at night.

rainy days mean inside things like toy aisle browsing. elijah is a professional target shopper, i think.

when the rain does take a break, it's like the sky is on fire. 

our little trip was down the road to fargo. the hotel had a pool and elijah was completely overwhelmed with excitement. it was exhausting for all, but some super good laughs happened and sweet memories were made. worth it.

thank the lord peter pan was on the tv. this is what it looks lke to watch a movie with elijah. so relaxing.

long day of swimming and playing around town means the gift of an early bedtime. hallelujah.

we visited the little zoo. elijah only tried to jump into an exhibit once, so that was a plus. and the petting zoo was a big hit. elijah loves horses!!

fake horses were less appealing. elijah preferred the bench on the carousel. and his favorite part of the ride was studying the movement of how the carousel was working. such a little engineer!

ok, y'all. i met an instagram friend while we were in fargo!! dear penny and her super cute family are so genuine and kind. we loved meeting them, having lunch together and visiting their church! the service was a blessing, and they even made a place for elijah to enjoy kid's church with a special helper. it was all so wonderful and really meant so much to worship and know that elijah was cared for and understood. praise jesus!

what have you been up to?