A Lesson From The Wise: Kick the Bucket

Here you see a picture of a sad attempt to grow tomatoes in a bucket. I was so excited when my father in law brought this to me. He sent it home with me and gave me a quick lesson on how to care for it. I realize that it is no Archerhill but I digress. Tomatoes are my favorite of the garden fresh veggies.

Knowing how quick I get frustrated when trying something new, Tommy highly discouraged me from planting a garden of my own. Although I jokingly complain, he is wise in that decision. I am soooo not a gardener. I can kill any plant or flower no matter how low maintence it is.

I would visit Collis and Betty [my in-laws] and their bucket tomatoes seemed to be thriving, even producing some good-sized tomatoes. NOT MINE! At first I thought it was just my gardening skills or lack thereof.

Get to the point, Misty. My father-in-law is not only a great gardner but he is a wise man. He loves the LORD and is always finding ways to make a spiritual point using God's creation. He'll say "I got a sermon" from this or that. This past Sunday we were over at their house. It gave me great comfort when he told me that he had found the problem in the tomato plant bucket[his stopped thriving too]. He said the roots weren't able to go deep enough for the plant to thrive.

He said just like our walk with the LORD stops thriving when our roots aren't allowed to go deep enough. Isn't that good truth....Collis is awesome!! If we don't allow are roots to grow deep into God's Word, we fail to live according to His ways, and we fail to bear much fruit. We talk, act, think like the world. We are called to be a light, to be different from the world. Lets kick the bucket and let our roots settle into the Truth of God's Word so that we can do what we were created to do....glorify our Father in heaven!!

A Jolting Reminder

Sometimes God gently reminds us of His promises and sometimes we are jolted into remembrance. Today was one of jolting.

I had just been to the library with all 3 kids. That, my friends, is a challenge. Ask my friend Rachel Moix. She was there. I had to drag Wil out, Maggie had just purposely knocked the library pet (Hermit crabs) right off the counter (which our luck will not survive and all the kids will want to beat Maggie up), and Trey was wanting out of his stroller where he had been strapped in for the past hour. So we finally get home and everyone is very hungry. I start getting Trey's ready first while Wil and Maggie fight over the 2 cheese crackers they found in the floor. I sit down, start to feed Trey his carrots, and he is salivating profusely. He is teething so I didn't think much about it and started to feed him his carrots. Here comes the jolt. Trey starts frailing his arms in panic and can't get his breath. He has such a look of struggle in his eyes. I do a classic finger sweep just as he vomits up a whole cough drop wrapper. All moms know what could have happened! Even after the fact he is wheezing and crying. My heart is pounding as I'm praising Jesus for His rescue and dialing the number to register in the next Red Cross CPR class (i'm serious)!!

How often the mind of a mom strays to turmultuous places because of personal doubts and fears concerning their children. This has certainly been a real spiritual battle in my life as a mom of 3 young ones. All of the what if(s) can be overwhelming at the end of the day. We want to shelter and protect our precious ones from harm and long for them to remain safe and healthy in the walls of our protective care. I forget that this matter is not one in which I can ultimately control as much as I would like to think so. Rather we have to entrust the One whose love is greater and much more sufficient than we could ever imagine. The Word says that Jesus left us His peace. This peace that God left us through Jesus Christ never expires. It can be used in every situation of our lives.

His Word is the source of this peace and His Word should lead us as parents in raising and nurturing our little "rewards". So when those days of worry as a mom weigh heavy upon you, call out to Him. Our Jehovah-shalom (The Lord is peace) will be right there waiting!!

Let Your Voice Be Heard!

As the time draws near for us to elect our 44th President, my concerns grow. Honestly I'm not sure I could hold my own in a political discussion. But my husband enjoys politics and has been a big asset in keeping me in the know (somewhat at least). I do believe as Christians we should keep up as best as we can with the beliefs and credibility of our country's leaders. It is important to get the "best" (i use the word best lightly cuz i realize sometimes it is like choosing 6 of one and half a dozen of the other) leader in office who will stand up for the moral issues and such. There is my challenge (as weak as it was) to educate yourself on not just Obama or McCain but all government offices that we have the privilege of voting on.

Now to the fun part of it. As I pondered on what direction our country could possibly take (so thankful I know Who is on the throne), I thought about the leaders in the OT and what I have learned about many of them. There were some amazing leaders in the OT and Pastor Mike has done a great job introducing some of them to us on Sunday morning so let your voice be heard. Take my poll (you'll see it at the side of the page). You will notice I didn't put David as a choice. I think he would have won hands down. And hey if you don't know their background here is a good chance to dig into the treasury of God's Word. GO VOTE!

Look at him go...

Look at my baby. He started crawling today. It is actually more like creeping. His pattern is knee, knee, face plant; knee, knee, face plant and he continues that way until he reaches his desired destination. Check out the tongue. That is his way of clearing the mechanism. I could get lost in the stolen moments with him and I do mean stolen. About the time we sit down together Wil and Mags decide to join the fun. At the end of the day, I'm so glad to have had them so close together. Wellllll maybe not at the end of the day cuz at the end of the day I'm glad to have them all in bed.

Back to Trey...it is bittersweet to see him reach each milestone. As cool as it is to see him crawling, there is a lump in my throat knowing that before I turn around they will be grown.

Thank you LORD for allowing me the privilege of be a mommy.

Maybe we should add one more to the family. I'm out!

The 23rd Psalm

I decided to take the Michael Archer approach and experiment with a video blog. If you are close family or friends of Tommy and me, you have heard Maggie recite the 23rd Psalm. Wil on the other will not do it because he isn't the people person that Magster is. But you give him a challenge and he is on it like a bad tatoo on James Hewitt (i am sooooo kidding). So if you can't understand him it is because I told him I wanted to see how fast he could say it.....so competitive my son is....the apple doesn't fall far from the tree!!

Tom and I are big on teaching our kids to memorize God's Word. Of course we are proud of them when they accomplish a verse or a catechism but it is absolutely meaningless if it doesn't eventually make its way to the heart! God calls us in Deuteronomy to teach our children about His Word and His ways when we lie down and when we awake and when we walk along the road. Basically we are to always be on the lookout for ways to teach them God's Word. Still this can be harmful. Yes you heard me right. Now this is the way I see it. If you teach them to memorize scripture and send them to Awanas and church camp and don't live it out in front of them, it can be very damaging to their faith. Our kids are watching us and I'm sure you can tell me story after story of the way you have seen your child mock you unknowingly. Sometimes it is funny and sometimes I just want to duck my head in shame. I want Wil and Mags and Trey to say that Jesus was so much apart of their family growing up that they felt like He was another member of the family sitting at the dinner table with them. That is a tall order and man how many times I have grieved God by acting in a way I should not have in front of my kiddos. I just pray that His grace will carry Tom and me as we teach them His Word and teach them what it means to live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. This is one of the biggest passions God has set in my heart.

One day when Wil or Maggie comes upon a trial in their life I pray that they will have this Psalm in their heart to sustain them. For that to happen, it starts with me and Tom!

Surprise Date

My sweet and thoughtful husband surprised me early in the week. He arranged for Wil and Mags to stay with Uncle Mike and Sissy overnight (Trey will stay with mom) so that we could go eat at my favorite restaurant, Olive Garden. Its not my birthday or our anniversary so yes he earned major points with thist one. My love tank is sittin on full!! He's thinking "yeah i'm good for at least a few weeks" and he's probably right! We had a great time. The food was good of course! The conversation was so peaceful. We kept stopping after every other word expecting little voices from the backseat to but in with a "momma guess what" or "daddy I want VBS songs". I love just hangin with my man. It keeps it fresh.

As for Uncle Mike and Sissy, bless them. For those Crossroadians if Michael seems a little disoriented during his sermon Sunday, you can blame my kids. I'm sure they bossed him to and fro all night Friday. You see my kids think of Uncle Mike, Sissy, Micah and Maddie as the Incredible Family....you know the Disney movie. In their eyes, they are the superheroes of fun! Compared to them, Tom and I are just chopped liver when it comes to excitement.

Any who it was a good night. Now we're ready to see our kiddos. We miss them when they aren't with us. Yes even after one night!

memories

My best friend from high school come for a visit today with her new baby girl. We swam and just reminised. We don't get to hang out much but when we do, we like to go back to the 90's at Greene County Tech. We share a lot of memories she and I. Some of which we cringe over (more on that later) and some we laugh about like the time we were convinced in our 11 yr old minds that we were going to dig a pool with 2 shovels. We shared some outrageous plans like moving to New York City....me as a hygenist and her pursuing a modeling career. Sabrina could make me laugh until I cried. We could make fun out of nothing. Now here we are married with kids.
Some of the memories we share I wouldn't care to forget. I guess you could say on a few occassions we got carried away with our youthful selves. Looking back on the mistakes I made in my past I thank God for His grace and His forgiveness and His protection.
I guess we all have a past (some are more unpleasant than others of course) but in one way or the other that past can sometimes haunt us. I have a propensity to grieve when I see a certain person or even hear a certain song but when those moments come I have learned to praise God for bringing me to a place of restoration.
The neatest thing is that life has brought Sabrina and I to the same road in life...a road that leads to Jesus. She inspires me with the way she loves God and wants to serve Him. Her greatest passion is Jesus and seeing Him glorified. If you read this Brina, thank you for the memories!!

unsupervised

A picture is worth a thousand words isn't it.
I left the room for no more than 10 minutes and walk in to this dandy of a mess.
Maggie did it Wil says. Wil did it Maggie says. Momma says I don't care who did. Clean it!
Its amazing how fast your kids get sick when its time to clean up. Does any momma hear what I'm saying? I'm out.
Misty

Who I am

Wow. Who would have thunk it? Misty Archer has a blog. I'm always on the tail end of anything new from fashion to gadgets. I'm usually the last one to know what is cool or trendy. I haven't always been this way but something happens to you when you have 3 children or it did to me anyway. I said I would never drive a mini van but I was the last to know how super cool they are...o.k not super cool, but super convenient. I said I would never go out into public with spit- up stains on my clothes but I was the last to know that when you've had less than 3 hours of sleep, spit up stains are the least of your worries.

Obviously my life is pretty simple and some would view it as mundane. Had you asked me 10 years ago if I thought being married 8 years with 3 kids was a fulfilled life, I would have said "hardly." Today I love my life. I adore my husband and being a stay at home mom has been the most rewarding undertaking of my life! I have found my place. It is where I belong. I believe you must put yourself in a place that will bring God the most glory. For me, I have arrived!

This could very well be my last entry. Why you ask. It has taken me 2 hours to finish this post and Wil just came in with lipstick on and Maggie's dress. I better handle this situation b4 Tommy gets home and hope he doesn't read this blog. I'm out!!