Haircut...

It was long overdue. We actually were going to cut more, but momma's heart just wasn't ready. =)

The Surfer Psalm

We have been studying the Shepherd's Psalm, which was also the theme for the women's retreat I went to (isn't it neat how God works those things out??). Anyway, we didn't go to Groups (our homeschool co-op) because Ezra had developed a little fever. So, we ended up taking the kids down to the beach for some scooter time. We marveled at the power of the waves, and we sat in awe and praise of our Savior, Jesus. And so, as we sat there, we all worked together on this, our little Surfer Psalm:

The Lord is my strong ocean,
Beautiful and blue,
The birds fly over it.
In the midst of Your presence, I am satisfied.
Your Spirit guides and directs and pushes me in the ways of righteousness,
For Your name's sake.
If You did not draw us, clothe us in the wetsuit of Christ's righteousness, and set us firmly upon Your truth,
Who, O Lord, could stand?
Yea, though I paddle, and paddle, and catch no waves,
I will fear no sharks!!
The waves and the creatures of the sea,
They bow to You, O Lord!
Your wetsuit, a garment of warm comfort and peace,
And your surfboard, which is Your truth,
They comfort me, they protect me, they prepare me to go out!!
You plant my feet firmly in Your truth,
So I am not tossed about by the wind.
You anoint me with Your Holy Spirit,
Which lovingly, and powerfully carries me upon Your truth.
The long, enduring ride,
And the totally awesome barrel,
They restore my soul.
My "stoke" runs over!
Surely, your waves of mercy and the power of Your might shall follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in Your presence and declare Your splendid glory forever.
For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord,
As the waters cover the sea.

Long overdue...

Well, what can I say??? I think I am too busy to blog. I'm going to try to catch up, we'll see how that goes.

I went to the Women's Retreat with Reality, and we had a great time. It was not at all what I expected, but it was a good time of putting into practice the things God had been teaching me. Our theme was Psalm 23, and so I don't think I will ever look at that Psalm in the same way. The kids and I have been enjoying a Scripture Songs CD, which includes Psalm 23.

Verses for my season in life:
"Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days!" Psalm 90:14

"Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, For in You do I trust; Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, For I lift up my soul to You. Deliver me, O LORD, from my enemies; In You I take shelter. Teach me to do Your will, For You are my God; Your Spirit is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness." Psalm 143:8-10

God has really convicted me (personally) that I have to be with Him first thing. I have to come to Him to be satisfied EARLY. I would never intentionally or knowingly expect my children to meet my needs. But, as I stood back and thought about it, I realized that it meets my needs when the children obey and behave well...etc. So, God really has worked in my heart, that I need for Him to meet my needs, and to satisfy me early with His mercy, so that I can be a person who is free to meet the needs of others, instead of needing others to meet my needs.

"In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul." Psalm 94:19

One of the most disturbing side effects of my medication was anxiety. But, I was learning to trust God, and work on taking my thoughts captive in the midst of this anxiety. BUT, I've been completely off the medication for about a week now, and I'll see the neurologist Wednesday to make sure I'm doing okay. I am so thankful... It seems so silly, but I never did ask God to heal me. Not because I didn't believe Him for it, but because there was such a strong part of me that believed there was a purpose in it, that I didn't want to ask for it to be taken away. But, in the end, God was gracious to answer the prayers of those who have been praying for healing on my behalf. And I don't know how long I will be off the medication, but for now I will just rejoice in the time God gives me without it!!! Thank you Jesus!!

Other than that, we obviously had a busy month with four birthdays just in our immediate family...
And, here's what we ended up with for Halloween. The kids picked out some Bible verses, which I printed on address labels. They labeled all the candy for us to hand out. It was a great "quiet time" activity for Saturday. Caleb said, "Mom, we get to pass out candy AND tell people about Jesus? This is the best Halloween EVER!"

We didn't buy any costumes, just used what we had. We ended up with a penguin, a princess, a Buzz Lightyear, and a Knight. We had to have one!!

3 Years

Noah, our family just wouldn't be the same without you. Today, you are three years old. You are so full of energy and life... we call you the "goofball" of our family. You have what we like to call the "million dollar smile." Tonight, after I was putting you in your bed for... the fourth time, I glanced at the clock and had a quick thought, that maybe I might be just a wee bit tired of getting up and down and up and down, and putting you back in your bed. Just as I got to the doorway, you said, "You are pretty, Mommy." You love trains, and you love when I read stories to you. You LOVE your brother Caleb, and you copy just about everything he does. You two play weapons together and have caught many a bad guy. It will be interesting when Ezra comes in on that scene. =) You LOVE your red blankie, and so far it seems to be the only way we can keep you in your class at church or group solutions.
We are praying that your smile and your "goofiness" will just add to the way that God will use you in the lives of many, to speak the truth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. We love you Noah Benjamin.
P.S. Sorry, Noah, I only had the more recent pictures of you on this computer, but perhaps soon, I can post some of you when you were little, too.

Dear Baby

Ezra, tomorrow, you will be a year old. Everyone always tells you, "It goes by so fast!!" Even when you start to believe it, you just don't realize that a moment (or many moments) will come where your heart will ache in your chest, wishing you could slow it all down, or freeze time, just for a minute. You are growing up too fast. It seems like yesterday, when we were waiting in anticipation for you to come. And then you surprised us all, by coming here at home. Daddy tied off the cord with dental floss. And we marveled at God's grace and mercy as we held you. I remember when Daddy covered me with a blanket, and ran and got your brothers and your sister, and they all came in to see you for the first time. I remember that small gathering the night you came, of people who love you and had been waiting for your arrival. I was going through, wanting to post a bunch of pictures of you. I chose a few... but there are so many. You have grown so quickly, and every picture I looked at seems like just the other day. And now, I have been looking at pictures for too long and it is bedtime. I love you so much. You are such a joy and a treasure to our family. We have prayed for you, that you will belong to God's elect, that you will love Jesus fiercely, and with all your heart. We have prayed that you will be a Knight, and a warrior... and a servant for the kingdom of God.

We love you, Ezra Lucas Knight Hester.

Reality Ministry Conference

This weekend our church is hosting a ministry conference. People from all over came to attend, and it was totally full. Ben was on night shift, so I knew that neither of us would be able to attend. But, it was so cool, they did a live feed, so I got to "attend" from home. Tonight's session really rocked my world... I will be spinning on that for a while. But, here is a link, in case you want to watch tomorrow (sorry for the late posting!!)

Highlights from tonight:

Topic: Refresh: Keeping Jesus preeminent

Ministry flows from intimacy

The reason that some of us are not growing in holiness is because we think too highly of ourselves apart from grace.

"We slander God by our very eagerness to work for Him without knowing Him."

-Oswald Chambers

"The main difference between a moralist and the true Christian is that the true Christian obeys out of sheer delight."

-Jonathan Edwards

The main text was Romans 8:1-17.

First session tomorrow is Saturday, October 17th, 2009 at 9am!!

www.realityministryconference.com

Noah was having trouble getting into our bathroom so that he could go potty. Ben opened the door for him and Noah said, "Thanks, Dad. You'we my supew hewo."

Ezra has taken three steps, I think four is the most. But for the most part, still seems content crawling around.