Blessings

God has done so much in our lives lately, and I've just got to share a few of those things.

Outfitting Kids....Every season we go through the kids' clothes to see what they have that's been handed down and what we might need to buy. Amazingly and incredibly we usually find that we have to buy very, very little. There's always something - always shoes, and usually a pair of jeans or a few tops. This year I determined that before we bought, I would make. God has blessed us with a lot of material and patterns that were handed down to me, and I knew I needed to use it all for His glory. So, I sorted through the girls' clothes much earlier than usual - about mid-February. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the girls needed NOTHING! That's right, nothing. Not even shoes! The hand-me-down shoes for both girls were in almost perfect condition! I still haven't gotten around to going through Steven's clothes (which, I must say, is quite a blessing to have in full stock even in a household with no big brothers - we've hardly bought him anything in his two and a half years of life!), but I anticipate the same thing. God is so good! Oh, and someone at church commented on how beautiful all of my girls' dresses are. It was so exciting to be able to say that God had given them to us. :-)

Tax Refund...There were several things we'd been praying over financially recently. We knew our tax refund would be enough to purchase the girls' school curriculum and supplies for next year, but we didn't anticipate much more because of some of our transition this year. We were floored - and Doug reworked the numbers and reviewed all the details just to make sure - when we saw our refund amount! It was the largest refund we've ever received. With it we were able to do everything on our prayer list, including paying off our van! Now that is a wonderful feeling! We even have money leftover to cover replacing some of mine and Doug's worn out clothes and shoes (we don't get as many hand-me-downs as the kids do!) over the course of this year.

Insightful Kids...This one really touched my heart. We know some people who are preparing for a mission trip to Poland this summer. I asked the girls to pray over them as they are raising the money they'll need and as they are making other preparations - spiritual and physical - to make the trip. Angela teared up and I asked her what was wrong. "I want to go!" came her response. Olivia reached over to comfort her and said, "Well, maybe we can do something to be a part of their trip. Maybe we can help them raise money or teach them the Polish words we've learned. Then it will be like a part of us is going with them." I love it! I absolutely love it! God is speaking to their young hearts.

A Big Back Yard...As we've gone through the winter, there have been a good number of very nice days - days when it's still been too chilly for the mosquitoes, but sunny, dry, and not too chilly for kiddos. We have a huge fenced-in back yard here, and the kids have enjoyed hours and hours of play back there without me having to put aside housework or other responsibilities to go sit outside and watch them. It is such an incredible blessing! We do have a prayer request related to that, though...last summer the mosquitoes were absolutely horrid here. Walking from the front door to the van led to bites nearly every time. And the back yard was much worse. We are praying that they are much better this summer and that the kids will be able to continue playing outside into the summer.

What is God doing in your family? How is He providing? How is He showing His hand in the big and little things? We'd love to hear and rejoice with you. It's fun to open our eyes to His work around us and in us. The more we look, the more we see. Being His child is not always easy, but it is always incredible.

Comments

Ruthanne said…
Yea for the big tax refund! That's a great feeling, isn't it?!

We're getting a nice one too - planning two vacations and leaving a nice stockpile for anything else that pops up. Muling over buying a home gym system. My gym membership runs out on April 5.
we're getting a hefty sum too - so exciting!
Stephanie Kay said…
Yeah for hand-me-downs and big backyards! We enjoy both of those. I'm getting ready to do our taxes in the next week or two. I expect a hefty refund (owning a house, having 4 kids, and giving to your church have nice tax rewards!) this year. We'll put ours in savings since we are working towards a 6 month emergency fund (up to 3 months now!).

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