There is a lot I did NOT like about yesterday…just saying.  It was like every which way I turned, I was hit with yet another yucky circumstance.  Have you ever had a day like that?   You just want to call a “do over” and begin again…or just crawl in a hole and hide.  At several points, I was literally asking myself, “Am I seriously under attack?  Cause it feels like I’ve got a target on my back!” then I’d quickly take cover as enemy arrows flew past. I decided to handle it the best way I knew how…with anger, crabbiness, some cry baby tears, and frustration!  Yeah…I know.   😉

I’m not the quickest, but I’m learning!

My whole day didn’t start out bad though, in fact, my morning was great!  I had the sweetest time loving on Jesus that morning (with my kiddos all back to school after the crazy busy break). It was so peaceful and uninterrupted.  I felt the Lord speaking to my heart and just washing me with His love, His faithfulness, and His goodness.  Cue the singing angels! 🙂  I haven’t felt that in a while because I’ve allowed my life to become too busy lately with less important “stuff”.  But then I went on with the rest of my day, silly me, I don’t know what I was thinking, and things started to go terribly wrong.  Mostly little things, (with the exception of the SCARY dad at pick up who was yelling at me in front of my kids about where I had parked of all things…he made my daughter’s legs shake she told me later…still forgiving him!), but each new thing adding up to a heavy amount of “yuck”!  I finally went to bed last night just “reeling” from it all, and wondering what exactly happened…I just wanted to go to sleep so the day would finally be over….

…and then suddenly, as if a light went on in my head (a God light!),  I remembered the sweet morning I had had with Jesus.  Suddenly everything made sense.  Oh…..I see.  I should have known!  I made someone (the enemy) very mad with my worship this morning.  A smile began to form on my mouth as the realization set in.  I must have done something very RIGHT then!  So I WAS under an attack!  Yay God!!  Point for Team Tami! 🙂

Whether we know it or not, we are in a spiritual battle.  Yesterday, I believe the enemy’s plan was to discourage me, frustrate me, depress me, and just defeat me, along with those around me….but he failed…because God swooped in JUST IN TIME to remind me of the truth, and how much GREATER HE IS than the enemy.

Phew!  🙂

Ephesians 6: 13-18 says, “Be prepared.  You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own.  Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet.  Truth, righteousness, peace, faith and salvation are more than words.  Learn how to apply them.  You’ll need them throughout your life.  God’s word is an indispensable weapon.  In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare.”  The enemy is always going to try and trip us up, to get us to lose our faith in the ONE who already defeated him at the Cross!  He’s always trying to get us to take our eyes off of Jesus!   We’re in a battle!

Today I’m alert.  I’m more prepared.  I’m worshipping Jesus all the more.  I know WHO’s in me! 🙂  Greater is He that’s in me than he that’s  in the world!  (1 John 4:4)

If I see that dad at pick up today, I’m choosing to bless him, to secretly pray for him, just cause I know that’s more powerful in the spirit than what I’d want to tell him in the flesh!  Take that, enemy!

Today is going to be a great day!

 

 

 

Have you ever had something to eat that just made you feel so incredibly warm and just perfectly wonderful inside? 🙂  You take one bite, and suddenly there are no more problems in the world, nothing is wrong with anything at all, and everyone is altogether happy?  I have!!

There are lot’s of things I enjoy eating, but only one thing that I actually look forward to eating once each year with a passion!!  Yes, I said passion.  You’re thinking it’s Thanksgiving turkey, aren’t you?  But, although that’s yummy, that’s not it.  Is it my rich chocolate birthday cake that comes each year?  I DO love chocolate…but that’s not it either!
Oh!  You are wondering if it’s my Butte Meadows volunteer firefighters fundraiser omelette that only comes once a year on Labor Day Weekend, aren’t you?  YES!!! How did you guess it?! 🙂  It’s my annual Butte Meadows OMELETTE!!!  And I have to wait 10 more months till my next one!! 😦  

How good is it?  Well, let’s put it this way:  If the Queen of England wanted to stop by my house for a visit over Labor Day weekend…I would have to graciously decline…she would have to understand the importance of this perfect meal.  I would, however, invite her to come along…I’m not rude or anything!!  They do serve tea as well, I believe. 🙂

Don’t think I’m weird or anything (is it too late for that?!) but this meal is just perfect!!  It’s simply this: an omelette loaded with ham, cheese, and perfectly sautéed veggies,  made by the very cheery volunteer firefighters who live and work up in the beautiful mountains of Butte Meadows, California.  There’s Pete’s coffee, orange juice, fruit salad cut up by adorable little old ladies, muffins, pancakes….and more…all included!!  My family and I carry our incredibly heavy double-duty plates to the outdoor picnic tables underneath the towering pine trees to eat our mountain breakfast!  Birds are chirping, the air is brisk, and we are bundled like little snow skiers (that’s cause we’re city folk, you know.  The locals are in t-shirts and shorts!).  It’s just so beautiful from the omelette, to the mountain air, to the hot coffee, and to the company I’m with… and then it’s over too fast and we waddle (yes, we waddle like a row of full little ducks) back to our cabin and rest! 😉  It’s exhausting to eat so much!!

I’ve tried replicating this omelette…but to no avail.  The omelette comes out delicious, but it’s missing something.  It’s missing a lot actually!!  A paper plate maybe?  Two pancakes on top of it keeping it warm in the cold mountain air?  Ski clothes?  Coffee with grinds at the bottom of the styrofoam cup?  Locals in their shorts and t shirts?  I don’t know. But I do know it’s not the same.

What does this omelette have to do with anything other than making me long for September? 🙂

Psalm 34:8-9 says “Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see…how GOOD GOD IS.  Blessed are you who run to Him  Worship God if you want the best; worship opens doors to all His goodness!”

God is so much GREATER than the most perfect meal EVER (even a Butte Meadows Omelette!)!  He satisfies all day long every day…not just once a year for a fleeting moment.  Worshipping Him leaves you feeling full, satisfied, loved, and cared for.

No duck waddling necessary. 🙂

There is crazy chaos in my home each morning…I won’t lie.  If I’m ahead of the game, I’ve made my kids lunches the night before, and set out my gym clothes so I can easily get ready in the dark without putting them on backwards!  Then there’s an hour  to feed my kids breakfast, make Huckleberry coffee (yes, Huckleberry…don’t judge!), do the dishes, shower and get ready all while getting THEM ready and off to school on time! There is a five to ten minute time period in there, where, if I plan it right, I can read my Bible and pray!  It may not be much time…but it’s precious time, and I know God understands. I’m always interrupted by my kids looking for their lost hairbrushes or shoes, but I have learned not to become frustrated about it or be angry at them for interrupting.  It is what it is…and I know it’s a season.  Besides, what does it say to them if mommy is crabby at them during her Bible reading time!! 😉

But then they are off to school, and I have this special “sweet spot” in my day.  It’s usually right when I get back from taking them to school, and boy, do I look forward to it!  I feel like it’s my time to simply “power up” for the day…like a charging kindle or something!  It’s simply this…it’s my time to love on Jesus!  I come with one agenda…and that is to bless HIM!  I put on my favorite worship songs and I sing to HIM.  It takes everything in me to make sure it’s not about ME.  Sometimes I even sit still….not reading devotionals, not praying, not even journaling anything…I just sit and am still (which is hard when there’s Huckleberry coffee coursing through my veins!!) But I am quietly listening for His voice, and I am simply receiving (yes, receiving!) His love for me.  It’s not about “accomplishing things” for God…it’s about loving Him.  Kleenex is handy.  Tears often flow and I’m reminded, again, that He’s with me and that He’s for me…and that He loves me.

There are no lost shoes or hairbrushes to be found in this time.  It’s just me loving on the God of the Universe…and Him loving on me.  Sweet spot.

I hesitated sharing this in a blog today because… 1) It’s pretty personal, and 2) I don’t want to give any impression that I’m this perfect Christian or anything, because I’m not.  I fail all the time!! I often allow distractions to rob me of this time.  I often come… but my focus is on my “to do” list rather than on Jesus!!  Sometimes, I’m even upset at God for something I don’t understand and I won’t “feel like” loving Him that day.  It’s really a battle to protect the “sweet spot”…but…

…like riding a horse, if you fall off, you just get back on and keep going.

The “sweet spot” is worth it.

“God, You’re my God!  I can’t get enough of you!  I’ve worked up such hunger and thirst for God, traveling across dry and weary deserts.  So here I am in the place of worship, eyes open, drinking in your strength and glory.  In your generous love I am really living at last!  My lips brim praises like fountains.  I bless you every time I take a breath; My arms wave like banners of praise to You.”  Psalm 63: 1-4

A few years ago, I was putting freshly folded bath towels into the linen closet when I heard the Lord say to me, “Tami, you’re looking at the water.”  It startled me, but of course I knew what He meant right away.  I knew why He had said it too…it was exactly what I needed to hear.  He was referring to what Peter did in Matthew 14…and what I seemed to be doing in my life at that time.

Jesus had just performed an incredible miracle of feeding 5,000 people with only five loaves of bread and two fish!  He told His disciples afterward to go ahead of him in a boat and cross the sea while he dismissed the crowd and had some time to Himself to pray.  Meanwhile, around 4:00 am, a wind came up and started rocking the boat pretty bad.  The disciples were afraid, but what made them even more afraid was seeing Jesus walking on the water toward them!  They thought He was a ghost! 🙂  They began to cry out and instantly Jesus told them, “Don’t be afraid…It’s Me.”

Feeling bold, Peter then said, “If it’s really you, call me to come to you on the water.”  Jesus said to him, “Come.”  Jumping out of the boat, Peter started to walk on the water to Jesus!!  Can you believe it?!   He actually walked on the water!!!  🙂  I love it!!!

But Peter…oh Peter…he then does something that he shouldn’t… something I’ve done all too often, I’m sad to say.  He takes His eyes off of Jesus… to look down at the water instead.  He suddenly sees it churning at his feet!!  It’s all he can think about!  Afraid, he quickly begins to sink!!  “Save me, Jesus!”  he cries.  Jesus doesn’t hesitate.  He reaches down, grabs Peter’s hand, and asks him what happened to his faith.  He basically says to Peter, “why did you stop believing?”  They climb into the boat and the winds stop.  The disciples declare “You truly are the Son of God!”

But I wonder how Peter felt as they sailed on.  In no way do I think Jesus was mad at Peter.  I mean, after all, Peter was the only one of the disciples who was brave enough to want to walk out onto the water in a windy storm in the first place!  And walk on windy water he did…until he took his eyes off of the One who controls the wind and the waves.  His focus shifted from Jesus to the rough seas.  He was, “looking at the water” and not at the One who only a few hours ago he’d seen feed the 5,000!!  I can relate, Peter!!!

If I were sitting next to Peter in that boat afterward, I would have put my arm around his shoulders and whispered in his ear, “Don’t feel bad, Peter…you actually walked on water with Jesus!!  How much EASIER it will be for you to do the same thing the next time!”

I want to walk on water too.  I want the boldness of Peter.  I don’t want to sit in the boat and focus on the stressful circumstances surrounding anymore.  I just want to focus on Jesus and watch Him do the miraculous!! 🙂  All I have to do is believe Him…

and oh yeah, “I won’t look at the water!” 😉

Two words that don’t belong in the same sentence are “Tami” and “motorcycle”… 🙂  But, actually, I have been on a motorcycle twice in my life…yes, twice!  I’ve shocked you, I know!  The first time was when I was in high school.  A cute boy took me on a moonlit, night time ride out in the middle of nowhere..we went so fast I could feel the dirt particles hitting my cheeks (did I say “cute”, Mike?  I meant nerdy!) That was super exciting…maybe a little too exciting!!  The second time was when I was in college and my friend, Pete, took me on an amazing ride through the redwoods near Santa Cruz!  Kinda scared, I held on to him probably too tight, but I still remember how exhilarating it felt to go so fast…and I also remember the feeling of FREEDOM!  It’s a feeling that you don’t experience when you’re driving the same road in a sedan. 🙂

With that being said, it was a little strange that last night I dreamt I was on a road trip…on a MOTORCYCLE!!!  Me!  I know!!  In the dream, I was fully prepared with my phone’s GPS, water, and only the provisions I needed along the way stowed in my pack.  The most exciting part though was that I hadn’t a clue where I was… I knew I was heading home, but I was going an unfamiliar way…on tiny roads through farm country!  I wasn’t worried at all because I had directions on my phone.  I was excited for the journey ahead!!  

You know how dreams are…in the dream, this was totally normal.  But in real life, I would have been freaking out!!  No directions or plan made ahead of time?  How much water did I have exactly??  On a motorcycle no less?  By MYSELF???  Oh no way, Jose (shaking my head NO)!

While driving home from a bridal shower this afternoon, there was so much traffic on the freeway that I decided to take the back roads home!  Marsh Creek road is just beautiful with it’s oak trees, ranches, horses, hills…you name it!  It’s a gorgeous drive…and whether it was the curves in the road or the feeling of being out in the middle of nowhere…I suddenly remembered my motorcycle dream.  I was thinking how wonderful it was not to be worried about where I was going (but how in reality I worry about things a lot).  In the dream I was prepared with provisions for the journey (but in reality I often feel unprepared for what’s ahead).   Just as I was thinking about my dream and the possibility that maybe God was speaking to me in it, a man on a motorcycle passed by me going the opposite way.  I had to laugh out loud!  Timing.  You can’t tell me God doesn’t have a sense of humor.

So then I began to think:  God’s heart for me is freedom!  He doesn’t want me worrying about finances, Mike’s stressful job situation, the success (or lack thereof) of my business, my kids’ future…any of that.  He’s got me on a “ride”, and He wants me to enjoy it!  He’s provided me with water (His spirit), and food (His Word)…and GPS directions…He will tell me where I need to go and what I need to do as I spend time with Him and listen for His voice. I won’t miss it.  Just like I felt as a teen and in college on those motorcycle rides…He truly wants me to enjoy the excitement and freedom He has along the way!

I’d just like to pause here and say that in no way, hubby, am I saying we need to get me a motorcycle or anything…just in case you were getting excited!! 😉  I’m good with my “mom mobile”!

I’m back!  I was getting excited about this new revelation, and just as I was turning left onto Deer Valley Road, I said outloud, “Yes, Lord, I want to ride like that with You…without a care in the world!!” Get this: the words no sooner left my mouth than another motorcylist suddenly appeared coming toward me in the opposite direction and turning right onto the same road I was turning on…only this time it was a man and a woman together on the bike!!  They pulled over to let me drive by because, hey, they were just out “enjoying a ride”, of all things, and weren’t in any hurry!  I call that “God timing”. 🙂  I think it was His funny way of saying, “Okay, Tami…you’re starting to figure this out…we’re on this awesome adventure TOGETHER!”

I thought I’d blog this today to encourage anyone who feels as I did…a little worried or unprepared for things ahead.  God’s got a plan…and we’re to enjoy the ride!! 🙂  Can you “feel the thunder?!”  Sorry…I got carried away.  Mike always asks me that when a Harley Davidson goes by.

Psalm 84:11, “All sunshine and sovereign is God, generous in gifts and glory.  He doesn’t scrimp with His traveling companions.  It’s smooth sailing all the way with God-of-the-Angel-Armies.”

Waiting…I feel like I’m waiting for 42 different things right now.  From big things like the job change for my husband that we’ve been praying for…to little things like “will my ancestry story submission ever be selected for Genealogy Roadshow”? 😉  Actually, that’s a big one for me too! 🙂  I’m waiting for my card boutique season to start, for my upcoming dentist appointment to arrive (so I can get it over with…I’m getting a filling!), for the results of a DNA test to come, for that Amazon order to arrive, for emails about ancestry research to be returned, for fall break with the kids home, for my jeans to not feel so tight, for parent teacher conferences, for my hair to grow long…it just goes on and on!  I feel like I’m in this constant state of waiting…and get this:  I’m just waiting… to not feel like I’m WAITING all the time!! 😉

Clearly, I don’t wait well…not well at all.  I wish I were more patient and not in such a hurry for things to happen. Today while driving home from school in all the hectic parent picking up their kids traffic, we got behind a real slow poke and I heard myself say out loud in front of my little audience, “Come on…hurry up!  Ugh!!”  The little listening ears in the backseat could feel my impatience, I’m sure.  I failed big time, and I know it.  Why am I like this??!  Why am I always waiting???

Part of me knows that unfortunately, for the larger part, I’m just impatient and want things to happen NOW.  However, there is a smaller part of me that knows that God has good things ahead…and like a child, I can’t wait for them to get here!  I’ve got this wonderful expectation of His goodness because He’s proven time and time again how wonderfully generous He is!!  It’s like waiting for Christmas to arrive!  Like the job thing…I know God has a good plan for Mike and when that perfect job for him arrives, we will nod in agreement and say it was “worth the wait”!

But mostly, I just want to learn to wait well.  Instead of my hope and fulfillment being in an anticipated phone call, an email or something to arrive in the mail…I want my attention to be on the One who can bring all things to pass.  Thank goodness I don’t have to wait for THAT! 😉  Rather than focusing on what isn’t here yet, I want to focus on what IS…Jesus!  I know that when I spend time sitting in His presence, I’m filled up…and in no hurry whatsoever.  Waiting WITH Him…now that sounds nice, doesn’t it?  “Okay, Lord…take your time…I know You’re timing is perfect.  Can I wait with You awhile?” 🙂

“Those who wait upon God get fresh strength.  They spread their wings and soar like eagles, they run and don’t get tired, they walk and don’t lag behind.”  Isaiah 40:31

Good things come to those who WAIT! 😉

The other night, Mike and I stayed up way too late watching the American Ninja Warrior episode we had previously DVR’d (the contestants finally being in Las Vegas and all). 🙂  By the time we were finally climbing into bed for the night, we were startled to hear a loud crash outside our window!  Two seconds later we heard running feet taking off!

Now, I can’t begin to tell you how creepy it is to be startled by a loud crash outside and hear RUNNING FEET!!  We both froze, then asked if the other one had heard the same, and Mike was up in an instant! “Stay here!  Have your phone ready just in case…” he said as he got up to start investigating what was going on!

Okay, um…wait for it…

“Aaaahhh!!!  Have my phone ready?!  Ready for WHAT?!!”

“Don’t go out there!!”  I frantically whispered to Mike!!  I was just concerned someone might get hurt out there if he went outside…NOT HIM, of course!  I know he can defend himself…I was looking out for the intruder’s safety!  😉

As my brave husband disappeared into the darkness of the hallway, I did what anyone else would do in my position…I quickly recalled to mind every creepy alien movie I’d ever seen on t.v.!  Then I started worrying, followed by some replaying of the creepy “running away feet sound” in my head…till I was good and afraid!  Yep…that about covers it.  🙂

Two minutes went by.  Then I heard the running feet again!!  YIKES!!  It sounded like a small person was running in our back yard (that makes it even creepier somehow, doesn’t it?!  I know!! )  It just sounded like two feet…not four…I’m just saying!

Now, I also have to tell you…if this same thing EVER happens to you… I think you should know that your sweet and wonderful brain (the brain that during the daytime helps you get through your day) can suddenly become the worst of TRAITORS in the middle of the night!  It lays out a welcome mat for your imagination to take over and begin to play tricks on you!!  I’m just saying…I wasn’t expecting that. 🙂

I was trying to calm myself with rational explanations like… “a person would not run THAT fast… it’s probably raccoons in the backyard trying to get into the garbage cans…it sounded like two feet, but it was really four feet…” but I was so freaked out by the running feet that I allowed myself to become afraid.

Picture me sitting up in bed… in the dark, holding my cell phone, and just shaking with fear.  God suddenly interrupted my thought life…PHEW! Just in time!!   I suddenly began to ask myself why I was so afraid?  Is God asleep and not able to help us?  Of course not!  So, I began to pray… yeah, I know…what a concept!  😉  If only that had been my FIRST reaction!  I then looked in my Bible App and read one of my favorite Psalms…Psalm 91…and I read it out loud there in the darkness.  As I read it, the words soaked in, and I noticed that I began to stop shaking. As I read, it was like I suddenly remembered that the God of the Universe was bigger than whatever was outside…even if it was only silly raccoons!! I had forgotten that important fact as I was listening to everything that fear had to say!!  I began to recall to mind His goodness, His promises of protection, His incredible love for me, and I MADE my brain surrender to the TRUTH of God’s word.  

I began to feel like I was armed.  Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is alive and powerful.  It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow…”  In that moment, I decided to trust God and not be afraid…and guess what?  It worked!  It was a battle of the mind, I won’t lie…but I came out victorious!

Mike came back after a while (he had turned lights on outside, looked all around…double checked doors, windows…all of that) and had found no trace of anything.  Whatever was out there had left.  It took me a while to fall asleep…my mind kept listening for the sound of running feet…but each time I felt fear trying to creep back in, I shoved it out with the word of God. “You will keep me in perfect peace because my mind is fixed on YOU” (Isaiah 26:3).  “He who watches over me will never slumber nor sleep.”  (Psalm 121:4)…and the next thing I knew it was morning, and I had slept in perfect peace. 🙂

We think it was raccoons, or some other animal who jumped our fence and ran up the hill.  We did some investigating in the morning and that’s what it looks like.  We will never know for sure (and I’m a little embarrassed that I got so fearful over a few little animals…sometimes we fear the dumbest things, right?), but what we DO know for sure is that God is bigger than any fear and His word is a sword that we can use anytime!  

A few weeks ago, on a day that was supposed to be 108 degrees here, our family loaded up the car with beach stuff and drove an hour and a half away for a fun-filled (and cooler day) at Stinson Beach!  Only…when we got there, we were too late!  Everyone on the planet had beat us there and we could not find a single place to park…unless we parked miles away (any parent of little ones knows that’s just not an option).

We drove around the town and the beaches nearby for an hour desperately looking for parking and just couldn’t find one single spot!  It was SO weird!  Even if Mike dropped us off and parked the car…he’s be gone for years before finally getting to join us at the beach!  People were doing crazy things like parking on red painted curbs…as if parking in a red zone wasn’t bad enough…they were actually on top of the red curb too!  It was as if they’d just HAD IT and didn’t care anymore!!  “Go ahead and ticket me…at least I got a spot!!” 🙂

Just to make things WORSE, this was supposed to be our special “beach birthday celebration” for Kael…I had even baked a cake and brought it along!  As our kiddos were in the back seat getting restless, I was internally kicking myself for not thinkin
g to head to the beach the second we all woke up.  Eventually, we ended up eating our picnic lunch in the car!  Trying to tell the kids we couldn’t go to the beach because we just couldn’t find a place to park was horrible…not to mention it sounded ridiculous!!  We always find a way…and today there was no way! One of my kids started crying, and I literally told the Lord in my head, “Really God?  This is for Kael’s birthday!  Are we really not going to be able to have this fun day today…because we can’t PARK?!?”

“Super Mom” finally showed up (that’s me caffeinated, remember?) and said, “Well guys, we’re going to turn lemons into lemonade (such a “mom thing” to say, right?)  “Let’s come back next weekend before everyone else does and do this over again!”  I looked at Mike and he nodded that yes, we would indeed try again!  🙂  (Love that man!!)  “In the meantime, who wants ice cream?”  So, we located the nearest ice cream parlor in Sausalito…but when we got there…I’m SO NOT kidding…we couldn’t park there either!!  It’s as if everyone else who couldn’t park at the beach decided to go get ice cream too!!!  It was an absolute ZOO!  Mike and I agreed that we didn’t want to spend an hour to park just to wait in a thirty minute line for an ice cream cone!!  The “lemonade out of lemons” I was trying to make was quickly turning sour….

Hang on… it get’s better!  We decided to get ice cream closer to home and get away from the crowds…so we got on the Richmond bridge only to be slowed down to a crawl pace…there was some kind of car on fire…so we sat in MORE slow traffic!  I was trying to be empathetic to the poor people who just lost their car…but selfishly, I was annoyed!!  How dare they let their car catch on fire?!  Now we have to wait even longer on this dumb bridge!!  I felt myself turning into one of those people who parked on red curbs…yikes! (I know, I felt guilty about it too…just being honest…and I even prayed for the people who’s car caught on fire…really!!) Then suddenly I remembered the cake!  At least we still had the cake! I passed out cake and forks on party plates and let my kids eat it in a moving vehicle…but I didn’t care about a cake mess later…it was something GOOD!  🙂

We FINALLY got back to our hometown and it was 108 degrees (just like the weather man had said) and we were SO READY for ice cream…and guess what?!  The ice cream store was closed!  I’m so not making this up!! At 4:00 on a Sunday afternoon…on what felt like the hottest day in the history of the world…the ice cream store was closed!  What is going on?!?  This whole day began to be so ridiculously BAD that I began to take pictures of it!!!  How weird is THAT?!  “Hey kids, remember that really terrible day we had back in August of 2015?!” 🙂  Yeah, that’s the memory I was hoping to make for them when I woke up that morning!  It’s as if every decision we made was the wrong one!  Yes, that’s the picture I took of the closed ice cream parlor!  Mike even parked the car for me so I could run out and take a picture of it!  I thought no one would believe me otherwise!!

As a mom, I kept a very lighthearted and cheery attitude for my precious family…but after we FINALLY found ice cream, made it home and unloaded our beach stuff…the beach stuff we never got to use…I went in my bedroom and cried a little.  You know, that baby Mama crying I do!  I hadn’t really saved myself any “lemonade”, I guess.  I was just SO bummed.  “Happy Birthday, Kael…” I said so disappointed.  Cue the sad music for this wiped out and frustrated Mommy!

The following weekend, we loaded up the car the night before, woke up early, scarfed down breakfast, and headed for the beach!  If there was one thing we learned anyway, it was to plan ahead and get an earlier start!  It was a foggy day at the beach, but we didn’t care!  We got a front row parking spot, and even found seashells…whole baby sand dollars we probably would not have found had we come later.  There was playing in the sand, picnic lunches, chasing seagulls, and lots of laughter…and we had a wonderful day!  🙂  It felt like a victory!!

I have no idea why we had to go through that first unsuccessful beach attempt though.  I keep trying to find a hidden meaning in it or something…as if it needs to be explained!! 🙂  Maybe it’s as simple as the fact that sometimes things just don’t always work out the way we want them to…and that’s okay.  Sometimes, there are disappointing circumstances that we have no control over.  I was reminded at church recently, that we can choose how we REACT to those circumstances though, and not let them get us down.  It made me remember beach day.  I want to react well when things don’t go as planned…so instead, I’m putting my focus on the One who can surprise me with unexpected blessings…like finding perfect sand dollars on the beach in the early hours of the morning!  Wait a second…did I just find meaning in that ridiculous day after all?! I think I did! 😉

Like finding hidden sea shells on the beach…

“I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, the One who calls you by name…”  Isaiah 45:3