Saturday I had the opportunity to go to a Melissa & Doug toy party at my friend Kalli's BEAUTIFUL home! The party was a fun time to visit with friends and make new ones plus buy toys for the little ones for Christmas! The stuff was so great that I decided to have a party myself on October 24! I never have parties like this but I am excited about this one - mark your calendars! After the big Stonewall Long Haul 5k that I mentioned in a previous post you can come buy toys for your little ones!
Although, I have lived in my house for a little over 2 years I still have LOTS of decorating that needs to be done! So now I am in "decorating" mode which is fun and exciting and a little daunting!
But little doubts have started to creep in . . . maybe my house isn't fit for a party? Its not as big as Jane Doe's . . . and maybe not as nice as Sally Sue's . . . and, and, and maybe I can just make lame excuses about my decorating skills.
And then I read a hopefully life changing blog entry -- a little background, my wonderful friend, Lauren, has started her blog, Team Huss, and through it I found links to her sister, Kim's blog and from Kim's blog I have found Kisses from Katie! Following Kim's advice I started reading Katie's blog at the August 14, 2009 post and then to the most recent - since then I've gone back and read all of 2007 (the start date) and I will slowly make my way to where I started. Its amazing and a must read! Come be a blog stalker with me! Katie is younger than me and has from all appearances left a priveledged life in TN to be a missionary in Uganda. You just have to read it to understand the love she has for our Savior and for his people in Africa. I don't know her and don't even know if I know anyone who knows her but her love for Jesus is so apparent in her words that I have no doubts about her authenticity!
But to the point, she blogs about going to the small one room "shack" of one of her students and they proudly welcome her into their home and make no apologies for its appearance or for all that its lacking, they simply praise Jesus for providing shelter!!
How awesome is that??? And how humbled am I? I have a beautiful home filled with everything I truly need - love, family, laughter, and basic things such as water and electricity - and yet I have only thanked God in my quiet time! When I have visitors I ask them to excuse my mess or pardon that I don't have many trinkets when what I should be saying is LOOK WHAT THE LORD HAS PROVIDED FOR MY FAMILY!! WE ARE EXTREMELY BLESSED!
I challenge myself and each of you to realize how blessed we are - even in our darkest hour - I doubt any of you have ever wondered about having a roof over your head or whether you could afford groceries to feed your children or if the mosquito bite on their arm would kill them before morning - we are BLESSED and to God be ALL THE GLORY!
So if you come over and find that there are toys scattered everywhere (which there usually is) and breakfast still on the table even though its lunch time forgive me for not apologizing - I am simply thankful my children are healthy enough to play and that we were able to provide them with food!
Love, Mindy
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** Congratulations to my fabulous friend, Elise, on the impending arrival of Blessing #4, Stinson Walker Toms, due March 6, 2010!! **
3 comments:
I love this post, Mindy! You're SO right! What a great perspective! Love ya!
Okay- so I spent a great part of my afternoon reading Katie's blog and I was in tears. I often complain about my house or other things in my life, but I am also beyond blessed! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks so much for your perspective on being blessed. I am too scared to read Katie's blogs, afraid I might cry or be convicted to get out of my comfort zone. But thanks for your reminders. I am so proud of the woman you have turned into. I am very proud of you. So, keep those blogs coming. I need my toes steps on...A LOT!!
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