Prayer

As some of you may know I was very sick for most of January and February. I had some stomach issues that would not right themselves without a doctor's help.  I don't remember a good portion of January as pain medications put me in a haze.  I can't recall many conversations I had with my own family or anyone else for that matter. I lived in a pain-filled bubble.  In the beginning of February I had a procedure and the doctor was able to fix the problem causing all that pain.  I had not been able to eat very much since the pain had began so now I had to reintroduce my stomach to food short amounts at a time.

I tell you all of this because I couldn't really do much at the time such as reading my Bible, going to church, interacting with other believers, attending a Bible study etc.   The one thing I could "do" was pray.  So I would. I would pray for all sorts of things, family, friends, circumstances and of course my health.  There were times I would lay there thinking is God ever going to answer my constant prayer...to heal me! Not just make me "feel" better but really HEAL me! I was not able to serve my family, to help others in need, you know all the "stuff" wives and moms do on a regular basis. Basically I wasn't able to be ME.  As I continued to pray this prayer. I felt God change my heart and my prayer. Instead of praying for healing, I started to pray that He would help me except my new normal and you know what, He did! He changed my whole way of thinking.  Which as a result, changed the way I prayed.  In the time since then, I have read several different books and devotionals about prayer.  They have encouraged me in my prayer life and I thought maybe they would encourage you as well.  One book I love and read several years ago is The Power of a Praying Wife!  She has so many good, practical ways to pray for your man! So I pray some of the prayers she talks about in her book for my guy!  I came across two different articles for praying for my kids and here they are Prayers for our Sons and  Prayers for our Daughters. I love that you can print them out and keep them right inside your prayer journal (if you have one). I feel like now more than ever our husbands and kids need us praying for them.  This life can beat them up so badly. What I find so comforting is that God loves them so much and He hears our prayers that we pray for them! 

My encouragement to you today is don't give up praying. If He doesn't answer the way you think He should...He might be trying to  change your heart and mind to ask in a different and always better way. 

Have a great day praying to our Great Savior! 

P.S. If you can't get to my links, please let me know! I'm still trying to figure out all the "blog" ins and outs! :)

Tball and Pie

Last night Phil, the kids and I attended the opening ceremonies for little league.  Tayson is playing tball this year and it's a first for us.We have only participated in soccer, football, basketball and field hockey. Tayson started talking about playing baseball last year and didn't stop talking about it.  So we knew he really wanted to try it out. So here we go!  He is so beyond excited. Every time I looked over to him sitting with his team, he was smiling ear to ear!  I love to see my kids excited over the new adventures they endeavor.  He was less than thrilled that Mom was taking pictures of him.  He just wanted to be with his team!

Tayson-Age 7 

I also wanted to start posting some of my favorite recipes on here.  So I will start with a family favorite and it's super easy! :)

Peach Pie

Step One: Wait for the Schwan's guy to come to your door.  

Step Two: Order a peach pie!

Step Three: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Step Four: Place said pie in oven.

Step Five: Set timer for 75 minutes.

Step Six: Pie should be bubbling and looking delicious!

Step Seven: Share pie with those you love with a little Redi-Whip on top and make sure to ask how their day was! Pie is a great conversation starter.

Have a blessed day my friends! 

Election

When I write on this page, it is my thoughts and my convictions before God about various topics. Today, I seem to be reflecting on the election that was held last night!  This morning, I was awakened just before 6am by Landon.  He was so upset.  He said, "Mom, Barack Obama is President again! What is America thinking"?  I have to admit in those few moments last night after the results came in...I felt the same way.  God is so gracious to us and He gives us His strength when we need it most.  This morning was one of those times.  I looked at my little boy and told him, "Buddy, we may not understand, but we need to remember that God is still in control and that He promises to never leave or forsake us"!  He seemed to take what I had said and with silent sadness walked away.  At breakfast, I could see the questions still lingered in his mind.  You see, at school, they have been talking about the presidential election and what each candidate believed and also what his plans were to help our country.  He would give us updates about the things he was learning and he had the utmost confidence that America would choose Mitt Romney.  As we all know, that didn't happen.  To see the sad expression and the lingering hurt in his face was so hard.  I know we all face disappointments, but it makes it so difficult to see your child go through it.  I encouraged him that we still need to pray for Mr. Obama and that God will take care of His own. 

 Throughout the day today, I pondered the early morning hours and that small moment when all seemed so hard for him to understand.  Did I guide him through well? I pray with God's help...I did. My responsibility is great and fear can set in to the deepest crevices, but His grace is sufficient and His mercies are new every morning.  Great is His faithfulness!

I sat in the parking lot of the grocery store just a few short hours later, silent and still. I felt God's presence and the peace that only He can provide.  Verse upon verse of His promises popped into my mind.  One of my favorite verses is found in Isaiah chapter 41 and verse 10: Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Don't be discouraged, for I am Your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with My victorious right hand.  

Amen!

To God be the Glory Forever and Ever!

Strep, Pneumonia and....Peace

This was a post I wrote in March and never posted to my blog. So here it is!

99.9, 100.5, 101.3, 102.7, 103.8, 104.5...to some these numbers might look like radio stations, but for our household the last six weeks or so, these have been the temperature readings on the thermometer checking little bodies. Let's just say illness has settled upon our house.  As I type this, 3 of the 4 kids have had strep and Phil had a case of pneumonia, but God is good.  As I sat up with Madelyn (a cold washcloth pressed to her little forehead) last night, I prayed. I first started to pray for all the Dads and Moms that were holding much sicker babies than my own, the little ones with cancer, incurable diseases, starvation...the list goes on.  Then I prayed for Madelyn, I asked Him to release her little body from this terrible fever. That the shakes and shivers which were making her uncomfortable would leave her alone and let her rest.  So as I ended my prayer, I laid down next to her in her bed and the hymn "His Eye is on the Sparrow" came to my mind. This is the verse that I thought of..."Let not your heart be troubled", His tender word I hear, And resting on His goodness, I lose my doubts and fears; Though by the path He leadeth, but one step I may see; His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me; His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me.   Within 10 minutes, her fever was gone and I could hear her softly snoring.  For this mom, that was exactly what I needed, God did hear me and He did answer.  I am so thankful He knows what we need right when we need it. 

Doggie Treats

For the last week, Phil has been building an indoor/outdoor dog pen for our precious boys! It is kind of sad, but Gideon and Goliath can no longer be in our house.  My allergies have become increasingly worse over the past couple of years, so Phil and I decided it would be best to have them outside.  I have been dreading this week, because this is the week they will start staying in their new home! Phil has done an amazing job designing and building their new place and they will have plenty of room!  We will be heading away for a long weekend camping and so it is the perfect time for them to get used to it.  I was feeling a little sorry for them and so I made these this morning!!

 Homemade Dog Treats

Gideon was the taste tester and he chowed down!  I was so excited to find such an easy peasy recipe and they were so much fun to make! I hope my big boys will enjoy them! They are really great buddies for our kids!

If you would like the recipe, I would be more than happy to share.  My email address is: kepples4hiswill@verizon.net









Time with my Girl!!

Landon was able to go hunting with Phil yesterday in the morning. So I wanted to be able to give Jocelyn some one on one time as well. So we decided to make cookies. Homemade Oreo Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting!!  What a great time we had.  She is such an awesome young lady!!! :0)   I love her excitement!! She has to wear the right attire and pull her hair back. She takes great care to make sure there are no shells in the batter from the eggs and she measures with great precision.  It was so fun to see how excited she got when they came out of the oven. We, of course, had to taste the frosting!!  As soon as Phil was home, she couldn't wait to tell and show him her cookies. One of Phil's favorite cookies is an Oreo, particularly the double stuff.  With making our own, we made some of them double stuffed, just for him.  I am thankful for these small moments in my day, but I am also so thankful for Phil and how he takes time with each of our kids.  What a blessing!!  Oh, by the way,  Phil loved the cookies and Landon did really well hunting!!  If you would like the recipe for the Homemade Oreos, let me know!! They are really tasty!! :0)

   

Blogging

So I thought I would do so much better with blogging, but time has been getting away from me lately!  Many fun and exciting things have been happening around here, including positive parent/teacher conferences, reading level hikes, a Warrior 3 award at school,  kids high-fiving teachers, listening to a half an hour conversation about college from our 3 year old and the list goes on.  Parts of me want to just share all the good and none of the bad, but is that how Jesus was?  Did He only share in the Bible the good parts of each story?  Every now and then, I get this nagging feeling of guilt, of course guilt is not of God, but none the less, GUILT!!  Guilt that I didn't spend enough time in God's Word, guilt that I didn't spend quality time with Phil or the kids on any given evening, guilt that somehow I am failing, some days at everything.  It had been about 5 weeks since I had gone to church.  I really believe that having fellowship with other believers is so important in our spiritual walk.  So finally this past Sunday I was able to go!! YAY!!  For all those Moms out there who have little ones or have had little ones, you know it is a miracle to get out the door on Sunday mornings!! My good friend Christa and I used to joke that when we finally walked into church and sat down we were exhausted and ready for a nap!! :0)  Anyway, I was able to go to church and right now I am attending a women's Sunday school class.  We are reading the book "Lazarus Awakening" by Joanna Weaver...great book by the way.  As I was sitting there before class started I was feeling exhausted on all fronts, spiritually, emotionally, physically!  Then in the middle of the class time this verse was read...I John 3:20  Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and He knows everything. 
Okay wow!!  Tears started coming to my eyes and I needed to brush them away.  I felt as though God was speaking directly at me.  The words jumped off the page and attached themselves to my heart.  I needed this time at church to redirect my focus...take my eyes off of my guilt, emotions, feelings, and place them back on God.  Even to this day, it gives me chills.  I am thankful for the promises He has placed in Scripture.