State Fair 2012- A day in the life of a Princess

Who I Desire to Be

This past year I have really struggled with putting the Lord first and trusting him. There have been many circumstances which have made me question why things are happening the way they are and my response has not been obedience to him.

I have struggled with hurting others and being hurt by others. Its amazing the power of words and how we let them destroy relationships. This week through some reading of the Lord's word, encouragement from my hubby and a daily devotion from Pastor Joel Olsteen did I truly realize how my actions have not been right.

I am a people pleaser. I do and say what makes people happy for fear of them hurting me or not liking what I have to say. I think about how often I change just because someone criticizes me. But that is not of God. If I am going to be who the Lord wants me to be, my focus has to be on him, not others. The Lord clearly says that we are to please him and only him. I am having to learn that sometimes I won't always make everyone happy and have to realize I don't have to have everyone's approval.

God says in Proverbs 29:25, Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting the LORD means safety.

He goes on to talk about pleasing people in Galatians 1:10 "For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ."

Clearly my focus has not been right. I think about if I truly woke up each morning with my heart submitted to him how much better my relationships would be. They would be focused on him and not myself.

 

Its one thing to talk about this and another thing to live this out. Something I haven't been doing. My focus hasn't been on unity in my relationships. My mom encouraged me the other day to remember how God would act to people. How he forgives, doesn't hold grudges, and shows mercy. These three aspects of relatiosnhips are hard for me and three things I desire more than anything to portray to my family and friends. I have not done a good job of showing this to others even though I expect it in return...


Victoria Olsteen put it like this:

"As you think about the people in your life, remember to respect and appreciate your differences. Don't hold offense just because someone has a different approach than you do. Be willing to make adjustments and focus on the common ground of peace. As you work toward unity, you are positioning yourself to receive the wonderful blessings God has in store for you."

 

How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity… for there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore. (Psalm 133:1-3, NIV)

This is my desire...my desire is to please God above all else to seek his approval and that through doing that I can be a better wife, mother, daughter, sister and friend. If I did this I would have God's approval and I wouldn't be having to worry about approval from man.

Imagine if I gave all my trust to him what he could do with me. I am not perfect. I sin. I have hurt people. I don't make perfect decisions. I am not always obedient to God. But I am redeemed, I am his daughter, I am whiter than snow and he gives me a new chance each day to live for him. I am thankful the Lord gives me a new day to begin again.

 

Our Little Lady

Last Monday my mom and I took Addy to the MN Zoo. She wanted to be like mommy and grandma and carry her own purse...Grandma let her borrow hers.

Our little girl is growing up into such a little lady. I can't believe how time flies...

 

 

 

Renaissance-Addy's First time

We had the opportunity August 19th to take Addy to the Renaissance Festival! Boy, did she have a blast. I would say the highlights were seeing her first real Elephant for the first time and seeing the Basset Hound Pirate! It was Pet Fest Weekend at the festival so there were lots of dogs to see.

She had fun feeding animals, eating food, playing with her new wand, seeing mermaids, enjoying a giant turkey leg and last but not least---seeing Cinderella's castle (or at least that is what she calls it).

 

 

Struno

Where do I begin.....Two days ago we lost our best friend unexpectedly. He was black, white and brown with long ears and a bright smile. He was always there when we came home and always by our side when we cried. He loved our daughter, he loved his brother, Wrigley (our other dog), and he loved us unconditionally. His howl was the best and his sweet spirit just melted my heart. I would give anything in this moment to have him back, I miss you already Struno.

The past couple weeks we had been noticing that Struno (our Basset Hound) was under the weather. He stopped eating and eventually stopped drinking about 4 days ago. Monday night while Ben was at work, Addy and I took Struno to the emergency vet. I thought going into the vet that they would give us meds and send us on our way but that is far from what happened. They ran every test and as the vet bill kept getting higher and higher, I kept getting more  frustrated. Ben finally arrived and sent me home with Addy. Shortly after leaving, I got a call from Ben that the doctor's felt it best to put Struno to sleep. He was very ill, not breathing well along with so many other things going wrong. I called my mom to come watch Addy so I could go be with Ben. I screamed and yelled and cried as I drove back to the vet. Why him? Why now? We were at the vet until about  10pm when we gave the ok to let them put him to sleep. We said our goodbyes and our hearts began to break....We know he was in pain and this was the best for him but it wasn't the best for us...I miss him...

As I write this tears just flood my eyes but this dog has been apart of our family for almost 7 years. His actually 7th birthday was today so he was just shy of being 7. We have so many good memories of Struno but right now they are hard to find as we cope with losing him.  He was a gift to me from Ben right after we got married. He has been with us as we bought our first house, bought another dog, had a baby and much more.

Our hearts have fallen apart this week and we both are struggling to get through losing him. I think because it was such a shock and so unexpected it hurts even more. Addy keeps asking where Struno is and she now tells us "He is with Jesus." And for now I am happy to believe that is where he is.

We thank you all for your kind thoughts, prayers, calls, emails and texts. I know it will get easier but right now, mommy and daddy have broken hearts....I miss my Struno....I know the Lord will see us through this and we have faith he will heal our broken hearts. We are still also thankful we have a sweet other dog, Wrigley that is here with us still.

My sis-in-law, Amanda sent a beautiful quote so true.....

“A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.” -Josh Billings (1818-1885)