So much...So little

So much to do...so little time!  I believe this may be my new motto.  How I miss my blog but can never seem to find time to sit down and enjoy sharing my heart with all of you.  It has just been a crazy June...but a good June!  It has been busy with preparing for vacation bible school, the actual week of bible school, David gone to 4-H Camp for a week, David and two of the boys gone to Centri-Kid camp...June is now GONE!  The days seem to have all run together this month with hardly any time to breath!  Summer is flying by and it feels we have hardly had time to stop and smell the roses.  It has been a great month though.  I love bible school and look forward to it every year.  Every year I think I should step down and let someone else take over and every year I am blessed beyone measure at the end of the week.  I just pray others are blessed as much as I am. 

June has been a month of dealing with illnesses within the family.  Family members who are suffering with cancer and also being the care giver to the sick.  It seems like every time you turn around...that word always comes up.  Someone has cancer...someone died of cancer...I hate that word! Honestly, it scares me!  I guess what scares me is the process it takes on the person. It's aweful...plain and simple!  With this being said it has made me really take a look at the things I choose to complain about!  The last few weeks I have caught myself dwelling on certain issues instead of giving them to God like I should in the first place.  I have caught myself saying I have to do this and I have to do that.  When in reality, it doesn't even matter!  What matters is holding those dear ones close to you and making sure they know how loved they are! Making sure that I don't tell them "no" or "in a minute" or "wait" unless I absolutely have to!  When a church friends son got sick a couple of weeks ago, I thought how quickly life can change.  One second things are fine...the next they are not!  We never know when that second is that things can change.  We don't know when the last harsh word we said will be the last thing they remember! 

I pray to be the better mom...the better wife...the better daughter...the better sister...but most of all the better child of God.  I can worry about the inevitable. I can worry about the things that I can't change. I can worry about everything. But, in the end it won't change anything.  You see, God already knows the end just as he knew the beginning.  I refuse to spend my life worrying about what is to be.  I know that God has put his people on this planet for a purpose and that is to win souls to Christ.  I had the priviledge of seeing a child after they had accepted Christ as their Saviour at Bible School.  Let me just tell you that my heart was overjoyed to see the face of that precious child.  When I saw the Centri-Kid video and saw those kids worshipping with raised hands because they love God...I couldn't help but cry! I am so proud of my boys and so very thankful that we were able to send them to Centri-Kid this year! I watched Jeff Slaughter on stage and thought to myself...THIS IS WORSHIP.  This is what every Sunday morning...Sunday evening...and Wednesday night worship service should look like.  Not that we have to be jumping around all the time.  But praising God with raised hands and not caring who sees it or what someone thinks.  Not worried about being solemn and still and afraid to make a peep.  I am not bashing church by any means...I guess I am just thirsty for some worship amongst believers.  Ready for some worship other than in my car on the way to work and back.  God is good! We just need to let other people know how good he really is!!

Blessed beyond measure!

5 years ago...2 years ago...

It will be five years tomorrow that we lost David's dad to cancer.  In one instance it seems like yesterday and then again it seems like so long ago!  This was definately one of the hardest trials of our lives and our children's lives.  To watch a family member wither away in pain and suffering is a very hard thing to go through.  Our prayer for my precious father-in-law was for the Lord to heal him in what ever way the Lord saw fit...his will be done!  That he did!! He got the ultimate healing of no more pain, no more sorrow, no more suffering, no more needles, no more medicine, just no more.... That may sound harsh and it is not meant to be.  David's dad was a farmer....a cowboy!  He spent his days on horeseback tending cows, fences, feeding, doing hay...you name it he was doing it from daylight until dark.  When he got sick he couldn't do those things.  He was never going to be able to do those things again and he was miserable.  No one wants to see a family member go through this.  With Christ in our lives and knowing that he was a Christian we had no worries about tomorrow.  For when tomorrow came, we knew where he was.  We knew he was healed.  We knew that he was whole and complete again.  Without Christ it does leave those worries about tomorrow.  We do have family members that are unsaved and unwilling to accept Christ and all of his infinite grace and it is a very sad situation.  I cannot imagine my life without being able to talk to my Father....my Heavenly Father!  The one who created me and by his grace I am here today!  By his grace I may not understand why things happen or why people die of cancer or why some are taken at such a young age to such a horrible disease.  But, what I do know is that Christ has a plan.  A plan that I do not see.  A plan that I do not understand.  But, it is God's plan and therefore I will rejoice!  I miss David's dad and I know that my kids do also. Some days I am sad that he never got to see our Noah this side of Heaven...and what a time they would have had!  We have so many memories and I am so thankful that I was part of his life for 10 years before he passed away.  I praise God that he raised a son like David who has grown up to be such a wonderful man of God, a spectacular father, and an inspiration to me everyday.  I got the best gift I could ever get from Larry...that was David!!  Thank God we found each other...thank God we stuck through the rough times and built our foundation and family on Christ.  Thank God we have a wonderful church family whom we can depend on!  I am reading a book called One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp "A Dare to live fully right where you are".  It has been amazing about not understanding why but knowing that God's why is all the answer we need! He has a plan and we have to trust it! 

Two years ago we were blessed with Elliott Elizabeth!  This my niece!  We were blessed to be able to turn May 11th from a day of losing a love to a day of gaining a love.  She is a precious baby girl and I can see she and Noah are going to be great friends!  So thankful for May 11th in so many ways!  Heaven gained a wonderful Godly man and we gaine a beautiful baby girl to our family!

Happy Birthday Elliott!

Of course, May 12th is David's birthday and I am blessed to call him my husband and my best friend!  God certainly has a plan for us and it may not always be smooth and the road may get bumpy...but we will enjoy the ride and be thankful for the time we have here on this earth...however long it may be!

Ellie and Noah....doing their moves (Ellie 3 months, Noah =brand new)

Precious Girl!
Bless her with one brother and 4 boy cousins!

Beautiful Days...

Yes, it has been way way too long since I have had a post.  With warm weather and sunshine my heart is pulled outdoors.  I am very much the outdoor person...which is bad for the inside of my house!  I love spring when it is time to plant flowers and do all those projects that need to get done.  So much has been going on in our house with a few camping trips, work, and all the other stuff we have just been wide open!  Our is just busy and full of life all the time!  I wouldn't change it for a thing.  I feel very blessed that God has entrusted me with these four precious boys...which when thinking about it can be a little overwhelming too...but we will take it one day at a time!  We are finding it hard to believe that the school year is almost over and that we will have one in 6th grade next year...a little scary for momma!  Finding it hard to believe that the last 11 years have flown by like they have!  But, so looking forward to what God has in store for each of my little blessings.

After school the boys are often found on the trampoline with Mason doing some amazing flips...and double flips, swinging, Jack riding the motorcycle, chasing each other around the yard, or just being lazy hanging out in the screened-in porch.

Mason doing his flips!

Who's that cute little fella swinging in the big boy swing?

Boys shooting in an archery tournament!

Dylan being silly!

Easter Morning!

Losing a front tooth!

Enjoying sunsets at the lake!

What a beautiful life we have!  Loving every minute of it. 

I have started a new book thanks to a friends suggestion, call "Radical" by David Platt.  I am just digging in to it but can tell it is really going to make me think.  How excited and in depth do we get with our Lord?  How committed am I the the Lord?  Giving him a few minutes of my time each day is not what he deserves.  How much do I share my faith with others....not nearly enough!  Reading about how he was going to other countries where they thirst for knowledge in knowing their Bible. I want that hunger and thirst!  Also, if there were no pews, air conditioning, all the comforts we are used to when we go sit in service on Sunday's and Wednesdays...would I still attend to know and learn more?  Christ gave it all for me...what do I give for him?  I can answer that...NOT NEAR ENOUGH.  It will never be enough!  I hope and pray that I can share my faith more and dig in deeper and harder to everything that I pursue and in some way incorporate Christ into it.  He should be my all in everything I do.  I should ask myself before doing anything if I can glorify God in some way each and every day in everything I pursue.

Have a blessed day my friends...I will try not to stay gone so long this time! 



AdvoCare...

Something that I am very excited to share with you is a new adventure David and I are taking.  A little over a month ago a friend of mine from high school got in touch with me!  I had heard of AdvoCare and had been following her family and another friend from high school as they were doing remarkable things through this company.  If you remember part of my New Years post was about getting into shape.  For the past year I had been "stuck" at the same weight.  I would exercise and I just could not break through that barrier.  My friend Casey from high school told me about the 24 Day Challenge and I decided it was something I wanted to try!  Not only did I try it but I am now an Independent Distributor for AdvoCare.  AdvoCare is a health and nutrition company that has been in business for 19 years!  They are not your fly by night company or the newest fad around.  They are a solid...might I add...debt free company!  A company whose #1 guideline is to Honor God through Faith, family and friends!  Amazing!!! After reading this and much prayer David and I knew that this was a journey we wanted to take!  Not only are we taking it we are jumping in feet first and we are so very excited about the results we have seen in the past month.  I have lost about 14 pounds with David having lost about the same!  I have broken through that barrier and I am in better shape and HEALTHIER than I have been in several years due to AdvoCare products.  These are not diet pills, they are not the newest found weight loss remedy...they are supplements...THAT WORK!  Putting nutrition into our bodies that we try to get from food but because of our choices don't always get. I know you have seen my posts about weight loss and it is not all about weight loss...it is about being healthy! I also know you probably get tired of them!  I can't help it!  I am so excited to share what this company and their products are doing for myself, my family as well as others around me!  For a while I had been praying for the Lord to point me in the direction he wanted me to go!  I felt as if there was something I needed and wanted to be doing that I was missing!  Guys, I believe the Lord has answered my prayer!  I love helping people, I love the excitement when I get a text early in the morning or late at night from a friend who says "you know I feel better than I have in years" or "I just got in pants I haven't been able to fit in for a long time"!  I love this!  My dad has been able to lose over 20 lbs in the last month using AdvoCare products.  He needs knee replacement surgery...but you know what, with being able to lose some weight we may be able to prolong that surgery for a while.  So very thankful for this company and excited about what our future holds with them! 

Full speed ahead...

Boy am I a slacker!  It has been way too long since my last post!  It has been crazy busy in the Bussell household.  A good busy but ready to slow down just a little bit and enjoy my sweet boys!  A lot has been going on!  Your normal school everyday...with no snow days in sight...bummer for all of us!  The boys all started karate right before Christmas with Mason and Jack adding tumbling into the mix!  They are loving it but keeps us moving and busy two nights a week.  We had a fun little run with the boys last weekend.  There was an adventure race in Nashville.  So, we loaded up and ran!  All of us...with the exception of Noah of course!  Grandma was nice enough to come watch him while we all ran!  I got to run with Mason which was so much fun and David and Jack ran together.  Dylan ran with a girl from their track club who was in his age group so everyone had a partner!  The weather had been perfect the week before and, of course, it turned off so cold the day we ran!  Oh well, had fun anyway!




Mason and me running!





David and Jack running!

Mason and I putting at one of the stations along with Jack and David!

Dylan and Dani Running!

We had a great time!  Enjoyed doing something fun with our boys!  Which brings me to another subject!  We get one chance on this earth.  One chance with our loved ones, one chance to do the things that matter, one chance to serve our Lord in the way he is meant to be served.  None of us know when that moment or second will be that we will no longer be here.  I am so guilty of not taking time...time for the kids, time to really do what matters, more time devoted to God!  Instead I worry about the house and whether it is clean, worry about work and what I haven't gotten done there.  If I died today what do I want my kids to remember?  I don't want them to remember mom was always fussing about messes, cleaning, etc...I want them to remember time spent with them!  I cannot wait for camping season!  Only a few weeks away and we will be hitting the lake building campfires, riding bikes, hiking, fishing...all of the things we hold dear and cannot wait to spend time with our boys doing.  Take time for what really matters...because we don't know how short our time is!  



Why Church?

Something that has been on my heart and mind for a while, and also something we have been studying/talking about in Sunday School, is why do we go to church?  Why do we get up every Sunday morning, Sunday evening and Wednesday night and go to a building, sit in pews/chairs, sing songs and listen to a man speak.  What is the purpose of this?  Why do I feel like I need to do this?  Why would you need to do this? So many times, even with family, we have heard the church is full of hypocrites or they just had a bad experience with church and will not attend.  Some won't go because they won't make time to go...there is always something more important to do.  Others say they don't have to be at church to worship God.  They are absolutely correct...you do not have to be in church to worship God.  Many days I worship him in the shower, in my car, during my quiet time...I can worship him wherever I am.  Church is a place for you to come together with others and praise God...teach about God...learn about God...share God!  Plenty of people walk through the doors on Sunday morning because they feel that is what they are supposed to do...not because it is what they want to do.  I am not saying you have to be at church every Sunday...I am not saying that in order to be a Christian you have to be at church.  But, you should want to surround yourself with Christians and people who believe the way that you do.  You should want to learn!  I am a Christian but that does not mean that I know everything in the Bible.  I need to grow and learn and fellowship with other believers.  This is how I grow as a Christian!  I want my kids to be in the habit of going to church...not just when it is convenient or we don't have something else to do...but I want them to enjoy going and being at church.  Church for them is often a second home.  They want to go!  They want to be at church!  David and I choose to be very involved and invested in our church because (a) this is what God wants (b) we want to (c) our kids (d) we want to share Christ's love with others.  Not only do we need to surround ourselves with other Christians but we also need to surround ourselves with unbelievers who look at us and say "I want what they've got".  The peace of knowing when I pass from this world...it is not the end.  It is just the beginning!  The beginning of the life we are meant to have with our Saviour in Heaven!

"... but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord" Joshua 24:15

This was given to me by my sister for Christmas!  And I LOVE it!

The FIRST of many...I am sure!

So my poor Noah had a little accident last night!  Can you believe that this is the first of my FOUR boys to need stitches, well actually dermabond!! Yes, we have been very lucky so far.  I guess we were due an accident, huh!  He is fine...and thanks to Dr. Chad for taking care of him and fixing his poor little head!  He was a trooper...scared...but a trooper! Bless him!

So, I have been reading Beth Moore's Praying God's Word.  It has really been great for me!  I often find myself praying "Lord do this, Lord do that, Please be with, Please watch over".  How often do I give God the praise for who he is instead of asking him for something that I want.  Very selfish of me!  Each chapter of the book has been devoted to, I guess you could say, obstacles you might encounter in you life.  Such as, pride, idolatry, unbelief, guilt, addiction...etc.  This gives you prayers to pray for any of the areas that come straight from God's word.  For example from Praying God's Word:

"Lord, according to Your wonderful Word, this is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.  Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. (1John 5:45) Help me to see that faith is crucial if I am going to be a victor and an overcomer."

"My Father and my God, You are seated on a throne high and exalted.  The train of Your robe fills the temple.  Above You are seraphs, calling to one another, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory. (Isaiah 6:1-3)"

"My Lord and my God, You are both a God nearby and a God far away.  No one can hide in secret places so that you cannot see them.  You fill heaven and earth! (Jer. 23:23-24)"

Needless to say, I am finding a new way to pray!  Before thinking of myself, my needs, my wants and desires...I am going to think of my heavenly Father first and the sacrifice and love that he has given me that I am so undeserving of!  He is the Almighty, The All Powerful, Maker, Redeemer, Everlasting Father...and he deserves to be praised!