I'm a Junkie, I'll just admit it now!

Okay so I should go ahead and admit it now -- I love Beth Moore's teaching. It just speaks to me... So I went to Jacksonville this weekend to attend a live simulcast with my mother-in-law; and man was it fantastic. I want to share my notes with everyone because I think you will love her prospective on the desires of our heart and because I want to be able to remember it better for myself. However - I couldn't even take notes fast enough to get everything she shared so I will just share a little at a time...
Psalm 37:1-9
Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil. For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.

I Love This Place!

I am sitting on my Granny's couch.
It is my favorite place in the whole world! It has always been. I can remember countless trips to Georgia growing up and the excitement of getting to Granny's. We even nicknamed the stretch of 441 between McCrea and Irwinton "the hills" because when we got there we knew we were close. I never knew what adventures we were going to have but I knew there would be adventure - working in the workshop building some crazy gadget, or selling christmas trees at the christmas tree farm, or harvesting corn, or canning green beans, or building a fort in the woods. The list is endless...
Now, as I am older (not much, mind you), I realize so much more about why I love it here. It represents peacefulness to me. I can come here and just take a deep breath of peace. My mind clears and my soul is restful here. Anyone who has ever come here loves it - it almost seems magical. I know it is just blessed. Blessed by a family that can take anyone into itself and love relentlessly, Blessed by the hours my Granny poured into the soil coaxing beautiful flowers to grow and instilling in me the love of a beautiful garden, Blessed by the pride of my Grandaddy to work his land, build his home, even bring a piece of his heritage, a windmill, from North Dakota (Good Hope Farm - where my ancestors settled when coming to America and where he was born), Just So Blessed!
So here I will sit on this land that is priceless to me; in a home that I love; surrounded by the people who mean the most to me in this world. Today I will learn to make Chow Chow (Some crazy Georgia thing, I think). I pray the adventures will never cease.

For my mama

Dear Lord, I ask that you lay a special blessing on my mom tonight. She has always been the steady one for me and she has always been the one I could count on to love you enough to do right.
Help me to be her girl. The one she taught and trained how to love You completely, forsaking even self to do Your will. Help me to be steady for her during this shakey time. Help me to hold on to truth and love and even forgiveness when she gets tired of the battle. Help me to be your loving hand when she is lonely and your broken heart when she is hurting. Show me how much you love her and lead me to do the same.
When she struggles to find your will help her to relax and know that You are the same God today as you were yesterday. The same God you were when she taught me to love and honor you above all else. The same God who has always brought compassion, mercy and healing.
Help her as she begins this journey to forgive. I know the road will be bumpy and at times bitterness will win a battle or two. Remind her then that you have won the war. That the forgiveness she strives after will heal and restore that amazing woman of faith, the one who taught me my abc's and how to love Jesus, and how to give up all in His pursuit.
Though anger and hurt have hidden her from me for a season. Seasons change.Help her to know my love for her is constant and real and full.Amen

The Prom

My sweet girls are hysterical! Tonight they disappeared into Alaynah's room for almost an hour and reappeared dressed and ready for the prom!

Alaynah was the "boy" and Carlie the "girl". They are now dancing in the kitchen and singing made up songs. After the prom they intend to go skating.

They never cease to amaze me with their creativity. Wow ~ I love them!

A Little Luttrull Experiment

Okay, so the last several weeks in the Luttrull home have been quite trying. Between Jason working almost 70 hours a week and my FULL-Time school demands we have been going full steam for too long. Needless to say, last week Jason worked so much and was so frustrated that I worked very hard to completely tend to the needs of the children, cooking, and mounds of homework. And in order to help curb the frustration, I spent tons of extra time every day making sure the house was clean and tidy. Because when I'm frustrated there is nothing worse than a messy house.
Jason was grateful and very sweet about how much extra I was having to do, until...
Sunday things had gotten messy from multiple science projects and a weekend full of children activities, and Jason thought he'd be funny and say..."I'm glad your quarter is almost over so WE can do our quarterly house cleaning" - Are you kidding me!
Thus the experiment began, it is hard to explain how cleaning different areas everyday prevents utter chaos in our home so I decided it might be more easily understood by just proving it. I decided not to say a word but just to cease all housework and all instruction to the girls about housework for one week. At the time it seemed ingenious.
Day 1: When we went to bed Jason said "You're going to sleep and I haven't eaten - this isn't good" - I thought it was funny
Day 2: I caved a little, I never realized how irritating mess can be. I only swept a little. Jason has a cold so he is too snotty to notice much.
Day 3: My house is officially a disaster zone. Good thing no city officials or DFACS agents felt the need to drop in. Unfortunatly Jason hardly dropped in. I think he left by 7:30 and came home around 9 and went straight to bed.
Day 4: I have a stomach bug. Not sure if it is actual germs or nerves about finals or just plain being sick of my house. This is harder for me than him. I'm starting to rethink this little adventure.
Day 5: Took finals today. Came home and got in bed. Jason spent the day cleaning the house. Over dinner we discussed the point I was attempting to make.
I'm pretty sure it didn't work. I was miserable, he was clueless, and my house is gross.
So in the future - no more house cleaning strikes. I'll just have to take his comments that are meant to inspire family excitement to clean more in stride.
I gotta go clean my bathroom now because every time I walk in there I want to throw up!

Who needs sleep anyway???

So, I hate it when I can't sleep.
It could be from excitement of the day to come.
It could be from worry about the day to come
It could be from anxiety over the day to come
Our it could be just cause....
Either way it is something that is new to me. Because anyone who knows me well, knows - I LOVE to sleep. It is truly one of my favorite pastimes.
However, with all these sleepless nights I have discovered one thing - I Love the sunrise!
It is such evidence that God's mercies truly are new every morning. Sunrise feels like no other time of day.
The birds sing loudly.
The earth is peaceful.
Things are more clear.
It even smells different.
I haven't had much exposure to sunrise since my babies were brand new.
It is quickly becoming my favorite part of the day...
But I still wish seeing one didn't have to accompany a night of no sleep.
Maybe when I grow up I'll go to bed early enough to rise before the sun each morning???