Repentance. . . for my lamenting.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, it seems I have become a bit of a sourpuss. As I read the last two entries on the blog, I appear to have some attitudes of ungratefulness in my heart. I sat in church this morning, seeking the Lord's heart and working to recognize all the junk in my own heart so that the Lord could get it out. As I was singing, a worship leader here at IHOP came and sat down right next to me-one of the big ones (haha)! As all hearts go (and with a history of failed auditions), I began to worry that he was listening to my singing and I should sound really good (forgetting also of course, that he was simply at church seeking to worship the Lord himself). Anyway, as I felt my heart turn in the wrong direction, I was reminded that it is for an audience of ONE that I use my voice. It is for the heart of the Father alone, no other, that I sing. I was reminded of my dear friend Candace, and the word that she has spoken over me so many times, "You are a songbird. One made to sing for your maker." As I was continuing along, the words of the song changed and the leader began to sing about the alabaster jar of perfume that Mary of Bethany poured over Jesus. The one thing that was hers. As I began to weep, as the Lord was moving my heart, he spoke so clearly. I am in this stage of life, where nothing seems to be mine and my children are everywhere and everything, I have this little thing called my voice. If I will pour it over him, the heart of the Father will come to me. He will love me to the ends of the earth, he will defend my actions before all that may criticize. It is a heart broken before him, offering up this thing that I have. What warmth flows through my heart. Not because I have to give it up to him. He doesn't require it to be saved. It is from a place deep in my heart that I long to give it to him. I want him to have all of me, that I may become less and He may become more. (John 3:30)
This pic came from this website-
www.csabaosvath.com/p_0406_03.html

Really???

To top it all off, the temp this morning is 17 degrees!!!!

The woes of parenting. . .

Okay, so this morning I am loathing the morning sun, longing for my coffee to kick in and trying desperately to not harbor bitterness in my heart about it. My children, who usually sleep very well and were exceedingly tired last night were up over and over and over and over. . . . .(you get it.) My sweet Samuel was awakened by his brother nearly screaming "I want it back" in his sleep, and he really thought his nap was over. I tried to rock him back to calm three times, he ended up screaming in his bed (and we all know that doesn't lead to sleep for Samuel), and eventually I just put him in bed with me. Poor little boy, his body wiggled around beside me for quite some time before he could go back to sleep. At 3:30 John took him back to his bed.


So, here's to caffeine (and hopefully a nap!) Have a great one everyone and may we see the Lord in even the most mundane. (see my friend Candace's post on just that)

It's time for a shout out-

Okay, so I swiped this idea from my friend Candace, who I suppose is getting an unintentional shout-out by the mention of her name and totally cool bog. Either way, I have to decided to mention two very similiar friends, but from two different eras in my life.

(sorry Blair, it's the only pic I could find that wasn't really old!) This was like 15 hours after she had her second child. Doesn't she look amazing?? The first goes to my dear friend Blair Luper Wood. She and I met when we were 16. She had just moved to Fayetteville, AR and we met on a youth trip (that was like 15 years ago this past fall)! We sat in the back seat of JD Walt's car on the way to Kanakuk camp and found out that we both had a secret love for candy corn. After many years, laughs, tears, and babies I am eternally grateful that the Lord brought this precious woman into my life. She has challenged me in heart and spirit and I will forever put candy corn out in the fall to remind me of all the Lord has done in our lives. Thank you friend!

The second is to a new and equally challenging friend, Gracie/Mary Grace Welch. Mary Grace has the amazing talent of making me laugh. Often. I so appreciate someone who is genuine and honest and open with her life. Someone who is really funny is also really cool. I am challeneged by her because we are going to lead a small group together and it is something I haven't done is several years. Thanks my friend. I am getting deeper into the heart of the Lord by watching him at work in your life- you are a precious one before him and he is ever seeking to bless others through you. Let it begin!!

Some videos that I have yet to get out!

Okay, so for some reason I can't get videos to do as they should on blogger and I have figured out how to do them on youtube. So, here's some fun you've been missing around the Harrigan house-

This one was also really funny of the boys at NaeNae's house. It never ceases to amaze me what they come up with to do. I think you put them in a different place without their normal activities and this is what happens. . .sorry about your glass NaeNae.

Candlelight Dinner. . .

Last night we had a candlelight dinner a la Benjamin. He was wanting to so we thought, why not? Turn all the lights off, light the candles, and enjoy some soup. Samuel had the most fun, I think.

The Lord's Heart. . .

So, I have something to confess. John and I have a strong heart for the orphans of the world. When Benjamin was born the Lord spoke something very clear and very powerful to me: "There are babies in the world who don't have mommies and daddies. You are a mommy and he is a daddy. Make the connection." I know that doesn't sound very god-like, but I realize today that it was the beginning impartation from his heart for the heart of the abandoned. Since then much has happened, but one of the most important things has been a newly established connection with an orphanage in Shell, Ecuador. Patti Sue Arnold runs the place and is now up to 56 kids! Wow, is that an intense day. In her newsletter that we got last month, she introduced us to newborn twins that had been brought to her. The family could no longer keep them, so they brought them to the orphanage. Through several weeks and more events, we felt like the Lord was growing our hearts in love for these two. SO, we really decided to start the process. After a few calls and a lot more praying, we heard that these two had gone back home and another family member had come into the home to offer extra help and support. Despite the fact the my heart had become connected somehow, I am beginning to understand the way the Lord works. He wants us to grow in love for all those abandoned, that when the timing is exactly right we will be completely ready to obey. No questions asked, no deliberations, just ready. Until that day I continue to pray over these particular children, that the Lord would grow them in health and heart, that they would know Him from a young age and speak His truth to a lost world.
Romans 9 talks about the inheritance as sons that is due the Hebrew people because God has chosen them, and he continues to explain how we are grafted into that nation, how we become adopted sons of the Father. Oh that we would get a taste of the Spirit of Adoption, that we would better understand what it means to be a son of God-

"Theirs is the adoption as sons" Romans 9:4

"Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies." Romans 8:23

"For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love, he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will" Ephesians 1:4-5

Pic of the day

How funny is this. It was a matter of upmost urgency. Benjamin is skillfully holding the flashlight for his father, while John is wielding a small metal grabber tool that can miraculously retrieve small cars from under the stove. Samuel just had to be up and in the work. Yeah daddy!

Fun times at the Farm. . .

(that's John on the tractor!) Okay, so last Friday we talked as many people as we could into coming and helping do some farm labor. Though it wasn't pretty, it was really helpful and loads of fun! We had to spread 4 dump truck loads of manure over the garden that we had gotten for free! And we had to split all the monkey grass in the front flower beds, move a huge batch of hostas to a non-sunny place, divide a mass of ornamental grass into 5 smaller plants, level off the garden, weed the raspberries, spray the fruit trees, etc, etc, etc. Needless to say, we didn't get it all done, but we got a lot finished! The guys had a ton of fun in the manure all day and the ladies worked on all the other odd jobs. It was fun times together and we are eternally grateful for all the help. Thanks so much friends! Once again I was reminded of how blesssed we are to live in KC and be around others who inspire us to live better and love more. Thank you dear friends. . .

An Animal Madness. . .

Have fun everyone!

Fall Fun

Okay, so I went to bible study this past week, and Benjamin and Samuel stayed home with our friends Andrew and Chad. I came home and found them engaging in such fun. Oh the joys of fall. . .

Working on the videos. . . .

Voting. . .

So, I did get the vote out this morning, made a new friend in the line, and stood there for over 2 hours! I feel like I accomplished something. Anyway, hopefully it will all be over soon and we can get back to looking for the real redeemer, the ultimate king who will actually solve all our problems and rid the earth of actual suffering. May He come soon. . .

Quick thoughts. . .

Okay, so I am a fairly intelligent person. I have been keeping up with the election what-nots, learning about issues and arguments, attempting to make an educated vote come tomorrow. I turned on the TV tonight to watch the SNL skits that come on prime time and was thoroughly entertained. Afterwards we switched to Boston Legal and my mother-in-law who was watching with me commented that all the SNL stuff disgusts her because it appears that they are not taking the election seriously enough. It got me to thinking- what do you think? Is the SNL stuff so entertaining because we don't care enough, or because we simply can't stop thinking about it? Why is she so dang funny????

So, this has been a great weekend! We carved a lovely "Happy Pumpkin" and couldn't wait to see Aunt Erin and Aunt Kelly when they came to visit. We went to a Fall Festival on Friday night, ate chili dogs, and played games for candy. Daddy and Benjamin have spent yesterday and today in the garden, leveling off the land with the tiller and tractor. What fun! This week we will get some "horse poo" to hopefully turn the clay into dirt over the winter. :) Anyway, we also couldn't stop talking about how the zebra has to run away from the lion and the lion chases the zebra! We'll post more soon, but have a great week!