Children are a blessing

I spend every day, every moment with my two little bundles of joy. I change diapers every hour, read books every 30 min, I sing Pooh Bear theme songs before breakfast and after lunch, I nurse constantly, I soothe tears, kisses bruises, wipe dirty noses and doctor rashes; I spend every waking moment and even the sleeping hours thinking and mothering. Some people might say that's exhausting, don't you ever want a break? Its never exhausting and the times I do get out for some free time, I'm always missing them within an hour and can't wait to get back home to them. I can't imagine life without them both. I love being home all day. I love cooking, doing laundry, cleaning, writing (yes I get writing done here and there) and working on DIY projects, like making homeade hand soap. (shout out here to Young Living Essential Oils) I love doing all of this. Its restful, peaceful and so rewarding. And when I think of the fruit of what will bring it is so fully rich of blessing. These two lives that depend so solely on my care  right now could one day impact that world. Instead of overwhelming me, it is humbling. Nurturing the life of human being from the day they are created is beyond the best job and career in life. It has so much farther reaching results than any other career or position in life I can think of.

Every day I treasure because I know these days go fast. Children grow exponentially and these little moments of sweet sighs, little voices and pattering feet don't last forever. I watch as they learn new things every day from first smiles to first sentences. Its likes watching creation being spoken into being. There is glory and peace all wrapped into timeless moments. The blessing of children dictates the atmosphere in a home. Like the first spoken word that was breathed from God's lips, the lives and spirits of children breathe life and a creation of joy within a home. I know this is the fruit of months of prayer and setting our hearts as parents in the right place of receiving them as blessings and speaking the truth of who they are in Christ over them. (I mean literally speaking out verbally the truths of who they are)

People always marvel at the happiness and ease with which both my kids interact with the world. I can't attribute it to good parenting, because I feel like a fail at things every day. It has everything to do with speaking life and not death, refusing to speak the curses of low expectations and stereotypes of them, and instead proclaiming what God has destined them to be. People keep saying: "Well, just wait til she gets a little older or until he starts crawling." She got older folks and its not anywhere close to all your nay-saying. She has a sin nature, not doubt about that, but its not like this big shock. When we work through temper-tantrums or impatience or frustration I never feel like it is wearing me out, mostly because it happens so infrequently. He's not crawling yet of course, but he has been sleeping through the nights since 4 weeks. I honestly don't know how that happened, except that God has surrounded that child with a peace that surpasses all understanding. And I am telling you that comes out of the place of prayer and placing our children in surrender to the Lord's leadership and care. I am seriously selfish and imperfect as a parent and to be blessed with children who are so patient and so easy, seems beyond what I deserve. I keep waiting for something to get hard, something to get seriously challenging, but it only gets better. I don't understand how or why, except that the Lord is good and His mercy endures forever. His promise that children are a blessing is literal and He eagerly and graciously gives when we ask to receive that promise.

I am so thankful and pray that my heart can expand to hold and faithfully care for the good that He gives.

Isabelle Noelle, March 2014

Benjamin Titus, March 2014

Decorating the Tree Photoshoot

Our son is coming!

In 6 short weeks (give or take a few days) we will be welcoming our second child, Benjamin Titus into the world. Times flies, faster than you can blink, literally. It seems like just yesterday I was walking down the aisle to say my vows, and now I'm a mother to two. As the Christmas season speeds into view, welcomed by a blustery ice storm and a three day weekend of cozy time with my family of three, it seems that life couldn't get much better. Between Christmas shopping (aka amazon.com), decorating, crafting, cooking and parenting a 1-year-old whirlwind of energy and excitement, life is full and overflowing with joy and thanksgiving. When our son arrives, it will only cap an already beautiful season of abundance.

We look forward to holding him in our arms and getting to be parents once more to a second blessing from God.

4 months...

...my 22 birthday, Dec 11, 2009!

...camping at Kristen's.

...visiting Phil's family!

U2 Concert!

Nick and Kendra's wedding!

...state fair!

An excerpt from Red Moon Rising...

(from an amazing book I'm reading right now!)


So this guy comes up to me and says,” What’s the vision? What’s the big idea?” I open my mouth and words come out like this...

The vision?
The vision is JESUS – obsessively, dangerously, undeniably Jesus.
The vision is an army of young people. You see bones? I see an army.
And they are FREE from materialism.
They laugh at 9-5 prisons.
They could eat caviar on Monday and crusts on Tuesday.
They wouldn’t even notice.
They know the meaning of the Matrix, the way the West was won.
They are mobile like the wind, they belong to the nations. They need no passport. People write their addresses in pencil and wonder at their strange existence.
They are free yet they are slaves the hurting and dirty and dying.

What is the vision?

The vision is holiness that hurts the eyes. It makes children laugh and adults angry. It gave up the game of minimum integrity long ago to reach for the stars. It scorns the good and strains for the best. It is dangerously pure. Light flickers from every secret motive, every private conversation. It loves people away from their suicide leaps, their Satan games.
This is an army that will lay down its life for the cause.
A million times a day its soldiers
choose to lose
that they might one day win
the great “Well done,” of faithful sons and daughters.
Such heroes are as radical on Monday morning as Sunday night.
They don’t need fame from names. Instead they grin quietly upwards
and hear the crowds chanting again and again:” COME ON!”
And this is the sound of the underground
The whisper of history in the making
Foundations shaking
Revolutionaries dreaming once again
Mystery is scheming in whispers
Conspiracy is breathing...
This is the sound of the underground
And the army is discipl(in)ed.
Young people who beat their bodies into submission.
Every soldier would take a bullet for his comrade at arms.
The tattoo on their back boasts,” For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
Sacrifice fuels the fire of victory in their upward eyes.
Winners.
Martyrs.
Who can stop them?
Can hormones hold them back?
Can failure succeed?
Can fear scare them or death kill them?
And the generation prays
like a dying man
with groans beyond talking
with warrior cries, sulphuric tears and
with great barrow loads of laughter!
Waiting. Watching: 24-7-365
Whatever it takes they will give;
Breaking the rules
Shaking mediocrity from its cozy little hide.
Laying down their rights and their precious little wrongs,
Laughing at labels, fasting essentials.
The advertisers cannot mold them.
Hollywood cannot hold them.
Peer-pressure is powerless to shake their resolve at late night parties
Before the cockerel cries
They are incredibly cool, dangerously attractive inside.
On the outside? They hardly care.
They wear clothes like costumes to communicate and celebrate but never to hide.
Would they surrender their image or their popularity?
They would lay down their very lives – swap seats with the man on death row – guilty as hell.
A throne for an electric chair.
With blood and sweat and many tears, with sleepless nights and fruitless days, they pray as if it all depends on God and live as if it all depends on them.
Their DNA chooses JESUS (He breathes out, they breathe in.)
Their subconscious sings. They had a blood transfusion with Jesus.
Their words make demons scream in shopping centers.
Don’t you hear them coming?
Herald the weirdos!
Summon the losers and the freaks.
Here comes the frightened and forgotten with fire in their eyes.
They walk tall and trees applaud, skyscrapers bow, mountains are dwarfed by these children of another dimension.
Their prayers summon the hounds of heaven and invoke the ancient dream of Eden.
And this vision will be. It will come to pass; it will come easily; it will come soon.
How do I know? Because this is the longing of creation itself, the groaning of the Spirit, the very dream of God.
My tomorrow is his today.
My distant hope is his 3-D.
And my feeble, whispered, faithless prayer invokes a thunderous resounding, bone-shaking great “Amen!” from countless angels, from heroes of the faith, from Christ himself. And He is the original dreamer, the ultimate winner.
Guaranteed.

(Red Moon Rising by Peter Greig)

Summer's almost gone...

The scent of summer clings to my skin, like a warmy balmy breeze. Its a scent immersed in laughter, smiles and voices of dear family and friends. The sounds and images dance fresh through my mind. Bittersweet moments, lingering goodbyes, last looks, long hugs. I wish time would hold still, just to contain the richness of all these passing, precious memories. To remain still, however, would only hold back the beautiful memories to come.
Summer. Vibrant life. Pulsating heated passion. Glowing inspirations. The heartbeat of heaven has grown strong this summer in my soul. But the heat of the a noonday sun is slipping down into the cool of evening. The heartbeat is evening out into a steady rythmn. A rythmn perhaps even deeper than the exciting, wildness of the first.
Less than two weeks left, before summer ends and halls and pathways of a new world open their unfamiliar doors. I'm ready.

saying goodbye to summer...

No Rest

...another song I wrote this year.

No REST
My soul is ravished by Your thoughts
My heart cannot find its rest
You said to wait up on Your time
I'll wait until You show Your face

You've stolen my heart
Therefore I have no peace
I'm torn apart
It hurts just to speak

You have ripped my world apart
I cannot breath without You
Every love I've had
Is nothing compared to You

You won't relent
I cannot escape this time
Shake my life
There is no better love

Shake my life
Won't You break my life
Give me no rest
I cannot live without Your love.


[written by Natasha Fowler, April 08]

You are always good...

Where You go, I go
What You say, I say, God
And What You pray, I pray

Where You go, I go
What You say I say, God
And What You pray,I pray

Cause Jesus only did
What He saw You do
He would only say
What He heard You speak
And He would only move
When He felt You leave
Following Your heart
Following Your Spirit

So how can I expect to walk without You
When every move that Jesus made was in surrender
I will not begin to live withou You
For You alone are worthy
You are always good

Where You go, I go
What You say, I say, God
And What You pray, I pray

Where You go, I go
What You say, I say, God
And What You pray, I pray

The world sees and still forgets
We will not forget who You are
And what You have done for us
What You have done for us

...a love song.

Will You?

Will You stay forever?
Will you be my lover?
Will You walk next to me?
Gently like a brother.
Will Your gaze be at me?
Will you love no other?
Will You see yourself in me?
Let me be your father.

For you are My child
For you are My bride
For you are My child
you are My bride

Will You say I'm beautiful?
Will you be my daughter?
Will You always hold me?
Softly like a mother.
Will You dance this song with me?
Will you wait forever?
Will You melt my heart in love?
Let Me be your warrior.

For you are My child.
For you are My bride.
For you are My child.
you are My bride.

Say I'm lovely...
...you are worthy.
Say I'm perfect...
...you are holy.
Say You want me...
...I have made you.

Will You say I'm lovely?
I will say your worthy.

Written by Natasha Fowler, March 2008.