Reading

Lately...

I have immensely enjoyed reading the book Contentment by Lydia Brownback.  A sweet friend- Bonnie Myers sent this to me for my birthday.  I understand that they have many different books but this sweet friend new this was the one I needed as I had prayed and shared often with her at Southern that I struggled in this area of contentment.  This has been a neat little book to read while I am nursing Jeremiah to help me take advantage of these moments to ponder God's Word in this area.

A few neat quotes,
"He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?"  (Rom. 8:32)  Can we not be content if part of the "all things" includes some withholding?  For the daughter of God, any withholding is itself a provision, and we can experience it with joy when we know that the withholder loves us."

"Our problem really isn't that we need something we don't have; our problem is that we don't find God to be enough for us."  So true!!!

Just some thoughts on this rainy Saturday :)  I also have recently enjoyed reading Instructing a Child's Heart by Tedd & Margy Tripp- very good!  Trying to think what I should read next. :)

Mothers Carry Many Loads...

Happy Late Mother's Day.  I felt like this year on Mother's day, I was never more grateful for the mother I have.  This year, I am thankful for the Lord answering prayer and giving me the privilege to be a mom after a season of waiting and longing.  I am praising the Lord for the sweet gift of Jeremiah.  It has been a stretching 3 months but I am thankful for this new role.  I was also this year on Mother's Day- never so thankful for my mom.  I think becoming a mom has given me a HUGE appreciation for my mom in thinking through all she did for me and my 3 siblings.  When I think of how she had 4 of us- I am just amazed!  :)  I appreciate the discipline, sacrifice and care my mother gave to us.  :)  And I appreciate her new role as grandmother and all she has done to help with Jeremiah esp. in the first few weeks.  :)  This Mothers' Day I was also thinking how many women long to be mothers and how the Lord has in his timing and providence not granted their request, and though that is so hard to understand, I do pray we would be attentive to their hurts and longings and encourage them to be a "mother" to children the Lord has placed in their midst.  The Lord has given women the desire to nurture and care for children and we need to encourage singles, and married women without children to invest in the children's lives around them!

On another note, one of the most interesting Mother's Day sermons I have heard- was John Piper's- To Be A Mother is a call to Suffer...  Not quite the flowery type of sermon for moms but something to ponder and think about as we are called to suffer and sacrifice for our little ones...

My Birthday

Last Saturday was my 29th birthday.  My dear sweet husband was planning a fun evening- complete with Grandma Lyons babysitting Jeremiah and all- but our plans did not turn out as we expected.  Saturday was beautiful and we went to a park in Cincy- Mount Storm Park.  My goal this summer is to visit all the parks in Cincinnati.  Michael and I went downtown to eat some Japanese and then we were going to go on the Cincinnati Riverboat tour, but as we went up to the boat- they told us the river was too flooded.  So we were very disappointed.  Then we went to get a milkshake which took a long time for our server to get to us.  Then we were going to watch a sunset and it had clouded over.  :)  So our time was not quite what we expected but it was still a nice time along the flooded river of Cincinnati.  :)  We had a great view of downtown and enjoyed being out together. :)  Michael promised me a rain check for the boat ride- we just have to wait literally until it stops raining!  :)   We are thankful that Michael is finished with his 1 year at Hebrew Union!!!!  :)  We are so thankful for how the Lord has been with us this year! 

Oh and my birthday is not complete each year without a Dairy Queen ice cream cake!  Love them!!!

Jeremiah's Friends :)

Jeremiah loves his friends lately.  Lets see, we have Timmy the Turtle, Leo the Lion and Germy the Giraffe.  He loves to try to grab a hold of them or to knock them off of his stomach.  So we try to surround him with many friends.  :) 

Chip Stam: March 10, 1953 to May 1, 2011

Psalm 116:15, "Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints."

A godly man has gone home to see firsthand the glory of Jesus.  He taught all of us at Southern how to suffer well and how to trust Jesus when life takes a turn we don't expect.

Chip's Story

Their caringbridge website

Easter 2011

My family came to visit this past weekend for Easter and we had so much fun visiting with them and celebrating Christ's death and resurrection!  My sister- Rachel and her husband Mike visited as well and we enjoyed some "coffee shop time" with them.  We also went to Montgomery Inn to try their delicious "Cincinnati" BBQ sauce- the restaurant was down on the river and boy was that river high from all the rain we have had- and it happened to be raining all weekend.  

Daddy & Jeremiah tried to dress similar for Easter morning.  Jeremiah received as a gift this little outfit with the lion on his vest.  :)  Grandma Lyons got him a bib that said his first Easter. :)

Here is a picture of my whole family- minus Jonathan- he had to work and go to school back in PA.

Both sets of grandparents!  We had our 6th annual Lyons Den Easter meal now at Grandpa & Grandma Lyons home for more room!  We still tried to help and make some fixings.  I admit it was sad that I did not host this year in our apartment but it worked out well!

My dad- Pop-pop Delp had a way with Jeremiah all weekend- usually at night when he was fussy- he would put him on his shoulder and just rub his back and he would just calm down and become all relaxed- just look at that face!!!  It reminded me of when my dad would lay with us as kids before bed and we always wanted him to rub our backs.  Sometimes- well most often- he would fall asleep before we would but it was so special and I can tell Jeremiah is going to enjoy his Pop-pop time as well as Mom-mom time too.  He loved playing with my mom as well.  Jeremiah was happy they were here and sad when they left. :(  We are thankful for the reminder this weekend of the glorious resurrection and the hope we have in Him!  I pray that in future years as Jeremiah gets older- I will be thoughtful of activities that can help him think through the TRUE meaning and hope that Easter brings!  For now, today is one of the first days of sun in weeks- so we are going to Winton Woods to walk!  :) 

Sweet Friends

This weekend, sweet friends Nicole Fenton and Sara Fillmann packed up their Sara's minivan and brought their two kiddos the 8 hour trip to visit Sarah Brown and I in Cincinnati.  It was so fun to hang out together and catch up!  I know it was quite the trip for them to bring their kiddos all the way out here.  We did various things around nap and feeding schedules but were able to go to a few parks and let Joshua run around and then we did make it to Jungle Jims for a little bit.  Sara Fillmann and I have been friends now for over 17 years I think.  She was my best friend throughout high school and we got the privilege of rooming together in college.  More than that she is a sweet friend and sister who pushes me to be more like Christ!  I value her prayers and advice as a mom now in this season!  Nicole Fillmann I met through the Saras- she and her husband challenge me in their love for Christ and how they make hard decisions and sacrifices to serve Him!  And Sarah Brown is a sweet friend who now I get to see in Cincinnati- she is a great compassionate nurse at a children's burn hospital downtown!  Sarah has a heart for serving people and for the world in missions!  Sarah Brown will do anything for you- she truly serves with joy and a servant's heart!  So I learn so much from being with these sweet friends!   I love Watermark's Song, "More Than You'll Ever Know", which sums up how the Lord has used these sweet friends along my walk in this journey of life.  :)

Something brought you to my mind today

I thought about the funny ways

you make me laugh

And yet I feel like it's ok to cry with you

Something about just being with you

When I leave I feel like I've been with God

and that's the way it ought to be, yeah

Chorus:

Cause you've been more than a friend to me

you fight off my enemies

cause you have spoken the truth over my life

And you'll never know what it means to me

just to know you've been on your knees for me

Oh, you have blessed my life

more than you'll ever know

Yeah, yeah, yeah, more than you'll ever know

Yeah, yeah, yeah

 

Just A Few...

A few weeks ago we took a family picture with 4 generations of Lyons men- I thought it turned out pretty good.

Jeremiah enjoyed taking care of Grandma's cat- but they kept their distance...

Jeremiah got his 2 month shots last Thursday- he was so happy on the changing table and moving around and then wham- he didn't know what hit him- poor guy!  I am very thankful that he is gaining weight and the doc feels like he is on track now better than he was.  :)

This past weekend, Jeremiah and I went to a Family Summit at church and was blessed by some sharing on Godly men and women about parenting.  I realized that I need to be praying more during the day for Jeremiah and be more reliant and dependent on the Lord for His wisdom!  I was listening to a sermon by John Piper the other week about the love of God and was reminded that as parents and any children we have in our lives- we need to model the love of God.  John Piper said that his mom showed him a picture of the love of God and how he was able to believe in God because of her model.  I pray that the Lord would be making me more like Christ so that I can point my family to Christ!

Also, keep praying for Michael- he has a hugely busy week- really until the beginning of May- so we are in survival mode in our house and Jeremiah and I are trying not to make like too difficult for Michael.  Though Jeremiah still hasn't gotten the memo that daddy can study so much better if you don't cry all night for his attention.  :)  Really, we don't know what he is crying for.  :)

Cincinnati :)

So as a newcomer to this great city, I am learning about certain events that are important to the "locals" here.  Opening Day is definitely one of them!  Last Thursday, March 31- the Reds played their first game and won!  So many people are all excited and celebrating the Opening Day of baseball.  So we decided to take up some of the offers of the local eateries around!  We decided to go to Skyline before Michael's Hebrew class.  It was Jeremiah's first Skyline experience, complete with bib and all.  So I enjoyed my 2 free coneys on Opening Day! 

This spring and summer, I am looking forward to exploring my new city more and seeing what else defines the city of "Cincinnati."  :) 

We also had a few visitors and helpers last week.  Nicole Nephew is a great young lady and comes over twice a month to help me with Jeremiah!  She is great with babies and she has helped me do the dishes, take Jeremiah and grocery shop at Kroger, feed him a bottle and give him a bath.  It is fun to get to know her and she is super helpful!!

Erin Spring and Olivia came over to visit last Monday and Olivia loved holding little Jeremiah!  We were excited to see them as I used to watch Olivia this fall so it was fun to see her again and see how much she has grown, especially in her vocabulary!  :)

What We Did Yesterday...

It was just one of those days...

OK- so Michael didn't really sleep- he has a busy next 2 weeks of classes and will finish up his first year at Hebrew Union the first week of May!  We are very excited for him to have a little "free time" so he can play with us.  :)  It has been a rough semester for Michael but the Lord has given him much grace and has sustained him!  He has been a great husband and daddy through it all!  But we look forward to having more time with him!