Praise You in this storm

Well I wasn't palnning on posting tonight but riding home from church and reflecting on somethings I felt that I should. I know the title of this post is very similar to a song by Casting Crowns (which I happen to love) but it seems to fit the lesson I have seen going in my life and around me.
Let me start by saying there is a girl whom I used to work with at school that is going through a storm that I wasn't aware of. Since she posted on facebook I am sure she won't mind me putting it here. She has just found out that one of her boys has autism. Her post that I read today took my breath and brught tears to my eyes and put a lump in my throat. In the midst of this news she is thanking God for not letting her baby have more serious issues than he does and for God blessing her by allowing her to be his mother. All I could think was WOW! I would hope that facing that kind of challenge I would be able to have the heart that she does.
I have gone through some storms in my life and although they do not compare to her's, I can say that the ones I went through looking to God and letting Him be my comfort and strength were much easier to go through than those I didn't.
Today in youth at church we continued our study on King David. As David was on the run from King Saul he took time to praise God. He knew that Saul was after him to kill and yet still Praised God! I hope that I can learn a lesson from David and even this very special mom and realize that when I am going through a storm, as unbearable as it my seem my God is in control and worthy to be praised!

Catchin' up!

Well it's been about 2 weeks since I posted last because we have been in a whirlwind of "busy-ness"!

Last week Mr. Who ended up sick on Monday & spent the afternoon in bed!
I had a Tastefully Simple on Tuesday for my best girl...Michelle! Which ended up being my BEST party yet!!
Wednesday was church with our youth at PBC where we finished up our Courage study with Francis Chan whom I RE ALLY like!
Thursday my 1st graders at school had their PTA program which they did FABULOUSLY on!
Friday began the weekend of cakes- A UGA cake Friday night for Ethan & a Transformer Bumble Bee cake for our crazy yet sweet Karsyn on Saturday!
Sunday we got to catch up with some good friends after church to watch the not-so-wonderful Falcons game...but we enjoyed our time with them!
Which brought us to this past Monday it was a holdiay from school but me & my 3 little Whos spent it in the doctors office because my littlest Who was sick :( But we got some antibiotics & he is all better! Then I got to meet with my Sisters in Christ for our Bible study @ PBC which I do enjoy!
This Thursday we signed Karlee Who up for softball...finally...this is 1 excited Mama to see my baby girl play again! Hoping she likes it this time!
Yesterday (Friday) Aunt D D took the 2 oldest Whos to the Circus! So I took advantage of the situation & was able to get Gram & Grandaddy to keep baby Who & Wesley & I went on a date!

But with all this "busy-ness" God has really been working on my heart and convicting me. I have been guilty of playing "The Busy Mom" card (I even have it on my voicemail) the past couple of years....& I am tired of it. I want to make sure that I don't occupy my time with things that don't matter. I know that we will be busy at times especially with our kids & the things we like to do at church. But I don't want our "busy-ness" to get in the way of the important things. I want to make sure that we do spend the time with our kids that we should doing things they enjoy, that we do spend time with our kids teaching them the Word of God, that Wesley & I do spend time with each other doing things we like doing together, that we do spend time in The Word of God together & on our own, that we do model to our children a marriage that is built on Godly foundation & reflects the relationship of Christ & the Church. So I am praying that God will work in mine & my families lives so that we can do what He wants us to do with our lives rather than being preoccupied with things that don't really matter & all this "busy-ness!"

Baptism Sunday

This post is going to be rather long but I need to tell you my heart.

So yesterday was a FABULOUSLY AMAZING Sunday for Mama Horton and all of my Whos!! Yesterday Wesley & I got baptized. Some of you, if not most of you might be going "what I thought they were already baptized?" And the answer is yes we both were baptized when we were younger & no we don't promote being baptized more than once (in Acts chapter 16:33 & Acts 18:8 scripture talks about whole families being saved through faith in Jesus Christ & then being baptized) but you should be baptized when you are truly professing salvation and is ready to be convicted of sin and live a life according to Jesus' teachings which will not be easy and require him/her to completely leave who they were and become a new person (Matthew 16:24-28).

We have learned recently ALOT about true salvation. Romans 6: 1-14 speaks of the fact that because Jesus died and took on our sin if we are truly saved through faith in him we will die to sin. We cannot be saved and continue to live in sin. Yes, we will sin as Christians because we are not perfect but our goal for every second of our life should be to live as Jesus did (sinless). As an evangelist John Reed taught us in November you cannot live in habitual sin and profess salvation. Jesus is light & sinless so He cannot exist in the same place as darkness & sin.

Wesley and I realized through John's teaching and studying God's word that we had lived in habitual sin after we were "saved" when we were younger which led us to the question of "are we truly saved?" Could we have been in Christ and in those other situations together? The answer is no. In Ephesians 5: 8-21 it says that we once lived in sin but now as believers in Christ we are the light and we should live as children of light. It goes on to say that we should only do what pleases the Lord and have nothing to do with darkness and fruitless deeds. Now you may be questioning, saying, "so, you are saying perfection?" No, I am not saying that I will or can be perfect but I cannot live with habitual sin that I am unrepentant of. Repentance- turning away from completely! I was not there at that point in my life.

So that brings us to April when God used some unfortunate circumstances in my life to show me that I was not who I was pretending to be. I was of the mindset that I was doing all of these things right, serving the Lord at church, praying (occasionally), reading my Bible (when I felt I had time, which wasn't very often because I liked to throw out "the busy, working mother of 3" card whenever I could), being a better wife and mother than other people who I had convinced myself were doing it all wrong (disturbing right!) If I had all of these things going for me there was no reason to question my salvation. But God put me in a situation that made me reevaluate who I was in Him...and I didn't like what I saw! Now this part isn't all doom and gloom and depression, instead this has been the most miraculous time in my life. I can truly say that I can see and feel a true change in my entire life in a way that I have never known before. I can only explain these changes by saying Jesus gave me the capability, strength, and power to change in the ways I have.

It is so surreal when I really sit back and think about what I am thinking, saying, and feeling now. Not at all to say that I am now perfect (haha yeah right!!) But to know where I thought I was and now see where I truly was and where I am now is just crazy!

I am thankful to my Savior for what He has done in my life no matter how difficult circumstances might have been I can truly say it has been a blessing to see Him change Wesley and I. I pray that everyone who reads this post can truly evaluate who they are in Christ and if they are who they should be in Him then continue, if they are not who they think they are I pray they be convicted, if they do not know Him as their Savior I pray that they come to the realization that He is the one and only Risen King (Matt. 28:6, Mark 16:6, Luke 24:34) and He can be the King of their life if they will acknowledge Him.

Ear Tubes & a Birthday Party

We started yesterday bright early getting tubes put in Easton's ears! I was a little nervous since neither of the other 2 Horton babies have had any surgical procedures...but Easton was hospitalized when he was 2 months old and yesterday he got tubes at 9 months old! So let's just say he is making sure we got those experiences as parents. I do have to say it went great!! We waited before the surgery for about 1 1/2 hours where he played and then fell asleep. They came and took him to surgery and we waited for about 20 minutes before they let me see him in recovery. He was hungry and a little foggy afterwards but other than that he was good and has been doing good since then!! Hopefully that willput an end to the ear infections and antibiotics!

We ended the day with Tanner's "Lightning McQueen birthday party with his friends" Since he came to me last week to inform me that he really wanted a party with Nolan and his friends! When his uncle asked what he got at his party he answered "Lightning McQueen" which pretty much sums it up! He got all things Lightning McQueen with everything from a McQueen fishing pole to a McQueen bathsuit, It was soo fun to watch him play with his friends and nice to visit with everyone,

Happy Birthday Tanner

Well today was a special day for our family...our Tanner turned 3!! He has been waiting for this day and counting down the days. This morning he comes to our room at 5 as I am getting up to start my day and says Mommy is my birthday coming? I say yes today is your birthday! He says I am not 2 anymore now I am 3!! I love my little man. He makes me smile everyday!
I thank the Lord everyday for the 3 blessings He has given me by allowing me to be the mommy to His precious creations. I know that I take them for granted at times but I truely don't know what I would do without them in my life. Thank you Lord for your blessings!

A Weekend of Firsts!

We had a weekend of firsts for the Horton family.
Saturday afternoon we went bowling as a family...this was Who-Tanner's FIRST time bowling! He was hilarious...giving us high-fives everytime we did a good job, doing dances when he did good. It was so fun to watch his excitement! And although it wasn't the first time it is the first time I have proof...I BEAT Mr. Who at bowling!! Go Mama Horton!! Mr. Who may not be too happy about me telling you about this...shhhh!

Sunday evening was a first for Who-Easton...his first time eating spaghetti. I now have adorable messy pictures of all of my babies eating spaghetti! You gotta love their precious orange faces and sacuce covered hands!

We had to get back into the swing of things and real life this morning to head back to school for me and Who-Karlee and Ms. Michelle's for Who-Tanner & Who-Easton. We managed to do it and make it out of the house a little earlier than I expected.

I finished up my Monday evening with another Awesome night with my great sisters in Christ for week 6 of our Bible Study True Woman 101: Divine Design. What an AMAZING study on Biblical womanhood...but that will have to be another post!

Up and Running

So....I have been thinking about starting a blog to share my crazy life with anyone who might be interested in reading about it. I was out with some good friends the other night and blogging came up and they inspired me to go ahead and do it. I can't say that I will update everyday but hopefully close to it. With that said...here it is! My cute blog about my busy life and all the things me and my Whos do! I hope you enjoy!