Yesterday as I sat listening to the rain beat down on our metal roof I could not help but be overwhelmed for the beautiful life that I am blessed to live. God is so good to me and has blessed me with more than I could ever possibly deserve. Yet I fail him daily, but He keeps on being good.

Jeff started teaching a new church membership class yesterday and we had about 95 people attend that. Saturday night as we were trying to gauge how many would attend this class we asked our kids who was planning to attend. I was blown away that over 30 of our sons and daughters want to be church members. God has been working on hearts in our home a lot these past few months.

Part of the membership class, Jeff said several more arrived after he started.

Yesterday I attended church where Jeff taught on the Noahic Covenant for the 3rd week. We took communion and sang Gloria Patri to close out the service and it is so sweet to see fellow believers coming to take communion. The first several years we were here we wondered if we would ever see more than just a few believers in church.

After church I was able to write some Scriptures down for one of my daughters who is struggling in a couple of areas. Our kids come to us with so much pain and hurt that they did not want to share at first, but finally many of them are opening up and allowing us to help them and point them to Christ, the only One who can truly carry their burdens.

After lunch, 10 or more of my sons came into our office to just talk and share with me. My heart is so full of joy. They are letting me know them and their thoughts and they are wanting to know me and hear about my life. They are letting me guide them instead of just hearing me talk like Charlie Brown hears his teacher. I think we are all learning a lot from each other.

One of my other sons told me, “Thank you for your great support in my life. It is always a great privilege for me to have you as my Mom. I love you so much Mom.” Tears instantly filled my eyes and my heart burst wide open because I’ve longed for these moments for the last 7+ years. I love being a Mom, it is my favorite part of every day.

After supper we ended our evening with 3 separate Bible studies; one with some of our teens on the Biblical way to make decisions in life, one with just the teen boys around the fire pit on Proverbs 6, and one in our living room on 1 John 2:15-17.

I’m went to bed last night exhausted, but filled with joy. The Word throughout the day encouraged me, the relationships God has been weaving together have brought my heart joy and peace, and my cup overflows because I am blessed beyond measure with this beautiful life God has poured out on me.

Overwhelming Joy

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