Good Bye, And Hello

Okay, I'll admit that that is a weird title. So let me explain...For the moment, Jen has decided that she is to busy to continue writing; so I decided that instead of changing this site, (which has been so much fun) I'd do a new one, leaving this one the way it is. For the time being, I'll be posting (though by myself) on the new site. If you are at all interested in visiting it, you may do so at www.becoming-new.blogspot.com. I am still in the process of working on it, so you'll have to forgive me if it's a little out of order. May God richly bless each and every one of you.
P.S. If you decided to visit, leave a comment (even if it's just your name) so I know you did so. Blessings!
posted by: Amy Skoczelak

Be At Peace

“Humility is to expect nothing, to wonder at nothing done to us, to feel nothing against us. It is to be at rest when nobody praises us and when we are blamed and despised. It is to have a blessed home in the Lord where we can go in and shut the door and kneel to our Father in secret, and be at peace when all around is trouble.”
~Andrew Murray

A Family Trip

We spent a wonderful afternoon today taking a trip as a family to River Valley Ranch. It was so much fun enjoying the outdoors as well as each others company. To add to the fun we were able to watch as our friend compete in the rodeo (Go Aust. you were great!). What a blessing family is! If you want to see a few pictures you can do so by clicking here. Blessings!

Though Unseen - Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

I just got back from taking a friend a meal. She was six months pregnant and the Lord decided to take her little girl home. They are crushed. But as they are believers, they are also trusting in God for His sovereign plan to be accomplished in their lives. Its times like these that I am reminded of how precious life is and how much we take it for granted. I wonder why God would take a little one, prayed for and wanted so much by its parents, and yet He continues to give children to women who will have abortions or will neglect them. I guess the only answer is that God is God and we are not. The older I get the more I realize that it’s a mistake to “try” to figure God out. We know He is righteous, all- knowing, and loving and as such He’ll always do what’s right. I guess that’s why He says to “trust” Him. Guess it wouldn’t require much trust if we already knew the outcome of everything.

Even though this precious little girl never made it to full term, and will never be able to be held by her mommy and daddy; what a comfort it is to know that she was no less a person and as such is safe in her Heavenly Father’s arms. I can’t help but think about how our culture so nonchalantly deems these unborn little ones “not human” or “just tissue”. What a blessing to know beyond a shadow of a doubt, that life begins at conception and not birth. “For you formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.” Psalm 139:13-16. Amazing! God is intimately acquainted with each life as He’s busy forming it. Each little one has the finger prints of God, to use a human analogy. Even before they are conceived He already knows them and has ordained their days. There are no mistakes with God and even though it’s a painful process, how wonderful it is that we don’t have to grieve like the world. We can acknowledge that these little ones were really alive and one day we will see them again. On that day, everything will finally make sense, and we will have the rest of eternity to spend together praising our wonderful Savior.

I so look forward to having children of my own some day, as is just about every girl I know. Today though was so sobering for me, in that it made me contemplate what my response to God would be if I’m ever called to walk in my friend’s shoes. I was reminded that we have no guarantees of what our own futures might hold. And though I pray I will never have to feel this kind of pain, I realized anew that the time to rest in who God is starts before the trail. The way we react to the trails He sends our way will reveal the way we already view Him. For me, that's a sobering thought.

If you think about it, would you please lift this friend and her husband up in prayer as they grieve, but trust in the Lord? Blessings!

Posted by: Amy Skoczelak

Is God Over All?

As my Church came to a close last Sunday, we sang a new version of the old song, “Take my Life and Let It Be ” written by Frances R. Havergal.
“Take my life and let it be consecrated Lord for thee. Take my moments and my days; Let them flow in ceaseless praise. Take my hands and let them move at the impulse of thy love, Take my feet and let them be swift and beautiful for thee...”
As we got to the added chorus (by Chris Tomlin), I felt these simple, and yet profound, words resonate within my spirit, “…Here am I, ALL of me, take my life, it’s ALL for thee.” As I looked at the screen that pictured those words for all to see, I wonder how many times I just mouthed words like that, without stopping to let the full impact of them take root within my heart. I couldn’t help but ask myself the question, “Are you living out what you’re singing?” I wondered how many times, unlike the song, I was only willing to give Christ “part” of my life, while holding in reserve those areas I was not willing to have Him change me in. As I mulled over that chorus again and again in my mind, I realized that I needed to be more faithful with letting God into every area of my life, and not just the ones I’ve deemed “safe”.

We all want Jesus as our Savior – we want to be freed from sins dark curse and punishment, but how often do we struggle with letting God be “Lord” over our lives? I think we all have those few areas that we don’t want to let God into, realizing that if we do, than He might call us to change. Why is it that often times God comes across as looking like the bad guy by “taking away all of our fun?” I know I’ve been tempted to think this way saying, “God it’s not fair” or “You don’t understand”. Wow! How deceiving sin can be. Instead, I should be thankful that the God of the universe, the one who always was, always is, and always will be, takes the time to be “intimately acquainted with all my ways,” as stated in Psalm 139:3b.

Coming away from Church and all this week, I’ve been reminded that God wants our hearts and lives totally devoted to Him. He wants to be the Lord over EVERY area of our lives. He wants there to be no area we feel is too great a price to surrender to Him. I’m sharing this not because I'm good at doing it, but because I have a long way to go. And this song served as one of God's reminders in helping me get closer to that goal one step at a time.

If you’d like the rest of the words to that song, I’ve listed them below. If you click on the title, there’s a link that will show you where you can hear a small clip (track 14) as well. Blessings!

TAKE MY LIFE ~Chris Tomlin

Verse 1
Take my life and let it be consecrated Lord for thee
Take my moments and my days
Let them flow in ceaseless praise
Take my hands and let them move at the impulse of thy love
Take my feet and let them be swift and beautiful for thee

Verse 2
Take my voice and let me sing always only for my King
Take my lips and let them be filled with messages for thee
Take my silver and my gold not a mite would I withhold
Take my intellect and use every power as you choose

Chorus
Here am I ---- all of me
Take my life ---- it’s all for thee

Verse 3
Take my will and make it thine it shall be no longer mine
Take my heart it is thine own it shall be thy royal throne
Take my love my Lord I’ll pour at thy feet its treasure store
Take myself and I will be ever only all for thee

Aren't those powerful words?

Posted by: Amy SKoczelak

Jesus Christ

J esus, Son of God Eternal
E verlasting Lord is He,
S avior of a world of sinners,
U niversal King to be,
S ought us, brought us victory.

C hrist is due all adoration,
H umbly born to save our race,
R uler of the whole creation
I ntercedes and gives us grace,
S aves us from sin's condemnation,
T ruly worthy of all praise!

~ Author Unknown~

Quotable Quotes

Two dear friends shared these quotes with me (thanks CEF and SF). They sound simple, yet when you stop to think about them they are so profound.
"Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength."
~Corrie ten Boom ~

"Live as though Christ died yesterday, rose from the grave today, and is coming back tomorrow."
~Theodore Epp~

"You'll never know that God is all you need, until God is all you have."
~Corrie ten Boom~

Posted by: Amy Skoczelak

The Girl I Used To Be

I love this poem and thought it was well worth sharing. What a blessing to grow up knowing this...

She came tonight as I sat alone,The girl I used to be.
And she gazed at me with her earnest eye And questioned reproachfully,"Have you forgotten the many plans And hopes that I had for you?"
"The great career, the splendid fame, All the wonderful things to do?"

"Where is the mansion of stately height With all of its gardens rare?""The silken robes that I dreamed for you And the jewels in your hair?"
And as she spoke, I was very sad For I wanted her pleased with me ... This slender girl that I used to be.

So gently rising, I took her hand,And guided her up the stairs Where peacefully sleeping, my babies lay So innocent, sweet, and fair.
I told her that these are my only gems,And Precious they are to me;That silken robe is my Motherhood Of costly simplicity.

And my mansion of stately height is love, And the only career I know,Is serving each day in these sheltered walls For the dear ones who come and go.
And as I spoke to my shadowy guest,She smiled through her tears at me;And I saw the woman I am now ... Pleased I'm the girl I used to be.

~ Unknown Author

Perfect Strength

One of my favorite Bible verses, though it's one that I’ve mentioned before, is found in 2 Corinthians 12:9 (sorry, it's different from the one on the picture! Note to a friend: at least I got the eagle right this time!!). It says, “My (meaning Christ’s) strength is sufficient for you, for My (Christ's) strength is made perfect in (our) weakness.” So many times in my life I try to accomplish things in my own strength and than become discouraged as one by one all my best efforts fail. Yet, it's the times when I am reminded of how much I do need Him, that I begin to feel His presence the most. He truly meets us when we humbly realize how weak and needy we are. And it's through Christ's strength that we are finally able to be used by Him and live in obedience to Him. I found this song by Steven Curtis Chapman a while ago and it’s become so precious to me. If you click HERE you too can hear it. Take the time to really listen to the words and meditate on their meaning. Remember, the one who created all of this (you’ll see what I’m referring to when you click the link above) is the same one who is here to strengthen and guide each one of us. What a comforting thought! Blessings!

Posted by: Amy Skoczelak

Simple Pleasures

Today was a wonderful day, not because of anything to out of the ordinary, but because I got to spend it with my little blessings!

To explain…Coming from a big family, with many younger ones, it’s often so easy to look at every day as a challenge to see what I can get done and how fast. Some of the time it’s necessary to think like that, but many times, in my rush, I forget that each life is a precious gift and one that should be cherished. Being home schooled my whole life; I began homeschooling my younger siblings a few years ago after graduating. This year I’ve been teaching reading to three of our five youngest ones. If you’ve ever taught a small child to read, you’ll know it requires a LOT of patience and covering the same ground again and again; a fact that I didn’t always realize, but soon found out. When I first started out teaching I was in the “Get it done as quickly as possible so we can move on to the next thing” mode. I quickly found out that that kind of mind set leads to a frustrated teacher and students. God has been so gracious in showing me that when I think like this, I’m missing out on some of the greatest blessings he has put in my life. It’s not a battle to see how much I can accomplish; it’s a way of building relationship that will last forever. To see their faces light up when they have “finally” grasped a concept is becoming priceless. I’m learning to try to slow done and enjoy the twenty minutes (x3) that it takes to read 4 or 5 pages of an easy reader; and instead of thinking the whole time about what I need to do next, really appreciating the time I have with each one, cherishing the opportunity to be a part of their lives.

That brings me to today… I took four of the children out to the library and shopping at Wal-Mart, and it was wonderful. It took twice as long to get my errands done, but we had fun. The time didn’t seem to matter as we went up and down the aisles, two in the cart and one on each side. The looks people gave me where so funny as they tried to figure out why I had so many children, while not looking old enough. I love it when people ask me “are they all yours?” I’m so tempted to just smile and leave them to figure it out!!! Even the time at the library, spending over an hour to pick out a few books was so sweet; as each one tried to find “just the right ones” while being able to fit the content into their limited vocabulary. Just in case you’re wondering…we were able to complete that mission!! And to top it of, we all shared snowballs on our beautiful drive home, windows down, enjoying the marvelous breeze. As I looked in the rearview mirror at the red stained faces, the Lord seemed to remind me that “this” is what’s most important and I felt a sweet contentment and sense of blessing wash over me. Even though upon coming home there were still unfinished things waiting for me, it didn’t seem to matter. He had blessed me with the opportunity to be apart of a much bigger picture.

Being the oldest in a large family, I find it so easy to become annoyed or frustrated at all the seemingly endless tasks that encompass the daily care of younger ones. I’m so glad that God gives those little moments of pure pleasure to sweetly remind me of the preciousness of each one. Walking through the door and having three little sisters race to give hugs, waking up in the middle of the night to find a little one cuddled up next to me and spending the rest of the night trying not to move so I don’t end up pushing them off the bed, getting something to eat or drink and always hearing “can I have some?”, taking a nap with a baby on your lap because you can’t move or you’ll awaken him, baking and having half of your batter spilt out of the bowl by someone “trying to help”, errands that take twice as long and hardly being able to push the cart because so many are trying to ride on it, little helpers, big smiles …these are all God’s sweetest blessings in life and ones that can so easily be overlooked if we don’t stop and take the time to enjoy each and every one. For us girls, may God show us how to put into the lives of each precious younger one He’s so graciously placed in our lives. When we’re tempted to grow tired and weary, may we be reminded that they are not little forever, and the moments wasted can’t be relived. Blessings!

Posted by: Amy Skoczelak