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Thursday, October 1, 2009

October Praise and Coffee Giveaway AND Awesome Guest Post!

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This month's Praise is:

Hillsong's "Faith + Hope + Love
You are going to LOVE it!!!! It's my current favorite!


You'll also get some very yummy "Praise and Coffee" label coffee!!


PLUS, our good friends at Bayview Cards are giving you a beautifully handmade box of cards!





TO ENTER DRAWING:

~> Post a comment to THIS post after reading Denise's post and tell her how much it touched your heart- I know it did mine!!!

~> Please make sure that I have a way to contact you-PLEASE!

~> If you have one of my "Praise and Coffee Giveaway" buttons on your blog, let me know and you will be entered twice. Here is a link to all my buttons: Blog Buttons



ALSO...you're so blessed this first day of October!!!

A guest post from one of my favorite-est girlfriend's Denise (click on picture to check out her blog!)


Where Are the Stars?

Our youngest, S4, has a fascination with stars. When we are out in the evening, he must search the sky for the first star. Once he finds it, he points excitedly, jumps up and down, shows it off to anyone near him as if we have never seen stars before and then breaks into song….

“Twinkle twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are……”

It’s the cutest thing ever.

The other night we, S4 and I, walked out to the shed where we keep the deep freezer stocked with ice cream. The sky was filled with stars and S4, who is very afraid of the dark, clung to my hand and sang. Anyone who was with him must sing as well.


When I went to bring the ice cream back that night, he didn’t want to go with me. It was just too dark. “But you sing the song, Moma”, he told me as I headed out.

I knew he would ask if I had indeed sang it when I got back in so I did sing it to myself, feeling pretty dorky, as I walked to and from the shed. And sure enough, he wanted to know if I had sung the song. I was glad I had.

When it’s a cloudy night, S4 will look for the stars and panic when he doesn’t see them. He is sure some sort of catastrophe has occurred and taken the stars. Without stars, what is the purpose of night?

I try to explain to him they are just beyond the clouds, just beyond what we can see. He is very skeptical. He searches the sky until he can, indeed, see the stars again and then, once more, we must sing the song.

So often when this happens I think of how that is in my Christian walk. When going through the dark times, I am scared. God is the light that gets me through. He sends me a million trillion reminders of His love. “His banner over me is love” is the song that runs through my head. He is there and while it is dark, it’s in the dark I see the beauty.

But there are times when I can’t see God in the midst of my dark time. I can only see darkness everywhere, every dark shadow and crevice is something to take me down and out for good. I don’t want to be out in the night, I don’t want to walk from point A to point B. I know God is there, but I can’t see Him. And it is difficult in that time to praise Him, to trust Him, to see the beauty in the darkness.

God always brings the morning, whether they are filled with sunshine or storms. There is always the sun. God always brings the night, whether they are star filled or dark. But God is always in control, always there, and I am reminded of that when ever I have to again remind my little boy that the stars are indeed there…that morning will indeed come… How often don’t I need God to remind me the same way? “The dark night will pass, I am faithful and true.” And it’s these reminders, these little stars, if you will, that get me jumping up and down, praising God for His faithfulness.

25 comments:

Amrita said...

Hi Sue. I love Hillsong.

Hope the Frog Prince is doing OK

Denise said...

hey, your picture of the stars looks like the veiw from our silo...sorta. :) Thanks for making the post look so great, as usual. Hope some of your flowers survived our MI freeze today...I went crazy picking flowers last night. All the boys are bringing vases to teachers this morning...and I had to haul a bucket full out of the tub so the boys could bathe last night. Have a great October first!

Jamie Norman said...

wow, this could not have come at a more timely place in my walk with the Lord. I love how we learn some of our greatest revelations and knowledge not from pastors, preachers, adults or even books, but from children. Usually the very children God has blessed us with. My husband and I have a six year old son who teaches me more about life and the Lord on a daily basis, and I believe that is by no near mistake or coincidence. After trying to conceive and give our son Gabriel the gift of being a big brother, we found out in June that we had received a miracle, we were expecting! And our baby was to be due just three days before our only son's birthday. We were overjoyed, feeling the Lord had brought us out of the darkness that we had been in and wondering if He even remembered the desires of our heart to have another baby.
As is with life and our walk with the Lord that Denise pointed out so poignantly in her story. By relating what her son had taught her in being able to see the stars and not seeing them, that if we remember to sing our "song of praise" wether we see the Lord or not, He IS there...
Our joy turned to sorrow two weeks ago today, when we took our son to hear our baby's heartbeat for the first time, instead of hearing the beating of a heart, we heard the sonographer tell us "there is no heartbeat today". Our lives were forever changed in that moment and a part of me still feel like I haven't left that moment of time. On Monday it was time to bury our baby girl who we found out two weeks prior that we had miscarried at 14wks. It was hard for us to find the Lord in the darkness of our night, and to be honest it still is. But every day we hear things that remind us of His presence and that He has been shining on us even when we felt he was hiding up there in the clouds. Thank you for sharing this blog with me today and giving me yet another reassurance that while I trust what I cannot see and sometimes cannot understand that I am not abandoned or forsaken, especially when I can't find the stars in the dark of the night. I think I will be sharing this beautiful blog with our son tonight. God Bless You for sharing!

Unknown said...

What a beautiful post. Thank you!

I love the thought of looking at stars as God's little reminders. Great!

LadySnow said...

What a wonderful post. It truly touched my heart. Oh...to be a child again, to be so innocent...they seem to have so much more insight than adults sometimes. Such a blessing.



Oh...please sign me up for this months drawing. Blessing #4 is due in less than 3 weeks. It would be fun to win something too. :-)

Valerie Stills said...

How precious! If we could only truely see God things from a childs prespective sometimes.

Sydney said...

Denise, what a sweet post, thank you so much for sharing with us! I will look at the stars in a new way now!

And Sue, thanks for offering these giveaways, you are very generous & I hope to win eventually...perserverence, right? :) I also still have your button on my blog!

Have a wonderful day!
~Sydney

Suzanne said...

I am developing a friendship with a new mom in our town...our children all go to school together and she is going through dark times. I am praying fervently for her and so thankful she has hope because of Him!
Sue, I have your button on my blog!

SunnySusan said...

Hi Sue...of course I have your button on my blog....

This was wonderful...I love the thought of the stars are reminders of God and Him watching over me....even in the darkness and when I can't see Him...He is still there....thanks...blessings.

Lisa said...

Thank you so much for sharing a glimpse of what God is teaching you through your life with 4 boys. I can relate to the preciousness of it - I have 4 boys, too (and 2 sweet girls)!
God is good...all the time!

you can see what God is doing in my life at www.osothankful.blogspot.com

p.s. i am happy to have a praise&coffee button on my blog :)

Zaankali said...

Isn't it neat the things God puts on our hearts through our children? I love it.
Crossing my fingers for the giveaway. I have your button on my blog also.
Smiles!

Anonymous said...

It is so comforting to me to know that the night is as day to God.

Deborah
comfortjoydesigns AT gmail DOT com

Michigan Addy Ready

Tamrah T. said...

It reminds me of my son. When he was a baby in my arms, I would sing the melody "Jesus loves Me" over and over again as a way of calming each other. To him at such a young age,it merely meant a song that he loved to hear, a calming lullaby. And for me, a songful reminder that Jesus is showing His love in all things, teaching me to look to Him for the calm in the storms. So, when I hear Denise speak of her son's search for the stars each night and "Twinkle Little Star" melody being a big part of S4's excitement, I think how beautiful it all is when we (at any age) can find comfort in Him in whatever we do. PTL!

Sandy VdR said...

Having raised three sons, I'm delighted to read your blog....and remember again that God reveals Himself in our every day experiences.

Joan said...

Love this post. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Saw Hillsong in concert this Summer. It was amazing. loved it.

I also follow your blog & would love to win some coffee!

Blessings

Mary Lou said...

Oh, how true. How dark the "nights" that we walk thru at times. How faithful is His light waiting to break thru and dispel the darkness. It only takes "one little point of light" to penetrate the darkness. Beautiful post. Thanks for the opportunity Sue....

email me at dlowran1(at)comcast(dot)net

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Sue -

Hillsong is awesome!

Denise's post was wonderful. Wouldn't it be great if we kept that sense of delight in the beauties of nature?

Please enter me in the giveaway.

susanjreinhardt (at) gmail (dot) com

Blessings,
Susan :)

Victoria Durall said...

Lisa, Thank you for such a wonderful story. Seeing the light of God touch you as you share with your son. It is so amazing how little ones, explore the wonders of God, taking in the heavens, singing to His praise, and reinforcing God's many blessings to us. My young grandson, also loves "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." It was one of the first songs I sang to him as an infant. Many times when he was fussy,my daughter and I would sing that to him, and it calmed him immediately.They moved away in May of this year, and he was here for a visit mid-Sept. for his 4th Birthday. I found a card that was to a mom, but had a recordable option on the inside, followed by that favorite song. I bought the card, and another to my grandson,to use on the front glued to the other card. It worked beautifully. I recorded my Birthday message, with a reminder that whenever he misses me to open the card,and here me say, "I love you soo much!" followed by the song,"Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star". It was perfect, you should of seen his eyes when he opened the card,... several times! It was kind of a sad rememberance that was cherished, and brought tears to our eyes. He also has a little Bible that shows a picture of the manger scene and the bright star shining on baby Jesus.So now when we finish reading,we end with a song!...can you guess which one? Thanks for sharing your story, and hearing mine. God's awesome creation speaks to us of His glory, giving us a glimspe so that we may know, How Great is Our God!

Victoria Durall said...

Dear Sue, I made a mistake on my comment. I put to : Lisa instead of Denise, so sorry!(a tired grandma!) I appolize for my error.The rest of the comment after the name is correct! lol

Ginger Tate said...

What a wonderful article. We are celebrating our daughter being 5 years drug-free from cocaine. As we went through the many years of our daughter's drug abuse, pregnancies while using, and damaged marraige due to drugs we felt many times we were walking in total darkness.
I was raised in church and knew God's Word. However, the time came when we felt lost and hopeless. Then one night I knelt by my bed and prayed, "God, what ever it takes".
I have to tell you when God took control of the situation, I remember standing at the door and saying, "God that's not what I meant". But God knew!
Don't have time to go in details, but from that day, 9-26-04, our daughter is drug-free, she has 3 healthy boys, and her marriage is restored.
We serve a mighty God and I'm so thankful he is with us in the dark and light times of our lives.
www.ginger_tate0706@yahoo.com.

The Farmer's Wife said...

First of all, a freezer stocked with ice cream?! That's something to praise God about, right there!

What a wonderful post. I think when we are "grown ups" we stop seeing all the details, particularly as we make a living and raise our children. I'm rather looking forward to being an old woman, someday, because I'll have more star moments.

Thanks for sharing this, and I'll look at the night sky with a different heart, now, I'm sure.

Oh! and my email is chuteboss (at) hotmail (dot) com.

Anonymous said...

Hello, Sue,
Denise's story brought back so many wonderful memories!

Please, enter me Twice, I have your Praise & Coffee blog button on my blog.

Have a blessed week,
Miriam

windycindy said...

How sweet and very true! I have two
sons and can identify with her son's fear of the dark. Our youngest sleeps with every light in his bedroom on! I have always loved the
"Footprints in the Sand" story and how Christ carries us during the worst of times! When I feel very alone, I sing "You'll Never Walk Along!" Thanks for sharing such a heart-warming and inspiring song!
Cindi
jchoppes[at]hotmail[dot]com

PowerSweepstaking said...

the lord giveth and taketh away, no more evident then in my life. I live on a rollercoaster and in those constant uphill battles(times of darkness) to make it to the top I know I've got help

vanessa said...

This was so touching. Kids really makes you appreciate the details that God gave us in life that we overlook by looking at the big picture.
hubhop@bellsouth(dot)net

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