So ...

It appears that blogging isn't my top priority in life! I want to share our little life with the outside world, but I forget. Or I need to switch the laundry, or give a hug, or get distracted by facebook .... whatever the case, I don't keep up with it.

Our life is about to take a big turn and I thought I'd put a little tidbit about it on here on the off chance that anyone is still reading my blog!

Due to the economy Justin has been searching for a new job for nearly a year now. It appears that one way or the other, we will be moving from beautiful Colorado within the next month or so.

We've been here now for a little over three years. We love it here. We've settled into our life quite nicely and met some wonderful people. Also, one of the benefits of our current location is that people come and see us quite a lot! We've always kept a guest room (or two) and been ready to welcome anyone with open arms to the Bruner Bed and Breakfast!

Even after being here for the time that we have, we still miss our life in Texas and the friendships we built there.

We are ready to get somewhere, and stay somewhere. Ready to put down some roots and find a community to raise our girls in.

I can't wait to see where that will be and what God has in store!

More to come ....

Blessings to you all!!!

Praying the Scriptures for your Children, Part 1: Praying for Your Child's Faith

As a reminder, "When you pray for your children, you join God in the work he is doing in their lives."

Part one of this book is Praying for Your Child's Faith. Chapter one is Praying for Your Child's Salvation.

I believe this to be such an appropriate place to begin. The chapter starts with this verse: Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14

Many of us have heard this verse many times. So don't read through it quickly without pausing to think about it. Jesus told those around him to not keep the children from him. Let us bring our children to him in prayer.


From the author: "When you pray for your children's salvation, you can be confident that you are praying in accordance with God's will."

The following are among several verses listed as "Prayers you can use" to pray for the salvation of your children. These are the ones I am praying through for Allyson and Lauren today.

I pray that _______ would confess with her mouth that Jesus is Lord, and that she would believe in her heart that you have raised Christ from the dead. Cause _______ to call on your name, Lord, and save her.
Romans 10:9, 13

Count _______ as one of your people, and be her God. Give her a singleness of heart and action, so that she will always fear you for her own good and the good of her children. Make an everlasting covenant with ________. Never stop doing good to her, and inspire her to fear you so that she will never turn away from you.
Jeremiah 32:39-40

Other verses listed:
2 Corinthians 4:4-6
2 Timothy 2:25-26
Acts 26:18
2 Corinthians 5:17
John 3:16
Colossians 2:6-7
Ezekiel 11:19
Pslam 125:1
Ephesians 3:18-19

So much to pray for! Don't waste a minute :)

Side note:

I was giving my girls a bath last night and it was the end to a couple of frustrating days with them. You know, the days where you wonder if anything you have taught them is anywhere in their little minds. They are constantly fighting with one another, telling on each other, hitting each other, and so on and so on. They were the kind of days where you are finding it hard to use patience and kind words when interacting with them. So, as I was rinsing the shampoo from Lauren's hair and she was refusing to look up, hold a washcloth over her eyes, or do anything helpful to keep soap out of her face (and yet screaming the whole time about soap getting in her eyes!) and I was ready to ... well you've all been there, I am sure you know what I wanted to do! Then, suddenly a thought occurred to me. These are God's children. He has given them to Justin and I for a short time. He is giving us the blessing of raising them to know him. (Do you ever wonder what he was thinking?!) If Allyson and Lauren are really HIS, how should I treat them? What do I want God to know in regards to my interaction with his children? I want to be found faithful in this, I want to be found trustworthy by him. Discipline is still a part of this, but perhaps how I discipline, the tone of my voice, etc ... is important. Each moment is precious.

So, perhaps besides praying for my girls, I need to be praying more and more for myself also!

Praying the Scriptures for your Children

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
1 John 5:14

I am reading a new book.

It is called: Praying the Scriptures for your children, Discovering How to Pray God's will for Their Lives. The Author is Jodie Berndt.

From the author: "When you pray for your children, you join God in the work he is doing in their lives."

What a great concept praying the scriptures for your children is! I always pray for my girls, but often my prayers are pretty much the same things over and over again. Prayer is such a powerful tool, and what a powerful thing scripture is ... I want to use the promises of God to pray for the lives of my little girls as we journey on the path toward adulthood with them. We are given these little blessings for a brief amount of time. I feel like God is letting me borrow them for a little while, they are really his, aren't they? It is so important that we make good use of the time we are given. It is so important to me that we are faithful to the task set before us. As everyone says, they grow up so fast. I believe that there can be much wisdom given from God in prayer and that we need MUCH wisdom when raising our children into adults who will love and serve the Lord.

The book is divided into five parts and in each part there are four topics. The author lists several prayer principles as well as specific scriptures in each topic that you can use while you pray for your child. Anything that I put in quotes comes directly from the book. I won't put the scriptures in quotes, but I am pulling them from the book as well. I will list a couple of the scriptures that spoke to me regarding each topic, the ones I will most likely be praying through for Allyson and Lauren. She seems to list several scriptures per topic and I can see how they would apply to different situations in different families. With my girls being so young, I am praying more often for the development of a certain qualities and principles as opposed to the changing of their hearts (though there is some of this also). If I was praying for a grown child, the approach and requests may be different, make sense?

The five parts of the book are:
1) Praying for your child's faith
2) Praying for your child's character
3) Praying for your child's safety
4) Praying for your child's relationship
5) Praying for your child's future

I am excited to start this journey. I know that God will change me as I learn more about prayer. I am reminded of this scripture:

One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples." Luke 11:1

Attitude

I am signed up for a daily devotional from the Proverbs 31 ministries website.

It drops in my inbox each morning and some days I read it, some days I don't. This is from yesterday and it spoke to my heart. I just wanted to share it in hopes of it connecting with you as well.

"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus…" Philippians 2:5 (NIV)

One day I opened my car door and was blasted with a horrific smell. I searched every inch of the car but could not find the source of the stench. I then took action to get rid of the smell: I scrubbed the carpet with deodorizers and sprayed air freshener. The stench persisted. I left the car doors open, deciding I couldn't possibly run errands in that stinky car.I went back inside, opened the refrigerator, and noticed a small trickle of milk had leaked on to the shelf. After examining the milk container, I realized that the milk must have leaked into the car the day before when I got groceries. That explained the cause of my stinky car: spoiled milk, one of the most offensive odors I've ever smelled.

Negative attitudes are like the stench of spoiled milk, permeating our lives and affecting everyone we come in contact with. Think about some of these negative attitudes that might make you stinky: complaining, selfish, prideful, bitter, or unforgiving. Do any ring true with you today?

Now imagine a pleasing aroma. What comes to mind? A freshly baked pie, the scent of the ocean, newly brewed coffee, or a cinnamon candle. A pleasant aroma is so powerful that it can bring a smile to our faces and make us feel more positive. The same is true of our positive attitudes. In our relationships we can be like a fragrant aroma by adopting attitudes that please and reflect Christ. In fact, Paul teaches that we are a "fragrance of Christ" (2 Corinthians 2:15).

Consider these pleasing attitudes: thankful, humble, generous, gracious, kind, and cheerful. You can ask God to be one of these fragrances through you today.Our attitude provides an accurate litmus test for the true condition of our hearts. God cares first about the condition of our hearts because when God has our hearts, He knows that we're surrendered to Him. He'll mold us and shape our attitudes and actions to reflect His character.

Dear Lord, search me, O God, and know my heart (Psalm 139:23). Soften my heart and make me willing to receive an attitude adjustment from You. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

The Bruner Bed and Breakfast is Open for the Season!

Justin and I will be married 10 years this May.

From the very beginning of our marriage we have always lived away from most of our family. At first it was just a short drive to my mom and dad's and not much further to his. As the years have progressed we have been anywhere from 120 miles up to around 2,500 miles in distance from one part of our family or the other. Such is the nature of Justin's job. We go to the church God sends us to and so far it has not been in Puyallup, Washington or Coeur d'Alene, Idaho! As a result we have always kept a "guest room" in our house. We love keeping a space to have those that we love come and see us.

As we head into spring here in Colorado we have already had a Papa and Grandma visit and an Aunt Tana and cousin Grey visit. We are expecting Justin's grandparents next week.

We moved into our new house (which I will write about sooner than later) at the end of February. We are all in and settled. The guest room has a nice, big, king sized bed waiting for you. Come and see us. We will love you, feed you (Justin has some great grill skills!), and show you all that this beautiful part of the country has to offer.

The Bruner Family Bed and Breakfast (and lunch and dinner) is open. You are welcome anytime. We would LOVE to have you!!

Living Under God

A Word from Toby and Michael (excerpted from Living Under God)

"Today America is ruled by self-gratification and consumption. To return to godly standards, we need a generation that is willing to make sacrifices and lay down our self-seeking desires. This generation needs to see that true meaning is not found in materialism or self-obsession, but in a life of service. At the same time, people who can operate in the economic system to gain and use wealth to build God's kingdom are also greatly needed. God needs good stewards of what He has given us--time, talents, ingenuity, and material resources--more than ever before.The key, as it has always been, is to plug in to God's vision for your life through prayer, reading, and meditation on His Word, and then putting into action what He has taught you, no matter how outlandish those actions may seem to the world around you. Are you willing to live such a radical life? It is that life that qualifies as living under God."

--TobyMac & Michael Tait

Thursday Morning

I have become a part time worker.

As Justin and I were going through Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University lesson on debt reduction I came away with the feeling that it was time for momma to get a part time job to chip away at the student loan debt a little faster. When we came home and discussed it we agreed that I would look for something early morning - perhaps a 5am - 9am a couple mornings a week at Starbucks or something like that, and then maybe an occasional Saturday shift. That way the girls could still have thier mommy home all day. Justin could just adjust his office hours a bit.

So, after not much effort on my part (Thank you Jehovah Jireh - the LORD will provide!) I was offered a job at our local Community Center to sit the front desk for the early morning shift (6am - 9am) Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday mornings, and one Saturday a month. Interesting how God lays something on your heart and all you have to do is be willing and open your eyes to the possibility and then he takes care of the details!

I have been working there since early December and it is a great job. The only thing I don't like about it (aside from the 4:30 in the morning wake ups) is not being home with the girls for our normal morning routine. I am a tradition kind of gal. I like to have schedules and routines, partially for the ease of it all and I think routine is great for kids, but also to build memories on. My idea for the kids was never one of wake up, rush to get dressed and eat your dry cereal in the car on the way to work with daddy. Now, don't get me wrong here. The kids are fine and for them it is just part of their weekly routine, what they expect to do and it works great. And, I am thankful to have a husband with the willingness to take on the responsibility.

What I am learning is that Thursday mornings have become a very special time for us. The girls often sleep a little later due to the later Wednesday night bed time. They come in and when they are awake and we hang out mommy and daddy's bed for a while before we go downstairs and make pancakes all together (colored batter of course!) and have a nice and slow morning. Nothing fancy, just time together to talk and be. They call it our "girl date."

I enjoy it and they enjoy it. The first Thursday we got back in the habit of doing this - We've only been in our new house for couple of weeks now and prior to that everything was out of wack for a while - Allyson was certain that she would just rather have Life cereal for breakfast. We even had "words" for a minute or two about it. As we were sitting up at the counter enjoying our pink and yellow flowers pancakes she said, "you were right mom, this was way more fun than cereal for breakfast, you do know things."

:) At times like that you just smile. No "I told you so" is needed!

I love my girls and I love our special times together. I am thankful for my life and my blessings. I can't imagine a world with out my Allyson and my Lauren!