Ch Ch Ch Changes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm not really sure if I should be happy or sad. This weekend will be a huge change in the Holcombe household. I have 2 kiddos moving out! Yes you heard it right.... 2! What will I do with all this extra space? Hmmmmm! So many choices!

Our son moved back home a year ago, after having been out on his own for a couple of years. He's trying to finish school and couldn't work as much these last few semesters. So...we rearranged and made room for him. He will be getting married in a couple of months and is moving into their little love shack! He will be preparing his home for his sweet bride while he's finishing school.

Our next mover is our sweet daughter. I can't begin to express my gratefulness to the Lord for what He's doing in her life. After much thought and prayer,asking God what He wanted her to do with her life... He answered. Not before closing a few doors that we have tried to open over the last year. Most of you have heard her beautiful voice. Well, she has been given an opportunity to go to a school to learn how to lead worship. Which we believe this is a calling in her life! God has placed a beautiful family in our lives that will be working with her over the next several months. Teaching her and giving her many opportunities to share the gift she has been given. She won't be able to work a job while learning, so this is a big change for a girl who has had a job since the age of 14. Her first lesson....Total dependence on God!  I am so excited for her and can't wait to watch all He has planned for her as it unfolds. Sunday morning she will be singing during communion. You can watch our service via internet Here for the live webcast. Look in the upper right hand corner of the website for the link. Please be praying for her. She has never lived away from home and this in itself will be a big change!

One more thing.....My son is coming home for a visit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And for his brothers wedding! I can't begin to tell you how much we miss him.  I look forward to hugging that big ole boy who is now a college student in a foreign country and playing football again for a new semi pro league. 6 months is a long time to be away from your mama.... even if you are 27!

Now what to do with that extra room?! Pinterest here I come!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Her children rise up and call her blessed....her husband also

The above title says a lot. It's the longing in many of mother's hearts. These aren't words of pride or arrogance....but words of well done thy good and faithful servant.

I get so caught up in the daily rat race that many of those days I fail to see...forget...why I'm running it in the first place. Listening to the wrong voice that says I 'm not good enough, not doing enough. Not teaching them enough. What are they seeing? A worn out nagging old woman? Especially when attitudes are flying this may be true.

I have finally figured out that what they really want is to see me happy. To see the smile that hides behind those daily "to do" list. To just be near me and have me sit with them...to listen. To slow down. Why did it take me so long to finally listen? My mom is probably laughing right now! She'll tell you that I can be pretty stubborn! My husband will too!

These past few months have brought so many longings to my soul. In some ways I feel I have awakened from a coma. Realizing that life is not getting any longer. Nor am I getting younger. I'm seeing a whole new role now that our granddaughter is here. Not just with her but with her mama. The teaching continues long after they leave the nest. I hope that never ends.

I awakened this morning to a Facebook wall full of sweet messages and the ones from my children have brought tears to my eyes. I guess I don't see myself the way they do. I like their version so much better! I hope they know their words of love run deep to my soul. As I read each of them I see the hand of God. I see how He has used so many of our friends and family to help mold our children. I see how He has been faithful even in my weakness. I see how much He truly loves me and knows the longings of my heart. I see how He has blessed me with a husband who has walked this road with me. Loving me through it all.

There is one woman who I have to say has been a great influence in my life. She is the one whom I met the day she turned eighteen. She is the one who I see as the strongest woman I know. She is the one who I have watched God use in the lives of so many people. Including mine! She is the reason I am the woman I am today. For that....I rise and call her blessed! 

Mom...I can't begin to put into words how grateful I am that you are my mom. You are the reason I serve a great and mighty God. You are the reason I am the mom that I am today. Thank you for all you do. Thank you for loving me through the good times and so many of the bad times. You are a wise woman who has always encouraged me to base everything with God's word. I watch as your grandchildren love you so dearly. How they love to spend time with you . How you are so willing to sit with them and even play a game or two or four. How you make the best homemade bread...that's what they all say. But what they all see when they see you is Jesus! For that there are no words of gratitude. I love you and you are blessed! Happy birthday! Thanks for sharing your special day with me! It will always be "Our Day".

Eau De Smoke....If you give a mom a wake up call

If you wake a mom at 3 am....she'll remember she forgot to turn the heat on
She'll get up to turn it on ....only to remember the flue is open
She'll then feel to make sure the fire from the night before is out....and she'll slide the flue shut
She'll then remember she's cold and go back to bed
An hour later she'll awake to smoke...only to remember she shut the flue
She'll probably get up to go open it again....and she'll see a room full of smoke
She'll then see the small piece of wood still burning...wishing she had turned the light on before she had closed the flue
She'll then spend the next half hour opening doors to let the smoke out...then she'll remember her family is asleep.
While waiting for the smoke to clear...she'll remember how warm her bed is
When the smoke clears she'll go back to bed....she'll probably lay there wide awake thanking God He woke her up.
She'll then remember she needs to replace the smoke detector batteries....she'll thank God even more!


Last night was no pancake . Our house now smells like eau de campfire. My throat burns. All but three of us slept through the middle of the night airing out of the house. One of us has been awake since 3:00 am. I'm not sure my hazelnut candles will overpower this smell...nor will my hazelnut coffee keep me awake today. But..................

If you awake a mom this early....she'll probably make pancakes for her family!

Prepping for the future...storms and laundry

In the past couple of weeks we have seen some unusual spring like weather blow through, crazy for the end of January and early February. Lots of wind, rain and tornadoes.Thankfully our area was spared any significant damage. Can we ever be fully prepared for the future storms of this life? Remember the maidens who forgot to bring oil for their lamps in Matthew 25? They missed out, all because they weren't prepared.  As I filled my lamps this past week in the event we lost power...I was reminded of this tragic loss these maidens faced, all because they hadn't thought to bring enough oil. We always think...That couldn't happen to me! Storms never come my way! We won't loose power. If we do, it will be for just a few hours. I'll just borrow from someone else if I run out of supplies. Well...maybe. As times get tough that may not be possible!

 

 

 

Our next event of the week came from my desire to try a homemade laundry detergent. We go through a LOT of this stuff ! As the first of the year was met with tax changes and lower paychecks, I'm now scrambling to see where we can make a few cuts in our budget. Every little cut helps!

 

I had mixed a liquid detergent a few months ago but wanted to try a dry mixture. Mostly for storage reasons. My recipe came from Pinterest....I love this website! This pin sent me to HERE . The recipe caught my eye because it only required 2 tablespoons per load.

 

The day before, we went out looking for containers to put it in. Notice my cute....and cheap containers I found. I love my little wash tub with the water spigot!  I'm thinking this would make a great idea for a gift basket!

 

 

 

 

 

Our girls did a fabulous job prepping and mixing all the ingredients. Now, if I can get them to be just as enthusiastic about actually doing the laundry!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So far we have done a few loads with this lavender scented detergent. I love it!

 

 Now, what other homemade product can I make?!

 

 

I get to marry my best friend....again!

I guess I'm a sucker for radio station contest. I have entered a few over the years and won some amazing things. Our local Christian radio station has a special Valentine vow renewal ceremony every year. I have always wanted to renew our vows. Somehow being married at the age of 18 I really didn't understand what all marriage was about. I had no clue,except that I knew this is what God wanted for me..for us. I am so thankful that I obeyed that calling!.

So I entered this contest. Sharing with them the reason we should be chosen. Was it the 9 kids that got their attention? Maybe being married 28 years? Was it the fact that this last year of multiple surgeries has stretched us as a couple more than any other years? Or the fact that I want to show our children that loving someone for this long can be done? That working through those most difficult times is possible. That leaning on the one who put us together in the first place is where you can survive and grow through any trial. That the enemy wants to destroy but God wants to shine through it all! Whatever the reason doesn't matter....We're getting married! Again!

I shared this past week that I had come to a point of needing a change. Needing to make my husband a greater priority, more than I have been doing for a while. That I really desire to learn to communicate to him how much he is treasured and loved. To communicate more. I really struggle with this. But I'm learning.

As we watch our children grow we realize we need to find more opportunities to do things together. New hobbies. New roads of exploring and learning together. After all,our arms and time have been full of babies and life. Our time together without interruption has been less than we would like but understand this is just a season....a very long and cherished one. But now it's time to learn to be a party of two every once and a while. We still aren't done raising our family. We have a few years yet. But it's an important lesson for our children to see that we put our marriage at the top of the priority list. I think they would agree. To teach our daughters to love their husbands unconditionally and our sons to cherish the loves of their lives. 

All in all I have seen the hand of God in this past week. He has reminded me time and time again that He is in control. I just need to let go of that wheel.That He does hear me when I pray and knows the deepest desires of my heart. I am loved so very much!

I'm sure our vows will be very different than the first time. For it's this time that I can truly say "I wiiill" (My kids love to tease me about this statement.) understand that there is nothing to be taken lightly about marriage while loving someone until death do us part, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer.

So Kelley Holcombe.....I can't wait to marry you again! Although we are two very different people than when we started...thank God!... It's because of you that I am who I am today. I pray that God grants us many more years to learn and grow together. To treasure what we have been given. To love without expectations. To smile just because you hold my hand. To see the hand of God in all that we do and say. To be a light in this very dark world. To leave a legacy of two people that chose to follow God with all their hearts, trusting Him to write their story of Love, Faith, Hope and Grace. I now understand what it means to love you with all my heart! Now I can say...I do!

Growing pains with that man of mine....

I remember as a kid waking in the night with terrible leg cramps. Running to my parent's room for the comfort of my mom. She always knew how to make the pain go away. Sometimes it did and sometimes it didn't. As I would lay there allowing her to rub the calves of my legs she would whisper....."These are just growing pains. In order to grow there has to be a little pain every now and then." She was right! The leg cramps stopped. I grew!

The growing pains are different now. I'm much older and unfortunately my legs have done all the growing they are going to do. This pain is the pain of taking my eyes off the ministry that I have been given. The pain of getting my focus off. Carrying way more of a burden than I should. The pain of a much needed priority change. Needing to set aside those things that are keeping me from being the wife and mom that I should be. It's in the pain that we grow...right?

The past few years have taken a toll on our marriage. A year of multiple surgeries and health issues. House full of kids young and old... Bills...Life.This last week I came to a place where I really wanted to look at Satan in the face and punch his lights out. So I did....down on my knees! What I found....Our focus has been way off. So far off that we have just been living with an OK marriage and not the one God intended. I have allowed our friendship to take a back seat. As a wife I have allowed the stresses of life to consume the joy of loving the greatest gift of a husband that God created just for me. I have often heard the best gift you can give your kids is to love their dad. Really love him! Be his greatest fan! To LIVE 1 Corinthians 13 is my greatest desire. To love this man and really show him how important he is to me. Allowing the growing pains to heal this brokenness so that God will shine His brightest through us.

Surrounded by marriages that are falling apart all around me...becoming one of the statistics has gripped me with fear. I see how living in this world, the reality of it, can sneak up on you and suck you in....tearing the very years you have invested completely in two. Let's face it....we are consumed with things, stuff and business. Things that steal our time and joy. Distractions that turn our eyes from the ones we love the most.

I love this man of mine! He has endured more craziness than any man should have too. He lives in a house FULL of women (7). The estrogen runs rampant in our house!  I really wish I could go back and regain all those wasted moments...but I can't. I can't live in the past but I sure can look to the future of loving the man whom I have shared a last name with for the last 28 years. I hope he not only knows but feels the deep abiding love that I have for him. I hope that through this deep pain from growing, the love I have for this man of mine will challenge our daughters to love their husbands.

Growing pains are a necessary road we must all walk. No one is immune. Whether it is in a marriage, friendship or just your very own personal self walk. It's in the brokenness and pain that God shines the brightest...and it starts by getting on your knees!

Yes, I punched his lights out! So thankful the light that should have been on in the first place is now burning bright! My growing pains aren't through. I still have a lot of learning to do...learning to be the best wife that my husband needs. Until my dying breath I will continue to allow these growing pains to mold me into the woman that God called me to be...that would be my husband's wife!

Christmas past...

 

My sister and I were talking one day, reminiscing about Christmas past. I’m sure our memories are way off the mark. Similar to remembering the creek and waterfall on our childhood property. That waterfall was so steep. The big rock that we would sit on at the top and have picnics with the neighborhood friends is now a measly little rock, the creek… a little trickle of a stream. I’m sure someone must have played a mean trick on us. Shrinking the past to make way for the future.

Childhood Christmas was what we lived for throughout the year. Exchange gifts at school. Decorating Christmas cookies with our mom. The smell of the fresh cut tree, wood stove and toys that made the room look like a toy store had thrown up in our living room. Christmas morning rides to our grandmother’s house and then good ole Uncle Joe’s. Making our Christmas tour to the world of family, food and cousin fun! Traditions…. Oh how I love thee. Oh how I miss the road we have traveled.

Now here I am on the other side of it all. I’m the mom and now the grandmother! I love that last part! Traditions have now changed. Loved ones who made that sweet feeling of family are now gone. New members and traditions have taken their place. Aging means letting some things go. Often, we waste time trying to recreate that feeling of the past while throwing out those new opportunities to create new traditions. New memories.

The toy piles are not all that I remember as a kid. I'm sure they too were much smaller. There were only 3 kids in our family…I now have 9!  The economy has stolen a part of my ability to give. But how can I really put a price on giving? It’s not about the amount of things that cost money. When the checkbook is low it’s amazing how you learn to be real creative! Learning to make new traditions and laying the ones from the past to rest. Rising later to bring smiles to the hearts of my awesome children. What good is it anyway if I fill their worlds with thrown up toys that break after a week and not give them Jesus? He’s the gift that never goes away, rots or breaks. He’s the gift that changes all that’s selfish and wrong in this big ole world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our kids are now growing and moving in different directions. Their time of waiting on the stairs has come and gone. The older ones now share their time with other families who have embraced them as their own. My son who use to say ….ha ha ha the jokes on you …now lives in Israel. Missing his mama’s cooking makes my heart do more flips than I care to admit. He now has to recreate what he longs to experience from his childhood memories, that sweet morning of ham and all the trimmings. Skype conversations about gravy making. I sure do miss that boy! Ha!…I know he misses his mama too! The distance that we now share is good. It grows us, allowing us to see where the real heart of our family is that brings us rest.

The Christmas morning breakfast has now dwindled in numbers. Yes…my heart is drifting to Christmas past. It’s in the learning to let go,that I learn to lean into the new traditions, new ways of giving, new times of being content with the future of my children’s childhood memories.

 

 

 

All the time, money and energy spent just for a few moments of a memory….It’s all an investment in the stories they will tell. Reminiscing with their kids of that special moment in time ,when they sat quietly awaiting their turn to make a memory.