Prayer Retreat

6:20 am

That’s what I have set my alarm for the past 4 days.

6:20 am!

Why?

If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, you know that I hate mornings and I am a NIGHT OWL!  I love my quiet nights, and usually try to be in bed by 1 am!  However, I’ve made a commitment to start acting like the mom…and not the child!

I want to “Get up while it is still dark” as the Proverbs 31 woman does…

…so as to not stress my 7-year old son out every morning.

…to have a cup of coffee and allow it to kick in before I have to speak to anyone.

…to spend quiet, alone time in prayer…reading God’s word and praying for my babies, my husband, my attitude, and the day!

The only problem is that for the past 4 mornings I’ve peeled myself out of bed by 6:30 and every single morning I have been the FOURTH person awake!  As in Brad, Preston, and Lilly Katherine are already up and going.  By 6:30!  Sam is also a morning-dog, unfortunately, so I guess that makes me the FIFTH person/critter awake.  AnnaLeigh is the only one in this house that will sleep past 7 (besides me!)…and she was up by 6:45 this morning. :(

It’s just impossible to get up before my people get up, so that’s no longer my goal.  I just can’t get up earlier than they do…and I won’t!  (unless I have to)  However, I have found that I can go make my coffee and then hide from all of them.  It’s been wonderful.  I take my coffee and go sit in the floor of my not-so-big closet and read and pray.  The only one that seems to have found me so far is SAM!  He sits at the door and sniffs and smells because he knows I’m hiding.  If I were to try to sit on my bed or in our kitchen, I would be “MOM” and not be able to think, pray, or read.

SO, where is all of this coming from?  Why do I suddenly want to wake up early?

Priorities!

I spent Friday night and Saturday morning at a Women’s Prayer Retreat with about 40 other women from our church.  It was a wonderful opportunity to get away from the craziness of life and refocus on the things that are important.  Most of our weekend was spent outside, surrounded by the beautiful nature that our Lord created.  It was nice to relax, hear the sounds, see the beautiful backdrop the Lord painted, like the lake and the trees and the birds…and not worry that someone was about to fall into the lake or needed a sippy cup or needed to go to the bathroom or needed a spankin’!  It was nice to be “Kate” and not “mom” for a few hours.  However, it was so good to see those little maniacs when I got home!

At the retreat I had time to think about my life, my priorities, my children, my wonderful husband, how truly blessed I am, and how little love and appreciation I’m showing to the Giver of Life!  I had time to think about what needs to change in my life.  SO MANY things need to change, but it has to start with something simple.  Basic.

I need to go to bed at night!

I need to get off the stinkin’ computer and GO TO BED!

I need to get up in the morning in time to think about my day and my priorities.

I want to “get up while it is still dark,” despite how that thought nauseates me!  However, for my family’s sake, I am going to do it.  I have to!

Why am I blogging about this?  Why does this matter to you?

Well, I may not be posting quite as often as I would like, and I’ve decided that my recipe posts will probably have fewer pics.  I am NOT the Pioneer Woman.  I don’t know how she does it!  I figure you guys know how to mix ingredients at this point, so I will probably only be posting pictures that seem necessary.  I love to post pics, and will continue to do so.  Just maybe not EVERY SINGLE STEP.

Which reminds me that I have so many recipes to post and this may make it happen a little quicker.

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I did take a few pics of our prayer retreat.  If you have the opportunity to get away from LIFE and spend some quiet time in prayer alone or with a group of people, DO IT!  It’s so refreshing and so necessary, and we are called to do so!

Here are a few pics from the retreat.  Thank you to all the women who worked hard to put it together!  It was a wonderful weekend.  Can we do it again…next weekend?

Kelly-skinny.  Ashley-pregnant.  Mere-pregnant with twins.  Andria-skinny.  Carrie-pregnant.  (Not that you pregnant ladies aren’t skinny, too!) :)

⁷ But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸ What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. ¹⁰ I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹ and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

-Philippians 3:7-11