Our eldest child was at school yesterday from 7:30 AM-9:30 PM. I thought it would be a bit of a break for him if I drove him to school this morning. In the 4/10 of a mile it takes to get to school and then another 4/10 of a mile home, this is what I encountered: many cars trying to go in all different directions and coming out of every alley and street possible, a construction area which was already being worked on, some tree trimmers with landscaping trucks, kids walking, kids on bikes, kids on scooters, one child on a skateboard and a few crossing guards. Whew! Just when I'd think it was all clear, someone would pop up in my periphery, causing me to adjust my course for safety sake. It is a good thing I was awake and alert. I'm certainly glad that level of awareness only has to last a few blocks or I'd be worn out for the day.

I'm reminded of the scripture from 1 Peter 5:8-9 which says,

8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

It takes being alert to a whole new level. It reminds me to actively look around for ways I am being distracted or tempted. More importantly, it reminds me to pray in Jesus' name for protection and guidance. Sometimes our faith can seem like a list of dos and don'ts. It truly comes down to sticking close to Jesus. And in this, we find out how very loved we are. There is a presence sweeter than any other, which makes me want to cry out, "Better is ONE DAY in your courts, than thousands elsewhere." When my eyes are on Him, the enemy has no room to distract. When I am near to my Jesus, unimportant things fade away. I can rest. Who doesn't need a little rest? I'll take it!

(Lord, I want to see You today. Let all the unimportant things that come across my path fade from my view as I keep my eyes on You. Lord, I need you. I can't do this alone. I need Your strength and your direction. I need to know that You are with me. Amen.)

Morning Prayer

Thanks to Margaret Becker, this prayer (song) was on my lips this morning before I got out of bed:

"From where I lay I can see the sun rising through the trees,
Before I start this morning rush, I get down on my knees.
I lift my eyes and I thank you for this life you've granted me.
I pray with every day I live, Your heart will be pleased.

I pray for hands to hold you, higher than ANYTHING else,
and a heart to love you MORE THAN LIFE ITSELF.

This is all I've ever wanted.
This is all I want to be...whoah,
All I've ever wanted, is to love you...FAITHFULLY."

Yes, Lord, that is my prayer.

Raising Up Romantics

For years now on special occasions (my birthday, Mother's Day, Valentine's Day, our Anniversary), my husband has bought me cards and left them in various places throughout our house or my vehicle where I happen upon them throughout the day. It is a sweet gesture that I have learned to look more and more forward to each year. He usually gets me a funny card, a more basic card, and a serious/romantic card. Some of these cards even make it into my top dresser drawer where I have a card "collection" from throughout the years. I have yet to sit and reminisce by reading through old cards, but anticipate that one day I will have some time to do just that and will be grateful that I have them.

Each summer our family typically goes away for 2 or 3 weeks. We travel to my in-laws' house which is 45 minutes from the beach. We enjoy some nice extended family meal time and game times, and during the day we travel to the beach as often as the weather allows. This is my husband's ideal vacation. He dreams of one day living at the beach and catching many early morning sunrises there.

This summer looks different than any other summer for us. This year, Tru is on sabbatical. Twelve whole weeks of being able to choose how to spend his time and having an open schedule. It is almost too much to bear. Truly. After moving full speed ahead with full-time work and completing his Master's degree in one year's time, the transition to nothing on the calendar was a daunting one. This freedom took some adjusting to. Not only has he been to Colorado, Yosemite National Park, on the Appalachian Trail and camping, he has spent the bulk of his time traveling back and forth between home and the beach. Somewhere along the way, he went from caged animal to finding a place where he can rest and truly find restoration and sabbath. Because of his extended break from work, this summer finds me in a unique position also. On more than one occasion, I have been home alone. The kids and hubby have packed up and taken off for the beach without me. (Not to worry, I am still getting a couple of weeks in myself this summer). Wow...quiet...peace...freedom to choose what I want to do. It is a bizarre thing. It is a good thing. It is a long overdue thing. It helps me better understand on a small scale what Tru felt toward the beginning of his sabbatical.

Today was departure day for the guys. When I came home from work, I found these lovely things:



a note from the hubby





a card...or two...from the 15-year old who is direct and to the point




an unexpected note on a napkin which I didn't discover until using the other side of it (oops!)


and another note attached to the bookmark of the current novel I'm reading where the 11-year old reminds me of the loving argument we have about who loves each other "more" (the small word you probably cannot make out)

I feel blessed. I feel loved. I feel as if our boys will learn to treasure their wives and show her signs of their love and appreciation. I feel as if my husband is doing a good job of modeling romanticism for our boys.

3 Months Down!

Ah, yes...3 months down on the GAPS diet and going strong. Some days stronger than others, I might add. Some days pretty weak and overwhelming, but in the overall picture, we are doing so much better, feeling so much better and the good days are better than good days of old. So I am motivated to continue on this journey. Being in the kitchen, preparing food, doing dishes, visiting farms and researching foods has become pretty commonplace now. I still don't care for cooking and I still despise doing the dishes, but like most things, they have become more routine after doing them so much in the past 3 months.

So...with feeling better comes a longing to fully dive into who God created me to be and what He desires for me to do with my time. Time is so precious and I have filled up so much of my time lately with activity. Now comes the process of sorting through that activity and praying, thinking and discerning what activity should stay and what should go. A total revamp is my desire, but I'm thinking baby steps are more likely. I am really longing to have more time to think and pray and write and draw and create. That feels like life to me. I love how different we all are. I love how for some, those things (or some of them, anyway) don't feel like living at all, but work. Finding out what those areas are that God has put into our DNA and given us a passion for is so important. It has taken me longer in life to figure out what those things are for me. I envy those who know this from a young age and head in the direction they were created to go. For me, the road has been a little more curved with lots of detours along the way. With feeling better, more of a clarity of mind is emerging and I love that! I love that I am seeing things more clearly. I honestly believe that dairy and gluten were poisoning my digestive system and that I was in a mental fog whenever I had them. Even when I changed my diet and eliminated them, I was medicating myself with lots of sugar. This brought inflammation as well. Although I enjoyed the temporary rush or blood sugar spike that would come with eating sugar, the overall left me tired. I was just getting through life, not enjoying it so much. I was doing my best to take care of the boys and things at home, but some days it was just a struggle to have energy and to be pain free. Healing is definitely coming. After 3 months I am routinely eating yogurt. It is made from raw, grassfed cows' milk. I never could have done this before.

A quick summary of the boys' progress: JD is off of his allergy meds. that he took year-round. He also has not needed his inhaler at all the past 3 months. Even when he was on his allergy medication, I wouldn't allow him to be around certain dogs because he got so incredibly stuffy and miserable. He has since had one of these dogs sitting on his lap for hours with little or no effect on him. This is all so wonderful and I am thrilled that he is not on any medications. He also had dark staining on his teeth from bacteria and that is now gone.

JET is feeling better than ever before in life. He routinely tells me that he loves his life. He has energy. When asked how the diet has changed him, he will tell you that he used to be so tired and lazy and just sit around and watch t.v. a lot of the time. He now desires to be productive and creative. He has learned to cook many new foods and enjoys doing this. He learned to crochet and has also knitted a number of hats for himself and others. He is regularly cleaning out his room. His skin has cleared up immensely. His quality of life is just so much better. Although he does talk about foods he will eat once we are off the diet, I am hoping that he sees the benefit of "real food" and desires to make choices that allow him to feel his best.

Well, the sun is shining and I have some dancing to do...literally. Hope to catch you in the very near future.

So...10:56 PM on New Year's Eve. Gotta stay awake to pick up the 14-yr. old at 12:30 AM. What better time to blog? We did not do a Christmas card or letter this year--just too much going on and couldn't keep up. Maybe you'll pick up a couple of 2012 facts from this post.

Today was a big day. We began the GAPS Introduction Diet. I've been reading Nastasha Campbell-McBride's book. A friend told me about the diet, and within the same week God brought the very same diet across my path in 3 other ways. Crazy, because I haven't heard much about it since then unless I go looking for it. Bing-lightbulb. So, I ordered the book (Ok, Tru ordered it for me) and read it. Boy, it is like a textbook in some regards. Some of it is so basic and easy to understand and other parts felt like I was in a medical school course. As I was reading the book and understanding the concept, it just seemed like a culmination of all the reading I've done on health and digestion the past few years. Also, personal experiences were continually validated throughout this book. It made me hopeful.

Today, after the first full day on the diet, I just miss my chocolate, caffeine and sugar. I'm not quite as nice right now as usual. I'm wondering how long this will last!! I'm also already feeling panicked about where I will get my next source of chicken, beef or fish. I cooked for a day ahead, but need to shop tomorrow for the following day's stock and soup.

Today, we had sauerkraut juice, two of us had Biokult probiotic supplements, two of us had Blue Ice fermented cod liver oil, we had homemade chicken stock. Throughout the rest of the day, we had chicken soup with carrots, onion and garlic made from the homemade stock. We also had ginger tea, grated fresh from the root. Finally, we had some organic coconut oil with a bit of unprocessed honey. That, I believe, was my saving grace today. I'm not 100% sure we are supposed to have coconut oil during the introduction phase. Gotta look into it some more. Tomorrow we will add fish oil supplements also. Tomorrow we will also have beef stock that I made overnight and a soup I will make from it.

I'm Back!!

Well, it has been almost a year since I have done a blog post. It is LONG overdue! I am realizing that one of the ways I worship God and connect with Him is through writing. It is long past time that I get back to writing regularly as an act of obedience in a desire to draw closer to Him and hear His voice more clearly. I feel as if I've been in reactive mode for the past number of years as a mommy. I am finally able to step back and take a few moments to look at my life. What am I doing with my time? Why has it seemed so crazy? Is this how I want to live? If I only have TODAY, what do I want to do with it? We are created to crave meaning and purpose in our lives. I have just been repressing everything for the sake of survival mode. It is time to be proactive and intentional. Can I hear an "Amen"? Ha!

This past week, the entire east coast got slammed by Hurricane Sandy. I cannot even fathom what those in New Jersey, New York and other very devastated areas are going through. One day you have a house...a home...the next day you have nothing. What would you do? I would probably run home to my parents' house! Or maybe to my inlaws' house. I'm so thankful for these places where we could go--for these people whom we love and care for very much.

Sometimes we see and realize that we are more alone than we would like to be. I'm extremely grateful for a God who is with me always. "All creation sings, praise to the King of Kings." Lord, there is none like you. No one compares. No one compares to Your Majesty. We can try to plan, strive to build, try to make ourselves be who we think we should be. In the end, however, we really are not in control, really are without much power at all. We never want to admit that, for it is a very scary place to be, especially when we have been fighting for control and power in our lives for so very long. When we come face to face with our frailty and our humanity, we can cry out to You and You are always there...always there. The mountains may fall into the sea, but You still remain. God, why? Why do we deserve this? We truly do not, but You still freely give. Thank you, Almighty God, for never leaving me alone. Lord, take each breath, each step, each heartbeat and use it for Your glory. Why else should I live? What greater purpose could there be in life? All else will fade away...but You will always remain. Amen.

Merry Christmas 2011

Merry Christmas 2011! The Truitt family has had a full year. For this year's update, we asked the boys to write some highlights of their past year and have added them to our own highlights. They each came up with three things they wanted to share.



Josiah's first event was his baptism. In his words, "Josiah was ready. He wrote out what he should say. He was getting baptized! Dave took the video of him. When they were showing the video on the screen Josiah was getting ready. He went out. "I will now baptize you in the name of the Father"..."Son"..."and Holy Spirit!" "Praise the Lord!!!!" He was baptized.




Another highlight was Josiah playing the role of the King of the Jungle in his school musical. In Josiah's own words, "Josiah's music teacher called out the roles. Josiah was the lead. He practiced and practiced. The musical was great!" Josiah's Gram came to see him.







At the end of John's 6th grade year, we were very proud to find out that he had been awarded the Banner of Truth award for his team.









The boys both were in the musical "Aladdin" at Harrisburg Christian Performing Arts Center. They had a wonderful experience. Among those who came to see them were their grandparents and cousins.










When June rolled around, Dave and I became the parents of a teenager! Our little John John, who was only 2 lbs. when he was born, has grown into a wonderful young man. We celebrated by playing outdoor laser tag, and then going to the beach and celebrating there some more. John's Delaware cousins celebrated with him.




The boys had the opportunity to do some clowning at Messiah Village.




Josiah's third highlight: "Josiah's Birthday '10'. Josiah was excited! He would get lots of presents! He was turning "ten"! He ripped open a gift. It was just what he wanted--legos!"




In John's own words, "This fall I became a C2J (a Christian club) leader. At first it was busy for me, organizing "See You at the Pole", but now it has slowed down. I could use prayer for my leadership."





In September, my friend Angelica and I began teaching Zumba classes. We got licensed to teach in March and spent much of the year having meetings, learning songs and choreography, getting CPR trained and learning the ins and outs of running a class. It has been SO rewarding to exercise in a fun way, and to meet new ladies and dance with them. We've also had the opportunity to pray with many of these ladies and that has been my very favorite part.




Our house has been filled with the sound of instruments.







In November, Dave coordinated the "Engage" Children's Ministry Conference at West Shore E-Free. The kids and I had fun joining him in balloon decorating and teaching balloon twisting classes.





We spent a lovely Thanksgiving at my brother's house with my side of the family.






In early December, we all went to Camp Joy-El for an elementary retreat where Dave was the speaker for the weekend. This was one of John's highlights for the year. According to John, "In December we went to Camp Joy-El and taught elementary kids about prayer. It was a fun experience. We stayed at a lodge and ate awesome food. We taught the kids how to twist balloons. I personally had a lot of fun. That was our "Joy-ful" camp experience."

While we were at the camp, we had the chance to spend some time talking to the camp chef. John was fascinated by the large kitchen and how everything comes together and asked lots of good questions. This is an area that John thinks he might pursue in his future. Hence, his final highlight of the year, "This past year I visited two new restaurants--"Happy Days" and "Famous Dave's" They were both really good."

Well, thanks for joining me in our snapshot journey of the past year. We feel incredibly blessed for all of the opportunities we have had this past year. We are thankful for the special friends and family that we have the privilege of having in our lives. We are grateful to God for being our strength and guiding our path. Many blessings to you this upcoming year!!