Anyone who knows me knows that I, generally speaking, don’t do well with change. But I also know that change can be good and, at times, necessary.

We’ve had a lot of change in our house over the last 6 weeks. The kind of change that requires physical energy, patience and a good nights sleep!

In an effort to give our four girls more room we decided to give them the master bedroom. Now, our house was built in 1952 and the bedrooms are not very big, not even the master bedroom. But, it gives them a bit more room. We sold our giant, solid wood furniture and bought a used platform bed to fit our CA King mattress (I love craigslist!). Then I painted the room a bright green and stenciled Joshua 1:9 on their closet door. I painted a few small trees, butterflies, lady bugs and flowers throughout the room. My mom made them new curtains. Then we got their bunk beds set up along with the crib for Katherine. One set of bunk beds does not have the bottom bunk set up (don’t need it yet!) so I made it a little play area for the girls.

Then in our new room, I painted it and my mom made us some new curtains. We got our new bed set up and then I set off to re-arrange the basement.

Both Phil and I were convicted that we have too much stuff… I mean WAY too much stuff and stuff that we didn’t need nor use. So I made my old office the girls dressing room. All of their dressers and hanging clothes are now down in this dressing room. The other half of the room is set up with all of our crafts and believe me when I say we know how to craft!

Then, Phil’s office was cleaned out and made into a game room. All of the toys and games that were in our big play room downstairs were cleaned out. Some thrown away and some donated. Then we re-organized all that was left and set it up in what is now the game room. As a side note, Jonathan had grown out of his toddler bed and was ready for a twin. Because of our very, VERY tight budget we really had no funds to buy him a new bed. So, my mom volunteered to take the double bed that used to be in Phil’s office and give her twin to Jonathan. It was a win win for all of us! Thanks Mom!

What’s left in the big play room? The 2 lego tables won’t fit in the game room so they stayed in the big room. Our piano and treadmill are also still in this room. We took our dark blue couch to the dump which left us with the small brown love seat. It just so happened that my aunt was having a garage sale the same weekend and was selling her couch. The couch was rarely sat on as it was kept in a bedroom and she sold it to us for very little. AND, it is a sleeper couch! I realize that it won’t be as comfortable as our previous guest bed but hey, it’s free to use!

So, the big room is now much less cluttered and a more relaxing place to watch TV. Well, we don’t have cable so we watch movies.

Now for a few cute pictures!

Katherine taking a nap outside in the shade.

They love when they get to go with daddy in the bike trailer!

Cousin Jacob here for a visit!

Jonathan loves to roll in the grass!

Titus 2:3-5 (NASB) Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands so that the word of God will not be dishonored.  

I was reading a blog post by Courtney over at Women Living Well about 5 radical qualities young women should pursue.   Courtney discusses what Paul is writing about in Titus 2.  She does a wonderful job breaking down each verse and the qualities that a young woman should try to acquire.  You should take a few moments and read her take on Titus 2

I am blessed to have 2 Titus 2 women in my life.  I have known my friend June for 14 years.  Through the years she has prayed for me and with me (and my family), encouraged me, challenged me and laughed with me.  She is usually the first person my husband calls when he sees that I need to get out of the house and be encouraged.   She is a wonderful example of a Godly wife, mother, daughter, sister and friend.

I’ve only known my friend Joan for a few years but she too has prayed for me, challenged me and we certainly laugh together… frequently!  She loves the Lord, her husband and her children.  She takes her role as a Titus 2 woman seriously and will lovingly mentor anyone.  Her passion is to help other women become a Titus 2 woman and to help them strengthen their relationships with the Lord, their husbands and their children.

I pray that one day I can serve others as my 2 friends have served me and my family.

Blessings,
Gaylene

ps – you really should check out Courtney’s blog.  She is a gifted writer and does not shy away from speaking the truth of the Bible.

Katherine is almost 4 months old.  I just had to post this picture of her.  She is such a sweet and happy baby!

Summer is my favorite season for many reasons.  One of our favorite activities in the summer is participating in the annual Bible Bee.  Each year The Shelby Kennedy Foundation puts together a nationwide Bible Bee.  They decide on a book of the bible to study all summer, choose many (not sure how many but a lot!) verses for memorization and create wonderful study workbooks based on various ages.  Our local bible bee club meets once a week throughout the summer where we play games and help each other with memory verses and bible questions.

This year the foundation choose to study the book of Jonah.  All summer long we will do an in-depth study of Jonah and memorize as many verses (assigned by the Foundation) as we can.  In late August, we will gather for our local Bible Bee Contest where the girls will take a written test based on Jonah and then will recite the verses they know in front of a judge.  The winners of the local bees get to go to Atlanta in late October to compete in the National Bible Bee.

Our kids absolutely love the Bible Bee and the Bible Bee club where we get to play and fellowship with several other families all while putting the words of our Lord on our hearts.

What a blessing!

Enjoy your summer!

Gaylene