Thoughts

April Blessings

Hello everyone! I know this monthly blessings post is a bit late, but I’ll try to make up for it.  It’s been a wonderful month. There’s been a lot of highlights, so brace yourself – this is a long post! :)

I took this picture a few weeks ago when our lilac bush was in full bloom. There were many different types of butterflies surrounding it. This blue butterfly was beautiful, although it looked like something happened to the lower part of its right wing! :(

On April 9th, we celebrated Jonathan’s 10th birthday with a lovely picnic and a triple-chocolate-cookie-crust-mousse-something in the evening. Whatever it was, it was a great choice made by the birthday boy! :)

Welcome to the double digits club, Jonny-B! I love you!

Wesley took this picture of me under our dogwood tree. I like how the leaves framed this picture.

We have a new addition to the family! Meet Flospy, Jonathan’s new miniature bunny.

Now this was an unexpected event. Here’s how it went: a few days ago, Mom and I were in town doing some shopping and running errands. We needed to swing by a farm and home store to buy corn for feeding the turkeys. As we walked towards the back of the store, we saw a cage of baby bunnies. They were absolutely adorable! Mom and I cuddled several of them, and we kind of gave each other a look to say we just HAD to bring one home. Both our hearts were melted by this time. We knew that Jonathan would really enjoy a pet. He is very responsible, and would love a baby bunny. So we got a small black bunny a gentle personality. She’s a mini bunny, so she won’t get very big. We brought her home in a cardboard box, and when Jonathan opened it, he was completely surprised. He named her Flopsy.

He’s so excited to have a little pet all his own! Daily activities for Flopsy include running through mazes out of cardboard bricks, gnawing on carrots, and being cuddled by everyone throughout the day. :)

Last weekend, we went hiking at the Ha Ha Tonka State park (isn’t that a funny name?!). The scenery was beautiful, and there was an old castle that had been partially burned down.

It was used as a hotel after its completion in 1922. But in 1942, sparks from the chimney caught the roof on fire and much of the castle was destroyed in a few hours.

We hiked all over the park and enjoyed the gorgeous view. After hiking some pretty huge hills, we all felt tired, and were glad to stop and enjoy a nice picnic.

Mom makes the best kabobs, and Daddy does a wonderful job grilling them! :)

It was a very fun day!

And now here’s something that’s encouraged me this month:

I have been reading through the book Do Hard Things. This is an excellent book, and I highly recommend it. It has challenged me to think about how I’m using my time to most glorify God and use the opportunities that He’s given me.

The book asked the question, “Is how we’re spending our time right now preparing us for what we hope to become in the future?”

This has challenged me to think of my teen years not as “just waiting around to become an adult”, but to use them to not only grow and strengthen my faith, but also to pursue and cultivate the gifts that God has given me. So many times, young people waste their teen years, and do not use them to their advantage. The teen years are special in that they provide many opportunities but do not include many of the cares of adults, such as financial responsibilities.

Here’s something else from the book to consider: we should never measure our success only by other people’s standards of what is acceptable. If we measure our accomplishments by what other people do, we won’t reach our true potential. I love this quote from Corrie ten Boom: “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” If we can trust our futures to God, He can use us to accomplish things we never thought could be possible.

When we do reach out, succeed, and accomplish things in life, the enemy of pride can easily trip us up. We must remember that we are indeed each a pen in the hand of God, and whatever great things we’ve done in our lives are really His work through us. All the glory should go to Him because He enables us to accomplish great things in the first place!

So thus concludes this post for the blessings of April. But stay tuned – there’s more around the corner. This weekend is Wesley’s graduation!

4 Comments

  • Amanda

    April 24, 2012

    Thanks Brooke!:) I look forward to reading what you have been up-to each month. I like the HA HA Tonka State Park…
    What a cute little bunny! I am sure he is very happy.
    Blessings,
    Amanda

  • Hannah

    April 24, 2012

    Wonderful post, Brookie!

    I l-o-v-e all of your photos. Your photography skills are improving wonderfully (not that you weren’t good when you started!). :)

    The photo that Wesley took of you is gorgeous! And happy birthday, Jonathan!!!! I can’t wait to meet the new addition to your family. The last picture of you 4 at the picnic bench made me smile and miss y’all so much. I’ll be looking forward to your next post, my friend!

    To God be the Glory,
    Love,
    Hannah

  • Becca

    April 25, 2012

    I love your mid-month posts, Brooke! :) The rabbit must feel very lucky to be in such a nice household. And I’m so excited to hear that y’all went to Ha Ha Tonka! My family and I went there last year to celebrate my sister’s birthday, and we absolutely loved it! (By the way, your pictures of the castle look very similar to mine – probably due to the fact that you can only take so many pictures from just four sides! :D) The picture that Wesely took of you looks VERY lovely – both you and the leaves are beautiful! :) It’s always so much fun to read your posts! Have a great week!

    ~Becca

  • Luthien Tinuviel

    April 30, 2012

    Your quote from Corrie Ten Boom reminds me of a quote from Minnie Harkins,which was used in a speech by King George VI.

    “I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year
    Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.’
    And he replied,
    Go into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God
    That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way!.” Congrats to Wesley on the occasion of his graduation :D

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