It Was A Normal Day...

It was a normal day.  A sunny, quiet day.  Living in the country.  Small town.  Beautiful land.

I don't remember any of the details of that day, save one.  Kathryn went out to get the mail.  A normal day.  A sunny day.  She crossed the street.  Opened the mail box.  Grabbed the mail.  Shut the mail box.  Turned around.  And there he was.  Who?  I do not know.  He sat in his truck.  Window rolled down.  Smoke rising from his cigarette.  Just watching.

A quick assessment.  We live in the country.  No one is around.  Hunting property across the street.  Empty houses next door.  Empty high way.  House is 400 feet from the road.  He came out of no where.

This was a normal day.  She is a cautious young lady.  She is dressed in a long skirt, nice blouse, sweet disposition.  She ran across the street and up our driveway like her life depended on it.  He drove away.

It was a normal day.  But a darkness hovered.  A fear and thankfulness mixed together.  The "What If's" flooding in to my mama heart.

We have no way of knowing what he wanted or what his plan was.  Whether he was just a creepy old man, who wanted to scare a young lady or someone far more sinister than that.

With pornography available on virtually every mobile device, the evils that come along with porn, will continue to increase, putting our children at even greater risk.

We made an assessment of where we live.  Half hour from a main highway.  Isolated.
But we are not unaware.

We have been teaching our children since they were young about the dangers of pornography, about being aware of your surroundings, about telling us if someone makes you uncomfortable, about not going off to hear secrets with other friends...

There is no doubt in my heart and mind, that it was the God of Angel Armies who protected our sweet daughter that day. 

Now, we are more aware of the audacity of evil and the need for boldness and strength in our children.  We are determined to raise children that believe in the power of prayer and the ONE who answers our prayers, who are strong in spirit, and aware of the evil in this world.  How can they be prudent and avoid evil, if they are not taught of its existence???

I am so thankful for this to have happened because I realize that sex trafficking happens in the U.S.  It is a real danger to our children, even here in the U.S.

And in some countries, it is a way of life.  It is the only way to provide food for our children, for ourselves. 

Please consider becoming involved in the solution. It doesn't affect you personally.  But, in one moment, that could change.

In His Grip,
Laura

In The Waiting...

Joyful Mama!

Expectant big sister!

It seems like only yesterday, but alas...  Elijah is a month old already.  It seems like just yesterday, we were busying ourselves with gardens & chickens, trying to keep our mind (well, my mind anyways) on the simple realization that at any moment I was going to go into labor.  We experienced an amazing pregnancy.  I had back pain for a total of 3 days my whole pregnancy.  Blue Bonnett Liquid Cal Mag solved the leg cramping, screaming, jumping out of bed in the middle of the night problem.  I kept active and limber by weeding and planting our garden.  (The kids helped a ton!!!)  At my doctor's appointment when I was 39 weeks pregnant and it was 95 degrees out, I was as happy as a clam and all smiles.  I LOVE being pregnant!  And I LOVED this pregnancy.  On my due date, I was sure I was going to the hospital.  Instead, our well pump quit working.  "Well, I can't go into labor if I can't take a shower," I told myself indignantly.  Night would come and I prayed that I'd wait til morning.  "I'm just too tired!", I'd tell my Lord.  Days crept on.  The heat wave crept on.  I thanked the Lord for our air conditioner and for my hard working husband who set up a watering system so that our garden wouldn't die for lack of rain.  Friends called or emailed.  I started telling people immediately when I called them, that no, I was not in labor and yes, I was fine.  But I was growing restless.  I was enjoying getting the last minute things done, but I was ready to hold my baby in my arms.  D and I got so restless, that we finally prayed and said, "Yes, Lord, we can go into labor in the middle of the night."  Isn't it funny how in our prayers, we can say Lord, right before we direct GOD how to handle our situation.  Kind of an oxymoron. 

Daddy & his boy...  Kind of look alike, aye?

The day finally came when I awoke and I hoped that the contractions were real.  We went to our scheduled appointment.  Yup, we're on our way to the hospital.  This is my 8th baby.  We're in a hurry to get to the hospital these days.  God has His own way of doing things.  We didn't need to be in a hurry to get to the hospital.  I felt like a watched pot.  The nurse was a sweet heart.  We were all just expecting a little quicker labor.  But, God has His own way of doing things and this time around, He wanted me to relax and wait on Him.  I wish I could have seen the lesson while I was in the middle of it, but life is rarely that way.  Hind sight is 20/20 most times.  By the time labor was intense, I was just tired and hungry.  (no food during labor...  stupidest hospital policy EVER)  I'd been in the hospital for 10 hours and I wanted to be done.  I gave up.  I looked at my dear husband and cried.  "I am tired.  I am starving.  I can't do this.  I want drugs!"  Now, in the midst of the pain and exhaustion, I looked to my husband to sympathize and take it away.  Instead, he responded quite differently.  He reminded me how close we were to holding our baby.  He asked me to wait 8 minutes before getting drugs.  He recognized the signs of transition.  He took action and notified the nurse who called the doctor.  AND a short time later, at 11:37 p.m. on July 3rd, I was holding our newest blessing, Elijah John Czeslaw. 

Elijah at the beach!

When my strength had run out, when my eyes were fixed on my pain, when I could not think clearly, my husband came to my rescue.  He gave me his courage.  He gave me his strength.  He pointed me to the blessing that God had for us at the end of the road.  He was and is my hero.

Looking back, I am amazed at God's great mercy and grace on me.  God kept me strong during my pregnancy.  He protected this baby and knit him together, one cell at a time.  He allowed me to see and learn through this pregnancy and labor His great love for me and also that He really does know best, that He's got it all under control.  I can tell Him what I want, but I really can trust His will for me.  He just loves me that much. 

My new favorite verse is

Mark 5:36  Be not afraid.  Only Believe. 

Jesus said this right before he raise Jairus' daughter from the dead. 
How much of our lives can we apply that scripture to???
Every day.  All day.  In every situation.

Be blessed!
Daniel & Laura

I'm in LOVE!

Our Year in Review

The Zarzycki Family

 I have a confession to make...  I just sent out our "Christmas" cards on Friday.

I never actually expect to get them in the mail before Christmas.  I like to really think about our year, contemplate & reminisce.  Pray & ask God for direction for the coming year.  It is a sweet time for me AND a hard time.  

Time passes so quickly.  Our baby is 11 months old now and officially walking.  My oldest "baby" turned 18 a month ago. 

I'm so thankful that I am able to see my baby's first step, to see her smiling face when she wakes up from her nap.  I'm so thankful I wake up to Lukasz & Anya crawling into bed & not an alarm clock.  I'm so thankful that my husband gives me this gift of full time motherhood, full time wife duty & doesn't ask that I go & help him with financial support.  I'm so thankful that Kathryn comes to me with questions & trusts the answers Daddy & I give her.  I'm so thankful that I can remember the time, not so long ago, when I got up to an alarm clock, rushed everyone out the door, rushed to work, rushed home to feed everyone.  Plop into bed.  Do it all over again.  Because I can remember, I'm thankful even in the really hard times.

This past year was very hard.  The theme was "letting go".  Letting go of people so that God could take care of them.  Letting go of people who I thought were my closest friends, but when I couldn't "be there for them" because of my expanding family, they disappeared.  He is Lord.  He knows best.  He then blessed us with older friends that have been such an encouragement to us, surrogate parents & grandparents.  We love them dearly!

I hope you enjoy a little snippet into our lives.

February 2011

            I’m not sure how it got to be February already!  Last year was so full!  So full of the good, the bad & the ugly!  J 

"Yep, I'm cool, even with this orange hard hat on!"

           We celebrated Ryan’s 18^th birthday a month ago.  He has grown in so many ways this year!  God has changed him.  He went from being a child who hated to read to one that is hard to get away from his books.  He used to be really timid.  Now, he is bold about his faith in Jesus Christ.  I think he’s learning to enjoy the journey, to relax & live by faith.  He continues his apprenticeship with Daniel & homeschooling.

She is our sweet "Bella Bean"!

            Izabella Richelle was born on March 12^th.  From the moment of her birth, everyone has adored her, even those siblings that were a little jealous.  She is a beautiful, joyful, sweet little angel.  Her daddy is almost embarrassed by how much he goes “ga, ga” over her.  J 

          

Lukasz is our reserved one.

In May, Lukasz turned 4 years old.  He loves to be outside, working with the guys.  He loves to ride his bike, play with Izabella, read with anyone who will read to him & do puzzles.  He came up with our new little saying around the house.  He had a little bit of a hard time when Bella was born and would say he hated me.  It about broke my heart.  I prayed & asked God to fix it & that’s when Luke started saying that to me.  Even if we had a really bad morning, at naptime, he would say, “I like you and I love you, Mama.”  God is good.

           

She's our nature lover!

In July, Kathryn turned 14.  She is becoming a young woman right before our very eyes.  How did this happen?  She has become my right hand woman, but with her personality, she has to be reminded that she’s not the “queen bee” around here.  J  That’s my girl!  She loves to teach the younger kids & she was the one who canned most of our applesauce, peaches & tomatoes this year!

            In September, Daddy celebrated his birthday!  He has had another busy year working, Praise the Lord!  He also put together raised beds, put up a deer fence & cut down several trees to expand our garden.  We were blessed with a bountiful garden full of tomatoes, squash, corn, lettuce, kale & more.  His ministry is his family, as he says.  He stays busy mentoring our 7 children, teaching them to think for themselves & to really live for Christ.

            October is my birthday month.  Most of my year has been spent adjusting to having the 7^th, letting go of the “perfect laundry room” myth (I didn’t have a washing machine steadily for almost a month L), learning to balance all that God has for me to do & letting go of the things that are not TOP priority.  Mostly learning to follow the leading of the Lord & realizing that God doesn’t make sense to me sometimes.  But His life for me is abundant & I don’t have to understand.

 

Ha!  I'm not looking!

          Anya turned 3 the day after Thanksgiving.  She is our family greeter!  She smiles & says “hi” to everyone she sees.  She has told everyone that she is 3 now.  She hugs strangers & holds their hand.  She is a sweet little girl most of the time, but then there’s “Miss Crunchy Face”.   She is another go to girl, who has her own ideas on how things should be done.   

Look at that smile!

            Rosalie turned 12 in December.  She is a beautiful little lady.  She loves to smile & giggle & help Daddy with whatever project he has.  She just loves to help & please others.  She is still an avid reader & loves to help teach Anya’s Sunday School class. 

          

Gabe!  Not so reserved! :)

Gabriel turned 6 in December, as well.  He keeps me on my toes every hour of every day.  He’s a smart little man, learning to read, with little instruction from Mama, picks up math like nothin’ and loves to build and take things apart.  He is his father’s son.  He has decided that he’s going to be a carpenter & a preacher when he gets bigger & gave his first sermon to Anya & Luke the other day. 

            My new favorite quote is from Charlotte Mason,

            “Are my children learning enough?  That is the wrong question.  The question is, “What do they care about?  Who are they becoming?  These are the questions that matter most.”

            That’s a glimpse into our year, our lives, our children…  This year has really been one of tremendous joy & tremendous pain.  We are so thankful that we have the Holy Spirit to guide us, help us & carry us through.

As we have reminisced about our 2010 & are planning our 2011, we are eternally grateful for our God.  He came as a babe, lived a sinless life, died on a cross as payment for OUR sin, rose from the dead & now lives in heaven, preparing a place for us to come when we die.  But that’s not all.  He sent the Holy Spirit to live in each of us that accept His free gift, accept our need for a Savior, and accept that nothing that I do can take away my sin, NOTHING but the blood of Jesus. 

Praying for a blessed 2011 for you

from the Zarzycki Family!!!

The Beauty Of The Lord

As I "walk along the way", I have the privilege of seeing "The Beauty Of The Lord" all around me. Of course, that's when I'm paying attention. As I've watched this summer FLY by, I wonder how often I've been too busy to notice Him.
One occasion that sticks out clearly in my mind. I bribed the kids... If you do really well with all your chores, we'll go to the beach later. We finally made it to the point at 7 pm. It was chilly. It was windy. But I promised. As I sat there feeding the baby, watching the girls play in the waves, the boys play in the sand, I was anxious. I had so much to do. It was almost past their bedtime. I'm cold. We should have come sooner. Daniel has my camera. The video camera doesn't have batteries charged. I went from enjoying them to thinking to enjoying them to being ready to go to enjoying... You get the idea. I stood up and turned around and looked up. There was the sun, just the rays, peaking through the clouds pointing right at the light house. In that moment, God spoke directly to my anxious heart, "Be still & know that I am God! Relax. I'm here."
God is so amazing...
We went to the beach another time.
It was beautiful.
But that one cloud...
We waited out the first shower in the pavilion. The sun came out. We went down to the beach. I sat down. The kids ran into the lake. It started to down pour. It started to hail. I started to laugh. It stopped raining. The sun came out. A dear friend brought coffee. Daddy called. He came to fly kites. The kites got tangled. The kids had fun.
God is amazing...
I watch Daddy, playing with his little girls, telling them how beautiful they are. I watch him swoon over his littlest one. I remember him 6 years ago, scared to death to be a daddy to little girls.
God is amazing...
I watch our lives change, our hearts change, like a butterfly coming out of a chrysallis, struggling to be set free from the chains that bind us... God is working in the struggles... Helping us to see Him... Helping us to relax & enjoy the journey... Helping us to be thankful for each other... Helping us to look outward, to be servants, to be "doers of the Word", to love others, to speak the truth...

I will declare the beauty of the Lord... He's all around...

In His Grip,
Laura