Blessed Beyond Measure!

"'Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?... But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.'"

Matthew 6:25-27, 33-34

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."
James 1:17

I am in complete awe of our Father and the ways He provides for His children! To be honest, I have been worrying and questioning quite a bit lately. It is unbelievable how much is needed to prepare for a little one's arrival! Our friends and church family were so incredibly gracious this past Sunday when they gave us a shower. We got so many items we needed, and I am very thankful for their willingness to help us prepare for Riley! On Monday, though, when I was looking at our registry and realizing what we still needed, I became pretty overwhelmed and really began doubting God's ability to provide it. He lovingly reminded me that He has provided SO much throughout both mine and Daniel's lives, so why would he quit now?! I just needed to trust...

And then it all began...the discounted items found on Craigslist, and the items given to us by friends started flooding in. To back up a little, two weeks ago, I found this (minus the Boppy pillow) on Craigslist for $60!

This week I found the Boppy pillow with cover on Craigslist for $15! Then yesterday, I came home from work to find this in our living room...

We bought the car seat at a garage sale in Arkansas, but we still needed the stroller to go with it (we wanted to go the "travel system" route). We were planning on ordering the stroller directly from Graco, but our friends, Brent and Candace, gave us this Graco stroller! Our car seat fit perfectly into it! They're not the same pattern, but I feel like the colors somewhat complement each other, so I am HAPPY with it! What could have cost us around $200, only cost $30! God is good! :)

As I was taking pictures of the above items this morning, I had to get a couple pics of all the clothes we've been given as well! We haven't bought a single item of clothing for Riley. The clothes in this picture were given by Candace/Brent and my sister-in-law, Jill. I am SO grateful for both of their giving spirits! It's so humbling!

And these are all clothes that were given by my parents, mother-in-law, best friend, Kristen, friends at church, etc. Once again, completely humbling!

As I began to write this blog about how amazed and grateful I am for our Father's provision and blessings, I received a phone call from my best friend, Kristen. We were chatting casually and after I told her about all that we'd been given in the past week, she asked what we still needed. I named a few things and then she asked specifically about bedding. I said we hadn't gotten it, yet, but we were going to look into buying it soon. She said, "Don't! My family bought it for you and it's being shipped there." WHAT?! This emotional, hormonal, pregnant lady definitely teared up on the phone right then and there! I don't know why the Lord chooses to bless us in so many incredible ways, but all I know to do is praise Him continuously!

"Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise Him...For the word of the Lord is right and true; He is faithful in all He does...We wait in hope for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name. May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in You." Psalm 33:1, 4, 20-22