Wonderful Busy-Ness

The craziness has begun again and does not promise to let up until the wedding is over. I would be lying if I said we weren't having a great time, though. Friday night was spent at Kayla's sister and brother-in-law's (Jill and Jared) house, playing Wii. On their gigantic movie-theater screen in their media room. Our Miis were bigger than us. It was so much fun! The family Kevin is marrying into is fantastic and we're having a great time getting to know each other. My Dad and Kayla's Dad are now BFFs and we have been threatening to buy them one of those necklaces that breaks in two pieces so they can each have one. Saturday was spent wine tasting all over northwest Oregon, choosing wines for the rehearsal dinner. Believe it or not, even with a $10/bottle corking fee, it's still cheaper for them to bring their own wine than to purchase it at the restaurant. Go figure. For those of you who don't know this, Oregon's Willamette Valley is considered in wine circles to be the new Napa, so there are lots of great wineries and wines to choose from.

Sunday was spent at church, grocery shopping and then taking the kids to a friend's birthday party at 'Pump it Up'. Then Mark and I played Wii after the kids crashed and burned early from all the jumping around and cake eating.

Monday was a low-key day, and if I remember correctly, I didn't even take a shower. We played and laughed and had dinner as a family. Tuesday I had a Women's Ministry Team meeting to plan our next event and we even had a couple of new women join us, which was fun (Hi, Katie!). Wednesday Kevin and Kayla had invited Mark and I to go participate in a Pub Quiz at a local pub where a friend of my brother's works. This was my first Pub Quiz but definitely not my last! Kevin, Kayla, Jill, Jared and Mark and I played as a team against about 60 other people. Everyone pays $3 to participate and the winning team gets the pot. The quiz takes a couple of hours and it's made up of different rounds of trivia including video clips, audio clues and a bingo round. Anyone who knows me knows that this totally floats my boat. I love games, I love trivia and my head is so full of useless information it's scary. Mostly pop culture. Our team did fairly well for our first time, coming in 6th out of 12 teams. A lot of the teams we were competing against are hardcore and participate weekly (at least) in the Pub Quiz, so there is no shame in coming in right in the middle considering we were newbies. The most fun of the night was just getting to know Jill and Jared some more, they are such fun, nice people (Kayla, thank you for having such great relatives!).

Last night was Bible study again and it did not disappoint, as usual. I do not know what I would do without my women. I am so grateful that God created us for community, because I would never want to have to walk this road alone. Having other women who are either going through what I am going through or who have already gone through it is such a valuable tool in this Christian life. To be able to pray for others and be prayed for, to be able to encourage others and be encouraged and to be able to laugh our heads off is so necessary. Thank you, Lord!

Tonight will be a quiet night at home with the family again, resting up for the weekend ahead. Tomorrow is a very important day of shopping for the wedding with my Aunt and my Mom. Though we already have some parts of our outfits, tomorrow will be spent completing our ensembles with whatever pieces we are still missing. I will also be doing some birthday shopping for a little boy I know who is turning 2 soon. Sunday we have church and a BBQ with our old small group and then Monday will be some kind of BBQ/Wii playing/Swimming Pool/Sandbox/etc, etc with my family.

Then it starts all over again! Seriously!

I love it, though. I really do. I am so blessed to have such amazing family and friends. We have so much fun together and learn from each other. I think of people who don't have the people around them that I do and I count my blessings. When God gave me my friends, family and church family, He gave with two overflowing hands. I pray that I am always a good steward of them and am half the blessing to them that they are to me.

Read more...

2

Two weeks and two days from today, Micah will turn 2. It's hard for me to wrap my brain around the fact that I no longer have any babies in the house, just toddlers. We haven't used bottles in over a year and diapers are being phased out. Shortly after the wedding, we will be celebrating the end of binkies. Baby toys that have been outgrown are being passed on to the nursery at church and 'Baby Einstein' has been officially given up for 'Little Einsteins'.

With his new year of life comes new attitudes. He is feistier than his brother, less compliant and much more opinionated. The terrible two's have begun in full force and today has been a doozy. His word of the day is 'No!' and it has earned him many time outs and spankings. He is just being contrary. I could tell him to go eat ice cream and he would tell me 'No', it's just the way he's feeling today. If Mommy wants him to do it, he's not going to. I've been pulling my hair out, determined to be consistent and train him correctly, yet growing more and more exhausted with each test he gives me. On more than one occasion I have been tempted to let his attitude slide, but the fear of seeing this attitude spiral into something even uglier scares me into remaining firm.

I washed their sheets today. After the linen was dry, I set the boys at the dining room table with puzzles and set off to make the beds. I had finished Elijah's and was putting Micah's together when he toddled into the room. Once again, he was being disobedient. I had told him to stay at the table. I was sitting on the floor amongst blankets and stuffed animals that would be piled back up on his bed once it was finished. I was about to get up and start the discipline process again, but he did something that took me off guard. Without saying a word, he picked up his favorite Pooh bear from the pile, curled up in my lap and laid his head on my chest. Instinctively I wrapped my arms around him, kissed the top of his head and started to rock back and forth. I began humming and then eventually singing, his favorite song. Within minutes he was asleep. All that testing of boundaries had tired him out, too.

He is still my baby. He will grow and frustrate me. He will push my buttons and make choices I disagree with. But my lap will always be available, whether he is 2, 22 or, Lord willing, 52. If he needs, I will rock him and sing to him because no matter how big he gets, he will be my baby.

Read more...

Sweet Mercy

God is both perfectly just and perfectly merciful. This is a fact we all state but if you really think about it, it's an astounding reality. I think as human beings, trying to emulate our Savior, we all tend to err on one side or the other. Some of us focus largely on justice, wanting truth to win out at all costs. Some of us focus largely on mercy, wanting love to win out at all costs. So what's more important? Truth or Love?

If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 1 Corinthians 13:2

This verse certainly implies that it is love. But if that verse is not truth, what does is matter? So truth and love are equally important, which is why God is perfectly capable of both. We, however, are not.

Being raised in the church, I learned a lot about what it meant to be a Christian. I learned the list of things that "good Christian girls" don't do. We don't drink, smoke, swear, have sex before marriage, dress provocatively, date non-Christians, etc, etc, etc....I could go on and on, but you get the point. This is what defined me. Sure, I heard all about having a "personal relationship with Jesus" and even attempted some version of that in my youth that I can now see was laughable. Amongst my Christian friends, however, we mostly defined ourselves by what we did not do.

There is nothing wrong with teaching young girls and boys the value of purity and the slippery slope that comes from being unequally yoked with someone you're considering romantically. There is also nothing wrong with teaching kids that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit and we should be good stewards of them. The problem comes when we focus so much on teaching kids the law and forgetting to teach them about the love. Yes....I knew Jesus loved me. I could sing the song and recite the verses. I knew it. But I didn't feel it. I couldn't feel it. All I knew about Him was the list of don'ts He had made for me and, quite frankly, I didn't love that list.

As an adult the Lord has been so patient with me as I have slowly, painstakingly, finally learned to love Him. I realized how much last week as someone tried to convince me that my Jesus cares more about truth than He does about love. Someone had me wondering if the law indeed was more important than the love. I'm grateful to this person because they led me straight to my knees and to the Word, looking for answers to my questions. And praise Him, He was faithful to give them to me:

Jesus' feet are anointed by a sinful woman

The Prodigal Son

Jesus heals on the Sabbath (clearly proving that the religious leaders at the time had taken his commandment to "keep the Sabbath" way out of context. The law was never the point.)

"Let he without sin...." (you know the rest)

I could go on and on. The truth is, the more I get to know my Savior, the more I am overwhelmed by his compassion. As He led me to these verses last week, reminding me of who He truly is, I literally sobbed and fell on my face. He is so good. He loves so much. His love is the very reason He wants us to obey. Not to prove something to Him. He wants us to obey because the "rules" He has put in place for us are for our own good. He is trying to protect us from ourselves! We should not be obeying Him because we have to, we should be obeying Him because we GET TO.

So yes, truth and love are equally important. The problem is, we are incapable of perfectly handling both. So I say, never compromise truth, but when in doubt, err on the side of love. Jesus always did.

Read more...

Slump-a-dinka

I'm having a blogging slump. Can you tell? It's not that I haven't tried. I have. I have sat in front of Blogger, fingers poised over the keyboard, ready to type some momentous piece of mediocrity that will, no doubt, change all of your lives forever just for reading it. But it's not coming to me. And it's been too many days now of nothing for me to not address the issue. Bear with me. I'll be back soon with something to blow your minds. Or put you to sleep. Whichever.

Read more...

Just a Tease

It is August. The 'Dog Days of Summer'. Over the last week we have broken records for the number of days in a row over 100 degrees. It's been miserable. The kind of heat that means you break out in a sweat just blinking your eyes. The kind of heat that means any make-up you applied will have melted off your face before you get wherever you were going. The kind of heat that means no matter how cute your hair was before you left the house, the walk to the car will have it hanging limp and lifeless and stuck to your face. The kind of heat that means your brain is too tired to compose a blog post.

And yet today, it is raining. The window behind my computer monitor is open and my face is feeling a cool, crisp breeze that smells so good. The smell that rain brings as it washes the dust off of everything. It's mid-morning, but it's dark as dusk. I feel cozy and domestic and maternal. All the things I usually start feeling in the Fall. I know that this is just a tease. I know that before Fall settles in for good I will likely have to endure another bout with the heat. For now, though, I am enjoying the delusion that summer has passed. I think I'll go bake something.

Read more...

Good News

As some of you know, I have been on a weight loss journey since January. It has, overall, been a success, and I have lost nearly 40 pounds. This was largely motivated by my brother's impending nuptials, but honestly, it was a long time coming (when I say long time, I wish I was implying since the birth of my children, but that would be a lie. I've struggled with my weight to some degree my entire life).

The last few weeks have been a struggle for me, calorically. There hasn't been any particular reason, really. I just haven't had my head in the game. Large bowls of my husband's 'Captain Crunch with Crunch Berries' (or Captain Healthy with Health Berries, as I tried to call it when my Mom called and caught me eating a bowl of it. Do you think I fooled her?) have been my nemesis, among other things. I hadn't stepped on the scale since the second week of July. I was certain I had gained back large quantities of the weight I had lost (even though all of my smaller clothes were still fitting me fine), and I was not ready to face the music. My plan was to get back on track for a week, then step on the scale. At least then I would have undone some of the damage. Strangely enough, my plan wasn't working. I'd wake up in the morning with the best of intentions and have my Luna bar and grapefruit (oh, how I love the grapefruit), but by the afternoon I was "snacking" on 'Lucky Charms' (I love cereal, can you tell?). I could not get back on track.

This past weekend I realized how precariously close to my brother's wedding we are getting and if I wanted to make any more headway by then, I needed to get my behind in gear. I decided that Monday morning, I would step on the scale and see where I was at, good or bad. I prepared myself for the shock of what number I might see after 3 weeks of refined sugar, high fructose corn syrup and french fries. To my delight, I had only gained a few pounds! A few pounds that is, no doubt, mostly water retention from all of the salt I have eaten lately. I felt silly for having buried my head in the sand for so long, afraid to approach the scale. Now I am back on track and feeling great! Victory!

Yesterday while having my quiet time, the Lord blessed me with this verse:

Colossians 1:22-23a (NLT)

Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault. But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don't drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News.

Much like I had been afraid to approach the scale, I have gone through seasons in my life when I have been afraid to approach the Throne. I have spent weeks making poor decisions and living in defeat, "eating" large bowls of my sinful nature and pride, only to find I have drifted away from my Lord. Much like I attempted to do with my diet, I have tried to get my act together so that I could feel worthy of spending time with Jesus again. What a fool I am! I am covered in His blood! As I stand before the Throne of Grace I am without a single fault. Hallelujah! I need to stand firmly in that truth and not let the enemy convince me to drift away from it. Just because I have lived in defeat one day does not mean I can't live in victory the next! All I have to do is remember the assurance I received when I first heard the Good News.

Read more...

Tired

When Mark's alarm went off at 4:00 this morning like it always does, he did not move. I had to nudge him to get him to hit the button and stop the buzzing. He promptly went back to sleep. Several minutes later, when I realized he hadn't budged, I lovingly kicked him in the calf to get him going. He jumped out of bed and into the kitchen to start the coffee.

The reason I know all of this, friends and family, is because I was still awake. As in had not fallen asleep yet from the night before despite hours of tossing and turning. I tried every trick I know and I could not turn my brain off. I had a zillion things to think about and they were all far too important to wait until morning, apparently. They needed my immediate attention, all night long.

So I'm afraid this post is as good as it's getting today because the brain? It's pretty much oatmeal this morning. I am tired. I would use a word stronger than tired but I'm too tired to think of one.

Read more...

This is the Day....

That the Lord has made! I will rejoice and be glad in it!

Enjoy your Sabbath, friends and family!

Read more...

TGIF

My weekend lies ahead of me, long and empty. I can see the tumbleweeds blowing through my calendar. Yes, we have to take the car to DEQ and have the tags renewed. Yes, I have to go to Old Navy to buy pants for my little ring-bearers, and yes, I will have to go to the store at some point to pick up milk. Oh, and we'll probably go to church. I'm kidding. Of course we'll go to church. I have to, I teach Sunday School.

Other than that, internets, the weekend will be spent playing Wii. And reading. And playing some more Wii. And taking my kids to the park. And playing more Wii. Then we will probably play some Wii.

The week has been a great success. Lots of pajama wearing, drawing on the easel, building forts out of pillows and making a drum set out of an empty diaper box and an empty baby wipes box. Countless books read and songs sung. Plenty of tickling. It's been good. Not a single dollar has been spent, dinner has been made every night, and the house is (relatively) clean.

It's amazing what you can accomplish with the Holy Spirit and an empty calendar.

Have a great weekend, friends! Spend some time doing nothing. If God needed to rest, so do you!

Read more...

Wedding plans

My brother is getting married. You all already know this, I've mentioned it (or some variation of it) many times. Some of you know about the wedding because you are also related to my brother. Some of you know about the wedding because you are my brother. (I guess that only really applies to one of you, though.)

We knew for a long time before the proposal that Kayla was "the One". I would accidentally refer to her as my sister-in-law months before she had a ring on her finger. All of us were wondering when he would just go ahead and pop the question already, but we had to let him take his time.

Last December, my Mom, brother and I spent an afternoon at a local mall, doing some Christmas shopping. I had plans that evening to go the zoo with some friends for their annual "Zoo Lights" celebration. Time was ticking and I really needed to start heading home, but Kevin had driven. Finally we all piled in his car, but he started driving the wrong way! My Mom and I could not figure out what in the world he was doing. In the shrill way that a only a mother and sister can, we started chewing him out for making wrong turns. He told us he needed to make a quick stop at Circuit City, but all that did was give us more reason to pester him. He was going the wrong way for Circuit City, too.

After several minutes of confusion, exasperation and nagging, he stopped in a left hand turn lane, signal on. My Mom and I were still so busy rolling our eyes at him and shaking our heads at each other, we didn't even notice where we were. We were turning into the parking lot of a jewelry store! Kevin finally looked at us and said "I bought Kayla an engagement ring and it's ready for me to pick up today!" It took my Mom and I a minute to absorb what had been said, and for a little while we thought he was still messing with us. Once we realized what he had said, and that he was serious, lots of freaking out ensued. Squealing and celebrating and dancing in our seats. It was about time!

Kevin proposed with her family on Christmas Eve. He had bought her a jewelry box (which my Mom and I had helped pick out that day at the mall) and presented her with the ring once she opened it. The next morning they showed up at my parent's house around 7, but the rest of us had been up long before that, excited about Christmas morning, but also excited to celebrate with the newly engaged. We couldn't have been more happy about this coupling.

When they set the date for September, it seemed a million years away. Now it is right around the corner. The wedding planning has reached fever pace. Bridal showers have been thrown, invitations have been mailed and RSVP cards are pouring in. As I sat at Kayla's shower a couple of weeks ago and looked around, it hit me. These people are all here to celebrate the fact that my little brother is getting married. Then as we played a game in which we all had to answer questions about the groom (which I won, by the way), I realized they were all answering questions about my little brother.

Yesterday I got the ties in the mail that I ordered for the two cutest ring bearers in history to wear and decided (with Kayla's approval, of course) on some super rad shoes for them to wear. I need to order those next (not until the weekend, of course...no spending money until then). Then Kayla sent me the email with the verses she and Kevin had chosen for me to read at their wedding. For her birthday in January, I had bought her a Bible and went through it, highlighting lots of suggestions for verses that would be appropriate wedding material. I'm happy to say they chose a couple of my favorites. I'm honored to be able to read God's Word at their ceremony, and these verses are honestly now, and will honestly be, my prayers for their marriage and their lives.

Ephesians 3:14-19 (NLT)

When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Colossians 3:14-19 (NLT)

Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.
Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father

Read more...

Tattle Tales

The week has been going by very much as I had expected. Lots of relaxation and fun and play. The necessary chores have been done and meals have been made. Not a single dollar has been spent (not even by driving away any gas). It has been wonderful. I am starting to feel truly replenished after the weeks spent burning the candle from both ends. Mark even made it home before the kids' bedtime last night (barely), so he got to tuck them in and read them stories.

The only real glitch in my week has been Elijah's newest phase. Tattling. He is so up in his brother's business it is unbelievable. Our day is a constant stream of "MOM! Micah is climbing on the chair again! MOM! Micah is playing in the sink again! MOM! Micah is sitting on the potty seat again! MOM! Micah is"....you get the point. Then as I respond to said infraction (because, after all, Elijah may have been tattling, but that doesn't mean Micah wasn't being naughty), I hear "MOM! Is Micah going to get a spanking? MOM! Is Micah in timeout? MOM! Was Micah being disobedient?" And on it goes.

Finally, yesterday, after yet another report from Elijah the Informer, I looked at him and said "You need to stop worrying about Micah and worry about Elijah. If you come to me and tattle on your brother again, you're going to share in his punishment."

As I thought about that statement, I thought about how many times God has probably said something very similar to me. Stop worry about your brother/sister and worry about yourself. Quick looking at specks in their eyes when you have a plank sticking out of yours. Take care of your own business and let me worry about what they are doing. Do you think I can't see what they are doing? Do you really think I need your help with that?!

So often I want God to respond to others the way I would respond. I want things to be "fair". I want rewards to follow obedience and punishment to follow disobedience.

Or at least I think I do.

Then I remember His grace. His magnificent, radical, reckless grace. His grace that covers every disobedience. His grace that separates every dumb move I have ever made from me as far as the east is from the west. His grace that I do not deserve. His grace that no one deserves. The same grace that allows my brothers and sisters entrance into salvation is the same grace that allows me. I do not want Him to be fair. If He were fair, I would have no hope.

So I need to quit "tattling". For if God were a god who responded to such tattles, I would be sharing in the punishment.

Read more...

Pink Grapefruit

I could be the world's pickiest eater. I'm pretty sure I've heard of people pickier than me, but I've never met one. At least not one that was over the age of 6. One of the reasons I love my future Sister-in-Law so much is because we are kindred in this way. She is also a picky eater. I can not tell you the joy it is to no longer be the only one at family gatherings who is fussy about food (Thank you, Kayla!). I really don't like being as particular as I am. I adore cookbooks and before I've even cracked the binding on one, half of the recipes have been eliminated for me because I won't eat what's in them. I know I'm missing out on some great stuff. I know it. I just can't seem to help it.

That is why it is unbelievable to me that I am eating grapefruit for breakfast as I type this post. Grapefruit was on my list of "I don't like ems" and I hadn't tasted it in years (probably decades). Something strange was happening, though. I was in love with all things that smelled like grapefruit. Body washes, lotions, shampoos, soaps, candles....you name it. If it smelled like grapefruit, I wanted it. I continued to believe that it was just some weird phenomena that I loved the smell so much despite not enjoying the taste. It never occurred to me to try it.

Until....

One day while at Whole Foods with my Mom, she convinced me to try a sample of the grapefruit they had on display. I decided she was right, I needed to prove, once and for all, that I do not like grapefruit. I grabbed the tongs and lifted the plastic dome they had covering the citrus wedges. I picked a small one because I knew I wasn't going to enjoy it. I walked around with the slice in my hand for several minutes, trying to talk myself into tasting it, but certain I was going to have to spit it immediately out onto the floor of Whole Foods, which would have been embarrassing.

Finally I realized how childish I was being and just did it. I put the fruit in my mouth and tried it. To my utter surprise, the first words that came out of my mouth were "This is delicious!"

So now my love of Pink/Red Grapefruit is all encompassing. I love the smell and I love the taste. So much so that I have even splurged on the Del Monte Cups of Grapefruit at Costco. They are way too expensive but oh, my....they are wonderful.

So let me be an encouragement to all of you today.....try new things! You just might like them!

Read more...

Monday, Monday

It's Monday.

I usually hate Mondays. They mean that the weekend is over and Mark's marathon work hours are beginning again.

This week is different, however. Yes, the weekend is over. Yes, Mark will have to work late most days. The difference is that this week begins a slow down in pace that I am overjoyed about. I have no reason to leave my house until Thursday and, with the exception of taking my kids for walks in the sun, that is probably exactly what will happen. I imagine the next three days will be spent in great part in our pajamas, laying on the floor reading books, building with Legos and playing "Lucky Ducks". The kids will go to bed and I will read. Or watch a movie. Or play Wii. Or do nothing. It all sounds heavenly.

It does mean, however, that Menu Monday is not going to be at all exciting. Mark will not be home for dinner most nights this week, so I will be eating Lean Cuisines or salads or wraps or something equally easy. My husband and I have made a pledge, though, that we will not be spending any money this week. This is something we used to do all the time when our budget was a little tighter. We would consider it a challenge to never spend money on a weekday (obviously this is not referring to emergencies). On the weekends we ran our errands and occasionally splurged on dinner out or renting a movie. The weekdays were for eating what was already in the house, watching what was already in the house, reading what was already in the house and wearing what was already in the house. It worked really well stretching those paychecks between paydays. Since we've had a little more give in our budget, though, we've become pretty lax with our rules. So starting today, assuming no one has to go to the emergency room, we will not spend any money until Friday evening (when the weekend begins in my mind). We have plenty of milk, diapers, fresh fruit and veggies and bread. I will not bid on anything on eBay, buy anything on QVC or do any other online shopping (I'm terrible about that. It's way too easy to click-click-click away money).

So I'll let you know how things go. Thanks so much for letting me put these things out there that I need accountability for. I can't believe how much difference it makes in my resolve when I know that I have put something out there for all the internet to see. The shame involved in having to confess to the 7 of you who read this blog that I blew it is enough to keep me on track. Thank you so much!

Have a good Monday, friends and family!

Read more...

Down Time

Mark just walked in the room to ask me if I had anything going on tomorrow. I can not tell you the joy I had in telling him that not only did I not have anything going on tomorrow, the first time this week I will be required to leave my house is Thursday night for Bible study. As much fun as I have had these last few weeks, I am thrilled to be able to see open space in my schedule.

I spent yesterday fighting off a cold my Mom was trying to share with me (poor thing....I'm usually the one trying to share my colds with her). I had a scratchy, sore throat and a sniffly nose. By the time I got home from the simulcast and then lunch (and dessert!) afterwards with the girls, I was feeling down-right lousy. I had had all sorts of intentions of spending an afternoon and evening with my kids and then my husband, but the only one I ended up spending time with was my pillow. I woke up this morning feeling about the same, so we played hooky from church and can I tell you....it was good for my soul. The Lord and I talked about it and He totally understood. I laid in bed and watched FOX news, Food Network and QVC. I drank lots of fluids and ate a wonderful breakfast, prepared by my unbelievable husband. He took the kids to Costco for me and I got to turn off the TV and have a little church right here in my bedroom. The Lord and I spent some quality time together and I feel refreshed.

This afternoon my kids and I are going to my parent's house where they can swim and play in the sandbox while Mark, my Dad and a friend of ours hit the movies (they are going to see that movie that everyone is talking about these days but looks a little evil to me). There will then be BBQ-ing and Wii playing. Does it get any better than that?!

I hope you all are having wonderful, refreshing weekends, too. See you tomorrow (with Menu Monday)!

Read more...

70,000

Tonight I had the amazing opportunity to attend the first part of Living Proof Live's simulcast at a local church. It will continue on tomorrow morning, and I can't wait (even though it means waking up before any hour I usually find appropriate). Beth did not disappoint, and if you have read this blog for any period of time, you know that I have done several of Beth's studies and have considered them life changing. This event is amazing because it is taking place in 715 locations world wide, with over 70,000 women in attendance. I am not too proud to tell you that as I stood and sang "In Christ Alone/Christ the Solid Rock" (led by Travis Cottrell), and realized that there were that many women singing it at the same time, I bawled like an absolute baby. I know that if God can be pleased at the sound of any joyful noise for Him, He had to be absolutely overcome tonight as He heard that. I am so thankful to have been a part of it. I just can't wait until tomorrow!

PS....do yourselves a favor. Check out the song '2000 years' on Travis' site. It's unreal. I downoloaded it tonight on iTunes and have been listening to it for the last half an hour.

Read more...

Perspective

For those of you who read this blog through a blogfeeder, or happened to chance onto my blog at just the right time yesterday afternoon, you might have caught an ugly post that I spewed. I was having a tough day yesterday. There were a multitude of reasons. Mostly I had just lost my perspective and was having trouble getting it back. I don't want this post to become a total re-hash of the one I deleted yesterday, so I won't go into any of the details of it.

I am very honest on this blog. I don't believe in sugar-coating my life or my struggles as a mother because I believe that is destructive. To pretend my life is perfect and that I don't struggle will only make other people feel like failures for not being perfect themselves. None of us are perfect, none of us have it all together and none of us has is all figured out. I don't want anyone reading my blog to get the impression that I think that I do. I know I don't. Yet yesterday's post was doing nothing but indulging my self-pity and glorifying it, so I felt it needed to be deleted. Not because I'm afraid of telling all of you that I have rough days (too late), but because there was something about that particular post that I felt the Lord was telling me to delete. So I did.

The purpose of this post, though, is to tell you what finally turned my day around yesterday. Despite the fact that I had spent the majority of the day feeling sorry for myself and overwhelmed by motherhood, I had a Bible study to lead last night. I spent my boys' naptime finishing up my homework and preparing the questions. I then took the time to pray for each of the women in my study by name, for their individual requests (as an aside...this is how I handle praying. On the day I lead Bible study, I take the time to pray for each of the women in my study, on the day I plan my Sunday school lesson, I take the time to pray for each of the Jr. High girls I teach individually. Otherwise I could get overwhelmed trying to pray for everyone every day). One by one, all of my worries dwindled to nothing as I prayed for women whose brother's have brain cancer and women whose husbands are not believers, among other things. All of a sudden I had perspective. The missing piece to my day. The thing that was keeping my attitude in the dumps. I had not been able to let the Holy Spirit minister to my heart because I was so bogged down in pity. Praying for others made me realize how little I had to complain about.

I have mentioned on this blog several times how important it is to pray for the little and the big. How important it is to not carry any burden on your own, but to rely on the strength of our Lord. I don't want to diminish the daily struggles we face. God cares about those, too. He wants to hear about them. But sometimes the best way for Him to help us carry our burdens is to remind us of how light they really are compared to the burdens of others. He did that exact thing for me yesterday. And I am grateful.

Read more...