My friend, Renee, posted these questions that she got off another friend's blog. In reading them they were quite thought-provoking, so I thought I'd answer them, too.
1). What kind of music would describe your personality?
(this really depends on my mood!) '80's hairbands, Southern Gospel, Gospel Choir,4-Part Harmony, Spa music, Ska, Classic Pop, Classical
2). What attracts people towards you?
I often say I'm kind of like my dog, Dakota. He's an adorable Pomeranian whose fun-loving and excitable personality draws people in...but the longer they're around him the more annoying that gets. :)
3). When was the last time you laughed out loud?
Today ~ it's Christmas, and there were MANY opportunities to laugh out loud.
4). What 5 character traits do you appreciate about yourself?
Pathological Learner, Trustworthy, Truthful, Fun, Committed to excellence
5). Where do you place your trust?
In Christ alone.
6). What energizes and drains you in life?
Energizes: new projects
Drains: old projects, routines, clutter and CARBS!
7). If money was no object what would you do?
A) Keep ministries touching the lives of others with the truth of the Gospel going without worry.
B) Set up a fund that would help young families struggling to get off the ground financially so they could go through training and get it together...knowing they would then be expected to keep the fund going for those they come into contact with in the same situation.
C) Travel.
8). What are your personal truths that you stand in everyday?
Truth is worth being committed to...and people are worth investing in.
9). Do you step out in trust or fear when encountering an unknown situation?
The million dollar question for me! If I'm grounded in the Word I step out in trust knowing God is for me. However, if I'm not in the Word as much I step back in fear because I struggle with my own abilities and worth in unknown situations.
10). In 5 words how would your friends describe you?
Ummmm, I'm guessing here, but: strong, faithful, straight-forward, compassionate, fun
11). When was the last time that you did something special for yourself?
tonight ~ instead of going to bed I decided to stay up and spend some time alone refreshing my spirit through study and writing.
12). How could you listen better to those around you?
STOP. Just stop and be present when I'm with others ~ to take my thoughts off whether my clothes fit right or my hair looks okay or if they really like me ~ to stop thinking of how I'll respond to them, and to just listen to their hearts in what they're saying.
13). If you are a mom how did you show love to your children today?
I spent time cuddling with each of them in the midst of the chaos of Christmas...whispering my amazement over the opportunity to be their Mom into their ears. I also instilled the love of Perfection Personified (Jesus) into their lives through "Jotham's Journey" the Christmas Story and prayer. (and laughing and playing with them helped, too!)
14). What do you need freedom from that is weighing you down from your past?
Believing the lies that I'll never be worthy of doing what I was made to do because of my past or my bad habits.
15). What lies do you believe about yourself?
That I'm being arrogant if I say I can do something well, that I'll never be disciplined enough to be a healthy weight again, and that the dream I have is too big ~ that it's just my dream and that I'm just trying to be something important so people will notice me (which is the biggest lie of all!!)
16). How do you create balance in your life?
I have to have time to be creative. I also have to have time with God. If those two are in place the other things happen without my realizing I have to schedule it in. If those two are out of place or missing...my whole world is chaotic.
17). What part of your life story could encourage someone else?
The biggest one would be the story of redemption that is my adoption story. How God answers prayers in His amazing tenderness and sets it all in motion for His worthwhile glory. The continual one is how He never stops molding, changing and creating new life in me.
18). How do you live each day with intention and purpose?
Focus on the fact that this world is truly NOT my home...that I am here to bring glory to God in all I say, do and think...and that no one on this earth will judge me on that final day. Only God.
19). What gives you meaning in life?
This would be the same answer as #18
20). How do you know that you are loved by God, no matter what?
I'll be honest here ~ there are days I can't believe it. There are days and times and seasons when it feels like He is far from me and that I am not "loved" by Him. I have learned that in those times I have to stand firm in faith ~ that it's in believing what I'm told in the infallable Word of God instead of trusting in my gut or seeing His hand at work in my life. I am loved because He tells me He loves me with an everlasting love that cannot be taken away. There are days, though, that I literally say out loud, "Lord, I'm not feeling it. There is pain and hurt and stuff I don't understand, but I trust You and I will believe ~ even if I don't feel ~ that what You have for me is the best because You are perfect and Holy and You love me more than I could ever understand."
Friday, December 26, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
I'm a Pro-Procrastinator
In looking for a really good site to link this post to I discovered the above link. I haven't read the whole post, so beware upon clicking, but I did read the first paragraph (because, really, I have WAY more important things to do than writing a new blog post!). In reading the first paragraph I knew this man knew what he was talking about. Case in point, the last few sentences from said first paragraph. :)
All procrastinators put off things they have to do. Structured procrastination is the art of making this bad trait work for you. The key idea is that procrastinating does not mean doing absolutely nothing. Procrastinators seldom do absolutely nothing; they do marginally useful things, like gardening or sharpening pencils or making a diagram of how they will reorganize their files when they get around to it. Why does the procrastinator do these things? Because they are a way of not doing something more important. If all the procrastinator had left to do was to sharpen some pencils, no force on earth could get him do it. However, the procrastinator can be motivated to do difficult, timely and important tasks, as long as these tasks are a way of not doing something more important.
I had to laugh at the pencil analogy! I have a couple of friends with whom I've joked that we needed to have our husbands tell us, in all honesty, that they were planning a really big vacation. They needed to tell us when we were leaving (give us a really early departure time), where we were going, and that we needed to pack for 3 weeks. Then, after we'd cleaned the entire house, gone through all the drawers that we'd been putting off going through, and decluttered everything that needed to be decluttered...right before we started doing the actual packing...they needed to tell us we weren't really going on vacation, they just wanted us to get our houses cleaned out. :)
And, yes, just before we beat them to a bloody pulp they could hold up a previously packed suitcase and tell us they were sending us on a girlfriend's weekend as a reward.
We all think it's a brilliant plan, but the problem is getting our husbands to do such a thing without us realizing exactly what they're doing. 'Cuz we're pretty smart cookies, y'know!
And such is the reason I'm writing a new blog post. I have packing to do, house to clean, laundry to finish, and Christmas stuff to take down so I don't have to do it all when we come back. I just thought I'd get some "unnecessary...yet pressing" thoughts out of my mind so I can check it off my list. (yes, it's there...right under "clean out sock drawer." *grin*)
Have a wonderful Christmas! Hopefully I can post with pictures next time...and just as a teaser, I'm brewing up a post about Beethoven and the piano that may just surprise you. It's an amazing picture of how God uses our infirmities in ways we will never know this side of Heaven. Truly, when I realized what I was seeing I was absolutely blown away. I think you will be, too. Until then...I'm off to clean the washing machine lid with a toothbrush. ;-)
All procrastinators put off things they have to do. Structured procrastination is the art of making this bad trait work for you. The key idea is that procrastinating does not mean doing absolutely nothing. Procrastinators seldom do absolutely nothing; they do marginally useful things, like gardening or sharpening pencils or making a diagram of how they will reorganize their files when they get around to it. Why does the procrastinator do these things? Because they are a way of not doing something more important. If all the procrastinator had left to do was to sharpen some pencils, no force on earth could get him do it. However, the procrastinator can be motivated to do difficult, timely and important tasks, as long as these tasks are a way of not doing something more important.
I had to laugh at the pencil analogy! I have a couple of friends with whom I've joked that we needed to have our husbands tell us, in all honesty, that they were planning a really big vacation. They needed to tell us when we were leaving (give us a really early departure time), where we were going, and that we needed to pack for 3 weeks. Then, after we'd cleaned the entire house, gone through all the drawers that we'd been putting off going through, and decluttered everything that needed to be decluttered...right before we started doing the actual packing...they needed to tell us we weren't really going on vacation, they just wanted us to get our houses cleaned out. :)
And, yes, just before we beat them to a bloody pulp they could hold up a previously packed suitcase and tell us they were sending us on a girlfriend's weekend as a reward.
We all think it's a brilliant plan, but the problem is getting our husbands to do such a thing without us realizing exactly what they're doing. 'Cuz we're pretty smart cookies, y'know!
And such is the reason I'm writing a new blog post. I have packing to do, house to clean, laundry to finish, and Christmas stuff to take down so I don't have to do it all when we come back. I just thought I'd get some "unnecessary...yet pressing" thoughts out of my mind so I can check it off my list. (yes, it's there...right under "clean out sock drawer." *grin*)
Have a wonderful Christmas! Hopefully I can post with pictures next time...and just as a teaser, I'm brewing up a post about Beethoven and the piano that may just surprise you. It's an amazing picture of how God uses our infirmities in ways we will never know this side of Heaven. Truly, when I realized what I was seeing I was absolutely blown away. I think you will be, too. Until then...I'm off to clean the washing machine lid with a toothbrush. ;-)
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Christmas
Somedays I really feel like Scrooge:
If you start watching it, beware...it's the full movie! I found it on Google videos, and it's the 1935 version. The story is just so powerful and thought provoking.
But somedays I still feel like Scrooge. And, just like Scrooge, it's for purely selfish reasons.
I'm bah-humbugging that we won't be celebrating in our home with our Christmas tree and all our personal family's traditions with the boys.
I'm bah-humbugging that my mind is, at times, so unfocused that I am somewhat overcome with the anxiety of how I'm going to get it all done.
I'm bah-humbugging the fact that at the end of this year there are only 19 days left of the United States as we know it.
I'm bah-humbugging that I have procrastinated getting my house in order and now I am frustrated with the packing process for our upcoming trip.
speaking of which...I'm bah-humbugging the fact that I am leaving the cold and crisp and Christmassy-feeling Pacific Northwest for tropical and sunny and summery-feeling Southern California. sigh. I want snow for Christmas.
I'm bah-humbugging that I am now THE MOM and it's up to me to make the Christmas season all magical and wonderful...instead of my Mom and Aunts.
I'm bah-humbugging that I'm bah-humbugging!!!
So...just like Scrooge, I think I'll be visited by the three "ghosts" of Christmas to gain my perspective.
When I was a child I loved Christmas! Growing up Christmas was truly the most wonderful time of the year. My parents both come from huge families (they each had 14 siblings), and that meant tons of cousins and tons of food and, depending on which side we were with, lots of card playing (which meant nickel hearts in the breezeway with Dad & Uncle Jack) or lots more music (which meant improvised accompaniment to carols and made up words to traditional Christmas songs), and there was always lots of laughter. Either way, it meant a ton of family and a ton of fun.
We had our own family traditions, too. I grew up Lutheran until I was in 9th grade so every Christmas Eve we would get dressed up in the one gift we could open on Christmas Eve (most people do pajamas...we did new Church clothes...usually homemade and matching when I was really young, but still beautiful and exciting) and we would all look forward to going to Candlelight services at 11:00 PM. And, since 11 PM is a late show, we'd often have oyster stew around 9:00 and then we'd load into the car about 9:30 or 10 and we'd drive around looking at Christmas lights until it was time to go to church. It was glorious. My Dad would make us "ooh and ahh" over the lights that were really done up, and he'd often tell stories about the lights or the displays or the people who did them. Again, there was lots of laughter and lots and lots of joy. We'd head to Candlelight services where there was a peaceful amazement that fell over the sanctuary. You could literally feel it. People were excited...they knew that we were there to celebrate the culmination of our anticipation season...we'd light that final Advent Candle and sing "O, Holy Night" for the first time. Christmas was a time of spiritual and familial magic. Mom & Dad might "bite" at each other early in the night when they were trying to make sure everything was getting done, but by the time the Oyster Stew was complete (of which I never once ate an oyster...I hate those slimy things...but the "broth" was pure enjoyment! And they gave meaning to oyster crackers!) all was well and the hand holding and snuggling and cooing and low talking would begin. Mom would laugh at Dad's jokes and stories and when they got too outlandish she'd say, "Oh, Gene!" and playfully slap him while she told us it was all lies. Sometimes, after the Candlelight services...when they started doing them at 10:30 instead of 11:00...we'd finish up at our church and head down to Grandma's to attend Midnight Mass. I'll never forget the first time I smelled the incense and asked my dad quite a ways above a whisper what that awful smell was. I'm sure I was really young, and I remember Dad quieting me quickly, but I'll never forget the Priest walking down the aisle swinging the incense. Oh, and if we returned home after the Candlelight service? We'd plead with Dad to let us open "just one more!!" Christmas present until he'd go down beneath the tree and pick one out for us to open. This was sometimes pajamas...sometimes a new toy...but always exciting!! And pretty soon...after much more pleading...all the presents would be open and Mom would be chuckling over the fact that "they did it again." Oh, Christmas in our house is a great memory for me.
I'm going back to 9th grade with this ghost, though...My sister was married and it was Dad, Mom, Todd & me at home. Toddly had decided to make all of my presents very easily seen under the tree that year, and he wrapped them ALL in purple foil wrapping paper. It was absolutely beautiful ~ purple was my favorite color that year. In the pile of gifts was a purple & white ski coat with matching purple mittens, a purple and white raglan sleeve sweater, and, I think, that's the year he gave me a wooden letter "C" because every time he'd ask me what I wanted I'd say, "hmmm, let's seeeeeeee...." It still makes me laugh. Toddly has a heart of gold. Dad would have gotten a bottle of either "Old Spice" or "AquaVelva," Mom would have gotten either a book, a hat or some new clothes, and Toddly would have gotten some new clothes, too.
"Ah, ghost of Christmas Past, why can't I remember what I gave?"
Now for Christmas present: My husband and I have been married for 11 years this month. My boys are 9 and 6, and they still "believe" that Santa is a man in love with Jesus who longs to share His love with boys and girls around the world by sneaking into their houses on Christmas Eve and leaving presents for the birthday party. My house is a mess...*insert BIG groan here*...it's always a mess. There's so much STUFF!! We're in the process of clearing out. We've gotten rid of so much already and there's still so much to clear. The tree in our front window is a real tree this year. It's a small little 4 footer on a table to make it look good in the window. The presents are purchased and waiting to be wrapped. I'd tell you what I'm giving, but someone might read this and then the cat's out of the bag! Oh. That reminded me. This will be the first Christmas without my "first baby," Ebony Kazotsky ~ my big black medium-long haired cat.
And the ghost brings me to friend's houses...those who are just waiting for the day when they'll get the call from the hospital that her Mom has passed away. Those who are wondering how they're going to pay for Christmas with a husband out of work and a wife working as much as she can to make ends meet. The family who is wondering what the future holds employment-wise for them and tightening their financial belts "just in case." Friends who will deal with the guilt of leaving family once again after the holidays are over and they return home...and praying their "other" families will understand and be gracious this time. A friend who will receive another round of chemo on Christmas Eve (Merry Christmas, Angie!), and still has an amazing spirit of joy and peace about her. And I see my original family...Toddly and Denise celebrating on the East Coast. Tami & Chris and the kids celebrating with Mom & Dad in Nebraska. My sister, Teresa, whom I've never met but hope to one day, celebrating in Germany. Aunts & Uncles all around the world from California to New Hampshire...Virginia to Texas...South Dakota to Australia...and places in between. Scott's extended family in Canada, Florida, Texas and California.... Some of them ill or anticipating what 2009 will bring in the way of bad news. All of them celebrating (again, some without really knowing they are) the birth of the reason I'm alive today...to bring glory and praise to the newborn King ~ Jesus Christ.
"Ah, Ghost of Christmas Present, there's so much we have...and some are hurting so badly. Why can't I see the blessings? Show me who I can touch with the love of Christmas this year!"
And the Ghost of Christmas Future: My boys are all grown up. They might have families of their own (I hope so...lots of little granddaughters running around) it's my ghost of Christmas future...I can dream, right? Their trees are up and their lights are on the house. They have sports on the television and their wives are wondering why they've "checked out" instead of jumped in to join them with the Advent devotional. One hollars back, "My Mom did that with us...that's your job." The girls don't mind ~ they love this time of year and Daddy loves them so very much, but the littlest one wanders in and asks her Daddy if, for her, he'll come join them and write down what he wants to give Jesus today. He rolls his eyes and sighs real big and wanders in to plop into the chair as Mommy forces a smile at her girls and starts to read the advent story of that year. We go ahead a couple of days and the family is getting everything loaded into the car for their trip to see Grandparents over Christmas break. The kids are excited, but the parents are frazzled and frustrated over the sheer number of miles needed to travel just to see family. It would be so much easier to just stay home and make the regular phone call. Christmas Present brings me to the windows of our own home as the boys arrive with their families, and I see there are decorations up and candles are lit. Carols play over the satellite stereo system wired throughout the house. I am hurriedly rushing about trying to remember where I put the rest of the presents. Scott is needing to go to the mall ("What? It's 3:00 on Christmas Eve!!" "Well, I know...this is when I do my shopping!"), and the kids are forgotten in front of the television set with some Christmas movie like, "Jacob's Gift" or something. Caleb & Micah immediately start wrestling and the daughters-in-law are simply trying to figure out why they have to miss Christmas with their original families once again. The nativity set is prominently in the front of the Christmas tree (with a Baby Jesus who can come out of the manger and be played with the so the kids know He's a personal Savior and not a figurine that can be looked at but not touched), and the "Happy Birthday, Jesus" stocking hangs prominently on the back of the front door. I look at the Ghost of Christmas Future with a question in my eyes..."is there.....?" He inclines his head toward the stocking and says, "see for yourself." I glide over to the stocking (afterall, I'm with a ghost...I certainly didn't walk!) and reach my hand inside. I pull out slips of paper. Each one has a picture of the nativity with the words, "Happy Birthday, Jesus. You are my greatest gift. In return for all You are to me, this is my gift to you today: __________________________. Love, __________________" Tears stack up in my eyes and I read the names on the bottoms of the slips. All of the family: grandchildren, children, daughters-in-law, and my handsome spouse are on the slips. Mine is, too, and I read it, "...gift to You today: my bad attitude towards Christmas. May You be the center of all of it."
"Oh! Ghost of Christmas Future! Why didn't I learn!? It's years later and I still have a bad attitude toward Christmas!! WHY didn't I learn?"
I am back in my chair at my desk. "The Bishop's Wife" is playing on the TV being recorded to DVD, and my fluffy little dog, Dakota, is hiding in his doghouse outside because he doesn't want anyone to see his masculine doggy-self in the adorable Santa coat with hood lined in White faux fur I make him wear this time of year. But my bah-humbug has turned to "born unto us...." thoughts instead.
Born unto us are the memories of Christmases past. Some of them hold beauty and light and hope. Some hold pain and emptiness and a loneliness that sucks joy from every crevice.
Born unto us are friends and families who look forward to the time spent together. There will be frustrations as adults figure out how to be adults instead of children in their parent's home, and grandkids will cause joy and frustration as they are so innocently themselves.
Born unto us is the reality that our futures are written upon the scripts of Christmases Past & Present.
Born unto us is the equal reality that our Christmas Present can change the scripts of Christmases Future by focusing on one thing:
"For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." (Luke 2:10)
There is hope. There is reason. There is meaning in this life.
Hope is found in the manger...in a stable filled with the most Christmasy of smells: animal dung and hay. He came so we can know joy in the midst of the dung in our lives.
There is reason found in the hill called Mt. Calvary. We were created by, lived for and died for. All so we could know a peace that passes all understanding in the midst of secularism and greed.
There is meaning in this life found between the pages of the Bible which is God Breathed, and "useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness..." All so we could know we are not a cosmic accident, but were "knit together in our Mother's womb" by the very God who breathed Scripture, Heaven and Earth into existence.
Focusing not only on the "reason for the season" but on the reasons in the season takes the Bah-humbugs away. Even if you have little...or if you have much...peaceful and full is the heart where Christ is at it's center pumping life-blood and truth through it's veins.
May you have a wonderful and Merry Christmas as you celebrate the birth of the Savior of the World...the only way there will ever be peace on earth...Jesus Christ.
(by the way, if you're wanting to just see the best part of the movie, "A Christmas Carol" you can find it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7NfDuDh0Uc What a beautiful scene!)
And, just because it fits and it's one of my favorite movies EVER...
If you start watching it, beware...it's the full movie! I found it on Google videos, and it's the 1935 version. The story is just so powerful and thought provoking.
But somedays I still feel like Scrooge. And, just like Scrooge, it's for purely selfish reasons.
I'm bah-humbugging that we won't be celebrating in our home with our Christmas tree and all our personal family's traditions with the boys.
I'm bah-humbugging that my mind is, at times, so unfocused that I am somewhat overcome with the anxiety of how I'm going to get it all done.
I'm bah-humbugging the fact that at the end of this year there are only 19 days left of the United States as we know it.
I'm bah-humbugging that I have procrastinated getting my house in order and now I am frustrated with the packing process for our upcoming trip.
speaking of which...I'm bah-humbugging the fact that I am leaving the cold and crisp and Christmassy-feeling Pacific Northwest for tropical and sunny and summery-feeling Southern California. sigh. I want snow for Christmas.
I'm bah-humbugging that I am now THE MOM and it's up to me to make the Christmas season all magical and wonderful...instead of my Mom and Aunts.
I'm bah-humbugging that I'm bah-humbugging!!!
So...just like Scrooge, I think I'll be visited by the three "ghosts" of Christmas to gain my perspective.
When I was a child I loved Christmas! Growing up Christmas was truly the most wonderful time of the year. My parents both come from huge families (they each had 14 siblings), and that meant tons of cousins and tons of food and, depending on which side we were with, lots of card playing (which meant nickel hearts in the breezeway with Dad & Uncle Jack) or lots more music (which meant improvised accompaniment to carols and made up words to traditional Christmas songs), and there was always lots of laughter. Either way, it meant a ton of family and a ton of fun.
We had our own family traditions, too. I grew up Lutheran until I was in 9th grade so every Christmas Eve we would get dressed up in the one gift we could open on Christmas Eve (most people do pajamas...we did new Church clothes...usually homemade and matching when I was really young, but still beautiful and exciting) and we would all look forward to going to Candlelight services at 11:00 PM. And, since 11 PM is a late show, we'd often have oyster stew around 9:00 and then we'd load into the car about 9:30 or 10 and we'd drive around looking at Christmas lights until it was time to go to church. It was glorious. My Dad would make us "ooh and ahh" over the lights that were really done up, and he'd often tell stories about the lights or the displays or the people who did them. Again, there was lots of laughter and lots and lots of joy. We'd head to Candlelight services where there was a peaceful amazement that fell over the sanctuary. You could literally feel it. People were excited...they knew that we were there to celebrate the culmination of our anticipation season...we'd light that final Advent Candle and sing "O, Holy Night" for the first time. Christmas was a time of spiritual and familial magic. Mom & Dad might "bite" at each other early in the night when they were trying to make sure everything was getting done, but by the time the Oyster Stew was complete (of which I never once ate an oyster...I hate those slimy things...but the "broth" was pure enjoyment! And they gave meaning to oyster crackers!) all was well and the hand holding and snuggling and cooing and low talking would begin. Mom would laugh at Dad's jokes and stories and when they got too outlandish she'd say, "Oh, Gene!" and playfully slap him while she told us it was all lies. Sometimes, after the Candlelight services...when they started doing them at 10:30 instead of 11:00...we'd finish up at our church and head down to Grandma's to attend Midnight Mass. I'll never forget the first time I smelled the incense and asked my dad quite a ways above a whisper what that awful smell was. I'm sure I was really young, and I remember Dad quieting me quickly, but I'll never forget the Priest walking down the aisle swinging the incense. Oh, and if we returned home after the Candlelight service? We'd plead with Dad to let us open "just one more!!" Christmas present until he'd go down beneath the tree and pick one out for us to open. This was sometimes pajamas...sometimes a new toy...but always exciting!! And pretty soon...after much more pleading...all the presents would be open and Mom would be chuckling over the fact that "they did it again." Oh, Christmas in our house is a great memory for me.
I'm going back to 9th grade with this ghost, though...My sister was married and it was Dad, Mom, Todd & me at home. Toddly had decided to make all of my presents very easily seen under the tree that year, and he wrapped them ALL in purple foil wrapping paper. It was absolutely beautiful ~ purple was my favorite color that year. In the pile of gifts was a purple & white ski coat with matching purple mittens, a purple and white raglan sleeve sweater, and, I think, that's the year he gave me a wooden letter "C" because every time he'd ask me what I wanted I'd say, "hmmm, let's seeeeeeee...." It still makes me laugh. Toddly has a heart of gold. Dad would have gotten a bottle of either "Old Spice" or "AquaVelva," Mom would have gotten either a book, a hat or some new clothes, and Toddly would have gotten some new clothes, too.
"Ah, ghost of Christmas Past, why can't I remember what I gave?"
Now for Christmas present: My husband and I have been married for 11 years this month. My boys are 9 and 6, and they still "believe" that Santa is a man in love with Jesus who longs to share His love with boys and girls around the world by sneaking into their houses on Christmas Eve and leaving presents for the birthday party. My house is a mess...*insert BIG groan here*...it's always a mess. There's so much STUFF!! We're in the process of clearing out. We've gotten rid of so much already and there's still so much to clear. The tree in our front window is a real tree this year. It's a small little 4 footer on a table to make it look good in the window. The presents are purchased and waiting to be wrapped. I'd tell you what I'm giving, but someone might read this and then the cat's out of the bag! Oh. That reminded me. This will be the first Christmas without my "first baby," Ebony Kazotsky ~ my big black medium-long haired cat.
And the ghost brings me to friend's houses...those who are just waiting for the day when they'll get the call from the hospital that her Mom has passed away. Those who are wondering how they're going to pay for Christmas with a husband out of work and a wife working as much as she can to make ends meet. The family who is wondering what the future holds employment-wise for them and tightening their financial belts "just in case." Friends who will deal with the guilt of leaving family once again after the holidays are over and they return home...and praying their "other" families will understand and be gracious this time. A friend who will receive another round of chemo on Christmas Eve (Merry Christmas, Angie!), and still has an amazing spirit of joy and peace about her. And I see my original family...Toddly and Denise celebrating on the East Coast. Tami & Chris and the kids celebrating with Mom & Dad in Nebraska. My sister, Teresa, whom I've never met but hope to one day, celebrating in Germany. Aunts & Uncles all around the world from California to New Hampshire...Virginia to Texas...South Dakota to Australia...and places in between. Scott's extended family in Canada, Florida, Texas and California.... Some of them ill or anticipating what 2009 will bring in the way of bad news. All of them celebrating (again, some without really knowing they are) the birth of the reason I'm alive today...to bring glory and praise to the newborn King ~ Jesus Christ.
"Ah, Ghost of Christmas Present, there's so much we have...and some are hurting so badly. Why can't I see the blessings? Show me who I can touch with the love of Christmas this year!"
And the Ghost of Christmas Future: My boys are all grown up. They might have families of their own (I hope so...lots of little granddaughters running around) it's my ghost of Christmas future...I can dream, right? Their trees are up and their lights are on the house. They have sports on the television and their wives are wondering why they've "checked out" instead of jumped in to join them with the Advent devotional. One hollars back, "My Mom did that with us...that's your job." The girls don't mind ~ they love this time of year and Daddy loves them so very much, but the littlest one wanders in and asks her Daddy if, for her, he'll come join them and write down what he wants to give Jesus today. He rolls his eyes and sighs real big and wanders in to plop into the chair as Mommy forces a smile at her girls and starts to read the advent story of that year. We go ahead a couple of days and the family is getting everything loaded into the car for their trip to see Grandparents over Christmas break. The kids are excited, but the parents are frazzled and frustrated over the sheer number of miles needed to travel just to see family. It would be so much easier to just stay home and make the regular phone call. Christmas Present brings me to the windows of our own home as the boys arrive with their families, and I see there are decorations up and candles are lit. Carols play over the satellite stereo system wired throughout the house. I am hurriedly rushing about trying to remember where I put the rest of the presents. Scott is needing to go to the mall ("What? It's 3:00 on Christmas Eve!!" "Well, I know...this is when I do my shopping!"), and the kids are forgotten in front of the television set with some Christmas movie like, "Jacob's Gift" or something. Caleb & Micah immediately start wrestling and the daughters-in-law are simply trying to figure out why they have to miss Christmas with their original families once again. The nativity set is prominently in the front of the Christmas tree (with a Baby Jesus who can come out of the manger and be played with the so the kids know He's a personal Savior and not a figurine that can be looked at but not touched), and the "Happy Birthday, Jesus" stocking hangs prominently on the back of the front door. I look at the Ghost of Christmas Future with a question in my eyes..."is there.....?" He inclines his head toward the stocking and says, "see for yourself." I glide over to the stocking (afterall, I'm with a ghost...I certainly didn't walk!) and reach my hand inside. I pull out slips of paper. Each one has a picture of the nativity with the words, "Happy Birthday, Jesus. You are my greatest gift. In return for all You are to me, this is my gift to you today: __________________________. Love, __________________" Tears stack up in my eyes and I read the names on the bottoms of the slips. All of the family: grandchildren, children, daughters-in-law, and my handsome spouse are on the slips. Mine is, too, and I read it, "...gift to You today: my bad attitude towards Christmas. May You be the center of all of it."
"Oh! Ghost of Christmas Future! Why didn't I learn!? It's years later and I still have a bad attitude toward Christmas!! WHY didn't I learn?"
I am back in my chair at my desk. "The Bishop's Wife" is playing on the TV being recorded to DVD, and my fluffy little dog, Dakota, is hiding in his doghouse outside because he doesn't want anyone to see his masculine doggy-self in the adorable Santa coat with hood lined in White faux fur I make him wear this time of year. But my bah-humbug has turned to "born unto us...." thoughts instead.
Born unto us are the memories of Christmases past. Some of them hold beauty and light and hope. Some hold pain and emptiness and a loneliness that sucks joy from every crevice.
Born unto us are friends and families who look forward to the time spent together. There will be frustrations as adults figure out how to be adults instead of children in their parent's home, and grandkids will cause joy and frustration as they are so innocently themselves.
Born unto us is the reality that our futures are written upon the scripts of Christmases Past & Present.
Born unto us is the equal reality that our Christmas Present can change the scripts of Christmases Future by focusing on one thing:
"For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." (Luke 2:10)
There is hope. There is reason. There is meaning in this life.
Hope is found in the manger...in a stable filled with the most Christmasy of smells: animal dung and hay. He came so we can know joy in the midst of the dung in our lives.
There is reason found in the hill called Mt. Calvary. We were created by, lived for and died for. All so we could know a peace that passes all understanding in the midst of secularism and greed.
There is meaning in this life found between the pages of the Bible which is God Breathed, and "useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness..." All so we could know we are not a cosmic accident, but were "knit together in our Mother's womb" by the very God who breathed Scripture, Heaven and Earth into existence.
Focusing not only on the "reason for the season" but on the reasons in the season takes the Bah-humbugs away. Even if you have little...or if you have much...peaceful and full is the heart where Christ is at it's center pumping life-blood and truth through it's veins.
May you have a wonderful and Merry Christmas as you celebrate the birth of the Savior of the World...the only way there will ever be peace on earth...Jesus Christ.
(by the way, if you're wanting to just see the best part of the movie, "A Christmas Carol" you can find it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7NfDuDh0Uc What a beautiful scene!)
And, just because it fits and it's one of my favorite movies EVER...
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Monday, November 24, 2008
We're Celebrating!
We're celebrating! Really and for sure this time! Why? BECAUSE CALEB IS TURNING NINE!!! I know...can you believe it? Actually, it seems at times like he should be a lot older than he is (refer to the post about Sophie's birthday when I accidentally thought she was turning 13 instead of 12....) because I can't remember life before him. I've heard other moms say stuff like that, and I've always been kind of unsure of their truthfulness. I understand now. 9 years ago tonight I was sitting in the hospital bed with my Mother-in-law and husband in the room with me waiting through agonizing contractions (note to current or future pregnant women...work on your abdominal muscles now! It's so worth it to actually have muscle there when it comes time to have a baby, even if your hips won't spread so you can deliver "that way"!!) for our little Caleb Joseph to arrive. After three hours of pushing (yes, three hours) and having him move no further than zero station (that's halfway into the birth canal for those of you who don't know or have never wanted to know), we went into an emergency C-section. He arrived at 5:50 AM on Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1999. What an amazing blessing he was then...and continues to be today!
I am working on a smilebox of a video we did tonight...when it's ready, I'll attach it, but right now I wanted to quick say, "Happy Birthday, CJ, you are my sunshine and you never will know how very much I love you. God bless you and draw you all the days of your life."
I am working on a smilebox of a video we did tonight...when it's ready, I'll attach it, but right now I wanted to quick say, "Happy Birthday, CJ, you are my sunshine and you never will know how very much I love you. God bless you and draw you all the days of your life."
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
A box full of smiles
 |
 |
| Make a Smilebox photobook |
some of you may not know, but you can "zoom" on the pictures simply by running your cursor over the picture and clicking on it when the magnifying glass appears.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Friday, October 24, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SOPHIE!
Twelve years ago this morning I held the most beautiful and amazing little girl in my arms. After 3 hours of pushing, an umbilical cord wrapped around her neck, and the fear of her getting "stuck" in the birth canal too late for an emergency C-section (and MANY prayers from everyone in the room!) she was "on the other side." Amazing, really.
Amazing that such a battle would go on over such a small little body ~ I think the fight was over the impact of a soul such as hers on society. She lives...God wins. She dies...the enemy does. Guess what? GOD ALWAYS WINS!!!
It's a hard day for me, these days I am forced to stop and feel the feelings all over again. There is a common misnomer about the woman who places her child for adoption. Either she is projected as a young woman too young to be a mother and forced by those around her (the older and wiser) to place her child for adoption. Or she is spoken of as a heartless woman who wanted to be free of the strains of motherhood. Or she is seen as a pseudo-mom who makes the "right" choice to place her daughter for adoption but then never leaves her to be a part of her adopted family on her own...she is, in many ways, mom numero dos. Or, my personal favorite myth, she is a strong woman who does the right thing, has the faith to see it through and be strong about sharing it and will always be able to be a part of the child's life because of the beauty of the gift of adoption without ever struggling with where she fits, how to communicate with "her child", or where the boundaries are between her own personal family and the family she placed in the arms of another couple to raise. Not one of them is true in it's entirety.
A birth mother has to set her own boundaries. She must, in every sense of the word, hold herself back from what she longs to do. An equivalent may be the feeling a parent gets when they see a mother in a store yelling at her child...as a parent who loves you long to say something, but knowing your boundaries, you keep your mouth shut and try to catch the child's eye to let them know you see them. Such is the birth mother's place. As the Birth Mother of a child in a semi-open adoption, I have placed my boundaries in such a way as to allow her to have her family without the confusion of where I fit in...and for my husband and I to have our family without the confusion of where she fits in. These are healthy boundaries. They may not always seem fair, and they certainly aren't always easy, but they are the boundaries nonetheless.
Days like this make me want to scream! Not because of anything the child I placed for adoption does or did...NO! But because days like this bring the healthy boundaries back in to the uncomfortable and struggling range.
I think days like this do that on both sides of the equation. We on "this" side wonder, "should we call? When is a good time to call? Will I interrupt a family celebration if I call? Will an e-mail seem too impersonal? What if I have a super busy day and don't even get the chance to do either? UGH! Will she think I don't love her if I don't contact her...don't send her anything...don't whatever? UGH!!!" I can only venture to guess, but I would venture to guess that on the "other" side there are thoughts like, "will she call? When will she call? Will she send a gift on time this time or will it be late like always? If she doesn't call how will we "pick up the pieces" so to speak? How do we handle the differences between her family and the family that is so much a part of our lives? Why do we have to wonder?" Days like this bring all the questions, the frustrations, the fears back to the surface and so I struggle through...
Hmmm, I say "days like this" as if they're a bad thing. They're not. They are necessary and very much a part of the adoption process. Just like a marriage adoption doesn't just happen once. For the adoptive family I think it does (only because they have the child with them 24/7), but not for the birth mother. No. For the birth mother the adoption process happens with great regularity. I find myself having to let go of my dreams for my daughter daily at times. Just like surrendering my children who live with me to the Lord's care, I must daily surrender the desire for my daughter to live in my home...with her family of origin. Let me clarify: it is not a psychological wound that will one day rupture and cause me to steal my daughter like so many stupid we-really-don't-have-any-idea-what-adoption-is-really-like novels out there. It is not that kind of surrendering...it is, instead, the continual surrender of a heartfelt desire to be the mother to my daughter. I have two boys in my house...I have friends with daughters and when I see the struggle, pain and beauty of a mother-daughter relationship my heart yearns for what I will never have. My heart aches for that which I could have had, but knew should not happen.
It's days like this that I need to reaffirm my faith in a God who loves me...sees me...hurts with me...and is everything I need and so much more. Even when what I want isn't what He gives me. Even more so then.
So, today...on Sophie's 12th birthday (she corrected me this summer...I could have sworn she was turning 13! Seriously! I somewhere lost a year...and there is nothing that feels worse than realizing you got your own child's age wrong), I have struggled. I have written her notes and letters and wished I had the ability to frame a relationship beyond, "hi, Soph, how are you?" I am not like that, though. Not with someone I long so desperately to be more than casual with. When I talk to people I love I want to connect on a heart-to-heart level. It is sewn into the fabric of my personality. I hate shallow conversations when there is so much more to say! But often when I only speak randomly and know so very little about them I clam up and don't say the words I long to say...mainly because they seem inappropriate. Who am I to say I love so deeply when I know so shallowly? Who am I to express a mother's love with a daughter who knows so very little about me? So, instead, I remain a connected stranger and pray for the day when a relationship ~ two-sided and interested on a mutual level ~ will surface. God knows the timing of that. I have no idea. I only know it isn't now...not quite now.
I realize in re-reading this post that it seems awfully selfish to be writing about me instead of celebrating the amazing life that is Sophie. I certainly do realize it. Maybe it's because of the pondering of events in the recent past that everything seems to be coming to a head today. Maybe it's because for the past few weeks (a couple of months, really) I have thought about and thought about whether I am a bad person for wanting healthy boundaries in my life where my adopted daughter is concerned. I have debated and rebutted so many ideas of what kind of person I am simply because I do not believe it healthy for a birth mother to be overly involved in her child's life...I do not believe it to be healthy for my daughter, or for my own family I have the obligation to serve and raise now. Yes, I believe that's why I've written this kind of post instead of the standard "WOO HOO!!" post I would be writing on this day. (not that inside I'm not saying "WOO HOOO!!!" Quite the contrary! I have spent more time looking at pictures of Sophie and thinking about the miracle of her life than I normally do. I have certainly said, "WOO HOO!!" many times today.)
I have come to understand that I am not a "Mommy Warbucks" in her life who will call and gush at the appropriate times simply because I'm supposed to. I am the woman who made a choice in her favor. That's all I am. She doesn't need another Mother. She needs to know I made a choice in her favor because I love her with every beat of my heart. I love her, but I'm not her Mom. She has a Mom. The Mom God chose for her. And I personally think she has a really great MOM.
So I say, "happy birthday!" from a distance, and add one more day to my daily prayers that God will protect her heart and always let her know ~ down deep ~ that no matter how often we talk or communicate on any level she is loved with a love that knows no end. Always.
Happy Birthday, Sophie. I love you.
Amazing that such a battle would go on over such a small little body ~ I think the fight was over the impact of a soul such as hers on society. She lives...God wins. She dies...the enemy does. Guess what? GOD ALWAYS WINS!!!
It's a hard day for me, these days I am forced to stop and feel the feelings all over again. There is a common misnomer about the woman who places her child for adoption. Either she is projected as a young woman too young to be a mother and forced by those around her (the older and wiser) to place her child for adoption. Or she is spoken of as a heartless woman who wanted to be free of the strains of motherhood. Or she is seen as a pseudo-mom who makes the "right" choice to place her daughter for adoption but then never leaves her to be a part of her adopted family on her own...she is, in many ways, mom numero dos. Or, my personal favorite myth, she is a strong woman who does the right thing, has the faith to see it through and be strong about sharing it and will always be able to be a part of the child's life because of the beauty of the gift of adoption without ever struggling with where she fits, how to communicate with "her child", or where the boundaries are between her own personal family and the family she placed in the arms of another couple to raise. Not one of them is true in it's entirety.
A birth mother has to set her own boundaries. She must, in every sense of the word, hold herself back from what she longs to do. An equivalent may be the feeling a parent gets when they see a mother in a store yelling at her child...as a parent who loves you long to say something, but knowing your boundaries, you keep your mouth shut and try to catch the child's eye to let them know you see them. Such is the birth mother's place. As the Birth Mother of a child in a semi-open adoption, I have placed my boundaries in such a way as to allow her to have her family without the confusion of where I fit in...and for my husband and I to have our family without the confusion of where she fits in. These are healthy boundaries. They may not always seem fair, and they certainly aren't always easy, but they are the boundaries nonetheless.
Days like this make me want to scream! Not because of anything the child I placed for adoption does or did...NO! But because days like this bring the healthy boundaries back in to the uncomfortable and struggling range.
I think days like this do that on both sides of the equation. We on "this" side wonder, "should we call? When is a good time to call? Will I interrupt a family celebration if I call? Will an e-mail seem too impersonal? What if I have a super busy day and don't even get the chance to do either? UGH! Will she think I don't love her if I don't contact her...don't send her anything...don't whatever? UGH!!!" I can only venture to guess, but I would venture to guess that on the "other" side there are thoughts like, "will she call? When will she call? Will she send a gift on time this time or will it be late like always? If she doesn't call how will we "pick up the pieces" so to speak? How do we handle the differences between her family and the family that is so much a part of our lives? Why do we have to wonder?" Days like this bring all the questions, the frustrations, the fears back to the surface and so I struggle through...
Hmmm, I say "days like this" as if they're a bad thing. They're not. They are necessary and very much a part of the adoption process. Just like a marriage adoption doesn't just happen once. For the adoptive family I think it does (only because they have the child with them 24/7), but not for the birth mother. No. For the birth mother the adoption process happens with great regularity. I find myself having to let go of my dreams for my daughter daily at times. Just like surrendering my children who live with me to the Lord's care, I must daily surrender the desire for my daughter to live in my home...with her family of origin. Let me clarify: it is not a psychological wound that will one day rupture and cause me to steal my daughter like so many stupid we-really-don't-have-any-idea-what-adoption-is-really-like novels out there. It is not that kind of surrendering...it is, instead, the continual surrender of a heartfelt desire to be the mother to my daughter. I have two boys in my house...I have friends with daughters and when I see the struggle, pain and beauty of a mother-daughter relationship my heart yearns for what I will never have. My heart aches for that which I could have had, but knew should not happen.
It's days like this that I need to reaffirm my faith in a God who loves me...sees me...hurts with me...and is everything I need and so much more. Even when what I want isn't what He gives me. Even more so then.
So, today...on Sophie's 12th birthday (she corrected me this summer...I could have sworn she was turning 13! Seriously! I somewhere lost a year...and there is nothing that feels worse than realizing you got your own child's age wrong), I have struggled. I have written her notes and letters and wished I had the ability to frame a relationship beyond, "hi, Soph, how are you?" I am not like that, though. Not with someone I long so desperately to be more than casual with. When I talk to people I love I want to connect on a heart-to-heart level. It is sewn into the fabric of my personality. I hate shallow conversations when there is so much more to say! But often when I only speak randomly and know so very little about them I clam up and don't say the words I long to say...mainly because they seem inappropriate. Who am I to say I love so deeply when I know so shallowly? Who am I to express a mother's love with a daughter who knows so very little about me? So, instead, I remain a connected stranger and pray for the day when a relationship ~ two-sided and interested on a mutual level ~ will surface. God knows the timing of that. I have no idea. I only know it isn't now...not quite now.
I realize in re-reading this post that it seems awfully selfish to be writing about me instead of celebrating the amazing life that is Sophie. I certainly do realize it. Maybe it's because of the pondering of events in the recent past that everything seems to be coming to a head today. Maybe it's because for the past few weeks (a couple of months, really) I have thought about and thought about whether I am a bad person for wanting healthy boundaries in my life where my adopted daughter is concerned. I have debated and rebutted so many ideas of what kind of person I am simply because I do not believe it healthy for a birth mother to be overly involved in her child's life...I do not believe it to be healthy for my daughter, or for my own family I have the obligation to serve and raise now. Yes, I believe that's why I've written this kind of post instead of the standard "WOO HOO!!" post I would be writing on this day. (not that inside I'm not saying "WOO HOOO!!!" Quite the contrary! I have spent more time looking at pictures of Sophie and thinking about the miracle of her life than I normally do. I have certainly said, "WOO HOO!!" many times today.)
I have come to understand that I am not a "Mommy Warbucks" in her life who will call and gush at the appropriate times simply because I'm supposed to. I am the woman who made a choice in her favor. That's all I am. She doesn't need another Mother. She needs to know I made a choice in her favor because I love her with every beat of my heart. I love her, but I'm not her Mom. She has a Mom. The Mom God chose for her. And I personally think she has a really great MOM.
So I say, "happy birthday!" from a distance, and add one more day to my daily prayers that God will protect her heart and always let her know ~ down deep ~ that no matter how often we talk or communicate on any level she is loved with a love that knows no end. Always.
Happy Birthday, Sophie. I love you.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Politics...YUCK!
I hate politics. I hate that people think they have to manipulate, lie, cheat and swindel others to get their point across. The idea of having to schmooze people makes me sick. The lust for power and the desire for more fame and fortune has ruined more people than I care to count. I have known plenty of people in my own life...relatively short and eneventful as it may be..whose desire for power over other people has taken their God-given success and replaced it with "success" that brings accolades and kudos from those around them, but their personality...their life...was now stunted and floundering. Instead of being content wtih who they are and trusting God to open the doors to their success they think they have to rub shoulders with just the right people...get just the right people to notice their work...take credit for things they didn't do on their own, and in general, they lose their soul to win the whole world. I hate politics.
However, with that said, it is a part of our lives ~ and in this term I mean the noun, Politics. We live in a Democracy. A place where The People's voice means something. We live in a country where our leaders (for the most part, and originally) are voted upon and instilled with our trust to rule as the majority wishes.
In this year we vote on the most important office of the United States of America.
(sidenote: isn't it interesting that the most important jobs are usually the least paid? President...Teacher...Pastor...hmmmmmmm....maybe there's a method to the madness: the more powerful the position the lesser pay to insure a more humble attitude....)
The main candidates are: Barack Obama and John McCain. Young, Junior Senator from Illinois vs. Older, Experienced American from Arizona. I also like to look at it this way: anti-Christ vs. The People.
This post isn't about the evils of Barack Obama ~ even though the idea of a President who cares not a lick for life...whether born or unborn...scares the crap out of me, as does the idea of a President whose wife has NEVER been proud of the country she is being asked to represent ~ but it is about some thoughts that were spurred by an article about Barack Obama's mother.
I was reading the biography of his mother ~ Stanley Ann Dunham Obama Soetoro at this Snopes page: It's a fascinating article in which the whole story of her life is laid out. Her "marriage" to Obama that doesn't ever really seem to be...her education in philosophy (read communism)...her desire to find something that never seemed to be available to her is intriguing. That, and her son's inability to accept the truth of his life...accept himself for who he is...or even his inability to accept the messed up life as MESSED UP and not romantic and esoteric seems to be very telling.
In another article I was reading about her (I started doing research as to what other news media say about his mother...) I found this paragraph with a quote from Barack Obama Jr's half-sister that spurred this whole thought process...
"She felt that, somehow, wandering through uncharted territory, we might stumble upon something that will, in an instant, seem to represent who we are at the core," said Maya Soetoro-Ng, Obama's half-sister. "That was very much her philosophy of life - to not be limited by fear or narrow definitions, to not build walls around ourselves and to do our best to find kinship and beauty in unexpected places."
I read this with a rather heavy heart. That first sentence says it all...the second sentence is the excuse. I am raising two young boys. That's not a secret. They are crazy, adventurous, loud, at times disobedient (thankfully) and very much grounded in the truth that they are exactly who God made them to be and that HE made them in HIS image. When they struggle with their mistakes...when they begin to feel like He must have messed up and missed plugging something in somewhere...those are the times they are most assured that in His somewhat incomprehensible plan that very thing has a purpose. It is the hardest to accept at times, but it is also the greatest gift of freedom I can offer my children in the home of the free and the land of the brave. It is in the acceptance of self ~ known self as in "God created me for His Glory" self ~ that I can expect my children to be both free and brave in their lives.
Barack Obama Jr seems to be a man who is fighting for something he knows nothing about, but is hoping that in fighting he will somehow, "stumble upon something that will, in an instant, seem to represent who we are at the core."
The idea that people want him stumbling through with the power of being President of the United States of America behind him terrifies me...and sends me to my knees. I hope it does you, too.
However, with that said, it is a part of our lives ~ and in this term I mean the noun, Politics. We live in a Democracy. A place where The People's voice means something. We live in a country where our leaders (for the most part, and originally) are voted upon and instilled with our trust to rule as the majority wishes.
In this year we vote on the most important office of the United States of America.
(sidenote: isn't it interesting that the most important jobs are usually the least paid? President...Teacher...Pastor...hmmmmmmm....maybe there's a method to the madness: the more powerful the position the lesser pay to insure a more humble attitude....)
The main candidates are: Barack Obama and John McCain. Young, Junior Senator from Illinois vs. Older, Experienced American from Arizona. I also like to look at it this way: anti-Christ vs. The People.
This post isn't about the evils of Barack Obama ~ even though the idea of a President who cares not a lick for life...whether born or unborn...scares the crap out of me, as does the idea of a President whose wife has NEVER been proud of the country she is being asked to represent ~ but it is about some thoughts that were spurred by an article about Barack Obama's mother.
I was reading the biography of his mother ~ Stanley Ann Dunham Obama Soetoro at this Snopes page: It's a fascinating article in which the whole story of her life is laid out. Her "marriage" to Obama that doesn't ever really seem to be...her education in philosophy (read communism)...her desire to find something that never seemed to be available to her is intriguing. That, and her son's inability to accept the truth of his life...accept himself for who he is...or even his inability to accept the messed up life as MESSED UP and not romantic and esoteric seems to be very telling.
In another article I was reading about her (I started doing research as to what other news media say about his mother...) I found this paragraph with a quote from Barack Obama Jr's half-sister that spurred this whole thought process...
"She felt that, somehow, wandering through uncharted territory, we might stumble upon something that will, in an instant, seem to represent who we are at the core," said Maya Soetoro-Ng, Obama's half-sister. "That was very much her philosophy of life - to not be limited by fear or narrow definitions, to not build walls around ourselves and to do our best to find kinship and beauty in unexpected places."
I read this with a rather heavy heart. That first sentence says it all...the second sentence is the excuse. I am raising two young boys. That's not a secret. They are crazy, adventurous, loud, at times disobedient (thankfully) and very much grounded in the truth that they are exactly who God made them to be and that HE made them in HIS image. When they struggle with their mistakes...when they begin to feel like He must have messed up and missed plugging something in somewhere...those are the times they are most assured that in His somewhat incomprehensible plan that very thing has a purpose. It is the hardest to accept at times, but it is also the greatest gift of freedom I can offer my children in the home of the free and the land of the brave. It is in the acceptance of self ~ known self as in "God created me for His Glory" self ~ that I can expect my children to be both free and brave in their lives.
Barack Obama Jr seems to be a man who is fighting for something he knows nothing about, but is hoping that in fighting he will somehow, "stumble upon something that will, in an instant, seem to represent who we are at the core."
The idea that people want him stumbling through with the power of being President of the United States of America behind him terrifies me...and sends me to my knees. I hope it does you, too.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Summer!
Well, it's been awhile and that's because I've been busy. That and...ummmm...I keep forgetting to update on here. :) I don't know if anyone reads this anymore anyway, so I'm not thinking it really matters, but...I suppose I'll update my summer for whoever may happen to still check here for updates. (sorry 'bout that!)
Once the boys got out of school we started running...no, not literally, but figuratively...but we are working on the literally. Actually, the boys attended an awesome VBS at a friend's church here in Vancouver. The theme was "Power Lab" and it was all science-y stuff so the boys had a BLAST! It was nice for me because it was held at night so every night I dropped them off and then headed out to have some time off. Scott ended up being gone most of the week, so it was extra nice to have a bit of a break as I got used to having the boys around all day again. (boy, does school spoil me or what? I'm already counting down the days to September 3rd....) The other thing I really enjoyed about it was the opportunity to see how a Kid's "worship team" looks at another church. I wasn't involved in our kid's programs at any other church I've attended (except Youth Choir in Norfolk, but that was Middle and High School aged, not elementary), and when we moved here the only church we visited was where we ended up ~ New Heights. We knew this was where God wanted us, and we love our church family and the challenges they lay out before us. However, because we never visited any other churches I don't know anyone from other churches involved in Children's Ministry. Sometimes that can be nice...sometimes it's a detriment. I believe, in my case in leading Rock Solid worship at our church, it's a detriment. I need ideas. I need to see what's possible...and then I can take it, run with it, and make it our own. But I need to see it live and in person, so to speak, to see what we could do to make RS worship more exciting, more real, more PASSIONATE for the kids involved. Watching the team from our friend's church was very idea-invoking, and very much an encouraging/discouragine event. Maybe I'll write about that sometime, but back to summer....
After VBS we went camping with our friends, Darin and Michelle, and their kids over the 4th of July weekend. I look forward to our annual camping trip. Each year we usually have 4 to 6 couples who camp together, but this year it was just the two families since one family was moving to Nashville (boo!!!!), another family had a baby (yea!!!) and I don't know why the others didn't make it...........but it was fun. There is a drawback about camping over the 4th, though. We usually go to Oregon, and Oregon is BOREgon when it comes to celebrating the 4th!! So, in the campground we were in, there were no fireworks allowed...and the tree-cover (blasted trees! kidding!) was so thick we couldn't see any fireworks from the local show. Given the fact that I LOVE the 4th of July (it's one of few times I have an excuse to let out my innner pyro) camping in BOREgon is just that...B-O-R-I-N-G!!!! (sidenote trivia: there really is a town called Boring, OR)
We returned from our camping trip long enough for me to do laundry, unpack the camper, unpack our suitcases, re-pack our suitcases, pack up my car and head back out on Wednesday morning. FUN!! The boys and I took off (yes, alone) for South Dakota via an old fashioned road trip. Well, as old-fashioned as you can get with a backseat full of gadgets and gizmos to help the trip go easier. Actually, there wasn't that much electronic gadgetry in the car save for the portable DVD player, the CD players, and the leapster. This being said, the DVD player was unavailable until we had been on the road for 3 hours...the CD players were there to play "Adventure in Odyssey" and other specifically chosen CD's and the leapster had to be shared between the two with no fighting or it disappeared. SO, cars were played with, songs were sung, sights were pointed out, and fun was had with very few occurances of, "Mom, how much longer?"
We ended up staying in one of the last 3 rooms available in Missoula, MT the first night. Rapid City, SD was "home" the second night, and we arrived at the Mom & Dad's Bed & Breakfast in Sioux Falls early Friday evening. Funny little stories will follow...
Funny story #1: On Tuesday as I was getting stuff together Scott comes to my office door and says, "Can you let me in on your plan?" I responded with, "What plan?" To which he responded, "Um, your plan for this trip."
"I have a plan? Am I supposed to have a plan? I guess my plan is this: leave Vancouver Wednesday morning, arrive in Sioux Falls Friday night. Is that good enough?"
"Ummmmmmm...no."
"oh. What more do you need?"
"Well, how about where you plan on stopping each night? Where do you plan on staying?"
"oh! Well, I suppose I'll stop someplace in Montana the first night, and probably Rapid City the second night. Is that good?"
"Ummmmmmm...no."
"oh. more?"
"yeah."
"like what?"
"where do you plan on staying?"
"in a hotel...I'm not worried about it."
"Okay. Well, that's not really a plan, Trac."
"Sure it is...I know when I'm leaving, I know when I'm supposed to arrive, and I know there are towns with hotels between the two. That's a pretty good plan."
"Trac. You're leaving with my two sons...and my wife...and that's not a plan."
"Scott, We'll be safe...and that's how I like to travel. This trip is my way of showing the boys there are other ways to travel other than 'drive and arrive.' We'll be fine...."
"*sigh* All right."
Funny Story #1, part 2:
setting: Lolo, MT (20 minutes outside of Missoula) and into Missoula
time: 11:10 PM
(the phone rings and Scott answers) "hello?"
"hey, there! We just came through the National Forest in Idaho, and it was A-May-Zing! How was your night?"
"good...where are you?"
"Lolo, MT"
"uh, O-kaaaaaaaay."
"It's outside of Missoula."
"Oh."
"So I was going to the Holiday Inn in Missoula...okay?"
"Sure."
(fast forward through conversation you don't really care to hear....Trayc and the boys are arriving at the Holiday Inn Express in Missoula, MT. The time is 11:30 PM)
Trayc says to Scott on the phone, "Hold on a sec, I'm going to check in..."
(man who raced ahead of a woman with her children so HE could be first says to clerk behind the counter) "Do you have any rooms?"
Clerk answers, "No, sir, we don't, and the only room I know that is available is a single queen bed at the **** hotel."
Trayc says to Scott: "um, hon? there are no rooms available. Now what do I do?"
Scott says, "I'll hop online and see what I can find...check the GPS and start calling from there."
"Okey-dokey"
(a short while later Scott calls with news)
"Hey, Trac, I found you a single queen non-smoking at the Quality Inn. He's holding it for you now, and you need to get there in the next 15 minutes or it's gone."
"Alrighty...give me the address......"
(Trayc and the boys start driving to the hotel. Scott is still on the phone...)
"Um, Trayc?"
"Yeah?"
"Where are you planning on being tomorrow night?"
"I told you ~ somewhere around Rapid City."
"do you have a reservation somewhere?"
"Scott. Do you THINK I have a reservation somewhere?" (smiling and chuckling)
"That's what I thought...okay. Sleep well. Call me when you get there."
"Okay."
(the great adventurers check into the Quality Inn hotel and get settled. Trayc calls Scott to let him know they made it.)
"We're in."
"okay. I've got a reservation for you tomorrow night in Rapid."
"You're the best! What if I don't want to stop?"
*biggggggg sigh* "You have until 6:00 to cancel the res."
"Okay. Thanks for doing that. I'm tired. Love you...good night."
"Love you, too. Good night."
Ah, what I wouldn't do without my super-planner husband! Actually, I probably would have driven to Butte, MT where there MIGHT have been a room...2 hours down the road and I would have been absolutely exhausted because according to my body it was only 2 hours later, but according to the clock it was 3 hours later. UGH!
We did arrive in Rapid City for Thursday, and, yes, we did also arrive in Sioux Falls Friday evening....exactly as planned! :)
I'll continue summer updates later, but now I have to go get some stuff done... ta-ta!
Once the boys got out of school we started running...no, not literally, but figuratively...but we are working on the literally. Actually, the boys attended an awesome VBS at a friend's church here in Vancouver. The theme was "Power Lab" and it was all science-y stuff so the boys had a BLAST! It was nice for me because it was held at night so every night I dropped them off and then headed out to have some time off. Scott ended up being gone most of the week, so it was extra nice to have a bit of a break as I got used to having the boys around all day again. (boy, does school spoil me or what? I'm already counting down the days to September 3rd....) The other thing I really enjoyed about it was the opportunity to see how a Kid's "worship team" looks at another church. I wasn't involved in our kid's programs at any other church I've attended (except Youth Choir in Norfolk, but that was Middle and High School aged, not elementary), and when we moved here the only church we visited was where we ended up ~ New Heights. We knew this was where God wanted us, and we love our church family and the challenges they lay out before us. However, because we never visited any other churches I don't know anyone from other churches involved in Children's Ministry. Sometimes that can be nice...sometimes it's a detriment. I believe, in my case in leading Rock Solid worship at our church, it's a detriment. I need ideas. I need to see what's possible...and then I can take it, run with it, and make it our own. But I need to see it live and in person, so to speak, to see what we could do to make RS worship more exciting, more real, more PASSIONATE for the kids involved. Watching the team from our friend's church was very idea-invoking, and very much an encouraging/discouragine event. Maybe I'll write about that sometime, but back to summer....
After VBS we went camping with our friends, Darin and Michelle, and their kids over the 4th of July weekend. I look forward to our annual camping trip. Each year we usually have 4 to 6 couples who camp together, but this year it was just the two families since one family was moving to Nashville (boo!!!!), another family had a baby (yea!!!) and I don't know why the others didn't make it...........but it was fun. There is a drawback about camping over the 4th, though. We usually go to Oregon, and Oregon is BOREgon when it comes to celebrating the 4th!! So, in the campground we were in, there were no fireworks allowed...and the tree-cover (blasted trees! kidding!) was so thick we couldn't see any fireworks from the local show. Given the fact that I LOVE the 4th of July (it's one of few times I have an excuse to let out my innner pyro) camping in BOREgon is just that...B-O-R-I-N-G!!!! (sidenote trivia: there really is a town called Boring, OR)
We returned from our camping trip long enough for me to do laundry, unpack the camper, unpack our suitcases, re-pack our suitcases, pack up my car and head back out on Wednesday morning. FUN!! The boys and I took off (yes, alone) for South Dakota via an old fashioned road trip. Well, as old-fashioned as you can get with a backseat full of gadgets and gizmos to help the trip go easier. Actually, there wasn't that much electronic gadgetry in the car save for the portable DVD player, the CD players, and the leapster. This being said, the DVD player was unavailable until we had been on the road for 3 hours...the CD players were there to play "Adventure in Odyssey" and other specifically chosen CD's and the leapster had to be shared between the two with no fighting or it disappeared. SO, cars were played with, songs were sung, sights were pointed out, and fun was had with very few occurances of, "Mom, how much longer?"
We ended up staying in one of the last 3 rooms available in Missoula, MT the first night. Rapid City, SD was "home" the second night, and we arrived at the Mom & Dad's Bed & Breakfast in Sioux Falls early Friday evening. Funny little stories will follow...
Funny story #1: On Tuesday as I was getting stuff together Scott comes to my office door and says, "Can you let me in on your plan?" I responded with, "What plan?" To which he responded, "Um, your plan for this trip."
"I have a plan? Am I supposed to have a plan? I guess my plan is this: leave Vancouver Wednesday morning, arrive in Sioux Falls Friday night. Is that good enough?"
"Ummmmmmm...no."
"oh. What more do you need?"
"Well, how about where you plan on stopping each night? Where do you plan on staying?"
"oh! Well, I suppose I'll stop someplace in Montana the first night, and probably Rapid City the second night. Is that good?"
"Ummmmmmm...no."
"oh. more?"
"yeah."
"like what?"
"where do you plan on staying?"
"in a hotel...I'm not worried about it."
"Okay. Well, that's not really a plan, Trac."
"Sure it is...I know when I'm leaving, I know when I'm supposed to arrive, and I know there are towns with hotels between the two. That's a pretty good plan."
"Trac. You're leaving with my two sons...and my wife...and that's not a plan."
"Scott, We'll be safe...and that's how I like to travel. This trip is my way of showing the boys there are other ways to travel other than 'drive and arrive.' We'll be fine...."
"*sigh* All right."
Funny Story #1, part 2:
setting: Lolo, MT (20 minutes outside of Missoula) and into Missoula
time: 11:10 PM
(the phone rings and Scott answers) "hello?"
"hey, there! We just came through the National Forest in Idaho, and it was A-May-Zing! How was your night?"
"good...where are you?"
"Lolo, MT"
"uh, O-kaaaaaaaay."
"It's outside of Missoula."
"Oh."
"So I was going to the Holiday Inn in Missoula...okay?"
"Sure."
(fast forward through conversation you don't really care to hear....Trayc and the boys are arriving at the Holiday Inn Express in Missoula, MT. The time is 11:30 PM)
Trayc says to Scott on the phone, "Hold on a sec, I'm going to check in..."
(man who raced ahead of a woman with her children so HE could be first says to clerk behind the counter) "Do you have any rooms?"
Clerk answers, "No, sir, we don't, and the only room I know that is available is a single queen bed at the **** hotel."
Trayc says to Scott: "um, hon? there are no rooms available. Now what do I do?"
Scott says, "I'll hop online and see what I can find...check the GPS and start calling from there."
"Okey-dokey"
(a short while later Scott calls with news)
"Hey, Trac, I found you a single queen non-smoking at the Quality Inn. He's holding it for you now, and you need to get there in the next 15 minutes or it's gone."
"Alrighty...give me the address......"
(Trayc and the boys start driving to the hotel. Scott is still on the phone...)
"Um, Trayc?"
"Yeah?"
"Where are you planning on being tomorrow night?"
"I told you ~ somewhere around Rapid City."
"do you have a reservation somewhere?"
"Scott. Do you THINK I have a reservation somewhere?" (smiling and chuckling)
"That's what I thought...okay. Sleep well. Call me when you get there."
"Okay."
(the great adventurers check into the Quality Inn hotel and get settled. Trayc calls Scott to let him know they made it.)
"We're in."
"okay. I've got a reservation for you tomorrow night in Rapid."
"You're the best! What if I don't want to stop?"
*biggggggg sigh* "You have until 6:00 to cancel the res."
"Okay. Thanks for doing that. I'm tired. Love you...good night."
"Love you, too. Good night."
Ah, what I wouldn't do without my super-planner husband! Actually, I probably would have driven to Butte, MT where there MIGHT have been a room...2 hours down the road and I would have been absolutely exhausted because according to my body it was only 2 hours later, but according to the clock it was 3 hours later. UGH!
We did arrive in Rapid City for Thursday, and, yes, we did also arrive in Sioux Falls Friday evening....exactly as planned! :)
I'll continue summer updates later, but now I have to go get some stuff done... ta-ta!
Monday, June 9, 2008
God's Plans vs. Our Dreams
Exodus 13: 17 (NIV)
17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, "If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt."
I will confess that I wonder at times what my life would be like if my path had taken me someplace else. Would I have the same sex and age of children? Would there be other similarities in my life? How would life really be different if (fill in the blank) had (or hadn't) happened? Well, this verse tells me I can wonder all I want but ultimately I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be. How? "For God said, "If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt."" God knew the Israelites better than the Israelites knew the Israelites. This says to me what Garth Brooks says oh so eloquently..."Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers." He truly knows the path of least resistance...and He knows how to get us where He wants us to go. Our job is to follow Him and trust His hand implicitly.
I wrote the portion above for my other blog: http://tbds.blogspot.com The thoughts have always ravaged me about how vastly different God's ways are than ours. How it seems He takes our dreams...the expectations of what we "know" we'll end up doing in our lives...and He switches them around to the opposite. For example, my best friend growing up knew ~ she KNEW ~ she'd graduate high school, maybe go to cosmetology school, get married and have a gaggle of kids. She absolutely had no doubts about it. I, on the other hand, knew that wherever I went in life it did NOT include a man or kids. Not that I didn't like men ~ ummmm, quite the opposite ~ but I never planned and dreamed of being a wife, and the idea of being a Mom as a career choice? Ludicrous! Sooooooooooooo, guess what God does? Hmmmmm....my friend will be 39 in August. She's never been married and has no kids. She's an upper management career gal with a large jewelry chain store. Yup. Me? I'm a wife and a mom. Give me a G! G! Give me an O! O! Give me a D! D! GOOOOOOO GOD!!! yeah, right.
Sorry, I don't mean to sound so cynical ~ I'm truly, honestly not. To meet my children you'd understand why I love being a Mom! To see my husband and I together, however, you may wonder why I didn't stick with my original plan...let's say we're working on that "dying to self" thing. *grin* Seriously, though, I can see God's crazy mixed up way of doing things. If we always had the easy way of life ~ always getting to do what we think we're good at and never having to learn a different way of life ~ why would we need Him? You see, I realized just this afternoon that God bound me to my husband in an answer to my prayer, "Lord, whatever You do, and wherever You take me...if You have a man in store or not...just never let me get too comfortable in my life that I don't need You." (or something very similar to that...I think it went more like, "when I meet the man You have chosen for me may he only make me want to know more of You in knowing him.") DUH!! Really?! What was I thinking!? It's like the prayers we pray for patience...knowing He will immediately put us in every situation we need to be in to PRACTICE patience! Or the prayers we pray saying "do whatever You need to do to get me fully in Your will...." and that night we end up pregnant because He knows we need to be slapped up alongside the head to get fully into His will. (okay, some of you may not end up pregnant...but I did.)
Tell me God doesn't know what He's doing when He gives us His Opposite Plan instead of our "But, Lord, You said You'd give me the desires of my heart" (whine...whine...snivel...snivel...gag) Plan! He puts us where He needs us to be ~ sometimes it's on the easy path because if we meet soldiers we'll turn back and run away from Him. Then there are the times when He knows we'll need some extra training for the future...or a little dose of compassion and understanding for those who don't think/act like we do...and BAM! We're on His opposite plan. Gotta love a God who never fails to suprise us...yeah, we really gotta.
**side note to those grammatical-nazi types who may read this...I truly wish to apoligize for the use of "....'s" and "gotta." I have had many a job as a proof-reader, and I know the immediate groans that fill my throat when I see such poor grammar. However, in my own personal blog that is not meant for publication, or even proper reading, I lay aside the grammar-busting red pencil and let it flow as it comes to my mind. Please accept my apologies for the number of times you have had to swallow hard to keep reading. Thank you.
17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, "If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt."
I will confess that I wonder at times what my life would be like if my path had taken me someplace else. Would I have the same sex and age of children? Would there be other similarities in my life? How would life really be different if (fill in the blank) had (or hadn't) happened? Well, this verse tells me I can wonder all I want but ultimately I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be. How? "For God said, "If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt."" God knew the Israelites better than the Israelites knew the Israelites. This says to me what Garth Brooks says oh so eloquently..."Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers." He truly knows the path of least resistance...and He knows how to get us where He wants us to go. Our job is to follow Him and trust His hand implicitly.
I wrote the portion above for my other blog: http://tbds.blogspot.com The thoughts have always ravaged me about how vastly different God's ways are than ours. How it seems He takes our dreams...the expectations of what we "know" we'll end up doing in our lives...and He switches them around to the opposite. For example, my best friend growing up knew ~ she KNEW ~ she'd graduate high school, maybe go to cosmetology school, get married and have a gaggle of kids. She absolutely had no doubts about it. I, on the other hand, knew that wherever I went in life it did NOT include a man or kids. Not that I didn't like men ~ ummmm, quite the opposite ~ but I never planned and dreamed of being a wife, and the idea of being a Mom as a career choice? Ludicrous! Sooooooooooooo, guess what God does? Hmmmmm....my friend will be 39 in August. She's never been married and has no kids. She's an upper management career gal with a large jewelry chain store. Yup. Me? I'm a wife and a mom. Give me a G! G! Give me an O! O! Give me a D! D! GOOOOOOO GOD!!! yeah, right.
Sorry, I don't mean to sound so cynical ~ I'm truly, honestly not. To meet my children you'd understand why I love being a Mom! To see my husband and I together, however, you may wonder why I didn't stick with my original plan...let's say we're working on that "dying to self" thing. *grin* Seriously, though, I can see God's crazy mixed up way of doing things. If we always had the easy way of life ~ always getting to do what we think we're good at and never having to learn a different way of life ~ why would we need Him? You see, I realized just this afternoon that God bound me to my husband in an answer to my prayer, "Lord, whatever You do, and wherever You take me...if You have a man in store or not...just never let me get too comfortable in my life that I don't need You." (or something very similar to that...I think it went more like, "when I meet the man You have chosen for me may he only make me want to know more of You in knowing him.") DUH!! Really?! What was I thinking!? It's like the prayers we pray for patience...knowing He will immediately put us in every situation we need to be in to PRACTICE patience! Or the prayers we pray saying "do whatever You need to do to get me fully in Your will...." and that night we end up pregnant because He knows we need to be slapped up alongside the head to get fully into His will. (okay, some of you may not end up pregnant...but I did.)
Tell me God doesn't know what He's doing when He gives us His Opposite Plan instead of our "But, Lord, You said You'd give me the desires of my heart" (whine...whine...snivel...snivel...gag) Plan! He puts us where He needs us to be ~ sometimes it's on the easy path because if we meet soldiers we'll turn back and run away from Him. Then there are the times when He knows we'll need some extra training for the future...or a little dose of compassion and understanding for those who don't think/act like we do...and BAM! We're on His opposite plan. Gotta love a God who never fails to suprise us...yeah, we really gotta.
**side note to those grammatical-nazi types who may read this...I truly wish to apoligize for the use of "....'s" and "gotta." I have had many a job as a proof-reader, and I know the immediate groans that fill my throat when I see such poor grammar. However, in my own personal blog that is not meant for publication, or even proper reading, I lay aside the grammar-busting red pencil and let it flow as it comes to my mind. Please accept my apologies for the number of times you have had to swallow hard to keep reading. Thank you.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Okay, So Jenny "tagged" me a LONG time ago...
Well, as the title says, Jenny, our wonderful first baby-sitter and Sr. High-er extraordinaire, tagged me on her blog a while ago and I just now found out. So here goes...
Four jobs I've had:
-Soda Jerk (Ice cream guru @ B&G Milky Way)
-Radio Disc Jockey (twice - Country station in College ~KGIM~ and Christian station when I met Scott ~KPNO~)
-Music Teacher/9th & 10th Grade Dorm Mom @ St. Scholastica Academy (Private International, College-Prep All-girl's school)
-MOMMY
Four movies I've watched more than once:
-Top Gun (can't count the number of times I've watched that one!)
-Facing the Giants
-Just Write
-GiGi
Four places I've lived:
-Redding, CA
-Walnut, CA (LA Area)
-Canon City, CO
-Sioux Falls, SD
Four places I've been:
-Hawaii
-Colorado
-New York City
-Washington, DC
Four TV shows I watch:
-Army Wives (recent fave)
-American Idol
-Bones
-Battle 360
Four people who email me regularly (doesn’t include blogging comments):
-MOMS LBS Yahoo Group
-My Sister
-Chuck Swindoll (does it count that I have to subscribe to an e-mail friend?)
-Jenny
Four of my favorite foods:
-Smokehouse Almonds
-Salmon
-Haagen Daaz Vanilla Nut Ice Cream Bars
-Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate
Four places I would like to visit:
-Italy
-Australia
-Alaska (in the summer...on a cruise)
-the Czech Republic (I'd love to go with our church next summer)
Four things I'm looking forward to in the coming year:
-Watching my boys grow up
-Seeing Jenny Graduate from High School
-Seeing Sophie and the boys together or a visit again soon
-Seeing where God leads us as a family
(I'm adding this one...)
Four of my favorite Bible Verses:
- Colossians 1:17 (NIV)
- Psalm 26 (all of it)
- James 1: 2-6
- Micah 7: 18-19
(I could list so much more...maybe I should say
-the NIV,
-the NLT,
-the NASB,
-the Message
haha)
Four friends I'm tagging:
- My cousin, David
- My cousin, Dennis
- That's Italian (Amelia)
- 'Stina
So there ya go, Jenny! Enjoy!
Four jobs I've had:
-Soda Jerk (Ice cream guru @ B&G Milky Way)
-Radio Disc Jockey (twice - Country station in College ~KGIM~ and Christian station when I met Scott ~KPNO~)
-Music Teacher/9th & 10th Grade Dorm Mom @ St. Scholastica Academy (Private International, College-Prep All-girl's school)
-MOMMY
Four movies I've watched more than once:
-Top Gun (can't count the number of times I've watched that one!)
-Facing the Giants
-Just Write
-GiGi
Four places I've lived:
-Redding, CA
-Walnut, CA (LA Area)
-Canon City, CO
-Sioux Falls, SD
Four places I've been:
-Hawaii
-Colorado
-New York City
-Washington, DC
Four TV shows I watch:
-Army Wives (recent fave)
-American Idol
-Bones
-Battle 360
Four people who email me regularly (doesn’t include blogging comments):
-MOMS LBS Yahoo Group
-My Sister
-Chuck Swindoll (does it count that I have to subscribe to an e-mail friend?)
-Jenny
Four of my favorite foods:
-Smokehouse Almonds
-Salmon
-Haagen Daaz Vanilla Nut Ice Cream Bars
-Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate
Four places I would like to visit:
-Italy
-Australia
-Alaska (in the summer...on a cruise)
-the Czech Republic (I'd love to go with our church next summer)
Four things I'm looking forward to in the coming year:
-Watching my boys grow up
-Seeing Jenny Graduate from High School
-Seeing Sophie and the boys together or a visit again soon
-Seeing where God leads us as a family
(I'm adding this one...)
Four of my favorite Bible Verses:
- Colossians 1:17 (NIV)
- Psalm 26 (all of it)
- James 1: 2-6
- Micah 7: 18-19
(I could list so much more...maybe I should say
-the NIV,
-the NLT,
-the NASB,
-the Message
haha)
Four friends I'm tagging:
- My cousin, David
- My cousin, Dennis
- That's Italian (Amelia)
- 'Stina
So there ya go, Jenny! Enjoy!
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Gone are the days...
Today I said goodbye to the times when I could fool myself into thinking I was going to be 24 forever. Today I said goodbye to the idea that I really never grow older...just more mature and wiser. Today I let go of the hope that maybe there's something more than motherhood for me. Well, maybe not all of these were fully-concrete departures, but I feel like they are right now. It's a very simple thing that has done it...my youngest son turned six today.
When I look at Micah I still remember the struggles of accepting that my hopes for my future were not the plans God had for my life. When I watch him running and playing I am reminded of the times I prayed he'd just stop moving for 10 minutes while still in-utero so I could get some rest. I see him with his friends ~ laughing and joking and making them all so happy just in being him ~ and I can feel the tears that ran down my face the day I found out I'd be having a boy...and I experience the deepest, most profound regret.
Micah is a God-send in my life. His laughter is infectious, his smile captivating. He can light up a room with a grin and shut it down with a whine. His hugs and kisses (of which, believe me, there are many) feed my soul on a spiritual level. No, he doesn't fill me up like my time with Jesus does, but having him in my life is a gift beyond measure. To think that I thought a Megan would be a better fit for me is like saying Orville Redenbacher would make a great US President (yes, it's that absurd!)! Micah is a joy-maker. He is stubborn as all get-out, and his decisions have to be HIS decisions, but he is joy incarnate most of the time.
So today I say goodbye to the foolish notions that I have a better idea of how my life should be worked out than the Very One who created me. If having Micah was all His idea ~ and obviously it would be ~ then I trust Him all the more because I couldn't imagine my life without Micah.
Thank You, Lord, for knowing me better than I'll ever know myself. amen.
PS: two really cool prayer moments from last night with the boys...
1) Micah praying and out of the blue saying, "...and I really hope we get to see Sophie again soon..."
2) Caleb praying and saying, "Lord, thank you for my parents because, really, Micah and me have great parents...REALLY GREEEEEAAAAT parents. So thanks for letting us have them as parents."
How can I be anything but thankful?
When I look at Micah I still remember the struggles of accepting that my hopes for my future were not the plans God had for my life. When I watch him running and playing I am reminded of the times I prayed he'd just stop moving for 10 minutes while still in-utero so I could get some rest. I see him with his friends ~ laughing and joking and making them all so happy just in being him ~ and I can feel the tears that ran down my face the day I found out I'd be having a boy...and I experience the deepest, most profound regret.
Micah is a God-send in my life. His laughter is infectious, his smile captivating. He can light up a room with a grin and shut it down with a whine. His hugs and kisses (of which, believe me, there are many) feed my soul on a spiritual level. No, he doesn't fill me up like my time with Jesus does, but having him in my life is a gift beyond measure. To think that I thought a Megan would be a better fit for me is like saying Orville Redenbacher would make a great US President (yes, it's that absurd!)! Micah is a joy-maker. He is stubborn as all get-out, and his decisions have to be HIS decisions, but he is joy incarnate most of the time.
So today I say goodbye to the foolish notions that I have a better idea of how my life should be worked out than the Very One who created me. If having Micah was all His idea ~ and obviously it would be ~ then I trust Him all the more because I couldn't imagine my life without Micah.
Thank You, Lord, for knowing me better than I'll ever know myself. amen.
PS: two really cool prayer moments from last night with the boys...
1) Micah praying and out of the blue saying, "...and I really hope we get to see Sophie again soon..."
2) Caleb praying and saying, "Lord, thank you for my parents because, really, Micah and me have great parents...REALLY GREEEEEAAAAT parents. So thanks for letting us have them as parents."
How can I be anything but thankful?
Friday, May 30, 2008
Memorial ~ to REMEMBER
Okay...I know it's a bit late, but I was away from home over Memorial Day and fighting with a stinky-cheese-man internet connection once I got home. (I HATE wireless networks that don't work!!)
However, I truly admire and am amazingly grateful for those who have fought for our freedoms. There are WAY too FEW bumper stickers to remind us that Freedom Isn't Free, and way too many that forget that very simple fact. So, in that light, and being a Navy Girl by birth...Happy Memorial Day to all of you, and THANK YOU to all of you who serve who might by some strange chance read this.
AND...the following one is cool, but if you don't like a good hard rock turn your speakers down...if you do...TURN IT UP! :)
AND FINALLY...because life's too short not to laugh...
Want more? click the title of this post and type in "US NAVY FUNNY" in the search window...then have fun!
Have a great weekend, everybodeeee!
However, I truly admire and am amazingly grateful for those who have fought for our freedoms. There are WAY too FEW bumper stickers to remind us that Freedom Isn't Free, and way too many that forget that very simple fact. So, in that light, and being a Navy Girl by birth...Happy Memorial Day to all of you, and THANK YOU to all of you who serve who might by some strange chance read this.
AND...the following one is cool, but if you don't like a good hard rock turn your speakers down...if you do...TURN IT UP! :)
AND FINALLY...because life's too short not to laugh...
Want more? click the title of this post and type in "US NAVY FUNNY" in the search window...then have fun!
Have a great weekend, everybodeeee!
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
I will not buy... (revised)
The movie "JUNO."
As a Birth Mother and Mom I hated the movie. Many people gave such rave reviews of the movie ~ that it's the greatest picture of sacrificial love and bunkity, bunkity, bunk. What sacrifice is there when a young woman doesn't want to be pregnant...places a baby for adoption just because she doesn't want to be a mom, and rarely throughout the entire movie shows any connection or affection for the life living in her? It made me rather sick to watch it instead of hopeful for the message being given about what adoption really means. As a Birth Mother who placed her daughter for adoption not because I didn't want to be a Mom, but because I wanted the very best for her ~ out of a heart full of love and an action full of long-term pain knowing she wouldn't be "my" daughter ~ I placed her in the arms of a beautiful couple to be raised as their own. Watching this movie was an insult, a slap in the face, and an offense to Birth Mothers everywhere.
Maybe to someone who hasn't had "the opportunity" to place a child for adoption the movie seems like a great movie ~ afterall (spoiler ahead for those who haven't seen the movie...stop here if you really hate it when someone spoils the end for you.....)
instead of keeping the child and being a young single mother who had to rely on who knows who to help her raise the baby she decides to still go through with the adoption after the couple she chose filed for divorce before the baby was born. Now...to someone who hasn't seen the movie it may seem a logical choice ~ she wanted the baby to be taken care of so why wouldn't she still place it for adoption with a loving and responsible couple? Of course that's a good move! Well, you're right....IF she had chosen another couple. Instead she continued to go through with the placement to the NOW SINGLE woman from the original adoption plan. Can someone explain to me how simply offering an older ...BUT STILL SINGLE...woman a child is any different than a young woman keeping her child and mothering it herself? PLEASE! Explain....
The moral of this movie is "if you get pregnant don't worry about the child's future...worry about your own. If you're a teenager and you get pregnant because you chose to "see what sex was like" you should just find some "good person" and give your baby to them because really, it's the fact that you're a teenager that would make you a hard case for motherhood. So take care of yourself first and just get rid of the kid."
One other thing ~ I was really looking forward to this movie as a possible catalyst for a discussion with my oldest son about his 1/2 sister, Sophie, and why she doesn't live with us. The language alone would have kept me from being able to watch it with him...and the flippant attitude of sex before marriage as a "normal" thing to do and accept would have kept us from watching it if the language didn't first.
I hated this movie...and I won't recommend it to anyone I know. Now or ever.
*note: the original post was written on May 3, 2008...updates made were to the first paragraph, and adding the second to last.
As a Birth Mother and Mom I hated the movie. Many people gave such rave reviews of the movie ~ that it's the greatest picture of sacrificial love and bunkity, bunkity, bunk. What sacrifice is there when a young woman doesn't want to be pregnant...places a baby for adoption just because she doesn't want to be a mom, and rarely throughout the entire movie shows any connection or affection for the life living in her? It made me rather sick to watch it instead of hopeful for the message being given about what adoption really means. As a Birth Mother who placed her daughter for adoption not because I didn't want to be a Mom, but because I wanted the very best for her ~ out of a heart full of love and an action full of long-term pain knowing she wouldn't be "my" daughter ~ I placed her in the arms of a beautiful couple to be raised as their own. Watching this movie was an insult, a slap in the face, and an offense to Birth Mothers everywhere.
Maybe to someone who hasn't had "the opportunity" to place a child for adoption the movie seems like a great movie ~ afterall (spoiler ahead for those who haven't seen the movie...stop here if you really hate it when someone spoils the end for you.....)
instead of keeping the child and being a young single mother who had to rely on who knows who to help her raise the baby she decides to still go through with the adoption after the couple she chose filed for divorce before the baby was born. Now...to someone who hasn't seen the movie it may seem a logical choice ~ she wanted the baby to be taken care of so why wouldn't she still place it for adoption with a loving and responsible couple? Of course that's a good move! Well, you're right....IF she had chosen another couple. Instead she continued to go through with the placement to the NOW SINGLE woman from the original adoption plan. Can someone explain to me how simply offering an older ...BUT STILL SINGLE...woman a child is any different than a young woman keeping her child and mothering it herself? PLEASE! Explain....
The moral of this movie is "if you get pregnant don't worry about the child's future...worry about your own. If you're a teenager and you get pregnant because you chose to "see what sex was like" you should just find some "good person" and give your baby to them because really, it's the fact that you're a teenager that would make you a hard case for motherhood. So take care of yourself first and just get rid of the kid."
One other thing ~ I was really looking forward to this movie as a possible catalyst for a discussion with my oldest son about his 1/2 sister, Sophie, and why she doesn't live with us. The language alone would have kept me from being able to watch it with him...and the flippant attitude of sex before marriage as a "normal" thing to do and accept would have kept us from watching it if the language didn't first.
I hated this movie...and I won't recommend it to anyone I know. Now or ever.
*note: the original post was written on May 3, 2008...updates made were to the first paragraph, and adding the second to last.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Worth Watching...
Click on the link below...(right click if you don't want to lose this page...) You'll be glad you did.
http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?&brand=null&videoId=3380875&n8pe6c=2
Here's a second one with an interview of the girls...
http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?&brand=null&videoId=3376663&n8pe6c=2
http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?&brand=null&videoId=3380875&n8pe6c=2
Here's a second one with an interview of the girls...
http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?&brand=null&videoId=3376663&n8pe6c=2
Monday, April 14, 2008
Born Yesterday!
This weekend I was away for a (wonderful) weekend with our MOMS PACED (Publicity-Attractions-Caring-Evangelism/Discipleship) Team. After getting very little sleep the two nights before the weekend, and then staying up talking 'til the wee morning hours the night I was there, by the time I got home I was DEAD-tired. So, I did what any good mom would do and suggested we go to a restaurant for dinner. :)
As we're sitting at Sweet Tomatoes Caleb, our oldest son, leans over to Scott and whispers in his ear that he should tell me something or other. He finishes what he had to say, and Scott nods and says, "we'll have to remember to tell her." And they continue eating. I'm looking at them like, "well? What do you need to tell me?" But I keep eating as well because, honestly, my brain couldn't actually bring myself to push the issue.
A couple minutes later Scott says, "Oh, yeah, Mommy? Caleb was born yesterday."
Caleb is grinning real big, and, as I said before, I was exhausted and couldn't put the connection to what he was saying and what he was saying together. He then went on to explain that CALEB ASKED JESUS TO LIVE IN HIS HEART ON SATURDAY!!!!!
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now, he had asked Jesus into his heart when he was 3, but this was just way cool because it was his decision away from me or Scott. When he was three we had been praying and talking about Jesus and he asked me a lot of questions a three-year-old wouldn't normally ask. I asked him after explaining to him what it meant, and why we (Scott & I) asked Jesus to live in our hearts, if he wanted to ask Jesus in, too. He said yes and we prayed together. It was a beautiful moment, and knew it was real, but prayed that God would continue to work in his life so he would come to a decision on his own when he was older. To know that we've been praying for Caleb so much lately as we struggle with an 8-going-on-18 attitude and defiance issues...and to see how God was still working in him in ways we had no idea. God is so good! The amazing thing? There really is a change in Caleb from when I left on Saturday morning to when I came home Sunday afternoon. This morning when he left for school there was a calmness in his spirit that hadn't been there in a long time. I am amazed and in tears over what God is doing in our family ~ how can anyone not want to know a God, the CREATOR of our SOULS, who loves us so much He is willing to discipline us when we get out of line and bring blessings unbelievable when we follow His good and PERFECT will?
side tangent: I have known many, many brilliant, incredible and intelligent people in my life. I have known some who are Christians and some who are not. I have to say that when I hear someone intelligent speaking with wisdom on a subject I tend to kind of "sit at their feet" and learn all I can from them.
Intelligence is praised in our society and the "intellectuals" will say that in order to be successful you must be intelligent. (Stay with me...I'm gonna make sense of this in a minute...) To be a professor at an Ivy-league university, to some is the equivalent of being a world leader...intelligence is that elevated in our society.
I have also known many beautiful people in my life. Some women I am friends with are of the stop-drop-your-jaw-and-stare kind of beautiful. Also in our society beauty is seen as something to be praised. Super Models are idolized and stars are criticized and critiqued on everything from a belly hump to choosing the wrong kind of outfit to wear someplace to the style of their accessories ~ human or otherwise. In America, to be beautiful is to be accepted and praised.
SO....Intelligence is the end-all-be-all for some, and my God created from nothing a Universe and human life. He created things that have stood the test of time, and He created creatures that didn't survive. He has created molecules, atoms and brains that house the intelligence so many praise in humans....
He also created beauty, and He creates beauty each and every day. Just look at some of these pictures of what He's created:
Can we get more beautiful than some of those? YES! Every day He paints us a beautiful picture for us to enjoy. He places a baby in a Mother's arms and we see beauty and miracle all in one. An aged couple sits at a table looking at each other in love and we see beauty. Sleet falls from the sky outside my window on an April day and although I don't understand how Saturday was 80 degrees and we've got sleet today, It's still just amazing to look at.
So why do people reject God? How can we embrace intelligence and beauty and reject the maker of both of those?? I know the age-old argument about how can a loving God allow such horrors also? Well...how can we say that is a reason to stay away from Him when we turn on a TV show and the host says the secret to happiness is to look for the good in your life? How can we put that requirement on God when we are told day-in-and-day-out that we make the choice to either look at the good or the bad, but focusing on the bad will only make us more miserable? Come ON, people!!! Focus on the good...and one day maybe I'll address the "bad" part of living on this earth....but focus on the good of GOD!
End side-tangent. Thank you. :)
As we're sitting at Sweet Tomatoes Caleb, our oldest son, leans over to Scott and whispers in his ear that he should tell me something or other. He finishes what he had to say, and Scott nods and says, "we'll have to remember to tell her." And they continue eating. I'm looking at them like, "well? What do you need to tell me?" But I keep eating as well because, honestly, my brain couldn't actually bring myself to push the issue.
A couple minutes later Scott says, "Oh, yeah, Mommy? Caleb was born yesterday."
Caleb is grinning real big, and, as I said before, I was exhausted and couldn't put the connection to what he was saying and what he was saying together. He then went on to explain that CALEB ASKED JESUS TO LIVE IN HIS HEART ON SATURDAY!!!!!
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now, he had asked Jesus into his heart when he was 3, but this was just way cool because it was his decision away from me or Scott. When he was three we had been praying and talking about Jesus and he asked me a lot of questions a three-year-old wouldn't normally ask. I asked him after explaining to him what it meant, and why we (Scott & I) asked Jesus to live in our hearts, if he wanted to ask Jesus in, too. He said yes and we prayed together. It was a beautiful moment, and knew it was real, but prayed that God would continue to work in his life so he would come to a decision on his own when he was older. To know that we've been praying for Caleb so much lately as we struggle with an 8-going-on-18 attitude and defiance issues...and to see how God was still working in him in ways we had no idea. God is so good! The amazing thing? There really is a change in Caleb from when I left on Saturday morning to when I came home Sunday afternoon. This morning when he left for school there was a calmness in his spirit that hadn't been there in a long time. I am amazed and in tears over what God is doing in our family ~ how can anyone not want to know a God, the CREATOR of our SOULS, who loves us so much He is willing to discipline us when we get out of line and bring blessings unbelievable when we follow His good and PERFECT will?
side tangent: I have known many, many brilliant, incredible and intelligent people in my life. I have known some who are Christians and some who are not. I have to say that when I hear someone intelligent speaking with wisdom on a subject I tend to kind of "sit at their feet" and learn all I can from them.
Intelligence is praised in our society and the "intellectuals" will say that in order to be successful you must be intelligent. (Stay with me...I'm gonna make sense of this in a minute...) To be a professor at an Ivy-league university, to some is the equivalent of being a world leader...intelligence is that elevated in our society.
I have also known many beautiful people in my life. Some women I am friends with are of the stop-drop-your-jaw-and-stare kind of beautiful. Also in our society beauty is seen as something to be praised. Super Models are idolized and stars are criticized and critiqued on everything from a belly hump to choosing the wrong kind of outfit to wear someplace to the style of their accessories ~ human or otherwise. In America, to be beautiful is to be accepted and praised.
SO....Intelligence is the end-all-be-all for some, and my God created from nothing a Universe and human life. He created things that have stood the test of time, and He created creatures that didn't survive. He has created molecules, atoms and brains that house the intelligence so many praise in humans....
He also created beauty, and He creates beauty each and every day. Just look at some of these pictures of what He's created:
Can we get more beautiful than some of those? YES! Every day He paints us a beautiful picture for us to enjoy. He places a baby in a Mother's arms and we see beauty and miracle all in one. An aged couple sits at a table looking at each other in love and we see beauty. Sleet falls from the sky outside my window on an April day and although I don't understand how Saturday was 80 degrees and we've got sleet today, It's still just amazing to look at.
So why do people reject God? How can we embrace intelligence and beauty and reject the maker of both of those?? I know the age-old argument about how can a loving God allow such horrors also? Well...how can we say that is a reason to stay away from Him when we turn on a TV show and the host says the secret to happiness is to look for the good in your life? How can we put that requirement on God when we are told day-in-and-day-out that we make the choice to either look at the good or the bad, but focusing on the bad will only make us more miserable? Come ON, people!!! Focus on the good...and one day maybe I'll address the "bad" part of living on this earth....but focus on the good of GOD!
End side-tangent. Thank you. :)
Friday, April 11, 2008
You Are An ENTP |
 The Visionary You are charming, outgoing, friendly. You make a good first impression. You possess good negotiating skills and can convince anyone of anything. Happy to be the center of attention, you love to tell stories and show off. You're very clever, but not disciplined enough to do well in structured environments. In love, you see everything as a grand adventure. You enjoy taking risks for love. And if things don't work out, you're usually not too much worse for the wear! You would make a great entrepreneur, marketing executive, or actor. At work, you need a lot of freedom to pursue your own path and vision. How you see yourself: Analytical, creative, and peaceful When other people don't get you, they see you as: Detached, wishy-washy, and superficial |
You Are a Red Crayon |
 Your world is colored with bright, vivid, wild colors. You have a deep, complex personality - and you are always expressing something about yourself. Bold and dominant, you are a natural leader. You have an energy that is intense... and sometimes overwhelming. Your reaction to everything tends to be strong. You are the master of love-hate relationships. Your color wheel opposite is green. Green people are way too mellow to understand what drives your energy. |
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Costco on a Saturday
Scott turns 41 on Tuesday so we decided to go get him his "birthday present" (it's not the only one...) today. We headed across the river (no sales tax) to the Portland Costco. Now, the very first thing we know about Costco on a Saturday is that it will be a madhouse. I know going in to a store like Costco (for those of you who don't have a Costco this is like Sam's Club) on a Saturday or Sunday I will a) expect lots of people, b) expect to wait in lines, c) expect to be extra patient because it's a Saturday at Costco.
I wish other people would get the message...it's COSTCO ON A SATURDAY!!!!
After picking out Scott's iPod we proceed down the main drag to the freezer cases where I'm going to be getting our organic milk. As we're heading down there from the printer ink aisle this lady beside me thinks it's a double turn lane and then expects me to back out of her way when it's not a double turn lane going to one...it's a corner where the person on the left yields to the person turning on to the highway from the turn lane because there is only one turn lane. I looked at her and went, "oh, excuse me...." Her daughter says to her, "Mom...." in that way only a teenage daughter who is embarrased by her Mom's actions can be.
Continuing down the main drag we come upon a traffic jam. There are two lanes...one going toward us, one going with us...the one we're all in. As I approach the crowd I slow down to a stop waiting for the people ahead of us who think it's okay to stop in the middle of the road to look at the items across the road on the other side instead of turning onto a side street for others to pass them. I'm not upset by it...it is what it is and I and those ahead of me are all waiting patiently because we know...IT'S COSTCO ON A SATURDAY. The lady who is now behind me (the same one with the daughter written about above) decides she should not have to wait and she gets about 1/4 of the way to my side when she realizes we're all stopped because there's no way around it. I looked again at her with a grin on my face and said, "we're all going to the same place...just being patient." Her daughter then really said, "mom, would you stop it please?" (exasperation written all over her voice) (What is wrong with this picture...Mom insists the world revolves around her and daughter realizes this is COSTCO ON A SATURDAY? One point ~ TEENAGER!!!) When I turned into my side street of refrigerated goodies she zoomed ahead all of the 4 feet taken up by me and my cart so she could hurry up and stop because it's...what? Oh! COSTCO ON A SATURDAY!!
Jump ahead...people swarming around the chicken sausage sample table (YUM! and they're gluten free!!) and I turn and smack right into this gal. We laughed and I apologized and said something about Costco on a Saturday and we both had a good chuckle about it. Sweet lady understood...this is Costco on a Saturday.
After we complete our check out process the boys and I head to the end of the ridiculously long food line and Scott takes the stuff out to the car. After we're all settled at a table I go back up to continue waiting for Caleb's cheese pizza (because it's not that busy on a Saturday at the Costco food court so why should they put a new cheese pizza in when they see they're down to the last 3 pieces? (yes, that's a vent)) I join the other 10 people waiting for their pizzas and when the lady at the window asks for the next patron's ticket this guy from the back of the crowd steps forward and jumps ahead of all of us who were waiting....
Forgive me, Father in Heaven, my smart-alecky side came out and I couldn't stop my tongue from saying, "oh, I'm sorry, the world does revolve around you so why don't you go first?" The people around me agreed with me in their laughter and groans, but when he turned to leave...and make his way through the crowd he couldn't even say, "excuse me." So, again before I could stop myself I said, "Son, two words...excuse me." (he looked to be all of 19.)
I realize I had become one of those people who expected something other than what it is because it's a COSTCO ON A SATURDAY, but what happened to manners? What happened to waiting your turn and letting others go first? While the boys and I were in line to order I realized I didn't know exactly what we all wanted because Scott wasn't back yet so I let the lady behind me go so I didn't hold up the line.... I know many people would have done the same thing, and I'm not super-holy because I did, but seriously? What has happened to thinking of others first? REALLY?
Thanks for letting me rant...I'm stepping away now. I have a feeling I'll be convicted of my own actions as we head to church.......
Ciao!
I wish other people would get the message...it's COSTCO ON A SATURDAY!!!!
After picking out Scott's iPod we proceed down the main drag to the freezer cases where I'm going to be getting our organic milk. As we're heading down there from the printer ink aisle this lady beside me thinks it's a double turn lane and then expects me to back out of her way when it's not a double turn lane going to one...it's a corner where the person on the left yields to the person turning on to the highway from the turn lane because there is only one turn lane. I looked at her and went, "oh, excuse me...." Her daughter says to her, "Mom...." in that way only a teenage daughter who is embarrased by her Mom's actions can be.
Continuing down the main drag we come upon a traffic jam. There are two lanes...one going toward us, one going with us...the one we're all in. As I approach the crowd I slow down to a stop waiting for the people ahead of us who think it's okay to stop in the middle of the road to look at the items across the road on the other side instead of turning onto a side street for others to pass them. I'm not upset by it...it is what it is and I and those ahead of me are all waiting patiently because we know...IT'S COSTCO ON A SATURDAY. The lady who is now behind me (the same one with the daughter written about above) decides she should not have to wait and she gets about 1/4 of the way to my side when she realizes we're all stopped because there's no way around it. I looked again at her with a grin on my face and said, "we're all going to the same place...just being patient." Her daughter then really said, "mom, would you stop it please?" (exasperation written all over her voice) (What is wrong with this picture...Mom insists the world revolves around her and daughter realizes this is COSTCO ON A SATURDAY? One point ~ TEENAGER!!!) When I turned into my side street of refrigerated goodies she zoomed ahead all of the 4 feet taken up by me and my cart so she could hurry up and stop because it's...what? Oh! COSTCO ON A SATURDAY!!
Jump ahead...people swarming around the chicken sausage sample table (YUM! and they're gluten free!!) and I turn and smack right into this gal. We laughed and I apologized and said something about Costco on a Saturday and we both had a good chuckle about it. Sweet lady understood...this is Costco on a Saturday.
After we complete our check out process the boys and I head to the end of the ridiculously long food line and Scott takes the stuff out to the car. After we're all settled at a table I go back up to continue waiting for Caleb's cheese pizza (because it's not that busy on a Saturday at the Costco food court so why should they put a new cheese pizza in when they see they're down to the last 3 pieces? (yes, that's a vent)) I join the other 10 people waiting for their pizzas and when the lady at the window asks for the next patron's ticket this guy from the back of the crowd steps forward and jumps ahead of all of us who were waiting....
Forgive me, Father in Heaven, my smart-alecky side came out and I couldn't stop my tongue from saying, "oh, I'm sorry, the world does revolve around you so why don't you go first?" The people around me agreed with me in their laughter and groans, but when he turned to leave...and make his way through the crowd he couldn't even say, "excuse me." So, again before I could stop myself I said, "Son, two words...excuse me." (he looked to be all of 19.)
I realize I had become one of those people who expected something other than what it is because it's a COSTCO ON A SATURDAY, but what happened to manners? What happened to waiting your turn and letting others go first? While the boys and I were in line to order I realized I didn't know exactly what we all wanted because Scott wasn't back yet so I let the lady behind me go so I didn't hold up the line.... I know many people would have done the same thing, and I'm not super-holy because I did, but seriously? What has happened to thinking of others first? REALLY?
Thanks for letting me rant...I'm stepping away now. I have a feeling I'll be convicted of my own actions as we head to church.......
Ciao!
Friday, April 4, 2008
I'm BAAAACK!
Well, it's been a LOOOOOOONG time, but I finally have internet on my own computer again! WOO HOO!!! As if that wasn't reason enough to celebrate....there's this little (okay, HUGE) thing of Easter...
HE'S ALIVE!! I love this time of year. I love celebrating the fact that those of us who are members of the Family of God serve a risen, not dead and buried, Savior! There is a particular scientist our family admires and appreciates who was a former atheist...then agnostic...and finally got to the point where he wanted to decide for himself if any of the religions of this world were worth following. So he did what any good researcher would do...he studied each of them. Now, this guy is not your ordinary scientist. No...he's a gifted scientist. God has given him an ability to understand science and it's direct correlation with God Himself in such an amazing way. He is an astrophysicist, and uses words I can barely say let alone spell, but the way he came to Christianity, I think, is a great way to do so.
So, you're probably asking yourself how he did it...and wishing I'd get on with it, huh? Well, he decided to study...in detail...each and every religion of the world. He found that in his understanding he could literally explain away every one of the "gods" or "founders" of every world religion except one. Yup. You guessed it...Christianity. Our God ~ the King of Kings and Lord of Lords ~ was the only One he could not explain away or even fully understand. Isn't that cool? The logic behind his thinking is spot on...if I can explain away everything I'm supposed to be doing and learning and having faith in, why do I want to worship that? Wouldn't I rather worship someone bigger than I? Wouldn't I rather worship someone I can't explain because He is so much more than I could ever understand? When the going gets tough I don't want a wimpy goddy-god on my side...I want a GOD...one that can throw mountains into being with a breath! THAT's the kind of God *I* want to serve!!! I admire a thinking Christian. I admire someone who isn't afraid to look at their questions, ask them, and expect truth to filter to the top...and then accept the truth and live it wholeheartedly. This particular scientist isn't afraid of "secular" science...the science many Christians think is evil. He isn't and we shouldn't be...ever.
Why? Because science in it's truest form...all science...will always point to the very God who created science! For those of you who will think we're heathens in this house because we believe a little (for some of you a lot) differently than you do on the scientific stance, I think you should know that a lot of secular, non-Christian scientists don't like what they find and they try to cover it up because it does point directly to exactly what we believe ~ that there is an "Intelligent Designer" and His name is GOD...or, to be more precise...I AM. I never liked science growing up because I was afraid of it..."science was our enemy ~ the greatest foe of Christianity and it couldn't be true! It was all lies!!" I always thought some things could be possible...because God was God and if He wanted to do that, then why not? Now, before you think I'm talking about inter-species evolution, stop right there. Inter-species evolution is not possible, and there are a number of arguments my husband knows (I'm the artsy one in the family, not the scientist...) to prove it's a fallacy. However, why couldn't God take His time in creating the earth? Why does the earth only have to be, what, 3,000 or 10,000 years old? Why can't it be millions of years old?
Now, before you freak out...let me say this, "THIS IS NOT A SALVATION ISSUE!!!" I am still going to heaven! I still love my Jesus more today than yesterday and less today than tomorrow...I still know who is really in charge in my life, and I have no guilt over what I believe. I hold no remorse for anyone who disagrees with me, but I know, and have experienced, some people who disagree with our family on this issue who really believe we cannot be Christians if we think this way. I think they'll be surprised when they get to heaven that God doesn't judge on how old someone thinks the earth is.
Now, I'm not sure why I went off on that particular tangent...sometimes I'm surprised at what comes out my fingertips when I sit down to journal or write...maybe one of you needed to have that discussion opened up, I dunno. But, there it is...maybe some of you will stop reading because you now think I'm a heathen and anything else I may say can't be encouragement in your walk because I'm messed up with something so controversial. I hope and pray the enemy doesn't win on that one ~ it's one of many arguments that goes on in the Christian Community that makes no sense as to why it's such a dividing line.
Whew, I'm sure soapboxy here...don't mean to be. Sorry 'bout that. I guess I've been gone so long and there's so much going on my head that I just feel the need to do a brain dump.
So here's what's been going on with us at the House of Fozzie...
Caleb & Micah are both still loving school. Caleb is now 8 going on 18. Micah is 5 1/2 going on 15...! I swear...praying parents, pray for us!! It's difficult when you see so much potential in your children, see the waywardness of their sin nature, do what you know how to correct them and raise them to be better than they are...and never want them to question your love for them. Now, don't get me wrong...I have no problem being a "mean mom" when it comes to raising my children to be upstanding citizens both of the US and the Family of God, but there are times I just want to resign. Didn't Barbara Johnson write a book about that once? "Where does a mother go to resign?" So...without details, or any reason for any, just pray. (and yes, in our house the problems we're dealing with are probably "child's play" to the problems in some other houses of children our kids' ages, but in our household they're still ones we won't tolerate.) Thanks for praying.
Scott continues to travel with his position at Hercules. Being District Manager is a blessing and curse all at once. Scott is so great as a manager ~ as his wife I admire how he handles sticky situations with integrity, honesty and a clear head for business...as well as how he encourages and challenges his employees to do better, be better and be good representatives of Hercules. He is well admired, too, by his employees and his colleagues as well as his higher ups. I am blessed to have him as my husband and our boys are blessed to have him as their Dad. More than how he lives his business life, though, he lives his private life with integrity and faith. He is willing to...after some time...acknowledge where he needs to work harder and where he needs to surrender, and that takes courage. I remember when Kim and I were roommates in Norfolk, NE, I found this bumper sticker that we just loved. I think it's still around, but it read, very simply, "real men love Jesus" Scott's a real man.
As for me...I've been busy dealing with stuff God keeps bringing my way. How to live with an Attention-Deficit-Disordered mind and realizing how tremendously food affects it is one. Getting my house in order so I can "re-enter" the world of ministry and activity is two. Learning to pray again is a big one...there was a time when I could literally go through my day in a constant attitude of prayer. I miss that time ~ when at the drop of a hat I could converse with my Lord. I haven't had that in a few years ~ quite a few years. Dealing with physical issues as well as spiritual issues I was beat up and beaten down...and my prayer life showed it the most. I have decided to rejoin our MOMS Leadership team for next year ~ I will also continue to do Rock Solid Worship on Wednesday nights ~ and I've committed to being co-chair for our school's book fairs (which means I'm getting more involved in our PTA) Scott's excited about the last one in particular, although I have his support in all of them, but he's said for a few years now he thinks I should run for school board. I laugh and groan at the same time when he does. :) I'm scared a bit about all of them together, but the way I look at it is this: I'm going where God says "go" and I'll let Him work out the details. It's worked in the rest of my life, why should I think differently now?
Well, since this is already a random post with all sorts of topics under it's umbrella, I'll finish with this one...
I'm currently re-reading Frank Peretti's "This Present Darkness." If you haven't read it, or it's been a while since you have, I strongly urge you to pick it up and read it...again. It is a novel, but it really opens my eyes to what may be possible out there. Anyway, the other night the boys and I were talking about praying before bed. Scott & I pray with them most nights (I'll be honest and say we're not consistent), and I love lifting my kids and family and friends and people God lays on our hearts to the Throne. Re-reading this book is reminding me just how important prayer is in our lives.
So here's a little back-story...a show our family is currently really enjoying is "Battle 360" on the History channel. It's a fascinating show about WWII, and we enjoy watching the latest Tivo'd show on Saturday mornings (and putting it to DVD for a certain WWII buff we know...) With that said, it should be no surprise (and it's not a surprise to other mothers of boys) that boys like to pretend they're soldiers...or warriors...and that they have the ability to defeat the enemy. Our boys are no different, and it was the perfect lead-in for our discussion about prayer.
It happened on Monday of this week. Scott was going to a meeting concerning a rather huge issue he's dealing with at one of the mills they service. I knew this meeting was important, and I called the boys into my office asking them to pray with me for Daddy. Because they were playing and on Spring Break they didn't want to stop. So I explained something to them...praying is like going into battle. That caught their attention. I explained a little more that when we pray we call upon God Almighty and His Warriors to help us. He tells us that He "bends down and listens" to our prayers. I love that picture!! I also explained that when two or more are gathered in His name He is there, too. I let them know that I could pray for Daddy, and it would matter, but that if we all three joined our hearts in prayer for Daddy it would hold that much more weight...kind of like 3 battleships going along with the aircraft carrier as they approach the enemy. Then I asked if they'd go into battle with me....they both said yes and they both prayed with me for Scott's meeting as well as some other family members and friends. It was powerful, but I didn't realize how much of an impact a quick little creative way of explaining prayer would be until a couple of days later...
I was on the treadmill and Scott was getting ready to go another meeting concerning this issue. Micah was there in my room playing a game while I walked, and I asked him if he'd pray with me. He looked up and said, "you need me to go into battle with you, Mom?" I couldn't stop the grin that spread across my face and my heart.
Prayer matters...please know I'm praying for each of you as I write this. I don't know who reads it...I don't know if anyone checks it anymore since it's been so long, but I do know I'm praying that God says something to you in what I've written here. Thanks for stopping by...I need to get some other stuff done now.
Have a great day!
OH! PS: Here's a great picture of my little prayer warriors:
PPS: clicking on the title of this post will bring you to my favorite blog I write ~ Apples of Gold. I hope you visit and find encouragement...
HE'S ALIVE!! I love this time of year. I love celebrating the fact that those of us who are members of the Family of God serve a risen, not dead and buried, Savior! There is a particular scientist our family admires and appreciates who was a former atheist...then agnostic...and finally got to the point where he wanted to decide for himself if any of the religions of this world were worth following. So he did what any good researcher would do...he studied each of them. Now, this guy is not your ordinary scientist. No...he's a gifted scientist. God has given him an ability to understand science and it's direct correlation with God Himself in such an amazing way. He is an astrophysicist, and uses words I can barely say let alone spell, but the way he came to Christianity, I think, is a great way to do so.
So, you're probably asking yourself how he did it...and wishing I'd get on with it, huh? Well, he decided to study...in detail...each and every religion of the world. He found that in his understanding he could literally explain away every one of the "gods" or "founders" of every world religion except one. Yup. You guessed it...Christianity. Our God ~ the King of Kings and Lord of Lords ~ was the only One he could not explain away or even fully understand. Isn't that cool? The logic behind his thinking is spot on...if I can explain away everything I'm supposed to be doing and learning and having faith in, why do I want to worship that? Wouldn't I rather worship someone bigger than I? Wouldn't I rather worship someone I can't explain because He is so much more than I could ever understand? When the going gets tough I don't want a wimpy goddy-god on my side...I want a GOD...one that can throw mountains into being with a breath! THAT's the kind of God *I* want to serve!!! I admire a thinking Christian. I admire someone who isn't afraid to look at their questions, ask them, and expect truth to filter to the top...and then accept the truth and live it wholeheartedly. This particular scientist isn't afraid of "secular" science...the science many Christians think is evil. He isn't and we shouldn't be...ever.
Why? Because science in it's truest form...all science...will always point to the very God who created science! For those of you who will think we're heathens in this house because we believe a little (for some of you a lot) differently than you do on the scientific stance, I think you should know that a lot of secular, non-Christian scientists don't like what they find and they try to cover it up because it does point directly to exactly what we believe ~ that there is an "Intelligent Designer" and His name is GOD...or, to be more precise...I AM. I never liked science growing up because I was afraid of it..."science was our enemy ~ the greatest foe of Christianity and it couldn't be true! It was all lies!!" I always thought some things could be possible...because God was God and if He wanted to do that, then why not? Now, before you think I'm talking about inter-species evolution, stop right there. Inter-species evolution is not possible, and there are a number of arguments my husband knows (I'm the artsy one in the family, not the scientist...) to prove it's a fallacy. However, why couldn't God take His time in creating the earth? Why does the earth only have to be, what, 3,000 or 10,000 years old? Why can't it be millions of years old?
Now, before you freak out...let me say this, "THIS IS NOT A SALVATION ISSUE!!!" I am still going to heaven! I still love my Jesus more today than yesterday and less today than tomorrow...I still know who is really in charge in my life, and I have no guilt over what I believe. I hold no remorse for anyone who disagrees with me, but I know, and have experienced, some people who disagree with our family on this issue who really believe we cannot be Christians if we think this way. I think they'll be surprised when they get to heaven that God doesn't judge on how old someone thinks the earth is.
Now, I'm not sure why I went off on that particular tangent...sometimes I'm surprised at what comes out my fingertips when I sit down to journal or write...maybe one of you needed to have that discussion opened up, I dunno. But, there it is...maybe some of you will stop reading because you now think I'm a heathen and anything else I may say can't be encouragement in your walk because I'm messed up with something so controversial. I hope and pray the enemy doesn't win on that one ~ it's one of many arguments that goes on in the Christian Community that makes no sense as to why it's such a dividing line.
Whew, I'm sure soapboxy here...don't mean to be. Sorry 'bout that. I guess I've been gone so long and there's so much going on my head that I just feel the need to do a brain dump.
So here's what's been going on with us at the House of Fozzie...
Caleb & Micah are both still loving school. Caleb is now 8 going on 18. Micah is 5 1/2 going on 15...! I swear...praying parents, pray for us!! It's difficult when you see so much potential in your children, see the waywardness of their sin nature, do what you know how to correct them and raise them to be better than they are...and never want them to question your love for them. Now, don't get me wrong...I have no problem being a "mean mom" when it comes to raising my children to be upstanding citizens both of the US and the Family of God, but there are times I just want to resign. Didn't Barbara Johnson write a book about that once? "Where does a mother go to resign?" So...without details, or any reason for any, just pray. (and yes, in our house the problems we're dealing with are probably "child's play" to the problems in some other houses of children our kids' ages, but in our household they're still ones we won't tolerate.) Thanks for praying.
Scott continues to travel with his position at Hercules. Being District Manager is a blessing and curse all at once. Scott is so great as a manager ~ as his wife I admire how he handles sticky situations with integrity, honesty and a clear head for business...as well as how he encourages and challenges his employees to do better, be better and be good representatives of Hercules. He is well admired, too, by his employees and his colleagues as well as his higher ups. I am blessed to have him as my husband and our boys are blessed to have him as their Dad. More than how he lives his business life, though, he lives his private life with integrity and faith. He is willing to...after some time...acknowledge where he needs to work harder and where he needs to surrender, and that takes courage. I remember when Kim and I were roommates in Norfolk, NE, I found this bumper sticker that we just loved. I think it's still around, but it read, very simply, "real men love Jesus" Scott's a real man.
As for me...I've been busy dealing with stuff God keeps bringing my way. How to live with an Attention-Deficit-Disordered mind and realizing how tremendously food affects it is one. Getting my house in order so I can "re-enter" the world of ministry and activity is two. Learning to pray again is a big one...there was a time when I could literally go through my day in a constant attitude of prayer. I miss that time ~ when at the drop of a hat I could converse with my Lord. I haven't had that in a few years ~ quite a few years. Dealing with physical issues as well as spiritual issues I was beat up and beaten down...and my prayer life showed it the most. I have decided to rejoin our MOMS Leadership team for next year ~ I will also continue to do Rock Solid Worship on Wednesday nights ~ and I've committed to being co-chair for our school's book fairs (which means I'm getting more involved in our PTA) Scott's excited about the last one in particular, although I have his support in all of them, but he's said for a few years now he thinks I should run for school board. I laugh and groan at the same time when he does. :) I'm scared a bit about all of them together, but the way I look at it is this: I'm going where God says "go" and I'll let Him work out the details. It's worked in the rest of my life, why should I think differently now?
Well, since this is already a random post with all sorts of topics under it's umbrella, I'll finish with this one...
I'm currently re-reading Frank Peretti's "This Present Darkness." If you haven't read it, or it's been a while since you have, I strongly urge you to pick it up and read it...again. It is a novel, but it really opens my eyes to what may be possible out there. Anyway, the other night the boys and I were talking about praying before bed. Scott & I pray with them most nights (I'll be honest and say we're not consistent), and I love lifting my kids and family and friends and people God lays on our hearts to the Throne. Re-reading this book is reminding me just how important prayer is in our lives.
So here's a little back-story...a show our family is currently really enjoying is "Battle 360" on the History channel. It's a fascinating show about WWII, and we enjoy watching the latest Tivo'd show on Saturday mornings (and putting it to DVD for a certain WWII buff we know...) With that said, it should be no surprise (and it's not a surprise to other mothers of boys) that boys like to pretend they're soldiers...or warriors...and that they have the ability to defeat the enemy. Our boys are no different, and it was the perfect lead-in for our discussion about prayer.
It happened on Monday of this week. Scott was going to a meeting concerning a rather huge issue he's dealing with at one of the mills they service. I knew this meeting was important, and I called the boys into my office asking them to pray with me for Daddy. Because they were playing and on Spring Break they didn't want to stop. So I explained something to them...praying is like going into battle. That caught their attention. I explained a little more that when we pray we call upon God Almighty and His Warriors to help us. He tells us that He "bends down and listens" to our prayers. I love that picture!! I also explained that when two or more are gathered in His name He is there, too. I let them know that I could pray for Daddy, and it would matter, but that if we all three joined our hearts in prayer for Daddy it would hold that much more weight...kind of like 3 battleships going along with the aircraft carrier as they approach the enemy. Then I asked if they'd go into battle with me....they both said yes and they both prayed with me for Scott's meeting as well as some other family members and friends. It was powerful, but I didn't realize how much of an impact a quick little creative way of explaining prayer would be until a couple of days later...
I was on the treadmill and Scott was getting ready to go another meeting concerning this issue. Micah was there in my room playing a game while I walked, and I asked him if he'd pray with me. He looked up and said, "you need me to go into battle with you, Mom?" I couldn't stop the grin that spread across my face and my heart.
Prayer matters...please know I'm praying for each of you as I write this. I don't know who reads it...I don't know if anyone checks it anymore since it's been so long, but I do know I'm praying that God says something to you in what I've written here. Thanks for stopping by...I need to get some other stuff done now.
Have a great day!
OH! PS: Here's a great picture of my little prayer warriors:
PPS: clicking on the title of this post will bring you to my favorite blog I write ~ Apples of Gold. I hope you visit and find encouragement...
Monday, February 25, 2008
Been gone too long
Wow, time flies when you don't have internet access! UGH!
Christmas has come and past...
My Mom & Dad were here so we got to share the Holidays with them ~ what a treat! I rarely get to see my family, so it's always a blessing when we're able to be together. We even got to celebrate our 10th Anniversary with them! YEAAAA!!!
And, as we're all well aware since it's the last week in February, we've entered into 2008. I have a motto for 2008 ~ "Good to Great in 2008!" So far I have to say our family and our lives are living up to that motto. It's such a great feeling. Seriously. It seemed like there was never going to be a light at the end of the tunnel as far as relationships and health issues and the stress of life was going. Something happened when we turned that calendar page, though, and I am so very thankful for God's amazing grace in our lives. I know it's Him...He's doing a good work in us (all of us), and we can do nothing but thank Him for His unending grace and mercy.
Something new we're doing is that Scott and I are going through Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University together. Although we've been virtually debt free since we moved from California it is so good to be in a class that is taking the stress of our financial decisions off the "you want to control me" and "you just want to believe money grows on trees" arguments and puts it square on the shoulders of God's Word and sound financial teaching. The other good thing is that I'm seeing it start to give Scott a peace about how well he has provided for our family. Once again, I am so thankful for the work God is doing in our home.
There's so much that is so much the same, but continually changing ~the boys are growing like weeds (so typical, eh?), and each day I'm more and more excited to see who they're becoming. Yesterday I was going to go on a bike ride with Caleb and Micah was going to ride his scooter so we were getting ready to go and finishing up our conversation with Mama & Papa T and all of the sudden Micah is on the ground truly crying. Calmly I bring him into the bathroom to clean up his finger only to find out that he has sliced it open pretty seriously. (When you can see the puffy little white fatty tissues....it's time to get some professional help.) So we head to the urgent care and he gets 2 stitches in his little pinky. Now, Micah is the kind of kid who does not like to do something that isn't his decision to do. So, when the Dr told him what he was going to do Micah tended to freak out a bit...until they completely numbed his finger and THEN he couldn't take his eyes off the Dr stitching him up. It was amazing. he was such a trooper! And Caleb was so good about understanding that our bike ride would be postponed to another day. (I think getting a new Wii game helped)
so that's what's up with us...what's up with you?
Christmas has come and past...
My Mom & Dad were here so we got to share the Holidays with them ~ what a treat! I rarely get to see my family, so it's always a blessing when we're able to be together. We even got to celebrate our 10th Anniversary with them! YEAAAA!!!
And, as we're all well aware since it's the last week in February, we've entered into 2008. I have a motto for 2008 ~ "Good to Great in 2008!" So far I have to say our family and our lives are living up to that motto. It's such a great feeling. Seriously. It seemed like there was never going to be a light at the end of the tunnel as far as relationships and health issues and the stress of life was going. Something happened when we turned that calendar page, though, and I am so very thankful for God's amazing grace in our lives. I know it's Him...He's doing a good work in us (all of us), and we can do nothing but thank Him for His unending grace and mercy.
Something new we're doing is that Scott and I are going through Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University together. Although we've been virtually debt free since we moved from California it is so good to be in a class that is taking the stress of our financial decisions off the "you want to control me" and "you just want to believe money grows on trees" arguments and puts it square on the shoulders of God's Word and sound financial teaching. The other good thing is that I'm seeing it start to give Scott a peace about how well he has provided for our family. Once again, I am so thankful for the work God is doing in our home.
There's so much that is so much the same, but continually changing ~the boys are growing like weeds (so typical, eh?), and each day I'm more and more excited to see who they're becoming. Yesterday I was going to go on a bike ride with Caleb and Micah was going to ride his scooter so we were getting ready to go and finishing up our conversation with Mama & Papa T and all of the sudden Micah is on the ground truly crying. Calmly I bring him into the bathroom to clean up his finger only to find out that he has sliced it open pretty seriously. (When you can see the puffy little white fatty tissues....it's time to get some professional help.) So we head to the urgent care and he gets 2 stitches in his little pinky. Now, Micah is the kind of kid who does not like to do something that isn't his decision to do. So, when the Dr told him what he was going to do Micah tended to freak out a bit...until they completely numbed his finger and THEN he couldn't take his eyes off the Dr stitching him up. It was amazing. he was such a trooper! And Caleb was so good about understanding that our bike ride would be postponed to another day. (I think getting a new Wii game helped)
so that's what's up with us...what's up with you?