Not according to our schedule

You know when you read something so many times that you can only assume God is trying to get your attention? Well, this was another one of those reads.

I can't help, but be amazed at the tools God uses to grab our attention. It's so amazing!

So, if any of you have had a certain "plan" for your life, day, week, month, year etc...make sure you are seeking His will because your plans may not be His plans. Or your timing may not be God's timing.

This is why it is so important to immerse yourself in the Word daily. To pray without ceasing as it says in 1 Thessalonians 5:17.

Enjoy the words of wisdom from Dr Charles Stanley (In Touch Daily Devotional)

Following God's Schedule ~ Psalm 25:1-5

Waiting on God so we can discover His will is an essential discipline of the Christian life. Once we learn His plan, we must be careful to implement it in His time frame.

Following the Lord's schedule is always to our benefit because of His...

• All-encompassing knowledge. Unlike us, the Father has complete awareness about our world and the details of every individual life--past, present, and future. (Acts 17:26).
• Complete wisdom. The Lord understands man's every motive (1 Chron. 28:9) and acts accordingly. Our decision making is flawed since we cannot clearly discern people's intentions. We make choices based on partial information, but God has the wisdom to properly interpret the facts and then take action based on truth (Rom. 11:33). He never makes a mistake.
• Unending love. Through His Son, the Father offers us unconditional love. By sending Jesus to die in our place, God proved the depth of His everlasting love (1 John 4:10). He always has our best interest at heart.
• Perfect sufficiency. The Lord offers us all the resources we need to carry out His plan--wisdom, strength, and skill (2 Peter 1:3).

Adhering to God's timetable requires both faith and courage. We must believe that He knows how we should live, trust that His plan is right, and have the determination to wait until He gives a signal to proceed. Those who follow the Lord's schedule will experience the blessing of watching Him work things together for their gain and His glory.

I need your help...pretty please

For those of you who were not aware, I am planning on homeschooling our children.

This is a decision that we didn't make lightly and I'm not looking for any ideas of whether I should or not.

A year and a half ago teaching our children was a thought, but not one I was prepared for. God clearly had other plans, and He made those known to me in a significant way. He's pretty awesome like that, huh?

Now comes the fun part: the name. Like, the name of our school. What should we call our little school?

I asked Mike and we've come up with two so far. It has to be something easy to remember, but with meaning behind it as well.

This is where you can help. What are your ideas? Please keep in mind our faith and the God we honor, love and serve.

The floor is now yours. Please leave a comment with a name that we may choose.

We'll narrow it down and then decide on the one we like the best.

Bring on the ideas......

The child that does not sleep

This is a tale of a little girl.

This little girl is a delight to her parents. She is beautiful, imaginative, bright and loving. She also has an endless amount of energy.

After being tucked into bed, prayers said, hugs and kisses given the mama gave one last instruction, "Now, you need to stay in your room and go to sleep."

"Okay." said the little girl.

Mama knew full well she would not sleep, she never does.

On her second trip out the mama asked what she was doing.

The little girl answered, "I have to go potty, mom."

It was then that the mama noticed the little girl was fully dressed!

"Why are you dressed, lovebug?" the mama asked.

"So, I'm ready in the morning." Of course. What else would the reason be?

See, this little girl is excited because we're going to pick up her friend tomorrow for a playdate.

She is dressed and ready to go.

The End

5 days

That's how long it's been since I posted. Normally I like to keep up with one a day or at least every other, and if I think I'll be busy then I'll pre-post.

This week...not so much.

There really isn't a rhyme or reason to it, I guess. Maybe it was the busyness of children, work and life. Maybe it was the fact that I'm on this 7 day detox food program and it messed with my thinking. Really. It did.

Either way, I think I'm back. At least, I hope I am. *grin*

It's been an interesting, fun filled, busy week which started on Monday with my fast. Water only. That was rough. Tuesday was really hard too because I could only eat certain things. Then came Wednesday...MUCH easier! Seriously. Just getting over the first two days was rough. After that I found I had a ton more willpower than I thought.

What prompted my detox diet was the need to start from scratch with my eating habits. I had been slipping into the deep, dark carb abyss and I needed, desperately, to get out. This was a very healthy alternative to all the other things that don't work. So, here I am.

I'm still keeping up on my running so we'll see how I far come Sunday.

Anyway, that was all I had for now. I have need to go organize my desk. Or at least try.

Farmers market tonight. Maybe I'll find some interesting teas that I can drink on Monday!

Alter ego's

Do you remember being little and wishing you could turn into that one, really cool person you always admired? Or wanting to have an awesome power, like flying?

I was that little girl who wanted to be Wonder Woman. Only I wanted Superman's ability to fly. So, if I could have put together the perfect super hero it would have been Super Wonder Woman!




I never could figure out she didn't fall out of her top though. Must have been some major duct tape!

My brother and I used to "play" Wonder Woman all the time too. I had a cape (it was green), we would put on our bullet deflecting bracelets (the plastic things that came off of milk jugs) and we would lasso each other to make us tell the truth. About what, I have no clue, but it was fun anyway!

We would watch the show faithfully too. At 3:59pm we knew we could turn on the TV. I still think of it every time I see 3:59.

Fast forward to present day. I still like Wonder Woman. I bought the first season of the show on DVD. My mom bought me the second season as a gift. I will buy myself the third season (if I don't get it as a gift first). I love them. I still wish I could fly, but now realize I would not be able to wear WW outfit and still be able to chase children. Maybe some day in my old age I'll give it a whirl.

Another thing I also remember from my time as a youngster was my mom's very boring habit of watching cooking shows. Completely boring to a child. Why in the world do I need to know how to properly cook a brisket or make the meringue perfectly peaked? I had no use for that info.

We always knew that if we asked mom if we could watch a show and she caught her show first...we were doomed! If she saw Julia Child before we got to our show we knew we would have to endure a half hour of "kitchen talk".

Now, combine the two subjects, along with the title of my post and you have....

Julia Child...US Spy

She pried the info out of people with tempting, tasty treats...now if only I had known that when I was a child.

I may have thought she was more interesting!

Of course, now I am guilty of the same thing my mom was. Finding a cooking show before finding a kid show.

My kids will say, "Have you found our show yet?"

I'll answer, "Not yet honey...wow...look at that..perfect meringue peaks!"

My amazing find

Last Sunday, on the way home from church I saw a man putting these really cute red and blue chairs on the side of the road. I was hoping they weren't being thrown away...maybe he'll put a "free" sign on them.

Mike happily turned around after listening to me exclaim how cute and awesome those were, and how great they would go with the table I asked him to build for the kids!

As we pull up I see they're placed with the trash! So, I ask the gentleman if the chairs are free or if he's trying to sell them (silly question, I know). He says they are free, they came from his mothers nursery school, and I can have as many as I want!!!!

So, I load up two red chairs and two blue chairs into the back of the van!

Check them out....


Aren't they perfect?! Mike said he would be happy to make them a crafty table, but for now we're using our round coffee table. That works perfectly, as you can see!

Protecting your parenting rights

This is something that caught my attention today.

First, watch the short video with the father of this 7 year old boy.



Now watch the video from a headline news show...



It seems that our parental rights are slowly being stripped from us. We don't seem to know how to teach our own children, so they say. The government is putting their hands into family lives that they have no business being part of. The government thinks they know what our small children should be learning (see this article for proof of that. Hit "next program" to read the next part of the interview).

It is so important for us, as parents, to be so involved in our children's lives that we know what they are being taught in every situation. Another area we need to be careful of is making sure we have open lines of communication with our children. Making sure we speak with them openly about how God wants us to live or lives. As parents, we have a God given responsibility to teach and train our children the difference between right and wrong. Not the way the world sees it, but the way God sees it. We need to be their primary teacher and example on how to live their life!

This doesn't mean we shun people because of their background, lifestyle or past/present choices. It does mean that we are to be a light, a witness to these people. Praying for them constantly in hopes they will give their lives to Christ and turn from their sinful lifestyle. This doesn't mean we condone their behavior at all. This just means that we are a witness for Christ. Lovingly and gently counseling them and teaching them the correct way to live.

This is just one of the things I've been thinking about today. I wrote it how I thought it. Definitely not "perfect" in anyway...just from the prayerful heart of a mom!

My apologies...

I'm apologizing in advance for the next few days of posting.

My mind seems to be all over the place recently. Different thoughts, different ideas...so, don't be surprised to find a variety of topics in my daily blogging. Sometimes I read something that is encouraging and other times I read something that is informational. I may share all of it, some of it, or none of it...we shall see!

With that being said...

I'm all about looking at the positive side of things. Most days I do ok...some days I don't (those are the days I'm really tired!), but overall, I try to think of something good in every situation.

This article was great because it puts a positive spin on the rising gas prices! If anyone can put a smile on our face while were pumping gas at $4.00 a gallon...it's worth blogging about!!!

Weekday adventures

My mom, step dad and two of my sisters rented a house on a lake this past week. So, I get a call on Wednesday and it was my youngest sister telling me I should come up that night and stay over until Thursday. Sounded great!

After getting the ok to take Thursday off of work I get the kids bathed, fed, bags packed, movies for the ride (since it was a 2 1/2 hour drive), sleeping bags, pillows, blankets, and beach stuff and pack it all into the van. Ready!

We leave at 6:45pm, make 2 quick stops and then are on the road. It was a loooooooong drive!

We finally get to the house at 9:20pm and we're all pretty tired. By this point the kids are past sleepy and into over tired, but they are hungry so we figure food is good. My mom tries to convince me that Cocoa Puffs are a great idea to feed the kids (she has a hard time saying "no" to them...I don't). I convince her that isn't the best option and they can have Special K or something else, but it has to be healthy! They choose Special K.

Finally, I get the kids ready for bed and we go lay down. By this time it's 11:00pm and I just a wee bit tired. I love that word "wee". Anyway, after saying our prayers and me singing songs they finally fall asleep. So, then I shower and get ready for bed.

All is going well until my sisters start laughing. By this time it's 12:00am...way past my bedtime! I'm already lacking sleep due to bad dreams (that's another post for another day). Then they whip out the camera and it's all over from there.


Of course my camera comes out and we start snapping away. They were scary, sleepy, silly pictures...and my sister, Kelsey, told me they will be locked in a vault never to be seen by any human...ever...under penalty of blackmail (they have pretty horrible pictures of me too...very embarrassing). Moving on....

The next day we were a bit on the grumpy side.

We were tired, my kids were cranky, but we made it through breakfast with a few smiles.

Ok, so I was alone in the smile department for this picture

Kelsey and Kaileah took Afton kayaking a little bit later.

They came back 10 minutes later because it was misting harder than it had been.

The kids were still a bit testy so we put them in their swimsuits and life jackets.

(Don't they look so miserable?)

We decided to to swimming. It was 55 degrees out, grey and misty. It was lots of fun though!

The kids played in the sand with all the toys


We went swimming
(Caleb, me and my Mom)
Kelsey nailed me in the head with mud!


Good times!

After we got back to the house we put on dry clothes and had hot chocolate and lunch. Then the kids went upstairs for their movie and quiet time. I sat with my coffee and downloaded all the pictures I could from my sister and moms memory cards.

After that I packed up the van and got us ready to go home.

The trip home wasn't has bad, probably because it was brighter and I wasn't driving when I'm usually in bed! Makes a difference.

The kids, of course, were exhausted.

Caleb fell asleep 40 minutes into our 2 1/2 hour ride home.

Afton made it 1 1/2 hours.

Sleeping beauties!

Starbucks signs lured me off the highway twice only to fool me into driving for what seemed like miles, then I had to turn around and get back on the highway...with no coffee to show for it! They like to do that, you know! Tease. I cried.

Finally, we get home. I looked back on the past 24 hours and thought, "This was fun." I'm glad we went. The kids had fun. Mama didn't get the time she hoped for, but I have a lot of funny pictures instead. All in all...good times were had by all!

Fun stuff from last Sunday

This past week has been so busy that I'm just getting to the pictures from Sunday.

My hubby's parents rented a cottage on the lake for a week so on Sunday we went up to visit, hang out and eat.

The girls were also going to be staying over for a few nights which they were very excited about!

So, I have some pictures for your viewing pleasure! It was nice to relax, swim, eat and read on a Sunday afternoon at the lake.

Enjoy!

Just another reason to love Starbucks!

I found something really cool on Starbucks.com. It was a "design your own Starbucks card"

program thingy.

Of course, I couldn't resist so I made a few up.

I played with the designs, prints and patterns. Then I chose my wording.

That was the easiest to figure out.

I was also able to use the remaining balance from a generic
gift card to pay for it. Kinda cool!

So, I figured, "Why not?".

Then came the difficult task of choosing the design I like the best.

That was a bit harder.

It was nearly impossible...the options were endless...I love the color orange...

I finally settled on one...(not orange. Crazy, I know)


I have to say I love my new card. Even better, I went to Starbucks tonight
and the barrista loved my card too!

The Chapman Family

Some of you may remember hearing about the death of Maria Chapman, daughter of Mary Beth & Steven Curtis Chapman.

This past Thursday, Good Morning America ran Robin Roberts' exclusive interview with the family.

You can view that here.

Just like Mary Beth stated...the heart of a mom wants her children back...I can't imagine the grief and pain they must still be feeling 3 months after the accident!

Just continue to keep them in your prayers...

(Edited after to add the video from YouTube. I added the video to this post so you wouldn't have to click a link and exit my blog. The link above is a clearer, albeit smaller picture)

Sundae for breakfast

I was reading something that arrived in my inbox today. It was one of those newsletter email things you sign up to receive. Most of the time I don't like those because I get way too much email in my inbox. Mostly from third parties. This one seemed good so I put in my email address.

Today I received an email and it was giving helpful hints on things to do with kids, getting up in the morning and breakfast. I especially like this one because of it's "dessert appeal" for kids and "health appeal" for moms!

I'm always up for making things fun, interesting and healthy so I thought I would share. It sounded so good I'm going to try it too!

I'm taking you back.....

...to when you went to the arcade and played Pac Man for hours! How much fun was that?!



Well, today you're in luck! I am giving you permission to take a 10 minute break from whatever you are doing, get your fingers primed and ready and then get your tail over to this site to play a bit 'o PM until you've "eaten" all the blue ghosties you can!

You won't regret it, I promise!

Now if only I could fit this in my house I would be a happy camper.....

Ask for directions

(This is another one from In Touch)

Even as a Christian it's easy to think we know the way we're supposed to go. However, if we aren't in tune to what God wants for our lives we could be going in the wrong direction. How much more dangerous is this for someone who does not have a personal, life changing relationship with God?

Titus 3:5: "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us..."

We are saved by God's grace and mercy, not by anything we've done or will do. All the material possessions we have are nothing in comparison to eternal life. Where are we laying up our treasures? What do we hold dear? Are they truly that important in light of what God desires from us?

Weekend: August 2-3, 2008
The Self-Directed Man
Luke 12:16-21

Surely you've heard the old stereotype about men never wanting to stop and ask for directions. That's probably more true than we'd like to admit, but it isn't just males who are guilty. The world is full of both men and women, all driving full steam ahead, never wanting to stop or even slow down to ask for guidance.

If you were to look at this through spiritual lenses, you'd see a world of lost, hopeless souls trying to save themselves. They think they can somehow earn their way to heaven through good deeds and hard work. They assume it's possible to accomplish this on their own. They're wrong.

As you read through Luke 12:16-21 today, stop to count the number of times the "rich fool," as he is known, says the words "I," "my," and "myself." It's a sad picture of the self-directed man, trying to make his own way and secure his own future with no help from anyone--including God.

The Lord does not mince words with this man. Entering the scene in verse 20, God immediately calls him a fool! Don't miss the severity in the condemnation. By relying solely on his own short-sighted selfishness and pride, this man left nothing behind at the end of his life--except a pile of grain.

The message for us today is that, when we strike off on our own and initiate actions with no thought of God, we are behaving like fools. The Lord has a plan for your life. He knows where you'll succeed and where you'll fail. Trust Him to provide the direction you need.

Please help make Nate bald!

First, check out this blog post Confessions Of A CF Husband: CFHusband Goes Bald

Second, please consider donating to his cause. Not only to watch him shave his head live on the internet, but for his wife, Tricia, and brother in law, Jeff.

Third, continue to pray for Tricia's recovery and for the treatments to work.

Our God is so awesome! Please pray for the many lives that have already been touched by Nate and Tricia's story, and for the lives they will touch with the money they have raised in search of a cure for CF.

Friday Funny

For all you moms out there with vans or cars that are in need of a vacuum (mine being one of them)...this ones for you!

Sorry about the low quality, but if you click on the picture it will be enlarged. Then you can read and laugh!

(Disclaimer: I don't recommend trying this at home unless you have a husband with a strong stomach and is able to take a joke..this one being on him!)