Journey With The Lord

Stolen

2012-01-30T10:41:00.000-06:00

Anyone who knows me probably knows about my love of photography. This has been the case since I was in high school. I always had a camera with me. This has never changed. Over the years, I had always wanted a camera that would take nice pictures, especially at a distance and action ones since my kids are all in sports. So, I began saving. I would get gift cards for birthdays and holidays and I saved them for a few years actually. Finally, I had enough money to get a nice camera. We waited for the one I wanted to go on sale and off we were. It took me a few months to learn how to use it but I loved it. It even took great video! Perfect!

The worst thing for me was getting my photos uploaded. The high resolution and video took a long time to upload. I had set my camera at the computer desk for upload. Two days later I'm getting ready to leave for one of Kenzie's cheer comps and I can't find my camera. Everyone says it was at the computer desk. My kids all know that they are not allowed to use my camera without asking. The camera is nowhere to be found.

Dave puts two and two together and realizes that one of our kids had a new friend over and could it be that she took it? After a talk with our daughter it seems that this friend was admiring the camera and asking about it. She actually was sitting at the computer desk by herself right before she left. My camera is gone. I was actually so upset I was in tears.

Unfortunately this girl denies taking it and when asked about it she asked "what camera? what does it look like?" Very sad. Typing about this makes me sick. We did file a police report but little can be done.

Fast forward to yesterday. Our sermon was on Generosity. The scripture we references was Matthew 6:19-21 “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be."

What spoke to me was that my camera was my treasure. Maybe too much of a treasure. I have had a hard time reconciling this in my mind since I don't see what is so bad about loving to take pictures. But it was my love for my camera that was the problem, not the love of taking pictures. This is the problem with storing up treasures here on earth. Just as this scripture says, "thieves break in and steal". Even people you welcome into your home. This was a lesson for our daughter but also for me. A lesson for her on what kind of friends she's choosing and the importance of knowing some one's character. The lesson for me - knowing my heart and my character.

My treasure needs to be focused on it's eternal value. While I'm sad about my camera being gone, I am blessed because both of our parents have borrowed us their cameras. While I was reminded at the last competition of why I loved MY camera...I was also reminded why I love our PARENTS! We are blessed. We have friends and family who we love. And we have a God who loves us enough that He gave us His Word to show us the way.

Lord, search my heart. Where am I valuing treasures here more than heavenly treasures? Show me.

Where is your heart? And as our pastor asked us yesterday...what are you putting in your cart?

There are times when...

2012-01-27T17:47:00.000-06:00

I feel inadequate.
I feel like a failure.
I feel like I'm spinning my wheels.
I feel hopeless.
I feel like I'm losing the battle.

You see I'm a parent. I make mistakes. ALL the time! I say something when I meant to just listen. I say the wrong thing. I do the wrong thing. I'm too protective. I'm too lenient. I'm far from perfect that is for sure. So, what's a mom to do? Well, I don't feel like this ALL the time. But there are times when I do. Do you?

I think parenting a teenager is the most difficult time. It's a time when they are trying to spread their wings. They're trying to prove that know everything...including what is best for them. They want to make their own mistakes. That's what my teen says to me "mom...you need to let me learn by making my own mistakes." Wow...what words. But it's hard to let her do that when I know that she will likely get hurt or that there will be a bad outcome. I'm not talking about stuff that's dangerous. Just stuff that I want to save her heartache or negative consequences from. The stuff that's questionable. There are just times when parenting is hard.

I would do anything for my children. Sometimes that includes making decisions for them that they don't like. But every decision I make is because I want what is best for them. Well...I should say that it is my intention that every decision I make is for that reason. Although I know that every decision I make for them is not always the best. You see...that is because I am not perfect. I count on help from my Heavenly Father. There are days when I have to give them to Him and ask for Him to guide and lead them.

Matthew 19:13-15 One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could lay his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him. 14 But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.” ¹⁵ And he placed his hands on their heads and blessed them before he left.

Oh no...

2012-01-20T13:53:00.000-06:00

It's been a month since I've posted. I have many posts that I've started just no time to finish. Hmmm...maybe stick to ONE post and finish that FIRST! I have lots of pics to share. I'm in full swing finishing up my third developement plan of Potter's Wheel. God is showing me so many new things. I am spending so much time studying that I have little time to blog.

I am also getting ready to start another 30 or 60 day challenge. I'm thinking 60 days would be best to keep my on my toes. :) I need to get on both of my feet first though. I had surgery 2 weeks ago and have 3 days left in a boot. I had a Ganglion Cyst removed from the top of my foot. No biggie...just a pain-in-my-foot to get around. Do you know that Ganglion Cysts are also known as Bible Cysts? The reason behind the name...back in the olden days...they would take the heaviest book and smash it. OUCH! I would have a bit of a problem as I think I would've crushed the bones in my foot! So...we used newer medical technology and had it removed! lol! 3 more days and then I'll be back at the club. Can't wait!

I have a new incentive...my 25th Class Reunion is this summer! I can't believe that! Do I feel old. Actually, what really makes me feel old...my daughter is engaged! We'll be planning a wedding. Yikes! Don't even talk about what comes next.

The kids are just growing up way too fast. Here they are...

How my heart aches for each of them.

In a good way.

In a scary way.

I want the best for them.

I want to leave a legacy for my children. An inheritance from the Lord.

As I was reading Psalm 17 it came upon me.

May my children always have plenty

and one day my grandchildren and their grandchildren's children...

May I continue to seek after you.

For man is not my judge...you are.

May I only hunger after and follow you.

Psalm 17:14

By the power of your hand, O LORD,

destroy those who look to this world for their reward.

But satisfy the hunger of your treasured ones.

May their children have plenty,

leaving an inheritance for their descendants.

It's been too long

2011-12-21T16:30:00.000-06:00

I can't believe it's been a month since I've posted! I have several posts I've started over the past few months...oh who am I kidding...I have about 60 posts that I've started and that are still drafts. Although only a few of them were written in the past two months.

Once again I will not be getting my Christmas cards out. :( Life is just too busy and I need to let the guilt go! What I will do again is put up a blog post to sum up our year. Wait...did I do that last year? Hmmmm...it may have been a few years ago since I even did that. Oh well!

We're fully into the swing of things here. Working at a church means this is the busiest time of year indeed. Hailey was a part of four concerts last weekend. She sang in the children's choir with the MN Orchestra. What an experience and she did such a great job! Now we're getting ready for the Christmas Eve Services. There'll be live animals including the camels, donkey, goats, chickens, ducks, and more! It's quite an experience and if you can make it to one of the nine services, you won't be disappointed.

Here are some pictures from last Christmas Eve

As I sit here and type the snow is falling. Will we have a white Christmas after all?

Looking back

2011-11-21T10:00:00.000-06:00

I really do love fall.

Not as much as I love spring and summer though.

I especially love fall

when the leaves are turning colors

AND

you can still wear these:

I love walks along tree lines

Bright sunny days...

Looking for frogs...

...or just taking a rest

I love fall...

...and my family too.

No ax needed!

2011-11-20T20:34:00.001-06:00

Well, I am not a hunter.

But my husband is. He loves hunting.

We were at the cabin and him and my son were about to go grouse hunting.

My hubby asked me a couple of times if I wanted to go.

No...no thanks honey...I replied. You go ahead.

Well, after the second time I finally said...ok...just for a bit.

My youngest said she would go too. I figured it would be good to get some exercise.

So...off we all go!

We're walking and walking and listening and walking and watching and walking...

All I can say....BORING! ha, ha!

So, finally Dave says...shhhhh...and puts his hand back at us. That's code for...you stay back here.

My son is super excited...I turn on the video...you know...just in case. :)

Watch to see what happens.

BWAHAHAHAHA!!!

If you didn't notice...you can actually see the grouse jump up in the lower left part of the screen.

We never did find the bird.

But he did manage to ~~cut~~ shoot a tree down!

Too funny!

It took him a while to figure out where that tree came from because as you might've noticed in the video...he was too busy watching for the bird. :)

Oh....like I said...no ax needed.

Just get out the shot gun.

Of course he would want me to tell you that it was the first time he ever fired his dads automatic. ;)

I love my son's reaction in the background.

Good memories...

Teenagers

2011-11-18T13:44:00.000-06:00

I think parenting a teen is the most difficult stage of raising kids! I'm on my second teenager and have two to go. I can't say that I learned too much from the first one because they are two very different girls. The only thing they have in common is their beauty!

Otherwise, they're day and night.

Their personalities, their interests...all different!

Hormones, high school, and all that comes with it.

If you've read any of my parenting page at the top of my blog, you'll know that I've already said that I am NO expert! I'm just plugging away trying to figure it out. I'm trying to be the mom I was created to be. I'm trying to give each of my kids the best life I can. It's trial and error in many cases. What works for one child doesn't work for another child.

Although the one error proof thing is LOVE.

They all need love.

The one thing I think of when I think of the things I wish I would've done more of is give each of them my love. I'm not just talking about telling them I love them. I'm talking about loving them. Loving them in their love language. Does it do any good to speak to someone in English if they don't speak English? No. We need to speak to people in the language they understand. Same goes with the way we love our kids.

Each of them has their own love language. Just like we do. There is a certain way that we feel loved the most. If you don't know your love language or the love language of your spouse, I highly recommend "The Five Love Languages" by Gary Chapman. Because kids can't necessarily tell us what their love language is, we may have to do some work to figure it out. There is also a book called The Five Love Languages of Children. If you click on those links it will tell you about assessments and other stuff.

I'm recommitting to myself that I am going to take time to discover each of my kid's love languages. I find that at this time, specifically with my teenager, it's a little more difficult to reach her at times. So...all the more important to speak her language. Sometimes it seems as though there's a lot of "static" on the line and communication gets broken up.

No matter if I'm trying to love my 8 year old, my 10 year old, my 14 year old, or my 21 year old...they all have a special way they feel loved the most. It's my job to seek and find.

When we have a heart connection with our kids, they are more receptive to what we have to say. When our heart connection is amiss, they're harder to reach.

One thing is for sure...you can't go wrong by simply listening to your children. That much I am definitely learning.

My goal I'll be focusing on:
Less talking and more listening.

I'm so thankful for the blessing of my four children!

Do you hear the whispers?

2011-10-09T20:25:00.005-05:00

Ok...so I decided to look through all of my drafts. I have 49 posts that I have either written or started to write but have yet to publish. I'm not sure if this one was done or not, but I wrote it exactly one year ago. Now I have 48 posts unpublished.

-----------------------------

When you are in the midst of a crisis, what do you hear? What do you see? What do you feel? I was listening to Pastor Bill Johnson (Bethel Church) at a conference the other night (actually...last year :). I just love listening to him. He is so thought provoking!

Often times when we are in the midst of a trial, it's hard to know what God is doing or saying. Dave and I have been through some pretty tough trials over the past 3 years. Of course, not that tough when I think of what some of our friends have gone through. And I do keep that into perspective. Friends have lost children and friends are fighting for their own lives. So, when I say we been through trials, they are nothing in comparison with that. But when we've gone through our trials, there are times when we have complete peace. We were going through a tough time, but we knew what we were doing and that it was God's will for us. We were being obedient and we really were ok with it. At that time we both spent a lot of time on our faces. We both spent a lot of time seeking God's face too. I would say that is why we had peace through it all. The kind of peace that surpasses understanding.

That would bring me to Bill's comments about this. He was talking about how we need to focus on the heavens. God says to pray for "thy Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven". What does that look like? All of us should be developing a focus from the open heavens. How is that developed? Through a relationship through the holy spirit. But it can't just be in church during worship. It has to be developed when there’s no pressure to perform. If we only develop the relationship through ministry, we have become professional intimates. Hmmm...that's a thought.

When we’re facing a crisis, it’s hard to hear if you don’t know His heart beat. In the loudest conflict, usually he's whispering. So, we need to be in tune with God. We need to know His will for our lives. If we spend enough time with Him, we will know this.

Defining Moments

2011-09-16T11:09:00.000-05:00

Someone posted a status update about defining moments a while back. I was drawn to the post but more than that the thoughts about those moments. What are the defining moments in my life? Moments that have defined who I am? Those could be good or bad moments. When I look back and try to remember those moments I realize that it's not the actual moment that defines me but rather how I choose to react to that moment. And as I sit here and try to think of them, most of them have been the tough times.

With the exception of the big events such as having my children and getting married...absolutely...those moments changed me FOREVER! But they changed me in different ways. I mean I went from being a girl to a mom. From being single to being married - being alone to becoming one with Dave. From being a parent of one to a parent of two...three...and four. But in the midst of those children were losses as well. While I had four children, I also had 3 miscarriages. Those were tough moments. Those changed me too.

I guess what I'm realizing is that in the tough times is where the biggest character refining happens. When things are good and all is well...there's just not much change that happens. At least not for me. I mean why would anything need to change if all is well? Maybe I'm not thinking through that all the way, but it seems to me that if things are going good and working out well for me...why would I need to work on my character?

Take my marriage for example. When things are going well, we just continue on as status quo. When something happens and we disagree on something or a bubble rises to the surface, we then have to deal with it. Well, I guess we don't have to deal with it but we usually choose to. We may argue at first or not...it depends on what it is. But eventually we come to a place where we have a good long discussion. There may be tears or maybe not. BUT when we choose to deal with the issue at hand we ALWAYS come out stronger and better for it. We peel off a layer and get a look into the other's heart even deeper. We have more understanding for each other. I guess what I'm saying is that when there is a conflict it seems as though those are defining moments in our marriage where we end up going deeper with each other. It's like we take another step and get even closer to each other. We've been through some pretty tough painful times in our lives together and when I look back at those...what I see is two people who have opened up and been willing to allow God to change us. And because of that we have come out stronger. Not only as a couple but individually.

So, while I love all the good times we share, I really think that our intimacy grows more through the tough times. The good times are great because we have laughter and they're fun. Thankfully those are way more often than the tough times. But in those tough times, our love has grown stronger and deeper. For many marriages I know that this is not the case. The tough times end up destroying a marriage. That is why I say that it is not the actual moment that defines who you are and where you go but rather the way you react to it. How you choose to handle that defining moment really does make a difference.

I can also relate this to my other relationships. At times where I've had difficult moments with friends or family members, it is not the incident or the moment that has defined our relationship but rather how we've handled that moment. When you love someone it can be hard to deal with things from time to time. Sometimes there are things that you can just let go and maybe sweep under the carpet, but when you choose to deal with the thing and you handle it with love, I've found that the relationship moves to a deeper level. Is it always easy? No! In fact, it's usually really difficult. But once I'm through it I see the closeness shared and I'm thankful for it.

Our pastor has said this from time to time "God is more concerned with our character than our comfort." So when I'm going through a tough time I need to figure out where my character needs to be refined. The past year has been a year of refining. Entering the Potter's Wheel program was a defining moment for me. To choose this path was not an easy decision. I wasn't just signing up for a "program". I was signing up to having my character refined. I was signing up to allow God to mold and shape me more than ever before. I have put myself on the Potter's Wheel. I wrote a post about this a while back.

Over the next few months I'll be studying more in depth about Honor, Humility, and Holiness. I can't imagine what's in store for me but I'm sure there will be many defining moments. I hope to share more along the way.

I pray that whatever you are going through right now that it is a defining moment that will change and shape you for the better.

Bless you!

Until it comes again

2011-09-07T23:28:00.000-05:00

You know summer is coming to an end when you can turn your a/c off, you have windows open and actually look for the blanket in the middle of the night, when the bees are out in full force, and of course when the kids are back to school.

No...I don't have the photos uploaded from their first day of school. Which by the way...took some extra coaxing from my freshman. I practically had to chase her down as she scurried out of the house 10 minutes earlier than she needed without so much as a good-bye! Geez! I did get the picture with a "mom...hurry up!". Teenagers! :)

Although I'm sad to see summer coming to an end, I am looking forward to a few things about fall. Things such as a new routine, honey crisp apples (YUM!), bon fires, beautiful leaves, and cool nights. Notice how I didn't say cold. Warm days with cool nights.

Saying good-bye to summer means saying hello to fall. Just like we've said good-bye to middle school and hello to high school. I can't believe that! Although I know that she's excited about high school, so I'm trying to be excited for her. Nah...I really am excited...most of the time. ;) A new adventure for her, my second born.

So far so good with the kids and their teachers. My bean said that she has the nicest best teacher ever! That makes me smile. My son...well...the verdict is out. About what I got out of him was...boring. I'm pretty sure he'd rather be up at the cabin doing stuff like catching frogs, fishing, and having bon fires. Well...maybe we can still do the latter of them all. I do love fall. Right after summer and spring, but before winter.

I don't think it's good to stay stagnant anyways. Change is good. So...for now I say until next year summer! I enjoyed you while you were here, even if it was only for what seemed to feel like a few hours! I'm excited to see what this fall will bring. I pray that you have something to look forward to as well.

Ecclesiastes 3:1
For everything there is a season,
a time for every activity under heaven.

Sometimes I wonder

2011-09-01T08:00:00.000-05:00

I wonder why I do things I don't want to do.

I wonder why I don't do things that I want to do.

I wonder why I continue to make some of the same mistakes over and over again.

I wonder why I say yes to something when I wanted to say no.

I wonder why I said no to something when I could've said yes.

I wonder why I don't get to the very things that matter most to me.

I wonder why I waste my time doing one thing when I should do another.

I wonder why about a lot of things.

Sometimes I wonder why I am blessed with an amazing husband, 4 beautiful children, great family and friends, a great job, and a God who loves me unconditionally! Thank you Lord!

Psalm 145:3 Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness.

I'm afraid

2011-08-27T08:00:00.001-05:00

of heights.

So this freaks me out!

Yep...that's my teenager

soon to be high schooler

in the air!

I think my prayer life will be enhanced this year!

I have to trust that she won't fall.

There's actually so much more that I need to trust.

More than good grades.

There's the basics:

good friends

good behavior

no boys :)

Then there are the more serious things:

good friends

good choices

safety!

no boys ;)

protection from predators

protection from bullies

protection from boys!

protection from herself!

You get it!

Most of all though...it is my prayer that she would have a deep sense of awe and love for Christ. That no matter what, she would put Him first. I know that will be tough to do at times. There will be times when she will have to make tough choices. My concern is for her eternal life. Of course, my concern is for her life here as well. I am afraid of heights after all. And the thought of watching other girls through her in the air and catch her is a little terrifying.

I think it's actually good that I'm seeing this for the first time in a picture...

Kenzie is in the top - middle of this pyramid.

One thing is for certain...these girls have been working hard.

This is the side-line team.

This team cheers for football games.

The majority of these girls are also on the Competition Cheer Squad.

They do dances, cheers, and stunts.

Really tough stunts that involves throwing (let's not bring that up again) girls in the air and catching them. This is much like the life of a parent. We train them up and then let them into the world. The difference is that I'm trusting God to catch her!

Kenzie is second row, second from the left.

As for God, his way is perfect.

All the LORD's promises prove true.

He is a shield for all who look to him for protection.

Psalm 18:30

Helping my friends bring their kids home

2011-08-25T09:00:00.002-05:00

Hi all...

My good friends Randy & Marybeth Rolfe are adopting two beautiful children from Ethiopia. You can read their journey on their blog. It has been a long and difficult road. They had filled out their paperwork in the beginning to adopt 2 children. When they got their referal last September it was for a little girl. They've been through two adoption agencies since then as one of the agencies closed right before they were to go to court. God knew all along why things kept happening to the process. Their little girls brother was put up in the orphanage last month. Now they are adopting both of them. It's an amazing story!

The hard part has not only been the waiting, but going to Ethiopia in hopes of bringing them home and instead leaving without them mulitple times. The day is finally near where they can bring them hope. The financial strain of the cost of adoption and then flying back and forth mulitiple times has been challenging. They now need to raise about $4000 for airline tickets to go get them and bring them home.

There are a couple of ways to help. One is to donate to their chip in site. The other way is to bid on some items on FB. You can view the items on my profile page. I think you can view it if you click here. If you would like to donate something, just let me know.

I pray that God will touch the hearts of many through their story and that enough money will be raised to bring them home!

Happy Birthday Kenzie!

2011-08-23T22:48:00.000-05:00

I can't believe she's 14 years old!

My second born that is.

And she starts high school this year.

Wow!

I love this picture of my two oldest girls.

I love how their relationship is growing just like them.

Two beautiful girls...

Two beautiful hearts!

Happy Birthday honey!

I love you so much!

My prayer for you Mackenzie:

Ephesians 3:14-21 When I think of (you Mackenzie), I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your heart as you trust in him. Mackenzie, your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand...how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Amen!

Happy Birthday sweetheart!

Love, Mom

A Day at the Zoo

2011-08-19T09:00:00.002-05:00

Our mother/daughter group went to the Como Zoo a couple of weeks ago.

It was a perfect day!

Beautiful girls!

We spent a long time watching this baby orangutan.

He (or she) was so funny!

Going to mommy and daddy after a long day playing!

The moms

(missing a few of the moms)

Precious Daughters

My teenager and her friend

Bears....

Some of our mother/daughter group

We're raising daughters of the King.

The most precious gift!

I'm thankful a have a group of Godly women to share this journey with!

Campout

2011-08-18T13:31:00.000-05:00

We had our 8th Anual Hosanna! Campout. It was a fun weekend. I put together a little video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1JBdoz7y6E

I love spending time with my friends and family. Although my two oldest daughters were not with us and they were missed. :(

Oh...and this was my first youtube video! ha, ha!

The weight-loss game

2011-07-28T22:34:00.000-05:00

Wanna play?

I sure don't.

I'm tired of playing that game, so I've been doing something different.

A few months ago I decided to join a 30 day get fit. I tried to detox. Detox? What's that? Well, I tried to stop putting all kinds of bad stuff into my body. The deal was this...for 30 days you don't eat gluten, dairy, caffeine, sugar, artificial sweetners, and instead eat organic whole foods. OK...so that's easier said than done. But I did do well for about 2 weeks. I really did start to feel good and have more energy too. I figured there was probably something to be said about all that junk food. A few months ago, I joined a 60 Day Challenge. The challenge...eat more healthy, exercise, and the result = weight loss. This is no diet though. This is everyday decision making.

I didn't do it alone. A few good friends did this with me. And with the help of Arbonne Essentials. Things I've taken out of my everyday diet are coffee and pop. I've cut down on dairy and gluten as well. I do occassionaly treat myself to a cup of coffee or a pop now and then, but on a regular basis it's water or my fizzy tabs. I love Arbonne Fizzy Tabs! Instead of coffee...it's a detox tea. I'm not a tea drinker but it's good for those times when you want something hot. Which with weather like this...that's not too often!

My days go something like this:
Wake up to have a protein shake.
Usually made in the blender with ice, water,
and some kind of fruit. Fresh or frozen.
Today was chocolate banana...YUM!

I try to have salad for lunch.
I like to add tuna or chicken.
Key word: try
What I don't do is stress or get over focused on that.
Today I had a sandwich and an egg roll (thanks to my friend, Lu)

Snacks: fruit and/or vegies, almonds and...
sometimes chocolate!
I also have my Arbonne Chocolate Chews
when I want to be good! :)

Dinner: well this is tough since we're on the run a lot.
Some days are better than others.
My kids love chicken and vegies so we have that quite a bit.
They like grilled chicken seasoned with Tastefully Simple's Seasoned Salt.
Easy and YUMMY!
We will then put vegies and potatoes in tin foil on the grill.

The biggest life change for me...exercise!

I love to work out! Seriously!

Once you get into the habit you get addicted.
I bum out when I can't go.

Lifetime Fitness has great classes.
I also have a great personal trainer.
Although I don't see him very often...but when I do...
he gets me back on track!

I haven't been to the gym since our vacation - bummer!
So...it's back at it for me tomorrow!
Then an afternoon at the pool with my kiddos.

I've lost about 20 pounds so far.
I gained about 4 pounds over vacation though. :(

I am going to start another 30 day fit challenge soon.
I've realized this is a process and it helps to have others
to help encourage and hold me accountable.
Plus...I love getting recipe ideas from others!

I loved the Arbonne products so much that I decided to become a consultant.
Not that I have time to actually "sell" them but I do like the discount!

Anyways...if you'd like to join me in the next 30 Days to Fit Challenge,
let me know. The more the merrier! There will be prizes along the way
and at the end for the biggest loser! :)

The last week I'm going to do an 7 Day Cleanse for anyone who would
like to do that. It's a gentle cleanse and you can do it once a month.

If you'd like more info, feel free to email me or leave your email and I'll get back to you!

Summer Vacation - Take 2

2011-07-25T08:00:00.004-05:00

Ok...for some reason this post didn't actually post. This was from our vacation back in July. Strange.

Day 2 of our vacation the guys took the kids out on the lake.

What's a girl to do?

Tammy and I went into town.

We found the cutest shops

(the kind where it's one shop after another down both sides of the street)

and made a day out of it.

Too bad I left my camera at the cabin. :(

I even saved Dave the hassle of buying me an anniversary gift.

This necklace and earrings. FUN!

Got it gift wrapped and everything!

Ha, ha!

We did get back in time to see this storm come in.

Pete is such a nice guy that when Dave fell asleep "early"

this is all he did. :)

Day 3

We originally were going to leave this day.

BUT...it was just too beautiful to leave.

So...we stayed.

We did a little tubing, but it was a very windy day.

Then we went out to dinner

to celebrate our 15th Wedding Anniversary.

I blogged about it here.

It was nice of our friends

to treat us and spend our evening with us.

Lots of laughs and fun!

Summer Vacation - Take 1

2011-07-24T14:46:00.000-05:00

One of the guys in Dave's small group

blessed us and another family.

They let us stay at their cabin

for a week!

This is no ordinary cabin...

The view from the master bedroom

This is the life...lounging around.

Our first day we enjoyed the lake.

My bean

Tubing...

Wishing my oldest was with us. :(

Who's going to break?

Our youngest two...enjoying the sunset

Much better with daddy.

I wish they lasted longer

The perfect end to a beautiful day.

Genesis 1:14 Then God said, “Let lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night. Let them mark off the seasons, days, and years.

We celebrated 15 years...

2011-07-21T08:00:00.003-05:00

with our three youngest kids and the Couper Family.

Despite the humidity...

yes...we sat outside.

Me and our teen

Dave and our youngest two

We found a cute lakeside restaurant.

Dave and I

Wearing my anniversary present.

My necklace and earrings.

Dave and our boy

Pete, Tammy, Dave and I

Thanks Pete and Tammy for a wonderful dinner!

Happy Anniversary babe!

And we end our night with yet another

BEAUTIFUL sunset!

A perfect end to a perfect day!

15 YEARS!

2011-07-20T10:12:00.000-05:00

Today Dave and I celebrate our 15 year wedding anniversary!

15 years ago we started our lives

as husband and wife.

To you babe...Some of my favorites

My favorite sight:

You walking into a room

My favorite sound:

Your voice calling me on the phone

or unexpectedly hearing your voice down the hall

My favorite place to be:

In your arms

My favorite touch:

A kiss from you

Some favorite memories
Having our kids - of course :)
When we arrived at your dad's cabin for the first time
Swimming at Raven Hill
Playing cards at the breakfast bar at our cabin
Florida - watching you and the kids in the ocean
Four-wheeling to the end of the world
Movies
San Fransisco - walking along the pier and Napa Valley
Back in the day when you coached our team
Florida - staying with friends and going to the Vikings game
Four wheeling at the cabin
Sitting together watching our kids
Fishing with our kids
Our 5 year anniversary - how you surprised me!

Ok...just a few of my favorite memories.

I love you!

I can't wait to see what the next 15 years will bring.

Happy Anniversary Love!

The Bad and the Beautiful

2011-07-19T22:31:00.000-05:00

We've had really nice weather.

We were getting ready to make dinner when

Dave noticed ominous clouds.

We went outside to see...

This was rolling in

It was pretty calm at this point

Notice the lake

About this time the wind starts picking up

This one looked like a funnel cloud

and the wind was blowing so hard

I could barely stand up on the dock!

(Thus the blury picture)

Serious rotation

It was at about this point that we decided

that maybe

just maybe

we should head inside! (DUH!)

Now look at the lake and that wind!

We got heavy wind and pea sized hail.

After the storm...

This

...and this

And then these clouds

And my guy shared this sunset with me. :)

One more pic taken from the deck.

Thank you Lord for such beauty!

And time spent with great friends.

Which came by way of a blessing from other friends!

One proud mama

2011-07-18T22:17:00.001-05:00

is what I am.

My son had a baseball tourney this past weekend. His first ever! Of course, it was the hottest weekend ever.

My STAR!

His cheering section

The boys won their first game on Saturday which meant no game until Sunday. Sunday morning at 9:00 a.m. they "faced off" (as my son puts it) again their rival team. It was a nail biter and a very low scoring game the first few innings. They had one bad inning and ended up losing that game. By the time the game was over at about 11:10 a.m. it had to be 90 degrees. They had just 50 minutes to cool off until game number two.

A little pre-batting coaching

I just love the coaches. They have just the right balance of coaching.

They are encouraging yet stern when needed.

The boys are taught about hard work, dedication, and commitment.

It's about 1:00 here and the heat index has to be about 115 degrees.

They are staying cool with cold towel and LOTS of water!

Daddy took him to the batting cages after the game on Saturday.

He must've hit over 100 balls.

They ended up winning this game!

They won in early innings and so the game got over a little early...(2:00)

So...one hour til game time for the championship!

Since they have one loss they have to win twice.

3:00 game time and these boys are exhausted.

The team they are playing only played the 9:00 game and they are all rested up.

Oh...not to mention the portable air conditioner their coach has for them. ha, ha!

Here's my boy after he stole 2nd base!

My guy. Love him!

They were behind going into this inning.

Every run counts!

Waiting...

Get those helmets off and grab a seat.

It's a pitching change.

The boys were down to 8 players at this time.

One of the boys had to leave due to heat exhaustion.

Thankfully, he is ok since they got him off the field at the first sign.

After more than 6 hours of playing in a heat index of 115,

these boys rallied and pulled ahead in the top of the last inning.

They held the other team off and won the game!

They were supposed to play them again right away,

but the coaches decided the boys had been out in the heat too long

so they post-poned the game for a day.

I'm so proud of my son and this team.

They are a first class group of boys!

They didn't brag or throw the win in the other team's face.

Just shook hands and said good game!

Unfortunately, we can't be at that championship game

but we'll be thinking of them and praying for them!

They're all winners in my book and what a great exciting end to the season for us!

I'll never forget that game or that day!

I love you buddy and I'm so proud of you!

Love,

Mom

Birthday Part 2

2011-07-15T15:57:00.000-05:00

There's nothing better than a day at the water park to celebrate a birthday!

The birthday boy

Friends

Cupcakes

A great end to a party

Now that's a marshmellow!

Yummm...

The kids had a slumber party and fun was had by all. :)

The End

And as promised...the new do...

I love it!

Oh...and apparently the girl who cut his hair was "hot".

Those were his words. :)

Grandpa U brought him so I guess I'll just have to take his word for it!

So that's what being 10 years old does to a boy eh?

I love you buddy!

2011-07-09T21:11:00.001-05:00

This is what Breakthrough Ministries does each week. What touched my heart deeply in this video was to see that some of the homeless people are amongst the volunteers that help set up each week. That blessed my heart.

To view full screen, click on this link to view the video.

If you have a Tuesday night free, you will be blessed if you go down and help. Click on the Breakthrough link above to sign up for a local mission trip.

Busy weekend

2011-06-29T08:00:00.001-05:00

We're looking forward to the weekend (actually the next couple of weeks) and all the festivities. My kid's favorite things are the 4th of July parade and fireworks! Ok...mine too! My youngest is doing commentary while I'm blogging. I'm cracking up as I write this as she is too cute. And now she is blushing. ;)

Our three youngest are actually in the parade on the 4th. They are all doing different things. That will be fun for them but rather strange for us. You see...this will be the first time we've watched the parade by ourselves. Well, I'm hoping that Amanda will join us so that we have at least one child with us...even if she is an adult now. ha, ha! *Hint, Hint!

Some other things to look forward to: lots of people, hopefully some hot weather, pool parties, hot rod cruise night, fireworks, did I mention all the people, yummy food, and good times!

If you'd like to share, what are some fun 4th of July things you and your family do? You can comment here or in my community.

Do you like deals?

2011-06-28T08:00:00.001-05:00

Have you heard of this website? http://www.pocketyourdollars.com/

If not, you must go there! Ok...I guess you don't have to go there...unless...of course...you want to save HUGE money on shopping. :)

Fair warning...it is time consuming to do this at first. There are lots of sites to sign up for to get coupons and getting the hang of it takes some time. But my first time I got about $100 worth of groceries for about $35. It was soooo much fun! Dave even went with me and had a blast! (OK...only one part of that last sentence is true. ha, ha!)

Well...I hope you enjoy. :)

My boy

2011-06-26T22:45:00.000-05:00

I can't believe my son is 10 years old! Time flies.

We started out with a special breakfast for him. Complete with smiley face birthday pancakes.

Later that day we went to Nickelodian Universe for a few rides

That car is carrying precious cargo.

My three youngest!

Dave went with on this one

Then we went to the Rain Forest Cafe.

Sisters...

Hailey being silly

The exlposion (or something like that)

Comes with a sparkler in it and a crew of waiters

singing Happy Birthday!

They have beautiful fish tanks

We took 3 pictures.

In every picture Dave is looking at the security guards that are running past us.

As soon as we were done, Dave and the kids took off running too.

Apparantly they caught 2 teenagers stealing.

We ended the evening with a bonfire.

Mitchell always has to have his burning stick.

My teenager with her grandma's wig.

I'm pretty sure this is his favorite gift!

More birthday pics to follow.

Oh...plus a new do for my 10 year old.

Beauty!

2011-06-16T22:40:00.000-05:00

No words...just beauty!

A praise

2011-06-14T17:50:00.000-05:00

Remember when I shared about my friend Kristie Foreman? Many of you have prayed for her over the past few months. Well, she went to the Mayo last week and received great news! She is officially in remission. Isn't that cool? I saw her last Saturday at our mother/daughter group. She looks fabulous. A current prayer request would be for her sight to be restored. She is having trouble with her vision. You can read her latest update here.

Thanks again for praying for her. She's a wonderful person and I'm blessed to call her my friend.

Summer is here

2011-06-03T09:30:00.000-05:00

It's a busy time. Our 3 youngest are in sports and thus the life of a mother consists of quick dinners, rushing out the door with water bottles (hopefully), driving one here and the other there, trying to watch each of them for a time and lots of fun!

What's been really fun is having my oldest daughter around more and she and her boyfriend watched our son's first baseball game! He was a late addition to the baseball team. The last time he played was in Kindergarten, so I was nervous for him. His first practice was Wednesday and first game Thursday. He did great! Started in center field. His first at bat...a success! He then stole 2nd and 3rd base! What fun!

Our youngest is playing softball. She's a natural! I was a smidge worried with this being her first time ever playing softball and knowing many of the girls probably started when they were 2 years old! ha, ha! Our first three kids all started when they were 5. Well, now that we have 4 it just isn't as easy to have everyone in sports and other activities all the time. And so actually, 2nd grade is the perfect age to start.

Our teenager is on the varsity competition cheer team. Wow...that's a commitment. She isn't even in high school yet and they've already started practicing. They started in April. It's one day a week until school gets out. Then it's two days a week and some weekend camps. By August its three days a week. Then comes September...up to 6 days a week with practices, competitions and football games! There's no end in sight until late February!

For those of you who have no idea what competition cheer is. I'd say it's a combination of dance and cheerleading with lots of stunting involved. Oh yes...did I forget to ask for prayer for my daughter? She is a flyer. What's a flyer? A flyer would be the one that gets thrown in the air in hopes that she gets caught by the bases! See why I need prayer!?!? I hope to post a picture of her...just as soon as I get up the nerve to go watch!

A busy summer it will be and I couldn't be more excited! I promise to post some pics this weekend. It'll be a massive catch up!

Life sometimes gets in the way

2011-05-20T09:55:00.001-05:00

Once again life has gotten in the way of my blogging! Jeez...I don't know how that happens. Or do I? I guess I do. I've been busy. Busy with my family, working, Potter's Wheel, and exercising!

I'm about 6 weeks into the 60 day challenge. It's going great! I've lost about 18 pounds and have gone down a whole pant size. Not that I'm complaining but I don't want to go out and buy a whole new wardrobe yet, so my clothing choices are getting slim pickins. One evening I was getting ready to go on a date with my hubby. I put on a pair of pants that were a little big. I asked my hubby "How do these look?" He looked like a deer in the headlights! His response was "uhhh...ummmm...well what do you mean?" I said "do you think they look too saggy?" To his DELIGHT he said "YES! They are frumpy looking. They're too big for you!" We both started laughing. He was confused at the question. He's apparently learned that telling your wife her pants don't look good is NOT a good thing. This time was just the opposite. It was funny. :)

Many people have asked what I'm doing. I'm not on a diet. I am making life long changes. With regards to the 60 day challenge. I am using Arbonne products and exercising 3 - 4 times per week. There are about 8 of us doing this challenge. The "biggest loser" wins a 30 Day Fit Kit. We encourage each other and hold each other accountable. I love it! The best thing I ever did. Within the challenge, the idea is to cut out unhealthy things out of your eating habits. I've cut my gluten intake in half, I rarely drink pop (when I do it doesn't taste very good), I drink maybe one cup of coffee a week, and I'm just eating healthier in general. I have never been a breakfast eater, but now I start each day with a protein shake. I actually look forward to it. It's quick and easy! It really makes a difference to my work outs too. I've replaced pop with fizzy drinks and coffee with detox tea.

For exercise: I do have a personal trainer that I haven't been seeing regularly but he gets me motivated when I do. I'll be stepping that up over the next few weeks. I do weights followed by cardio workouts. Two times a week I participate in classes at Lifetime Fitness. I never thought I'd be a class person but I absolutely love the variation. Lots of fun and sweat! I've had to get rid of excuses! I do not let anything get in the way of my workouts. If something comes up in the morning, I go during my lunch hour or in the evening. When I do have to miss a day, I really get bummed out. So, my advice to you if you're trying to incorporate exercise in your life...Stop using excuses! I work full time, I have four children, a husband, and I'm taking a 2 year Leadership program that's takes an average of 10 - 20 hours per week of my time. Being busy is not an excuse. If I can find time, you can too! :)

Now that my 60 day challenge is coming to an end, I decided that I wanted to continue using the products, exercising, and trying to lose more weight. So...what else is a woman to do but become an Arbonne Consultant. Now...obviously (if you read what my life consists of) I don't have time to work this as a business. Truth be told, I'm doing it for the continued discount. :) And I hope to earn the cost of my products. I talked to my husband and he agreed that if I was going to continue it would be a good way to have my products paid for. As I was talking to another friend who did the same thing, we decided we wanted to start a new 30 day challenge. I love the incentive and am so excited to share about what I've been doing to make life changes. As I finish up this post as well as my chocolate banana protein shake this morning, I want to encourage you.

Wherever you are in your life, it's never too late to make changes. Whether it's to get healthy, get fit, lose weight, stop a bad habit, incorporate good habits, it's about making a decision and sticking to it. How do you stick to it? Lot's of prayer first of all! There are many a times when I'm exercising and I think I could just about die. I've had enough, I want to quit. But I just say "I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me!" I say it over and over! The second thing I believe is vital is to get a group of friends (or strangers who will become your friends) around you for encouragement and accountability.

Oh and if you're counting...yes, I'm still a Tastefully Simple consultant (although I don't do parties anymore - just reorders and fundraisers), a Melaleuca Customer, and now an Arbonne Consultant! ha, ha! I love simple, I love green cleaning products, and I love vegan gluten free products! No...this isn't a commercial...just a joke!

I know that many of you are not even local, but if you've seen my 30 day challenge event on Facebook, I hope you will consider joining us. Even if you just want to join for the accountability and not even the products, I believe it's that important. I have long felt bad about my self and my body image since gaining weight after 4 kids and a bad viral infection that essentially ate away at my muscle tissue. It was after the viral infection that kept me hospitalized for a week that I gained the most weight and was just not able to lose it. Now...I'm on my way and would love to encourage you as well!

Well, it's time for me to hit publish and head off to the gym! At the end of this challenge I'll post my before and after pictures. And then I'll do the same for the 30 day challenge.

To those who have been on this journey with me - Thanks for all of your encouragement along the way. I couldn't do it without you! I love you!

Heaviness

2011-04-30T18:37:00.000-05:00

Do you ever feel like there's a heaviness around you? I sure have been feeling that way lately. It comes around a certain word, a certain disease. The word is cancer! I hate it!

Many of you know that my mother-in-law is fighting breast cancer right now. It's been a long journey for her. The good news is that she caught it early. But she still has to go through treatments. First surgery, now chemo, and then radiation. The other day I went with her to the hospital for her 5th chemo treatment. I was actually looking forward to spending the whole day with her. When we got to the hospital, she first had to get a blood draw to check her platelets and white blood cell count. We then waited to see the nurse and then her oncologist. After that, we waited to be called back for her to get the chemo. Once they called us back we walked into this big room. The room was divided into 3 pods. Each pod has 8 or 10 chairs in it. This room was packed. There were many people sitting there...having chemo put into their veins.

As I sat there with my MIL, listening to the nurse, listening to her, I felt so sad. My heart was breaking for her and all the others in this room. I hate cancer. I hate that it takes lives. I hate how it makes my MIL feel after. I hate everything about it! I sat in that room, praying for all the people in there, praying for their families.

Back up a few days with me. One of my good friends just lost her sister a week ago. She died from a very aggressive stomach cancer. She fought hard for 5 months but did not get her healing here on earth, instead she got it in heaven. I just attended her funeral today. She was only 43 years old.

Tomorrow I will attend the funeral of a co-worker. She died this week from lung cancer. Her teenage daughter is now without her mother. A teenage daughter is also without her father because he died of cancer when she was one. My heart breaks for this young girl who will graduate from high school in about a month. My heart breaks for those left to grieve.

Just a few days ago, I received an email from one of our minstry leaders. She was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Thankfully, it's very treatable.

Many of you will remember previous posts I've written about my friend, Kristi Foreman. She is fighting a very aggressive brain cancer. She has four children about the same ages as my four children. We are praying for a healing for her.

Another friend of mine also has breast cancer. She just finished her treatments. She has a beautiful little girl.

So, you see my friends...I have this heaviness in my heart. I don't understand why there is so much cancer. At times like these, trivial things seem so unimportant. Nothing else seems to matter except for loving others. No matter what our circumstances, we are not guaranteed another day on this earth. When my time here is up, I want to make sure that I've loved to the fullest.

When Jesus was at his last supper with his disciples he said, when I am gone, remember this...love one another as I have loved you. I ask you...are you loving others as much as you possibly can? Have you showed your spouse how much you love them? Have you hugged and kissed your children so much that they are iritated with you? Have you put down that book or shut down the computer when your child asks you to play a game with them? Have you called your mother or father and told them you love them? What about your friends? And what about that person you're really mad at...what could you do to forgive them and show them love? What about a stranger...what could you do to show love to a perfect stranger? Love is a beautiful thing. You never know someone's pain or what they're going through.

Yes, these past few weeks have been heavy. But yet it has caused to me think and act. What can I do to lift the heaviness? I can pray and I can love. I can share my thoughts and my heart. I write for me but share for you. I write this because I need to hear this. I need to do this.

Psalm 5:11-12 But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;let them sing joyful praises forever.Spread your protection over them,that all who love your name may be filled with joy. For you bless the godly, O Lord;you surround them with your shield of love.

Psalm 26:8 I love your sanctuary, Lord,the place where your glorious presence dwells.

Mark 12:30-31 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”

Luke 6:27 “But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you.

John 3:16 “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

May you find comfort in our Heavenly Father.

Bless you,

A whole lot of nothing...

2011-04-12T22:31:00.000-05:00

I have nothing to say. Strange! Really...I do not know what to write about. I feel like I'm simmering. I have lots of stuff floating around in my head, but it's just not ready to come out yet.

Life has been busy around our house. Spring is in the air! Or should I say, here today and gone tomorrow? It was 70 degrees today and it will be in the 40's tomorrow and then there's snow in the forecast. Geez!

We've had birthdays to celebrate with my oldest turning 21 and my youngest turning 8. Crazy! I figured out that IF Hailey were to move out when she turns 18 (and all other kids are out) I will have been actively parenting (meaning: having a child living at home...in case you didn't know that's what I was talking about) for 31 years! I suspect it will be longer than that. Wow!

Dave and I were sitting here one night when our kids were with their grandparents for a few days. They had been gone for four days and it was really quiet. We talked about how strange it will be when we are empty nesters. Ok...that is years down the road, but we just really missed our kids. We had called to see how they were doing and ask if we should come and get them. Grandma said no...that she wanted them for another night. I heard Dave say "Well mom, we really can come and get them. We do like having our kids you know." ha, ha! It was funny the way he said it.

It just got me to thinking what our lives will be like. What will we do with our time? I'd like to think that we'll be like newlyweds. Maybe we'll travel a lot. But then actually I think I'll probably want my kids to come with. :) Well, maybe not everytime...

Ok...now that got me thinking about vacations. I want to go on a vacation with my family. Where should we go? We have lots of mini things planned for the summer. I love camping now that we have a pop-top. The kids love it too. Between that and going to the cabin we'll have a fun summer. But I'd love to go somewhere over MEA or maybe even spring break next year. I've always wanted to go to the Dells too. Ok...settle down Christine. Where should we go?

Easter Changes Everything!

2011-04-07T08:00:00.002-05:00

Nothing is impossible!

If you don't have a home church, this is going to be a powerful Easter Service.

60 Days to Fit Challenge

2011-04-02T21:35:00.000-05:00

Today...Day 1 of the challenge.

I am doing a 60 day challenge with some friends and family. Goal: Eat Healthy, Exercise, Lose weight.

A great way to start spring!

I am having a bit of a blogging block. I can't think of anything to write. :(

So...I'll say...happy spring! Easter is coming! :)

List Makers beware

2011-03-27T21:07:00.000-05:00

I'm a list maker. There's nothing more satisfying than being able to cross things off my list. Yes...I am one of those people that will write something on my list I just did so I can cross it off. Why is that? Ha, ha!

I was reading a devotion about making lists from Proverbs 31 and it really made me think. What other lists am I keeping? The running list in my head that comes from satan. The things he tries to tell me or things that are good?

From my to-do list to the running in my mind list, what things am I writing down? I may be writing them on a piece of paper or am I writing them on my mind or even on my heart? I need to make sure that the only things written on my heart are those that come from the Lord.

Psalm 40:8 I take joy in doing your will, my God, for your instructions are written on my heart.”
Lord, take away any list that keeps me too busy from spending time with you and my family. Take away lists and things I am writing on my heart that are not from you. In the same way, help me to write Your list on the hearts of each of my children. In Jesus' Name...Amen.

The journey of being a Christian

2011-03-19T00:05:00.000-05:00

A few days ago I posted a question "Does it get any easier being a Christian"? Some key words in the answers people gave: suffering, temptation, trials, attack...growth, faith, hope, trust.

I can only speak from my journey. But all of those words would apply to it. Somewhere along the line I've experienced all of them. Before being a Christian I would have to say that I only experienced some of them. I did not have faith, hope, or trust in the Lord. Not because I didn't believe in God, but because I had no idea about the relationship I was missing out on.

I can compare it to my relationship with my husband. Before we started dating, he knew who I was but I didn't know him. I didn't know what I was missing because I didn't even know him yet. When we were first dating, our relationship was not real deep. We were just getting to know each other, right? Along with the fresh and newness of the relationship there were no arguments, no struggles, no trials. We both had to make changes in our lives as we committed to each other. There were periods of adjustment. As our love grew, the trials and attacks started. It took a while for us to get to know each others hearts, each others love language, etc. We had to overcome obstacles and with each time we did, our love and trust grew stronger for each other. We learned how to work through things, we learned how to comfort each other, we have learned how to love each other. Has it always been easy? No. Have our disagreements stopped? No. But we don't have as many as we used to. Our love is stronger and we honor each other.

Like my relationship with my husband, my relationship with the Lord is similar. He knew me before I knew Him. He first loved me. I knew He was there, but I didn't have a relationship with Him. When our relationship was knew, it wasn't very deep. As my relationship with God started to grow, the trials and attacks started. I had to get through those trials but God was there with me. As He walked with me and even held or carried me through some trials, my faith grew. My trust in the Lord grew stronger. As I've desired to live my life Christ-centered, I've made changes. I am continuing to make changes. I don't have it all together. The more I grow in my relationship with God, the more I see the things I don't like about myself.

As I open myself up to God and ask for Him to clean my heart, mold my character, and refine me it becomes painful at times. As I've decided to be obedient to Him, I've had to let go of other things. Some easy and some not. As I've put myself on "The Potter's Wheel" in some ways my life has become even more difficult. The thing is that I welcome the challenges. I am at peace. Why? Because I have a strong sense and believe in God's plan for me. I trust Him. As I learn His voice through His Word I don't struggle with the same things I used to. New stuff comes up though! It does get easier to know His voice. It's calming.

Same with my husband. I can recognize his voice. A few weeks ago I didn't know he was coming up to church. I was in a meeting when I heard his voice. I hopped out of my chair, opened the door and there he was, just down the hall with flowers and balloons in hand. He surprised me and made my day! :) When I'm having a bad day, sometimes I'll call him just to hear his voice. I have a few voicemails that he's left me over the years (yes, one is 2 1/2 years old!). I keep saving them. In one of them he's singing to me. He threatens to delete it whenever I let him hear it. (Isn't that right honey?) In all seriousness, I know my husband's voice, I know his laugh, I even know his walk.

The longer I walk with God, the more I know Him. Some things are easier and some are even more difficult. Like any relationship there are ups and downs. Definately more ups than downs. The thing is I could not imagine my life without my husband or without the Lord. No matter how hard either road has been, I wouldn't trade a moment for anything. If you've read my testimony (the link is under my blog header) you know that our road has not been easy, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Why? Because I have hope!

I'll end with this verse Psalm 25:5 Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you.

I don't know if that really answers the question, but it's what came to mind.

Does it get any easier being a Christian?

2011-03-15T00:41:00.000-05:00

Someone posed that question at a Bible Study tonight. Good question. How would you answer that? Well, let me give you some background to that question. We were discussing Acts 20, specifically Paul. How he continued to experience plots against his life and knew that jail and suffering lie ahead of him. The person asking has been a Christian for about 7 months. So, he wondered if the evil went away and life becomes easier. He wondered if things like temptation and bad things would become easier as well. What do you think?

Happy Birthday David

2011-03-08T23:18:00.000-06:00

This post is for you!

I should do this more often, but today I want to let you know how much I love you! I thank God for bringing us together. Like the song we danced to on our wedding night says "He sure knew what he was doing when he joined our two hearts". Yes, indeed.

So as I think back on this day and I think back to how blessed I am to have you in my life, I must thank God for you! I am a better person because of you!

I appreciate the way that you put us first. I love the way you love our children. I can honestly say that I love to see your picture come up on my cell phone when you call me. I love it when you surprise me and stop by work. I love to look at all the notes you've left me over the years as they are taped to a special place in my cubicle. I guess I just love the way you love me. :)

You still give me butterflies when you come into the room or as I watch you walk towards me. And yes, I save some of your voicemails and I love to listen to them. You make me smile, you make me laugh!

I love your passion. I love the love you have for people that are hurting. I love the way you show it.

Thank you for loving me.

Happy Birthday to the love of my life!!!

Love, Chris

Lagging behind

2011-03-05T19:00:00.000-06:00

My title describes how I feel right now.

We just moved and I'm buried in boxes. Amongst those boxes is my Potter's Wheel box. The one labeled VERY IMPORTANT in red marker all over it! I'm close to finishing my first development plan. I'll finish it a little behind schedule. I hate that feeling. But I love what I'm learning. This has been a great experience so far! I'm excited to start the next 6 month development plan.

We had our house blessed today. Room by room. If you would like to bless your house, but are not sure how to go about it, here is a guide for you.

I'll post pictures of the new house once there's some order to it. So...don't hold your breath. Not that you are. :)

By the way...thanks for introducing yourselves to me in a post a while back. To the one who asked me to keep your comment private...thank you. I appreciate you taking the time to reach out to me. I didn't have a way to contact you so am doing it now. Bless you!

No matter what...

2011-02-23T18:21:00.000-06:00

I will praise YOU!

I am going on 11 days of being sick.

I'm tired.

It takes all of my energy to do the simplest of tasks.

I will praise YOU!

This is not a good time for me to be sick.

I have lots to do, but I will rest in YOU!

I will take heart. I will take this time to thank YOU!

Instead of saying "why now?" I will say "now what Lord?"

We are in a battle. I do not fear the outcome. I trust the Lord. His ways are perfect.

Psalm 8
1 O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!
Your glory is higher than the heavens.
2 You have taught children and infants to tell of your strength,
silencing your enemies and all who oppose you.

3 When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—
the moon and the stars you set in place—
4 what are mere mortals that you should think about them,
human beings that you should care for them?
5 Yet you made them only a little lower than God
and crowned them with glory and honor.

6 You gave them charge of everything you made,
putting all things under their authority—
7 the flocks and the herds
and all the wild animals,
8 the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea,
and everything that swims the ocean currents.

9 O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!

Lord, you are my strength. You desire for me to be well. Your will is for heaven to be here on earth. There's no sickness in heaven. I claim that for me. I silence the enemy who desires to keep me from doing your will.

I am your daughter, a daughter of the King!

I will praise YOU Lord!

Would you please

2011-02-20T08:00:00.001-06:00

introduce yourself and tell me how you came upon my blog? I would love to know what state or country you are from.

If you write that you would like to keep your comment private, I will keep it that way.

If you have a blog, leave the link and I'd love to get to know you. :)

On the move

2011-02-18T22:16:00.000-06:00

We're on the move....

in many ways.

We're packing and packing and packing.

Throw in a few papers to write too.

We're moving into a new house.

We're moving into our second development plan for Potter's Wheel.

Hopefully we're moving into spring soon too! I'm going to ignore the fact that we have another 6" or more of snow coming this weekend.

And of course, we're always on the move with our children.

We'll be moving into the second phase of treatment with my Mother-in-law's Breast Cancer Treatment. Have I mentioned lately how much I hate cancer? There's too much of it in our lives. This disease is not of Heaven and I pray that it gets wiped off this earth! I pray for those who are fighting this battle!

Well, this post is all over the place.

Just thought I'd give you a little update on where we're at.

Thanks to all of you who give us such love and support! We love you!

Don't worry about anything...

2011-02-10T13:00:00.001-06:00

instead, pray about everything!

When I am worrying about something or afraid os something happening, I turn to this passage. It's a passage that I not only read, but act upon. It is a step by step passage that leads to peace. I recently had the opportunity to teach a Bible Study at our church. There are anywhere from 80 - 120 people that attend the study. I really was doing it out of obedience. It was part of my Potter's Wheel Development plan, which I chose. But I was afraid. I thought about cancelling many times. While I was writing my talk I came upon this passage. It fit very nicely into the end of my talk. Something I could give the participants the opportunity to DO.

The funny thing: I wrote it up and I even made a handout about it. Then I told a friend and my boss that I left this off my handout outline in case I decided not to do it. And even while I was typing this into my talk, I was still thinking of ways to get out of doing the talk. Until the afternoon of my talk, I finally heard the Lord tell me...hey...this is for you sweetheart! Wow! Duh! So I did. I prayed about it, I thanked God for the opportunity to teach, and gave my worries to Him. It really did give me peace.

I thought I would share it with you. Try it!

READ IT:

Philippians 4:4-9 Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! 5 Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon.

6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.

DO IT:

Philippians 4:4 says always be full of joy in the Lord. Rejoice!

So, let’s rejoice! “Thank you Lord. We are blessed. We praise you!”

Verse 6: Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he had done.

Take your worries and give them to God. Tell Him your needs.

Verse 7: Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Take a deep breath, sit and allow God’s peace to fill you.

Verse 8: And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Now fix your thoughts on what is true

What is true? What are you believing? You are a child of God, you are a winner, you are victorious, you are loved, you are healed, you are worthy, etc.

…on what is honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent

I am alive, I have food to eat/clothes to wear/a place to lay my head, I am loved, I am a daughter/son of the King of Kings, I am blessed, I have wonderful friends, etc.

…Now think of things that are worthy of praise.

You are worthy God! I am blessed! I am here! I can worship you Lord! We praise you Jesus! You are good! You are worthy! Your love endures forever! AMEN!

Verse 9: Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.

This passage calls for action. He tells you what to do. And IF you do it...THEN you will have peace.

No matter where you are in life...if you're on the mountain top or in the deepest valley, I pray that you can rejoice and have peace!

Bless you my friends!

Facing your fears

2011-02-09T19:38:00.000-06:00

I think most of us have some sort of fear. I have a few! I am afraid of heights. I fear my kids falling off a ledge or something like that! I used to be deathly afraid of crossing bridges, especially big ones like The Golden Gate Bridge and the other big one near that one...I think it's called the Bay Bridge. It's a shame because the entire time my hubby and I were in San Francisco I would close my eyes and hold my breath when we would cross those bridges. Dave would say...honey...you don't know the beautiful scenery you're missing, please open your eyes. But there was no way!

Same with trips to Florida! My friend who lives in Florida now was aware of how afraid I was because when we'd visit...well...let's just say...she knew. Anyways...they moved and so the next time I flew down to visit she didn't tell me about the really high and long bridge I'd have to cross over Tampa Bay to get to her house because she was afraid I wouldn't come. What she didn't know was that I had received prayer about this fear. And that the prayer seriously ended this fear.

The first thing she said when we walked in the door was...I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the bridge, how did it go? She didn't believe me when I said it was fine. I explained about getting prayer and she just couldn't believe it. But when we drove places and she could see my reaction and that it was nothing, she was amazed! Even when I was driving across this bridge and there were flashing lights about High Winds warnings, I didn't even flinch. Sometimes I can't even believe it! But trust me when I say...I used to have to close my eyes or if I was driving I would white knuckle it. There were times when I was even in tears. It was a HUGE fear! It's gone!

I still am afraid of heights. I'm still praying and asking for that fear to be removed. Although I wonder why the fear of going over bridges was taken away but the fear of heights wasn't. I remember when we were in Hawaii and my hubby would get close to the edges of cliffs. I would get so mad at him. He tried to coax me near a guard rail for a picture with him...no go! The road to Hana was a nightmare! Hairpin turns on high cliffs...eek! I'm even afraid to get on a ladder. Going up is fine as long as it's not too high, it's when it's time to come down.

So...why does God take away some fears and not others?

Urgent Prayer Request

2011-02-04T08:09:00.000-06:00

This is an email I received from my friend, Kristie Foreman. Rather than re-write this, I copied her email. So you know the urgency of this prayer request, Rachel was given 1 1/2 weeks to live. This has been confirmed by a 2nd opinion at Mayo Clinic. I hate cancer!

"We are needing to stand in the gap for a friend and do some battling. I know some of you are aware of my friend Rachel from Hosanna who was diagnosed with Mellanoma (Skin Cancer). I just met Rachel a couple of weeks ago in the prayer chapel. She is a beautiful 14 year old girl with more life to live and there is a Holy, Righteous Anger rising up inside me for what the avenger is trying to do. I know many of you share the same heart and will press in wrestling with the LORD as Jacob did until we receive this blessing/healing for Rachel. My friend Andy Ronchak and I have been sharing verses back and forth and I have attached some declarative verses to pray over Rachel. You are all needed like never before…..ESPECIALLY YOUR CHILDREN!!! Psalm 8:2 “Out of the mouths of babes and infants and children you have founded a BULWARK because of your foes to SILENCE and CONFUSE the plans of the enemy and avenger.” (NRSV)

The other scripture I am taking before the Lord is the parable of the unjust judge and the widow. Luke 18:1-8…………..”Lord God, there has been injustice done to our sister Rachel, and we join together and come to you on her behalf until justice is given to her. Your Word says, “You who live in the shelter of the Most High will REST in the shadow of the Almighty. Rachel will say to the Lord, ‘He is my Refuge, my fortress, my God in whom I trust.’ Your word says (psalm 91) that you will deliver her from the fowler’s snare. “You are a righteous, just judge and she is your precious daughter and we will continually come before you just as the widow did until she was granted justice. Thank you heavenly daddy. All for the GLORY of YOUR NAME JESUS."

Fun ideas for kids?

2011-02-03T23:36:00.000-06:00

We are in full swing here. Packing, packing, and more packing are on the to-do lists. My blogging time is taking a serious back burner. :(

I'm looking for some fun ideas for things for my kids to do while we're busy packing. Indoor things that is, since it is freezing cold here. I'm particularly thinking about my elementary aged kiddos. They are certainly capable of packing a box here and there, but maybe inbetween box 30 and 31 of the day! Let me preface this by saying...things that don't make messes. :) I certainly don't need any more cleaning to do! Any ideas?

Growing like weeds

2011-01-27T08:00:00.018-06:00

My children are growing up so fast. I can hardly believe it!

My oldest is going to be 21 soon. Oh man do I feel old! She is quite the beautiful young woman. She loves photography and is just so talented in many ways. I love when she comes to visit and I get to spend time with her. Drive time is the best undivided attention ever.

Our teenager is busy with competition cheer and tumbling class. I just registered her for high school classes and I can't believe she'll start that next phase of her life so soon. She's full of energy and ALL teenager! She absolutely loves children and loves to babysit.

Our son is having fun in gymnastics and cub scouts. He is about to advance ranks next month. He will be in his final year of Webelos before moving on to Boy Scouts. He looks forward to camping and doing all the outdoor stuff. He is the sweetest boy ever and I never want him to grow up. :)

And our baby is no longer a baby. The first thing out of her mouth when she gets home from school is: "Mom, can I play with someone?" She is our social butterfly. She's busy with basketball and girl scouts. I was going to post a video but it won't upload. Bummer. :( She's quite the defensive player and sticks to her girl like glue!

Oh...I can't forget about my hubby. He's my rock on top of the foundation of our Lord.
He's a great dad and I am blessed to call him my husband.

Yes indeed, our lives are full.

We are blessed!

Catching up

2011-01-25T18:49:00.000-06:00

There's just so much going on in our lives right now I haven't had much time to blog. A quick update.

We found a house. We move at the end of February. I'm actually getting a little excited. I did say "a little". I'm not excited about packing or moving. But I did see some trampolines and play structures in the backyards of some of the houses. I'm praying that means KIDS!

The hubs is recovering nicely from his hernia surgery he had last Thursday. Everything went great and as long as he behaves...he'll be just fine. :)

My mother-in-law continues to heal from her surgery and we await the next phase in her journey to fight this cancer. We've been able to spend lots of quality time with her and my father-in-law. It's been really nice. A pic of me and my MIL:

My friend Kristie's benefit is just 5 days away! I can't believe it. Everyone has been working so hard to make this a special day. If you live in the Twin Cities area and you're not doing anything on Sunday, it's going to be a fun day! :) Here's a picture: Me, Kristie, Wendy

I'm over winter!

Thinking how nice it would be to go visit friends or family in a warm state. Hmmm...California, Texas, Florida, Arkansas...where oh where? By the time I have time to go somewhere it'll be warm out! ha, ha! Oh well.

It's been 8 years since I started selling Tastefully Simple. Wow!

Less than 6 weeks until I need to be finished with my first Developement Plan for Potter's Wheel. Yikes!

Work is great! I have a hard time even calling it work sometimes because I love my job. :) I work with an amazing staff.

I'm off to the next activity with my kiddos. My next update will be about them. :)

A place to call home...

2011-01-19T23:22:00.000-06:00

Some days my heart cries out. I truly desire for God's will to be done. I desire for us to live a Christ-Centered life. We chose this journey we're on. It was out of obedience. We asked for God to break our hearts for what breaks His. And guess what, He did. If you don't know our testimony, you probably have no idea what I'm talking about. Basically, we chose to stop living for money and start living for the Lord. It's been quite the journey.

I have learned to be content with what I have. Well, for the most part. I'm still a work in progress. There are times when "my flesh" cries out. Times when I long to have a house of our own. Where we can stay put. No more packing and moving. And really, I don't care where we live. Well, except that I don't want my kids to have to switch schools. So...it needs to be in this area. I don't care about the size of our house. But there is my flesh that gets in the way from time to time. If I'm completely honest, of course I want a clean house and one that's not falling apart. But who am I to say where we should live. I just want to be thankful for a home, no matter what the size or what it looks like. So, I'm a work in progress. When I feel myself desiring something, I have to give it over to God. I have to trust Him.

I continue to go back to these scriptures:

Matthew 6:32-33 “Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs, and he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern.

Luke 12:15 – Beware! Don’t be greedy for what you don’t have. Real life is not measured by how much we own.

A scripture I really lean on:
Philippians 4:4-14 Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! 5 Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon.

6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.

Paul’s Thanks for Their Gifts
10 How I praise the Lord that you are concerned about me again. I know you have always been concerned for me, but you didn’t have the chance to help me. 11 Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. 12 I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. 13 For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. 14 Even so, you have done well to share with me in my present difficulty.

As our searching continues, I know that God already has our home picked out. He knows where we will lay our heads in just 6 weeks. He will provide us with the perfect place to call home. After all, home is where your heart is. Home, here on earth, is just temporary. Our permanent home is with Jesus for eternity. For now, I trust the Lord to lead us to our home for now. I just want it to be a place where we can continue to welcome others into our home. A place we can call home.

Time

2011-01-15T09:35:00.000-06:00

TIME

It's of the essense

It's the blip on a radar screen

It's something we cherish

What was is already gone

You can't have it back

You can't jump ahead

It's precious

What you make of it is up to you

It's flies by

It's a gift

There's never enough...

well most of the time anyways ;)

The time is coming when everything that is covered up will be revealed, and all that is secret will be made known to all. Luke 12:2

You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected. Luke 12:40

"Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed." Proverbs 16:3

My friend Kristie

2011-01-14T13:09:00.000-06:00

I blogged about my friend Kristie a while ago. She has Glioblastoma Brain Cancer and it is stage 4. The prognosis that the doctors give is not good. Although we are putting our faith in the ultimate physician, Jehovah Rapha. Our God who heals. We are believing for a miracle! We pray and we trust. Right now Kristie is having issues with her vision. The good news is that it is not a new tumor or regrowth of the first tumor. It is swelling from radiation that is affecting the optical nerve. The bad news is that she can't read right now and can't drive. If you would like to join me in praying for her or leave her an encouraging message in her Guest Book, here's the link to her CaringBridge Site. Although she can't read them right now, her family reads them to her.

We are planning a benefit for Kristie and her family. It will be on Sunday, January 30. If you are local and would like to attend the benefit for her family, consider yourself invited. Here are details about the benefit. We will have dinner, silent auction, concert by Peder Eide, and a mini carnival for the kids with lots of games, a bounce house, face painting and crazy hair!

If you would like to volunteer to help at the benefit, click here. We need lots of help!

Cancer is something that is affecting so many people in my life right now. My heart breaks for my friends and my family. It's an ugly word and a nasty disease. I pray for everyone that is going through this right now.

Acts 4:29-30 And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word. Stretch out your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

Transforming my mind

2011-01-12T12:00:00.000-06:00

Lately, my mind is racing. There is so much to do! I can't even figure out where to start. Let's see, if I were to write it all down here's what my weekly "To Do" list might look like:
Sunday:

Go to Work
start packing
help kids with homework
clean
Get kids ready for school on Monday
Do some laundry
Read from Art & Craft of Biblical Teaching for my Potter's Wheel (PW) Course
Work on Compare and Contrast paper for above book

Monday:

Go to Work from 11 am - 10 pm
Have husband drive 2 kids to various activities and pick up kids from activities
Have husband make dinner
Remind husband to help kids with homework :)
Start reading Supernatural Power of a transformed mind for Potter's Wheel course

Tuesday:

Go to Work
Have husband wait for carpet guys to come and clean flooded basement carpet
Go to hospital to be with mother-in-law for surgery
Attempt to save some items from flooded basement - will have to wait for another day
~~Drive 3 kids to various activities and pick them up on Tuesday~~
Arrange for another parent to pick up and take my daughter home from practice
Arrange for 2 younger children to go to friend's house after school
Look for a new place to live (maybe that should be first, before packing?) - No time today, will have to wait until tomorrow.
Pick up kids
Hurry kids to bed
Kids get out of bed to do homework
Read PW book

Wednesday

Do my physical therapy exercises that I didn't do yesterday.
Get kids off to school
Do laundry that's calling my name
Invite people to Kristie's benefit (ohhh...write a post about Kristie and her benefit)
Work from 12:00 - 9:00 pm
Have husband drive 3 kids to church
Have husband take 2 kids home while I wait for 3rd child to be done
Attempt to do some laundry upon arrival - note to self - show child how to do her laundry again
Read whatever book (of the two) is closest to the place where I land before I fall asleep

Thursday

Go to work
Watch Christian History DVD for PW
Write a paper after watching Christian History DVD
Drive one child to practice and pick up said child from practice
I suppose I should do some laundry
Probably should help kids with their homework
Pack away Christmas decorations.
Find a new big box for tree since our box was ruined in the flooded basement.
Skip most of the items listed for today due to random date night thanks to certain friends who invited us to our first Timberwolves game - in a suite! Sweet!
Consider cancelling date night due to long lists of things to do.
Scratch off the line above - we need it! :)
Arrange for babysitter for previously mentioned kids - thanks mom! :)
Make a new to-do list for tomorrow

Friday

Find a new place to live - time is ticking girl!
Pack more boxes
Since I know "me" so well - better get cracking on packing up those Christmas decorations!
Oh ya...I still need to find a BIG box for that Christmas Tree
Laundry - it's piling up you know....
Clean - that's C....L.....E.....A.....N (not "think about clean" but actually clean)
Did you feed your family this week?
Drive child to newly scheduled mandatory practice
Pick up above mentioned child from said practice
Watch Christian History DVD
Write that paper
Pack more boxes
Play with your children
Write that blog post about Kristie
Work for a few hours
Physical therapy exercises
Re-wind list to make sure to spend time with God at the beginning of the day
Make up a whole new list for tomorrow

Saturday

Wake up bright and early to feed and get child to bus for her competition
Attempt to make a good breakfast for other family
Go to teenage daughter's cheer competition
Go to youngest child's basketball game
Figure out a way to be two places at one time
Pack
Finish going through flooded basement articles...throw out said articles
Finish reading Supernatural Power of a Transformed Mind
Write paper for above mentioned book
Definately find a place to live! Time is ticking!!!
Prepare for hubby's surgery the following week.
Catch my breath and remember that God is in control!

Ok...so this is a portion of a glimps into my life this week. Funny...maybe I should actually print this out and then not have to worry about writing my "to-do" list. The things that are not written in there are the daily thoughts of all this stuff and how will I ever get it done. We will be moving at the end of February. Not something we really wanted to do, but unfortunately it's where we're at. (or not) We had hoped to be able to buy this house but it just will not work due to the market situation. The family is actually going to move back into the house until they can hopefully sell it down the road. I fully trust where the Lord is leading us. We agreed that during this journey we would follow Him, wherever He takes us. That hasn't changed.

This appears to be yet another chapter in our testimony. This chapter is going to be a little tougher since my mother-in-law is now battling breast cancer. But we know that God will take what satan intends for evil and He will use it for good. We might not see all of it now, but we will. We have a different way of seeing things now. We are more focused on our family. We are spending even more time with our family. We have more opportunities to show our love for our parents, especially Mary right now. Where we live doesn't really matter to me. What matters to me is that my heart is in the right place. What matters to me is that my mind is on what really matters. All of the stuff I listed above is just stuff. Things to do. If I skip some, I skip some. If I don't get my papers written on time, then they will be late. Not that I am trying to do that (just in case certain PW Mentors are reading this) but if it should happen, it really won't matter when I get to heaven. Jesus is not going to reprimand me for turning in late assignments. What I think He will be more concerned with is how I loved. How did I share His love with others. So, while I go on with my daily living, I am transforming my mind. I am trying to not get weighed down or stressed out about all the "stuff" I have to do.

I pray that your mind is transformed as well. Thinking of things from God's perspective. As it is in Heaven.

What can I say?

2011-01-09T21:05:00.000-06:00

Other than...

I love them to pieces.

When times are difficult I cling to my Lord.

And I thank Him for my children.

The most precious gifts I have.

I have not been able to blog because we are in the midst of a bunch of storms.

It seems as though they could be a bunch of storms.

The perfect storm.

Perfect?

Well, several storms coming togther all at the same time.

The perfect chance for God to show up and be glorified.

What can I say?

Not much, but Jesus does say something about storms.

Matthew 8:23-27

23 Then Jesus got into the boat and started across the lake with his disciples. 24 Suddenly, a fierce storm struck the lake, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25 The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”

26 Jesus responded, “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” Then he got up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly there was a great calm.

27 The disciples were amazed. “Who is this man?” they asked. “Even the winds and waves obey him!”

I will have faith and I will trust.

On days like this

2010-12-23T08:00:00.001-06:00

When the snow is piling up

as in more than 20 inches!!!

We get ready to do this:

This is my kitchen BEFORE

Nice and clean!

Here we go...

A group effort for sure! :)

Plenty of love mixed in

This warms my heart:

To have all my children

Sitting together

Concentrating

Working hard

To come up with materpieces

Like this

To add to our collection

And yes...those are chocolate chip cookies.

Made especially for Josh (and Dave).

This was after Grandma and Auntie took their share. :)

Fun was had by all and yes indeed a mess was made by all too!

Blizzard!

2010-12-22T08:00:00.000-06:00

December 11, 2010

This is what the blizzard left behind. Snow drifts taller than me. It was hard to get the full effect of the drifts. It was quite the storm! More than 20 inches!

Looking out the laundry room door.

After I opened the door.

It's 3 or 4 steps up to this door way.

This is from our family room.

I loved all the animal paw prints.

A snow storm we will remember always!

Snow days

2010-12-21T08:00:00.000-06:00

It was a perfect day at the hill.

This little girl

Our youngest

Has absolutely NO fear!

Going over a jump!

A big push by daddy is the best!

Again! Again!

Going down on your feet is...

a little risky! :)

Going down on your belly is...

lots of fun! :)

Walking up the hill is ok

...I guess.

Fun times!

Is it time for Hot Cocoa yet?

She's stunning...

2010-12-20T18:16:00.000-06:00

...well...at least I think so!

She's our teen and she has a servant's heart!

She a delight and I love watching her grow into a beautiful young lady!

Too cute not to share...

2010-12-07T12:04:00.001-06:00

My youngest...

who was wondering why I had the camera...

My fashionista and trendsetter...

who loves to look cute...

who loves to be warm...

...and I could not let her out the door without taking the photo!

The best gift ever...

2010-12-06T10:31:00.000-06:00

Yesterday at church, our pastor gave a great sermon. Part of the sermon was about Christmas Themes. If you'd like to view the sermon click here. It will be Pastor Bill, Acts Chapter 11. Ok, so back to the Christmas themes. He mentioned 3 of them.

Surprise - be open to surprises!
No favoritism - Be open to all people.
Giving - Give to those who have needs and not just to those who have lists.

# 3 and the way he put it really spoke to me. This Christmas we have very little to give from a financial aspect. And I'm fine with that. We are cutting down which always brings us to remember what Christmas is about...it's about JESUS! Celebrating HIS birthday! If I am celebrating His birthday, doesn't it seem fitting that I give HIM a gift? And so...what would that gift be? If Jesus had a birthday list, what would be at the top of it? I think it would have something to do with loving others. What do you think?

This year on Christmas, we will be going to the Dorothy Day Center in St. Paul. It's a local homeless shelter. We will give each of our Christmas guests, the gift of our time. We are also going to give them each a gift. We'll be giving gifts with gloves, hats, scarves, socks, and a little something. While we are full for our volunteers slots, we do still need help with gifts and food. If you're interested, here's the link to help. You can also donate and specify what you would like the money to go to. Or help someone in your community.

Finally...what is the best gift ever? Well, our pastor said it is your wrapped attention! Yes! That indeed is the best gift. The gift of your love. Love others! Yes, that includes your family. But I'm also talking about those that you don't know. What can you do to love someone who's not expecting it? Surprise someone today!

I would love to hear about ways you surprise someone with love!

Don't worry be...

2010-11-23T08:00:00.001-06:00

"Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." — Philippians 4:6 NRSV

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Philippians 4:6 NLT

I love this passage. I've had to lean on it many times throughout these past few years. It gives us specific instructions.

Don't worry - how much will worry help anyways? It won't.
Pray about everything - notice it doesn't say "pray about some things". Supplication is to pray earnestly or humbly.
Tell God what you need
Thank Him for all he has done - not just the good things, but ALL things.

There are times when I'm sure that most of us do not want to thank God. I mean, I have friends and family that have buried their children. Who would want to thank God for that? Maybe what this means is that we're to find the good in all things and thank him for that. That we would thank him that we will spend eternity with our children. I don't know. The thing I'm learning is that I don't have to know. I don't have to have the answers for everything. I'm ok with that. I'm actually thankful for that.

I will put away my worries and trust in Him.

1st Cheer Competition

2010-11-22T08:00:00.000-06:00

This was M's first competition. She was so excited and nervous! I think the parents were even more nervous than them. ;) They did a fantastic job. They took first place. They were actually the only middle school that entered this competition. Which was ok since they have a lot of new girls and they have a huge squad. 30 girls!

Being refined

2010-11-21T08:02:00.000-06:00

This is an email that I read years ago. Last week my husband shared it with me as someone emailed it to him recently. How fitting for what we're going through right now. Everything we go through is an opportunity for God to refine us.

Malachi 3:3 says: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver."

This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.

That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining Silver.
As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.

The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver." She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.

The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?"

He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it."

Author Unknown

What a great story. When God is developing our character or a piece of our lives, He will continue to allow the same things to happen again until He sees His image. Not ours, but His. That's my prayer. Less of me Lord and more of YOU!

My Testimony - Where Oh Where?

2010-11-15T09:43:00.000-06:00

I guess this would "officially" be Part 6 of My Testimony. Maybe chapter 6 of a book? ha, ha! As luck would have it (I guess if I believed in luck), but actually as only God would have it, I received a comment from someone on Thursday evening. This person had read through my testimony. It was geniune, heart-felt, uplifting and so timely. Thank you to whomever wrote it. Because I don't want to forget it and the timing of it, I'm going to include it in this post.

Anonymous said...
I am amazed that I am the first person commenting here. I have spent the last several hours--crying, writing in my journal, praying, praising God in between, eating, etc.--reading your testimonies. I googled "God will provide" or something similar, and came upon your page.
At this very moment, I am standing on the LORD's promise to me that He will provide for ALL of my needs: I love him with all my heart, and I am doing what He has put me on this earth to do. Reading your story has filled my heart with such praise and awe for the mighty and loving GOD we serve--How good and faithful He is.

Christine, Christine, Christine, may the LORD continue to bless you indeed, and pour out His great favor upon you and your family--so much so that you are wonderfully overwhelmed by His gifts. I don't know where you are right now on your journey, but I believe, in Jesus' name that your testimonies of God's goodness to you shall never run dry. Amen.

I thank God for using your blog to bless me tonight, and I thank you for listening to the LORD's voice, and blessing others with your testimonies of His goodness and faithfulness. In Jesus' name...
November 11, 2010 8:02 PM

If you're wondering what she's talking about, here's My Testimony page.

Well, here's the thing about the timing of this comment. We are in the midst of another storm. We have been attacked from all sides over the past few weeks. Two of my friends are facing major battles as they both have cancer. We've been robbed twice, my husband has been accused of mean, untrue things, my dad is facing a major surgery, my husband needs surgery, and now we are going to have to move. We are trying to soar above the clouds, above the storm, but sometimes it's tough. When I read this comment it reminded me of how much we have to be thankful of. Because it was just that night, Thursday evening, probably just about the time the person was leaving this comment that I found out we were going to have to move. When Dave told me this, I was like REALLY? REALLY GOD?

Part of her comment really struck me. "I don't know where you are right now on your journey, but I believe, in Jesus' name that your testimonies of God's goodness to you shall never run dry. Amen." I really believe God was speaking through her. She said that God's goodness to me shall never run dry. Amen! I'm standing on that.

How quickly we can forget about all He has done for us. This comment left me in tears. God has never forsaken us. In fact, He has always had our BEST interest at heart. I know this.

So...where oh where do we go? We've been renting our house. The owners want to sell the house. We haven't talked about a price, but we're pretty sure that what they want is not what we're going to be able or even willing to pay. We'll find out soon I guess. The other thing is qualifying for a mortgage. Since Dave was without an income for so long, I will have to qualify on my own. Not sure how that's going to work. I'm totally fine with renting a place. It's just the thought of packing up and moving. The thought of looking for a place. The thought of changing schools. I really do not want our kids to have to change schools. That's the worst thought of this whole thing actually. Our kids have been through enough and I just do not want to have to think about that.

The next thing I don't want to think about is going through showings. Needing to leave at a moments notice. We have a busy household and this will be stressful. Well, I feel like I'm whining now, so I'll stop. I am indeed thankful that at this moment we have a home. There are many who don't. Whenever I start feeling sorry for myself, I just remember what I have. I remember the very people we are helping right now and that they are living outside, in the snow, in a tent if they're lucky. It breaks my heart.

Back to God. God has a plan for us. We will be obedient. We will now listen once again for His voice. Some scriptures that have been and continue to be part of our testimony.

Matthew 6:32-33 “Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs, and he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern.

Luke 12:15 – Beware! Don’t be greedy for what you don’t have. Real life is not measured by how much we own.

Philippians 4:12 – I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.

Ecclesiastes 7:14 – When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other.

I will continue to stand on God's Word. He indeed is our rock! He knows the plans He has for us and they are plans to prosper us not to bring harm. Jer 29:11

Thank you God for where we're at. Show us what you want for us. Where you go we will follow! We love you LORD!

Keep Thanking God

2010-11-09T08:00:00.001-06:00

Just as I'm about to shut down my computer for the night (on Sunday night), I get my daily devotion emailed to me. What does it say? Keep Thanking God. Really, because I don't feel like thanking God right at this moment. Quite frankly, I'd rather be angry. Well, for the moment anyways. ;) I actually hate feeling angry, because that's not the true emotion. The true feeling is one of hurt. It's one of frustration. A deep hurt actually.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

The devotion reminds us that there is an enemy who is trying to steal my faith and my joy and my peace. And that I am to remain faithful for what God is doing during this time. And so, I will. I will thank the Lord for everything that is happening right now. Because as others have reminded me, that if he is for me than who shall be against me. And the Lord is indeed for me.

Isaiah 54:16-17 No weapon that is formed against you will prosper;
And every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn
This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,
And their vindication is from Me," declares the LORD.

I know that God will turn and make things good for His glory. That is what I seek. I will remain stead fast and in His Word. The truth.

So Lord, not only do I thank you but I pray for blessings for those who are hurting. I ask that you would touch their hearts and that they may see your face. Lord, I pray that the hearts of many would be touched by you. I pray for protection of them. Lord, I will wait on you.

Deer Hunting

2010-11-08T08:00:00.001-06:00

Truth be told...I've never been a fan of deer hunting. I think deer are so cute I can't ever imagine shooting one. But I feel the same way about cows and I still eat them. I actually do not like venison though. Even when it is sneaked into something. It's been tried many a time to fool me...and it just doesn't work! ha, ha! The only reason I am ok with deer hunting is if the meat will be eaten. Although I personally have no desire to go deer hunting myself.

My husband has gone deer hunting ever since he was a young boy. It has been a long time rule that no women/girls are allowed. Period! It's been only men. Not a rule that my husband set but that the older men who've been doing this for the past 30 years or so had set. Well, this year was a first. A first for a female to hunt with the guys. Since the deer hunting cabin has been moved to another property and Dave's parents have built their own cabin, they stay there. This year Dave decided that he would take 2 of the kids with.

Anyways...imagine the excitement that our 13 year old daughter had when her daddy told her she could go deer hunting! My kids love the cabin. But THIS was a whole new experience. I was surprised to hear that they actually stayed out in the woods all day both days. Unfortunately, they didn't see a buck. My son was sitting with grandpa and they saw 2 doe, but they were holding out for a buck. He was so excited he was shaking! Neither of our kids have had gun safetey training (and my son is not old enough anyways) and so they were there merely to watch and be a part of the experience. They hunt with a very safe group and that is why I was not having a heart attack when Dave told me he wanted to take them. Thankfully, they're on their way home as I type this, all safe and sound. Hopefully, I'll have pictures to post soon.

Life Guard: Use floatation device!

2010-11-07T08:00:00.000-06:00

This past week was one of the toughest weeks ever. Dave was going through a very tough time with Breakthrough. It is really hard when you are trying to help people that are literally drowning. There is a reason that life guards are trained to use floatation devices when rescuing a drowning person. If you come in contact with them, they may bring you down with them. They are panicking and thrashing and are not able to think calmly. They are not thinking about how they may drown the very person that is trying to save them. This is what this past week has been like. And then on top of it you add into the mix, other people who are watching from shore telling you how you should go about saving the person. Throw into that mix a bunch of lies and hate and you have a big mess.

There are times when I think it would be easier to just give up. Although that's what the enemy wants. And we are not in this to please the enemy. We are in this for Jesus. We are in this to help those that have lost their way. The hard thing about this is that sometimes there are some people who are not ready to be helped. We have come to the sad realization that not everyone is ready to change their life around. Because this requires honesty. It doesn't necessarily require them to make immediate changes, but it does require one to be honest. It's heart breaking when you invest several months of love and emotional energy to have someone lie repeatedly. It's almost like throwing them a life line and having them not grab onto it. All I can do right now is pray for these people, pray for my husband and pray for those who persecute him. We know that we are on the right path when this comes about. And we rest in Him. He knows all. A passage we continue to lean on:

Matthew 5:10-12
God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right,
for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

11 “God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you[a] and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. 12 Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.

In the midst of all this, our garage was broken into. They stole Dave's laptop and 2 bikes. This is the second time we've been robbed in less than 2 weeks. The first time our cars were in the driveway. So, it was like...seriously?! What else can happen? During this time I believe we were being tested. Kind of like Job. When we entered into the Potter's Wheel program, we knew that we were going even deeper into enemy territory. We knew that we would be even higher on Satan's radar. This Psalm was just too fitting for the last week. And as we trust in the Lord, we knew the outcome would be great! And it was! Although the police have not found the individuals who are stealing in our neighborhoods, we know they will. And we pray that they would recover our items. But even if they don't, we rejoice in the fact that it's just "stuff" and all of which can be replaced.

Psalm 25
O Lord, I give my life to you.
2 I trust in you, my God!
Do not let me be disgraced,
or let my enemies rejoice in my defeat.
3 No one who trusts in you will ever be disgraced,
but disgrace comes to those who try to deceive others.
4 Show me the right path, O Lord;
point out the road for me to follow.
5 Lead me by your truth and teach me,
for you are the God who saves me.
6 Remember, O Lord, your compassion and unfailing love,
which you have shown from long ages past.
7 Do not remember the rebellious sins of my youth.
Remember me in the light of your unfailing love,
for you are merciful, O Lord.
8 The Lord is good and does what is right;
he shows the proper path to those who go astray.
9 He leads the humble in doing right,
teaching them his way.
10 The Lord leads with unfailing love and faithfulness
all who keep his covenant and obey his demands.
11 For the honor of your name, O Lord,
forgive my many, many sins.
12 Who are those who fear the Lord?
He will show them the path they should choose.
13 They will live in prosperity,
and their children will inherit the land.
14 The Lord is a friend to those who fear him.
He teaches them his covenant.
15 My eyes are always on the Lord,
for he rescues me from the traps of my enemies.
16 Turn to me and have mercy,
for I am alone and in deep distress.
17 My problems go from bad to worse.
Oh, save me from them all!
18 Feel my pain and see my trouble.
Forgive all my sins.
19 See how many enemies I have
and how viciously they hate me!
20 Protect me! Rescue my life from them!
Do not let me be disgraced, for in you I take refuge.
21 May integrity and honesty protect me,
for I put my hope in you.
22 O God, ransom Israel
from all its troubles.

We have surrounded ourselves with Godly people of wisdom and love. We trust them. We love them. They are honest with us, they pray for us, and we couldn't make it through this without them. We continue to pray for even those who are deceived by the enemy. We know that along this path we are dealing with people who have been hurt over and over again. We will continue to love them. We will continue to reach out to them. We are not perfect and we will make mistakes along the way. Praise God that He loves us anyways. :)

We are not living our lives to please others. At least we try not to. We are living our lives for Jesus. On Wednesday evening, Dave got a phone call. The person said to him that God had a word for him. I'm paraphrasing here but it was something like this. "Dave, I was in worship and God spoke to me about you. I had to leave the service immediately to call you. God said that these individuals (he actually named them) are His problem. Breakthrough is His ministry. He loves you and is well pleased with you. He is calling off the enemy." That was unbelievably powerful! Thank you LORD!

It's easy to forget about the stumbling blocks. But it is the stumbling blocks that we choose to use as steps in life. I don't want to forget about this. I want to remember it. I need to remember these times. We know that these times will make us stronger. It was funny because when this all started Dave said, "Chris, I know that God will make good out of this. I don't know what it is, but He will." And he was so right. What a few people set out to harm us, God has turned around and made good come from it. Thank you!

Oh...and you may ask what do we use as our floatation device? JESUS! He's all we need.

Red Sky in the morning...

2010-11-06T08:00:00.004-05:00

This is the beautiful sunrise I woke to on Monday, November 1.

Now, if you know me,

*ahem*

you know that this is rare for me!

I mean rare that I wake up early enough to see the sunrise.

I'm a night owl.

But...

God wanted to show me something.

He wanted to speak to me and so he woke me.

I woke up and walked into M's room.

This is what I saw.

I had to go get my camera because it was so beautiful!

By the time I got back, it was starting to fade.

I had to edit the color a bit

because my camera did not capture the truly brilliant colors that were there!

2 Samuel 23:2-4

“The Spirit of the Lord speaks through me;

his words are upon my tongue.

The God of Israel spoke.

The Rock of Israel said to me:

‘The one who rules righteously,

who rules in the fear of God,

is like the light of morning at sunrise,

like a morning without clouds,

like the gleaming of the sun

on new grass after rain.’

I always remember this saying...

A red sky in the morning is a sailor's warning.

Red sky at night is a sailor's delight.

So...I remember thinking to myself...I wonder what the warning is.

Little did I know what that day would bring for us and the next few days to follow.

Halloween 2010

2010-11-05T12:05:00.000-05:00

We had a fun Halloween!

We talked about how when Jesus comes into our life,

He cleans us out to make room for the Holy Spirit.

God sent Jesus to do what we couldn't, take away our sins. Romans 10:9

We get new eyes.

Turn my eyes from worthless things,

and give me life through your word. Psalm 119:37

This is serious stuff!

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

Our big cowgirl!

This was her first Halloween she spent with friends and not trick-or-treating with us.

Our handsome cowboy!

He also went off trick-or-treating with all the neighborhood kids

and some parents.

These two best buds got to hang out!

Our little cowgirl!

It's a good thing we love Wendy and Nathan,

since our girls are the best of friends

and can't go more than a few days without playing!

Wendy and I took the girls trick-or-treating,

while the guys kept the fire going!

My mom ended up joining us as well.

Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” John 8:12

It was a beautiful evening!

All I Want for Christmas IS...

2010-10-27T08:00:00.001-05:00

YOU! I know, I know. It's not even Halloween yet. BUT here's the deal...I'm already thinking about Christmas. Maybe it's the cold temp, maybe it's the sound of the wind howling. Or maybe it was an email I received from someone looking for a way for her family to volunteer on Christmas Day. It got me to thinking. Last year, we had a small Christmas party a couple of days before Christmas for some homeless people. I remember thinking "how am I going to do this when I have all this wrapping and cleaning and "stuff" to do to get ready for Christmas. And as if lightening struck me, except it didn't, something hit me. I was being so selfish. It was as if God was looking me right in the eye saying "Really Christine? Is that what Christmas is about?". Talk about being convicted. I almost looked around to see if anyone else heard that. This got me to thinking about this Christmas. I'm usually really excited to host the holidays at our home. Not this year. Dave and I have talked about it. We're spending Christmas with the homeless. Since we can't really bring them all to our house, we'll be going to them.

Why am I telling you this? Well, here's where YOU come into this. I'm not telling you this because I want your praise. I'm telling you this, because we can't do this on our own. We can't prepare a feast for 300 - 500 people on our own. We need your help. Wouldn't it be amazing to bless a few hundred people who have no where to go? And I'm talking more than just spooning up a meal for them. I'm talking about bringing them the gift of our love and our time. The gift of a homemade meal, prepared with love by many. The gift of laughter. And maybe even a gift they could unwrap. That would be icing on the cake. It's not even Halloween and yet I'm so excited. We don't have a plan yet. Just the idea. Hopefully, plans will be made soon.

My prayer would be that you might be open to this and pray about joining us. I truly can not think of a better way to spend Christmas with my family, my friends, and friends I don't even know...yet.

What Would You Do?

2010-10-22T21:08:00.000-05:00

I am sitting here watching the show "What Would You Do?". I can barely see through my tears. I can not believe how people can do nothing. I came in about half way through the show. First there's a Muslim woman in a store. The guy behind the counter won't serve her. He tells her how she's not an American because she's wearing a head scarf. Most people just stand there and say nothing. Then there are those who actually jump in and praise him for this. Seriously? A few are bold enough to say something and stand up for this poor woman.

The next segment is about a well dressed woman who passes out in the middle of the sidewalk. Within 6 seconds someone helps her. Although some people do keep walking most stop. Then they put a man out there. A man who appears to be homeless. What do you suppose happens? 80 some people pass him by!!!!! Finally, a sweet black lady with a cane stops. She can't really bend down and so she stands there asking people to help this man. She repeatedly says "can you call this man an ambulance?". Do you think anyone stops? NO! It makes me cry all over again just thinking about it. They just keep on walking. And this woman is beside herself that no one will help this man. Finally, someone stops. I'm beyond sad. I can NOT believe this. But the sad reality is that this is what people do all the time. My husband goes to the Dorothy Day Center almost every week to feed and minister to the homeless. There are people laying around all over the place...people just walk or drive on by. They're ignored. :( I don't even have words to say.

How can people just walk around someone who needs help? How can people just ignore someone in trouble? Even if, and that's a big IF, the guy was just drunk and passed out, does he still not need help? But what if he had a heart attack? I mean how can you assume he's just passed out, if that indeed is what you're assuming. Wow! I just shake my head. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I guess I wouldn't have believed it.

Are we really too busy? Are we really that desensitized? Are we really that uncaring? Someone tell me.

Halloween - What's a Christian to do?

2010-10-15T11:11:00.000-05:00

Halloween is almost here. That means that fall is upon us and it's going to get cold soon. It also becomes a time where we walk a fine line. I love to celebrate. My kids love dressing up and getting candy. A couple of years ago, one of my kids asked me why we celebrate Halloween. I couldn't really answer her, so I decided I better really find the answer. I found the book, "Redeeming Halloween" by Wier and McCune. As I was reading, it really opened my eyes. It also gave me hope for redeeming this holiday and celebrating in a way that would honor God. I wrote a series of posts about what I found from the book and the internet. Since we will start our decorating this weekend and get our pumpkins, I thought it would be a great time for me to review what I learned a couple years back. And I thought I share them with you.

Redeeming Halloween - Part 1 (originally posted 10/9/09)
My daughter, Mackenzie, asked me why we celebrate Halloween. She wanted details. I told her that she should look it up on the internet. (That's what a mom does when she really doesn't know all the facts. Well, this mom anyways. :) Well, when I was looking through our resource center at church, I found this book. "Redeeming Halloween" I have so much time to read that I figured I should get this book. Actually, it's pretty good.

When it came to celebrating years ago, it was always just about decorating, costumes and candy. Then the deeper I got into my walk with the Lord, the more I began to see how we were not honoring Him. For example: decorations that included ghosts and witches, along with witch costumes, etc. Don't get me wrong...I'm not judging anyone here. This is just my walk and I'm sharing it with anyone who cares. I never really gave it a second thought until a few years ago. It was like all of a sudden I started feeling bad when I put out ghosts or witches. Not because anyone had told me it was wrong...it was just a feeling that came from inside. So, we started to transition out of those decorations. We also have gotten rid of most of the "scary" things. The more I think about it, the more I just wonder why I would "want" to scare my kids or any kids for that matter. hmmm....

So, through reading this book I've learned some cool stuff and ideas. I'm sure there are hundreds or more of resource to get information about Halloween. And I'm also quite sure that they all vary to some degree. If you have other information or ideas, please post it in the comments section at the end of this post. I would love to hear them.

My main point in doing this is to be able to answer those questions that my 11 year old daughter has asked me. And to share with you some insights and ideas I've been reading in this book and found on the internet. I am not judging anyone here, or trying to start a debate. :) These are just my own personal feelings. That being said, I welcome your comments and ideas as well.

First of all, here's a short version of the history of Halloween.
History of name (from Wikipedia)

The term Halloween is shortened from All Hallows' Even (both "even" and "eve" are abbreviations of "evening", but "Halloween" gets its "n" from "even") as it is the eve of "All Hallows' Day", which is now also known as All Saints' Day. It was a day of religious festivities in various northern European Pagan traditions, until Popes Gregory III and Gregory IV moved the old Christian feast of All Saints' Day from May 13 (which had itself been the date of a pagan holiday, the Feast of the Lemures) to November 1. In the ninth century, the Church measured the day as starting at sunset, in accordance with the Florentine calendar. Although All Saints' Day is now considered to occur one day after Halloween, the two holidays were, at that time, celebrated on the same day. Liturgically, the Church traditionally celebrated that day as the Vigil of All Saints, and, until 1970, a day of fasting as well. Like other vigils, it was celebrated on the previous day if it fell on a Sunday, although secular celebrations of the holiday remained on the 31st. The Vigil was suppressed in 1955, but was later restored in the post-Vatican II calendar.

Here are the other 3 posts.
Redeeming Halloween - Part 2 (This is the Christian History part)
Redeeming Halloween - Part 3 (Fun ways to celebrate - trick-or-treating, decorating, pumpkin carving)
Redeeming Halloween - Part 4 (Ways to share your faith and love your neighbor)

I hope you enjoy!

Honor

2010-10-06T12:00:00.001-05:00

I just attended a conference with speakers Danny Silk and Bill Johnson. Danny Silk is the author Loving Your Kids on Purpose. The parenting study I've mentioned here. Transformational is what I have to say about it!

Just so you all know this...I am writing this for myself. I am writing this to share the insights that I got from this conference and to share them with you. I'm not writing this to "tell" anyone how they should live their life. This is just what I am trying to do and will continue to do. I am far and I mean FAR from perfect! ha, ha! But I will tell you that as I have been doing these things in my own life, there has been transformation. Some of what I'm going to write about is stuff I learned from the Loving Your Kids on Purpose. Which "works" on adults too. :) And I'm really speaking about myself!

The first session of this conference was about honor. Creating a culture of honor. How does one do that? What does it look like? Why is it so hard to honor our husbands ALL the time?

Honor (according to the dictionary) means:

- To glory in, to promote
- To elevate another’s status
- To give prestige to somebody
- Great respect and admiration

Many of us have learned that we get what we want by enducing fear. Fear of punishment, fear of leaving, etc. If you do this, I'm going to leave you. If you do this, you will be grounded. This is not a healthy or biblical way of living. If you want to be treated a certain way by your spouse, if you want to be listened to by your children, honor them.
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear. Because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 1 John 4:18 (NIV)

What makes a dramatic impact in the world around us is Honor and Love. Jesus says the greatest commandment is love. Love the Lord your God and love your neighbor. When we truly love each other, we don't need rules.

You see I have a choice. I can be faithful to my husband or not. I am faithful to my husband because I love him and I want to honor him. I am faithful to my husband because I want to be. He's not forcing me to be faithful to him. I choose to help him with things because I love him. Even when I don't like what he does, I still need to choose to honor him and choose to love him. I know...you all were thinking he's perfect and always does the right thing. ha, ha!

My husband and I have a relational connection. We have a heart-to-heart connection. We know each other. We know each other's hearts. He knows my deepest desires and I know his. He knows my deepest fears and I know his. This may seem surprising, but many couples don't share that. They don't communicate. They do not share intimacy. And I am not talking about sex. I am talking about so much more than that. What happens is that they have isolated themselves. They hide their fears and build walls around themselves.

When we isolate or insulate ourselves, we trap our fears inside. Living your life based on fear is not living in freedom. Jesus died so that we could have freedom. There is a deep calling to deep.

Love and fear are mortal enemies. They can not exist together. Remember the scripture I mentioned above. Perfect love casts out fear! When you love someone unconditionally and they KNOW you love them unconditionally, they have no fear of you. There's no reason not to honor each other. There's no reason to hide things from each other.

All things are permissible. You won’t be punished by God. Jesus died to cover ALL our sins, not just some. But not all things are going to work out for us. We will have to give an account for what we did with our freedom. I mean...why did got put the tree of knowledge in the middle of the garden after all? To give us the choice. Because I have choices – I show my love. – to my husband. I am free to do what I want. I choose to love him everyday. I choose to be faithful everyday.

Here's an example. How about the relationship between a horse and it's rider. Now, I'm no expert but I do know people that have horses. One usually sees the rider in a saddle for safety and there's usually a bridle with a bit to lead the horse. Right? It takes great trust for a rider to get on the horse bareback, wouldn't you say?

This video is so powerful!

That horse loves her and she loves that horse. Their relationship is one of respect, trust and honor!

HONOR is nothing less than 2 powerful people in a relationship working together to meet the needs of each other and the situation.

Jesus fufilled this scripture...
“A new government of love will be established…" Isa 16:5 The Message

It's never too late to build a culture of honor in your relationships!

Etc, Etc, Etc

2010-09-27T21:14:00.000-05:00

Do you have days like these? I love this video.

Cracks me up!

There are day when it seems as though I just can't keep up.
Where life is moving by too fast.
When I have too many balls in the air...too many chocolates on the conveyor belt.
There are days when my thoughts consume my mind. (My never ending to do list, fear, worry, etc.)

ETC...means and so on and so forth

At our last staff meeting, our pastor gave a devotion. He gave another meaning of ETC. Every Thought Captive.

You see, we have an enemy. He would like nothing more than to keep us busy. Keep our thoughts consumed with stuff of the world. Keep our to do list, never ending. Busyness keeps us from spending time with God and spending time with those that matter.

Like the never ending line of chocolates, we can fill our mouths and every part of our lives with stuff that seems at the time to be sweet, but in reality it will end up making us sick.

I am plenty guilty of doing this very thing. Although if you know me, you will know that I've gotten better at this. I am becoming more protective of my boundaries. I am learning to say "no". This is very hard for me. Empathy is my number 1 strength. I "feel" for everyone!

I mentioned that we can end up sick. I truly know this in the most literal sense. I don't believe that God ever makes us sick. He is only good. There is no sickness in heaven. But I do believe that nothing happens without God allowing it to happen. Why He allows somethings and not others is a whole other post. Since I believe He allows it to happen, I think He has a reason. Maybe it's to draw us closer to Him. Maybe it's to allow us a chance to slow down. God only knows.

Something a little funny...I've been meaning to start this post for over a week. It just so happens that I'm sick! I started coming down with a cold yesterday and it's still coming. YES...I've been super busy. We had a garage sale at our house for Breakthrough Ministries last week. Of course, it was raining and cold. We'll be having the sale this week too. After that, it's time to slow down! My "to-do" list can wait. My children are growing like weeds. My oldest is 20 years old and before I know my youngest will be moving out too. :(

Back to the point of this post. Hold Every Thought Captive. I'm going to give my worry, fear, and my never ending "to-do" list to the Lord. I will be obedient and do what is honoring to the Lord.

I'll end with this scripture:
2 Corinthians 10:4-6
4The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 6And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.

Life Interrupted

2010-09-24T08:00:00.001-05:00

What happens when you're moving along in life and suddenly it get interrupted?! My friend, Kristie Foreman, is fighting for her life right now. Well, actually I would even say that. She's handed her life over to the Lord. She's amazing and is so full of peace. Literally, one day she's dancing around and then next she's in ICU. She has 4 beautiful children. (The youngest 3 are the exact same age as my youngest 3.) She had a severe headache and went to the ER at about 1 am on Sunday morning. After an MRI and some tests, the diagnosis...a golf ball sized malignant brain tumor on her right temporal lobe. The doctors don't give a good prognosis. However, we have a Heavenly Father who is the Mighty Physician! And what does my friend Kristie say to the doctors? Do you believe in miracles? Because you're about to see one. Over the next few days her room would be filled with lots of people praying, singing, and partying!

Today she had surgery. First part - biopsy - not the news we were hoping for. It is not a lymphoma cancer, instead it is a more aggressive cancer. They went in and removed as much of the tumor as possible - about 95%. The surgeon called the surgery a success. Praise God that they were able to remove that much. Also praise God that there is no cancer in the rest of her body!

My heart is heavy for her and her family. Actually, more for her family than anything. Because you see, Kristie is amazing! Her faith is unbelievable. She is at peace and is trusting God for His will to be done. She is the one lying in bed with a tumor and yet she is constantly uplifting everyone else! She continues to stand on God's Word and praise Him and thank Him and trust Him!

This gives God the most amazing opportunity to let His glory shine! There are hundreds of friends, co-workers and family members praying for a complete healing. Wouldn't it be cool to have thousands praying?! Stop by her Caringbridge site and leave a note that you're praying. It would be so amazing for thousands to witness the miracle that we are proclaiming!!! Be part of a miracle and pray for Kristie!

I just had to copy and paste this from Kristie's CB Site. This was part of a post she wrote:

"Bless the Lord O my soul and all that is within me Bless HIS Holy Name!!!" Psalm 103 :1

Focus and Claim those verses in Isaiah 41:11-13 "" Behold all those who were incensed against you (the tumor) Shall be ashamed and disgraced; They shall be as NO THING. And those who strive with you ( the tumor) WILL PERISH! You shall seek them and NOT FIND THEM!! Those who contend with you. Those who war against you Shall be as nothing as a NONEXISTENT THING. Gor I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, Syaing to you, Fear not I will help you."

God is Good and I am totally trusting HIM. He has given me these wonderful Godly, African men as nurses who are laying hand on me and praying for me. They are going to pray over the hands of my surgeona also!!!

"Rejoice in the Lord always, agin I will say, REJOICE!" Let your gentleness be known to all men, The Lord is near." Be anxious for nothing,but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God." Phillipians 4:4-6

Love and Peace to ALL,
I am well,

Kristie

Wow! I mean how can you not be encouraged by that? She's facing the fight of her life and yet she's rejoicing! And if you know Kristie...you know that she truly is rejoicing! :)

You see, no matter where you are in life, you can rejoice. Find peace and joy in everything. It is possible!

Got Dreams?

2010-09-21T22:33:00.001-05:00

Do you ever wake up from a dream and wish you could go back to sleep to finish your dream? I know I have. What about in real life? Do you have unfulfilled dreams? Or worse yet, have you stopped dreaming?

If you've read my testimony you may remember me telling about how I didn't want to go to our women's retreat that was on "Igniting Your Unfulfilled Dreams". I didn't want to go because I thought that I didn't have any dreams. I was so wrong. I did have dreams, I just had forgotten them. And of course, the biggest dream I ever had was to help the homeless. I stopped dreaming because I started feeling like I would never be able to do it. Why? Because of money. In my mind, I had decided that in order to help the homeless, I was going to have to be rich. What I didn't realize was that I really didn't need any money at all. What keeps you from living your dreams?

I was at a conference this past week. One of the sessions was called "Dreaming with God". I loved it. I am going to share about some of the things I took away from this session. First of all, we can dream big. We have a big God. He has already given us each special gifts and a purpose. We need to tap into that. We need to be still and seek God. Some of you may be thinking that you don't have anything special or that you are not needed or not good enough. You are so wrong my friend! You are infinitally valuable. You need to realize your identity. You are a son/daughter of the King. You were fearfully and wonderfully made in God's image.

Do you remember Susan Boyle? Watch this video.

This video brings me to tears every time I watch it! When Susan was asked why her dream hasn't worked out she said she hadn't been given the chance. Well, if you saw the way people were laughing at her and smirking at the things she said, it's no surprise that she was never given the chance. How sad.

Discouragement, disappointments and even distractions can get in the way of our dreams. Are any of these things getting in your way? Do you let other dictate what you should or shouldn't do? Maybe people even try to tell you that dreams are foolish. I'm here to tell you they're not.

Joseph was a dreamer. In Genesis 37 it tells about how he had dreams. But before those dreams could become real, he had to go to the pit. Sometimes we need to go through something to step into our destiny. Maybe you're in the midst of going through your own trial right now. You may not even be able to see past your circumstance right now. But have hope. For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11

Hope deferred makes the heart sick but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life. Proverbs 13:12

Is fear keeping you from living your dream? Because perfect love casts out all fear. God's love is perfect. The love in you is greater than any fear. The light in you is brighter than any darkness around you. The world is waiting for you to live your dream. There is a destiny over you. Seek Him and He will show you.

Distractions can keep you from living your dream. Not protecting your boundaries can lead to illness. It can keep you from hearing God's voice because there are so many other voices. It can take away your passion and keep you from dreaming. This is where I was at years ago, at the time that I didn't want to go to the women's retreat. I was too busy with all kinds of other stuff. I wasn't hearing God. And it was during a silent retreat that I finally heard him. Now, for those of you who know me, you'll know how much I do NOT like silent retreats. When someone tells me I have to be quiet...I just can't stand it. :) But it was during this time, that I was finally able to hear God about my dreams and then begin to start dreaming again.

I'm here to tell you that dreams can come true, they can become reality, no matter what your circumstance. If you read my testimony, you'll see what I'm talking about. I pray that you will be encouraged and that you will allow yourselves to dream. I would love to hear what your dreams are. Maybe you're living your dream. If you would like to share it, you will be an encouragement to others. If you would like to ask for prayer, you can do that too. I can't wait to see what you all have to say.

Sweet dreams!

I USED to wonder.

2010-09-17T08:00:00.001-05:00

It's starting to get cold outside. Fall nights are chilly and soon there will be a frost. Can you imagine sleeping outside and waking up with frost on your blanket or your nose? What about once the snow starts to fly? Sub zero temperatures! 30 or 40 below windshield type temperatures. We get warned by the weather man to keep bundled and not allow your skin to be exposed for more than a few minutes. Would you allow your children to sleep outside when it's below zero? I know I wouldn't.
What happens when the shelters are full? What happens is that sons, daughters, moms, dads, sisters and brothers get turned away and have to find a place to sleep. It sickens me. I have a hard time sleeping sometimes when it's storming outside or it's really cold. I think about them.

I used to wonder if they were warm. I used to wonder if they were afraid. I used to wonder if they cried themselves to sleep. Now I don't wonder anymore. I've met them. I've talked to them. They've shared their hearts and their fears. I don't wonder anymore because now I know. I know that they are cold. I know that they are scared. I know that they cry. I know they're hurting and alone. I know that they have lost all hope. I know that what they think is true. No one cares. No one is listening. No one sees them. Well, I shouldn't say no one, but that's what they think and for the most part it's true. Not many people care enough to actually do something about it.

I cry out to God! My heart is broken. Another winter and they will continue to sleep with no roof over their head. If some of them are luck they will get a mat and a bologna sandwich at a local shelter. We will continue to cry out to God. We will continue to try to Lead the Lost home...one person at a time. Or on days like today...we took 3 off the streets. I wish we could do more. If you feel led to help us help them, go to http://www.breakthroughministries.org/. If you want to experience an eye opening, life changing experience, join us on Tuesday nights.

On behalf of those who have lost hope, I cry out to you Lord.

I pray to you, O Lord, my rock.

Do not turn a deaf ear to me.
For if you are silent,
I might as well give up and die.
Listen to my prayer for mercy
as I cry out to you for help
as I lift my hands toward your holy sanctuary.
Psalm 28:1-2

School's here

2010-09-16T08:00:00.003-05:00

I can't believe that summer is over.

The kids were all excited for their first day of school.

I managed to get a smile from her oh so early in the morning!

The 8th grader

4th grade

There's the smile...dimples and all!

My fashionista!

She's all about the accessories.

A sweet 2nd grader!

It's rather strange now...having all the kids off to school. I still don't think I'm quite used to it.

Since our oldest is 20...I've just always had someone at home with me.

I know this is the 2nd year that I've had them all in school for a full day, but I still am not used to it for some reason. I do enjoy my days though. I'm even going to try to have Fridays off so that I can have a day at home to get stuff done. And hopefully catch up with friends.

I pray that each of my children would be blessed!

The end of summer days

2010-09-15T08:00:00.000-05:00

As the summer comes to an end, we filled it with lots fun!

Our 2nd child became a teenager!

Which calls for a party!

Big sissy spent a couple of nights with us.

Of course, they wanted to sleep on the couch with her.

M fell asleep on her.

They're just not as small as they used to be.

H was at grandma's or they really would've been squished. :)

We went to the cabin for Labor Day Weekend.

Buddy was the big fisherman of the weekend.

These two woke up early every morning to go fishing.

They fished and fished.

While this one...

Stayed back at the cabin and...

Took goofy pictures

Of herself

while no one was looking!

There really is never a dull moment with my bean!

She is always full of laughs!

I truly wonder what she will be like when she's an adult. :)

What do you think...

These guys....

are

waiting for?

The ducks of course!

It's the annual rubber ducky races!

H and daddy getting ready to go on a ride.

The scary thing is that she has NO fear!

It was a fun end to our summer.

My mom and dad were there as well. I'm not sure why I don't have any pics of them.

I could've swore that I took some. Hmmm???

A Night Under the Stars

2010-09-09T21:09:00.000-05:00

As the weather starts to get hold here in Minnesota, I find myself thinking more and more about the homeless. They spend the days walking the streets and the nights trying to keep from freezing. This is reality for nearly 10,000 Minnesotans. If you can't imagine what I'm talking about, I invite you to spend the night in a tent or under a tarp or just under the stars. You can do it on Saturday for Breakthrough Ministries "A Night Under the Stars", you can do it in your own back yard, or you could try to do it in the middle of December.

I would like to extend an invitation to all of YOU, to come down to Straight Rivers Golf Course in Faribault anytime this Saturday or Sunday. There will be golf, fun games for kids, bouncy house, a dunk tank, lots of food and a concert by Ayiesha Woods at 6 pm on Saturday, September 11. You can come for the entire time or come for the concert.

The Faribault Daily News did an article on this event. Here's the link. This event is FREE, although donations and pledges are very appreciated.

I firmly believe it is OUR job to end this problem. We need to step up and help our brothers and sisters. Will you help? Attend this event, make a pledge, or come down to the Dorothy Day Center on Tuesdays and help feed the homeless. We will also be collecting blankets and socks over the next few months.

Thanks and blessings to you all!

Lions and Tigers and (Gorillas)! Oh My!

2010-09-02T07:00:00.001-05:00

On probably the hottest day of the year,

I thought it would be a fabulous idea to go to the Como Zoo!

While waiting for Sparky the Seal to perform

(which never happened)

The kids wanted to get an icee

My boy

Cute!

Perfect day for a nap in the shade

Hot

Our youngest two

I really got a kick out of this gorilla

This is right before he decided to turn his back on us.

Look at his eyes.

Geesh!

Looks like a little old man!

The middle monkey kept putting it's arms out for them to clean.

Kicking back

Bumper cars!

The dragon!

Driving school

I always loved the swings!

A couple of firefighters

The best part of the day was....

Getting soaked!!

Dripping wet kind of soaked

Now he's dry...

Now he's not! ha, ha!

More water

I love the look on Hailey's face

Daddy had to coax them to get their arms in the air!

Not a bad shot since they were cruising by.

What a great day!

Summer's End

2010-09-01T07:00:00.000-05:00

This time of year is bitter-sweet for me.

BITTER because....

lazy mornings snuggling in pj's are coming to an end

spending days on end at the pool are coming to an end

water parks are closing

the warm weather will all too soon be over

the days are getting shorter

days of playing in the mud are coming to an end

days at the beach are coming to an end

our camping days are over

campfires are about over

and staying up late watching movies is coming to an end.

SWEET because...

our routine will be back

the kids will be reunited with some of their friends

we love to do homework ;)

our work schedules won't be so crazy

football season is here

and because we'll have to cherish the weekends even more!

Yes, as summer is coming to an end a new season is just around the corner!

The Lord's Baseball Game

2010-08-31T07:00:00.001-05:00

THE LORD'S BASEBALL GAME

Freddy and the Lord stood by to observe a baseball game. The Lord's team was playing Satan's team.

The Lord's team was at bat, the score was tied zero to zero, and it was the bottom of the 9th inning with two outs. They continued to watch as a batter stepped up to the plate named 'Love.'

Love swung at the first pitch and hit a single, because 'Love never fails.'

The next batter was named Faith, who also got a single because Faith works with Love.

The next batter up was named Godly Wisdom. Satan wound up and threw the first pitch.

Godly Wisdom looked it over and let it pass: Ball one. Three more pitches and Godly Wisdom walked because he never swings at what Satan throws.

The bases were now loaded. The Lord then turned to Freddy and told him He was now going to bring in His starplayer. Up to the plate stepped Grace. Freddy said, 'He sure doesn't look like much!'

Satan's whole team relaxed when they saw Grace.

Thinking he had won the game, Satan wound up and fired his first pitch. To the shock of everyone, Grace hit the ball harder than anyone had ever seen! But Satan was not worried; his center fielder let very few get by.

He went up for the ball, but it went right through his glove, hit him on the head and sent him crashing on the ground; the roaring crowds went wild as the ball continued over the fence . . for a home run!

The Lord's team won!

The Lord then asked Freddy if he knew why Love, Faith and Godly Wisdom could get on base but couldn't win the game. Freddy answered that he didn't know why.

The Lord explained, 'If your love, faith and wisdom had won the game, you would think you had done it by yourself. Love, Faith and Wisdom will get you on base but only My Grace can get you Home: 'For by Grace are you saved, it is a gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast.' Ephesians 2:8-9

Psalm 84:11, 'For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.'

Author unknown