Time flies!

I am a blogger.
No I'm not.
It's been over two years since I posted last.

That is unreal. I thought it had been like 10 months. Not even a full year. Yet in reality, it's been two years and five months.
How does time fly so fast?
Isn't that how life goes though....fast.
I look at my kids growing and wonder how it's all going down like this. But, I know that we are here but only for a moment.

Reagan is now 10!

Javon is now 12!

How we use those moments are what matter. 

Tonight as I sit in bed, cuddled with my dog, and the kids are away at Nana's having a sleepover,         I remind myself that words matter. Things I say matter.

Words I type matter.

Since I'm being so matter of fact, ;-) words I think really make all the difference in the world becuase out of the mouth flows the things of the heart.

Words that I read matter.

Words that I hear are influencers as well.

And the odd thing, is that words that I write are significant as well. I find that when I pen things, somehow a different part of me comes to life. One that, honestly, I like better than the one without this putting down words on paper or a screen.

Why is that? I'm not sure.

Perhaps it's letting out things that would otherwise remain inside. thus making room for more things to fill me up. More of Jesus is my desire. Yes, that's it. The more I give out. Whatever that looks like - time, talents, words, love - the more room that I have for Jesus to fill me up and be used again.

I'm going with that. :-)

Hope to do this again before two years come and go.

Kids Camp Build 2014

Back to School

I won't chat long because we're wrapping up day 3 of this year's school season. 

It's went really well and I'm praying that it's a precurser for what lies ahead this year. 

Not as much resistance from my son as in years past. 

I keep telling myself that there will still be tough days,
but overall I can see the fruit of perseverance and persistence paying off as the kids get older. 

There is absolutely no other schooling option that I would choose for my family. 

But over the years, I have been in those moments where I felt why some parents would throw in the towel. 

It's a full time job on top of all the other responsibilities of being a mother, wife, taking care of the house and animals, plus for some an added part time job to top it off. Yet, with all the things pulling at me, 

I would never ever in a million years or for a million dollars give up this time teaching and training my kids. 

It's a blessing beyond words!

Here's something that I ran across and thought was a good reminder that all of our kids learn differently and it's our responsibility to teach them accordingly.

Bookworms - right at home in a bookish environment.

Treeclimbers - can't sit still at a desk.

Daydreamers - can't complete a workbook in the given amount of time. 

Cuddlers - don't care what you know till they know how much you care. 

If you take it out, put it back!

"The ordinary arts we practice every day at home are more important to the soul than their simplicity might suggest." Thomas Moore

My soul truly does feel much more at peace when I have my house in order. The past several years have been the most awaking in this area. Prior to 4ish years ago, I tended to clean for "others". However, I have found the joy and peace it bring to me when I do "if only for me". So although no where near perfect or as consistent as I'd like to be, I have learned and continue to do so in this area. 

The Shakers believed that their daily work, including housekeeping,

 was a personal expression of worship. 

"Prayer and housekeeping - they go together. They have always gone together. We simply know that our daily round is how we live. When we clean and order our homes, we are somehow also cleaning and ordering ourselves." Gunilla Norris

How we care for our home is a subtle but significant expression of self-esteem. 

"If home doesn't make sense, nothing does." Henrietta Ripperger

Getting our houses in order and endowing our children with a respect for, and appreciation of, order is one of the most precious gifts we can give them and ourselves. I appreciate that my mom always kept a tidy and clean home and instilled that value in her children. Although she never made us do dishes and now none of us girls enjoy that chore! :-) Her favorite thing to do is the "anywhere you go game" which just means if you see something that needs put away, then put it away as you go. 

Sanity is preserved with planning!

Have you ever seen one of those plaques that says?

1) If you take it out, put it back. 

2) If you open it, close it. 

3) If you throw it down, pick it up. 

4) If you take it off, hang it up.

"Drudgery can be transformed, through a willing and open heart, into labors of love"....said someone, somewhere, at some time. 

"Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him....cease from anger and forsake wrath." Psalm 37:7-8

There's no reason to get angry and upset if you aren't where you'd like to be as far as home organization and cleanliness. I'm not there either. But often, not having a plan and daily working at organizing and cleaning various things DOES lead to anger and frustration at yourself and others. 

God worked and then rested....just a thought. :-)

What are some of your favorite tips for keeping up on housework?

Different-Just like me

I used to be under the illusion and/or impression that I was more fit to work with those that had grown up with similar experiences as myself.

A loving family.

A strong church in which I grew up learning and growing about God, salvation through Jesus, and all the other things that go along with that.

A Christian education.

A husband and the opportunity to mother two beautiful children.

However, time and experience. God's Word. The Holy Spirit's guidance. A little maturity. A lot of mishaps along the way is bringing me to a new revelation.

I'm as different as the rest of society.

It's not about being able to minister to those who are similar to us. It's about being able to share Jesus with those who are open and ready to be "different" than they are at the current moment.

That takes on many forms and riddles and conditions and actions.

For some that's turning from a lifestyle of drugs and alcohol. Others it means turning their back on depression that has haunted them for days, years, months. Some it means letting go of the fake
Christian facade and humbling asking Jesus to tear down their walls of pride. Still others are
desperately in need to simply FEEL again. Feel anything.
Love. Hope. Joy. Even sadness if properly placed.

Jesus came to "heal the sick".



The Pharisees felt they didn't need Him. In fact they KNEW they didn't need Him and went so far as to kill Him in order to shut Him up. He was messing with their way of life. Interfering with their religious business. They had walked with and served God their entire lives. Shouldn't they have the right to question this "crazy" man? He was going against everything that they had held to since the exodus of the Israelites. Before that even.

Yes, they did have the right to question Him! They did have the right to make sure that His life and words where lining up with Scripture. However, they couldn't see the forest for the trees. We see the
end. We know the Pharisees were wrong. They turned what once was a name associated with the holiest of people into a dirty word. "I could never have been a Pharisee! Why couldn't they see that He was the Son of God-God Himself in human form?"

Well, why can't we see that by placating those "certain" people, that often, we place ourselves in the same "set apart" group as they once did. Or worse yet, I believe we all have a little Pharisee blood pumping through our veins. Passed down from years of church attendance or self-righteous living.

Please don't get me wrong....

I in NO way mean to shed a negative light on holiness and Godly living. No way. In no means. Absolutely not. But I do want to consider my own heart attachment to the things that Jesus Himself
denounced so fervently.



"Do not look down on those around you."
"Love your neighbor as yourself."
We are to be "salt and light" not backbiting and bitter.
It was His last earthly breath that charged us to "go out into all the world" and "preach the Good News!"

The Homeless Church

Living in COLOR

"You have to count on living every single day in a way you believe will make you feel good about your life so that if it were tomorrow, you'd be content."

 Jane Seymour

I am well aware that I don't live life in  COLOR every day. A lot of days are acted out in black and white. "It would cost too much" I often think when talking of a random drive to Seattle or cup of Starbucks.

What about taking a walk to the park on a beautiful sunny day? That often gets put off as well. Some days I do it. But it's not a lifestyle. It's the exception, not the rule!

Structure & schedule & frugality are great qualities, but I am also aware that my family will look back and remember the  COLOR  moments much more then the black and white ones.

Colorful - 
1) abounding in color
2) richly eventful or picturesque
3) presenting or suggesting vivid or striking scenes


Yes! That is what I desire!!!

Lord help me to live colorfully while remaining grounded in You!

Petitioning God in Prayer

According to a 1997 Newsweek Poll:

• 82% say they ask for health or success for a child or family member

when they pray.

• 75% ask for strength to overcome personal weakness.

• 87% say that God answers prayers.

• 51% think God doesn

ʼt answer prayers to win sporting events.

• 36% never pray for financial or career success.

• 29% say they pray to God more than once a day.

• 25% pray only once a day.

• 82% say they believe that God does not play favorites in answering

prayers.

• 79% say God answers prayers for healing someone with an incurable

disease.

• 73% think prayers for help in finding a job are answered.

• 54% say that when God doesn

ʼt answer their prayers, it means it

wasn

ʼt Godʼs will.

• 82% don

ʼt turn away from God when prayers go unanswered.

 

Matthew 7:7-11

“

7 Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be

opened to you.

8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him

who knocks it shall be opened.

9 Or what man is there among you, when his son shall ask

him for a loaf, will give him a stone?

10 Or if he shall ask for a fish, he will not give him a

snake, will he?

11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children,

how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask

Him!”