Oh Happy Day...hmmm...When Jesus Washed...hmmm

Raining.
It's raining on the inside and outside of everything right now.
That damp, dark, dismal moisture that just devours everything. The odd thing is that is supposed to start snowing tomorrow evening. What is that about? Seriously? Seriously! Just when the dafodils and I thought that spring was right around the corner. OK, I can take it. I love snow! Wish we had it more often, but you can only take so many days of rain and ick before you just want that warm air of spring.

So its icky. Mac hasn't woken up enough yet to remove the breathing tube. His dependency on that will grow daily I imagine. He is slightly responsive which is better than non responsive I guess. Nothing seems to rouse him from his Alice in Wonderland experience. Hopefully soon he will decide enough is enough and will open his eyes and stretch like it was a long nap in the sun or the son. Maybe it's snowing in his dreams, he loves the snow. Maybe he's racing snowmobiles again. I hope it's not raining.

Marge is doused in the rain. Sick of the rain. Sitting alone in the silence of the rain. She's soaking wet with the rain. Lij calls her up each day to see how she is and how's gpa and who's there and whatcha doin' and I love ya and I miss ya. He says she's in the rain still. Man, I wish the sun would come out for her.

I am trying to enjoy the rain inside and out and looking forward to how it feeds the ground and makes things grow, but being wet all the time is just....not to complain....it's just wet, squishy, slimy, breeding ground for mildew....OK, that went somewhere weird.

Thank you God for the rainy times of my life. Thank you God for using the rain to grow wonderful, beautiful things all around, inside and out. Thank you God. Thank you.

Hugs and Kisses, or just hugs.

Everyday of my life is a new day with my children. Just when I think I got 'em figured out, they gently remind me of my ignorance. I am always so proud of my children and the decisions they make and the way they go about their decision making.

Yesterday being Ash Wednesday the beginning of the Lenten Season marked a 40 day sacrifice for a lot of Christians. My son has been lamenting over what to give up for lent for about a week or so. He came home last weekend with an announcement. He and his GF have decided to give up kissing each other for lent. What? Seriously? Oh my gosh! You're kidding me? Did you hear that? I didn't even know you were kissing to begin with! LOL! Ha! I'm not quite that naive.

I am completely blown away at the way my son thinks. The way he takes his spiritual journey so seriously. The way God works in his life every minute. He is an amazing young man. His GF even brought him a chocolate kiss the first morning and he gave it away just in case that was breaking the rules.

It is humbling to watch him grow in God's will and be so open to the opportunities that God lays out for him everyday. How many 16 yo boys do you know who would consider giving that up for a day much less a 40 day period. I pray for my children each day and watching God work is quite entertaining.

Thank you God for John. Thanks for the way he loves you. Thank you for his respect of his GF. Thank you for his heart. Thank you for his presence in my life. How blessed we are to know him and love him. How awesome you are! Bless your name! Almighty Father, the blessings in my life leave me breathless. How merciful you are to us! Thank you God!

Everyone else in the family has gotten on board as well. We have all decided to give up kissing......John's girlfriend for lent. She was quite relieved! Does that count? Oh well, we'll keep trying!

Baked Ziti and all things good!

You must know about this person in my life, not just because I want you to but because I want you to become more aware of the "Katys" in your life.

Katy is a beautiful mother of two, living where you drive 0 to 60 when you pull out onto main street. Those of you who live in the northeast know where I'm talking about. She is in love with the man of her dreams still after a decade and a half. The economy is tankin' and living there is more stressful than most places. But that's not my point. What I want you to know is this....I can still hear her laugh, or should I say guffaw, like she was in the room with me now. I haven't seen her in 15 years, but I know what she looks like when her eyes sparkle with joy. I know what she looks like and sounds like when she's ticked off beyond words! Her firey northeastern exposure riddled with her Italian background temper. Just guessing it's Italian 'cause her mom used to make the best baked ziti in the world and would send it back to college for all of us to enjoy. I miss mom's baked ziti!

Eventhough it's been years since I've seen her I feel in my heart that we are still as close as we always were way back then. You know, back in the day, as my kids remind me! What makes that even possible? Love, yes, she was my very best friend and is one of my soul sisters for life! But what is it that makes it stick? I want to tell you that God has played a role in our lives to make sure we are forever woven together. He pulls on my heart strings and I check her page on FB and she's available to chat....hmmm....coincidence? Then those times I am down and need some lifting she shows up in my inbox with a devotional that talks to just what I needed....hmmmm.....coincidence? I cannot tell you how blessed my life is because of this lady! My only daughter carries her appelation. Whenever we call her our little Katydid my mind conjers up those memories of yesteryear that involves the fun and laughter we shared.

Life is hard right now for so many people. People have their senses on overload and EVERYTHING is hurtful, painful or just plain hard. Worry creeps into our lives and starts to eat away at all we hold dear. We start talking ourselves into corners where it's dark and we can't see out. Pray hard for your neighbors, your family, your friends....I can guarantee you that there is something in their life that needs that prayer. Send it on up there!

Miss Katy Lady is a blessed woman, a Godly woman, a faithful woman. I admire her strength and courage in her everyday life. I admire her love she has for her mate and her little rugrats! I admire her weaknesses where she leans on her heavenly Father. I pray for God to continue to heap blessings into her life. I thank you God for her, I thank you God for letting me know her, I thank you God for allowing our friendship to flourish throughout the years. I ask that you continue to bless her, her family and her closest friends during this time. Show her your presence everyday, make yourself known in her mirror.

Ephesians 3: 16-18
¹⁶I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ

Call your Katy today and tell her she's a wonderful person and how blessed you are to have her in your life. She most likely needs a little pick me up. Even if she doesn't need one, she'll like it anyway! What the world needs is more baked ziti!

Success!!!!!!

Successful surgery and a much needed drug induced sleep for 24 hours for Grandpa Mac!

Thank you God!

Prayers II......

Christmas 2007 pictures. I was going through trying to see if I had pictures of the family. I am so inadequate when it comes to recording memories and finding them when I do.

Anyway, Granpa Mac the one second from the right is having open heart surgery tomorrow in Albq, NM, a very long way from here.

We are in a position where the ONLY thing we can do is pray. We can't leave and go out there, we can't send flowers (nor would he want that), we have no other choice but to pray. I know David is better. I know Elijah is worried, I can see it. Tears are hard to hide. My boys....how I love them.

David got to talk to Mac tonight. He asked him about his relationship with Jesus. Mac said that's all his has right now. He's scared. David asked if he could pray for him, it's quite beautiful to see my husband take on that faithfulness to pray with a man that he's never talked to about Jesus until tonight. He's better. He's good with what God has going on in Mac's life. This one is Mac's journey, David just wanted to make sure what road he was on. He wanted to share that hope with him.

It's hard to do anything but keep ourselves in a mode of constant prayer. Please know that I am aware of how you may not know him, but I'm asking you just to kick one up to the big guy for me on Mac's behalf.

Thanks! God Bless your every breath.......

Sorry, I couldn't help it....

SSHHH...Can you hear that? Me neither.

What's that? I'm sorry could you speak up? Heh? Just kidding....

I'm actually only listening to the hum of my dishwasher right now. Listen.... hummmmmmmm. Yes, odd. No kids. No hubby. Everyone is out. Two boys at school. Two boys out to lunch, the first born thought he'd take Matt out for .40 wings! How cool is that?! Sarah out with friends.

The hum....now the scent of the taco soup and homemade tortillas is wafting through the room. Wow, when it's quiet you can really HEAR things and SMELL things and SEE things (unfortunately for those dust bunnies in the corner). Your senses are peaked. I'm trying quiet more often.

Silence over.....

Prayers.......

Asking prayers for my father-in-law, Mac. He underwent a stress test today in Colorado and the doctors realized he was pretty sick guy, so they had him airlifted to Albq, New Mexico. Blockage in four areas and alone for tonight as his wife and step daughter will be joining him tomorrow. Thanks in advance for prayers! God Bless!

Think for today!

Biblical Times:

Habakkuk 3:17-19
(NIV)

17 Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,

18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.

19 The Sovereign LORD is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to go on the heights.

Modern Day Version:

Though the landscaping is dead
and there are no tulips in bloom
Though my business is tankin'
And my pantry holds no food
Though my wardrobe is outdated
and freezer holds no beef

I will be joyful that the Lord is with me
I will rejoice in God my Savior, Jehovah Jirah

I will quit my whining and moanin'
and get a grip and put on my big girl panties
For the Lord God is my strength!

This scripture verse was part of mine and my hubby's devotional this a.m. and I thought it would be perfect for where our society is today. I decided to switch it up for what may be relevant language for today.

Thank you God for your omnipotence, your almighty power and your every present mercy in my life. Be with those who seek, those who doubt, those who wish and bless them beyond belief today.

God Bless your every breath!

Someday we'll look back and laugh!

Someday? Someday! Some blessed day? Why not now? Why can't we laugh now? What's the big deal about putting it off? Will we offend the gods of circumstance? Will we offend someone in the room? Will we laugh and get over it quicker? Will we thank God for that horrible vase that Aunt Gertrude gave us finally met it's ceramic tile maker? Why do we fret so much about stuff? Is anyone else really irritated that I am constantly asking questions to make my point?

So this is my hope for today. I hope that you get one good belly laugh from somewhere today! If so, I want you to comment using this new anacronym that I made up SMTMN. It is simply "Spit Milk Through My Nose". So just let me know that you are laughing! It is the best medicine they say! Just to help you out I am going to give you a couple of little videos to help you along! Enjoy! GOD BLESS your every breath today and always!

Those Guys!

I just want to say what an awesome husband I have. He and his friends made breakfast for us wives of said men for Valentine's Day before our bible study and before their men's breakfast at church. Heart shaped pancakes, cut up fruit, two kinds of scrambled eggs, hot tea, coffee....it was wonderful!

I take my David for granted so often that I'm not sure why he sticks around. I'm sure it's my immaculate housekeeping skills! HA! He is so good to me! At a time in my life when I had written off men in general as being a need in my life, God dropped him in my life out of nowhere. Ok, well out of Colorado, but that was 2000 miles away. What are the chances?

I'm impressed with his devotion to not only me and our marriage, but to the relationship to his Almighty Father and to his relationship to our children. As we attended the unity service yesterday it was so wonderful to look out into the congregation and see those three Godly men sitting within close proximity to each other with their children encouraging their journey with God. How awesome to see three men who uphold the commandments of God in their lives and their marriages and their fatherhood.

One is an extremely talented business man, one is a wonderfully talented contractor and one is an awesome stay at home dad and full time student. All from very different walks of life, but all so committed to one goal for their families. Each not defined by their specific trades but by their personal relationships with Christ. It's so amazing to see in this day and age when fathers are so hands off in their families. We are some lucky ladies!

I only hope that when our children look back in their lives to the lives of their father's that they will be instantly reminded of the love of our heavenly Father.

Thank you God for my husband and his love for you and for me.

Unity, not uniformity

So, I have tried to wrap my head around this concept for several years now. Unity within diversity, I believe that's what God is calling us to be. Unified. Not uniform (thanks Doug, I stole that one.) It all sounds like a beautiful place in my head then when I try to verbalize what this means it meets that dazed look of my conversational victim. Well, some get it, most do not. Most people believe that they believe in unity, the "why can't we all get along" theme. I find that people, for the most part, are pretty friendly and compromising, until it comes to worship.

Worshiping the one true God, the one that gave us eternal life and salvation in this life. The one who sent his son to.......die for our sins. Ours, not his or hers or mine or yours but ours, all of ours. Why do we get stuck on how we say thank you. Why do we care how other people raise their arms or lift their voice or bow their head or dance around or pray inaudibly or worship standing still? What is it about being in a place where other people worship differently that scares so many? For most, like me when I was young, it was that I was afraid that they would somehow suck me into that "free worship" thing and I would be worried about how that would look to, God? No. Mostly to others who would be watching. So it was never about worship it was about image. My image. My tainted image. They would know I wasn't sincere by watching me.

I have had this "I feel uncomfortable" talk with many people in my lifetime about being around others that worship differently than they. Of course, in my not so compassionate way I say, "Well it's not really about comfort, its about worshiping Christ in the way you do in a room with people who may worship differently and being ok with that. So it's really not about your comfort in the room. It's about your comfort in Christ." Oddly enough it's only been with those who don't and would never even raise a hand to the sky in reverence to the one who put us all here. I don't recall ever hearing from a more active worshiper that they felt uncomfortable around those people who were just standing still in church. Anyway, what is it that God wants from us? What does he tell us to do?

What is the "right" way to show our undying, unfailing, unconditional love for him for the blessings he bestows on us daily? Theologians have looked and studied and pondered and written many manuscripts on this subject. Whose right? Whose wrong? I believe the answer lies within each and every one of us. You don't even have to crack a book. You don't have to walk to the library or call your pastor or even ask your spiritual mentor. You see, the answer is within your heart. Yes, it's quite simple and easy. Look inside your heart for how it is best to worship God in this season of your life. It's about YOUR attitude at the time of worship, which btw should be a 24/7 process.

Attitude, people. I can guarantee you that it will be different now than it will be next year. We all grow, thank goodness, at different paces in our spiritual journey. How you thank God today will depend on how aware you are of your blessings. How you express your thanks to the one that gave you life, eternal life will depend on how thankful you are and how you say thanks. My mother was mortified when I didn't write thank you notes right away after a birthday party, or baby shower, or bridal shower or my wedding. I never understood the need to feed someone else's need for confirmation of a gift. Come on, you know what I mean. Those little southern ladies needed that thank you note as proof that you know that they bought you something and that you will always be indebted to them for that mixer. I just said, "Thank You" and thought that was good, but apparently I should've put it in writing. You're pretty much shunned from the next garden club meeting if you didn't write. I thought my way was much more personal. So who is right? Mom? Me? It's not about the mode of the note but the attitude behind it. I meant "Thank you" when I said it, I usually despised writing so much that my heart frankly wasn't in the card. In a sense I was fraudulent in my gratitude when putting pen to paper as opposed to verbal communication.

God just wants sincere, authentic worship from us. Believe me, if anyone knows when we're faking it or under diress it would be him. If you haven't given it all up to Christ in your worship life for him to hear that sincere thank you then you don't know what that authentic worship is for you and definitely not for anyone else. All you know is your heart. Only God can see in someone's heart. Only he knows its true.

Give him your best, he wants your firsts not your lasts. You need to learn how to love, live and worship authentically with everyone around you, because you are going to be in heaven with all of these people and we need the practice (thanks Doug for that one, I stole it!) There won't be subdivisions in heaven or clubs or things that divide us. You better start practicing, today.

Thank you God for an absolutely wonderful day of worship and remebrance. I can't wait to see what you do with it! You are an awesome God!

It's a girl!

(Mosaic of our little girl a few years ago. If you click on it you can see that it is made up of many different pictures within this picture. Pretty cool!?!)

Well, I'm just now getting to this post. I've put myself in a position to write about each of my kids and getting to the easiest one, it's turned out to be the hardest, 'cause what do you say about your bestest little girlfriend?

Sarah usually makes her way into our room earlier than the rest and sloughs herself onto the bed for some early morning snugglin'. The other morning David decided that she needed to have her ribs massaged and as she was giggling she says, "I just love waking up in this house!" She loves her daddy soooo very much! He spoils her rotten!
He knows how to treat a girl, let me tell ya!

You see, we have 4 boys. Wonderful! I can do boys. I'm trained to handle the boys stuff, I feel confident in the bringing up of boys. When we found out we were pregnant, again, it was just my understanding that once again it would be a boy. The ultrasound came and the dr. said "I think it's a girl. Yea...oh....maybe...yep, it's a girl." Having been bitten by that bug before I didn't believe it and in some way it scared me, 'cause I can do the boy thing, see. You see the other ultrasounds at one time or another have been "girls". We never planned on going with what the dr. said. God just has a sick sense of humor sometimes and we thought if we bought a bunch of pink stuff it would be a boy.

Everything was wonderful! I mean all of my pregnancies were easy and labor was great (sorry, but it was) that's why I have so many kids, 'cause it was just easy to do and I wanted a dozen, no really, a dozen. During my pregnancy with Sarah I ate like a horse, or a bird (which btw eats twice its weight in food) and I continued to lose weight. Great! Lovin' this one!

She was the fifth child so we planned (ha) that she would most likely be early. My parents were coming in from out of town a week AFTER she was due thinking we would be home from the hospital and all settled in. Well, she decided to hang out in there awhile. A week later than her due date and still no baby! Two days before my mother had to leave we decided to coax her out of there and our lives changed forever!

Yes, with each of the boys our lives also changed forever, but this one was so different. I have never seen my boys and my husband fall in love sooooo quickly and so hard. They drooled, and to some degree still do. They won't admit to it, but they do. Our little katydid, Sarah, was a bug lovin', snake totin', dirt eatin' girl! It's a girl alright, a girl! Catchin' snakes at the age of two, forcing her older brothers to sit in her room and pull the heads off of her baby dolls, a.k.a. "playing with dolls". You see, we didn't know that we hadn't really lived yet. We were all pretty sure we were alive and well, but little did we know that life had just begun.

THANK YOU GOD FOR SARAH BUG! Thanks for the belly laughs, the wild hair days, the creepy crawleys in the house, the imagination of her brain! Thank you God!

Hoppy V Day!

HaPpY VaLeNtInE'S DaY!
lY! gOd bLeSs yOuR LiTtLe hEaRtS!

I Love ya'll! :):*

Numb...?

Isn't it interesting how caught up we get in society's rules of engagement? You must have satelite/cable, you must have a front loading washer, you must, you must, you must increase your bust....sorry, I went somewhere else. Anyway, we have gotten so used to advertisers and demographic researchers and the jones' telling us what to do that we get confused as to what it is we really "need".

We hear so much in the news these days about returning to living within our "means". What about the concept of living within our "needs"? Is it so politically incorrect to just have what you need? Is it so bad to actually live our lives in the pursuit of our needs? So much waste in this country alone with those things that we thought were going to fulfill us, but didn't so we sold them at our yard sale for some other poor sap to take home and wonder....."why did I need this?"

If we only shopped for what we needed what would that do to our budgets to be able to give and make a difference in someone else's life? What is the rationale when at the electronic store staring at the newest and best and biggest gadget that replaces the one we already have that works perfectly, except it's not the newest model. I recently heard a gentleman exclaim that being asked to give away his hard earned money to charity and not to the fund to buy his new home theatre was extortion and he would have no part of it. Extortion........really?

What have we been lowered to? Where are our hearts? Where are our morals? Oh yea, they must have been subject to extortion as well. I wonder where we are going as a nation. I look around my own house and am completely embarassed by the gluttonous purchases my family and I have made in our lifetime. Plus, I am tired of dusting it, cleaning it, washing it, polishing it, picking it up, looking at it, etc. etc. etc. If I got rid of everything I do not need I could invite another family to live with me.

We are numb. We are numb to those people around us who are hurting for just basic human needs. Love, hugs, clothes, food, shelter, money..... How did we get here? In some ways I think that the more it's put out there for us to be aware of it is one way we have become so numb to the pictures, videos, articles and other mediums that used to make us jump into action. Now it's just one more in our already full compassion bank.

Do we not think we can make a difference? Do we not know where to start? Do we not know how to give? Do we not know what to give? Take an inventory of what you have to give, inside and out. Then make a list of who may need something you may have. Start with just two things. Whether it be emotional gifts or material things, just the act of giving can jump start you into wanting to do more. "What you have done to the least of these, you have done unto me" but the bible also says in the next verses, "what you have NOT done unto the least of these, you have NOT done to me." Stew that one in your brain for a minute or two.

Repost: Why NOT to have a yard sale!

I decided to repost this because the weather is getting a little tease of nice and I don't want any of my friends to fall into the trap! No! Step away from the premade yard sale stickers. They do NOT make it easier! Enjoy!



The following was an email that I sent to my friends (girl-friends) back when we were dumb enough to plan the ultimate multi-family yard sale! I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!


OK, so I am only writing to you girls because some of this content my not be suited for others, but AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!! Yard sales, where do I begin? It's really a twelve step process like AA, and it goes like this:
1. Admit you have a problem
2. Crawl into every oriphus of your home and drag out every item covered in dust, older than dirt, something you would not even consider giving to your children and put a price tag on it.
3. Cry
4. Sweat
5. Bitch and Moan
6. Procrastinate
7. Hold your breath
8. Clean everything off, wash it, dry it, polish it like you love it!
9. Look at it and ponder,"How much would I pay for this?" Oh, yea, I already fell for that once.....
10. Find a box to organize each item into certain catagories, i.e. crap, old crap, crap I still like, and c....r.....a.....p
11. Put out a sign directing people to your crap
12. Sell your crap and take your profits of $11.50 and splurge on a new...................pack of gum.
Was it worth it? Heck yea!

I started early this morning with pleading and prayer with God. Please dear Lord make me want to do this (kinda like my laundry prayer). Then I walked for the first time in months, not procrastination but exercise!!! Then I dove in head first. Great, you say, way to go, you add, awesome...... Here's my dilemma: When I dove in I forgot to remove my exercise clothing of which contained a sports bra... Now you may wonder why this is a big deal. Remember our ac is off. O - F - F, off. So I realize I'm like the proverbial frog in cool water this a.m. that has during the day been turned up unbeknownst to me. Now I am sweating so hard and dripping that the tape I'm using for pricing won't stick! Which I think has to do with the friggin' humidity index in my house as well. I'm working so hard that I don't realize that within my tshirt a chemical reaction is happening so severe, so scary, so horrible that only when I contemplate taking a shower do I then have a fear like no other......... HOW THE *&%% DO I GET THIS @#&** THING OFF WITHOUT PUTTING MY SHOULDER OUT OR WORSE ... STRANGLING MYSELF!!!!!!!

Turtle Time!

Today we ventured out on our bikes to the local park. Awesome trails and a great creek full of fish and creepy crawly critters. Just what Sarah lives for! So as Matt and I watched from the bridge Sarah jumped back after being startled by this critter in the slide show. She talked us into gettin' wet and checking it out. Then after much coaxing and a few phone calls to make sure it wouldn't bite anything o-f-f, off, Matthew picked it up. For those of you who think we should have left well enough alone, David asked what color his belly was and we felt the only course of action was to pick it up because the turtle would not cooperate in turning over when we asked him/her to. The turtle was not a happy camper and Matt placed him back in the water and we watched him take off at the speed of turtle!
Fun stuff!
Thank you God for turtles!

What happens when my head explodes and why it does.....

What?!?

Please tell me you're kidding!

This really isn't very funny!

All words running through my mind as I speak to my hubby about the events of his evening the night of the big Tree Lighting.

To start off at the beginning, 3 of our kids and I headed to the 3rd annual tree lighting at the farms as Dave and our first born went to a motivational speaker event at a local church. Sweet bonding experience. Little did I know that he would be bonding in so many ways that night. John was off somewhere with the girl.
Contentment had set in. It was a great night hanging out with friends and family and burnin' stuff, now that's a tradition I can get into! Nothing like the smell of smoke to make me happy. You see I'm married to an ex firefighter and smoke is quite the cologne!
Anyway, David called to let me know he probably wasn't coming because he was otherwise occupied. What could keep a firefighter away from the burning embers? Must have been important.
Well, here goes....
Upon leaving the church after the seminar, it was dark and he and Adam pulled out of the parking lot and headed to the fire. But as he pulled out the vehicle coming down the road behind him sped up and started blinking his/her lights and honking the horn and swerving back and forth on David's bumper. David, being the calm Christian driver that he is (NOT) (he once chased a car up the interstate because he flashed their lights at us) he decided to teach this person a lesson about tailgating. So he proceeded to SLAM on the brakes for that proverbial dog in the road, at least that was going to be his story. The truck behind him did the only thing it could do....french kiss his tailpipe! Now, those of you in this situation, me included, know that you have always wanted to do that to those people. Don't judge me! He was ready for a fight, looking over at Adam as if to say, "you got my back?" just in case there was some throwin' down goin' on. He put the car in park and took off his seatbelt and opened the door and turned toward the other car. Ready for a brawl, hackles up, headlights blinding his vision...he hears those dreaded words, not "hey buddy what were you thinking", no, not "what the blankety, blank are you doin'", no, not those, but these "DAD, what'dya do that for?" Yea, those words from our 17 yo son letting his dad know that he was the perpetrator from behind, the one that got so intimate with his bumper. Not only was it John, but it was John in his girlfriend's truck!
Yes, so eating crow in the street under the truck pulling out the fender from the new set of tires on Man Child's vehicle (MC is her name) and laughing to keep from crying. Eating crow upon visiting with MC's parents to say how he and John had screwed up and "pimped out" MC's truck.
You know, when you ask God to come into your life, he sees those areas that need a little work and decides to work on those for ya.
I think there was some angelic belly laughing going on in the heavenlies!
Oh where will he head to next?!
God Bless my family! Thanks for accidents with no injuries! Thanks for so gently watching out for each and every one of us!
Thank you God for laughter!

What makes you smile?

I mean REALLY smile from the inside out, not just a smurk on your face. Not just that superficial "hi how are ya" smile. I mean from every fiber in your being you can't stop it if you wanted to kind of smile.
Like this:Yea, that one. What makes one smile so big? What is it that promotes that grin? Love, yep that's it, gotta be it. That one person in your life that brings you joy just walkin' in the room or calling on the phone or just thinking about them. Most of you reading this have it or have had it once or twice in your life. Such a true statement "better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all" right? So what does love look like to my first born? What makes him smile ever so wide with delight?

Could it be.......

Yep, that's her! Mistina! Do you blame him?


Dear God help me find that smile everyday and use it often on the loves of my life!
I know it's there it just needs a little polishing up and exercise.

Wait, wait, I think, there it is...



Thank you God for love, life and wonderful joy!

Joy, a choice to take not to expect....

I must say I have been a bit of a grump in the last few months. With all that goes on in ones life it's hard to stay on a joyful path and not get sucked into the world's view of how we should react when trials occur. I have persevered through these times of ups and mostly downs with my faith not waivering at all but depression on the other side of the door knocking and diguising itself as a pizza delivery boy knowing I just might answer for that. Ha! Maybe a cheesecake delivery person! Regardless, I have remained a melancholy droopy but ever so faithful one. God just laughs at me and pats me on the back while holding his hand over my mouth as not to offend anyone around me. Ok, enough background on my whining!

Then joy....how do I get it? How much is it going to cost (Ramsey question)? Will it hurt? Will I be inconvenienced? Will I need to give it away once I have it? Will I be able to find it if I lose it again? Then joy came to me. The oddest delivery via the cell towers of verizon and sprint bouncing its way to me from my beautiful and loving sister-in-law, Neesey! You see she had listened to our pastor's sermon on telling someone how they have impacted your life, drop 'em a note, give 'em a call, yadda, yadda. She chose to call me up and tell me how much she loved me and how glad she was that we were in each other's lives. I must say being sister's in Christ is the best family ever! She and I were not born of the same mothers but we were born of the same spirit and I am ever so grateful that she is in my life. I love her so dearly!

I decided that the phone call I received brought so much love and joy to my heart that I was going to pass it on to some of those people in my life. I didn't have a set group of people I was targeting, just chose a few of the many that I hope to pass it on to soon. Anyway, it brought my life to a certain perspective to pass on to those leaders and friends in my life the kudos that I have been holding back and watching God work his magic. People need to know that you love them, appreciate them, need them, are praying for them, believing in them, blah, blah, blah. And there it was, the joy I had been mourning over, it was back or revived or jump started. It was back with a vengence and it feels sooooo good to have it there. I could remember what it looked like, smelled like, tasted like, felt like and I missed it and didn't know how to rekindle it. Reaching out and taking the focus off of me seemed to do the trick. God has a great sense of humour......NOT! Ok, yea he does. Thank you, God for letting me feel that joy again in spite of myself!

I watched an 8 year old girl talk in church today about how she misses her dad that passed away this past week and asked us all to pray for her and her family. She stood by the pastor and as he prayed for her she just kept repeating "thank you, thank you Jesus" over and over. She will always tell those around her what they need to hear. She knows how precious time is and how we should never let a minute go by with frivolous worry and melancholiness (word?) and wasted time.

I urge you, if you are reading this to the end. Just pick a few of those people in your life that you can call, email, write and tell them how they have impacted your life or how much you love them or both! God wants to bless you today in your heart. He wants you to choose the joy He has for you. It's a beautiful gift that is better unwrapped than hiding behind that wrapping paper we choose to keep it in. Open the gift don't expect the gift to be opened for you. Take it. Enjoy it. Pass it on.

B-E-L-I-E-V-E

Because
Emmanuel
Lives
I
Expect
Victory
Everytime

God Bless your EVERY breath! May your Joy be unbelievably, unexpectedly amazing!