Keeping a keen eye out!

I love observing and learning and have so many friends around me that naturally seem to know their way around a kitchen better than me. I had a working mom growing up, so I never cooked with mom in the kitchen and started my marriage with basically no understanding of cooking at all. That's strange to me - I spent so many years going to school but was totally unprepared for what I do day in and day out - manage my home!

So, in my early days of being a mom, I remember wandering over to my friend Mandy's house around lunch time and watch her start boiling noodles...then added in flour, butter, and some cheese....instant, homemade mac n' cheese! No preservatives. No Sugar. Just food. Then she'd chop up some apples and put it on a quick platter in the center of a table and we'd be set for lunch. My sweet friend Mandy is just plain good at creating a lunch out of any kitchen.

On other days, I'd find myself in a longer than expected Bible study with my dear friend Ruth...."wanna stay for lunch?" - "sure!"...She'd start chopping all kinds of veggies in what seemed like seconds and stir fry them in a few more minutes and within 15 minutes, we'd be eating fresh stir fried veggies on rice she had brewing in her rice cooker. After lunch, as I clean up, she quietly starts stuffing dates with almonds and has them on the table for the girls - instant dessert!

Then there's Jen - her cabinets are full of nothing but Ball jars with various organic beans and grains in each jar. Eating a mexican meal together means everything is made from scratch while her hubby sits on top of the counter methodically putting balls of dough in the tortilla maker - flattening each one out to a yummy fresh and most delicious burrito wrap.

And finally, my professional chef friend, Sacha, showed up last weekend to my house with the most delicious chocolate chip cookies - she is experimenting with baking without sugar and you'd never guess it! She used apple sauce and honey to create this incredible treat! I will nab the recipe and post it when I get it!

And someone had the non-hydrogenated Adam's Peanut Butter upside down in their cabinet which, I found out, helps the PB and oil mix better so you don't have all the oil at the top. (Adam's PB is a simple way to reduce sugar and hydrogenated oils as it is simply peanuts and salt!)

I have so much to learn but it's good that we are not alone!! Next week, I will feature What's Cookin'? in our kitchen with recipes, tidbits, and more! We'd all love to see what's cookin' in your kitchen so we can learn from you more ways to eat fresher, healthier, and simpler. Just grab the What's Cookin' logo above and paste it in your post next week on a day that you want to share a recipe you are cooking up. Put a link on the logo back to my blog, if you would! Thanks! I need more healthy lunch ideas. I love creating dinners but don't have it in me to do much for lunch.

Spirit time

We throw in a little bit about the body, the mind, the Spirit, and a little humor to keep it fun. Today, it's time for some focus on our Spirits:

This week, although we tried to savor it and make it go slowly, passed all too quickly.

A week ago today, we learned that our son's best friend from 2nd grade, a boy he calls his brother, would have his last day of school today. Another casualty of this down-turned economy this boy’s daddy has not had a job for months and months so the family could no longer afford the tuition to come to our wonderful school.

So we prayed. And they prayed for nothing less than a miracle. And the boys prayed, each night before bed. A faithful prayer from a child of God, “God, Let me stay at my school! I don’t know how, but I know YOU can do a miracle!” How hard as a mom it is, to hear such hope and faith when you know that you can’t see how this is going to possibly happen. We learn so much from these children with their childlike faith.

We prayed and hoped for a miracle, but alas, Thursday morning came, and God’s answer still seemed to be that the kids would need to leave their school. My sweet friend tearfully brought a large cardboard box to school for both of her children to pack up their belongs at the days end. She hugged the teacher goodbye, with sad tears streaming down both of their faces. On the way out the door, our principal stopped her in the hall and said she needed to talk to her. “To sign the exit papers”, my friend assumed.

Our principal said to her how much we love their children and want them to stay and how a few families have anonymously pooled their money together to pay their children’s tuition in full for the remainder of the school year. My friend walked out to the car where her husband waited for her and shared with him what happened.

Together, alone in their car, they weeped. Husband and wife, unified in their Praise to Him despite their circumstances, held hands and cried out to God.

Overwhelmed.

Over Joyed.

Tears. Yes. But this time, unstoppable tears of unbelievable joy at the greatness of our God.

I loved how our school handled this. This little guy could have just had a private meeting with the principal to find out the news and then the rest of his class would just have noticed the next day, that he was still there. But instead, after lunch, the principal, vice-principal, and secretary went to my son’s “brother’s” classroom and talked to these 2nd graders about their friend and asked them what their prayer requests were for him. Of course, many of the students expressed their desire for him to stay and how much they were going to miss him, how much he meant to their little community of 18 2nd graders.

These 2nd graders (and his sister’s 4th grade class) got to see a miracle of God happen right before their eyes. Their prayers were answered by the body of Christ being His hands for someone in their midst. My son’s buddy got to hear of this miracle alongside his teacher and friends – together they all learned at that moment that he gets to stay! What a bonding moment as simultaneously, they experienced a miracle.

Someone paid the debt he had in full.

In these hard times, we get to look around us and see how we can be His Hands. Who needs a bag of groceries? Who needs their utilities paid? Who needs an extra hug? Who needs a smile? Who needs their children’s tuition paid for?

This family had come to a peace about pulling their children from our school but had a deep sadness too. Despite the difficulties surrounding months without income, they continued to praise God and hope for the best and believe HIM for His perfect will in their lives. And at the last hour, God smiled down and said yes.

My son got to witness this unfold before him – a lesson he will treasure in His heart for the rest of His life, I am sure. And so will seventeen other 2nd graders.

Consider joining this Army of Women to help researchers find a cure for breast cancer

I have posted several things regarding breast cancer this month as it is breast cancer awareness month. In case there is confusion regarding my thoughts on getting screened for breast cancer, I personally plan to do exactly what the recommendation is - mammography or I might check out this thermography option. I have had some emails about this that seemed to question if they should even get screened. THis is a personal decision, of course, and I am going to chose what seems to be the most proactive approach - routine screens, mamograms or thermography.

Consider joining us in this movement that will take us beyond a cure by creating new opportunities to study what causes breast cancer—and how to prevent it.

The Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation and the Avon Foundation, a global leader in breast cancer research, joined forces to launch the Love/Avon Army of Women.

Their revolutionary initiative has two key goals:

1. To recruit one million healthy women of every age and ethnicity, including breast cancer survivors and women at high-risk for the disease, to partner with breast cancer researchers and directly participate in the research that will eradicate breast cancer once and for all.
   
   
2. To challenge the scientific community to expand its current focus to include breast cancer prevention research conducted on healthy women.

Click here to check it out and see if this is for you:

http://www.armyofwomen.org/getinvolved

Stuff!!! Is it all necessary?

Imbedded in my long post a few days ago was this link to the movie about stuff that I really love. I wanted to repost it in a shorter post so that it doesn't get lost in the many of words of my last post!

Today Wildman Sprout's best friend's mama and I were talking and she was wondering if we like to hike (hee hee!!)...it lead to a quick agreement that we aren't ever planning on supplying Wiis or X-boxes for our boys which means we are going to need to be intentional about what we do when friends come over. When the family is heading out for a weekend backpacking trip or a day hike or a XC ski, we agreed that we need to stop for a second and include each other. It's probably easier to have the electronic toys, but with a little more intentional practice, I think we can happily avoid this. We'll see.

I know that today as I cleaned our Sprout's rooms, I realized that they don't have a single battery powered toy. It's not a conscious decision - it's just that every time they load up boxes to send to GoodWill, they put those battery powered toys in there but keep all the markers, craft supplies, Legos, Kitchen supplies, Tinker Toys, and building blocks. Check out Magic Cabin for a pluthera of toys for kids that believe in "Kid powered toys" not Battery Powered Toys. (Their mission has been guided by the simple notion that children's lives are enriched by ample time for open-ended, creative, imaginative play. They believe in good-old-fashioned make believe and in children's innate need to interact with simple, natural toys and crafts.) The toys that sing to my sprouts and blink at them don't let them stay creative and ultimately, they quickly lose their interest. The toys that allow for open-ended, limitless possibilities like a pile of Legos or building blocks they never grow tired of.

I wanted to point it out again!! Head on over to http://www.storyofstuff.com/ to watch a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It'll teach you something, it'll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever.

Let me know your thoughts as you battle the issue of stuff!! Let's brainstorm ideas of things to have around the house that could foster creativity, keep the kid's interested, and avoid the marketing traps (kids are the highest targeted niches in marketing. Boardrooms are full of people figuring out ways to get our kids to think they will not be happy without "It" and our kids are believing the billionaire tycoons.)

All ideas submitted by Thursday, Oct 2nd (I'd love a list of great website resources too in this vain) will be posted on Friday, Oct 3rd with your blog address. Great way to get more readers noticing your site!!

My ideas:

• Our garage has a treadmill in it for rainy days. The kids like to run on that for fun.
• Our garage has a pretty high end foosball table in it - our family routinely has foosball tournaments
• Craigslist - find cheap deals on foosball, pingpong, and pool tables
• Dart boards
• Croquet, volleyball, and badminton for the backyard
• B-Ball hoop for the front yard
• BIKES!!! Scooters!! Rollerblades and skateboards, oh my!!
• Board games
• Puppets
• Wooden Blocks, Legos, Tinker Toys, Marble maze construction sets
• Doll houses/farm animals
• Kitchen sets/tool sets
• Crafts - keep that craft bucket packed!!
• Puzzles
• Marbles, Jacks, Pick up sticks
• http://www.magiccabin.com/

Lazy-D Ranch Blog

Through the amazing world of blog, I "met" this sweet and most amazing mother of 6. She homeschools, has adopted 2 children, and is currently mourning the sudden death of her husband in January. He couldn't have been older then 40, and collapsed in Jan and was dead 5 days later.

Get a cup of coffee, sit down, and journey through her blog. She so beautifully accounts her real emotions of extreme sadness, grief, loneliness, and shock as she simultaneously and continually lifts her eyes to Her Healer, Her GOD who is good at all times. To be able to write the things she does in the face of such an extreme tragedy is incredible. As she does her days she knows her husband is looking down at her from heaven shouting,"you can do this girl."

http://lazydranch8.blogspot.com/

Go to the archives and check out January on....incredible posts in the months that follow his death. Here is one example of a post. All of them are written incredibly with profoundity that is unparalleled.

I feel left behind. Eric has gone on to bigger and better things and I have been left back here on earth with an incredible sense of loneliness.
I avoid going to sleep every night because in the silence my mind starts thinking about my loss. Tonight was no exception. As the tears poured down my face I struggled with a desparate feeling of emptiness. I will never see or touch Eric again and I have no idea if the Lord has another man for my future life. Talk about trusting! I have no choice but to abandon myself to His perfect will.
As you can see my grief is changing. Every morning I wake up and say "Great is THY faithfulness...morning by morning new mercies I see" but I feel "another day to have to deal with the reality that Eric is gone". My heart breaks.
In writing this I do not want to be a "downer". So many of you are praying for us and so I feel obligated to share how I feel so you know how to pray. These things are not easy to write.
One thing I am learning is to really trust God. On a different level. This is a spiritual battle that I am gearing up for. The thought of lonliness could easily take me down the path of idolatry...using things as the healer of my life rather than allowing God his rightful position. The act of purposely communicating and developing a "husband" relationship with Him is not easy and there are many distractions to keep me from this. To trust His will for my past, present, and future is big and needed for all believers. But, I must now trust Him to be my husband, my counselor, my "lover" if you will, my best friend. No distraction of an earthly husband now.
I have to actively pray and pray more.
As I find myself getting deeper and deeper into the greiving process (it is no longer if I am going to cry but when am I going to stop) I have to guard my heart and lean steadfastly on my Savior. And, guide the children down the same path. Exhausting! I am exhausted but hopeful.

Wall-e I love you!

Wall-e, the latest Pixar movie, is currently my favorite movie. I would love to hear any of your comments about what you think it was trying to say. David and I couldn’t stop talking about it. Such a poignant commentary on us earthlings and the state of our beautiful earth. My favorite point of the movie was when the captain was so moved by the beauty of what earth once was and could be again that he got off his lazy bum and made the first step – which in turn inspired thousands more to act. What a sad existence was depicted in the thousands of people that simply just did what everyone else was doing – the easier road was so lifeless, so devoid of beauty, so riskless and so empty and the sacrifice of a life lived this way was a destroyed earth.

With less words than any movie made since the wordless movies of the 1920s, it says more than any movie I have seen in a long time. The power of connecting with another as Wall-e and Eva did and how it inspired a revolution.

Leave your thoughts here so we can inspire each other with our thoughts from the movie.

A friend just emaild me with this blog post regarding this movie. Great review! http://lazydranch8.blogspot.com/2008/07/walle.html

The Oil Boom!

Back to my time in Texas....

Ranching, of course, is happening side by side to the booming oil business. At the church we played at in Midland Texas the next day,we met the other half of Texas – those employed, in some way or another, by the oil industry. Must admit, they are beaming with smiles as they talk of the current oil boom we are in. I never thought of it as an "oil boom" but rather a "gas crisis"!!! Funny how I have been almost mad at times as I see gas souring into the$4.35/gallon range while millions of Texans are seeing their housing prices sour (while ours plummet), their money clips swell, and their prospects looking glorious.

Note to all unemployed Americans: there are TONS of jobs in Midland and Odessa TX! Every single store,restaurant, and business had Help Wanted signs on their doors. They simply cannot compete with the oil industry jobs and the workforce has shifted to that sector, leaving tons of vacancies. Restaurants have literally gone out of business for lack of employees!!!

So, word from Midland and Odessa to the rest of the country: Thank you for supporting our amazing boom!! We are having ourselves a great time! Keep driving!! (More or less, anyway!!)

Nepal, the USA, and a sad goodbye

What a weekend. On Sunday, June 28th, we headed up to our favorite lake for a week of camping. We enjoyed some great times with some friends. These are the friends I mentioned in my last post. You can check out their work in Nepal and India and learn so much about the truths over their on their blog: http://daniel-karina.blogspot.com/

Our days were full of sprouts running from our campsite down to the water, swimming, canoeing, fishing, biking, and a few hikes. Cade woke us all up one morning proclaiming, "I just saw two hawks dive into the water and grab fish at the same time!!" What a way to wake up!! In the middle of our peaceful week, with our lovely trailer parked right on the beach, we took a hike with our friends to the top of Paulina Peak. My phone registered 3 voice messages, which is unusual as I rarely use the thing. I knew something was up. Sure enough, our family had lost another Godly pillar of the family in my Great-Aunt Pauline Sager-Foster, my grandma Ruth's sister. We quickly packed up and headed home on Thursday so we could attend the memorial on July 5th.


It allowed us time on Friday to have the sprouts enter the 4th of July Parade as little cutie pies decked out in Red, White, and Blue. They were part of the float for Crystal Peaks Ranch where our sprouts have been riding horses. The ranch rescues abused horses and pairs them up with hurting or disadvantaged children. 20% of the kiddos at the ranch are from healthy homes, but the ranch seeks to open it's doors to all kids as being a kid these days is just tough!


princess Sprout couldn't add enough red,white, and blue to her look!
The Sprouts pictured above with one of their favorite staff - Sarah from Texas!This is the incredible lady who started it all - Kim Meeder. She and her husband have rescued over 400 horses and have served thousands of children on their 9 acres. They simply rose to the challenge of "whose going to do it" and DID IT!! Our 1000 mile trek to Mt.Vernon, WA and back was a blessed time indeed. Incredible family my Aunt and her hubby have fostered - huge welcoming arms these 2 had at their home on Big Lake. It was never, "Nice to Meet you" but always, "Glad to Know you"...you were instantly swept into the fold, and counted as one of them. She leaves an amazing Godly legacy, with a huge family that all live near each other and gather together often. So Aunt Pauline, as you enter his Gates, go give your precious sister, Ruth, a great big hug. You are home! You will never be lonesome for your sister again (after all those years of living so far apart).

4th of July Give-a-way!!

I've been writing a bit about American values like community living and America the Beautiful. Starting next week, I will be posting more from my healthy living pamphlet. Weight loss, nutrition, healthy lifestyle ideas will all be discussed.

Leave 3 comments about what Freedom in the USA means to you (and your email) by Sunday, July 6th, and I will send you the hot of the press Star Spangled Banner mp3, just recorded in LA by Klink. Amazing how fast things get on the net! I just found this video, featuring David's latest song:

http://www.godrev.com/disprss/?/GDTB-FEATURED/focus/2051668/The-Star-Spangled-Banner.html

I love people from around the world and have family and friends that live all over this globe. I have learned so much from other cultures. I do, though, have to take a few seconds here and share about some of the freedoms that I love about the country that I call home.:

1. A recent conference featured multiple pastors speaking on the CURRENT horrors happening around the globe. Unspeakable torture, gang raping of women, child slave labor starting at 6 yrs of age - and these troubles are hugely magnified if you are a Christian. In some of these countries, it is punishable by death if you are a Christian. I am free to worship as I please here.

2. New friends of ours that do extensive social work in Nepal and India were sharing that her day starts out with her cup of coffee and then a trip to her roof. She scans the streets to see if it is a day she can venture out. Then she listens to see if it appears safe. Often it is not, so she returns to her kitchen and knows she and her kiddos will be inside. I love that any day of the year I can safely walk my kids outside on our sidewalks, go running, and go anywhere I chose.

3. I love all our PUBLIC LAND!! It simply does not exist in so many countries. I take for granted the thousands of acres I can just go play on. All the rivers I can go sit by. All the trails I can hike on.

4. Snuck a 4th one in - I love that as a woman, I still have as much say as a man in this country. I can not only vote, but my voice is heard at any forum I go to - town meetings, City Hall, State Government, Federal Government - women are allowed to voice their opinions equally with men.

Thank you America!!

Notes from the Road - this time, Texas!!

Just got back from another show with David Klinkenberg. Right before the show, we spent time relaxing on this porch. Got so caught up chatting with Hence Barrow, that we forgot, for a second that we had a show to do!! We showed up to the theater at 7:15 - just in time for the 7:30 show, I suppose!!

Once again,we had the privledge of going to the heartland – the mighty state ofTexas. We were there, mainly to do a benefit concert for a batterdwomen shelter, but this time, I came away changed.

Our show was in a historic theater in Odessa, TX. Here is David, on stage. Obviously, I am missing from the piano - stage right - as I snuck off to take a few shots!

The sweet promoter that put the show on, had us lodge at her family's working dude ranch. I fell in love with the whole family, having the chance to drink sweet tea and eat Pearl's home cooking with Pearl, Calvert, Hence, Pat, Becky, George, and my brother - family used to spending many meals together. Here's the extremely large kitchen that hosts 20 to 30 cowboys and their families on many occasions. It's truly about families doing life together. Such a contrast to our independent nature in the NorthWest.As I listened to the stories of this family that has lived on this exact piece of property since the mid 1800s and slowly took time to study the pictures hanging on their walls of weatheredf aces that only begets wisdom, I longed to have time to talk with each of the men who have left a legacy of American work ethic, family values, and commitment that seems to be slowly fading in the American culture. Pictured here - Granddad Barrow. He was born in the current office of the house we stayed at and died, at age 97, 2 doors down the hallway from where he was born. Now that's what I call sinking your roots deep. He spent his years ranching, raising his family, supporting community, and volunteering in his Baptist church. He was a man of fun stories, lots of spunk using his hats 'till they about fell apart to the chagrin of his wife Thelma 'cause he "hadn't gotten all the use out of it yet!" and sunup to sundown work. At 95, he was still out riding, side by side with his sons and grandsons on his horse. Barn dances were made festive by his fiddle-playing and stories of the day. This man of hearty laughs, stories of the land, and a spirit that had him riding side by side with his living legacies almost 'till the day he died was only doing what his own daddy taught him on that same land. Henry Barrow, settled that land living out of his covered wagon, a tent, and a dugout until they built a house out of adobe bricks. In 1906, they traded that little ranch for the present day ranch in Ector County. As part of the trade, they acquired 222 head of cattle. Henry Barrow and his wife raised their 4 children - including Hence Barrow, pictured below, all the while keeping their Eyes fixed on His Maker.

What a legacy!!

The close-knit ranching community is a model for us all. It's a way of life I'd love to see in every neighborhood in America. Neighbors routinely combine efforts to get their massive tasks accomplished. A typical job of branding a neighbors herd, brings in cowboys from all nearby ranches, up by 4:30 am to beat the heat, with a hearty lunch prepared by the ladies of the ranches by 1:00 – serving 20 or so hungry cowboys, kids, and wives. Oh if I could be a fly on the wall at these festive occasions! The stories, the laughter, the comraderie!! Kids at the tender age of 6 are out riding side by side with daddy, learning the tough lessons of the land. One little guy said to his daddy, "Daddy, I am so hot!" to which Cowboy Daddy replied, "Son, we are all hot. Stand in my shade if you like, but there's work to be done!"

Turn-of-the century saddle - used in the Wild West shows of the 30s and used by Hence Barrow on the Barrow's ranches.

This Barrow ranch had purchased land through the years to have 3 full ranches operating. The one we stayed on was a small ranch for Texas– only 7500 acres. Since the land is so arid in Texas, ranchers are required to have 1 cow per 100 acres. Their other 2 ranches were 80 and 100 sections. Pause to define for all us non-land folk – a section is 640 acres!!

This littler ranch that we were on had 2 homes on it that had been lived in by Barrow folk since the turn of the century. Casually, Pat told of us of Granddad's fiddle. Like so many amazing artifacts on this property, it was apparently from Italy with a date stamped inside from 1595. David did some quick research, with a jittery heart of shock, to learn that it's either a paperweight or completely priceless, depending on if it's the real thing or simply a fake.

Other relics adorned their family museum that included an entire wagon, used by Grandpa Barrow and his father on that very ranch, some relics from the Civil War, old tools, kitchen gadgets and stoves from the turn of the century, worn out boots and Working Hats, saddles from th e1800s and early 1900s and many other Americano artifacts.

Their collection is a result of staying in one spot for 100 plus years. Their friendship and family connections run wide and deep, as they chose to stay put, invest their lives where God has them, and carry on in the ways of their forefathers, keeping one hand holding on to each other's and the other hand holding the hand of their Father God in Heaven.

This tarantuala greeted barefoot me on the porch one evening. My screams for help brought a cowboy running who saved the day!

Part 2 of my adventures in Texas coming soon!!

Be part of the community- post comments!! :)

I let that last post about Steven Curtis Chapman linger for a few days so that many could view it and be blessed, but alas, it's time to post again.

Just a quick post encouraging you to leave comments!!! I keep running into people that tell me how blessed they are to read some of these entries and how they have passed it on to people I don't even know who are loving reading this too, but I never hear about it!! I'd love to get to know you as we journey together through life,learning and growing. I think out loud -hence my desperate need to BLOG!!! And I learn so often by hearing OTHERS reflect!!

So, if you have a neat insight or thought or don't know me, leave a comment!! I get emails from some of you like the one I will paste here, but I'd love these emails to be comments too so it can encourage others!!

Here's a neat email from a new and now DEAR friend I met while in North Carolina last month. Hope it encourages you to see the journey of another God Seeker vs a God's Will seeker!!

First, I love your blog. It’s fun to get to know you as you describe your life through words. I’m glad that you have become addicted to it!! ☺

For the past four days, I've been truly blessed to be here at one of my favorite places in all the world, Litchfield beach, SC. This morning as I was walking down the beach, suddenly, well, something that I probably should have understood weeks ago, became very clear to me- Ah!! I think this is so cool!!! I have to explain some of the background for this to make any sense to you. Please bear with me.

As we’ve discussed before, I've been concerned for years about what I was going to "do" for God. People have given me insight over the past few years regarding this; but it has left me even more confused since this wasn’t the real issue in the first place. Months ago, I began really seeking God about this and praying that he would give me some clarity on the matter of what he wanted me to “do” with my life. It seemed like nothing was ever going to happen. But something did happen when I least expected it to.

Just this morning, on the beach, I realized that He not only answered my prayer; but, He did it in a way that I never would have believed or have been able to arrange myself. When I wasn't looking or expecting God to do anything, he took a simple occurrence like me running over from school to see a violinist at HGBC, to introduce me to someone who I could have never have met otherwise, from Oregon no less – YOU!

Until now, I honestly had no idea why I was blessed to meet you that day and why I’ve been fortunate to keep in touch with you. Well, now I know and I cannot tell you how many times I’ve thanked God for you in the past few hours. You may think that what you said in your email about desiring God and drawing close to him was just a little thing, but it wasn't.. When you first sent me that idea, I read it but it has taken me a while now to really believe it. That one phrase has become the catalyst to the transformation that God has been longing to do in my heart for a long time– taking me off the focus of what I “do” to who I “am” in Him.

Thank you for allowing God to speak through you to guide me back to his original desire for my life. It’s amazing how life can make so much more sense when God is at the forefront of all your thoughts. I don’t know what kind of storms you went through to gain this wisdom; but I’m so glad that you persevered so that now you can pass this truth onto others. I am so thankful for the kindness that you’ve shown me and hopeful that you will allow me to follow your example as you follow Christ.

It was once said about finding friends: “Find someone who is running so fast after Christ that you cannot help but go faster with them in the race

Dance with Your Cinderella today

My prayers go out for the Chapman family. I can't even imagine losing one of my children. On the sad news today that Steven Curtis Chapman's 5 year old daughter was killed by her older brother as he pulled out of the driveway and accidentally hit her, my heart wants to take heed to the very song he wrote about taking time to dance with our kids, as time is short.

Here is SCC singing this song live:



The lyrics inspired by Maria and her younger sister are:

She spins and she sways to whatever song plays,
Without a care in the world.
And I'm sittin' here wearin' the weight of the world on my shoulders.
It's been a long day and there's still work to do,
She's pulling at me saying "Dad I need you!
There's a ball at the castle and I've been invited and I need to practice my dancin'"
"Oh please, daddy, please!"
So I will dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
'Cause I know something the prince never knew
Oh I will dance with Cinderella
I don't wanna miss even one song,
Cuz all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she'll be gone
She says he's a nice guy and I'd be impressed
She wants to know if I'd approve of a dress
She says "Dad, the prom is just one week away,
And I need to practice my dancin'"
"Oh please, daddy, please!"
So I will dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
'Cause I know something the prince never knew
Ohh-oh ohh-oh, I will dance with Cinderella
I don't wanna miss even one song,
Cuz all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she'll be gone
She will be gone.
Well, she came home today
With a ring on her hand
Just glowin' and tellin' us all they had planned
She says "Dad, the wedding's due six months away
And I need to practice my dancin'"
"Oh please, daddy please!"
So I will dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
'Cause I know something the prince never knew
Ohh-oh ohh-oh, I will dance with Cinderella
I don't wanna miss even one song,
(even one song)
Cuz all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she'll be gone

Addicted

I have always joked that I am one coffee away from a coffee addiction - or one Pepsi away from a Pepsi addiction. I do it once, and the next day I think, sure what's one more cup...and 3 weeks later I am getting my 21st straight cup of java and wondering how I got addicted again to the almighty warm caffeine surge.

So, I all along I was one blog post away from an addiction. I never knew as I hadn't met blog that one encounter was all it would take to become soulmates.

You can faithfully guarantee that if you keep close tabs on me and my new friend, "blog" that you will be greeted with a new something or other. I am even dreaming of "blog" and thinking about how "blog" is doing and wondering who is visiting "blog".

On being a zoo animal

On occasion I can be seen scaling a rock face with nothing but ropes attached to me to keep me from the ground 200 ft below. It was on one occasion, while working hard to get to the top that I heard a family stop and start exclaiming, "oh my gosh. She is so high. I gotta watch her and see if she makes it!" and on and on. They were taking pictures of me like I was a zoo animal caught in some amazing animal act. This family was from an area of the country that does not have tall rocks to scale so to them, I was an oddity for sure.

For me, I was totally at home, outside, doing my thing but it was so foreign to this family that they actually stopped their hike and took pictures of me, capturing something odd and unusual - a local caught in the act of doing something quite unique to them.

As I tour the country and see so many faces of America, I too find myself wanting to take pictures of the unusual...like the other day when I had to take a shot of the fried pickle on my plate in North Carolina. This is totally normal for southerners to do - fry anything and everything, including your nice fresh pickle or ceasar salad - but was quite strange to me.

Underneath all these moments of discovering our differences though, I see so much unity too. Families doing their best to be families, loving their kids, going through struggles and finding strength in God.

While I might be a zoo animal caught in action to this family, I am totally just doing what locals do in my world. Let's not stop at first impressions of what's so different that we need to take a picture of it but continue on to see what we have that also unifies us.