Friday, November 28, 2008

Mugs to Fit My Moods






My western mug with the pistol.

Makes me feel like a Sherrif!
Power, Determination, a touch of Outlaw!


My Kitty Mug

I like how this one feels in my hand.
So when I'm feeling like snuggling up
to a nice hot cup of java or chocolate milk,
this is the one I want.







For when I'm feeling Ultra Feminine.

Right about this time one of my 7 year olds told my 6 year old,
"She's taking pictures of her coffee cup."
Poor kiddos, sometimes they really do wonder about me...
and with good reason!



My Banished Mugs.

My dh, not understanding my mug for every mood, banished my mugs to the top shelf. (and I'm short!) Now that it's hot cocoa season, I'll probably bring down my Disney mugs for the kids. I've got them trained right because at least one of my boys already has his special mug - The Lion King.

I hope you all have a super day! I will NOT be joining in the shopping madness. I may not even get out of my PJs. Although I do plan on much cleaning in preperation for putting up Christmas Decorations. Yee-Haw!

Thursday, November 27, 2008

How to Cook a Turkey

I asked my kids (ages 5-7), my nephew (5), and my niece (13) if they would give some advice to Aunt Mary on how she should cook the turkey. We're heading over there this evening for our family Thanksgiving Feast. I e-mailed her these directions in case she needed some help with the turkey. But I'm really hoping she already has another recipe!
For the below recipe I took snippets from each of their separate recipes and compiled them. I also printed out their individual recipes, a page with "A few Thankful Quotes", and a blank page titled, "A Few Thankful Notes...". I stapled them together between cardstock and scrapped a little Happy Thanksgiving Title.

How to Cook a Turkey - by my kiddos

What kind of turkey? A real turkey? How about Gobble gobble gobble? You shoot it! Tell Bob to share his gun. If he’ll let us. I don’t know if he will. You cut off the real skin. The feathers. Put liquid on it. Baking soda, so it can be nice and thick. Probably a pinch of onion powder. 1 ½ tablespoons of that parsley stuff. And a bigger pinch of garlic powder. Apples and tomatoes in it. Cherry and banana. And a popsicle and carrot. It’s how you make it. Put cookies on it! (laugh) For reals put cookies on it. That would be nummy! That would be nummy to me. Then you put it in the oven. You cook it for 6 minutes. And then you take it out. And ‘den’ you let it cool off a little bit. I just remembered something else you have to do. You have to cut off its head! And pull out all its guts and blood and belly. Want cheese on it? I like cheese on my turkey. Put out your plates, spoons, forks, knives, cups, napkins, then let the Feast Begin! Then enjoy it. Then put your dishes away and go home.

Happy Thanksgiving.... I certainly hope all of your meals are not quite as, um, tasty, as this one would turn out.

A Few Thankful Quotes

"For three things I thank God every day of my life: Thanks that He has [given me] knowledge of His works; deep thanks that He has set in my darkness the lamp of faith; deep deepest thanks that I have another life to look forward to - a life joyous with light and flowers and heavenly song." ~ Helen Keller

"Give thanks in all circumstances,
for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." Thessalonians 5:18

“O Lord that lends me life, Lend me a heart replete with thankfulness.”
William Shakespeare (Henry VI)

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Roses and Love Notes

I dragged myself up the stairs after my alarm sounded at 6:30 am. I staggered into the kitchen for coffee and stopped short. A dozen beautiful red roses sat in a vase on my kitchen counter. The night before, my hubby went off to fill the gas tank so I wouldn’t have to first thing in the morning. That was incredibly sweet all alone, but apparently he also bought me some flowers.
I made coffee then started my Bible Study. I am currently looking for GodStops in the third 5th of my life. Age 15-22 - otherwise known by my mom and I as, “Sophomore Brain Death.” Tons of sin to drudge up. Anticipating the guilt and heartache from those years, I opened the Bible and uttered something about needing to hear confirmation of God’s love for me before I started remembering those ucky things. I skimmed through John then landed in Romans. Romans 8:31-39 to be exact…



31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written: “ For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” 37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

What an incredible way to start the day... flowers from my hubby and a love note from my Lord.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Good morning/evening/afternoon... Okay Happy Thursday!
This is my response to the questions Sunny posed in her Keeping Christ in Christmas Giveaway.

(
http://jesusrulzme.blogspot.com/2008/11/keeping-christ-in-christmas-giveaway.html)


At what age did you recognize you were in need of a Savior?

31
Who shared the Gospel with you?
My husband.
What was your first reaction when you heard the Gospel for the first time?
I rejected the Truth as unfair and intolerant. How could a loving God send someone to Hell just because they did not believe in Jesus? How could I believe in words that were written thousands of years ago by men? What about people who have never had the opportunity to hear about Jesus? My husband and I married thinking that our beliefs were fairly similar. Wow, were we wrong! As he started to realize how far off we were (Or how far off I was), he called me a heathen. It was in jest, but it hit a nerve. Anger was another reaction I had to God’s WONDERFUL Good News.
How long did it take you to understand Jesus is the only Savior, repent and trust Him with your life?
I think about a month or two. After my brother-in-law died in June I read Romans and Genesis at the same time and God opened my eyes to the fact that the Bible is FACT. I started reading the Bible with open eyes, trusting it, trusting Him, and talking to my husband. I didn’t pray the “Sinner’s Prayer” and I didn’t have immediate assurance of salvation. I volunteered to be an Awana Leader at the end of August and when they asked me in the interview if I was a “Born Again Christian,” I proudly said “Yes” and floated on Cloud 9 the rest of the day. So I became a Christian sometime between Dan’s death and 9-11. But because I never actually prayed the prayer and I wasn’t changed instantaneously, it took me a while to realize the full impact of having put my trust in Christ. I remember during that summer praying the prayer with different words, or out loud, or in a different order, waiting for the fireworks. Even a year later I expressed some doubts to our pastor and what he said helped immensely. I had also been talking to him about my family and how my parents think I was brainwashed. He told me that was a pretty good indication that I was indeed a new creation. (2 Corintians 5:17) I was baptized in 2003.
How often do you share the Gospel with others?
It varies. It's always bubbling up from within, but mostly to family. I went through a stage where I carried tracks. Now I mainly tell my children and my nieces & nephews, my mom and sisters, the internet.
What plans do you have to become more committed to sharing the salvation in Christ with others?
Ever since November 4th I’ve been convinced that I/we have been silent for too long. Since it seems that we are now in the minority, and I think it is going to get more difficult to share, now is the time to act!
What scares you the most about sharing the Gospel and what Scriptures have helped you overcome those fears?
Rejection… especially from family members. The story in Luke 16 about Lazarus and the rich man convicts me and encourages me to keep preaching while I can.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Some God Thunkin'

I am in two Bible Studies. I figured it would be okay because one is almost over and the other is just beginning. Well, it just so happens that they are both powerfully insightful requiring much introspection. (Psalm 19:14 and Psalm 139:23,24) The first one is Beth Moore on Believing God. The latest assignment was to go through your life finding all those places that God was there. It is really hard to want to remember some of those times… not the “GodStops,” as she calls them, but what happened just prior. And I actually had a pretty happy childhood! But I’ve been procrastinating, not wanting to be uncomfortable or sad. Basically because I’m a chicken! I found out Sunday that a few of my friends in the study have also procrastinated for the same reasons. One friend mentioned that God did some “thunkin’” on her and she was forced to start delving into her past. She was encouraging and said it was hard but "Oh so Worth It!" Later that night while running errands I was thunked through K-love. This song, Whatever You’re Doing by Sanctus Real was playing and it so hit home. It should be playing on my playlist below. I’ll add a comment with the lyrics. The next two songs spoke to my heart as well: Back in His Arms Again by Mark Schultz and You Never Let Go by Matt Redman. I cried and prayed and although I did not write anything then, I did some sporadic remembering.
When I got home I sat at the piano bench and started flipping through a song book I used to play/sing from when I was younger. It had been in my piano bench forever and forgotten until my 1 year old recently “rearranged” my music. I opened it to the page with one of my favorite songs (The Way We Were) and started playing it and singing along, “Memories may be beautiful and yet, what’s too painful to remember, we simply choose to forget.” Then this morning I remembered another verse that asks, “Can it be that it was all so simple then, or has time rewritten every line?” Funny though, I actually remembered it as “or has God rewritten every line?” Interesting perspective.
I started writing down some of those memories last night and one of the illuminations was that my niece was born right when I was starting to have doubts about God. I was going to college and had one professor in particular who was very anti-Bible. At this point (September 1995) I was almost totally convinced that God did not exist. Well then my niece was born and I was there at the hospital. When I first saw her, I knew. I no longer doubted. She was just a little miracle and there was no doubt in my mind who made her. I’ve always looked at that as a coincidence. But now looking back I realize that God used her, or at least her timing, to bring me back to Him. I get goose-bumps thinking about it! I will keep this short (Oops. Too late!) because I want to do some more introspection. Here I am anxious to get back to what I had been putting off for so long. God was there all along! Praise Him!
One revelation I had recently had more to do with my second Bible Study, www.biblicalsubmission.blogspot.com. I need to create a family budget. Problem is, HOW? I know kind of the basics, but do any of you have any tips to get me started? This is something my hubby has been asking me to do for a very long time. I just get so overwhelmed with it I put it off and put it off. But when I started doing some homework for Biblical Submission “Budget” was one of the three things I’d written down. Then that night my hubby sweetly asked about it again.
Let’s see what my To Do List looks like… “Budget, Dig up scary emotional past, Clean, Blog…” Oh wait, here’s the more truthful order: “Blog, blog, blog, blog, eat, blog, sleep, blog.” Ha ha ha. And I just got my book, “Body for Life For Women” that I won from Sandy’s lovely blog, www.godspeakstoday.blogspot.com. I’ve got some work to do! Have a blessed Tuesday!!!!

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

"Mean momma in the whole wide world!"

Our five year old has been in speech therapy since he was about 2. Miss Amy works with him on various sounds - "p" and "b" etc. and gives him exercises, like sucking pudding through a straw, that work his mouth and tongue muscles. Lately I've been questioning whether we really should be encouraging his communication skills after all. When he is in trouble with me and I have to spank him or send him to time-out, he sputters out several words and sentences, usually in the following order, "Mean!" "Liar liar, pants on fire!" "I'm not gonna be your best friend anymore!" The last one just cracks me up! Where does he get these?
Tonight was a classic. As we were lying in bed talking, singing, trying to get him to fall asleep so I could get up and play on the computer (hee hee) he asked, "Are you the mean momma in the whole wide world?" His question caught me a bit off guard. "No, honey, I don't think so." "Then how come you won't let me brush my teeth with the noisy toothbrush?" We have been letting him use the electric toothbrush. Tonight I had to take it away from him before he felt he was finished. (The internet was calling for me!) He was not a happy camper. We went through the rest of his night-time routine and had been talking quietly and singing songs for about 10 minutes before he astounded me with his adorable accusation. Are we in trouble, or what?

Thursday, November 6, 2008

One Touch

I've been inhaling this song all day. Singing it in the shower, in the car, playing it on my blog, Ipod & Youtube, and just reading the lyrics. There have been a few songs lately that have just really spoken to my heart. One Touch by Nicole C. Mullen is one of them.

International Standard Version Luke 8:43-49
A woman was there who had been suffering from chronic bleeding for twelve years. Although she had spent all she had on doctors, no one could heal her. She came up behind Jesus and touched the tassel of his garment, and her bleeding stopped at once. Jesus asked, "Who touched me?" While everyone was denying it, Peter and those who were with him said, "Master, the crowds are surrounding you and pressing in on you." Still Jesus said, "Somebody touched me, because I know that power has gone out of me." When the woman saw that she couldn't hide, she came forward trembling. Bowing down in front of him, she explained in the presence of all the people why she had touched Jesus and how she had been instantly healed. Then he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace."


I had the amazing privilege of watching Nicole C. Mullen perform this song at a Women of Faith Conference last year. There was a dancer with a red ribbon who, when Nicole sang the part where the woman had been healed, dropped the red ribbon and picked up a white one. It was breathtaking. I like how the video addresses other “issues” that can be healed by Jesus.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtPZuNab9UY

Lyrics:

Been ostracized for 12 years
I'm used to being alone
Spent everything I had
And now it's gone
I'm used to being put down
My issues tell it all
My only hope is anchored In this fall

Chorus
If I could just touch the hem of His garment
I know I'd be made whole
If I could just press my way through this madness
His love would heal my soul
If only one touch
So many people calling
How could He ever know
That just a brush of Him
Would stop the flow
If He knew would He rebuke me
Or shame me to the crowd
Well I'm desperate 'cause it's never or it's now

If I could just touch the hem of His garment
I know I'd be made whole
If I could just press my way through this madness
His love would heal my soul.

And then suddenly He turned around
He said somebody has unleashed my power
Well, frightened and embarrassed I bowed
You see I told Him of my troubles And how...
I had to touch the Hem of His garment
And i know I've been made whole
And how I had pressed my way through this madness
And His love has healed my soul.

Then with one word He touched the hem of my garment
And you know I've been made whole
And somehow He pressed His way through my madness
And His love has healed my soul.
I tell you He Touched me.
He reached way down and touched me
When no one else would touch me Jesus shol' 'nough [[sure enough]]
He touched me... And I know I've been made whole

Saturday, November 1, 2008

My intro for A Wife's Biblical Submission Bible Study

“Wives submit yourselves to your own husbands as unto the Lord…” ~~~ Ephesians 5:22

This one verse has been such a major part of my life. It was a stumbling block when I was unsaved. My mom and I would attend church together every once in awhile. But it seemed that every time we would go back, this would be one of the readings. We would cringe, sulk, talk it over begrudgingly, and vow not to go to church again.
Then in 2001 my brother-in-law and I got into an argument about homosexuality. He, his wife, and my other sister-in-law were talking about how they refused to watch a television show when one of the main characters came out of the closet. I was aghast at such intolerance. He showed me something in the Bible to prove his point. I looked up Ephesians 5:22 and handed the Bible back to him. He was a little perplexed because the passage I pointed to was so off the topic.
“Well,” I huffed, “This is just something ELSE that’s in the Bible that I don’t agree with!” Ugh! My poor brother-in-law. I can still see the incredulous look on his face. He went home and looked up passages to try to prove the Bible to me and I went home and looked up passages to prove just how badly women were treated in the Bible. He died in a motorcycle accident before we could finish our debate.
At his funeral the recurrent theme was how he was in Heaven because of Jesus. No one doubted it. I had always been told that it depended on how good you were and it was always a hope, but never an assurance that loved ones would go to Heaven. I started searching the Bible again. But this time I was not looking to proof it errant, I was looking for answers. I started reading Genesis and Romans a little each day and was so thrilled to find out how those two books coincided. It was true! Everything in that Book was absolutely true. I no longer had a doubt. Shortly after that I accepted Jesus as MY savior, not just savior of the world, but savior of ME.
My husband and I celebrated our 10th year of marriage this past May. We have one biological son (5 years old), 2 soon-to-be-adopted sons (7 & 6), a foster son (7) and his sister (1). We have six other foster children who are living with their families but are still part of our lives.
I found this intriguing Bible Study while Blog-hopping through http://www.internetcafedevotions.com/. I’m not sure exactly how I landed on this beautifully encouraging site, but am thankful I did, and looking forward to this study and meeting everyone else!