Freedom, Family, Friends and FOOD!

This is my favorite picture of any of our 4th of July celebrations. And it could quite possibly be my favorite picture of this little punk.

Last year at this time, our family was quite a mess. It had only been a month since Donny's accident and he had only been home from the hospital for about a week. We didn't really get to do any of our normal family stuff. And as I look forward to today, I am excited to spend time with family, friends AND EAT!!! This quote from Erma Bombek fits perfectly,

"You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4th, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism."

Time

One song says that time is on my side, "Yes, it is!". I also hear that time flies. I think the latter is more true than anything else!

See this face

It became this face

Which then became

and then

which is one of my most favorite pictures of this little twerp. And then this face led to

this which makes me giggle. And then we came to this

and next week, he will be 6.
Did you hear me? I said 6! And I ask, again, where does time go?
As much as this child makes me nuts and at times want to cry, I can not imagine life without his funny little quips or actions.
For instance, last week he taught us that "lightning comes from hell cause it's scary." Now, where would be without that knowledge that only he can give? Where I ask you!?!

Life hasn't been dull since we were blessed with this child and I am looking forward to all God has in store for him.

Rainy Day Haikus

Rainy, rainy day
You are so gloomy to me
Want to clean and nap



Not  the best Haiku you've ever read, I am sure. I enjoy the rain and loathe it all at the same time. It just seems we've had SO much!

On to another subject. How do you get boys to clean their room? I mean, I have friends who have kids that probably border OCD and cleaning up is NEVER an issue. In this house, it's a problem. Grounding, spankings, loss of privileges, rewards...nothing works! And I am at the point where I don't think I should have to go down and clean it myself when they are both old enough to be able to do it themselves.  AND, if I do go down, it will most likely end up in them losing most of their toys to boxes, Goodwill or the dump. As it stands now, they haven't gotten any new toys since Christmas because they didn't take care of the ones they got then!

Okay, Moms, let me hear it. Suggestions are welcomed and appreciated!

Two red headed boys
Ginormously messy room
Two red headed boys

Thoughts of the day

So many different thoughts were running through my mind today and I so much wanted to blog about them all.
I should've written them down.
But I didn't.
So, I will meander about, rambling and hopefully something good comes from it.

Gifts
I believe what the Bible says in Ephesians 4:11, "He handed out gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, and pastor-teacher to train Christ's followers in skilled servant work, working within Christ's body, the church, until we're all moving rhythmically and easily with each other, efficient and graceful in response to God's Son, fully mature adults, fully developed within and without, fully alive like Christ." (The Message)

I have taken several Spiritual Gift Inventories and I always get similar answers. I guess that means they are true! One of them is Words of Wisdom and the other the gift of Discernment. These two come in handy so often! And at the same time, they can be so difficult!

Let me explain myself here. It's really hard to know what a person NEEDS to hear and to then actually TELL them.

On facebook tonight, I wanted to type a particular status regarding this. But as I typed, I realized the aftermath that could ensue and didn't post it. I feel like I missed the ball. So, instead of just putting it on FB I decided that I would blog about it now.
Here it goes!
I can't help but believe that God's heart is completely breaking over the things that people, people who say they love Him, post on their statuses.
Why do some of you feel the need to post things that are in no way glorifying Him? Why do you insist on listening to things that are not bringing you closer to Him?
Teenagers- oh, Lord help me here. Teenagers, why do you feel the need to air ALL of your dirty laundry and thoughts for the whole world to see? Why do you feel it's okay to go to church on Sunday or Wednesday and then every other day post statuses that use words that are vulgar, racist, hurtful or worse?! I am honestly too embarrassed and ashamed to write some of the words that students who attend my youth have put in their status updates.
I. Just. Don't. Get. It.
What does God have to do to get the attention of your heart? What will it take for you to become sold out for Jesus? What, in this world, is so worth giving up a life in Christ to have?
These questions are not rhetorical. I would love to hear answers.

Our Pastor's motto is "What got you here, won't get you there." Do you know what that means? The actions you have taken and the words you have spoken that lead you to where you are at in your life are not going to be the same as the actions and words needed to take you to the next level...out of despair, bitterness, anger and hurt. These things can only be escaped by turning your heart truly and completely to the One who is able to walk you THROUGH the hardships of this life. You won't ever be immune to the flaming arrows of the enemy, but when you are walking with Christ, you have an armor ready for you to wear so that you do not be come defeated but realize you have overcome!
You are more than a conqueror!

Want life? Give yours up. Let God take your life. He gives a new one! One that never ends and is filled with peace in the midst of storms. Love in the midst of pain. Healing in the midst of sickness. Joy in the midst of sorrow. Life where there is death.

Is it easy to walk the narrow path that God has laid out for you? No. Will there be obstacles? Of course! But God's Word assures us that He walks with us and stands with us in the good and bad times.

He loves you so much. Please, do Him a favor, love Him with more than just lip service.
I love the old saying, "Dying for me was the most He could do. Living for Him is the least I can do."
So where do you stand? He brings freedom. He brings peace. He brings joy. He brings hope, love, grace, favor, strength and the best is the His mercy is new every morning!
Please don't turn from Him. He is calling you to His side. He is reaching out with nail scarred hands. Grab a hold to those hands and hold on tight! I promise you, you won't regret it. Go ahead and just give Him a try. I double dog dare you.

Picture me on a soap box in the middle of the street.

I do believe the end is near. Mr. Harold Camping only has a few of the details and the date wrong. I look around at the terrible things happening in our world from earthquakes (the earth will groan for His coming the Bible says), tornadoes, hurricanes, famine, wars and rumors of wars, and I can see that the end is really near.
But let us not get all caught up in the fear that can be associated with this thought.

2 Peter 3:9-18 (New International Version)

⁹ The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

 ¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.^[a]

 ¹¹ Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives ¹² as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.^[b] That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. ¹³ But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

 ¹⁴ So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. ¹⁵ Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. ¹⁶ He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.

 ¹⁷ Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. ¹⁸ But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.

I just want to be ready when He comes, whenever it may be. I want to help those in need, love those in need of love and give hope to the hopeless.

Viewer Discretion is advised.

I feel awful for not blogging. Life has taken a few turns this past year. Let's recap.

February, 2010 I was put on bed rest with my 3rd pregnancy because of my blood pressure and almost preterm labor.

April I had my 3rd baby boy.

May started to resume some normalcy and I was settling into the mom of 3 boys.

June 1, 2010 my world turned upside down. Donny had his motorcycle accident. The boys were sort of shuffled anywhere and everywhere. I was at the mercy of friends and family and neighbors. After it happened he wasn't comfortable showing the pictures. He didn't even want to see them. But he has told me I can use a few for this blog. So I will. And here is where the "Viewer Discretion" begins.

These are just a few of the pictures we have. And these are only of the major injury.


I show these to say 3 things.
1. WATCH OUT FOR MOTORCYCLES!!!!
2. Nothing in life is guaranteed and it can change in the blink of an eye.
3. MY GOD IS SO UNBELIEVABLY GOOD!!!!

We went to see the Ortho Doctor today. GREAT news! He's doing very well. Shows NO signs of arthritis! Well on his way to a great recovery.

The end of July held surgery #7 to remove the external fixator.
August was the beginning of school and Noah started kindergarten!

September and October were fairly uneventful

November we became youth leaders...again! AND surgery #8 to correct foot drop that Donny developed in his bad leg. And money began to become an issue. Prayers and faith were all we had. Little did we know that God had moved the hearts of great friends who were busy putting things together that we had no clue about.

December marked a HUGE shift! God moved the legal part of things and we were able to close our suit and collect all settlements! He granted us favor in buying a van. We were blessed by Joyce Meyer Ministries with groceries, 2 months house payments, electric paid for a month and 2 car payments! AND, some sweet, wonderful and giving friends blessed the boys with Christmas gifts. Our attorney, also, got in the game and rounded up support for us and blessed our family. Our future Christmas mornings may never compare to this last one.

January we really began a struggle with Long Term Disability through Donny's job. It wasn't until just about 3 weeks ago that we finally got things figured out and found out that we were going to get paid and our benefits returned.

February was fairly mellow.
March- My baby brother got married! And I gained a new seester :)

April held several things. My oldest turned 8!! My baby turned 1!! And I was asked to come on staff at GCFIRST Assembly of God as the youth pastor and the church has agreed to help me get my Ministerial studies taken care of.

May2 I started in the office at the church. I am learning so much and I am excited to be on the ground level of the mighty things God is going to do!

And then the other day, I updated my blog turn on our website with this. Go ahead, take a look. This is my latest update called, Created for Him.

Sorry this sort of rambled but maybe now you have a taste of what my life is like. And this hasn't included the day to day normal "Mom" stuff that is required of me.

Thanks for reading and please stop by again!

I don't want to take a ticket and stand in line.

I am not political. I do have opinions and I vote, but I am not a political person. So this post is one that I have debated on writing for the past 2 hours. But, here goes.

I was sitting at the dining room table working on some crafty things tonight and Donny was watching television. A hockey game to be exact. Who'd have thought? Anyway, a home improvement commercial came on and a line in it was, "Because you don't want to take a number and stand in line to fix your home." Or something very similar...the "number and stand in line" is for sure, though. What went through my mind is that apparently we can't imagine going to Home Depot/Lowe's/Ace and standing in line with a number for some wood or a hammer and yet we voted in a President who's main goal for our health benefits will require us to stand in line with a number to have that operation you need on your heart or that your child needs on their ears. It's unfathomable to me!
Okay, I am off of my soapbox and although I know that I chose to write this blog and make it public, I am just voicing my opinion and don't need to be yelled at for it. Feel free to comment but let's be respectful.
Thanks, and I don't want to stand in line.