A Holiday Special and My Inner Dialogue

Tonight provided for an unusual occurrence in my home. I actually got to watch the Christmas Special put on for the President and First Lady. This special aired on ABC around 10p and there is a reason it was on so late, (I will get to that later).
You might or might not be asking why is this an unusual occurrence in your home Noel? Well, I am glad you asked. It is unusual in our home to watch these kinds of events because the Giant is not much for these type of shows. He's not really fond of Holiday special anything or award shows, or anything celebrity or politically or Holiday-ish related. He tends to be a bit sarcastic sometimes, I know surprising isn't it, But it's true!! Anyhew, as you can imagine these kind of shows really provide a varietal plethora(sp?) of opportunities to be sarcastic, and then I usually start defending people that I don't even know and probably don't deserve defense, and it just really isn't all that enjoyable to me anymore so.....all that to say, I was excited to get to watch this special tonight because the hubby was out at a movie.
Now, I have to say that I know my writing skills are not going to bring this blog justice as to what was going on in my psyche while watching this special, but I am going to try. Hopefully I don't bore you all to death and if you are already unamused please, by all means, stop reading.
I sat down with some chocolates, a glass of wine, fully prepared to enjoy this Christmas Special and Wynonna Rider starts off the show. Now I am not a HUGE fan but I can appreciate the country music so no biggie but when she addressed the President, weird is all I can say. She timidly tried to jest with him to which he just smiled and nodded and it was just so strange. This is just a good indication of what the rest of the lame event entailed. They proceeded to have dancers half dressed(I sound like my dad there but truly they were), John Sicata(token Hispanic person for this white bred event) Yolanda Adams a woman who well.... just was interesting as well , but I am thinking is a fav of the Presidents because MAN ALIVE SHE SANG ALOT (and well she mentioned she is from Texas), a Comic who was sweating like a pig trying not to step on anybodies toes, and the Creme Del Creme OLIVIA NEWTON JOHN (or as my dad would say Olivia Neutron Bomb). The whole time I couldn't enjoy the show because Moses sarcastic voice was so loud and I just couldn't shut it up and well by the end I didn't want to shut it up because it became truly the only thing entertaining about the show. I kept hearing him say things like, "Look at them all smiling as if they are enjoying this woman who is so old she can't even keep on key anymore." or "We sing this Feliz Navidad song every holiday and still need the translation that comes with it" There was other commentary that was funnier at the time and I can't think of it now but all I have to say is God Bless Moses and his wonderful, cheery outlook on life that has forever wrecked/ruined me.

A dream come true

This weekend a dream came true for me. I was able to go see my most favorite female vocalist of all time in a show that I never thought I would be able to get into. I cried 3 times throughout the show because I felt so grateful for the life that I live. What an amazingly good life. Gratitude and contentment have been overwhelming my emotions lately. Literally, I have had moments of so much thankfulness in my heart to God that I start to cry. Not just for big events like this one but also for small ones like watching my niece fall asleep on my dad's chest, or seeing my dogs give each other kisses, or staring at my beautiful husband and children.
Life is amazing. God IS really good ALL the time.

Getting Lost, and Finding THE tree

This year we made the trip out to the woods for the infamous tree. We have done this before and in theory this idea of cutting down the tree is really great but in reality with crying babies, cold children, or children who are hungry, or children who are wet cause they fell down in the mud or ice or whatever....not so great. This year was different.
We went very spur of the moment and with some pretty great friends. It was a beautiful drive out to Frenchman's and I forgot how much fun 4bying(sp?) with the man can be , mostly because of the smile it puts on his face(he really does need an off road toy, shh...don't tell him I said so). The kids were really great as well with lots of laughs and no mishaps it made me believe that we might actually start this tradition back up again.
Anyway, back to what I wanted to blog about.While we were out there though there was a patch of trees that I got tangled up in all alone (don't know how that happened as I am always telling the kids not to wander off) and at one point it got pretty hairy and scary(not really but I am adding that for dramatic effects). The trees were all dead and so close together and I had got way off the trail from everyone else and I had no idea where I was(not afraid because of my photographic memory, I have never been truly lost in my life, probably why I really wasn't afraid) and I began to think what would it be like to really be lost out there. Strange thoughts to have on this day but there I was having them and the conclusion I came to is that I would wait awhile and listen. I would listen for the voices of other people who I knew weren't far off. This got me thinking of how often when we feel lost, alone, or afraid we can listen to voices, (now for those of you sarcastic folk don't go thinking , "Great , Noel's really gone and lost it now, telling us to listen to voices) the voices of those who know their way and are not lost and maybe have been down this road before. After all this thought of being lost, I was tired of pretending like I was lost and also I could hear the voices pretty strong and close by so I decided to go find them.
I think in the end that is all we have to guide us in this journey we call life, the voices that have gone before us that have left their wisdom to try and help us avoid the mistakes they have made. They call out to us in all different ways and in all different settings but when we are lost sometimes I don't think we take the time to stop, and listen.

Some deep thoughts before bed

As I was dozzing off to dream land my eyes wandered over to the top of my dresser upon which many pictures in frames sit. One inpaticular caught my eye though and my mind went racing. It was the picture of me as a baby being held by my Pepere( which means Grandpa in French). He looks to be about the age that my dad is now, mid to late 6o's and he looks happy. As I lay there thinking about that moment of time captured forever now by a photograph I thought of all many unanswered questions I still have about this man I called "Pepere". I wondered, where did he work to support his family of 3 boys and his wife, where did he get his genes for being oh so clean all the time, did he have OCD because many of his house cleaning habits lead me to believe he might have been a bit on the OCD side, did he leave knowing he was loved, did he have a favorite color or favorite hobby, how come he was so good with money? I know so little of this man who is now only remembered by a photo in my mind. This got me thinking about life in general and how we all often think so much more of ourselves than we ought. Will anyone even remember anything about me when I pass on? If so, what will it be that they remember most? What I remember most about Pepere is that he loved to make kites, he was very resourceful and clean, he was very skinny, quiet, and wore sweaters all the time. Strange things to remember but there you have it.
All these thoughts led me to this prayer, God teach me to number my days that I might get a heart full of wisdom, that I don't forget that I am but dust, and so that I don't take one single breath for granted.

Photo Shoot with Natalie Rose

These are just some of the products of one of the funnest photo shoots ever!! Usually taking pictures with 6 people(4 of those people being lil and not used to looking the right way) is not my idea of good times , but I have to say this was short and very sweet and the end result is some really fun moments in time. Love it. We really were smiling on the inside as well as the outside.

My Adult Christmas list(and a lame attempt to sound like a credit card commercial)

Wanted: One Bright Green Kitchen Aid
Cost: 250 to 300 dollars
Knowing that I really only want this because it will look so great on my counter and not really for all the stuff I would make with it - Priceless-
Wanted: One brown and black Pug
Cost: 600 to upwards of 1000 dollars
Knowing that I partly want this dog so that I could make an unrealistic dream of a 9 year old girl come true and partly because it would look so stinking cute with my other 2 adorable dogs- Priceless-
Wanted: Bright beautiful Hollywood Style Porcelain Veneers
Cost: 4000+
Knowing that I really just want these so I won't have to go to the dentist anymore, nor will I have to floss ever again and so then I could finally be counted among all the plastic people out there(a goal in life I believe we all should aspire to attain )- Priceless-


I guess knowing that just because I want something doesn't really mean I need it is what makes this an adult Christmas list versus a Juvenile one and that really is priceless :)

A letter of Appeal

I am putting my letter of appeal in the mail today to Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance company. Upon completion of this letter I felt a deep sense of sadness and anger for even having to take the time to do this.
As some of you know our precious Chloe had an appendicitis back in July. It took many months for the final bills to come rolling in and when they did the amount was staggering and our insurance company had failed us miserably because apparently the hospital we went to in a state of panic and shock at 1am in the morning was an out of network hospital. Sorry, it was the light at the end of the tunnel to get my 7 year old daughter some relief, sorry I thought any and all hospitals in a health related emergency is the right hospital. Errghhhh!! So as you can see the anger comes in right there. But the deep sense of sadness that I feel is that I know I am not the only one who has had to deal with similar type situations and some people dealing with these issues are still also dealing with those painful health situations.
Something has got to change in this country regarding our health insurances and medical industries that are raking in the big bucks on account of our misfortunes. Something has got to change and thank God next fall things will. Oh wait, I mean things will be promised , talked about , and then forgotten.
I guess that's where the sadness comes in.

My(long overdue) book review blog

I have recently finished quite a few books that have been on my to-do list for quite a while now.
One that I started many months ago( i think before summer) is , Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by a guy from New York with the last name Scharezo(sp?) This book was so good that I started recommending it to people before I had even finished reading it. It is basically about how often times we forget that our emotions are a very key component to the way that God has formed and fashioned us and although it's not good to live by emotions, it is also not good to ignore them either. We cannot just pass every difficult conversation off by saying, "Just pray about it" sometimes we need to allow for those emotions to be validated and be honest when they haven't gone away. It's about marrying our faith as well as our emotions together in healthy balanced relationship. I give it a ***** 5 star rating out of 5 stars.
The other book I recently finished is one that I heard about on the Oprah show and so for many of you that's all you need to know that you don't want to read this book. It is called, Eat, Pray, Love by a woman whose name I can't remember and it's probably just as well because I wouldn't recommend this book anyways. It is basically about a spiritually starved, very confused woman in her 30's who divorces her husband after 10 years of marriage and decides to travel to Italy, India, and Indonesia in an attempt to find herself and her Maker.
She is a very good writer, very good but the contents were filtered with so much confusion and to me sadness that it might leave you depressed afterward if not careful. What I took away was how incredibly grateful I am to my Savoir , for finding me so young so that I didn't have to search the world over for answers only to not really find them at all. It also surprised me of the great lengths that people will go in search of Truth and the enormous lies that are out there in regards to all things spiritual.
I give a ** out of a possible 5 stars only because the book was mostly bones with not meat.
I am now embarking on a new book that I can hardly put down. I only just borrowed it from a friend yesterday and I am almost halfway through it. It is called A Generous Orthodoxy by Brian McLaren. It is so good already but I will post on it when I am done.
Other irons in the fire right now, I Promise and also Love is a Choice . These two both deal with relationships and have very good as well. I will post on these later when I am done with them.

Loving-kindness

defintion-loving kindness (love without attachment, non-exclusive love) towards all human beings.
If I were to choose something out of the Bible that I have read over and over again but have completely overlooked it would be these two words, Loving-kindness.
How often have I read in the scriptures about God and His loving kindness, or that I should praise Him for His loving kindness? It is a word group that gets overlooked because I think when I would read it I would not slow down to think , What does that really mean? Why is it that those two words grouped together are used more often to describe the God I serve than any other and still I have never slowed down enough to notice.This morning was different. I slowed down and read those words as if I was reading them for the first time and I thought, That is my God's way, His M.O. if you will. If I were to describe God given any 2 words in dictionary would I choose those 2 words? Would you?
After looking those 2 words up on every internet access dictionary that I could find I believe I would choose those words to describe the God that I serve. He is so loving and so kind in His approach of loving me. He doesn't stop showing me love when I walk away and choose to focus my attention elsewhere. He waits. Patiently and expectantly for me to return and then He doesn't hold over my head the mistakes I have made along the way.
His way is loving and kind- loving kindness is what I would say I worship most about Him because this way about Him is the most beautiful way I have ever known.
"The Lord takes pleasure in those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him, in those who Hope in His mercy and loving-kindness" Psalm 147:11
I am glad that His loving-kindness is something I can put my hopes in because I know that He never changes so neither will His M.O.(Mode of Operation)
Now what I am left with wondering is what is my M.O.??

Old Friends and Sweet Moments

This weekend I had the privilege of being invited to one of the most intimate settings , a wedding of an old friend. This friend actually used to be a very young girl that I would babysit along with her two sisters. I remember these girls being little and running around their house in dress ups and make up or sitting down watching Anne of Green Gables and dreaming as all little girls do of the day when they would be grown up like Anne and have suitors coming their way. That day has come in one of their lives and for me it was a very surreal experience to be a part of. The whole time I just kept thinking how did the time go so fast and I didn't even notice. How did she become so grown up and beautiful and distinguished. She is a wife now. No longer a blond haired blue eyed lil girl, she is a woman now. My mind continued to try and think of the day when I will be seeing my own daughters walk down that aisle. I hardly have a slot in my brain for that but this event did help make a slight space for it. It was a beautiful ceremony that was intimate and sweet. Her husband is priceless and hand picked by her maker for sure. It was truly a beautiful day and restored hope I believe for many including myself. There is nothing like young love to restore hope.

What a whirlwind

Lately life just seems to be going way too fast. I don't know if it's that I am getting older and so then I have something to compare to when life was slow or if my days are so full with fun but I wish I could just stop the clock sometimes. My children are all at such a fun age and it is truly hard for me to phathom that my oldest will be 10 this spring. I am not ready for them to start hitting the double digits, well... maybe I am . All I know is that it just seems like yesterday that I was living in a house in Carson City on Minnesota street and all my days were consumed with is whether Emma had enough to eat, when her next poop was coming and if I got a good night sleep the night before. Now, here I am almost 10 years later and my days are filled with, "Mom did you wash that shirt last night, what are you making for dinner, do we get hot lunch today mom, did you sign my paper, don't forget I have honor choir today, and so on...."
My life is so rich. Sometimes I feel I am the richest woman in the world. There are not enough material treasures to compare to the richness of children. This weekend I actually thought before leaving to go out of town for a few days by myself(well, with a bunch of girlfriends actually) that I was going to miss out on all the fun that the family was going to have. Didn't stop me from going but it was so nice to come home.

And then there were 2

My dogs, Baxter and Bella are so funny, truly they make me smile. They sit upon the chair in front of our living room window and I firmly believe they think they rule the world from this chair. It gives them special doggie powers. They look down the end of our the road and bark at everything,(something that we are trying to change with a squirt bottle, not alot of success so far) and I do mean everything. A leaf falling from the tree, a cat strolling by, kids, adults, cars, birds, butterflies, etc...... There is one bark, accompanied with growling and whole lot of jumping straight up and down, that is a sure sign to us all that the true bully of the neighborhood is on our front lawn. The bully- is a lil itty bitty Chihuahua(think taco bell dog all the way) which I do believe is truly a dog bully. He runs around the neighborhood, roaming freely, with no collar and when stopped by other dogs on leashes he kicks up his back legs like a bull ready to charge at you and then runs away. Normally, he comes and pees on my lawn and then does his little bull dance, gets my doggies in a fully hysterical state and then prances away. ONE of these days I might just let them loose and then we shall see what happens to the bully. In the meantime I love to see my dogs , sitting upon their chair ruling the world.

Today

I am thankful for my beautiful tree outside that has EXPLODED with colors that are so beautiful I don't even think a professional artist could pinpoint this color exactly. I am thankful for my gentle giant who not only let me sleep in but made me a scrumpous sandwich. He IS the whole package :) I am thankful for my dogs who have the cutest lil butts with spots , one with brown, one with black. I know its sounds crazy but they make me happy. I am thankful for a new book, "Eat, Pray, Love" looking forward to diving into it. I am thankful for good music. I am thankful for crazy kids home from school making all kinds of noise that I love to hear. I am thankful for LIFE. My life.

New Tattoo

These flowers plus a sunflower on my back. Can't decide if I want them across my shoulder blades or up and down?? They represent the women in my life who have changed me forever. I might do the sunflower on my pointer finger on my left hand for my birthday and then I would exclude that one from my back. Dunno yet. Anyone know of really good tattoo artists here in Reno or Sparks? I don't think I will be going back to Slick Rick in Sparks.

This is our moment

I heard it said recently, in regards to our lives that we are given, "This is our moment". We have all heard similar things like, "You only get one life to live, live it well" or "There are no dress rehearsals in life" and I am sure there are many, many other ways to say this but for some reason when I heard , "This is our moment" it struck a chord in me that is still resonating. This is my time to go up to bat for life here on this earth and I can either swing well and keep on swinging or not swing at all. Recently I have been asking God to teach me to number my days. This is something that I believe to be a divine gift and not something that is easy for us humans to do well because we all feel like we are going to live forever, because we ARE eternal but our lives here, on this earth, and in this way are very much not eternal and yet somehow we think there will always be tomorrow. I don't want to think like that anymore. I want to do the things in my heart that I am passionate about, I want to love deeper and more sincerely, and invest more in those who will still be here when my time is up. I am so thankful this morning for the gift of gratefulness. I think it is truly a gift to be grateful for every single thing in this life. The good and the bad. I am grateful that I have all that I have and that I no longer look anywhere else for peace and contentment but to my Creator who knows me better than I know myself. I am grateful, SO grateful for my relationships. All of them are a blessing not to be taken for granted and the most precious of them all is the one I think I most often take for granted. The fact that I am a beloved child of God, adopted into a family that was never my own until someone chose me to be is something I am sad to say that at times I take for granted. I chose to blog about this because today when I read in Psalm 90, this is what it said " Our iniquities, our secret heart and its sins,(which we would so like to conceal even from ourselves), You have set in the revealing light of Your countenance. For all the days (out here in this wilderness or on this earth) pass away; we spend our years as a tale that is told(for we adults know we are doomed to die soon) The days of our years are three score years and ten(70) or even, if by reason of strength, fourscore years(80) yet is their pride (in additional years) only labor and sorrow, for it is soon gone, and we fly away. Who knows the power of your anger?(Who worthily connects this brevity of life with Your recognition of sin?) And your wrath, who connects it with the reverent and worshipful fear that is due You? SO TEACH US TO NUMBER OUR DAYS, THAT WE MAY GET US A HEART OF WISDOM.
Make us glad in proportion to the days in which You have given us and the years in which we suffered for evil(or the years we chose wrong instead of right). Let your works(signs of your power) be revealed to Your servants, and Your (glorious) majesty to thier children. And let the beauty and delightfulness and favor of the Lord our God be upon us; confirm and establish the work of our hands-yes, the work of our hands, confirm and establish it. "Psalm 90:8-17
What are the works of my hands? What am I pouring my life into? Will whatever it is really matter at the end?
To me it was by no mistake that I read these words today. I know that God is teaching me something here. I know that I still have pride in my heart that needs to be removed and replaced with the humbleness that comes when you realize that we are but a breath.
God help me.

I apologize in advance for this.....

REDSOX PRAYER

Our Father, who art at Fenway...Baseball be thy game.TheyKingdom come,Playoffs need to be won,On Earth, then on to the Cask 'n' Flagon.Give us this day, a perfect Papi,And forgive us our losses,As we forgive those,Like Bill Buckner.And lead us not, into desperation,But deliver us from any losses.For thine is the Power,And the Glory,To beat the Indians,Forever and ever....the Yankees suck

A-men

I found these to be quite humorous and thought I would share. Wow, SOME fans are so radical.

Just a question?

This morning while burping my niece Savanah, I had this thought...Why do we burp babies the way that we do? Why do we pat them on the back until they burp? What does patting them on the back actually do? I have done this motion for countless years without even a thought as to why I am doing it ,until now. Why do we burps babies the way that we do?
Makes me wonder how many other things I do in my life without asking why?

Happy 6th Birthday Solomon

Happy Birthday Solo- Man, Solid Man, Shal om, So lo min. In the 6 years that you have walked this earth you have proven to be such a beautiful person. I love you.

I am SO excited, AND I just can't hide it!!!

Ah Yeah Baby, it's game time in my home of origin. Mom's a Bo sox's fan, Dad's a serious Angels fan and has won over some of my weaker siblings to the dark side. Dad, Gina, and Israel will be sporting the Angels hats meanwhile I will remain true to the Bo Sox's. This is going to be serious fun.


"It's game time, it's October," pronounced right-hander Curt Schilling. "This is when great players play great, and hopefully, we have a couple of those guys in this clubhouse."
"We have more things to do, but there's no getting around how excited we are," said manager Terry Francona, seated with a cigar in hand just a few feet outside his office. "This was a very big accomplishment for the organization, for the city, we need it to just be the beginning. But it's a big accomplishment."

Why I am a faithful fan........

I must take a moment to say why I could never ever turn my back on the team that will win the MLB playoffs THIS YEAR!!! That's right, I said it.

My family on my moms side is as true blooded Red Sox's nation as they come. Her mom, my gram was actually cousins with Rocky Marchiano who lived in Brockton Mass, while my gram, mom and family lived nearby in Braintree Mass.The east coast and all things Massachusetts will always be near and dear to my heart because my beloved of all grandparents was born and raised there, the woman who gave me life was born there,and many of my cousins, aunts and uncles, great aunts and uncles still live there and well.....it is the home of my heart. I identify with the culture, people, traditions, and basically have just been really blessed to say that I have a proud heritage there. Not something many can claim.

Although I jest all in good fun, I will never be a turncoat and go Yankee even if close friends happened to choose the wrong team to play on. Even if my own husband doesn't share my enthusiasm, this is a team that I will remain true to til the day I die.

So put up your dukes, I am ready to fight....it runs in my blood after all!!!!

DISCLAIMER- THIS BLOG IS MEANT TO CAUSE A REACTION, IF YOU FIND YOUR HEART RACING WITH COMPETITIVE BEATS YOU MAY NEED TO TURN OFF THE COMPUTER AND GO PICK A BETTER BASEBALL TEAM :)

My Neighbors

I came home this morning from dropping all my kids off at school and my dog, Baxter was waiting ever so patiently for me on the front lawn. At first I thought thats wierd how did he get out and then I looked over to our side gate and realized that someone(a taller someone) had unlatched it. Now normally I don't think up conspiracy theories like this but my neighbors are quite the unfriendly people type who have literally avoided any social contact with all of us except for yelling at my son Sol when we first moved in to get off thier lawn. I have also literally seen them with my own eyes pick up leaves that are from our tree and by hand remove them from thier bushes and place them back over on our side of the property. These neighbors are older and never have visitors. THE only time I see them are when they are out trimming thier rose bushes and they don't speak to anyone so it's not like I have my feelings hurt or anything. I waffle back and forth all the time whether I should "kill em with kindness" as my grandmother used to always say or just go on ignoring them as they ignore me. It is hard to ignore though when they do such nasty things. I know what Jesus says so please don't go preachy on me anyone. I just needed a place to vent my frustrations about these old farts!!! Okay, I know that wasn't nice but seriously who does this kinda stuff other than farts or turkeys, maybe turkeys is a better word.

Newest Member of our Family, 64 VW Bug

We purchased a 64 VW Bug about 2 months back and this weekend I finally got to take it for several spins. I have to say that of all the VW models the bug is my all time favorite. The very first car I ever owned was a 69 VW Bug and so of course they are near and dear to my heart. I just fit so well in a Bug and it feels as though you are driving in the road rather than on it, kinda like a canoe in water. I haven't named him yet but when I do you will be the first to know. I am pretty sure that he is going to be root beer brown though my all time favorite color for bugs is red. I have saved that color for my dream car which would be a convertible VW Bug at least about 65 or older. Anyway when I post some picks you all can put in your 2cents worth for names the guy until then you will hear us coming.

These are a few of my favorite things.....

When the bugs RED, When the love flows, When the friends are great..... I simply remember my favorite things , and then I don't feel so bad.

Hebrews 3:13-14

Encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today.... We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first.

What a PEST , BUDA is

My sister Jenny left today for Budapest, Hungary. I am sad. I know that she is doing what she needs to be doing and that it is only for a while(a long while) but I am still sad. I will miss her so much. For some reason this year was harder to say goodbye than last year.

I am thankful however, that we have the summers memories to get us through this next year. I am also very much aware of the sacrifice it takes to have missionaries for family members. Not so much to be a missionary but I could imagine somewhat. Anyway, I pray for all those who are living the life they feel God had called them to live AND for thier families.

Dog People and Dog days

Ever since we got Baxter we have met so many interesting Dog people. One lady asked me once, "Can your dog sniff my dog's butt?" HUH? I didn't quite know what to think of that, but she went on to explain her craziness which still didn't really explain alot, but I digress. Anyway, there has been an older lady who walks the Marina quite frequently as I do and she always comments on how beautiful Baxter is. Often times on days that I am frustrated with him for chewing up yet another item around the house, or ON the house I feel like saying, "Ya want him?" but I wouldn't do that to this poor woman :). Anyways, today the wierdest thing happened as I was walking with a friend Baxter's tags fell off. I didn't even know that they had fallen off before I ran into this lady again for the ba-zillionth time and this time she asked me what my dogs name was. When I left she found his tags a bit further down the way and then called me to let me know she had them. We got to talking and she decided that she would be over my way and would just go ahead and drop them off to me. She arrived an hour later and then we talked for about an hour. She told me all about her life. She is from Santa Barbara and recently decided to retire here and lives by the Marina. She is all alone and just has her dog to keep her company. At one point in life she had up to 7 dogs. She has 6 of her deceased dogs ashes in vases at her home and by the end of the conversation was willing to adopt Baxter at least financially so that he could eat only the best dog food.
Needless to say, it was one of the more interesting conversations that I have had with a "dog person" and I was extremely happy after she left(NOT because she left) because she was just too cute.
I went to the pet store after she left and invested in a more expensive collar for Baxter even though she was willing to buy this for him I just didn't know what to think about all that.
Then after leaving the pet store I went to my kids school to pick them up and there was a teenage girl who had the cutest Shiht-Zuh puppy and I so wanted to take it home after having dogs on the brain. When I told her how cute it was she said, "Do you want it , I will sell him to you for $50 bucks?"
Thank God for my husband who does not live in this crazy dog eat dog world that I do. He said no, we don't have Shiht-Zuh. I think I wanted it partly just cause it's fun to say that name.

You can face an ocean......

You can face an ocean......



with the hand of a sister.

New Year at New School

Today I had to register my kids at a different elementary school than the one that they have been attending for the past few years since we have lived here. When we moved here 2 and half years ago we didn't know anything about the many elementary schools in our neighborhood but we did know some friends and so we took our kids where we knew they would have guaranteed friends. This year there was a re-zoning that brought in so many new kids to this school that they could longer grant variances to any children but they were hoping that our family could stay so we waited until all the new registrations came through,kinda like waiting for stand-by on a plane ride. Today we got the news that they couldn't keep all our kids and with the Scofield's it's an all or nothing deal!! So we headed over to the new school. This is where the story begins because much to my surprise everyone there was wonderful and even the building itself was better than I thought it would be. When we first moved here we had heard some negative things about the school, the principal and that many of their good teachers were leaving. Come to find out none of these things were true. So the moral of the story , Don't believe everything that you hear!!

Sabbath

"We always know when Jesus is at work because He produces in the commonplace something that is inspiring." Oswald Chambers
This quote really sums up for me what the time of Sabbath has produced in my heart. This break from routine has really once again reinterated the importance of the process and everyday living. I have realized about myself that events (places to go , people to see) have become somewhat of an idol for me. Not having that to rely upon to define my life has been interesting to say the least. I am thankful for my faithful Lord, Savoir, and Friend because He has taught me that in the commonplace is where it is at. In the humble moments of life where we realize the preciousness of people and each persons unique giftings and talents as well as thier weaknesses and failures and then take it a step further to realize we are just like them, no better and no worse, we begin to see a very big picture. An event begins to take place in our hearts that changes us and those around us. I am thankful that God knows ME even though there are so many others just like ME there is only one ME and He knows this girl inside and out and STILL He never leaves ME.

What A Treat

A mountain that can not be touched, A tree that cannot be uprooted

"You have not come to a mountain that can be touched...But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men... to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant." Hebrews 12:18,22-24

Reading this today made me think of how I love the fact that it refers to God as a mountain that cannot be touched. It's not even like this scripture says He is a mountain that can not be climbed, He can't even be touched. I love this aspect of God. He is so big for our human words. There are so many things that I don't understand about Him. His ways don't makes sense to me most of the time and when they do finally makes sense it seems such a simple lesson. Can you imagine a city that was owned by God. What ,would God be like the mayor? This reminds me of that song ,"Would if God were one of us, just a stranger on a bus" that's a bit of a sidenote. Anyway, this part "you have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly,to the church of the firstborn" makes me think of the legacy of people who have gone before me believing in this God. It makes me remember I am a part of the firstborn church ever? The first church ever, what did that look like? My ancestors in this family are many and thier lives speak of this God still today. Will my life speak of something even after I am gone, and what will it say?

The picture I have attached is of a tree that was on my mom-in-laws property in Mississippi. It was blown over by the storm named Katrina. It lays on the ground, roots exposed, yet it still grows. In fact right now it is in full bloom. This tree spoke to me of so many things, but I think the most prevalent message it conveyed was that when our roots are deep we cannot help but grow even when we have fallen down. We still live on and this speaks of God's goodness, faithfulness, and grace. Remembering this helps to think of how deep and strong those roots are that have grown in my life. I know there have been many storms in my life and that there will be many more but I pray like this tree I would continue to grow and therefore reveal my roots even when knocked down.

Approaching the Sabbath

Today was a bittersweet day for me in that it was great to be with everyone but as I looked around I began to feel sad in a way knowing that I won't be seeing everyone for the next few weeks. In sharing communion at second service I began to get a bit teared up which is silly I suppose but then maybe not. This past few weeks have been emotional for our family and as I looked around the room this morning I was very grateful for all the relationships that I have come to enjoy through Hillside. I was feeling the" vitamin love." :)
I am very excited in many ways to have this time because I believe that God is going to do some really big and also very small things to continue to grow me. I am proud to call Hillside my church family/community and I am proud of all of us for answering this call to step it up a notch. At the same time I am very mindful of how much this thing we call church has become a very normal part of my routine, a connection point if you will, and again not being one who is big on change it takes me a minute to get fully on board with any change.
I am on board fully with this change. Mostly because I know it a direct call to obedience but also because I know it is a necessary part of our growth as a church family.
Today some very close friends came to visit Hillside for the first time and thier newbie commentary was so, so positive. It made me really appreciate some things that maybe I have come to take for granted for the last 3 years that I have been a part of Hillside.
All that to say, I will miss you family. Looking forward to our bon-voyage on Saturday and the party that will launch this and also to what lies ahead.

Some things you never , ever forget

Tomorrow I was invited to go on a bike ride with a my sister friends. I haven't been on a bike for a while but I think that I will be alright. They reassured me that this ride wouldn't be too vigorous. I think it will be good to get out since I have pretty much been in house since last Friday when Chloe was in the hospital. They say you never forget how to ride a bike. Once you have learned it just comes back to you no matter how long it has been . I believe that to be true. At least I know it is for me.

Something I will also not soon forget when they rolled Chloe away for surgery. It has made me reflect, pause, clean house and re prioritize my life. Nothing else matters but the people God has given us as gifts. I really want to make sure that all the relationships I have been blessed with in this life I appreciate on a daily basis. Sometimes I forget things like how great it is to hear my children laugh, or go running through the house. I forgot how many people are around me on a regular basis that have made my life richer. I forgot that all that really matters and all that I can take with me when this journey here on earth is over are those relationships. I am thankful for new days, new beginings, and for some things you never, ever should forget.

Love Hate Relationship

The ice cream truck or trucks that frequent my neighborhood several times a day slow down or completely stop in front of my house about 3 times a day. I have a love hate relationship with them.Now this is a relationship I feel I must explain. On the one hand I love this truck that symbolizes something so familiar to me and my childhood and the songs that they play can bring me right back to living in a small house on Siskiyou St. in Carson City. You could hear the truck from a mile away, it was much quieter back then :) and me and my siblings would pester my mother for probably back then 25 to 50 cents and off we would run to catch the ice cream truck. Also it reminds me of a HILARIOUS little bit that Eddie Murphy used to do about the ice cream truck man and if you haven't heard this act you have not truly lived.
The HATE comes in and enters stage left here- I am not made of money. Contrary to what my 4 children believe , it's really true. It doesn't grow on trees either some of the very same phrases I remember my mom saying to us when we were kids(sorry again mom) so that poses hate number one. Hate number two-enter stage right is that every time the kids get an ice cream I feel I need to get one also , in fact even when they don't get one I have my own secret stash of cold things in the freezer to get me through the summer months, and so the weight saga continues :)
I am not complaining , just explaining the saga of the ice cream trucks that come out and stay out until the sun goes down and the weather gets cold. Thought I would share , hope you enjoy.
Do you have any love hate relationships that you would care to share with me?

Leaness of Soul and one Fat Soul

" Why should not every year be richer than the past, in love, and usefulness,and joy?-I am nearer the celestial hills, I have had more experience ofmy Lord, and should be more like Him. O Lord, keep far from me thecurse of leanness of soul; let me not have to cry, "My leanness, myleanness, woe unto me!" but may I be well-fed and nourished in thyhouse, that I may praise thy name."
This excerpt is from Charles Spurgeon's daily devotional and the language toward the end is bit difficult to understand so I thought why not put it out there on a blog and see what others think the last part might mean. What does it mean to have "leaness of soul"?
I think that the "curse of leaness of soul" would mean keep me from living a shallow life. A life consumed with things that don't really mean all that much but seem to busy up my day more than the people who I should be investing in or the time I should be getting closer to God. I believe I get closer to God everytime I hear my children laugh because of something funny that was said or done, or when I read them a book, or when I spend time tickling them to the point of being tickled back. I believe I get closer to God by talking to my friends who are struggling in this life's journey and we discuss questions and answers of some things that have worked and some things that haven't worked. I believe I get closer to God when I am taking care of business with my husband :), greiving with a friend, rejoicing with another, and so many other ways that many people take for granted as just part of living. I don't believe anymore that the only way I can get closer to God is by reading the bible or going up on a mountain top to be alone with Him. I used to believe this to be true and I still believe these are ways that I can get closer to Him but they are not the only ways to avoid this "leaness of soul".
Our lives are made rich by the people and experiences that come our way, by hard work, and by easy living. My soul is filled to overflowing with substance, meaning, purpose, and it is all because of love. I believe I am well-fed and nourished by every house I enter because of Who enters into that house within me and for that I am truly thankful.

Some wisdom from Solomon

So yesterday, we are driving home from a very busy day at the pool and spending the night with gramma when my son says this, so randomly,"MOM, I am going to be a telemarketer when I grow up"After I compose myself from laughing so hard I blew snot out my nose, I say,"Oh yeah, what's a telemarketer Sol?""It's when you call people all the time and they hang up on you"Pretty interesting the mind of a 5 year old boy. Don't know why but I guess that sounds like fun to him.

Ready SETTY GO!!!

Ready ....Setty..... GO!!
That's what Isaiah says before he jumps off the couch or into the pool or pretty much get's ready to take on the world. "Ready , Setty, GO!!" This expression has been running through my head for a while now as some new things have been stirring in me and I just need to make the leap and get the ball rolling. For some reason though, I procrastinate when change is coming down the road I will wait til the very last second to make the changes or plan for the changes or pack for the trip or whatever. I know that this is the way I have been but what I don't know is , is this the way I always want to be? It reminds me of my hubbies mother and how she would wait til the plane was almost leaving the terminal before getting him to the airport because she just didn't want to say goodbye. They were literally the scene from Home Alone when everyone is running and rushing to catch the international flight and they forget the kid at home. I can't say that I blame her for waiting so long to get to the airport but the affect this had on Mo I don't think was all that good. So that's what brings me back to my own behavior in waiting to make changes until I am almost forced to make them. Is this good, is this bad, or should I just continue to be indifferent about it? I don't think that I can be indifferent about it anymore though because what I have realized is that this trait has trickled over into the way that I handle things with not just me, myself, and I but all other relationships are affected by my choices to wait, procrastinate, or otherwise do nothing. Some things have got to change in me. I know who to go to for help. I am equipped to handle these changes and now it's just time for me to say, "Ready, Setty, GO!!" and take the jump.

Just a few pictures

The pictures that I took were mostly with Gina and Izzy's brand new camera so by the time I realized I should take some of her with my own camera to post and email she was already in the nursery. So these are through the window but you can still see how beautiful she is and all that hair :)

Can you say , proud Auntie.

Savanah Rae Guzman

Savanah Rae Guzman was born this evening at 6:58p.
She is beautiful.
I am already in love with this precious person.
My sister is amazing and God is so good.
Pictures to come soon.

Gotta love Ellen and Gladys

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuT0Zf3kJX0
Okay so this is the first time I have done one of these u tube thingys and I apologize in advance for those of you who might not care for Ellen but I thought this was stinking hilarious and just wanted to share the giggle with everyone.
There are two Ellen's in my life who make me laugh and I still haven't figured out which one is funnier.

Baxter, A dog and his bone

Last night our new dog Baxter kept me up from about 1-4p. I would dose off in between his hyper adventures but not for long. He doesn't usually keep me up at night but last night the Giant brought home a GIANT bone for him from the grocery store, he could barely fit the bone in his mouth, and this dog went nutts. Literally, he is the kind of dog that can't just sit there with a bone and enjoy it he has to figure out where the best hiding place for the bone would be. So that's what he did, ALL night. From the backyard to the living room, to the bushes right outside our open window, to the pile of girls dolls on the floor. I finally had to put an end to it around 4:30a as he had woken up Emma and she was not happy. It really was funny now that it is over. I have never had a dog so obsessed with a bone. He is the typical dog I guess in that sense that once he gets a bone he has to bury it. Makes me wonder what we will find in our backyard someday if we ever try to change the landscape. And, guess where the hyper dog and his bone are now? Well, the bone is nowhere to be found but the dog is asleep right by my feet dreaming of big bones I am sure.

Some questions unanswered is okay

How much more in this life have I misunderstood because I didn't have the correct interpretations or all the facts gathered before making up my own conclusions? How many more decisions will I make because of my own fears that will lead to lack of true freedom?

The older I am getting and the more I am learning about life in general I am coming to realize how much I have misunderstood. How many people I have taken the wrong way or thought of so differently then what lies beneath the surface. In many ways it seems to be a bit of an awakening for me to realize that I don't nor will I ever have it all figured out and that's okay. I want to be a life long learner. I want to still be asking questions about my God, my husband, my children, my family, my country until my dying day. I don't want to know everything there is to know but I do want to know everyone that I can possibly get to know with the time that I have been given.
A friend recently posted a blog in which they asked if you were to tell your life's story with only six words what would you say.
I said, "Live life fully , moments pass quickly" which is more of a saying than it is a story so I think I would change that to say, " one life, many questions, still peaceful"
What would you say?

Summer , Whoo hoo

The summer got off to a great start this morning as every one of my kiddos and even their Uncle all slept in. We all got up leisurely after 10 and then headed to the park to meet up with some friends. When we were there the kids caught some tadpoles that I was hesitant to let them keep but Emma was quite convincing when she said , "Mom I will get online and research exactly what they need to stay alive and then I will clean the house to buy them whatever they need and then ....." can you just hear the plea from this 9 year old girl with her sister and brothers right behind her cheering her articulate adult conversation on. I was overpowered by the forces that be and caved into allowing baby frogs in my house. Then she had the brilliant idea to make a lemonade stand to raise some money to "save the tadpoles" and well I have to admit that this kid is one smart cookie and when it comes to having a plan of action she has got it in the bag.
So here I sit and type while hearing every 5 seconds "Lemonade 25 cents!" This is a very busy street and they haven't even been at it for an hour and have already made 2 dollars wait I take that back someone just donated a dollar so 3 dollars in less then an half hour , I'm thinking if this works out well she might have just found herself her first job :) She can start saving for college now.

MORE PICTURES

So this picture was taken from our bedroom window in New Orleans. The one to the right is of me and my mom-in-law in front of a famous restaraunt and the other two are some silly pics , one is the Jesus bus that on the front read "Jesus is the first" and on the back read "and the last" it was covered with lots of interesting things but that quote just made me smile the way it was so appropriately placed on the front and back of the bus. Enjoy!

We are Back

The top is Mo,me,and Kay in front of Jackson square in New Orleans and then bottom two are Mo and Kay on her grad night and me and Kay in New Orleans trying on sunglasses.

We arrived home safely late Sunday night and spent the majority of memorial day just chillin with the kiddos. It is funny when you go away for that length of time(which I don't often do) you come home and everything looks different. I was actually excited to get back to doing the dishes. I missed our kiddos so so so much. I knew they were in great hands it's just I saw so many things that I would've loved to have shared with them and the whole trip would have been that much richer if they were there. I am not saying that I didn't thoroughly enjoy the break from them it's just that they are all at such fun ages right now and so traveling and seeing new things wouldn't be as hard as it used to be, but that was not for this trip. The time with the Giant was so great and we really got to have alot of time with our niece, Kaylanne who graduated last Friday night.

Some highlights from the trip were

Niece graduating

Nashelles' Restaurant

9 abandoned cars in a matter of a few minutes

House filled with antiques for 100,000

6 turned over dead armadillos

The town of Stonewall

shopping at Dirt Cheap

Meeting new people named Doo and :)

The soon to be famous swimming pool in Stonewall

New Orleans

and lots of late night chats

Thank you to everyone who prayed for us and our kiddos while we were gone. I missed you all and look forward to catching up with everyone. It seems like it's been a long time since seeing all your friendly faces.

Mississippi

We leave tomorrow for Mississippi to see our niece graduate from high school. I don't know how much access I will have to a computer so I probably won't be bloggin for a bit but upon my return I promise a few pics from the trip and also the highlights.
We are leaving the chillins here so could everyone please be praying for them as 7 days is a very long time for those that are under 10 years of age(well it is also a long time for those that are 32 years of age but that's another prayer request.) I know that they are in very good hands and I know that the time with my hubby is going to be fabulous but I just want to cover all the basis here at the homefront and it helps me to know that people are praying , so thank you in advance.
See ya when we get back.

A truth that is self evident

"The people who influence us most are not those who buttonhole us and talk to us, but those who live their lives like the stars in heaven and the lilies in the field, perfectly simply and unaffectedly. Those are the lives that mould us. " Oswald Chambers
I read this quote today and it really struck me to the core because I believe and have seen this to be so true. The people who have influenced me the most in this life (in a positive way) are the ones who are just living thier lives the best way they know how but purely and simply. They are the people who are not striving to be or to do but they are confident in thier uniqueness and they teach with thier actions rather than thier words.
This isn't a new concept, "Actions speak louder than words" is something we have all heard before, but I guess the way that Oswald said it this time made me stop and take note. This is not something hard or at least it shouldn't be. We should be able to just live life like the signs of nature that never change thier purpose. The stars and the lilies are pefectly simple and unaffected and that is something I want to be perfectly simple and unaffected by lifes circumstances. I want to know deep within, my lifes purpose, so concretely that life is not a series of stressful striving attempts to know who I am, but rather a life so simple, at peace, and unaffected by the elements around me that I continue to remain who I am whether or not the world around me likes it or not.

John Alvin Ford Munnerlyn

OH HAPPY DAY!!

My treasure friend Allie gave birth to baby FIVE today and I am so thankful that even though I couldn't be with her Jesus was. Thank you to everyone who prayed for baby and mom and please continue to pray for healing for momma and health for that baby boy who has no name yet but when he does I will be sure to announce that as well. What a precious, precious thing life is.

Semester coming to a close

I can hardly begin to explain the joy I feel knowing that I am almost done with this semester of school. I love school but this semester was unusually difficult for me, not because the classes were hard, they weren't, but because the timing of these classes got sandwiched in between a very, very busy season of life for me. There was also a little issue with one of my instructors that has been very hard to navigate through without getting bitter or discouraged about school in general, but today I took my final online exam with that instructor's course and I WILL NEVER take another course from her again in the future. I am so glad that I am finished with that chapter of my life. The words of my freind Mindy ran through my head all week, "Finish Well!!" she said it in passing but those words have encouraged me so much in the last few weeks that I thought I would just give a shout out to her and tell her, Thank you! Also, I just wanted to thank my best friend for helping me so much and for just being the incredible Giant of a person that he is. WHOO HOO!!

Season change, People change(come on sing along)

Today while driving back from dropping my girls off at school I was just completely in awe of how faithfully around this time of year the green begins to appear. The leaves on the trees start bursting forth like a brand new thing is beginning. The sprinklers that were out on the lawns and the people chatting with their neighbors made me truly grateful once again for the seasons. It is amazing how this season, Spring, brings about a sense of new life. People begin to clean house like they haven't cleaned in many months and you see next to the garbage cans the things that they no longer want or need. Yard sale signs begin to appear because of this.Everything begins to take on a shine. Where life was dull and drab from the winter it begins to look bright and happy again. I am so glad that despite my temperament, that in many ways likes things to stay the same, God continues to make the seasons change. He is beyond good to faithfully make the seasons change and today on this beautiful Friday morning I am just completely aware of why I love Him so much.

Walking into a Dark room

The other night I forgot something after youth group was over and it was in the big , dark, room up at our church. I knew walking into this room that is was dark and that it was also filled with many a chair, but that didn't stop me from barging on in looking for what I had left behind. About way halfway into the mangled mess of chairs I realized that I should probably go back and turn the lights on or I might be there for another few hours searching and wounding myself.
What struck me about this quick little scene played out in my life is that I didn't just turn the lights on in the first place. I don't know about everybody else but I so often know what I should do but often don't choose accordingly. I know I shouldn't eat after a 6p for good health but I do it anyway, I know I should excercise also for good health reasons but I don't, I know shouldn't stay up so stinking late when I have to get up early with kiddos but I do anyways, and so on and so forth, etc. etc. ......
Why don't I do what I know I should before I stumble and get hurt? Am I alone in this plight of stupidity or are there others of you out there who do the same thing and if so please share so that I don't feel alone. Oh yeah, and I am not calling you stupid if you do share this trait that would only be me :)

African American or can it just be American??

The current Essay I am working on is challenging the writings of W.E. DuBois essay on Our Spiritual Survival. This was the man who had a big part in forming the NAACP and this essay is a very beautiful piece of literature with much of it that I agree with. My challenge comes in with wondering can you be truly African and American at the same time. I don't know many Italians or Irish that go around saying I am Italian American or Irish American. The only race of people who I think this kind of thinking makes sense with are the Native Americans because they were truly the Native Americans. I am all for representing and teaching others of our original heritage and therefore keeping it alive, but I like so many others who have greatgrandparents who immagrated from another country don't go around saying that I am Italian American.
SO my question to the bloggers out there( brave enough to jump in this ring) is do you think you can be African American or shouldn't you just be American and know that with that title comes the knowledge that we are all from different original soils, cultures, and histories??

Emma Faith's blog

Just thought I would drop a note here and say that Emma and I created a new place for her to blog since we forgot all the info from her last blogspot. She wanted to make a new one anyways so off to the side is her link or you can find her at emmafaith.blogspot.com

For anyone who is wondering what a almost 9 year old girl might be thinking :)

Random Blog thoughts

Today was a great day. My moms group was awesome and it is simply because the people who come are awesome momma's who I am deeply grateful that I get to know better each week. Then I got to spend the afternoon with a wonderful friend and she brought her furry friend for a playdate with my new furry friend and it was really cute.Then tonight we had breakfast for dinner, yum(one of my all time favs) At my english class we read over the essay "A Modest Proposal" written like a million years ago and basically by a crazy guy who wanted to eat babies(not really but kinda) Then I went to the store to pick up a six pack of beer and got carded. That was fabulous because I know there will come a day when that doesn't happen anymore. Finally, I am here with some time to blog and that makes me happy. Not much to say that is really important just wanted to chime in with something new.

Oh yeah and one more final random thought, there is a player on the Bo Sox team this year named Coco Crisp :)

Fenway Park

LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!!

Boy oh boy would I love to go see a game there this season. Seems like everybody in my family has got to go BUT me, no fair!! Maybe someday that dream will come true. In the meantime I think I am going to order a new hat just for fun and just to get my dad going :)

BAXTER

Meet Baxter

We have a new member to our family.

At the Pound this weekend

Love at first sight!!!

We brought him home yesterday.
He is a Jack Russell Terrier Mix(Mutt)
and we love him already.

Wow, that went by fast

My break is over and it's back to hitting the books for me. Boo-hoo!! I can't believe I actually inflicted this upon myself. Ya know, when you cause something to happen yourself you really can't complain to much about it ...which I am not complaining that I get to go back to school I am just saying that my break went by way too fast. I don't think I will be taking summer school although.... I have to say that the idea of getting done a little bit sooner is really tempting now that the end is so clearly in sight(at least at TMCC)

Oh yeah, I also finished reading the Velvet Elvis book over my break and I give it a5 *****+ rating. A must read for all human beings who are faith seekers. Truly if you regret reading it afterward you can come hunt me down and .....force me to eat seafood(which I hate and may barf on you afterward but still I will eat it if you don't learn something interesting from this book).

Velvet Elvis

So... you might be wondering what I am doing with my spring break(other than of course the obvious-1man,4kids,1house, 1cat, 2goldfish)
I am reading a book that I have been wanting to read for some time called, Velvet Elvis written by Rob Bell. It is a book about questions and answers in faith. All faiths. It is a very quotable book to me and I found myself right away picking up a pad of paper and a pen when reading it. This to me is a sign of a really great book. I thought I would share some quotes so far and I would love to hear what you think about them or if you have had similar thoughts.
"Central to the Christian experience is the art of questioning God."
"It is possible ... to make the bible say whatever WE want it to , isn't it?"
"Doctrine is a wonderful servant and a horrible master."
"OUR words aren't absolutes, Only God is absolute"
"if you do see yourself carrying God to places, it can be exhausting. God is really heavy."
So what I really like about this guy is that he doesn't pretend to have all the answers just some thoughts of his own about faith in general and he encourages you to challenge even the thoughts that he has written in this book. So if you are one who is seeking and one who has a lot of questions for the Big Man upstairs this would be a great book that will challenge your thinking or affirm some thoughts you always had. Either way, it's a great read.

Spring Break

My kids spring break began this week and we got off to a very interesting start. Really it was like we were awakened to a war zone is a better way to put it. The week got better as we reigned them back in to the way we do things around here and as of last night I am officially on my own spring break. I have never longed for a break so much in my life!! Whoo hoo.

The Bible

"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." Hebrews 4:12

I love this manual for life that we have been given. Sometimes when I open it up to read I know that it is not just alive but it really does know the thoughts and attitudes of my heart. So often I will read exactly what needed to change in my heart for that day. It isn't always what I wanted to hear but it is always what I need to hear. How does a book do this? It's just a book right? :)
If I were to try and explain to someone who hasn't had this experience with the bible yet I would tell them, It's like going to see a psychic or counselor everyday or having someone read your journal and then tell you exactly what you needed to hear from all the emotions that were laid barren in your journal. Something like that. I guess there probably isn't a real way to know what it is like until you are there. Kinda like parenting or being in love. Those are things that even though you could explain them it really doesn't hit home til you are there.
I remember that when I was little we always had bibles around and we never read them(or least I didn't ) but they were there on the self like any other book would be. Little did I know that if I only read with a new perspective and a resceptive heart that book would change my life.
There is a reason this book has been around for so long and is the hottest seller. I am very thankful that in this country I am not put in jail for reading it , instead I can have as many copies laying around my house as I want and read it all day long if I want. I am thankful for that and for the way this book is changing my life.
If I were to rate it .....well.....it's off the charts but a 5***** for sure!!!