Dare You To Move

Ever have a song that means alot to you, & is one of your favorites, but you dont fully get the meaning? Then all the sudden one day it hits you, maybe bc of whats going on in your life? Fireflies was like that for me, thats one of the reasons I have a firefly tattooed on me. Well, Dare You To Move is clearly my favorite song in the entire world, like ever..ever...ever! Yet not until last night, I was listening to it & the full impact of that song meant hit me. Now all I can is say about it is WOW! How did I not fully get it? And no wonder its my favorite song ever..ever..ever! Its meaning is so powerful.
I've messed up in my life, I'm so far from perfect. Im not what I could be in my relationship with the LORD. And sometimes I allow what's happened around me to effect my Christian walk, which I know I shouldnt do. I could just stay where I am & not change that. ("between who you are &who you could be, between how it is & how it should be.") or I could MOVE, accept that God forgives my sins, change & grow. "Dare you to move, dare you to lift yourself off of the floor. Dare you to move, dare you to move like today never happened, maybe redemption has stories to tell, maybe forgiveness is right where you fell, where can you run to escape from yourself? Where ya gonna go? Where ya gonna go? Salvation is here... I dare you to move like today never happened before."

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Dogs & Cats

Our cat loves music. If someone is singing in our house, wherever she is or whatever she's doing, she stops & comes to the singer to purr & rub up against them. This morning I found Cj standing in the middle of the room singing Amazing Grace. He said he was calling the cat. So he & I sang it together & after the 2nd verse there she came, purring, meowing, & happy. Cj said, "When you sing she comes bc she wants your autograph.

Meanwhile he has changed our puppy's name to Curious Black, you know like Siruis Black from Harry Potter. Only its Curious bc she's a puppy & she's curious.

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Cj's Been On Today

Last night Diana & Cj weren't feeling well so we were all cuddling.
Diana- Cj, you're such a pretty little boy someday you're going to have lots of girlfriends when you grow up.
Cj- Can a boy have a thousand girlfriends? Well, I guess he probably wouldn't if he's a Christian.

........

Cj, when Diana was talking to me- Diana, I was just getting ready to say something but you just had to go and steal the spotlight.

.........

Cj, playing with his new toy gun- I asked for a water gun but any gun is fine.
Me- Even a real gun?
Cj with a huge onery grin nods his head- I just wouldn't shoot it as much as a toy gun. You know, bc toy guns don't really kill people.
Now I must quit making this blog post, bc Cj is wanting to show me what guys in Civil Wars do with their machine guns.

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Rich People According to Cj

Cj's building with his blocks. He builds the oddest things for a 6 year old & its so funny how his mind thinks.
Cj- I'm building a pool house. You know, a house where you go change your clothes & go the bathroom before you get in a pool. Rich people have them.
Diana- Yes, I do know what a pool house is.
Cj- I think Uncle Johnny has one.
Diana- No, he doesn't
Cj- Oh I guess he's not rich then. Now, I'm building a terrace.

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Sunday School

Yesterday after church.
Cj- Ask me what I learned today.
Me- What did you learn today?
Cj- I learned about Lot & his city got burned. His wife looked back & she turned into a pillar of salt.
Mom- So what did you learn from all that?
Cj- I learned that Lot lost everything. And his wife, too. The next morning he probably looked out the window of his tent & all he could see was smoke.
Me- What does that teach you about your life?
Cj- It taught me that I sure don't want that to happen to my city!!

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Cupcake Wars

I tried to watch Cupcake Wars with Cj.
Me- I like her she's so cute. She bakes & her assistant is her good-looking boyfriend with a tattoo! She should win just bc that's awesome.
Cj- She's not going to win.
Next contestant comes on.
Me- Ok nevermind, he's so good looking & he bakes. I want him to win.
Cj- I've seen this one, he's going to be on it, but he's not going to win.
Way to ruin the ending.

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Try Explaining a Soul To a 5 Year Old

Me- Our souls are what make us what & who we are & our souls are what goes to Heaven or Hell. Our bodies are just something our souls are in while we are on earth. Our bodies are just temporary.
Cj- Are you telling me our bodies are just a costume?!!

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Cj's Sermon

After Bible reading & prayer tonight with Cj, he told me he was going to be a preacher when he grew up. Then he preached me a sermon.
Cj- Adam & Eve, they sinned. That wasn't good. So don't sin.
Did Grandpa ever preach a sermon like that?
Me- Well he preached sermons about Adam & Eve.
Cj- How did Grandpa know he wanted to be a preacher?
Me- I don't know, but when he was little like you he used to pretend to be a preacher. He set up his sister's dolls & stuffed animals & preached sermons to them.
Cj- You know, I think instead I'm just going to be a Batman.

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A Praying Mom

This morning I was thinking of my Grandpa Eastwood. I wonder how many people were helped in some way from his service as a preacher? His homecoming to Heaven must been like that song, "Thank You for Giving to the Lord" where several people would tell him they were in Heaven because of his service. Well, then I got to thinking about his mother who always prayed for him & prayed for him to grow up and be a preacher. That prayer of his Mom's sure did have a lot power. She died when he was pretty young, too, I think. So that prayer was also a protection. I wonder if she hadn't prayed like that, would he have become a preacher?

I believe the prayer of a mother is a serious thing, and so is the lack of prayer. My Mom prayed for me, prays for me still. My life has been so blessed and  protected from those prayers.

I pray for my kids and I will list some of things I pray for them. Although the list changes as they grow older, their life changes, and they needs specific prayers about different things, so this is not a complete list.  I know I could do better at praying for them. So please comment & share with me how you pray.

Prayer Requests For My Kids

• They will come to know Jesus as their LORD & Savior early in life. (After they have come to know Jesus as their LORD and Savior, I pray for them to grow in their relationship with Him.)
• For God to build a wall of protection around them, protecting them from all evil; Spiritual, Emotional, and Physical.
• They would keep their life's pure.
• They would marry the right person, when it's the right time.
• They would have strong prayer life. 
• That God would help them in their school work, and help them to learn what they need to, and especially help them with subjects that are harder for them.
• That they would have good dreams and  have their minds on God while they are going to sleep. (I pray this at night with them before they go to bed. I figure it might help them not have nightmares. If I forget this one, even Cj will remind me. They like this one & the wall of protection one especially. Andrew still asks me to pray those with him. When they go to their Dad's I have to call them before they go to bed and pray it because they asked me to. They don't like to go to sleep without my having prayed with them, even Andrew who's almost 15.)
• That they would choose to follow Christ each day. (Now that I think about it, I think I'm going to add that they would bring glory to God each day.)
• That they would be blessed like Daniel and Joseph.
• When they are older, they would know what God wants them to do with their life's and then they would do it. 
• They would be obedient. 
• They would accept punishment gracefully. 
• I thank God for their good health, and I ask him help them to continue to have good health

Back When

Teaching classes at my homeschool group is starting to make me notice how old I'm getting. Yesterday, I asked the students to share their favorite songs. Got an interesting response when I told the kids my favorite songs were "Breakfast At Tiffanys" (Deep Blue Something) & "40 Dogs" (Bob Schiender).
Student- I don't know that song (40 Dogs).
Another Student- It's probably because it's really old or something. (Then he looks at me, with this well-look-at-her-it-has-to-be-old-if-she-likes-it look.)
Me- It is actually quite current.
I ended up getting out my Evo and playing it for them.

In another class I was telling the students a ghost story (we are studying Sleepy Hollow, so it was relevant.) when I mentioned that I used to listen to this ghost story on *gasp* a RECORD PLAYER! They all looked at me with smirks and snickerings, you could just see the "You actually listened to records, that's hilarious" in their expressions. I told them, "Well, way back in the dark ages we listened to records. Then we had cassettes, then cds." That's when they reminded me cds are long gone now too.

Later a student asked me if I was alive when Jack London was alive. Yeah, that smarted. Got me thinking, "Why do I even allow questions in this class that encourages discussion?". Clearly I wasn't alive when Jack London was alive, I'm only 3-, oh whoopsie, looks like my computer is missing the key for that second number. I'm just going to continue to ignore the aging and hopefully it will go away. Oh wait, that will just mean I'm dead.

My House

Whenever I start thinking about the fact that I'm probably going to have to give up my house I start to cry. I love living here so much with the unobstructed view of the sunrises, sunsets, moons, and stars. I have lived in town before I know it's not the same. I am going to miss those parts of the day, watching the sunrise and sunsets so much. There are many good memories here. I picked this house and it's really just me, it fits my personality perfectly. I love every bit of it. I love the snow in the winter and the leaves in the fall. I love the porch swing. I know that if it's meant to be for me to give up this house, that God has other plans for me, and it will be alright in the end. I know it's just a house. It's a material thing and in the grand scheme of things doesn't matter at all. It's not like it's a person's soul. It's just a bunch of wood and nails. So why do I cry every time I start to think about leaving? Maybe I'm still hanging on to part of the old life a little with it? I don't know. There's just so many memories.

Body Wash

Andy's almost 15.

Andy, calling from the bathroom, while he's in the shower- We need more Scooby Doo body wash. Oh, no wait, I found some Batman Body Wash, I'll just use it.

A few seconds later.

Andy, calling from the bathroom, still in the shower- Hey, the Batman Body Wash and the Scooby Doo Body Wash smell exactly the same. I think this is some kind of scam!

Later....

Andy- I use the Scooby Doo Body Wash because it makes me smell really good.

Mary- I've told you before soap can do that too.

Dollar Tree, Facebook Statuses, and Cj's birthday

Yesterday, at Dollar Tree, you know that store where "everything's $1". It's on the bags. It's on the windows. It's on the sign. It's actually called "Dollar Tree". So it was kind of funny when this dude, I'm just going to call him Dollar Tree Dude from now on, comes on the speakers and says, "Hello Dollar Tree customers, I wanted to let you know about a special we are having today in our freezer section. We are having a sale on chicken fingers. They are now on sale for $1." Yeah, Dollar Tree Dude, it's Dollar Tree they're always $1. Later Dollar Tree Dude is checking out the guy in front of me, who has one item.

Dollar Tree Dude- That's $1.07. Wow! How did you manage that?
Random Customer- I don't know, doesn't happen very often.

Don't know what else to say about all that. Can I just make a ? and move on to the next subject?

Wouldn't it be funny if we all actually spoke in Facebook Status form. Sometimes I do post statuses that are written like I actually talk, but not always. Wouldn't it be awesome if I just randomly started talking at work and told my coworkers, "I was blessed with the two best grandpa's ever, and I miss them everyday, but 6 years ago today I gave birth to a son that I got to name after them both."? If we could speak in fb status, could you also just "like" what people say, you could just go "like". Nothing else just say, "like". I'm going to start doing that. Then maybe you could tweet, too, and just randomly add a hashtag at the end of your sentences. "Diana & Andrew it's time to do your chores, I made you a list. 'Hashtag' AnnoyingThingsPeopleSay."  You would actually have to say, "hashtag", and maybe you would air quote it as well. Also, you would have to say the hashtag really fast, like it's a race. I might just start doing that, too, just to confuse people. I'm probably going to next time I go to work and the guys are going to think I'm crazy. Like they don't already.

This morning when Cj woke up, I said, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!"
Then I picked him up, hugged him, spinned him around, and said, "You are on two hands now!"
He asked me all confused, "What??"
I held up 5 fingers on one hand, "Five", then one on the other, "Six".
He just put his head in hand and said, "Oh, no," he says it's overwhelming to be two hands and getting so old.
Don't feel sorry for him, I've already heard him use "But it's my birthday today" to get his way twice.

Death

Cj- Will we be at Grandma and Grandpa's 109 weeks from now? 

Me- I don't know, 109 weeks is over 2 years from now, I don't know what will be happening.

Cj- Oh, you mean because Grandpa and Grandma will probably be dead by then?

Me- Well, no! That's not what I mean. Although, I don't know, I guess they could be dead by then. 

Cj- Yep, because everybody is going to be dead someday, or Jesus wouldn't have had to die.

Robot

Andy- You're not even really a human, you're a robot.
Cj- I'm a human being! I'm not a robot.
Andy- You're a robot we just never told you. Mom wanted to have another kid but didn't want to have to have him the real way so she just had a robot made.
Cj- How could I have been a robot all this time and not even known it?
Andy- You didn't know it because when someone is a robot, they have to be told at the right time. And now is the right time, because I just told you.
At this point, Cj is starting to get a little convinced and looks at me with worry and questions in his eyes.
Me- Cj you are not a robot, I promise.
Andy- Don't listen to Mom, she's evil. She didn't even tell you that you were a robot.

Things I'm Thinking

What I'm thinking about this morning......

1. I'm thinking about how someday I will have to give an account for how much I grew in my relationship with God. What if that day is today? What will the account I give look like? If that day isn't today, then what can I do to improve the account I give, because that day will come.

2. I'm thinking about how this year I learned that the way to keep from holding grudges and to forgive someone who hurts you is to pray for them. Which, I can honestly say that I do pray for my enemies. It wasn't hard to do, because it's what you're supposed to do, I didn't really have a choice did I? (Matthew 5:44) BUT this morning, I realized that I'm not just supposed to pray for my enemies, I am supposed to thank God for them, too. (I Timothy 2:1). That definitely seems like something that will be hard to do. Yet Jesus died for the person who hurt me. Jesus, who forgave my sins, shed His pure blood so I could be free. I KNOW that I just didn't deserve it in anyway. I think about my sins and am I any better than the person who hurt me? I can't even imagine His love and mercy to do that for me. Well, He died for that person, too. He wants them to come to Him and be free as much as He wanted me to. So how can I not thank God for that person?

3. Finally, believe it or not, I am also thinking about Starbucks and a caramel frappuccino. I really want a caramel frappuccino! Why do I live so far away from Starbucks? Oh, how I wish I could just pull in that parking lot right now! The caramel, the foam, it's so yummy, it would be so nice to have a caramel frap right now, and nothing else will do. Yet here I am, miles and miles away.

Praying Legacy

Diana made my day, week, month, year, or maybe even my life today! She told me that she really wanted to be like Grandpa (my Grandpa E) and pray for everybody. She said she has been adding anyone she meets to her prayer list. Today she prayed for 115 people. I can honestly say that there is nothing else I can think of that I would want to hear from her more. Now that could seem like someone just randomly sitting down and going over some names, if you haven't seen the power of prayer in action. I grew up with the witness of some amazing Grandparents and I can tell you that someone praying for everyone they know is a BIG deal in those people's life's, the grand scheme of things, and, most especially, the life of the person doing the praying. Prayer really is a big, BIG deal. Grandpa's prayers made a difference & praying for others is the legacy that he & Grandma left their kids, grand kids, and great-grand kids. I think sometimes about how they are in Heaven now, so does that mean that the world is minus those prayers? They taught us so much and if our family all prays like they did, there will be more praying, it can multiply. Diana is carrying on that tradition. That is making the world a better place. So, she said that, and made me cry today, but they were very good tears.

Playdoh

August 27, 2008

Play-doh is just not the same toy as it was when I was little. When I was young Christy and I used to get out like a can of red, blue, green, yellow, and maybe if we were lucky, we would find a can of purple. Then we would make a kitchen table full of creations, all straight from our imagination. Now-adays, things are little different for play-dohs kids. There are millions of colors, that are made to represent different things. Like Calvin's ice-cream maker play-doh toy, has "chocolate ice-cream brown" and even a special white, with confetti sprinkles in it to make extra special whipped cream.


When I was young, and we wanted to make a person, animal, or food with our playdoh. We pretty much had to get to work rolling, patting, and shaping all on our own. Play-doh kids of today, have step-by-step instructions included on how to make things just exactly perfect. His ice cream factory or whatever it is, makes the play doh come out looking just the same exact shape as ice cream comes out of one of those machines at Golden Corral or McDonald's or something. It even has something that pumps out little tiny sprinkles onto the top of the ice-cream. And a special pump for the sparkly whipped cream.

I remember being EXTRA careful, not to mix the colors up. Once you mix up the colors that is it all your play-doh is a weird purple-brown color because it has just all mixed around. Calvin's toy makes it pretty much impossible not to mix all the colors together. (Although maybe this is just play-doh's clever way of making it so parents have to go out and spend more money one new play-doh.) It is really a little hard for me to watch him, just smashing it all together and making green/brown, chocolate-mint ice cream. I have to close my eyes, it's his toy, not mine, and if he doesn't care that all his play doh looks remarkably like puke, then I guess I can live with that, somehow.

Here is Calvin with some of his special play-doh creations, the first is a Calvin showing off a flavor that I call, puke. The second is the special cone that he made for Grandpa Merton, complete with a big smile from Calvin and his kool-aid mustached face. . . . .

Covert of Thy Wings

I've been taking my blog posts from myspace and posting them on here, with hopes of deleting the myspace soon. This is a post from September 5, 2008. I don't remember what was going on in my life at that time that was so hard for me and seemed so desperate. It sure is interesting how this speaks to me today. So weird because I know whatever was happening, it was nothing like what I am going through right now. It also makes me think that whatever I am going through the answers to these problems are in God's Word.

Lately, I have had some problems that seem insurmountable. In fact, I have even talked with quite a few friends today that have mentioned things that they needed prayer about. Then I sit down, just now, to do my Quiet Time, and I am once again shocked at the answers that the Bible gives. It is funny how people can think that the Bible is outdated, because it is almost miraculous how it is SO not outdated, but also how when I have a need I just "happen" to read a verse or chapter that answers or speaks directly to that need. If fact it does not, just "happen" at all.




Psalm 61:1-8

"Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings. For thou, O God, hast heard my vows: thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name. Thou wilt prolong the king's life; and his years as many generations. He shall abide before God for ever: O prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him. So will I sing praise unto thy name for ever, that I may daily perform my vows."



So, this tells me that David felt overwhelmed. And really his problems seem a bit more frightening then mine, since David was running and hiding from a son who wanted to kill him. Sounds pretty overwhelming to me! But then David says that he can trust in God to give him a shelter, a tower to escape from enemies, he can trust in the covert of God's wings. I can just imagine, hiding under powerful wings completely safe from danger! The verses also say that God will preserve David's life and God did save David from this danger. David, even in this horrible danger was able to feel safety from God's protection. And that protection is not only for David, it is for me, too!!! Not only that, God will not get bored of me going to him with every single need I have. Because it also says "I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever" and "He shall abide before God for ever"



Actually this promise will be kept for anyone who comes to Jesus and trusts in the "Covert of thy wings". I can't help but remember another verse...



Matthew 11:28 "Come unto me, all ye that are weak and heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

Corn

I live around corn in the summer. Corn everywhere I look. I have to admit that I always wish that someday I would be driving down the road in a tunnel of corn (because that's what it feels like, a tunnel of corn) or maybe walking beside the corn, and suddenly an alien would just step out of it, like the movie Signs. It would be so cool, because then I would have met an alien!
Well, yesterday I was out walking, shockingly enough, surrounded by corn, when I started hearing some noises in the corn. I thought I was imagining it. I took my headphones out and started listening more carefully. Wasn't my imagination, there was definitely noises coming from the corn. Naturally, my first thought was that there were aliens hiding in the corn, probably like preparing their weapons, or if they were friendly aliens their gifts. I just stopped walking, hoping one would walk out and I'd finally see an alien! Then I looked closely at the corn and noticed something.

That corn is planted way too close together for aliens to be hiding in it, living in it, planning to take over earth in it, waiting for the best moment to walk out and surprise me in it. And I think all the corn in Indiana is planted real close together like that too! It wasn't like that in the movie Signs at all! Mel Gibson just walked through it barely even pushing it out of his way. No way could he walk through this corn with ease. See look at the corn in the movie Signs, it was way far apart. I don't know what kind of stupid farmer was planting that corn, he was missing out on a lot of money leaving all that space. Not to mention he was opening the world up to take over by giving the aliens the perfect hiding place.

So, I guess the sounds I heard in the corn had something to do farming and nothing to do with aliens. Oh the disappointment. Now, since the corn's so close together round here, I'm betting that I will never see an alien walk out of it. Oh well, if I'd seen an alien it would have changed my life forever anyway. The way I see it, it would have been the coolest thing that ever happened to me, and I'd want to tell everyone, but no one would believe me, and they'd just think I was crazy. So, maybe it's best that I just live around boring corn fields that hide no aliens, that are planted super close together so the farmers can make more money.

Cj's Questions

Cj asked me some great questions about God, the Bible, Salvation the other day
Cj- Why is there a devil?
Me- Because he wanted to be more powerful than God
Cj- What is the devil anyway?
Me- He's the opposite of God. God is good & pure, the devil is all evil & sin.
Cj- Why is there sin?
Me- When the first people, Adam & Eve, were in the garden they didn't follow the rules that God gave them to follow. And now, just like you have my eyes because I passed them down to you, You have sin because Adam passed it down to you.
So, then I went on and talked to him about sin, whether or not he has sinned. You know even an almost 6 year-old knows that he sins. He told me that he sins by not obeying his Mom and Dad, stealing his brother's toys, and lying. I told him that the Bible says, "It's appointed unto man once to die and after this the judgement" Hebrews 9:27. I asked him when he was before God, would God say that he had sinned or not sinned.
Cj- He will see that I sinned, But can't Jesus's blood cover up my sin?
So, we talked for awhile longer about putting faith in Jesus's blood and repenting. And then he had more questions.
Cj- What happens after you get saved, does that mean you never, never sin again?
Me- No, you will still sin sometimes, because you are in an earthly body, that's called the flesh, and it's sinful.
Cj- Well, what happens when you sin again, do you get unsaved?
Me- No, Jesus's blood covers your past sins, your sins of today, and sins in the future.
He asked some pretty good questions! I was pretty impressed. I don't think he really has a complete understanding of salvation yet though. It's so cool to see him thinking along these lines.

Mornings

I like to wake up before the sun in the morning. Then when the sun comes up I get to hear the birds start to wake up. It's so cool like a choir singing. First it's like they're warming up, just a couple birds exercising their voices, then more join in. Before long they are really just bursting in song! There's soprano, alto, tenor, and bass, except it's birds, and not too many choirs could sound that amazing. It makes me happy & it's so much fun! Just think if the earth "shew(s) forth the glory of God" what Heaven must be like!


Sunrise over the lake at Word of Life Bible Institute, Pottersville, New York  

Chris Tomlin - I Will Rise (Live)

I love the song, I Will Rise, by Chris Tomlin. I listen to it constantly. If you are my friend on Facebook, or if you follow me on Twitter, (@Jeremiah33_3) you might notice that I post the video very often. There is a reason.

There have been times lately, with all that is going on in my life; between getting a divorce and getting over a broken heart when I start to wonder if I'm going to make it. When I start to feel down, I listen to this song. It makes me feel victorious! It makes me remember that I am going to get through this. It makes me realize that God will bring something good out of this, God can bring something good out my divorce. (Romans 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.") It makes me remember that in the grand scheme of things, the fact that I'm getting a divorce isn't really that important. What is really important is that Jesus died to give us victory over death and hell. Jesus is alive, He has overcame death. Since I put my faith in the blood of Jesus,someday I will be with Jesus forever & I can praise Him face to face!

When I'm feeling down and I hear the lyrics; There's an anchor for my soul, I can say, it is well, Jesus has overcome!, no more sorrow, no more pain, There's a day that's drawing near when this darkness springs to light, well, I hear these lyrics, and I feel much better. So I post it. Maybe someone else is feeling down or going through a hard time, too. Maybe they will feel better listening to this song, too.

The Tooth Fairy According to Andy

Cj lost his first tooth!! I can't believe my last baby lost his first tooth! I didn't realize that I had not properly prepared him for tooth-loss until he came up to me and said something funny was happening to his tooth and then he wiggled it. Since he is my last baby, bearing my Grandpa's names, & I'm just too emotional lately anyway, as soon as I saw him wiggling that tooth tears totally sprang up in my eyes. Cj misunderstood and he thought that I was tearing up because there was something seriously wrong. He asked me in a very worried tone, "Mommy, did anything like this ever happen to Sissy or Brubby?"
Well, he left the tooth alone for a few days, then today he told Bekah, "Look I have a loose tooth." and there in his hand he held up his tooth, already fallen out.
After being told several times to show me his smile with the tooth missing, Cj just held up the tooth & said, "You know, I think I'm just going to put this back in."
Andy told Cj all about the Tooth Fairy, the Tooth Fairy according to Andy, "Of course she never opens her mouth in front of kids, because every tooth she's ever collected, she keeps in her mouth. She has a huge mouth, with more rows of teeth than a shark. Some of the teeth still have the blood on them from falling out of kid's mouths and they're all rusty and gross."
Cj just said, "Wow, and I just was thinking she looked like Tinkerbell."

Cj & Creation

This is something I wrote a long time ago....

The other day, Cj said to me, "Mommy, Mommy, I have to tell you something it is an e-mer-gen=cy!"
When I asked what his emergency was he explained, "God created the an-na-min-als."
Me- "That's right, Cj, God did create the animals."
Cj- "And all he did was say, 'Let there be an-na-min-als and there was an-na-min-als."
Then he told me a little more about creation as he understood it.
"God created the fishies, too, First He said, 'Let there be water for the fishies to swim in.' God created the sharks, too, he said, 'Let there be sharks to eat the fishies.' And then there were sharks to eat the fishies."

Last night, after doing his Quiet Time, I asked him some Bible Trivia and got some interesting answers.
Me- Where did Adam and Eve live?
Cj- They lived with the an-na-min-als, like where the monkeys live.
What happened with the ark story?
Cj- mommy elephants, daddy elephants, baby elephants, mommy tigers, daddy tigers, baby Tigers, mommy monkeys, daddy monkeys, baby monkeys, mommy dinosaurs, daddy dinosaurs, and brother and sister dinosaurs, and brother and sister monkeys, and DUCKS!
Why did Noah build the ark?
Cj- Because the water was there, and soon sharks and fishies would be in the water.

Catching the Plane?

Why do so many Romantic Comedies end with a race to catch a plane? It makes no sense to me! It's like if the person doesn't catch that plane, then the person's fate is sealed and they will spend the rest of their life alone. Just got done watching "Life As We Know It" last night, and I can see why she rushed to catch him considering he's flying to such an obscure place like Phoenix. I love how she buys 3 plane tickets to get her to the gate to catch him, yet apparently she can't buy a plane ticket on the next flight to Phoenix. Of course that's the last plane that will ever fly into Phoenix ever again. Are all these love interests flying to Brigadoons or something, where the town will disappear at like midnight and not appear again for 100 years? That's the only reason I can see for a person to believably have to catch a plane or spend the rest of their life alone.

Big Bad Wolf

Just got done reading Penny's blog and it made me remember back when I was a little girl and would go sleep over at my Grandma's. I used to get so afraid at night, had WAY too big an imagination and as soon as the lights went off I was scared to death. Of course, it probably didn't help that Grandma is a great storyteller and used to tell me Little Red Riding Hood before bed, at my request. I was always convinced the Big Bad Wolf was going to come and get us. I can remember even looking at the door and imagining I saw the Big Bad Wolf standing there and then I'd scream. Finally Grandma would let me climb in bed with her and Grandpa. She would always convince me to go to sleep by telling me that Grandpa slept on the side of the bed closest to the door, so if the Big Bad Wolf came, he'd get Grandpa first and we'd have time to escape. So now as an adult I think back and wonder, what kind of horrible kid was I?! I was comforted by the fact that while my Grandpa was being brutally attacked by the Big Bad Wolf, Grandma and I would get the heck out of there safe and sound. I only hope that I was actually thinking Grandpa was super strong and was actually going to defeat that nasty, evil, ole wolf.

Ok, why did I write this post so late at night? Now I'm probably going to revert back to old childhood fears and have nightmares about the Big Bad Wolf all night!

Here's a link to Penny's Blog, you should read her very nice post about her Grandmother..

http://themaladys.blogspot.com

What Does It Mean to Be In Love?

When people say they are "in love" it's when you get this exciting feeling in your stomach, you want to spend time with them, and talk to them or about them all the time. Really loving someone is when those feelings become strong enough that you want to be with the person and work at loving them for ever. Loving means that you take care of them, forgive them when you fight, work on a relationship when it's hard, be there for them when they need you no matter what it means to you, it's unselfish. Being "in love" is fun. Loving someone is hard, hard work.

So that's my take on the great question of love. I guess even when you believe in loving someone it doesn't always work out because you can't control what another person does. When you really have worked at loving someone and then lose them, it hurts a lot. I still say that it's worth the pain though because I Corinthians 13 describes three great things, but it says that of these three, the greatest is love. ("And now abide these three faith, hope, and love, these three; but the greatest of these is love)

The more I think about this, the more I start to realize that this is such a profound statement! Faith and hope are so important and powerful!
Hebrews 11:6 "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him."

Psalm 31:24 "Be of good courage, and he will strengthen your heart, all you that hope in the LORD"

Psalm 33:18-22 "Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon those that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy; to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waiteth for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in him because we have trusted in his holy name. Let thy mercy, O LORD, be upon us, according as we hope in thee."

Faith and hope are what make us come to God, please God, have courage, strength, rest, keep us alive, protect us, and cause us to rejoice. I'd say that's some powerful stuff and yet of the three Love is the greatest!

Not really sure how many people even really love anymore, but maybe that's why our society is so depraved. How can people see God in Christians if none of us are loving? It was love that caused God to send his only Son after all..

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WHY???

I have many questions plaguing me today. Questions about why little boys are the way they are?

Why does my 5 year-old think the cat tent is not for cat's but for him to take apart and use the poles for toy swords? Leaving the tent haphazardly sitting all broken and pieces laying all around the house?

Along those lines, why does my son even think he should playing with a toy sword? Considering, all the little toy swords that my sister keeps buying him at the Dollar Tree are currently confiscated and put out of reach on the top of the TV cabinet because he used them to attack cats or play swords with his brother until he broke something.

Why is it that as soon as I'm done mopping the floor that is the VERY moment my son needs to run across it? And why is it when I say, "Hey, I just mopped that!" His answer is, "I don't care"?

Why is it that after a little boy eats a popsicle the wrapper is left laying on one of the end tables or coffee table in my living room, no matter how many times I say THROW IT AWAY?

Why is it that anything that has to do with some disgusting bodily function, that is supposed to be done in a bathroom, I mean we make a whole room for doing it privately, is just SOOO funny!? And while I'm at it, when do boys grow out of this? At this point, my teenager is just laughing harder at these jokes. Dan still thinks it's funny, and he's 23. And last I checked my Dad still laughed at these jokes as well.

Why are movies with talking dogs so funny to boys? Really! If boys were the ones who chose the Oscars the Taco Bell dog would be the Clint Eastwood of the Oscar world! (Colin Firth is the most recent receipt of the Oscar for Best Actor. This statement is completely out of place, and has nothing to do with the content of this blog, I just like saying it again and again.)

Finally, the biggest question of all! WHY do little boys think of the stuff in their nose as a snack?

Storytime

I love Storytime before I put Cj to bed. I usually let him pick out a couple of his storybooks that he wants to read. It's so funny bc his favorite are still board books of the Winnie the Pooh variety. Then we read one chapter in a chapter book. We practice his Bible verse & do some Bible reading/Quiet Time. Finally I pray for him.
I've noticed without Storytime Cj just doesn't go to sleep to well. After Jerrid first left things were pretty unorganized for a couple weeks & we got out of the habit. Cj really just couldn't get to sleep at night. Now that we are back in the Storytime swing of things he's starting to be more like his old self. Now all that makes it hard for him to fall asleep is that if he looks out the window he can see fireflies. Can't hardly blame him there, I always wanted to stay awake when fireflies were out when I was young, too.
I think all kids ought to have a special Storytime of some kind with their parents bc it teaches them to want to read & to comprehend what they're reading. Storytime wouldn't have to be a bedtime routine either. My mom used to read us chapter books while we traveled. That's how we read through the Wizard of Oz books.
Tonight we were reading The Secret Garden, where Mary said that she was lonely to Ben Weatherstaff & the Robin. I asked Cj why she was lonely & he answered right away, "Because her Mom & Dad were dead". He did so well with that I asked why was Mary angry. He answered just so intuitively, "Because no one loved her." It's amazing what kids can catch & understand from books! And to think that annoying lady at Barnes & Noble tried to tell me you couldn't teach lit to children!
When I pray for Cj, I pray that he will have a good night sleep, good dreams, & that God would build a wall of protection around him. It's what I've done for all three of my kids as they grew up, and even now in hard times Diana & Andy will pray & ask God to build a wall of protection around them. After I prayed for Cj tonight he said, "Mommy, I love it when you pray with me." I guess I am a pretty blessed person that I've had the privilege to pray for these 3 sweet kids.

For Quiet Time I use Word of Life Early Learners Quiet Time. You can find them on the Word of Life website, www.wol.org

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The Faith of a Child

Cj was asking a lot of questions today after we read his Bible before bed. All about how to get saved. Our conversation went something like this..
Cj- Can I get saved?
Me- What do you think it means to get saved?
Cj- That I get to go Heaven.
Me- How do you think you get saved?
Cj- I think when you're a kid your Mom & Dad must have to help you.
Me- You have to believe that Jesus died & rose from the dead.
Cj- I DO!
Me- You have to believe that Jesus is the Son of God.
Cj- Everyone knows that! (He said it in his duh voice.)
It's so cool how kids don't question God. Maybe it has something to do with not having grown-up cynicism & pride seeping into their hearts yet. I know Jesus said, "Suffer the little children to come unto me, for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven." That's the only way a person can repent & put faith in Jesus' work on the cross, to trust Him like a child.

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Bird Feed

What was I thinking buying this giant bag of bird feed? Ok, I wasn't thinking, because now I'm gonna have to figure out somewhere to store all this leftover. If I'm going to be completely honest about how this is probably going to end, I'd have to say with some dead birds. That bird food which I set out so kindly, is only going to lure those birds down where my dogs, Jack & London, can eat them more easily.
So it all just comes back to why did I pay $5.99 for this pointless bag of bird food? Where am I going to store it? And at least the little buckets I hung with it in them look so cute in my yard.

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I Remember Everything

Today at an open house we saw, Gigi, a friend we haven't seen for awhile. Gigi told Cj, "You probably don't remember me."
Cj just answered matter of factly, "Yes, I do." When we acted surprised that he remembered he explained."I remember everything. Do you remember when I was 2 & used to play basketball with my Daddy?"
Gigi said no & why would she, She didn't even know him when he was 2?
After receiving her negative response Cj said, "See, I remember everything."

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He explained to me tonight that he doesn't know everything because he's not a psychic like Shaun.(From Psych). But he can remember everything from long ago, but not from long, long ago. He said, Mommy, if there's two longs I can't remember."

Andy's Convo With Cj

Happened upon Cj talking to Andy today.
Cj- So was Mommy born in the 80s?
Andy- No, she was born in the 70s.
Cj- Wow! The 70s!? What about grandma, was she born in the 80s?
Andy- No, how could grandma have been born in the 80s if Mom was born in the 70s?
Cj, laughing- Oh, of course not, that would make Mommy older than her Mom.(He figured that out pretty quick for a 5 year old, just sayin.)
Andy- Grandma was born in the 50s.
Cj- The 50s! The 50s!! The 50s!!! Grandma is NOT young anymore.

He also heard the term blood-bath somewhere. But he thought it meant a bath with blood instead of water.

Cj- Mom, can you promise to not give me a bath in blood but use water instead? Because if your gonna start filling the bath tub with blood I'm not getting in, that would just be scary.
Mom- Cj, really, how many times have I filled the tub with blood? Why would you even think I would do that? I promise not to ever give you a blood-bath. Where did you even hear the word blood-bath anyway?
Cj- I don't know I just know I don't want to take one.

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Playgrounds Memories

Today at the playground, I couldn't help but remember all the years playing on the playground behind my Grandma's house. As I was remembering those days, I started to notice how different the playground equipment is today. What was the deal with the playground equipment back then anyway? Playing on the playground, and surviving when I was a kid was a like laughing in the face of death. What was the town thinking setting up that stuff for us to play on anyway? Trying to "reduce the surplus population" or something? I don't think there was a single one of us cousins that didn't end up with stitches from playing there. Except my stitches were from riding a tricycle my brother pushed me off of, thanks Johnny, still have the scar :P.

I remember one time we tried to get on the slide and make a train and poor Matthew fell off, I think that led to stitches. That slide was way too tall, we might as well have got on a roller coaster. (Well, I maybe exagerrating there. A little.)

One time I was sitting at the car playing with a kid from the neighborhood and John was on the sunflower playing with a kid from the neighborhood. And that ended in his having stitches, too.

I remember playing on the teeter-totter with Christy. We used to try and see if we could make the other one fall off while they were in the air. I remember flying through the air a few times. Nowadays, they have all this soft, recycled, tire material to fall on, I fell on the hard ground!

The game on the swings was to swing as high as we possibly could and then jump off. How did I get to be grown-up without having a broken nose? In all truth, I still kinda want to do that on the swings, it was SO fun. Probably where my grown-up desire to jump out of a plane came from.

When we weren't getting hurt on the equipment we were starting fights with kids in the park that we didn't know. How did we even live to be adults anyway? No wonder my kids can be such trouble-makers I totally earned it didn't I?

Cj praying about tornadoes

We have had tornado weather all day. Andrew spotted a funnel cloud out by the house today. We've got howling wind, rain, lightening, & thunder going on right now. Tonight when I put Cj to bed, I read him his Bible & prayed with him. I said my usual prayer with him; that God would help him have a good night sleep, that he would have good dreams, & asked God to build a wall of protection around him. When I said amen Cj told me, "Mommy shouldn't you ask God to help us hear if the tornado sirens go off?"
It makes me happy that with all that's going on in our life, Cj's child-like faith is still telling him to look to God for protection in a storm.

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Directions

Maybe I should change the name of my blog to something about my life after divorce, or learning about myself without Jerrid, something of that nature. It was Jerrid and me for 20 years, so I'm learning all sorts of stuff about myself that I didn't really know before.

This weekend I learned that I am absolutely horrible at giving directions. And I mean HORRIBLE. I pretty much never had to give directions before because Jerrid has a strong natural sense of direction. So I could just sit in the passanger seat and read while he drove places.

What makes me a bad direction giver? Well, let's see, I don't know my right from left- I'm not dumb just never could get that down. I also don't get which direction is north, south, east, or west. Instead of remembering road names or directions I remember landmarks, you turn on the road that has the yellow house with the black garage door on the corner, turn in the direction which I used to wear a wedding ring on my finger, which is left. That's how I think. That especially doesn't translate well into navigation terms when the landmarks are for my hometown and the landmarks have changed somewhat since the last time I lived there, I moved when I was 12! I guess it's hard to follow directions when I say, "Turn this way, when you get to the house that used to be yellow with a black garage door," then we get to that road and the house is now white and the garage has been turned into a new addition.

I also tend to get bored. I get the person receiving directions onto a road and then by the time I'm supposed to tell them when to turn again, I have lost interest and started reading instead. We just kept ending up turning around again and again.

At one point, Dan complained to Mary, "Why aren't you keeping her entertained?" ]

Mary told him, "Keep her entertained? Am I a zoo, a circus, or a wonderfully constructed piece of literature? I can't be expected to keep her entertained!"

As if a zoo or circus has ever entertained me. Well, I guess there was the time I got chased by the crazy squirrel, but that's the one and only time.

Conversation With Diana

Diane asked me today, "Why did you name me Diana?"

"Diane your name is Diane." I answered.

"Oh yeah, I forgot." She laughed.

So I explained that her Dad wanted to name her Diane. I agreed because I had an 'Aunt'/friend named Diana and I thought Princess Diana was pretty & cool. I figured I could name her Diane and just call her Diana, which I did.

She looked at me with annoyance. She didn't feel satisfied that it wad a good reason to name someone Diane? Guess that's what happens when you name a baby at 17. She should be glad I was thinking of naming her Victorianne.

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Book Store Slumber Party

I was just realizing that I never take the time to blog anymore, and I don't like that. I have been so busy I just let life fly by without taking time to reflect. Really want to get back to doing it, even if it means I go to sleep a little later. Sometimes I may write about meaningful revelations that I may have experienced, tonight is not one of those times. Tonight I want to write about my dream, my wish, to have a slumber party in a book store. What would a slumber party in a book store be like? First of all, it would be a party of one, because I don't want anyone interrupting my reading time! When I'm reading a really good book, and someone interrupts it actually feels like a violent pull from whatever world I was in, back to this world. In this world, I live in Indiana. Being violently forced out of Middle Earth, the Secret Garden, Austin's England, or even (the worst place to be pulled away from) a slow float down the Mississippi River is not a very nice thing to have happen to you! So, that means no one can come to my party but me. I might make an exception for the few readers who also fly away to different lands when they read, only because I know they wouldn't be bugging me back to Indiana because they'd be off in their own world themselves. But I'm sure about that detail because that would mean I would have to share some of the books with them. Oh, how wonderful it would be to have all that time in the book store, uninterrupted reading, of any book I wanted. If I got bored or finished with one genre, I could just head over to a different section and start reading there! In fact I don't think it would be a slumber party, it would need to be a week long vacation. I think I would choose Barnes and Noble for my vacation because I could just get a massive stack of books and go sit in one of those comfy chairs and read. They have all those Barnes and Noble classics and lots of new releases, no waiting lists because I'm the only one there. And they would have to close the store, except for one person to work the Starbucks, and make me white peppermint mochas with extra foam whenever I wanted. In fact, if I can have all the white peppermint mochas with extra foam I want, I don't think I need food. My slumber party/vacation in a book store can never happen, can you imagine how much money I would end of spending?! I know I'm not going to finish all the books I want to read in that time. I can't leave Barnes and Noble without a bunch of books when I'm only there for a few minutes. I don't think there's enough money in the world to cover it. Oh well, a girl can dream can't she?

Tornado Drill

Today at out Homeschool group we had a tornado drill. I noticed that Cj (5 years old, btw) was pretty lost about what was going on so I decided to explain. I told him, "We want to know what to do in case there's a tornado." He still looked confused so I said, "We are practicing what to do if there's a tornado." Finally I just said, "We are pretending there's a tornado". With that Cj quickly covered his head, said, "Tornado!" Then he started repeating over & over again,
"Please don't hurt me, please don't hurt me."

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The Goodman of the House

Luke 22:1-20

It always amazes me how God had prepared someone's heart to prepare a special room in his house for the LORD's use. Did he know it would be the room that would house Jesus' last supper with his disciples? Did he know that for centuries we would remember the supper held in his home when we have Communion? I would imagine that he didn't have any idea the impact of his surrendering his home to the Master would have. It's probably very likely that he felt his job was unimportant, I mean as far as I know, we don't even know his name. This encourages me in the fact that there are no small & unimportant job in the cause of Christ. Every job is an honor because it in some way furthers the Gospel, which is the greatest miracle there is! So just think, whatever job the LORD compels you to take in the church, He has allowed you the chance to be a part of the greatest miracle.

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David, A Man After God's Own Heart

David is known as being the "man after God's own heart" and that's one thing that always made me curious. I've often wondered what was it about David that made him stand out in that way. What does it even mean? I have to admit that this sort of question has directed a lot of my Bible study, as I tried to figure it out. I don't have it figures out yet, but I think I've got a few ideas now. I notice that David loved God's law & the law shows the character of God, the purity, the Holiness of God. Could that be what made David the man after Gods own heart? He loved the character of God, which I guess would mean he was maybe closer to understanding God than the rest of us.

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Separation of Church?

What a very powerful Word of Life Quiet Time this morning on Luke 14:25-35. What does it mean to do what Jesus is calling us to do when he says, "If a man come to me, & hate not his father or mother, & wife, & children, & brethren, & sisters, yea, & his own life also, he cannot be my disciple." Well, the more I think about it, it means commitment. I think it means sacrifice.

For some reason, the words of my Grandma keep coming to mind, something like, if the church doors were open you should be there. And I know that she & Grandpa believed it because their actions showed it. For instance, I remember how they would drive all around town & pick kids up & drive them to church. As an adult I now realize what an inconvenience that must have been. Having loud, messy, destructive kids in their very, nice, cars. But I don't think any of the inconvenience mattered to them more than the Gospel of Christ.

I also remember spending days, I mean DAYS, walking around town, door to door, handing out flyers & tracts to invite people to the revival we were going to have at church. Now how much time do church members nowadays spend doing that? We are too busy to take the time out if our lifes. We always think that's the Pastors job. But last time I checked the Great Commission was to ALL of us, it didn't just say, Go ye...preachers.

I'm also thinking about a man that is with LORD now who I was blessed to attend church with for some years. He was a farmer, & he LOVED the LORD, & he took the Great Commission very seriously. He wasn't the preacher or the missionary, he was a farmer. Yet he studied the Bible enough to teach it better than most preachers. He would give above & beyond to help missionaries, I guess he understood that a missionary can't share the Gospel far away if someone doesn't send them. He was constantly making sure I got donations for our youth programs. There are kids who will open up their Bible & do a Quiet Time today because Bro Beard paid for it. He's in his reward in Heaven but still the things he did for Christ are having results here on earth. He was always handing out tracts, I know because he would run out & tell me to buy more. Can you imagine how many people will spend eternity in Heaven & will be able to say to him, "Thank you, for giving to the LORD."?! And why did he do all these things, I remember he told me once, "Always be about the Great Commission".

Maybe that's how forsake all & follow Christ. It becomes the foremost thought in your mind, & more important than anything else in your life. How does that happen? I think you have to REALLY believe & if you really believe you obey His command. What do you think it means?

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Good Samaritan

Yesterday's WOL Quiet Time was on the subject of The Good Samaritan. Between that portion of Scripture & the lesson of Mary & Martha today I'm thinking that the people represented in thes lessons are not too different from people attending churches today.

While I've heard, read, & studied The Good Samaritan many times in my life it has just struck me differently this time. In that I'm asking myself, which person in this story am I? I mean come on, that's a fairly important question I should ask myself & I don't think I'm asking it often enough. I guess what gets me pondering is that the priest & the Levite who leave the injured man have what could be considered, when looked at in a certain light, "good excuses" They were temple leaders, they were not supposed to touch an unclean thing, the man could be dead, or could have died while being cared for. The Levite & Priest might have justified that they were being a good example, a good leader, by being very careful to obey the law. The man who did help had to hire medical care, maybe they thought they didn't have the finances, or that if they did help he could die anyway & then they've wasted God's money.

Now clearly these are nothing but excuses, yet I feel that it just all sounds a little familiar. It just leaves me thinking about those in need around me & what kind of compassion do I show, what kind of help do I give, how am going out of my way for others. I know that the church is failing in this area, because we don't even take care of those who choose to be missionaries. These men & women want to carry the Gospel to the mission field but often can't get started on their mission because they don't have the money to go. I went to a church in the past once where they raised all this money, thousands of dollars & then used to landscape the church. Meanwhile there were missionaries unable to share the Gospel & people dying & going to Hell. But hey, our church building looked pretty & when people walked or drove past they were impressed with us. The problem doesn't only lie with the churches, but with individuals, I spend a lot of money on Starbucks, imagine if I sent that to a missionary.

In the end our lack of empathy, I think, is due to pride. This Quiet Time really effected me & I'm trying to think of ways that I can be more like the Samaritan & less like the priest & the Levite. I think I will start with more prayer for others. What are some ways that you are a Good Samaritan?

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Cj's Dream

Cj told me today that he had a dream that we moved, he said, "We got a new house & it was really big & had lots of cool stuff in it. It had a very nice big dinosaur, a pool, a movie theater. And a gameroom; filled with all our DSs, an old Nintendo, that still worked & all the Nintendo games"

I said, "Wow! That's pretty amazing, was there anything else?"

Then his eyes get huge, "Yeah, there were TWO bathrooms!"

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Learning Who Jesus Is

Cj was so cute doing his Word of Life Quiet Time tonight. He learned about how Jesus raised someone from the dead
& it put him in a state of awe. He said, in just utter amazement, "Whoa!...How did He...Ooh yeah, well I guess Jesus IS VERY powerful." He said his prayer with such great meaning & emotion in his voice, "Jesus, thank you for being SO powerful."

I feel so grateful to have such a tool as this Quiet Time, to not only teach Cj the habit of daily time in the Word & in prayer, but also about who Jesus actually is. Our Pastor has been teaching about the life of Christ in Sunday School lately & he keeps saying how any problem or need you will ever face in life; the answer can be found in Jesus. And Cj, at this young age, is learning that! Jesus can handle anything we will ever face, because "Jesus IS VERY powerful."

We are told in Deuteronomy, really throughout the Bible, to teach our children from a young age about the stories & laws in the Bible which show us who God is, why we need Him, & how we find Him. Sadly in our busy lives of today it feels like it is so easy to lack in those teaching. I mean, we teach our kids their ABCs, Colors, or what sounds the animals make. And how do we do it? By singing little songs, playing games, going over it while we eat dinner, or at storytime before bed. This is just what God expects us to do to teach our children about Him. I like that the WOL Quiet Time for young kids help show parents how to teach the Word, at each age & learning level our child hits, & even as they grow to adulthood. Facing eternity, how much more important will it be that our kids know Jesus than whether or not they know how to moo like a cow or boo like a sheep?
www.wol.com

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How My Phone Is Getting Me Organized

So I'm still working my New Years Resolution to be more organized & since I recently got a new phone, a Sprint Evo 4g, I decided to search the ap store & see what kind of aps I could find that would help. After doing lots of reading about aps, some downloading, & some deleting I found a couple aps that are already making my life, no, not just my life, my whole family's life, much easier. Thought I would share these aps, which are websites with free companion aps actually....

www.cozi.com

This is an online family organizer. Can you say BRILLIANT!!! Are your like me & can't feel like a whole person without your hardcopy family organizer? Are you like me & have more than one child & a husband to keep track of? In my hard copy organizer I purposely research & buy one that will help me keep organized not only as a whole family but also as individuals. Well, with cozi.com it does all that for me!

Cozi, is an online calendar, really organizer is a better word for it, with a free ap available for Android or iPhone. The best thing is that this program is designed specifically for busy families so it comes with features like color-coding by person, email and/or text reminder or updates, & printable calendars. Cozi emails my kids reminders of events on their schedule & my husband a copy of what's going on for us all. I was able to print off a month-@-a-glance page which even had the cute picture I uploaded of my kids on it. There's a shopping list section so whenever I realize we have run out of something, & need to pick something up..I just open the ap on my phone & add it real quick. Even better, last night Jerrid called me & asked what we needed, rather than having to go over the list, I just got on my phone & told Cozi to email it to him. Since he has email on his phone, he was all set! There is also a to do list section. As with the shopping list, it has come in handy to be able to make notes to my to do list from my phone at any time. I downloaded the free screen-saver which plays a slide show of family pics with a reminder of what's on the calendar for that day in the corner. Since this is saved on a website & my phone I don't have to spend the time plugging in my phone to the computer to sync. If my phone or computer crashes, I don't lose everything bc its saved on a website which is available on any computer, anywhere.

I LOVE Cozi, it is quickly making my family's life run more smoothly. I definitely recommend it!!!

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Get Well Cards

I told Cj that he needed to make a get well card for Aunt Linda, who just had surgery. Since I've been sick, I asked Jerrid to help by finding a picture online for him to color. I heard Cj tell his Dad that to find the picture he wanted you have to type in the name of his favorite painter, Van Gogh. I feel like it turned out to be a pretty respectable little card.

Cheese

"Cj! I just reached into my pocket & look what I found!" and there was Jerrid holding up a slice of cheese.
Cj explained, "I thought you might get hungry at work sometime so I put it in there for later."
I think this is actually a great time for this next word.... Flabergasted (how do you even spell that word anyway?) Jerrid asked, "Why would I want to eat a slice of cheese...from my POCKET?!?"
Cj's simple answer, "What? It's wrapped in plastic."

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Blessings & Troubles

So last week our well pump quit. Had the guy out. It was unfixable. So we had to have a new one installed. Costly. Then a couple days after it was installed it quit again. Had the guy out he fixed it. The next day the dishwasher quit. This morning the furnace quit. Had another guy out fixed it, too. Tonight my dsl went out, again.

Part of me wants to say what else could break around here for goodness sake! But really things are pretty good round here. We have a great family. My husband has a job. We really love our new church. We have food to eat. Best of all I do have the LORD. Time to remember again what Grandpa used to sing...
"Let us have a little talk with Jesus , let us tell Him all about our troubles, He will hear our faintest cry & He will answer by & by"

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