Wednesday, May 28

Works for me and Saves some Water!


What works for me today is
Over at the Crunchy Domestic Goddess she is challenging us to take 5 minutes showers. I say, "WOO HOO." I am totally on board with this and have been doing this for a long time. In fact if I took a full 5 minute shower, my husband would be shocked. I'm sure my quickness began because I was trying to get in and out before my daughter would wake up from a nap, but after awhile, it became my habit. I get in, get the job done and get out. I still get squeaky clean and save some water. So what about you? Can you take the challenge? Also, check out other great Works for me Wednesday ideas.

Tuesday, May 27

Fellowshippin'

We had a great weekend. We went to spend the weekend with my niece on her 1st birthday. She is a doll and we enjoyed it so. I did not expect to feel so refreshed but I did. We parked the car and just hung out all weekend. We floated in the pool and ate... a lot, but that was just fine because we were fellowshipin'. That is Christian for hangin' out with the people we love the most. We talked about the kids, family, church and most of all we just relaxed. I am grateful to Grammy and PawPaw for opening up their home to our crazy family. They are great. We are blessed.

Now we are back to the hustle and bustle of our lives. I'm sitting at my desk at church, I've been here since 7:30am and it is now 6:45pm. I have a rehearsal tonight and it did not make sense to rush home for dinner, just to rush back down to the church. But this is going to be one of those weeks. I have been working 15 hours a week for our Media Minister at church since Fall. I have been asked to increase those hours to 30. I am feeling the stress already. I'm not stressed about doing the work, but I am concerned for the well being of my family. I pray this all works out, and with childcare here at the church and with fantastic grandma's willing to help out, I am blessed indeed with good childcare. But nothing compares to the time I spend with my daughter. So my prayer now is that I can do what I need to at work in a purposful way, utilizing my time wisely and then being able to spend quality time with my daughter when I get home, making the most of my days off.

Friday, May 23

A Prayer



Psalm 13

For the director of music. A psalm of David.
How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and every day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
Look on me and answer, O Lord my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death;
my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord,
for he has been good to me.


My thoughts and prayers are still very much with the Chapmans and my friends who lost their sweet Audrey back in November. I read this Psalm and see that even David questioned God and asked Him..."are you still there?"
But the last two verses are what gives me peace and comfort. As a Christ follower I do trust His unfailing love and KNOW that HE wants good for us. I am still trusting Him to comfort those who hurt, for parents who don't understand why their child is no longer on this earth and for brothers and sisters who miss their sister.

Dear God give comfort and peace in the midst of this storm. Grant these families moments of joy and glimpses of your grace. Allow them to witness the good and purpose in this tragedy. Lord, give them hope. And most of all, strength to make it through one more day. amen

Thursday, May 22

The Glory of His House

"Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing? Haggai 2:3
"The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,' says the LORD Almighty. 'And in this place I will grant peace,' declares the LORD Almighty." Haggai 2:9

I continue to pray that God will move and work at our church. There are days I still struggle with all that has happened and pray that we are making choices that He wants us to make. I was praying this on Sunday as we were preparing for a special Worship service. I was reading Haggai of all things, Who just reads that book? I was drawn to it and this is the passage I am holding to, I am trusting it is a promise for me and my family as we pray and hope for God's blessings on our church.

Prayer for the Chapman Family

I am asking you to pray for the family of Steven Curtis Chapman. His youngest daughter was killed yesterday. My heart aches for this family and for thier son who was driving the car that hit little Maria Sue. Our circle of friends experienced a tragedy similar to this in November. I would ask that when you pray for the Chapman family, please pray for all families who have lost children in tragic accidents and the pain this latest story will bring back to their hearts.

Tuesday, May 20

Vinegar... I know you told me so...



This is me saying... "Christine, you are right, it IS the best thing ever"
I have been fed up with the prices at the grocery store and honestly the prices of cleaning products are crazy. I have also been trying to be more aware of the impact my family is having in this world. The idea of harsh chemicals around my house, especially on the counter I prepare food on, has given me pause and caused me to re-think my methods. I began to think, there must be something better. I remembered Christine talking about Vinegar and it's wonderfully magical power and figured... why not. I wondered, "what about the smell?" Well, not a problem because when it dries, nothing.. not a smell. JUST CLEAN! Let me tell you it is the most shiny, sparkly clean my counter tops and sink have ever seen. I am in awe and can I tell you, it is so CHEAP. I'm using a half water/ half vinegar solution. It is incredible. I can not believe I fell for the expensive bottles of flowery-pine for all these years. There are plenty uses for this miracle too.
So, the next time you are passing down the cleaner aisle and like me sneezing at all the crazy fragrances, just keep walking down to the salad dressing aisle and get you a bottle of vinegar. I guarantee you'll be glad you did!

Monday, May 19

Sprinkles and being Special

Sometimes I just have to laugh. We were sitting at dinner last night and my daughter was just talking about all kinds of things. I think her little mind was on overload. Then she said, "Daddy did you like your doughnut this morning?" YES... we stopped at the bakery on our way to church... SO SUE ME! Back to our story, Daddy said, "Yes I did" "Daddy did yours have sprinkles on it too?"
"No, mine was plain." "OH Daddy, why didn't you have sprinkles, your such a special boy, you deserve sprinkles"


So for all of you special girls and boys out there...put some sprinkles on top you deserve it.

Saturday, May 17

Then Sings My Soul...When I Call On Jesus



I love this song...especially sung by one of my best friends, Becky.
This is my church choir singing with her. This songs means so much to me because the day this was taped my dear Grandma went home to be with the Lord forever. To add to the worry I was facing multiple biopsies to look for breast cancer during this same time. To say I was discouraged was an understatement. I was not in the choir that day because I was broken hearted and just needed to be ministered to. I was sitting close to the front and when Becky saw me sitting there with tears steaming down my face I think she sang the rest of the song directly to me. I love that God ministers to me with music and songs. I hope this speaks to your heart too.

Friday, May 16

Not being shaken


Psalm 21:7-8
For the king trusts in the LORD;
through the unfailing love of the Most High
he will not be shaken.

Your hand will lay hold on all your enemies;
your right hand will seize your foes.


"For the king trusts the Lord" As I read this I'm wondering about all the "kings" in my life. (Now, I'm not talking about my relatives, as King is my maiden name). I'm talking about my pastor, the president, my husband. Do you get what I'm sayin'?
First I am feeling a responsibility to pray for those people as they continue to come under fire all the time. Am I praying that "he will not be shaken?"

I am also praying this for me. That others will say of me, she trusts in the Lord, she will not be shaken. I pray that will always be true, my deepest desire is that no matter what... I will not be shaken because the of the unfailing love of My most high God.

Tuesday, May 13

Listening

Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Luke 8:18

Recently it seems that my days are filled with questions. My daughter will be four soon and our life has become a string of questions. "Mommy, why do we have feet? Why does Daddy have a scratchy face? Why do you call Daddy Kelly? Mommy, why do mermaids live in the water? Why do ants bite? Mommy why did our friend go to heaven? Mommy when can I go to heaven? Why does God love me? How can I go to heaven?"

The questions go from silly to serious quickly. It is easy to get annoyed by the silliness but if I wait patiently for the silly to pass, the very moment God has given me to tell the story of why we are here is opened up to me. It means I have to listen to all her questions because eventually, she will get to the serious ones.

In my own walk with my God it reminds me, am I hearing the questions He is asking me. Am I waiting to hear the answers He wants to give me when I question Him? How many times do I pray and ask and then try to answer the question myself? It is hard to listen, truly wait and listen. And then not just to listen for an answer but the heart behind it. Always knowing that He wants good for me and that He will work all out for good for me because I love Him and He loves me. He, My Savior, wants to tell me everything... but I have to listen and wait and He too will answer all my silly questions and then He will open up heaven and show me truth to all the serious ones too.

Friday, May 9

Taking a breath

We'll I think we made it through. First semester of my husband in Grad school. Today and tomorrow are the last days of classes. He/we have been up until 2am almost everynight the past few weeks trying to finish projects and papers. It has been really hard on all of us. I was making a powerpoint for his presentation at midnight last night/ this morning... whatever. It looks GOOD, I'm sure it will be the reason he gets a good grade.

He has worked really hard and we have hardly seen him in weeks. Kathryn and I really miss him but I know he is anxious to take a deep breath and relax a bit. At least till the summer session begins.

So... way to go Kelly... we are PROUD of YOU!

Friday, May 2

Responsible

re·spon·si·ble
Function: adjective
1 a: liable to be called on to answer b (1): liable to be called to account as the primary cause, motive, or agent -a committee responsible for the job> (2): being the cause or explanation -mechanical defects were responsible for the accident> c: liable to legal review or in case of fault to penalties
2 a: able to answer for one's conduct and obligations : trustworthy b: able to choose for oneself between right and wrong
3: marked by or involving responsibility or accountability -responsible financial policies a responsible job
4: politically answerable; especially : required to submit to the electorate if defeated by the legislature —used especially of the British cabinet


I've been thinking a lot lately about responsibility and what I am responsible for. There is a long list and I wonder how much is self imposed and what is a true responsibility. The list:my child, my husband, my job, my family, the school board I serve on, the families and children I represent in serving on the board, my choir, my friends, my Sunday school, my neighbors... the list goes on and on, then the biggest responsibility of all, my relationship with God. The one who handed it all to me in the first place.

Who do I fail when I don't live up to my responsibilities? Am I failing myself or ultimately God? I am struggling lately as I serve on a school board for a Christian school. I want to make decisions based on my deepest convictions and to always put the students and families first. But as with any institution... there are politics at play and egos in the way. That usually causes problems with my convictions. I've been accused of seeing things two ways. Black and White. It is true, I usually do not see or even acknowledge the grey areas. That tends to make me feel more responsible I think. If I am leaning in one direction on a decision I feel that I must stand up and say something.

Yesterday, my daughter asked me a question, because that is all she does now, she is one big question. So I answered her random question with a random answer and she said, "Mommy you know everything". I laughed, knowing how much I don't know.
But you see, when something comes before me that I truly need to answer or that I need to weigh in on, I feel obligated...responsible to find out the answer so that I can speak with truth and conviction when the time comes. I study, I investigate, I ask questions. It must be said here, that Prayer is so important. I find myself driving to a board meeting praying this prayer, "please give me wisdom, please give me discernment, please make my ears hear truth and know when something is false. Help me to speak clearly and make my thoughts clear and my words purposeful". I pray it over and over.

I feel a heavy burden sometimes, right now is one of those times. Just to make sure that I am doing all I am supposed to do... but praying that God lets me know exactly what that is and that most of all I take myself out of the picture and let God do the leading and I do the following.
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