Grandmas are moms with lots of frosting.

This here is my grandma. At 88 years old (88 and a quarter, is how she shares her age), she took a two hour Amtrak train ride to our house to be here this weekend for a family BBQ. All her children, seven of her eight grandchildren and nine of her twelve great-granz (as she calls them) will be here.

She is in all her glory.

In honor of her visit, I wanted to share a couple of favorites that I love about my grandma.

1. Grandma loves me no matter what. In all my forty years and through many dumb mistakes, she has always been in my corner. As a teenager I went to my first party and was introduced to alcohol. My parents punished me by not allowing me to babysit my siblings that day (they both were to be gone) and told my grandma to make sure that I didn't take a nap. They wanted me to be as miserable as possible when they met with me later that evening.

Grandma put me right to bed. When my father would call to check on me she would run into the room and whisper, "Joey, your father is on the phone, hurry, wake up and talk to him!"

2. She calls me all the time. Now married and the mother of four children, I am a bit busy. Grandma calls to check on me, to see how the kids are doing or to just congratulate us on any milestones the kids have made. If I don't call her back, I will get machine gun calls over and over again until I dial her number.

Oh, and did I mention that she signs her phone messages? "Joey, this is your grandma. Where are you honey? What are you all up to? I am doing good. Did you get my last message? I am starting to worry about you. Where are you guys?!? I can't wait to see you on Thursday. Did you talk with Judy about what time to pick me up at the train station? I love you honey............Grandma."

3. Grandma always loves on me with food! As a child she would have my favorite sugary cereal at her home "Peanut butter Capn' Crunch" waiting. When I visit even now, she makes me her homemade rice pudding. Just this week when she came to stay she brought me and Paul and whole box of See's Candy!

Maybe this is why I have struggled with my weight all my life.

4. She has been my blessed memory maker. I can't look back on my life and not have Grandma right there alongside almost every precious memory. Sleepovers at her house were awesome! She would put on the heating blanket in the spare room so that when my sister and I would go to bed it would be all toasty warm for us. All holidays as a child were spent at her house. Christmas, Easter, even the fourth of July was spent hanging out at her house, eating her crab dip and of course with an Italian Grandpa...masttoccolis at every meal.



I'm right back on food again, aren't I?



Having Grandma over is more blessing than I can convey with words. Yes, she can drive me a bit batty, yes..she is hard of hearing...and yes, she is starting to really slow down. But today when her family comes, she will be showing us her dance steps, hugging all of her children when they arrive...and telling us all for the millionth time....





"Can you believe that I started all of this?!?"





I love you Grandma.



Love your FAVORITE Granddaughter,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEVON!

My neice Chelsey graduated from junior high last night. She looked so adorable in cap and gown. Most of the family got together and met at the field to watch the ceremonies (We missed you Amy!) and afterwards pigged out on ice cream cake and cookies..mmmmmm mmmmmmm was that yummy.

***Funny family moment of the night: When my sister brought Chelsey's ice cream cake home she was surprised to read, instead of "Congratulations Chelsey"...it read "Happy Birthday Devon"! Her mother in law rushed back to Baskin Robbins to fix the mistake with only minutes to spare before they had to leave for the graduation. We all had a good belly laugh over that one.



I just had to share a picture of the whole family. Oh Lord, where is the time going? It seems like only yesterday that Chelsey was a bossy little baby girl, leading her sister around the house and telling her what to do. She is growing up to be such a sweet and beautiful young lady.

OPPOSITES ATTRACT

My walking buddy Gina and I make a great pair. After almost three months of an unwanted walking sabbatical (on her part, I was quite fine with the break) we are now walking again together every morning. While she is afraid of animals, I am afraid of large vehicles and the people on cellphones who drive them. Between the two of us we keep our daily exercise routine exciting. The other day while walking up a hill that has fields on both sides of the road, we saw a coyote scamper off into the trees. Gina was so scared that she continued to walk with her head up, looking for the next hidden coyote in the field like she was playing "Where's Waldo- The Extreme Edition". She just knew that another animal was going to jump out, pounce on her and attack. But while looking up she failed to look down. At the last second I grabbed her arm so that she wouldn't step on a very large coiled black king snake. It was already dead but try telling Gina that.

I was hoping that the dead snake would scare her into never wanting to exercise again, but one can't be so lucky.

At 6:15am I will meet Gina at the corner and once again take off on our daily routine. I must admit that I am not as reluctant to walk since our break and my six pound weight gain.

I even did something today that I don't recommend anyone over the age of sixteen do...purchase an article of clothing that I need to do many sit ups in order to wear well.

What in the world was I thinking?!?

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY...sorta

My sweet Grace, weeding in the rain. I know, I know, I get the mean mother of the year award.

Hallelujah I'm cured!

There is a dream that I have had for quite sometime. It is to live in a beautiful cottage home with wrap around porches on acreage. Of course this acreage will have a view of the Sierra Nevada snow capped mountains. In this dream world, there will be oak trees on this property, and one with a tire swing hanging from its tall limb. On this property there will be a pond with a wooden dock so that my boys can sit on it while fishing, barefoot just like Tom Sawyer or Huck Finn would. My garden would have a white picket fence around it and a tall arbour and white garden gate.


In the real world I don't live on acreage but in a neighborhood. I can't scream at my children without being heard by my neighbors. I have no wraparound porch and no tire swing. We live on a third of an acre and this last weekend I worked on our yard, both front and back. We had six yards of tanbark delivered for our front yard and three yards of small rocks for various areas that I am sick and tired of sending the kids out to weed. A pack mule has never worked as hard as I did this weekend. After such back breaking work outside I am cured.



I no longer want acreage.



There is still a huge mound of rocks in my driveway. I think they are multiplying like rabbits while we sleep at night. I am having family over this weekend for a BBQ and am thinking I might just spray paint the rock pile purple and call it art.

Greater love...

"Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends" John 15:13


The above scripture is one that when truly reflected upon can have the power to bring me to my knees. The God of all creation sent his only son to die for me. To this day I am left without words when I think on this. Jesus is our perfect example of sacrifice. Our perfect example of giving more than we could humanly or possibly understand. This verse also comes to mind for me when I think on those serving in our armed forces. It brings me to tears when I think of a soldier, even today as I type this, away from his or her family in triple digit heat. Serving unto his or her death, for me.

We have been blessed with a three day weekend in honor of “Memorial Day”, a day set apart just for them. Let’s not use this time off only as an excuse to bring the family together for a barbecue, or to just take a break for ourselves, but let us use it as a day to remember. The word memorial means “preservative of memory”, or “that which serves to keep in memory.” So, Memorial Day is a day that our nation should set aside some time to remember those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice and those who even today, are serving our country.

It is in the deepest parts of our being, the desire to be remembered. Many times in the Bible the words “remember me” are said by many of the Lords people as they cried out to the Lord; Nehemiah, Zachariah, Jeremiah, Job, David, Hannah, Samson, the thief on the cross. My prayer is that this Memorial Day we will remember to pray for these brave men and women and their families on our own, without the provocation of a sad story or a touching television commercial.

I was raised by a former U.S. Marine. My father put out his American flag every morning before he left for work. He rarely ever spoke with me about politics but always spoke of the love he had for his country. I believe my patriotism was a genetic trait passed down from father to child. My husband Paul and I have raised our children to respect and honor those serving in the United States military. We have passed on this very same flag-waving DNA to our own children. We encourage all four of our kids to thank those they see in public that are in uniform.

One of the sweetest memories we have of our youngest son Samuel was when he was about two years old. He shyly walked up to a young service man dressed in his military attire at a grocery store and told him “thank you”. This young man couldn't understand Samuel's two year old language so his brother and sisters interpreted to this young man, just what Samuel was trying to convey. It moved this young soldier.

It is never too early to start showing our children ways to express such gratitude. Regardless of your political beliefs these men and women have signed their lives over to the American people. Willing to go wherever and do whatever is needed to keep our freedoms secure. This lesson isn’t only for children. I double dog dare you to go up to a military person or even the mother or father of one of our enlisted people. You will know these servicemen and women by their uniforms or haircuts. You will know their parents by the bumper stickers on their car or by the huge buttons they wear with a picture of their child in military attire. You could even drop by and thank Mari at My little corner of the world, her son Andy is serving. Your words and prayers for so many of these people can make such a difference. I remember just as the war broke out, being at a grocery store and thanking a military mom who had two sons in the service. My voice started to crack and I could barely get the words out of my mouth.

Friends, as Christians we are led by our perfect example in Jesus, as parents lets lead our children by this same example. Let’s let our children see that we do remember those serving our country this Memorial Day.



The patriot's blood is the seed of Freedom's tree. ~Thomas Campbell

Ok, Ok....here are the before and after pictures!

For those of you who left comments, emailed me and even requested over the phone... here are a few pictures, showing my long hair before and my not so long hair after.

BEFORE

AFTER

Hairdos And Backhanded Compliments

I just don't think that men understand how special it is for a woman to get her hair done. There is something almost magical about sitting in a hair chair, having someone massage your scalp as they wash your hair with shampoos that smell so good you could drink them out of the bottle with a straw. Looking through the hair books and magazines searching for a new look is such an exciting time, second only to picking out your favorite dessert on the menu. Us gals will make our appointments at the salon and only a death in the family holds the power to make us call and cancel.

For weeks now I have been agonizing over my long hair. As much as I enjoyed wearing it long, it has been driving me batty lately. I just don't have time to sit in front of the mirror to blow dry and style it every morning. I've been throwing it up in a hair clip these past few weeks, which gave me the look of an aged Amish woman.

Not really the look I was going for.

So, completely broken and not really giving a hoot about how it would turn out...I gave my friend and hairstylist the green light to chop it off.

And chop she did.

The hair that used to be below my shoulders is now barely touching them now. I felt so light when I left. I even liked the way that she gave me a layered spiky look.

Shouldn't all forty year old mother's of four, have a layered spiky look?

I'm pretty sure that my new hairdo may have evolved from the 80's big hair and the 90's cement sprayed bangs. Maybe that's why I just loved it.

When my husband came home from work I was looking forward to showing him my new do.

He walked in and found me at the stove stirring some chicken soup.

As he walked up and gave me a kiss, we began the obvious new haircut conversation.

Paul: You got your haircut.

Me: Yep, I did.

Paul: (Looking me over.)

Me: Do you like it?

Paul: Yeah, it's cute.

Me: (Smiling on the outside, happy as a clam on the inside.)

Then he had to make just one more precious and endearing comment.

Paul: You look like Adam Sandler's rocker girlfriend from the Wedding Singer.




Not really the look I was going for.

LACED WITH GRACE

I'm over here today.

What a blogger thinks about when stranded on a desert island.

He will fulfill it.

In a quick phone call this morning, my friend Dana excitedly shared a little of what the Lord is doing in her life. Her active faith was extremely contagious. The word contagious means easily transmitted and spread from one person to another. Yep, her joy was truly something she passed on to me this morning. Quite literally the word contagious means; communicable by contact. Through any act of communication, whether it be an email, a coffee date, or even a telephone call, believing God and His word is very, very contagious. Through my contact with my friend this morning my faith was overflowing, my spiritual batteries recharged. Active faith has a way of doing that to us Christians.

I just had to share her story with you.


After returning from a women's conference, a dear friend of Dana's emailed her a scripture. Dana just knew that this was a word to her from the Lord. This verse out of the book of Joshua seemed to jump off of her computer screen and speak right to her heart. She answered, "Give me a blessing; since you have given me land in the south, give me also springs of water." So he gave her the upper springs and the lower springs. Joshua 15:19

A little while later, she came accross this very verse while in her daily reading. Dana didn't know exactly what the Lord was trying to say to her but she believed God would show her in His time. Meanwhile, through the trials to come, she continued to hang on to His word.

After two months of open houses, real estate ups and downs and an offer way below their already low asking price, a young Christian couple stepped forward to purchase their house. The Lord granted their family's hearts desire and found them an amazing cottage home on acreage to purchase as their own.

While walking the new property with the prior owner, Dana saw what looked like a tiny trickle of water coming from the hill above their new home. "Where is this water coming from?" The previous owner replied, "This water is from a year round spring that runs from the top of the property all the way to the bottom of the property."

"So He gave her the upper springs and the lower springs." Joshua 15:19(b)



God's word to her had been fulfilled.




Is there a scripture that the Lord has given you? Memorize it, repeat it, grasp it, cling to it, hold on and hang on...He will fulfill it.



"Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished." Luke 1:45

More than you could ask for...

Then God said to him: "Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked long life for yourself, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice, behold, I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you. And I have also given you what you have not asked: both riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days." 1Kings 3:11-13

The Lord ALWAYS blesses us with more than we need, more than we ask for, more than we can dare to imagine. WOW, that's pretty awesome when you stop and think about it. When I read the above scripture it stirs my heart. After the Lord came to Solomon, He commanded Solomon to ask him for something. Solomon asked for wisdom. The Lord not only gave him wisdom but gave him far more than Solomon had even asked for. God blessed him with wisdom and with riches...and with honor.

He blessed him with an over abundance. Friends, this is the God we serve.

The God who loves us, loves us with a love that is immeasurable. Solomon may be the example used in the Bible, but he is not the exception. He loves each one of use the very same way.

I had to stop and think about how in my own life I have asked for one thing and received in ten fold His blessings. There are quite a few things that come to my mind but at the top of the list would have to be the salvation of my mother. I was saved myself only a year before my mother died of cancer. With my spiritual eyes now open I knew without a doubt that I would have eternal life with my Heavenly Father. My blessed joy soon turned to heartache. After spending more and more time with my mother I realized that she did not have this same hope and confidence in her own impending death. For many months before she died I prayed with all my heart that she would be saved, that she would know the Lord before she died. it was my hearts cry day and night. I couldn't bear to think of not seeing her again. She was my best friend. The Lord fulfilled my prayer on a gentle spring day in March. She accepted Jesus into her heart, silently mouthing the prayer that she asked me to speak softly into her ear and died six weeks later.

On the day of my mother's viewing it would be the first time I would see her in the delicate pink coffin my father had picked out. I had dreaded this day. “Lord please help me get through this.” was my continual prayer. Hours prior to my mother’s viewing my husband and I had made a last minute decision to attend our own church’s annual anniversary celebration. It is a very festive event anxiously anticipated by our fellowship and held at our local fairgrounds. After dropping off our children at their Sunday school classes, my husband Paul and I needed to sit and be washed in His word, worship our Lord together and feel the fellowship of other believers before facing the rest of our day. Both Paul and I looked very out of place dressed in traditional black from head to toe. We would be leaving straight from this celebration for the mortuary afterwards. It was during this church service that our Lord spiritually fed us to a fullness to prepare us for the days’ events to come.

The pastor asked the bulging assembly in joyful attendance if anyone would like to make today the day that they publicly gave their heart to the Lord. Amongst the crowd of onlookers my husband Paul stood up. With the elation of my own mother receiving Jesus only weeks before her death, I felt like my heart would burst with the added joy of seeing my husband commit his heart and life to his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

In all honesty, I don’t recall the same passionate prayers for my husbands’ salvation that I had had for my mother. With her impending death it was her eternal life that consumed my daily prayers, not my husbands’. It was a true 'joy of the Lord' experience for me that day walking into the funeral home, grinning from ear to ear. Black couldn’t have been a more inappropriate color to wear for us. Not only was my mother in Heaven but I knew that the Lord had blessed me with a godly husband who would now share with me my hearts desire to live our lives for Jesus.

God gave me more than I knew to even ask for.

"And I have also given you what you have not asked." 1kings 3:13


Where in your lives has the Lord blessed you with what you have not asked for? Where has He given you even more than you dared to imagine?

Praise Him for these things today!

Chocolate Cheesecake lovers, here is one for ya!

I thought I would share the no-bake Chocolate Cheesecake recipe that my daughter Meghan used for my Mother's Day dessert on Sunday. The picture on the left is not of the one she made. The cheesecake she made went MIA a long time ago. But it did look alot like the one to the left there, minus the strawberries. I make a homemade Chocolate Cheesecake every Christmas and it is so much work. Oh, it is delicious, but what a job! This cheesecake is much easier and just as tasty!

Meghan's Famous-Bless your Mama-No-Bake Chocolate Cheesecake Recipe

* 1 1/2 Cups semisweet chocolate chips

* 1/2 Cup granulated sugar

* 11 ounces cream cheese

*1/4 Cup butter or margarine softened

* 2 Cups frozen whipped topping, thawed

* 1 Graham cracker OR Oreo pie crust

*More whipped topping for topping the pie

* Shaved milk chocolate optional

Preparation: Melt chocolate chips over low heat in saucepan or microwave, stirring frequently until smooth and melted. Set aside to cool. In large mixer bowl beat cream cheese, sugar and butter until smooth. On low speed blend in the melted chocolate.

Fold in whipped topping until blended. Spoon cheese chocolate filling mixture into prepared graham cracker crust. Cover and chill until firm. Garnish with whipped topping and shaved chocolate if desired.

**Hide in your refrigerator behind the milk and eggs.

Bon Apetit!

Any other chickens out there?

A chicken running around with it's head cut off...pretty graphic, awfully dramatic, but the analogy fits. I am a fat and fluffy, feathered chicken this time of year.

With the year wrapping up, we have award ceremonies, open houses, and graduations galore. I thought I would show you some of my past week in pictures.

Gracie was in a hoedown. My girlfriend Kim lent us the cowgirl outfit. Gracie looked so adorable. (Samuel had his own hoedown too, I just forgot my camera for that show.)

Open house for Samuel. He is standing by his lion project. Dad helped him with this one. Dad is not the greatest creative genius in our home, and mom was sleeping off a graveyard shift. Samuel was very proud of his lion made with a box and empty toilet paper rolls.

Our church's Spring progressive dinner was at our home. We hosted the main course leg of the evening. There were about twenty of us altogether. It was lots of fun.




This is at David's spelling bee. I arrived and found my seat, as my darling son was misspelling the word "tinsel". I was so proud.

Mom and Dad at Grace's open house. Third graders are just so darn cute, aren't they?

Meghan's choir award ceremony was LONG. Bless her heart, she got an award for great solo singing performance. That girl is talented I tell ya!




Gardening anyone? In between all of the above and much that I haven't included,(like selling our truck and searching the western hemisphere for a minivan), I just had to start my veggie garden.

I mean, what would I have done with a few extra hours of time to myself?

Our First Time

Prayer has been on my mind lately...alot.

Maybe because my husband and I have been praying together more than we ever have before. The hardships of life have brought us to our knees. Financial difficulties, working in the world and raising children, have a way of bringing that posture upon Christians. Prayer has been what we have slowly begun to work at together. Paul and I didn't pray together for years. As a matter of fact, when Paul and I started going to church my darling husband wouldn't even sing the worship songs. He would just stand and sit at all the right times, but to me he looked like a statue. I thought I was bringing a real big dud to church with me.

But God leaves no life unchanged. Ten years later, my beloved statue is now a godly husband and father...who enjoys singing all of the worship songs at church. God gave us new beginnings and lots of new firsts.

You never forget your "first times."

The first time I remember praying with my husband was after my mother died. Moments after getting the life changing call from my sister, we were in the car driving to meet with the family, to see mom one last time before she would be taken out of her house. For the first time my mom wouldn't be alive when I drove up to my childhood home and when I walked in the front door, screen slamming behind me, for the first time she wouldn't greet me. It was on that drive to see her that Paul prayed with me, for the very first time. I will never forget that.

I didn't grow up around parents who prayed together. Although, I am sure they had their moments when they prayed separately, but I would have probably fallen off of my chair if I'd seen my mother and father, heads bowed, holding hands or even kneeling and praying together.

My children will not be able to say the same about their father and I.

We pray together as a family each morning when we have our family devotions. Our children have seen their parents pray both together and separately. Just this week, Paul and I were in his office praying before he went out for a potential job interview. Our son David happened to walk in as we were standing together, holding hands and praying before Paul left. My prayer closet has been barged into on quite a few occasions. My children find me most often at the side of my bed, facing out of our picture window. I love that spot because when I look out I can see trees and birds and the awesome majesty of the sky and mountains when I kneel in prayer.

Prayer is so very powerful. But like any part of our maturing Christian walk, it is a process. First times are often uncomfortable and don't feel quite normal. But once you repeat the process over and over and over again, the uncomfortable suddenly becomes comfortable. Those first time baby steps of prayer are the beginning of a strong and independant walk with the Lord that will take you as far as you want to go.

"When you draw near to God, He will draw near to you." James 4:8

I have lived long enough to see God's miraculous hand move after the heartfelt prayers of this mother's hurting heart. Prayer has been the salve that helped heal the burns of the fiery trials of my life. Prayer has been the peace giver that calmed my nerves after many a difficult day and prayer has been the life preserver that I have thrown in the direction of many a drowning friend who needed supernatural rescue. When I take time now to pray with my husband, it is with a hopeful expectation that God in all of His infinite wisdom and amazing glory, is setting aside time just for us. It is comfortable now when Paul and I pray together.

But I will always remember our first time.

My Mother's Day

I had the best Mother's Day today. I am in a euphoric state of joy...remember when you fell in love for the first time when you thought that there was no possible way that anyone else could possibly be as in love as the two of you? I feel the same way about my family. I think I have the sweetest, kindest children and husband in the world.

I probably should have warned you of the sugar-sappy content of this post.

Please don't remind me of the words I posted a few weeks ago (irritated mom-post click here) when I was highly frustrated with these near perfect cherubs.

For now, let me bask in the glory of my mommyhood.

Samuel made me the most beautiful necklace. Made with foam and beads, I know that I was the envy of all of the mommies today at church.





Grace painted me a gorgeous clay pot and planted the most beautiful white petunia inside of it. I am sure that no other child has ever painted a clay pot with the vibrant colors or the artistic talent that my precious Grace painted for me.


My teenage son David gave me a card with money inside to put towards my next trip to my favorite nursury. Did I mention that he gave me $10, the total amount he was paid yesterday for his babysitting job. He gave it all to me. I was so touched. Later today he helped me work in my garden.

My daughter Meghan made her mom a gourmet Italian dinner. Oh and did I mention the homemade chocolate cheesecake? That girl is one talented future mommy herself. Don't tell her I said that.

Yep, I scored big time.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day!

The secret language of seven year old boys...

Words have power. It doesn't take long for a woman to realize that. Words like fat, ugly or even nag, can change our moods rather quickly. But what words can a woman hear to make her move immediately into a Homeland Security red alert mode and take action? Are there words that can make us gals do things that we would never in a million years think of doing? Even being called fat won't make me get up and put on my exercise bra and walk on a treadmill.

To be quite honest, I can't think of any word that would motivate me to take action. Maybe because I am forty years old, there are no words that have the power to make me do things I don't want to do. Words like this don't exist for a forty year old mother of four, but...



these words do exist for seven year olds.



My son Samuel experienced the power of these words this week.

While on recess his first grade buddy Jordan said the words that moved my angelic son into action. "Samuel, I dare you..." You would have thought my son was a robot, he immediately engaged and headed out to accomplish what Jordan had dared him to do. "Samuel, I dare you to push Grace's face into the water fountain when she goes to take a drink." Like a mindless zombie, Samuel followed through with his order, mission accomplished.

When Samuel came home and walked through the front door, I knew immediately that he had gotten into trouble at school. His father and I happened to be sitting and talking when he walked in, poor kid never had a chance...

Samuel: His lip quivering before he even reached us...

Me: "You turned a card today in class didn't you?" (Us moms' always know, don't we?)

Samuel: Backpack and jacket still on, note from teacher in hand, he slowly nodded, "Yes."

Dad: "Why did you pull a card Samuel? What did you do?"

Samuel: Lip still quivering, trying hard not to cry, he immediately went guns blazing, into his defense. He spoke as fast as that little boy from the Christmas Story movie did, when he asks Santa for his Red Ryder BB gun. "Dad, Jordan dared me to push Grace's face into the water fountain while she was taking a drink. I didn't want to Dad, I really didn't, but he dared me Dad..."

Dad: Interrupting Samuel mid sentence, Paul asked him, "Samuel, what have I told you that a dare means?"

Samuel: Sighing, our youngest child looked down and recited back to his father the definition that he knew by heart, "You told me that a dare means, "Am I dumb enough to do it?" His head quickly jerked back up to begin his defense again, "But Dad, Jordan didn't just dare me, he fireball dared me, and you can't go back on a fireball dare!"

Dad: "Oh, I see son...it was a fireball dare..." He feigned understanding, then shot back, "Samuel, whether it's a dare, a double dog dare or a fireball dare, you don't do it." He went on, "Dares' have no power son, they are just words."

I almost interrupted, "Try telling that to the little girl with the wet face!"

I thought I'd better just keep my mouth shut this time and let Paul handle this one. My husband set down some harsh consequences for our seven year old. Our sweet little robot-zombie boy is without video games for ten days. On top of that, he had to write the little girl a letter of apology and give it to her when he went to school the next day. You would have thought his father had asked him to eat dirt, Samuel did not want to do this at all.


I guess we should have fireball dared him.

"To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing." Martin Luther King, Jr.

Galatians 6:2 says, "Bear (endure,carry) one another's burdens, and in this way fulfill and observe perfectly the law of Christ."

...rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer..Romans 12:12 nkjv

Recently I have been blessed to be a small part of a wonderful online opportunity. Two blogging friends of mine have started prayer blogs. For those of you who have prayer chains at your church, this is pretty much the same thing, minus the phone call. To be put on their online prayer lists, all you have to do is go to their sites and leave your prayer request. There are women at both sites who have made a committment to pray for you throughout the week and whatever it is specifically, or non-specifially that you need prayer for.

The first site, Bearing One Another's Burdens, was started by my friend Gina from Chats with an Old Lady. She recently felt a gentle nudging from the Lord to begin this site wholly dedicated to prayer. If you have been a regular reader reader of her blog, you know that she loves the Lord with all her heart and desires to be used in ways that will bless others and bring Him glory. I think her new site does both of those things.



The second site I encourage you to use for your prayer needs is Beloved Mama, or you can leave your requests at belovedmamaprays@yahoo.com. Or, you can leave your prayer requests below. Christelle is a young mommy to three precious boys and her heart is to share Christ's love with others. Her blog does all of that and more.

I pray that you use these sites and pass them on to your friends and family. God is doing amazing things, in our homes, in our churches and even through our blog sites.

Feeling a little sentimental today...

This is a picture of my son David. It was taken on his seventh birthday, when he was just about half the age that he is now. While sitting in church together on Sunday he put his hand in mine. It was then that we both realized, his hands are now bigger than mine. This precious little boy who I cuddled and kissed, who would do anything in the world for his mommy, is now almost standing eye to eye with all five foot six of her.



His father took him down to sign up for Freshman football this evening. We are both very hesitant about him playing to begin with, but it is what he wants to play and we told him that if he did well in school and got a 3.0 GPA we would consider letting him play. His father, my husband is the Freshman football coach for the high school he will be attending next year which makes David want to play even more. What is going on here? My son is going to play high school football? When did my baby start growing up?



You know how us mom's, every once in awhile stop and realize that our children are no longer small little itty bitties anymore?



Today is that day for me.

Jesus is my password!

Jake the Rancher

My husband attended a men's conference today. Whenever either one of us goes to one, we always come home with notes in hand and share them with each other. As usual, Paul came home with lots to talk about. I love hearing all that spoke to him during the teachings. One of their guest speakers today was Christian speaker and author Gayle Erwin. Paul thought one of the poems he shared with the men was worth sharing with me.

I think it's worth sharing with you too.



JAKE THE RANCHER, author unknown


Jake, the rancher, went one day to fix a distant fence.
The wind was cold and gusty and the clouds rolled gray and dense.
As he pounded the last staples in and gathered tools to go,
The temperature had fallen and the snow began to blow.

When he finally reached his pickup, he felt a heavy heart,
From the sound of that ignition, he knew it wouldn't start.
So Jake did what most of us do, if we'd have been there
He humbly bowed his balding head and sent aloft a prayer.

As he turned the key for the last time, he knew he'd lost his luck,
They found him three days later, frozen stiff in that old truck.
Now Jake had been around in life and done his share of roamin'
But when he saw Heaven, he was shocked -- it look just like Wyomin'.

Oh, there were some differences of course, but just some minor things,
One place had simply disappeared -- the town they called Rock Springs.
The BLM had been shut down, and there was no grazin' fees,
And the wind in Rawlins and Cheyenne was now a gentle breeze.

The Park and Forest Service folks -- they didn't fare so well,
They'd all been sent to fight some fire in a wilderness called Hell.
Though Heaven was a real nice place, Jake had a wondering mind,
So he saddled up and rode away, not know'n what he'd find.

Then one day up in Cody, on a cold fall afternoon,
He saw St. Peter coming, and he knew he'd be there soon.
Of all the saints in Heaven, his favorite was St. Peter,
Now, this line, it ain't needed but it helps with rhyme and meter.

So they set and talked a minute or two, or maybe it was three,
Nobody was keepin' score -- in Heaven time is free.
"I've always heard," Jake said to Pete, "that God will answer prayers,
But one time I asked for help, well he just plain wasn't there.

Does God answer prayers of some, and ignores the prayers of others?
That don't seem exactly square -- I know all men are brothers.
Or does he randomly reply, without good rhyme or reason?
Maybe, it's the time of day, the weather or the season.

Now I ain't trying to act smart, it's just the way I feel,
And I was wonderin', could you tell -- what is Heaven’s deal?
Peter listened very patiently and when Jake was done,
There were smiles of recognition, and he said, "So, you're the one!

That day your truck, it wouldn't start, and you sent your prayer a-flying,
You gave us all a real bad time, with hundreds of us a trying.
A thousand angels rushed to check the status of your file,
But you know, Jake, we hadn't heard from you in quite a while

And though all prayers are answered, and God ain't got no quota,
He didn't recognize your voice, and started a truck in North Dakota.

God + Humiliation = Humility

This has been a tough week. I am so tired, I feel like I have been hit by a truck. I wish I could say I am fatigued because of all of the hard work I have done around the house, or in my yard, but my weariness and exhaustion come from a much different experience.

I was humbled this week.

"All day long my dishonor is before me and my humiliation has overwhelmed me. Psalm 44:15 nasb This verse may seem a bit dramatic, but it is truly how I felt this week.

I used to dispatch for a police agency in the California, Bay Area, and have quite a bit of experience in handling emergencies and priority radio traffic. To be honest, coming to work for this much smaller police agency, in a much smaller and very crime free city, left me feeling like I was almost over qualified. (my pride talking)

Boy was I wrong.

Pride is such an ugly human condition. I wish I was immune to its seductive siren song. God made sure to break me of this flesh condition this week at work. No matter how hard I tried listening to my radio traffic, I wasn’t able to make out what the officers were saying. This is just unacceptable in the world of dispatching. The other dispatchers in the room were not very impressed. Needless to say, any prior experience respect I may have had, was wiped away with a twelve hour shift of my voice asking the officers to repeat themselves, over and over again.

Some people think that the emergencies we get from a 911 call, or from an emergency worked on the radio with police officers is the most stressful part of the job. I am here to tell you that that is not the case at all. The most stressful part of being a police/911 dispatcher is working a call well in the presence of all of your peers. The officers and the dispatchers in the room, hear and watch every single thing that you do. There are no mistakes missed, especially while you are training.

As a mother I can hear my children whisper my name while in a dead sleep in the middle of the night. I can translate most two year old language like the most qualified of linguists, and almost always, I am able to decipher the radio traffic of a police officer requesting his Code 7 (lunch), already with a mouth full of food. But on this particular day, by the middle of my shift, I was close to tears. I couldn’t make out the most uncomplicated radio traffic requests. It was then that it hit me, I was no doubt being humbled. I began praying silently to myself.

When I looked up the word “humble” in my Bible concordance today, I found it to be no coincidence that the word “humble” was right above the word “humiliation”. In my little world, God knows that the process of killing my pride is almost always humiliation which in our Christian walk, should bring godly humility.

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain (selfish) conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.” Phil. 2:3

Humility is to make a right estimate of one's self. ~Charles Haddon Spurgeon

God changed my heart this week. In order to be made more like Jesus, humility is something that I need much work on. I know now that no matter how many armed robberies, homicides, or traffic pursuits I have worked, I am no better than any of these women that I work with now. That was made quite clear with my job performance this week. I can thankfully share that my last evening at work was much better. I had very little trouble at all understanding the radio traffic. I know it was due to my prayers and the prayers of my husband and friends who were praying for me.

I learned this week that with God, humiliation brings about humility. For that I am grateful and hopeful that this is one lesson, at least at work, I have hopefully learned.

Blessed Blog Design Contest Winner!

What a fun time I had visiting your blogs and perusing your beautiful sites. I wish that there could be sixty five winners. Unfortunately, I am only able to give away one blog design.



So, by random drawing, the winner of the Blessed Blog Design Contest is.......

Tricia at It's All About Him.

Make sure you go on over to her place to congratulate her!



Congratulations Tricia, I just can't wait to see what Elisa from Designs by Elisa does with your blog!