Well, just finished a busy week at VBS which turned out AWESOME! We had the usual craziness but that's to be expected and actually, kind of enjoyed. Did I say 'enjoyed'?! YES! It has to be a little crazy with so many kids running around. (big and little!) We showed God's love and got alot of it in return! Planted lots of seeds for God! Learned right along with them. I think that's why I like VBS so much - we get reminded of what an UNBELIEVABLE GOD we serve. HE LOVES US UNCONDITIONALLY!! AMEN!! HE has given us so many things that are here for us to enjoy! Like KIDS, for instance!

I got to thinking about that...what else I enjoyed at VBS...

At VBS, it is always fun to see how things all go together. How many people doing small tasks change the church into whatever it needs to be. We had some cool trees, used grass skirting all over the place, I mean, grass skirting on something is just plain fun!! We had ants made out of styrofoam balls painted black with florescent antenna. We had two plants with florescent stems, flowers, and leaves!! We had a monkey hangin' from a vine!! And two kinda lame waterfalls!!

Then we had neat people to lead the classes and each group. The teachers that spent their time after finishing one day getting ready for the next. There's so much, I know I can't tell about it all and will pro'bly forget something really awesome. It is also neat to watch the kids cause so many of them are sharing God's love with others and are so happy to be there and then to tell others what they are learning.

I was also thinking about some random things that I'm thankful for and think are awesome about VBS.....
youth helpers!!
adult helpers that have helped for years - also, the new ones!!
Mildred Gray's sugar cookies - with or without icing!!
our church janitors - that come to the church to sweep and clean extra!!
anything florescent - paper, pipe cleaners, pom poms!!
little kids and glue- well, maybe not!!
kids remembering their bible verses - from all week!!
Joyce, in the office, doing whatever needed - pro'bly on short notice!!
making toucans and capuchin monkeys!!
all the people helping to make the end of the week party extra fun!!
seeing willing youth helping knowing they were the kids a few short years ago!!
remembering past VBS weeks - all the people, themes, and fun!!

It's over til next year but not forgotten. Also reminds me that life can be like VBS if we let it. I need to just remember that when I get too busy or let adult things in life get to me. God wants us to have the faith of a child so remember your favorite VBS and smile!

Surprise!!!

Our family had an unexpected addition to it last week. Our rabbit, Ella, had babies! You might ask how we did not know she was expecting; well, that is a story too long for this post, but regardless, we found out she was pregnant on Monday, and she had the babies that night.

Let's just say the kids were thrilled, I was shocked, and my husband was dismayed. We already have a dog, a cat, a rabbit, and a goldfish. I love animals, but we have more than enough time and energy spent in pet care. So to find out that more were on the way put a little wrench in my week. A very busy week. A week of VBS and working on Upward. Not taking care of baby bunnies.

I thought, "God, please let the litter be small. Like, just a few. Not 6 or 8. " Then I started worrying about finding them homes. "God, could you just put it in the hearts of a few special people to adopt the bunnies. I want them to find good homes and not have to sell them to the pet store." And on and on it went.

I know God had a lesson in all of this for me. I am still not sure what it is. Maybe patience? Maybe taking an unexpected "surprise" and turning it into a learning experience for my kids? Maybe blessing someone with the love of a good pet.

Whatever the case, in whatever the "surprise" situation we may be in, God can make good come from it. We just have to be open to his teaching, and then his blessing.

By the way, Ella had five babies (three healthy, two did not make it). She is a great mom and is taking care of her babies. They are a week old and just starting to open their eyes. So adorable!

Proud Mom




Babies at one week

Through Her Pain She Taught

Last September we lost my mother-in-law to cancer. It was very aggressive and we only knew she had cancer for almost 6 months prior to her death. Her death has impacted us all! There isn't a day that my sweet 5 year old doesn't talk about her. Zoe was only 4 at the time and full of questions. Due to Kim's treatments her hair had fallen out. Zoe and Kim had a long talk about cancer patients losing their hair. Zoe was stunned to find out that children loose their hair too. You could see it in her face. Grandma Kim explained to her that some people grow their hair and when it gets long enough they cut it and donate it to people who make wigs. Now if you know Zoe you know her hair is everything to her!!! She is always twirling it, combing her fingers though it, or picking out some hair piece to put in it. Zoe just couldn't imagine not having hair to do all of those thing.

From time to time Zoe would mention how sad it is that little girls with cancer don't have hair. One day last spring during one of these conversations I brought up the idea of her donating her hair. Zoe was interested so we did some research on the internet and calling our hair stylist, Kathy. Kathy explained how many inches that would be needed for a wig. Zoe ran and got a ruler. When she returned I measured and showed her how much hair would be cut off. "NO!" Zoe shouted. "I can't cut my hair that short." We decided that Zoe wouldn't get another hair cut until it was time to start school. Maybe just maybe by then she would be comfortable with the length. Every once in a while Zoe would bring the ruler to me and ask for her hair to be measured. You could see the amount need to be cut made her nervous. I would hand back the ruler without a word and she would slowly walk away. Soon enough Zoe didn't look so nervous and she would walk away with her head high. I knew my baby girl was growing up before my very eyes.

Soon Zoe said, "Mom will you call Kathy I'm ready to get my hair cut." Well of course my heart broke and filled with joy at the same time. This was a moment I was waiting for. I was so proud but sad. I'm sure a lot of you can relate. I called and wouldn't you know it.... someone had canceled! I told Zoe, "Kathy will cut your hair today." Zoe just beamed, "TODAY!"

We arrived and had the normal small talk with Kathy until it was Zoe's turn to jump in the chair. Kathy spins Zoe around and says. "what are we doing today." I mentioned about doing the donation. Kathy decide to measure one more time to make sure Zoe was ready. We gave her all sorts of chances to change her mind. Not that we wanted her to but I think both Kathy and I wanted her to make sure this was her decision. Zoe was pumped up and ready for those scissors to come out! She didn't hesitate one bit, "YES!" Kathy started cutting and Zoe started smiling. At one point Zoe was tell us what she was going to tell her friends about her hair and how it was going to be a wig for another girl.

Kathy would carefully lay out the hair to be bundled as she told Zoe how happy the little girl would be when she received the wig. Zoe never looked back! She was so excited to run her fingers though it and Kathy told her it might grown even faster because of most of Zoe's hair was adult hair now. On our way home Zoe talked about this little girl who would receive a beautiful wig and how excited she will be to have hair again. Cue the tears! My heart warmed just thinking of a how happy they both are/will be. Zoe got quite and says, "Mommy do you think Grandma Kim is excited too." "Of course she is Zoe and so am I."

Ladies I can not express how proud I am today! Some days as a parent you don't think your doing it "right" and then they surprise you. I don't think Zoe really understands how much her donation will impact the child that receives her hair. We will be praying for the child and all the other children waiting to receive their own wig.

Dear Lord! Thank You for this beautiful day that I will treasure forever. Thank you for blessing me with a daughter with such a big heart. Please watch over the children and adults that are going though cancer treatments. Please bless them with happy days no matter what plan You have for them!

And Thank You so much for my Mother-in-law Kim.

Through her pain she taught!

Amen!

I want to SCREAM!

What keeps us from shouting about God?
What does a life led by the Spirit look like?
What should the church look like?

Welcome to my big thoughts of the summer (and they are still continuing). Through camp, a music festival, jr high girls, discipling a young woman, a new dating relationship, and daily life these questions have been heavy on my heart and mind. I am learning so much. I am being challenged in my walk and my life!

This title is the best way I could verbalize what I'm feeling on the inside. With all that I am learning and seeing, I just want to scream. How can I be so blinded by the world? How can I not see the need in the community I live, work, and worship in? How can I continue every day not wanting to pour out the love of Jesus on every single person that I come in contact with? How can I begin to live more intentionally, with integrity?

I believe, with all that I am, that we go through seasons. I am definitely in a season of fire. I am fired up for God. I am fired to no longer be content. I am fired up to reach people for Jesus. I am fired up to continue in this season and meet Jesus, face-to-face, in my everyday!

It's not about me...

Last night something awesome happened. I heard my daughter pray for the first time. Her prayer was short and filled with lots of toddler babble, but make no mistake, she was talking to Jesus. I heard... "Jesus, thank you, day"... (lots of babble) and then "Amen". Tears instantly filled my eyes... Nothing will bring me more joy than knowing Grace has a personal relationship with God. I'm so thankful to be a part of her story and to be able to witness her first interactions with our Creator.

What an awesome and a bit daunting responsibility- to be an example of Jesus to my daughter. To be in charge of her care and upbringing and ensure that she sees/hears/feels the love, grace, and mercy of God on a regular basis. As I was thinking about that last night I also realized that it fits with two other jobs I'm doing this week.

We are in full swing, actually nearing the end of VBS at our church. Eighty plus children have entered our doors eager to have fun and also soak up info about the love of God. After helping register the kids, Kristi and I head upstairs to work on the upcoming Upward Basketball and Cheerleading season where, Lord willing, about 150 children will be coming to have fun, play ball, and hear about what walking with Jesus means for them and for their lives.

Three things I'm doing....three fun things that involve little ones... all with big responsibilities. It's a bit frightening if you ask me... why? Because in order to do these jobs to the very best of my ability and do what I know God is calling me to do I have to realize one thing... It's not about me.

Ha! We all probably know that but seriously... aren't there times when we do want it to be about us? When we don't want to think of others or what's best? There are times when my little one wants a book read to hear, or when she needs something from me and all I want to do is veg out and sneak cookies. :) Or when a ministry opportunityBut again, it's not about me. It's about the fact that I already have a solid relationship with God and I have chosen a path that I believe pleases Him (when I follow it!)

ok, I'm challenging you today. Here it is... find one thing (at least, I have found a handful!) of things going on in your life where you are working on making a difference but sometimes your sweet little self wants to intercede and then say It's NOT about me. It's about changing lives. It's about that amazing feeling of knowing that we are His and that we have security about our future. It's about putting others first no matter how awkward, uncomfortable, hard, or unpleasant it may be. If God is calling you to do something, get over yourself and get on with his business.

Love you ladies!

A Giving Heart

As a parent, it's hard to know exactly how to teach my children how to develop certain characteristics my husband and I would like to see in them...... honesty, courage, compassion, dedication, (to name just a few.) When I came across an article in the Focus on the Family publication "Clubhouse Jr." for kids, I had a feeling that this mission project was something I needed to do to help my kids develop a giving heart.

Over the span of a month, my children collected shoes for an organization named "Shoes 2 Share", which sends new and used shoes to Haiti and other countries. They helped me write a letter to our church, make a box to collect the shoes in, empty the box every week, match the shoes and rubber-band them, count them, and then put them in the box to ship. We prayed almost every night that someone special would receive a pair of shoes just for them. It was so exciting to see the kids run to the shoe box each week and look in to see how many shoes we had collected. With help of our church, friends, and the local library, they collected over 300 pairs of shoes to send to this ministry!

My hope is that God instills in their hearts a giving spirit, compassion for the poor, and a sense that they can do something to help, even as a child. I pray that they feel that God used them to do something for his kingdom, and that He can use each and every one of us, no matter our age, race, or economic status. How can God use you today? How have you taught your children to have giving hearts? I would love to hear your ideas!

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue, but with actions and in truth. ( 1 John 3:17-18)

Sing for Joy

I am having one of those days were I am constantly on the go, children are crying or giving attitudes, and I am so busy but nothing is getting done! I decided to take some me time while the little ones nap and check the GLOW blog to only realize it was my day to blog! I feel a little like a dog chasing it own tail. Do you know the feeling ladies?


I don't enjoy my day just being a blur so I pulled out my Bible. I opened to Psalm and found a verse that relaxed me . Psalm 90:14 says... Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.


This speaks volumes to me! I have my quite time in the morning before the kids get up. This morning they woke up early with much excitement about vacation bible school and we have been running ever since. I feel guilty for not even thinking about my time with God! I am so thankful God doesn't treat us like we treat Him! So now that I have gotten my God time I feel satisfied with His unfailing love, ready to sing for joy and be glad in my day!

"May the Lord direct your hearts into God's love and Christ's perserance." 2 Thessalonians 3:5