A Simple Lunch

This past week, I was given a life-changing opportunity to serve at a beautiful Kid's Camp in the Lake of the Ozarks (approximately 440 children were in attendance).

My job for the week was overseeing the garbage cans in an attempt to save all utensils, cups, and trays. I was also responsible for launching the bags of slop (for lack of a better word) over a balcony in hopes that they would land safe and sound in a dumpster located several feet below.

(I did miss once, and it wasn't pretty.)

I watched how a variety of people responded so differently to simply serving God's precious.

Needless to say, I have been contemplating "serving" ever since. God's command is for me to serve ALL those I come in contact with, including the 3 precious gifts that live in my own home (my dog and cat are NOT included in this number). I sometimes lose sight of this command and am often guilty of indifference and halfheartedness.

As I contemplated this realization, a woman...a mother...was brought to my mind. A mother who simply served her beloved son by packing him a simple lunch of 5 loaves and 2 fish which Jesus blessed and used to feed thousands.

(She isn't actually mentioned in the Bible, but in my mind's eye, there had to be an organized, loving mother involved.)

In her mind, she was simply serving her child without thought of recognition or praise. Jesus used that mother's servant hood to perform a great miracle.

We may never be recognized or even acknowledged for serving on this Earth, but we will never know how God uses our simply acts of servant hood and sacrifice to touch the lives of thousands.

Dear Heavenly Father,

I ask that you will teach me what it means to be a true servant. Help me to never lose sight of the importance of serving my family, friends, and strangers. Help me prepare A and O for all that you have planned for them.

Lies

I am going to be transparent...really transparent...for a moment or 2.

Consider yourself warned!

I have been in a FUNK. Maybe, I should call it a mild depression or minor life crisis.

(Don't worry. I have spoken with my physician.)

Sharing my struggles with other women has allowed me to realize that Satan uses the same lies to distract the majority (if not all) of us women.

Here are a few lies that have been haunting me for far too long:

-I am unlovable.

-I am bound to fail.

-I am an awful mother.

-I don't have any friends.

-I talk too much.

-I don't say enough.

-I am not good at anything.

-My appearance needs work.

Crazy? Of course.

Yesterday, I overheard one of my favorite women say,

"If only I were good, really good, at one thing!"

I could have instantly created a lengthy list detailing the traits/talents that I admire about her.

With all of that said, I am not posting this to receive encouragement or affirmation of any kind.

I just want you to know that you are not alone.

God has a different, perfect plan for each one of us.

He loves us...imperfections, shortcomings, and all.

Please don't believe the lies!

Refresh

I apologize to all of you who visit to see a thrifty find or craft project. I have been heart-broken and sick for the past week, and my craft closet has remained untouched. Hopefully, I will have a fun "crafty" post on Friday. I have something up my sleeve. However, I also have a MESSY house, floors that are covered in dog hair, kiddos who need books read, and a hubby who needs a well deserved break!

I have always valued the importance of transparency, but the tragedy that occurred within the family of my dear friends has given me the desire to become even more transparent.

Our pastor (aka PS) has been sharing a series called, "REFRESH!"

I have spent the past few days in bed reflecting on the desperate need for a refreshing in my life and relationships.

TRANSPARENT: Our marriage needs a refreshing!

Maintaining a healthy marriage is such a hard task with the demands of jobs, parenting, finances, and sometimes even church responsibilities. PS said something to the effect...the marriage of your dreams takes commitment, hard work, and sacrifices. (Yuck!)

I have vowed to stop focusing on my sweet Scotty's short-comings (I know...it is difficult for some of you to believe that he has any!) and REMEMBER the countless reasons why I love him.

Scott's plate has been overflowing the past week. To top everything off, I have been sick. He has sacrificed so much of himself without complaining to pick up my slack.

This afternoon, O entered my classroom proudly displaying the note that she found in her lunch box. She said, "Fanks for the note momma!"

I just smiled because that special note was written by her dad!

What a guy!

REFRESHING!

This note was found in A's lunch box!

Isn't he a cutie!
I hope that my transparency encourages you to find "FRESH" love and appreciation for the ones that you treasure!

At the Feet of Baby Jesus

Yesterday, I stepped out my front door to get the mail, and I quickly spotted this dollar bill resting in my flower bed.

Woo Hoo!

You see....we live at the bottom of a quiet cul-de-sac. We haven't seen a visitor in weeks.

Then, I realized exactly where it was placed on the wet ground.

At the feet of Baby Jesus!

So many lessons and symbolization

I painted this small nativity a year after Scott and I were married. I often think about painting them white, but I just haven't been able to. When I look at this nativity, I am reminded of the young, lonely, homesick, over-whelmed young wife who was just trying to make the best out of VERY LITTLE!

What are you laying at the feet of Jesus this year?

30 Day Giving Challenge

My friend, Julie, is participating in the

30 Day Giving Challenge.

I LOVE this idea!

I am always searching for fun ways to teach my children the importance of giving to and serving others.

We are 8 days behind, but I think that we are going to jump in and take the challenge.

We will try to creatively give of our time, talents, money, creativity, and resources each day for the remainder of November.

We will document our acts of giving and the blessings that follow.

Do you have any great ideas for us? I would love to hear them!

Coming up with creative ideas will be the hardest part!

The Exact Amount

I have shared this story with only a few people, but I really believe that God wants me to share it with all of you who stumble across this blog....or those of you who for some strange reason, read it on a regular basis.

Scott and I ALWAYS believed that our children would attend public school. We have no major issues with public schools; we both attended public schools; I taught for several years in a public school; a large number of my best friends are public school teachers.

However, as the time approached for A to enter Kindergarten, I could not find peace about it. I prayed and prayed, and yet I never felt like the local public school was what God wanted for our incredibly shy A. However, Scott wouldn't hear to any other ideas. He really struggled with paying for our child to attend a private school.

I decided to apply for a position at the preschool where O would attend. I was offered the position and without even knowing the pay, I accepted. I then managed to convince Scott to at least explore CA. We set up a time to observe, and Scott fell in love with the principal, the beliefs, the curriculum, and before I knew it he couldn't even think of another option. It helped that I would have added income. Signing the papers brought such a sense of peace to this momma.

The private school costs of $370 a month, and it is worth EVERY penny! Our shy A is thriving, loved, and comfortable!

I just want to show you the pay check that I received yesterday. Trust me....I work REALLY hard for this small amount of money!

I also get a 50% discount off of O's tuition which is $65 per month.

$318.61+$65.00=$383.61...just enough to cover A's tuition!

I am always amazed at God's faithfulness!

Be An Encourager

It may come as a shock to most of you, but I have struggled with extreme anxiety for many years. I have recently decided to stand against Satan's lies, and to live the life that God has planned for me. I have come to realize that I will never be great at everything, and that I am bound to fail at many things. However, I have also decided to give 100% and live life to the fullest.

I have the great privilege of working closely with a woman that I have admired from a far for over a year. She is a great teacher, friend, mother, and encourager. Today, she mentioned being overwhelmed and anxious about her to-do list and her short comings. She shared that she really doesn't think that she has any true "gifts". I was astounded because I didn't even have to think about it to come up with a lengthy list of her "gifts". Of course...I didn't share that list with her! In that moment, I realized that Satan lies to the majority of women in exactly the same way. He isn't even that creative, but he has been really effective. We always compare ourselves, and we struggle to understand that God created each one of us with different talents and gifts for different purposes.

Women....we need to be encouragers instead of competitors!

Our words are POWERFUL!

I am so very thankful for all of the great women that God has strategically placed in my path.

Women who encouraged:

- the teenager who was struggling to find her place and live up to the expectations of others

-the new wife who was clueless about managing a home

-the woman who found herself in a strange city with no friends or family (with the exception of Scott)

-the new mother who was exhausted and overwhelmed

-the survivor of a house fire

-the woman who once again found herself at a crossroads in this adventure called LIFE

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

What woman will you encourage today?

Honoring Karen

One of my dear friend's sister, Karen, has been struggling with cancer for the past 3+ years. There have been ups, downs, rejoicing, tears, remission, new growth, and continuous faith. She has been such an inspiration to me through her ability and desire to worship her Heavenly Father through it all. I don't know her well, but I know that she is a true gift, and her strength will be forever etched in my mind.

As the prognosis is grim, I find myself thinking of and praying for this precious sister and her family continuously. I have asked myself...how would I respond to such heart-breaking circumstances? How would I live my life if I was told that my days on this earth were short? I have decided that the only way to truly honor her is to live each and every day as if it might be my last by glorifying God in all that I do.

Still believing for that which only God can do and honoring Karen through my words and actions!

Life-Changing Night

If you know my family well, you probably have heard about the frightful night in April 2007.....the night I carried my 2 babies out of our burning home in their footed pj's. Anyhoo....I ran across these photos yesterday, and I decided to share them. Very few people have actually seen them because they have always brought back awful memories. However, I can stand before you and say that God protects, restores, heals, and provides. This is the front of our house the week after the fire.
Garage
Our dining room.

Above the back door

Kitchen

Thank you God for teaching us in this way!

This life-changing night was a true gift from God.

We now have a new view of "stuff".

Thank you to all of our friends who prayed for us, cried with us, and just listened.
Would you like to see the "after" pictures?

Balloon Race

This weekend we went to a hot air balloon race downtown. It was absolutely beautiful, and the weather was perfect. My mini-photographer, A, snapped this photo of me and my honey. It is so much fun watching him take photos. He pays such close attention to detail! Yesterday, my pastor made an analogy between hot air balloons and our lives when completely surrendered to Christ.

When hot air balloons take off, they have no idea where they are going to land. It is entirely dependent upon the air current.

When we completely surrender our lives to Christ, we have no control or idea of where we are going to land. We are completely dependent on God's plan and love for us. It is just so amazing to me that God has a perfect plan for my life. I need to continually surrender!

Dear Heavenly Father,

Help me to surrender my thoughts, actions, aspirations, and desires so that I might land in the perfect place!

Distractions

Well, today I entered a new stage in my life. I am officially a working mom. I have been blessed to stay at home full time with my treasures for 6+ years. My miniature photographer took this photo of me before leaving the house this morning.

Isn't it just awful?

Did I forget to put mascara on my right eye?

Well, I never claimed to be a make-up artist.

Let me explain.....

Saturday, we visited a state park, and we had the opportunity to climb on enormous rocks. I would like to tell you that I fell off of one, and pulled a muscle in my back.

Instead, I have to explain to you that while walking down a perfectly straight trail, I tripped and pulled that muscle. I managed to make it through Sunday, but I spent Monday on the couch.

Did I mention that I had to start my first job in 6 years today?

I woke up this morning, and I was still in excruciating pain. I had no idea how I was going to be able to spend over 4 hours sitting in an uncomfortable chair.

As I was driving, the local Christian radio DJ read a verse out of the Bible. He talked about how when we are doing exactly what God wants us to do obstacles come. The details are really sketchy in my mind.

I said this prayer; "God I believe that I am exactly where you want me to be. You are going to have to show up and help me through this day."

When I stopped to put gas in my car, I realized that I was pain-free. God healed me! I was able to sit through that meeting today pain-free.

I believe that Satan tries to distract us when we are on the course that God has for us.

Is Satan trying to distract you today?

I am rejoicing in the fact that God is bigger than all of that liar's distractions!