Getting the Gift You Really Want

Today's WFMW is a themed one - money-saving tips.

Now, some might argue that receiving gifts, especially from your spouse, is not saving money at all. Rather, it is costing you money. Technically, that's true.

Here's the thing, though. We all like to get gifts, right? Christmas, birthday, Mother's Day... As a general rule, we don't refuse gifts for these special occasions. Therefore, money will be spent on a gift for you (hopefully!). But there is something you can do to prevent the wasteful spending of unnecessary money...

We've all received those gifts that are not exactly what we hoped for. Sure, sometimes we keep them and keep our mouths shut, but more often we are honest with our sweethearts. So we exchange.

Now just follow that trail of money - hubby's fuel to the mall, many hours spent searching for the perfect gift (and time is money), cost of the gift, cost of having someone else wrap the gift, fuel to drive home, fuel to go back out and get a card, hours spent searching for the card, fuel home, your own fuel back to the store to exchange the gift and back home again. So much waste!

One small thing can save you millions thousands hundreds of dollars over the course of your lifetime...

Ask him for what you want! Be specific and tell him exactly the gift you would enjoy. Oh stop, I can practically hear you saying, "if he loves me he'll pay attention to my hints and KNOW what I really want." LOL! No he won't! It is a proven fact - well, if not proven then certainly widely assumed - that men are incapable of reading subtle signs and hints. Seriously, just tell him what you want. And to increase the chances of him hearing and understanding, go ahead and tell him again.

Now watch the money trail - fuel to buy gift, brief minutes spent requesting exact gift he knows you want, cost of someone else wrapping the gift (even if you know what it is, it's still fun to tear off the wrapping paper), fuel to get home.

On one gift you have saved $10 in fuel, several hours of time, and an entire day's worth of frustration for each of you. :)

For more WFMW tips check out We are THAT Family.

Don't forget to enter yourself for the Mother's Day Giveaway. (And by the way, honey, I would just love a 90-minute, full-body, hot-stone massage for Mother's Day. *grin)

Mother's Day Giveaway

I recently had the great blessing of winning a book that I really, really wanted to read. You see, the book was written by someone I "know" (by knowing I mean: I read her blog every day and comment lots in the hopes that she'll like me *smile) and based on my "knowing" her I was certain her book would be chalk full of wisdom and handy tips for mothering.

Mary Ostyn of Owlhaven has recently released her new book, "A Sane Woman's Guide to Raising a Large Family." And fyi - you sure don't need to have a large family to benefit by reading her book. It is g-o-o-d!

Here's the review I submitted to amazon.com:

Mary has written the guide of a lifetime! If you (like me) are struggling in any area of family life - from chores to discipline, from organizing to laundry - "A Sane Woman's Guide..." will have something for you.

Mary's no-nonsense, concise approach to offering up all the tips and tidbits from her years of experience managing a family of 12 is a quick and easy read. But do NOT mistake it to be your typical quick and easy read; this book is chalk full of information!

I set this book down encouraged that it really is possible to raise my family of seven (five little monkeys) AND keep my house organized and tidy AND not break the bank doing it all. If you are considering purchasing this book, let me tell you this - it will be worth every penny!

If you would like your very own, brand new (read: you're not getting my copy, I'm keeping it!), hot off the presses copy of Mary's book, leave me a comment! Not just any comment, though - tell me what you really hope to get for Mother's Day.

On a side note, I would be remiss if I didn't mention my best advice for getting the gift you want from your spouse for any occasion. So don't forget to stop by tomorrow; my WFMW post is all about getting the gift you really want.

You don't need to be a blogger to enter, just make sure you leave me an email address so I can let you know if you've won.

Here, I'll go first. What I really want for Mother's Day is the gift of total relaxation - 90 minute full body hot stone massage. Mmmmmmm...

* The fine print... No purchase necessary. You must leave a comment in order to be entered. If you would like to post about this giveaway, linking BOTH to this post right here AND to Mary's book (or her blog), your name will be entered FIVE times (plus another entry for your comment). Entries will close at noon (MST) on Friday, May 8th. Winner will be announced on Saturday, May 9th at 9am (MST). International entries will be accepted.

Public Service Announcement

Beeep. Beeep. We interrupt your regular programming for a very important public service announcement.

In order to avoid severe damage caused by tumultuous tears raining down, hot windy gusts of bitter words, hailing anger and destructive hurt - listen carefully to the full announcement.

You must not - not ever - never - just don't do it - ask a slightly chubby woman when her baby is due.

If you do not heed this warning you will see a front of low self-image moving in. As that low pressure zone moves, it will encouter a wall of high PMS; at which time you best begin locking down the storm shutters to keep the devestation of the hurricane winds at bay.

This public service announcement was sponsored by your friendly neighbourhood mother-of-five-too-busy-to-eat-well-too-tired-to-exercise women's ministry.

Again, please heed this warning in order to maintain gentle breezy relationships and placid temperatures.

We will now return to your regular programming. Beeep.

Little Fishies

Spring swimming lessons...

My boy, who claims to be afraid of heights, plunged to the water from this very high ledge. Yahoo, Braeden! (The 1.8 metres is how deep the water is at that spot, but the surface of the water was about 2.5m from that ledge.)

Pre-school swimming lessons are all about making the water feel fun and safe. Shea got to be in the middle of the "rosy" this time.

Meg's learning to swim here - flutter kicks on the front.

Abbey's group, too, decided to take the plunge. She didn't even blink.

You'll notice the absence of the littlest swimmer, Kai. Around these parts you need to be 3 years old to take swimming lessons, unless your parents choose to do parent/tot lessons. I choose NOT! He gets to swim for fun with the family for now, and as soon as that third birthday comes along he can join in the fun.

The girls all "passed" to the next level! And Braeden worked so hard, cooperated so well, but that treading water for one minute straight just kept dragging him down - literally. Next time, dude.

Time for an Overhaul

Do you ever stand in the middle of your house and think, "this old place has stayed the same for too long now," and your mind starts whirring with all sorts of ideas? Paint, flooring, rearranging furniture, adding accent pieces, and so on. I think it's in our nature - too much sameness just doesn't sit right.

The same can be said of our spiritual lives. God doesn't want us to camp out in a place of total comfort and lack of change - at least not for too long. He calls us to change and grow, to allow our discomfort to reshape us. (If anyone reading has a good Scripture reference I can add here, your help would be appreciated.)

I talked about complacency not long ago, and I sensed it was just the beginning of something God wanted to do in my heart. There are so many things in my life that I have allowed to just stay the same (even though I have known they are not meant to be the way they are).

Today marks the first day of my overhaul. You see, lack of self-discipline is contagious in my life - once I let it slip in one area it's just a matter of time before it begins to slide in other areas. Therefore, I am implementing a little self-discipline boot camp in my life.
* No more hitting the snooze button. Get up when the alarm goes off to get my quiet time. (After all, it's not really quiet time with the Lord when there are five children clamouring for breakfast.)
* No more overeating or filling my body with junk. Food was designed to be enjoyed, certainly, but also to provide strength and energy so that the body can run like a well-oiled machine. Filling a machine with grease and salt and loads of sugar just clogs everything up - the body becomes more of a garbage truck than anything.
* Time to start exercising with intentionality. No, I won't be running a marathon any time soon. But I will be taking time to move my body and get my heart rate going at least a few times each week.
* I will also be re-focusing on my Siesta Scripture Memory verses. I've gotten sidetracked, and my last 3 verses are jiggling around like jello in my brain. I need them to be cemented in there.
* Re-evaluating the budget and sticking to it. Feeling less financial strain does not mean I should not still be carefully guarding the money God has provided us.
* Being intentional about giving of myself in my marriage (I am going to use The Love Dare to help me with this).
* Remaining diligent in dealing with discipline issues for our children.
* Sticking to the schedule I've given myself for housekeeping, ministry tasks, and so on (a schedule I created based on all this feedback).
* Assigning the children household tasks so that they can be trained in the fine art of keeping up a house, and eventually become active participants with a sense of mastery over their tasks.
* I'm sure I'll think of a few other things I have been completely lacking self-control in...

I know if I read such a list from someone else, in the past I might be inclined to suggest that she try "just one or two" things at a time. But I have observed something interesting in people lately - they are either self-disciplined or not. I have seen few people who are well-disciplined in some areas and out-of-control in others. I believe that - through God's strength and empowering - I can switch camps. But I believe it needs to be a total transformation of virtually all aspects of my life.

My goal: to be reverent in the way I live, to not gossip, to not drink excessively, to teach what is good; to be a model to younger women by loving my husband and my children, being self-controlled and pure, being busy at home, being kind, and being submissive to my husband. (from Titus 2:3-5)

Nothing Like an Ice-Cold Lemonade

While we were away recently, I received an email from Sarah. She said, Hi~ Love your blog, and just wanted to let you know that I nominated you for the Lemonade Award on my blogs . I appreciate your content of being a Christian and striving to be a woman of God. Thanks so much! Sarah In case you didn't notice, Sarah said "blogs" because she's got a few - 8 Muddy Boots, Beautiful 2 God, and Lake Women's Ministry.

In the world of blogging, it can be difficult to keep ourselves from turning it into a popularity contest, based on how many comments we receive, how many followers we have, how many hits we get each day. I know I'm not the only blogger who has looked at sites like Pioneer Woman's and wondered how in the world she accomplished it - and if it's possible for anyone else (ahem, self) to attain such internet fame.

It's so important to remember why. Why did I start blogging? To grow in my faith, to share my faith, to be real with other women, to keep a record for my children, to express myself... Interesting that achieving fame, hits, comments, and so on are not on my list.

Thank-you, Sarah, for reading the things I ramble on about here, and seeing who I am, "a Christian striving to be a woman of God." No amount of comments could replace the feeling of knowing that someone out there gets me.

I'd like to pass the blessing on to some other bloggers who are on this walk with me - in real life.
Christine at Passionate Homemaking...Becoming P31,
Karalee at The Andrus Family,
Shauna at Shutterbugg Mom - That's Me,
Nadine at Daughter of the King,
and my only male reader (with the exception of Pat) Jordan Polson.
I almost missed someone (perhaps because she hasn't posted in FIVE WEEKS), but here's hoping this will get her inspired words flowing again - Stacy at my simple walk.

There are some "rules" for the receipt and acceptance of this award, but you may notice I really didn't follow the rules. So make your own rules if you like, just make sure you share the linky love with the one who bestowed (isn't that a great word?!) the award (ahem, me) and those you are awarding. That is, if you feel like accepting the award. I promise not to get all bent out of shape if you don't.

1) Put the Lemonade Award logo on your blog or post
2) Nominate at least 10 blogs that show great attitude or gratitude
3) Link to your nominees within your post
4) Let the nominees know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog
5) Share the love and link to the person from who you received your award

Time Management Works for Me (Usually)

*This is a re-post from February of this year.

Have you ever wondered, "how will I ever get it all done?"

We have so much to do in each day, so many activities and obligations packed into our weeks. It's a symptom of our ADD, over-stimulated, immediate gratification society. Some would argue that we need to remove ourselves from society's mindset, but I'm not sure that would solve the problem. In fact, if we aren't keeping up (in our work, ministry, family life) with the rest of society, we're likely to encounter other problems.

So how can we live IN this world (and function at the level required to do so), without becoming OF this world?

I believe the first distinction is how we establish our priorities. I have found, by trial and error, that setting my heart on God and His ways first thing each morning has the power to alter my entire day. If I start out taking time with Him, the many other things that require my time that day tend to get done. If I start out my day on my own strength, though, I spend the next fifteen hours feeling as though I am one step behind.

Romans 12:2 says, Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will. Taking time each morning to renew my mind helps establish His priorities for my day, rather than my own.

This week I am taking an experiment in life. Each morning, after my coffee time with Jesus, I am going to make a list of all the things I think I need to accomplish for the day. Then I'm going to ask the Lord to show me what to keep, what to move to another day, what to toss altogether, and what to add. Once I have turned over my list into His (much more) capable hands, I am going to ask Him, "Lord, what do you want me to do now?" At the conclusion of each activity, I'll ask that question again. I can't wait to see how He uses my time!

Click to see my time experiment in action.

Visit We Are THAT Family for more WFMW tips.

Another Birthday (edited to add photo)

Dear Megan,

Six years ago today you entered the world with a wail. It was music to this mother's ears.

In typical third child fashion, you learned how to wait your turn - you were the best baby ever. I brought your bouncy chair everywhere, and people would just marvel at this little baby sitting so quietly and watching the world around her. I sometimes wonder if you spent so much time in silent observation so that you could figure out the best way to get what you wanted in life.

Now, my funny girl, there's not a trace of that quiet infant. You take the world by storm...kickin' butt and taking names. And though our strong personalities often clash, I know that your strength of will is a blessing. I don't believe we will ever have to worry about your peer group talking you into doing something you don't want to do. In fact, you'll probably be the one doing all the talking!

Meg, your smiling eyes and contagious giggle captivate the room. You are one of the most fun people I get to spend time with. And girl, you sure can dance! When you are rockin' out to the Cheetah Girls or Hannah Montana everyone in the house wants to join in, because we want to have as much fun as you're having.

I love you, Megan Christine - middle daughter, middle child, centre of my heart. Happy birthday.

Hmmmmm

Remember this list? The comments left on there were (sadly) accurate. We got more snow. For several days. It has been cold!

Luckily, because I've lived in Alberta for almost 20 years now, I was aware of our utterly ridiculous fun spring weather patterns. I did NOT pack away the winter gear yet. General rule of thumb: never pack up winter gear until May long weekend has passed.

I may be used to it, but that does not mean I like it. It will help if you feel sorry for me.

What am I doing this weekend?

Why, thanks for asking!

I was going to sit at home and pout over the fact that my sweet husband is away (for longer than expected), and give away our tickets to this:



Instead, I decided to be brave and attend it with my mom (her date for this event was also unexpectedly called away for the weekend). If tonight was any indication, this was a very good decision.

If you still want to join in on The God Chronicles, Mr. Linky is waiting. :)

The God Chronicles - 04/24/09

It makes a girl feel good about herself when others encourage her. You can encourage me in this journey (life, blogging, etc.) by participating in The God Chronicles.

Click here to get the backround story of TGC.

Click here to get the details on how to join in.



For a number of years, we struggled financially. Many of our struggles could be attributed to living beyond our means. I was beginning to feel hopeless and helpless, that creditors would never stop calling.

I had prayed about our finances before, but it was always more of a "rescue me" prayer filled with hope that God would provide through a surprise source of funding. And many, many times He did. But this time, my prayer was one of repentance. I was desperate for God to change our financial situation in a permanent way, and I knew that would require sacrifice.

God provided me with a friend who had experienced "being broke" in a way I could never understand. She was (and is) incredibly wise in money management and budgeting. She took many hours of her time to build me a budget that worked - within our means - and had me paying off the debt we had accrued over the years. Though I felt we couldn't "afford" it, I had her build in a section for tithing in that budget.

Some of the rules of this new budget included making a meal plan, NEVER eating out, praying over every purchase, shopping several stores, paying bills first and groceries last, using cash only for things like entertainment and beauty. It wasn't easy, but it was what I knew God had called me to do, and I was finally ready to obey. Thanks to frugal living and following the rules, we dug ourselves out of the hole. And because of God's miraculous provision for months on end, even though our budget showed a red $800 at the bottom of the "estimated" column, with all bills paid the "actual" column each month showed a beautiful black $0!

We decided this financial obedience thing had something behind it. So when God called us to pay for a friend to have a sitter once a week for a few hours, we created a new budget line for that expense. The red number grew bigger, yet the black number held steady at $0.

Next step - move from "giving" to the church when there was extra to "tithing" to the church and considering the rest our extra. The red number grew. I kept on with the crazy grocery shopping in four stores and saving money for three months to get my hair coloured. The black number remained.

Then, the most unusual thing happened... A man who we barely knew took my husband to a quiet corner of the church one Sunday and handed him a card. It was a fuel card. No - NOT a gift card for fuel, but a credit card for fuel. He and his wife had been praying about who to bless, and God brought us (near strangers) to their minds. The credit card, he said, was ours to use for the next year. Wow, God, you are wild! Given the vehicle we have, changing our fuel costs to zero brought that red number waaaaaay down. I am not even surprised that the bottom of the page still reads $0 at the end of the month. So humbled, thankful, and blessed, but not surprised.

God's love is so extravagant. He provided a blessing to help us out of a nasty situation that we deserved to be in. The definition of grace.

Let me just say, when we feel that gentle nudging to provide for someone else's needs, whether it be money, a meal, coats, childcare, prayer...we have learned to stop and listen. Not every thing we do is rewarded in turn. Not every dollar we put out is replaced. In fact, sometimes we sacrifice what we want and what we think we need in order to obey. But never, ever have we suffered, because it's impossible to suffer when you have the joy and peace of being in the centre of God's will.

God has trusted us with His money, and nothing gives Him greater pleasure than watching us give it away. Just try it, and bask in the warmth of His delighted smile.

The God Chronicles Participants

1. Bobbie

2. Judith

Powered by... Mister Linky's Magical Widgets.

Already Four (edited to add cake)

I may have mentioned that I've been a wee bit brain dead since returning home. I failed to commemorate a very special event... Please pretend this post was written on April 13.

Dear Shea,

Today, you are officially no longer a "toddler." You are a walking, talking four-year-old. A big girl.

For the entire year that you were three, I can remember you telling me at least once per month, "I miss being two. I want to be a little kid again." I worried that you would always want to be the baby girl.

But from the moment you blew out the #4 candle on your Barbie cake, you have embraced your four-ness! Nothing is more fun than listening to you tell us (and everyone who will listen) all the things you can do, "now that I'm a big girl."

Since you were little, I've sang "You are my Sunshine" to you at bedtime. You really are my sunshine! Your smile, your giggle, your wide blue eyes - they brighten every day.

Thanks for being my girl, and for letting me be your mom. I love you! Happy birthday, Shea-babe.

Sadly, I don't have a photo of Shea blowing out the candles on the aforementioned Barbie cake. In my brain dead-ness I forgot my camera for her party, and I must wait for Grandma to send the shots she snapped over my way.

Fantastic, amazing, exciting Barbie cake created by my BFF, Christine. How sad is it that this is the last 4-year-old Barbie cake she will need to make for our families (her daughter and all 3 of mine were recipients of variations of this special Barbie cake on their 4th birthdays)?

Spring has Sprung

Glorious signs that spring is upon us:

- the children are only in the house to eat and sleep

- the baby is filthy dirty from head to toe, and he brings rain boots filled with sandbox sand into the living room six times per day

- the dog's feet are muddy

- the batteries from the assorted Power Wheel devices (yay for garage sales) are being charged nightly

- the question, "where is my bike helmet" is a refrain sung out a dozen times each day

- the furnace is off and the windows are open (except first thing in the morning, because brrrrrrr)

- I am experiencing an odd desire to begin exercising

- no matter that the weather is still nearing zero degrees in the morning, the little girls are insistent about wearing their sundresses

- it's too bright at bedtime to fall asleep (thank goodness for black-out shades)

- the snow is GONE!!!

The Setting of the Sun

Don't let the sun go down on your anger.
~Ephesians 4:26b (HCSB)

My perspective on these words was changed last night.

I had always assumed that the Lord was instructing us to "make up" before the day ended. So anytime I needed more time to process and cool off, anytime the other person was unwilling to talk, anytime the problem was not fixed before bedtime brought guilt and shame. I felt like a failure as a Christian.

But what if that is NOT what this verse means? God knows that it is unlikely for selfish and flawed humans to resolve their issues in a day. Especially where great hurt has been inflicted. What if He is really just telling us that, before this day ends, we need to bring our anger (and hurt, resentment, frustration, etc.) to Him?

If we go to Him and pour out our hearts, "Lord, I'm so angry! I need you to take my pain and my rage - bear it for me - because if I hang onto it I will surely collapse," isn't He faithful to take our deepest emotions and heal our brokenness?

Don't go to bed angry. Turn it over to God and let Him work.

*credit goes to Beth Moore and "It's Tough Being a Woman" for my new revelation

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On another note, it seems that the time has just FLOWN by since we got home. I've lost all track of my days. I missed the 20th for The God Chronicles! Ack! But I can't just skip this month (especially since Bobbie told me she's got something for it, Christine is finally blogging, and my ever-faithful TGC participant Hope is probably wondering what's up), so we will just postpone it by a few days.

For this month, please join me in chronicling God's work in your life on Friday, April 24th.

This Week

As I prepare for a busy week with Pat away, my prayer is this:

His peace in my home (Matthew 10:13);

His joy in my heart (Psalm 4:7 & Acts 14:17);

His love for my family (1Corinthians 13:4-7).

Your prayers are a blessing that will buoy us up.

Little Rays of Sunshine

Stealing the idea from my friend, Bobbie at 40 Shades of Pink... Today I am thankful for:

- spring weather

- Grandparent's day at playschool (and Great-Grandma is here for it!)

- freshly cut and dyed hair with no more roots

- a tidy house

- emails from friends

- Dr. Pepper slurpees (I'm right on top of the healthy eating today)

- Fruit Loops ohmygoodness, I just now noticed that they are actually called Fr00t L00ps (seriously observant, people, that's me)

- healthy children at school

- home renovation projects that go on forever, because I am so glad I have a home I love

- the smell of fresh paint

- babies taking afternoon naps

- the last day of swimming lessons

- and yes, Advil

Nip Bickering in the Bud

We have implemented a new technique for dealing with sibling rivalry, and so far have experienced great success with it!

We hear the bickering, give it a minute to see if the kids can work it out, and if not we call the culprits to us. Then we instruct them to say things they love about the other person (anywhere from one thing to five, depending on how out-of-hand and unkind they were being). We have them take turns, and they cannot repeat what their sibling just said about them. Then they each need to say "I love you" in the most dramatic way possible (we've done opera style, robot style, with a giant fake smile, etc.).

Nine times out of ten, both parties are in fits of giggles by the end of this exercise. Away they go, topic of contention completely forgotten about.

For other WFMW tips, go visit We Are THAT Family.

Top Ten Moments

From our trip...

#10 - The night we realized that it was much better for our sanity to splurge and get two adjoining hotel rooms.

#9 - Arriving at our condo in Anaheim.

#8 - Cooking (and eating) spaghetti at the condo.

#7 - Choosing valet parking at Universal Studios and receiving a free car wash and vacuum while we were in the park.

#8 - Discovering the unusual abundance of snails in the grass behind our condo, and watching Kai pick one up and toss it like a ball. (Don't worry, the snail survived.)

#7 - The Shamu show.

#6 - The "It's a Small World Ride," which was both fantastic and annoying.

#5 - Discovering the Coral Pink Sand Dunes National Park.

#4 - Mickey Mouse ears.

#3 - Getting zillions of autographs from all our favourite characters.

#2 - The Disney Dance Party (it's the new parade).

#1 - Playing in the fantastically warm outdoor pool of our hotel in San Diego.

Coming out of the Desert

If you read here regularly, you've probably noticed a couple things:
1 - my writing is often a direct reflection of where I'm at with my personal spiritual walk;
2 - my writing has been fairly infrequent and non-spiritual lately.
Since this blog is not about pretending to be who I'm not, where I'm not, or what I'm not I'm just going to come right out and name the obvious... I have found myself in a spiritual "dry spell" during the past month or so.

If you've never had a time like this, you will be utterly baffled by that statement. Here's my best shot at describing it for you. It is not that I have changed, so much as what I feel is different. Where I can often feel the presence of the Holy Spirit around me and with me - even in my day-to-day life, I have not felt Him lately. When I can usually recognize God's hand of providence actively working in my life with ease, these days I am needed to make a conscious effort to look for and acknowledge His work. Of late, my sense of the Lord has been more head knowing than heart knowing. Does that make any sense?!

This isn't new to me; I have been here before. The difference is that the last time I found myself feeling far from God I was desperate. I fell hard and fast, and desperately clawed my way out of that pit of the empty soul until I found Him again. This time, I arrived here simply though a slow process of drifting and shifting. It was so gradual that I didn't even realize I had moved.

A combination of factors likely jumbled up together to cause this gap. Busy in life, busy in ministry, lack of sleep, changes in routine, being away, etc. The contributing factors aren't really all that important, though. What is important is my relationship with my Lord and how to get it back to where it should be.

I've taken some steps that I know will help. I've returned (as of this morning) to my 5:30am scheduled appointment with God and His Word. I'm returning to our women's Bible study group, doing Esther: It's Tough Being a Woman by Beth Moore (and Bethie always gets me deep into His Truth). I'm creating another prayer calendar so that my prayer life becomes intentional again (it's really handy for those times when you just don't know what to pray about).

But the most important thing I am doing to quench my thirst in this dry spell is what Beth Moore tells us she did when she recently experienced this kind of distance from the Lord: renounce the lie. There is really only one way to remove yourself from the presence of the Lord, and that is to choose sin over relationship with Him. If that is not the case (which I don't believe it is with me right now), the distance that is felt is not real - it doesn't exists. He is not far from me, nor I from Him. The distance, the desert, it is a lie.

So in spite of the enemy's greatest efforts to make me feel apart from my Abba, I will live in the Truth. I am going to think, speak, and act as though I can feel His presence in my daily life. Because the Truth is that HE IS RIGHT HERE! Acting in His Truth, renouncing the lie, and believing God, regardless of what I "feel." And trusting that, in His perfect timing, I will "feel" Him again (soon).

*God is who He says He is.
God can do what He says He can do.
I am who God says I am.
I can do all things through Christ.
God's Word is alive and active in me.
I'm believing God!

If you've ever experienced one of these "dry spells," what action did you take to pull yourself out of it and return to God's side?

* Taken from Beth Moore's Believing God (and professed from my very heart).

The Suffering and Glory of the Servant

Isaiah 53

1 Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

3 He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.

5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.

6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.

8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
And who can speak of his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was stricken.

9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.

11 After the suffering of his soul,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.

12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.

Photo Montage, as requested :)

God's Grand Canyon - wow!

Pink Sand Dunes

Shamu

"Bye-Bye" Dolphins

We warned him about the power behind those waves...

Heart Princess face paint - $12

Mardi Gras face paint - $15

Hugging Tinkerbell - priceless

Mickey Mouse Ears (times 5) - as they say,

for everything else there's Mastercard Visa!

Good to be Home

No matter how grand the adventure, how exotic the vacation, how wild the ride - nothing feels better than coming home.

Walking through the doors to the familiar settles peace into the soul.

Hello, home. We're back. Prepare for the invasion!

Easy to Forget

It's easy to forget to pay attention to the little details of life, especially when things are going smoothly.

The marriage has been happy and comfortable with no major conflict. Wife feels well loved, husband feels respected. There's nothing to "work" on, so they take a break from working on things and sit back to enjoy the season of contentment.

Children have been well-behaved, obedient, respectful, and loving toward one another. It's easy to let one little incident of disrespect slide...after all, s/he has been so good lately that it seems over the top to discipline that one little slip up.

Finances, spiritual life, friendships - same story. Being good stewards of the gifts God has given us can take a lot of work (it can be downright exhausting), so after periods of hard work all we really want to do is take a rest. During seasons of relative harmony, we let don our guard and become less vigilant about maintaining the standard. It only takes a short period of time before struggles arise. It can feel so sudden - out of nowhere, even.

Imagine that you own a precious, priceless, astounding piece of jewelry. Or an invaluable historical document (think "National Treasure"). You have hired someone to guard what is precious to you, so that it does not get lost, stolen, or damaged. The unthinkable happens. Your treasure is gone!

Understandably upset, you ask your security guard how this possibly could have happened? The guard tells you that things had been going so well...there were no robbery attempts, nothing was amiss, things seemed so peaceful...so your guard simply took the day off. After all, the guard had worked so hard for so long to protect your treasure - a break was certainly deserved.

The logic doesn't stand so well anymore, does it?

God has given each one of us things to guard on His behalf - our marriages, our families, our finances, our spiritual lives. He has charged us with the job of protecting these gifts as the treasures they are. They belong to Him, and we do not have the luxury of "taking a break."

This trip has reminded me of that truth. Our family was in a glorious season that many referred to as "blessed." Peace, contentment, and stability reigned. And after what felt like years of hard work at managing finances/marriage/children, I kicked back on my heels to take a little rest. I let the little things slip - a bit of overspending here, allowing myself to react in an overly-emotional way to something my husband said (that I know was not intended to insult), ignoring a few words of sibling bickering - because they'd been so good, and if I'm honest because I didn't want to put out the energy required to deal with it.

The struggles on our way down here, as unwelcome as they were, have been a blessing. God's wake up call to me. He has called me to do a job for Him, and there are no days off. I am the only one He has "hired" for these specific jobs - there is no relief staff. If I walk away and take a day off, enjoy a little nap, or let just a couple things slide through, the treasure could be lost (or stolen).

Some things can be too easy to forget; thankfully I have a loving Father who helps me to remember.

Wordless Wednesday - Disney Edition

Amen!

All I can say is, "thank-you." Your prayers, advice, encouragement, and unorthodox ideas really helped.

This morning, we left the house with one child strapped to the roof of the Suburban, fed the others Uncrustables, and very strictly enforced the 'you fight, you miss the next ride' rule. We also each said one thing we loved about someone else just to set the right tone this morning (based on how difficult this was for a couple of the children, we clearly need to practice loving our siblings much more).

As you will see in the final picture of tomorrow's post, words cannot describe how much better today was.

We actually had F-U-N!!!

I'm trying to think of a fun (but not upsetting or traumatic) April fool's joke for tomorrow... But really I'm far too exhausted to think much further than the fantastic king-sized bed waiting for me. Well, the jetted tub also has some appeal. Love this condo we're in - love it!

G'night all.

Not for the Faint of Heart

Can I be completely honest with you here? So far this trip has not been quite what I anticipated. Based on our experience last summer, I expected it to be a little less...um, unpleasant.

Don't get me wrong - we all know how blessed we are to be able to be making this trip. And I certainly had no illusions that it would be easy. I just didn't expect it to be so darn hard.

It seems the children - correction - one child in particular, just cannot get along. Driving in a vehicle for 8 hours a day, the whole while mediating the bickering and answering countless "moooooooom" requests is getting old. And the endless asking for things - hundreds of times over, even though they've been told that "we'll go swimming AFTER supper" each time - is also becoming a bit annoying.

I don't want this entire vacation to feel like it's a big giant disciplinary endeavour. I want it to be F-U-N! I need help! Please, any suggestions you may have to limit the unpleasantness and increase the fun factor would be so greatly appreciated!

FYI, here are a couple things we have been doing, that are having (limited) success:
- each child has a roll of quarters ($10) that they can use to buy a souvenir; if they misbehave they have to pay a quarter to mom and dad; we're also trying to catch them doing good, so that we can occasionally pay them a quarter (which keeps anyone who may or may not have lost nearly all the quarters holding onto hope, and thus, trying to behave well);
- we have just started telling them that if they repeatedly ask for something that we have already answered, they will lose the chance to participate in that activity (to use the above example of swimming, if said child already knows we will go swimming after supper and asks again "when are we going swimming?" (with that lovely whine inflection with the question mark) that child will not get to join in on the swimming --- don't think we're cruel, because it's new we are still giving a warning.

My point is, yelling into the backseat, "stop fighting already!" is proving to be less than effective. Ditto a number of other not-so-stellar parenting techniques I've engaged this week. So please - send help asap!

On another note, for some fun, refreshing, and re-focusing (especially for the slightly beaten-down parents) we're on our way to visit Saddleback Church this morning before we hit Disneyland. I can't decided which event I'm more excited about... :)

It's Summer Here

We're overnighting in Arizona, just 5 miles from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. We stopped for a peek before cozying up in our hotel - all I can say is wow. God is super amazing creative. It's beautiful and terrifying.

Here's a little road trip recap (since I am too exhausted to write anything of substance).

Day 1 - Home to White Sulphur Springs, Montana. Driving time (according to Map Quest) - 8 h 39 min. Actual time - roughly 10 hours. We spent the night in a cabin/motel room with 3 double beds and a teeny-tiny washroom. It was a looooong day and a short night.

Day 2 - MT to Sterling, Utah. Driving time - 9 h 23 min (don't even ask what we were thinking with plotting out that one). Actual time - 12 hours or so. We stayed in a B & B on a hill. It was an astounding, massive, very old mansion (well, technically two mansions side-by-side) with original (or made to look like original) carpeting, lighting, pictures, etc. We had a family room where the kids had a bedroom with two queens and we got our own bedroom with a king. Ahhhhhh. After we left I realized I should have taken some pictures of the "classicness" of it. Pat told me his first impression was "old haunted mansion." I am soooo glad he did not share that with me when we arrived after dark...and were the only guests.

Day 3 - UT to Tusayan, Arizona. Driving time - 6 h 38 min. Actual time - 8 hours. Initially, in keeping with my tight budget, we were booked in a room with two queens. Learning from the experience of the last two nights, I made the executive decision to get two adjoining rooms. Best $100 I ever spent. We are in our own room, watching TV, sipping a little bottle of wine (they sell wine in itty-bitty bottles like miniature beer bottles down here), and playing on the computer. All while 5 little monkeys sleep soundly in the next room. Lovely.

Tomorrow - AZ to San Diego, California. We plan to spend 2 nights, and take the whole day Friday to visit Shamu and her friends at Sea World. I'm sure the kids will be relived to finally be doing something other than driving.

That's all I've got for you tonight. Thank-you and The End. :)

Hit the Road Jack

Not much time to write on here this morning. We are packed, loaded, and will soon be ready to go.


I am pleased to share that our vehicle looks much like this again, sans the carrier on top. (Sorry for posting an old pic from last summer's road trip, but it happens to be very chilly and snowy outside right now and I'd rather not go out there for just a picture. The fact that it snowed more than six inches in the past two days really makes it all the more special to be heading to California, dontchathink?) I don't know how he did it, but that husband of mine has a special gift - he fit a large cooler, two food bins, 4 large duffel bags (think junior sized hockey bags) with clothes, and two smaller duffels all in the back of the Suburban. Granted, the review mirror is now simply a windshield decoration.

We're going to Disneyland!!!! Yahoo!!!! I think I may be more excited about this than the kids...

The God Chronicles - 03/20/09

The God Chronicles is a place where I journal out the ways I have seen God working in my life. Because I believe in the importance of documenting this stuff for our children and their children, it is an open blog carnival - anyone can join in. For details on the inspiration behind TGC, read this.

Write a post for TGC on your blog (or if you don't blog feel free to leave a really long comment), go ahead and use the graphic if you want to, be sure to link to THIS POST in your blog post (to send people back here for linking up and reading other TGC stories), then put your name and the URL for your blog post (please use the perma-link for your specific post, rather than linking to your whole blog - this makes it easier for others to find what you've written), and don't forget to leave a comment here and everywhere you visit. For all the specifics and rules and such, read this.

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One of my favourite things is to see my children growing in their faith. I love seeing them raise their hands in worship, or talk about God like an old friend, or act in a way that shows me they have taken God's Word to heart. It gives me a warm fuzzy (or teary chokey) feeling to hear one of them say, "Jesus is my best friend! He loves me!"

Recently, Abbey (7) has been struggling with fear at night. She's afraid of a fire, and that they would not get out. She's afraid of spiders or other insects crawling on her as she sleeps. She's afraid of the shadows and the dark. The crazy thing is, I can see the fear in her - it's tangible, real, and powerful. It has been bringing her to tears and trembling at bedtime for nearly two weeks.

Pep talks are not helping. Ignoring it is impossible. Praying with her seems to offer only temporary relief (usually she's out of bed, nearly hysterical, within an hour). But we decided that we could not afford to let this fear gain victory in our home! So Pat and I came up with a strategy.

At bedtime, we pray with authority in Abbey's room and over her heart and mind. We renounce the enemy and seek His hand of protection. And then, we coach Abbey in speaking God's Word for herself. It's a repeat-after-me sort of thing from Joshua 1:9, "I AM strong and courageous! For the Lord MY God is with me wherever I go!" On the third night, Abs proclaimed it for herself, with no help from us.

Each night that we have gone through this process, she is smiling by the end of it - and you can tell she is feeling safe and strong. No night waking, no talking of fearful dreams in the morning. Absolute freedom from the fears that were practically debilitating her. Freedom because of God's Mighty Word.

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Braeden (11) received a much-anticipated gift for his birthday. Bakugan. The creme de la creme of boy's toys. These babies are special...

When he went to school the day after his birthday, Braeden asked Shea (3) to babysit his Bakugan. When he got home from school, they were missing. Despite my assurances that we would surely find them somewhere in the house, Braeden was pretty broken-up - after all, they had not been uncovered after nearly an hour of searching.

At bedtime that night, Grandma prayed with him, and they asked God to help find the missing toys. Three minutes later, as she was tucking Shea into bed, it occurred to her to reach behind the bed. Low and behold - the precious Bakugan were tucked snugly where they had last been seen as Shea laid down for her afternoon nap!

Grandma was excited to share her discovery with Braeden, and had already forgotten that they had prayed about the toys. But Braeden - he remembered. He was shouting and clapping his praises to the God Who Answers Prayer, "Yay, God! Yahoo! You rock, God! Awesome. Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you, Jesus!"

The God Chronicles Participants

1. Hope@Pinkadoodledoo

Powered by... Mister Linky's Magical Widgets.

Where is the Truth?

In our world, there are so many versions of the truth. We hear that "what is true for one person may not be true for another." We are always looking for the truth, seeking what is real, but the world tosses so many easy substitutes our way.

Because of the way God created us, one thing we instinctively seek out is Him - the sovereign God who holds our lives in His hands. The world, though, says that such a God is too hard to find, so it offers us substitute gods (I call them easy, feel-good gods). I'm sure you've heard of them - the god within you (or, you are god), the god in everything around us...

These pretend gods are so appealing to us, because in our hearts (in mine, at least) we are lazy. And these gods are palatable. These gods don't require us to give over our lives in love; these gods don't require us to change our behaviours and attitudes; these gods don't require us to draw a line in the sand ethically. Unfortunately, these gods are impotent. The "god self" has no power to rescue us, to change us, to transform us.

There is one true God, one Sovereign Ruler, one Creator, on Saviour. Truth can only be found in Him. He binds up the broken-hearted, He heals the sick, He delivers the addicted, He convicts the wicked, He has mercy on the weak. He fills our hearts with joy and puts songs of praise on our lips. This power can only be found in Christ. And Christ can only be found in the Bible.

If you are searching for what is true and real, you will find a lot of books and movies out there. Many of them sound close enough to what the Bible says that we easily accept them. Many of them sound just that little bit "easier" than what the Bible says, so we embrace them. Many of them offer promises of freedom/change/contentment from whatever plagues us by following the prescribed steps contained within their pages. But you will not find truth there, you will not find freedom.

If you want a self-help book to quit yelling (I know I do), there is only One Book that offers the secret to really changing. If you want to quit smoking in ten days, the Bible is the Only Book that promises (and means it) real power to change. If you want to find a way to get over the pain and loss of a divorce, the path to truly healing those hurts and finding peace and joy is offered (with an absolute guarantee) in the pages of The Good Book. Any other book you read, podcast you listen to, or movie you watch - unless it directs you back to the pages of the Bible - is offering a cheap alternative that will only bring temporary freedom.

I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and His incomparable great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of His mighty strength, which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms.
~Ephesians 1:18-20

No cheap alternatives here. No simple fixes. No feel-good solutions. But for those of us who believe, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. Real, true freedom from the real (and only) truth source.

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Just a little reminder, coming on Friday (March 20th):

Quotes for Today

Some of the things I've said so far today...

Please get ready for school. Get dressed. Brush your teeth.

What do you want for lunch? No, I don't have tomato soup. I'm sorry, we're out of alphaghetti. How about a sandwich? No, didn't I just say we're out of that? How about a sandwich? No, you can't just eat chips for lunch. How about a sandwich?

Excuse me, aren't you supposed to be getting dressed right now? How about you play with the dog once you're ready for school?

Please don't shout at your sister. That's not how we treat our friends and family. If you continue to shout you'll have to go back to bed.

Don't forget to put your socks on. Then you can go brush your teeth, please.

No, I already made you a sandwich. You can't have alphaghetti because we don't have any.

Hello? Can you please stop daydreaming and put your socks on?!

It is also unkind to "shush" your sister. Please speak kindly to your family.

No! Don't touch the dog food! No, No - Ta, Ta. Spit it out, that's yucky.

Okay, you need to go back to your bedroom for a few minutes. This is the third time you've been unkind to your sister. I will call you in fifteen minutes and you can start again.

Okay, now go brush your teeth please.

The sandwich will be fine! Seriously.

No! Go to bed! (to the dog)

No, you cannot come out of your room yet. I will call you when your time is up.

Are you brushing your teeth?

I will not discuss the lunch any longer. Perhaps if you had done your job and gotten it ready last night you could have had something else. But for today you will take a sandwich.

Don't fight with your baby brother, please.

No, no. Don't hit. That's owie. Be nice to big sister. Give her a hug.

No! Don't hit puppy either. Hitting is owie. Be gentle.

Why haven't you brushed your teeth?!

And it's only 8:30am...

Growing Up

Dear Braeden,

Today you are another year older. Eleven years old. Wow.

I remember you as a little baby in our little two bedroom apartment. You liked to sleep in the laundry hamper on top of a pile of fresh-out-of-the dryer clothes. I can't count the number of quarters I spent warming up clean towels in hopes of coaxing my colicky little man to sleep.

I remember they told us you would never be "normal," that you might never walk, or talk, or be able to go to school. In some ways, those doctors were right - you are far from typical - you are extraordinary! I cannot imagine you any different than the person you are today. In other ways, those doctors were so very wrong. I praise the Lord for the things you are able to do!

You are such a smart guy, with a witty sense of humour (just like your dad). I have loved seeing you grow and mature this year. You are becoming so confident! You are a leader in your school, with your siblings, and at church. It makes me very proud to watch the way you make an effort to help other kids feel welcomed and included. The fact that you won the "Heart of Gold Award" at school holds greater meaning for me than any report card ever could. You truly do have a heart of gold...and a heart for God...and it makes me smile.

Braeden, I hope that you know how special you are to me. My first born baby, my big boy. I love you, son. Happy birthday.

Little Miss Perfect

I am at a women's retreat this weekend. If you've never attended one of these, you may be imagining a bunch of old women sitting around a table, praying for hours. You couldn't be more wrong!

This is my sixth year - in a row - attending a women's retreat. I expect to continue to do so, on an annual basis, for the rest of my years. I come to these weekends with a few expectations in mind: I expect to stay up too late giggling with girlfriends; I expect to fellowship deeply with other Christian women; I expect to be given the opportunity to minister to other women; and I expect (and highly anticipate) the fantastic food NOT prepared by me! My greatest expectation, though, is that God will show up. And He never disappoints me!

I was sharing with a girlfriend about my struggle with weight loss. I was talking about how difficult it is to stick to a program... I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist. I want to do everything completely and perfectly. If it's exercise, I need to do it every day for an hour. When I miss a day, or peter out at half an hour, I mentally toss my hands in the air and think, "why bother?" If it's eating, I need to eat healthy all day and all week. When I catch myself caving in to temptation and popping a Milk Dud in my mouth, my immediate thought is, "well, I've screwed it up now, may as well throw in the towel and eat the whole box." I am not willing to settle for anything less than absolute success - perfection.

My friend and I had a mutual giggle at our "eldest child" personalities and moved on. We pretty much accepted that this is just the way we are, it's both annoying and funny. The end.

God, though, He won't settle for that excuse! "Just the way you are?" Nuh-uh.

We sat down in the teaching session a couple hours later - our topic is truth, what is the truth? Our speaker, Cynthia Cavanaugh, says, "God doesn't expect perfection, He just expects us to be faithful." She proceeded to say it again (you know the way speakers will do that with important points, so we really hear). I was listening and nodding, but not really listening with my heart. Then that girlfriend caught my eye, and I realized that God had just spoken.

God does not expect perfection from me.

Why in the world would I walk around in this life, then, expecting something from myself that He has never asked?

I do not need to be perfect. I just need to be faithful.

My mind flooded with memories of how God has been trying to give me this message over the past week - other women telling me to just try doing one little thing at a time (like choosing an apple for my afternoon snack rather than potato chips), my husband encouraging me to just do those little things that are easy to do (like grabbing 10 minutes of exercise here or there), other women sharing with me how they have been fighting through their own perfectionist tendencies. They just kept coming!

It is such a simple truth that I nearly missed it. In this life, perfection will not bring victory over my struggles. Faithfulness is the only thing that God has called me to. If I am faithful to Him - in how I treat my physical body, in the little changes He asks me to make to avoid anger, in how I respect and honour my husband, in how I relate to others, in how I spend time with my children - He will make change. I don't have to revolutionize myself. I don't have to dive right into "Extreme Makeover: Physical, Spiritual, Emotional, ahem Perfectionist Addition." In fact, I don't have to change my bad habits and junk at all! I simply have to do what He tells me to do.

You might be tempted, as I was, to overlook this truth. It's so simple that we all KNOW it. But just take a moment to ponder it... Our God does not expect perfection from us. Is there something in your life that you've been wrestling with? Some habit you've been trying to kick? Some heart attitudes you keep attempting to change? Anger? Panic? Lying? Smoking? Weight loss? Saving your marriage? Are you like me - you try and try to do it all, and when you fall short of the perfect standard of complete transformation you say, "I screwed it up now anyway, may as well just stop trying."? That, my friend, is a lie from the pit of hell, designed to keep us from the victory Christ promises us.

God does not call you to be flawless. He simply asks that you be faithful. Why are you asking more of yourself than God asks of you? Imagine how freeing it will be to stop holding yourself up to a standard that you do not need to achieve! Frankly, I am breathing a big sigh of relief.

Praying with Purpose

I don't know about you, but I find that there are times where my prayer life is lacking in direction and intentionality. I'll be there in my morning prayer time, and I feel as though I have nothing to pray about - which is ridiculous, because there is SO MUCH to pray about. Because I'm an administrative type girl, I've found a handy way to keep myself focused in prayer.

It all starts with a calendar and a list (are you really surprised that I make a list?). I begin by making a general list of the things/people I want to be praying for regularly. My list is something like this: kids, marriage, ministry, unsaved friends/family, church leaders, government leaders, and so on. I make sure to leave lots of space under each of those topics.

Next, I add details to the list - specifics for each of those general things. For example, under kids I would list: spiritual growth/salvation, health, integrity, future spouse/marriage, spiritual gifts, areas of struggle. Under marriage: protection, growth, passion, that I would be the wife God wants me to be, areas of struggle for either of us, unity (in general things and in parenting), finances, etc. Under ministry: each area of women's ministry (there are six or so), each leader of those areas, their marriages and families, their teams, areas of struggle, etc.

Then I set my big list and my calendar side-by-side to look for a handy way to plug everything in (it seems that my list is about the right length to fill a two-month schedule). The first thing I want to plug in is that which I know I want to be praying for daily - my marriage and my kids. The kids are easy, because there's five of them - Braeden on Mondays, Abbey on Tuesdays, Megan on Wednesdays, Shea on Thursdays, Malakai on Fridays. Then I assign a "theme" to each week based on the list of prayer topics under the heading of kids (so each day of that week I will pray for the assigned child on that topic).

For help in focusing my prayers for our marriage, I'll often take topics from "The Power of a Praying Wife" and plug one into each week. As well, I will take the list of topics and spend a day or week on them, depending how I feel led to plug them in on my calendar. There are a lot of great books on building a strong marriage that provide topics (and even daily tasks) that I use to help direct my prayers in this area.

I also know that I need to be praying for ministry regularly. I find that the easiest way to remember is to plug each ministry area in on the day of the week it occurs - so, Monday night Bible study on Mondays. Over the month, I'll typically assign one Monday to pray for the attendees, one Monday to pray for the leader and her marriage, one Monday to pray for her team, and the last Monday to pray generally and however I feel led.

And to round off my prayer calendar, I add in the remaining items from my list. I try to take one day of the week to pray for unsaved friends and family. Our pastor once suggested that we focus our prayers intently on three people we want to see saved, so every other week (usually on Fridays) I spend time just praying for the same three people - there has been one person on that list for years now. The alternate weeks, I just let my heart and mind run through everyone I think of, tossing names and prayers to God for all of them. I try to plunk in one or two days in a month for each of the other topics, such as church leaders, political leaders, and anything else on my list.

I pop my two months of prayer calendar in a duotang, and set it in my "quiet spot" alongside my Bible and whichever Bible study book I'm working on.

I know this method won't be for everyone. There are some people who would feel restricted, stilted, and frustrated by so much order in how they pray and who they pray for. But if you're like me, and without a list of "to dos" you wander aimlessly doing nothing, a prayer calendar might be just what you need to keep your prayer life on track.

In fact, I find this method to be so handy, that I'll probably link back to it next week for Works for Me Wednesday!

Have a blessed weekend, friends!

When Victory Demands Your All

Life is hard. Can I get an "amen" to that?

Do you ever hit a wall? I find that at some times in my life there are certain things that just plain wear me down. Eventually, I come to a place where I'm crying out in prayer, "Lord, I can't do it anymore. I'm so tired. Please make this battle end."

When relationships go sideways, and it seems that there is no way to repair what has been broken; when I feel that no matter how I try to make things right it will never be right again - I want to give up. When the demands of life (motherhood, ministry, housekeeping) all crowd in around me and clamour for my attention, and I feel as though I could not possibly meet one more demand - I want to quit. When the same struggle, the same sin, the same anger keeps rearing its ugly head and I feel out of control - I want to throw in the towel.

Lord, I can't do it anymore. I'm so tired. Please make this battle end.

You may remember me saying that some people aren't called to rest, or sabbatical, or whatever term you'd like to insert - rather, certain people are called to persevere through the times when they feel overwhelmed.

In case you missed that one, let me just shout it out - certain people are called to persevere through the times when they feel overwhelmed.

Beth Moore says, in her Believing God series, "when we are defeated, we have defeated ourselves, because the enemy has not been given permission to defeat us." She says that we often lose battles mentally long before going into the spiritual battle. Some of the things we do to defeat ourselves are (and this is paraphrased):
1. act like big, whiny babies - getting all caught up in how unfair a circumstance is;
2. beat ourselves up - listening to that track in our head that tells us we're stupid, we screwed up, etc.;
3. blaming others - worrying about whose fault it really is;
and 4. bitterness and unforgiveness - allowing our hearts and spirits to be clogged up with junk.

The question in your mind (and mine) is this - how do I persevere? What does that look like? What do I do?

"You are my witnesses," declares the LORD,
"and my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you man know and believe me."
~Isaiah 43:14 (emphasis mine)

Victory is wrapped up in knowing and believing God. To know Him simply means to turn your attention toward Him. To believe is to trust.

There's no magic formula, no miracle cure. As in most things, moving past your "stumbling blocks" requires making a choice. Choose to be weak, weary, and defeated. Or choose to KNOW and BELIEVE that Your God is bigger, that He can deliver, and that He will claim the victory.

The Little Things We Do

Every family has some guiding principles to help them figure out (and do) what's important. It also helps them to not do what's not important. We've got a few rules that the whole family knows as well as a few themes that the parents keep in mind.

- When it comes to activities, each kid can only be in one thing at a time. We're happy to let them experiment with different types of activities - but it may take a couple years for them to have a shot at each sport or class they mention joining.

- Our children do not have permission to wear certain clothing now that we would not find appropriate when they're pre-teens and teens. For example, bikinis - quite adorable on little ones, far too "sexual" on adolescent girls. I hate to take away privileges for no reason, or change the rules last minute, so it makes it easier for everyone to have the guidelines of modesty firmly established now.

- If we need to decide about something, we ask God. School, work, how to spend money, etc. We just don't feel that these decisions are "ours" to make.

- We are working on a new rule - no interrupting. With a large family, it can be a scramble for everyone to get their say...but we've run into a habit where the children can say "mom" or "dad" while we're in the midst of conversation and we turn to them and say "yes?" We feel that it's important for our kids to know that, as a couple, we value each other and what the other has to say. Also, interrupting is simply a rude habit!

Do you have any rules or guidelines, spoken or unspoken, that help keep your family on track?

Sane? I am NOT.

A blogger friend of mine, Mary from Owlhaven, has written a book. This is a book that I want and need, I must have it!

The title - A Sane Woman's Guide to Raising a Large Family.

My family isn't as large as hers, in fact she has double the kids I do. And sane? I am not. Perhaps that is one of the pressing reasons I must have her book.

If you think it looks good, even if you're not what would be considered a "large" family, you can visit her giveaway post right here and enter to win. Or, if you're not interested, you can visit her post and enter me to win again. (Feel free to do so every week for the next four weeks. Okay? Thankyouverymuch.

:)

Caption Your Life

A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.
~Proverbs 22:1

Have you ever done that exercise where you try to capture who you are and how you lived your life in short captions, like how you would want your gravestone to read?

I recently told my husband that if we were to develop a family mission statement I would like it to include the phrase "radically obedient." Because obeying the Lord as soon as He speaks, without question, even when it seems insane (like Noah or Abraham), is a trait that I want to characterize our family's faith journey. That is how I would like to be remembered.

Here are a few ideas of what I'd like my stone to read:

She invested her life in following wherever He led.

She loved, she lived, she followed God all the days of her life.

God's love shone through her actions as a wife, mother, and friend.

(Of course, keeping in mind that when I'm gone people will choose to remember the best things and tuck aside the junk parts of my character.)

What would you like your stone to read?

Quote of the Day

Pat's listening to an audio book on...well, I'm not sure what it's actually about. BUT, the dude has some good things to say. I don't remember the title of the book or the author, and the quote isn't really a quote because I don't know the exact wording. This post should really be titled, "Paraphrase of the Day." Anyhoo....

Changing your life happens not by making drastic and dramatic changes, but by doing small things that, over time, make a big difference. These are things that are not difficult to do, but they are easy not to do.

For example, exercising for ten minutes each day is not very difficult to do. But it is certainly an easy thing NOT to do. It is a small thing, that, if done repeatedly over a period of time, will change your life. Ten minutes of exercise per day is enough to help an overweight person lose half a pound per week, Over time (say a year), the result is twenty-six pounds lost.

Making small choices - choices that are not difficult to make, but could be easy not to make - can lead to big life changes.

What small things are you not doing that you could/should be doing?

For me, an obvious one is exercise (even just a little bit). Not only because I would like to lose the same weight I've been talking about losing for a year, but because my back will feel better, I will feel more confident, I will have more energy, my moods will be more easily regulated, I will sleep better, it will lead to making better eating choices, and inevitably I WILL LOSE WEIGHT!

Another small thing is putting up scripture on index cards throughout my house. I've been talking about doing this for years. Imagine a home where there are pieces of God's Word in every nook and cranny to help keep the heart focused on what is good, right, and praiseworthy. A small thing that really would not be difficult to do, but has been oh-so-easy to not do.

It Was My Sin That Held Him There