God of Wonder..

Remember back in the day when you'd wake up early Saturday morning, get all snow-suited up and head out for a full day's worth of snow-building/shaping/running/dancing/throwing/eating/loving fun? And when the sun started to set and your little fingers were so frozen you they'd no longer bend, you'd run into the warm house to change into some cozy pjs and mommy would have a steamy cup of hot cocoa with marshmellows waiting for you.

Remember back in the day, when you learned to drive. And then it snowed for the first time. That was the day I came to understand why the grown ups always stayed inside.


I LOVE winter. Waking up to trees frosted over, a blanket covering the world..it just amazes me, the things God created. I never really, really thought about the 'no two snowflakes are alike' thing. Honestly, think about it..how many snow flakes does it take to cover a 1X1 ft area 1 inch deep? Thousands at least, right? None of those look alike. Now multiply that area by a million (or whatever insanely large amount equals the total snowy surface on the planet..) None of those look alike. I thought, they dont really know for sure that not a single identical pair has ever existed. Maybe true. But isn't that just putting limits on God? I think I do that more than I'll ever realize. Nothing is impossible with God. He created snow. He has crafted every single flake that has fallen and ever will fall out of the sky over all the earth.

How awesome is our God?!

"Have you entered the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of the hail, which I reserve for times of trouble, for days of war and battle?

What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed, or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth?

Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain, and a path for the thunderstorm,
to water a land where no man lives, a desert with no one in it,
to satisfy a desolate wasteland and make it sprout with grass?

Does the rain have a father? Who fathers the drops of dew?

From whose womb comes the ice? Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens when the waters become hard as stone, when the surface of the deep is frozen?"
Job 38:22-30

The Rise and Fall of America

I'm sure our founding fathers had grand plans for the little chunk of land they called America. A freedom they'd probably never known, a new start. I don't imagine the first Americans had much to speak of, but they got by just fine. We became a very powerful and rich country, based on things like God, family values, perhaps even morals.

Fast forward to today. Wal*Mart. My morning started off with a thought; "Have I gone completely insane?" Here I am waking my sleeping babies up long before the sun is expected to make an appearance. "It'll be quick, no one will be crazy enough to actually get up for this.."

As I turned into the parking lot, I saw the mob of chilly people waiting for the doors to open. The crowd overflowed the entryway and spilled out in a thick line all the way back to the garden center. Other drivers were actually passing me as I waited for the car in front of me to let a load of eager shoppers out. They got out, the car started driving, and people were still passing us. I got inside the door (the food center door wasn't nearly as crowded) and only had to wait a minute or two for the 'doors' to open.

I went for bath towels. I could hardly get to them until someone kindly let me through (after about 5 minutes of me trying to get across the aisle.) I then ventured to the Christmas section to get new ornaments. On the way I got ran into twice, had two or three close calls and had to wait for about 10 people to move out of the center of the aisles so I could even get passed them. I was cut off by a few impatient customers but finally got the items I was there for and made it through the check out in record time.

My point: people are totally ridiculous! I cannot even imagine the crowds at places like Macy's or Old Navy or Target! People get up at (or stay up till) the wee hours of the morning so they can pack into the electronics/home/holiday department like sardines all the while pushing, fighting and in my case, ramming (note slight exaggeration for dramatic purposes) others in order to make sure they get the biggest and the best for the lowest prices. They are rude, impatient, greedy (people stuffing everything they see into the cart just incase they want it, if not they stuff it on a random shelf later) and this is what defines us as Americans. It's sad, but very true. We like stuff. We love to spend money (even when we don't have money to spend) on things we do not need. The guy in front of me at the check stand had what he wanted and was talking to a friend, saw a calendar and the friend said 'its only $7.88' and the guy in line replied 'ah why the hell not' and got it.

I cannot understand how all these companies are going under, how our country is in trillion dollar debt when all we do is buy, buy, buy! There is something wrong with this equation.

Off to bed, I must rest up so I can go eat waaay too much turkey..again..ahh, America the beautiful!

my heart breaks

I sit here thinking to myself 'If SHE got up and did something instead of just telling us what we should do..', 'If HE just changed his attitude, more people would be saved..', 'If they would just grow up and stop choosing the world..'

What am I doing!? I am watching Oprah. My bible is sitting 4 feet away. 'I'll read it in a bit..'

When was the last time I asked how I could pray for someone? (maybe a few weeks ago, asking a friend who is a believer..) I don't ask my non-believing friends. I do try to throw in a 'faith' statement now and then to remind them I believe in God and that's why my life is better (even though I still have so many problems..) Sometimes I feel like the only reason I share my faith is to 'show off' how I have it all figured out. That isn't my intention, but honestly, it makes me stand a bit taller knowing that I have great wisdom to impart on the world.

It makes me so sad, looking into the world and seeing all the 'christians' doing such horrid things in the name of the Lord. How could anyone even think of cheating, hurting, lying to another person? How dare they act less than Christ-like? ..because they're human. What makes me sick is when I realize that the things in my heart are so often just as bad if not worse than the things I'm judging!

I have a list in my journal of names of people I love that either don't know Jesus or they did and have turned from Him. It is top to bottom, three columns across and some added in the top section of the page. Most of the people I have known for probably half my life, if not longer. I made the list over a year ago, so even the 'newest' names on it I have now known for at least a year. I have to admit, I do not pray for these people very often. I try to remember but I just really struggle with it. In the past year, I feel like I have failed Christ, by not bringing these people before Him every single day. He has been more than faithful despite my short-comings. I have seen at least 5 of those people turn back to Christ in the past few months. Some are really still struggling, but so am I. They are coming to church, they are questioning their beliefs (in a good way) and I can see their eyes opening and their hearts softening. Earlier this year on a particular Sunday morning during worship we happened to sit on the 'far side' of the sanctuary. People were slowly filtering in during worship and I looked over..my heart was in my throat! TWO of the people on my list walked in, not together, but at the same time when I looked up..these are two of the 'least likely' to return in my mind. We were also sitting with another person listed, back for the first time in a very long time. I could not contain my joy! I had never felt that sort of ..absolute happiness..ever. I can't even explain it. At that moment, God showed me His promise, His faithfulness to answer prayers, to never leave of forsake His children.

I don't know why I don't pray more often. It is something I struggle with, but I am learning the amazing power prayer holds. I think I have had more prayers answered this year than ever, or maybe I am just more aware of it.

God has blessed me with an incredible amount of compassion and I think sometimes I let it become more of a burden than a blessing. I get so overwhelmed by all the people that are lost..I tend to just give up. But God continues to be faithful and He keeps showing me that if I just draw near to Him, He draws near to me, and that is the only way I can be effective as a witness.

traditions..

Today was probably the 18th time my sister and I have made noodles with our grandma. Every year for Thanksgiving we have homemade noodles with our feast. I think both my grandma and my grandpa's mothers made them when they were growing up, and so the tradition passes on to us.

For the first time, the 'great grands' got to help! Well, Toby mostly. The girls are too little yet, but I got to thinking..I really want to make my own family traditions to pass down to my kids, grand kids, great grand kids..

This is something that has been bringing us together for pretty much all our lives, and even after our grandpa passed away 4 years ago, he's still a big part of the day. Not in a weird way, but memories shared always include him. It seems like the only 'right' time to bring him up that we know it wont bring grieving, if that makes sense..

Ahh, I love the holidays!!

through autumn's golden gown we used to kick our way..

This is why I love my 'job'!! On a beautifully crisp fall afternoon I get to play in the leaves and spend the day with the cutest kids in the world! These are my two and the twins I babysit (in red).
















Molly, Tobias, Landon



















Bella & Tobias















Molly, Bella, Tobias, Landon

Making Your Home a Haven

After reading Rachel's post I decided to also join Monica's challenge to take a week and really work on making my home a haven. It gets overwhelming when clutter piles up and things are disorganized! I really feel like our life would be a lot less stressful if when we walked into our home we didn't see messes and junk piles everywhere we turned! You can read about the challenge here .
I'm starting today with tidying up all the clutter and organizing our spare room, dining room and closets. I'll post pictures later :)

this is me being domestic..

i just made the yummiest most amazing soup ever and i feel the need to share it!! :) a friend taught me how to make it. its super easy and really inexpensive!! you can totally adjust the amounts to suit your needs..

'Pozole' (po-SO-lay)

**12 cups chicken broth (i bought the box stuff, but it was buy 1 get 1 free!!)
**2-3 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
1 (29oz) can hominy
1 small cabbage (green, though im sure red would work)
1 lime
cilantro (if you're like me you need a lot- 1 bunch is more than enough)
3-4 celery stocks
1/2 a med. onion (i like white or yellow)
avocados (again, depends on how much you like..)
ground cumin

finely chop celery, onion & some cilantro (15 leaves ish), throw into the broth (which is simmering on the stove..) the hominy can go in now too.

sprinkle ground cumin (failry liberally) on the chicken, and cook in a pan with a little butter/evoo or whatever you like and the juice of half the lime. when its done, cut it into bite size pieces and throw into the pot.

simmer this until its all heated throuhg (20 minutes?)

in the meantime, chop the cabbage (maybe 1/2 per person..) into long thin strips, set aside. finely chop some more cilantro, set aside. chop the avocado into little chunks, 1/2 in maybe.

To Serve: once the soup is in the bowl, top it with the cabbage, cilantro & avocados and a little (or big!) squeeze of lime over the top!

**you could make the broth out of a whole chicken or bone-in chicken breasts, ground cumin, onions celery, a bit of cilantro. boil till chicken is totally cooked, take the chicken out to cool for a bit, throw the other stuff into the broth and cut up the chicken and add it back in.

..and that is how the cookie crumbles

The lovely Rachel Dowd tagged me in her post of seven rarely known facts about her (as she was tagged by someone else) so here are my seven tidbits, and I now pass the torch to the lovely Rachael Grubb at Semi-precious Metaphors ! (and you should visit her blog to watch Audrey!)

1| I cannot stand things touching my neck. If I wear a scarf or necklace or, heaven forbid, a turtleneck it takes every ounce of control I can muster up not to have an absolute conniption. (Fun Fact - my mom and sister are the same way..weird)

2| I would die a happy girl if I had only avocados & limes for the rest of my days. (and a little cilantro wouldn't hurt!)

3| When I was 4 years old I decided I wanted to go to Brazil as a missionary. To this day, that is still my dream.

4| I love being pregnant. No, really, if I had to choose between being pregnant for the rest of my life and eating only avocados & limes for the rest of my life..I would have a seriously hard time deciding!! (I don't get morning sickness, swelling or much weight gain..trust me, I feel SO incredibly blessed!!)

5| I always wanted to be a dancer. (I dance almost as well as Toby can say 'frisbee'..'shribzee')

6| When talking on the phone I have to have it on the left side. If I try to switch ears, I can't understand what the person is saying. It's really weird, I can hear just fine, it just doesn't register in my brain or something.

7| I have never watched: Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Casablanca, Brigadoon, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Music Man, Scrooge, An American in Paris, My Fair Lady, Guys and Dolls..the list goes on..I did watch Fiddler on the Roof for the very first time a couple weeks ago.. (Rachel - how could I have gotten past this in your family?!)

First we go around the tree then we jump over the dinosaur's tail..

Dora Dora Dora the Explorer! Boots y Super Cool Exploradora!

Of all the jobs in the entire world, I think mine is by far the best! Sure, I'm not making millions, traveling the world or starring in movies but I wouldn't trade my title with anyone!

We recently finished a series at church on parenting. It really made me rethink the way I do things and the reasoning behind it all. God gave us children as a blessing. I tend to think of it more as a task, not an opportunity. To be able to bring my kids to work with me is the greatest blessing. I never wanted someone else to raise my kids for me. I understand that some people don't have the option to stay home with their kids, which is why I feel so lucky that I can bring mine along. It's so amazing to see the kids interact with eachother. Toby, Molly and Landon have SOO much fun making up stories and playing games and Bella is growing so fast being able to watch the big kids and learn from them! It still surprises me that these little ones running, singing and dancing around are little tiny versions of us grown ups.

Sometimes I worry that I'm not doing a good job 'training them up in the ways of the Lord' and then I see the three year olds sharing with eachother, helping eachother.. If you ask Toby who loves him, "God does!" "Where's the Holy Spirit Toby?" "He's in my heart"..It brings tears to my eyes hearing his tiny voice, knowing that HE knows he is loved not just by Mommy and Daddy, but my the Almighty God! I pray I can bring the same knowledge to all of my kids and all of the kids in my life that aren't technically mine :)

Deception (Colossians 2:8)

"See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ."

tradition: greek: paradosis: a precept, ordinance. from paradidomi: to surrender, yield up, intrust, transmit; betray, bring forth, cast, commit, deliver (up), give (over), hazard, put in prison, recommend.

tradition = giving up {normality}, surrender to some -thing/one, yielding to some -thing/one. COMMIT TO SOME-THING/ONE, GIVING YOURSELF UP TO IT.

By submitting to tradition we commit ourselves to it, whether it be to something or someone. Break free of traditions and find freedom in Christ.

freedom: hebrew: chuphshah. from chaphash. liberty. to be free (from slavery)

Don't be a slave to tradition - only Christ.

slave: greek: soma. the body (as a sound whole) Bodily, Body, Slave.

Body = Slave. Slave (bond servant?) of Christ = Body of Christ

People are being decieved every day. I am so glad I have freedom in Christ!!

Come Ye Sinners

Come, ye sinners, poor and needy,

Weak and wounded, sick and sore;
Jesus ready stands to save you,
Full of pity, love and pow’r.

I will arise and go to Jesus,
He will embrace me in His arms;
In the arms of my dear Savior,
Oh, there are ten thousand charms.

Come, ye thirsty, come, and welcome,
God’s free bounty glorify;
True belief and true repentance,
Every grace that brings you nigh.

Come, ye weary, heavy-laden,
Lost and ruined by the fall;
If you tarry till you’re better,
You will never come at all.

View Him prostrate in the garden;
On the ground your Maker lies;
On the bloody tree behold Him;
Sinner, will this not suffice?

Lo! th’ incarnate God ascended,
Pleads the merit of His blood:
Venture on Him, venture wholly,
Let no other trust intrude.

Let not conscience make you linger,
Not of fitness fondly dream;
All the fitness He requireth
Is to feel your need of Him.

Colossians 4:2-6

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us too, that God may open a door for our message so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

I find it so difficult to do what Paul is talking about here!! I am constantly shying away from sharing Christ with everyone I meet, even though that is what God has called me to do. I let my human emotions get in the way. I think its a pride issue. I am afraid of what people might think of me asking if I can pray for them, or even if I just mention that I believe in Christ and why. I become 'unsure' of my reasoning. I get nervous and think 'these reasons aren't good enough. Nothing I can say will make this person believe in Christ.' But God didn't call me to save people. He called me to share his love. All I need to do is proclaim Christ. Of course I need to be praying continuously (1 Thes. 5:17) and stay in the Word to always be 'full of grace, seasoned with salt,' but i need to realize that I don't have to find a 'magic word' or 'secret formula' in order to get people to Christ. I just need to know what He has done in my life and what He will do in others'!! I like to think of myself as a fairly kind person, but really, I snap pretty easily..'Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity'..I certainly have a LOT of work to do in this area.

As I'm getting into ministry and missions, I'm realizing more and more just how important it is to stay in the Word and to always pray. Being quiet and waiting on the Lord has never been a strength of mine. I get bored/irritated waiting, thinking that God 'isn't listening' to me (more like, I'm not listening to him..). I get all these grand ideas of how 'my' missions will play out or what I can say to a certain person to make things 'click' into place for them. Instead, I need to call on the Lord and wait in prayer for Him to open doors, opportunities to minister to people.

Lord, help me to seek you. Help me to not desire anything else, but that I would be fully devoted to your word and sharing your love with others..