Mosaics shine!

I recently went to a women's conference that moved me like no other conference I have ever been to.  The speaker, Jana Spicka said, "Intimacy with God is the greatest weapon against...____________."  She filled in the blank but I have left it empty because if we focus on being close to God we can put anything in that blank and it is covered.

She also shared a wonderful object lesson with us.  She had a pretty vase...very lovely to hold flowers or whatever.  She put the vase in a pillowcase and smashed it with a hammer.  That lovely vase was now in pieces... broken sharp pieces, like our life that looks so great from the outside but sometimes we are broken.  We have things that have happened in our lives that make us feel like we are not a whole thing worth anything.  Our broken pieces have sharp edges that hurt those around us and causes us even more pain. The Lord can collect those pieces and carefully put the pieces together even more beautiful than ever.  Jana then showed a mosaic vase...stunning.  But then she lit a candle inside of it and the glow through all of the pieces was just breath taking.  When we let God put all of those pieces together, polish the edges and let Him live inside...He shines so bright and beautifully. 

I had a dream several nights after the conference and it was about the candle.  The candle was inside that first vase but the only light seen was coming from the top of the vase because it was opaque.  As soon as the Lord was allowed to touch the broken pieces of the vase it became transparent.  The pieces were put together with a gentle hand...however sometimes it was hard because the pieces fit together so tightly.  His gentle hand continued until everything was in place and  the candle lit. The glow no longer just came from the top but every broken piece was magnificent and shone with His glory. 

Every pain, hurt, sin...whatever we want to call it can be given to His gentle hand and He will put it together in a way that we could have never imagined.  As I am typing this the song"We Are" by Kari Jobe just came on and she is singing "we are the light of the world...we gotta let the light shine!"  Wow, God I'll take that!!!!

We all have a story and by sharing for real with each other we share that light and His glory.  Don't be afraid of what was broken and what others may think, as my favorite verse reminds me..."He is before all things and in Him all things hold together." Colossians 1:17 (NIV) Every broken part is in Your hands Lord and you hold them together in a beautiful mosaic that shines with Your glory!

My love story with My Lord continues and I look forward to tomorrow!

Love

There are 30 days until Valentine's Day.  I am not a fan of Valentine's Day...never have been and never will be.  I see it as a day conjured up to make us spend money trying to make a point or send a message that we really should be working on every day...I love you!

Love~as defined by the 1931 Webster's dictionary is a noun.  It is a strong feeling of affection, especially to one of the opposite sex; courtship; devoted affection for or attachment to; parental care; a sweetheart.  There is also a verb tense which is to regard with strong affection; feel devotion toward; delight in.

Feel devotion toward and delight in...oh I believe that is so what each of us longs for.  Someone to take notice of us, delight in us and be a devoted witness to our life.  


 In the same way, our Creator, the Lord Jesus Christ longs for us! He wants our devotion.  He is already fully devoted to us.  John 3:16 so clearly shows that love. "For God so LOVED the world that He gave His only begotten son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life."

Love is more than a noun...more than a good feeling.  It is an action of devotion.  For the next 30 days I am challenging myself and anyone else to explore this love and devotion for Christ.  We say we love Him but is there an action of devotion at other times than when we are at church?  I will be digging into scriptures about love and probing my heart to see what moves me to love being a daily action for others and my Father who calls me his cherished daughter.

I am back!

Well...I am back and it is already 2013! The last two months took it out of me! I crawled into myself and just made it through the holidays.  Nothing extraordinary happened to cause this but anniversaries of the passing of loved ones and Daryl' s job loss, my dad being ill, and some inner conflicts kept me away.

I am not sure my words would have been anything encouraging, up lifting or able to bring an glory to God...so I was quiet. Sometimes that is the best thing to do. Hard to do...yes! Necessary...yes!

I just spent the day with the Lord and was reminded that I need to stop and hear His voice over all of the noise around me. Deliberately ask God to show up and then don't be surprised when He does! Ask for faith to see Him and not miss out on His presence.

So as the new year flies into action I start with this verse. "You crown the year with Your goodness, and Your paths drip with abundance." Psalm 65:11.

Blessings from my heart to yours!

Prayers

I am not going to share a story or about my life today.  I am just going to ask for everyone to join in prayers for the people in the path of Sandy.  May the Lord bless them and keep them.  May the Lord give them peace and protection.

Pumpkin Goo!

What a wonderful Friday night we had.  It started with the girls blowing bubbles in the sink while I fixed dinner.  We had my favorite, breakfast for dinner!  French toast and bacon hit the spot at the end of this busy week!  After cleaning up dinner, we started pumpkin carving!  The pumpkin Emily picked was not ripe and I have never had such a hard time cutting through a pumpkin.  Since it was so hard to cut through Emily decided to use the drill and make polka dots all over it.  We started out in the house but after a few holes and pumpkin goo shooting all over the dining room...we took it outside.  Erin had fun running the pumpkin goo through her hands!

After picking pumpkin goo from my hair, we got the pumpkin seeds ready for roasting. I love to eat them and can't imagine throwing the seeds away.  I know so many people that do.  If you are unsure how to roast them, it is so easy!  Here is what I do:

Roasted pumpkin seeds
Wash the seeds in cold water and drain well.  Mix 2 tbsp. vegetable oil and 1 tsp. salt in the bowl with about 3 cups of the pumpkin seeds.  Line a cookies sheet with foil and dump the seeds on the cookie sheet.  Spread them out and put them in a 300 degree oven.  It takes about an hour to get them a nice golden brown.  Be sure to stir them often during that time to ensure that they all brown evenly.  When they are cool they will keep nicely in an air tight container for a week.  Honestly...we have never had them in our house that long but I am sure they would still be good! Enjoy.

I hope you will roast your pumpkin seeds this year and maybe try using a drill on that pumpkin.  It was great fun to watch pumpkin goo fly all over the place! 

the dreaded checkup

I made an appointment for a general check up...physical...umm I am not even sure what you call it or what will be checked.   I had a hysterectomy like 5 years ago and haven't been back for a thorough check up since.  I have been in for kidney stones but other than that I kind of avoid the doctor. I feel like a car being put on the lift and not knowing if there is a problem.  They always seem to find something that needs fixing and I just don't want that to happen to me.  I don't know if anyone else can relate to this but I don't know if I could handle something else happening at this point so I avoid it.  Probably not the best example or even the best thing to do for myself.  So, in a few days I head to the doctor and I am praying for a clean bill of health!

In the back of my mind I worry though because, my mom had a heart attack almost 2 years ago and she was only 62 at the time.  She didn't have a blocked artery or valve problem but her heart was failing.  She ended up needing a pace maker and defibrilator to keep her heart going.  It has been a tough road for her and she is now having problems with some of her other organ systems but she is thankful for each day.  That is one reason that I have decided that I better have a check up.  I have never had a mammogram and I think that by 42 I should have had one already, but there again I am not really sure. 

My dad had a heart attack less than a year ago and it was discovered that he had two blocked arteries.  He has also had skin cancer issues for years and copd.  It has been hard watching my parents age and by not going to the doctor it enables me to avoid my own aging.

I am not sure what questions to ask or if I even scheduled the appointment right.  I hope that I said the right things so that insurance is billed correctly. I know with kids you're supposed to schedule it as a well child visit for some insurance plans.  Oh well, no matter what I am going to have a checkup and make sure that everything is good.  If you haven't been taking care of yourself or putting yourself low on the list of priorities it is time to make a change...today!  We are valuable to our families so we should treat ourselves that way!

We are not in Kansas anymore!

It was a nice trip to Kansas to see my dad and step mom but oh the weekend went by so fast! I am getting more comfortable with driving to my dad's house since Daryl stays home with the dogs and his mom.  I used to get really nervous but not so much anymore.  We left before 8 a.m. on Friday, which is a great time for 5 females...I would say!  We stopped at one rest area, had lunch in Hays, KS...our usual stop for Subway and topped off the fuel and then on to Andover.  I think we had to make one more stop before our arrival but we did really good on time. 

We met my dad and step mom, Judy at Spangle's for dinner.  The girls love that place!  The fun 50's decor, loud music and the life size statue of Elvis make for a good time.  It was burgers, fries and slushies for everyone!  The girls sat in one booth and I sat with my dad and Judy in a booth next to them.  A police officer came in for dinner and was watching my girls.  They have so much fun together and get silly and giggly.  He stopped me on my way out and told me that I really had my hands full with those 4 girls.  I just had to giggle....yes I do, but I love every minute of it!

We headed back to the hotel for an evening of swimming.  I just watched and took plenty of pictures and videos.  My head was hurting and my ears had a full plugged kind of feeling.  I was just ready for bed. We had a 2 queen bed suite, so the little girls got the fold out sofa, Kels and Kaitlin shared a bed and I got my own queen bed...all to myself!  I sprawled diagonally across the bed the entire night and used all 4 pillows!  It was pure joy! :)  On Saturday morning we headed to the nearest Super Cuts for hair cuts!  Everyone got hair cuts or all trimmed up.  We met up with my dad and Judy and headed out for a little shopping and lunch.  After that we went back to their house for the afternoon.  It was such a beautiful day!  The colors of fall were all around but it was a warm day.  We ended the day with Chinese food, Chinese donuts, good fortunes and more swimming. 

Our trip came to end Sunday mid morning as my dad and Judy headed for church and we hit the road for home.  We usually go to church with them but Daryl was at home working on the bathroom so I wanted to get back in case he needed my help before Monday morning.  I was glad to get home and got busy cleaning the layer of construction dust that was covering the house! :)