I heart my scale!

Or do I? The dumb thing says I lost 5!!! yes, you are reading that right, pounds this week. The only problem is, I wasn't trying and my clothes don't fit any looser. So, when I start my diet tomorrow and get back on my scale next Monday, it will probably take back those 5 I didn't really lose, and I will have no idea if I'm up or down or what? And it is only a few months old, so I can't blame it on the age of the scale.

Take me home from the ballgame...and other random thoughts

Yep, ballgames are over for another year. The team did not do very well as a whole, but our daughter was actually a very good player. ( Something I don't think she would have had the opportunity to show if she'd have stayed on the original team.) And I know she enjoyed it a lot more, which really is the important thing.
So when do you explain the facts of life to your children? We watched a tv show about teens giving up their babies for adoption. I try to keep my kids niave about the world for as long as I can, so my 6yo still thinks babies only come when you are married. So she was very perplexed about how a 15yo could be pregnant. Time to let the real world into her protected life just a little, I guess.
I am looking at all the things I planned to do this summer and realizing that school starts in 4 weeks for my two youngest and the oldest will be back to school in less than 3 weeks. I hate the way summer flies by! So I'd better sit down and make actual plans for those summer plans, or they aren't going to happen.
Our like-a-daughter will be having her baby in August, so I am also trying to find a time when we can head to Kansas to see the new little sweetie. I am sure it will have to be after school starts, so I am trying to find a long weekend that will work to see the baby and my sister's new house. (Do you ever get the longing for something new, too?) Though, at this point in my life I'm not sure I could handle either of those!
So for now I am off to what I do need to handle, laundry and housecleaning....does it ever end?

Trying to keep a house clean is like trying to string beads on a string with no knot in the end.

Cleaning house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the walk while it is still snowing.

What puts fear in a mother's heart?....

A phone call from her daughter.

"Mom, I had an accident". It is amazing how many thoughts can go through your mind in a split second after hearing those words. Especially when she is supposed to be at work, waitressing. My first thought was, How can you get hurt as a waitress? Of course, by then she has said enough to realize it is a CAR ACCIDENT.


Are you hurt? Where are you? Why aren't you at work? Is the other person hurt? Was it your fault? How bad is the car?


Her question? Do we need to call the police? And I can hear the other gal in the background, "We can just let the insurance company know. Let's just exchange numbers and go and the insurance will pay for it" Make you a little suspicious?


Yes, the driver that pulled out in front of our daughter was a 17yr-old, who was drunk before 9pm on a Tuesday night.


You cannot believe how thankful that makes a mother, to know her daughter is a responsible 19 yr old who does not drink and party. She had gotten off work early because it was a slow night and was on her way to the Christian youth hang-out.


Our car is "totalled", though still drivable. If the headlight and blinker still worked we would probably just have her keep driving it, but those can't be replaced without a lot of work to the front end. So hubby has to decide whether to try to fix or replace it.

In the last 18months this car has had two deer accidents, been hit in a parking lot, and now this!

Oh yes, And neither girl was hurt! Thank God for that.

A Woman After God's Own Heart #2

A Heart Abiding In God's Word

Elizabeth George begins this chapter by comparing Christians who do not spend time in the word to a plant with no roots. Just as a plant cannot live and thrive without a healthy root system, a Christian cannot thrive without being deeply rooted in God's Word.

She also says our Christian life should be like an iceberg. What other people see and our outward ministry to others should be only a fraction of our life. The greatest majority of an iceberg is under water, and the greatest majority of our walk should be time with God in His Word and prayer.

Here's how:
1. Develop the habit of drawing near to God. Only through routine, regular exposure to God's Word can you and I draw out the nutrition needed to grow hearts of faith. This is one of the hardest things for me, as I have a difficult time setting routines and good habits in all things. I appreciated this statement from Elizabeth, "I have to be firm with myself and aim for habitual, scheduled time with God whether I feel like it or not, whether it seems like the best use of my time or not." I so often let other, more urgent or seemingly more interesting things crowd out my time with God. We must say 'no' not only to things which are wrong and sinful, but to things pleasant, profitable, and good which would hinder and clog our grand duties and our chief work(C. A. Stoddards).
2. Design a personal time for drawing near to God. Consider when, where, and what aids are needed. Keep in mind: Something is better than nothing. Choose a time that works best for you, change it to fit your schedule if need be, but schedule it in on your calendar. Where is also important. Some women have made themselves a special little nook or desk. I know that I cannot do it on my bed or a soft chair, because I will fall asleep no matter what time of day it is. For me, the kitchen table works best, after my hubby is gone and before the kids are up. The aids include, of course, your Bible, highlighters, pens, notebook, sticky notes. You may also want tissues, a hymnal, praise music, study or devotional book, reference books. As you notice something you need, add it to your stash. You might keep this all in a basket or bag if you can't keep it all gathered in the place you use.
3. Dream of being a woman after God's heart! Motivation is key when it comes to nurturing a heart of devotion, and dreaming helps motivate us. Describe the woman you want to be spiritually in one year. What can you do to help that happen? Read through the Bible in a year, memorize a set number of verses, complete a Bible study, find a woman to mentor you. Dream on--and do it! Now describe the woman you want to be spiritually in ten years. Consider what your life will be like in then, more kids, a new career, a marriage, a grandmother? Whatever comes, you will need God to help you.
You determine some elements of the heart. You decide what you will or will not do, whether you will or will not grow, and the rate at which you will grow. You decide how deep you want your roots to go.

My favorite quote:
I exchange my weariness for His strength, my weakness for His power, my darkness for His light, my problems for His solutions, my burdens for His freedom, my frustrations for His peace, my turmoil for His calm, my hopes for His promises, my afflictions for His balm of comfort, my questions for His answers, my confusion for His knowledge, my doubt for His assurance, my nothingness for His awesomeness, the temporal for the eternal, and the impossible for the possible.
How can I consider letting my time with God slide when I look at it as giving up all of this?!

Anyone have some truth serum?

Seriously, folks, how do you tell when your child is lying to you? When two children have completely different versions of what happened, one (or both) of them has to be lying! But most of the time, I cannot tell. Is it just that I have poor radar, or are my kids such skilled story-tellers? I have caught my 12yo lying in the past, so I tend not to believe her. But I can't be positive that the 6yo isn't lying, either. I hate to discipline them both if one is being truthful.
So tell me, how do y"all handle situations like this?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

Yes, today is my birthday. I had a wonderful start to the day with a phone call from a friend who lives too far away. It was so sweet of her to take the time to call me with birthday wishes.
I will let you know more about my day when I post tomorrow.

It's a Parade!

Today we are off to my hometown for the centennial celebration. My kids are excited to be in the parade with Grandpa and their cousins. My sister-in-law and I made t-shirts for them to wear, which didn't turn out too bad, considering it was a last minute thing using iron-on transfers made on the computer. Someday I'll be one of those organized people who has everything planned and prepared well in advance...... OK, everyone has a hopeless dream, right?
Tonight we go to my hubby's class reunion. 30 Years!!!! How can he be so old, when I am still so young?!! (Don't I wish).

A Woman After God's Own Heart

I have begun reading this book by Elizabeth George after hearing it recommended by a few people.

A Heart Devoted to God:

I think all Christian women want a heart devoted to God, but what I like about this book is the HOW sections. Here are the author's thoughts on how to have a heart like this.

*Commit yourself to actively choose God and His ways in your decisions, words, thoughts, and responses. Before we move or react we need to stop and pray, "God, what would You have me do or think or say?" This obviously takes conscious effort and practice.

*Pay close attention to what is good, better, and best. Strive to make the best choices. She uses the example of driving alone, listening to a popular radio station. She made a good choice and changed to a classical station, then a better choice to listen to Christian CD's, then a better choice to listen to sermons, then to the best choice for her--using the time to memorize scripture.

*Commit yourself to God daily. Lay everything on God's altar, your life, your body, your health, your husband, your child(ren), your home, your possessions, etc. Make this an audible, daily prayer.

*Cultivate a "hot" heart. Revelation 3:16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Am I lukewarm, indifferent to God? I must admit that quite often I am, as evidenced by the priorities in my life. But I do not want to be so! I want to be passionate about God, so that it is obvious to others and myself.

My favorite quote from this chapter is from Carole Mayhall: I do not want to be robbed of even one of God's riches by not taking time to let Him invade my life. By not listening to what He is telling me. By allowing the routine, pressing matters of my minutes to bankrupt me of time for the most exciting, fulfilling relationship in life.

Ahh, to be SIX!

It is so sad that we adults grow up to be sensible and calm. We were at the Omaha zoo Sunday, and had a 6yo girl so excited by everything she saw. (Yes, she has been to zoos before, if you count any in the Dakotas as true zoos.?) She oohed and aahed and thanked us for taking her so many times that my sister was beginning to feel sorry for this poor little girl who most obviously is never taken out of her own house. Her favorite exhibits were the desert and the tunnel in the aquarium (which I have to admit impressed me the most). Since we only have a big, clunky 35mm camera, we opted not to carry it around the zoo, which was a big mistake. I would have loved to capture her excitement on film. (I really, really, really want a digital camera!)

Am I Back?

After using my daughter's laptop briefly over the last couple of weeks, I have discovered that if I baby my computer it will work, at least for a while each day! And since I am really wanting to pay the bills I already owe, before spending money on something else--I will continue to baby this baby as long as she will last. (Hmmm, is it a girl?) So, I will resume bloggin', but if I drop off the face of the earth, you know what happened.