MOments

Resolutions

2011-12-31T17:34:00.004-05:00

I love New Years and the days that follow.
I love getting a new journal.
I love making resolutions.
I love it all.
I feel like it is a time to start fresh. It motivates me to take stock in my life and it spurs me on to make goals.

This year I want to continue to eat gluten free and eat as many raw foods as possible. I want to keep exercising and continue in my quest to get healthy. I want to have more sex with my husband. (Yeah, I said it)

I want to be a student of the Holy Spirit and actively listen more and to read The Word with fresh eyes. I am going to read thru the whole Bible writing notes in the margins and pass it on to my oldest daughter, so she has a Bible that I've studied to spur her on in her walk with the Lord (thank you Melinda Evans for spurring me on).

I want to watch all 7 seasons of the Gilmore Girls.

I want to read more.

In 2011 I read
The whole Hunger Games series
Emotionally Healthy Spirituality
The Cross and the Switchblade
Keeping aBreast
Decision Points
Me Myself and Bob
Fool-proofing your life
The 100 Top Picks for Home School Curriculum.
(and I am sure I am missing a few more)

On my current list for 2012 is
Unveiled by Alan Smith --heard him in person, can't recommend it enough.
Intercessory Prayer by Dutch Sheets
Think Differently Live Differently, by Bob Hamp,
The Essential Guide to Healing by Bill Johnson and Randy Clark. This book is out of my norm for types of books I read. Excited.
One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp
Fasting by Jentezen Franklin
gluten-free girl by Shauna James Ahern

Still deciding on my fiction.

So what are your goals for 2012?

Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus.......

2011-12-09T21:01:00.006-05:00

Warning: this blog is not appropriate for small children.

Tonight on CBS was the TV show Yes, Virginia there is a Santa Claus based on the letter written by Virginia O'Hanlon to the New York Sun in 1897. The topic of Santa comes up every year around this time. Last week I saw a story on Fox News where some parents wanted a teacher punished for telling the class there was no Santa Claus. I get it, I have kids and I was a teacher.

This same topic comes up here in Guatemala. While having a conversation with a Guatemalan friend, she relayed a story about her childhood. She asked her older brother if Santa was real. He said only in rich families. She then asked if they were rich, he told her no.

We work closely with a family in the village of Santiago Zamora. Last year just before Christmas the dad was riding back to his village on his bicycle, his only form of transportation, with cereal and milk for Christmas Day (a treat they can't normally afford.) Half way up his road he was robbed. They tied him up and took his bike, the cereal, milk and a few other gifts he had bought. This family can't afford to believe in Santa.

But that is where the good news comes in. This same family loves Jesus. This same family shares testimony after testimony of how good God is to them. They may not have gifts but they have joy. They may have no hope of filled stockings but they do have the hope of a God who is not just for the rich, but who offers a new life for all.

So, I get it, go ahead, tell your kids about Santa, but make sure you tell them about Jesus too, because He is real.

This same family has a son who, without a scholarship, will have to quit school. Please consider giving to our Servants 4Him scholarship fund. Education is a great gift, even if your teacher says there is no Santa.

Gluten Free or as they say in Spanish...Sin Gluten

2011-11-20T14:07:00.002-05:00

So, I’ve gone gluten free; in reality 3 out of 5 of us have gone gluten free. I know it’s the new bandwagon in the U.S. but let me assure you, it is not trendy here in Guatemala.

So, why in the world would I choose to go gluten free? Well, my stomach has bothered me my whole life. And for the last few years I knew I should probably try going Gluten free but in reality, I LOVE GLUTEN. In fact, I even believe I was addicted to it.

After going home to the states and eating at every restaurant I have missed, I returned to Guatemala feeling quite sick. I was happy mind you, just sick. So I decided to “cleanse” for a few days. We’ve all done it, the post vacation diet of fruits and veggies, but I was craving bread like a chain smoker craves a cigarette. I needed motivation to stay with my healthy foods for just a few days. Mind you, this was not going to be permanent. So I bought the book (on my iPad of course, I have yet to find a bookstore) Wheat Belly by William Davis

Wow, It offered the motivation I needed. He said, the first few days you will crave bread like a chain smoker craves a cigarette!

So, I stuck with my “temporary” healthy eating for a few more days. And something that I never expected happened, I stopped craving bread and I felt better than I had felt in years!! I had mixed emotions. Obviously I was happy to feel so good, but I was sad, because I realized that the very food I craved and ate often was the very food making me sick. I could not turn back.

Todd and Emily have joined me on this lifestyle change. Todd has not noticed much difference, but Emily who has always been skinny but had a little protruding belly, came to me just yesterday and said, mommy my big tummy is gone. After reading wheat belly I believe she was bloated from gluten.

Why am I sharing all this with you? Well, not to over spiritualize this but I was refusing to give up the one thing I loved not realizing it was the very thing hurting me. I see this in my spiritual life too. I tend to want to hold on to the very thought, action, or sin that I think I need in my life; not realizing it is the very thing holding me back.

This whole journey has been quite eye opening.

What are you holding on to that is really hurting you?

Happy 15th Birthday Clay!!

2011-10-23T12:42:00.044-04:00

Clay has done things his own way since he was born. He was 10 days early, spent 5 days in NICU and could jump before he could talk. He's been a leader since he was in preschool.

He makes me laugh

And has always been handsome.

He likes the Redskins.

And is a hard worker!!

He loves his dad.

and liked playing lacrosse.

He adds joy to each day.

And has already had memorials named after him!!

He loves music, like Toby Mac

He's becoming a great musician in his own right and speaks great spanish. He has a large heart for ministry.
I watch in awe the man of God he is becoming.

I love you, Clay.
Mom

Sisters

2011-07-25T02:20:00.002-04:00

Sisters have been on my mind a lot lately. I know two older sisters here in Guatemala, never been married...buying one cinder block at a time and praying for three years that some one would build them a house, and we have teams helping to build a house for them. I love these ladies.

Then the other day I met 2 more sisters, 15 and 17. They live alone since both their parents died. They live in a 1/2 finished block house with no bathroom ( they use their aunt's bathroom) and a piece of lamana leaning up against the wall as a make shift roof to cover the open flame they cook over. They have a bedroom, the only real room in the house, with a small, old bed that they share.

We took the young sisters up to see the older sisters. The older sisters have Jesus, and a house. The younger girls have neither. I can offer them Jesus but I can't build them a house because they aren't the official owners of the land. I stood and cried, my heart breaking, as I talked with the older sisters about the younger sisters.

Tears that I could not live how they live, tears that they don't know Jesus, tears that I dont kow how to fix their physical living situation, tears that God led my Katey to meet the older sister, tears that my kids don't have to live that way, tears that these young girls do. Tears that I didn't take them home with me, and more tears that they probably would not have come. So many tears.

"The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed." Psalm 34:18

A "Normal" Saturday in Guatemala...

2011-05-29T00:11:00.005-04:00

I had someone tell me recently that the things which I now consider "normal" would probably be very interesting to people who do not live here in Guatemala. Today, as we were running errands in the city, I started looking at my day with that mind set.

Here is just a small snap shot of my day which was so close to my old normal and yet so far.....

Katey, Todd and I went into the city to run some errands. We decided that we could do one stop shopping if we went to Eskala Mall. It has a newly renamed store....Walmart.

I could not find the makeup I needed so I bought a different brand and hoped it would work. They also don't have bottled water by the case, so we grabbed an arm full of individual bottles and hoped to make it to the cart without dropping them.

I could not find a few of the items I needed, but I made a mental note of the items I saw that they had not carried before.

We spoke spanish in the checkout line, payed in quetzals and headed out of the store. The store opens up to the inside hallways of the mall, just like in the US, but we now had our Walmart cart. We left the mall and headed for our car, passing a security guard with a very large gun in his hands.

After loading up the car, we decided that we were hungry and it was well past lunch time, so we decided to grab a quick lunch at the mall Pizza Hut. This is not the food court Pizza Hut but the sit down kind and it was cleaner than any Pizza Hut I've been in.

The manager asked us in spanish (of course) if we wanted to be able to see the TV and we said yes. It seemed the whole restaurant was there to see the TV. Barcelona was playing Manchester United in soccer.

Now imagine the whole US being either a Redskin or Baltimore fan. No other teams even come close.... that is what it is like here. Just about everyone is either a Real Madrid or Barcelona fan and today only Barcelona was playing. Since leaving our house earlier in the day we lost count on how many Barcelona shirts we had seen. Every TV in Walmart , every radio that had a plug, was on the game.

As I headed to the Pizza Hut bathroom, Barcelona scored and the whole restaurant (including Todd) went nuts. Even the kitchen staff was out of the kitchen watching the TV (which made me wonder how long it would take to get our pizza, but it came quite quickly).

I ordered pepsi light (diet pepsi) and it almost always comes in a can. This time it was a fountain drink....I was so excited. Do you have free refills, I asked? No.

Since moving here I have found 1 resturant that had free refills. Todd and Katey ordered a bottle of water, which they call agua pura (like your going to order agua unpura..) which also does not come with refills, so the old trick of ordering water to cut down on your tab does not work here.

I have not had Pizza Hut since moving here, so we decided to splurge and get the stuffed crust. It was good, the crust was stuffed, but on the outside of the crust was cheddar cheese.

We enjoyed our meal, our non refillable drinks, and the game (Barcelona won in case you missed it) and we headed home.

Then, this evening, a mom and four of her 7 kids stopped by to say they did not have enough food to eat.

This is such a struggle for us. We know the concept behind the saying, "If you give a man a fish, he eats for a day but if you teach him to fish he eats for a lifetime", but when they are standing on your door step at 6:30 pm in the dark and the rain with 4 of their kids, ranging from ages 12 to 3 months, there is not time to teach fishing. We invited them in, introduced the little ones to our cat, fed them popcorn, chatted in spanish, and then I packed up a lot of food (some that I had just bought at Walmart) and we hugged them and prayed with them and the mom cried and we gave them bus money and sent them on their way.
And as the evening was coming to an end, I thought, what a "normal" Saturday.

I am not always content with the new normal, but the Lord is working on me, which brings to mind the part of Philippians 4:12 that says, "I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation," ......That is my prayer.

Have you ever had to adjust to a new normal?

Before and After Photos... A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

2011-05-24T10:22:00.009-04:00

These are our smaller stoves being put in houses in San Pablo... across the lake from Panajachel.

After:

The women are believers of Jesus, the father is a witchdoctor

Before:

After:

This sweet lady has terrible pain in her legs. I got a chance to lay hands on them and pray for healing for her.

Before:

It's The End Of the Day As We Know It

2011-05-22T00:18:00.009-04:00

The World was supposed to end today, according to some. For us, in a lot of ways, it is just beginning.

Have you ever have one of those days when God just sends people to your door? Well, I had no intentions of having one of those days. We were going to head to the city, but boy did God have other plans.

This was our day:

5:00 am.Todd drives family to airport

8:00 I get out of bed because men are coming to work on the roof

10:00 Guatemalan friend from the city comes by with her mom and dad so we could meet them

10:30 A mom we minister to, from El Tizate, comes by with her oldest daughter and newest baby (see last news letter to get the story about baby Carolina). The daughter needed to use a computer for a school project. I fed them lasagna for lunch. Mom shared how she does not have enough food for her children. I pack her a grocery bag full of food.
Mom brought me a plant from her garden as a gift.

11:00 The gardener, who comes every saturday morning, plants the gift for me with Emily's help. We feed him every week, this week he got lasagna.

11:30 Todd, accompanied by 2 of our kids, drive the mom and 2 kids to pick of medicine for the grandma and then drive them home.

1:00pm One of Clay's friends comes by

2:00 A Gautemalan friend, Fernando, and three of his kids (that I tutor in Santiago Zamora...see last news letter) come by to visit and talk. I give them medicine for a sick family member.

4:30- 6:00 many missionary friends come by

6:30 Our ministry driver (that we use for teams) comes by to tell us about a car accident he was just in where God spared his life. We feed him dinner and give him medicine.

7:00 Clay and friends come back from the central park, where a young man that we connected with at the lake this week, has called to tell clay he is in town to visit. We feed him dinner. He is now sleeping on our couch.

The story that God was writing in my home this Saturday is better than any movie I was going to see in the theaters. What did you do today when the world didn't end?

Where There's a Will, There's a Coke

2011-05-09T12:24:00.002-04:00

Ever wonder why we can't get people clean drinking water or why we can't get enough food and medicine to rural parts of the world..and yet, no matter where you go in the world you can get a coke?
Well, Melinda Gates wondered the same thing. Here is a short (20 minutes) video on what NGO's could learn from Coke.
I watched it and was fascinated. And then my mind went wild, the same concepts work for sharing the Gospel.

i encourage you to watch this video. The principles are priceless.

Melinda French Gates: What nonprofits can learn from Coca-Cola | Video on TED.com

Family Devotions- It's A Zoo Out There!

2011-03-22T11:58:00.004-04:00

Not for one minute am I going to pretend that finding time for family devotions is easy. It is not. But that is all the more reason to make it a priority and fight for a time that works.
When living in the states, the few times that really worked for us were times when we were naturally together. Time in the car on the way to school or at the dinner table.
The second hurdle we faces was what to do. Our kids range in ages from 10 to 17 so that posed a small challenge.
We have had some great success with the book "Voices of the Faithful" You just read a page a day and the focus is on missions.
I also like The One Year Devotions series. They have One Year Devotions for Boys, for GIrls, for Kids, Teens and Preschoolers.

But now that we are homeschooling we have devotions 5 mornings a week, at the beginning of the school day and though I could not be more thrilled with this, I have struggled to find something that they wanted to listen to daily.

Thanks to a friend I used to teach with, we have found the perfect book. I have used it in the classroom and now with my kids and in both settings the kids request it!!! "Are we going to read the zoo book today?"

The stories are true, some funny and some sad. They are a few pages long and tell of the adventures that Gary Richmond had while working for many years in a California zoo. At the end of each story he ties it into a story or lesson from the Bible. My whole family loves these, they are not just for kids!!

So whether family devotions are new to you or you have mastered the art, this book is sure not to disappoint. Grab a copy (you can get it on amazon) and start reading it at the dinner table tonight.

In The Words of Mother Teresa....

2011-02-23T00:15:00.000-05:00

"People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway.
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway."
— Mother Teresa

So you had a bad day

2011-01-30T10:09:00.011-05:00

What constitutes a bad day in your world? No coffee? A foiled snow day? A sick toddler?

For me here in Guatemala it is usually something like running out of milk and knowing I can't get the kind I like for days, or the internet going in and out, maybe it is firecrackers at midnight when I am really tired.

Well, we know a dear older man who is always smiling. He works as a guard at our gate and he serves us faithfully. If he sees me in the market, he waves and smiles like he's seeing a friend.

He lives right outside of Antigua in a tin "house" with no water. This is the amazing view from his house.

The other day he had a bad day. Apparently, the town was cutting down a tree and it fell on his house!! Here is the current state of his house:

Here is his kitchen:

and here is his bedroom:

OK, so here is the problem, the government says they are going to fix it, but how long does he wait to see if that is true? We could build him a new house. We could even use cinderblock, but we can't verify if he owns the property. If he doesn't own it, then as soon as it is built the landlord may decide to take it. That would leave our friend homeless. So, please pray with us as we decided how and when to move forward.

The interesting thing is that many people in all of our lives have houses that are crashing down. Maybe not on the outside, but on the inside. Their exterior house may look beautiful, but their marriage, or finances, or hearts may be collapsing.

So, pray that God shows you who in your life is having a bad day and I'll pray with you that you too, to know how to move forward.

Our Super Hero

2011-01-24T03:07:00.001-05:00

Tonight, after our friends left, we searched high and low for our cat. She's a little like a dog in that she comes when we call her, but she was no where to be found. Even though Todd told me he checked the balcony, I went out there just one more time. And that's when I heard it. This faint meow.
Turns out Casper was stuck in a tree behind our house in a gated lot. So at 11:00 at night Todd climbed the fence, had the kids help pass him a ladder, climbed two stories with the ladder not secure against the tree, to save our cat.
If we are willing to do that for a cat, what are we willing to do for the hurting and lonely people around us?
I am pondering this question as a go to sleep tonight, with my cat sound asleep on my bed.

Homeschooling 101

2011-01-05T18:08:00.003-05:00

Teaching is not new to me, I've been doing it my whole adult life. Homeschooling, however, is.
I have had the most fun looking at curriculum. I am a nerd like that. It hit me the other day that Emily was the only one of my kids who had to go to full time day care at the age of 2 because I had to go back to work. I feel so blessed that God is redeeming that time away from me as I get to be with her one on one now. How cool is that.
Anyway, I have no idea if any one cares what curricula I am using, and I could change my mind on some of them by next year BUT for now I am pretty stoked about my choices. (Thanks to Angel Radford, who gave me some great recommendations!)

Let me share them with you....

Bible: Well, that one is not in stone yet but I am 95% sure I am going to use one of Kay Arthur's Inductive Bible Study for Kids

Math: Horizon Math

Science: I am pretty excited about this because it is really deep and Bible based and we already did an experiment!! For Science, we are using Apologia Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology

History: I thought hands on would be best, so we are finishing American History with a whole set of History Pockets. We are starting with Explorers of North America.

We are also covering Geography

Shurley English - I used this at my last school and the first year I did not like it, but year 2-8 every year I loved it more. Shurley English

Literature- We will use various novels, as this was my area of speciality at my last school. I am also using a workbook for short articles and more focus on reading skills.
We are also doing handwriting, spelling, and daily language review, vocabulary and more. I am picking and choosing for these subjects so I don't have a single website.

Emily is currently reading Otherwise Known and Sheila the Great. One idea, I google all book titles and find cool info, vocabulary, questions etc. for each book. I also google the author, many of them have blogs that are geared toward kids.
What kids books do you and your children love?

Already we have covered so much, I am learning new things and we can run to the computer or kitchen to check on or test anything. I am excited to see how this year unfolds.

Here is a Quick Review of the Past 2 Weeks...(Guest Blogger:Katey Erickson)

2011-01-01T17:54:00.000-05:00

I am sorry that I haven't blogged in a little while...I have been busy. And I want to tell you all about it so here is a bunch of pictures and explanations of how I spent my last two weeks :)

On the 22nd of December we went with some friends to Oakland Mall in the city to see the new Narnia movie. It was tons of fun! It was really nice to go see a movie in the theaters and it was such a great movie...so spiritual! And we even got our pictures with Santa :) It was a great day with friends!

And then on Christmas Eve we had dinner at the Forrest and Carols house and then went to the candle light Christmas Eve service put on by our church. It was a good Christmas Eve!

But thats not all, at midnight the sky lit up with fireworks from EVERY direction to celebrate Christmas Day! It was like nothing I had ever seen, heard, or smelt! And its definitely a tradition that I will enjoy (:

Then Christmas morning we had a normal Christmas morning. But then once we opened gifts and ate breakfast, we went to the airport to pick up the Oesterblads!

And with them came more gifts! It was like a second Christmas morning. Thank you so much to everyone who sent stuff down with the Oesterblads! And thank you to everyone who signed my shirt! You guys are AWESOME!!!

(in the picture above I am reading all the signatures on a shirt that a lot of my friends from school and church signed!!)

Then we spent the week with the Oesterblads! It was a great week. We...

Sifted (first picture) and cleaned (second picture) sand for a water filter!

Went to a village where we played with kids and the guys built a new stove for a family.

The second picture is me with two little girls who braided my hair (:

The last picture is the Oesterblad guys with the family that got the new stove!

Went to some ruins in Antigua!

Hiked the volcano Pacaya. And while we were there I talked to our guide from the last time we hiked Pacaya and I gave him a picture of himself that I had taken last time. He loved it and he said that he didnt have a picture of himself. It was so cool!

And we celebrated New Years Eve with food, movies, and of course...Fireworks!! We set off some of our own and then watched them light up the sky at midnight just like Christmas Eve! It's so cool to watch!

So thats how I spent the last two weeks!! It has been a really fun last two weeks. Thanks for reading...sorry for the excessive amount of pictures :)

-Katey!!

"My Power is Made Perfect in Weakness"

2010-12-04T14:31:00.001-05:00

Do you know a doctor who has gotten sick and had to be the patient? How about a physical therapist with an injury? It is very hard going from being the one with the knowledge and control to being the one needing the services. This is the situation I find myself in right now.

In the states, I was a teacher. I liked what I did, was good at it, parents and students liked me, I was creative and I felt smart and confident.
I was also a Northern Virginia mom. I chauffeured my kids around and got theme where they needed to be all while driving in my Honda Pilot. Without me they were often trapped to the confines of our own neighborhood.

But then I moved to Guatemala.

I've gone from being a teacher to a student. I am finding spanish school difficult and am often questioning my intellect. I talk childish spanish and often get my verb tenses wrong. The other day my teacher was calling out large numbers in spanish and I had to write them. I got a few of them wrong! This is an activity I did with my 5th grade students while teaching place value, and here I am, like a 10 yr. old student, writing out my numbers and not fully succeeding. It is humbling at best.

In Guatemala, I do not drive and I never go anywhere alone. I have been stripped of my independence.

These are not bad things in and of themselves as I am liking my life in Guatemala. These feelings are also not unique to me, as I have talked with many amazing women here who feel the same way I do. But I am finding that God is using these experiences to strip me of everything that I clung to as my identity.

So, as God peals away, layer by layer, the "Self" I am full of, I am encouraged by 2 Corin. 12:8
"But he [Christ] said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me."

This is what God is working on in me, what is He working on in you? I would love to hear!

I've Learned A Lot These Past 17 Years

2010-12-01T18:28:00.001-05:00

Katey visiting Heather in California

17 years ago, on December 2nd, my first born child, Kate Elizabeth (Katey) was born.
I can't believe it has been 17 years. Of course, as her mom I have taught her a lot of things in those years, but that will never come close to how much she has taught me.

"Miranda" and "Lizzy"

It took years and many doctors visits to get pregnant, so before she ever was born I learned how to wait on God's perfect plan.

Rachel and Amanda "protesting"
on our front lawn

She has taught me how not to be so self centered, not just when she was a baby who needed me to meet her every need, but also as a young woman who often thinks of others above herself (except when it comes to Reese's... LOL)

Joy, Taylor and Katey
Best Friends since 3rd grade

She taught me what a devoted friend looks like, as she is the most faithful person to her friends that I know.

I learned early on that if she threw a tantrum, it was NOT all about me and how embarrassed I was.
I was so concerned about how I looked when she refused to go into her favorite ballet class, that I missed the fact that she was running a fever!

I learned how to rely on God as I saw her do so faithfully when she was in third grade and I was sick with breast cancer. From when I had cancer till a few years ago she would not spend the night away from home, but when she finally left home for a week it was to go to Guatemala on a mission trip. And when I anxiously recieved her call, I was floored when she said she did not want to come home, ever!

Katey helping with a camp in Guatemala

I have seen her live with integrity and she has taught me to do the same, now if she could only get me to stop cussing.... (just kidding, I have not been cussing in Guatemala)
She has displayed a servants heart serving our home church in so many ways, I couldn't begin to count them or even match them.

Katey and Rachel...enough said

She has a creative eye and computer skills that surpass me by miles.
In her, I see a strong quiet confidence and security in the Lord.
She has listened to more sermons on line than I have heard in a life time.

She swims faster than me, grew taller than me, comprehends more spanish than me, she's a great babysitter and an even better big sister.

My kids eating at MonoLoco in Guatemala, where we now live

She is not perfect, but is amazing. Many may say that behind every good kid is a good parent, (ok, maybe nobody says it but they should) but I know the truth, so much of who she turned out to be had little to do with me. So as I reflect on these past 17 years, I am happy with how much I've grown. Ok, so maybe I still need to grow in the area of it not being all about me.

Katey and I

Black Friday

2010-11-25T09:59:00.004-05:00

Friends, I have shopped me some FINE Black Friday sales in the past. This year the one TV channel we get from the states has been letting me know of the bargains. Kohls opens at 4:00 a.m. Target opens at 5:00. I've been joking with a dear Guatemalan friend that we are going to start Black Friday here in the market!

Of course I had to explain what it was first. Yes, it is true, Black Friday has not made it to Antigua, Guatemala...

In reality, a lot of things have not made it here. Good schools, access to a dentist, clean drinking water, safe stoves and homes for widows are all things that have not fully made it here. Sometimes even living here I forget...I offered to lend a movie to a dad the other day and he said, I'd love to borrow it when I get a dvd player! Well educated teachers tell me that they don't make brownies because they don't have an oven.

And as I watch the hilariously annoying target lady run down the isle with a parachute on her back, I think to my self, not too long ago, I shopped on Black Friday and had no idea or just tuned out the needs of so many people.

But God is not letting me do that any more. If I were home this Friday I just don't think I could watch people fight over a camera or an mp3 player, when I know people here who can't afford vegetables or meat. I'm not passing judgement, I am just sharing how God is rocking my world.

So, what if.....
For every store you go to on Black Friday, you also buy a water filter.
Or you don't go to any stores and instead buy a house for a widow.
What if, as a family, you decide to buy dental equipment.
Or instead of a ski vacation you go on a mission trip.
It is radical, I know.

Servants 4 Him has a gift catalog that will allow you to do just that!

Six months from now the clothes you bought your kids won't still fit. The iTunes songs will be old news, the camera will have broken and the earrings lost....but impacting their world view is a gift that will last a lifetime.

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed,
do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
Colossians 3:17

Thanks for Giving

2010-11-21T22:33:00.000-05:00

Thanks for giving. from Todd Erickson on Vimeo.

Unexpected Ministry

2010-11-03T01:04:00.000-04:00

We have been here in Guatemala for a few months now and we are working hard to learn the language.
In my mind, ministry would not really start until we learn the language enough to communicate in Spanish. But, in school, we started making friends. We found out that many people are not here in Antigua permanently like we are but are here to learn the language before moving to their permanent destination.

Since we are in our permanent destination we are one step ahead of those in transition.
Our wii, skateboard and american girl dolls are already here, we have lots of space in our home, we have everything we need in the kitchen to whip up a good meal, and we have internet.

As we started meeting people, we realized that this was not the case with other people. Many are in transition homes or live with a Guatemalan family. Some don't have space, others don't have internet, and others don't have friends nearby.

That is when God showed me that opening my home to other language students, cooking for people, letting people wash their clothes here, use our internet and come for dinner was a ministry.

I know that God has us here to impact the people of Guatemala and to change our lives as well, but now I know that he also planned for us to have a ministry that lets us speak english, eat foods from the states, play with our wii and bless people at the same time.

One family said their daughter had not had a friend to play with in four months.

One couple said if it had not been for us they probably would have already gone back home.

One couple asked us to host a birthday party because they did not have enough room.

God is amazing that while he is molding us, changing us and teaching us how to reach out to a country that is totally foreign to us, he is using what we do know to minister to others now.

What unexpected ministry is God using you to do?

The Learning Curve

2010-10-26T00:35:00.002-04:00

I used to teach 5th grade. The first year that I handed out locks for their lockers, I was in for a shock. I gave every kid a lock and the combination and said, "Go put these on your lockers!" Five minutes later, half the class was crying. Come to find out, they had never opened locks before. By my last year of teaching, I had "Lock Opening 101" down to a science. No tears and 10 minutes in, they all had their locks opened. It wasn't that I didn't know how to teach them how to open a lock, it was that I didn't know I needed to.

Last Friday was Clay's birthday. Wendy, our maid, has become a member of the family. We invited her to stay over for the birthday celebration, which included spending the night since it would be too late and dangerous for her to go home after the party.

Today she told me that on Saturday morning she had a cold shower. Now, had she been home, this would have made sense, because they do not have hot water in their house. But she was not at home, she was at my house and we do have hot water!

"Why?" I asked her and she proceeded to explain (in spanish).

She turned on the hot and it was very, very hot, so she turned it off. Then she turned on the cold and it was very cold, but she figured she could handle very cold better than scalding hot. She then proceeded to take a cold shower.

With a very puzzled look on my face I asked her why she didn't turn on the hot and cold water at the same time. At that moment, this adorable 25 year old Guatemalan young lady looked at me and said, "You can turn on the hot and cold water at the same time?"

After saying yes ten times and I'm sorry twenty times, I took her over to the kitchen sink and showed her how you can adjust the temperature, to which she replied with a big smile on her face, "I'm going to do that the next time!"

It wasn't that I didn't know how to teach her to use both the hot and cold water, it was that I didn't know I needed to. Boy, do I have a lot to learn!

So, you wanna go back to Egypt

2010-10-18T02:52:00.002-04:00

I've been sick in bed for 4 straight days. I have not felt good at all. I have not had enough sunshine, conversation, good food or human interaction and today I reached my limit!

(It did cross my mind later that there are people who are in this situation for much longer than 4 days, but that is for another blog)

So I marched downstairs and told Todd, and anyone else who would listen, that I wanted to go home. I want to drive my car, I want to shop at Safeway, I want to eat a salad at Blue Ridge Grill, just to name a few things. Todd's response was, (in a calm, unconcerned tone) "You will be fine once you get out of the house tomorrow. You get the same way when you are sick and cooped up at home in the states." (Ok well that might be true, but that was NOT the sympathy I was looking for.)

So, I headed back upstairs and spent an hour on the Vera Bradley Website for a little "Window Shopping Retail Therapy". That ended with me being frustrated that I couldn't have anything shipped here anyway...

So I grabbed my devotional book and opened it up and I promise you, this is what it said,
"Sometimes my little kingdom totters, my family convulses and my mind staggers to the edge. Then I must be still and know that God is God.....I must avoid running back to Egypt for help.
Egypt looked formidable but her looks were decieving. She had glamour but no strength.
It is not a sin to have an Egypt, it's a sin to rest on Egypt instead of God."
"The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knows those who take refuge in him." Nahum 1:7

...and He knows those who take refuge in him....Boy does He ever!

****in case you are unfamiliar with the story, after years of the Isrealites begging God to deliver them out of the hands of the Egyptians, God finally uses Moses to lead them out of slavery and Egypt. But of course, as they were wandering around in the desert waiting to get to the promise land, they were not happy. The people started complaining that they wanted to go back to Egypt, where they were slaves, but it was familiar. You can find the story in Genesis and Exodus in the Bible.

Avergonzado Means Embarrassed

2010-10-12T22:18:00.004-04:00

Paiz is the grocery store where I feel most comfortable. I like their meat, there are items I recognize, and it is well spaced and not crowded. I am happy when I shop there. It is far away and inconvienant, but a treat none the less.

Todd took me there this past Monday. I had not been in 2 weeks and was unsure when we'd be going again. This week and next I am having people for dinner.....so, what do you think I did? That's right!! I shopped my heart out. I did not buy things I did not need, I did not buy a lot of american food, but I did buy quite a lot of ground meat. I can freeze it and it was on sale! I bought chicken, I bought pasta, I bought spagetti sauce, you get the idea.

Well, when I got up to the check out stand it quickly became obvious that we were buying more than most people. The check out person and the bagger were snickering, the people behind us were annoyed.

As we were leaving the store both Todd and I were agitated. On the drive home we discussed how we were embarrassed at how much we bought. The weird thing is, it wasn't an excessive amount for a store in the states. It was to feed more than just our family, and it wasn't out of range for our budget. But we are learning that when you live in a place where many people are poor and hungry even a trip to the grocery store can be uncomfortable.

We eat simplier here, we eat out a lot less, we now eat left overs, our kids complain less about what we are having for dinner. God is teaching us so much, but as was obvious, we still have more to learn. I am not sure what God wanted us to learn on Monday but what I did learn was that we need to go to the store more often so as not to embarrass ourselves!

Don't Judge A Book by Its Cover

2010-09-28T15:11:00.000-04:00

1. The creme filled cookies here have about as much creme as an Oreo AFTER I have licked out the creme.

2. Some restaurants here look sketchy, and then you enter in and there are beautiful courtyards with year- round outdoor seating and delicious food.

3. Some TV shows aren't good in spanish either.

4. The doctor's office looks old fashioned and very third world, but the Dr. was professional, well-informed, spoke enough English and charged me the amount of my co-pay at home.

5. Just because something was good the first time you bought it doesn't mean it will be good the next time you buy it.

6. The ruins and landscape around here are beautiful.

7. Clouds can hide a whole volcano.

8. Worship is just as meaningful in Spanish even if you don't know the words.

9. Mamas everywhere love and worry about their babies.

10. The areas of my old home town that I thought were sketchy don't seem so scary to me anymore.

11. For many people, hot water is a luxury. And so are dishwashers and washing machines.

12. Most of the red and white "do not enter" bars that you find at a toll booth, are manual here.

13. I think all mayonnaise and corn oil should come in a bag with a spout on it, like I get it here.

14. Most people in the world eat to stay alive, in the States, many of us eat for pleasure. This fact changes my attitude about left-overs and repeatedly eating the same foods.

15. People here consider themselves Americans! So you don't say, I am n American, you say I am from the United States.

16. You should bargain in the artisan's market, but it is not really about the best price. This is their livelihood.

17. Motor Vehicles... drive it like you stole it (thank you Ricky Bobby).

18. Pedestrians....imagine you are playing Frogger.

19. Subscribing to the blog Antigua Daily Photo is a must.

20. I don't want to go home but I desperately want people to visit.

Don't Flush That!

2010-09-17T23:16:00.005-04:00

Most of Guatemala has poor plumbing. Our house has good plumbing, thank God, but we are the exception. In most bathrooms here, you cannot put your toilet paper in the toilet. You have to put it in the trash can. Jamie the very worst missionary talks more about this subject on her blog too.
So recently I was somewhere where I could not flush the toilet paper. I don't know exactly how to say this, but on the way to the trash can some "stuff" got on my pants. I literally thought, this cannot be happening to me....
I tried to wipe it off, but it was not working...
after using paper towels and soap, I got my pants cleaned off.
Now, I am sure you are wondering, "Why is she telling us this horrid story?

1. So you can laugh at me.

2. So you can thank an american plumber.

3. So you can see that sometimes when we go where God wants us to go and do what God wants us to do, it gets messy. But God didn't promise that it wouldn't be messy, He just promised to be with us.

To be honest, often my Spanish is messier, but I'm working on it.

1 Corinthians 1:28-31

"He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."

2010-09-17T22:50:00.002-04:00

Oreos or Chiky Cookies

2010-09-05T01:55:00.001-04:00

The other day, Todd and I were walking around Antigua. The streets are uneven cobblestone, everyone speaks spanish, there are all kinds of people, many poor, some well dressed, some who approached me in the streets wanting me to buy their goods. I passed one store with unrefridgerated slabs of meat hanging from the ceiling. There are no street signs, no street lights and cars do not stop for pedestrians. There was nothing I could see that made me think of home.

I told Todd, if I were here to visit I would say, "It is an interesting place to visit, but I don't think I could live here."

But guess what, I do live here.

I've been thinking A LOT the last few days and I have come to this conclusion: If I look at my Guatemalan house, the view, the yard, the people, the steets, the food, etc... I can be very satisfied. If I compare it to where I lived in the states, which I must remind myself was my home for many years, I am not satisfied.

Why do Oreos have to be expensive? Why do women with children have to beg?

And then the questions get bigger. Why would God call me to live here and let my friends stay in Northern Virginia?
Why do more churches not feel called to minister to the poor?
Why are there so few schools here that kids can only go to school 1/2 day with another group going the other half?
Why do they have no textbooks when Loudoun County has 2 sets for every kid?
Why does Coke Lite taste different than Diet Coke?

In one week, the biggest thing I am learning is to keep my eyes on where God has me, not where he HAD me. I'm learning to enjoy the Guatemalan things in front of me and not think about the Northern Va. things behind me.

What is God calling you to be satisfied with? Your current house? Job? Spouse?

My prayer for my own life is Philippians 4:11-13 "I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength."

Just as a side note, in Virginia I slept in a queen sized bed, here I have a king.
In Virginia, I had a tiny bathtub, here I have a jacuzzi bath tub.
In Virginia, I wanted to learn to speak Spanish, here I am.
In Virginia, I had a not so great view out my bedroom window, here I see a volcano and landscape that can take my breathe away.
In Virginia, I wanted to have to rely more on Jesus for the day to day, here I can't get out of bed with out Him.

School Supplies Needed

2010-09-01T23:16:00.001-04:00

This time of the year many stores are having sales on back to school supplies. While you are shopping for your family, would you consider picking up a couple of things for our kids as well? We need scissors, crayons, markers, small calculators, sharpies, gel pens, tape, notebooks, pencils, erasers...basically if your kids needed it, these kids probably could use it.

Another thing is black, navy or tan pants for boys up to size 12. (Used is acceptable) or money to purchase things

here. Our school year runs from January to October. So now is the time to start thinking about collecting things.

You can contact: Barry@Servants4Him.org who is one of our board members and he lives in Purcellville, Va.

He'll figure out how to get it and then will send it down with a team. Or if you know Randy Barrett from Destiny church, he can find people to bring stuff this fall.

Student Sponsorship Program- from the Servants For Him Newsletter

2010-09-01T22:53:00.000-04:00

Servants 4 Him has had a very successful Student Sponsorship Program for several years in San Pablo la Laguna, now we are ready to begin one in Santiago Zamora. The cost at this time is:

$100 per child to start to provide the school uniform, materials and the basics to begin the

school year in January 2011.

Then, the cost is $15 per month per child & a year commitment.

At this time we are unable to assign a specific child to a sponsor, however, you will receive updates on the children.

We have a list of children waiting to be helped with their schooling. We want to be able to provide for

as many as possible. The children will attend a private Christian school. (I, Maureen, had originally said it was a public school but i was incorrect)

We also have a couple of High Schoolers that would like help as well. Their costs are about $100 a month.

Would you prayerfully consider helping our children stay in school? Send your donations to

Servants 4 Him- attn. Scholarships: Santiago Zamora

PO Box 597

Hamilton, VA 20159

Today We Moved to Guatemala!

2010-08-30T23:07:00.000-04:00

This whole day has been surreal. Emily woke up at 4 a.m. this morning,sat straight up and said, "I am so excited!" From Josh driving us, to the guy who loaded ALL our foot lockers on a cart, to the lady who didn't weigh them, to the security guard who said he'd put zip ties on them...the morning could not have gone smoother. Todd got us from gate to gate and after a lay over in Atlanta, we were on the plane to Guatemala.

As we were getting ready to land, the flight attendants passed out immigration forms to be filled out by each passanger. LOL! Those of you from Destiny Church will be proud, I passed out Destiny pens to all the people around me. This older looking Guatemalan man, in a cowboy hat, motioned to Clay for help. He deferred to me and I used what broken high school spanish I remembered to help him out, eventually taking his passport and filling out as much of the form as I could. What struck me was that the form was both in Spanish and English. It hit me that he could not read it. It was then that I looked at Todd, totally choked up in tears and said, "I am so glad we are here."

I love Jesus and education. And my thought has always been, if I teach people to read, they can read the Bible! so i asked this man to come live with us....ok that is not true.

We made it through the Guatemalan airport and were greeted excitedly by Forrest and Carol.
While getting all of our stuff loaded on the ROOF of the car, we talked to an airport employee
who wanted to practice his english! He says he is studying at the university.

The ride was interesting, traffic is crazy. Guatemala City was poorer and more crowded, and much sadder than I was ready for and i wondered what people would think when they came to visit.

We stopped at Pollo Compero, and got dinner to go. They have one in Herndon but for those of you, like me, who have not eaten there, it is like KFC. When we got to Antigua, we were awed by the sites of ruins that we drove by. Then we arrived home, once again I cried! The pictures do not do it justice. Our home is beautiful. God has given us a place to do ministry and a place to feel safe. The architecture is an added blessing. This house has amazing character, unlike any I have ever seen, with gardens and balconies.

Our stuff was unpacked and we were welcomed by an amazing young guatemalan young lady named Wendy. She lives an hour away by bus and before helping in the houses, had never seen a washer and dryer. However, she does know how to weave cloth and that is an art I cannot even begin to attempt.

It is the rainy sesson, and today it poured. Many things in the house feel damp, but was very cool and comfortable with no air conditioning.

There is a fire place in the living room and our bedroom. This is for when it gets cold outside, since there is also no heat.

Every floor is tile or cement. And we have the Disney channel, in SPANISH!

forrest and Carol have already been irriplaceable to us and for that we are grateful! Wednesday Edsuardo takes us to price mart, Friday the kids can go to a youth group event and next week we start language school!

Is this overwhelming to read? Try experiencing it all in one day!! But God is gracious and we are trusting Him. I promise not to write this much every time, but let me say this....we went around as a family and prayed in each room of our new home and i can honestly say, if you don't come and at least visit, you will be missing out on an opportunity of a life time.

we love you guys,
For us all,
Maureen

Here we are Lord, so if you can’t find anybody more qualified, send us…

2010-08-20T15:42:00.006-04:00

In one week we leave for Guatemala. We are moving there as a family to work with Servants 4 Him.

Now I have a certain image of what a missionary family should look like and act like and we don’t fit the mold. In some ways that is good, in other ways, lets just say He’s still working on us.

Sunday our campus pastor spoke on the tongue. He is a Godly man who has the gift of encouragement. He said how he could not even bring himself to say the word…c.r.a.p. and even then, he spelled it.

After church, Clay jumps in the car and says, “O crap”.

I started in on him. “Were you in the service today? Did you hear the message on the tongue? Did you hear Pastor Rob say he couldn’t even say the word crap? And you jump in the car and the first word out of your mouth is crap! DO NOT SAY CRAP!”

“Gosh mom, I just said it once, you just said it three times in like 30 seconds.”
At this point I am thinking about hurting him and if they arrest me I’ll just start a prison ministry.

I am positive that most families got in their car and NO ONE said the word crap after the sermon on the tongue. I am also sure that they would all be more qualified to be missionaries in Guatemala. However, we are the ones that are willing to go, so God is going have to continue to mold us.

As I spend time in God’s word and I looked at Isaiah, where he says, “Here I am Lord send me,” it amazes me that in the verses before hand he confesses his unclean lips.

Isaiah 6:1-8
Isaiah's Commission
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another:
"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory."
At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
"Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."
Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"

Even the book of James ties the tongue and serving together;

James 1: 26-27
If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.

So, all I can say is, we may be willing but, Oh Cr... er... SNAP, we have our work cut out for us!!

If you give me some paper, I just might cook some tacos.... (or how being ADD makes me fat)

2009-08-12T00:55:00.007-04:00

Ok, so you've all heard of the book,"If you give a Mouse a Cookie"... cute children's book on how one thing leads to another in this mouse's day.

Well here is my ADD real life version....

I went to bed about 10:50. It was really hot in my bedroom and I was having trouble falling asleep. My mind was racing with things I needed to get done, ideas for the school year and more. I decided that maybe if I wrote down the things that were swirling in my head I'd be better able to get to sleep.
I turned on the light next to my bed, "Where is some paper? How come I can't find a pen?"
Oh, I know where some paper is.... I climbed out of bed and started to write down my thoughts. Sitting on the love seat that is in my bedroom across from the T.V. I think that I might as well catch the end of Letterman while I clear my mind.
my stomach growls. If only I were asleep already, I would not even know that I was hungry.

I decided to get a glass of milk to hold me over till morning.

I came down to the kitchen and opened the fridge and there staring at me is the ground meat I defrosted but never cooked. Emily has been asking me to cook that meat so she could make tacos. Since I am up I should cook it right now. Is the fry pan in the dishwasher? I emptied the dishwasher. The fry pan is not in there. I get the pan out of the cabinet and start to cook the meat. I reload this dishwasher while I am waiting for the meat to brown. Ooooo that meat looks good. Maybe I'll season it now. This looks so good, I think I'll just have a quick soft taco instead of a class of milk. Oh good there is pineapple salsa, oh yeah and sour cream, we never have sour cream, add some shredded chedder. This looks so good. Oh that is right, Todd called and said he emailed me, well let me just take my taco in here. and there it was, the time on the computer....
or should i say here IS the time on the computer. 1:21 a.m. and I am wide awake eating a really yummy soft taco.....

The Kings in Second Chronicles

2009-07-15T12:54:00.002-04:00

I was working on my homework on a Beth Moore Bible Study this morning and started to see a pattern, so I wrote my own little study on what I saw.

Mo’s Devo – July 15, 2009

Skim thru 2 Chronicles chapters 24- 36 (you can usually find the information in the first and last few verses)
At about each new chapter there is a new King. Note the following….

Who was king?
How old was he?
How long was his reign?
Did he honor God?
What were the results?

What pattern do you see?
What can you learn from this?
Now let’s take a look at our own lives

Your name
First, which king to you most identify with?
How old were you when you accepted Christ?
How long has it been to this date?
Did you honor God?
What are the results?

Are there any changes you need to make in your life, I know there are some changes that need to take place in mine!

Chronicles Answer Key:

Verse: 2 Chron. 24:1-2

King: Joash

Age he became King: 7

Reign: 40 years

Honored God? :
Did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the years that the priest Jehoiada lived

Results:
Repaired the temple

Verse:
24: 8-12
2 Chron. 24:17

King:
Joash

age: 7
years of reign: 40

Honored GOd? He started listening to the wrong people

ResultJudgement came upon him. He was killed and buried not with the kings

THe chart didn't transfer but you get the idea.....
vs 24:25
2 Chron. 25:1-2

Amaziah 25 29 years
He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not wholeheartedly Vs 20 lost a battle
27 from the time he stopped following the Lord he was plotted against , fled and killed.

2Chron. 26 Uzziah 16 52 years He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord just as his father had done (hmmm) As long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success
Vs 16 But after Uzziah became powerful his pride let to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God. He ended up with leprosy still the day he died

27 Jotham 25 16 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord just like his father had done, but unlike him he did not enter the temple Jotham grew powerful because he walked steadfastly before the Lord his God.

28 Ahaz 20 16 Unlike his father, he did not to what was right in the eyes of the Lord Prisoner at an early age, never repented, was the downfall of himself and all of Israel.

29 Hezekiah 25 29 years He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord just like his “father” David had done. Fixed the temple, God brought it about quickly
Chapter 31 vs 20 everything he did was good and right and faithful before the Lord
In everything that he undertook in the service in the service of God’s temple and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered. Ch 32 vs 33 alljudah and the people honored him when he died

33 Manasseh 12 55 years He did evil in the eyes of the Lord and rebuilt all that his father had demolished Was taken prisoner put a hook in his nose, shakles on his feet and led him away.
Repented, so God freed him, humbled himself, fixed his mistakes

33 vs 21 Josiah 8 31 years He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and walked in the ways of his
“father” David not turning aside to the right or to the left. As long as he lived they did not fail to follow the Lord the God of their fathers.

36 Jehoahaz 23 3 months Does not say Taken prisoner
36 jehoiakim 25 11 years He did evil in the eyes of the Lord Taken prisoner
36 Jehoiachin 18 3 months and 10 days Evil in the eyes of the Lord Taken prisoner
36 Zedekiah 21 11 years Evil in the eyes of the Lord and did not humble himself Taken prisoner

There is a lot for me to learn from these men....

Breakfast for 2

2009-07-13T01:39:00.007-04:00

What have my son and I learned in a year? Well a lot actually. (See post below this for a review of last years post) For one thing, we didn't even try and rent a bike on our breakfast date this year. And he had such fond memories from last year, that he asked me out this year. We went to the same place, The Hylton, and both got the breakfast buffet. This is the last year he can get the buffet for the kids price, so next year maybe he'll even offer to pay. After we ate, we found an outside church service and listened to the praise and worship and then headed home. The fact that we had no problems during our date this year shows me we are growing as mom and son. So, next year about this time, i'll let you know how my breakfast is with my son, the man, who now has to pay full price for the buffet. Until then, ask yourself, "Who do I need to have breakfast for 2 with?"

Remember this blog post from last summer?

2009-07-13T01:20:00.004-04:00

My 11 year old son, Clay, and I needed some time together. So on Sunday, down at the beach, while the rest of the family went to church, we went out to breakfast. We ate at a nice, new hotel down the board walk and had a really nice time. Then, as we were walking back to our condo, there is was. A yellow bike for two. What could be more bonding? So, we rented it. But we never, ever got it to work for the two of us. When we should have been laughing, we were yelling at each other. The whole reason we went out was for some bonding time, and it was backfiring.

We traded it in for a two seater side by side carriage that is big at the beach (and that I said I would never rent) and we road up and down the board walk. Clay summed up the whole morning with one line, "Mom, this is teaching us how to work together."

Who do you need some "bicycle built for two" time with?

Thirsty Anyone? I've heard this before, I believe it is true.... some "food" for thought

2009-05-28T22:30:00.010-04:00

Bottled Water in your car is Very dangerous!
On the Ellen show, Sheryl Crow said this is what caused her B
Cancer.
It has been identified as the most common cause
Of the high levels of dioxin in B cancer tissue.
Sheryl Crow's oncologist told her:
Women should not drink bottled water that has been left in a car.
The heat reacts with the chemicals in the plastic of the
Bottle which releases dioxin into the water.
Dioxin is
a toxin increasingly found in B-cancer tissue.
Use a stainless steel canteen or a glass bottle instead of plastic!

Also
No plastic containers in microwave.
No water bottles in freezer
No plastic wrap in microwave.
A dioxin chemical causes cancer, especially breast cancer.
Dioxins are highly poisonous to the cells of our bodies.
Don't freeze your
Plastic
Bottles with water in them as this releases dioxins from the plastic.
Recently,
Edward Fujimoto, Wellness Program Manager at Castle Hospital ,
Was on a TV program to explain this health hazard..
He talked about dioxins and how bad they are for us.
He said that we should not be heating our food in the microwave using
Plastic containers... This especially applies to foods that contain fat.
He said that the combination of fat, high heat,=2 0and plastic releases
Dioxin
Into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body...
Instead, he recommends using glass, such as Corning Ware, Pyrex or ceramic
Containers for heating food.. You get the same results, only without the
Dioxin.
So such things as TV dinners, instant ramen and soups, etc.
Should be removed from the container and heated in something else.
Paper isn't bad but you don't know what is in the paper.
It's just safer to use tempered glass, Corning Ware, etc.
He reminded us that a while ago some of the fast food
Restaurants moved away from the foam containers to
Paper. The dioxin problem is one of the reasons...
Also, he pointed out that plastic wrap, such as Saran wrap,
Is just as dangerous when placed over foods to be cooked in the microwave.
As the food is nuked, the high heat causes poisonous toxins to actually
Melt
Out of the plastic wrap and drip into the food.
Cover food with a paper towel instead.

Summer Time Goals- Part 2

2009-05-05T23:49:00.003-04:00

This image, right here, is what is getting me to the end of the school year.
I love my job and I love my summers.

What do you get when you mix 10 cousins, 10 hats and 10 mustaches?

2008-12-28T22:44:00.001-05:00

Her First Homecoming

2008-10-18T22:30:00.004-04:00

Combating Flopsy

2008-09-07T08:11:00.003-04:00

This morning when I told Emily we needed to walk the dog before going to church she said, "I don't feel like walking the dog, I feel flopsy!" Now I am expecting that most of you don't know what flopsy means, as I did not know either. She informed me that flopsy means that you feel like a rag doll and you want to lay around and not walk the dog. Since yesterday was a hurricane rain day, we did that all day. I felt like it was my job as a parent to let her know that you can't be flopsy more than one day in a row or you will grow up to be fat. (tactiful I know) And that the best way to fight feeling flospy is to exercise. To this she said, "I will race you to the corner." Me in tennis shoes and her in flip flops, running as fast as I could, she beat me. Looks like I had too many flospy days in my past.

Daddy's advice to his girls

2008-08-30T22:37:00.010-04:00

"My butt is not a billboard" Todd was out to dinner the other night with our girls and had them repeating this line. You gotta love quality daddy daughter time!

Watch the Olympics, Pray for the persecuted

2008-07-31T09:04:00.002-04:00

President welcomes those fighting for the persecuted in China
Add one more China Olympic Prayer Band to the 500,000 given by VOM supporters to raise awareness of persecuted Christians. Just 24 hours ago, President George Bush received a prayer bracelet from Bob Fu, president of China Aid Association.

Bob and four other Chinese human rights advocates met with President Bush in a room usually reserved for diplomats. White House officials said President Bush organized the historic 45-minute meeting to "discuss his concerns about human rights in China," ahead of the Olympic Games next month. "The President seems very concerned about the worsening situation for human rights in China," Bob Fu said. "I gave him five China prayer bands for his family to wear and four house churches addresses and told him he would be welcomed to attend their Sunday service when he is there next week."

The President told Bob that he will talk to the press and the Chinese people about the importance of religious freedom. He also promised to tell China's leaders that they cannot use the Olympics as a pre-text to further crackdown on human rights. Please pray President Bush will be successful in advocating for the persecuted church to Chinese leaders. Pray the President will heed Bob's request to intercede for house church Christians in China such as Zhang Rongliang, who is currently serving 7 1/2 years in prison.

Order your Prayer Bands today!
Praise God! The Voice of the Martyrs and CAA's crusade to raise prayer and awareness for our persecuted brothers and sisters in China has reached the leader of the free world. But there are many more people to reach! Prayer bands can be purchased for as low as 50 cents each. Help remind others to pray for persecuted Christians by ordering your prayer bands today!

Order Here

What a bargin!

2008-07-26T11:20:00.001-04:00

Just got this email from Costco.... I saved $770.00!!

TV Land

2008-07-25T21:10:00.006-04:00

In the day and age of High Def and Flat Screen TVs.... we still have our 20 your old TV. Ok, so it is our 2nd TV and it is in our bed room, but some times we like to relax away from the kids in our room and watch a TV show. However, our 20 year old TV had picture distortion, so all the people were short and fat.

What to do.?

In an ideal world, we would buy a nice, big flat screen TV.

But this is not an ideal world, so what did we do? I went to a thrift store and bought an old Magnavox, biggest screen we have, clear, crisp picture for ..... 29.99. Maybe it is a perfect world.

101 days

2008-07-23T10:47:00.004-04:00

Todd's blog suggested other things we could do for 40 days or more. Like 101 days of sex!
(Laughing Out Loud) Only a guy can make that transition... although in all seriousness the book Couples Who Pray: The Most Intimate Act Between a Man and a Woman by Squire Rushnell and Louise DuArt does say the two are closely related. Seriously.

For what Todd had to say in his own words check this out: Todd's Blog

Couples Who Pray Together

2008-07-22T22:24:00.004-04:00

A few friends who went to Women of Faith recently told me about a 40 day challenge they were embarking on, praying together as a couple. Now having been married 20 years and being married to a pastor, most people probably assume Todd and I do this, but we don't. Not regularly that is. So I decided to take the challenge to Todd.

Now busyness sets in, being tired comes early, and some times I am grumpy. All reasons why it is a struggle, but we are going to give it a try anyway. So far we are 2 nights in to the committment.

I found one web site (listed below) that had these stats. "Couples who pray together have their relationship enriched and strengthened. Surveys from the US show that whilst the divorce rate for Christians is not particularly less than for those outside the church, Christian couples who pray together have a divorce rate of less than 1%. "

Now if that doesn't motivate me, what will?

Are you up for the challenge?

http://www.prayerguide.org.uk/husbands.htm

Bicycle built for two? Easier said than done....

2008-07-20T13:45:00.006-04:00

The Beach

2008-06-27T20:38:00.007-04:00

My Katey could not be more beautiful. Lucky for us, no boys noticed!

Clay thinks the harder a wave flips you the better it is! Here he is digging for sand crabs.

My Emily, almost 8 year old, has NO FEAR in the water. NONE! even with waves that are bigger than her!

Checking Off My Summer Goals

2008-06-20T18:18:00.005-04:00

Have you set summer goals? Can you check any off your list? I've been reaching my goals (see last blog entry) I had some one-on-one time with Emily. Clay actually wanted to go to the outlet mall with me. Ok, he was hoping I'd buy him something, but we had a great time. I have lost a pound, and been walking daily. Reading.... well, I've almost finished the book The Shack, and today I had a lunch date with Todd! It was a good week. Now I need to make some spiritual goals. Write a comment and share some of your summer time goals.

Summer Time Goals

2008-06-14T10:35:00.005-04:00

As a teacher I only have 9 weeks off in the summer, I know, those of you who work all summer are having a hard time feeling sorry for me. Well, if you put up with 24 kids, and their parents for little pay you could get summers off too!! But I digress... I only have 9 weeks to accomplish what I can't accomplish all year. So I have to set some goals. Otherwise, I'll get to the end of summer and feel like I accomplished nothing. So here it goes, I am going to read a book a week, get weekly one on one time with each of my kids, have at least 5 date nights with my husband, lose 10 pounds, lead a 9th grade girls Bible study, and clean my bedroom. I mean really clean it, because lets me honest, it has to last all year.

JUNO

2008-05-26T00:02:00.003-04:00

Just got around to seeing the movie JUNO with Katey and Clay. Pro-life and pro-adoption. I loved it.

What do you do when your 14 yr old begs to spend the day with you?

2008-05-24T23:22:00.002-04:00

You drop everything and spend the day with her. OK, don't really be impressed, it took me weeks to drop everything and give her a day. But today was the day. We went to Target, went to the mall with her and a friend. Spent HOURS at the mall, eating, shopping, laughing etc.... came home, rented 27 dresses, watched the movie.
May there never be a time that I am not willing to spend the day with my teenager if she is willing to spend the day with me.

Pray, Pray, Pray

2008-05-22T06:33:00.002-04:00

One of contemporary Christian music star Steven Curtis Chapman’s six children was killed this afternoon when she was struck by a car said to be driven by her teenage brother in the driveway of the family’s Williamson County home.

The child, Maria, age 5, was taken by LifeFlight to Vanderbilt Hospital, which confirmed the death, according to Laura McPherson, a spokeswoman for the Tennessee Highway Patrol.
She was hit by an SUV driven by her teenage brother, she said. Police did not give the driver’s name.

The teen was driving a Toyota Land Cruiser down the driveway of the rural home at about 5:30 p.m. and several children were playing in the area, McPherson said. He did not see the 5-year-old in the driveway before the vehicle struck her, she said.
“It appears to be a terrible accident,’’ McPherson said.

No charges are expected, she said. The accident was witnessed by two other children; the entire family was home at the time, McPherson said.

Veteran singer/songwriter Chapman and his wife Mary Beth have long been supporters of international adoption, having brought three girls from China into their family. Maria is one of their adopted daughters.

The couple is so active they formed an organization, Shaohannah’s Hope, to aid families wanting to adopt.
The tragedy was announced during services at Harpeth Hills Church of Christ, which the family attends. The young girl had just graduated from the church preschool.

Most of the family was at Vanderbilt children’s hospital after the accident and could not be contacted.
The long gravel driveway leading to the home west of Franklin was blocked off by Williamson County sheriff’s deputies.
“The critical response team of the THP is reconstructing the accident,” McPherson said. “The district attorney’s office was consulted.”

Chapman was in the news in April when he was inducted into the Music City Walk of Fame.

Water’s Edge (youth group) Talk- how your serving can change the world-----May 18

2008-05-18T00:59:00.005-04:00

This is the talk I am giving tonight to the Jr. High and Sr. High youth groups at church. It makes me feel old because I am 44 and have not yet changed the world. My prayer is that the Lord will continue to narrow my visions to things He is passionate about. And broaden my impact for Him.

Tonight we are talking about how serving changes the world
When I think about changing the world – it’s a huge idea, to big for me to grasp, and you are probably thinking as one person, I can’t do anything big enough to change the world.

But how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time
And how do you change the world by serving one person at a time

I have three things you need to keep in mind to change the world:
The first is 1. It can be done
1 timothy 4:12 says
“Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.”
Can you imagine if world change started in our church and it started with Water’s Edge.
Cnn has heroes awards – you can go on line and nominate people and see the varies winners and one of the categories is young wonders
Here are just a few:
Kayla Cornale, 18, of Burlington, Ontario, Canada, who developed a musical system to improve communications with autistic people

Pat Pedraja is only 12.
When he was diagnosed with leukemia he learned that minorities like himself make up less than a third of the U.S. bone marrow registry--so he started Driving for Donors. He travels the country to encourage minorities to register. This year, he signed up more than 5,000 donors in three months.

According to UNICEF, one of every six people on Earth lacks access to safe drinking water. So Sixteen-year-old Ryan Hreljac, who lives near Ottawa, Ontario, is working to change that. To date, the Ryan's Well Foundation has built 266 wells in 12 developing countries, bringing clean water to more than 435,000 people.
These are great examples of young people who served and are impacting the world

The second thing you need to keep in mind to change the world is
2.Your impact can be eternal
Right now in Hollywood it is very hip to help countries internationally, angelie jjolie and bread pitt are paving the way, and it is wonderful but if the people they impact don’t know jesus, they have only impacted 50 -80 years of their eternity.

Last summer, The Voice of the Martyrs which is a non-profit, interdenominational organization with a vision for aiding Christians around the world who are being persecuted for their faith in Christ.
invited eight ordinary teenagers from around the United States and Australia to meet the underground church of Vietnam. Their mission was simple-to bring Bibles and other help to Christians in a restricted nation.   
Can you imagine at your age right now, smuggling Bibles into Viet Nam? Kids your age are doing it.

The third way your serving can change the world
is by giving what you have to God

I want to take you to John 6:5-13 This is when Jesus feeds the five thousand
He’s been teaching all day and they have no food for these people
In Vs 8 one of the disciples says “here is a boy with 5 loaves and 2 fish how far will they go among so many?” but Jesus takes it and starts to feed the people and then in verse13 they gathered the leftovers and it filled 12 baskets.
One small boy willing to share his lunch in a situation that seemed pointless got to see God multiply it!!

A few years ago there was a boy at my school, cfs, who needed to do community service hours for school – so he decided to collect money for an organization (International Justice Mission) who helps free modern slaves in other countries –where kids are enslaved in sex trades, working in factories and fields and so much more. His service project has grown into an arm of IJM. He has spoken all over the world and won awards and has helped so many people because he took something small and gave it to God. Lets watch this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3_V84gbUZs (if unable to see this video cut and paste it into your internet browswer)

Let me end with this quote by Margaret mead..
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. Margaret Mead

Let’s pray

Three Words Only

2008-05-10T14:23:00.004-04:00

Last Sunday: Breast Cancer Walk
Monday: Rest at home
Tuesday: Teacher Appreciation Day
Wednesday: Karate and Lacrosse
Thursday: Eat dinner out
Friday: Grading till late
Saturday: Sports rained out
This Sunday:

Chick-Fil-A

2008-04-26T14:38:00.003-04:00

Katey has started looking up info on how to run for Leesburg town council. When she couldn't find the information she was looking for, she emailed somebody for more information. She said she wants to run to on the platform of getting Leesburg a Chick-Fil-A. I am guessing that she does not meet the age requirement and wouldn't win on just one issue if she ran, but the fact that she would even be discussing this is a credit to her civics teacher this year, Mrs. Robeson. So, if you like Chick- Fil - A, consider voting for her if she makes the ballot!

Student 'Twitters' his way out of Egyptian jail

2008-04-26T09:58:00.003-04:00

By Mallory Simon
CNN

(CNN) -- James Karl Buck helped free himself from an Egyptian jail with a one-word blog post from his cell phone.
James Karl Buck sent a message using Twitter which helped get him out of an Egyptian jail

Buck, a graduate student from the University of California-Berkeley, was in Mahalla, Egypt, covering an anti-government protest when he and his translator, Mohammed Maree, were arrested April 10.

On his way to the police station, Buck took out his cell phone and sent a message to his friends and contacts using the micro-blogging site Twitter.

The message only had one word. "Arrested."

Within seconds, colleagues in the United States and his blogger-friends in Egypt -- the same ones who had taught him the tool only a week earlier -- were alerted that he was being held.

Twitter is a social-networking blog site that allows users to send status updates, or "tweets," from cell phones, instant messaging services and Facebook in less than 140 characters.
Hossam el-Hamalawy, a Cairo-based blogger at UC-Berkeley, was one of the people who got word of Buck's arrest.
"At first I was worried about his safety," el-Hamalawy said.

Then, el-Hamalawy took to the Web and wrote regular updates in his own blog to spread the information Buck was sending by Twitter. Nobody was sure how long Buck would be able to communicate. See Buck describe what he saw and captured on film during the protests
But Buck was able to send updates every couple of hours saying he was still detained, he had spoken to the prosecutor, he still had not been charged, and he was worried about Maree.

"Usually the first thing the police go for is the detainees' cameras and cellular phones," el-Hamalawy said. "I'm surprised they left James with his phone."

Twitter is normally used to keep groups of people connected in less urgent situations. Watch how Twitter works »
But Biz Stone, co-founder of Twitter, said he and others knew that the service could have wide-reaching effects early on, when the San-Francisco, California-based company used it to communicate during earthquakes.

Stone said that as the service got more popular, they began to hear stories of people using Twitter during natural disasters with a focus on activism and journalism.

Buck's urgent message is proof of the value of Twitter, Stone said. Buck's entry set off a chain of events that led to his college hiring a lawyer on his behalf.

"James' case is particularly compelling to us because of the simplicity of his message -- one word, 'arrested' -- and the speed with which the whole scene played out," Stone said. "It highlights the simplicity and value of a real-time communication network that follows you wherever you go."
Initially, the Twitter message was a precaution -- something people could trace in case anything went wrong, Buck said.
"The most important thing on my mind was to let someone know where we were so that there would be some record of it ... so we couldn't [disappear]," Buck said. "As long as someone knew where we were, I felt like they couldn't do their worst [to us] because someone, at some point, would be checking in on them."

Buck began using Twitter as a way to keep up in touch with the bloggers at the heart of his project and the events going on in Egypt that he intended to cover. Buck was working on a multimedia project on Egypt's "new leftists and the blogosphere" as part of his master's degree thesis.
Buck found out from a Twitter message that a planned protest against rising food prices and decreasing wages in Mahalla had been shut down by Egyptian authorities April 6.

The next day, tensions rose as family and friends of protesters who had been detained took to the streets, eventually throwing Molotov cocktails and setting tires on fire, he said.
On April 10, Buck returned to Mahalla, where protests continued.

"I was worried about getting arrested, so I made sure to stay at a distance from the protest so there was no way I could be accused of being part of it," Buck said. "Mohammed and I had a bad sense; it was really tense."
When the men tried to escape, they were detained. That's when Buck thought of Twitter and sent out his message.
Buck and Maree were interrogated, released and then detained again by the same police officers.
"We are really worried that we are off the radar now," Buck said.

Eventually Buck was released, but Maree was transferred to another police station.
As he left the station, Buck reached into his pocket, as he did less than 24 hours earlier.
Another one-word blog entry said it all: "Free."
As happy as he was to be free, Buck said, his biggest frustration was leaving behind the translator who helped protect him during the riots.

Although the Twitter message helped him find contacts to get out of prison, he says it was more the power of the network he had as an American that enabled him to be released so quickly.
"Mohammed was sitting next to me," he said. "But he didn't have the network to call. I tried to use my network to shield him until they tore us apart."

Twitter may not have been able to secure Maree's release, but Buck hopes his initial reason for using Twitter will help find his missing friend.

"It was my big hope that people would get [the message] right away and at least put a thumbtack on the map as far as our location," Buck said.
There has been no official confirmation regarding Maree's whereabouts.
Attiya Shakran, press counsel for the Egyptian Consulate in San Francisco, said Maree was released April 13.
Maree's brother Ahmed Maree said that he had not heard from his brother and that he believes he is still in jail.
Government officials in Egypt could neither confirm nor deny Maree's release, despite repeated requests for comment.

Buck is now using his story and Twitter page as a way to rally people looking for answers about Maree's status. He's gone as far as publishing the phone number of the press counsel of the Egyptian Consulate in San Francisco and posting a petition for Maree's release.
For Buck, the main story is no longer about his quest for freedom from jail; it's a quest to find answers and, eventually, find his friend.

white chicken chili

2008-04-19T22:09:00.009-04:00

Those of you who know Todd know that I am blessed beyond words. He is the best husband a woman could ask for. That being said, we still have our differences.
A couple of years ago our church was having a chili cook off. I was going to make my famous tomato based chili and Todd wanted to try a new white chicken chili recipe he had found. Problem was, we only had one crock pot. So we passionately discussed what to do and I thought we agreed I'd make my chili. Todd offered to go to the store and came home with the ingredients for HIS chili.
He argued that we had decided on his chili. Well, even though I was sure I was right, there was that ever so small doubt in the back of my mind. Todd, on the other hand, is confident enough that there never was a doubt in his mind, I am sure. Over the years it has happened again and again. I think we have agreed on one thing, he thinks another. It has frustrated me to no end, until i found a secret weapon.
The kids.
I would get them to be part of the conversation and then I'd have witnesses (they didn't know they were my witnesses) to what we agreed on. Nine out of ten times I am right. But even so, Todd has never thought he was wrong, until tonight.

We decided to watch a movie, we were checking out the movies listed on "On Demand". Todd suggested "Martian Child"
and I wanted to watch "Saving Sarah Cane." Todd graciously said, "Honey, you don't get to watch movies very often, what do you want to watch? I said, " Well, I'm not sure if you will like this movie, but my choice is Saving Sarah Cane." Todd said, "ok! Katey if you are going to watch it with us run this laundry upstairs first."
She did.
She came back and the three of us sat down. Todd turned to the movie page and started to press the button for "Martian Child".
I said, "What are you doing?"
He said,"Starting the movie:"
"I thought we were watching Sarah Cane?
and then it happened......
Katey said, "SO DID I"
we replayed the whole conversation for him and he said, "Well that does sound vaguely familiar. (vaguely familiar? it was 5 minutes ago!)
and then I did the thing that therapists say you are not supposed to do. I brought up the past. Ah ha, and we probably never agreed on white chicken chili either. ( OK so in both cases we picked my choice...but that's a whole other blog.)
But then another amazing thing happened, he said, "This is the first time I remembered the past conversation and realized that I did this." We ended up not watching a movie, I decided to go upstairs and he decided to watch tv instead.
I felt vindicated, until the thought came to me. How often do I do that to God? He says one thing and I hear what I want to hear and then do my own thing. WOW. How can I be upset with Todd when I do that all the time?
So it came full circle. I realized that I have a lot more giving in to do with Todd and a lot more really listening to do with God.
On our next free evening I think I'll suggest we make white chicken chili and watch "Martian Child".

Mean People

2008-03-20T10:29:00.004-04:00

My hope is that our neighbors are nature worshippers. My hope is that they believe that when they die (and they are old) they will be one with nature. Obviously that is not what I believe, but it would explain their behavior. It would explain to me why, after they moved in, they started yelling at the neighborhood boys when the basketball accidently rolled on their lawn.
It would explain to my son, who comes in the house crying, why they threaten to call the police for stepping in their yard.
The thing is, Todd and I have been out there. The boys are not running amuck in their yard. They are just playing basketball in the street, with a hoop that is 100% in our yard.

The husband came to the door the other day just furious that the ball rolls in their yard on occasion. Going out of our way to try and be neighborly we offered to consider moving the hoop to the other side of our house.

In contrast, we went to the neighbors on the other side, and they were amazing. We thought we'd ask what they thought about us moving the hoop. They said yes, yes, yes please feel free to put the hoop on this side of your house!

After we moved the hoop, we saw the mean old couple walking down the street. Not only did they not say, "thank you for moving the hoop", they said nothing. The next day a sign went up in their yard, near our house, that says NO TRESPASSING!

We are not going away, the neighborhood boys are not getting smaller, the weather is starting to get nicer and the days longer, so I really need to spend some time in prayer over my attitude. Obviously the cookies we delivered at Christmas did no good. Maybe I'll deliver a brochure for a 55 and older community. I don't expect them to be any happier, but at least there would be no basketball hoops.

Gigi- our new baby

2008-03-18T20:22:00.003-04:00

What a week and it is only Tuesday!! We got to Nemacolin on Monday and the place was nicer than we could have imagined.
aw heck there is so much to tell, from me getting an ipod nano for my birthday to a 4 wheeling hummer ride. but can we please get to the unexpected news that we have adopted a dog. we named her Gigi. we are so excited.

stealing Todd's very funny blog- how's that for lame

2008-03-01T22:47:00.003-05:00

We left a kid at church- but so did Jesus' parents!!

2008-02-25T06:06:00.006-05:00

You may have heard the story; it is found in Luke 2.

"Every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up to the Feast, according to the custom. After the Feast was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you."
"Why were you searching for me?" he asked. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" But they did not understand what he was saying to them. Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men."

On Sunday a similar thing happened to us. I told Todd I was going home. Now, granted I almost always take a kid with me. But, in my defense, I always send them in to say, "I am going with Mom".

Todd had brought all the kids with him when he went in early, so last that I knew they were all in his possession. In his defense, he does have a lot on his mind on Sunday mornings.

So he calls me after church, they are headed to McDonalds, did I want something. At this point I have NO reason to believe he does not have all the children.

Then he calls back, someone just called from the tear down crew at church and we left Emily. I raised my voice at him a little. It turns out Emily was fine, not even really upset. The family that called ended up driving her home to me. When Todd got home he had McDonalds for her and he told her he was very sorry.
I hugged her and told her that she was in good company, even Jesus was left at the temple.
Then I deposited another $50.00 in her future therapy fund.

Cletus Take the Reel

2008-02-04T21:45:00.001-05:00

Carrie Underwood's "Jesus Take the Wheel" has got nothin on "Cletus Take the Reel". Enjoy my new favorite video...

Book Review

2008-02-02T21:58:00.000-05:00

I just finished reading My Grandfather's Son. You can read all about the book on line and read all about its political implications, but that is not why I read it. I read it out of interest in Justice Thomas' life. And it served me well. It was a great picture of overcoming hardship. It gave me an enlightened view on race relations. It granted me insight to why he is conservative.
It contained great quotes and life lessons. Throughout the book he told who was a man of their word and who was not.
I want to be a woman of my word. Anita Hill tried to ruin his life. And if you believe his side of the story, none of what she said was true. May I never do to someone's life what she did to his. It was a coincidence that i read it at the start of black history month, but it did more to affect my views on black history than any book I have read thus far. Whatever your reason for deciding to check it out, let me tell you I highly recommend it.

So Happy Together

2008-01-30T21:28:00.001-05:00

Today is my 20th wedding anniversary. We got married 1 day before the Redskins won the Super Bowl against Denver. A wedding on Jan. 30, 1988. It snowed. Honeymoon included skiing in West Va. We lived and worked in Manassas, Va. Volunteered at our church with the youth. Went to Guatemala. Todd came home wanting to go to seminary. Moved to Dallas so he could go to Dallas Theological Seminary. Went on Young Life Staff. Went through infertility. Finally got pregnant. Moved back to Va. Still on staff with Young Life. Had Katey. Had Clay. Got pregnant with Emily. Moved to Loudoun County. Had Emily. Todd still on Young Life staff, me teaching 5th grade at Christian Fellowship. Got breast cancer. Todd went off Young Life staff and on staff with Destiny Church. I celebrated 5 years cancer free. Still teaching 5th grade at CFS. We celebrated 20 years by eating out at Magnolia's in Purcellville on Saturday night. We took stock of our 20 years. Three awesome kids, a ministry, growing in our walk with the Lord. And even thru the ups and downs of daily life we ultimately love each other so much more than ever before. Then we discussed the next 20 years. High school graduations, college, maybe marriages and grand kids. Or not. But whatever happens, we are in it together for another 20+ years. When I think of Todd I think of Philippians 1:3 "I thank my God every time I remember you."

Brothers Forever

2008-01-22T22:14:00.001-05:00

Here it is. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

You are my brother

2008-01-22T21:43:00.000-05:00

You are singing it, everybody is singing it, "You are my brother, my best friend forever" Renaldo Lapuz (pictured here) penned this little tune for Simon. It is annoyingly catchy. In the song, “We’re Brothers Forever,” Lapuz belts out, “I am your brother, your best friend forever. Singing the songs, the music that you love” and he then goes on to sing, “Brothers ‘til the end of time. Together or not you’re always in my heart.”

if you saw it, you are laughing. If you were spared, you are grateful and if you are singing, join the crowd. It is a catchy little tune.

Out Of The Mouths Of Babes

2008-01-20T14:30:00.000-05:00

Emily came to me this morning and told me she wrote a note to God. That is all I will say, the note says it all.....

"Dear God,
Hi God. Thanks for all you have gave us like a christian school. I love it and for sending your son to die on the cross for us and being 'thare' when we are down. I love you God. Love, Emily"

Life Changes

2008-01-18T19:49:00.000-05:00

This fall I was at Safeway and the cashier asked if I wanted to donate to breast cancer. I told her I had donated thousands of dollars and a breast and I thought that was enough. Clay, who was there, was embarrassed, Todd (when he heard about it from Clay) was shocked. I was proud.

I went to see Dr. Simms, my oncologist, today. She's an older, nurturing woman. My visit was a few months over due. She asked me if I had gotten the reminder post card. I told her I had and she smiled.

I ended up telling her what happened at Safeway and she said she thought it was great. She felt the same way at Safeway right after her husband was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Her words were music to my ears. She said going through something like breast cancer changes your life forever. I am grateful that I am in good health now. I am grateful that I can be a few months overdue on my appointment and not have it affect my health. But even now, not a day goes by that I am not reminded of what I have given.

Bookstore

2008-01-12T08:52:00.000-05:00

Last night Katey, Clay and I spent three hours at Borders bookstore. We had the best time. It all started after we ate out as a family. We had driven 2 cars and I said, "I think I want to stop at a bookstore." Clay said, "Yes!! 'cause there is a book I want to get." This caused Katey to jump out of Todd's car, "I'm riding with you if you are going to a bookstore." That left Emily in Todd's car with the sentiment, "I don't want daddy to be lonely."

My sister-in-law, Lee told me once that she never said no if her kids wanted to buy books and I have adopted that same philosophy. The book I really want to tell you about is the book that Clay bought, The Encyclopedia of Immaturity. If you know a kid anywhere from 4th to 8th grade then run, don't walk, to your nearest bookstore and buy this book. My eleven year old son cannot put it down. I asked him what he would say was in it and he replied,"It is full of tricks, facts, formulas to see how tall you will be, and stuff that will have you never grow up." That says it all right there.

Let me give you an example; I was in the education aisle looking at books when he says to me, "If you say gullible really slowly it sounds like green beens." So I started saying it, gull-i-ble, guuulllliiibbbble, over and over again as slowly as I could. And just as I was about to say that it didn't sound anything like green beans, I see Clay falling over with laughter. When I realize how gullible I had been, I fell over with laughter and we were both sitting on the floor of the bookstore laughing. I mean really, how good is a trick if it doesn't work on your own mom.

I even bought him a book light so he could read in bed.

Can I Brag?

2008-01-11T06:03:00.000-05:00

Ever have one of those days, weeks, months where you wonder if you are even making a difference? I do. And then a kid from our youth group where we did a mission trip to Guatemala, when we were only volunteers, pre seminary, finds us on facebook and writes something like this....

Not a day goes by that I don't have reminders of you and your AWESOME wife. I am a youth pastor... My passport is FULL of stamps to and from Guatemala. My precious baby girl...well 4 yr old...is from Guatemala. You both are on my hero list for sure. Thanks for pouring yourself into my life. It mattered. I am so happy to...well sort of see you...through Facebook! :-))

To God Be The Glory Great Things He Has Done.

New Year; New Beginnings part 1

2007-12-30T22:54:00.000-05:00

I love New Years Eve and the days that follow. I love buying a new calendar, I love getting a new journal. I love making resolutions, I love it all. I feel like it is a time to start fresh. It motivates me to take stock in my life and it spurs me on to make goals.

Physical Resolutions: I want to lose weight. Now i know that most people make this resolution and don't keep it past the end of January. Obviously my goal is to do better than that. Let's take last year for example; I lost 10 pounds in January, then gained it back throughout the year. That wasn't my goal but it's better than gaining a new 10!! This year i want to continue walking 3 days a week, add some light weight training, walk in the Avon Breast Cancer walk in May (more about later) and compete in a second sprint triathlon. There are a bunch of us from Destiny church doing quite a lot of these events. The only problem is that many of the races are on Sundays and that is our Sabbath day. Let me know, or google "try it triathlons" for more information.

Here is one way to Start the New Year right--with a run! Join in on Tuesday, January 1, 2008, in Leesburg, Virginia, for the Eleventh Annual Rotary Resolution Race! The George C. Marshall 10K will take participants through the rolling hills of the Morven Park Estate. The John R. Diedrich 4K Fun Run/Walk will take participants to the Morven Park mansion. This is the only day of the year that Morven Park is open to runners. Come demonstrate your commitment to your New Year's Resolution to exercise! Make it a family tradition!

Location & Time: Participants should gather at the Ida Lee Park Recreation Center, located just north of downtown Leesburg, off of Route 15. The 4K Run/Walk begins promptly at 10:25 am and the 10K will start at 10:40 am.
For additional information, call the race director, Chuck Maloney, at (703) 779-1912.

Wrapping up 2007

2007-12-29T10:13:00.000-05:00

This is the year end wrap up...
Carly, my niece from my "The Year of Carly" blog, got early admission to Virginia Tech.
They must have heard it was The Year of Carly.

Todd got me some Christmas gifts from 10,000 villages. They are my favorite gifts. A gorgeous copper hand pounded bowl from
Napal. Two hand made ornaments and a necklace made from seeds from Costa Rica. Each of these is made by an artisan in a third world country and paid fair market price for their goods. Come by and see my gifts.

Emily is still struggling with the whole idea of getting breast cancer. She started to cry one day in class, obviously this is weighing heavy on her mind. Her teacher prayed with her; oh the benefits of a christian school. A friend of ours had what seemed like an awesome idea, he suggested we tell Emily that she also has Todd's genes. Now she is worried about going bald! Oh please, I am just joking. Come by and see my handsome husband also.

This is a great time of year for me to wrap up lose ends. I hope your year is wrapping up well also.

The Twelve Days of Christmas

2007-12-13T21:38:00.000-05:00

I have been singing to my class for the past 10 schools days. Next Tuesday will be the last day I sing to them. (We get out on Wednesday for break.) Each day has come with a gift. Do you want to know what I have been singing?
Well, The Twelve Days of Christmas, of course. Here is a glance at my version:

On the first day of Christmas my teacher gave to me a little rubber reindeer duckie

On the second day of Christmas my teacher gave to me 2 jingle key chains and a little rubber reindeer duckie

On the third day of Christmas my teacher gave to me 3 Chrsitmas pencils, 2 jingle key chains and little rubber reindeer duckie
.... 4 bonus coupons
.....5 Christmas songs (CD)
.....6 football cards
....7 book marks
....8 candy canes
....9 tattoos
....10 Christmas stickers
....11 treasure box tickets
....12 hugs and kisses (by hershey)

This has been so much fun, I am already dreaming up what I will do for Valentines Day!!

Clay

2007-12-09T23:13:00.000-05:00

Clay, a young man of passion. Basketball, lacrosse, music, football, skateboarding, video games. I love the way he reenacts plays from his weekend basketball game or from his recess football game. My job is to guide his passion to be used for good not evil.
I desire to help mold him to be a wonderful father and husband some day. OK in reality, Todd's example and time with him influences him so very much. My job is different.

When he is grown, whether he is married or single he will need to know how to do laundry. So this summer I put him in charge of the family laundry. He often does things he is not passionate about half heartedly and I think he thought that would get him out of the laundry job. But no, it just made me all the more determined to train him in being a servant. I also had him memorize Philippians 2: 3-5 "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus"

If I can raise him to have passion, to love Jesus, think of others AND do laundry-- I will feel like I did my job!

The Question

2007-12-06T21:29:00.000-05:00

As a parent you have those moments, when one of your kids asks a tough question and you have to take a deep breath and decide how to answer. It is usually something like, "Where do babies come from?" or "What does God look like?"

Tonight was one of those times for me. Emily had just gotten out of the shower and yelled down, asking me to come up stairs.
I was feeling lazy so I yelled back up asking her what she needed? She yelled the question down the stairs and I just stopped. Then I heard Todd say, "You better get up there." And I ran upstairs.

"Mommy, if you and I have the same genes, will I get cancer?"
There she was, sitting in a towel, dripping wet.

I told her that I was 2 when I had Wilms Tumor (cancer in the kidney) and that it was not in my genes.
Then I told her I didn't know if she would get breast cancer. She said, "I thought you were going to say that."

My mom and both my grandmothers had breast cancer. It probably is in my genes. I told her I was sorry. I also said that it most likely wouldn't happen before she was 37 years old and that was 30 years away. I said I thought in 30 years doctors would be able to keep her from ever getting it, even if it is in her genes. I also explained that God was in charge and if she got cancer she needed to use it as an opportunity to share with people about Jesus. I said please don't worry about it now. Then she said, "After i get my PJ's on, can I give you a big hug?"
Wow!! That hug was a tight one.

Katey Has A Birthday

2007-12-06T07:04:00.000-05:00

My Katey turned fourteen this week. She is such a pretty, godly young woman who blesses my life daily.
I had to go thru infertility treatments to get pregnant with her, then she was 2 weeks late. We were so excited for her to get here that we would have taken anything at that point, colic, reflux...but no. She was the perfect baby. She slept thru the night from the day she was born, hardly ever fussed and she has been easy to parent ever since. She helps me program my phone and work power point. She loves Jesus and walks with him closely. I can't wait to see how she blossoms in the next 14 years.
Happy Birthday Katey!

The Year of Carly- part 1

2007-11-25T20:41:00.001-05:00

We had a wonderful dinner with Todd's brother's family. My two nieces are gems. One is at UVA and headed for her 2nd over seas humanitarian trip. Her heart amazes me. But all that really doesn't matter because this is Carly's senior year of high school and thus deemed "The Year of Carly". It started during Lauren's senior year, I believe, when it was "The Year of Lauren". But being the second child, the anticipation for it to be your turn can just about kill you. So, as the wonderful Aunt that I am, I wanted the world to know we are currently in "The Year Of Carly". Carly is into drama, not living it, acting it. She is involved in all her high school plays. She has applied for early admission to a great college. She is funny and gorgeous. Let's hear it for "TYOC"!

Shop Till You Drop

2007-11-24T15:25:00.000-05:00

We did it, Todd and I got up at 5:30am on Friday to get to Target by 6:00. We had specific items that we wanted to get at a greatly reduced price. I can't tell you what those things are, in case little eyes read this blog. As we drove up, the line of people that wrapped around the store, started entering and everyone ran to electronics. I will spare you the details, but we got what we wanted. I wonder how much of it was made in China? Do you know that I saw a news story the other day titled "How to have a China free Christmas". My sister and brother in law have been been going China free long before this. Not because of the lead paints but because much of the items are made by politcial prisoners. How ironic that now all this "bad news" is coming out of China. Having tried to buy China free for them before, I can tell you it is not easy. I personally don't buy all China free but i do try to make a difference with my buying. A few of my favorite places to buy gifts from are Ten Thousand Village which is the largest fair trade organizations and St. Jude's Holiday catalog. All their proceeds go to St. Jude's research hospital. And for the person that has everything, consider buying a goat or pig for a very poor family in the name of the person that has everything. My sisters and I bought a lama in my parents name and then we found a stuffed lama at ten thousand villages to remind them of the gift. If you are buying for me, i would be thrilled with any of the above. But if that's not your cup of tea, you can always get me a gift card.

It's Christmas Time In the City

2007-11-24T13:23:00.000-05:00

97.1, 91.9, and 98.7
These are the three radio stations I listen to between Thanksgiving and Christmas. They have all the classics, Bruce Springsteen's Santa Clause is Coming to Town and O Holy Night just to mention a few.
The songs that cause me to change the chanel are anything by Manheim Steamroller, It's Christmas Eve in Washington and Last Christmas by Wham.
And even though I love Christmas music, it's tradition that we don't listen to it before thanksgiving It is also tradition that we don't decorate until after Katey's birhtday, which is the first week of Dec. We also go to the Leesburg Church of the Nazerene to see the live Nativity. They have real camels, and even though each year it seems a little cheesier, the kids insists we go out of tradition.

What traditions does your family have?
Which ones do you want to instill?
Consider this book, written by a friend of mine, for next year. Preparing My Heart for Advent: A Spiritual Pilgrimage for the Christmas Season by Ann Marie Stewart (Author)
You can buy it on Amazon

For Women Only

2007-11-20T22:52:00.001-05:00

I went to a conference for school this week. I was hoping to share some amazing wisdom from the conference but, unfortunately I didn't walk away with anything life changing. However, the fellowship was great and the vendors were in plenty. I walked away with free pens, highlighters, tattoos, paper crowns and more. Nothing like coming home to the kids saying, "I have gifts!" The real jackpot was at the book tables. The book that is all the rage this year is "For Women Only" by Shaunti Feldhahn. I read it this summer and it had a profound impact on me. They also have other versions, "For Men Only", "For Parent's Only", and "For Young Women Only". These books will not disappoint. So, in typical Maureen fashion, let me recommend a book!!

Thanksgiving

2007-11-17T11:14:00.000-05:00

I had my class write down things they were thankful for. And in typical fifth grade fashion, they wrote gaming systems, skateboards, basketballs and cool clothes. All things that other kids in third world countries don't even have. Now in their defense they also said their teacher, friends and family. But it got me thinking, am I so blind that i don't even realize what I have, really, beyond the material. For reasons that I can't even pretend to comprehend, God has picked this time and place for me to live.
Do you know that there is still modern day slavery??
Check out International Justice Mission online.
Do you know that 1 out of 6 people in the world will die from unclean drinking water while we through away a 1/2 filled bottle of water?
This thanksgiving I am going to be thankful for thinks I didn't buy, relationships I wouldn't trade and blessings I didn't earn.

Philippinas 1:3-6
I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Reading for fun

2007-11-11T20:09:00.000-05:00

Friday was parent/teacher conference day at my school. "My child did not like to read last year and now I catch them reading in their room after they have been sent to bed." I heard this from more than one parent and I almost cried. Not because kids were disobeying their parents, but because they couldn't stop reading!! My goal as a teacher is to get kids to love books. Many times if kids don't like to read it is because they haven't yet found the right books.

For boys try Strider, Dear Mr. Henshaw, Al Capone Does My Shirts and Where the Red Fern Grows. Also try books by Bill Myers or Henry Winkler (yes, The Fonz). Both of these authors have written series for boys and my son and students (grade 5) have read them incessantly.

For girls there is the Abby Hayes series or the Madison Finn series. My warning to you is that girl books take a turn toward boys and relationships way too early. Don't let your daughter settle for cheezy romance books when there are so many more good books to be read.

Both boys and girls also enjoy books by Carole Marsh, Lois Lowry, and Andrew Clements. But even if ALL of these choices don't work,
there are more choices out there, so keep looking. But regardless of what your kid reads, my hope is that you find them
upstairs, after you send them to bed under the covers with a flashlight reading a book.

Blogging 101

2007-11-07T21:26:00.000-05:00

Blogging 101- That is what i am calling my venturing out into the blogging world, something that didn't even exist 10 years ago. It is not that I think people want to read what I have to say, it is that I need to remember what I had to say. In the meantime, if it blesses someone else, so be it.

I spoke at chapel today on the verse Proverb 29:11. "A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control." I explained full vent as Niagra Falls. Imagine that in the shower. It is way too strong and out of control to allow you to take a nice relaxing shower. It would more than knock you over. Keeping oneself under control is like using an expensive shower head that allows me to control the speed, temperature and style of the water. One knocks you over, the other refreshes. i am guilty of sometimes being a fool. But my prayer is to be a wise man. (O.K. woman). I spoke on this, was convicted of this, prayed about this and then went out to do carpool and cars stopped where they shouldn't and I feel the waterfall start to flow. How hard can it be? Sometimes the word pictures we are careful to use for elementary kids are really for us.