Changes
I remember hearing someone say “the days go slow but the years fly by.” How true- not every day goes slow, but the years do seem to fly. I can’t believe that for the first time in 7 ½ years no one in our house is sleeping in a crib. Well KG is still in the crib that we got before K was born, but last night James took the side down so it’s really a day bed now. Part of me is happy about not lifting our growing girl into the crib anymore, but part is definitely sad. I’m feeling that way about our diapers right now too. Not that changes are my favorite part of being a Mom but as we’re pretty much done with diapers (other than KG nighttime), I’m a little sad to part with our well-used cloth diapers. We have a super cute pic of 5 cute kids in cloth diapers (2 Cole kids and 3 of ours) And who wouldn’t love seeing a sweet baby girl in a pink polka dot diapers? But it’s also pretty nice to not change diapers!
I started this post a while ago- too bad that I already don't remember the last day with KG in her crib. but another milestone last Sunday 19 Feb we went swimming and no one wore swimmie diapers (not even me as my Facebook friend joked.) we had a lot of fun swimming
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Thankful
I've always enjoyed reading Janelle's gratitude journal entries. I've often thought I should do that. So important to be thankful of all the blessings I have instead of thinking about what else I'd like to have. Kind of like Peter walking on water and then when he focused on the wind and other problems he sunk. I always loved that song "Fix your eyes upon Jesus." And tonight as I relearn Colossians. I typed over and over on scripturetyper.com "be thankful" "in all things give thanks" "sing with gratitude" ...
so here's the beginnings of my thankful journal
1- God loves me so much He sent His only Son to die that I might have eternal life
2- I have a terrific husband who loves me
3- I have 4 wonderful children here with me
4- I have a great family- parents, brothers, in-laws
5- I have some wonderful friends
6- my husband works hard to provide for our family
7- I get to stay home to teach our children and care for our home
8- my husband is living here with us- not deployed far away
9- we got to make Valentine crafts today
10- I get to spend eternity in heaven
11- we live in a nice warm house
12- we have plenty of good food to eat
13- we have two paid for vehicles that work well
14- we have plenty of clothes, toys, stuff...
15- I get to go to Bible study tomorrow morning
16- we're making friends here in Baltimore
17- there's tons of fun stuff to do here
18- I still have some great friends in NC
19- I think we'll get to see the Cole's several times this year
20- C is very excited about his new watch from Uncle Steven
21- we're planning another beach trip with my parents
22- I got to sleep for 7 uninterrupted hours last night
so many more but i better go to sleep now. who knows what the night will bring.
12-
so here's the beginnings of my thankful journal
1- God loves me so much He sent His only Son to die that I might have eternal life
2- I have a terrific husband who loves me
3- I have 4 wonderful children here with me
4- I have a great family- parents, brothers, in-laws
5- I have some wonderful friends
6- my husband works hard to provide for our family
7- I get to stay home to teach our children and care for our home
8- my husband is living here with us- not deployed far away
9- we got to make Valentine crafts today
10- I get to spend eternity in heaven
11- we live in a nice warm house
12- we have plenty of good food to eat
13- we have two paid for vehicles that work well
14- we have plenty of clothes, toys, stuff...
15- I get to go to Bible study tomorrow morning
16- we're making friends here in Baltimore
17- there's tons of fun stuff to do here
18- I still have some great friends in NC
19- I think we'll get to see the Cole's several times this year
20- C is very excited about his new watch from Uncle Steven
21- we're planning another beach trip with my parents
22- I got to sleep for 7 uninterrupted hours last night
so many more but i better go to sleep now. who knows what the night will bring.
12-
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Awakening
My friend has been reading and reviewing tons of books. I enjoy reading and finally decided to review too. When I read the book list, I selected Awakening: 21 Days That Will Revolutionize Your Walk With God by Stovall Weems. I have not fasted much before and was interested in learning more. But I left the book on my shelf until James asked if I was planning on doing the fast that our church was doing. He said Awakening and I thought that sounded familiar. Turns out it was the fast described in this book.
I really enjoyed this book. I thought I would breeze through the early chapters and hurry to the how to part of fasting. Instead I enjoyed each chapter. Stovall’s premise is that most people have bought into the lie that we can’t always have newness and excitement in our relationship with God. He says “we’re constantly bombarded with images, sounds, and counterfeit experiences that demand our attention … and we settle for these cheap substitutes.” In part one, Stovall describes four steps of awakening- experience surrender, experience passion for God, experience God’s goodness, and create space for God to fill. As he describes those steps, he includes scripture to reinforce the importance of fasting and life stories to show God’s work in people’s lives when they fast.
One of my favorite chapters was “God is a Filler, not a Forcer.” This was a great reminder of how although God does pursue and woe us, He does not force us. We must carve out quiet time so that we may hear Him. Fasting is one of God’s ways to do that. With those thoughts, Stovall leads into Part Two- the Awakening Lifestyle. After an excellent chapter on unlocking the secrets of prayer, he outlines the differences between OT and NT fasting and how that understanding is very important in how we relate to God. With scriptural support, he also explains that fasting is a command from God. I love his statement that fasting disconnects us from the distractions of the world and prayer connects us with God.
Stovall completes the book with the 21 day Awakening plan which includes some specifics on fasting such as acceptable and unacceptable foods, different types of fasts, and a 21 day devotional. I loved the devotional which was scripturally based and included motivation for times you may struggle during the fast and help focusing your time with God. I loved when he discussed the importance of disconnecting and how you can nourish our souls through talking, socializing, playing, and entertainment. He says “When our souls are full of those things, we don’t often hunger for God.” How true!
I thought this was a great book on fasting and how it can help “awaken” your relationship with God. Stovall did a good job of explaining the steps of awakening, backing everything up with scripture, and describing different ways to fast. He concludes the book with a daily devotional for the 21 day fast. For anyone seeking to improve their relationship with God, I recommend reading this book and fasting.
I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review
I really enjoyed this book. I thought I would breeze through the early chapters and hurry to the how to part of fasting. Instead I enjoyed each chapter. Stovall’s premise is that most people have bought into the lie that we can’t always have newness and excitement in our relationship with God. He says “we’re constantly bombarded with images, sounds, and counterfeit experiences that demand our attention … and we settle for these cheap substitutes.” In part one, Stovall describes four steps of awakening- experience surrender, experience passion for God, experience God’s goodness, and create space for God to fill. As he describes those steps, he includes scripture to reinforce the importance of fasting and life stories to show God’s work in people’s lives when they fast.
One of my favorite chapters was “God is a Filler, not a Forcer.” This was a great reminder of how although God does pursue and woe us, He does not force us. We must carve out quiet time so that we may hear Him. Fasting is one of God’s ways to do that. With those thoughts, Stovall leads into Part Two- the Awakening Lifestyle. After an excellent chapter on unlocking the secrets of prayer, he outlines the differences between OT and NT fasting and how that understanding is very important in how we relate to God. With scriptural support, he also explains that fasting is a command from God. I love his statement that fasting disconnects us from the distractions of the world and prayer connects us with God.
Stovall completes the book with the 21 day Awakening plan which includes some specifics on fasting such as acceptable and unacceptable foods, different types of fasts, and a 21 day devotional. I loved the devotional which was scripturally based and included motivation for times you may struggle during the fast and help focusing your time with God. I loved when he discussed the importance of disconnecting and how you can nourish our souls through talking, socializing, playing, and entertainment. He says “When our souls are full of those things, we don’t often hunger for God.” How true!
I thought this was a great book on fasting and how it can help “awaken” your relationship with God. Stovall did a good job of explaining the steps of awakening, backing everything up with scripture, and describing different ways to fast. He concludes the book with a daily devotional for the 21 day fast. For anyone seeking to improve their relationship with God, I recommend reading this book and fasting.
I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review
Unplugged
here's thoughts I wrote down during the 21 day Awakening Fast that James and I finished yesterday (just in time for the Super Bowl party that I'm so excited to go to in a few minutes.)
So we’re on day 5 of our fast. I’m’ so glad we’re doing this. I’m typing on word now. This was James’ good idea when I was thinking about whether updating the blog was okay. I’m not trying to be legalistic but the purpose of saying no internet during this fast was to disconnect from the world and connect with God so why do I need to blog now? It has gotten a little easier each day to not check internet and I’ve been amazed at how much more time there is each day. I never felt like I was on the computer that much but it’s amazing how it adds up. Most of my internet time was been checking email and looking for good home (recipes, chores, discipline) and homeschool ideas which are not bad in themselves, unless they distract me from doing the things I should be doing or the internet becomes my source of comfort. I listened to part of Focus on the Family this morning and the book Made to Crave sounded really good. The author says God created us to crave Him, but we sometimes substitute and fill our cravings with food. Sounds like in Awakening, where Weems says we settle for cheap substitutes that bombard our days instead of making space to be filled by God.
27 JAN- today is day 12 of our fast. I really do feel much better. I was pretty hungry for the first week and still am at mealtimes now but I don’t have the spikes in my blood sugar that I usually have. We eat pretty healthy but we usually start of our day with brown sugar in our oatmeal. I started off the fast putting date honey in my oatmeal but gradually changed to a little salt and fruit. Now I like it. It’s amazing how your taste buds adapt and you can really enjoy the natural flavor when you stop having processed foods and sugar. Wednesday night we had baked potatoes with salt and pepper and James said it was the best baked potato he’d ever had. Pre-fast we’d just decided to start making our own salad dressings but they had lots of sugar. During the fast James made olive oil, vinegar, salt & pepper which now I really like a lot. 1 part rice wine vinegar, 3 parts olive oil, salt & pepper.
I really think it’s true that sweet/ processed food (or TV or internet or whatever your go to item) can be distractions that can keep you from experiencing truth (like God) and really connecting in your relationships (with your spouse, your family, your friends, your own emotions). We had such a good weekend- not doing anything big- just connecting together. I think when you remove the distractions you can see more clearly too. This morning for Cereal Sunday (another great family tradition!) I had granola again but this time it was really good. I really like granola but this recipe took a little time to like. The granola is sweetened with pureed dried plums, a little apple juice, and dried fruit- our usual granola recipe has brown sugar and honey. Did the recipe change over the last two weeks? No, when I stopped filling myself with sugar I was really satisfied with the natural sweetness of the food. Isn’t that true for life too! I feel so much more content in my own life when I stop comparing my life to everyone’s perfect image on Facebook or their blog pictures of their perfectly clean house with perfect familes, perfect friendships, …
We’ve enjoyed the food (mostly). We used some vegetarian recipes we already had plus Susan Gregory’s books the Daniel Fast: feed your soul, strengthen your spirit, renew your body and Daniel Fast on a Budget. Some of our favorite meals have been quinoa hash, crepes with spinach filling, pasta with broccoli and almonds. We’ve eaten a lot of salad, fresh fruit, carrots and hummus. Unsweetened almond and soy milk has been good too for smoothies and granola. No we’re not planning on becoming vegetarians or vegans, but we do plan to have more meatless days (even James agrees now!), less sugar (love our new oil- vinegar salad dressing), and less processed items (we didn’t have much before but even less now.)
So we’re on day 5 of our fast. I’m’ so glad we’re doing this. I’m typing on word now. This was James’ good idea when I was thinking about whether updating the blog was okay. I’m not trying to be legalistic but the purpose of saying no internet during this fast was to disconnect from the world and connect with God so why do I need to blog now? It has gotten a little easier each day to not check internet and I’ve been amazed at how much more time there is each day. I never felt like I was on the computer that much but it’s amazing how it adds up. Most of my internet time was been checking email and looking for good home (recipes, chores, discipline) and homeschool ideas which are not bad in themselves, unless they distract me from doing the things I should be doing or the internet becomes my source of comfort. I listened to part of Focus on the Family this morning and the book Made to Crave sounded really good. The author says God created us to crave Him, but we sometimes substitute and fill our cravings with food. Sounds like in Awakening, where Weems says we settle for cheap substitutes that bombard our days instead of making space to be filled by God.
27 JAN- today is day 12 of our fast. I really do feel much better. I was pretty hungry for the first week and still am at mealtimes now but I don’t have the spikes in my blood sugar that I usually have. We eat pretty healthy but we usually start of our day with brown sugar in our oatmeal. I started off the fast putting date honey in my oatmeal but gradually changed to a little salt and fruit. Now I like it. It’s amazing how your taste buds adapt and you can really enjoy the natural flavor when you stop having processed foods and sugar. Wednesday night we had baked potatoes with salt and pepper and James said it was the best baked potato he’d ever had. Pre-fast we’d just decided to start making our own salad dressings but they had lots of sugar. During the fast James made olive oil, vinegar, salt & pepper which now I really like a lot. 1 part rice wine vinegar, 3 parts olive oil, salt & pepper.
I really think it’s true that sweet/ processed food (or TV or internet or whatever your go to item) can be distractions that can keep you from experiencing truth (like God) and really connecting in your relationships (with your spouse, your family, your friends, your own emotions). We had such a good weekend- not doing anything big- just connecting together. I think when you remove the distractions you can see more clearly too. This morning for Cereal Sunday (another great family tradition!) I had granola again but this time it was really good. I really like granola but this recipe took a little time to like. The granola is sweetened with pureed dried plums, a little apple juice, and dried fruit- our usual granola recipe has brown sugar and honey. Did the recipe change over the last two weeks? No, when I stopped filling myself with sugar I was really satisfied with the natural sweetness of the food. Isn’t that true for life too! I feel so much more content in my own life when I stop comparing my life to everyone’s perfect image on Facebook or their blog pictures of their perfectly clean house with perfect familes, perfect friendships, …
We’ve enjoyed the food (mostly). We used some vegetarian recipes we already had plus Susan Gregory’s books the Daniel Fast: feed your soul, strengthen your spirit, renew your body and Daniel Fast on a Budget. Some of our favorite meals have been quinoa hash, crepes with spinach filling, pasta with broccoli and almonds. We’ve eaten a lot of salad, fresh fruit, carrots and hummus. Unsweetened almond and soy milk has been good too for smoothies and granola. No we’re not planning on becoming vegetarians or vegans, but we do plan to have more meatless days (even James agrees now!), less sugar (love our new oil- vinegar salad dressing), and less processed items (we didn’t have much before but even less now.)
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Last night
So we got home from a wonderful week in the OBX today that I'll blog about later. James is looking at some of our many pictures- I'll add those later.
but tonight is my last night for the next 3 weeks for internet surfing & sugar. wwww.awake21.org we're starting no sugar, no meat, no internet.
here's some of the links i found tonight in my stocking up internet time before the fast (in case you wondered, we had cupcakes for K's 1/2 birthday and reese's white chocolate to fill up our sugar stores before the fast too!)
http://www.freebie-depot.com/birthday-freebie-list/
http://www.torchlighters.org/index.php/resources/series-preview/
The mathematics of sin are always the same:
sin
(+) ADDS to your sorrows,
(-) SUBTRACTS from your energy,
(x) MULTIPLIES your troubles,
(/) and DIVIDES your loyalty.
- Jon Cour
but tonight is my last night for the next 3 weeks for internet surfing & sugar. wwww.awake21.org we're starting no sugar, no meat, no internet.
here's some of the links i found tonight in my stocking up internet time before the fast (in case you wondered, we had cupcakes for K's 1/2 birthday and reese's white chocolate to fill up our sugar stores before the fast too!)
http://www.freebie-depot.com/birthday-freebie-list/
http://www.torchlighters.org/index.php/resources/series-preview/
The mathematics of sin are always the same:
sin
(+) ADDS to your sorrows,
(-) SUBTRACTS from your energy,
(x) MULTIPLIES your troubles,
(/) and DIVIDES your loyalty.
- Jon Cour
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Nativity
What a wonderful Christmas Eve- celebrating the birth of our Lord. We enjoyed baked chocolate oatmeal and quiche for breakfast, enjoyed time with family (Grandma, Uncle Brian, and Pops Leon drove up from NC yesterday, and practiced our Christmas play. The kids were amazed by our grapes and pretzels lunch and that they got to watch a movie during naptime (well KG napped.) the perfect time to watch Nativity Story. I was so glad Janelle told me they liked it- we saw it years ago but hadn't thought the kids might be ready for it. it was terrific and really helped bring the story to life.
After a yummy lunch of ham, meatballs, and fruit salad, we went to Trinity's Christmas Eve service. The music was all beautiful but what really struck me the most was watching Mary and Joseph comforting baby Jesus who was not "silent". Especially after watching Nativity Story and being reminded about young Mary. I was reminded how Mary chose to submit to God's plan even when it was hard for her, something she wasn't totally prepared for, it wasn't the timing she would have picked, ... She trusted God and learned as she went. She said "May it be to me as you have said." I pray that I will follow that!
Another near teary moment was watching a wonderful woman of God from here singing "All is Well." She looked and sounded like an angel. I think it would have been beautiful anyway but knowing how she and her family are in the middle of such a hard time made it even more beautiful.
After a yummy lunch of ham, meatballs, and fruit salad, we went to Trinity's Christmas Eve service. The music was all beautiful but what really struck me the most was watching Mary and Joseph comforting baby Jesus who was not "silent". Especially after watching Nativity Story and being reminded about young Mary. I was reminded how Mary chose to submit to God's plan even when it was hard for her, something she wasn't totally prepared for, it wasn't the timing she would have picked, ... She trusted God and learned as she went. She said "May it be to me as you have said." I pray that I will follow that!
Another near teary moment was watching a wonderful woman of God from here singing "All is Well." She looked and sounded like an angel. I think it would have been beautiful anyway but knowing how she and her family are in the middle of such a hard time made it even more beautiful.
 |
| KG and Pops Leon |
 |
| T right before church |
 |
| Mary did you know? |
 |
| Uncle B and the gang |
Monday, December 26, 2011
Christmas Books
Besides reading the Nativity story in the Bible Nativity, we love reading lots of other Christmas books. We've gotten quite a collection over the years and are still growing more.
Last year we checked out and loved Amahl and the Night Visitors. That's definitely one I want in our collection. Of course part of my love for that book (besides it being a great story) is my memories of my brother playing the part of Amahl way back when in Madison.
This year we read This Way to Christmas by Ruth Sawyer and really like it too. We read a chapter each day and the kids loved hearing the stories within the story.
We also really enjoy our children's classic Christmas story book- which has stories like The Nutcracker, the Littlest Angel, the Match Girl, ...
I still get teary eyed each time we read The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree- which is set in NC at Grandfather Mountain and includes Tweetsie Railroad. We just went to Grandfather and Tweetsie last summer so the kids remember.
Last year we checked out and loved Amahl and the Night Visitors. That's definitely one I want in our collection. Of course part of my love for that book (besides it being a great story) is my memories of my brother playing the part of Amahl way back when in Madison.
This year we read This Way to Christmas by Ruth Sawyer and really like it too. We read a chapter each day and the kids loved hearing the stories within the story.
We also really enjoy our children's classic Christmas story book- which has stories like The Nutcracker, the Littlest Angel, the Match Girl, ...
I still get teary eyed each time we read The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree- which is set in NC at Grandfather Mountain and includes Tweetsie Railroad. We just went to Grandfather and Tweetsie last summer so the kids remember.
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