Joy!

In Sunday School I'm teaching on the fruit of the Spirit. I had a wonderful friend of mine present me with a book called "Naked fruit". It isn't a dirty book either! The author wonderfully takes a look at what the fruit looks like without the peeling! She gets down to the heart of what it looks like! We are studying Joy this Sunday! Amazingly Joy is not happiness. Happiness is something that happens when life is going just as we want it. Circumstances pivot our feelings on happiness or not. But Joy is described as confidence in God no matter what. When life isn't going our way (which happens way more frequently than when it goes our way) what is the bottom line. Not on how we feel, but what is inside of us. Who is inside of us and holding us during those moments in life that aren't happy, but we have a great confidence in our God that He is in control and that brings us great joy.

I am amazed when I look at the picture above (not taken by me) that joy wells up inside of me. When I'm really struggling with particular circumstances in my life I'll go for a walk. Just talking with Him while I'm walking reminds me of that joy that is still there. I still cry, worry, and see the world swirling around me in a way I don't like and wonder, but somewhere deep inside God shows me His joy that He is growing in me. Joy looks different in your skin than maybe in mine. Mine is just no matter what, my heart is held up in high confidence that He will keep His promises toward me and He is in control. I don't laugh uncontrollably, don't smile sometimes, and even cry in the midst of joy, but it's there!

Thank you to our indescribable Lord who overwhelmingly grows the fruit of Joy in our lives when we stay connected to Him! May you have joy today!

Summers Here!

We are truly enjoying the benefits of summer! Sleeping late, eating ice cream and snow cones, watching movies, and just an all around unorganized schedule seem to top the list for our week so far. The kids enjoy a more relaxed schedule and their bedtime gets pushed back. Sarah and Zech read the Lord of the Ring Trilogy this year and we promised them movie time to watch the Lord of the Rings. We viewed the 3 hour long movie this Monday. They are ready to watch the next one, but I told them next week (not sure I can sit that long again for a while).

One of the things I enjoy so much about summer is how organized I get. I clean the school room, make a list of all the curriculum I have to sell and a list of curriculum that I would love to buy, get all the deep cleaning chores done that I don't have time for during the regular school year and so much more. I also usually get to enjoy sitting down and reading many books during the summer (Is there a contest for me to enter as I read? Braums Buddies maybe! I'll read for ice cream!).

Of course there are many things about summer we don't enjoy. The heat, the bugs, the high electric bills, the children saying "I'm bored", and the ultimate one for me is having to retrain us all back to the school schedule when summer ends! We try not to focus on the negatives, but enjoy all the positives. Most importantly though, throughout it all we still must glorify God in all we do!

So what are you doing this summer!

(Sarah, Zech, and Isabella have been having some water gun fights and a puzzling good time!)

Piano Recital

We had our end of the year piano recital this last Saturday evening. The kids have practiced and practiced and practiced. They all did so well. They were excited to have grandparents there with them. Isabella and Zech have come a long way and both are playing very well. Sarah is so beautiful when she plays. She looks so grown up and just graceful when she was playing her pieces that she had memorized. I'm so proud of all of them.

We had our last piano lesson on Tuesday and she gave them assignments for the summer. The kids and I are praying this summer as to what to do next year for music. I would love for Sarah to continue playing piano but I want them all to have opportunity for anything else they want to pursue. I'll keep you updated on what they decide.

On another more personal note, one thing I observed while I was at the recital was a husband and wife. Not your usual husband and wife though, but truly the kind you want to encounter and hope you will be. You see she is in a wheelchair and obvious that she has had some sort of brain surgery. She has been left handicapped and mentally altered because of this surgery she has had, but he was right by her side. Bringing her to their daughters piano recital, holding her hand, paying every attention to details for her. He loved her no matter what! I don't know him or her or their child, but I do know that when he made his promise to her, 'to have and to hold till this day forward in sickness and in health' he meant it! Thank you to them for showing me an example of a wonderful commitment!

They're here and then They're off!

Poppi and Gammy came into town the other day! For those of you who don't know who Poppi and Gammy are, they are my dad and stepmom. They ride a motorcycle and head to all kinds of exciting places. This summer their destination is Alaska, but they are taking the very long way around to get there. Wichita Falls was their first stop and now on up to Montana to visit her daughters. Then they will change directions and go to Tennesee where my baby sister lives and be with her and her family when she delivers her third child. On up to Virginia from there to see my Dad's brothers and then they will head up to Canada where they will adventure their way across all of Canada's mountainous ranges and such until they reach the destination of Alaska. Once in Alaska they will explore to their hearts content. No time frame is given to them and they will return once they've had their adventurous hearts fulfilled. They call themselves recycled teenagers! Have fun Poppi and Gammy! I'll be praying for safety for all those many, many miles.

more staff retreat pics

Church Staff Retreat

We had a glorious time laughing with one another, playing tricks on one another, sleeping arrangements, and playing games on our first staff retreat here at Lamar Baptist church. We were able to stay in a cabin at Falls Creek. We left on Friday (felt like we were camping for days because we had to pack so much stuff) and came back on Saturday. All our personalities came to life during our brief stay with one another. One thing for certain though we all laughed and laughed and laughed some more. We managed to eat and eat and eat some more as well. We traveled all through the encampment and enjoyed walking up to the "Boulder Springs" known to most as the 'Devil's bathtub". They all enjoyed the cool spring water and some even got wet. Many of the staff climbed the mountains surrounding the area. Our docile and meek education minister climbed to the top of one of the mountains. We were all amazed. To work at Lamar is one thing but to laugh with one another and share fellowship is something special that can't be put into words.

Last Day of SCHOOL!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! School is done! School is done! School is done for the year! Well almost, let me explain. You see today is our official last day of school and we are all very excited about this day! We get to sleep in and be generally lazy through the summer. We have camps galore going on in June and 2 vacations in July! So for that part we are praising our God for a great school year!

We are also praising Him for the great grades! Zech and Isabella made straight A's for the final grade (all four 9 weeks sememsters averaged into one!) and Sarah made all A's except for two 89's! Bless her heart and you would think me being the teacher I would round those up for her, but I make her have the grade she's earned. She has worked the hardest this year. 7th grade is a step up from elementary and many days she was still working when the other two were playing. All the kids had a very rough year going. New school year with new people because of our move. We also dug in our heels the fall and winter semester not knowing what was going to happen to Grandma and wanting to be with her during her lung transplant. And then they had to endure letting their Grandma go to be with Jesus (which is the best place, but she is hard to let go of). So for all that in their lives, they all did magnificent jobs and we are all so very proud of them!

However we are not completely school free this summer. I know, I know, you all think of me as a mean mom and I probably am! Sarah and Zech will start a civics class with several other homeschoolers next week. Not a ton of work, just reading, discussing, and a few activities. They (Isabella too) also will start an online typing class and will hopefully post some blogs for me, next year with their new skill! They always have to do reading and math drill as well. Other than that, they are free to use their imaginations and I don't have to take grade (although the civics class I do).

So today being the last day of school we had chocolate gravy and biscuits! Our favorite special day breakfast! Hope you all have a great summer!

40 Ways to Get There!

Our writing teaching gave us a challenge (at least to me it was a challenge). One of her pet peeves was using the word "go" or "went". It is so unimaginative and so boring! I agree with her wholeheartedly. When you are writing something try to use all your senses so that the reader has an idea what your mood is when you are communicating your ideas onto the paper. She suggested a game to play called "40 ways to get there." Basically you pick a place to where you would like to start and then pick a destination and find 40 ways to get there. For us, we chose an easy destination, going from the front door to the back door. How will we get there? Oh the imaginations of my little ones minds are incredible. Are you ready? (disclaimer: I won't bore you with all 40, but here are a few of my favorites) We climbed, crawled, tangoed, dribbled, sauntered, dashed, skipped, trotted, pushed, played, hugged, tiptoed, squeezed, slithered, stomped!, marched, and tripped our way to the door. Each verb represents a feeling or a sense of what is happening to the reader on our journey to the door. If I stomped my way to the door, you get the sense that I'm angry! Instead of telling you I'm angry I'm going to show you how I'm feeling. It really puts the reader in a position to know how your feeling when you show them how your feeling, not just tell them.

I was way proud of all our ways to get there and we posted them on paper and proudly have displayed our list on our school room walls to use in the future when the word go or went seems to pop into our papers, we now have a resource to help us along. We will continue with this game to create more of a variety of how to go or how we went! Play along with us and see how many different ways you go anywhere and let your imagination run wild!

Awana Awards

After the play Sunday night, the Awana awards were given out. Awana stand for "Approved workmen are not ashamed" of the gospel! Each year all the kids are divided out into teams (green, red, yellow, and blue). They do games, crafts, group time, and recreation all together as a team. They also do listening time which is reading your book and memorizing your verses and saying them by memory to your leaders or listeners of your team. They all learned over 3000 memory verses this year. They are truly hiding God's word in their heart. We also had 9 children accept Christ as their Savior from this program this year!!!!

Well I have to brag a little because Isabella was awarded top memory verse learner for the TNT (Truth and Training) club! She learned 85 verses this year! Way to go! Zech came in 2nd at 79 verses! My two kids were the top two, so I am a very proud mama! They both received certificates for participation and learning their verses and both received ribbons for finishing their first book this year.

more pics of play

Rock Solid Kids

Wow did we have some entertainment last night! We had 4 of the most wonderful stars of the show be on center stage in their debut musical/childrens choir program ROCK SOLID! Mike was Ranger Nick Hicks, Sarah was one of the narrators, and Isabella and Zech were hikers 5 & 6. Zech and Isabella both had solos and I was way impressed! They all did such a great job! Wish you all could have been there.

If I had a Magic Wand!

During our writing workshop we learned how to freewrite! Freewriting is similar to a lot of what I know as a quickwrite. However different in some ways. Freewriting lets the child pick a topic of his or her choice. They can write whatever they want with the freedom of not worrying about grammar, spelling, punctuation, syntax, etc. The trick of freewriting is they have to write something continuously for 10 minutes without picking up the pencil. Even if they don't know what to write they continue to do so by writing, I don't know what to write, I can't believe my mom is making me do this, etc. You get the picture? Well I considered that Isabella might have a problem, but I didn't divulge that to her. I went ahead and let her write, but I was shocked at what came out on page. An absolutely interesting continuous thought that was provoking, shocking, greedy, and yet helpful as well. The following is her paper unedited:

What Would I Do If I had A Magic Wand


I would turn the whole world into gold and chocolate and turn my parents into a
big huge gynormuse hunk of chocolate. My Dad would be Godiva chocolate and my
mom would be Garadelli Chocolate special dark both. All the food in the world would
either be Godiva or Garadelli chocolate and I would cherish all the gold I could find or
get. I’d be the richest person on earth with all the money in the world. I’d own
everything to myself including every resteraunt in the world and destroy beers and
alcohol. I’d make everybody turn to Jesus and I would make them do it with my magic
wand and I’d love to do something that I always love and that is the game of sweet
revenge. I’d love to turn it into Chocolate Sorry.


Too funny! I loved it. She has such an imagination!

Movie Review, by Sarah, Zech, and Isabella

Cool! I loved the part where he said, "You've got no imagination". It wasn't the same as the book, but it was really good. I don't remember that part. That was a great part with the water! I loved the mouse he was so funny. This movie was way funnier than the first one! What was your favorite part?

So can you tell they went to the movies? Can you tell by their comments what they went and saw? Yep! You guessed it, Prince Caspian! Oh, you couldn't tell by their comments what they went and saw. Well we are just having to work on being more specific.

Actually they've been talking about the movie all day: (morning) I can't wait to go to the movies. It is much easier to wake up when I have something to look forward too (obviously school isn't that exciting?!). I can't do my math because I'm too excited about the movie. (a little before 10:35 am) Mom says, "It's time . . . . " YEAH, ALL RIGHT, I'M IN THE VAN, LET'S GO MOM! . . . "to go to the movies." (right before the movie) Can I get popcorn? Can I sit by my friends? How will I share my popcorn, no way! Allright I'll go by the rules if I can't have the popcorn at all (roll the eyes). (during the movie) Isabella moves up to sit with Daddy because it gets a little intense and then she laughs hysterically during the mouse's lines. (after the movie) Wow, mom thanks! I like this part, I liked that! Lets go get some ice cream! (squeel! from all the girls) and off we went.

Sarah belongs to a book club and they read Prince Caspian and then we journied to see the movie together! I give it a two thumbs up! Very well done and very clean. Mike and I enjoyed it very much. Hope you get to go and see it!

More Carnival pictures

Carnival Pictures

Somebody shared their pictures with me, enjoy!

Awana Carnival

We had our Awana's carnival last night. I forgot my camera! So I will have to describe to you all that we did. We started off with Hot dogs and chips and a coke! Mmmm they were yummy, not nutritional in the least but very yummy. Then the booths opened.

We had a fishing game, a guess how much candy is in the jar game, a cookie walk, a bucket throw game, a bouncing house, a pie in your face game (you got to pick your Awana leader and throw a pie tin with whipped cream in their face! thankfully nobody picked me), an egg smashing race (if you went down a line and back with your egg still on your spoon then you got to splat it on the head of the one who dropped the egg) (that was a hit, yuck!), and a golfing game. Every booth had lots of prizes and candy, some large candy like a candy bar and such, and some small like a smarties or sweetarts. The prizes were large and small also.

Then Mr. MgGruff came and did a puppet show with the kids trying to get them to believe in themselves and not to do drugs. Although not doing drugs is a Christian principle (being filled with the Holy Spirit instead) the believing in yourself I didn't like, but my kids have been drilled enough that it isn't us that we need to believe in, it is in God and not ourselves that we believe in, that they knew the falicy right away and told me so. They went along with the program anyway. (yeah for my kids)

Then was the big giveaways, whoever guessed closest to the candy jar amount won the candy jar and guess who won, yes Isabella, she loves candy and this was a great win for her. An American Idol Kareoke machine was the next giveaway (each awana clubber who came to each meeting with all their requirements was awarded a ticket each time to put their name in, so we potentially had about 50 tickets between Isabella and Zech in there). Hallelujah, we didn't win. Of course the kids were disappointed but dear old mom was not! Someone elses mom has to listen to those songs over and over and over again. The God of all wonders hears my prayers before they are ever answered (and yes he cares about our little wishes of not wanting a kareoke machine). Well as you can tell they had a blast and even got to take handfuls of candy home!

Way to go Awana Clubbers!

Take me out to the ball game!

Headline News: Lamar vs Lamar!

Does your church have a softball team? Mine does and we have two teams. Well last night both teams rallied against each other. The "older" team vs the "younger" team. And guess who won! The Older team! Yahoo! Now I say that because my husband is on the "older" team! He loves to play sports of any kind. The score was 19 -7 in a great victory! One of the younger guys was seriously injured on the knee and the last I heard it was a possible fracture. We are certainly praying for him especially since his second child is due any day now! Other than that it was great fun. They all had a great time playing and had a great attitude toward one another.

Which leads me to discuss church! Do we all have a great attitude toward one another at our own church? Do we play against each other fairly at church or do we win at all cost? My church is interesting and I'm still trying to figure it all out. I don't understand, but truly we have three teams playing against each other at my own church and it is sad. Each believe their way is the right way, but its Gods way that is supposed to be the winner, right? Oh that as a church we would hear the prayer of Jesus in John 17, where he prays for us , the whole church, to be one together as He is One with His Father! We need to seek His face and repent of our own ways, and play His games! You always win on His team!

A play on Words!

Well writing class continue to be interesting. Mrs. Jean is stretching our minds and words to make interesting sentences that are not boring to the readers but paints pictures in their minds what we are trying to convey to them on paper. The last exercise was this:

Try it and see how you do: (warning kids under 9 don't do well with this and kids or adults who are very logical in their thinking this is very hard for them)

Fold and crease a 8 x 11 piece of lined paper lengthwise in half. On one side list 10 nouns. Just any nouns will do (ie, flower, chair, man). Now flip your paper over to the other side and think of an occupation and list 10 verbs that that person would do in that occupation (ie; doctors they give shots, checks heartbeats, perform surgery). Now unfold your paper and you should have two list now of nouns and verbs.

Like:

flower give shots
mom checks heartbeats
chair performs surgery

Now take your nouns and your verbs and make a sentence out of them by combining them. The nound and the verb must be placed right next to each other without adding helping verbs. You may change the verb to past tense if needed and here is what you come up with. A play on words goes something like this:

A flower gives shots of color against the cool gray brick of our house.
Mom performed surgery on my writing paper.
My favorite chair checked the heartbeat of my anger.

Get it! Its fun. It changes the way we use words and it becomes creative. Have fun!

A Tribute to My Mom!

Weak and wounded sinner,
Lost and left to die
Oh, raise your head, for love is passing by
Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus and live!

Sometime in my moms life after having Tod and I and then after a divorce and raising two little ones on her own and remarrying and dealing with teenagers, my mom was convicted that she was a weak and wounded sinner and she was lost and afraid to die and she saw the Love that was passing by and she came to Jesus.

Now your burdens lifted
And carried far way and precious blood has washed away the stain, so
Sing to Jesus
Sing to Jesus
Sing to Jesus and live!

After my mom came to Jesus her burdens were lifted through prayer and singing. She would go to God in His Word and talk to Him and sing to Him and thank Him for all that He has done and she was singing to Jesus in joy.

And like a newborn baby
Don’t be afraid to crawl
And remember when you walk sometimes you fall . . . so
Fall on Jesus
Fall on Jesus
Fall on Jesus and live!

My mom fell many times into pride and sin of her own life but she always fell forward and the Lord God Almighty to forgive her. She would crawl into a bible study timid but come out strong for all that she learned because she fell on Jesus when she had to fall!

Sometimes the way is lonely
And steep and filled with pain
So if your sky is dark and pours the rain, then
Cry to Jesus
Cry to Jesus
Cry to Jesus and live!

My mom was lonely when Tod and I left the home, but then we came back. When her and Bumps were not getting along she was afraid. She was lonely and afraid at the end of her career whether it would be there or not, She was afraid of financial problems, Then she got sick and more sick and just never stopped. She said she didn’t feel that sick but she was and she knew it. The sky was dark and the rain poured hard on her and she cried to Jesus, I know she did because we all did during this time. And when she cried to Jesus she was living!

O, and when the love spills over
And music fills the night
And when you can’t contain your joy inside, then
Dance for Jesus
Dance for Jesus
Dance for Jesus and live!

You see my mom was full of life and she loved to dance. She loved to smile and most importantly she loved her kids and grandkids and her love would spill over with them. She couldn’t contain her joy and she would dance with all of us with Jesus. She wanted the best for Bumps and even with him she would Dance for Jesus as she lived to be a wife for him. She lived to be a mom for Tod and I and she lived to be a great grandma for her grandkids whom she loved with passion. She wanted everyone to know that she was dancing for Jesus, not for anyone else and she would tell all her patients and friends and family about Him as she danced for Him!

And with your final heartbeat

Kiss the world goodbye

Then go in peace, and laugh on Glory's side,

and Fly to Jesus

Fly to Jesus

Fly to Jesus and live!

You see my mom meant a lot to me, but as she came, crawled, fell, sang, danced, and cried her life came to the final heartbeat and she kissed us all goodbye and she flew to Jesus! And she Lives! She lives inside of each of our hearts who remember her most. She lives with the Jesus and her God and King whom she lived her life for here on earth.

Thank you mom for living in front of me so that I can be the mom I’m supposed to be here on earth! I love you and miss you! Happy Mother’s day!

Writing Class or playing with shapes?

Homeschooling is usually a measurable accomplishment or failure. If you childs complete his or her math in a reasonable amount of time and gets most of them correct or all of them for that matter you know they are moving along and understanding the materials. Math, English, spelling, vocabulary are subjects that are measured. Science and History are measurable too but so many of us put our own opinions in these two classes that sometimes we get a not so accurate picture of what is going on, but still they learn something. However Writing is a whole different subject. Writing is very subjective. Did you know that Writing class was never a subject in school back in the early days? Why did we put it in? Well maybe because they realized that all of us need to learn to write and to put our words on paper. However this is a very hard subject to teach. What you think is good writing and at what level is different from what I think is good writing and at what level. There in lies the rub and the problem most homeschooling moms have with writing. We struggle at this one subject more than any other unless we are true writing scholars ourselves.

So that being said, I have ventured upon a writing class that several of us homeschooling moms are taking provided by a local homeschool mom who loves grammar, writing, and even has a college degree in English and minor in journalism. I feel she has enough credit to move on. So we paid our fees and off we went and the kids and I were stunned that the first class had no writing in it involved at all. We played games. Its called the communication game. She explained to us that writing is simply communicating your ideas, thoughts, and imagination to your reader. However so many of us struggle with getting it down on paper, so we did it out loud during our game.

She had one person draw on a piece of paper anything rather simple using lines and shapes. That person (who we call the writer) would try to communicate to the listner (the reader) what they drew and the writer was responsible for communicating it just so that the reader could draw exactly what the writer did. So off we go. Sarah and I did it together and Zech and Isabella did theirs. The first time through you could ask questions. For example when they said draw a big line, well how big is big? Where do you draw the line? The second time through you could ask no questions and just had to depend upon the writers communication skills. You get the picture. This is very difficult to do because the writers choice of words is very important to get their idea accross of what they drew. Then we played a variation of this game with pattern blocks (or shapes). One person had to create something with their pattern blocks and then proceed in telling the person what they created and that person had to recreate it from their communication skills. Wow, it taught us tons about how we communicate and how we need to be more specific and exact with our words. Without writing anything down we learned so much about writing! Can you tell from the picture that Zech didn't communicate specifically something and the Isabella's shapes didn't come out just right?

So the next time you pick up a pen and paper or start to type anything pay attention to the words you choose and hope they connect with your reader on what idea you are trying to convey! Happy writing!

Does anybody ever read my blog anymore?

Or am I just doing this for my own benefit. I haven't had comments on my last five or six blogs! What is up? Okay, I'll still blog because I will continue to think and wish somebody is reading it, but would love to get comments every now and then! Thanks,

Local TV Station Tour

What fun we had! I had always thought about the proceedings and all that go on in a TV station but it was so cool to take a tour and see it in reality. We took a field trip of 25 local homeschooling families (we have 2 more field trips set up for this field trip) and went to our local TV station for a behind the scenes look at how broadcasting works. Our guide was very well versed in all she had to tell us about the workings of it all.

What was the highlight to all of us was going into the camera room itself and see how it is all set up and then sit in on the live broadcast. It was way cool to see how they all interact with one another during the whole shooting of the event. The weather man and his "green" screen was very fun for the kids to see how he points to a blank screen and how he gets it right.

We were able to meet the "crew" and take lots of pictures. It was definetly one of my top picks of field trips we have been to yet!

Homeschool End of the Year Picnic!

Showcase!

My kids once again had showcase yesterday. Showcase is a day in which they show off all they learned during a semester (usually 12 weeks) of enrichment. Enrichment days are every Monday in which they learn different subjects from other moms that enrich their everyday learning at home. It is very much like going to school.

Sarah took Science in which they did labs (like electricity, DNA, and discesting), cooking II, and Art II. She excelled in all and even made her first 100% on her science test this last week. Science has been a hard subject this year.

Zechariah had just two classes of Critical thinking through Science and Geography. He learned all over the earth and the different continents. His teacher said she thoroughly enjoyed having him. Science he learned subjects on rockets and volume and so much more.

Isabella had US History, Learning Games (logical thinking games), and Critical thinking through science. She learned so much about the History of America and also learned how to strategize with her opponents to WIN! They all showcased their abilities and techniques and how God has expanded their knowledge.

I am so proud of all my children and the other children for their amazing talents they displayed. The youth in our group (9th-12th) did a mock trial called The Beauty and the Beast. They did an excellent job and from that class they learned about our government from when it was in England all the way to the present.

Way to go Enrichment classes for spring 2008!

Happy Birthday dear Hubby!

My wonderful husbands birthday is today! He is holding at 39 (for real!) I want to tell you about this amazing man I get to spend my life with!

This man grew up in a Christian family and his mother did him well! She taught him how to clean, cook, sew, and iron. He does so many amazing things that other women seem not to get. You see each morning he turns off the alarm clock and rolls over and rubs my back and scratches it to get me awake. He kisses me each morning as he comes into the living room where I'm there (usually in my pj's, my hair all messy, and no makeup) and tells me I'm so beautiful. He then sits at the kitchen table and talks with God and reads the Word of God until around 7:00 and then goes and wakes up the kids for me. He prays with the kids before he leaves and kisses me once again before he leaves for work. He calls me two or three times during his very busy day and tries to come home at least 2 times for lunch during the week. He comes home in the evening ready and willing to talk with me, even when his day has been bad. He encourages me to be the mom, the pastor's wife, or even just his wife that I'm supposed to be. He picks me up and supports me in so many ways!

When the kids were infants and toddlers, he would come home and shew me out the door so that I can have some quiet time. He would happily change diapers, cook supper, and play with the kids. He is an awesome dad. Always cheering them on, teaching them lessons, playing with them, and hugging on them.

Then I Sunday mornings I get the priviledge of sitting and listening to the Word of God being preached by my dear husband. I'm so proud of him and I'm so proud to be his wife. Thank you Lord for creating him for me and for bringing us together. May we have many more years of the Lord's blessing upon Mike! I love you!

Ponderings, again!

The Lord is so good to us! It is truly amazing. I'm amazed at His ways all the time.

But what would I do if Jesus were here physically today? That he didn't come 2000 years ago, but if He came today. A book by the name of "Eli" explores that topic. How so many churches wouldn't even recognize Him. They would be so much like the Pharisees and the Saducees. So I ask myself would I know Him? Would I bow down and worship Him? I would like to think I would.

I recently bought an old CD of Wayne Watson. He has a song called "Would I know You Now?"

Would I know You now if You walked into the room
If you stilled the crowd--If You light dispelled the gloom
And if I saw Your wounds--Touched Your thorn pierced brow
I wonder if I'd know You now
Would I know You now if You walked into this place
Would I cause You shame--Would my games be Your disgrace
Or would I worship You--Fall down upon my face
I wonder if I'd know You now
Or have the images I've painted So distorted who You are
That even if the world was looking They could not see You--The real You
Have I changed the true reflection To fulfill my own design
Making You what I want Not showing You forth divine
Would I miss You now if You left and closed the door
Would my flesh cry out "I don't need You anymore"
Or would I follow You--Seek to be restored
I wonder--I wonder Will I ever learn I wonder--
Would I ever know You now

What about you? Do you wonder? The part that I ponder heavily is the images I've painted so distorted who He is? That even if I was looking or the world from what I've said, would we see Him, the real Him.

On the other hand, I think that He is in all of us, and when we see that reflection of Him by what our neighbors are doing, do we notice? Do we see Him, when they do something only He would do? Are we reflecting what only He would do? Does the world see Jesus in me?

Ponderings . . .