A REAL man!

Conversation with my mancake:

Mancake: I a boy not a man, mom.

Mom: Oh really! Well, you are a cute boy.

Mancake: No, no, no. I a MAN!

Mom: What does a MAN do?

Mancake: Cook.

Mom: Hmmmmm

Mancake: Yes... a man cooks sausage. And I a man.

(Please take note of his shoes.)

If only every man was as comfortable in his manhood as my little mancake. :-)

Staying positive Situation #2

WHEN THERE IS NO $$$$$

This one is a bit tricky. Because there are 2 sides to it. One is the way I was taught to think and the other is the way feel sometimes. I (like many of you) have been taught to be thankful for what I do have. How many times have you heard, " There are people far worse off than you"? Or if you have ever been on a mission trip and had the opportunity to work with the "less fortunate". If so, then it is easy to feel guilty when money becomes tight or money goes away all together.

Even though most of us have been taught about the perspective that we are SUPPOSED to have....it is hard when you are in the midst of trial. It is hard to see past your own nose. Right now our lives are a little crazy financially. We are forced to live in Hubby's parent home (that they used to live in) because we are trying to sell our house. We must live here because we simply can not afford 2 mortgage payments. When hubby resigned from his job a couple of months ago, we knew that things would be tough for a little while. But we expected to sell our home and move on. For what ever reason God is not allowing that to happen. Our house is not selling, hubby hasn't found a job yet, and our $$$ is quickly running out. Now we are facing foreclosure on our home and/or possibly bankruptcy. All of this... because we choose to leave our church. With hope of giving some financial relief to them. Our pastor wasn't being paid and the other staff member was facing pay cuts as well. We chose to leave in order to allow them to be paid. We chose to leave because we knew that they couldn't (because it is their home town).

SO back to the point..... we are in these financial hardships for a number of reasons. But mainly because we wanted to do the right thing. Being angry at God comes to mind sometimes. Being confused happens alot. But staying positive is a work in progress. It is a daily choice. And I will be honest... it is not always the choice that I make.

There is a book called FISH that I had to read once and I took one major point to heart and now teach it OFTEN to my children. Choose your attitude.

Life may suck (alot) but it is up to you how you chose to view it. It is up to you how you respond to it. And it is up to you how yo let it effect you.

I must trust that God sees all and knows all. I must trust that He is marking my steps out before me and that his purpose is perfectly designed to fit into this wonderful story He is telling. Yes, living paycheck to paycheck is hard, but doing it without Christ would be even harder. That is how I stay positive.

Staying positive Situation #1

Working with someone who is really negative

As I have thought through this situation God has been working on my heart in a huge way. It has been amazing to me how much my mindset has changed in just 24 hrs.Three days ago my attitude was: Annoyed, frustrated, avoid, run, avoid, run. AHHHHHHHH! "Make it all stop, I can't take it anymore."

*

One of my prayers that I pray often is: "God please allow me to see people the way that you see them." Through a couple of different happenings God has allowed me to see the hurt that lies under the negativity in this person I work with. On the surface she is bitter, angry, disgruntled, and just down right pissed off at the world. But underneath she is sad, lonely, afraid, and feels abandoned by God.

*

I am sure that any person we could or would tag as "Negative", if we were to look deep enough we would see hurt and heart ache that is fueling it all.

*

So.... how do we stay positive while having to work with someone who is negative??

We must look deep.... See them the way God sees them.... and love them as Christ loves us.

*

Psalm 33:20- 22

We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we
trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD, even as we put our hope in you.

*

We can be positive because we have HOPE!

How do you stay positive?

As I have talked about before, I am typically a pessimistic person. Or as I like to say it "I'm a realist" I don't think I am negative, I just look at life and realize that it's not fair, it's not just, it's sometimes sucks, and that is just how it goes. My hope is for Heaven. Where the glass will not be half empty/half full, but overflowing!

Now that being said....
God is challenging me on how do I handle my "realistic perspective" while: #1 Working with someone who is negative ALL THE TIME. #2 Living with financial circumstances that are less that ideal. #3 Having one child who seems to always find the negative in everything. #4 Being tired all the time because of work and home life. #5 Being sick on any given day with Crohns.

My blogs over the next days will be about these situations. My hope is that God will use them to challenge me and give me ways to rise above. Many times when I write things out or talk things out God will use words that are meant to encourage others and turn them to encourage or enlighten me.

Have a wonderful weekend!

American Idol

Last night was one of my favorite nights of TV. Put to tears more than once over the pandemic in Africa and the crisis of poverty in our own back yard. But also, so inspired at what our country and those around the world are choosing to do to make a difference. As many of you know, there is a huge piece of my heart that God has designated for Africa. So to watch all of the tragic stories playing one after another, weighs heavy on my heart. It is one of my favorite nights on TV but also the hardest.

All of that being said.... I also must admit that I am thoroughly confused by AI. The night began with one song (crazy dancing), went on to Hannah Montana, some tight leather pants flailing around and a little bit of Fergie thrown in, Robin Williams grabbing Simon's butt, and then Shout to the Lord. ARE YOU CONFUSED YET?
Now don't get me wrong, I am thrilled. I pray that our American Idol "God Moment" plants seeds in places that we can't imagine. Isn't just like God to do something HUGE with something we couldn't have even dreamed about, much less even thought to pray for. :-)
If you read my last post, maybe you clicked over to STUFF CHRISTIANS LIKE. Last nights AI reminded me of Booty,God,Booty except it was more like booty, booty, God. :-)

Last night also took me back to Rooting for Secret Christians. I think it is easy for us to want to see good, wholesome people, as Christians. I wanted desperately for Brooke to be a "good ole' Christian" and David A. but sadly they are "door knockers".

(Ok, no more Stuff Christians like...... I will lay off.)
Except here are my favorites:-)
"One more person"
M.C. Hammer
Holding Hands
Dancing


Ok ok for real I'll stop.

Stuff Christians Like

Ok here is some funny stuff. (Well, at least I think so!) It had me laughing and crying out loud. I am sure that some of it will offend some of you. But..... I love you anyway!

http://stufffchristianslike.blogspot.com/

PS- Warning it is kind of addictive.

Morn Birfday Pwease!

Everyone should have this reaction when they have a birthday! These two were so excited. They woke up the next morning and begged to do it again. "Mommy, morn birfday party!" "Again pwease!"

PS. HA! Spell checker loved this blog!

#3 -for 2- little 1s

Today is birthday 3 for Little Bear and Miss P. We spent our rainy morning as first time visitors to a local church and then did lunch in "Psycho Land" (aka: Chucky Cheese). But I must say... we had a blast. And sadly I must admit that Chucky serves my FAVORITE pizza AND it is the only place in town (that I know of) that has Mellow Yellow.
When you put it all together:
1. Great Pizza
2. Favorite Drink
3. Kids are entertained for hours
4. Mom and Dad get one on one conversation

AGAINST
1. Psycho, caffeinated, hyper active, children who are never let out of their home except for today to come to Chucky Cheese so they run around like people on crack.


I think it balances pretty well!

I started to post of blog about how time flies, wow I can't believe they are this big, I miss my little babies, and so forth and so on..... BUT (even though those things are true) We all already know it. We know that life passes too quickly and that our children grow up to fast. So I just want to focus on the gift of today and the time that I have with the ones that I love.

Happy Birthday my 2 littlest 1s. I love you!

A great Wife!

In this little world of ours I would define a great wife as one who:
-Takes care of her family.
-Cooks great
-Cleans what is needed
-Laundry
-Home schools patiently
-Shops for groceries with all 4 kids and doesn't kill anyone
-Stay up-to-date on her Beth Moore bible study
-Learns from Dr. Oz (on Oprah) how to take care herself and manage her health and weight
-Plays with the kiddos
-Listens well
(I am sure I could keep going ;-)

I wish I could say that these were characteristics that I had. In fact most of these are only things that I can HOPE to be. But there is someone who lives in my house that accomplishes these things. MY HUBBY. He is the best wife I could ask for.

I decided that this needed a BLOG only after he sat down to read a Beth Moore Daily devotion and then followed that by telling me about Dr. OZ and his life changing health tips. I couldn't even let him finish his sentence before I busted out laughing.

Tomorrow he has a nail appointment and he is going to get a waxing. (giggle giggle!)
All kidding aside..... I have the best hubby/wife ever.

I love you baby!

Ministry

I did an interview with a lady yesterday and one of the questions that I am suppose to ask is,"How would you define ministry?"
(Working at Lifeway is very different than the outside world. Starting with interview questions.)
Anyway, when I was asked this question in my interview, my answer was something like, "Ministry is meeting people where they are and helping them towards Christ." My interview yesterday answered with,"Helping people."
But all of this leads me to ask "How would YOU define ministry?"
Is ministry defined by the walls of a church? If not, then how do you find "your" ministry?

This new path that God has set us on, is redefining our ministry. God has given us a different view point in which He wants us to see the world. I am not sure of His plan but I am sure of His purpose. God is always growing us and drawing us nearer.