Parenting

Parenting is an awesome responsibility! God allows us to have and raise children seemingly with no instruction. That is not true.

We have an instruction manual for our entire life. The Bible.
Yes I know it sounds unrealistic to live by such strict rules but how in the world can we expect our children to live by our rules if we can not live by our Father's rules. Sure we have grace but we are going to have to answer for a lot of things we did while we were here, I'm sure of it.

All we have to do is stop looking to see what everyone else considers "OK" for our kids and look at the word. God does not care about the stupid little things like computers and cell phones. He wants us to love each other and care for one another. Help each other out when needed and celebrate with each other.

As for raising our children, We are to raise them to fear the lord. Give them strict guidelines to adhere to and learn to respect their parents and elders. They do not have to be afraid and we are not frustrate them. We can listen to them but we are the boss and what we say goes.

There must be firm lines that can not be crossed and if they get crossed we must be firm and adhere to the punishment. If we do not hold them accountable for their own actions then they will will never learn to be accountable and grow up to blame everything on everyone else.

We have to remember, yes we feel bad because we had to cancel plans because we have to hold our child accountable, but in the end they will understand that we are true to our word and expect them to behave in a way that is pleasing to us and God. We have to hold them to high standards because the world keeps lowering theirs.

God's standards never change! Sin is sin and believe me, We as parents are going to be held responsible for our children in the end. I would rather my child was upset for a few days then have to go to heaven and explain why I did not raise my child in the way they should go. And all I have to say to defend myself is "That's how all my friends did it".

After Thought

I love that God uses me to encourage other people. God always seems to be there when I need Him to encourage others and I rarely need uplifting. I tend to look at the bright side...mostly.
I used to be one of those people that judged, gossiped, griped and complained about everything. Like "why does God do this to me?" or "can you believe what we just saw?" oh and "Oh my goodness, what was she thinking?". Yeah...one of those. I thank God for opening my eyes. What a terrible way to live, getting joy from others pain, or worse yet, causing said pain.
A long time ago a preacher said "write down everyone who wronged you then forgive them. Man that was hard enough but then I wrote a list of all the people I had wronged "and it was longer" Then I called the ones I could to ask them to forgive me and to tell the others I had forgiven them, the ones I could not for one reason or another IE: death, could not locate, etc... I have to believe God knows my heart and that I am forgiven.
While speaking to every person I could feel the presence of the Lord with me. It made me strong. I was able to call many people and reconnect on a new level with some who are very close to my heart. Funny though most of them did not even care what I had done. They seemed to not remember or really were not influenced at all by my behavior 15, 20 years ago or they had already forgiven me. And a few of them were grateful that I had forgiven them. As for the one I could not get ahole of "he died before I made my list" I forgave him and I actally felt bad for wishing him dead all those years ago. "I hope he knew Jesus when He died."
What was nice was I realized while writing the list of people I needed to forgive that it would only be right to write one for the people that I felt needed to know I had truly changed.
I thank God for that. I swallowed a lot of humble pie that week, even choked on some of it but in the end my conscience was clear. After doing all that It was reveled to me that it was not nessasary for me to do that. God had already forgiven me.
Now God uses me as an encourager for those suffering and discouraged with life and complaining about decisions made and blaming God. One thing I realized is God did not do it! We do it and then ask him why our life turned out a certain way. We choose our path, He can help correct it "If we ask" but we usually don't until we messed everything up so bad He is our only out.
We need to recognise God is in Control. I know that sounds like so "Christianise" but He is. He knows every hair on our head. It does not and will not matter what it looks like to anyone but Him after all is said and done.
At the beginning of this post I said "I mostly look on the bright side." Not always. I do get discouraged and when I do I go to my father and ask Him to reveal the positive in this situation and he does.
I think He allows us to have bad or sad things happen to regain our focus or to point out an area of weakness so he can mold us and shape us into what He originally planned, After all He is a jealous God. If we did not need Him He would have no reason to exist in our lives. We need to recognise God every day. He has given us everything including his own blood the least we lowly humans can do is acknowledge Him every day if only for a moment.
We are not worthy as a people of His awesome sacrifice yet He thinks we are. He wants us. He gave us an out. Jesus is the answer (corny but true). Jesus died so we could be free. We should be grateful and joyful when we come to him. We have no need to feel guilty because when we repent He forgets because He loves us...God is Love!

Wisdom

God gives us what we ask for if He knows it is our hearts desire. I pray for wisdom frequently and then am surprised to have it. Along with the wisdom comes occasion to put it to good use. I love when I am presented with a question or situation or when someone asks my advice and Holy Spirit jumps in and answers.
Today I was approached and asked a certain question and because I am known for being honest this person knew I would not try to skirt the answer. I answered the question and even though I could see that the answer would cause some bad feelings I had to tell the truth. Added to that truth came wisdom.
I once read in the bible that if you have a question meant for a particular person you should go to that person and ask it. If they will not be open and honest with you then go to that person with two or three more people and get to the root of the problem. I felt like this person should go to the person or people he has a question about and ask them if their fears are true.
I can not help but feel like they need a mediator but am no expert in the area being spoke about. I do have certain talents that have yet to be revealed because of fear or some other irrational feeling, and I also know that because of certain circumstances the fears of the second person may be due to an unwillingness to let go.
"Man this is hard for me to talk about without getting emotionally involved".
Tho I had noticed some of the things being talked about I am sure none of it was on purpose. Perhaps the third party just needs to hear the concerns of the second party and this can all be resolved in a few minuets.
To anyone with a problem with anyone...Seek out that person, ask them face to face whats up or discuss your feelings and why and perhaps it was all a big misunderstanding.
Personally it has happened to me a few times. Someone says that I said such and such about so and so...you get it right. When it got so bad so and so would not answer my calls I found her and asked her point blank "what have you heard?" Needless to say most of what she had heard was either taken out of context or was simply embellished stories by the gossip crew and in the end we did not become friends but at least I was able to put out the fire.
Now the second party on the first part of my story was not bashing anyone, just concerned. I told them I could see they where feeling bad and that maybe they should bring it up to the third party. I hope this is just a misunderstanding.

Be a Witness

Last night I had an opportunity to witness to some people. They asked the question "Why was God so hard on Adam and Eve but now Christians only have to ask forgiveness?" To me the answer was easy...JESUS.
McKinly and I explained how Jesus came to earth to take the punishment for all our sin and because of that we no longer get punished. We need only to repent and turn from our sin and God will forgive us.
Needless to say that only led to more questions. I was impressed by my sons answers. He does have a good hold on what it means to be saved and to live for Christ. As for the gentleman asking all the questions I do not know what he thought, but I do know some new seed was planted. We only need to let them be and God will grow them in his spirit.
It was not a debate but good conversation about God, forgiveness, and unconditional love.
God knew we needed a way out. He figured out we are so imperfect that He had to do something drastic. So being three in one he came as Christ to walk among us and go through all we go through, resisting the same sin we fight with every day giving Him a true feeling about what we feel and why we make the decisions we make sometimes. The difference is He knew what His end would be like.
As Jesus He chose to Let them beat him and hang him on the cross because he knew what we all tend to forget. God loves us. There is nothing we can do to earn Gods love because he already loves us all so much. After God as Christ died and the veil was torn we were granted audience with God whenever we choose. God just wants us to hang out with Him and acknowledge Him in our lives.
I guess we as people have a hard time understanding that concept. We tend to have agendas for everything, (If I do this, then I'll get that) In our human mind we tend to believe you don't get something for nothing.
God's forgiveness is free. Repent and turn from Satan and see what God will do for you. He loves you even in your sin. Acknowledge Him. Recognise what he did for you even tho you were a sinner so you could be saved. When that happens you won't have a choice. You will know He is God.

BUZZ!!!

Man I hope you know God is all over this. The buzz is ROCK Church and God doing something BIG! Double serviceses, we better be ready because if God told PB to go double Then we are gonna be busy. Preparing for this Sunday has had it's challenges but with the excitement building who could be discouraged. Imagine A chance to Show God we really are a church for the people of our city and the world. I think we have one of the most genuine pastors out there. Pastor B really does care about our city and really does pray for God to help us, Show us, how to do what He wants us to do. My faith grows more the longer I work with Pastor B. I am always amazed when it seems like he has been reading my journal. God has a hold of him and Pastor Bryan has a hold on God. I know you may think because I work @ ROCK Church I am biased but let me tell you. God has placed me here. I believe in the vision @ ROCK Church. I am growing spiritually, and God won't let us get too comfortable with ourselves before he starts moving again. All I got to say is GET READY Wilmington. God is moving.

What a day!

I still have tons to do before next Sunday when ROCK Church go's double and I can only concentrate on one day at a time or I will lose it! Tomorrow will be Tuesday and I plan on spending my four hours stripping and re waxing the floor for the new "Double take" room. This will be the place for the tweens of remix to meet for second service and serve for "Kids Rock". It will give them an opportunity to serve in a small way but it will mean so much to Helen, Who by the way, could use a few good volunteers.
The point of this blog is...If you have the right information, right tools, and the will power, you really can do anything.
I have never stripped a floor in my life. Pastor Matthew needed a floor refinished and that is why I am at ROCK Church, to serve in any area necessary while following Pastor Bryan as he Strives to fulfill the vision God gave him. Again I digress.

When I started this job 1 & 1/2 years ago I never dreamed of doing the things I do now. I felt unqualified, undereducated, and way too scared to even attempt the things I do everyday now with no problem. Back to the floor... I have seen it done several times...doesn't look too hard.

1. Put stripper in bucket
2. Get a good mop and put the stripper on the wax, thick, let stand 20 to 30 min.
3. Scrub
4. Mop several times
5. tra-la ready for wax

NOT SO! Last Friday I did step 1, step 2, and it was step 3 that got me. Evidently there are two machines, One for buffing and polishing and one for stripping and scrubbing. I attempted to use the wrong machine and after four hours of hard labor, had not accomplished a darn thing. The floor looked worse than when I started. I was exhausted and frustrated and I cleaned up my mess and called it a day. Only when I got home I started thinking and the more I thought about it the more I thought "It can not be that hard!" " What did I do wrong?" There must be an easier way, and there is but it would require me to call a company and rent a machine and possibly still not be able to do what needed to be done. Remember "I know nothing about stripping floors!!!"

The following Monday....I made up my mind, rent machine and attempt to do this one more time and wouldn't you know the machine was not available. "Now What?" ponder... OK call company again, ask if they have someone who can come and "SHOW" me how to do this. Give me step by step instructions. I make my phone call and yes they will send someone.

Adam came from Hy-Speed and told me the machine I had attempted to use was the wrong tool for the job. So I asked " What is the right tool?" and lo and behold we have one. A slow speed scrubbing tool. After a short lesson I was able to control it and tomorrow I WILL GET THAT FLOOR DONE!!!

It always amazes me when God won't let me quit. As much as I want to sometimes, I just can't. I refuse to let inanimate objects win. God gave me the power of deduction. If there is an easier way, more efficiant way, or cheaper way to do something. I will figure it out. I know this wisdom can only come from God. I do tend to make a lot of mistakes but in the end it always works out. God allows me to stumble and sometimes I fall flat on my face but God is always there to pick me up again. Thank You God!

Painting

Yes I will be painting @ROCK Church, this Saturday. If you like to paint meet me @ ROCK Church Aug. 22, 2009 for a fun day of painting...No I am not being sarcastic, some people like to paint. I like to paint. Have I said Paint too many times? Any who Painting going on Sat be there!

A Time for Everything

I know it has been a while since I have written anything. Writers block? perhaps. Anyway A lot does not even begin to cover all that has happened in the last few months. I am not going to bore you with the details. But I will update you on the status of Rock Church.

• We are getting ready to go Double. Thats right Double services starting August 30th 2009 we will begin having two services.
  
• We are growing and God is powerful in this place and in our Pastors. People have been saying it for a long time and we are stepping out because we want God to step in. We are putting our trust in God so we can help the lost get found. Rock Church is telling the world about Jesus and I am so glad to be a part of it all. We are seeing something amazing take place in our city and the devil better look out because here we are and we are not going anywhere!!!!
• Prayer Services held on Wednesday Eve at 7:00pm are also growing. Service is led by Sarah and they are powerful times of Worship, prayer, edification and confirmation God is doing big things in Our City, right now. She is helping us recognize the gifts given to us by God including Love, Grace, forgiveness, and the gifts of the spirit as taught by Pastor Ron. We pray for each other with boldness and we pray for our pastors and city. It is an awesome time with friends and the Lord.
• The grounds have never looked better. I am so grateful for our Landscaping team. It is made up of mostly 3 people, Craig, Dave, who are members and Chris who has committed his time as a volunteer even tho this is not his church home. He is faithfully serving at Rock Church mowing and trimming weeds for hours every Friday and Sat. I did not ask him to do this, I did not solicit his help he just comes and Volunteers to be blessing to our grounds. The last couple work days we had for the grounds were very successful and it is about time to do it again. Maybe at the end if Aug. Did I tell you we had 37 volunteers last time.
  
• The sense of community and family felt here is incredible. I am truly blessed to get to be a part of it all.
• If you were not here last week to hear Pastor Matt Ray you need to get the cd. I love how God uses our weakness as his strength. Better yet you need the whole series of at the movies. It was incredible.
  

Well that is about it for now. I love my Church Family and since the building is my responsibility I guess I need to get to work. Love you all and remember...Make it a Great day!

Thank you Pastor Bryan
Thank you for listening to God. Thank you for being brave enough to do what God tells you do. Thank you for Being the Mighty Man of God this city needs.

Volunteers

As some of you may know I depend heavily on volunteers @ ROCK Church
and I am so blessed for outpouring of support from all my Volunteers. Some of them are not even members @ ROCK Church but they come anyway to glorify the Lord with their hands. Our grounds are looking better every week and it is all because of the blessing we received from our volunteers. I wanted to take the time to list a few-Anthony, Tony, Chris, craig, Dave, Carrie, Ed John, Charled, Earnest, TJ, Libby, Lorenzo, Allen, Ray, Fred, Michael, Shellie, RD, Denise, Mitch, Valery, Kevin, Marcy, Lestly, Nash, Travis, Tasha, Robert, Jennifer, Richard, Winston, Thad, Beverly, Susan, Michael, and all the children. I want them to know I appreciate all their hard work. Thank You everyone. I can not wait for our next day of fellowship and fun. You are all amazing and May God bless you all the way He has blessed me.

The green Team!!!

What a day! We got everything on my list of things to do done. 31 spectacular volunteers came out to help me spruce up our church buildings grounds. Lots of new trees planted, old silt fence removed, ditches cleaned out and a whole lot more. God made this a great day. I give him all the glory. Everyone had a great attitude and we accomplished more than I had imagined we would. I think of PB
He always says go big or go home, well they came big and I am proud of the quality work done here this day. I can not list everyone now but I will. I plan to thank every person by name. I believe I have the best group of volunteers @ ROCK Church. Thank You everyone who came out to help, thank you for going big. Thank you from the bottom of my heart you are all a blessing to me and this Church family.

The Green Team

What do ya think? I think The Green Team is a good name for the crew of volunteers coming to plant trees, shrubs and flowers along with cleaning up some trash left over from the original build. The team consists of Men and woman of all ages coming together to beautify our grounds for the glory of the Lord. This Saturday @ 9:00am we will meet here at ROCK Church
If you would like to be a part of this event and are not sure how to get here follow the rock link and get directions at the bottom of that page. Bring a side dish and any tools you think might be helpful. We will supply the plants, trees and shrubs. Anyone can come BBQ Chicken and drinks will be served for lunch @ noon. I am asking if you have a weed trimmer bring that and trailers will be helpful for carrying debris. Come ...join us and have fun working side by side with your friends and church family.

Text the word vote to 5704 To vote 4 danny gokey

Wonderful Daughter inlaw.

My Daughter in-law sent these photo's. This is My Son E.J. and his little angel, Lillyana Grace.
The photo of him in his uniform is when he left for Iraq. The other two are from Christmas. He left for Iraq the last week in Dec. and his tour is almost up. I am so proud of E.J. He is still safe and I try not to worry. I pray for his safe return as well as the rest of the young men he serves with. His three little brothers look up to him and love to tell people they have a big brother in the Army. They love big sis too but Ross wants to know why I make faces when I talk to the baby. I can not wait to se them. Hopefully this summer. God willing we will be able to go this year.

Houston We have a Problem!

So here I was changing the light bulbs in the ceiling for the 200th time when all of sudden um....... The fixture seemed loose. Doesn't seem like that much of a problem until you realize I am standing on a 10 foot ladder with a 25 foot pole. The light bulb is suctioned securely to the top of the pole, loose fixture, can't break suction, if I do is the whole fixture going to fall or just the bulb? "HELP!!!!!" I yell at the top of my voice. I waited and Yelled for what seemed like a half hour (probably maybe less) David finally heard me and asked if everything was ok. "NO" I exclaimed. I need help! I can only imagine what he was thinking seeing me standing there on the ladder. I needed someone to hold the pole and try to remove the pole from the light and praying the whole thing stays in the ceiling. So now here comes PB and PM. "Just pull the pole from the light." I explained why I was not sure if that was possible, they assured me. "Go ahead" O.K.?! Finally we got suction to break and the pole came down, the light and fixture stayed up. But now it is hanging vicariously from the ceiling. How are we going to fix that? I wondered. "Scaffolding" Pb states, Pm and I will have to build it and that might take a while oh....What to do? "I now" I thought. "I will make a phone call, I think I might know someone who can help us with this and maybe they will do it for....dare I think it, "free"? Come back later and lets see what God is doing for us. It's going to be BIG.

Compelled

• Compelled is the word Pastor Bryan Used to describe how Jesus felt about sacrificing everything for our sin.
  
• Can you even imagine loving one person so much, not to mention a whole species of people, that you would give your life to save them? A love like that can not be duplicated.
  
• Those of us who have children can try to imagine a love like that. For our children I could imagine giving my life so they could live, but for a bunch of ungrateful sinners who deny God and choose to live in sin, NO WAY!
  
• Jesus loves us so much he chose to come here and do the will of his father so we might be saved.
• Jesus had a chance to back out, but instead he was compelled to do the His fathers will.
• God loves us like we love our children only better. He knows that we will sin, He waits for us to come back, and He is always ready to forgive us.

I realize this blog seems redundant and you may have heard it all before but have you ever really thought about what happened the day Judas gave him up? Jesus did not get angry, God did not get angry. Judas felt so bad for selling out his best friend he committed suicide. Any time he wanted to Jesus could have killed all of us with a wink, but he chose to suffer a most horrible beating, one I can not even begin to describe. He allowed giant nails to be driven into his hands and feet. He wanted us to be free. He is our way out and He knew it. Therefore He was compelled to die for us. Easter is almost upon us and this time of year makes me think about What Jesus did. All we have to do is believe in Jesus and ask for forgiveness repent and we get free. That is what makes Christ followers different. We know who our savior is.

• Join us at ROCK church for Easter
  
• Listen online
• 2 services The first @ 9:00 and the second at 12:00
  

Car Trouble

Well it started out to be a better day than usual. I was up early, kids got ready early, everyone ate breakfast before it was time to go, They even got to see a little tv before school. The day was going well. I was able to drink 2 cups of coffee and had some quiet time with God before I got the kids up. Well you might be asking what could go wrong? I even left the house in plenty of time to miss the morning rush at the intersection of he double hockey sticks(left hand turn, no light) Any who, after dropping off my little angel at school I made a right, stopped at the red light and then......., my steering felt funny, the battery light came on, hmmmmm? what could it be? I carefully turned into the empty lot to my right, car still running but something was definitely wrong. I shut the car off and called my very smart husband, (who is also a mechanic) explained the symptoms and he knew exactly what it was(or so he thought) He brought the belt he thought he was going to need to change and discovered that it was not the belt but a pulley that turns the belt. I guess the barrings froze up (according to my genius husband). That was just as easy to fix. So $40.00 and an hour later I was on my way again. Thank you God for my husband. He saves me tons in auto maintenance. Love you baby!

Geese are Back

Some of you may remember the goose fence I talked about last year. Here is an update. It works! As long as you maintain it, and that only takes a few minuets, they stay away. We had an incident last year where a flock of about 14 to 20 geese came to visit, I noticed that part of the fence had been knocked down by a deer or some other critter, I quickly fixed the downed fence and miraculously the geese left. As it turns out if the geese can not easily get in and out of the water then that is not a good place to nest and because of that they will leave in search of new nesting grounds. I love the goose fence Idea because it is harmless to all animals and keeps the nasty goose droppings out of our parking lot.

What a GREAT DAY!

The Fun festival turned out to be a huge success. The weather held out and fun was had by all. I have to give a shout out to all the volunteers who helped make the day possible. We had over 100 volunteers picking up trash, running rides, serving food, and selling Bar-B-Q plates, and a whole lot more. They were wonderful. PM, you did an excellent job organizing this whole thing. Thank you to Powers Midways for the awesome rides, I know my children enjoyed every one. Can't wait to do it again next year. All the entertainment was top notch, from the heaviest of metal bands to the Glory Academy dancers. This was a quality show.

One More day!

The Fun Festival is almost here. You can feel the excitement building. The rides are up, dunking booth is here, funnel cake truck is ready, fire ants are dead and according to Pastor Matthew the rain chance has fallen from 80% to 40%. We are going to have a great time. Check out PM's video's on U-tube. I have created a place here on my blog for you to see Pastor Matthew's creative side. His weather video is hilarious. Just scroll down and you will find them on the right. Two years ago we did this and it rained all over New Hanover Co. but not @ Rock Church
We had a great day. It looked like rain all day but it held off until the festival was over. God is good. Besides I heard about a strange formation of a bubble of some sort surrounding the Castle Hayne area that the meteorologists has never seen seen before. You can check it out for yourself on u-tube. Just scroll down and find Pastor Matt holding a map. Click and you too can see this amazing phenomenon. Go check it out and See you tomorrow @ Rock Church 5301 Sidbury Rd. in Castle Hayne N.C..

Fun Day

Family Festival is about to happen. We are all as busy as beavers this week. We are expecting at least 2500people I am expecting a lot more. We are praying this will be a great day to celebrate the love of Christ to our city and surrounding neighbors. There are a lot of volunteers and you can feel the excitement building as the day draws nearer. The weather man has reported rain we are praying God will hold off until late Sat. evening.
Working out side this week should be a blessing because the weather is supposed to be glorious. Well I do have a lot to do so I will catch you up later. If you check this out come to Rock Church and have a Great Day.
Grateful List:

1. Crazy Love
2. Micro Mission
3. Sharing the love of Christ
4. My son's mission in Iraq is half over
5. I will see my daughter in a little over a month.(She lives too far away.)
6. My friend Angela is coming to visit and wants to help me paint.
7. Spending time with my children
8. New tires
9. New headlights
10. Kibosh(kills stinging insects)
    

A BIG WIN!

A few days ago I blogged about my 8yo who could not tie his own shoes. Well thanks to God, a two hour delay for school and a good book, he accomplished that task today! Ross was so proud of himself and I am grateful for the nudge to get him going. Thank You Jennifer.

Crazy or What?

Rock Church is doing something and as Pastor Bryan says "we are not letting the year happen to us, we are going to happen to the year". Yesterday not only did we do the baptisms during praise and worship but the whole congregation was given an envelope that read "Top secret". Inside those envelopes was either 5, 10, or20 dollars and a letter to go and do something. It was a Minnnie mission and I believe it was well received by everyone. This is not a gimmick but a God thing and it challenges us all to do something. We could pool our money with others and do a big thing or match what we had to bless another person, you get the picture. My husband and I have decided to pool our money and add to it to bless a new mother in our neighborhood.
I must tell you though, My husband and I practice this concept of giving already. We get along well with our neighbors and if we see a need we can do something about we try to do it. This past winter we burned a lot of wood to cut the cost of heating our home, Our elderly neighbor asked if he could have some of the wood my husband worked so hard to cut and split. No Problem. Same neighbor paints for a living and business has been slow. I came home one day and he had painted my mailbox post and box. It desperately needed the paint and we did not ask, he saw a need and filled it. Last week Same neighbor painted my back door. The paint was chipping and about gone as it was. Now my door has a fresh coat of paint with Green trim just like the rest of the house. I went to thank him immediately. We are blessed to have such compassionate neighbors. I must also tell you what ever you decide to give it does not have to be monetary, give up a parking spot, let someone in line ahead of you, hold the door for the next person, simply smile at someone, you would be amazed at what a kind face can do for a bad day.
10things I am grateful for today are:

1. Another opportunity to be a blessing and a light to someone else
2. Port City Landscaping they do a great job at Rock church
3. Volunteers
4. Debbie Powers' Kabota
5. Rock Church
6. Carolyn, great Photographer without who's images I would not have a pic of the Top Secret envelope. Thanx.
   
7. Gods peace and grace during the hard stuff
8. Kids that make me proud
9. Spanx... If you know what that is you will get it
10. A husband that truly loves me
    

Tying shoes/ No problem

I have a few children as you all know. I know a lot, I've read a lot of books and I thought I was doing pretty well until someone noticed my 8yo can not tie his own shoes. (Never would have happened if he had come to me), any who he asked someone to tie his shoes and they could not believe he could not do this simple task himself. When it was brought to my attention I simply stated "It is easier to do it myself, I do not have time, I've tried to show him how to do it" and, well you get the picture. I was a little embarrassed, as a parent I have always done a great job, lol, and whats the big deal anyway, yes he does need to learn to tie, I will not be able to go to college with him and Velcro is not an option. My friend gave me a great book called Red Lace Yellow Lace. I hope it works. He is a visual learner and the book is colorful and very detailed. We will work on this everyday. I got to thinkin, Who taught the last three how to tie their shoes? I realized it was not me it was day care. Oh my goodness, how could I have missed such an opportunity? Am I a horrible parent?, Nah just busy. I am glad I get to be the one to show the last two. Yes it is a big deal. I missed it with the first three and did not even realize I could not remember when they started tying their own shoes. Well I'll keep you posted.

Spring Feaver

Well I always thought I hated to work outside, But I am finding out that with weather as beautiful as ours has been this week it ain't so bad. I chalk up my chipper attitude to a healthy dose of vitamin D from all the sun I was able to enjoy this week. As for the list I blogged about earlier this week I think a made a pretty good dent in it. I planted 7 trees and mulched them, cleaned up all beds in the back and pruned the shrubs and trees in the back. I have had to straighten up back behind the dumpster where we have an abundance of trees and shrubs yet to be planted. Problem is I can not move them until I am ready to place them in the ground because the roots have come through the bottoms. Things are starting to look pretty good. I hope people can tell how much I enjoy my position. I hope my work shows that I do take a sense of pride in what I do, and considering the pure scale of what needs to be done and what I would like to do, with the resources I have, I think it is pretty good. PB is always encouraging, yesterday he hollered how awesome I am at doing what I do.
My woodworking class is almost finished and once again I am thrilled with the results. I created a Adirondack chair using tools I was afraid to try at one time. I have had a lot of fun and have learned a lot of tricks of the trade as well. One student compared our instructor to the guy who gives away the magicians secrets only with wood. I will have to take a semester off because the class I need won't start until April or May. I might take facility maintenance again to brush up on some stuff from the last class.
Got an email from my boy in Iraq, he's doin fine. He said he has been real busy and will keep us posted. Maybe I shouldn't call him boy anymore.....after all he is expected to fight for our freedom. That's a different soap box and I am out of time.

Lists R our Friend

I am not sure if I shared this before but I like lists. Using lists keeps me on task especially at work. ADD, perhaps but as long as I refer to my list I tend to GSD. Anywho Pastor R and I have decided lists are good and we started utilizing this method in the last couple weeks and I am feeling super productive.

This is my Son and Me on his wedding day. He was deployed to Iraq.
Having a son in Iraq is harder than I could have anticipated. While listening to the news yesterday I heard a hummer was blown off the road during an ambush from the enemy. Three young men lost their lives and I immediately wondered if one of them was my son. Thankfully it was not, but then I soon realized those kids did belong to someone. I prayed for peace and comfort for those families and thanked God my child was spared. I say I believe he will come home safe, but do I really? Not sure at this point.
So I will keep plugging away at my things to do list and try not to worry.

10 things I am grateful for...

1. My son is still alive and well
2. I finished my chair, and it looks pretty darn good.
3. My eldest daughter has invited us up for a weekend at her new house.
4. Andy, crown molding is tricky, thanks for the coping secret.
5. PR, for his wisdom
6. PB for his heart
7. Jen for the fantastic job with our children at Kids Rock
8. David for awesome praise and worship
9. time to play with my children
   
10. Large capacity washer and dryer, if you have more than one child, you can appreciate that statement.
    

In Gods Hands

My eldest son, Private Edward J. Hurley Jr. (E.J.) Has made it to the middle east. He is currently in Kuwait awaiting orders to deploy to Bagdad. We love him and we are proud that he would choose to volunteer for the Army, knowing we are at war. We pray for him daily. We have placed him in Gods hands and the rest is up to The Maker of the universe. God tells us not to worry. He loves us and does not want us to suffer. In the giant scheme of it all, He did create us and He wants us. I know he will keep my son safe. You can email E.J. at edwardjhurleyjr@yahoo.com let him know you are supporting him and his platoon, you can also email EDWARD.HURLEY1@us.army.mil. I will keep you posted.

Fasting and Gratitude

This is a great day! I was stuck in traffic for over an hour and that was some great time of worship in my car. Spending time with God while stuck in traffic, I guess thats one way for God to get your attention. It was a beautiful morning with the sun shimmering on the ice covered glass of my car and the doors were froze shut. As the sun was shining so bright this morning I began to wonder how wonderful heaven must be. What a beautiful day. Yes I could have been frustrated with the traffic but I wasn't. All I could think is "Isn't it wonderful after a day of gray and dreary weather to get such radiant brilliance only God can provide." I like special time with God. Unplanned, spontaneous worship and praise. I enjoyed myself..... for the first 45 min, then it seemed like we were never going to move. I started texting to let PB and LC know where I was. Then I realized how far away from my exit I was, then I noticed cars moving faster in the left lane, (I figured I will stay where I am because you know as well as I if I switch lanes the opposite will happen. Soon I realized I was NOT thinking of God anymore but getting frustrated with the traffic that was now trying to get in front of me after trying to sneak up the left lane, where evidently the accident occurred. Getting my focus back on God I began to notice how the sun shines through the trees and where the beams landed the road was dry and the rest was wet. The sun is rising higher now and the light is streaming into my cars side window, an almost blinding light. Hundreds of cars in front and behind and here I am, wondering "I hope whoever was in that crash is alright?" I said a prayer for them, whoever they are. I never saw the vehicle that was involved. Now it has been an hour and a half I can see the Tow truck coming up the right side over the white line partially on the grass. A song comes on the radio (Give me your eyes) Love it! The artists name escapes me but the chorus goes like this.
Give me your eyes so I can see everything that I been missin, give me your love for humanity, give me your arms for the brokenhearted the ones that are far beyond my reach, give me your heart for the ones forgotten, give me your eyes so I can see..... I want that. God give me your eyes, arms and heart. I want to be that person for someone lost and alone. I want people to see me and know that I am yours. I want the water of life flowing out of me like never before. Let people see the Jesus in me. OK the 10 things I am grateful for.

1. Getting gas before getting on I40 this morning
2. Stopping to get the gas. (that accident could have involved me.) Thank you God for protecting me.
3. My husband (helping with the children this morning)
4. The word from John 4 today
5. Whole wheat pasta! YUM!
6. 100% fruit juice on sale at Food Lion
7. Beano (you know what I mean)
8. sunshine on a cold morning
9. beautiful ice patterns on glass
10. heaters

MAKE IT A GREAT DAY Yall!

Check it out

We are doing the Daniel fast @ Rock Church
and I must say it is an experience. We are having devotionals daily as we read through the book of John. Yesterday at Rock church we showed a video
about the Daniel fast. It was a fun way to tell people about fasting and sacrifice. PM and K did a great job.
As for the fast I found out there is no such thing as fast food with dry beans. To enjoy these recipes you must plan ahead. My 12yo son and I are doing this together as well as the bible reading. He is serious about his walk with God. He has always had a strong desire to know Him more. Reading John yesterday I realized I had not read that particular book yet. Wow! can you believe that? Of course I had heard it but I had never studied it and while reading yesterday i realized how grateful I am for a God who loves me so much that he became flesh to die for me. so during this next 21 days I will share my top 10 things I am grateful for.

1. God loves me (Always)
   
2. I am stronger today than yesterday(and will be stronger tomorrow)
   
3. My Family is in good health
4. My husband loves me
5. I have a GREAT J.O.B.
6. My Pastors wisdom (He shares with us)
   
7. Wood working class (Learning new things)
   
8. My children make me proud
9. Great volunteers (I could not list them all but You are All GREAT! God will bless you)
   
10. Angela (a great listener)

15 BEAN SOUP
Daniel fast recipe I used. It got great reviews
1 bag 15bean mix (this came with packet for beef seasoning, just toss it aside)
follow directions on the bag to prepare the dried beans. When they are properly soaked, rinse and
Add a quart of vegetable stock and a quart of water to a large pot. Cook for two hours.
Then saute One large onion Chopped, 1 yellow bell pepper, 1 tablespoon garlic, peel and chop 2 tomatoes save juice, add to onions and garlic. One half can organic tomato paste. simmer 5 min and add to the beans, Use two TBLS garlic and herb seasoning (no salt no MSG, found at Sam's), Add two table spoons Sylvia's secret seasoning, Cook at a simmer for one more hour. This is a great tasting soup.

Carolyn
stayed up half the night to make sure this video made to the web so check it out. Carolyn is also going to be my accountability coach. I plan to quit smoking. The 21st will be my last day and I know she will hold me accountable. Thank you for agreeing to do this for me Carolyn. :-)

Fasting

We as a church body are being called to fast for 21 days with our focus on God and our city. Not just our church here at Rock Church but several churches. How could this be a bad thing? I don't believe it could be. I feel like we should come together as a team for God and take this time to hear what He has in store for us. I feel like we can only benefit from this experience. Like Pastor B said we do not all have to go without food for 21 days(unless God has called you to do so) but I think if we seek the lord with prayer we will be led to put away something we THINK we can not live without. I have been preparing mentally, physically and spiritually for this. I want a closer relationship with God. I want to here his voice. I want Him to touch me in a special way. I want more of Him. 11 days after the beginning of the fast I have set a QUIT date for smoking.(Yes I have been a smoker for years) I believe with God all things are possible and I know I am stronger than my addiction(Plus I have a, what I believe to be a, "Great Coach" to help keep me accountable. I have been preparing for this for the last two months. My 10 reasons for quitting are these...

1. For my health(I'm no spring chicken)
2. For my husband(worried I'll die today)
3. For my 12yo (worried I won't live to see my grand children)
4. To be an example for the people who look up to me. (my children)
   
5. I do not want cancer from cigarette's (or any other kind)
6. Quitting will add years back to my life
   
7. So I can breath better(I used to run and last week while helping put away somethings I had a hard time catching my breath after a few trips up and down the stairs.) I once ran a mile in 7min. That is my goal to be able to run a mile again, it does not have to be 7 min. but to finish it running would be good.
8. Save Money- yes it would be about $75.00 a month. (That will pay for Ross's Guitar lessons)
   
9. I will spend about 30 extra min. a day with my children.(because I smoke outside and not around them)
10. My food, that I love, will taste better.

Any way my heart is in it and my spirit is willing, though my flesh may be weak, nothing is impossible with God on your side and Carolyn keeping you accountable.