Happy New Year!

Here's this year's pop mashup by DJ Earworm. I always find it fascinating how he does this. I don't, however find the videos fascinating. So close your eyes lol.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ail7D_k0s9w&feature=youtube_gdata_player

posted from Bloggeroid

Meaning of Christmas

After a day full of last minute shopping, gift making and no nap, I sit here pondering the true meaning of Christmas.

Last week my hubby got a call from the police department (no he's not in trouble... yet. Haha) who had extra donations after their food drive and wanted to know if we had a family at our church who could use the food. So the whole family took a trip to visit our police friends. Isaac was gifted a police car set and his face just lit up. Then he was greeted by the Chief and was star struck. After we picked up the goodies we drove to a nearby trailer park to drop off them off. This family of 8 live in a single-wide mobile home. The kids have never had a bed of their own their entire life. Their uncle sleeps on the porch in a lazyboy recliner in the summer time so he can have more space. As we dropped of the boxes of food all the kids came out to help and say hi to Ike. You should have seen their faces when we handed them a Costco sized box of Pop Tarts. Just as we were leaving their uncle was walking home. We stopped and said hello and as we were leaving he said, "I love you". I remember when his sister first came to our church. She told me about her disabled brother and that she couldn't bring him to churches because he's never been accepted. She was asked one time to not have her brother come back. And I told her he would be safe and welcomed at this church. He's been coming ever since. I cried when he said "I love you". When he came to our church, he brought a friend, and the first conversation we had was how he was the only person who loved this woman. While that is a huge blessing to be loved by one person, it saddened me that she was alone in this world. They share that common loneliness and feeling of being unaccepted by the world. But they've found their belonging with God and through a church family. And that is why I cried. He only said "I love you" because he knows we love him. It's so easy for me to get caught up in my own vainity sometimes that I forget how truly blessed I am.

Tonight as I took the dog out I heard the church piano playing Christmas music downstairs. At night our basement becomes a homeless shelter for families in the community. We have 5 families staying there tonight. And they are happy in the midst of a crappy situation while I sit next door in my warm home, my Christmas presents waiting to be wrapped and a decorated tree in my living room. What do I have to be unthankful for? What in the world could their possibly be? Christ is the meaning of Christmas and his commandment to love one another is the reason. No gift under the tree could be better than the gift we've already been given? Have you said Merry CHRISTmas to someone yet? All it takes is one act of love to be Jesus on earth.

With all my love, Merry Christmas.

posted from Bloggeroid

American Dream?

As New Years approaches (yes, it's approaching. There may be a 12 step program to help you get out of denial. And by "you" I mean "me". Haha). Anyways, as New Years is approaching I'm starting to think about my goals for my 31st year. I don't like the word "resolutions" but if you want to call it that you can. Resolutions, like most things these days has become commertialized. They consist of loosing weight (to become more like ,not to become healthy...), make more money/save more money (/be more greedy because God forbid we give more money...actually, God very much bids giving), find love (even though we already have it. Just gotta look up.), what else...oh quitting bad habbits (and avoid finding help for the reason behind why those bad habbits exist). Very rarely do I hear truly healthy resolutions. Sure the results can make you more physically healthy, but what are the motives?And here's a bigger idea: how many of these resolutions are God centered? The American Dream looks a lot like a resolution. You're thin, for sure, have money and lots of it...maybe several savings accounts not just one and money coming out your assets, you don't dare have any bad habits, you own a house, you have the fancy new gadgets and your kids are perfect. Here's what my American Dream looks like. I'm so thankful just to have a roof over my head, $20 in my purse for play money for the next two weeks, food in the cupboards. I feel rich to have a smart phone and a car and a t.v. and a bed to sleep on. Friends of mine are sleeping on a futon matress on the floor tonight and there's a 16 year old mom with a 9 month old baby sleeping in her car too afraid to spend the night in a shelter for fear they'd call CPS to take her baby away. There are people right next door to my house in the basement of our church who are homeless. My American Dream might not be much but it's certainly God seeking and I am rich. I'm concerned that it will be harder for me to get to heaven than for that camel to go through the eye of a needle.

My husband and I had a discussion about soluting the American flag. Honestly I have a hard time. For me the government is ran by people who are bought by other people living "the American Dream" and are certainly not my voice. I'm dissapoitned in my countrymen. As priveleged as we are to be living in America I think we do a real shotty job of taking care of eachother. So my American Dream has nothing to do with America. And it certainly has nothing to do with money or looks. There's a reason the bible says you can't serve two masters, both God and money. By "money" did he mean the "devil"?

So after all this babble you're probably wondering what my New Years goal is?Give more. Love more. Be self less.

So wanna see something cute?



That's my American Dream



And so is that.

Amen?

posted from Bloggeroid

Thanksgiving

There are many things to be thankful for any day of the year. Thanksgiving responses of thankfulness bring out thanks for family, friends, God, salvation. Etc. But today I'm thankful for the little things.

My son was sick last week and my prayer was, "Lord, please keep me from being sick for Thanksgiving. I already don't get to enjoy the traditional food rituals packed full of yummy gluten because of this new dietary restriction (more like jail) so please let me feel good. Amen". It was a selfish prayer. I know. But God wants to fulfill the desires of our heart. This I really know. And God answered my prayer. The day after Thanksgiving I started to feel my sinuses fill up and a chestal cough rise up making me sound like a 90-year-old chain smoker. So today as I blow my nose and become miss-coughs-a-lot I am reminded of my answered prayer and how truly thankful I am for a God who answers me when I call.

On to this gluten free thing...I could choose to be bitter over this new change in life-style. It really is a change in my life. I can't eat out easily anymore, or participate in my great grandmother-in-laws cherry pie. But I have a supportive, encouraging family and wisdom from others who live this life-style. They tried every gluten free item I baked and lifted me up for the good job I did *eh hem*. I get to try new recipes and use the gluten free diet change as an excuse to get those big ticket applyances I've been wanting for years (like a kitchenaid mixer, new bread machine and a vitamix Haha) because now I must become a bakery owner. We live on a very limited income and I could chose to be depressed over the cost of gluten free cooking as one loaf of bread is $5. But my frugality insticts tell me there's other solutions. I could chose to be bitter over the 4 batches of pie crust I threw out to get to the one gluten free pie that was worth eating...barely...or I could chose to be thankful for being able to eat and not starve like many people across the world do on a daily basis including holidays.

So today I'm thankful for the small things which I could easily be just as bitter for. Chosing to see the glass more full than empty is a daily experience for me. Without God my glass would be empty but He fills my cup up daily.

Thank you for you God.

posted from Bloggeroid

Remember me?

Well I've been quiet lately. (which is very unusual for me). We went to the Casting Crown's concert


(That was the best pic we got lol)

The next week we were in Levenworth







The next week was Halloween







I've been making applesauce for a month now, not to mention pumpkin butter and now gluten free recipes (more about that on another post another day)





And it's Thanksgiving already?! Holy time flies Batman! If I blink it'll be Christmas! It's already snowed



Isaac woke up that morning and said, "Daddy! You made it snow! Good job daddy." Ah that kid melts my heart. And he loves his Daddy







I love his daddy too. He took me to see Breaking Dawn tonight. What a man I tell you!

How are you doing?

posted from Bloggeroid