I Am Second

A bloggy friend (thanks, Amanda!) introduced me to this awesome website. Take the time to check it out. It's a pretty impressive site with a very exciting mission.

There are famous athletes, actors, musicians, etc. who tell their stories of what it means to "be second" by video clips. I love that they speak very candidly about their struggles and how, by putting Christ first, they have found victory! I think you may be surprised at some of the faces and stories as I was.

So spend a few minutes here today and let others know about it too!

Of pasta and feathered friends

I have been "absent" as it has been a crazy~busy {but fun} week! Crazy like this:

Yes, that is a noodle. On~ our~ceiling. Should I mention names? Hmmm.... The craziest part is that it was up there for TWO days and neither my hubs or I noticed!!! But the kids thought it was just hilarious... {I'll admit, it is quite funny :)}

And crazy like this:

Those would be turkeys. TURKEYS! In~ front~ of ~our~ house. They were in our yard, but by the time I snapped this picture, they were high tailing it out of there. There is one more that I didn't get in the picture. I have no idea where they came from. We live in the suburbs~ not the country. Anyone know if turkeys can fly?

Can you relate {well, maybe not to the turkeys}, but to the craziness???

The "write" of passage

This is what happens when your three year old is learning to write her name...

In the last 48 hours, I have found her name here:





and here:








and here:

{her bedroom wall}





and here:

{Her sister's sign for selling Freezee pops at our garage sale}

And apparently, she tried to write it here:

Of course we had a little talk, but it doesn't help that I've been taking pictures of "where she shouldn't be writing!" ;)

P.S. Since she is exceptionally bright and has created her own font, you may not be aware that she was writing E-L-L-I-E.

Finding Easter

I woke up thinking of Thailand today. My mind was swirling with images and sounds from my recent trip. Not unusual to think about the trip. Just unusual to wake up doing so.

As I got dressed I was trying to decide what jewelry to wear. My eyes swept over my necklaces and landed on my single black pear necklace and earrings. This would be my choice.

Both of these pieces were made by women rescued from evil as dark as those pearls. The necklace is a tear drop shape and it reminds me of the pain that these women have experienced. It reminds me of the fact that God has collected each one of their tears in a bottle {as He does with yours and mine}, for they are precious to Him. It reminds me of the beauty that only God can create out of suffering.

The earrings were made by T. An innocent village girl, she went to work in the city in order to support her family {in Thai culture, this is the eldest daughter's responsibility}. She soon found out that this great city job was not what she imagined. Thrust into a world so foreign to her, she became numb to the horrors that she experienced. She had to in order to survive. Her world became full of a darkness she had never known.

But the light of Jesus was about to pierce her dark world like nothing ever had, or ever would! {Can I get a "woo hoo"?} She met one of the staff from one of the safe houses. That servant brought with her an unexplainable love, peace in her heart and an offer of a new job; full of dignity. T. chose to follow this path to a new job, and in doing so found the path to Life. That day T. found Easter.

A little later as I was worshipping in church, the faces of girls like T. kept flashing in mind. I started thinking about what today must mean for them especially. They know what it means to be rescued from darkness. To be physically rescued from as close to we can get on earth to the pit of hell. They know the darkness of mourning, like on that Good Friday. They also know the brilliant light of this morning and what it means.

I asked the Lord what it was that He wanted of me as I couldn't get them off my mind. And then, His words from Romans 6: 6-7 spoke to me:

"We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin."

He died on the cross and rose again so that the chains of sin would be shattered. He came to rescue you and me.

And then He asked me; "Are you living a "rescued" life?


Or are there areas of sin that you are slave to?


Do you live each day like you too have found Easter? "

I was about to dismiss the thoughts, with a yes, of course, Lord. I chose to follow You long ago. But the phrase "each day" kept echoing in my mind. My heart was reminded that there are places in my life that need to be worked on. Places where I am not living as a free, rescued woman, ransomed by the King of Kings.

In that moment He reminded me that there are sins in my life that He died for, and I needed to die to those too. Like a critical spirit and being judgemental of others. I need to put those to death, and live like the Cross and Resurrection really matter. Each day. It's a constant battle, but one worth fighting for, don't you think?

He wants to rescue each one of us! We are all trafficked women. Satan held us in bondage to him, slaves to sin. But Christ paid our debt and rescued us from our chains. If we choose to believe in Him, to confess our sins, and commit our lives to following Him, we can live a life set free!!!


Because when we find Easter, like T., we too find ourselves on the path of new life. Let's live our lives worthy of the sacrifice of the cross and of the gift of the empty tomb.

P.S. If you would like prayer to be rescued from a darkness in your life, please send me an email at the address on my side bar. I'd love to pray with you.

A time to...

Ecclesiastes 3: 1-2, 4

For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under Heaven. {v.1}

A time to be born, and a time to die. {v.2}

A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. {v.4}

Today is my birthday!

Today has been a time of celebrating and laughter! Homemade cards and gifts, breakfast in bed, lots of hugs and kisses.

Today has been a time of "dancing" over the blessed life that He has given me. I am filled with gratitude for the very breath that God continues to grant me.

Today has been a time of grieving over the pain of sweet friends, Todd and Angie, who watched their precious baby girl take her first and last breath on earth on this very day, one year ago. {If you don't know their story please go here. Your heart will be changed.}

With these extremes of emotions, I am comforted that they each have their place under Heaven, and strangely can exist together.

Today I am comforted that while I can not understand why He gives and takes away, I don't have to because He is God and I am not. I just have to believe that He is good.

And that He is good all the time.

Paybacks!

I love surprises. I love being sneaky. I love laughter. I love practical jokes. April Fool's Day? My kind of day! I've been known to pull off some big April Fool's jokes over the years. I usually keep it pretty simple with my kids...but after yesterday, I think they're ready for more!


I like to play "food" pranks on my kids every year. Here's what this year involved...



A few drops of food coloring underneath their oatmeal at the bottom of the bowl. When they mixed up the oatmeal with water, it turned color!



Ethan thought some liquid dish soap somehow spilled into his bowl.






Emma thought her packet had been labeled wrong. Since hers turned into pink, she figured the strawberry kind had accidentally been put in her packet.


Audra was quite relieved to find out that this was a joke and there was nothing "disgusting" in her oatmeal! Looks pretty tasty, huh?





Elliana, after watching the other kids and not quite getting it, hopped up to the counter and with excitement said, "I wonder what color mine will be!!" {I quickly added a few drops to hers} She has informed me that she wants yellow {her fav color} oatmeal everyday! Don't you love her middle-of-the-summer pjs on a cold Mi. morning?!









Later, when they all got home from school, I offered them "kool -aid" which was actually jello.

This was my test drink. It looks pretty real, huh? {BTW, these two ideas came from Family Fun's online site}. I decided to put their "drinks" in cups with lids to help conceal my prank. I went a step further and had a pitcher of the real stuff sitting out on the counter. You should have seen their cute cheeks sucking in so hard and trying to figure out what was going on! They thought it was pretty funny, except Ellie who "couldn't get hers to work!" Notice Audra on the left who has her cup tipped upside-down.






Apparently it's in the genes, because they had planned to pay us back! {with a little help from Grammy}. Chad found a lovely bar of soap that leaves a black residue on your skin when he washed his hands...











While I was at a meeting, they were happily setting their grand finale into motion. They were already in bed when I experienced their final prank.



Upon seeing this...









I just about woke them and the neighborhood with my "excitement". Those little sneaks even made a lumpy body form in the bed! I started giggling when I saw this on my pillow:






Better start thinking about next year- they have now taken this to the next level!!! ha ha. Any other practical jokesters out there?? I'm going to need some new ideas!