Tom

Tom is my brother. I actually have three brothers, all younger than me and no sisters. Growing up they teased me as the bossy older sister always trying to keep them in line. Tom is the middle one and shhhh don't tell anyone but today he is my favorite. He is very tall, six foot three (I think), warm, kind, gentle, sensitive and has a great sense of humor. He has been the best uncle EVER to my kids.

One of my most cherished memories is watching his six foot three frame dance with my oldest daughter when she was a toddler to her favorite Barney song. He could do all the moves and the two of them would put on quite a show singing and dancing.

So, you can only imagine how excited I was when his first child was born last November. I couldn't wait to see him with his own little girl. In January, I had to make a quick trip to California and seeing this new addition was a priority. When I arrived at their house my brother and his beautiful wife were pretending to be busy at the kitchen sink as they watched me walk up the driveway. But what they were waiting for was my reaction to this...

As I opened the front door, she was sitting there, waiting, all by herself. It made me cry. I am so proud of him, the father and husband he is, and all that God is doing in his life.

I miss you Tom!

Right In Their Own Backyard

A very special vase

Yesterday I received this beautiful bouquet of flowers from a woman who attends our Women's Bible Study on Tuesday mornings. She blesses me every so often with this type of gift and I am so very grateful for her kindness. I know that she has cut the flowers from her own garden and then I imagine all of the work and care that she has done and yet I am the one who is enjoying the beauty of her work.

When she handed me the flowers, she apologized for the "vase/container" she had put them in. I quickly replied with, "it doesn't matter what they come in, It's not the vase I am looking at, but the flowers."

As I looked at these vibrant colors all afternoon adorning my table, I couldn't help but relate this to our previous weeks lesson in the book of Daniel. Does the vase make the flowers more beautiful? It depends on what you want to look at. It depends on what your goal is for these flowers. It depends on what truly matters most to you in relationship to having these flowers.

Flowers bring me such joy and the hands that picked these and placed them in this plastic container are even more wonderful. I will leave them just as they are.

It was a good thing

The Chicken Tortilla Soup turned out great! I know it is a good thing when my son asks if he can have a second bowl after his football practice instead of his usual request of cereal or when my daughter wants another bowl instead of dessert???

My Favorite Soup

Even though our days are still pretty warm and our evenings are just perfect, I have been waiting patiently to make some soup. Another reason I love the Fall Season. Here is what I will be making tonight.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 Tbsp Butter
1 Yellow onion chopped finely
3 cloves garlic, pressed
1 small can green chilies
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can black beans, drained
1 cup frozen corn kernels
5 cups chicken stock
2 cups shredded chicken
2 Tbs. Taco seasoning
salt and pepper to taste

For Serving:
sour cream
shredded jack and or mild cheddar cheese
Tortilla chips

Saute onions and garlic in butter in a large pot over medium heat until onions are translucent. Add chilies, tomatoes, beans, corn, chicken stock, chicken, and taco seasoning. Stir through on high heat until soup boils. Reduce to low. Add salt and pepper to taste. Simmer one hour.Serve with sour cream, a handful of cheese, and place broken pieces of tortilla strips on top.

Makes eight servings

It's the official First Day of Fall

and I have a yucky head cold! I am number five in my family, so I guess I should be thankful it waited to hit me after I had bought two dozen boxes of kleenex and re-stocked our medicine cabinet, tea supply and chicken soup stock.

But in the meantime I love fall, the colors, the food and the weather...

You Belong in Fall

Intelligent, introspective, and quite expressive at times... You appreciate the changes in color, climate, and mood that fall brings Whether you're carving wacky pumpkins or taking long drives, autumn is a favorite time of year for you

What Season Are You?

Early Morning Thoughts

I am interrupting my morning quiet time to share something that has just stuck with me in the first paragraph of lesson three in our bible study on the Book of Daniel.

"Integrity doesn't develop apart from consistent resolve."


I also agree with this, "The Book of Daniel is storehouse to so many treasures that we could study it a dozen times without unearthing them all."

And lastly I love this, "My prayer is for the pursuit of God and His Word to become, in Steven Curtis Chapman's words, your magnificent obsession."


Now, back to my quiet time before the kiddos wake up.

Oh, and I almost forgot about this one, "Image building is the attempt to make impressions that are bigger than we are." Oh, I could chew on Daniel chapter three for months...

Seasons

A sweet friend gave me two bags of baking apples recently. I am anxious to bake some pies, apple crisp, and even try this. This is truly my favorite season.

Each year as the Fall season is ushered in with the sights of apples and pumpkins, it also brings soccer, football, back to school, and now volleyball. I have been busily attending meetings, managing the mounds of paperwork and forms, writing checks for this and that and trying to establish some sort of routine so that the homework is being checked, the reading is getting done and everyone gets to where they need to be.

I have received all the the practice/game schedules and have carefully entered the necessary information into our calendar setting up reminders so that nothing is missed and hoping we can sit on the sidelines as often as possible.

I have learned that just as quickly as this season came upon us, it too will quickly turn and change. If I am not careful, I will miss it. So, I choose not to fret too much about the stuff and the things that can wait.

I wish I would have understood this a decade or so ago. I would have saved myself so much frustration if I could have learned to be content in the season and place that I was in. I battled over my lack of being able to do it all. Oh, I did not readily admit that this was my goal, it was an inward battle over trying to maintain some outward appearance.

I wanted to have my house clean, my kids closets organized, toddlers and preschoolers who followed my neatly organized plans, laundry that stayed on top of itself and as I began homeschooling my oldest daughter a lesson plan that would fall neatly into our day. My life was anything but that. I left a high level management position in the corporate world with a promising future to be at home full time with my children. I had many moments of feeling like a complete failure. It is the hardest job I have ever had, and yet the most rewarding, and I get to sit in a position that was set apart just for me.

I am thankful for the wise words of older women in my life who would often remind me of what truly mattered. The words, “they grow up so fast or treasure these days when your kids are little” often fell on the ears of a weary mom who could not see past the chaos that prevailed. It took work to plant those words in my mind and heart. To live them out and believe that one day I will understand it all.

My seasons have changed. I am in a brand new one again. I have taken on a very small part-time job along with the ministry. Life is busy, very busy. But I know that just as the days in the park sitting on a blanket with preschoolers playing and a nursing baby crawling around me have begun to fade, these days will too and a new season will be upon us.

Yesterday as I sat on another hard bleacher watching, smiling, and cheering at my daughter's volleyball game, a tear trickled down my cheek. I reached over and squeezed my three old and thought about Paul's words in Philippians 4:12,

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.

What season are you in?

Bible Study

Our Women's Bible Study groups start this week. We are doing this.

Our Tuesday morning group watched Session One this morning and all I can say is WOW! I have been thinking about what she shared all day... we have committed to "learn" over the next twelve weeks and I have no doubt we will.

By Faith

My friend Cyndi at One Day More posted this today. I had to copy it, print it out, and now post it!


Father thank you for the provision You have made for victory over Satan.

Now by faith I put on the girdle of Truth. May my life today be motivated by Truth. Help me to maintain integrity.

By faith I put on the breastplate of righteousness. May my heart love that which is righteous and refuse what is sinful. Thank You for the imputed righteousness of Christ.

By faith I put on the shoes of peace. Help me to stand in Christ’s victory today. Help me to be a peacemaker and not a troublemaker.

By faith I take the shield of faith. May I trust You and Your Word today and not add fuel to any of Satan’s darts. Thank You that I can go into this day without fear.

By faith I put on the helmet of salvation. May I remember today that Jesus is coming again. Help me to live in the future tense. Protect my mind from discouragement and despair.

By faith I take the sword of the Spirit. Help me to remember Your Word and use it today.Father, by faith I put on the armor. May this be a day of victory.

”Dr. Warren Wiersbe “Strategy of Satan”


Cyndi and her husband are about one week away from picking up their son in Ethiopia. You must go and read this post. I was reading through the book of James this morning and this verse tugged at my heart. One of those tugs that screams pay attention, read each word carefully, listen not just with your mind, but allow it to sink in deeply....I am trying.

If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. James 1:26-27

Menu Plan Monday

It has been a long time since I posted a menu plan and well if I am honest it has been a long time since I planned a menu. Other than for the week we spent in a cabin on vacation, I haven't planned one meal all summer. We ate light and easy, or maybe it was just easy. Please don't ask my family.

Tonight while eating dinner together, my oldest daughter shared how one of her teachers asked the students how many of them eat dinner with their families at the table two to three times during the week. She said her and another boy were the only ones who raised their hands. She went on to say that most of the students responded that they were just too busy to sit down together and or a meal wasn't prepared when they needed to eat. My eight year old then added his opinion of that information in a very serious tone, "if we never sat down to eat together, than when would I see everyone together and be able to talk to them?" My thoughts exactly, Hunter!

Well, I have spent the last several weeks collecting and organizing recipes. I needed a recipe boost. So, here are a few of my finds and some old favorites.


Monday: Barbecue Beef Sandwiches (using leftover roast from Sunday) Roasted Red Potatoes and Fresh Fruit

Tuesday: Oriental Chicken Wraps

Wednesday: Macaroni and Cheese and Salad

Thursday: Green Chili Flautas Beans and Rice

Friday: Slow Cooked Chili with cornbread

Saturday: Dinner out with my husband and some friends and these for the kids

Sunday: Crock Pot Apple Bacon Pork Chops with white rice and salad

Laura has helped me with my new surge of recipe ideas. For more menus or some new recipes go here.

Summer, defined

I'm Finished

I finished reading through the Psalms. Back on Memorial Day Weekend I felt the Lord nudging me to spend the summer months reading through this beloved book. I hesitated for a moment, after all it is the largest book in the bible and my past record of summer reading and studying of scripture was very dismal. But I decided to take the challenge. And I am so glad I did.

My goal was to finish by Labor Day Weekend. And today I read through the last few on my list. I did not go in any particular order, but kept track as I finished each one. I kept a journal of my reading and found myself keeping track of certain themes that the Lord was revealing over and over.

At first it was a challenge, the busy days of kids being home, the flood, and all that life brings during the summer months, but as the weeks rolled by I knew I was exactly where I needed to be. I found myself excited to get up in the morning and longing to spend time reading through the next group of Psalms on my list.

It was truly what sustained me throughout the fifteen days my husband was in Bulgaria. I never missed a day while he was away.

Some days I felt as though I was on a roller coaster. One minute I was rejoicing, the next I was weeping. I have a new reverence for His majesty. The word "righteousness" is all over the place and I prayed for a deeper understanding of what the Lord requires for those who seek Him.

He speaks of His great love for us and reminds us that He hates evil. He calls us to rejoice with Him and yet understands our deepest sorrow.

Labor Day weekend is always the close of summer. This particular summer it is the close of a journey for me, one of which I am so thankful for the Lord's nudging.

The kids have finished seven days of school. I have signed more forms, written more checks, and attended more orientation meetings in the past week than anyone should ever be required too. But this is the year with one in high school, one in junior high, one in middle school, a second grader and a caboose of a three year old. It should be fun!

It's the first day of a new school year...

and the new Jr. High student in the home has stated already this morning, "I am so glad we had an orientation yesterday, otherwise I would have died this morning."

Thank you Jr. High principal and faculty for saving my daughter's life.

He's HOME!

AND I have...
one very relieved sixteen year old
one very overjoyed thirteen year old
one very proud eleven year old
one very smiley eight year old
one very very happy three year old

AND one very grateful wife!

Baptize me!

The last time I spoke with my husband was on Tuesday morning. Our conversation was quick and a bit rushed, but he couldn't wait to tell me that they had spontaneously baptized several people in the Black Sea.
How cool is that!

This photo is so precious. Three of the men are Bulgarians and the other three are from the American team. (My husband is wearing the cap)

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

Matthew 28:19

Wonderful!

Just look at his smile...

Bulgaria Update

As we sleep tonight (central time) the team will be leaving early in the morning (Bulgarian time) for a three hour trip to the Black Sea. This is where they will spend the remainder of their mission.

They are ministering at a camp that has been put together for both gypsies and Bulgarians ages 14-35. This is something that has never been done. (the gypsies are considered outcasts and generally not widely accepted) Please pray for their safety as they travel and that God's love would be poured out to all who attend the camp and that the missionary team would continue to be used in a powerful way to share the gospel message. I have been praying that a message of hope would come through their teachings, their touch, their smiles and to all that they come in contact with. Jeremiah 29:11

I was able to talk with my husband on Wednesday and today we tried to connect but was having trouble. I don't know if being able to see photos of him helps or makes it harder? Truly the pictures paint a beautiful picture of what God is doing. I tried a couple different times today to look through them, and found myself in tears each time. So, I refrained. But this is one of my personal favorites of my husband surrounded by children at one of the gypsy villages where they had ministered.

Summer Fun

It took me about three shots...but I finally got it!

I was sitting on the beach and she was about 50 feet out in front of me. I was just taking some fun shots of the kids going down the slide and then they started jumping off the back. It was as much fun for me to watch them as it was for them to be jumping into the river on a beautiful summer day.

5 minutes for mom is having a summer photo contest. To enter go here

Lost

We interrupt the mission trip updates to announce:

He finally lost his ONE front tooth!

Don't worry Dad already saw his new smile using Skype and loved it!

Bulgaria Update

This afternoon I spoke with my husband again using Skype. His voice is perfectly clear and there is not the usual delay between my speaking and him hearing what I just said as in years past. And it is truly remarkable and wonderful to be able to speak with him more than once. (In 2005, he went to Sri Lanka and I was so thankful for the one phone call he was able to make during his two week trip)

A large part of the ministry they are involved with is to both orphanages and the gypsies. Yesterday they ministered at an all boys orphanage. Today they ministered at a group home for orphans. He said the response has been amazing. Each night they are attending and ministering together at gypsy churches. Tonight they used a drama to share the gospel message and the people responded. He said it was powerful!

I have been praying that the work they are doing will plant seeds that will take root and grow. They are working with both a local foursquare church as well as a national youth leader in Bulgaria. I have been praying that God would establish strong leadership and provide the necessary resources for the work to continue long after this team comes home.