Crazy Week

It has been a crazy week. Jason had shoulder surgery on Wednesday. All the prayers for it to go smoothly and heal quickly were effective. Instead of having to have things sewn together creating much more time to heal, it turned out Jason didn't have tendonitis and some other things the surgeon thought he needed repaired. It was a large piece of the labrum that was flapping he cut off and another large piece that was floating around causing pain. So a much easier fix and should be a much shorter healing time. Praise God.
Jason is healing and I am exhausted from trying to do it all here at the fort. However, Jason is surprisingly good at functioning with only one arm/hand-better than I could do. I have also been fitting in a lot of clients for speech therapy, trying to get them all seen in half a month instead of a whole month with taking off for the surgery and then taking off for the kid's holiday break-out of school. My head is spinning.
Anyway, God is good and worthy of our praise. I hope everyone has a great holiday season. I'm ready for Wednesday to get here and then I can finally take a breath and start my relaxing and celebrating. The kid's last day of school is Tuesday which they are counting down. However, Max has a biography to read and book report to write over the holiday break. Whew. Maybe Jason can do that one. Anyway. Happy Holidays!

Art Trading Cards

My kids love art, drawing, painting, PROJECTS,etc. My youngest son, Sam's favorite word is "project", which he loves to yell like a banshee on days we don't have school. Needless to say, it keeps me creative. Well, my sister, Brook had a great idea she read about. As soon as she told me I had to go out and get the materials for her and my kids to do it. I am so excited about it.
The kids are making art trading cards. Hobby Lobby has paper the size of baseball cards that are blank. I got these and binders and the clear plastic sheets with pockets to hold 9 cards in per page. It cost me about 11 bucks per kid. Pretty cheap. The kids have already filled up one page tonight drawing pictures.
I love my kid's art and have it on my fridge and on their walls, framed. But I'm always running out of room. Even putting them in drawers takes up space. I don't want to tell you the TRAUMA that ensues if the kids find one of their pictures in the trash (despite me trying to hide them under other things so not found). Ugh. Well, this saves lots of space.
The cards are small and the kids can trade them with other kids if they want to, but theifavorites they will keep. They are all neatly displayed in their special books. I put two pictures, one on front and one on the back of thier notebooks in the clear cover-regular sized pictures they had done in art class at school. This made them look even more special.
Anyway, if you have kids this might be the perfect idea for you. It will keep mine entertained for months, maybe a few years to fill it up. Thanks for the idea sis!

Flight of the Conchords

Ok, if you are into funny videos, you need to google "Flight of the Conchords". It is a funny couple of guys that sing funny songs. They actually have a sitcom on t.v. that is good. Anyway. They have a lot of good videos you can google to get a good laugh. Go ahead and google. Go on...You know you want to. No pressure. Do it! Just joking. Anyway, I've had fun watching them tonight. I could always use a good laugh so thought I'd pass on the info. in case you needed a laugh too. Enjoy.

Committ

OK, I have been committed to run (ok, more like jog, slowly) since September. I just finished doing a three week Daniel Fast that I committed to. I am committed to God, my family, my husband, my job, etc. So why is commitment such a big deal? Well, my pastor spoke on commitment, being fully invested in our walk with God. Here are my notes.

Commitments show what we value. Romans 5:10 says theat where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. So true. Be careful what you treasure. Make sure it is something eternal that will last and has value to God. An uncommitted life is a selfish life. Proverbs 4:23 says that commitments shape our life. Matthew 6:24 warns us that we can't serve two masters. We will love one and despise the other. Commitments set out destiny. It sounds overly dramatic, but it is true. Matthew 6:19-20 tells us to not store up treasures on this earthm, but in heaven where they will not be destroyed or lost. Commitments direct/point us/set our compass. You can't own something unless you commit to it. Think about marriage. Be specific and not halfhearted when you commit. Be fully invested in God and His plan for you and you will see great things. Be careful and deliberate in what you commit to. But don't be afraid to commit. Just make sure it is of God and it will bless you and others.

I. Make a WISE commitment. Luke 14 says we should count the cost. Proverbs 20:25 says that we should not be trapped by our commitments. We need margin room to work and move within so that God has room to work. If we are too strapped with time and finances,etc. then we can't say yes when God asks something of us.

II, Make a GENEROUS commitment. 2.Corinthians 9:7 Each one must do what he has made up his mind, not reluctantly, or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

III. Make a BOLD commitment. Don't let the "what ifs" get in the way. Be wise and bold. Matthew 17 Jesus put Peter wo work as a fisherman and multiplied his results. He didn't have to pay the tax, but chose to be generous.

IV. Make a GOD CENTERED commitment. It will be the beginning of something great and lasting, something Big for your life and for others.

"FIRST"=Commitments to God come first! Then everything else. Here are four "Firsts" that God wants us all to commit to:

1. The first THOUGHT of every day-in quiet times.
2. The first Day of every week-Sunday. Acts 20:7
3. The first TENTH of every paycheck. Proverbs 3:9
4. The first CONSIDERATION of every decision.

If we don't make commitments then our goals won't happen. You will get sucked into our culture. It is too easy. It must be a deliberate, daily act to stay committed to Christ. Letting God direct your life makes things simpler and more meaningful. Try it. You'll like it! (Just like Timmy used to say in the Life cereal commercials). Seriously, trust God, try it, you won't be dissappointed.

Run the Race!

Believe it or not, I have been running, well, more like jogging, very slowly mind you, since September. I started doing the "Couch Potato to 5K" app on my iPhone. It is awesome. I started out running 60 seconds then walking 90 seconds alternating with a 5 minute warm up walk and a 5 minute cool down walk, all for a total of 30 minutes. Well it slowly progresses you in the length of time you run. the last several weeks I have been running for 2 miles non-stop. The app stops there. Some people may be able to get 3 miles into the 30 minutes it gives you, but I only get 2 done. I am slow and can do only 15 minute miles. But hey, I'm doing it. Well I extended my run and kept going yesterday and did 2 1/2 miles. Today I ran 3 miles!!! Can you believe it? I told you, you wouldn't. Me, the person who has been deathly allergic to running her whole life has done it. I have always wanted to be a runner, but just couldn't do it. I have no stamina or endurance. But this app. is amazing and made it so doable. Anyway, I'm still an overweight, middle aged jogger; not the typical runner, but I feel so empowered. I haven't lost hardly any weight doing it, but I feel so much better. Yay! Horray! Thank you Lord for giving me the strength to run the race. Help me to do it in my walk with you as well. Anyway. Just wanted to share a true miracle. Ha!

Run the Race!

How To Pray For A Miracle

This Sunday my pastor taught on "5 Steps To Pray For A Miracle". Here are my notes from it along with my own thoughts. Hope it helps. (Luke 18:35-43)

1. Step one is to be PASSIONATE. (Luke 18;35-38) Seek God with all of your heart and you will find him. (Jeremiah 29:13).

2. Step two is be PERSISTENT. (Luke 18:39) Be determined, tenacious, relentless. Don't quit too soon. (Luke 11:9) Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; Knock and the door will be opened to you. (ASK=Ask, Seek, Knock.) God is preparing you. It isn't that he doesn't hear you or know your need. The wait is the journey and it is when God is most active. I like to remember Moses. He spent 40 years prep time learning as part of Pharoahs family, then 40 years in the desert on the run, then 40 more years leading Israelites through desert to promised land. That is a lot of prep time. So why do I complain? I like to think that the longer the prep time, maybe the bigger the task ahead. Who knows what God has in store? Just because you can't see him working doesn't mean he isn't. His timing is perfect.

3. Step three is to be PRECISE. When we pray, God wants us to be specific and not vague. Vague is lazy and ambiguous. If and when God does answer them we won't even notice if not specific. (Luke 18:40-41) Jesus asked, "What do you want me to do for you?" (James 4:2) "You do not have because you do not ask." If God knows all, then why do we need to ask and be specific? If you are vague and not specific, then the prayer is not intimate. He wants to be the one you lay open your heart to, the one we can be truthful to. It is for our benefit, not His that he asks us to be specific. We don't draw close to Him if we don't get specific. We don't learn to trust Him if we don't get specific. We don't see clearly when a prayer is answered if not specific. So...get a journal and write down your prayer requests. You can use this as a reminder when praying. But even more importantly, you can look back and write when and how they are answered and when need strength, can look back at the work God has done in your life and others and be encouraged. I made a Banzet Book of Faith about Big prayers God has answered in my family's life. I must confess, I need to work on it more, though.

4. Step four is to be POSITIVE. (Luke 18:42) Ask with faith and expectancy when praying. (Mark 11:24) "Whatever you have asked for in prayer, believe that you have recieved it, and it will be yours." Ask God, then believe that He will provide. Faith comes by hearing the word of God daily. We have to know God's promises in His word in order to be a prayer warrior.

5. Step 5 is to be PRAISEFUL. (Luke 18:43) Give God the glory as we live in victory. After a prayer is answered you first follow Jesus and second thank God. You can even thank Him in faith as you pray for a miracle, thanking him before it is answered, trusting Him to provide. Praise is so important that it is mentioned 550 times in teh bible. There is no high like hearing your child say thank you. So if we feel that way, how much more does God, our heavenly father?

You can talk a lot about prayer, but it is another thing to do it. Like the Nike commercials say, "Just Do It!" Get out there and pray and see what God will do.