Not His ways.

I have to smile. Yesterday while at Costco a friend and I talked about wanting to live a life of purpose. Here is my day.

I need to get up and go walk with Wendi. Don't want her to wait on me.
I need coffee.
Cereal of muffins for breakfast?
I wonder if Emma has made her lunch yet?
Ron needs to get going.
Are they done with their dishes?
I think I need a second cup.
I need to make new play-dough. Maybe orange for October.
I need to go downstairs to get Ella some puzzles to work.
The dryer turned off. I need to move that load of laundry.
Look at all those socks.
Why did I come down here? Oh, yeah, puzzles.
I need to dust that.
When did Eli vacuum?
That glass needs to go upstairs.
What should I make for lunch?
Can lights or a fixture?
What shade of brown for downstairs?
When is the sheet rock guy going to be here?
If Sally rides 3.5 miles one way how long did she ride all together?
Put more slant into your letters.
Time to read.
Eden, practice your spelling words.
Eli, quit tossing the football in the house.
I need to take the hamburger out of the freezer.
Eden take the little girls outside.
I need to fold that laundry.
That water needs to go in the fridge.
It smells like sheet rock mud.
I need to go get Emma and take her to teach her piano lesson.
Em, did you have a good day at class?
Eli, get ready for football.
Eden, get ready to go with dad.
I would like to check email and blogs...
I need to gather the library items. The videos are due back tomorrow.
Ooo, tomatoes still coming from the garden.
The counters need to be wiped down.
Emma, watch the girls while I go get Eli.
No, Eli, no slurpee. No Mountain Dew. No Pepsi. Water or milk.
Girls into the tub. Wash with soap. All crevasses.
Ella to bed. One Fish, two fish.
Yes, Evie, you can have ice cream.
Only one bowl, Ev. Let's read Pet Show and A Letter for Amy.
Emma, quit texting. That's enough for tonight.
Did you all brush your teeth? With toothpaste?
I love you.

This was not what I was referring to yesterday in my conversation. Isn't there a verse about His ways not being our ways?

In the interview by Paul Bradshaw (Time Mag 8/08) with Rick Warren , Rick said:

People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven.

One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- but not the end of me.

I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity.

We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.

Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one.

The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort.

God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.

We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.

When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do.
That's why we're called human being, not human doings.

Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.
Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.
Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD
Painful moments, Trust God
Every moment, THANK GOD

Monday Menus and a give away

Not only are there hundreds of menus to look at today over at The Organizing Junkie today there is also a give away!!!

Monday: Tacos
Tuesday: Fish and chips
Wednesday: Church dinner
Thursday: Broccoli Quiche
Friday: Chicken Cacciatore (we didn't have this last week)

We are also working hard to finish the bathroom this week. Hopefully it will be painted by week end and we will have a functioning facility ;o) It is hard to share a bathroom with a teenager ;o)

We are also starting to fir in the basement and tile. Whew! Thank goodness my dad has been such a big help this week. It has been hard to keep up on laundry, schooling, meals and parenting all while trying to work on the house.

Weekend update

We have been crazy busy around the house this week. It is either feast or famine when we work on the house. Apparently we don't understand the concept of 'slow and steady wins the race'.

My dad took some time off to help with the bathroom remodel which was so nice. The sheet rock guys come tomorrow to tape and mud and then hopefully texture on Tuesday. What started as just new wallpaper is now replacing everything but the toilet. And that is only because we replaced that a few years ago. I picked out the paint colors and a new light fixture. In the end I will have a beautiful updated bathroom and a fabulous walk in closet.

We also replaced a window in the front of the house. The window we had was 30+ years old. It was aluminum and did not open. In the winter it would sweat horribly (and grow mold), and in the spring and fall you couldn't open it for ventilation. We bought this one a year ago on a great deal from Lowe's, I think we paid $25. If someone special orders a window and then decides they no longer want it you can get a great deal like that. This is also true for other big ticket items like washers, refrigerators, vanities, mirrors etc. You just have to keep your eyes open, time it right or buy for the future. Or have your dad work there. ;o)

I also finished sealing the walls in the basement. The walls are cinder block and have occasionally leaked. We have a footing that wraps the end of the basement that is about 3 1/2 feet tall and 2 feet wide so we are going to tile that. Again my dad got a great deal on tile. I think he paid like .18 per 18" tile. It was such a blessing to find tile that was a neutral color at a great price. They are discontinuing this tile. We are still scraping the carpet residue off the cement floor down there and hope to paint it with an epoxy to put the game tables on. Emma (14) got all excited last night when she could visualize a fun place to hang out with her friends.

On a side note, Eden (10) was throwing up all night last night. She has some sort of bug. She and a friend drank water out of someones fountain in their yard yesterday and I am hoping it is not from that. She seems to be doing better this morning but I am going to keep her home from church to keep an eye on her.

Have a great Sunday!

Family Driven Faith

I just finished this book last night. Loved it! Here is a little bit:

More teens are turning away from the faith than ever before: it is estimated that 75 to 88% of Christian teens walk away from Christianity by the end of their freshman year of college. Something must be done. Family Driven Faith equips Christian parents with the tools they need to raise children biblically in a post-Christian, anti-family society. Voddie Baucham, who with his wife has overcome a multi-generational legacy of broken and dysfunctional homes, shows that God has not left us alone in raising godly children. He has given us timeless precepts and principles for multi-generational faithfulness, especially in Deuteronomy 6. God's simple command to Moses to teach the Word diligently to the children of Israel serves as the foundation of Family Driven Faith.

I would love to give you bits and pieces of what I thought was so great but frankly there is just too much. Ron and I were reading this together but I sped on ahead of him because I was so excited and encouraged by what I read. After being involved with youth ministry for the past 10 years I can say that what Dr. Baucham talks about with the state of the family and youth of today is completely true and accurate. I pray that as a people of faith we wake up and do something about it before it is too late.

Monday Menus & starting the week

Wow, almost one o'clock in the afternoon and I am just now getting around to posting the menus.
Monday: Fall Harvest Chowder
Tuesday: Breakfast w/ Green Chile Cheese bake
Wednesday: Church dinner
Thursday: Taco soup or Mexican Chicken Chowder
Friday: Spaghetti or Chicken Cacciatore

Be sure to check out other menus @ Laura's Where they are doing a special Family Favorite Addition.
Here is a new family favorite:
Fall Harvest Chowder (slow cooker)
1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 C chopped onion
4 C water
1 C carrots
1 C diced celery
1 C cubed potato
1 can (28 oz) diced tomatos
1 can (8 oz) tomato puree
1 t. salt
1/4 t pepper
1/4t crushed bay leaf
1 1/2 t Italian seasoning
6-8 hours on low or 3-4 hours on high

I started the day off taking Eden (10) to the dentist with a broken tooth. As the dentist looked at it and her chart he told me we were supposed to put a crown on that tooth two years ago. I was feeling like a neglectful parent, I don't remember this at all. I asked him to remind me of the date. Late November 2006. That was two weeks before we traveled to China. The next six months were a fog. Thank goodness for grace. She is scheduled to get a crown the middle of Oct.

Ron took Emma (14) to class this morning early because she had school pics, only to find out pics are next week. Argh.

But...dinner is in the crock-pot so the afternoon is looking up. Whew.

I tried a new recipe this morning for breakfast.

Omelets to go
6 eggs
1 1/2 c ham chopped
1/4 c shredded cheese
1/2 c bread crumbs
3T melted butter
1 T onion finly chopped

Beat eggs til foamy. Add remaining ingredients. Pour into greased muffin tins.
Bake @ 375 for 20-25 minutes
Ron and I thought these were yummy. The kids thought they were just OK. I was looking for something new to do in the mornings that was a little different, yet easy.

We are continuing the work on the bathroom. I keep saying 'I only wanted new wallpaper', but here we are now replacing everything but the toilet. My dad is taking some time off this week to help put it all back together. We are hoping to have it textured on Friday, but there is a lot to do between here and there.

Have a great Monday.

Shallowness

The other day I bought a magazine because it had a great haircut. I know that this could very well qualify me as shallow. I am always on the lookout for a great new cut and have a library of hair magazines to prove it. The mag is called Baby Couture (Josie Bissett's hair on the cover made me buy the mag). It is mainly about what is hot for babies, and I mean extreme luxury. It had famous people and their babies modeling clothes and other baby items. "So and So wearing Such and Such", Crazy. I can't believe how much people are willing to pay to dress their babies. Absolutely nuts. And how much better are their strollers compared to mine? It is just a stroller! Anybody have some hand-me-downs they are willing to hand over?

It made me think about what a friend of ours said recently as he has been dealing with his daughter in the hospital for the past four weeks. He said 'God is more concerned about my character than my comfort'. Lord, let me be concerned about my character too.

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Perfectionism and legacies

I started a new book this weekend; Building Her House by Nancy Wilson. It has many short essays on family, marriage, mothering and attitudes. It is a pretty light and encouraging read. One of the essays that I read made the statement that

'God is perfect, but not a perfectionist'. Perfectionism is man's invention.

This goes right along with what God has been revealing to me or teaching me about our home. Not the remodeling part although it could certainly apply here too. But more on the heart of the home. A week or so ago I saw a video of Voddie Bauchum and his wife Bridget. It is 14 minutes long, but very powerful...It is titled Leaving a Legacy. (sorry, I couldn't post the video here)

When he talked about family worship being more about doing it, setting aside time to honor God, not necessarily the content, but just doing it, that really spoke to me. I get so caught up in thinking things need to look a certain way that I miss the point. So this goes back to God is perfect, not a perfectionist. For me this has been quite freeing. Do what I know God wants me to do, and trust Him to fill in the gaps. Our family is going on three weeks of having a daily family worship, before we have been hit and miss. Sometimes more miss than hit. It has been great to have a casual time in the mornings, no pressure, no outline, just focusing on God's Word and plan for our family. I don't say this to give glory to us, it is all God, working it out.

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