Lisa's art drawing. She placed in her class.
Katie's sculptor for art. She also placed in her class.
Mike and "Frankie" taking a siesta.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Art and Man's Best Friend
Lisa's art drawing. She placed in her class.
Katie's sculptor for art. She also placed in her class.
Mike and "Frankie" taking a siesta.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Marriage Part 1
This past Saturday Mike and I were blessed to go to a Focus on Marriage simulcast by Focus on the Family. In the intro they said that as Christian married couples, we have 2 choices: to do it happily or to do it unhappily.
They also said that we go to the church to get married but we go to Caeser to get divorced. How true is that. When did we stop going back to the church to help us in our time of need?
The first speaker was Gary Thomas, author of Sacred Marriage.
What if God didn't design marriage to be easy, but to make us holy more than happy? What if it is for us to grow in holiness, for it to teach us to serve, put someone else before us, to teach us to forgive? What if there is a divine intention for it to be difficult? Because all of us married ones know that marriage has a way of putting the spotlight on our own sins-impatience, anger, selfishness...
James 3:2 We all stumble in many ways.
How do we preserve the "heart" in marriage?
1. Rediscover the purpose.
It's not about the romantic connection. It's about growing old together, not staying young together.
2. Become a God-centered spouse.
A spouse-centered spouse treats their spouse the way they have been treated in the last 24-48 hours. A God-centered spouse says I am called to love them out of reverence for God. HE SAVED MY SOUL. Can I love Mike out of reverence for God?
Seek first the kingdom of God.
Seek to grow in His righteousness.
And all these things will be added. Matt. 6:33
Let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. 2 Corinthians 7:1
More to come from the other speakers: Beth Moore, Dr. Del Tacket (The Truth Project), Gary Smalley and John Trent
They also said that we go to the church to get married but we go to Caeser to get divorced. How true is that. When did we stop going back to the church to help us in our time of need?
The first speaker was Gary Thomas, author of Sacred Marriage.
What if God didn't design marriage to be easy, but to make us holy more than happy? What if it is for us to grow in holiness, for it to teach us to serve, put someone else before us, to teach us to forgive? What if there is a divine intention for it to be difficult? Because all of us married ones know that marriage has a way of putting the spotlight on our own sins-impatience, anger, selfishness...
James 3:2 We all stumble in many ways.
How do we preserve the "heart" in marriage?
1. Rediscover the purpose.
It's not about the romantic connection. It's about growing old together, not staying young together.
2. Become a God-centered spouse.
A spouse-centered spouse treats their spouse the way they have been treated in the last 24-48 hours. A God-centered spouse says I am called to love them out of reverence for God. HE SAVED MY SOUL. Can I love Mike out of reverence for God?
Seek first the kingdom of God.
Seek to grow in His righteousness.
And all these things will be added. Matt. 6:33
Let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. 2 Corinthians 7:1
More to come from the other speakers: Beth Moore, Dr. Del Tacket (The Truth Project), Gary Smalley and John Trent
Sunday, March 1, 2009
February 2009 Happenings
February ended on the cool side. Like the cool hat?
Cindy and Dad on the "Razors". BE CAREFUL-those things are dangerous. I KNOW from personal experience.
Mike grilled our steaks and ribs. He is the chef extraordinaire.
Brian eating his steak. See the cheesecakes?
Lisa digging in.
"Katy Kitty" I'll take mine rare!!
I will take mine well done. Actually Mike is cleaning the grill with the pear burner. Patrick watching at a safe distance.
Cindy and Sandy
Mike and Sandy
Cindy patiently teaching an old dog new tricks. Ha ha. Dad just started a facebook account and she was giving him the low down on it. For future reference -wine shouldn't be involved in this learning tutorial.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Complaining
Life is hard.
In the midst of difficult circumstances, my own flesh wants to be in control. When I am not in control or things are not going my way, I complain.
God has been convicting me lately. The other night in BSF we studied Numbers 11-12. The topic was about complaining. Ouch. One of the principles given was that complaining is a sin against God and comes from unbelief.
Do I think that God is not in control (like of marriage, finances, economy), or do I think that He is not doing a good job? Am I bored with what He has given me? Am I buying into the lie the world tells me--I need this or that to be happy, gossiping, spending money we may not have.
Do I forget the provisions God has provided? Am I trusting Him to take care of me and my family?
Psalm 68: 19 Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens
For Lent, and hopefully for the rest of my life I am giving up complaining and even venting (which is a nice word for complaining). I will replace the spirit of complaining with a spirit of thanksgiving.
Hebrews 12:28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe
In the midst of difficult circumstances, my own flesh wants to be in control. When I am not in control or things are not going my way, I complain.
God has been convicting me lately. The other night in BSF we studied Numbers 11-12. The topic was about complaining. Ouch. One of the principles given was that complaining is a sin against God and comes from unbelief.
Do I think that God is not in control (like of marriage, finances, economy), or do I think that He is not doing a good job? Am I bored with what He has given me? Am I buying into the lie the world tells me--I need this or that to be happy, gossiping, spending money we may not have.
Do I forget the provisions God has provided? Am I trusting Him to take care of me and my family?
Psalm 68: 19 Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens
For Lent, and hopefully for the rest of my life I am giving up complaining and even venting (which is a nice word for complaining). I will replace the spirit of complaining with a spirit of thanksgiving.
Hebrews 12:28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
10 Things
Robyn assigned me the letter "L".
I Love the Letter L.
Here are the rules: If you want to play, leave a comment on this post letting me know and I’ll assign you a letter. You write about ten things you love that begin with your assigned letter, and post it on your blog. When people comment on your list, you give them a letter, and the chain will continue. (I copied and pasted this from Robyn's blog)
Lord: I love the Lord God. "The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. The Lord protects the simple hearted; when I was in great need, he saved me." Psalm 116:5-6
Laughter: I love to laugh. "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." Proverbs 17:22 I think when you laugh you release endorphins, those natural neurotransmitters that God gave us, that gives you a sense of well-being.
Lisa: My first born girl. Her name means "God is my oath."
Lemon berry slushes from Sonic: I love Sonics ice also.
Lattes: Actually I really like coffee, but since I was assigned the letter L, latte will have to do.
Long weekends: I haven't had one in a long time, I think I really need one.
Lawn work: I love to mow the lawn, edge, use the weed eater (Sp?). I like the instant beauty of a lawn just manicured. When I get a long weekend, Mike and I will be able to work on our new lawn.
LPM blog: http://www.lproof.org/ This is Beth Moore's ministry website.
Learning: I love to learn. I just recently got the Amplified Bible from Mike and love to see the Greek/Hebrew meanings in the translation. I feel like I need to keep my mind open to learn new things everyday, to not get stale, keep my mind active. I pray most days (when I remember) for God to make me smarter than I am, because frankly, I am just not that smart. But it is humbling.
Lifegroups: We have 2 fantastic lifegroups that we have the privilege of being part of. Our marriage lifegoup from Concordia and our friends lifegroup who go to Crossbridge Community Church. It is such a blessing and we are so thankful for these people who love God so much, who have the struggles of this world just as we do. It gives us accountability and prayer warriors.
I Love the Letter L.
Here are the rules: If you want to play, leave a comment on this post letting me know and I’ll assign you a letter. You write about ten things you love that begin with your assigned letter, and post it on your blog. When people comment on your list, you give them a letter, and the chain will continue. (I copied and pasted this from Robyn's blog)
Lord: I love the Lord God. "The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. The Lord protects the simple hearted; when I was in great need, he saved me." Psalm 116:5-6
Laughter: I love to laugh. "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." Proverbs 17:22 I think when you laugh you release endorphins, those natural neurotransmitters that God gave us, that gives you a sense of well-being.
Lisa: My first born girl. Her name means "God is my oath."
Lemon berry slushes from Sonic: I love Sonics ice also.
Lattes: Actually I really like coffee, but since I was assigned the letter L, latte will have to do.
Long weekends: I haven't had one in a long time, I think I really need one.
Lawn work: I love to mow the lawn, edge, use the weed eater (Sp?). I like the instant beauty of a lawn just manicured. When I get a long weekend, Mike and I will be able to work on our new lawn.
LPM blog: http://www.lproof.org/ This is Beth Moore's ministry website.
Learning: I love to learn. I just recently got the Amplified Bible from Mike and love to see the Greek/Hebrew meanings in the translation. I feel like I need to keep my mind open to learn new things everyday, to not get stale, keep my mind active. I pray most days (when I remember) for God to make me smarter than I am, because frankly, I am just not that smart. But it is humbling.
Lifegroups: We have 2 fantastic lifegroups that we have the privilege of being part of. Our marriage lifegoup from Concordia and our friends lifegroup who go to Crossbridge Community Church. It is such a blessing and we are so thankful for these people who love God so much, who have the struggles of this world just as we do. It gives us accountability and prayer warriors.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Pocahantas Alive and Well
Today at school, Lisa's class had a "Living Museum." Lisa was Pocahantas. Mike and I walked into the auditorium and saw all of the 2nd graders as famous characters from long, long ago. We saw every child... except ours. Where was our little Pocahantas? Her teacher said, "Oh, Pocahantas is in the forest." Where is the forest here in the auditorium? She chose to hide behind 2 fake ficus trees and call it the forest. She is very creative, and we think may have a little stage fright.
Here she is reading her facts in the "forest".
Mike asked Pocahantas to step out of the "forest" so we could hear her and others could see her.
Our darling Pocahantas did a great job and she looked so cute!
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Happy Valentine's Day
Katie in her class. They had a chocolate fountain and lots of chocolate.
Lisa's class had ice cream sundays and balloons. Everybody was excited and on a sugar high. My sugar motto is "whatever comes up, must come down." And they did.
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