The Shack

If you have not read the book "The Shack" by William Young yet, you should! The book is amazing... it approaches the question "Where is God in a world so filled with unspeakable pain?"  It has been a great reminder to me of how much God truly loves me and how my relationship with Him can be even better. 

Here is a thought from the book... Just because God works incredible good out of unspeakable tragedies doesn't mean he orchestrates the tragedies. Don't assume that  God using something means he caused it or that he needs it to accomplish his purpose. That will only lead you to false notions about Him. Grace doesn't depend on suffering to exist, but where there is suffering you will find grace in many facets and colors. (check out theshackbook.com)

The beauty of the Shirt

Cindy Sue bought me a Mt. Dew shirt, which if you know me, you understand that this shirt was made for me... (Thanks Cindy Sue!!) All of a sudden I start receiving random txt messages from all of my friends saying they like my Mt. Dew shirt... At first I was pretty confused... I had twittered about the shirt but most of my friends don't have twitter so I couldn't figure out how they knew I had a shirt or how they knew what it looked like... after the blonde moment passed I figured my hubby had something to do with it, come to find out he had txt our friends and asked them to txt me just for fun... cuz he loves me, I got txt messages all day. Do I have a great husband and great friends or what?! I feel so loved :o)

Already?

We are now officially potty training Allie. Now here is the situation: I am not an overachiever nor do I hate myself, Allie has been begging to use the toilet for 2 months now... and on occasion she uses the "big potty" with success... however I was neither encouraging nor discouraging the act. Problem is she keeps insisting and I, not wanting to do things half way for 2 years decided we might as well do it now since she is interested... So no more diapers, today is day 1 so far she has only had a few accidents and many many successes, so heres hoping she's potty trained by her 2nd birthday :o) ((Sunday)) She just woke up from her nap so breaks over!

I know

Yesterday I went to pick up a friend and I completely believed I knew where I was going. My friend gave me directions (good ones) and I even mapquested the address to double check however I skipped over the part I assumed I knew and headed off. Well needless to say I did not know where I was going and had to call and re-get directions... and actually listen. I guess I learned my lesson about making assumptions. (I even accidentally ran a red light in the proccess...oops) 

Bye Mom

Today when I dropped Isaac off at school I lingered outside the door just to watch him. I love to watch him just be Isaac... When he finished his little assignment he went to join the rest of the class in the circle and noticed me standing outside the door. He waved and said "Bye Mom" and I waved and whispered for him to join his class... he just waved again... and I waved... then he stopped and looked at me kind of quizzical ... waved one last time... I waved... smiling and proud, then Isaac points the direction I need to go... as if to say, "it's time for you to leave now Mom" *sigh* 

New

I was at a meeting and our Next Generation Ministries Director shared about how God makes us NEW not good. I remember that feeling when I first met God... When you are face to face with who you were and the new person you become when you let the Lord in. After a 10 year relationship with the Lord now I sometimes lose focus on who I am in Him, that I am made new in His presence daily... sometimes I focus too much on being good instead of being God's, I forget that everything He does is motivated by His love for me and those around me. Thats how I want to be,  everything I do motivated by my love for others.

Philippines

It is now officially less than 2 months until our Philippines Mission Trip. This weekend we are doing a crazy huge garage sale fundraiser and it's going great! I had no idea we could gather that much stuff... so much stuff. As the time gets closer, my heart for the Filipino people grows. At our last meeting we talked about some of the things we are going to be doing while we are there. There are a few things that I am really passionate about. First, we may get the opportunity to help do a free medical clinic. The simplest things can be fatal due to lack of resources and education. What a blessing to provide what we in the US often take for granted.  Secondly, the kids. I can't wait to feed them and hug them and just love on 'em. I am excited that our goal is to create a lasting partnership with our friends in the Philippines that grows as the time goes on. We have an amazing team going this year (and we are getting to know each other really well while sorting through miles and piles of stuff!)