A Writers Block

Thanksgiving is on its way. Don’t you cry. Then they will say Thanksgiving is here. Do not worry. Don’t be sad. This is the time of giving and also being glad! We are all here on Thanksgiving day. We are all here and there. Thanksgiving is on its way! by: Kayla K. Easter, Easter is the day he died. He’s the one who saves us all. He’s on every wall. He saved us. He saved us. He was little just like us. We will grow just like him. We will! We will! Yes, we will! by: Kayla K.

My family, prompted by one of the sisters, has been trying to come up with hubby-proof arguments on why we wives should hire "molly maid" to come clean rather than having to do it ourselves. It was pretty funny so I'd thought I'd post the weigh-ins. Only the names have been omitted to save face. Enjoy the laughs. Reason Reply #1: Let's see... To keep your kid from getting sick more often, to keep your allergies in better shape, to keep company from coming over and being aghast at the condition of your bathroom, to KEEP YOU SANE and therefore prevent you from driving your hubby mad and having your child end up in juvi, it will save your marriage (a last resort), or, you can always pull a fast one and tell him, "It's in the contract. Don't you remember how amazing and sweet you were in telling me when we got married that you wanted to make things easier on me and take care of me? I loved that you were so considerate and thoughtful." "Wow! I ne...

I've been reading John and when I hit chapter 10 it was like I slowed to a crawl. There was so much to pull from it that I had to slow down! The section I just finished was the one where Jesus talks about being the good shepherd. Many of us have heard the part, "The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy...." but I wonder if anyone has bothered to read past that. I never had until today. Jesus says that he is the good shepherd who will lay down his life for his sheep but a hired hand will flee at the coming of a wolf. The hired hand does not care for the flock as Jesus does and therefore will run away to save himself. Then the wolf attacks and scatters the flock. I got to wondering if the "hired hands" Jesus talks about are those who are in ministry for the wrong reasons. Many who minister for the right reasons work daily to remain in tune with God's desires and are extensions of the Shepherd's staff, ready for any attack. But some lose their way, ...

Have you ever moved a tree or bush? Have you ever watched what it does? I'm thinking about moving some of the pine trees in our front garden and when I thought of that today God showed me that it will take a lot of work for those trees. I’ll dig them up and put them in different soil... different nutrients, water content, depth, light... different life. Usually, they will "shrink back" trying to adjust to the shock of the move. They may lose a few leaves/needles, they may even just sit there for a year, but they will take a while to get their roots back into the ground firmly. So they have to wait patiently, gathering all the nutrients they can so that in the next season of growth they can do what God created them to do - grow and blossom. Our spirits are like that sometimes. God may have to move us to a different plain with different surroundings so that we can grow stronger and do what he needs us to do. We’ll have to wait, deepen our roots, soak it up and regain our st...

John 5:1-15 “Do you want to get well?” Sometimes it is easier to remain as you are, to stick with what you know, instead of getting what you have always dreamed of. Change brings something new and unknown. The man at the pool sat there for 38 years waiting for help to get into the pool of healing. The rest of this passage goes on to show the Jews’ reaction to this man. He’d been at the pool 38 years so you know they knew who he was and yet all they could do when they saw him was tell him he should not be carrying his mat on the Sabbath. He had been healed and not one congratulated him or found joy in what had happened to him. They were so intent on the law that they missed the miracle in front of them. Am I content with that? Am I waiting for someone to come along and help me when all I need is to hear God say, “Get up and walk” and then DO IT!? Am I so stuck in my routines and boundaries that they keep me from great joy? I pray I never get so comfortable with what I know, with my mise...

Psalm 37:23-24 “If the LORD delights in a man’s way, he makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand.” I learned something new today. God wanted/wants to touch me, to uphold me. He spoke everything but man and woman into being. Them alone did he create with his own hands. He breathed life into those that would echo his image. He took special care in their creation and, I believe, delighted in his art. And he continues to delight in me, and touch me gently, and uphold me when I am close to him. By studying his word I can grow closer to him so that I can know what way makes him happy. I will have my ups and downs but he won’t let me fall on my face (thank goodness!). He will always be there to hold me up, dust off the dirt, and make sure I’m okay. I wish sometimes that my soul had “spirit-eyes” so that I could look and see him holding me. I know he does!

Okay, so it's been forever since I've written and even now I don't have anything cool to say except that God is good. We are still riding the roller coaster that is our life and we have NO idea where God is going to lead us next but how exciting it is to not be in control, however nerve wracking it may be. For now, I will enjoy the family around us, the friends God's given me, and the life He's allowed me to live. I hope you can do the same.

Have you ever watched honey bees? Have you watched how they work together, all doing different jobs to accomplish the same goals? Some clean, others work, and some guard the hive. There are even bees that "dance." I love that! When a field bee comes back from finding pollen, it will do a kind of dance to tell the other bees how to get there. If they mess up, they start all over and keep dancing until all who wanted to know find out where the pollen is. Sometimes I feel like that is what Christians are like. We all have our jobs in the colony of believers. We start out with the basics of learning and doing clean up. Then we move on to working for and with others. With growth and knowledge comes the responsibility to protect and challenge those around us. As we finish, life becomes more about the dance and sharing what we’ve found with anyone who will listen. There is a position that is carried out by just one bee... the queen. Bees will do anything for their queen. If she is r...

Who knew that the Penguins got it right?! Sometimes the emotion follows the action. (psst... if you don't get it, watch Madagascar - the first one)

I’ve been home for a week now with sick kids (and a sick hubby). Kid number 1 has a cold but wants to go outside and play because the weather is finally nice enough to do it. “Go ahead! Enjoy!” So kid number 1 goes out to play. Kid number 2 comes along… on antibiotics, coughing up a storm, should be in the hospital but keeps on trucking. “I want to go outside too!” Sure, just don’t run, skip, jump, climb, kick, or do anything active that might make you cough till you puke. “Okay, but sit down if you start coughing,” I say. Kid number 3 joins in but with the whining. She doesn’t feel well either. She’s got a cold, stuff running out of her nose and ears, a minor fever, and just sits on the couch watching Kungfu Panda (the mom-edited version). So we skip over the scary part, then go get some medicine for her to take so she can breathe again. Fight, fight, fight, she doesn’t want to take the meds. Finally we get it in her mouth and up comes the meds and some of lunch. Great. I’m calling th...

Scott and I talk often about what we want to teach our children, how we want to raise them, opportunities we want them to have, and what trials we think they should have to face. Today, Beth Moore put into words how I feel and why my kids need to face some things on their own. She said, “You can not amputate your history from your destiny.” So many of us want to erase our past, would do it over again, or wish to forget some of the more horrid mistakes but then who would we be today? Didn’t those “alternate routes” lead you to the path you are on now? Would you be where you are if not for what you learned back then? I don’t think so! I think God is a Savior when we need Him to be but more often than not He is a Redeemer and Companion. He will walk with us through it all and then take our scars and use them to show us and maybe others how we can make it with His help. And he makes our lives more beautiful because of them. I am so grateful that my past is behind me but even more grateful ...