I love ice storms!! :)

OK - I don't really love ice storms, but I do love the days off of school that they provide!! I had a wonderful day off! Look at all the cute pages I finished!

These were the winners at our church Turkey Bowl:
And here's the crazy faces we were making at my parent's house:
These 2 pages go together, for our church Thanksgiving meal:

And this is when I introduced Karis to Young Chef's Academy:
I LOVE this picture of my girls - they look so grown up!!!
And these 2 pages are for Karis' cheer party:


So fun!!!!

Oh Koleman...

So...should I be worried about these pictures of Koleman and his little friend Jenna?



I am crackin' up...Koleman just saw me putting this on my blog and he said, "You better not put this on my friend's mom's blog...because I'm in a Barbie jeep and I don't want him to see it!" tee hee And, Koleman wanted me to make sure you all know, he does NOT like Barbies!!

FULL...

I love serving a God who is constantly challenging me! I love that I never get to just sit back and say, "OK, all done..." How boring would that be?!

Our worship conference was more wonderful than I could have imagined! The team did such a good job! After each session, we had a time to reflect on what we just heard, in total silence. Each reflection room was decorated a little differently - and they were all BEAUTIFUL!!

So, what did I learn? I'm a worrier! Now, I never thought I was because my motto has always been, "Don't worry about tomorrow, today has enough trouble of it's own!" And, I really stick to it. I make lists and calendars and I don't worry about the future AT ALL! However, I worry about the present ALOT!! I just didn't recognize it as worry.

Our first session was about the need for simplicity. Now, those of you who know me well, know that I have a quiet time every morning, and I have a restful Sabbath every Sunday, I'm very organized and orderly, and I have NO problem saying NO and not becoming overly committed. So, it seems like I have this simplicity thing under control, but apparently not. I noticed, even while Steve was talking about the need for simplicity, that my mind was racing with worries about every little detail of what was happening. And I mean every little detail! I was not on the committee, and had absolutely no responsibilities this weekend - and I still worried about every little detail!

God has wired me as a detailed, orderly, planning, (pushy, control freak). The first 3 are the positives, and the last two are the definite negatives that I have allowed to rage out of control! I was so convicted that even in my morning quiet times, and my Sunday afternoon Sabbaths, I still allow my mind to race and make plans for things that God already has well under His control! I mean, do I really think that God needs me to fix all the details?! NO!!! He has a much bigger picture than me of everything that is going on!! He knows things I don't know about every situation!! I MUST take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ. If I wasn't called to plan an event, then I just need to enjoy it!!! God has placed me in a season of taking a back seat...so I need to sit back and take the journey with others!! This is a unique opportunity that I have never had in all of our years of ministry and apparently I don't know what to do with it!

So, I am going to go get ready for church...on a day when I have NO responsibilities...NONE!!! What?! How does that happen?! I mean, aren't I the pastor's wife?! Don't ya'll need me to something?! Don't I need to be worrying about something?! Apparently not!!

God spoke loud and clear this weekend - that it's time for me to QUIT worrying and trust that He has HIS church under control - and He wants me to focus my attention on some wonderful 7th grade students who need Jesus desperately!

IN anticipation...

I am so excited about what this weekend may bring for me, my family, our church...etc. We are having a worship conference at church and we are all fasting together while we we learn how to truly worship. I will not be openning my computer again until after it is over on Saturday night...so stay tuned for the amazing things God's about to do!!

Parting remarks...

Last night, Khris and I got to go on a much-needed date with some wonderful gift certificates we got for Christmas! As we were leaving the kids with their babysitters, these were my instructions, "Kensey, no bossing - Karis, no yelling - and Koleman, no head injuries!" TEE HEE :)

Precious Karis!!

My sweet Karis Danae had a playdate with her friend yesterday while I went to work. Her mom texted me last night to tell me to ask Karis what they talked about. Apparently, Karis was trying to get her friend to ask Jesus to come into her heart and she was trying to pray with her. The little girl wasn't ready, but how awesome is that?! Oh to be as bold as my 8 year old daughter!!

An epiphany...

Don't you just love that word, epiphany?!

OK anyway, I just finished my quiet time and it was so simple, yet completely life-changing, I had to share. Now, for fear of not communicating it correctly, I'm just going to quote it completely. So, this is Day 25 in James MacDonald's devotional book, "Ancient Wisdom".

A contrary man spreads conflict and a gossip seperates friends. Proverbs 16:28

Don't be a pervert.

"Uh, okay", you may say, a little smack of sarcasm in your voice. "I wasn't exactly planning on it." In some translations of the verse above, the "contrary man" is said to be instead a "perverse man". Not the wild-eyed, drooling kind of sick-o, but one who for some twisted reason delights in stirring up trouble, in sowing conflict, in separating friends.

You can't spot this person right away. He's not the kind to drop a bomb in between people and be known as the perpetrator. Instead, he "spreads conflict". He "sows strife" as some versions of the Bible say it. He plants seeds that over time have the potential to grow into bigger issues with the muscle to pull people apart, to arouse suspicions, to invite unkind words and actions. It's subtle. It's sneaky.

But they're out there, these perverts, bristling with the power to separate even the best of friends. They're not out in front where you can see them. They're off to the side, out in the parking lot, on the phone, at the store, over coffee, whispering things: "Did you hear about-? Can you believe it? Isn't it just awful? How could she do a thing like that?" Theirs is a condition born of insecurity, jealousy, and anger but it reveals itself in treachery and distrust.

Why would God put this verse in the Bible? Was He thinking that a perverse person would be reading the book of Proverbs, would slap himself on the forehead and say, "Oh no! That's me! I've got to stop doing that!"

No, there's little likelihood that a foolish person is going to find much value in Proverbs, as if he was going to change anyway. This verse is for the person who wants to protect her friendships, who knows to be on the lookout for:

• Bad reports. "Hey did you hear about such-and so? I know it's none of my business, but..."
• Half-truths. "Did you hear that Bill lost his job? Did you hear why? I think the reason is..."
• Exaggerations. A kernel of truth expanded into a bad report.
• Motive assessments. "Do you know why she does that? You know why he acts that way?" No, do you?

I've learned to stop this stuff in it's tracks. If you're sincere about protecting your friendships, do these two things:
1) Stop the repetition
and
2) Cover the transgression.

Bad reports may travel fast through the grapevine, but they need to stop with us. When people come to me and say, "Pastor, did you know..." I usually answer back, "Why are you telling me this?" (That's a little nicer than saying what actually comes to mind: "What do my ears look like to you? A trash can?") This direct approach puts a strange, blank look on people's faces. "Why are you telling me this?" is the best reply I know of to a piece of gossip.

Only a few times in your life can you do something that you're absolutely sure God wants you to do. This is one of them. If you're serious about taking care of your friends, don't let the perverts have their way. "Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers all offenses." (Prov. 10:12)

Do bad reports stop with you, or do they continue on? Are you a clog or a conduit in the personal injury pipeline? What makes this a challenge in your life?

I mean, if that doesn't hit you right square between the eyes - then you must not be living here in America! I can't think of any place we've ever lived, any job I've ever had, any ANYTHING where this truth did not apply! And, I could absolutely remember plenty of instances of "perverse" people in my world...but the part that was so huge for me this morning was this sentence: "Are you a clog or a conduit in the personal injury pipeline?" WHOA!! But, don't we need to be able to vent our frustrations?! Apparently not!! If I vent...doesn't that harm the one I'm venting to?! I was very convicted this morning that God has all the "problems" in my life well under control. Venting to other people only harms THEM. They can't fix it...only God can! I love my friends, family, and church DEARLY and I would never want to say anything that would harm their faith or make them worry for me!!

So, I'm posting this for 2 reasons:
1) To encourage everyone to quit being a "conduit on the personal injury pipeline"
and
2) To apologize for all the times I've been a conduit in the name of "venting".

God can protect our reputation and our church family very well...my job is to keep my eyes on HIM and the work He has set for me to do!!! (Because there will ALWAYS be someone or something else to focus on, believe me!)

I'm so glad I get to go worship God with my church family this morning...I just want to hug them all!!

The bad part of blogging...

OK so the downside of blogging is that the only thing I have to share today is all the crazy stuff my son Koleman has done this week...and I'm certain I will not sound like SuperMom by the end of this...but it was funny...so I'm going to share:

Koleman is officially my first child to go to the prinicipal's office for a bad reason! He got in a fight at school the other day. Now, this story will lose something in translation, because when he tells it, he can't say his "r"s so it's much cuter! But, apparently, he and another little boy were wanting to play Star Wars and he said, "we didn't have light sabers and we didn't have guns, so we had to use our punches!" One of their "punches" was a little too hard, and it flipped a switch in one of those boys and it's all down hill from there. AUGH!! The good news is that we had a conference with his teacher and she assured us that Koleman is a good little boy who had a normal boy reaction and he is in no way a "bully" or "too rough". Whew - what a relief!!

I wish I were finished with the stories...um...but I'm not. He also has decided it's hilarious to draw "boobies" on the animals of his friends in Sunday School...great!! We have had to have a talk with him about privates are called privates because they're PRIVATE!!! Don't talk about that stuff with anyone but mommy, daddy and a doctor!!! Gracious, child, could you at least spread out the excitement??!

And...(yes, there's more) I got 2 phone calls from the school nurse this week for "head injuries". What?! Do boys really have to be so fearless?! He keeps falling off monkey bars and then yesterday he got pushed off his scooter, while he was on it and moving!! The nurse said he should get a "Golden Globe" award because he already knows how to come in and say he's dizzy and wants to "thwow up"!

So...aren't ya'll glad I'm back to blogging...so I can make ya'll all feel like better mothers than me?! :)

My Great-Grandpa's Funeral

Finally!! I'm back!!

My gracious - this has been the craziest ordeal!! My blog was deleted on January 1, 2009, because my SuperMoms account (the business I used to own) expired on the 1st and my blog was under that name. I have tried and tried to get it back - but no one will even email me back. So, then I tried to set another one back up, but the decorating site I used was down as well! AUGH!! So...I am FINALLY up and running again - but now I need everyone's blog addresses again because I don't have them anymore. So, please send me the link to your blog!