Analysis

I've discovered something about myself.

I analyze things way too much.

And suddenly, a very minor situation becomes Mt. Everest in my eyes.

I guess it's because I'm a 'glass is half empty' kind of person. But I know it's because of my sinful nature.

Oh that I would keep my eyes on Jesus! And if I do, everything stays in perspective.

Just Thoughts

As I think back on the last month it's been busy.

Just a lot of randomness.

We celebrated 21 years of marriage. How can it be that long ago we got married? I still think we should be 25!

We've had four dates this month! That's unheard of! But I'm not complaining at all! I am more in love with my husband with each passing day. He IS Mr. Wonderful! Am so thankful God created marriage. He created it perfectly! Marriage truly is a beautiful union. One I never thought I was worthy enough to get a chance at. But God had other plans for me and I rejoice that His plans were so very different than mine.

Went and spent time with Lyndsey at school. Spent the evening with one of her teachers and his family. Had a marvelous time! So good, in fact, we lost track of time. Almost got Lyndsey in trouble with her curfew. We got home VERY late, but it was so worth it!

It's not so bad living in an apartment. Everybody just needs to be considerate of each other. It's definitely a long lesson in patience. I didn't realize the walls were so thin. Thought they would be thicker since it's newer construction (but what do I know about building anything?).

God is so incredibly wonderful! His love for me is amazing. He shows me every day. I marvel at His mercy and grace and longsuffering. My finite mind doesn't comprehend His longsuffering, patience, compassion, gentleness, etc. That's why He's God and I'm not, right?

Lyndsey comes home for Thanksgiving on Wednesday. She's bringing four girls with her. We will be packed like sardines in the car and in the apartment. We'll have a giant 4 day slumber party! But, oh the fun that awaits us! I AM SO EXCITED! I love having an adult daughter. She's so much fun. All of the girls want to go "Black Friday" shopping with me as well as the boys. *SMILE*

I love the ages my boys are at. I get excited just thinking about what they will look like when they grow up. Am even more excited to find out God's plans for them.

Tyler sprained his wrist last week. I believe it would be doing much better if he would leave it wrapped and supported.

The boys are very happy their friends have moved back down here. In fact, tonight they are spending the night with them.

I believe this Thanksgiving will be much different. It's going to be really good! The Lord has worked this one out for me. He knows exactly what I need. Praise God!

This, That and the Other

Life seems to be going by at the speed of light these days!

Lots of things going on and the last thing on my mind is being on this here blog.

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Lyndsey was home last week for spring break. In her own words this morning, "Mom, break was NOT long enough!" She is back at school with only about 6 weeks left til summer break.

The Lord is so faithful!!! I can't even begin to thank Him for His provision for us. He has seen fit to pay for Lyndsey's school bill. Despite her commitment to search for a job almost daily this last semester, no job has been secured as of yet. But...God has paid her bill!

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Why is parenting sooooooooo hard some days????????!!!!!!!!

What is it about us as humans that make us so prone to disobedience (it's our sin nature)??? Why do we like to 'bend' the rules? Why do we act amazed when we receive punishment for our disobedience?

These are some of the questions I have had lately.

People told me years ago that parenting is not always easy. They were right. I thought parenting 2 kids 19 months apart in age was hard when they were babies. I think it's much more difficult parenting 2 kids 19 months apart in age when they are approaching adolescence. Oh, the fights and arguments and the scowls and the.....(insert so many things here)! The difficulty is because we MUST exercise tough love and a LOT of it right now. This mother's heart breaks when we MUST do it. I dislike punishment (come to think of it....who enjoys it at all?). But, so far they seem to be doing better (at least right now at this very moment:) ).

Another difficulty is hoping that we, as parents, are making the right decisions while raising them. Do my children see Jesus Christ in me and in their dad? Does my life make them desire a relationship with Christ more and more each day? Do I encourage them to serve God? Are my words critical or do they uplift?

More than anything else, I want my children to accomplish God's will for their lives. Walter and I have friends that have raised their children in godly homes and yet the children choose to live their lives completely opposed to the Bible (it's their choice, obviously). Oh, how my heart breaks for those parents and for those kids (turned adults), too! I pray that my children will choose to serve God as adults.

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Tyler had his birthday last month. A friend spent the night and Tyler really wanted to have a nerf gun war. With only 3 boys, that was not going to work out. So, I decided to play with them (can you believe it?).

I had the time of my life!!!! It was a blast!!! I screamed like a girl so many times!! The boys loved it.

We turned out all the lights in the house. Two would hide at one end of the house and the other two would seek. Lawrence had a laser light that we would use to see with. We played for over 2 hours. The dog had a blast, too. She gave up the hiders so many times but it was still a blast.

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We have a college student from Lyndsey's school coming out each weekend to help us with a Spanish ministry. His name is Oscar. He stays at our home.

Last weekend, Oscar was here and Lawrence stayed the night as well. He brought his nerf guns, too.

The boys really wanted to have another nerf war. I was too tired to play but Oscar decided to play. "What a sight" is all I can say! I think that was funnier than me playing with the boys! Those boys screamed like girls (all 4 of them)! They scared themselves silly! But, oh the fun they had!

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This coming weekend our church is hosting a youth rally. A group of college students will be coming from West Coast Baptist College to help us with it. Walter and I will be hosting 7 young men in our home. It's going to be a blast!!!! Phyllip and Tyler are looking forward to them being here and are hoping for a humongous nerf war with the guys!

Randomness

Well.....where do I begin?

I took a bit of a break from the blogging world because life got so crazy.

Lyndsey came home for the Christmas break the 15th of December and since that day, I think I've only been home without going anywhere 3 days total since then!

She ended up getting an interview and then a job selling Cutco cutlery. The schedule for training was crazy, to say the least. But after training was over, the actual job was even crazier - almost like organized chaos! We would leave the house between 8 and 9 am and most days didn't get home til around 9 pm or later. This went on for about 10 days. We were exhausted - we were snapping at each other from the stress of going seemingly all.the.time. There was no such thing as family time and it got old real fast!

It turns out that the company Lyndsey was working for wasn't exactly forthcoming with how the business works (which I had my doubts about from the beginning - just call it mother's intuition). She got to where she absolutely despised it. But she was able to make some money and finish paying off last semester's tuition.

The knives are incredible, though. We got to keep the sample set of knives and I am in "knife heaven" so to speak. If you are in the market for new knives, get Cutco - their guarantee is really great.

Momma had to drive her around to all her training (120+ miles roundtrip for 5 days) plus her appointments. It was really hard to be gone all day every day. The boys didn't exactly like it, either. I was happy to drive her around but even she got tired of the constant traveling.

We didn't let Lyndsey get her driver's license because she wasn't going to need it in college and we couldn't afford to pay the insurance for her. We are rethinking that one now! If she comes home for the summer, she WILL get her license and pay for her own insurance.

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Walter was offered a second job back in November (I was trained in the job as well so that we can be on call 24/7). He jumped at the chance because we have been praying for a way to help get Lyndsey through college.

We flew up to northern California a couple of weeks ago - just Walter and I - to meet the owner in person and to be trained.

Wow! That's what came out of my mouth when we got to the cottage we stayed in. I wish I had had my camera while we were there. It was the most beautifully decorated home I've ever been in! It had top of the line furniture in it that was incredibly comfortable (leather armchairs that were oober comfy with throw blankets over them, the bed - incredible, a massage chair that Walter fell in love with, bose home theatre system, etc.). The decorations were just enough - not overstated at all. Beautiful antique lamps and end tables finished it. We were given access to the internet at our leisure. There was a hot tub (we didn't use it because of lack of time plus it was soooooooooo cold while we were there). The bathroom towels were plush and soft. The bed sheets were "out of this world" comfortable.

Tom (the boss) had emailed us a few days before we went there and asked what kind of food and snacks and drinks we liked. He told us to be specific and not bashful. We're the kind of people who are happy with pretty much anything but we did give a couple of specifics. When we got there and looked in the kitchen everything we had told him and more was loaded in it! The refrigerator was full - the freezer was just about full! Tom's wife had even left us a gigantic Hershey's chocolate bar on the end table next to the bed.

We were treated like royalty while there!

Tom and his wife are very strong Christians and he was looking for someone of like faith to help him take care of some business that we live close to.

The cottage we stayed in is what Tom's church uses for all of their guest speakers and missionaries. Walter asked who had stayed there before us and we felt like we were walking where royalty had been. We felt like we were part of the family while there.

We have since started the work down here and so far, we like it.

My Example

I find that I/we have made many mistakes in raising my/our children. Does anybody else besides me wish to be a better example to their children?

The more I read my Bible, the more I realize that I have such an awesome opportunity to raise my children to be godly adults/parents.

I want them to be used of God so much. I want to see them live victorious Christian lives and never turn their backs on God.

But...what does my life show them? What are my priorities? Are my words harsh, negative, critical, belittling, etc. or are my words loving, encouraging, uplifting, etc.?

I am learning that words are so important. The old saying when I was a kid I still hear kids say today: "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me!" That is one of the biggest lies!

I was called names growing up. Some of it was done in jest and some of it was done to be mean. I grew up believing that I wasn't loved. My feelings were hurt more times than I care to remember. And because of it I ended up harboring bitterness for many years in my life. I really believed that I was unworthy of any one's love and for many years I found myself amazed that someone had actually fallen in love with me and wanted to marry me and live the rest of his life with me. It took me a long time to admit I was bitter and to go to the person I was so offended at and make things right with them. I don't want my children to have to experience that EVER!

I still struggle today with acceptance. I find that I even struggle with God's love for me today because of things in my childhood (yes, I need to 'get over it'). It's hard to change thought patterns that were shaped in my mind as a child. I am very much a non-confrontational person today. I hate confrontation with a passion. I will do almost anything to avoid it. I tend to talk about 'safe' things with others and don't get too deep into opinions or personal matters. Have my children's thought patterns been shaped correctly? Do they struggle with God's love for them or do they embrace Him with every ounce of their being?

What about my actions? Do I portray the love of Christ to my kids and spend quality time with them or do I just brush them off and make them feel unimportant? Do I answer their questions rudely and with harshness or do I take the time to help them understand the answer in a way that shows they are important to me (even if I am tired or busy)?

What about discipline? How do I discipline my kids? Do I do it in love or do I scream at them and say things that are unnecessary and even hurtful? Do I show them from the Bible how they are wrong and how to correct their actions or do I throw my hands up in the air and give up trying to correct them?

How I have failed my children! I can't even count the number of times I've had to apologize to my kids because of my actions, words, wrong discipline, etc. But the Bible tells me that God's mercies endure forever and are renewed daily. With God's help, I know I can be a right example. God, help me to be the right example to my children!

How Could I Forget?

We made plans to visit Lyndsey in Lancaster last Saturday.

The whole day was just fabulous. Having all 5 of us together again was wonderful.

We laughed and talked and played games and enjoyed each other's company all afternoon.

It hit me this morning - I had forgotten how much I love Lyndsey's laugh. When she gets to laughing hard - that's when I think she has her best laugh. How could I forget?

If there's one piece of advice I could give to anyone at this moment about raising children it would be to just soak them up. Drink in every ounce of their being because one day........they will be all grown up and leave the nest and you, too, might just find yourself forgetting some of the things you enjoy most about your children.

Life is Just Plain Good!

Just a note to say that I love my life! God is always so good to me and my family!

I can't think of one time where He has ever let me down. Even through the trials of life, God has always been amazing. We do have our fair share of trials but God allows us to go through them to strengthen us.

God has strengthened our faith so much just since Lyndsey left for college. To be honest, we didn't have even a penny to give to Lyndsey when we dropped her off at college. We just kept praying and asking the Lord to provide. And provide He has! Most of her school bill for the semester is paid and we haven't paid the bill except for what we made from a garage sale. The Lord has brought the money in!

We made almost $600 from the sale and we still have about half of our stuff left! Has anybody else made that much money from a garage sale? I haven't heard of it, but I suppose some people have. The people just kept coming! I think there were about 200 people or so that came. We handed out invitations/gospel tracts to each person that came and by the number of piles of tracts we went through we arrived at that number. We have been given quite a few more things to sell in another garage sale.

Walter and I continue to look for ways to sell things or earn extra money to help Lyndsey and it's amazing when you start to go through your closets the things you will find that you don't use that someone else will.

Our family continues to grow closer together and it's great! We are seeing our boys transform into young men and it's fabulous!

In fact, our church has started a remodeling project and we built a new platform among other things. Hardwood flooring was put on the platform and Phyllip was one of 2 guys that installed the flooring. He worked so hard and we are so proud of him. Tyler equally has worked hard for the last 3 days. Both of the boys have gone to sleep quickly each night after a hard day's work! I like that!

Life is busy and just plain good!

I REALLY Love Where I Live

I really do love the desert.

I'm reminded of how much I love the desert each time I have to leave and drive somewhere in SoCal.

Yesterday was one such day.

I was to attend a church management and tax conference at a hotel just outside LAX. In order for me to get there on time, I allowed myself a 3 hour window. It took me 3 hours and 20 minutes to get there. I left my home at 5:30 a.m. Ugh!

I finally get there and there's no regular hotel parking. There is a parking garage underneath the hotel and it's airport and hotel parking. The best part is....it costs to park! I had no idea.

I'm driving thru the garage to find a spot to park. I found one and then the unthinkable happened.















I HIT A PARKED CAR!!!!!!!!

Now, I'm not only late to the conference, I'm crying because I wasn't careful enough while driving, I'm sweating because of all of this and my bladder is FULL to the brim!

The only damage done to the car I hit was some paint was scratched off, but nonetheless. My car has no damage (only gray paint on my front bumper). I left my name and number on the windshield.

I was a wreck when I finally got up to the conference room. It took me quite a while to calm down and concentrate on the conference.

The drive home wasn't any shorter of a time period. The freeways in SoCal are a nightmare at best. Stop and go no matter what time of day it is (at least during the week). When you get to a certain little city close to home, the freeway clears out and it's smooth sailing all the way home. We don't get that kind of traffic here in the desert.

So....to reiterate the title of this post... I really love where I live!

Turning Up The Heat

Whew! The temperatures are going up, up, up here!

Yesterday the temp was 119 degrees! Thursday it was at least that or more and we had to be out in it just about all day - yuck!

I have made the house like a cave just to try to keep it cool. We were able to keep the inside temp at 79 (that's very warm for us). We're used to about 73 inside. The swamp cooler is working its little 'heart' out day and night keeping us as cool as possible.

It seems this heat wave is going to last at least another 4 days. Ugh! I wish I could just stay home and not go outside whatsoever, but, that's just not practical. Oh, well. It's only for a few more days.

Is It Really JUNE In the Desert?

This morning I awoke to the sound of the wind. Not too surprising given the fact that we live in an area of the southwest that is considered a natural wind tunnel.

I woke at 6:15 a.m. I looked out the window to find gray clouds hovering overhead for the 3rd day in a row. Very unusual for this time of year.

I thought, "Great, it will be cool for my morning walk!" Then I took the dog outside. Brrrrrrrr! It was only 59 degrees. Again, very unusual for this time of year.

I actually had to put a coat on before I left the house. And I might as well have put on a ski hat too because by the time I got home, my ears were numb. My cheeks and nose were numb, too!

My 20 minute walk turned into a 30 minute walk because of the wind resistance (not that I'm complaining).

Is it really JUNE here in the desert? I better check the calendar because it feels more like February here!

Something Unusual

It's raining right now!!!!

Why is that something to blog about?

Because we live in the very dry desert!!!!!

I don't think we've had rain in June in the 11 years we've lived here.

Patience

What is patience?

If I knew what it was I don't think I'd ask the question.

Since I seem to be struggling so much as of late with this very thing I decided to look up the definition.

According to Webster's 1828 Dictionary, patience is defined as the following:

1. The suffering of afflictions, pain, toil, calamity, provocation or other evil, with a calm, unruffled temper; endurance without murmuring or fretfulness. Patience may spring from constitutional fortitude, from a kind of heroic pride, or from christian submission to the divine will.

2. A calm temper which bears evils without murmuring or discontent.

3. The act or quality of waiting long for justice or expected good without discontent.

Have patience with me,and I will pay thee all. Mat 18.

4. Perseverance; constancy in labor or exertion.

He learnt with patience, and with meekness taught.

5. The quality of bearing offenses and injuries without anger or revenge.

His rage was kindled and his patience gone.

6. Sufferance; permission.

All I can say is, "Wow."

My heart is grieved because of my lack of patience. I have many regrets because of it. Oh, how I wish I would have learned patience when I was a child. Perhaps I wouldn't have had as many hardships of my own doing in life. Perhaps my children wouldn't struggle with patience if I had shown them patience while they were little. Perhaps.

As I walk with my Lord, I am reminded that life is not going to be a bed of roses each and every day. There are still going to be bumps in the road. I am not promised a life of ease as a Christian. I still have my struggles with myself (because of my choices), family, friends, and acquaintances.

As of late, I am struggling with a person I met several months ago. She happens to be old enough to be my mother. I pick her up for church because she is legally blind and cannot drive. We "locked horns" twice last week over the silliest things. Those aren't the only times I've been frustrated with my relationship with this person.

I believe that she doesn't know the Lord Jesus Christ as her Saviour.

If she doesn't know Jesus Christ as Saviour, why do I lack patience with her? I should have compassion and love for her. I should. I must. But I don't. At least not yesterday. Hopefully today.

Last Sunday she was mad at me. After she let me know of her irritation with me, I had to pick her up for church. I was not exactly happy about this. I got myself in the car and began talking to the Lord. I told him how unfair it was that I was being treated like that. And I asked for patience, love, compassion, to have a teachable spirit, etc.

And then it hit me. If I show my irritation to her and start yelling at her, how is that any different than how the unsaved treat each other? How am I any different? I need patience to work with her. I must have a calm temper which bears evils without murmuring or discontent. I must show her the love of Christ. I must possess the quality of bearing offenses and injuries without anger or revenge. I must not let her get under my skin.

Lord, please help me!

Watch Out for Exploding Pots!

There's nothing like learning something new the messy way!

I was in the process of making tapioca last night. I usually make the minute tapioca but I had this in the cupboard and I'm almost always up for a new recipe.

It's actually easier to make than the minute tapioca but it takes a lot longer.

I was making a large bowl of it and also needed to use a double boiler. I thought I could just put my 2 stock pots (they are the same width except for one is an 8 qt. pot and the other is a 6 qt. pot) together and it would work. Did you catch the word 'thought'?

The recipe said to cook the mixture on very low heat for 1 hour. No problem - except that my pots decided to get completely stuck together!

I let it finish cooking before adding the eggs and sugar. I added the next ingredients and turned the heat to medium. All was going well until I heard an explosion in the kitchen! I ran into the kitchen to see the top pot now sitting sideways with the tapioca mixture moving back and forth quite rapidly. As I entered the kitchen, I saw water everywhere and tapioca pudding all over the stove.

Apparently, there was a vacuum created between the two pots which was ok on very low heat but when the heat was turned up the steam needed to escape but it couldn't. Hence, the explosion!

The pudding turned out great (my family says it's better than the Minute Tapioca) and I learned a valuable lesson.

Note to self: Buy a bigger double boiler set!

I know He loves me!

Guess what I woke up to this morning! Ok, so you don't really know.

It was my most favorite sound in the world! It's a sound I haven't heard in quite a while.

My favorite sound in the world is a dove cooing. If you've never heard a dove coo, it's the most relaxing sound. If the doves would do it all day, I would be much obliged to listen to them. I just love it!

We are so blessed to live here in SoCal. We have so much wildlife around our home. Doves, quail, roadrunners, bunnies, lizards, mockingbirds and coyotes, just to name a few. We enjoy watching all of them and we even saw a snake in our front yard once. For the record, I wasn't thrilled with the snake (Those of you who know me know I told my husband when we moved down here that the first snake I saw, I was taking the kids and moving back to WA. I've come a long way in 10 years!). It wasn't a poisonous snake (the name of the snake escapes me at this moment) so I was ok with it being in my front yard.

God knows the dove cooing is my favorite. He loves me so much! I am so thankful that God takes an interest in the things I love and provides them for me! I know it's not anything huge, but God does this each and every time just for me. He has even provided a family of doves that lives in our front yard. Now, how perfect is that?! Wouldn't you agree that God has given me something I love?

I was awake this morning but I hadn't forced myself out of bed yet. And then the doves started cooing and it put the biggest smile on my face! It was a great start to the day!

Hope your day is as great as mine!