Monday, March 31, 2008

Family Pictures

Chloe and Emma were blessed to have all six of their grandparents here this weekend to celebrate Emma's birthday. If you can't tell, in our family, birthdays are big doings. My parents came in Thursday night, Chad's dad and step-mom came in on Friday and his mom and step-dad got here on Saturday...we had a houseful and wouldn't have had it any other way.

This was Friday night after dinner

The birthday girl




The granddad's trying to put together a canopy bed for Emma's Bitty Baby..









This is my dad(?) with Chloe.....living their rock star dream....

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Then Sings My Soul Week Three



Thanks Amy for hosting this! You spur me on and I love you!

I LOVE this part of my week. At the time I'm typing this, it is Wednesday afternoon. This song is one of my all time favorites. It's off Israel's South Africa CD. When I grow up, I want to play keyboards with these people....

This song encourages me, makes me dance and is usually what I clean house to.....

More than that, it reminds me that my God is not only the Author, Finisher and Perfector of my faith, He has me here, on this planet for this time. HE thought out exactly what I was to be, before time began. He did the same for you. We aren't accidents. We aren't here by mistake. No, our God has a very specific plan for each one of us. Even when we feel like a nameless, faceless person, we are not forgotten.


Turn it up and dance along if you like!



Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Emma's Day

Today is my baby girl's 7th birthday. She started her celebration early this morning. Apparently, she got up at 2:30 and asked Chloe if she could sleep with her.

When I walked out of our bedroom this morning at 6:30 to start breakfast, the loft t.v. was on. They got up at 5:30. Needless to say, my special breakfast surprise was ruined. Oh well....


Emma put on the Birthday Crown and we all climbed on my bed to open her birthday gift.



She was given movie tickets for the "girls" to go see Horton Hears a Hoo. (daddy bought them yesterday for us to go see this afternoon after school) She also found her very own copy of Charlotte's Web. She was very excited.

Hanging out waiting for the movie to start.....still wearing the crown.



Mom and the birthday girl and big sis sneaking into the picture...


Dad and Emma...notice she still has on the crown.



We had dinner at our favorite Asian restaurant...they have a Tiki Hut in the restaurant and we were able to sit in there tonight. The two owners were both in the restaurant tonight and one happens to be the chef. Both of them make you feel like part of their family. They brought Emma this HUGE dessert and once again, she and Chloe devoured it.

The chef brought this out to Emma. You can't see it in this picture, but this dessert came with a flaming saucer of Saki. Emma looked like she was just about to dip some cake in there when Chad moved it off the plate...Then he gave me a look as if to say, do you want to try this? No. I did not partake. I am Baptist......



A warm(er) spring evening in this family includes some bike riding. So that is what we came home to do.

I'm off to make a grocery list and plan for her family party on Saturday. We have all 6 grandparents coming in, so I've got some work to do! And I just may be drinking Saki before it's all over!!! JUST KIDDING....

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Easter Weekend

I know!!! I finally posted again. Thanks for coming back! :) WARNING: This post is for the grandparents, aunts and uncles and probably going to be full of pictures, not to mention randomness!

When I posted Thursday evening, I honestly thought I would be in the bed all day Friday. I felt so bad. God was gracious and gave me an incredible night of rest and I woke up fever free and feeling a little stronger. We took our time and left for Chattanooga around noon. God gave us a wonderful weekend.

Friday night we ate at our new favorite Mexican place. It was the second time we had been there, but apparently my parents refuse to eat at any other Mexican restaurant. Now, I understand why. This place is awesome! Abuelo's Mexican Embassy is a new "must eat at" when we go back to Chattanooga.

Our server heard us talking about Emma's upcoming birthday (it's Wednesday) and surprised her with their "Chocolate Eruption". Chloe and Emma finished the entire thing by themselves.


Emma, our veggie and fruit kid had a horrible tummy ache later in the evening and decided that she had had entirely too much cake. She went on to tell me that we would just have fruit cocktail for her birthday dessert.

We all needed to walk off dinner so we headed down the street to Target. My girls grabbed a buggy and off we went. We were looking for a "bug" t-shirt for Chloe to wear in her musical later in April. We found one that might work and then I had the bright idea to check out the garden center area for some cute little lady bug garden shoes that would be adorable for her role. (Her character is a science freak and is nicknamed "Bugs".) While we were checking out the shoes, my dad and Chad disappeared. This is where I found them.....





Cooking with Grams Saturday before our family Easter dinner.



This is my beautiful sister in love Megan with my nieces... This was their first Easter Egg Hunt.


These girls crack me up... they shared eggs and I honestly don't know who is who in this picture.







Gram's and Daddy Mack with four of their five grandchildren. (I guess it's five of six if you count Paddington)


Saturday's dinner was to celebrate all the March B'days in our family and Easter. It was great to have most everyone together. We missed you Val and Colin.

Sunday I had enough voice for one song and sang "In Christ Alone". Not Frydaddy's version, but one closer to the original Getty arrangement.

While I was doing my sound check, one of the church members came into the sanctuary with her arm around one of their teenage girls. The young girl was visibly upset, and they were looking for my dad or mom. This young girl has had a rough couple of years and that church has been praying for her for a long time.

Can I tell you what God did? While I did my sound check, my mom walked through the plan of salvation with this sweet girl. She prayed to receive Christ as her personal Savior on Easter Sunday morning, BEFORE the service! How cool is that! If you would, say a prayer for her. This little lady has had a life that has been hard. BUT, I can't help but think of how God can use her story to encourage and change the life of many women. It was a powerful service and I'm so glad we were able to be part of it.

We met Chad's mom and her husband for more Mexican and enjoyed a good time with them. I left my camera on the kitchen counter, so I don't have pictures with them. But we'll get some on here this weekend when they come down to help us celebrate Emma's Birthday.

I sure hope your Easter was filled with Resurrection Power. But more importantly, as my sweet friend Jill said last night, I pray that you are facing today acknowledging that you have that same Resurrection Power in you. She threw out two words together that I'm meditating on big time.... Resurrection Living.

Resurrection Living.....I'm going to soak on those for a little while!

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Then Sings My Soul (a little earlier than)Saturday



Okay, I know this is supposed to be on Saturday, but...
1. I'm sick...AGAIN. Worse than last time. Apparently, Chad has shared his germs.
2. We are supposed to be headed out of town for me to sing on Sunday.

I am going ahead and posting this tonight believing God to heal me so that I can sing during my dad's Easter sermon on Sunday.

I just had to share this song with you. It has been a long time favorite of mine, and Chad loves it too.

To understand why this song this week, you need to understand where God has had me in my quiet times. In my study of God's names and attributes, I am currently in the "C's". You probably got that in my "Cover" post.

I shared earlier this week that I felt like I was in a battle. How I was blindsided by the enemy. Honestly, I was shocked that my armor was so easily penetrated. This time, that little twirp was so sly. It was a HUGE wake up call that we are to be on guard at ALL times.

So, I'm kind of in this war/battle mentality all week. I thought about Fran's posts on our spiritual armor often. Then yesterday morning as I was reading through my list of "C's", these two names became heavy on the heart.

CAPTAIN OF THE LORD'S HOST

COMMANDER OF THE ARMY OF GOD

Somebody say Hallelujah one time. Now, say it again.

Our Jesus is in charge of this battle and He knows exactly how I feel about this week.

I'm so thankful that my strong Commander and Captain, the one without sin, the pure perfect Jesus, knows how I struggle. He gets just how crafty and sly the enemy is. Hebrews 4:15 tells us that "We don't have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have One who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-yet He was without sin." Sometimes it's easy to feel isolated in our struggles, our personal battles, but oh sweet one He knows! He has been there and completely understands!

On over in Hebrews 12 and I read this "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."

This week God showed me that He is in this battle with me and better yet, He is in this til the end. That was comfort enough but then He went and showed me this.....

We, those of us believers on this earth, have a great cloud of witnesses already in the heavenlies waiting on us. We have a holy army just cheering us on! They are in the presence of our Commander and Captain and He is just waiting on the "go" from the Holy Throne....

I don't know about you, but it excites me to think that I am in this battle with David, Abraham, Moses, John, Peter, Paul, Mary, Ruth, Sarah, my Grandfather, my parents dear friend Steve, Mamaw Wolfe, my sweet friend Haley's mom Kathy...all those who are seated in the presence of Almighty God. One day, we will ride into battle together...the last battle....you know, the one where we watch the enemy be defeated.

So for today, in this life, this battle, I will choose to ride with my Commander. My Captain. Who will you ride with?
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Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Cover

My experience with IT was one of the times where God took a bad thing, and taught or "re"taught me something about Himself.

Stick with me here.

Clothes. I.Love.Clothes. I love fashion. I love checking out the new stuff and trying to figure out each season, what new pieces I will purchase. To me, the adventure of finding those new pieces is fun. I like the challenge of finding just the right one and finding it cheap. (I've got some incredible stories of how God shows me just the right deals, but that is for another day.)

Clothes cover. They cover a multitude of things. Mostly girls here so I can be honest. The right piece of clothing will hide all the lumps and bumps we aren't very proud of. We take great measure to find the perfect fit so that we appear longer, leaner and look our best. Put on the right type of clothing and you can cover what you don't like about yourself.

What happens when you take those clothes off? Yep, the back fat is still there. The stretch marks, they're still there too. And don't forget about the cellulite, it seems to reproduce overnight sometimes. The "uglies", the things we don't like about our bodies. You can cover them, but at the end of the day they are still there.

I know you get where I am going with this.

Sin is our spiritual "ugly". When we try to cover it up our self, we are doing nothing but throwing on a piece of clothing that is several sizes to small. We can never say enough, do enough or be enough to make right, or cover our sin. There is only One who can.

Jesus Christ. The perfect tailor. He has custom designed a piece of clothing for each of us that will more than cover any sin. The sins we have committed in the past,are currently involved in and better than that, the sin we will commit tomorrow and the next day....

The Hebrew word for cover is "kasah" and it means to cover, conceal, hide; to clothe;....to forgive;to keep secret; to hide oneself, wrap oneself up."

Our Jesus has paid for our garment of salvation and our robe of righteousness with His Holy blood, sweat and tears. After this weekend I needed to be reminded that I have been wrapped up, covered, clothed by Jesus.

While I may have tripped over an old garment (that old stronghold) I quickly saw it for what it was, and it was a hideous thing!

The Lord has had me soaking in Isaiah 61. Verse 10 says this...
" I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God.
For He has CLOTHED me with GARMENTS OF SALVATION and arrayed me in a ROBE of RIGHTEOUSNESS."


I challenge you today to trade your ill-fitting garment for the Cover that has been customized just for you.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

It Came Back

It was back this weekend. A part of me I have not heard or seen in several years. A part of me that was once a stronghold. It didn't just take over one morning. No, it was there from childhood. It just got bigger, and uglier and stronger the older I became.

Through the Bible study "Breaking Free", I called it by name and asked Almighty God to have a holy intervention. That was six years ago.

Until this past weekend I have recognized when I feel weak in this area. The minute I feel this weakness, I mentally move into battle mode. I start speaking scripture out loud, I pray through it and sometimes fast until I feel the battle has ended.

But this time. This time, I was blindsided. Totally taken off guard. I was phone line to phone line with evil. The more I answered questions and responded to comments with the Word, the uglier the other side became. It was clear to me that no good could come out of this. I felt Chad's hand on my shoulder. "Be careful" he was saying. He had been praying during this entire situation. I should have listened.

Then, the enemy pulled out the big gun and hit me in my weak spot. He went "there".

I would love to tell you I stood strong and looked for the way of escape, but I didn't. My flesh took over and I allowed the old stronghold to show itself.

It ended bad. Very bad. My heart hurts. What happened was NEVER my intention. I didn't start it, but boy did I finish it.

For two days, I have felt beat up. I feel like a failure. Worthless, and totally inadequate to minister in the area God has called me to.

This morning, I was standing in the shower talking to the Lord about this. Okay, I was crying and asking Him to forgive me (again) for allowing this stronghold to take over in this particular situation. This is what I heard.

"Stephanie. You are forgiven. Quit insulting me and my forgiveness by continuing to bring this up. Praise me for the forgiveness, and leave the enemy to me. I can handle him."


Here is just a little of Psalm 51:
"Have mercy on me O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

Cleanse me with hyssop and I will be clean; wash me and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

Retsore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me.
Oh Lord, open my lips and my mouth will declare your praise!"

And Praise is what I did.....

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Saturday, March 15, 2008

Blog Birthday and a Stormy Saturday, and Anything Else that Comes to Mind.

Warning..this is a random post. I cannot guarantee that there will be a theme or any real spiritual depth. Read at your own risk.

It's hard to believe but "Notes From the Soul" is one year old this weekend! Has it really been a year since I started this journey? It sure doesn't feel like it....

You my new "siesta's" have been God's gift to me this year. So many times, you share something on your blog that is nothing but a Word straight from the Father to me. Thank you for that. This has been one year where I needed godly women to challenge and spur me on. You have and I love you!

Can I just tell you that I have laughed until my sides hurt at some of your posts!!! I'm not kidding..my latest laugh until it hurts moment came when I read this post over at Confessions of a Pioneer Woman... this lady cracks me up. I have used the phrase "I'm going to drop my contents" several times since reading this. It just sounds better than, "I'm going to pee in my pants". Just keeping it real here girls..

And I so relate to her story in that post. My darling man, as innocent as he looks, pulled a similar prank on me shortly after we moved into this house.

I was closing our bedroom curtains one night when I turned away from the window to speak to one of the girls. When I moved on to the next window, I came face to face with something straight out of a horror movie. He was standing outside in the dark with his face as close to the window as he could get it, his eyes WIDE open. All I saw was the white of some strange man's eyes and white teeth. I screamed loud. Loud and shrill enough to make our puppy howl. Yes, I almost "dropped my contents". Needless to say, I got a back and foot massage out of that one.

By now, I'm sure you've seen that Atlanta was hit by severe storms this weekend. Thank you Lord for protecting us! We had bad thunderstorms, but our area was spared much damage. We did have some pretty large hail this afternoon.

Kind of reminded me of a time I was about 13. My dad was pastoring a church 30 minutes from our home. To get to this church, we had to go over Chickamauga Dam. My siblings were 11 and 9 at the time and the three of us were sitting in the backseat of our family car. This was pre-minivan. You know, when siblings would scream "HE'S TOUCHING ME". Well....

My precious little brother was irritating both my sister and I. To be honest, all three of us were a little too loud. We were on each other's last nerve.

It was Sunday afternoon and we were headed back for Sunday evening worship, dad was preaching on brotherly love and unity among believers. Let me tell you, we were a living sermon illustration that day.

Anyway....dad raised his voice and said something to the effect of I'm going to stand and preach on love and unity in an hour. I suggest the three of you listen to what God is going to say to you. We knew that we had better hush, or we would get a personalized sermon once we got home.

Just then, we began to cross the dam. The light rain we were driving in turned to a massive hail storm. Thunder, wind...you name it. It was scary and quickly brought the arguing in the backseat to an end. We were completely quiet. No one said a word until we pulled into the church parking lot 15 minutes later. (15 minutes of silence in our family was something to document people. We like to talk.)

I will never forget this. My dad parked, turned off the car, looked at my mom and said, "I can honestly say, we went through hail to get here tonight."

The three amigos in the backseat just burst into laughter. Then my darling little brother made some comment about the the hail starting when we crossed the dam bridge. I wish I could say I didn't laugh, but I did. I think we were all grounded and had to sit on the front pew that evening rather than with our friends. We also got LOTS of finger pointing from the pulpit......

During the storm this afternoon, we were home. Daddy is still recovering from the flu but has managed to stay up most of the day. That is a huge improvement. After some housework and laundry, I invited the girls to "Spa Mum". (Also known as mom's bathroom) We all put on our robes and enjoyed "Satin Feet" and a foot soak in the tub. I had a nature music CD playing, candles lit and we were talking each other's ears off when Chad came in to say that the storms were getting bad in our area. We thought the thunder and other storm sounds were part of our CD. WRONG! It was real life hail and rain!!! Needless to say, it brought a good laugh.

Here are some pictures for the grandparents!






Thanks for endulging my very random, blog birthday post. I feel like you are part of my family and can't wait to spend eternity with you!

Then Sings My Soul Saturday




Thanks Amy for hosting this! This is the second week for Then Sings My Soul and I can't wait to see what others share!

I was praying this week about what song to share with you today and I kept going back to all the names of God I'm meditating on. YES! I'm out of the A's, and now settled in the B's. :) The one thing that I kept hearing was Author and Finisher, Beginning and End. Over and Over again, all week.

I could think of tons of songs that talk about the names of God, but this one is probably my favorite right now. I love the Gateway Worship version and have the DVD of that, but this video.... This video made this song come to life for me.

Sunday evening, we celebrate the Lord's Supper in our church. We will also be singing this song. This is what will be playing in my mind as we sing it.

He really is my everything and I adore Him.





Thursday, March 13, 2008

Do What? Don't Do What?

Two weeks ago, I had the beginning of what I've called the mini-flu. I slept the worst of it off over 48 hours, and FINALLY feel like I'm getting back to full steam. Fortunately, the girls have stayed healthy and continue to operate at warp speed.

This week though, Chad has been fighting whatever bug I had. It started on Monday afternoon, but he still ran 2 miles. Tuesday, he felt worse and sounded horrible, but he did an hour and half karate class with the girls, and then came home and ran 3 miles on the treadmill. I KNOW!!! He's a nut.

Yesterday, he got home for work in time for me to leave for an early rehearsal. His words were, "I'm putting on my lounging clothes and resting." I thought good, he will rest! No exercise, just a good meal and lots of sleep.

I came home to find him in my leather chair covered up running a fever. I delivered the Tylenol on a silver tray and felt so sorry for him until he confessed to running a couple of miles on the treadmill. With a fever of 101.

Have I mentioned that I struggle with extending mercy?

So this morning Chadwick was able to get in to see his Doctor. After he left their office he dropped off his prescriptions and came home. He has spent the remainder of the day in bed.

After lunch, the girls and I needed to run some errands, and he needed some peace and quiet so we ran over to the drugstore to pick the drugs up.

I was thrilled, only one person in line! The girls and I waited and waited and waited. We waited through some great music to...

Remember "red red wine..." and then Janet Jackson's "nasty boys",I've probably written the wrong title. I knew every word to this song, but can't for the life of me remember the proper title. Anyway, ole Janet caused Emma to get her groove on in a way that I can not adequately describe. The girl can dance.

As Emma and Chloe danced in place, the sweet senior in front of us tried to understand why her prescriptions had gone up from $41.23 last month to $45.37 today. Bless her heart, she just couldn't understand how they could raise the price in just 30 days.

The questions and confusion went on for a good 15 minutes. At one point, this thought ran through my mind: "Pay the difference for her and get out of here!" I honestly thought I was supposed to pay it. THEN I had this very strong feeling of DO NOT DO THIS. I stood there so confused.

Do I pay it, or not..I have been telling the Lord that I want to do what He has planned for me to do, and to interrupt "my" schedule when it doesn't line up with His schedule for me. So I stood there in the neighborhood drugstore completely confused.

Finally, the Pharmacy Tech voided out this ladies ticket and asked her to step aside so they could wait on me. I was so torn. In one way I was ready to give the tech the money to cover the difference. But yet, the DO NOT DO THIS feeling was becoming stronger and stronger. I actually got a chill when I looked at this lady.

I did not pay the difference and really don't know why. Paying it would have been a good thing, a kind thing to do for someone who appeared to be in need. It was something I could do with the spare change in my purse but...

for whatever reason, the NO was so much stronger. I walked out confused and honestly still feel confused. I wanted to help her. I remember when Chad was on a HUGE amount of medication and what that monthly cost could do to a budget! Maybe that was why my heart was tender toward her and also the reason I can't get her out of my mind. So I've prayed for her. Prayed that God would supply all of her needs.

There have been no spiritual light bulb moments with this. I can tell you that the NO I heard and felt, was so compelling. I know that NO. It was the NO of my Father. I can't for the life of me fathom why He would not have me help this lady, but I know Him well enough to understand that His no's are there for a reason. I don't have to understand it today, or tomorrow or next week for that matter. He is God and that is enough!

Okay, it's 10:30 and time to check the Chadwick's temperature again....

And NO. He did not run today. I unplugged the treadmill and took the safety clip off so he couldn't!!

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

I'm still in the A's

I may never get out of the A's.....(see my "A" words post a few days ago if you're not getting this!)

For the past couple of days He's had me meditate on "Architect and Builder". When I typed in "architect/builder" in my Bible study tools one verse popped up.

Hebrews 11:10 "He (Abraham)was looking forward to the city with foundations whose architect and builder is God." I look forward to that place....that heavenly home. But for right now, these words take a little different meaning.

In my pre-mommy days I worked for a fairly large retail contractor. The corporate headquarters are in Chattanooga and our specialty was/is shopping malls. However, we also built some pretty awesome corporate facilities and a huge amount of warehouse space for nationally known clients. One of the last projects I had the honor of seeing begin was the minor league ballpark in Chattanooga..such a cool project. (Go Lookouts!) It has now been nine years since I worked there and they have grown and expanded like you wouldn't believe. After a brief glance at their website, I see they have an office in California. Not bad, not bad......

I guess this is why these two words are so precious to me. Architect and Builder. They don't exactly scream precious or tender do they? Probably not to you, but to me they speak in a different way. A way that brings tears to my eyes and wonder to my heart.

I see the process. I see an architect sitting at his desk, tools in hand and a picture in his mind's eye. I see hours upon hours of planning. Sketching each intricate detail. He so tenderly makes sure it's just right. Each part of the process has to be perfect. There is no room for error. As important as the beauty of the final product is, the details of the core of that structure are 10 times as important. He knows the exact location of each beam, where each pipe is to be placed, and each wire to be run. There is nothing about this building unknown to him.

And then it begins. The site is prepared, the debris removed and the building process begins...I see those architectural drawings come to life as each trade takes their detailed, individualized set of plans and does their part to create this new structure.

The process is hard. Things don't always go as planned. Maybe it rains for weeks on end. Maybe the steel doesn't arrive on time. Maybe a subcontractor just doesn't show up when they are supposed to. But......

After years of planning, months of the building process, endless hours of meetings and conference calls, a lot of sweat and even a few changes along the way.....it's over. Done. Completed.

You stand back and look at the finished project and can't help but say wow...look what we did.

I'm not sure I can fathom how that architect feels at that point. Can you just imagine him standing at the curb looking at the structure in front of him? This massive thing was a picture in his mind's eye just a short time ago and now... here it is.

Architect and Builder...that is my God.

He has thought out plans for me and for you. (Jer. 29:11) He has very specific details that are vital to the construction of our lives and the work He has for us to do.

Sometimes we don't follow the plans do we. We wind up adding something that is just not on the original drawings. Can I tell you something really incredible about our Architect and Builder? He can take care of those things we "add on". It may take time, and it may take a whole lot of sweat, but He can correct it. I know because He has had to correct a few things in me!

Architect and Builder. MY personal Architect and Builder... YOUR personal Architect and Builder.

I want Him to look at my life and say "Now THAT is what I saw in my mind's eye when I thought of Stephanie."

Not for us Lord, not for us, but all for YOUR GLORY.....

Saturday, March 8, 2008

Friday Night Fun

One of Emma's "gifts" from Chad at Christmas was a Build-A-Bear date. Just her and dad, a new build-a-bear and dinner out. Our 6 year old's dream come true.

Well......

Chloe was off with a friend Friday evening so Daddy and Emma invited me to tag along as the photo journalist. I agreed. Especially since they offered to pay me with dinner and Starbucks....still waiting on the Starbucks but I know they're good for it!

Here we go at the start of this process that all parents just love....

Picking the sound. Since she had picked a dog...she naturally went with the very sweet (read obnoxious) bark.



Saying a blessing and loving that little red heart.....



Stuffing the dog. She opted for a soft, cuddly, dog. One she can REALLY cuddle with.



Bath Time!!!


Emma's face says what Dad was thinking!!





My favorite shot of the night...



Thanks for letting the mad photo journalist follow you around last night!

American Idol

My dear, dear husband has issued me a challenge. Every season, we become captivated by American Idol. We LOVE good music and get very emotional about these young singers who pour their hearts into the music each week.

For the last couple of season, he has picked the top three on the week before the Top Twelve take the stage. I am not kidding. It drives me crazy. Anyway...

This year we have a friendly little "competition" going on. NOT a bet mind you, we're Baptist and we don't gamble....just wanted to clarify that in case my parents somehow get their Internet issue figured out in the next few days....

Where was I.... oh, the "competition".

We are making our list in elimination order. So I will start at 12 and hopefully after much prayer, fasting and meditation the person I have listed next to number 1 will be the next American Idol..... here goes..

12. David Cook
11. Chikezie
10. Ramiele Malubay
9. David Hernandez
8. Amanda Overmyer
7. Kristy Lee Cook
6. Jason Castro
5. Brook White
4. Syesha Mercado
3. Carly Smithson
2. Michael Johns
1. David Archuleta

My 1 and 2 picks are my favorite of the guys. I'm torn there big time. While Brook White is my favorite lady, I think she will go earlier than I'd like. Okay, so there is my idea of how the show will go.....it's documented and now we'll see how bad Chad beats me!!!

Friday, March 7, 2008

Book Meme & Book Info on the Names of God

Bethanne at Waiting for the Shout tagged me for a Book Meme. Here are the rules:
1. Pick up the nearest book of at least 123 pages.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the 5th sentence.
4. Post the next 3 sentences.
5. Tag at least 3-5 people.

The nearest book to me is "David, 90 Days with a Heart Like His" Beth Moore.

"First and foremost, David prayed. The psalm provides an unquestionable testament that David responded to his difficulty with prayer. Few of us would argue about prayer being the proper response in our crises, but we often don't perceive prayer as being the most practical response. We think, 'God can save me from my sins but not from my situation.' "
(I threw in the 4th sentence to finish out the paragraph)

Oh girls!! Can I just remind you that He is ABLE and ADEQUATE!!!! Oh YES He is.

I'm tagging......YOU! If you haven't participated, then you are it!

Several of you asked me about the "names" book I referenced in my "A" words post earlier this week. Book really isn't the proper way to define it! I guess the best way to describe it is booklet. It's entitled "He Is The I Am" by Sylvia Gunter. The idea is that you will use this list to jump start your own journal documenting what God tells you about Himself. Very cool little resource. If I could, I would give one to each of you! You can find out more about it here.

Somewhere in this house I have a book called "Praying the Names of God" and I love it. This booklet continued to challenge and stir my heart and took that concept to a deeper more personal level. Like I said, I'm still in the A list.

I sure hope this makes sense. I'm still trying to get over what I've started calling the "mini-flu" from last week. Chad just gave me some over the counter nighttime stuff so hopefully, I'll be in the land of sleep very soon!

I was just thinking

I was just thinking that if one were to be having a small bowel x-ray done, and one had been told not to eat or drink after mid-night the evening before, wouldn't one choose a sensible snack like a banana, or yogurt for their after dinner snack craving? I know how one craves salty snacks so how about crackers and peanut butter? ALL of which are stocked in one's kitchen.

Let me show you what I saw in my living room last night around 8:30.

 


Apparently the one I'm speaking of had to have a snack while he watched American Idol. He has the laptop out because he reads the USA Today Blog while he watches the show. We are very serious about this show. VERY.SERIOUS. I'm still upset that one of my favorites went home last night. Anyway....



 

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YES, you read that label correctly.

"CAJUN PARTY MIX".

The night before a small bowel x-ray.

Welcome to my world.

Thursday, March 6, 2008

"A" Words

Freedom's Call is reading through and concentrating on the names, attributes and titles of God right now. The booklet we are using has 365 of them listed in alphabetical order. I haven't made it through the A's yet.

When Jill first gave us the booklet, I immediately read the whole list A - Z and internally had a holy fit. Words like Abba Father, Counselor, Friend, Hiding Place, I AM, Joy, Mediator, Near, Peace, Protector, Song, Sustainer, Trustworthy, Victorious Warrior....Oh goodness it was enough to set me on fire! It was so exciting, comforting, and fulfilling reading all these descriptions of God. MY God. Our God.

I am using this list as I pray. Asking God to show me what it is about Himself that He wants me to focus on. Like I said, I haven't made it out of the A's yet.

There are 25 "A" words. All of which speak something to me personally, but there are two that continue to stand out in my life right now.

First there is ABLE. He is Able. My God is Able to handle whatever happens today. He is Able to heal what's broken or ill. He is Able to restore what seems to be past the point of restoration. He is Able. Not much else needs to be said does it?! ABLE. Four letters that come together to form one word that so beautifully describes our God.

Second is ADEQUACY. I struggle with feeling like I am not adequate enough to do the things God has called me to. I find myself thinking, "How in the world can I homeschool these girls?" or "I can't lead these women in worship, I just don't have what it takes..." "I can't...." How I dislike those words. "I" can't do a thing in my own strength, but I KNOW that I CAN do all things because God gives me strength. He is ADEQUATE, more than adequate to handle everything that He calls me to. He's showing me that when He calls me to something, He will give me just what I need for that calling. Why? Because He can. My worth, my adequacy is found in HIM. I will not find it in a title or a position and certainly not in public opinion, but in Him.

He is ABLE to be my ADEQUACY in all things.

Monday, March 3, 2008

Look what I won!!!




Last Monday, I opened up my e-mail to find a message from one of Vicki Courtney's wonderful staff members Shawna. She was congratulating me! I had won a copy of Vicki's new book, "Logged on and Tuned Out".

Let me tell you, I started this on Saturday while I was confined to the sofa recovering from whatever fever bringing, achy body illness I had! This book is fascinating. I kept saying to my husband, "Listen to this...." He finally said, "How about you finish the book and then I read it for myself." I know full well, that I will be reading this one from cover to cover time and time again. It's packed full of information, but yet in true Courtney style, it's an easy read. Especially for those of us who aren't "techie". :)

I am a huge fan of Courtney's book "Your Girl" and suggest it often to mother's of girls. You can check her out at www.virtuousreality.com or better yet, check out Vicki's blog here. She is so funny and makes you feel right at home.

I plan on adding this book to my "go to" list of books on parenting. Thanks Vicki and Shawna for getting this book out to me so fast! You girls do an awesome work there and I'm a better mommy for it.

On another note, I'll be reading blogs this week, but probably not posting much. I'll be focusing on family this week! So come the weekend, you'll be seeing lots of pictures and hopefully hearing some funny stories from our week together.


Have a wonderful week sweet Siesta's!