Waiting

I am sitting in the hospital waiting room. Angela is having surgery, and I am waiting!
This hysterectomy has been a long time coming. She is so anxious to have this done.
I am anxious for it to be over.
I am not worried about it turning out ok.
I am just anxious for her to be done.
The doctor seems really good. He told me he would take good care of her.
He came in today to do this surgery. He isn't even supposed to work today.
He is only doing HER surgery today.
It's a good time to sit here an count my blessings.
I am thankful for Angela.
Christmas Eve is tomorrow. I am mostly ready.
I will be going home tonight to finish up my Christmas stuff.
Angela has to stay overnight.
I will miss her at home. Luckily, Cali is going to be there to keep me company!

Tuesday

Today is a Tuesday....but it is a Friday to me. It's the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, and it's the end of the work week for me.
My Aunty Joyce is in town from Colorado. She has never been to our house. I will try to invite her to come over during this time. I miss her, and would love to spend some time with her.

Moving On

A new day....a new thought!
Feeling blessed and loved today!
I tend to forget, even though I shouldn't, that I am truly loved by many!
Some people may have a hard time showing love to me for all the reasons that they have.
However, those who CAN show their love do so in amazing and abundant ways.
I am truly blessed!!!!

How to Love

I am actually filled with extreme hatred right now.
I actually hate a person!
I know it's not right...but I can't seem to help it.
No foresight.....absolutely no thought about long term remifications.
Unfair practices.
I actually am seething with hatred.
It's not the right way to think.
I can only change what I have control over.

To Rake or Not to Rake

After a busy morning, I have been dreading the AWFUL task on this FIRST beautiful weekend day in a month.

To rake or not, that is the question
So, today, as I gaze out at the deep carpet of leaves on my lawn, I am turning to some experts to help me decide if my Saturday will be spent bent over and blistered.

Bruce Butterfield, research director for the National Gardening Association says many people rake because they believe a heavy covering of leaves could kill their lawn in the fall if it is still growing. But he said most lawns are going dormant in the fall anyway as temperatures drop and daylight fades, so that is not a big issue. He said he many leaves also tend to decompose by the spring.

Still, to avoid a too-heavy, wet coat of leaves he doesn’t rake: He mows. At the very time the leaves are super crunchy he runs the mower until they become about the size of a quarter. That way, Butterfield says, the leaves can stay on the ground and decompose more quickly to allow nutrients to seep into the soil.

Butterfield says he sees suburbanites rake often – and thinks it’s good for them to get the exercise,

but “I like to mimic what I see happens in forest and nature. The landfills don’t want the leaves, you can’t burn them anymore and you create so much work for yourself when you can deal with them in place.”

Yet others say raking leaves really depends on your goals. Some people like the look of only grass on their lawn. Some say it’s their experience a heavy mat of leaves will create bare patches if sunlight can’t get through by spring. And others, are well, just lazy: These are the people who say they are going to let Mother Nature take care of the lawn.


“If you are trying to maintain a lawn, the leaves can mat up and basically cover it and could (kill off portions)” said John O’Keefe, Fisher Museum museum coordinator for Harvard Forest in Petersham. “On the other hand, if you are not trying to maintain a lawn but a yard, the leaves provide nutrients.”

It also can depend on the type of leaves. Oak and beech tree leaves take far longer to decompose than maples, ash and birch leaves. And if it’s not grass you are worried about but a garden, leaves may provide a perfect warm blanket until spring.

Hmm, I don’t have an answer yet. But I’m leaning toward O’Keefe’s idea about redefining my lawn as a yard.

God put the leaves there. Maybe I’ll just wait until He takes them away.

(not all this is my own words...cut and pasted from Beth Daley from the Globe)

A New Day

It's a new day.
I am not hating my job as much.
I am feeling better about what I am doing.
I see a difference in the kids.
It's fun to see!!
I am still struggling with a few....but that might not change.
I am meeting some staff....have begun to eat with the English department.
I won't go so far as to say I enjoy my job, because I don't.
However, I might one day!
I am at least open to that.

Despair

I am beginning to feel despair about my new job.
When I talk about it, I realize that I am sad about my placement.
Don't get me wrong, there are many classes that I love teaching, etc.
BUT...my one class that is so horrible is killing me.
Besides that, I feel like I am dying of loneliness and isolation.
I do so well when I am part of something great, where collaboration is central, and where I am surrounded by friends. Currently none of those things are happening.
I am sure this is a great place to work, but I am just so isolated.
I need to change something, but don't know what or how.
I went out last night for dinner with a group of my dear friends. We all used to work together until the district reorganized. Now they are mostly together, spread out between two schools, and I am here at the high school.
I hear their stories of work, people, adventures, gossips.....and I am no longer part of any of it.
I left last night feeling sad and lonely....after being surrounded by my friends.
I wish I knew what to change....because I would change it.
I wrote an email last night to a few administrators which was fairly rude and wenchy.....but I am so frustrated, that I don't care how they take it. I am used to being close to my administrators. I am used to them hearing my requests, and working to help me figure it out. Not so the case here.
Maybe I will get fired from here...and I can go back to the middle school and pick up where I left off.
I need something to change.....I just wish I knew how to make it happen!

A Day at Brusnwick Bowl

Last month I took the kids to the arcade on a rainy day!
We had quite a few chuckles.

Words to Lift Me Up

This morning as I was driving to the gym, I was feeling a bit down, and wondering when this sadness would leave me. I was listening to The Refuge (my favorite radio station), and the Lord gave me two songs this morning to comfort me.
Music is my worship language, and the Lord speaks to me so often through music.
The first son was Big Enough by Ayiesha Woods. I've heard the song a zillion times, but the words were for my heart this morning.

Lyrics to Big Enough :
You turned water into wine - how extraordinary
Gave sight to the blind - and still I carry
My own load when you told me
To take your yoke ‘cause yours is easy

And I don't wanna box you in
You've been doing big things since the world began
Sometimes I just don't wanna believe
That you're big enough - but you're big enough yeah!
But you're big enough Jesus

You turned darkness into light - keep my lamp burning
And you are my everything
There's no denying, your love is so amazing
And even though my problems seem typical
Nothing for you is ever too difficult
You never have reservations - love without limitations

Then, for some reason, the Refuge played Selah, which is kinda of OLD school for this radio station. But as I was listening, and singing, I realized the words were for me.


You Raise Me Up by Selah
When I am down, and oh my soul, so weary.
When troubles come, and my heart burdened be.
Then I am still and wait here in the silence.
Until You come and sit awhile with me.

You raise me up so I can stand on mountains.
You raise me up to walk on stormy seas.
I am strong when I am on your shoulders.
You raise me up to more than I can be.

The Lord is so good to me.

My Verse for Today

Proverbs 3:5-6 (New International Version)

⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;

⁶ in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will direct your paths.

Saddness

I was doing better....I swear I was.
Lifest was so rejuvenating for me.
Another day.....sadness.
I did nothing to deserve this
but need to stop asking
why me?
resilience is what I need
what I am praying for
Jesus.....he does answer prayers
so hard to see the reasoning behind this
need to trust in his wisdom
quit thinking about my hurt

My Challenge

When I was at Lifest last weekend, one speaker, Bob Lenz talked about what was getting in the way of my relationship with God. Through the course of the talk, I realized that it was my pain getting in the way. I had allowed this situation with my children to take me over. I had gotten stuck in my own little pity party. This situation is something that God has completely under control. I need to trust him. He wants what's best for all of us. I find that I need to use that overused saying: Let Go and Let God! It is over used, but in my situation it's 100% true. I am but an empty shell, here for a greater purpose than to get so wrapped up in my own hurts. This earth is just a temporary situation.....my hope comes in eternal life. The Lord can handle my pain, my disappointments. He can even turn things around. I just need to trust in HIM!!!

By Your Side by Tenth Avenue North

Here is the song....

By Your Side

Last night at 11:30 I saw 10th Avenue North. This was a group of young men singing for the glory of God. Their words were powerful. I was waiting for them to sing By Your Side. As they did, I was struck by the words of this song. I know this song and love it, but when I was watching them sing it, the words really hit me. See the lyrics:


Why are you striving these days
Why are you trying to earn grace
Why are you crying
Let me lift up your face
Just don't turn away

Why are you looking for love
Why are you still searching as if I'm not enough
To where will you go child
Tell me where will you run
To where will you run

And I'll be by your side
Wherever you fall
In the dead of night
Whenever you call
And please don't fight
These hands that are holding you
My hands are holding you

Look at these hands and my side
They swallowed the grave on that night
When I drank the world's sin
So I could carry you in
And give you life
I want to give you life

(Chorus 2x)

Cause I, I love you
I want you to know
That I, I love you
I'll never let you go

Paris: 'Daddy Has Been the Best Father'

This is heartbreaking!!

Michael Jackson Tribute Montage

Today is the day of the memorial service for Michael Jackson. It's a day of mourning, as well as celebration!
I will miss you MJ!

Words of a Dying Boy

A student in Farmington has just decided to stop his chemotherapy and radiation due to the fact that after many, many years of fighting this disease of cancer, he is not going to win. On his Caring Bridge website, he wrote these words yesterday. This young man is 16.



Through dying eyes, its a new world i see.

The colors are so much brighter.
The little things grow bigger day by day
And burdens grow even lighter.

As times grow shorter, you'd think i'd grow sadder
But it makes me cherish everything more.
And with each passing day, its easier to say
Live this one like never before.

And as sadness looms, i grow in faith.
As i trust in God for safety
this situation is our of my hands.
And i know that he will guide me

At a passing glance, there's nothing to me.
but there's more than meets the eye.
I see the world in a much different view
Than the average person passing by

And i wish everyone could see
the world through the eye of a dying man
because maybe, just maybe
people would live and see the world like i can.

Rosie Writes....

what still remains

06.27.09 at 12:13 am in in the news, fame, love

after i heard he died
we went on the boat
to watch the sunset
I felt numb

nothing - empty
his life the Hollywood dream
his death it's bitter truths
lonely

the light once flowed thru him
directly from the source
a shining stream poured out of him
never ending

few can even imagine the high of that

and the confusion it must bring
when u somehow become
what u saw in the others
who came before u

the ones who made u dream of dancing
revered him
fred astaire phoned
the boy from gary indiana

the boy who had the beauty beaten out of him
by the man who gave him life
then put him to work at 5
childhood lost

with no remember when - 2 get back 2

money cant buy it
publicists can deny it
but u must live it
ur truth

so what exactly do we mourn
the man
the music
the myth

we all saw him suffer
as his face fell in on itself
friends and family unable to reach in
he unable to reach out

many made millions
looking the other way
as he invited young boys to his bed
he turned into the thing he loathed

the man in the mirror
had no idea how to change his ways

"i've lived my life the lonely
a soul that cries of shame
with handicapped emotions
save me now from what still remains"

so now the crowds gather
endless tributes
the kind of love and adoration he seemed to crave
and he is not here to feel any of it

breaks my heart in every way
for his children
for the child he was
for the dreams he tried to live up to

i turned the boat around
looking at my 2 young children
happy with the wind in their hair
salty sea spray splashing their tiny faces

a storm was moving in
there thru the clouds
a beautiful rainbow appeared
and finally i cried

compassion
forgiveness
the only way thru is thru
start with u

I Can't Stop

I am a victim of the press coverage of Michael Jackson's death. The media blitz is constant, and I can't get enough. He was one of my favorite performers.
Yesterday Lisa Marie Presley wrote a long entry on her blog:

Friday, June 26, 2009 He Knew

Years ago Michael and I were having a deep conversation about life in general. I can't recall the exact subject matter but he may have been questioning me about the circumstances of my Fathers Death. At some point he paused, he stared at me very intensely and he stated with an almost calm certainty, "I am afraid that I am going to end up like him, the way he did." I promptly tried to deter him from the idea, at which point he just shrugged his shoulders and nodded almost matter of fact as if to let me know, he knew what he knew and that was kind of that. 14 years later I am sitting here watching on the news an ambulance leaves the driveway of his home, the big gates, the crowds outside the gates, the coverage, the crowds outside the hospital, the Cause of death and what may have led up to it and the memory of this conversation hit me, as did the unstoppable tears. A predicted ending by him, by loved ones and by me, but what I didn't predict was how much it was going to hurt when it finally happened. The person I failed to help is being transferred right now to the LA County Coroners office for his Autopsy. All of my indifference and detachment that I worked so hard to achieve over the years has just gone into the bowels of hell and right now I am gutted. I am going to say now what I have never said before because I want the truth out there for once. Our relationship was not "a sham" as is being reported in the press. It was an unusual relationship yes, where two unusual people who did not live or know a "Normal life" found a connection, perhaps with some suspect timing on his part. Nonetheless, I do believe he loved me as much as he could love anyone and I loved him very much. I wanted to "save him" I wanted to save him from the inevitable which is what has just happened. His family and his loved ones also wanted to save him from this as well but didn't know how and this was 14 years ago. We all worried that this would be the outcome then. At that time, In trying to save him, I almost lost myself. He was an incredibly dynamic force and power that was not to be underestimated. When he used it for something good, It was the best and when he used it for something bad, It was really, REALLY bad. Mediocrity was not a concept that would even for a second enter Michael Jackson's being or actions. I became very ill and emotionally/ spiritually exhausted in my quest to save him from certain self-destructive behavior and from the awful vampires and leeches he would always manage to magnetize around him. I was in over my head while trying. I had my children to care for, I had to make a decision. The hardest decision I have ever had to make, which was to walk away and let his fate have him, even though I desperately loved him and tried to stop or reverse it somehow. After the Divorce, I spent a few years obsessing about him and what I could have done different, in regret. Then I spent some angry years at the whole situation. At some point, I truly became Indifferent, until now. As I sit here overwhelmed with sadness, reflection and confusion at what was my biggest failure to date, watching on the news almost play by play The exact Scenario I saw happen on August 16th, 1977 happening again right now with Michael (A sight I never wanted to see again) just as he predicted, I am truly, truly gutted. Any ill experience or words I have felt towards him in the past has just died inside of me along with him. He was an amazing person and I am lucky to have gotten as close to him as I did and to have had the many experiences and years that we had together. I desperately hope that he can be relieved from his pain, pressure and turmoil now. He deserves to be free from all of that and I hope he is in a better place or will be. I also hope that anyone else who feels they have failed to help him can be set free because he hopefully finally is. The World is in shock but somehow he knew exactly how his fate would be played out some day more than anyone else knew, and he was right. I really needed to say this right now, thanks for listening. ~LMP

Michael Jackson

Today was a rough day in Hollywood.
Farrah Fawcett died this morning. She lost her long battle with cancer. She was 62.




Then tonight we find out that the King of Pop has died. This is so shocking that I cannot quite wrap my mind around it. I loved this man....and when I was in high school, I had posters of him up in my dorm room at Hillcrest. I know he was a bizarre individual....but the talent was unquestionable.
Chloe and Isaiah were upset that we made them stop playing video games so we could watch the coverage.
We told them that one day they would want to remember where they were when they heard that Michael Jackson had died.
He was truly iconic. Part of me is glad that he is out of his inner pain.


Lots of sadness tonight as we watched news accounts and interviews of both Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett's lives and death.



This was the poster I had in my room

Unknown

The unknown
It's all around me
it engulfs me
How to get out of this;
How to move forward

Where is justice?
Where is my peace?

Days drag on and on
There must be a better way

Luke at Soccer

Luke had a soccer tournament this past weekend.
The weather was horrible, but their team played so well.
They lost in the championship game to Dakota Rev.
Great job boys!!
I got to talk to Luke too, even if it was just for a few minutes!

Kind Words

Words my mother sent me:

God will make a way, when there seems to be no way,

He works in ways we cannot see, He will make a way for me,

He will be my guide, hold me closely to His side,

In love and strength for each new day, He will make a way.

Hard Times

My children decided that they would rather live with their dad, so they recently moved out.
I have no idea who I am if I am not a mom...especially in the summer.
This is still too fresh to write about logically.
More to come

"Commitment without courage lacks strength.
Courage without commitment lacks staying power.
Overcomers lack neither"
David Jeremiah

I'm going to need COURAGE!!!

Difficult times require more reliance on the Lord!!!

9 year old guitar prodigy YUTO MIYAZAWA performs Ozzy Osbourne's Crazy Train on Ellen Degeneres

Bruce Springsteen Concert 5 11 09 047

SWEET!!

1 Corinthians 13:4-6

⁴Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.


THIS IS UNCONDITIONAL LOVE!!!

Religions Views

I took this off a friends Facebooik Page:

Andrew Rogness wrote this in his CaringBridge journal on 4/30/09:

"I believe any religious group has elements of [old order Amish control] - that our care of doctrine can often ride herd on our care of people's right to question and explore the many wonderful queries that faith intrinsically entails. In this day of global interconnectedness and global challenges, we need more grace and openness to others' wisdom, while at the same time finding inspiration within our own tradition. I am thankful for a tradition that allows that and is not suspect of differing beliefs, pieties and mores."

Amen to that.

Seth Skydiving

Here is Seth skydiving!

I Just Found This Online

Who are you/how did you come to AIM/what do you do now? Seth Simonson from Adventures In Missions on Vimeo.

Spring has Sprung

A trip to the Arboretum and a camera:

Square Butts Burger King Music Video with SpongeBob Square Pants

What do you think?
Appropriate or Inapporopriate?

What We Receive: We are SO BLESSED!!!

Ephesians 1:3-24 (New International Version)

Spiritual Blessings in Christ

³Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. ⁴For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love ⁵he^a]">[a] predestined us to be adopted as his sons(DAUGHTERS) through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— ⁶to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. ⁷In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace ⁸that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. ⁹And he^b]">[b] made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, ¹⁰to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.

¹¹In him we were also chosen,^c]">[c] having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, ¹²in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. ¹³And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁴who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory.

Thanksgiving and Prayer

¹⁵For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, ¹⁶I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. ¹⁷I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit^d]">[d] of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. ¹⁸I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, ²⁰which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, ²¹far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. ²²And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, ²³which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

This Verse Spoke to Me Today

2 Corinthians 3:18 (New International Version)

¹⁸And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect^a]">[a] the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Erickson Egg Hunt

Once in a Lifetime Picture

Get a load of this picture.
I TOTALLY took this picture on vacation.
How amazing is this?

Dunkin Donuts

Another gorgeous day in Florida.
We just went and had a Dunkin Donuts coffee...about the best coffee anywhere...although
we DID struggle about how to order it the way we liked it.
Fortunately, there was a sign to tell us how to order.

We're Here

It's pretty windy today...but it's still 83.
We took a really nice long walk on the beach this morning.
We are lilly white...but hoping for a tan before we come home.

Writers Group

I had my first writing group at the Heritage Library tonight!
What a thrill. I didn't have the guts to share tonight....but I will work up to it.
I don't have ONE MINUTE to do this...but I cannot NOT DO IT!!
I have to do this!

Pain

Watching a friend go through extreme pain is an excruciating thing to watch.
I wish I could take the pain away.
It's so sad how we all, at some point in time, hurt someone we love.
Some people hurt another person deeper than you can imagine.
I am one of those people. I have hurt another so deeply, and can truly see how deeply now.
Now that I am further away from it.
Time heals all wounds they say!
I wish I could take the pain away.....

Verizon Hockey Fan Dad

Not sure why...but this commercial makes me laugh out loud!

Ridiculous

Sometimes it seems that things which are SO OBVIOUS to me it should be obvious to others.

Why Spelling Matters

Meeting with Parents

I survived my first night of conferences. My conferences went well...and I only have one more day of conferences left. These days take a lot out of me.
Glad to be home now.
Back to work in a few hours.

Ouch

I'm in a part of my story that is now beginning to be painful to write.
I wasn't prepared to feel these things.
I knew it would be cathartic to write this book, but I wasn't ready to start feeling things just yet.
This book might just turn out to be something that heals at the same time!

Like Sour Cream

I keep checking books out of the library.
There are so many amazing books that I want to read.
I go once or twice a week to the library and pick up the books that have come for me.
HOWEVER...I don't have time to read them.
I used to have a thing about buying sour cream. I would buy sour cream each week from the milk man. When it came time to clean the fridge there would be 5 to 8 containers of sour cream that had expired. I loved the idea of having sour cream in my house, just in case.
This is what books are like for me.
I WANT to read these books, and just in case I find a minute; I want to have a book on hand.
However, like Angela just told me, books are sour cream for me right now.
It's a bummer!
BUT...for right now I have too many professional books to read. If I have any spare time, I need to be writing. No time to read for pleasure.
Books are my sour cream!

just thinking

I know I have too much going on right now.
I have so much going on at work. I am involved in many committees, and very excited at the possibilities ahead of me in my career.
I am also very overwhelmed in my schooling right now. I absolutely LOVE going to school and learning new things. This is why I keep going back. I am working on my Reading Specialist License, and have only 2 classes left. I should be done in early summer.
I am also becoming very passionate about my writing. Any time I can find a few minutes, I pull out my notebook and my pen and get to work on that.
I would really just like to not work and sit home and do this.
I was telling Angela it would be fantastic if we went away for a weekend to a cabin or something, and just wrote. Unfortunately we can't go to my parent's cabin, so that leaves us at home. ( I don't want to spend money to get away to write.)
Maybe when we are in Florida I can get some writing done.
The task keeps getting bigger and bigger the further I get into it.
I am so energized by this task, and depleted at the same time.
I love the fact that I have this dream, it's out there, it's something I can reach for....and have the ability to make this dream come true...in some way!

Writing

I wrote for hours yesterday. I was enjoying the part in the story where I was.
AND...the best part....is that Angela picked up a pen yesterday and wrote some of the most beautiful stuff. She TRULY has a gift for writing...what a gift.
I am wishing I would have written this stuff down when it was fresher in my mind.
I remember things, but I am having to work a bit harder, and am probing Angela's mind to help me remember things.
I am so excited about this book.
I have joined a writer's group which will meet once a month at the local library. The group is just beginning next month, and I feel very blessed to be working on our book at this time!

Writing My Book

I started writing my book last weekend.
I started it several years ago, and got so far as a Prologue and the first chapter.
Last weekend I went to a Writing Workshop seminar at the library.
It was just the push I needed.
My story, while very complex at times, is worth writing down. Even if it never goes anywhere....
I will have written it all down as a way of remembering it as well as a way of healing.

Isaiah's Birthday

Today is Isaiah's 15th birthday!
We are going to Grand Slam at 9 PM!
Hope I can stay awake!

HD/DVR

We recently upgraded our cable.
In fact, we got rid of cable, and now have Direct TV.
We now have a dish on the side of our house, and HD is a new way of looking at our screen. Don't even get me STARTED on the DVR.
I have now changed the way I watch television.
It is AMAZING!

Jennifer Hudson singing National Anthem @ 43rd Super Bowl BMF

How amazing was this?
There were many damp eyes at our house after this was over.
What a voice.
Honesly....I think it was better than Whitney!!
WOW!!!

Super Bowl Sunday

Hoping it will be a good game!
I have to say I am rooting for the Arizona Cardinals!
We are having a bunch of the neighbors over for a big pot of chili, and many other fun treats!
Jennifer and Terry are coming over too, and Ryan and Isaiah will be here too!!
I hope it's a fun time!

Living Differently

Every day I wake up early to have my quiet time with the Lord. I am reading through the Bible in a year. I have one of those Bible in a Year things. This is now my third year with it...and I have been more diligent since Thanksgiving break...when I began again to make a new habit.
Each morning I spend time in reading, reflecting and prayer. Each day my prayer is to be somehow different...look a little less like the world to my friends and family. It is an earnest prayer...and each day I fall flat. It is often times so discouraging. Yet, I don't want to be one of those people who live life looking backwards, wishing I would have always done it differently.
After work yesterday, I went out to Happy Hour with a bunch of folks from work. On the way there I prayed for common sense, a quiet spirit, and NOT LOOSE LIPS!
You know how it went....
I was ok at first...but after an hour...the real me comes out....and I am suddenly engaging in all of the conversations. I am laughing at the coarse jokes. I am speaking things that do not bring joy to the Lord!
Each day is a new day...I am covered by His grace!
He gives me strength to begin each new day with renewed strength and purpose to try it again!

I love this photo

Life Vs. Death

These are NOT MY WORDS!!! These come from Seth Barnes
These are thoughts I want to save, remember and SHARE!!!
Think about the things in your life that bring life:

• encouragement

• singing

• poetry

• flowers

• friends

• smiles

• vacations

• forgiveness

• laughter

We need more life and less death. Legalism and legalists bring death. They major on the minors, living in the old covenant of right and wrong when Jesus came to introduce a new covenant focused on life. It's not about right & wrong but life & death. We need to frame our issues differently.

The New Testament majors on life, but even in the Old Testament, God made his intentions clear. He said, "I am offering you life or death, blessing or curse. Choose life, then, so that you and your descendants may live." (Deut. 30:19).

Abundant life is there for us, but we must choose it. Every new day that dawns we get to make that choice. In every conversation and relationship, there is an internal dialogue we have with ourselves. When we judge others, for example, we veer away from life.

"Does this bring life or death?" is a much better question to ask than, "Is this right or wrong?" Many young people seem to get hung up on technicalities, asking in essence, "Can I get away with this?" The question of life and death is about the big picture. It's about things of ultimate importance.

Nouwen says, "Life and death are always before us. In our imaginations, our thoughts, our words, our gestures, our actions... even in our nonactions. This choice for life starts in a deep interior place. Underneath every life-affirming behavior I can still harbor death-thoughts and death-feelings. The most important question is not 'Do I kill?' but ‘Do I carry a blessing in my heart or a curse?'"

Do you put a smile in peoples' hearts when they see you? Are you a life giver? If you're not sure, it's a good day to choose life.

CitizenLink from Dr. James Dobson

Tell me...is anybody else just extremely SICK of Dobson and his fear mongering way of speaking to people?
This is his newest bit of information:

1-21-09

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Obama Reveals the 'Change' He Will Bring

by Jennifer Mesko, editor

' This is the most bold and comprehensive pro-homosexual, abortion-friendly administration agenda we've ever seen.'

President Barack Obama's radical agenda is prompting family advocates to steel themselves for a four-year struggle.

At stake: the definition of marriage and family, the sanctity of human life and many other issues. It's all laid out at WhiteHouse.gov.

"President Obama is no friend of family values, and that is made perfectly clear on the White House Web site," said Ashley Horne, federal policy analyst at Focus on the Family Action. "This is the most bold and comprehensive pro-homosexual, abortion-friendly administration agenda we've ever seen. And this is no time for Christians to remain silent."

On marriage

WhiteHouse.gov: "President Obama supports full civil unions that give same-sex couples legal rights and privileges equal to those of married couples. Obama also believes we need to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act." (The Defense of Marriage Act is the federal government's definition of marriage as between one man and one woman.)

Focus on the Family: Four key points.

On abortion

WhiteHouse.gov: "He has been a consistent champion of reproductive choice and will make preserving women's rights under Roe v. Wade a priority in his Administration."

Focus on the Family: Every human life has inherent value and should be protected, from fertilization to natural death.

On destructive embryonic stem-cell research

WhiteHouse.gov: "Obama is a co-sponsor of the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007, which will allow research of human embryonic stem cells derived from embryos."

Focus on the Family: Supports and encourages stem-cell research using non-embryonic sources of stem cells, including umbilical cord blood, placenta, bone marrow and various adult tissues. No human lives are destroyed in harvesting stem cells from these sources. Tax dollars should not be used to encourage the destruction of living human embryos for research .

On special rights for homosexual employees

WhiteHouse.gov: "President Obama supports the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and believes that our anti-discrimination employment laws should be expanded to include sexual orientation and gender identity."

Focus on the Family: The government should not tell employers whom they can hire based on a category of protection that is not based on an immutable characteristic, but on a changeable sexual attraction, behavior or identity. The goal of laws like this is to silence religious free speech.

On a new class of crimes based on the victim's sexual orientation

WhiteHouse.gov: "President Obama and Vice President Biden will strengthen federal hate crimes legislation (and) expand hate crimes protection."

Focus on the Family: Everyone should receive equal protection under the law. Hate-crime laws threaten the free-speech rights of people of faith who speak out on the issue of homosexuality. These laws also make it possible that pastors could be prosecuted for preaching against homosexuality, as they have been in other countries.

On same-sex adoption

WhiteHouse.gov: "President Obama believes that we must ensure adoption rights for all couples and individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation."

Focus on the Family: Children deserve the best chance to have both a mother and a father. Same-sex adoption increases the likelihood that a child will be denied a mom or a dad.

On homosexuals in the military

WhiteHouse.gov: "President Obama agrees we need to repeal the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy."

Focus on the Family: Federal law states that homosexuality is incompatible with military service. Meanwhile, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is a practice put in place during the Clinton administration prohibiting the military from asking about sexual orientation. The Department of Defense must be allowed to set its own requirements for military service.

(NOTE: Referral to Web sites not produced by Focus on the Family is for informational purposes only and does not necessarily constitute an endorsement of the sites' content.)

What a Day

What an amazing day yeseterday was!

I was moved and overjoyed by all the events.

Watching my students watch history unfolding Talking to my friends online during the event

Knowing that change is coming

AMAZING!

The President

Today is a momentous day!
It's Inauguration Day 2009!
We get to watch Barack Omaba be sworn in to be our 44th President.
I plan on watching this in my classroom today....and I have prepared my students for the historical significance of this event.
The road ahead for Obama/Biden is LONG! There is SO MUCH WORK TO BE DONE!!
BUT...today is about the significance of the moment.
I am pumped to be a part of it.
I will remember this day.

It's not too late

Today in church I was struck by what my real purpose on earth is.Why am I here?
I've been doing life like this is all there is... my stuff, my plans, my enjoyment.
I've lost sight of the bigger picture... my purpose as it relates to eternity.
What am I doing here that is going to LAST for beyond my lifetime?

It's the love that Jesus has for me that I should pour out on my friends, my family, my neighbors... so that maybe they will see Him.
It's the blessings He's given me that I should share with all those in need... so that maybe they will feel Him.
It's the courageous spiritual conversations that I should instigate... so that maybe they will know Him.
It really isn't about me... this gift of life... it's about passing it on.

the best part of Friends

COOL VIDEO

King of Queens - Pass the Katzup

Have I mentioned that Kevin James is HILAROUS???

Jillian Michaels

I want to go to Hollywood Video today and pick up Jillian Michaels Wii game to use with our Wii Fit!

We're All In This Together - Teaser 2008

My goal...making a difference in the world!!!
2009 is my year to change myself...
JUSTICE!!!
What will it cost ME to make a difference?