Perspective.

Last Thursday we found ourselves the recipients of another snow storm. First, it started raining about 3:00 in the morning, and then about 8:30 the rain turned to snow. It was so beautiful. We're not used to having this much snow around here. :)



By the time it started snowing, because of the rain that came first, there was already a thick layer of ice underneath the snow.


The weight of the ice caused lots of broken trees and lots of downed power lines.




Late yesterday afternoon, the clouds finally receded and the sun peeked out for just a little while before night fell. This morning we awoke to a brilliantly white, beautiful, sparkling world.



Jacob said to me, "Mama, look how sparkly the snow is." And we talked about how the Bible says God will wash our sins to be as white as snow. It had never dawned on me before - in regard to that scripture - how sparkly snow is. Not just white, but glistening like diamonds. Isn't that amazing? From sinful to sparkly. :)


I had several errands to run this morning, and as I drove around town I was stunned by the beauty of the sun shining on the ice-covered trees. It was...well...stunning! Breathtaking. I almost ran into the curb a few times because I was so enthralled by the magnificence of it. I just wanted to stare and soak in every single second of it.



After I had finished a couple of errands, I suddenly noticed that the trees weren't glistening and shining the way they had been before. I thought, "Oh, Lord, all the ice is melted already? I'm not ready for it to go away...it was so beautiful!" I kept driving, looking at the trees...no more shining...and I was sad.

Then I noticed that there was still snow in the trees. What? Why would the ice be melting and the snow not be? Suddenly it dawned on me...the a-ha moment. I looked in my rear-view mirror, and there is was - the brilliant, shining, beautiful scene I thought had disappeared.



I realized I was on the wrong side of the sun. From this vantage point, the light wasn't reflecting off the ice, causing the brilliant display I had seen before. But when I was on the right side of the sun, there it was. Beautiful, shining, glistening.

It all depended on my perspective.

And it made me think....how often is my view of life skewed by my perspective? When things in life are looking drab, dreary, joyless....maybe I'm on the wrong side of the Son.

Now, I'm not saying I think we can get on Jesus' "bad side", but I do think a lot of times my view of life gets out of whack because I'm not positioning myself in a place to be able to see life through His brilliance and light and love.

I definitely took it as food for thought. For those times when life seems gray and heavy, I may need a change in perspective....maybe I need to move closer to the Son and ask Him to shine the light of His Spirit into my life.

God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. 1 John 1:5

Big Day (or 2) for Kloe

About two weeks before Christmas, Kloe decided that she was finally ready to get her ears pierced (after innumerable times of bombarding me with "Mom, WHY didn't you have my ears pierced when I was first born?!")

Me: Are you sure, Kloe?

Kloe: Yep.

Me: You know it hurts, right? (I always try to be honest with my kids.)

Kloe: I know, and I'm sure.

She counted down the days until Saturday and was SO excited all day and couldn't wait! As we ran a few errands that morning before going to the mall, she was SO excited! As we were walking through the mall toward the ear-piercing place she was SO excited! As she picked out which earrings she wanted, she was SO excited! She chose some really cute little flowers made out of multi-colored crystals....and she was SO excited!

And then she saw The Chair. And then she was not so excited.

We reassured her that it would be ok and that it would only hurt for a second, but that she didn't have to go through with it if she didn't want to. But no, she was determined.

You can see the anxiety on her face as the lady cleaned her ears with antiseptic....and then marked them with purple dots.



The lady said that she could get someone else to help her, and they could do both ears at once. We thought that would be a good idea. :)

When she went to go get the other person, Kloe really started to get anxious.



I started to get a knot in my own stomach just watching her....I felt so bad for her when they started placing the piercing guns. She was so scared!



But then there was a click....and it was over.

Kloe flinched the tiniest little bit and then asked, "That's it? It's over? My ears are pierced?!" So cute! :)



And then she was SO excited again! She looked so big and so happy and so beautiful.

And then....

The countdown began again....waiting the seeminly endless six weeks for her ears to heal so that she could change her earrings. We counted down the weeks, marking the days off the calendar, and at last the big day arrived - last Saturday. And here they are...the new earrings!

Tiny Talk Tuesday

From Jacob.

In the middle of dinner.

Out of the blue.

"Mom, I can lick my armpit."

For more Tiny Talk Tuesday posts, visit Mary at Not Before 7.

Yay! It's here!

Hmmmm, what could this really big, fun box be that I found waiting by my front door?


Ooooo, I love getting packages! :) And this one is so FUN!


What is a Scrap-n-Stow, you ask? Oh, you're going to be jealous, yes you are!

Check this out! {but please ignore all the blankets and pillows piled on the couch....Kloe is sick again :( }


It's my new scrapbooking table!

Isn't it the greatest? I first learned about the Scrap-n-Stow a little over a year ago. My mother-in-law showed it to me in one of her scrapbooking magazines when we were at her house for Thanksgiving. I asked for one for Christmas last year....but didn't get it. So I asked for one for Christmas this year....and didn't get it. So I took matters into my own hands! I did a little research on the internet and found a website where the table was about $50 less than the manufacturer's website. What a deal!

Yeah. Bad idea. What was I thinking?

After I placed my order, I waited. And waited. And waited. With never a word from the company. Finally I contacted them via their online chat and was told the table had been DISCONTINUED! What? Uh, thankyouverymuch....were you planning on TELLING ME??

Thankfully, they didn't process my payment. So I went a-hunting on ebay and found this one for $40 less than the "great deal" website! The seller said it's a factory second, and the box has "bad buckles" written on it, but so far I haven't found anything wrong with it.

I will say it is not made with the best quality, but that's a manufacturing thing, not because it's a second. I don't expect the pull handle to last long, but it's actually easier for me to maneuver just by pushing it anyway.

So here's how it works. See those flaps hanging down on each side?


Those fold up and over the top of the table and lock like a lid.

And see all those compartments inside?


They hold all your supplies, paper, cutters, stickers, AND the page you're working on. And when you need to stop, you don't have to spend 30 minutes packing everything up. Oh, no, no, no. You just fold up both sides of the lid, lock it, fold up the legs, and shove it under the bed! (ummm, as soon as I get all the other stuff out from under my bed.) All of your supplies stay put, and the page you're working on stays in it's own little compartment! Isn't is great?

The box says their website is www.scrap-n-stow.com, but I couldn't get it to load.

My "about me" profile says I'm a scrapbooker. I don't know if it's actually legal to call myself that when it's been four years since the last time I actually did any scrapbooking. But one of the biggest reasons I haven't is that the only place I have to work on it is at my kitchen table. It is such a big ordeal to get everything out and then, after just an hour or two, have to pack it all away again. But I truly am still a scrapbooker at heart!

The Scrap-n-Stow solves the space problem....now if I can just find the time. :)

From my bookshelf....

Just finished reading:


Reading now:


Up next (can't wait to get to this one):

More about Haiti....

I'm not back to say more about Haiti. There is nothing I could say that would be of any value or intelligence. I am speechless. Dumbstruck. I cannot fathom the fact that they were struck by another earthquake today. Lord Jesus....

I do, however, want to share with you some words that others have written in response to this horrendous tragedy - words that made me think, made me pray, made me want to DO SOMETHING...DO MORE.

Please take a few minutes to read these posts from....

Lysa TerKeurst

Beth Moore

Sincerely Anna

Linny at A Place Called Simplicity

Matt and Pam McCormick

Matt and Pam McCormick have been missionairies in Haiti for 3 years (you'll read more from Pam on Beth Moore's blog). Pam has just returned to the U.S. for the birth of their 3rd child, but Matt is still in Haiti and is writing almost daily about the things he and his team are doing to help the relief effort. It is amazing.

Most of all friends....pray. Please pray - both for Haiti and for us (me and you) - that we would be willing to hear and obey whatever God would have us do to be the hands and feet of Christ.

Even Chuck Swindoll is in on it.....

Every morning while I'm getting ready for work, I have the radio in the bedroom tuned to our local Christian radio station. The morning lineup includes Charles Stanley, Focus on the Family, and Chuck Swindoll.

This morning, the Mister took the kids to school. After I had helped them with jackets, hugged and kissed everyone, hurried them out the door and waved goodbye, I walked back into the bedroom and the first thing I heard was the voice of Chuck Swindoll saying these words through my radio (and I quote):

DO SOMETHING.

DO SOMETHING unexpected....

for somebody who can't possibly earn it or repay you.

DO SOMETHING....

that proves you're who you say you are.

This week.

DO SOMETHING.....

Are you kidding me? Seriously....what?

When to be Resolved

I love it when God makes me laugh....mostly at myself. Anyone else ever notice that He has a great sense of humor? Like how, right after I write a big long blog post about how I like to set goals instead of resolving to do certain things - because resolving is too hard - that very day I get an email encouraging me to RESOLVE to Do Something in 2010.

And then this....yesterday I started a new Bible study with a group at church. We are doing Beth Moore's study of Daniel. I've done it before, but didn't get through all the homework so I wanted to do it again. It is an awesome study - so full of truth and wisdom that it bears repeating. The first half is about living with integrity in the "Babylon" that we live in, and the second half is about end-times prophecy.

I almost laughed out loud right in the middle of the video yesterday when Beth had us turn to Daniel 1:8, which says, "But Daniel resolved not to defile himself....."

It seems as though God is saying to me, "Valerie, look, goals are great. But there are times when you do in fact need to be willing to be resolved. Like resolving to Do Something when I have told you to. Like resolving not to be defiled by the world you are living in."

Serious times call for serious commitments. And sisters (if there are any brothers reading my blog, I'm not aware of it) , we are living in serious times. I think maybe it's ok to have a goal to stick to a new budget or floss your teeth every day, but the Bible doesn't say Daniel made it his GOAL not to be defiled by the culture of Babylon.....he resolved.

When it comes to the things of God, I need to be willing to stick my neck out, commit with my whole heart, quit sticking my toe in to test the water and just jump in.

I remember in high school and college I used to always tell people, "I don't make promises."

Why? Because it seemed that somehow I always ended up breaking them. And I hated that. I hate letting people down and feeling like a failure. And so I took the easy way out and just never made promises. But I think all that really did was leave me a way out in case for some reason I couldn't keep my end of the deal. Or didn't want to. Not great.

Wow, so really....I have to be resolved? That's HARD. And intimidating. And scary. What if I resolve and then break my promise? This is a whole new world for me. But the New Year is about change, right?

At least I'm on day 26 of flossing my teeth.

Please Do Something for Haiti

I got distracted earlier by that email from Buckner and forgot that the real reason I wanted to post today was to ask you to please consider how you personally may be able offer your help - to Do Something - for the people of Haiti whose lives have been devasted by the earthquake that hit there on Tuesday.

The pictures of the destruction and devastation have swept over me with the same feelings of helplessness and sorrow that I remember from the tsunami in the Indian Ocean that took almost 250,000 lives on December 26, 2004.

Please take a moment to check out these posts from a few of my favorite bloggers: Angie Smith, Beth Moore, and Mary Beth Chapman. Beth Moore offers several suggestions in her post about ways you can help.

But just as important as monetary donations, if not more important, are your prayers. Please, please remember to pray for the people of Haiti in the coming days and weeks. Pray that those who are still trapped will be found before it's too late. Pray for those who are wounded, that they will be healed. Pray for those who have already received the devastating news that their loved ones have been lost. Pray for the relief workers and rescue workers and healthcare workers and mission teams and power companies and heavy equipment operators. Pray for the children. Pray for God to sweep across that country with His powerful Holy Spirit, bringing healing and wisdom and comfort and peace and hope.

Thank you for praying, friends. Remember the woman who annointed Jesus with perfume? She Did What She Could. And this is our chance to do the same. What we do for others, we do for Him. This is our chance...let's Do Something.

Here we go again....

Looks like the message God is trying to get across to me hasn't change for the New Year (hmm, imagine that).

I received an email from Buckner International last week, but somehow missed it in my email inbox. I was cleaning out my inbox today and found this. Really, go ahead and click on it. You'll get a chuckle out of it. At least I did.

Did you read the title?

God is so funny sometimes. :) I guess He thought I left one thing off my list of "goals" for the New Year. AND...apparently He wants me to RESOLVE to Do Something...not just make it a "goal"!

Tiny Talk Tuesday - for Tammi

[This post is for my friend Tammi, who says she doesn't have time to read my blog because my posts are too long! :)]

A smooshed little voice, face pressed up against a tiny opening in the bathroom door, careful not to let the cold air in while mom is in the shower:

"Mom, are you allowed to wear spurs in Walmart?"


You gotta love life in Texas!

New Year's Resolutions Goals

Hello bloggy friends. Sorry I've been gone so long. I've missed you.

There hasn't been much excitement here on our path lately - which can definitely be a good thing - but that also means not much to blog about. I have been busy, though, working on my goals for the new year. I don't like to call them "resolutions" because that sounds so....well....demanding. When you resolve to do something you are determined, absolute, set like flint. And then if you stop for a day, well, then you've broken the resolution. I never keep my resolutions Every Single Day, and then I feel like a failure.

But goals....now that's another matter. Goals I can do. A goal can be worked toward, and then when I find that I've stopped doing it, I can start again. Because after all, it's a goal, not a law. Goals just seem so much less....well....demanding.

I will spare you the list....but some of my goals for 2010 involve stuff about the house, like getting rid of a bunch of clutter and keeping up with the laundry better (and yes, I do have specific plans in those areas). Some are financial, like getting us back on a cash envelope system; some are spiritual, like being more consistent in morning devotions with my kids; and some are personal, like flossing my teeth every day.

Flossing? Yep, this is the depth of thought you can expect here on my blog. I warned you in the beginning I'm not a deep thinker. For deep thinking I highly recommend you visit my friend Jenifer at Moss Moments. She's a deep thinker. Very profound. Me....not so much.

But after you visit her, promise you'll come back so we can talk about our resolutions goals over a slice of pie, ok? Or a salad, if you're resolving to eat healthier.

One thing I've really been having to remind myself of over and over again for the past two weeks is that these goals I have set are goals for the whole year. They are not goals just for the week, or even for the month. They are for a whole year. So that means if I quit doing them on January 4, I get to start again. And if I stop again on February 23, I get to start again.

It's been hard, because if you remember I'm the "all or nothing" girl. Remember this post about "doing something"? I feel like if I can't do everything, it's not worth it to do anything. If I can't clean every piece of clutter out of my house by January 3, I want to quit. If I floss for 19 days and then miss a day, I might as well give up, because according to Dr. Phil it takes 21 days to make a habit. Twenty-one consecutive days. And if you miss day 20 you have to start over again at one.

Well guess what, Dr. Phil? I can start over again at one, because I'll be working on these goals for the whole year. Not just 21 days. I like do-overs, and I hope I'll be taking full advantage of them this year.

So here's some photographic evidence of my goal-keeping so far. Feel free to hold me accountable.


Can I just say I LOVE the cash envelope system? Love. It. And I love it even more after we're on it for a couple of months and I can whip out an envelope and pay cash for a friend's birthday gift or groceries or the car registrations. Am I weird? Well, here's the thing....it's a guilt-free system. And I love guilt-free.

With cash envelopes we can spend money on a movie or go out to eat or buy matching pajamas for the entire family (not really) and not feel guilty about it as long as there's money in that envelope. And then when the money's gone....YOU STOP. Now of course that's the hard part. But really, the sense of freedom that comes from spending without guilt is enough to make me want to stay on this system forever.

We used to use cash envelopes a long time ago, but we got off the system during a really tough time when the Mister was out of work and I emptied all the envelopes just to pay the bills. I am so happy and relieved to finally be doing this again. We went on kid dates this past weekend and used money from the Family Fun envelope and it was BLISSFUL to not feel guilty about spending that money!

So I'll let you know how it's going. I resolve to. Remind me, ok?

Anyone care to share a few of your goals for the new year?

What you might find in a 6-year-old boy's jeans pockets on any given laundry day

Hmmm, let's see....

*two tissues
*a note to his secret agent partner
*a business card from the lady who cuts his hair
*a recipe card he got at the grocery store
*a penny
*a button
*a tiny little stick
*a globe keychain
*an old cell phone
*and the CVS weekly ad (!)


On another laundry day....

*a picture he drew of himself finding the pot of gold under a rainbow :) - don't you love the baseball cap?
*a foreign mail customs form from the post office
*a tube of cherry flavored Chapstick
*a Christmas tree brad that he probably got from his Christmas party at school
*two shiny pieces of silver paper (they look black in this photo)....maybe from gum wrappers?
*a miniature pink and green whistle
*5 Nerf darts
*4 little rocks
*2 one dollar bills


and a partridge in a pear tree.....


And this is what said 6-year-old boy looks like when he asks, "Mom, you know that pen you used to draw a mustache on me (for pirate family night - it was an eyeliner pencil)? Can I use it to draw a little yield sign on my chin?"


And again, what said 6-year-old boy looks like after he loses yet another long-awaited tooth....at the movie theater in the middle of Alvin and the Chipmunks, the Squeakquel....and Dad accidentally drops said tooth on the floor of the theater....and mom searches for it with the light from her cell phone and finds it....and the tooth fairy leaves him a dollar for all the trouble said tooth caused.

Happy New Year, Bloggy Friends!

Praying that you and your families will be overwhelmed by God's abundant mercy and extravagant grace in 2010. As Beth Moore says, His love for us is down right scandalous. Bask in it, revel in it....be intentional about drinking in His love in this new year....every single day....and be intentional about loving Him in return through the way you live life every day (these words are actually more for me than for you).

Be Crazy in your Love for God this year. He is worthy.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and Love your neighbor as yourself. (Luke 10:27)

That's some Crazy Love that verse is talking about.

Thank you all for sharing in my blog this past year....I'm so glad you've been a part of it. Blessings to you all in the new year!