Zerts

When we got home from school on Thursday, Kloe went immediately to the kitchen and started creating.

"Don't look!!" she ordered.

A few minutes later we were given the all-clear. "Ok, you can come in now!"

She had been working in her bedroom a few days ago and came across her old tea set - the perfect inspiration for creating these adorable little desserts for the whole family - "mini-zerts" as she called them.  With Powerade tea.

Just like the old days.  :)  Aren't they adorable?  Three mini marshmallows with chocolate sauce and a toothpick...."for your fork".

So of course, not to be outdone, next it was Jacob's turn. Here's his creation:

A banana chip (hiding under the chocolate), Candy Cane Kiss, Cheerios, peanuts, and TWO toothpicks. :)

They insisted I make one too (no pics), and then Jacob made another one.  Turns out we were creating our own episode of Sweet Genius, Mini-Zert Edition.  Kloe declared Jacob the winner.  :)

And so it begins.

It started today.

I wasn’t expecting it. I wasn’t prepared. I’d forgotten. Took me totally by surprise. Right. Out. Of. Left. Field. as I sat at my desk at work.

And yet, by God’s amazing grace, He allowed me to recognize it almost immediately.

The Voice.

“You shouldn’t be going on this trip! What are you thinking?”

“You don’t belong with those people. They are GODLY people. UPRIGHT people. People who know what they’re doing. People who BELONG on this trip. People of WIDSOM. People who know when to keep their mouths shut….”

Knowing the source of The Voice….knowing its origin and purpose….knowing that it’s a liar….doesn’t stop the feelings. The heaviness. The tears. They rushed at me with a suddenness and intensity that just about knocked me down.

“You’re going to look like an idiot. They’re all going to wonder why you even came.”

A boss who was frustrated with me – and frustrating me . A co-worker who started more than one sentence today with “Well, I suggest you….” You know that tone. A day of especially wanting to be home with my kids. A husband who is courting a job I’m not sure is God’s will. The tiny little catches in your heart that build one on another on another, until all the sudden it’s perfect timing for that one thought - a memory of something I said on the trip last year that silenced the room.

And suddenly words like “stupid” and “idiot” – and even “stupid idiot” – fly at me and fill my mind out of nowhere.

For someone who’s struggled with self-image my whole life, it often only takes an instant. One comment leads to one thought, and WHAM. Actually, I didn’t really struggle with self-image – for most of my life I just laid down and let it beat me up. I didn’t know any better. But after spending many hours with a cup of coffee and Beth Moore, I slowly started recognizing the lies. And I learned how to fight them.

And let me tell you, you can’t fight the lies of the enemy with self-help books and positive thinking.

You fight LIES with TRUTH.

The truth of God’s Word.

“I am the way, the TRUTH, and the life…” John 14:6

This is what Beth taught me: You let that truth come out of your mouth, and you swing it like the sword that it is. "For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword" (Heb 4:12). "And take....the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." (Eph. 6:17) "Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD in your mouth (notice it doesn't say in your heart) is truth.” 1 Kings 17:24 "Do not let this Book of the Law (which is the word of God) depart from your mouth" Josh 1:8 "With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak." 2 Cor 4:13

Satan is not omnicient. He can't read your mind, sister. He can PUT the thoughts there, but he can't hear your silent reply. And let me tell you, the longer I sat silent, the worse it got. But by God's grace He reminded me - OPEN YOUR MOUTH. And this....THIS is why we fill our minds with scripture. THIS is why we teach our kids memory verses. So that when the time comes - and it will - that the enemy is on the prowl (for your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8) you will have a weapon at the ready with which you can fight.

Some weapons like these:

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well. (Ps. 139:14)

God demonstrated His own love for ME in this: While I was still a sinner, Christ died for ME. (Rom. 5:8)

But I have this treasure (the knowledge of God's glory) in THIS jar of clay.... (2 Cor. 4:7)

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in ME; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved ME and gave Himself up for ME. (Gal. 2:20)

And how about this one:

For God so loved ME, that He gave His only begotten Son, so that I - who believe in Him - shall not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

So sharpen your swords, sisters. You never know when a surprise attack is coming. Be ready. And swing to kill.

Get 'em while they're hot!

Bags, bags, bags!

Can you believe I leave for Uganda in 51 DAYS?! Me neither. I'm really kind of in denial about it. Since I got all my shots last year, and since I have most of the things I'll need to take with me, I really haven't done a whole lot to get ready.

Umm, hello? Fundraising?

I did actually have some money left over from my trip last year. So far I've had one garage sale that did really well (please, Lord, let me never have to have another garage sale), I sold flower bulbs last fall, and I'm also using some tax refund money. But I'm still a bit short in completely funding my trip, and so I'm offering up these cute tote bags that I have left from another fundraiser.

These are from Simply Love, the ministry of my mission trip leader, Kari Gibson. I have six bags left - one teal blue (sorry the color's not great in this picture - it's actually a little richer than it looks here), two black, and three light pink. They are soft canvas (won't stand up alone), with removable, double canvas handles, and a raw edge hem at the top. The bags are approximately 14"x14", and the handles are 16" long (from end to end).

The bags are $20 each plus $2.50 for shipping. They make great book bags or just all-around tote bags. I would love to send you one! Just leave a comment or send me an email if you're interested. Thanks, friends!

Eeek!  51 days and counting!

Hey, wait. Didn't we have spring break?

Why, yes. Yes we did.

And we went somewhere. And mama didn't blog about it. Well, let's rectify that, shall we?

Since the Mister had gone out of town the weekend before to meet up with some old high school friends and couldn't get off work, and since I'm trying to save my vacation time for my mission trip (in less than two months!), the kids and I took a short, 3-day road trip to Abilene by ourselves.

It was a fun, relaxing get-away, with none of the week-long-big-amusement-park-trip stress and exhaustion. We left on Thursday, and that night we went to a fun little place called Prime Time, which is similar to Main Event but on a much smaller (and more affordable) scale. In addition to the usual bowling, laser tag, and arcade, they also have go-karts, outdoor mini golf, and a Nascar simulator, which was a BIG hit with Jacob. :) Unfortunately, Mama didn't bring the camera. I know, I know....what was I thinking? But it's kinda hard to take pictures while you're barreling around the go-kart track or dueling it out in the laser tag fight of your life. ;)

The next day, we met up with one of Kloe's school friends who moved to Florida 3 years ago, but now is living in Abilene. We all spent the morning at the zoo, then had lunch together and took in a movie that afternoon. You know I love me some zoo pics. :)

These fish were seriously creeping me out.  There were hundreds of them, and they were HUGE.  In fact, they were so thick, the ducks were actually walking on them.

Eww.  Moving on.

The thing I love most about the Abilene zoo is that you can feed the giraffes.  It's so fun! You walk up this taaalll bridge....

...and at the top you can buy giraffe treats (who knew?) - crackers that the giraffes just love. They look like giant, bumpy graham crackers.

Have you ever seen a giraffe's tongue? Let me just say....eeewwwwww. Their tongues are like long, skinny, purple snakes. Guess you have to have a really long tongue when you eat out of trees, yes?  And look at this sweet face - doesn't she look like she's in heaven?  :)

On our last day we visited Buffalo Gap Historical Village.  Such a fun piece of history with houses from the 1800s, an old printing press, school house, chapel, jail, doctor's office, bank, and train station.  I LOVE this sort of thing - imagining the people who used to live and work there is so cool.

We also had fun feeding the goats and chickens at Buffalo Gap.

This ol' meany was a bully and wouldn't let anybody else get any food. I had to distract her while my kids fed the other kids (hahahaha - I crack myself up).

And just before heading home, we stopped at the Frontier Texas museum.

Stampede!

Stagecoach used in Little House on the Prairie.  So fun!

There seemed to be a lot of ewww factor on our trip.

We had a lot of fun.  Despite the fact that the hotel pool was closed (the nerve!).  :)

The end.

My Hero.

To Mom and Dad

To Mom & (and) Dad,
I want to do something to get monny (money) saperite (separate) from my monney that I have now.  To go on a famaly trip somewhere.  Please help me get the monney.  I'm looking forward to a famaly trip.  (do not throw away!)  I love you.  Please keep this note!

Nine-year-old boy's heart:  super sweet.  Handwriting:  work in progress. :)

On Friday.

I had planned to write a light-hearted Five for Friday post today.  I was going about my morning, emptying the dishwasher, watering the tulips, planning the five things for my post (because I'm actually off work today, gloria and hallelujah!), and then I sat down at my computer with my cup of coffee, opened my email, and read this post from Lara at To Overflowing.  And there went Five for Friday.

By God's divine non-coincidence, the kids and I have been reading Exodus chapters 11-13 this week in our morning devotions.  We started at Genesis 1:1 way back when and have been reading straight through, and this is where we are this week. :)

You friends who hang out around here know I'm not a great deep thinker.  I wish I were.  I pretend to be - ha!  But in fact, I'm not.  Not a deep thinker, not a deep, spiritual teacher, grasping or creating profound teaching moments for my kids.  And so I have to work with what I've got.  And one thing I've got is a great love for ceremony and ritual and tradition.  It sounds grand doesn't it? :)  Like I orchestrate great, moving traditions for our family.  Ha - not hardly!  But small, familiar traditions, yes.

So...Lara's post....Exodus chapters 11-13....and tradition.  Hmm.  Do those 3 things have anything in common at all?  Well, a little.  If you think creatively. :)

Because I love tradition, and because I tend to rely on rituals and ceremony to create those teachable  moments for my kids, we've been trying in our own little way to get ready for this Resurrection weekend by preparing our hearts and focusing on what it's all really about.  Not bunnies (though cute), not eggs (though so much fun - and YES, we will be coloring some tomorrow!), but Jesus.  Jesus who died.....died.....DIED so we - so I - wouldn't have to.  Because He loves me.  Because He longed for His creation to be redeemed. 

And so to try to remember that, we've been reading this week from Max Lucado's book, This is Love, and we've been reading the scripture passages that tell about what happened in Jesus' life between Palm Sunday and Good Friday (I've always thought it was so weird that that whole week usually gets left out of the story).

And tonight we will celebrate Passover.  Oh, how I love this tradition!  I love the symbolism and the reading of the scriptures, and knowing that for thousands of years, God's people have celebrated this same festival in exactly the same a similar way.  And I love beyond words how every. single. part. of the Passover seder points to JESUS!!  It is absolutely amazing how all those thousands of years before Jesus was even born, God was writing His story into the celebration of Passover.

I love how the matzah (the bread - Jesus is our bread of life) is striped and pierced like Jesus was.  I love how there are 3 pieces of bread (representing the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), how the second piece of matzah is broken (as Jesus' body was broken) and hidden (as Jesus was laid in the tomb).  I LOVE that Jesus was celebrating the Passover meal with His disciples when He broke the bread (did you ever wonder why He broke it?  It's part of the Passover seder ceremony) and said, "This bread is my body, which is broken for you." 

I love that the Israelites sacrificed a lamb (ok, I don't love it for the lamb, but you know....), and that as they placed the blood of the lamb over their doorposts, they were saved.  And it's the blood Jesus, our sacrificial Lamb, that now saves us.  I love that the 4 cups of wine at Passover all represent Jesus - the cup of sanctification, the cup of deliverance, the cup of redemption (this 3rd cup  - the cup of redemption - is the cup of which Jesus said, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood - ooooooh, I love this!!) , and the cup of hope, which isn't drunk at the meal - it's the cup we will partake of in heaven!

This is what Beth Moore wrote about the cup of redemption in her study Jesus the One and Only:

I am convinced this cup (the 3rd cup of Passover) is also the symbolic cup to which Christ referred only an hour or so later in the garden of Gethsemane when He asked God to "take this cup from me" (Luke 22:42).  This was a cup He could partake only with outstretched arms upon the cross.
The imminent fulfillment of the cup of redemption signaled the release of the new covenant that would be written in blood.  We know Christ did not literally drink this third cup because He stated in Luke 22:18 that He would not drink of another cup until the coming of the kingdom of God.  Instead of drinking the cup, He would do something of sin-shattering significance.  He would, in essence, become the cup and pour out His life the the redemption of man.

Love.

And that's why my family celebrates Passover.

Not because we're Jewish (we're obviously not).  Not because we're under the Law (we're obviously not).  But because the Passover screams of Jesus and what He did for us on this most holy of weekends.

My kids often ask me why we call it "good" Friday if it's the day Jesus died.  It is good because Jesus is the Lamb who was slain for our sins before the foundation of the world.

How does your family celebrate Good Friday?