The Maas Update

Thirteen Years Ago

2012-02-14T16:14:00.002-05:00

guest post by Glenn

I know people have different feelings about valentine's day and many say it is a commercialized holiday and has no significance but to me February 14th has a lot of significance. It is the date when I found out that Sonja would be my forever valentine.

The story begins before the 14th of course but we will start there anyways. The 14th was a nerve wracking day for me. It was the day that Roger and Sandy Nelson were coming into Chattanooga Tn to visit there daughter for the weekend. I can't remember all the details but I know that Roger was in the south for a several week long business trip and so Sandy decided to fly down and spend her valentine weekend with him (and see Sonja).

So no matter what all the details were it worked out that Sonja and I were sitting at the airport with Roger waiting for Sandy's flight to come in. Sonja knew that I wanted to talk to her dad alone so she made an excuse to go to the bathroom and left us alone together, him reading the newspaper left behind by another traveler and me trying to build up the nerve to ask him permission to marry his little girl. I'm not sure how long it took me to finally build up my nerve and tell him that I wanted to talk to him. But when I finally started talking it all poured out, I think what I said was something to the extent that 'I really love his daughter and wanted to ask her to marry me and I was asking him for his permission to marry her.' (Imagine that as a run on sentence said really quick by a nervous teenager). I remember him putting down his paper and reading the headline which said "wow her for valentine's day" or something like that. He then made some quip that this would definately wow Sandy. He then very graciously told me that he would have to talk to Sandy before he could give me an answer. I was ok with that and said I understood.

We sat in a little bit of awkwardness until Sonja came back from the bathroom and joined us. (As an aside, Sonja said that she could see us from the bathroom and could tell that I hadn't asked yet. So she kept staying in the bathroom. If I remember correctly she ended up cleaning the counters and the mirrors with the avialable paper towels to keep herself busy.) Well Sonja came back and joined us and her dad talked to her a little bit and not long afterwards her mom's plane landed and we went and met her at the gates (boy isn't that dating this story.) Sandy greeted all of us and gave us big hugs and then we all went off to collect her luggage.

So there we were Roger and Sandy walking in front talking and catching up a little and Sonja and I following behind them a couple of steps making conversation and wondering if he had told her yet. Then as we were almost to the baggage claim area Sandy made a sudden stop and turned around and threw her arms around me and gave me a kiss on the cheek and said "welcome to the family." To this sudden exclamation Roger, in protest, said "I haven't given him my answer yet." I didn't need an answer from Roger at that point though because I knew that the answer was going to be yes.

Epilogue
February 15th is a good day to remember also. After morning service as we were walking out of Highland Park Baptist church into a beautiful sunny and warm day Roger stopped me as we were going down the steps heading towards the car for lunch and informed me officially that I had his and Sandy's permission to ask their daughter Sonja to marry me.

So that is why valentine's day is a special day for me and no matter how commercialized it becomes it will always be a day of celebration of my love for my forever valentine.

External Motivation

2012-02-13T17:44:00.000-05:00

I've had some external motivation in my dragon slaying for the past week. Since last Monday Glenn has had to be at the schospital by about 5:15am everyday except for yesterday and I have been his ride. It has been great! I have loved getting up and taking him over there then coming home, reading my Bible, spending some time exercising while listening to podcasts, before showering. I have loved it.

For the past 4 weeks I have been a part of the Maximize your Mornings Challenge and last week was the first week that I was actually successful. Why is that? I had external motivation.

The problem is... Glenn won't have to be at the hospital at 5:15 forever (for some reason he doesn't see this as a problem). In fact, the last day that he has to be there that early is Thursday for this rotation. After that I need some kind of internal motivation. You see, when there was no external motivation (yesterday morning) I did not get up and maximize my morning. I fed myself lies with all the reasons why I deserved to sleep in yesterday but in reality I was just lazy.

I am not a "morning person" but I want to be and have been trying to make myself into one for much of my life as a mom. I have seen the rewards of getting up. I know how much better everything goes when I have my priorities in line and have spent time with my God before I face my kids BUT.... I battle in myself. I feel like Paul in Romans 7 "For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing."

So... what am I going to do? I need internal motivation. It can only come from Him and from me dying to myself. This is what I long for.

Lord, please help me to live out my priorities by giving You first place and getting up in the morning even when I don't have an external motivation. Lord, I know that this past week You have blessed me for putting You first. Please help me to keep getting up even when I don't "need to" because ultimately I do.

A Day At Grandma & Grandpa's Through Hannah's Lens

2012-02-10T21:46:00.001-05:00

For the last 2 years the kids and I have had a kind of agreement with my dad's parents that we would drive down and visit them once a month. They are the only grandparents close enough to have regular visits with that are more often than the about once a year visits we get with any of Glenn's family. My kids can't have just about every day grandparent time like I had growing up but we are thankful for our once a month visits. We have made some great memories with them and always have a good time and enjoy our visit. We missed last month because we were passing colds around and didn't want to pass them on to my grandparents.

Wednesday was our monthly visit. We had fun catching up and playing with Grandma and Grandpa. Grandpa had not been doing well since his episode with shingles and it was so great to see him feeling so much better and playing with the kids. While we were there Hannah asked if she could have the camera. I almost always bring my camera but usually forget to take pictures. Well, Hannah didn't forget to take pictures. She also took LOTS of videos. I'm including some of the videos and pictures.

Grandma and me

Give me a hug!

The girls had SO MUCH FUN playing stuffed animals with Grandpa

funny face

No visit is complete without ice cream cones. There are still a couple cones left from the ones we brought them on a previous visit ;)

Getting ready to scoop the ice cream and enjoying cupcakes

yummy ice cream cones!

playing dominoes

snuggle time

Grandpa beating Abigail at checkers

Group Shot taken on timer mode

Doesn't 66 years of marriage look great!

Hannah and Grandpa

Grandpa and the girls had a lot of fun playing with stuffed animals together in Grandpa's bedroom. Hannah got some of the fun on video:

Last, but not least, here is Grandpa talking about Jesus. There is a bit of prompting by my silly Hannah.

I don't know that I would have taken any videos but I am so glad that Hannah did. I had no idea of the chaos that was going on back there while I was out visiting with Grandma. :) I am thankful that we decided to make our monthly visits a priority and I am thankful for a fun day!

Five Minute Friday: Trust

2012-02-10T13:36:00.001-05:00

On Fridays we just write without worrying if it’s just right or not. Won’t you join us?
1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.
2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. Please visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them.
OK, are you ready? Give me your best five minutes on:

TRUST

START

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.

Trusting God is not something that comes easy but the more I trust Him, the easier it gets. I used to be prone to worry. Anxiety would eat at me. I would have trouble sleeping and wake up at night thinking about things that troubled me.

Every time God came through. He may not have done things the way that I wanted Him to. He may not have done things as fast as I wanted to BUT He did something and caused my trust in Him to grow.

We are going into another unknown zone. We are moving soon to Lowville for 9-10 months. We don't have a place to live there yet. That is kind of normal. After our time in Lowville we don't know where we'll be living or what we'll be doing for the following 5-6 months before residency starts where ever that may be. All of these unknowns would have terrified me 12 years ago but I am not worried. I know that I can trust my trustworthy Guide and that He will provide and take care of us each step of the way.

STOP

Hugs from God

2012-02-07T22:28:00.000-05:00

It's not Monday and I haven't kept up with my 1000 gifts list but...
Here are some gifts (I like to call them hugs) from God from today:
* kids in love with eclair cake that I made in honor of my mom (I haven't made one in years!!)
* leftover fried potatoes in the fridge discovered just moments after I said that I really wished that I had made some potatoes for supper but they would take too long. (they weren't very old, just forgotten from a couple days ago. There was enough for all of us to have some and and I had made them with extra onions so they were extra yummy!!)
* fun playing Monopoly with the kids. Today I decided that, when possible, 3:30-4:30 should be family game time since the kids aren't doing anything productive during that hour anyway because they're glued to the radio for the kids programs on WMHR
* my blog has been so healing and helpful to me and I am humbled to find that it has been a blessing and helpful to others as well.
* I got an email from the library in Lowville and they have a weekly art classes for kids introducing artists and trying out their techniques. I am so excited about this because it is art is an area our homeschool is weak in!
* the blessing of many encouraging comments about my blog about my mom that friends emailed me or commented on facebook. I especially appreciated Stacie sharing how my mom introduced her to cauliflower possibly inspiring her culinary adventures (that made me laugh!) and how Jamie has had the opportunity to use her brokenness since the death of her dad to bless others. To God be the glory!

* Sweet pictures drawn by my kids for me today. Lydia was struck this year by the fact that her grandma died a year before she was born. She drew this picture of my parents meeting in heaven. It made me smile because my mom was the shorty in the family but in Lydia's picture she is quite tall :)

Thanks God for all the hugs You gave me today and that You give me everyday if I just look. You are so gracious to me and bless me far more than I deserve! I am so grateful to be Your child!

Happy 9 Years in Heaven Mom

2012-02-07T08:45:00.000-05:00

In just a couple of minutes I am going to go into my kitchen and make an Eclair Cake. I made my first one when my parents and Glenn's family came down for my college graduation and from that time on it was my mom's signature dish to bring to potlucks until that fateful day, May 23, 2001. I am making it today in honor of the 9th anniversary of her Home going. Later this afternoon I'll dig out pictures and tell the kids stories about the grandma that they never had the chance to know.

Mom, Caleb, & me from their last visit to TN for Easter in '01

This time of the year is always tough for me but I am also so thankful. This morning while I was exercising I listened to Carol Kent's radio talk from a few days ago on Trusting God When the Unthinkable Happens. At the end she said this: "God is showing me broken people minister to broken people so if you're broken, that's good." I have found this to be so true. I am NOT thankful that my mom is gone. I would LOVE to be able to have a conversation with her. (A couple of weeks ago, as I was thinking ahead to this date, I realized that I haven't had a conversation with my mom in the last 1/3 of my life, almost 11 years since she wasn't able to talk really after 5/23/01.) I am TOO OFTEN jealous of people who have parents, whose kids have grandparents. I often wonder what it would be like to have a mom as an adult and to be able to talk to her about everyday things and big things.

BUT.... I am SO thankful that God has allowed this BECAUSE I can understand the pain of others. I know the agony. I have experienced the uncontrolled sobbing that happens at such random times, the feelings of self-pity, the sorrow that comes from losing someone close. Many of my friends have lost parents since I have lost mine. I wouldn't have known how to pray for Phoebe, Olivia, Leah, Patricia, Courtney, Nikki, Amanda, and so many others if I had not experienced, in some measure, their pain myself. Just today, when I got up I saw on facebook that my friend Susan's dad, who had been ill for a while passed away. I've been there. I know the mixed feelings: SO thankful that he is no longer suffering, SO sad that you'll never have a conversation with him again in this life, SO thankful that this life is NOT the end, the homesickness for Heaven that comes from having a loved one there.

I am so thankful for the broken people that ministered to me, especially Jaye and Robin, 9 years ago. I am also so thankful for the opportunity to, as a broken person, be able to minister to other broken people. The trials in my life HAVE been for my good and HAVE enabled me to do things that I would never have been able to do otherwise and have given me such a greater picture of who God is. I'm reminded of a quote from Ruth Stull that was quoted by Elisabeth Elliot in my mom's Bible: "If my life is broken when given to Jesus, it is because pieces will feed a multitude, while a loaf will satisfy only a young lad."

So, today, I am having a party for my mom to celebrate the anniversary of the best day ever for her: the day she finally got to see her Savior face to face. I miss her so much. I long for the day when I too will see His beautiful face. Until that day may I be faithful with the blessing of brokenness that He has entrusted to me for His glory.

So we're not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There's far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can't see now will last forever. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18 MSG)

Five Minute Friday (belated once again): Real

2012-02-04T14:32:00.000-05:00

I'm late for Five Minute Friday again but here is my post. Here are the rules if you want to join me:
1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.
2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. Please visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them.
OK, are you ready? Give me your best five minutes on:

REAL

START

I've been convicted this past week with something. What is a real friend? Do I have any real friends? Am I a real friend?

I've been confronted with this because (in)courage is having a conference this spring. Not a big somewhere in the US conference where you get together with people from all over the US but (in)RL. In Real Life. It's great to have friends all over the country (and all over the world) and I do. But it is vitally important, as a woman, to have friends in real life.

I have lots of facebook friends. Many of them have been real friends in real life in the past and when I spend time with them (like I got to spend some time with one of them last Saturday and another one today) they are real friends BUT.... they live far away. They can not be a part of my actual life.

I move often. Making friends does not happen overnight. I have a hard time wanting to make friends because I know that I will not be a part of their lives for long because it is inevitable that in a few months or years I will be leaving. I will not be a forever part of their actual life so why try?

STOP

This is an ugly work in progress but my timer is done and I don't have answers for this...

Do your kids ever get frustrated with you?

2012-02-03T15:47:00.001-05:00

My kids often frustrate me. I, also, often frustrate them.

Today the it was the latter. Today after HIM (the monthly homeschool co-op we go to) I was praying out loud asking God to get us to a gas station or to send some good samaritan to help us if we ran out of gas. I had planned on buying gas on the way to HIM but we were running late this morning so I decided that we'd have to buy it afterwards so we wouldn't be late. We have one of those meters on our car that tell us how many miles worth of gas we have left in our tank and when I got back in the van after HIM it said 0 miles. That made me a bit nervous so I started praying out loud. Caleb got so mad at me. He ranted at me, "Mom, why are you worrying? God always takes care of us. You know that. He has always taken care of us before. He's going to get us to the gas station and if He doesn't He is going to provide someone to help us. Seriously! I totally don't understand why you worry about things like this. He always takes care of us."

Well, God did get us to a gas station and I am thankful. I am also thankful for the faith that my kids have in our great God. I didn't have as much faith as they do when I was their age and, because they have consistently seen God provide for and take care of us, they often (especially Caleb) get frustrated with me when my faith is lacking. I am thankful that their faith is in God (Who will never fail us) not in me (who fails all the time). I often wonder how many of our faith stretching experiences are to prepare our kids for what He has for them in the future.

Please give me wisdom God as I walk through this life and help me to train these blessings for what You have in store for them. Thank You that I can always trust You!

Dad got it right

2012-02-02T20:52:00.000-05:00

When I was growing up I would often get frustrated with my dad. When we would go to church or be out somewhere and people would ask my dad how he was doing his response was usually, "Almost excellent" with a big grin on his face. In my head I would get so mad at him thinking, "That is not true. You are not doing well. Why are you lying to these people??" My dad was a non-compliant diabetic that was always suffering with some kind of physical ailment (like crazy blood sugars, huge ulcers on his feet, amputated toes, etc) and I felt that by saying "almost excellent" he was trying to deceive people.

Today I read an email that made me realize that he just had a different perspective of reality than I did. The email talked about 3 actions to help you change your attitude:
1. Shift your focus
2. Change your posture
3. Watch your language

Dad's focus wasn't on the fact that he was sick or hurting. He was surrounded by people which is where he loved to be and his focus was on the moment, not on his struggles. He had a huge smile on his face and he was using words that made his reality true. He's been gone for nearly 4 years but I am so thankful for the lesson that he taught me by example today.

During DEAR time today I re-read another chapter from Calm My Anxious Heart. (note: I just noticed when I put that link in that it is only $5 right now at CBD. If you don't own it BUY IT!) I'm reading it on my kindle app this time (it was free a while back) though the actual book version is one of the few books that didn't get packed when we packed all of our books because it is one that I have always had out and near since I first read it with my beloved Tuesday morning Bible Study back in 2007 at the Waterloo Rec. It is a book that I return to time and time again because I constantly need the reminders that are underlined all over it. I am reading it again because I need it again. I need to be reminded that God is "the Blessed Controller of all things" and to keep my focus on Him. Today as I re-read chapter 2 I was reminded once again that "Our thought life - not our circumstances - determines whether we are content." Seems like a theme that God is trying to teach me today.

And "How does God enable us to be content? He infuses contentment into us through His Word. [another theme He seems to be impressing on me.] As it seeps into our minds, it transforms us. Just as a cup of tea gets stronger when we give it time to steep, so we become more content when we spend time in God's Word and allow it to seep into our lives, transforming us to be like Him."

This week I have been reading Psalm 27 in my Psalm study. David has such confidence in God. He doesn't need to fear because God is his light, his salvation, his defense. He chooses to seek and praise God though his enemies abound. He chooses to wait on God. I love verses 13-14 "I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the Lord." After reading them I wrote out a prayer: "Lord, this reminds me of One Thousand Gifts. It is so easy for me to give over to despair when my eyes are on my circumstances but You long for me to open my eyes to the blessings that You give that surround me day after day after day. Moment by moment blessings. Give thanks. You have made so evident Your goodness in 'the land of the living.' How much more will You in the real life hereafter. As I long for that day may I be constantly aware of Your blessings today!" Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the Lord.

Lord, thank You for the lessons that you are teaching me. I am sorry that I am so forgetful and must be taught again and again and again. Thank You for Your patience with me. Thank You for the example that You gave me in my parents. They both had so many struggles, physical and otherwise, but they rarely let them affect their attitude. Please help me to spend time steeping in Your Word so that I can shift my focus, change my posture and use language that will bring glory to You.

We're Moving Out. To where? I'm not exactly sure

2012-01-26T21:44:00.000-05:00

AHHH! I just wrote a letter to our landlord giving notice that we will be moving out at the end of March but, at this point, we don't have a place to move to in Lowville. This is not the first time that we have done this but it is still kind of nerve wracking. I am so thankful that God knows where we are going to live and that He has it under control. I can trust Him. He has never left us without a place to sleep and I don't know that He is going to start now. I am so thankful for all of the times that He has provided places for us to sleep over the years (and for our landlords and for all the wonderful people that let us crash at their places when we were homeless) so I can look back and have confidence in Him that He is going to do it again - Lord willing without the homeless part!

God is my Helper

2012-01-25T20:34:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I was really low. I blogged about it, talked to Glenn about it, prayed about it then slept trusting that God is going to do something.

This morning I woke up with hope in my heart and I praise God. I have the privilege of being a part of the Winter Session of the Hello Mornings Challenge. It is an online accountability group to help with the habits of getting up, spending time in God's Word, planning and exercising. I signed up to be an AC (I can't remember what that stands for) because they needed more of them and I thought that having a leadership role may help me be more accountable. Knowing that I need to check in every day I think is going to be a huge help to me as I process through my sinking season.

This morning when the alarm went off at 5:40 I grabbed my iphone and posted "Good morning! It's Wednesday! Check in to let us know how your morning is going. Praying for all of you!" Then switched over to youversion to do my Bible reading. In my through the Bible I was in Hebrews 4 and I was very encouraged by these verses which I've always loved: "For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:15, 16 NASB) What a great reminder! I am so thankful for my great High Priest!

After running Glenn to the schospital I sat down at my desk to do the Bible study that was suggested with the Hello Mornings challenge. It is a Psalm study called Run to Him. This week we are going through Psalm 4. It was a huge blessing this morning. I don't know that I've ever done a study where you read the same Psalm everyday for a week, each day looking for different things each day. I highly recommend it. Today I was looking for truths and some truths I found include:
* He has relieved me in my distress
* He sets the godly man apart for himself
* He hears when I call
* He has put gladness in my heart
* He alone makes me to dwell in safety
What a blessing! God truly did put gladness in my heart today and I am thankful!

Sinking

2012-01-25T08:36:00.001-05:00

NOTE: Writing helps me process what I am going through. I really didn't want to post this blog here but after talking to God about it He reminded me that the word He chose for me for this year is "Open" and because of that I need to so here is some yuckiness that I typed up last night before falling asleep. I plan to blog more about going through this process.

Sinking. Every year at this time of the year I feel like I'm sinking.The days technically get longer but they are so dark for me, even if the sun is shining. The darkness often overwhelms me and I sink.

But I can't sink. I shouldn't sink. I have so many responsibilities.

The sinking has started for this year. It's helpful that I've recognized it early. Recognizing that I have a problem will, Lord willing, help me through it. There have been years where I haven't recognized it for some time and we've lost weeks of what should have been productive school and family time to me with my head stuck (literally or figuratively) under my pillow.

Today I felt the pull trying to make me sink. Finally, with God's help, at 9am I was able to open my door and give my kids a time frame for school to start and set a timer to make it happen (timers are my friends). We were able to have a productive school day (so thankful for our school routine which has been so helpful in rescuing many a crazy day this year!).

Late this afternoon I started sinking again. It was time to start dinner and I didn't have the energy to make tortillas for our normal Tuesday Tacos. I talked with Glenn and he suggested possibly going out to eat. We both know that's not in our budget and that there's a lot of food around here that needs eaten before our move so we really shouldn't. We came to the conclusion that we should have stirfry since we had all of the ingredients readily available and he had Caleb come in and help me so I wouldn't have to make supper on my own. Even with the decision made (which is often the hard part for me) I still had a hard time not crawling under the covers instead of making dinner but I'm glad that, with God's help and Caleb's, I did make dinner.

Lord, please help me. When I am sinking pull me up. Help me to glorify You and praise You in this season of darkness and not wallow in my pit.

I emailed this to my blog and in formatting before posting this morning I noticed my favorite quote in my signature just before I erased it. Reading it again I think I'll leave it because it is a good reminder to me!

In time of trouble, say, "First, he brought me here. It is by his will
I am in this strait place; in that I will rest." Next, "He will keep
me here in his love, and give me grace in this trial to behave as his
child." Then say, "He will make the trial a blessing, teaching me
lessons he intends me to learn, and working in me the grace he means
to bestow." And last, say, "In his good time he can bring me out
again. How and when, he knows." Therefore, say, "I am here (1) by
God's appointment, (2) in his keeping, (3) under his training, (4) for
his time." ~Andrew Murray.

ZamZam

2012-01-20T21:26:00.000-05:00

This week we have all been pretty miserable with awful colds. School has not happened like I would have liked but we have been doing some stuff.

On Tuesday, with several sick kids, I knew that school was not going to happen like normal. I had checked out a VHS of The Incredible Story of the ZamZam A Missionary Odyssey from the library a while ago but we had yet to watch it. I figured that Tuesday was the perfect day to do so. I am glad that we did. It was neat to hear of the amazing story of the Egyptian ship carrying 144 missionaries bound for Africa and 33 children among other passengers that was sunk by a German ship during WWII. Amazingly all of the missionaries and all but (I think) 3 of the other passengers survived after they abandoned ship and were consequently picked up by the ship that had sunk it.

I love sharing faith building stories with my kids and this was definitely one of them. After we watched the video we got online to find out more of the story and read much of this website put together by survivors and their families (I think). It was so neat to read the incredible "God things" that happened to help ensure the survival of the crew and 201 passengers and to hear the neat stories that were shared. God is so amazing and now we have one more story to add to the unlimited list that reminds us that we can trust Him!

"I Got Yor Number"

2012-01-16T21:17:00.000-05:00

Abigail came up to me this morning pulling a piece of paper out of her pocket and sheepishly said, "I got yor number." (I'm not exactly sure how to spell the funny way she said your.) It took me a minute to figure out what she said. I looked at the crumpled, folded piece of paper and written on it was the number that I use as the password on my iphone. As I got the story out of the kids it cracked me up.

I didn't have a password for a while but then the kids were using it a little too freely so I put a password on it. Recently Caleb figured it out and I guess shared it with Hannah who (I found out today) wrote it in her diary. I guess Abigail had sneaked into Hannah's diary and wrote it on a scrap piece of paper for her to carry around.

This may not be funny to anyone reading it (especially if you don't know Abigail) but we all had a good laugh.

Hot/ Sweet Mustard Dip

2012-01-14T14:56:00.002-05:00

When I lived in Houghton I used to go to a Tuesday morning prayer group at Fillmore Wesleyan Church. One week a friend of mine brought a delicious mustard pretzel dip (I don't even like mustard!) and I got the recipe from her. Last week I made some and the kids told me that it is a recipe that they want me to give them when they grow up so I decided to post it here to my blog. Sorry, I didn't get a picture. It's already gone. Maybe next time I make some I'll take a picture.

Hot/ Sweet Mustard
Ingredients:
2 3oz containers of dry mustard (.375 pounds, I measured it to be about 1 1/2C once)
2 C white vinegar
1C sugar
2 well beaten eggs
1t salt
1C miracle whip or mayo
Instructions:
Mix the dry mustard in a bowl with vinegar. Cover the bowl and let it sit out overnight. Next day dump the mixture in a saucepan and add the salt, eggs, and sugar. Stir constantly as you boil the mixture. When it coats the spoon it is ready to remove from heat. Add the miracle whip or may. You may have to beat it in if there are chunks. Will keep for several weeks in the refrigerator. [mine never does - it gets eaten too quickly!]

Enjoy with pretzels - yummy!

Doing Some Dragon Slaying

2012-01-11T21:07:00.000-05:00

We had a wonderful two weeks off of normal life. No homeschooling. No Glenn's life being controlled by the schospital. No traveling (besides our day trip to Lowville). It was wonderful. Of course all of us got a little sick but, that is to be expected.

We also got a bit lazy over break. Sleeping in, not doing all the normal "need to do" things. I have been using "pomodoros" to get tasks done and had used several getting ready to start school back up on Monday when Glenn had to go in for Neuro orientation and we got to start school again. I was actually looking forward to it after the refreshing two week break.

Monday went well. I got up at 5:40, read my through the Bible (snuggled under the covers - PTL for Youversion!), then got up and exercised for a bit before taking Glenn to school. School went well with hardly any back to school bumps (praise God!)

Tuesday didn't go so well. I overslept and days never go nearly so well when I oversleep and Tuesday was no exception. We made it through and I got an email that was titled "Slay Your Dragon Before Breakfast." Boy, did I need to read that one! He talks about Lethargy, his 3 headed dragon. The 3 heads are Pneuma (spiritual), Soma (physical), and Nous (intellectual). He tells how he combats them by reading the Bible and then listening to audio books while exercising and how he must be slain before breakfast or the dragon wins. I know that I have the same 3 headed dragon that too often wins in my life and I knew that I really need make some choices to slay him (me!) daily.

Today I woke up cognizant of that dragon lurking in my bedroom. I grabbed my iphone and opened youversion. After doing my reading I went to the living room to spend some time doing Wii Fit. (I like running with Wii Fit because I see the Miis of friends and family members and it prompts me to pray for them - and I'm too much of a wuss to run outside.) Glenn ran with me this morning which was fun. :) Today went much better. I am not sure what I am going to do about slaying that intellectual dragon. I know that my brain is not where it should be, nor do I really ever challenge it. I would be open to suggestions.

So, I am trying to make life change. Maybe too many at once (but they are all necessary!). Hello Mornings starts on Monday and I am looking forward to the accountability that it will (hopefully) bring.

Gotta get everything set for tomorrow when I need to get up and slay that dragon again.

Want to save money?

2012-01-09T19:07:00.003-05:00

A new book is coming out tomorrow. The Money Saving Mom's Budget: Slash Your Spending, Pay Down Your Debt, Streamline Your Life, and Save Thousands a Year by Crystal Paine. She's giving all the proceeds to fund a Child Survival Program in the Dominican Republic. I've learned a lot and my family has been blessed through her blog moneysavingmom.com. The most exciting thing?? She just found out that she has already been able to fund an entire YEAR of the program through this book - AMAZING what God can do!! Check out the book :)

Blessing from Budas?

2012-01-07T23:12:00.002-05:00

Tonight I was throwing together soup to put in the crockpot for after church tomorrow. I had some hard old tortillas so I thought it would be as good a time as any to try Chicken Tortilla Soup. I googled it and came up with the general idea of what to put in it and went to the kitchen to throw stuff in the pot... shredded cooked turkey from the freezer, a can of crushed tomatoes, a can of black beans, some spices, some chopped peppers and onions. A few of the recipes called for corn so I thought it was as good a time as any to pull out the #10 can of corn that I'd picked up at Buda's a couple of weeks ago. I am not a big canned veggie fan but canned corn isn't that bad and I figured I could use it in a couple of soups and that it would be fine.

Normal looking can

30 servings? not too many when you are feeding 6 people.

WHAT??? This was unexpected. I made all the kids get out of bed to see this one :)

I was not expecting corn on the cob. I am not really sure how 30 people would share the 11 ears of corn that was in that can. Oh well. I cut all the corn off the cobs and put some in the soup and set some aside for another day. Never knew that corn on the cob came in a can. What interesting things we find at Buda's :)

Overheard Conversation

2012-01-07T21:53:00.000-05:00

This is a conversation that I just overheard.

G: Hey buddy, your room get picked up?
C: Yes.
G: Was it easier?
C: Yeah, 'cause I know where everything belongs.

Love this. I don't know that it was the answer that Glenn was looking for but it was an answer that made me happy. I want this to be true of our whole house.

Hurray for a less cluttered 2012!

Twelve Days of Christmas 2011 Lego Version

2012-01-06T23:18:00.000-05:00

God has blessed us. We know that. We are reminded of it again and again. He doesn't have to bless us but He does again and again. This year for the Twelve Days of Christmas we have been super-abundantly blessed in how we were able to bless our kids with a gift from God.

We usually celebrate the Twelve Days of Christmas. I blogged about our normal Twelve Days/ Epiphany Traditions. This year was different. This was a special year. One reason it was extra special was because Glenn was around and we were home for all twelve days this year. I am very much appreciating that he had a two week Christmas break this year. I know that it, most likely, will never happen again. I know that and we have tried to make the most of it.

The second reason that these twelve days have been extra special is because of an amazing find that God allowed Glenn to find on Craigslist for our kids. Our kids love Legos. They got a bunch of Legos last year from their aunt and uncle and then they used their Christmas money to buy a bunch of them from Craigslist. One thing that they really wanted for Christmas was more Lego minifigures. There are a couple of Lego Education minifigure sets on Amazon that we've looked at and drooled over but the price sky rocketed on them. A few weeks before Christmas Glenn did his normal searches on craigslist and found someone selling their Legos up near Fort Drum. He and Caleb drove up and got them (though Caleb had no idea what they bought) and when we got home we dug through and found out that we could make this year's twelve days of Christmas one that they would never forget.

So, here is it, 2011 Twelve Days of Christmas - Lego Style (written by our kids):

On the first day of Christmas our parents gave to us a news reporter.

On the second day of Christmas our parents gave to us two rascally bandits.

On the third day of Christmas our parents gave to us three car mechanics.

On the fourth day of Christmas our parents gave to us four movie crew men.

On the fifth day of Christmas our parents gave to us five cowboys

and their horses.

On the sixth day of Christmas our parents gave to us six knights with spears.

On the seventh day of Christmas our parents gave to us seven soldiers with rifles.

On the eighth day of Christmas our parents gave to us eight pirates fighting.

On the ninth day of Christmas our parents gave to us nine merry men.

On the tenth day of Christmas our parents gave to us ten spacemen

with jet packs.

On the eleventh day of Christmas our parents gave to us eleven knights with shields.

On the twelfth day of Christmas our parents gave to us twelve Star Wars characters.

Here's the whole crew.

It was fun to watch them react to the mini-figures as they were presented each day. We were wondering how long it would take them to figure out what we were doing. On the morning of the sixth day Caleb went up to Glenn and said, "I really don't think that you can keep this up." Glenn asked him what he was talking about and he said that the night before he had figured out that for the twelve days of Christmas we would have to give them 78 mini-figures if we kept on at the current rate. We didn't really respond.

After we gave them the bin of Legos that we had dug the minifigures out of yesterday we told them that, most likely they will never experience a twelve days of Christmas like this again. They said they may sneak out the mini-figures and re-create it every year.

I'm so thankful for our kids and how they love to play together. We really don't know how many sets came in that bin but last night we got online and started to make Fort Legoredo, which I'm sure we have. I'm thankful for this big bin of Legos that we got for (as best as we can figure) less than 10% of the price.

Thanks, God, for blessing us with a twelve days of Christmas we'll never forget.

It's Epiphany/ Twelve Days of Christmas Song

2012-01-06T22:50:00.000-05:00

We enjoy celebrating the Twelve Days of Christmas. We started celebrating Epiphany before we started celebrating the Twelve Days because we read somewhere about another family's Epiphany traditions that we wanted to add to our family's collection of traditions.

We started our celebrating Epiphany by moving our wise men slowly from Christmas to Epiphany towards the nativity set. We have quite an entourage of wise men. I think that we have about 8 of them along with a couple of camels and an alpaca. Sometimes the elephants join the entourage too ;)

On Epiphany we generally eat Chinese take out (because the wise men came from the East) and we usually give each of the kids 3 small gifts (because the wise men brought 3 gifts to the baby Jesus).

The last couple of years we have been in Wyoming for Christmas so on Epiphany is when we gave our kids the gifts that we had gotten for them.

A few years ago we picked up The 12 Days of Christmas the story behind the favorite christmas song at a book closeout store and we have enjoyed reading through it with the kids on the twelve days between Christmas and Epiphany. The premise behind the book is that it is a song to teach children basic Christian beliefs. Here is the run down that I've posted on facebook based on these readings and my own thoughts about them:

On the first day of Christmas my True Love gave to me a partridge in a pear tree. Thank You Jesus for dying on the cross for me!

On the second day of Christmas my True Love gave to me two turtledoves and a partridge in a pear tree. According to our book the turtledoves are to represent the two doves Mary and Joseph sacrificed when they presented Jesus at the temple. Jesus definitely wasn't born into a rich family. I'm thankful He was willing to give up the splendor of heaven to be born into a poor family so He could identify with all of us.

On the third day of Christmas my True Love gave to me three French hens... French hens used to cost much more than ordinary chickens and they remind us of the three costly gifts (fit for a King - the King of kings!) that were given to Jesus by the wise men.

On the fourth day of Christmas my True Love gave to me four calling birds... Matthew, Mark, Luke and John each wrote the story calling us to believe in Jesus. Each of the gospels tell the story of Jesus from a different perspective and were written "that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that by believing you may have life in His name." Jn 20:31

On the fifth day of Christmas my True Love gave to me five golden rings.... The 5 rings represent the Torah, the Pentatauch, the Law, the first 5 books of the Bible which the Jewish people consider 5 treasures worth more than gold. I love the Law because it shows me that there is NO WAY that I can do anything to gain God's acceptance on my own. I desparately need a Savior to cover my sin. Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

On the sixth day of Christmas, my True Love gave to me six geese a-laying.... Eggs hold new life. The Bible tells us of 6 days of new life - creation! Creation is so amazing! "For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God." (Romans 1:20 NLT) Thanks God for creation!

On the seventh day of Christmas my True Love gave to me seven swans a-swimming.... The seven swans are to remind us of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit that help us to grow and serve others - prophecy, serving, teaching, exhortation, giving, leadership and showing mercy. Thanks God for the spiritual gifts You've given me. Please help me to use them for Your glory.

On the eighth day of Christmas my True Love gave to me eight maids a-milking.... They are to remind us of the eight Beatitudes in Matthew 5. Looking at them again tonight they are so contrary to how we normally think. Who would ever think that the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the gentle, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and those persecuted for their faith should be considered blessed? In our culture we consider them cursed. In God's eyes they are blessed because this world is not the end and I'm so glad.

On the ninth day of Christmas my True Love gave to me nine ladies dancing.... The nine ladies dancing are to remind us of the nine qualities that the Holy Spirit produces in our lives - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. I used to work hard at trying to live out these characteristics. This fall I came to the realization that these are God's c...haracteristics. Just like my kids act like me (the good and the bad) because they spend so much time with me if I want to act like God I need to spend time with Him. The more time I spend with Him the more like Him I will become. It was freeing. It's not about me trying hard but the Holy Spirit working in and through me spending time time with my Best Friend.

On the tenth day of Christmas my True Love gave to me ten lords a-leaping.... Lords were important men whose commands had to be obeyed. The ten lords are to remind us of the ten commandments that show us how to love God and others.

On the eleventh day of Christmas my True Love gave to me eleven pipers piping.... Pipers were men who traveled around and played their pipes causing children all over town to follow them. Twelve disciples followed Jesus but only eleven faithfully stayed with Him. The eleven pipers remind us to faithfully follow Jesus and pipe the song of God's love everywhere we go.

On the twelfth day of Christmas my True Love gave to me twelve drummers drumming. Drummers keep a steady beat so that everyone stays together. The twelve drummers remind us of the twelve beliefs that most Christians have in common known as the Apostles Creed. "I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy ...Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell; the third day he rose from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father. He shall return to judge both the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting." Rich Mullins' song Creed has been going through my head all day. I believe it!

A friend gave me a link to a play based on the book that I may have the kids do as we celebrate the Twelve Days next year :)

First Visit to Lowville

2012-01-04T20:30:00.000-05:00

We went up to Lowville today to meet the doctors that Glenn will be working with up there and tour the hospital and their office in Lyons Falls. Dr. Lynn met us, picked up lunch for us, drove us down to the office where we were able to meet Dr. Dan, then took us back up and showed and introduced us around the hospital. Everyone was very friendly and excited about having another student. We were given a long list of things that we must do while living in Lowville (including the county fair- everyone goes to the county fair and we should go every day and submit anything we've made in the last year for judging). It seems that quilting is a big thing so I may have to learn to use our new to us sewing machine. It was fun to ride in their van and getting a running list of all that was around to see and do. (I should have been writing stuff down!) We got to drive past some townhouses/ apartments that had been built as housing for Fort Drum that are now privately owned where we will, most likely, be living. I was also given the names of a few homeschool families who might be starting a 4H group our kids could possibly be a part of.

After leaving the hospital we stopped in the library for a bit and I read a couple books to Abigail. We met Dawn, the children's librarian, and she told us about all the homeschool resources that they had and the summer reading program and the wii room downstairs that I can use as an incentive for the kids whenever I want, just talk to her. She also put in a big plug for the county fair. I think it might be fun living in a small town.

After leaving Lowville we drove to Adams and met us with some friends of ours from our TTU days, John and Michele. It was fun to catch up with them and meet their 4 kids who enjoyed munching french fries, drinking pop and goofing around with our 4. The natives all got a bit restless after 2 hours sitting in a booth in a McDonalds with no playland (they all did great) and we headed back down to Syracuse with hopes to meet up again soon since we now know how ;)

On the way home we drove through Lights on the Lake at Onondaga Lake Park because we'd bought tickets for it at Wegmans and hadn't been there yet. It was fun to see all the light displays but the flashing lights contributed to headaches and we headed home ate grilled cheese quick and are heading to bed early.

So... It looks like Lowville it is, Lord willing. We're looking forward to what God has in store.

Sewing 101

2012-01-03T11:44:00.009-05:00

First this is a guest post because I don't know where else to post this and thought it was too fun to not post.

So I have been looking at sewing machines for some time as I have found many different projects that I thought were neat and useful but couldn't make because I didn't have access to a sewing machine. So I finally bit the bullet and bought a machine that I have been looking at for over a month. So here is a post about my new sewing machine and my first sewing project since home economics with Brenda Anderson.

The "new" sewing machine. My guess is it is about 60 years old

A demonstration of why I made my first sewing project.
(Notice tie draping on patient)

Oh, no that tie is now in this poor sick patient's face

Now with the first sewing project in place. Look how well behaved that tie is.

Here is a picture of the project. It is salvaged from a shirt I ruined during internal medicine when I put my pen in not capped :-( I got the idea from this site during a rotation this summer but didn't have a machine to make it until now. All I really did was add some seams to the top where I cut it out of the shirt and added a hem to the edge that was on the inside of the shirt. It isn't pretty but it is functional as the picture above proves and I got to make sure the new to me machine worked (at least straight stitching and simple zig-zag work.)

One last picture for the archives. The tie is on her face completely I'm listening to her nose with my stethoscope. She was freaking out saying
"How many peoples' faces has this tie been on?"

Which is due to this ad from who knows when.

"Will you go out without knowing?"

2012-01-02T23:02:00.000-05:00

Today we sorted through books and games in preparation for moving. We got rid of some of them, probably not enough. We've packed 9 book boxes so far. (I'm sure I said "I love Baxter boxes." at least once.)

As we were sorting through books I came across My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers. I am always challenged by that little book. At some point in the past I had put a squiggly circle around the date January 2nd. It is titled "Will you go out without knowing?" I read it to our family this afternoon. The scripture reference was Heb. 11:8 "He went out, not knowing where he was going." (That reference always makes me think of our Sunday School to the Extreme which Caleb remembers only too well...)

Anyway, I think that this devotional is the story of our lives. Here is what it says:

"Have you ever “gone out” in this way? If so, there is no logical answer possible when anyone asks you what you are doing. One of the most difficult questions to answer in Christian work is, “What do you expect to do?”You don’t know what you are going to do. The only thing you know is that God knows what He is doing. Continually examine your attitude toward God to see if you are willing to “go out” in every area of your life, trusting in God entirely. It is this attitude that keeps you in constant wonder, because you don’t know what God is going to do next. Each morning as you wake, there is a new opportunity to “go out,” building your confidence in God. “. . . do not worry about your life . . . nor about the body . . .” (Luke 12:22). In other words, don’t worry about the things that concerned you before you did “go out.”

"Have you been asking God what He is going to do? He will never tell you. God does not tell you what He is going to do— He reveals to you who He is. Do you believe in a miracle-working God, and will you “go out” in complete surrender to Him until you are not surprised one iota by anything He does?

"Believe God is always the God you know Him to be when you are nearest to Him. Then think how unnecessary and disrespectful worry is! Let the attitude of your life be a continual willingness to “go out” in dependence upon God, and your life will have a sacred and inexpressible charm about it that is very satisfying to Jesus. You must learn to “go out” through your convictions, creeds, or experiences until you come to the point in your faith where there is nothing between yourself and God."

I love the "constant wonder" in our lives. I don't worry (nearly as much now) when challenges come up because I know that I can trust God entirely. He has shown us who He is and that He is trustworthy. I don't know that we've ever completely "gone out" like Abraham did but I know that God is faithful and will take care of us no matter what.

Thanks God for the reminder of how trustworthy You are and that I don't need to know what the next step is, I just need to know and follow You.

The song going through my head is being sung by Bob Weston who used to come and share about his ministry at Seneca Community Church when I was growing up (see if you can hear his Jamaican accent in this song):
     If you know the Lord is helpin' you, what you gotta worry about?
   If you know the Lord is helpin' you, why don't you scream and shout?
   Ohhh, Glory, hallelujah, praise His name, Ev'ry day He's just the same
If you know the Lord is helpin' you, what you gotta worry about?
Me no worry, me no fret, 'cause Jesus never fail me yet.
Me no worry, me no fret, 'cause Jesus never fail me yet.
Ohhh, if you know the Lord is helpin' you, what you gotta worry about?
   If you know the Lord is helpin' you, why don't you scream and shout?
   Ohhh, Glory, hallelujah, praise His name, Ev'ry day He's just the same
If you know the Lord is helpin' you, what you gotta worry about?
That man sang the most amazing version of "His Eye is on the Sparrow" I've ever heard:
    I sing because I'm happy
    I sing because I'm free
   For His eye is on the sparrow
   And I know He watches me.

Five Minute Friday (belated): Open

2012-01-01T17:05:00.000-05:00

I'm a little late on Five Minute Friday. It is Sunday after all but here it is... 5 Minutes on Open.

START

When I saw the work "Open" as the theme for Five Minute Friday I groaned. I didn't like the look of that word and didn't know where to go with it so I decided not to write about "open."

In walks the Holy Spirit.... Why does He always have to walk in? Anyway, there is an idea that has been going around for a number of years of picking a word to try to live out for the year. Last year the word that I picked was "present." I started well (I always start well....) but lost steam somewhere along the way.

This weekend God has been working on my heart that my word for this year should be "open." Ouch. I don't want to be open. What does open look like?

Here are some of the things that I feel God is calling me to open:
1. my eyes
2. my ears
3. my heart
4. my life
5. my home
6. my bank account
7. my Bible

I'm sure that there are other things throughout this year that God is going to call me to open. I am not sure if I am ready for them yet. I don't know that I'm ready for these 7 yet either but thanks Gypsy Mama for being used of God to being this word to my heart and mind.

Welcome to the year of open. God please open me for your glory this year.

STOP