HIS New Mercies

Grout and Babies

2009-03-28T18:36:00.000-07:00

Carley was six months old on Monday. She is a complete joy, even if we don't sleep at night. Pray Prevacid will work better than cereal, Zantac or Nexium. The other two pictures are of Taylor and her best friend (also named Taylor) helping Richard grout our new glass tile backsplash. HYSTERICAL.

Family weekend

2009-02-19T06:26:00.000-08:00

This past weekend, Scott and the children and I met Mom, Daddy, Will, Mel and Callan in Clayton, Georgia to celebrate Will's 30th birthday. We had an awesome time eating, snow tubing (sans prego Mel unfortunately), playing laser tag and bowling, eating, worshipping together, eating, playing cards, talking, laughing, pulling teeth and eating. I am so thankful for the blessing of memories.

Reagan pulled his second tooth while we were there.

Dada in the Batman mask.

The babies!!

Carley loves her Uncle Will!

Taylor has some news...

Green peas are gross!

2009-02-09T17:45:00.001-08:00

A few recent pictures

2009-01-26T10:53:00.000-08:00

OUCH!

2008-12-21T15:12:00.000-08:00

This may be one of the most shallow posts I've ever done, but take it very seriously.

This is a WARNING for my lady friends!

Do NOT get your upper lip "threaded."

EVER!

The tears were rolling down my face!

2008-12-11T07:25:00.000-08:00

Excerpts from A Thousand Shall Fall, by Bodie and Brock Thoene...

"My father...loves me. I will not...be afraid...A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee."

Have you ever felt like the whole world has turned against you? Have you felt hopeless? alone? afraid? abandoned?

When difficult times come, Lily pleads with God:

"You ain't brought us so far to break us to pieces. Don't matter what's out there or what ain't out there no more. I'm believin' you, Jesus. You see when one sparrow falls. You spin clothes for the lilies...I ain't gonna fear nothin'! Ain't gonna fear hunger! Ain't gonna fear bein' poor! Ain't gonna fear what men do to me! Ain't gonna fear bein' alone!"

Because of her faith, her friend realizes anew: "When there's nothing left to give the Lord, then you have to look at what you have. Your soul. Yourself. And that is the only gift he wants from His children...Maybe this is what the Lord wants from us. For us to look to Him. To trust Him like a Father."

Do you--can you--trust God like a Father? trust Him to provide for you in the midst of loneliness, fear, and prejudice? trust Him to plant you deep, like a tree, so that no "wind" can "bust" you?

When you are feeling scared and alone, why not follow the advice of the mother in the book?

"Don't put your trust in nothin' else. All else is shiftin' sand. Just read Psalm 91 when you are feelin' scared. It'll tell you all you need."

Life will always be complicated. If you seek diligently, you will find the One who holds all the answers to the universe (I Chronicles 28:9).

Psalm 91
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."
Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.
A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.
You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.
If you make the Most High your dwelling—even the LORD, who is my refuge--
then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent.
For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;
they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
"Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation."

Happy Birthday, Mel!

2008-12-01T19:20:00.000-08:00

I would like to give a shout out today to the birthday girl.

Melodie is about the closest thing to a sister I could have. Will blessed us all when he got on his knee and begged for her hand in marriage (even if she did want orange juice so badly that she almost missed the proposal).

After she was a great server at my favorite restaurant (even if she did offer a tampon instead of a straw and even if she did drop an earring in a customer's spaghetti and a crab cake in another customer's purse), she became a wonderful, relaxed, and calm first-time mother who's very generous with her precious baby girl.

She is a hard-working stay-home mom who appreciates that her husband's work ethic allows her to stay home with her baby girl.

She is a great friend to many--girls, boys, kids, babies, men, older men (go Cliff!) and women.

She came into what was Will's world and happily made it her own. She is pro-active and involved at church and is adored by everyone there who has had the opportunity to be welcomed by her.

She loves my children, which seals the deal. When Reagan was a toddler, she used to watch the Wiggles and do their dances with him. How many aunts do that?

She is eternally thoughtful and never forgets a thing.

She is a dream daughter-in-law for my parents.

She is so good to go into our family get-togethers and hug everyone. She has done that since the first time she went to either of our grandparents' houses, just like they were her family all along.

She never meets a stranger.

She has a HYSTERICAL sense of humor and says funny, funny things (even though I don't think she's a natural blonde). I hope she forgives us for laughing and understands that it's terribly endearing (even if Keep Lee and the rest of us do beat her menus with a dead horse).

She loves her God and talks to him faithfully.

I love you, Mel, and am proud to call you my sister-in-law. :)

Sweet anniversary gift

2008-12-01T06:33:00.000-08:00

Last night, T&T asked if they could have 5 mins at bedtime to "discuss something in Taylor's room."

This morning, Tyler brought me a note that said, "Taylor and I need to talk to you and Dad in Taylor's room." When Scott and I got in there, there were three anniversary cards on Taylor's bed and Taylor's room was clean. Tyler also had wrapped two CDs up for us. :) Then, they had us go look at Reagan's room.

(Back up 11 hours--yesterday afternoon, Reagan had three NEAT [and big] piles of clean clothes on his bed for me to put away. By bedtime last night, ALL those clothes were on the floor along with about 5 pairs of shoes, who knows how many changes of clothes from playing yesterday [he changes about 3 times a day], toys and playing cards. I WANTED to kill him last night...)

So we go into Reagan's room and IT IS SPOTLESS. All the clean clothes are put away, the shoes are organized and the dirty clothes are in the hamper. They had even made up the top bunk (because he came to our bed at some point last night) and had laid out his clothes for school today.

They told us they had planned to pick up the house but found Scott on the couch (Reagan ran him off, I guess) and didn't want to wake him.

Then they told us that they had been up since 3:30. YEP! You read that right. They set their alarms for 3:30 AM.

They showed us the schedule.

Although we'll have to have a talk about getting up at 3:30 in the morning (OH MY!!), they worked very hard to start out this day great for us. I just had to brag on them a bit and tell you how sweet and thoughtful they are. :)

Here are their funny cards. Please forgive their spelling--I didn't proofread. :) Notice that the whole family is pictured on Taylor's card (first) and the Jordan logo on Scott's shirt in Tyler's card. They make me laugh.

Happy Anniversary, Scott! Enjoy that DVR!!

Gracious

2008-11-29T18:59:00.000-08:00

I needed this one...

Gracious...Now I like that word. Not a Terrell Owens or Randy Moss word. No, this word is reserved for people who recognize that they are privileged to receive what they have been given. A gracious person is wonderful just to be around. So what is a gracious person?
A gracious person is slow to take credit and quick to lavish praise.
A gracious person never seeks to embarrass another. Humiliating another is not in this person's vocabulary. (And please...don't say something that humiliates another and then try to escape responsibility by saying, "I was only joking.")
A gracious person is always thanking others. Do you go through an entire day without thanking another?
A gracious person doesn't monopolize the conversation. Someone else has something to offer.
A gracious person doesn't try to play "one up-manship". ("That's nothing, you should have seen what I did!").
A gracious person pays attention to people. Sometimes people come away from such conversations saying, "He made me feel like I was the most important person at that moment."
A gracious person desires to say what is appropriate. He doesn't just say what is on his mind or whatever he might be thinking. (There is no redeeming value in emptying one's mind of whatever fleeting thought has happened to land at the moment).
A gracious person looks out for the comfort of others. "Would you like a cup of coffee? What about a coke? Can I get you a newspaper while I'm out?" etc.
A gracious person understands that she is not indispensable. You've seen this person. She desires constant attention. She has a way of constantly focusing most any conversation back on herself. There is a humility in realizing that you are dispensable.
A gracious person constantly points out the good that he sees. Maybe you are visiting a friend who lives in another place. Instead of pointing out the inadequacies of your friend's community, you are constantly finding things that are good. "This cafe has outstanding peach pie! That was delicious." "I just love the way you have planted your garden. It is beautiful!" Gracious people look for the good.

Jim Martin
Preacher of Crestview Church of Christ

WE HAVE ANOTHER NEW NIECE!

2008-11-22T13:31:00.000-08:00

Hailey Fay Osborne was born last night around 8:10!!!

She weighs 8 lbs, 9 oz, and is 21" long.

Congratulations, Chris and Lindsey! Thanks for making us an uncle, and aunt, and cousins again!

carley's first worship experience, TT&R update and praise report

2008-11-16T11:55:00.000-08:00

she couldn't have done better. :) yeah!!

she slept all the way through the service, even when she had to go up onto the stage with mr. eddie--and reagan--for mr. george to pray over her and ask the congregation to love her and be a support system for us as we raise her. (they do that with all the babies their first time to church and it's wonderful and so special.) i woke her up to feed her during class and she was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed (even smiling at people) until lunch, when she fell asleep again.

thank you, Lord, for happy babies and loving church families.

updates on the other crazies: tyler and taylor have started basketball. it's fun and not always fun. their teams haven't had much practice and the school can't afford a coach yet so they're not learning too terribly much. this makes scott almost spontaneously combust but he's being patient and we know they're only in the sixth grade. they're both really quick, though (should we credit their dad or their papa?), and will be good ballers in the end. you wouldn't believe what scrappers they are. tyler has gotten a lot more aggressive than in baseball, which is great. taylor is a little stealer and she's so fun to watch.

reagan got into the communion bread and juice at church last week. ask him about it sometime. no wonder he kept saying he had to go to the bathroom. he's the crazy one. he got a new football friday night and i said, "another football? that makes about 17." he said, "mom, i haven't had a new one since 1983!"

and now for a praise report! bear with me. it's worth the read. (at least it will be to will and mel.)

i have been praying and have asked others to pray about our going home to alabama for christmas this year. it's not our year to go but we have a new baby, emily has a new baby, and my cousin has new twins. scott said friday that we can go (yippee!!) BUT airfare is really high right now (even southwest is almost three times what we usually pay) and driving uses up two days (and way too much energy and patience). so, we keep praying.

well, mom calls today and tells me that she has just received a free rapid rewards award that we can use. YEAH! that's a free ticket. thank you, Lord.

i know that we have a free one coming because of our american express points so i log on just now to get the points transferred over and we only lack 7 points. YEAH!!! that's free ticket #2. thank you, Lord.

next, however, when i log on to scott's southwest account, i see that he already has a free ticket that i didn't know about...BUT it expires on november 25!! i was just sick.

THEN i do a little more research and find the words"reinstate award."

come to find out, for a $50 fee, you can have them extend the expiration date another 12 months!!!

YEAH!! that's "free" (well, technically $50) ticket #3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THANK YOU, LORD!!!

so, now we only have to pay for two tickets!

i think i'll hold out for two more free ones.

as beth moore would say, "Lord, please show up and BE BIG!"

Just some new pics

2008-11-08T15:29:00.001-08:00

My crazy little man...

Our sweet baby girl...

Believe it or not, these children all belong to only two familes! Ella (3, with her Disney Princess hair from Magic Kingdom), Taylor, Carley, Emma (12, who was three the last time I saw her), Britton (9, for whose birth I spent all night at the hospital), Brayden (6, who doesn't like butter but "loves sour cream"), Reagan and Tyler

Thank you, Callan, for letting us borrow this sweet outfit!

Look how fun!

2008-11-06T19:56:00.000-08:00

Scott's sister has a baby shower at work tomorrow so Mom and I made this diaper cake for her tonight. I'm just a little bit excited about it. lol (Just ask Mel. I made her pause ER to look at pictures.)

Goings on...

2008-11-04T10:39:00.001-08:00

Yes, I'm blogging when I should be cleaning my house!

For the month of October, Reagan was chosen as the student who most exhibited the month's studied character trait: kind. He might not face the front like he should and he might be too rough on the playground sometimes and he might actually hit someone on the head with a block accidentally, but he's apparently kind. :) They gave out the award in chapel today.

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-02T05:46:00.000-08:00

Darth Vader was in full effect on Halloween. He had to get a flu shot but the rest of the day was great because he got a good report at school and got to wear his costume everywhere, including to the doctor (for said shot) and to Smokey Bones for BBQ! :) Carley's bear costume was so huge and she just wanted to eat it so she ended up smiling and sleeping in the stroller while Darth Vader begged for candy (and lamented all the chocolate donations). Tyler and Taylor are in Alabama. We are so excited that they got to be with Nana and Papa during the Storytelling Festival but we missed them terribly. Before they left, we made a Gingerbread Haunted House. Not pretty but lots of fun.

And last, but not least...

HAPPY FALL, Y'ALL!

2008-10-25T19:13:00.000-07:00

WORLD SERIES BOUND!

2008-10-19T20:54:00.000-07:00

GO RAYS!

Yes, I'm up at midnight watching the Rays beat the Red Sox!!!

DR. BROWN ROCKS...so far

2008-10-16T07:14:00.000-07:00

Carley had gotten fussier and fussier over the last two weeks and then had a rough weekend and a horrible day Tuesday (four hours of crying almost non-stop). Of course Scott is out of town.

The doc called me back yesterday and, assuming it's reflux or just colic (did I say JUST colic?!!), recommended Dr. Brown's bottles. I pumped immediately and flew to Target (while she screamed the whole way) to get the bottles, then fed her in the parking lot.

Believe it or not, she's been a different baby in the last 18 hours.

Thank the Lord. Pray it continues...and GO GET SOME DR. BROWN'S BOTTLES!

Oneness of Identity

2008-10-15T11:58:00.000-07:00

"Who is this coming up from the wilderness Leaning on her beloved?" ~ Song of Solomon 8:5

In the book of the Bible, The Song of Solomon, there are several aspects of faithful commitment. The first is a oneness of identity. The question is asked, “Who is coming up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved?” (Song 8:5)

Solomon’s wife was unrecognizable as being distinguished from Solomon. They were one in the flesh and one in their place in society. Nobody perceived them as being apart from each other. That does not mean that Solomon’s wife lost all her identity as a person; it meant that nobody would dream of inviting Solomon to a social engagement without also inviting Solomon’s beloved wife, and nobody would think of flirting with Solomon because Solomon was committed to his wife and she to him.

We have all known couples who seem to go their separate ways even though they are still technically married. He does his thing, she does her thing, and the two of them rarely do the same thing.

That is not a faithful commitment. Marriage calls a person to a oneness of identity with another person.Paul urged, “Husbands love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church…Husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies” (Eph 5:25,28). This type of love is very personal. It requires a certain loss of self to take another person so completely into your own life that you make the other’s concerns equal to your own. That is a faithful commitment.

Does your marriage or relationship look like Solomon’s? Do you and your mate have a oneness of identity?

What are 2 ways that you could improve the unity in your marriage or relationship?

Will you commit to communicating these things to your spouse or significant other this week?

--Tommy Nelson

On a side note, please pray for my baby. I'm thinking she might have reflux. She has continued to get more and more fussy throughout the last week but it's been a really rough two days...

C&C

2008-10-13T20:56:00.000-07:00

Will, Mel and Callan are here and it's so fun. Our lives have changed drastically--no more quick trips (or long trips) to Target or Classy Consignment without bottles, carriers and diapers--but we wouldn't change it. We so look forward to the girls playing "dreth-up" together one day. So much so that we put their pumpkin hats on and tried to take a picture. These are a few of the better ones (out of about 100). It is NOT easy to take pics of babies but it was fun.

My pretty girls

2008-10-08T19:51:00.000-07:00

Nevertheless...

2008-10-07T05:28:00.000-07:00

I’d like to share a quote from When the Heart Cries, by Cindy Woodsmall. (Warning: if you haven’t read When the Heart Cries, the following is a plot spoiler.)

As she stared through the window, a soft whisper crossed her soul.
Nevertheless.
It was an odd word coming to her at an odd time, but it kept circling through her mind, whispering hope.
Life hurt. Nevertheless, it was a gift worthy of honoring.
Nevertheless.
The word came stronger this time, immediately lifting her spirits and causing sprigs of new faith to grow.
Her infant had died. Nevertheless, Rachel was now with God.
Hannah’s relationship with Paul was over. Nevertheless, God’s strength would pull her through.
If everything ended with God, then those who were in Him had a good ending—eventually.
A deep warmth comforted her.

I believe this is a truth for every believer. Nevertheless, God. I also believe there are untold victories to be won all throughout life as we fight the good fight.

Birthday story

2008-10-05T07:07:00.000-07:00

I think I'm never gonna have a chance to catch up with some of you. So, I'll tell you the birthday story here in short form...

My water broke Sat night in the night but I didn't know it. Thought it was a bladder control problem--sorry men. Sunday night, the same thing happened so I called Mon and went in and, sure enough, my water had broken. They sent me straight to hospital because of that but also because my Group B Strep was positive. I got to hospital at 1, and was b/t 2-3 cm. They did antibiotics for the GBS and b/c water had been broken awhile. Started Penicillin and it BURNED like nothing else. It was horrible. Doc came in, though, and wanted to change it to Ampicillin (sp?) because that covers more bacteria in case of infection. They started the antibiotic at 2, stopped it at 2:30, and started the Pitocin. They told me I could have an epidural whenever so I told them to bring it on. I think I felt 3-5 contractions total. They checked me at 4:00, and I was still b/t 2-3, so I assumed it would be a long night.

At 5, Mom called to say the kids were restless so I told them to go eat at the mall and then come on to the hospital. They gave me the second round of antibiotics at 6:00, and came in to stop it and check me at 6:30. Doctor started smiling and said, "I feel a big head but no cervix. You went from 2 to 10 in two hours, dear." Scott was SHOOK. He said, "What does that mean?" She said, "It means we're having a baby now!"

He had to call Mom and Daddy and tell them to abort the mall plan and get down there. They had me push once then made me stop because she was coming and they had to "suit up." I pushed during the next two contractions and she was born at 6:39. That means they checked me at 6:30, I pushed, they made me stop pushing, got their gear on, and I pushed twice more for her to be born in 9 minutes.

The recovery is WAY better than w/Reagan, which is not a surprise with such a shorter labor and delivery (18 hours with him and an hour and forty five minutes of pushing).

So the kids love her. They are great with her - want to see her and hold her but aren't too "in her face" about it all.

Anyway, there's the story. I am sorry I haven't caught up with several of you. It's just hard to get any alone time and when I do get a good break, knowing she'll sleep awhile, I try to nap. She's a good baby, though. :)

My helpers are gone :(

2008-10-04T16:33:00.001-07:00

My parents are so much help when they're here. Bless their hearts, I kept talking them into staying longer. They had been here for two-and-a-half weeks, though, and needed to get back to their lives in Alabama. Daddy has to ref soccer, work hours on the visitors' list and move chairs. Mom has to teach tomorrow, go to the jail tomorrow and drive to Nashville Monday for her aunt's funeral. PLUS they miss their OTHER new granddaughter.

There is no way to thank them appropriately for everything they do--taking the children to school and picking them up every day, driving back and forth to the hospital, getting Starbucks for me every morning on the way home from school, keeping up with the laundry, taking Reagan to baseball practice, sitting in the Florida September heat for Tyler and Reagan's baseball games, going to Taylor's volleyball games, fixing our smoke detectors and falling shelves and clothes hang-ups and garage car stoppers and stopped-up sinks and recessed light canisters, keeping up with the laundry, ironing, decorating for Halloween, letting me nap, stitching up holes in school uniform pants, helping with homework non-stop, cleaning the kitchen, helping with dinner, keeping up with the laundry, climbing on ladders to dust the things on the high shelves, teaching Reagan all sbout baseball, washing and vacuuming out my car, changing diapers (they didn't hate that part), hanging prints, taking pictures, etc. Did I mention keeping up with the laundry?

I will miss them terribly but I'm so thankful they have such full lives at home.

On another sad note, my big girl shaved her legs tonight for the first time and my little girl already weighs 9 lbs, 4 oz. WHERE IS THE TIME GOING???

Quick pics

2008-09-25T18:04:00.000-07:00

Worth the wait!

2008-09-23T13:45:00.000-07:00

Well, she's here!

She's beautiful (of course we think so), super-good so far and chunky with a bit of light brown hair.

I had an unfairly easy delivery (felt three contractions--GOD BLESS THE MAN WHO INVENTED EPIDURALS--and pushed three times) and feel great today.

She is the picture of health (How can ANYONE doubt God's power, much less existence?!!), weighing in at 8 lbs, 11.5 oz. She is 19.5" inches long and was born at 6:39 PM last night, after only about 5 hours at the hospital. :)

More details later but here is a picture for now.

Thank you all so very much for your faithful prayers and for feeling sorry for me a little bit. lol

Progress!

2008-09-16T11:50:00.000-07:00

I am 2 cm, 70% effaced, -2 station and I lost 2 lbs. That's progress, thank the Lord. :)

Natural induction

2008-09-15T13:18:00.001-07:00

Okay - it's official. I'm over this. I have been so very blessed to have a great pregnancy so far, even considering the bed rest, but now I'm over it. I can't get comfy and everything hurts when I am active at all. I know I'm not due for three more days but JEEZ-A-LOU!

So, any suggestions? I have tried eggplant parmesan (last Thursday), walking, Metamucil, spicy Mexican food, several more private suggestions and I actually bought some castor oil today. (I don't think I want to go that route because of the horror stories I've heard.) I have also heard of red raspberry leaf tea. Maybe I'll go find some tomorrow.

Any other ideas?

(This is a picture Tyler drew of me six years ago, when I was expecting Reagan and Tyler was 5.)

Memories

2008-09-10T11:13:00.000-07:00

Where, oh where does the time go? I looked at older posts today and this is from my first, more than two years ago. I might have to go have a good cry. How did they grow up so fast?

Ordinary Things

2008-09-10T07:26:00.001-07:00

Ordinary Things

I believe that God sometimes speaks to us through the ordinary things in our lives–even those things that are so ingrained in our daily routine that we hardly notice them at all.
As I arrived to work yesterday, my right hand reached to my hip where I usually find my corporate ID badge. As my hand fumbled and searched in vain my face flushed with the realization that my badge was not there, but rather hanging comfortably in its normal nightly resting place at home.

My first thoughts were of the hassle of checking in at the security desk, the delay it would cause and having to surrender my driver’s license. These thoughts were quickly replaced with thoughts of embarrassment resulting from the impending call to Human Resources, arriving late to my cube and the “special” ID badge I would have the privilege of donning for the day–you know, the one with a black rectangle where your smiling face should be and the wide red stripe at the bottom that serves as a beacon to tell everyone that you forgot your badge again.

As I passed through the turnstile and clipped the badge on my shirt I noticed two words in bold font on the badge in place of my name. The words were certainly not unfamiliar, in fact I had seen them on a similar badge that I wore two days before. The difference was that this time I heard a soft, gentle voice saying something to me. Very likely that voice had spoken the same thing on other occasions–times when I was simply too hurried or busy to notice. Maybe I was unable to hear because of all the other clamor in my life. Somehow this time was different. The two words were “Temporary Employee.”

Temporary was the word that caught my attention and I heard the quiet voice say “Son, the life you are experiencing now is just that: temporary.” Thoughts started racing through my mind and I realized how focused on the temporal I have become. Not only is my employment temporary, but so is the motorcycle I rode to work on, the garage that houses it, the home it is attached to, the clothes I hurried to put on, the bed I labored to roll out of and the list goes on. I thought about how I kissed my wife and son before I left home and about how temporary our very lives on Earth are. I thought of how my life seems to be spent flitting from one temporal thing to another.

However, temporal things are not the problem. The problem is my focus on the temporal to the exclusion of the eternal. I know in my heart that I should pursue the eternal with utmost priority, but find myself drowning in the Sea of Temporality. My heart knows that I should "seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33), but it seems as though this reality is hidden from my fleshly eyes and like the crew of the Starship Enterprise, I have encountered a temporal rift and am stuck in a loop forever retracing my steps.

Although frustrated with my own frailty, I know our God is the One who holds everything in the palm of His hand; the One who knows all the stars by name; all knowing, all powerful, yet full of tenderness and grace; longing to pour mercy into the hearts of His children. It is this knowledge that give this struggling soul hope. May the Lord continue to use ordinary things to remind us all to focus on what really matters in this life and especially as they relate to the life to come. May we be able to recognize the things that are temporal and use them to ensure our lives are ever being changed into the likeness of Jesus Christ the eternal Son of God.

© Jeff Bogue, September 9, 2008 (Special thanks to Bill Williams for passing this along!)

THERE IS AN END IN SIGHT!

2008-09-09T16:04:00.000-07:00

The doctor's office finally called today to schedule my induction. I do NOT want to be induced but I also don't want to go too far past my due date.

I'm due September 18, and they scheduled the induction for September 24. So, she'll be here in fewer than two weeks.

Thank goodness...I think.

When I think about the fact that there's going to be a baby in this house in fewer than 15 days, I could panic BUT when I think about being pregnant for two more weeks, I could cry. So, I guess either way is terribly frightening.

That's life, huh?

Madelyn is here!

2008-09-03T15:06:00.001-07:00

Introducing our new niece and cousin!

Madelyn Joy Tanksley, daughter of Jarod and Emily Kuykendall Tanksley, was born last night at 9:00, and weighed in at 8 lbs, 10 oz!!

Isn't she gorgeous?!

Priceless reaction

2008-09-01T06:25:00.001-07:00

Well, the surprise couldn't have gone better. Mel and Callan and I got home from the airport just before Scott and the children got home from church. Here is their reaction. Priceless! (And the reaction is quite typical. Tyler is lost and Taylor does her, "Tahhh-ler!" lol Tyler later admitted that he was thinking it was Carley. He's a silly boy.)

This morning, Reagan told Mel that he knew Mel was here because, "I mean, how would Callan get here? Did you mail her?" lol Last night, he said, "Mel, I knew you were here because who would take care of Callan?"

And this is Callan's bed while she's here. How sweet is she in Carley's moses basket?!!

GUESS WHO'S COMING TO SEE US!!!!

2008-08-29T19:54:00.001-07:00

AND I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

P.S. Last night, Taylor said, "Mom, I don't mean to hurt your feelings but...your tummy is HUGE! It looks like it hurts." Yes. My tummy is HUGE. And yes. It's beginning to hurt.

I HAVE TO BRAG!

2008-08-27T13:23:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know we all think our kids and our nieces and our nephews and our grandchildren are the cutest, but let's all be honest here. Callan is just about the cutest thing I have ever seen. I LOVE this new picture of her!!!

No change

2008-08-26T08:24:00.000-07:00

I had my 37-week doctor's appointment today and THEY DIDN'T EVEN CHECK ME. Waah waah waah. Oh well. Still hanging in there and feeling good. (By the way, that's me in the picture. I can say that because most of my readers live 12+ hours away.)

"In God alone is fullness of joy."

2008-08-23T15:28:00.000-07:00

More quotes from The Dangerous Duty of Delight, by John Piper.

"The end of the creation is that the creation might glorify [God]. Now what is glorifying God, but a rejoicing at that glory he has displayed?"

"We are commanded to rejoice in God. If obedience is doing what God commands, then joy is not merely the spin-off of obedience, it is obedience."

My personal favorite: "In God alone is fullness of joy and joy forever."

"God is glorified not only by His glory's being seen, but by its being rejoiced in. When those who see it delight in it, God is more glorified than if they only see it. His glory is then received by the whole soul, both by the understanding and by the heart."

My second favorite: "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him."

The glory of God is at stake in our pursuit of joy.

Our new favorite game

2008-08-20T15:08:00.000-07:00

Mom has been here this week. She brought Tiddlywinks for the kids and we are all addicted. They played every day. Reagan and I played today until time to go get T&T at school. Good times!

Amazing!

2008-08-19T16:08:00.000-07:00

More firsts

2008-08-18T19:02:00.000-07:00

School started today for all three kiddos. They all have to be at school at the same time and they're at two different schools so Scott took the twins and I took Reagan. Yes, I cried. Hard. It was not as easy as I thought it was going to be. What have I always told you girls? "Don't be pregnant when you take your child to kindergarten." Maybe someone should follow her own advice.

The kids did great, though, and completely loved it. T&T started a new school that is one mile from our house! If it works out that we love it as much as we think we will, Reagan will go there next year.

And, no, we don't have school tomorrow, thanks to Fay.

IMPRESSIVE!

2008-08-17T17:20:00.000-07:00

Until last night, I felt like I would be voting for the lesser of two "evils." I no longer feel that way. I was very, very impressed with Senator McCain and his answers last night, especially regarding the sanctity of life and the sanctity of marriage. If you missed Rick Warren's interview-style session with each candidate at the Saddleback Civil Forum, I highly recommend your taking the time to review it.

Scary

2008-08-16T12:28:00.001-07:00

Two awesome quotes

2008-08-15T06:24:00.000-07:00

I'm reading a new book that Will told me about, called The Shack. It's supposed to be amazing. As of right now, it has 1,023 reviews on Amazon. I'm almost done and will turn right around and read it through again to study it more and to underline and make notes. It's a neat work of fiction and actually very interesting, theologically ("interesting" being the key word). If you've read it, I'd love your thoughts.

For now, though, I want to share two quotes I read in it. Neither was written by the author, but are noted at the beginning of chapters.

"We routinely disqualify testimony that would plead for extenuation. That is, we are so persuaded of the rightness of our judgment as to invalidate evidence that does not confirm us in it. Nothing that deserves to be called truth could ever be arrived at by such means." --Marilynne Robinson, The Death of Adam

This quote is so applicable for this time in our lives and in the life of our nation: "Once abolish the God and the government becomes the god." --G.K. Chesterton

Wow!

NO MORE BED REST

2008-08-14T20:03:00.000-07:00

No more bed rest for me (or my poor family)!! I'm 35 weeks today and the doc says whatever happens happens. Of course, lest we get our hopes up, don't forget that I was on bed rest with Reagan, too, and he was three days late!!

It was fun while it lasted...

2008-08-06T19:34:00.001-07:00

Well, it was a great thought. I really had fun putting together a playlist. Listening to all those songs is good medicine. I believe, however, that I got a virus somehow out of the whole deal. Two Trojan viruses that possibly came from that site are not worth the playlist.

On a different note: One more week of bed rest. It's not as strict--I can drive and I can swim. I think I can...I think I can...

Fave tunes

2008-07-27T09:20:00.001-07:00

Well, bed rest makes you do strange things. I've been sitting here for two hours working on a playlist so you can listen to my favorite songs while you catch up on my blog. (Wow! Sounds fun, huh? lol) These are my favorite songs. I've had fun listening to them while I add to the list. Music is very nostalgic for me. There is a story or a memory behind every song. Enjoy!

BED REST

2008-07-27T07:14:00.000-07:00

Yep. Bed rest. After a scary night Friday night in the hospital, I'm on bed rest until further notice. (Yes--that's me in the photo, by the way. ROFL)

Carley is fine and active (they think she's over 5 pounds--OH MY!), the bleeding has stopped and the contractions are few and far between. We are very grateful for that. Bed rest is really hard for me but we'll do what it takes because Baby Girl needs to bake a little longer. (I'm 32 weeks.)

So, you two who read this, pray for her and me and my poor family who will have to step up and help a lot more around here. :)

Obama Cancels Visit to U.S. Troops in Germany

2008-07-25T07:01:00.000-07:00

"Barack Obama’s campaign said Thursday that the Illinois senator opted not to visit U.S. troops at military facilities in Germany because it would be 'inappropriate' to make such a stop on the campaign-funded leg of his trip."

WHAT?!!! I am stunned. This might be the biggest shocker yet--although I'm not sure why I'm shocked.

"Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs released a statement saying Obama originally wanted to visit troops at Landstuhl [Regional Medical Center, a military hospital in Germany,] to 'express his gratitude for their service and sacrifice,' and noted that he already visited troops in Iraq while he was part of an official congressional delegation.

"But he said the second leg of Obama’s trip was different.

"'The senator decided out of respect for these servicemen and women that it would be inappropriate to make a stop to visit troops at a U.S. military facility as part of a trip funded by the campaign,' Gibbs said.

"John McCain spokesman Brian Rogers said, 'Barack Obama is wrong. It is never inappropriate to visit our men and women in the military.'"

I am speechless.

Callan smiles

2008-07-24T17:50:00.001-07:00

Reagan is excited about his golf clubs (from May)

2008-07-24T17:48:00.001-07:00

Reagan gets practice changing a diaper

2008-07-24T17:42:00.000-07:00

Summer trip to Alabama

2008-07-10T08:46:00.000-07:00

For the two of you who frequent this blog, here are some pictures from our June Alabama visit.
Reagan got to see Leo & Una one day with Emma and Meg. We missed Elli but she had swimming lessons.

Emily and I compare tummies. Her Madelyn is due ten days before Carley.
Melodie threw me an awesome SURPRISE baby shower the first weekend we were there. For the party, Katie and Emily made the most beautiful cake I have ever seen.

Taylor got in some good practice with Callan.

Tyler and Taylor got to meet Callan for the first time.

We went to Glenn Rikard's farm in Tuscumbia.

Reagan made a new friend! He had a blast playing with Jackson Minor.

My sweet (and first) niece

2008-07-03T06:04:00.001-07:00

Isn't she PRECIOUS?!

A boy's obsession

2008-05-18T16:30:00.000-07:00

I have never known a five-year-old more obsessed with baseball (and he's loved it since he was two). He wants to watch the Marlins play every night. I know that the fact that Josh "Willinghammuw" has been so good to him started that. If he has to go to bed before the game is over, he calls my dad the next morning to find out if the Marlins won the night before. He calls Will to ask if he saw Dan Uggla's catch. He thought Henry Mann's name was Hanley (because of Hanley Ramirez). He acts out plays all day long with four pillows on the floor. When I once tried to get him to guess who was coming to visit, he first guessed Josh, then he guessed Dan Uggla. He is proud to be a switch "hittuw." He's definitely obsessed.

Guess!

2008-05-18T16:25:00.000-07:00

Can you guess what this baby is by looking at the picture?

Taylor is thrilled. Tyler is just happy she's healthy but Reagan wants a "brothuw." He still says it's a boy (even after our VERY OBVIOUS sono) and that "the baby is just trying to trick us." He doesn't believe the sono tech and tells us that we just have to trust him.

Coming September 18, 2008 - #4

2008-05-16T06:37:00.000-07:00

Another cheerleader?

IT'S OUT AND IT ROCKS...OF COURSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-04-01T15:06:00.001-07:00

DIFFERENT

2008-03-07T18:00:00.000-08:00

COLDPLAY HAS A NEW CD COMING OUT IN MAY!!!!! WE CAN'T WAIT!

For more information, go to http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/18915732/coldplay_at_work_on_something_different_for_upcoming_album.

My little Chandler

2007-11-27T08:07:00.001-08:00

You know the episode of Friends where they try to teach Chandler how to smile for pictures? Well, we have a Chandler at our house.

2007-11-27T08:04:00.000-08:00

Sweet and tender

2007-11-27T07:56:00.000-08:00

Psalm 23

2007-09-24T18:01:00.000-07:00

From Rhode Island's Living Proof Life Event

2007-09-03T16:43:00.001-07:00

My Dear Sister
God’s Divine Power
Has given you everything you need
To do life and to do it His way.
God has given you
Great and precious promises.
Start believing them
And acting on them.
When circumstances overwhelm you
Or people annoy you
Turn your faith into action.
Dispatch what you need
From the holding tank of the Holy Spirit
And God will blow your mind
With what He can do through you.
Never ever forget
You have been cleansed from past sins.
Go FREE from this place
And live on purpose.
Pour out your life for others.
Then one day
When you close your eyes on earth
You will open them and see Jesus.
And with arms full of riches
He’ll say, “Welcome Home!”
“Aren’t you beautiful!”
Now, go out into this world
And live like crazy!
Because your God
Is everything you need!

Amendment to previous post

2007-08-30T16:41:00.000-07:00

This is one of the best answers I got.

From a CoC minister: James 1 says that we sin when (1) we want wrong things (2) we desire them enough to sin in order to have them (3) we reap death (not right then, obviously - the result of sin is spiritual death, Rom. 3:23, 6:23).

I think we (from birth) inherit a tendency toward sin. We inherit the rebellious nature of Adam (and Eve) and therefore sin. Before we realize what it is, we've already sinned. That's not the same as saying babies are born in sin (I don't believe that) or that children sin (define "child"). If sin is rebellion against God (and it is), one has to know God's law/will in order to rebel against it. That brings up the old "age of accountability," thing, which is itself a misnomer because it's not about age (my opinion here), but about understanding.

Calvinistic doctrine, upon which a lot of "denominational" teaching is founded, does believe in "hereditary total depravity." (do a search for a discussion of that concept). That doesn't mean, of course, that every person in such a church believes that, but if you dig into the "official" church doctrine, there it is.

My answer to your last question is NO. I don't think there's a four-year-old extant who is in rebellion to God, and therefore not lost. They aren't saved (which would imply having sinned/been redeemed), they are safe (un-lost).

Confused now? Good. Me too.

Do children "sin?"

2007-08-28T16:51:00.000-07:00

Based on some drama we've been experiencing lately, I sent out the following email to several friends, pastors, ministers and family members: Do you believe that children sin or are sinners? Either way, what scripture have you found that convinces you of your answer. Do you think "denominational" churches "in general" teach that children are sinners? If they ARE sinners, and a young child dies before he has accepted Christ (say four-years-old), is his soul in danger?

Several have answered and several others were very interested in what I found out so I thought I would share some of the answer.

1. From a friend who was raised in the CoC and whose husband was raised in the Baptist church. "No we do not believe children can sin. The Baptist don't believe that either. They are saved once they can make the decision to accept Christ. Once they learn right from wrong and can make the decision to make Christ their Lord and Savior are they saved or unsaved."

2. From a former youth minister who is very versed in theology. "The short answer: No. The longer answer: There are reasons that some believe we are born in sin. There are reasons that others believe that we are not born in sin, but acquire that nature later. I believe both can be adequately proved and adequately disproved. Both sides claim the argument that the other side is “taking the passage out of context.” The OT and NT discuss sin-the nature of sin-moral code-ethics, etc, and the opposite group of doctrines salvation, fellowship with God, living in agreement with God, etc. The OT does not give a clear picture of God viewing children as evil, or sinful, or separate from him. From a few passages, one could surmise the opposite. Isaiah 7:16: “For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good…” Then you have the fact that when the Israelites sinned against God in the Desert, God only prohibited the adults from entering the Promised Land for their sin, the children were not charged with wrongdoing. In the NT, I can’t think of any passage where Jesus ever viewed children as sinful or separated from fellowship with God. However, in other NT passages, from the theology of Paul, some come to the belief of a child being born in sin. It seems to fit with a dualistic view of the human spirit. To say that we are born in sin eliminates the ambiguous argument of “the age of accountability.” Trying to prove with a Biblical argument just when someone hits that magic moment in life when they are now seen as adult enough to be accountable for faith and sin is a very difficult task (and in my opinion impossible). So for me, since I see nothing in the OT, or in any of the Gospels, or anything Jesus said, that would suggest that God/Jesus see babies/children as sinful and separated from God, I don’t hold to that belief. And the fact that even Paul’s theology is not clear on the subject.
So that leaves me with that horrendous argument of the magic moment of accountability. I can’t prove when that happens, nor can anyone else. So that is the end of my knowledge on this subject. However it is not the end of my current feelings and thoughts on the subject. BUT, that discussion will need to wait a year or so, be done face to face, etc."

3. From a current Presbyterian minister. "Well, here's my answer, and trying to stay Biblical. ALL have sinned and fall short of God's "expectation". Sin is not something you do, it is a condition that we as humans are literally born with. Just like the flu is a disease with symptoms that manifest itself as sneezing, coughing, fever, etc. SIN, as a condition, manifests itself in our actions (selfishness, jealousy, bitterness, lying, etc). We call these bad things we do "sin", but the reality is that the problem is deeper. Because I believe that sin is a condition, rather than things we do, I believe that even babies are born in this condition of sin. This answers your first question. Your second question.....Do I believe that many churches teach that children are sinners? I think that any church that teaches the Bible should teach this. Romans 3:23... "all have sinned." "If they ARE sinners, and a young child dies before he has accepted Christ (say four-years-old), is his soul in danger?" No, I believe absolutely not. I believe that we achieve salvation, not thru our own actions, but by God's action on the cross. This is what the Bible calls GRACE. None of us deserve salvation, since all fall short. So salvation is a GIFT from God through His son Jesus Christ. For the visual, Jesus bridges the gap (sin) between us and God. We can be reconciled to God because of Jesus' death on the cross. Some believe that there is an age of accountability. Since children and toddlers cannot even concieve of GOD, they will never truly be able to commit their lives or trust in Him... they would not understand that, therefore they are NOT accountable. Once we reach this age of accountability (when we can think abstractly), we choose to accept the GIFT or to deny it. I believe this is the only unforgivable sin: to deny Jesus Christ, and that can happen at a more mature age. Don't ask me what that age is! (-;"

4. From a member of a local Baptist church. "Hmm - this will be my opinion - not something I know from church...I've always heard/learned that children are ok until they reach the "age of accountability" but of course no one knows when that is. I've always thought it was when the child had a rational understanding of right/ wrong. I guess I've not thought much about it past that but since Bradley is growing up so quickly - I'm sure I need to think about it some more. I guess I've always been skeptical of the little ones who are baptized because I wonder if its them or their parents. But then our pastor was 5 when he was baptized. As far as Baptist faith teaching that children are sinners...I don't know what is taught in Sunday School. But I would say that through things like VBS they definitely give the plan of salvation w/ the elem. age kids. I've worked w/ the 5's (heading into Kdg) and we talk about doing things that are wrong, disobedience, etc. and how that makes God sad, etc. And I know that I've heard our pastor say at baby dedications something to the effect that "even though this little baby is so innocent and precious, we know that he/she was born into sin and will one day need to accept Christ as his/her Savior." Or something like that."

5. From a wise friend, member of a Presbyterian church. "Hey, boy, can you ask some questions! [My husband] got this yesterday and he wanted us to call you last night to talk it through but we were finishing our bathroom. I don't have much time since I am at work but here are a few things to think about: If we do not earn our salvation through good works, then do we earn our damnation/condemnation through "bad" works. At what point does the manifestation of sin become egregious enough to need to be atoned for? Is baptism a "work" or "an act of obedience" or a symbol of God's grace as we "enter" the visible church. Is our sinfulness a human condition/nature or is sin specific actions that over time result in our need of being saved. Can we ever know if someone who was baptized truly had a repentant heart and was regenerated? Is salvation man's action or God's action? In Romans, it talks about us all becoming sinful in Adam (through Adam's disobedience and rebellion) and us becoming restored through Christ. That is where I would go to understand the nature of sin. I don't have a Bible up here yet and don't have time to look for verses right now. The basic baptizing infants is like circumcision in the OT. It was an action that identified the child with the church. It was also a grace given at that time. It is part of doctrine that is called Covenant theology. As a member of the flock or church or congregation, the child will be brought up and nurtured in the things of Christ resulting in sanctification and progressive regeneration. The parents and the church vow to raise the child in a Godly fashion and teach him about his sinful nature and what Christ has done to restore him to God. It is our hope that there is never a day when a child does not understand that and love Christ in return. The child is still progressively responsible for obedient actions and Christian behavior. Since baptism earmarks him as a child of God and promises his Christian growth, he is assumed to have eternal life if he dies young. I know it's crazy. I'm sorry but I just thought of something. Salvation of young children is a problem area theologically regardless of which denomination or doctrine addresses it. You either have to give them a bye by establishing "an age of accountability" or you have to say they haven't sinned enough yet or you have to bring them into the church as "covenant children"--which is what we do. No one is willing or able to say that a small child is eternally damned. If you see baptism as a totally volitional act, then you exempt them by saying they aren't old enough or conscious enough to make a decision for Christ. If you don't believe that we inherited Adam's sin from the get-go, you say the kids are pure until they sin enough on their own (blank slate theory). If you believe that God initiates salvation, then you are more likely to bring the child into the nurture of the church with baptism and expect God to fulfill the promise---"to you and your household". Different beliefs on sovereignty and salvation baptism will understandably result in different explanations of baptism and what to do with kids."

6. From a current minister of a "progressive" Church of Christ. "Interesting question. The issue has more to do with the concept of original sin than it does whether a four-year old can actually have the intellectual capacity to have trusting faith, cognitive repentance (or even awareness) of sin.
The idea of original sin actually most systematically articulated in the 6th century AD by Augustine, the Bishop of Hippo (although it has been developing over the previous two hundred years). Oddly enough, Augustine’s interpretation is based on a mistranslation in the Latin (from the original Greek) in Romans.
Whether or not children are in need of regeneration is debatable, but the notion that they can be responsible is not. Assuming that children are guilty of sin (which I doubt), they are not capable of the cognitive choice necessary to be a disciple. God’s provision through the work of Christ will have attended to the spiritual needs of those who are unable to repent. At four, children can mime the words or request baptism, but they really do not have clue. I am not a big proponent of the “age of accountability” (who can say when that is?), but I understand why that phrase developed…there is a point at which a person has the mental faculties to be aware of their sin and the turn. How much must they understand about the theological nuances is irrelevant…do they trust in God through Christ is the bigger question.
I fail to see (theologically and practically) how that children can be born guilty of the sin of another and thus hell-bound if they die before some experience of regeneration.
Catholic and most protestant churches opt for some form of original sin, even Baptists who, like the CofC, deny the validity of infant baptism. Strange as it seems, they deny the necessity of infant baptism, but try to get children to “confess Christ” or pray the sinner’s pray at a very young age, often baptizing them at the ages of 4 or 5. It is truly inconsistent. I am attaching an section of one of my favorite books regarding salvation. It deal a bit with infant baptism and, I think, may touch a bit on original sin.
As someone who believe that I should give a long answer even when short answer will do, I apologize for the brevity of this answer. I am bit pressed for time right now and would love to give you a longer answer. Let’s talk soon." If you are interested in the aforementioned document, please let me know.

7. From a peeer, friend, fellow mom and member of a "progressive" Coc: "i am giving your question some thought. i would have to say no, i don't believe children are sinners. i am not sure of which scriptures back this thought up though... i am thinking on that.
it is not my experience that denominational churches teach this...and i am basing that on my friends who are lutheran, baptist, and methodist. i don't believe a child, especially a four year old, who doesn't have a full understanding of God's commands and God's sacrifice, can ever be in danger of damnation.
not only do children have to fully understand the concept of good vs. evil, they would then also have to understand forgiveness and Christ's death to be held accountable. i don't think an understanding of this concept is possible, until much later, in mid adolescence. i probably would go as far as to say that it's late adolescence, instead of the idea we (the coc) maintains of like 9 years old. i think we make the decision to follow Christ way too early - not that it's a bad idea to want to be in a relationship with Christ, i just don't think we fully grasp the concept until much much later, and therefore i don't think God would punish us until we are able to understand His plan.
just my opinion.
i will think on some scripture and get back to you.
interesting topic..."

8. From a minister of a non-institutional Coc: "For sinful nature in the NIV, see
http://www.studylight.org/desk/?l=en&query=sinful+nature§ion=0&translation=niv&oq=sinful%2520nature&new=1&sr=1.
For info on inherited sin and Scriptures refuting the doctrine, see
http://www.biblestudyguide.org/ebooks/mcnabb/bible-answers-calvinism.PDF and
http://www.biblestudyguide.org/topical/total-inability.htm.
For info regarding Catholicism, which might come in handy when talking with your neighbor, see
http://www.biblestudyguide.org/ebooks/davidriggs/catholic-teaching-examined.PDF. This info is by a man who was a Catholic but now is a very good gospel preacher.

Thank you to ALL of you who responded and to those who plan to respond. I am very interested in any insights you have. If you would like to know why I am asking this, it is something I will gladly email to you but must not post here.

MAY GOD BE PRAISED FOR OUR SEARCH FOR TRUTH!

Hollywood and God

2007-08-24T08:50:00.001-07:00

Everything

2007-08-24T03:58:00.000-07:00

K-4 already?!

2007-08-21T07:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Reagan's first day of K-4. He likes it fine, I guess. He doesn't say much. I, on the other hand, cried all the way home yesterday AND today. I hate this part of mommy-hood. I should have known I would. I cried the first two weeks of T&Ts kindergarten year. How on earth do you women do it?!!

Firsts...again

2007-08-21T07:39:00.001-07:00

Last Thursday was T&T's first day of FIFTH grade. She was very excited. He...not so much. It's going great, though, except for the boat-load of homework already.

Watch the ball

2007-08-10T07:56:00.000-07:00

Two years ago, when Reagan was two-and-a-half, he spent a week at Mom and Daddy's while the rest of us were on a cruise. He already loved baseball and Mom, Daddy, Will & Mel were trying to teach him to watch the ball. As you can see by this picture, he took that very seriously.

I think it's such a funny picture and an awesome memory.

"Surely" this will make your day!

2007-08-08T14:01:00.000-07:00

Quotes of the day

2007-08-07T17:51:00.000-07:00

1. Reagan, in a whiney, crying voice, to T&T: You guys are totally, totally not faiw.

2. Reagan, trying not to be smarty but not happy about having to take a nap when T&T don't have to: Now, Mom. How is that faiw?

3. Taylor, sweetly picking up Reagan's room, starts to put 2 articles of clothing in the dirty clothes. I told her to wait until I looked at them to see if they're dirty. When I told her they were, in fact, dirty and that she could put them in the basket, she said, "Yeah, that's what I do. If I don't know whether it's dirty, I just put it in the dirty clothes." Then she suddenly turned and looked at me with deer-in-the-headlights eyes and said slowly, "Oh no. I shouldn't have told you that, should I?"

Smelly Salmon

2007-08-07T17:43:00.000-07:00

My family loves salmon patties but we HATE the smell the next day. I'm burning two cinnamon candles right now and it smells like cinnamon salmon. UGH! Any suggestions?

JUST CALL ME AUNT AMY!!!!!

2007-08-06T11:08:00.001-07:00

Congragulations to Will & Melodie on their little chick pea!!!

How Can I Tell You?

2007-08-05T21:44:00.000-07:00

Click on this link,

http://journey.adiamondisforever.com/, then click on "Watch 'Sleeping Beauty'" at the bottom of the page.

Have you guys seen this commercial?

Am I just a sap or do you LOVE THAT SONG?!

The original song was by Cat Stevens, but in this commercial the vocalist Chan Marshall, better known as Cat Power, apparently only actually recorded 30 seconds of the song. The President of Cat Power’s record company even went so far as to issue a statement that the song will not become available for download. :( If you’d like to listen to and/or purchase other Cat Power songs, go to http://www.catpowerthegreatest.com/.

Quotes of the day

2007-08-04T20:02:00.001-07:00

Taylor, while eating homemade buscuits: "These are so stinkin' good."

Reagan's learning not to comoplain about what's on his plate so his response was: "TAYLUW! Mommy wuhkd vewy hawd!"

My new passion

2007-08-04T19:39:00.000-07:00

this is my newest passion. who's heard of the truth project? if you haven't, CHECK IT OUT TODAY! http://www.thetruthproject.com/

here's a quote from the site that oughtta get your attention:

In a recent study, the Barna Research Group revealed a stunning statistic that continues to reverberate throughout the evangelical world. Only 9 percent of professing Christians have a biblical worldview.1
Because of this, today's believers live very similarly to non-believers. A personal sense of significance is rarely experienced, we spend our money and time on things that fail to satisfy and we begin to wonder what life's ultimate purpose really is. We are, in short, losing our bearings as a people and a nation.
To counter this slide within the body of Christ, we are launching one of the most ambitious and powerful projects in the history of our ministry—Focus on the Family's The Truth Project.
We believe this one project represents the possibility for exponential change within the body of Christ, as we expect that thousands will be transformed by this curriculum. As it has been throughout history, God continues to call ordinary people to make an eternal difference in our world.

Favorite

2007-04-28T16:33:00.000-07:00

On a lighter note...

my new favorite bumper sticker of all time...

ARE MY HOT FLASHES CAUSING GLOBAL WARMING?

Are you LOVING WELL?

2007-04-28T15:44:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time...for that one person out there who reads this.
This weekend, I attended a mini-ladies' retreat. It was called Loving Well, and featured my favorite...BETH MOORE. It was fabulous and I highly recommend using this "retreat in a box" at your congregation. If you've done a Beth Moore study before, you know that some of them can be very deep and actually exhausting (in a good way). This is refreshing, exciting, very eye-opening and quite insightful.
I wanted to share a few of the ideas from the thirteen pages of notes I'm taking home with me!

In this age of cell phones, pagers, beepers, blackberries, email, fax machines, and instant messaging, we have never been more in touch and we have never been so lonely. We communicate well on a verbal level but communicate so rarely on a heart level.
We will never learn to love well without letting God love us.
God uses the difficult (mean-spirited, critical, selfish) people in our life to work out the selfishness in us. Those who test us and are our enemies have been chosen for us. That person was put in my life to bring me gain. To bring out the worst in me. To bring it UP and OUT!
In 1 John, we read that God is love. Love is not just a feeling or an emotion to God. "It is not relegated to circumstance" and it is not changed by hurt or disappointment. I am a woman. Period. That is not changeable. I may have surgery, bleach my hair, get a tan, but I am still a woman. It's just who I am. Love is who God is. LOVE IS PART OF GOD'S "GOD-NESS.
"Perfect love refers to love that is mature, not pampered by anxiety or insecurity." Our society (women in particular) is fraught with anxiety and insecurity. Those are "the outgrowth of unbelief" and they are "rooted in pride."
We sometimes feel that God is so challenged to love us. We are testy. We are like foes to him. But God rejoices over you. He sings over you with joy. He wants us to love others that way, beyond what is humanly possible for us. Human love, even at its best, is self-seeking. We still hope to get something out of it. It's not real love until we love someone who doesn't love us. We must love BECAUSE we are loved, not SO WE WILL be loved. We can love anyone through anything because we are loved by God's perfect love. We will never be more Christ-like than when we love people who do not love us.
Read Phil. 1:9-10. There is no biblical mandate to love blindly. God calls us to a love that knows and is smart. We must "ask God to give us insight into" the brokenness of those who test us so that "we can learn to have compassion on them." That was HUGE for me.
Our hanging onto past hurts and wrongs is what makes us go through it and relive the hurt over and over again. We must sacrifice our "rights" and grudges and lay them down at the altar. We must choose to forgive.
Some of us are attracted to testy people. If you're married to a testy person, (1) pray like a maniac. You are one flesh. No one has the capacity to pray for your own flesh the way you do. (2) Pray that God will make you loving and that you will not return testiness for testiness. God can change lives! YOU DO NOT HAVE THE ONE MARRIAGE THAT GOD CANNOT TRANSFORM, BECAUSE HIS SPECIALITY IS RAISING THE DEAD.
If we only love who we want to love and those who are easy to love, we are just like the rest of the world. Loving our enemies is what sets us apart.
Read Isaiah 58:6-12. Loving others (even strangers) relieves us of the burden of self-absorption. If we work toward healing and if we break strongholds, but never pour ourselves into others, we will never be completely healed. We must keep dipping into his loving well so that we can pour it out onto others. Empty ourselves so he can fill us up.
Read Rev. 19:5-7. The original word for that word GLAD is a word that means ecstatic joy. Not just joy but when joy gets physical: to exalt, rejoice with exuberance, show joy by leaping and dancing. THAT's how glad.

Like several times before, these notes are as much for me as anything else. And like I said previously, I took down 13 pages of notes. I am going home, not only with notes, though. I am going home with a commission to help someone who cannot help me and to love people who do not love me back.

Trust and Gratitude

2007-02-22T06:37:00.000-08:00

Trust and Gratitude
By Henri J.M. Nouwen

Choose life, then, so that you and your children may live in the love of Yahweh your God, obeying his voice, holding fast to him; for in this your life consists. Deuteronomy 30:19-20

A life of faith is a life of gratitude--it means a life in which I am willing to experience my complete dependence upon God and to praise and thank him unceasingly for the gift of being. A truly eucharistic life means always saying thanks to God, always praising God, and always being more surprised by the abundance of God's goodness and love. How can such a life not also be a joyful life? It is the truly converted life in which God has become the center of all. There gratitude is joy and joy is gratitude and everything becomes a surprising sign of God's presence.

Whenever Jesus says to the people he has healed: "Your faith has saved you," he is saying that they have found new life because they have surrendered in complete trust to the love of God revealed in him. Trusting in the unconditional love of God: that is the way to which Jesus calls us. The more firmly we grasp this, the more readily we will be able to perceive why there is so much suspicion, jealousy, bitterness, vindictiveness, hatred, violence, and discord in the world. Jesus himself interprets this by comparing God's love to the light. He says:

. . . though the light has come into the world people have preferred darkness to light because their deeds were evil. And indeed, everybody who does wrong hates the light and avoids it, to prevent his actions from being shown up; but whoever does the truth comes out into the light, so that what he is doing may plainly appear as done in God.

Jesus sees the evil in this world as a lack of trust in God's love. He makes us see that we persistently fall back on ourselves, rely more on ourselves than on God, and are inclined more to the love of self than to love of God. So we remain in the darkness. If we walk in the light, then we are enabled to acknowledge in joy and gratitude that everything good, beautiful, and true comes from God and is offered to us in love.

Our Prayer, O God, you are not far from any of us, since it is in you that we live, and move, and exist. You, who have overlooked the times of ignorance, let everyone everywhere be told that they must now repent (Acts 17:27-28, 30).

Source: Henri J.M. Nouwen, Show me the way (Crossroad Publishing Company, 1992).

Voice of Truth

2007-02-15T16:54:00.000-08:00

Shame on me for never before listening closely to the words of this Casting Crowns song.

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of faith it takes
To climb out of this boat I'm in
Onto the crashing waves

To step out of my comfort zone
Into the realm of the unknown where Jesus is
And He's holding out His hand

But the waves are calling out my name
And they laugh at me
Reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The waves they keep on telling me
Time and time again. "Boy, you'll never win! You'll never win!"
But the voice of truth tells me a different story
The voice of truth says, "Do not be afraid!"
The voice of truth says, "This is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of strength it takes to stand before a giant
With just a sling and a stone
Surrounded by the sound of a thousand warriors
Shaking in their armor
Wishing they'd have had the strength to stand

But the giant's calling out my name
And he laughs at me
Reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The giant keeps on telling me
Time and time again. "Boy you'll never win! You'll never win!"
But the voice of truth tells me a different story
The voice of truth says, "Do not be afraid!"
The voice of truth says, "This is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

But the stone was just the right size
To put the giant on the ground
And the waves they don't seem so high
From on top of them lookin' down
I will soar with the wings of eagles
When I stop and listen to the sound of Jesus
Singing over me

I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

BETH MOORE ROCKS!

2007-02-13T10:27:00.000-08:00

I'm doing Beth Moore's Believing God right now and it is so amazing. I leave each week refreshed and exhausted at the same time. It's so much to take in. Some thoughts from today's DVD.

Psalm 77:12-14 - I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds. Your ways, O God, are holy. What god is so great as our God? You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples. (Emphasis mine. Performs with an "s" on the end. CURRENTLY performing.
Habakkuk 3:2 - LORD, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O LORD. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known...
Romans 4:18 - Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be."
Judges 6:12-13 - When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, "The LORD is with you, mighty warrior." "But sir," Gideon replied, "if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about?" At least Gideon had the guts to ask.
Psalm 74:9-22 - We are given no miraculous signs; no prophets are left, and none of us knows how long this will be. How long will the enemy mock you, O God? Will the foe revile your name forever? Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand? Take it from the folds of your garment and destroy them! But you, O God, are my king from of old; you bring salvation upon the earth. It was you who split open the sea by your power; you broke the heads of the monster in the waters. It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan and gave him as food to the creatures of the desert. It was you who opened up springs and streams; you dried up the ever flowing rivers. The day is yours, and yours also the night; you established the sun and moon. It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter. Remember how the enemy has mocked you, O LORD, how foolish people have reviled your name. Do not hand over the life of your dove to wild beasts; do not forget the lives of your afflicted people forever. Have regard for your covenant, because haunts of violence fill the dark places of the land. Do not let the oppressed retreat in disgrace; may the poor and needy praise your name. Rise up, O God, and defend your cause.
With the right heart, we CAN request the fulfillment of any promise in the entire Word of God. (In other words, we can use his word, like a lawyer, to set a precedence for something we are requesting.) For example, in Exodus 33, MOSES SIMPLY ASKED! We are greatly helped, however, by understanding that God has not obligated Himself to fulfill every promise from Genesis to Revelation to every believer throughout history.
...more of us are probably caught in the cycle of unbelief. In other words, we believe little because we've seen little, and we've seen little because we believe little.
God's NEW covenant prioritizes work on our HEART over external work. See Hebrews 10:13-18, and 2 Corinthians 3:6 and 4:7. Ephesians 3:20 - his work is now IN us. God prioritizes your internal over your external. If you ask him to move that mountain and you are believing for that and he says no, it is because he is prioritizing and saying yes to something more important. That way, we're freed up. Our character is not at stake. He KNOWS and we know he prioritized FOR us.
John 15:7. If we are using the sword of the Spirit and the shield of faith, we will see more YES answers than Nos. Think like HIM by letting his word abide in you.
Mark 9:14-24. Do not argue matters of faith with a pharisee. You will talk intellectualism and overlook the wondrous!
Every time you grasp a new concept about God, try thinking, He's this...and more! Every time you ask God for something, try asking but then saying, "Come, God, and BE HUGE!"
Authentic Biblical freedom feels the wind of the Spirit while standing steadfastly on the rock of Truth.
Luke 18:8 - ...when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?
Proverbs 2:1-12 - My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones. Then you will understand what is right and just and fair—every good path. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you. Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men.

Bell

2007-02-04T16:36:00.000-08:00

Hey - anyone read Velvet Elvis? (Rob Bell)

New prayer request

2007-01-23T18:46:00.000-08:00

Keith Boyer. As I type, he has been in surgery for over nine hours, and will be for at least three more. He is having long-awaited kidney and liver transplants, after suffering major infections from bad seafood.
Keith is the youth minister where I go to church, Northwest Tampa. http://www.tampachurch.org/
Keith's care page is http://www.carepages.com/UpdateListing?seed=647&ClusterNodeID=jb03&tlcx1=tgh&tlcx2=1715476.
The last update I received was about seven hours into surgery and all was well so far. Please pray for Keith, his wife Tonia, and his children David, Casey, Ashley and Alyssa.

BE THE PARENT

2007-01-23T13:46:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I read too much. This is the latest and greatest, though. Go out there and get a copy or borrow one from the library if you're like me. (It's an easy read. I read it in one day.) It's called BE THE PARENT (Seven choices you can make to raise great kids) and it's written by Kendra Smiley. It has several really specific suggestions that I can't believe I never thought about before.

I started typing a few highlights for my own memory as much as anything but it was taking forever. So, I'm going to buy my own copy and do a lot of underlining. Go buy your own, too. :)

Please pray for Mark

2007-01-19T12:08:00.000-08:00

Mark is a third-grader at T&Ts new school. He was diagnosed with cancer in 2001 and has had a hard six years: five-pound kidney tumor, lung tumor, MDS in his bone marrow, and, just this past November, leukemia. He has been in the hospital THIS TIME since December 18, and it's been touch-and-go. (He actually essentially coded once last week.) Please pray for Mark and his family. What a trial. God bless our children. Read his story and sign the guestbook. http://www.caringbridge.org/fl/mark/

The New Format

2007-01-19T11:50:00.000-08:00

If you haven't heard of NOOMA yet or still haven't seen any of the DVDs, you are totally missing you. Ingenious. Thought-provoking. Informative. Emotional. I can't think of enough words to get your attention. From their website: "We can get anything we want, from anywhere in the world, whenever we want it. That's how it is and that's how we want it to be. Still, our lives aren't any different than other generations before us. Our time is. We want spiritual direction, but it has to be real for us and available when we need it. We want a new format for getting Christian perspectives. NOOMA is the new format. It's short films with communicators that really speak to us. Compact, portable, and concise. Each NOOMA touches on issues that we care about, that we want to talk about, and it comes in a way that fits our world. It's a format that's there for us when we need it, as we need it, how we need it."
Go at once to www.nooma.com!

Today

2006-12-25T08:26:00.000-08:00

We wish you a Merry Christmas!
We wish you a Merry Christmas!
We wish you a Merry Christmas,
and a Happy New Year!

Much love from the Flatt Family

MERRY CHRISTMAS

2006-12-25T08:19:00.000-08:00

Look at all the gifts. And this is not even all the ones from Granna & Darlin, Will & Mel, Mama & Granddaddy, Nee-nee & Chris, and Dan & GG. Can you say THREE SETS OF GRANDPARENTS?! Way fun.

SO WHAT IF SHE THROWS LIKE A GIRL?!

2006-12-24T13:06:00.000-08:00

Okay, you have to watch the previous post first. Reagan is not yet four. Now, watch this one. She's such a girl. A somewhat-athletic one, but a girl all the same.

Check out the future football player

2006-12-24T12:57:00.000-08:00

Sorry it's so dark. This was last night and, yes, they're wearing shorts. (The only reason he has a shirt on is because of the blasted mosquitos.) This is his favorite pastime. Check out the second catch. LOL Also, can you see the white lines on the grass? Scott painted yardlines in the backyard for Reagan's football birthday party.

help

2006-12-18T17:15:00.000-08:00

Does anyone know how to upload my own videos on here?

#4

2006-11-27T17:41:00.000-08:00

I know it's a month away but...IT'S ONLY A MONTH AWAY.
No, not Christmas. For some reason, I'm really NOT in the spirit this year.
REAGAN'S FOURTH BIRTHDAY.
FOUR!
A month from tomorrow.
I'm not ready. I swear I was in labor just a few days ago.
Please tell me I'm not the only psycho mom out there who's going to cry that day because he doesn't need "pappies" anymore and because he didn't want a "baby" birthday party. He wanted all of Tyler's friends to come play football with him. And because he doesn't want to wear longalls and jon-jons and saddle oxfords anymore. And because he calls me "Mom" most of the time, instead of Mommy. And because he doesn't say "yight" [light] and "yeft" [left]and "heh-yo"[hello] anymore.

It's just that it's going by so fast. Granted, some days don't go by fast enough (those days when T&T say Reagan's being "a trial and a tribulation to the whole valley" LOL) but overall, it's going by way too fast.
T&T were younger than Reagan is now when I became Mommy. Now they're NINE-AND-A-HALF! She lost her lisp ("pep-thee" [Pepsi] and "THEE what happenth!" [see what happens!]) He doesn't say ele-phan-unt or "arial" cookies [Oreo] anymore. What happened?! I didn't enjoy them enough and now it's gone.

It's going by with another one now, too.

I guess we'll just do what T&T suggest: quit having fun. They say, "If time flies when you're having fun, let's just not have any fun."

Firsts

2006-11-17T11:11:00.000-08:00

Tyler and Taylor's first piano recital...

And Reagan's first dentist appt.

Not huge things but I'm not really a dog person and having two pictures of three dogs as the first thing you three people see on my blog just didn't fit me.

The Spring Willow Court Zoo

2006-11-06T18:40:00.000-08:00

This is the zoo that was my house last week during dog-sitting. (Among other exciting moments in their stay was the moment the piano teacher brought me her shoe after she stepped in poo with which one of the dogs christened the living room. LOL)

MY CRAZY CHILD

2006-11-02T09:54:00.000-08:00

On top of selling Kelly's Kids sale items, putting together two baskets for a school auction tomorrow and trying to pick up since being out of town, we are dog-sitting two of our dog-cousins. Reagan is going to end up killing this little one. I found him in here today trying to coax her out of her crate.

IS THERE A BAH-HUMBUG equivalent for HALLOWEEN?

2006-11-02T09:49:00.000-08:00

We ended up having fun but it's pretty bad when you have to spank a child to get him to have his picture made.

Noonday Sun

2006-10-17T13:39:00.000-07:00

What is this, like four in one week? Just wanted to quote Psalm 37:3-7, 23-25, mostly for myself. :)

"Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.
"Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires.
"Commit everything you do to the Lord.
"Trust him, and he will help you.
"He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn, and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.
"Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act.
"The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.
"Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.
"Once I was young, and now I am old. Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned or their children begging for bread."

Answered Prayer

2006-10-17T06:48:00.000-07:00

I think it's important to share answered prayers when they are so obvious.

Sunday was a hard day. Our small group study on Sunday nights, though, was about "honest expression" and truly opening up to God. That night, I truly poured out my heart to God and got "raw" as our leader said, maybe for the first time truly INTENDING to do that. My main prayer was for peace and joy in the circumstances.

I realized when I went to bed last night and wrote in my prayer journal that I had a better day yesterday than I can remember in a long time, despite the fact that my people are somewhat shutting me out right now (emotionally and otherwise). I realized I had been unusually peppy on Monday and that the word JOY was written really big in my journal from the day before.

Bear in mind this is NOT a pat on my back as much as it is NOT a blog for sympathy. Only a blog to share God's blessings and showcase his glory. (Remember that blog awhile back with my face under the covers?!)

Another book question

2006-10-15T12:29:00.000-07:00

Has anyone read Reversed Thunder, by Eugene Peterson? Publisher's note: "Peterson's eloquent meditation on the Revelation of St. John engages the imagination and awakens the intellect to the vitality and relevance of the last words on scripture, Christ, church, worship, evil, prayer, witness, politics, judgment, salvation, and heaven."

We are having a sermon series right now and a lot of the info comes from this book. IT IS A WHOLE NEW APPROACH TO REVELATION FOR ME and I find it FASCINATING. No offense but Kenny Barfield's class on Revelation IT IS NOT!

Check out some notes from this morning's sermon from Rev 6 & 7.

First, chapters 4 & 5 are full of praise...
Chapter 6 starts out with the four horsement of the apocalypse - destroying peace, civil war, upsetting balance and prosperity, disease, decay, etc. In verse 10, the martyrs cry out, "How long until you avenge our blood?" That is quoted in Psalm and Habakkuk, as well. How many times have we asked God, "How long will this last?"
Chapter 7 shows a shift. The 144,000 are sealed. Power and victory of believers, etc. All believers will be persecuted. People go through horrible things. Psalm 137, "How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land?" God never said he would take away our troubles and those who are faithful may ask, "How long," but will still KNOW who's in control and who is taking care of them. In Rev. 7:9-14 - praise, adoration, robes washed white in blood because they came through struggles and trials and can sing the song of protection in verses 15-17.
Chapters 4/5 and chapter 7 (three chapters of praise), "bracket" chapter 6 (chapter about evil). Rev 7:12, "Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever." Evil cannot stand up during praise.
Praising God helps us see our center with the sense that there's something so powerful that EVERYTHING ELSE is weak before that power and that praise.
Evil cannot last when bracketed between prayer and praise.

Phenomenal approach to Revelation.