Wired Wild and Whacky

We are blessed beyond with such a wonderful church! And by this post you can guess which punishment Lilly and Owen decided to choose. We live in a world that glorifies darkness and just the gross of the world and it’s such an honor and blessing to take the kids to The Weird Wild and Whacky Show at church year after year. Our “Kids” church Pastor and leaders never cease to amaze me in the creativity and show they put together. Our kids leave every year filled with the Word and fellowship with friends and family in a safe and Godly environment. There were parents and kids together at the alter giving their lives to Jesus! What a special gift! Once again Radiant Church outdid themselves!

 

Oh Boy!

Gary and I do not typically have a behavior problems with Lilly and Owen. They are generally very well behaved and have good and thankful attitudes. However for the last week or so I have truly wanted to ring both of their little necks. They both seem to think that they are in charge and worse yet stick together like a little gang. We have had it! They both have been very sloppy in the homework area and Gary and I are not going to tolerate this behavior and it’s time for us to do something. So, little does the tyrant gang know Gary and I have a plain, and they have two choices.

1. They miss the Weird Wild and Whacky show.
2.  Or they will have no TV, no Kindles, no fun books and will have to be in bed after homework or by 7:00 through the weekend until Wednesday. 

They have a choice to make. We truly believe in raising our kids with respectful and thankful hearts, there is nothing more disgusting than kids with bad attitudes that are whiny and unthankful and feel a sense of entitlement.  There is no excuse for bad behavior ever, and obviously we have done something very wrong as parents if our children have been misbehaving. Gary and I love Lilly and Owen so much and believe in training them in the way that they should go, so when they are old they will not depart from it. The Bible speaks in Proverbs about not withholding discipline from our children, and apparently we have been too relaxed. These are two very good, sweet little people they just need a reality check and a reminder of who to obey!

I speak very highly of my children and they make Gary and I very proud but  we are over the little attitudes, this behavior is enough and we love our kids more than  enough to be tough. I write these posts ever so often as a reminder that we need God in every moment of our lives and the toughest moments are where we need Him the most. I also want a reminder for when Lilly and Owen are parents…I will surly bring these post out for pay back! :)

 

They really are cute, but I love them enough to punish their little butts! :)

Stop Glorifying Busy

Some days I feel like I am in some supersonic world filled with instantaneous pleasure and running here and there. We literally live in a country that has our every whim at our hand. Every little desire can be filled with a quick stop here or there. I think about many kids in my life including my own who have never wanted for anything. The pleasure we allow our children to indulge in is ridiculous. We seem to be restricted by the fact that there are only 24 hours in a day. We find ourselves hurried and robotic, just take a look at the person in the car next to you the next time you are at a stoplight. It’s a robotic culture. Our culture promotes bigger is better, more vacations to extravagant places, work more, kids have to be involved in a million activities who are we kidding? We as a society have let Satan the prince of darkness distract us from all that is important. And I too have be so guilty of distraction.

I am first and foremost a Passionate Follower of Jesus Christ and as a Christian, wife and mother I cannot allow my family to be swept away in the supersonic world we live in. One of my very favorite books of The Bible is Romans. This morning I was reading Romans 12:2  this verse states do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is, his good pleasing and perfect will. The Bible puts a lot of value on rest and peaceful living. Sometimes I look at my week and think to myself how on earth are we going to fit it all in. We don’t and that is just the truth. Last month I literally sat on the floor of my living room with six invitations to baby showers, a fundraising event and two birthday parties. I had to say no to all of them. Not because I don’t love my friends but because I love my family more and I know that retreating into the arms of my God and my family will always be the right choice. Lilly and Owen are not involved in twenty activities. They are expected to well in school, to participate in church and if they choose they may play one sport or do some school activity a semester. Lilly is doing choir and is also going to play basketball and Owen is in a Lego Nation Group. We have a healthy balance and that is what God is asking of us.

Gary and I adore our family. We have been entrusted with two of the most special little people in the world and we don’t want to miss the little moments with them. When we glorify all the activities that we shuffle the kids to and fro we are missing those little moments. I think how much I would miss the times of prayer as a family, the sitting on the couch watching  movies, hiking together, dinner conversations and our devotions the moments in church and just enjoying each other and our family traditions. Those are the moments of life, not the to and fro.

The Bible says in Mark 6:31 So many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat. He said to His disciples, “come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” Jesus is the greatest example of retreating he did so often after His service to the masses he would retreat and be with His Father alone.

We must not glorify being busy, we must rejoice in the quite times of home. I pray for peace to come upon my heart and other parents hearts to make that difficult decision to say no to too much activity and yes to God and family. All too often we follow the way of the world, the wide road of destruction when that small narrow road is waiting with open arms full of peace and joy. I love the little moments, and until my dying day I will rejoice in the peaceful small moments, the little traditions to Friday nightpizza and movie to Saturday devotions and breakfast.

 

 

 

Moments

Every day I make lunches for my kids. Neither one of them like the hot lunch from school and prefer that I make their lunches. Its fine with me because I prefer to know what they are eating, I have seen the school lunches and yuck… I would not do that to my kiddos! Today I was making lunches and started to think how different my little people are. Lilly is so sweet and kind. She is very serious and takes her role as a big sister very seriously. She is really amazing in school. She does well and participates in the Choir and will be starting basketball soon. She serves in children’s ministry and loves to work. We love her and are so excited and proud of the little lady she is becoming in Christ. Owen is loving and kind and is all boy he loves to torture Lilly and is the perfect definition of a little brother. He loves church and is musical and can sing. He is an amazing little Lego engineer, and can fix anything. He has a good heart and is determined to be kind and funny. As much as these two are alike they are very different take lunch for example. While making lunches today I could not help but chuckle. Every day Lilly has a salad with roast turkey and either ranch or strawberry vinaigrette dressing. She likes a little bottle of water and strawberries, grapes or plumbs. Owen like his peanut butter and jelly sandwich with apple slices and a juice box. Owen would love Cheetos every day for lunch too but that is just not going to happen! These are the silly little moments of life that I love. Before I know it Lilly and Owen will be grown and moving out of our home. I pray every day that the Lord guide Gary and I as their parents and help us to raise them to be God fearing lovers of The Lord.

 

 

The Note

Lilly and Owen have planners that they carry back and forth to school. They are really cool and I would love to have one for myself. Anyway this is another way for the parents to keep in touch with the teacher besides the class websites. Yesterday when I went to sign off on Owens planner there was a note. It was not a happy note one of praise and your child is awesome but rather a note of Owen had a hard day at school listening and being a distraction. This is the kind of note every parent dreads, we have never gotten this kind of note before and were mortified!

So Owen is quite the comedian and has a bit of the performer in him. He thinks everything is funny and he loves to try and make people laugh. He needs to learn there is a time and a place and learning time is definitely not the place.

 

So Gary and I asked Owen what happened and the story goes something like this.

Owen said there is this kid and he had the hiccups, I thought it was funny. I laughed and laughed and then every time he would have a hiccup I would pretend I would have a hiccup. My friends were laughing and Mrs. Harper asked me to stop and I started laughing harder. And then she made me stand in the back of the class room and that was it, she wrote you a note.

 

The way Owen told this story was hilarious, Gary and I did everything we could not to look at each other, had we looked at one another we would have lost it. Thankfully Gary was able to keep his composer long enough to lecture Owen and send him to bed early. He was told if this happens again he will not be allowed to go to his Lego Building class. He did have to write an apology note to his teacher and was in bed at 6:30. Oh the  joys of parenting!

 

 

 

 

 

WLW

Well I officially weigh way less than my driver’s license says I weigh! After my no gain no loss on vacation I came home and really hit the road running. I lost another 6 pounds and am well into the 100’s! No more 2 starting on that scale, really for a 5’3 girly girly I felt like a grizzly bear! My friend let me borrow her Jillian Michaels DVD the 30 day shred and I’m pretty sure I’m being killed every time I do the twenty minute exercise. Today my abs hurt…I did not think I had those, turns out they are under all the fat! I have no desire to be “shredded” but I will dang wear skinny jeans proudly before the fad is completely over! God is good and my strength comes from Him. I am truly loving this season of life and could not be more in love with my husband’s support! Gary has been amazing and supportive and over the top wonderful and kind! I’m pretty sure he wants the girl in the tiny bathing suit back too!

 

 

Pumpkins

It was such a pretty afternoon for sitting outside and carving pumpkins. The Good Lord knows we had several, between our garden and the pumpkin patch we had enough to carve one for everyone in our neighborhood. I have pretty much finished the kids Wired Wild and Whacky costumes, Lilly is going to be a snowflake and Owen is going to be a hunter. The kids are all wiggles this week, they can’t wait for the Weird Wild and Whacky show at church, apparently this year they are having lasers… That’s what Owen tells me anyway!

Pastor Appreciation Month

We adore our pastors! I truly wish I could do more than write them a thank you note. These people devote their lives to advancing The Kingdom and week after week impact so many lives. I have seen countless people turn their lives around and passionately follow Jesus because of  the spiritual gifts they have been given. We adore them and are so thankful! Lilly and Owen love to write thank you notes and this year chose their favorite pastors to write to! 

A Little Scary

I did something scary. I gave away my "fat girl" clothing. This is scary because I don't have the money to replace my wardrobe and I will always have some fear of going backwards. My closet and drawers are pretty empty. But in all honesty it feels really good that those cloths are gone!  I was so unhappy with my weight I used to buy clothing like no ones business! It really was a way for me to hide! 
I'm learning not to hide, and today I got to lead worship! I'm going to be bold and sing to the King!! My confidence took a real hit the past several years, through Christ I am gaining it back! I'm going to continue to pray for opportunities to lead, it's my heart to be brave and shine for Him. I did not sing perfectly but I sang alone for Christ and I want to sing again and again! The more and more I lead the better I will become for Him! I love worshiping The Lord so much! With each pound lost I will regain my confidence and sing with all glory to God! It's amazing how truly free I feel, I still get a little nervous because my sin is around my waist for all to see but those feelings will pass the more experience I have and the healthier I become. I'm on my way to being a healthy wife, mother and worship leader, and it's beyond exciting!    

I have a long way to go but I'm committed. I am only 5'3 so another 40 to 50 pounds will do me good. Taking it one prayer, and day at a time! 

 

Yahoo!! Weight Loss Wednesday Vacation Edition!

I Did not gain a single pound on vacation! I also ate way more than I should have, but I did manage to work out twice. One day I got up early and walked in the coldest mountian air ever and it was truly beautiful! The next day I went to the gym at the cabin. I can't believe I hit the treadmill on vacation! My how my life has changed! 

Yeah....I'm ashamed...

I hate the fact that I had to put this shirt on, but in all fairness the Broncos did loose the Super Bowl. I take comfort that the Seahawks are back to normal and will stink for the next million years.  I did put on the apropriate orange and blue later that same day, and watched the Broncos Mile High Salute the 49ers! 

  

Estes Park

We love Estes Park! It's such a beautiful mountian town. We had a fantastic time with Gary's parents and were so thankful they were able to come and visit us. Gary's mom and dad rented a beautiful cabin right on the river for us and it was just perfect. We enjoyed a great time together. I can't believe how amazing the weather was, warm enough for the kids, Gary and Lee to enjoy the outdoor pool, in October! 

Luxury of a Fake Stay at Home Mom

I would love to be a stay at home mom. I would love to be the one who is always volunteering at school, the one who is nominated to take the local kids to car pool, have an over the top organized house, dinner done on time every day, and the loads of laundry that tend to pile up not to ever be. The reality is I’m not and by the Grace of God we do pretty great as a little family with a working mom.

I never want my husband and kids to ever feel like they have missed the luxury of the stay at home mom so I have to do this life thing a little differently. I see myself as the wife and mother who just happens to have a job on the side. My pursuit of Christ comes first and then my little family. I wake up early, I mean 4:30 dark and early. But this early to rise business gives me a great opportunity to serve Christ and my family. I do laundry, make dinner or prepare it, make lunches, stuff backpacks, clean our home. I pretty much do as much as I can in those early morning hours  to make more time for us as a family at the backside of our day. I do our shopping on Thursday evenings so we waste no time on weekends running errands. Every evening after we have had dinner, family devotion and prayer I literally get everything together for morning. Kids clothes, jackets, my clothes, I exercise take a shower and do my hair, being prepared is truly my secret to pretending to be a stay at home mom! It works for us. When we all tend to pile into our home after a long day there is not a single one of us who wants to think about doing chores especially with homework, afterschool activities and church. We need a mom with a job on the side! I’m thankful that I am able to work for a honorable company who is encouraging about using our time off and flexible with me if I need to go I go. I am able to volunteer a few times at school during the school year, I serve in church and am able to enjoy my women’s small group and worship team all while being the fake stay at home mom I pretend to be in my head.

I wish I could say that I do it all and do it well but I have a ton of help. My husband does way more than he should. He is amazing and we work as a mighty little Army against the tornados of Lilly and Owen. He cooks, cleans, does laundry and runs carpool, and manages to make the school programs during the day that I have no choice but sometimes to miss. We also have the luxury of my mom and dad who have been nothing short of a miracle. They have watched the kids for us, driven them to school  and have been to countless activities that Gary and I just could not make. They have been detrimental to our lives and we can't thank them enough!  We also love our teachers for loving and educating our kiddos every day and of course our insane amazing children's pastors, I can't even talk about children's ministry with out happy weeping!  I can’t leave out Lilly and Owen, these two are amazing at being a big part of our little family and working in our home. They both have chores and we could not make our lives work with out them. Everything Gary and I do is for the blessings that are our sweet babies Lilly and Owen!

We are blessed, we have so many luxuries and I'm proud of the family we are. I'm not that perfect have it all together stay at home momma but I try to do everything I can not to let my family miss those moments of luxury! So until The Lord see it fit to make me that full time stay at home mom, I will continue to be blessed in this season of life being a fake one! 

Mid-Way Pictures

I am not a fan of pictures of me. I am very uncomfortable facing the reality of what I look like. I have been on this weight loss journey for several months and have written down my weight every Wednesday since June 26, 2014. I have finally reached my mid-way point and I truly will never ever head back in the direction I once was.  

God asks for all of me, I am not my own and I have had a struggle giving all of myself to the Lord and fully trusting Him.  I could hand over my family, my finances, my work, my church but I could not hand over the cookie to The Lord. I used food as a way of celebration, having  family time or just because it was Friday night. I literally wear my sin around my waste. Instead of pressing into Christ I would indulge in food.  Some peoples sin is hidden and mine I wear like a neon sign for all to see. It’s a horrible feeling and I can’t even recall how many times I would love to hide and not be seen. I believe that the Lord deserves my pure heart as well as my family, friends, and church.  

 

In March when I started to contemplate and pray over all the changes I needed to make I picked up the book Made to Crave by Lysa TerKeurst. She made me laugh and cry and showed me the biblical answers I was looking for. Here are a few of my favorite quotes from the book.

 

“I was made for more than being stuck in a vicious cycle of defeat. I am not made to be a victim of MY POOR choices. I was made to be a victorious child of God”

 

“ There are natural consequences for not taking care of our bodies”

 

“I’m not on a diet. I’m on a journey with Jesus to learn the fine art of self-discipline for the purpose of holiness.”

 

“Life as a follower of Christ will always be a learning process of depending less on our own strength and more on God’s power.”

 

“God made us capable of craving so we’d have an unquenchable desire for more of Him, and Him alone. Nothing changes until we make the choice to redirect our misguided cravings to the only one capable of satisfying them.”

 

“With Jesus, if we want to gain, we must give up. If we want to be filled, we must deny ourselves. If we want to truly get close to God, we’ll have to distance ourselves from other things. If we want to conquer our cravings, we’ll have to redirect them to God.”

 

 

And my very favorite!

“With each temptation, Jesus, without hesitation, quoted Scripture that refuted Satan’s temptation. Truth is powerful. The more saturated we are with truth the more powerful we’ll be in resisting our temptations. And the more we’ll naturally direct our cravings where they should be directed-to the Author of all truth.”

 

 

My journey is not over, and it never will be. I am passionately pursuing Christ with everything I am and it’s a lifelong journey. Until my last moment on earth I will continue to rejoice in my weakness and seek His strength in all I do.

 

I’m feeling a little brave today so here is a before and a mid-way picture. Loving life and freedom in Christ!

 

I guarentee I feel just as horrible as I look!

Getting better!!! Yay! 

Weightloss Wednesday 40 Pounds Gone

This is a huge milestone day for me. I’m so thankful for the switch that the Lord turned on in my head! God will never let me be tempted beyond my ability and he has provided the way of escape for me to endure and press on, I am not my own and I’m so thankful for His unfailing grace!

Willie

After Sherman died Willie decided he and I are friends! He is such a bad kitty! 

Cuddle Time!

This is how we start every Friday night! We sit on the couch and talk about what we are going to do that weekend! 

End of Harvest!

We had an amazing garden this year! Seriously we want chickens. Farmers in the Burbs! 

Romping at 11,200 feet!

Love Colorado life! 

Worship

 

 

 

For several years I have had the blessing to sing on the Worship Team at Radiant Church. Besides intimately praying with some of my favorite Sisters in Christ worship is my very favorite time at Radiant. We have been blessed with an amazing Worship and Media department, our Worship Pastor and the associates in that office have such a heart to serve and praise The Lord. There is something so powerful when the right combination of leaders work together in Christ, and we have been blessed at Radiant for sure.

I could go on and on about corporate worship and how powerful it is to sing with the congregation at Radiant, however my thoughts are a little different today. 

 

During the last several weeks, Gary and I have been participating in a church wide fast. We have been focusing on making more time for God in our lives. Gary and I have been fasting our lunch hours and dinner time several times a week to feel a more profound hunger for God. During my prayer time and fasting time I have learned to journal and write things down. I don’t know if it is a change or shift in world events but I have had this powerful heaviness on me and somehow it always leads back to corporate worship. I feel like we are missing it. I’m not talking about my church I’m talking about churches in general. I love to check out other churches web sites and watch services from local community churches and even nationally known services. I saw something really strange the other day, I was watching a service from one of the local churches here in the Springs area and these two worship leaders were singing and it was great but there was no glory to God, no praying no scripture just two people singing very well, not to mention no praise to The Lord. I thought this was so strange where was the worship of our King? I actually watched the entire service to just see if I missed the praise, but I didn’t. That worship set did not even involve Christ it did however involve two great singers and a fantastic band.  Just this past weekend we did something fun and played with the lighting in our own service, I did not think anything of it but afterwards I realized it was a possible distraction for those who had pressed into Christ and were in that moment with Him and here we are taking the focus off of Him and placing it back on us. Not our intention at all and thankfully my Worship Pastor addressed just that very moment in our rehearsal meeting. It was one of those moments that felt really good and we wanted to creatively honor God with playing with lighting, however those moments of well-intentioned creativity can be misinterpreted. I have also see a growing trend of a vocalist singing a well-known song and changing it up a bit. Is there anything wrong with this, absolutely not. But when you are leading a thousand people to sing a song and we the vocalist do our own rendition it’s a distraction, how can the congregation follow and sing themselves?  I myself am a huge lover of singing and dancing and shouting to the Lord but maybe I, with all my good intention of praising Jesus have also become a distraction. This is weighing heavily on me. I don’t ever want to be a distraction. I want my posture, my voice and my actions to exude Christ. I want the people at Radiant to feel as excited as I do when I get the opportunity to enter into his presence and worship him. With all my energy and excitement of the moment of exalting Christ, have I myself taken away from the Glory and Praise of Him and placed the focus on me?

 

I sing several times in this next month and I am going to change the way I worship a bit. I don’t ever want to be a distraction but I want to exalt Christ with every sound and movement I make. I am going to pray for focus and intention in worship, by following my leaders and not showcasing in any way. I want to be seen and heard by The One Who matters and not in any other form.  This does not mean I will not be having fun in worship, but I am going to be very intentional in listening to Christ, listening to the lyrics of the song and following His leading and not my own emotion with the music. I believe as a worship leader we walk a very fine line and in no way shape or form do we ever, ever want to be caught in a performance. As leaders in our church we will be judged on our actions, leading and teachings.  I am also going to make an intended plan to pray weekly for our corporate worship time,  my Worship Pastor and all other leaders and bandmates. This is so important and I have slacked off in this department over the last year. I am going to pray for our friendships to turn into family, our rehearsals to be Spirit led and for everyone to be over and above prepared for the moment of spontaneity. Above all my focus on prayer is for our Holy Spirit to lead us where He wants us to go, if that means ignore the clock then we will be prepared to do so, if it means for us all to bow and pray then we will follow His leading, I will pray for my heart and other leaders hearts to be God focused and that His words will be placed on the tip of our tongs. I’m also going to pray for a boldness to come from unexpected places, it’s time for my heart to be brave and opportunity to arise for me to lead again. I’m excited for this season at Radiant. We have an amazing Worship Pastor and team that are focused on honoring God, it’s exciting to see where The Lord is going to take us during this time of worshipping in Spirit and Truth.