You Matter!

Do you know that you matter at New Life Christian Center?

That thought came to me today while I was thanking God for the good gift of His people that He's placed here at New Life - this family who seeks to glorify Him in all that we do. As we are gearing up for Servolution, I see so many of you stepping out to serve in radical ways. Today, as more and more people signed up, I just looked in wonder and thankfulness at the blessing of being a part of this family.

We all long to matter, to make a difference, to belong to something bigger than ourselves. Many of you who call New Life Christian Center your church home have come to an understanding of who Jesus Christ is for the first time after hearing of His love for you and discovering your need for Him as your savior. You chose to place Him on His rightful throne in your life. You chose to become a part of His family and this church because you realized that this was a place where you mattered and could make a difference. And some of you came to New Life because you moved into the area or had been previously disenchanted with what you saw in organized religion. You ventured in to this new family to see if maybe there really was "new life" to be had; if there really was a reason for you to be placed on this earth; if there really was a place where people not only said they believed in Jesus Christ, but they lived it out in radical ways.

You matter at New Life Christian Center because there is a mission that we are to fulfill here in this valley. If you have been called to be a part of this family at New Life, then you have a part in it. Thank you for choosing to live out your faith with us. Truly, I can't imagine being a part of a better group of Christ followers than those of you who call New Life Christian Center your home and your family. Dave and I are so blessed.

To all of you who serve in hundreds (wait, make that thousands) of ways here at New Life,

"THANK YOU!" Because of your love for Him and your willingness to live out your faith in the nitty-gritty of life, He is at work in mighty ways here and in this valley!

Why Truth is Beautiful - by Mary DeMuth

Mary DeMuth is an author and her Inside Renewal monthly ezine contained this article that echoes what those of us at retreat caught a glimpse of. Number eleven specifically talks about taking off masks (the theme of this year's retreat). Even if you didn't attend the retreat, I think you'll benefit from what Mary shares. I agree whole-heartedly.

If you are interested in her blog, you can click HERE, and if you're interested in her website, you can click HERE. You might remember my blog posts about her book, Authentic Parenting in a Postmodern Culture, (Post 1, Post 2, Post 3, Post 4)but she has also written many fiction books. You can check all that out at her blog.

Why Truth is Beautiful. I've had a flood of reader mail, which has really blessed me. It occurred to me that honest, authentic writing changes folks. Truth, raw and redemptive, sets people free. Culled from my inbox, here are twenty reasons why Truth is beautiful: When we tell the truth about our stories, others don't feel alone anymore. When we share our foibles in light of God's truth, we realize we are small but God is big. The beauty of redemption shines all the brighter on a dark canvas. (So saying it like it is doesn't negate God's intersection, it highlights it.) Telling or writing the truth frees us and others from the people-pleasing trap. When we share our stories, we give others the chance to grieve their own in an open way. Truth opens up emotions we once thought buried. The truth, when written humbly, shines the light on people's sins in an invitational, grace-oriented way. Truth helps us be accountable to our brothers and sisters in Christ. Truth obliterates the power of sin in my life when I share it. Being an authentic communicator invites others into shared community. Writing or telling the truth makes us real and it strips us of a performance-based Christianity. Truth rips down masks (in the best possible way). When we point to truth, we remember that Truth personified is Jesus. When we speak the truth in love, we show a friend that we genuinely care. We're willing to risk a temporary lapse in relationship for the sake of our friend's better good and holiness. Telling the truth is spiritual warfare. Since Satan is the father of lies and speaks lies as his native language, truth-telling renders him speechless. Truth is refreshing. Truth is contagious. When you share it, you invite others to follow you. You can start a revolution of disclosure. People trust a truth teller. If you're passionate about something, being truthful endears you to your audience. They trust what you're saying and are more apt to join you in your passion. Telling the truth is safe. You don't have to worry about contradicting yourself or trying to remember who you told what to. Being a truth teller helps you look yourself in the mirror and not be ashamed. What about you? Why, in your opinion, is truth beautiful? (And why are lies destructive?)

My Other Blog

Some of you might not know that I occasionally post on my other blog, Express Yourself with Uppercase Living. So, although it seems that I don't post often (well, that's actually true), I do post on both blogs. I just thought you might want to check it out. Also, you can become a FAN on my Uppercase Living Products and Projects page. I'd love to see you there!

I Wish........

I found the following courtesy of "The Organizer Lady." I wish................my family had this memorized and lived this out! :) If you are blessed enough to have young children, start training them NOW! I know it seems hard, but believe me, it doesn't get easier when they are older!

In Our Family

• In our family, we make our beds before we leave our room in the morning.
• In our family, we put dishes into the dishwasher, not the sink.
• In our family, we put what we need the next day by the front door the night before.
• In our family, we don't drop our things when we come in the door. We take them and put them where they belong.
• In our family, we put dirty clothes into the hamper as soon as we take them off.
• In our family, we take responsibility for completing the chores assigned to us.
• In our family, we don't complain about our responsibilities.
• In our family, we always flush the toilet immediately.
• In our family, we put up toys, games, tools, and stuff we are using immediately.
• In our family, we don't leave things out just because we plan to get back to the project later.
• In our family, we wash, dry, fold, and put up our clothes as one continuous job.
• In our family, we make sure all trash goes into the trash basket.
• In our family, we keep our closets and drawers neat.
• In our family, we use the team concept. Each person does his part to support all.
• In our family, we are willing to help others where necessary because we are a team.
• In our family, we talk kindly to each other.
• In our family, we think ahead to solve problems before they happen.
• In our family, we pay attention to maintaining beauty.
• In our family, we push our chairs up to the table when we leave.
• In our family, we strive to complete projects and clean up expeditiously.
• In our family, the person who uses the last sheet of toilet paper puts new roll on the roller.
• In our family, we value each other and the contribution each makes.

Sometimes

Sometimes, our world is rocked in a moment. Sometimes the wind is sucked right out of us. BUT.....I know that I know that I know......that God is with us even in these moments.

Being a pastor's wife, I get more than my fair share of times when I hear of an individual or family that has just experienced something earth-shattering. Life will be forever different from that moment on. I pray earnestly. My thoughts are focused on that person or family no matter what else I may be doing at that time. I start thinking of ways that I might be able to help; a meal, childcare, a hug, a prayer. Tonight, I find myself in one of those times. I must hold on to the promise that God has said He will never leave us or forsake us.

As I find myself in one of those "sometimes" moments tonight, I stumbled upon a blog that literally made me cry. Perhaps I am more prone to tears because this is a "sometimes" moment, but if you have a few minutes, I think you would appreciate this mother's raw and honest description of the birth of her precious daughter.

You can go HERE to read "Enjoying the Small Things" blog post.

**God, you who knows the beginning to the end, I thank you that you are in control, even when everything around us can seem so out of control. Amen.

Servolution 2010

Wow! I can't believe that we are gearing up for our third annual Servolution which will take place on May 1, 2010! In case you missed the summary of last year's event, here's the video and some stats. You know you want to lead a team this year that makes a difference in our community for His Kingdom, so contact me to sign up as a team leader. You won't regret it; I promise.

Here are some results from Servolution 2009 in Turlock, CA.

1300+ volunteers
120+ projects
500 grocery baskets given away
117 people given health screening
300 people visited our resource fair
73 haircuts given
1800 hot dogs consumed
70 people gave blood in our blood drive, and
Approximately 15,000 man hours of work donated.

THAT is love in action!

You Can Still Wear Cute Shoes!

I am looking forward to going through this new book (You Can Still Wear Cute Shoes and other Great Advice from an Unlikely Preacher's Wife) with our staff wives. It is written by Lisa McKay of "A Preacher's Wife" blog fame.

I am always quick to share what a blessing it is to be called together with my husband to serve as pastors, but there are some unique things about being pastors that one just can't understand unless you've been called to walk that road. That's why it's always good when the staff wives get together; we can be a safe place for one another and we can celebrate and commiserate together. I know this book will spur some great conversations among us!

If you are interested in giving this book to a pastor's wife that you know, you can go the LifeWay Website or Amazon.com to purchase it. You can also enter a pastor's wife you know to win a giveaway by visiting HERE.

Oh, and now that we staff wives have been given permission to wear cute shoes, we are open to shopping with you fashionistas out there who have undoubtedly seen the state of our foot apparel. :-)

Winter Formal

THS Winter Formal

January 2010

Just thought I'd share a few photos from a fun night with a great group of kids.

First, Eric is ready and waiting, and therefore, subject to his Dad making him pose for a picture.

Sweet kids - Eric and Kerstyn

Putting on a wrist corsage is a rather easy thing to do.

Pinning on a boutonniere is not so easy. So, I pinned it on Eric's shirt..........

and then we just had Kerstyn pretend that she was pinning it on Eric's shirt. :)

That situation cracked them up!

Already having a fun (or should we say a "funny") time.

Great friends.

The whole gang!

After dinner out on the town, the group decided that they didn't want to arrive at the winter formal right on time, so it was our house for a little Apples to Apples - along with cookies and milk. Dessert is always necessary, right?

Good kids + some fancy clothes + dinner out + games + a fun formal = a great time.

Looking Back

Can I just tell you how thankful I am for photographs? Really. I just downloaded a boatload of photos from my camera, and believe it or not, I had forgotten some of the events already! So, I thought I'd add a few pictures as a way of catching up here at the ol' blog. (Facebook has changed my blogging habits as I'm sure you've noticed. I just don't have time for EVERYTHING!)

Anyway, I'll start with some of those strange, random photos that showed up on my camera. I can usually figure out who took the picture based on what it is. Let's see how you do at guessing who was behind the lens.

Picture 1

Yes, I think Pete must have taken this shot. To be honest, there were about 90 photos of stop-motion photography. When I scan through the iPhotos quickly, I can see the action take place! It was pretty cool, but photo by photo, it's not so interesting and it sure takes up a lot of room in iPhoto!

Picture 2 - Can you guess who took this one?

Yes, I'm sure the girliness of this picture helped you figure out that it was taken by Kari. She had created this masterpiece after doing the dishes one evening. She's a little artist, anyway, so I guess it was just natural for her to find something to create out of the dishtowels. It was fun to find this on the camera. I love the suckers for the mouth, the bubble gum for the nose, and tootsie rolls for the eyes. :)

There were many other photos, too, but I'll spare you the randomness of them all. I then found photos of the Cousin Christmas Sleepover. The Tuesday before Christmas, we had all the cousins spend the night (well, one had to leave early because of her job; that's what happens when the kids start getting older), and we had a great time. Between myself and my two sisters, we have ten kiddos, and I happen to have the oldest two kids and the youngest two kids. My sisters were busy during those four years between Eric and Peter! :) They had six kids in four years! I guess that must seem ridiculous until you learn that my youngest sister had triplets. We are all so blessed! Anyway, I digress. Here's some photos of those crazy cousins.

*Pic Removed per K's request.

The white elephant gift exchange was quite fun. The kids had to bring something that they already had around their house that they weren't using. Kari shows off her sunglasses.

*Pic Removed per K's request.

I'm not sure which gift the kids are laughing about here.

My nephew received a lovely dishtowel that had a painted girl on it with a crocheted dress sewn on. This happened to be something we had (I can't imagine why I didn't use it!), and it was from Brazil. You know how crazy those Brazilians are! The funny thing is, when you lift up the crocheted dress, they had painted panties on the girl! Quite interesting (and funny if you are a teenage boy)!

*Pic Removed per K's request.

And then, my niece received a grass skirt and maracas; you can never have too many maracas, you know!

*Pic Removed per K's request.

The cousins had fun playing Apples to Apples.

Sssshhhhh.....don't tell anyone that two high school boys had fun coloring some fuzzy posters from the white elephant exchange.

The living room becomes one big bed with wall to wall cousins. My older two are getting more finicky though; they decided to sleep in their own beds. :)

Yes, it's hard to wake up the kids after they've been up having fun most of the night!

Yes, cousin sleepover provides fun times and great memories. I feel so blessed that our kids get to grow up together. I realize that not everyone has that luxury, and I don't take it for granted. I'll never regret the effort and HUGE amount of food it takes to have everyone over.

Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Yes, I'm quoting from Clement Clarke Moore's The Night Before Christmas, but it seems to be about as much as I can muster after a wonderful Christmas filled with much family, love, and laughter.

I pray that each of you was able to experience His good gifts of love, peace, and new life this Christmas. Yes, every good and perfect gift is from above (James 1:17), and God gave us the perfect gift in His son, Jesus. His sole purpose in giving us this gift? That we might be redeemed and reconciled to Him, able to live with Him for eternity. That, my friends, is the extent of his love for us. May we each be able to grasp that truth of His love more fully in the coming year as we grow in our knowledge of God, and may our hearts be more completely His.

Much love and wishes for a Merry Christmas to you all!

Hmmmmm.......

In this world where we are always wired, we're never where we are.

Just my thought this morning.

Thanksgiving Prayer

I pray that each and every one of you has a thanksgiving filled with true knowledge of your blessings. We take so much for granted, don't we? Anyway, this prayer is from Donna Partow and I thought it so appropriate for me. Perhaps it is for you, too. Happy Thanksgiving from my heart to yours.

"Dear God,

I want to thank you for what you have already done. I am not going to wait until I see results or receive rewards. I am thanking you right now.

I am not going to wait until I feel better or things look better. I am not going to wait until the pain in my body disappears. I am thanking you right now.

I am not going to wait until people say they are sorry or until they stop talking about me behind my back. I am not going to wait until my financial situation or the economy improves. I am thanking you right now.

I am not going to wait until the children are asleep and the house is quiet. I am not going to wait until a different season in my life unfolds. I am thanking you right now.

I am not going to wait until I understand every experience in my life that has caused me pain or grief. I am not going to wait until the journey gets easier or the challenges are removed. I am thanking you right now.

I am thanking you because I am alive. I am thanking you because I made it through the day's difficulties. I am thanking you because I have walked around the obstacles. I am thanking you because I have the ability and the opportunity to do more and do better. I'm thanking you, Heavenly Father, because you haven't given up on me. You are good and you are good all the time.

Thank you for all the good you've done for me. Amen

Simple Moms

One of the many websites that I love to check in with is Simple Moms. Today, they are having a great giveaway, so I thought I'd direct your attention that way.

I don't know if you've ever seen Lisa Leonard's jewelry, but........Oh. My. Lands! I've admired Lisa's work for a couple of years now, and entered other giveaways hoping to win one of her gorgeous personalized necklaces or bracelets. Trust me; once you see her things, you'll be hooked.

Anyway, I get an extra entry today for posting about this giveaway on my blog, so there you go! That's why I'm willing to share the giveaway with you all. Of course, the more people who enter, the lesser my odds of winning, but you'll love looking through her online store. Perhaps you can even do some Christmas shopping while you are there.

Have fun checking it out!

Consider This

I don't have a lot to share today, but I heard a quote from a fellow in our small group last night that will simply not leave my brain. I think it's profound and we all decided that there is enough in this one statement that it could be a sermon. Our small group discussion time was awesome last night; I appreciate the honest sharing from each person.

Consider this:

"Forgiveness is giving up all hope of having had a different past."

Some of my thoughts about this quote:

• I don't know that I would say "giving up all hope," but to me it means accepting that we cannot change the past or a decision no matter how much we would like to.
• The "different past" could be my own decisions and sin, but it could also be the actions, words, and sin of another who hurt me. No matter how much I wish that person wouldn't have said this, done that, or hurt me in whatever way, it is what it is. I am doing myself no favor by holding on to unforgiveness - hoping for a different situation to have occurred.
• As has been said, "Unforgiveness is like drinking poison and hoping the other person will die." It doesn't work that way, when we don't forgive, we are the one that whithers and dies.
• Sometimes the hardest person to forgive is ourselves. I know there are things in my past that I would love to go back and do over (responded differently, chosen better, not done, etc...), but I need to give up all hope of having done something differently and choose to forgive myself. If I say I accept God's forgiveness after confessing and repenting of my sin, I am, in a sense, turning my back on His gift if I don't forgive myself.
• I can't move forward in life unless I deal with areas of unforgiveness towards myself.
• And concerning unforgiveness towards others: even if a person(s) doesn't ask for forgiveness or acknowledge how they have hurt or damaged me or a relationship, I can make a choice to release them from my desire for justice. It does me no good to spend my time and life hoping that they will own up to their part in a hurtful situation. If I choose to forgive, I give myself permission to move forward. I will allow God to deal with that individual or persons, and even if I don't see any movement on their part towards accepting their part in a situation, I can be free from obsessing on the fact that I was wronged/hurt/etc...
• Forgiveness can sometimes be a process. We must make A CONSCIOUS CHOICE to forgive, and then when our emotions bring that situation back to mind with all those same, old feelings, we can CHOOSE AGAIN to forgive. We may have to do that many times at first, but as God allows us to experience His forgiveness immediately each and every time we need it, we can learn and move towards those times being farther and farther apart when those feeling rear their ugly heads.

Okay, forgiveness is a big, ol' subject, and I didn't start this post to address every issue regarding the topic, but I did want you to ponder my friend's statement:

"Forgiveness is giving up all hope of having had a different past."

Liberated from Fear

As I was cleaning up my computer files the other day, I ran across my favorite quotes folder. Anytime I see or hear a quote that means something to me, I open my "Favorite Quotes" file and add that quote to the others. I've got an assortment of quotes saved - some are funny; some are thought-provoking; some are from famous people; some are from cartoon characters; some are worth sharing; some are not worth sharing. I ran across the following quote, and it spoke to me just as much as it did the first time I read it. Take some time to ponder this today.

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

~ From A Return to Love by Marianne Williamson

Project Day

Many of you know that I became a demonstrator with Uppercase Living almost two years ago. Never in a million years did I think that I'd be part of a direct-selling company, but I just loved all the possibilities that Uppercase Living makes possible. And I have an easy outlet for my creativity. Anyway, if you are interested in participating in my next Project Day, go to my Uppercase Living blog (glexpressions.blogspot.com) to see the projects available for this time. Contact me ASAP if you'd like to sign up!

Mish Mash Monday

This quilt pattern is called, "Mish Mash," and I'm sure you can see why. It is a pieced work of various colors, prints, and sizes. Much like this quilt, today I'll share a mish mash of events and thoughts.

Yes, life still swirls all around us, but we've been blessed to be involved in some great stuff lately. First of all, our small group is AWESOME! It's a comfortable, talkative group, and guess what, we aren't the leaders and we get to just be Dave and Gena. Can't tell you how great that is!

Last Thursday night, I was able to spend the night at my mom and stepdad's home. I had a great time; it was just like staying at a bed and breakfast! I was spoiled.

Eric is in his final cross country season as a senior this year. This Wednesday is the THS/Pitman cross country meet at Donnelly Park. Cross Country has to be one of the easiest sports to watch. All of the parents and spectators set up their chairs around the finish line at Donnelly under the wonderful pine trees. We hear the gun go off by all of the runners lined up at the lakeside. We cheer as all the runners come through the finish corridor for mile one. We then visit amongst ourselves for another couple of minutes until the runners come through for mile two. We cheer again and watch them take off for the final mile. As they come in from mile three, we cheer them on one final time. I'm always amazed that these kids have so much left in them to sprint the last little bit of the course. Then we parents say our congratulations, pack up our chairs, and head home. A good half hour, and then we get on with our day. Yeah, easy.

I find that the most spiritually mature people I know are the ones who simply live out their faith without trying to judge others and without being spiritual snobs. We're all just sinners in need of His grace and love; no one has a corner on how a relationship with God has to look.

Kari is playing soccer again this year and Dave is the assistant coach, so we're having lots of fun with that. She's got a big, ole bruise on her knee today as a result of a kick during Saturday's game.

October is a busy month. Let's see.....Outdoor Ed for one child, Youth camping trip for two children, RIOT Jr. High night for another child, conference for Dave, Men's retreat, a very quick road trip to Portland, OR to meet our new niece and nephew, the Harvest Festival, six Uppercase Living open houses, soccer, small group, AWANA.......oh, and laundry. :-)

Blogging is good for some purposes, and not so good for other purposes. Today, I read these verses and think they apply to blogging, too: "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths (blogs), but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen (read). And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Follow God's example, therefore, as dearly loved children, and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." Eph 4:29-5:2

Yesterday, my mom and stepdad had all of their children and grandchildren to their place for lunch. Four were missing, but the other nineteen of us were there together. Yes, that's right; when we are all there, we number 23. My mom, single-handedly, prepared a wonderful lunch for all of us. She rocks. Really.

I love this fall weather, and it's supposed to rain tomorrow! I'll be a happy camper. :-)

Right now, I'm putting off cleaning my bedroom to write this post. Not a good choice, so I'll be going. What random, mish mash thoughts run through your mind this Monday? I'd love to hear. You can comment or email me to let me know.

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thes. 5:23

You Might Say, "Ouch!"

I was directed to this video through an email that I received. Since you find yourself here at my blog (regardless of what brought you here - internet search, link from another blog, or simply checking in), you might want to watch this. You can check out Josh's blog HERE, if you haven't been convicted not to after seeing this video clip.

Late to Church

Our family usually gets to church in three different vehicles at three different times on Sunday. Since I want my children to actually love the Lord and not hate church, I only make them attend two services most of the time. I usually have the three younger kids with me on Sunday mornings, and on the way to church, we listen worship CDs to prepare our hearts for worship. We often pray for the services and for our hearts to be open to what the Lord wants to speak to each one of us. Do you believe this? If so, please stop reading right now because you are about to be disillusioned! We're just like your family; sometimes by the time we get to church, we've had it with each other!

We are usually at church in time for service. I may not walk into service until after worship has started, but that's just because I love visiting and connecting with others so much that it's hard for me to get away to be in auditorium by the time the worship team starts playing. But then there are other times. Well, let's just say that we're a typical family, and people (read that - children) don't always cooperate like we think they should. This morning was one of those mornings.

Dave had taken my youngest with him, and Hannah was going by herself because she had to leave for Sacramento immediately after second service. So that left me with the two boys. I let them sleep until about 45 minutes before it was time to leave for church. After getting them up, amazingly, they were both "ready" in about 20 minutes. Since I was still putting myself together, they went to sit in the car. I am not kidding; they sat in the car, in the garage, with the garage door closed, for 20 minutes waiting for me. Once I had everything together, I headed out to the car, pleased that my boys were ready and waiting so patiently for me.

By this time, it was about 20 minutes before service was to start - plenty of time for us to get there. I put the car in reverse to back out of the garage, and as I did so, I looked over at my son and could tell he hadn't even washed his face. My mistake was assuming that "ready" meant the same thing to both of us. You'd think I'd have learned my lesson on this by now. So, I asked my son if he had washed his face, and he said, "Yes."

Now what was I supposed to do with that because it was clear to me that he hadn't? So, I said, "Are you telling me the truth?" to which he replied, "No." I think I was supposed to feel better about it because at least he owned up to it right away. So I told him I would not leave the house until his face was washed, and of course, he was angry with me because, as we all know, it was MY fault. Then, I looked back at my other son, and I could tell he hadn't even "done" his hair (whatever that really means for boys). Last night, I had told him he needed to take a shower before church since he wasn't taking one that night. Again, I assumed that he would obediently do that since I had specifically told him to do so JUST LAST NIGHT! He was also wearing a wrinkled t-shirt that was actually clean, but it had been wadded up when he put his clean clothes away in his drawer.

So, I put the car into park and told the boys that I wouldn't leave until they had both done everything it takes to be fully "ready" for church. I also did the typical mother thing and said, "At your ages, I should NOT have to ask you every stinkin' morning if you've washed your face (or brushed your teeth, or made your bed, or put on clean clothes - insert what you want here). So, now I have two boys who are angry with me because I am asking them to do what I consider to be NORMAL, EVERYDAY, GET-READY STUFF!

Both boys got out of the car (can't you just hear the car doors slamming?) and headed back into the house. They proceeded to tell me to go to church by myself and they would just stay home. Well, in my opinion, that would have been letting them off way too easily, so I told them that they WOULD go to church and that we'd leave whenever they were ready.

At this point, I was their favorite person in the whole, wide world! NOT! Anyway, we didn't even leave our house until 7 minutes after service had started, and it was a silent ride for the most part. Finally, we arrived at church and both boys exited the car, put their hands in their pockets, and walked off towards the youth room, with nary a "Goodbye," or even a shrug to me. Ah, the joys of parenting.

I gathered my Bible and purse and headed towards the auditorium not looking forward to having to walk in late. I realized, however, that there was an up side to arriving after the service had started; I got into auditorium much more quickly because there was no one to stop and have conversations with on the way in. :-)

Food for Thought

Love is what we are born with. Fear is what we learn.

The spiritual journey is the unlearning of fear and prejudices

and the acceptance of love back in our hearts.

Love is the essential reality and our purpose on earth.

To be consciously aware of it,

to experience love in ourselves and others,

is the meaning of life. Meaning does not lie in things.

Meaning lies in us.

Marianne Williamson