You Are Being Loved

The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness. Jeremiah 31:3

God loved you.
God loves you.
God will continue to love you.
Forever.

Right now. No matter what you're doing.

Whether you feel like it or not,

you ARE being loved.

Fishing again

James made me get a fishing license last week when we went camping.

Then he got me my own fishing pole. It's pretty. It's shiny red.

Then we went fishing at the park across the street. I caught a catfish.

It was awesome.

Twilight

So, I've been reading the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyers. Good reads, really. If you haven't read them, I recommend them. If you are one of the 3 people in the world who haven't heard of these books yet, well, let me just warn you. They are vampire books.

Now don't go getting all I'm-a-Christian-so-why-would-I-read-vampire-books on me. They do have a redeeming quality which I will expound on in a sec.

I started reading these books mainly because my daughter was reading them and I always like to stay up on what my kids are reading. I also like science fiction, especially fantasy characters, like, well, vampires.

As I got through the 3rd book (there are 4 and the last one comes out in August), I began to realize that these books are a beautiful allegory about life, and choosing between God and the world. I'm sure the author didn't intend for her books about vampires to include a Christian allegory, but they do!

I won't ruin it for you because you need to read them yourself. I just think God is so creative to hide a picture of Himself in a sci-fi book about vampires! I mean, the audience for vampire books is not usually the audience for books like My Utmost For His Highest, right? The fact that He would choose this medium to reveal Himself to those who would otherwise ignore Him is just so like God.

Read the books. Read them. READ THEM.

God is awesome.

Can I get an "amen"?

Kum Ba Yah

We are going camping this weekend. I am psyched. I really wanted to go last weekend, but I'm glad we didn't because it took me literally ALL WEEK to get ready for this little getaway. Do you know how much FOOD and STUFF it takes to go camping with 6 people (Skylar isn't going. Brat.)? Here's a list, but it probably isn't exhaustive. Oh, and you'll see that I don't believe in starving while we're out enjoying nature!

3 pounds of hamburger meat
2 packages of hamburger buns
1 package of cheese slices
3 pounds of brick cheese
2 pounds of baby carrots
1 stalk of celery
1 pound of butter
1 loaf of homemade bread
3 loaves of Iron Kids Bread
3 pounds of lunch meat
1 package of turkey bologna
12 individual cups of applesauce
8 individual cups of fruit
1 LARGE watermelon
1 case of water
2 packages of hot dogs
2 packages of hot dog buns
4 bags of chips
2 packages of Twizzlers
1 jar of pickles
Mustard
Mayonnaise
Ketchup
1.5 dozen eggs
1 pound of bacon
5 pounds of potatoes
An assortment of granola bars and chewy fruit snacks
GORP
1 gallon of milk
Peanut butter (for those who won't eat lunchmeat)

Wow. I don't think I'll go into the *stuff* we have to take to accommodate all of us. Let's just say we have to take 2 cars. Maybe next time we should just camp in our backyard.

Anyway, I don't have anything scheduled to pop up here while we're gone, so you'll just have to miss me!

Freedom

I am involved in an online forum dedicated to moms in my area. I love this group of women even though we don't always agree. I appreciate the differing opinions and the thoughtful discussions that result. We have Republicans and Democrats; conservatives and liberals; Christians, atheists, and Buddhists; gay, straight and bi-sexual. It's a great mix of women that provides a great way to hear and be heard.

There are a few women on the board who have made it their mission, though, to try to make us all better people. They are the ones who tell people they are mean, or rude or intolerant to hold certain opinions. I know they are not believers and I am not holding them to a standard of righteousness. I just think it's funny how the ones who are accusing the Christians of being judgmental are doing the most judging themselves.

As a Christian, I'm happy to be free of that kind of responsibility. I don't want to be the one telling people they're wrong or right. That is a job solely for God's competant hands. I cannot imagine being the one who feels like it's her job to go around making people better humans. Whew! What a job that would be.

As a Christian, the only person I have to worry about is myself. And let me tell you, that is a big job.

By the time you read this...

...we will be on our way to get Skylar!

I can do that?

So, the three of you who actually read my blog may be wondering what is up with the sudden frequent posting. I'll explain!

I just learned a little secret about scheduled posting. I don't have to immediately post. I can set it up to post AT A LATER TIME! So what does this mean? This means that whenever I think of something I want to tell y'all about, I can! If I have 2 items in a day, but I think I might overwhelm you, I can set it to go out the next day. This way I don't have to force myself to figure out something to say every single day! It's so exciting. I feel so free! You can expect to see more from me now that I've finally figured this out. I'm probably the last to know. I'm always so behind.

We now return to our regularly scheduled blog.

Fun With Friends

Yesterday, the 4 leftover kids and I drove up to Smithville to visit my online friend, Susan. She has kids whose ages are very close to mine, with the BEST match-up being Briar and her daughter, whose birthdays are only 2 days apart.

We had a great time at the playground and hiking in the woods. The kids didn't want to leave! Briar came home and told my mom that "it was awesome!" I guess she had a pretty good time and made a new friend in the process.

Thanks for the invitation, Susan. I'm so glad it didn't rain. It was a perfect day!

Photo caption: Tanner, you go first 'cuz I don't want to get aten.

Earthquake??

Here is the latest blog entry from Skylar-in-Japan.

Konichiwa!

Yesterday we split up into our trek groups and went to different parks. Not many people were at our park, so we did a lot of prayer walking. It ended up being a really great day for most groups. This morning we experienced our first earthquake while here. It was so cool!

Love you!

Sky

Of course, all I read was "blah blah blah EARTHQUAKE blah blah". Yikes. What's a Mama to do??

Pictures from our fishing expedition

Skylar's in Japan

For those who may not know, Skylar has gone on a mission trip to Japan. I am so proud of her. They get to write something out to be posted on a blog nearly every day. Of course, every day is not often enough for her mama. Nope. Not at all. But it's what I have to deal with.

This has been an exercise in turnin' stuff over to God. I am actually not as nervous as I thought I would be. Not lying awake at night wondering if she's still alive. I'm sleeping about as well as normal (which really isn't very well with out medicinal aid). I'm going to be thrilled to see her again, of course, but while she's gone, I can't control anything that happens to her, so I just pray.

Yep. Lotsa little prayers in my head like, "Keep her safe, Lord," and "Help her be a light for you, Lord." It's all I've got.

Here's her first post, copied and pasted from the team's blog:

Hey ya’ll! The team made it in safely last night and we jumped right in with prayer walking. A little gir last night told me “good evening” with a huge smile; she was so proud! B., T.J, Nate, and Honey Bunches: I love you and will be home soon!

If you think about it, send up some for her, OK? This Mama thanks you.

I've been tagged!

I found this post in my drafts. Oops. I guess it never posted. I'm not going to tag anyone else because all my friends have probably been tagged by now. Seriously, this is like 3 months old!

I was tagged by Melissé so...here goes...

The Rules -
1. Link to the person’s blog who tagged you.
2. Post these rules on your blog.
3. List seven random and/or weird facts about yourself
4. Tag seven random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
5. Let each person know that they have been tagged by posting a comment on their blog.


Seven random facts about me:

1. I sleep with 4 pillows: 2 under my head, one ON my head, and a body pillow.

2. I only eat popcorn from Osceola Cheese Factory.

3. I made my first C in school in Clothing class.

4. I hate my feet.

5. I never wanted to have kids.

6. I haven't had a best friend since I was 17.

7. I love to watch movies, but only at home, and only with the subtitles on.

Fishin'

Today James and I took the kids fishing at a local park. It was fun. It reminded me of fishing with my dad when I was little.

Of course, he only took me one time because I was SOOOOOOO bored, but still. I was fishin' with my daddy.

I missed him today and wondered if he could see how well I was casting. I actually impressed myself. Of course, without a license, I was only "helping" the kids.