Random Picture Post

Now for the picture fun!
11th folder
or
September 2007
11th picture

I opted for the 11th folder and 11th picture. This is a picture of my sister Kim, and her son, Micah, watching the water skiers at Seaworld. It was a really fun day! It was also the day before my Mom passed away with lung cancer, so it brought back some bittersweet memories :c)

A Mother's Love

My daughters continue to amaze me daily in everything they do. Kevin and I are very blessed to have daughters that seek God daily and love Him with all of their heart. We go through the same things all parents go through with their kids... and if there is one place that is the hardest place to live your Christian life... it's at home. I mean face it, we all know that we are not perfect, but we all know that we have a Creator that loves us so much and shows us grace and mercy. My girls try their hardest to show God's love to their friends at school and at church... and by praying for them. They are very talented girls too. Christie loves to write poetry and this week I am going to try to display some of it daily. I hope you like it as much as I love it!

A Tear For Dawn

A masterpiece beyond all compare,

Beautiful majesty and undying care

For each stroke of color and sight

The lovely warmth of dawn’s morning light.

Overshadowed by sleepy eyes

Of coffee brewing and baby cries.

No thoughts of the warmth, our thoughts are cold

Wondering how the day's events will unfold.

The sun grows higher in the sky

followed by birds starting to fly.

Still we don't stop to stare up above,

At the celestial embodiment of hope and love.

Never a time where one stops to think

of the watercolors red, orange, yellow and pink

Of the giant canvas painting in the morning,

At least not yet, but we’re still learning.

Random Picture Challenge

Okay... how fun is this... sometimes we forget about certain pictures... and thanks to Shonni, who found this challenge through another friend and shared it...here is a neat way to help re-discover those pictures! There are 2 ways to pick your random picture this week so more of you can play along. March 2008, 5th picture from the end
or 10th picture folder 5th picture from the end. This picture is from my 10th March folder and is the 5th picture in that folder..

This is Danielle at Galveston... we went to the Moody Gardens over Spring Break and HAD to visit the beach!

Getting Older... Who Me?... Never!

I don't know why, but lately, I have been reminiscing about the... past... okay, childhood. (I suppose it is not helping that as I type this post, my husband is playing old songs by Chicago, Genesis, Rush, etc.) I don't know why I have been thinking about growing up, getting older... maybe it's what you do at age 45...

It's funny, but usually I don't feel old until one of my daughters have a birthday (November and December). Lately, though, I have been reconnecting with friends on facebook from my childhood, from high school, from college and current. It is as if all the chapters in my life are coming together to form a book. Also, when my Mom passed away in August, I remember her now from my childhood rather than just my Mom who lived with us.

Looking back, I can see that the Lord has really blessed me with the people in my life. I have learned from each one... whether it be good or bad, it has been a lesson. Acts 17:26: “And He made from the one, every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times, and the boundaries of their habitation.” So, it's not coincidental that my family is the family He gave me, or that my friends and acquaintances are more than just faces... there is a purpose for them being in my life and for me being in theirs. I just need to make sure that my heart and my life are right with Him to find out what those purposes are. Everything happens with a purpose...

"This is the day that the Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it." Since I am alive in this day... I have a purpose for this day and I need to seek out His purpose for me in this day... I can choose to waste this day, or I can choose to live this day for Him... and in doing so, I believe, with His help, I can make a difference, whether it be in the little things of this life, or the big things in this life... God can use me for His purposes...

So, I guess... getting older doesn't really matter... it's what I decide to do with the days God gives me... as I get older. I am blessed with family and with friends that help me see the differences we are able to make with Him, either by their examples or by their words in love and in friendship. I am also able to learn through my mistakes... as much as I hate to admit it, they are sometimes the best lessons to learn by.

So for every second, every minute, every hour, etc that I grow older... I hope I learn more about the God who created me, more about my husband and my girls, more about my family and my friends... more about life in general... and more about growing older...

Jobs

I love it when people ask me what my "job" is. "Where do you work?" "What do you do for a living?" Most can't believe that I am still a "Stay-at-Home Mom", as if they don't exist any more. I guess, for the most part, people just can't believe that we can actually afford

for me to stay at home because the crisis our economy is going through. Who knows... depending on how bad it does get... I may have to go back to work, but for now, I am a "stay-at-home Mom".
(Pictured is Kevin volunteering at a nearby elementary school, helping kids make slime. Adalia is one of my little mentees (on the right) and her buddy Catherine.)

No... I don't sit around watching Oprah and eat bon bons... and no, my house is not spotless and the laundry is not finished all of the time... (I laughed so hard at my dear friend Shonni's blog when she asked the question "is anything ever really finished... like laundry", I spit up my coffee I was drinking while reading it!). I tend to volunteer my time... a lot. I volunteer at the schools in my community. Not just my daughters' schools, but all the schools in my community.

One of my favorite volunteer jobs is mentoring. I mentor girls in the elementary school whose Moms have left them. I get really frustrated too. I listen to these little girls as they tell me how much they miss their mom, how no one is there to put them to bed at night, how no one is there to fix them dinner, how no one is there to brush their hair... the list, sadly, goes on. These sweet little lambs feel so rejected, so hurt... confused... There is no one there to tell them that they have a God that loves them, that wants to give them life, that knows their deepest hurt. There is no one there to talk to them about boys, what's it like to grow up, are these feelings that I have normal... My heart goes out to them. With one of my girls... yup they are mine, or at least it feels that way... I have been mentoring her for the past 5 years. Her mother was a big part of her life for her first five years... then she tried to kill the little girl's father with a butcher knife in front of her and her small brother. Of course she went to jail for two years and then she was released. I am willing to bet that her mother was probably not loved by someone as she was growing up either... so the cycle begins... but where does the cycle stop? The little girl is ten years old now and really wants a Mom. If I was able to, I would snatch her and her little brothers and they would come live with us... but I can't do that. It's funny, physically, anyone can be a Mom or a Dad... you don't have to fill out any forms, you don't have to be responsible, you don't have to do the right thing... but in the end... who really gets hurt by it?

I know that our Father puts us on this earth for a reason, and sometimes, man can mess that up. I know that sometimes we have to take the chance on others, so that others can really know who He is. Who says we can't preach the Word of God in a public school, who says I can't be Christ's example in a public school? It's exactly what we are suppose to do. We are suppose to reach out to those who are hurting, draw them in, love them... I want to be an example of my Savior... with His mercy and with His grace, I want to reach out to those who are hurting and I want to love them. If you have a little bit of time on your hands, please consider doing the same. Volunteer your time... take the risk and get involved. So far, no one has complained about what I have been doing... and if someone does... what are they going to do... fire me?

Have a blessed day!