Never Say Never

Over the years I've learned the hard way to never say "never". How? Because every time I've said "I'll never ___________" God must have laughed and said, "Honey, just you wait." Here's a list of things I've said "I'll never" to:

• I'll never to to A&M. (I have a Bachelor's degree from Texas A&M University.)
• I'll never move back to my hometown. (I now live within 30 minutes of almost my entire family.)
• I'll never say certain things my parents said to me. (I sound more like my parents everyday.)
• I'll never drive a minivan. (I drive a minivan.)
• I'll never drive a WHITE minivan. (My dad named our minivan the "White Whale".)
• I'll never let my kids act like that in the store. (My kids have acted like that in the store many times, and all of us have left in tears.)
• Finally, I'll never go back to school. Well, take a look at this:

Yep, tomorrow I will join thousands of other students in our town as we begin the school year. I'll be attending the local jr. college to earn (another) degree and become a Physical Therapy Assistant.

This has been a very interesting process and God has led every step of the way. It will definitely be an adventure. I'm nervous about the change...being away from my babies during the day, studying, and trying to balance family, friends, church, and school, etc. But I know God has not led us out here to simply abandon us. He will be faithful and in the end, whatever happens He will be glorified.

So, with all that said, I may not be posting much over the next few months. If I do it will be rare, but I will try from time to time. I hope you have a great fall (or those of us in Texas--an extended summer)!

Don't Be Afraid to Ask Tough Quesitons

Have you ever asked:

• Why should I trust the Bible?
• How can I know if the Bible is reliable?
• Haven't people tampered with it over the years?
• Do we have any of the original manuscripts of books of the Bible?
• What kind of "errors" are in the Bible?
• What languages were the Bible written in?
• Why do we have so many versions of the Bible?

I've mentioned before that I love podcasts and that I have a list of a few teachers in particular that I really enjoy listening to. I've also talked about a Bible study (called Breakaway) that I (and about 6,000+ other students) attended while I was a student at Texas A&M University.

Well, a few months ago the teacher at Breakaway (Ben Stuart) decided to take on some of the most challenging questions people have about the Bible. He does this in a very honest and even scholarly way instead of a strictly emotional/sentimental approach many people believe is the only way to explain parts of Christianity.

If you've ever asked any of these questions (even to yourself) please take some time to watch this video. It's about 40 minutes long, but it will be worth every minute. I've listened to it several times because I'm a nerd and I get a thrill out of stuff like this. If you find it interesting go look up the podcast on itunes and listen to the second half on the audio podcast. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Has the Bible been Corrupted? from Breakaway Ministries on Vimeo.

A Look Back into My Picture Folder

Josie and me on her last day of gymnastics. I was blessed to work at the gym on Mondays for a couple years and loved teaching Josie in one of my classes.

We got to test an iPad this summer from the school Wesley works for. The kids wanted to watch it in the dark so they went to the closet to watch "Cailliou" on PBS.

We spent a lot of time with our friends Dayton and Deja and their Aunt Mendy this summer.

Josie loves Deja!

We couldn't contain ourselves when Caleb decided to do this.

I must say it is better than when he tried to put it in his diaper the other day and it came out with....um....well, I'll let you use your imagination. (Hint: we had to wash and disinfect it.)

Summer Reading

I realized something a few months ago. Although Wesley and I love to read, I haven't made much time lately to read for fun. I remember when I was younger I would get lost in wonderful stories and found that I couldn't consume them fast enough. So, this summer I decided to read for fun. Here are some of the books I read the last few months.

Sons of Encouragement Series: The Warrior by Francine Rivers

This was a wonderful historical novel about one of the men who remained faithful to the Lord in the face of danger. It was incredibly moving especially because this was the man we named our son after. Numbers 14:24 quotes the Lord as saying, "But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it." This is my prayer for my son every night--that the Lord would give him a different spirit and our Caleb would follow Christ wholeheartedly.


The Space Trilogy: Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis

These were absolutely some of the most creative and original books I have ever read. Not surprising since it is C.S. Lewis after all. I was kind of trying not to expect too much since I love The Chronicles of Narnia so much and you really don't hear much about these books, but I was not disappointed at all. My mind was totally blown away.

One of the cool things about these books is that I wanted them to be true with all my heart. I wanted to know that these stories were truly describing the way God had created the universe and that...ohhhh, I can't tell you! It's so wonderful! You need to read them yourself. (Side note: Lewis gave such rich descriptions, I wish that someone would make these into movies. We finally have the technology that could do justice to Lewis' imagination.)


The Princess Bride, S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure by William Goldman

This was the last book I read this summer and as much as all the other books made me cry, this book made me laugh...out loud...hysterically. If you like the movie you'll love the book more (isn't it always that way?).

I also have enjoyed the wonderful website http://www.librivox.org/. It is a site of free audio books from the public domain. They are all read by volunteers so some versions aren't that great, but I have found one reader in particular who is brilliant! Thankfully, she reads my favorites: Anne of Green Gables (and several other "Anne" books), Pride and Prejudice, and The Secret Garden. If you go there just be careful--it's addicting.

I hope you will take some time to read something enjoyable when you can. I'll wrap this post up with a question from John Eldredge in his book Epic. I hope you will think about it.

"What if all the great stories that have ever moved you, brought you joy and tears--what if they are telling you something about the True Story into which you were born, the Epic into which you have been cast?"

Countdown

This coming Sunday at our church is "Promotion Sunday". This is the Sunday when the students promote to their next grade level. We have been blessed with an A-MAZING Children's Minister who truly desires to share Christ with our kids as well as partner with parents to train up their children in a Biblical way. This Sunday we will also be using a new strategy to encourage three basic ideas taken from Luke 2:52.

This video was used to promote our new ministry year. Please pay close attention to the countdown at the beginning of the video.



It was very sobering to see the actual numbers. Of course this was making the point that the church only has so much time to help you as a parent to equip your kids. It is our job as parents to teach our children about Christ and his love. We CANNOT leave it up to the church alone.

We must recognize and take responsibility for living out and teaching the Word in our homes so someday our kids will understand how to take responsibility for their own spiritual lives. It is crucial to model it--reading our Bibles, praying (alone and as a family), trusting God in making choices, serving, treating all people with dignity and love, etc.

I hope you are encouraged and motivated to spend time helping to shape and develop your child's spiritual life. If you are unsure or afraid there are so many wonderful resources available, but go to the Father first and ask Him for help. He will be faithful to provide it.

Sleeping Beauty

Beautiful girl.

Time for the Big Boy Bed

Well, this summer we finally moved Caleb to a big boy bed. We decided to go ahead and move him since he decided to climb out and fell on his head instead.

Snotty nose.

Super excited!

We still don't have a cute bedding set but I haven't found anything I want to spend money on. Maybe for Christmas we'll find something.

I know I may regret saying this, but after several weeks he still has not gotten out of bed without permission. PRAISE THE LORD!!!!

A Husband's Song

One of the things I have always loved about my husband is that he is always singing. Not in front of people, just around the house, in the car, in the shower, etc. He'll bust out singing some random country song from the 1980s with a really thick southern accent and then we'll die laughing. Sometimes he'll catch himself and say, "I can't believe that is taking up space in my brain!" Other times he'll even take songs we like and use the tune but make up hillarious new lyrics that make absolutely no sense. He makes me smile when he sings.

But lately he's been singing a song a lot that we've been hearing on the radio the last few months. The first time I heard it I wept. Today after church he started singing it with all his might, grabbed my hand and danced with me in the kitchen.

This song has been his prayer since we were first married--even before it was written as a song. And I must boast in the grace of our Lord Jesus, God has always been faithful to answer his prayer, a prayer that now Wesley can sing. This song is definitely not wasting space in his mind. It is an incredibly powerful song, and I wanted to share it with you.

The following video is the story behind the song "Lead Me" by Sanctus Real.

The Story Behind "Lead Me" - Sanctus Real from BrightBulb Entertainment on Vimeo.

Here are the lyrics:

I look around and see my wonderful life
Almost perfect from the outside
In picture frames, I see my beautiful wife
Always smiling, but on the inside

Oh, I can hear her saying

Lead me with strong hands
Stand up when I can't
Don't leave me hungry for love
Chasing dreams, but what about us?

Show me you're willing to fight
That I'm still the love of your life
I know we call this our home
But I still feel alone

I see their faces, look in their innocent eyes
They're just children from the outside
I'm working hard, I tell myself they'll be fine
They're independent, but on the inside

Oh, I can hear them saying

Lead me with strong hands
Stand up when I can't
Don't leave me hungry for love
Chasing dreams, what about us?

Show me you're willing to fight
That I'm still the love of your life
I know we call this our home
But I still feel alone

So Father, give me the strength
To be everything I'm called to be
Oh Father, show me the way
To lead them

Won't You lead me?

To lead them with strong hands
To stand up when they can't
Don't want to leave them hungry for love
Chasing things that I could give up

I'll show them I'm willing to fight
And give them the best of my life
So we can call this our home
Lead me 'cause I can't do this alone

Father, lead me 'cause I can't do this alone

Weekend at the Ranch

These are some pictures from our first trip to the ranch this summer (back in June).

Chocolate pudding snacks.

On the porch discussing Toy Story 3 with Paw paw.

One of the great things about going to the ranch is that no one really expects you to take "real" baths. In the summer we typically leave a basket of soap, shampoo and conditioner at the "pool" (an old tank) so when we take one of our daily swims in the FREEZING water we wash in our swim suits. Here's Josie getting her hair washed by her Nana. She didn't like it.

Much happier now....

...but not now....

...happy again.

I think I have a super hunky husband!

Princess Bed

For a long time I thought it would be fun to get Josie some sort of canopy or mosquito net to hang over her bed but didn't want to pay $60 for something. So the other day I tried something.

I picked up one of these:

(an embroidery wooden hoop--less than $3)

and three of these:

These panels from Walmart were about $7 each.

I'm sure if I could sew I might have saved even more, but I don't have a sewing machine, so this is what I used.

I opened one of the hoops and put the panels on and then screwed the hoop back together tightly.

Then I attached several pieced of fishing line and hung it on the ceiling over Josie's bed.

And voila!

I might add little dangly-sparkly things at some point but we'll see.

Eat Your Fruit and Veggies

They're just too cute!