does anyone remember.......

does anyone remember their first or second grade spelling tests?????

well...i kinda do, but i don't remember words like these being on it......

yeah, i know....my son loves his dvd's probably a little too much, but it goes with the territory of autism.

when we talk about the things he writes, sometimes i get the feeling it's either not believable to some or hard to wrap your head completely around. so here's his latest example above.....

in case you can't capture it all, it says......

"walt disney pictures presents, a pixar animation studios film, monster (should be monsters) inc, coming soon to disney dvd, summer 2008."

this was with no prompting, help or even suggestion, just off the top of his adorable little head...

how you like those apples?

you can't please everyone....so ya?

asher's new "converse" shoes

his uncle sent him from florida

for Christmas! how cute are they...

you can't please everyone so what do you do????

a friend and i were recently having this conversation. she expressed how much was expected of her that day but all she wanted to do was CHILL....

today that same friend called me...she noticed right away i was busy but proceeded to talk another 15 minutes and seemed offended when i said i had to go.....

it occured to me that i'd done essentially the right thing but still put myself somewhere in there....and more importantly God too! she needed to "vent" about some offenses she'd incurred. i told her that maybe God wasn't able to give her what her heart desired in that situation because she was in offense over not receiving it already. i really needed to eat at that point (diabetic if you don't know and VERY cranky when i need to be fed, lol!). but i gave her some time anyway. she didn't have much interest at that point in what was going on with me so i just listened. but then i had to go.

i couldn't PLEASE her completely, so i had to please myself...or feed as the case was. my point is....

DO YOUR BEST, AVOID GOSSIP, GIVE A LITTLE MORE THAN YOU THINK YOU CAN ORIGINALLY AND THEN MOVE ON WITH THE PEACE OF KNOWING YOU DID YOUR BEST...even if it didn't meet someone else's expectations.....blessings...

tag...i'm it too???

so how this works, according to what crystal did.....

tabitha @ fresh mommy (tabithablue.blogspot.com) tagged me so i'm supposed to post a snippet from the closest book to me. since i'm sitting at the computer desk, that happens to be "Jenny Craig's Little Survival Guide." not a bad little book to have around by the way....chuck full of great tips if you're planning to start dieting, AS AM I, @ the first of the year (i'm feeling a little de javu here......LOL).

here's a good one......
Don't equate willpower with deprivation. Instead think of willpower as a positive thing--as in "by managing my weight, I will live a healthier lifestyle...and I will have more energy for family activities."

how's that???

small is in the mind of the beholder....

small accomplishments happen every day for children and we as parents get the

privledge of observing them....but for a parent of a special needs child, there's

NO SUCH THING as a SMALL accomplishment!!!!

hence these photos....see a little man decorating his Christmas tree, but

independently stops to say "CHEESE", who wasn't even speaking six short months

ago! see a little boy in a santa hat patiently posing for photos who wouldn't look

into a camera for years and didn't like having his picture taken...or a little boy who's

favorite "rudolph the red-nosed reindeer" train passes by unblocked by fences

once put up in front of them because he now has the patience and maturity to just

sit and watch it without breaking it!

yes people, small does not begin to describe these every day occurances, call

them miracles if you would because they are! the blessed Christmas season has

begun........

suck it up before you lose the choice...

i've been waiting to write this until the mood hit me....i decided on the eve of GIVING THANKS that it did.....

i lost a member of my family last week. for what would have "normally" been a traumatic experience, given their relationship to me and it's implied closeness, it was actually rather ambivilent. the reason why, so sadly, was i had only seen this person once in over thirty years. they removed themselves from my life when i was still a child, for no apparent reason to me and without explanation. many years of hurt and wonder followed.....

a few years back, GOD himself interveined and reconnected me to this person through a freakish, but clearly annointed circumstance. i was happy to say that with God in me i just said, "no hard feelings, let's just be thankful he reconnected us again and move on from here." sadly once again, through reasons of pride and unacceptance, they once again rejected me, and this time my son as well. fortunately, with God in me again, i just prayed for this person and went on with my life. there was nothing more i could do......

i have other people in my life as we speak that are refusing to speak with/break bread with other members of my family for the most insignifigant reasons. and i find myself looking at them and thinking, "are you gonna wait til their funeral to see them again?" but this is in reality the dilemma they face if they simply refuse God's grace in themselves and give that back to those people.

we hear it ALL THE TIME but that's because it's TRUE! life is short and on our death beds these silly little walls between us and others won't amount to a hill of beans....but our regreat for lost opportunities may be the size of a mountain!!!

i urge you tomorrow to take a moment to REALLY, REALLY, REALLY look for the good in each and every person you spend time with and more importantly, RELEASE any muck that stands between you and just giving them a hug!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE AND GOD BLESS YOU!

people respect your convictions....

just a simple observation today....

back to government class again, lol. seems this class has at the very least evoked a lot of thought process with me...

today we were assigned two group projects. the first was to read a newspaper article on a bill passing some time back. then read several articles to be labeled with our notes from the past week. the problem was the first assignment...

this was an article on "partial-birth" abortion and NOT one i would normally care to read. i know, i know...you can't just pretend things don't exist and hide your head, but i tend to get very emotional and sad when i'm innendated with too much yuk! part way through the article i got nauseous reading the details of the "how." so i made the decision to opt out of the assignment and loose a few points. i did do the second one in case you're wondering.

to my surprise, everyone, including the teacher himself, was not only respectful, but kind and respectful. goes to show, you can still stand up for what you believe in and have those that might disagree still RESPECT you for doing it. amen!

limited or limitless....24/7

so having been a big fan for many years of 'American Idol,'

i am always thrilled to see people who've graced their stage,

like Chris Sly or Mendesa,

head in the direction of Christian music recording!

so i was listening to Chris' new song,

one of my favs right now,

and thought about the lyric....

"empty me of me, so i can be filled with you."

so it got me thinkin....

do you have to take something out of yourself

in order to add another component of God???

i concluded...yes and no....

in our flesh, we are extremely limited,

as if confined to a small box or something,

unable to escape.

but in our spirit, the spirit of God,

we are LIMITLESS!

there's ALWAYS room for more of God

and we don't have to lose something

in order to get it, Jesus paid that cost already.

24/7

i've always thought, based on the word,

that we chose each day to "walk in love."

my mistake was thinking it was a daily thing you

said to yourself or prayed in the morning

and went on with your day...

NOT!

i've found i have to actually chose it

every second of the day, over and over again

and actively seek peace each minute i truly want to have it!

blessings...

givin it a gooooooooo....

k, so this is not my typical, deep thought blog, but i wanted to try the whole "upload" thing with a pic (with the guidance of crystal, thank you very much missy)....so this is our halloween entourage.....old macdonald, his pig, chicken and cow, which btw, the pig and the cow took first prize at the county fair!!!

the grass is always greener.....

WHEN YOU CAN SEE IT!!!

i'm keepin it light today, lots to do...so i've had a slightly annoying cold this week that i caught from my adorable son, who probably got it from a pint-sized friend at church or school. the three days we just hybernated were absolutely gorgeous outside (although i have stated in bri's blog i'd prefer colder weather in november, but that's probably just me). we decide last night we're heading out today for some errands and fun time no matter how we feel. but then we get up and.....YUK, IT'S RAININ'.

then i check a little news...asher's father, his half-sister and her great mom live in denver. they've gotten over two feet of SNOW the last week or so. so the moral of the story is the same as it's always been people.....the grass is always greener on the other side until it's MASSIVELY blanketed in snow! blessings...

i'm not the government.....

so today, of course, i'm in another discussion involving the elections and issues....dah, it's election day. here's hoping you all voted and prayerfully to boot!

the woman says she was raised Baptist and believes in the Bible but that it shouldn't be a consideration in voting....huh? i know the founding fathers sought to have a "SEPERATION OF CHURCH AND STATE" because in their human wisdom they knew that politics and "religion" don't mix easily. i think we can ALL agree on that one, lol! but I'M NOT THE GOVERNMENT....i'm a living, breathing, spirit-filled Christian who does not believe God should be absent from ANY part of my life!!! my life belongs to HIM, all of it, and i give it freely and with gratitude.

i know it's a hard concept for some to grasp, but that distinction was meant for the government, which is supposed to be a representation of the people. i hope it will soon become clear that these are not seperate places for those who truly follow the Lord, any more than we are more than one person in who we are. we are a mixture (there's that cool concept again: see note on stew and chocolate chip cookies, lol) of all experiences and beliefs and you can't just TURN THAT OFF at a moment's notice...and why would you want to???

TAKE GOD WITH YOU AS YOU VOTE TODAY, HE DESERVES TO BE THERE!

two sides of wisdom.....

so recently i've had two epiphanies concerning wisdom...specifically God's wisdom.....

i have an unruly knack for trying to convince people of my way of thinking, albeit: change their will...so it occured to me...if God himself gave people the gift of "FREE WILL," then who am i to attempt to take that God-given right away from them. once again....God's plan prevails!

the second situation involved having a discussion with probably the most liberal young fella in my government class. the funniest part was when the teacher seen the two of us having a discussion, he got a total look of panic on his face and felt compelled to say, "i don't want an arguement between you two." weirdly enough, we were both very cordial and calm when he said it. anyway, he was giving me the "i listen to all sides of things and then decide what i think is best" speech i hear from many secular people all the time. and suddenly, as though filled with the breath of Jesus, the correct response just entered into me and i said to him......"the difference is that i don't rely on MY own wisdom to make decisions."

as human, emotional beings, whether spirit-filled or otherwise, it is narcissistic of us to rely on our own understanding for such big decisions as marriage, abortion or even how to raise our children. that's why we as believers are so enormously blessed to have a wisdom FAR BEYOND OUR UNDERSTANDING and comprehension to give us all the answers we could ever need! amen.

today i chose peace.....

today i had my intro to government class again.....

i've been trying the past week or so to say each morning, "Father, today i DECIDE to walk in love toward others." i gotta say, a lot of those days, it just didn't work. so again today i said it again and went on with my day....

as time approached for the class, GOD gave me the insight i needed to finally by successful at it. the reason, for me personally, that i'd been failing at it before was twofold....

one....after saying it in the morning i often forgot it and didn't remember it again until AFTER i'd walked way out of love with someone. so since the Bible tells we should meditate on the word, that translates in this case to reminding myself throughout the day to stay in the walk, rather than just letting circumstances hit me in the face before i remember my mission for that day.

second....if you know you're heading into a situation that might be difficult to stay in that love walk, then take a few extra seconds to pray and remind yourself again what the real agenda is. then you won't be caught off guard and misstep.

so today i CHOSE peace, and not without a small stumble or two, i stayed in it and liked it a whole bunch MORE than the alternative! blessings...

emulation and condemnation....

so i've been a Christian for about eight or so years now. some days i wish i knew exactly when that happened, but what does it really matter when, just that it did, amen.

some days i'm in awe of other Christians, especially those who were either raised in a Godly household or have been walking with the Lord for many, many years. what i find myself drawn to are how grounded they can be in every day situations. i can usually evoke a rather Godly outlook on the bigger situations and look upon them as trials and growth experiences. but it's in the day-to-day areas i stumble much more.

so they say "imitation is the greatest form of flattery"...and successful people always tell you to find someone who's already successful at something and copy them. but here's what can happen if you're not careful........

you can quickly find yourself in the town called COMDEMNATIONVILLE! in this town, no one ever lives up to their potential and it's filled with despair, doom and gloom baby!..."i can't do what they do, i'm not as grounded as they are, i'm too emotional to react that way", and on and on and on....

so the Lord so graciously showed me this...we are all like a "stew" so to speak, made up of many, many ingredients that all work to make it taste GOOD! as my wise ole pastor once pointed out (using the same analogy but with chocolate chip cookies.....he likes his sweets, lol)...some of those ingredients alone are not so hot to eat, but it's the combination that works! another words, our lives are all very different, filled with combinations of what make them up each day....so how could one successfully emulate another, who has a different life and circumstances, and come out the same? the answer is....you can't.

so take the pieces of what you see, admire, or desire to aspire to and COMBINE them with who YOU are! the result will be residence in PEACEFUL VALLEY, amen!

when did they become "bad" words......

so what got me started on this "journey," besides the sooo cool blogs of tab and crystal, was what i'm posting first. i'm currently in intro to american government at mott. since i don't really care for politics, it's not the best time for me to take on this CHALLENGE!!!

so i sit each day listening to some of our societies young people. i must admit, most in my class are what we call "liberals." they want their parents, the government, their bosses and everyone else to give them any and all personal freedoms they desire...without consequence!

so i started thinking......
when did words like "boundaries," "rules," and "restrictions" become bad words???

so i turned to mr. webster for some answers to insight.......

boundaries- something that indicates or fixes a limit or extent.
so would the opposite be having NO limits or extents to which one would go?

rules- a prescribed guide for conduct or action.
so would the opposite be having NO guide to lead you or your actions?

restrictions- to confine within bounds.
so would the opposite be having NO boundaries?

my point being is that these are GREAT words when used correctly and we need to make sure as parents, leaders and teachers that we instill the immense value they have in our younger generation so they don't end up opposing them at every turn just for the sake of doing so.

knowing how far you would go....keeps you from going too far!


having a guide....helps you know who not to follow!


knowing your boundaries....keeps you from straying too far!