i'm a happy girl

last week
amid the tragedy
some good news
filtered in

my all time favorite artist
some might say my sister
(in Christ)
amy grant
is releasing new music

yippee!!!
i'm a happy girl

somewhere down the road
releases on march 30

i can't wait!

what do you watch?

I'm still overwhelmed by the devastation in Haiti. The images and stories are beyond my wildest imagination. I encourage you to give to Compassion International. They are on the ground there and working hard at bringing relief.

But for today, I have to go to something mindless...if just to provide some mental relief for a moment.

We have settled into the new schedule on TV. I don't really seek out watching television but I have a husband who watches a lot of TV. So by default, I watch a lot of TV. We usually record the shows (thank the Lord for the invention of the DVR!!) and that cuts way down on the commercials and doesn't eat up so much time. However my son now asks me to pause "his time" whenever he wants to do something else for a minute. A little bit of education on reality vs. TV is in order, I believe. He also doesn't understand why we can't fast forward live TV. Hmmm...what an interesting generation this will be...

Anyway, we've been watching How I Met Your Mother, Modern Family, American Idol, 24, and we'll watch Survivor when it starts. Hey, now that I'm thinking of it, whatever happened to The Office? We watch that too. I guess it will start soon. My better half is my TV scheduler so I guess he'll handle that.

So, what are you watching? Anything interesting?

bible study

the month of december

brought about

a new bible study

the purpose of christmas

i stumbled across it

in magazine form

dvd and all

it was wonderful

the real reason

of christmas

was put in focus

and i needed that

the same resource

saddleback

has lots of other studies

so we are doing another

this one is called

life's healing choices

there is a book by john baker

with the same name

the study will be eight weeks

instead of three

like the last one

i can't wait to see how it goes

here we go....

round three

out of options

he joined

so much changed

with just one signature

so proud of him

trying to make it

trying to be better

finding his own way

the first round

brought a son

born while he was

half a world away

the second time

i can't imagine

the pain of knowing

how much he would grow

now round three

and so much sadness

not sure the origin

but so sorry it is that way

in my mind

he'll always be

that little monkey boy

that i love

please Lord protect him

on this

his round three

clear the evil from his path

and help him to be safe

remind him of our love

and of your love

be with those he loves

regardless of the situation

use this time for your glory

in a way that would seem

impossible

thank you Lord

for my cousin

amen.

please give

It's all I can think about. I'm on the edge of my seat for every update.

Some Compassion staff from the Dominican Republic went in on foot to assess the situation. It is worse than we are seeing in the news. I cannot imagine.

So many need help. Please give to the Compassion Haiti Relief Fund.

They are going to need so much and every single cent will count. I promise.

It is difficult to track the children with all the chaos.

All I know for sure is that every situation there is in desperate need of God.

Keep praying.

juxtaposition

sitting in the doctor's office

in the care of wonderful people

thinking about the Haiti earthquake

and all the devastation

I realized how lucky I am

that no matter what is wrong

I have someone who can help me

ever since my involvement with Compassion

I've been a lot more aware

of the world around us

just how much poverty and need is out there

my heart breaks a little easier

my prayers become a little more urgent

and my priorities are different

materialistically

I view things a lot differently

and it's difficult for me to reconcile

some of our country's reckless spending

no, I'm not immune to wanting

and no, I haven't abandoned my love of gadgets

but sometimes I sincerely struggle

with the luxury of having so much

and so it was this morning

at the doctor's office

where i said a prayer of thanks

but also a prayer of need

a need for humbleness

to not take so many things for granted

to be aware of all my blessings

for discipline to be a good steward

but most of all

my prayer was for Haiti

please give to the Compassion Haiti Earthquake Response Fund

Compassion is uniquely embedded in the lives of those in Haiti

over 65,000 children are served by Compassion through the local churches

they anticipate many deaths and thousands of children who will have lost everything

Their ministry is full of integrity and your money will really go to those in need

please continue to pray

thanks

29 years...wow

29 years ago

this fall

seems like

such a long time ago

but one look

at my friend

and i am transported

back there again

memory is a funny thing

and while specific memories

elude me

she is my childhood to me

there are few memories

prior to the time

when her family

came to mean so much

hours upon hours

were spent together

an annie record

cabbage patch dolls

and even her brother's he-man set

time had taken us

down different paths

and then one spectacular day

we came across each other again

that was a few years ago

and i am still so thrilled

that we are

back in each other's lives

life is busy

and sometimes it goes awhile

before we catch up again

but we always do

and i'm five years old again

happy birthday, friend. :)

there are no coincidences...

many miles away from here

lives a little boy

who is very much

a part of my heart

when prayers are said

for my own children

he stands among them

and receives the same

in a world

where money is

the insatiable hunger

his letters are my gold

my soul's alarm

resounds within me

and i know

a letter will await me

it's happened four times now

and each time

i am no less amazed

than the last

yesterday was such a day

the alarm inside

the familiar envelope

news from a distant land

his mother's familiar handwriting

ran across the page

so glad to see it was hers

after two letters of someone else's

our family rejoiced

that their family was well

a few of us prayed

right then and there

later that night

news of an earthquake

in a neighboring country

felt far and wide

warnings of a possible tsunami

quickened my heart

trying to recall

just how far inland he lived

with God

i feel there are no coincidences

he has his hand

in everything

my golden letter

written in october

my soul's alarm

telling me to pray

just in time for an earthquake

and questions of safety

there are no coincidences...

please join me in prayer

heavenly father

we ask that you place your hand of peace

on the people who need you

especially the people involved in the earthquake

please be with the ones

whose questions won't be immediately answered

be with the ones who need your grace

please father protect them

in jesus' holy name

amen.

remember me?

Well, hello there! Long time, no posting. You know me. The writing vibe - it comes and it goes....

So, a little catch up...

Merry Christmas!

Decorating the tree. Notice the super cool fort in the background. :)

Happy New Year!

Our family tradition is to go to a movie on New Year's Eve.

Ryan lost his tooth. And another one since then.

Great pic, I know. This was my third try!

We've spent the first half of January trying to get back into the swing of things. It's been a little rough. But finally, if you don't count that I forgot to give Little Man breakfast this morning, everything is back on track. Ready or not!

Hopefully I'll be around more often...the key word being hopefully. I pray all is well with you and your family. Take care!

By the way, Happy Birthday to my godmother...she's been gone almost 18 years but she'll never be forgotten...

first loose tooth