Room Time Fun

Here is what happens when you send a four year old to their room

Memory Verses

Here are my verses I want to memorize for the next few weeks or months, depending on how long it takes!
Matthew 6: 19-21
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Ephesians 6:19-20
"Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel,for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should."

What verses are you working on??

Childlike Faith

The Ewing house 7am
Jackson; "Mom, does God answer us when we ask Him questions?"
Sleepy Mom: "Yes, Jackson, God talks to us."
Jackson: "So, when I ask Him questions, He answers yes or no?"
Mom grumbling: "Yes, He does."
Jackson: "I just asked God a question and He said yes in my brain!"
Mom, a bit more awake: "Yes, that is how God talks to us, on the inside, and you can talk to Him anytime."
Jackson very excited, "Yes!"


Oh. the beauty of child like faith. I can learn so much from him. He is so excited that He can ask God questions and He talks to Him. I don't want to forget what an incredible thing that is!

Help!

Ok, I am so not looking forward to the next few years with approaching teenage years. Drew has not been home from camp 2 hours and he has either slept, complained he was tired, cried because he couldn't go to Heaven Fest (a 12 hour band thing in Brighten, CO), wanted to quit football (it hasn't even started), talked on the phone in a whispered voice and holed himself in his room. Yes, life is fun around the Ewing house. My dad used to say that kids go to bed normal and wake up one day weird. I thought that was crazy till it literally happened here. I am not even sure how to handle it all.
I am at my wits end. Brad and I are dealing with what to let him and do and not do. Facebook? Cell Phones? Phone in the room? There are so many decisions that need to be made. Oh Lord, help us.
Psalms 121:1-2
I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord,the Maker of heaven and earth.

Fun Thing!

You Are Barbeque Sauce

You are a social person. You enjoy cooking for other people. You are both skillful and competitive. You enjoy mastering hard tasks. You appreciate complexity more than simplicity. Your taste in food tends to lean toward interesting flavors. You appreciate exotic spice combinations. You tend to like cutting edge, fusion cuisine. You get along with all personalities from a distance. Except salsa personalities, who always seem to annoy you.

What Condiment Are You?

Just Put A Girl In It

I forgot to tell y'all this. When Drew got back from his mission trip and was still trying to convince me why he should have a girlfriend, we were in the car and talking about it and this song came on the radio. It is by Brooks and Dunn called Just Put a Girl in it.

You can buy you a brand new truck
Chrome it all out, jack it way up
You can build you a house up high on a hill
With a pool and a pond and a view to kill
You can make all the money in sight
But you aint livin the good life

Til you put a girl in it
You aint got nothin
What's it all worth
Without a little lovin
Put a girl in it
Some huggin and some kissin
If you're world's got somethin missin
Just put a girl in it

You can buy a boat and a shiny set of skis
Have some fun in the sun, float around in the breeze
You can lay out on a blanket by the lake
Drink a cold beer, polish off another day
Kick on back and watch the sky turn red
A sunset aint a sunset

Til you put a girl in it
You aint got nothin
What's it all worth
Without a little lovin
Put a girl in it
Some huggin and some kissin
If you're world's got somethin missin
Just put a girl in it

You can write you a country song
The DJ wont put it on
They wont dance or sing along

Til you put a girl in it
You aint got nothin
What's it all worth
Without a little lovin
Put a girl in it
Some huggin and some kissin
If you're world's got somethin missin
Just put a girl in it

If you're ridin in your truck
Put a girl in it

If you're gonna have a party
Put a girl in it

If you wanna live the good life
Better put a gir-r-rl in it

In the middle, Drew said, "See Mom, everyone agrees. I should just put a girl in it." It was so funny. We laughed so hard. He has a quick wit that way and it defused a serious conversation. I thank God that we could end the conversation laughing and having fun. Plus, I told him, the song is true--God made it that way. When He saw man He knew something was missing so "He put a girl in it!" I got to tell Drew that God made him to want to put a girl in it. We just need to be patient and wait till he was a bit older. But one day, God willing, he will be able to "put a girl in it."

My God is Too Small

We have one of those key pads on our garage and I have tried everything I can think of to get it to work. You know that I have these wonderful neighbors who do lots of things for us, including cleaning my whole entire house while I was out of town so I could come home to a clean house. I have wanted to get the garage pad to work so they could just come over whenever they wanted. I was so bummed that I couldn't get it to work. It is nice to be able to have a neighbor who can just let themselves in when they need something, like an IZZY, our new favorite drink. Or when I need them to clean my house because my husband offered to have a couple stay here while we were out of town and I didn't clean before I left and Brad was here for a week without me. Yes, it was a mess.

So, I have been very disappointed that I couldn't get the garage code to work and I was telling my neighbor, Melanie this. She simply said, “why don't you just make me a key to your house?” Well, well, well, if I am not the blondest thing around. I never thought of that. Have you ever done this, just have one solution to the problem in your head and not thought of the other possibilities?

I think I do this with God often. I think I know the answer to the problem and this is how it needs to be solved and I don't leave any room for God to answer the way He wants. I "put God in a box" of my earthly solutions to things. I know that "His ways are not my ways" yet I try to find the answers in my small very blonde brain. Today I am asking God to give me His answers to my questions, His solutions to my problems, and His assurance to my doubts!

A New Heart

Jackson came out of his room last night and said, "Do I have Jesus in my heart?" He and Drew were talking about it in bed and he was worried because Drew had told him that he didn't have Jesus in his heart.
We began by asking Him questions and trying to decide what his motivation was. We asked him “how do you get to heaven?” He told us that his teacher told him there was a bridge in space that leads us to heaven. Oh man! I am sure she was trying to teach the kids using the bridge illustration of how Jesus is the way to get to God and the cross bridges that gap but he was just a bit off. After clarifying that and explaining our sin to him and that the cross was the payment for our sins, that Jesus did His part and our part was to trust Him, Jackson simply said, "I want to trust Jesus." Amen, sister! Wahoo!
It was funny because after he prayed, he asked, "So when we were at Great Wolf Lodge, was Jesus not in my heart?" He was really thinking, "I would have gone to hell last week! Whew that was close." :o) He kept asking us if Jesus was in his heart when He was three? He was a bit worried about it all.
At one point Drew wanted to know the age of accountability - I told him I had no idea! We were having quite the theological discussions last night - bridge in space, age of accountability, and salvation. It was a wonderful night.
We also told Jackson that the way to know Jesus more was to read His bible. So, bright and early this morning Jackson jumped in my bed and asked me if we could read the Bible. That's my boy!
I think back and realize that many times when the kids want to talk, I am not wanting too. Kids never fit into my schedule. A good friend of mine who has kids older than me told me that you always have to be willing to talk on their terms. She said the older they get, the later they want to talk. Take advantage of those opportunities. Be willing to talk when they are ready!

On The Road Again!

I am almost home. I am at the Holiday Inn in Hays, Kansas and thankfully, they have free wireless internet. The hotel is great because it has a pool with a slide. The kids are able to burn off all the excess energy they have from being in the car all day. We just ordered pizza and now I am hoping to get some sleep so I can safely drive the rest of the way home tomorrow. I am very proud of myself today. I actually stopped and stayed at a hotel. I have a tendency to not stop and it can be dangerous to my family and my relationship with my parents :). They are not fond of my habit of driving 12 or more hours in one day. So, I did the mature thing and spent the $75 to stay at the Holiday Inn. I am so glad I did. The free toothbrush was incentive enough. I love hotels that will give you a toothbrush if you forget yours or in my case, can't find it the car that is packed FULL! I am tired of hotels that charge you to stay there and then they charge you for everything else you need. Thank you Holiday Inn.

I have driven through seven states on this trip and flown to Mexico. Three of the states I have driven through the whole state, including Texas. I am quite the traveler at this point. I am tired of my car. I am carrying Flexall in my purse to help with the kinks in my neck. I am realizing that I have some personal limits that I didn't used to have. My knees begin to ache, my neck is so tight it gives me headaches, and gallons of coffee can't keep me up for hours - it just makes me sick to my stomach. I am not the girl I used to be. I used to think that that harder and longer I went the better. Now, I am learning to slow down and enjoy. Two flat tires has a way of doing that to you!

I am excited to get home but not ready to start life again. I dread the busyness and clutter that life brings. I love the days spent at the lake where we just hang out with the family on the deck. School starting is looming over my head. I have a boy going into middle school and that makes me very sick to my stomach - no coffee needed. I want to find that balance of doing what God has called me to do without getting involved in too much. I am praying that I careful consider what I say yes too. I am asking God that, like my decision to pull off the road and stop at the hotel to rest and renew for the day tomorrow. I will do the same when I get home. To consider and weigh the consequences of every yes. I want our family life to be pleasing to the Lord from the way we spend our time to the way we spend our money. I long to please Him in every respect. I am so glad He is showing me that resting in Him is so good and the more I do isn't always better. The activity we do for Him is often the thing that hinders from spending time with Him.

Just Stop It

I read this this morning on the LPM blog and have to agree. It seems to be everywhere. I can't say it any better than she did. So I am just totally copying it for you to read.

From Beth Moore: One thing " I want to share with you is pounding in my heart. I don't have time to write it with my deadline coming up (by the way, your prayers are working! keep them up!) but it's going to consume me if I don't. I'm just going to take a very general, short stab at it and hope to feel the relief of getting it out there. My prompting for this word is not coming from the blog community. It's coming from requests that have swamped our ministry office recently and that we have gladly and compassionately received. The common denominator has been the same: women just totally out of control and doing some really foolish things. I've been one of them so I recognize some of the symptoms. And the cries for help. And the misguided desires for the kind of empathy that pats them on the head and says, "Who could blame you? Go right ahead." Because I love you so much, I want to share what the Holy Spirit is impressing on me in case it resonates. Listen here, Girls. If this shoe doesn't fit, don't wear it! Shake it off and know that it's not for you. But, if it does, be courageous and respond in obedience to God. Let me remind you before I dive into this that God pulled me from the deepest possible pit of sin and no one has been more tightly clutched by strongholds than me. Not one bit of this comes to you from a proud or condemning heart. It comes strictly from love and concern and as one who could have used this word along the way. So here it goes.

Sometimes we just need to STOP IT. Just plain stop it. We don't need to keep praying over it. We don't need to keep deliberating it. We don't need one last shot at it. We don't need five more years of counseling over it. We flat need to stop it. Like, for instance,

*If we're married and we're flirting with somebody at work (calling it harmless), we need to stop it.
*And, Lord have mercy, if any of us are having affairs, we need to stop it NOW. With every second that goes by, the consequences are mounting. Please do not let the enemy trick you into thinking you're getting away with it. You're not. Don't rationalize it. Don't tell me what a jerk your husband is and how you're finally in love for the first time. Get some fear of God and stop it.
*If we're being a brat about something, we need to stop it.
*If we're still punishing somebody for what they did to us, we need to stop it. Enough is enough. Let God deal with them.
*If we're trying to do God's job with somebody, we need to stop it.

No Scripture says it more succinctly and exactly than Isaiah 1:16b: "Stop doing wrong." Hear the voice of God say, "I've warned you and warned you and warned you. STOP IT."

I say this as a woman to whom sometimes a brief, "STOP IT NOW!" works better than anything. I love you so much and I want all of us to live in the full blessing of God that only obedience can invite. His will is for us, Siestas. Go with God on this or things are going to get really ugly. Take the warning and stop."

Ok Ladies, we have been warned: What do we need to stop today? What are we doing wrong that we know God is saying, "Stop IT!" You are only hurting you (and many others, our sin doesn't just affect us!).

Shooting Lessons

She actually liked the gun. I think she enjoyed it more than she thought she would. I think we are like this toward God. We think that if we actually give our whole hearts to Him, it will end up hurting us. Instead, it ends up protecting us from the damage we do to ourselves.
How many of us can look back at our lives and wish we had done what God had told us too. Most of the regrets in my life are things that God specifically told me not to do.
God calls us to forsake things but they are always for our good. Hurts come but God can turn them into situations where He gets the glory. The times I listened, obeyed, or allowed Him to heal the hurt are the times that He has gained the most glory from my life.
The times I was scared of Him or disobedient, that is when I got into big messes. I now know that what He has for me is best. I might not like it all the time, it might scare the daylights out of me. But when I take the plunge or learn to shoot the gun, I enjoy His protection and assurance on my life.

A Gun!

My mom doesn't like guns. When I married Brad, the ultimate hunter, she was scared and a bit irritated that we had guns in our house. She was not impressed with his shooting abilities and didn't want her grandkids living in a house with guns.
However, my mom and dad now live at the lake. A lake with snakes. If there is one thing she hates more than guns, it is snakes. We have discovered that the lake has snakes, what to do . . .
So, Brad and Paul went to Walmart, after much discussion on if it was possible to buy a gun on Sunday, we decided that since we were in Texas we could buy a gun anytime. So off they went to get her a gun to shoot the snakes. Now, in my mind I was picturing a small hand gun but they came home with a rifle. I am still laughing picturing my mom shooting a rifle at anything. I can't wait to take pictures during her lesson on how to shoot a gun. Priceless.

We'll Take Him Back Now!

Here we are in Mexico. I miss it already. We are having fun here. It is a different kind of fun. All the family is at the Great Wolf Lodge to celebrate my dad's 60th birthday. He didn't want a big party for him so he brought all of us here and it is lots of fun. When I told Drew what we were are doing for his Papa's birthday he said, "Papa is so humble!" He is and we love him for doing stuff for us on his birthday. It was just so funny that Drew used the word humble in that context. We still laugh about what a humble guy my dad is. Anyways, It has an indoor water park and all kinds of things to do. The boys are having a blast, I can hardly keep up with them. They move at a different pace than I do!

When we were gone, my parents picked up the boys from Brad's parents to meet us here at the hotel. My dad said they had been with the boys a little while when Jackson asked him, "Are my parents going to take us back?" Poor kid. Bless his heart! He is the sweetest thing. We haven't been away from him that long before and I guess he thought we were just leaving him. Of course, we are taking him back. It was nice to have a break and do nothing but it is also nice to be back and enjoy my boys!

Hola

We made it home and enjoyed every moment of our vacation in Mexico. We laid on the beach and ate all day long. We read lots of books and just loved getting to do nothing. It is hard to come back from that but we missed the boys and we are ready to spend time with family.

Books you need to read:
The Shack
http://theshackbook.com/
Money, Possessions, and Eternity by Randy Alcorn - hard read laying on the beach but a must for every Christian
Same Kind of Different As Me - Ron Hall, Brad read this in one day!

I was amazed by how hard the people work in Mexico. These men and women worked very long days doing thankless jobs in the very hot sun. But I was amazed at how happy they were to just have a job. Brad was talking to one man and asked him how he was doing and he said he was just happy to get to work. What a culture shock from America.

Happy Birthday Breanne! I love you so much.

I promise I am back to updating the blog. Vacation is officially over.
I missed you!