So strange....

Isn't it strange how a 20 dollar bill seems like such a large amount when you donate it to church, but such a small amount when you go shopping?


Isn't it strange how 2 hours seem so long when you're at church, and how short they seem when you're watching a good movie?

Isn't it strange that you can't find a word to say when you're praying but…you have no trouble thinking what to talk about with a friend?

Isn't it strange how difficult and boring it is to read one chapter of the Bible but how easy it is to read 100 pages of a popular novel?

Isn't it strange how everyone wants front-row-tickets to concerts or games but they do whatever is possible to sit at the last row in Church?

Isn't it strange how we need to know about an event for Church 2-3 weeks before the day so we can include it in our agenda, but we can adjust it for other events in the last minute?

Isn't it strange how difficult it is to learn a fact about God to share it with others; but how easy it is to learn, understand, extend and repeat gossip?

Isn't it strange how we believe everything that magazines and newspapers say but…we question the words in the Bible?

Isn't it strange how everyone wants a place in heaven but…they don't want to believe, do, or say anything to get there?

Isn't it strange how we send jokes in e-mails and they are forwarded right away but when we are going to send messages about God, we think about it twice before we share it with others?
{Unknown}

Fall is in the air...

It smells like fall now, the dry yellow leaves and grasses. We went to the apple orchard and the smell was delicious... apples, pumpkins, grapes. The smell of warm cider and apple pie... The vineyards we drove by had the leaves turning red. This is my best time of the year.


Came home late after taking pictures at the pumpkin patch, riding the horses, eating lunch, sitting by the pond watching birds and geese, went to the organic apple orchard where we picked some apples and walked through a flower patch. The kids were tired and cranky on our ride home, and after the first mile the little ones fell asleep.

I will have to post some pictures later when I get some, since I don’t own a digital camera yet, and it takes awhile to develop film. Now I still need to finish laundry and finish cleaning my kitchen... and then I will join my girls in the land on dreams.... :)

I need You.

I need you Lord. When it’s dark outside as I drive to work and only stars glister in the black sky. When it’s dark inside my soul and I can’t seem to find a way.


I need you Lord today, for you to touch me and hold me close. I need you when I feel sad and empty, when I feel confused and not sure how to make the right decision.

I need you Lord, when my little ones are sleeping peacefully in their beds and when they are jumping up and down on the couch. When they are whining, crying, and complaining.

I need you Lord, when my house seems like a hurricane of little bodies went through it. When my body is tired from a long day and my soul is weary from the lack of being close to you. I need you Lord. Come and save me.

Abundance of joy.

Finding joy in my everyday life could be a challenge sometimes. I look for it everywhere I go, in everything I do. Today I found it in the warm sunshine, the fresh breeze, in the tiny, green-blue dragonfly that was flying in the nearby bushes-where I parked my car at lunch. I found joy in listening to a beautiful song... in a newborn's baby sweet face.


I tried looking for joy after work, when I had my sink full of dirty dishes, my house in a mess, with toys all over the floor. Its an amazing accomplishment if you can find joy in everyday life, in the lowliest time, in the busiest hour. Finding joy is a daily task we should strive to live by, because to live your life in a constant fear, unhappiness, or waiting for a better period in your life to happen, is a waste of precious time. Time will not come back, your life will not repeat itself. This is the life that you are living in now, this is the only time you can be decide to be happy. There were periods of my life where I was waiting for better things to happen to me, before I decided I could be happy. A better, bigger house. A nicer car, being a stay at home mother. Now I live in a better bigger house, I have a nice car, but did my outlook on life change? Am I happy? Do I find joy in my everyday life? I try. I choose to live in joy and be happy no matter the circumstances. No matter what is going on in my life, no matter what health problems I have, no matter the family issues I may be having. I don’t say its easy, in fact it could be a struggle everyday, but the main step is choosing to let yourself be happy no matter what....

Listen to your heart.

Last week I felt a coworker’s sadness. I thought he was going through something personal. His usual nature is an outgoing, always joking personality. So when he was quiet and withdrawn I noticed but wasn’t sure what was happening. My heart told me to pray for him. I did, but I could have done a better job of it.


Sometimes we don’t know what someone is going through; don’t have the compassion, or the caring. Someone is hurting; someone is going through a hard- dark time. Sometimes we are so wrapped in our selves that we don’t feel others hurt.

Today I found out that my coworker’s father passed away. He was very close to him. So sad makes me want to cry.

This sure is teaching me a lesson. When I see someone hurting, I need to offer my help or support. I need to pray with my whole heart for God to comfort them when they are going through hard times. I need to listen to my heart, sometimes it feels more than our minds may know.

Are you a pro at parenting? I am not..

When I woke up this morning, I felt the chill seep in through my blankets, it really got cold during the night. When my 5 year old woke up, she said “why is it so cold, who turned the air conditioner on?” to which I replied, ‘God turned the air conditioner on… its fall now, it gets colder.’  To which my 2 year old said, “so if its raining, it means God is watering his plants?” Funny how our little ones catch up on everything so quick.

When I was making breakfast of buttermilk-apple pancakes, and my 2 year old was helping me, she asked what I was doing. I told her that I am making pancakes, to which she replied… “Wow, how cool is that?”, which shows me that she is copying her older sister and that made me laugh.

Our children are precious, and sometimes they say things that are so funny, or unexpected that we don’t really know how to react. Lately my five year old is being a little ‘know it all’, and in many instances I look at my husband and he looks at me not knowing how to respond to something she said or done. There has been a lot of one on one talks with her, a lot of disciplinary action taken in trying to change how she misbehaves in church, being rude to an adult, or talks back to me or my husband.

I talk to other moms to find out if maybe they have a special way to handle five year olds, but mostly they just laugh, and tell me that all kids are different, what works for one, will not work for another. Some say they don’t discipline their children, some say they are clueless like me.

I have a stack of books on discipline that I am reading, maybe something I will be able to implement on how to handle the stubborn five year old. For her behavior is affecting my 2 year olds behavior as well, since she copies everything her older sister does.

I know that no one is born to be the greatest parent, somehow we all learn on our children in having an individual approach to each child in disciplining them. Some days I feel frustrated with my oldest child, and her stubborn ways, while some days she amazes me with her loving, sensitive heart and helpful nature. I am hopping that by the time I am done with having children I will be a pro in being a perfect parent. Or close to it. :)

Who said that wearing a hat is stylish?

Wearing a hat is not my idea....

I dont know why mom thinks it a good idea... I believe I am going to take it off.

Much better, now my hair can breathe....