Raise Your Hand If You've Ever Caught The Rainbow-TWICE!

WOW! OK, So back in June of this year, on my hubby's birthday, we were taking our kids to see the new Disney movie, "Cars". On the way to the theatre, it came a torrential downpour, and you couldn't see the road in front of you. Then as quickly as the storm came, it left. And before us in the sky, just barely skimming the tops of the trees, was a glorious rainbow. Now if you are at all like me, you get excited anytime you see a rainbow in the sky. There is just something special about remembering God's promise to man, and the rainbow being our sign of God's faithfulness to us all. So in all my excitement, I get my kids involved and we're all screaming and pointing up to the sky "Look at the rainbow!". Then the most amazing thing happened. WE ACTUALLY CAUGHT THE RAINBOW! No lie! As we turned a corner in the road, the rainbow was hitting the asphalt in front of us! I could hardly believe my eyes. As we continued to drive, the rainbow landed on the hood of our vehicle! I'm telling you it's the most amazing thing I've ever seen! I would love to tell you that there was a beautiful pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, just as the mythical legends would have us all believe, but all I saw was my blue, 2002, Chevy Venture minivan. Not quite the sight you would dream of, but if that means my van is worth gold, then so be it.
Well, the story doesn't end there. Once this summer, I was visiting with a friend, who is going through the gammant of emotions as he and his wife are having to spend everyday in the hospital fighting for the life of their unborn baby. (I made a previous post about them, and they are doing well now...but keep them in your prayers) As I was standing in his driveway, and we were having a conversation about trusting God in the hard times, and learning to have faith in new ways, etc, etc. I looked up in the sky and what do I see? YES! A RAINBOW! Now that is amazing in and of itself, but the kicker is, there was not a raincloud in the sky! It had not rained a drop that day! I believe God sent that rainbow as a reminder that He is in control of ALL things, and we need to be more diligent in giving Him the praise and glory for it all!
And then there was this past Saturday. It had been threatening bad weather all day, & rained pretty hard a couple of times, but nothing like the forecast had predicted. My sis in law invited us to come over and let the kids play for a bit, so to keep my boring saturday for getting any worse, I loaded up my 2 kids, and we headed out. As we were turning onto a major Highway just blocks away from their house, what do you think appeared out of nowhere? No, not a bird. No, not a plane! IT WASN'T EVEN SUPERMAN! There in the sky in front of me, reaching all the way down to the asphalt in front of my blue, 2002, Chevy Venture minivan, was another rainbow-A DOUBLE RAINBOW AS A MATTER OF FACT! (again, no pot of gold) So all I can conclude from this "marvelment" of an experience is that God IS faithful, He is TRUE, He is taking care of me, and HE IS EVERYTHING I need, and each time I see that beautiful rainbow, I am reminded of all this. God is the origional artist of life. Only a God like Him could do that, and for this reason, it is only a God like Him, that is worthy of all my praise in life! I wish I knew a way to post a song on this blog, because if I could, it would be "Only A God Like You"...but in lieu of that, I will leave you with the Lyrics....

Only a God Like You
For the praises of man, I will never ever stand;
For the kingdoms of this world, I'll never give my heart away or shout my praise.
My allegiance and devotion, my heart's desire and all emotion,
Go to serve the man who died upon that tree.

Only a God like You could be worthy of my praise, and all my hope and faith;
To only a King of all kings, do I bow my knee and sing, give my everything. (repeat)
To only my Maker, my Father, my Savior, Redeemer, Restorer, Rebuilder, Rewarder,
To only a God like You, do I give my praise.

Only a God like You. (4x)
Tommy Walker, Integrity’s Praise Music 2000, ASCAP, Admin. Integrity’s Praise Music
All rights reserved, used by permission

DOG TIRED!

Ok, so my last post, I was "sleepy tired!" Today I am DOG TIRED! I was the substitute teacher for my son's preschool class today. Picture this: 8 twoyear olds-7 of whom don't like being seperated from Mom anyway, and now their teacher is not here, so we're all gonna cry...all day...and never stop... + the fact that one of them is MY SON which means he takes advantage of my being distracted by 7 other children whom all need my attention and is being a bit bratty! (yes,l my sweet angel has a dark side!) + the fact that it was an emergency sub (teacher is very sick with kidney stones!), so there was nothing prepared for me to do...I just had to find things to fill the 5 & 1/2 hours of the school day + the fact that I had to feed them and get them all down for a nap! (one guess as to who DIDN'T go to sleep!) I now have a new love and appreciation for that teacher! I am praying over the passing of that kidney stone harder than I have ever prayed before! When I got home this afternoon, I made my 5 year old lay down on the couch to watch a movie, and put my son to bed for nap (which he was so ready for!) and I crashed on the couch for about 2 hours! AMAZING! (I looked like the dog in the picture, I'm sure!) As room mom of this class, it really was great for me to get to know the kids and get a feel for what the class is like. And for the most part, I do enjoy being a sub...it's just that today was rough! So hands down, teachers are great people! Today, I tip my hat (or maybe I'm taking a sip of my Margarita-you decide!!), to all teachers, and especially preschool teachers! God bless you all!
J
PS: By the way, I'm also praising God, because about 6 months ago, I was praying about possibly being the teacher of that class! He knows me better than I know myself! I'm glad it didn't work out, because I would never have guessed how hard it would be to have my own son as a student. It would be too difficult to give each child the attention they needed! Thank you Lord for knowing what I need better than I do!

Watch Out ~ I'm crashing!

I am so tired today! I've been burning the candle at both ends alot lately and sleep is not on the radar. Last night (and just about every night for the last week or so) my 5 year old is waking up, and getting in bed with me. So often, I just wake up and she's there in the bed, I never even knew when she did it! (an example of how tired I am, I guess) Then, when I wake up enough to take her back to her bed, it's not long after that when I hear my 2 year old crying in his crib (yes, crib-I need him to STAY in bed, so he has to be behind the bars!). I try not to wake dear hubby, because it's my philosophy that I can always try to take a nap during when my son does, and he has to work all day...but naps aren't happening lately either. So, it's now caught up with me. I need to go to bed early, but who knows if that will actually happen. Dear Son hasn't had a nap today, so I'm hoping he'll crash soon. Dear Daughter will go to bed when I tell her, because I can tell she's a little worn out today, and Dear hubby-well he can fend for himself!
Ok, that's it...I'm fading fast! night night world!
J

OK PARENTS! Here's a good one for ya!!

Here's the situation: We were invited (last minute notice, because our invitation was returned to sender)to a birthday party for a schoolmate of my 5yr old. I didn't realize until we got there that swimsuits were needed and there was a huge waterslide for the kids to play on. My daughter was heartbroken. Well, I would have gone back home to get it, if the party wasn't 20 minutes away from my house! After much sulking, crying, pouting, and pure heartwrenching agony, I finally convinced her that it was OK to get wet in her clothes! No Problem-o! Plan B was finally working! She was happily sliding down in her clothes, and loving it! For nearly an two hours straight, the kid was blissfull as she enjoyed the slide, the pinata, the cookie cake, the opening of the presents and then MORE SLIDING, an absolute birthday bash! So when it finally came time to leave, I started with the warnings...30 minutes: "It's getting time to leave, so get be ready", and "you've got 5 minutes!", and finally "This is the last time to slide, then we're going". Well, it's totally normal for kids who are having the time of their short little lives to not be ready to go...but, is it totally normal for them to completely fall apart when the time comes? Wait! Before you answer, read on and see what happened, and then tell me what you think!!
So anyway, my dear daughter begans crying (very loudly) and fussing that she doesn't want to leave, and I am getting more and more aggrivated with her, so I kneel down to her eye level and very sternly tell her (in more than one way!) to stop screaming. She is covered in grass, and I'm not sure if she's trying to get grass out of her mouth, or if this was her bad behavior getting worse, but she spit at me! At this point, I am beyond aggrivated!! I am teetering on the edge of anger, heading to being furious! I promptly put my hand over her mouth (and I think you know what I mean!!!), and tell her not to EVER do that again!!! We walk over to gather our belongings, and I no more than turn around to grab my keys out of a chair when I feel something hitting the back of my leg-IN MULITPLE PLACES!!! I hear the adults around me all let out a big gasp, and I realize what has happened. My dear daughter, whom I love with all my heart, but at this moment, I could send to the MOON....HAS KICKED MUD ALL OVER THE BACK OF MY PANTS!!! At this moment, the aggrivation is long over, anger has been far surpassed, furious doesn't even begin to explain it!I AM BEYOND LIVID!!! Well, I am a parent who believes in spanking (sorry for all you who don't-but deal with it!) She got a spanking right there in front of the few adults who were still watching, and we immediately left, after saying a quick apology and thank you to the dear friend who invited us! I think it must have been at that moment that my she realized how mad Mom was. She began apologizing, which I readily accepted, but it certainly didn't take away my anger!
So, I GROUNDED HER! YEP! CINDERELLA STYLE! She sat in timeout on her bed for over an hour(I usually do the "one minute for every year of life" rule that is spelled out in the Parenting magazines, etc, but this one required much more than that!), she was not allowed to lay down in her bed, because that would mean comfort! She would only fall asleep or play, and I'm trying to drive home that she is being punished. So she was forced to sit! It may have taken an hour of time out because that is how long it took for me to calm down, but I could see it was working. When I finally let her up, she again apologized. I explained the punishment...no TV for the rest of the day, no toys, no books, no music, nothing. She had to clean the house. YEP! I TOLD YOU IT WAS CINDERELLA STYLE! Only this Cinderella didn't get to go to the ball, she stayed home, and I made her clean her room, gather her laundry, (things I make her do anyway, but this time, it was harder-no help from mom!). When all that was done, she had to scrub the bathroom floor by hand with a washcloth, then we moved to the walls, then the sink, and last the toilet! (I thought she was going to gag at the toilet!) Finally, it was 7:30 pm, still daylight outside, but she went to bed! I know it was tough, and believe it or not, it was tough on me too, but this was one punishment I HAD TO CARRY THROUGH!
So, at this point, I can only hope I did the right thing...I may never know. All I do know is, that I think I handled it right, and I don't have any regrets. Hopefully it made a big enough impression on her that she won't behave like that EVER AGAIN!
(big breath in...haaaaaa. I feel better now.) I am done ranting for this post. Until next time!
J

Broken Bridges Premiere in Nashville

Remember that Nashville trip I talked about in the first post I did? Well, it was definatly the time of my life, and I have a few pics to share....no words necessary!

Locks Of Love

Ok! So I did it! My hair is gone!
About 3 or 4 months ago, I realized my hair had gotten entirely too long! I mean, it had been over a year since I'd had it cut & it had been so long since I let my hair grow like that! So one day I decided to measure it just to see how long it was. It was about 9 inches from the back of my neck. That made me remember the wonderful organization, Locks Of Love, that takes donations of hair from people, and makes them into wigs for those in need. I decided that since my hair was already long enough, I'd let it grow a few more months until I had the 10 inches and I'd do it. Well, last friday was the "magic" day. I took my 5 year old daughter with me, (who is deathly afraid that I am going to make her cut her hair too), and we placed 10 inches in a pony tail, and wacked it off leaving me a "new do" right below the ears! Wow! What a change! My daughter is very proud of her long hair (that reaches down to her waist) and I was concerned that she might not like my hair any longer since I cut it. So I sat her down, and explained why I let my hair hair grow long, and just exactly what I'd planned to do with that pony tail the hairstylist cut off. I wasn't sure if she really understood so I went to the Locks Of Love web site and pulled up the before and after pictures of recipients. She just sat there staring at the little girls with no hair, and I could feel her heart going out to them as big tears pooled in her eyes. For the last two days, she has talked about how "mommy cut her hair to make a wig for a girl who can't grow hair" and tonight, she made me proud. She told me she would let me cut her hair and showed me how much I could cut (but showed me only an inch!) and said her hair could be made into a wig just like I had done! To me, that is almost a big a gift as actually cutting it for a 5 year old who LOVES having long hair and longs for the day she can grow it to her toes! But, we will wait until she is a little older and understands a little more. Perhaps if she still wants to do it, we can make a big deal out of it and she can also donate her hair for a wig. I had a "proud mommy moment" tonight when she told me, that my hair was beautiful, and she kept gently touching my short mane of hair. It's those "proud mommy moments" that make me realize how blessed I am to have children. They speak honestly, frankly, and lovingly. I am truly blessed! Praise the Lord!
J

Poor, Poor, Frazzled Me!

I have started a new Bible Study at my church (CrossPoint Church), and it is awesome! I've never been in a bible study, where the name of the book fit me so much! It's called The Frazzled Female , written by Cindi Wood. While I am sorely behind in my reading (I blame being frazzled!), I am 21 pages into the study and already my mind is reflecting on the study all day long while I go about my daily routine. (that is a good thing!) I am finding myself talking more to God throughout the day. This book is a good challenge to anyone who desires (or maybe you don't desire, but wish you did!) to have a closer, more intimate walk with Christ. God is revealing Himself to me in many ways so far. 1. That He is everything! I always want Him in my hour of need, but I am also finding that God is fun! I am enjoying Him in worship...He is the excitment I feel when I go to worship Him at church and the music is KICKIN'!!! But even when God is revealing the good parts of my relationship with Him, He is gentle and loving enough to convict me in lacking areas of our relationship. Conviction. That is something I have always struggled with. I hate to be convicted! I fear it! I run from it! I am scared of it! Perhaps that is why I have neglected my Lord for so long in my personal study! But this week, my convictions haven't felt bad. I haven't felt like I am worthless. I guess because my God is big enough, to love me through the bad and the good! Imagine that! A God as wonderful as Him that I place all my faith in, except I have never trusted Him enough to be able to face my convictions and change my sin. God has let me realize that He is not my priority. (OUCH!) For so long, I have been walking ahead of God, and dragging Him along, rather than letting Him take the lead, and me following! He is also showing me that it is my choice to want to spend time with Him. I must respond to Him, He is all around me and ever present! He isn't the one that is MIA, I am! I am also learning that I tend to treat God more like "Santa" than Daddy. Just as I love to spend time with my earthly father, I need to also spend more time with the eternal Father. I tend to mainly come to Him whenever I need (or mostly want) something! Perhaps page 21 sums me up best when it speaks of my "attraction" to Jesus. "When we become busy with too many things-even good things-our focus moves from the Lord to whatever we are doing. We can also become distracted with emotions, people, and time." WOW! DISTRACTED WITH TIME! How about my time is wasted! I spend more time surfing the internet, watching TV, and worrying about the grocery list, or whether or not we have enough money to make it until the next payday. But my relationship with God takes time! He has the time! I have to make it! (which goes back to my priorities) My thirst for Him will come whenever I spend time with Him. I can't just pray for Him to create a thirst and then sit back and wait on it. I have to seek it and He will add it to me.

So wow! There is just a few things on my mind from this awesome study. I hope to learn more and most importantly to grow more. Many people get frazzled in the daily grind. I hope to grow in knowledge of God and gain more tools to use so that I can become "Victoriously frazzled"!!!

J

God Is Good All The Time

"God is so good. God is so good. God is so good, He's so good to me, AMEN"
Through the help of his older sister, my 2 year old is learning about saying the blessing before eating a meal. I love watching my 5 year old explain the importance of thanking God for our food. Sometimes it is with real love, and wanting to teach him something she's learned. Sometimes, she is bossy, and too informative when he forgets. (I can't imagine where she gets that!) But all the while, my boy loves to sing "God is so good" for his blessing. And it is really very sweet. This morning, he came to the kitchen to ask for something to eat. (he doesn't talk well, so you basically understand only one word out of his sentence, and that is "EAT!"). I said, "OK, you want to eat?" and he imediately became excited, he started jumping up and down, and began singing "God is so good". His enthusiasm for giving thanks is exactly what we should all have. I should look for more opportunities to proclaim how good my God is. I should praise Him with the excitement of a 2 year old. I know my God is good. He gets me through each day. He helps me through my failures. He loves me despite my lack of faith. He forgives me despite the magnitude of my sins. I have much to sing about! "God is so good. God is so good. God is so good, He's so good to me, AMEN!"
J

How To Weigh...upsidedown!

OK, I guess I need to quit denying what is obvious to any eyes that look at me! It's time to loose weight! I've been in denial, imagining myself as being much thinner than I actually am, and all the while, eating like today is the last day on earth and I need to enjoy every "morsel" of it! Can you believe I've gaine weight with this mindset????? It's unimaginable to me, but I have been my most uncomfortable today as my "fat jeans" are now getting too tight! And now that I am not doing Jazzercise anymore, I've got to start walking, or something to keep this hopeful image of a more thinner me alive in my mind and make it happen on the actual body itself! Several years ago (3 to be exact) I was able to loose about 35 pounds (give or take one or two-you know, water weight!!) by following the Weight Watchers way of life. That program actually does work for me, because I have the ability to eat anything I want, I just have to allow myself the "points" for it. (That means I didn't have to go cold turkey and cut out the chocolate I love so dearly!!). The problem is that once you go off program (whether it is intentionally or because one becomes pregnant and gains weight anyway-which is my case), it is incredibly hard to get back on program! I have a good friend who is a WW leader, and I am thinking I might have to enlist her in some "under cover" meetings, as the price of a WW meeting is too much for me right now! (I know $11 may not seem much to some, but when you have a job that pays nothing monetarily.....) Anyway, here is just another rambling from my daily life. Suprisingly I have had more to say in a blog that I really ever thought I would. Which is odd, since I have lots to say in conversations to people and most of the time they have to cut me off or ignore me since I tend to speak up and out a little too much!
Until the next rambling....
J

Why Do Bad Things Happen To Good People?

Once again, I am brought to the mysteries of life when I question why bad things happen to good people. As a dear friend of mine lays in a hospital bed, fearful yet hopeful that her baby will be alright and she will be able to continue her pregnancy to term, my mind automatically questions "Why". I don't think I even have to concentrate to make that appear in my head, it just goes there...perhaps a sign of my human nature. I am a believer in the One who gives life, the Creator of all life. I know that my God is in control and has a plan for all things in life. Perhaps that is also why I am a generally optomistic person, who usually doesn't believe in "bad things" until it slaps me in the face and I have no chance to deny it! Romans 8:28 says "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose". That verse speaks volumes to me. First, "In all things, God works for the good"...wow! That tells me that God is working even in those moments where life seems to come to a screeching halt! I may not understand the reasons, but it is all according to his purpose. While we don't wish bad things to happen (to good people or any people for that matter), I think the truest test of what kind of person you are comes with how you handle the situation. As humans, it is natural to question "Why?", and to even become angry, scared, and anxious. But it is in those moments that all the focus should be turned to the Lord! If you read the 8th chapter of Romans a little further, it also says in verse 31, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" God is not against us in the bad times, he is for us. He is with us. He can comfort us. He can give us answers. It is in the bad times, that God draws us nearer to Him. And quite frankly, without the comfort of the Holy Spirit, I don't know how to function in the bad times. He is my strength when I am weak. He is the treasure that I seek. He is my all in all.
Say a prayer for my friends and their unborn child.
J

On Your Mark, Get Set, BLOG!

Let It Begin!
So here is the begining of my blogging life. Who knows what, if anything, will come of this, but I thought it would be fun to give it a try. There are a few things going on in my life. First one, my kids are starting preschool in the next couple of weeks, and it is the first time in 5 years that I have been home without a child. My 5 year old is going to kindergarten, and my 2 year old starts his preschool class 2 days a week. So what am I going to do with the extra time on my hands? Stay tuned!
Secondly, I get to go on a 24 hour excursion in a couple of weeks to Nashville! I have the opportunity to go to the red carpet premeire of "Broken Bridges" which is the new movie starring my all time favorite country music superstar, Mr. Toby Keith. I am so excited, and I have got to figure out what I'm wearing to this shindig! My sis in law (who has been to several red carpet events) says to be comfortable! We are not the stars of this event, so we won't need to be all dressy-but I do want to wear something that is sortof nice, even if it means someone pours beer on it at some point during the night! I'll blog after the event with details.
And thirdly-I'm thinking about going back to school. While recently at a friends house, who happens to work as an advisor in the community college I used to attend some 10 years ago, he happened to pull up my old transcripts on the web and it turns out, that I could get my 1 year certificate in Child Developement with only 5 classes left. So it makes sense to go do it, right???? Well, maybe not. It all depends on that other thing that makes my world go round! MONEY! I have begun looking into the financial aid thing via the internet, and let me just say that it all makes me crazy!!! I can't believe there is so much information required! I get so overwhelmed the minute the website pulls up that I just wanna scream. So again, stay tuned for more info on this little detail of my life.
Well, there it is...my first blog post. Not that anyone will read this, or even care if they do...but here we go a blogging.
Until the next one (if there will be...)
J