Don't Take Your Guns to Town.....

Take a close look at this photo!

This is a picture of DD... the same DD that cringes each time Jace tells of his latest hunting adventure.

But I want you to know she is SURE a good shot...

And look at the way she's holding that gun!

I think she's holdin' out on us!

Anyway! Today we spent some time with DD and Grumps!

Grumps is currently working in Nevada and he is home for a few days....so they came out and we had dinner....and target practice!

If you ever need a QUICK and AWESOME meal....HEB has the best briskets ever. They are fully cooked, all you have to do is heat in oven or microwave (if you only need a little)! It is a DEFINITE crowd pleaser!

Salt and Light

The Lord has really been speaking to me about teaching my children about living.

So I decided to start with Jesus' teaching in Matthew

1st lesson....I got the kids settled down and read them Matthew 5:13-16 about being the salt and light of the world. Not sure how much they received, I don't feel I am much of a teacher......but I was REFRESHED!

“You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.
"You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father." Matthew 5:13-16

Then the foot note of my Bible says if Christians make no effort to affect the world around them, they are of little value to God. If we are too much like the world we are worthless. It then goes on to say that Christians should not blend in with everyone else.

Could it be more CLEARER??

This is what I call being "Peculiar in Christ"

I think sometimes we forget this...in our busy-ness of life it is soo easy to get caught up in our self that we have missed opportunities!

And for me sometimes it IS an honest overlooking.....or rather I am not SEEKING, but there are times when it is on purpose and I find excuses to not do whatever......YUCK!

Brandon Heath has a great song Give Me Your Eyes....I think it is a true reflection of what we should be longing for minute by minute, day by day.

Here is the chorus, but the entire song is AMAZING!

Give me your eyes for just one second

Give me your eyes so I can see

Everything that I keep missing

Give me your love for humanity

Give me your arms for the broken hearted

Was it far beyond my reach?

Give me your heart for the once forgotten

Give me your eyes so I can see

Easy, Breezy Key Lime Pie

This recipe is SOOO good and SUPER simple....
1 sm. frozen limeade
14 oz can condensed milk
1 sm. container of CoolWhip
12 mini graham cracker pie crusts

Mix limeade, condensed milk and HALF of the Cool Whip until well blended and smooth. Spoon mixture into each pie crust. Freeze for 3+ hrs, removing 10-15 min. before serving. Right before serving top with remaining Cool Whip!

For you goody-two shoes.....YES you can use light condensed milk and CoolWhip! But it is such a snap to make you have PLENTY of time for exercise NOW!

Watch your mouth, Missy! (or Mister!)

Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut. Proverbs 10:19

(The Lord made that verse just especially for me...HA HA!)

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. Eph 4:29

(Excellent verse to teach to kids....our motto is "was that building someone up or tearing them down?")

But evil words come from an evil heart and defile the person who says them. Matthew 15:18

If you claim religious but don't control your tongue, you are fooling yourself and your religion is worthless. Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. James 1:26-27

Again I say, don't get involved in foolish, ignorant arguments that only start fights. A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach and be patient with difficult people. 2Tim 2:23-24

The tongue can bring life or death; those who love to talk will reap the consequences. Pro. 18:21

I have a hard time keeping my mouth shut and the Lord is really working on me with this.......one would think it is pretty simple, but HA!

And I tell you this, that you must give an account on judgement day of every idle word you speak. The words you say now reflect your fate then; either you will be justified by them or you will be condemned. Matthew 12:36-37

I remember my mom telling me....and I tell my kids "if you can't say anything nice, then don't say anything at all." Sounds simple enough, but why is it sooo darn HARD?

Do you think sometimes people just talk because silence is awkward?? Or maybe you feel like you need to be HEARD....I think our emotions have alot to do with our "talking" and when you let your emotions guide you sometimes you can get yourself into a "jam".

Words are like a bullet being fired from a gun....once they are spoken you CAN NOT get them back! OUCH! And some words can be as painful as a gunshot...sometimes we need to hear them and sometimes not!

I once heard:

your THOUGHTS determine your ATTITUDE

your ATTITUDE determines your ACTIONS

your ACTIONS determine your HABITS

your HABITS determine your CHARACTER

your CHARACTER determines your DESTINY.........

What is your destiny?

I DID IT!

OK! I finally did it! I rode 10 miles this morning! I thought I made it on Saturday, but when I clocked it in my truck it was only 7.5...BUMMER!

But TODAY I got up, determined to make it and I did! 10 miles in 43 minutes......AND without WATER! This fancy-pantsy bike I have does not even have a waterbottle holder....whats up with that?

At the beginning of the summer I decided I wanted to set some goals for myself, long and short term....believe it or not I have never really done that and committed to it! Then I found this scripture:

Commit to the Lord whatever you do and your plans will succeed. Proverbs 16:3

Soooo I set out some goals and through prayer (and sweat) I am working toward those...getting them in line with Gods plan while He is refining me along the way!

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Phil 4:13

Long Live the King

And No I am not talking about Elvis! I am talking about Jesus!

Today Lex and I were in the car and he was listening to a CD.....yes, he was listening and not asking WHY! I know you are all shocked.
Anyway, he was singing along about "Vivas" and then he proceeded to tell me "Vivas" lives in his heart.
Isn't that the cutest thing EVER!

Well, the whole "Vivas" thing makes me laugh but I was wondering.....
Is viva a word and if so what does it mean??

When we got home, straight to the computer I went and started my search for the meaning of viva.....not "Vivas"

Guess what I found......
As a word, it means "he/she lives". In an exclamation, it is like saying "Long live the king!"
Websters says: used to express goodwill or approval
What are the likes of that???

I don't know about you.....but I was SHOWN that Jesus does live in Lex's heart!
My, my, the things you can learn from a child!

Thank you Lord for Lex and for living in his heart!

A time for.................

For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away. A time to search and a time to quit searching. A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak. A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

I love the different seasons but unfortunately here in Houston area we only experience 2....hot and not so hot (AKA in other states as winter)!

But even though we only have 2 seasons here I still go through many "seasons" in my life. These seasons are more exciting.....some can be hard or painful...but still more exciting, I think!

Sometimes the seasons may not last as long as a "true season" and sometimes they can last what seems like eternity!

I feel like I am in a season of change.....every since school got out it seems like there has been change.

Getting used to the kids being home ALL DAY, me not working, Brent working alot, friends changing, family moving, new babies coming, sisters leaving, grandfather passing,....along with many others.

And usually when change comes it is followed by heels digging in a lot of kickin' and screamin'! Though I have definately had my moments I can still be thankful for change because I know that these changes are necessary for the "bigger picture" and the Lord knows what he's doing...

What's your season??

Have a slice of humble pie.....

OK! I admit it! I was offended the other day and I let the offense effect my actions.

I am sure your dying to know the details.......................so, I will share!

The other day the kids and I went to eat at a little place in Magnolia. There was only about 4 tables being occupied and 2 waitresses, but the service was HORRIBLE. I won't bore you with those details, we have ALL experienced this at some point.

Anyway, when I went to pay I was determined I was NOT going to leave a tip! I had convinced myself that had I been a guy I would have been treated MUCH better! I was OFFENDED by this poor service!

So, she swiped the card and I signed my name and DID NOT leave a tip!

"HUH, I'll show her" were my thoughts......mind you I had my kids with me and one in particular was very curious if I tipped.

I explained that I did not leave a tip because "she didn't do anything and the service was horrible." Can't you just hear me...oh gosh, I am so lame! Then we drove away and finished our day!

Way to go....Raise those kids up right!!!

WRONG ANSWER!

The Lord spoke to me very clearly that night....it was almost frightening!

He revealed to me that I was allowing myself to be offended and then teaching that behavior to my children.............................YIKES, that never occurred to me while I was acting childish and giving way to my feelings and emotions.

I was reminded of all the things the Lord has done for me....even when I "didn't do anything and gave poor service"!

I did not know what was going on that day, at that moment, with her. I should have just shown love and understanding (maybe even asking her how her day was going?) but instead I was being selfish AND teaching my kids to be that way!

Not only that, but what was I accomplishing by not leaving her a tip? Would it have made the service better? NO! In fact the next time I went there to eat (which I know I will) the service may have been WORSE, because I could have OFFENDED HER by not leaving a tip.......and look at that cycle flourish!

I needed to have grace!

It goes back to something I said in a previous post....when you have expectations in people other than Jesus you can expect to be disappointed!

We believe that we are all saved the same way, by the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus.

Acts 15:11

So, guess where I went?

Yep, back to the little restaurant to find my waitress and give her the tip that I did not leave the other day.......

And my kids came too!

They eat all they can and sell the REST!

Blue Bell, the best ice cream in the country!!!!!!

Tuesday the kids, myself and Ma Myers went to the Blue Bell Creamery in Brenham and took the tour AND we got a scoop of that yummy ice cream! It was so fun and pretty informative! Did you know they make 160 Country Cones (AKA Drum Sticks) a MINUTE! Or 120 ice cream sandwiches a MINUTE! That is insane....That is 7200 ice cream sandwiches an hour and 57,600 ice cream sandwiches in 8 hours! That's ALOT of ice cream sandwiches! They also have a HUGE freezer in the employee break room with pints of ice cream and other ice cream treats that the employees can have...hince...They eat all they can and sell the rest! I guess when you make that much ice cream you SHOULD share some! Those workers are probably pretty hungry too! I wanna work at Blue Bell!

Not only did we enjoy the tour we got to spend some time with Ma Myers! Thanks for coming Ma! We have been missing you!

It's Gettin' HOT in here.........

OK, have you ever had one of those days? Weeks? Month? YEAR?
One where your thinking "OK, what is going on and WHY is it happening to ME?"
When you are faced with these situations what do you do? Do you whine and complain, wear your friends and family out with what is going on, become bitter and angry or do you turn to the Lord and thank him??
Yes.......you heard me correctly, I said THANK HIM?

Dear friends, don't be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. Instead, be very glad - for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world. 1 Peter 4:12

Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is Gods will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
1 Thes 5:18

There are many more, but they are all clear, VERY clear...............

Many times the Lord sends things in our life to strengthen our relationship with Him. He is pruning us. Pruning sound nice....it makes me think of roses.
Can you get the visual, you are a beautiful rose bush in an overgrown flower bed. A bed that has not been tended to in a while. You have great potential but the "weeds and other stuff" are suffocating you and you are SOOOO thirsty. The Lord is the Master Gardener, pruning and watering, pulling the weeds....................and TAADAAA you are able to blossom into all that your were intended! :) But it is not a one time thing either....as new weeds grow, they need to be pulled, dead limbs and buds must be removed and you will need to be watered daily!

I mean look at the suffering Jesus endured...and he did not go around grumbling or complaining, instead he cried out "Abba, Father everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine." Mark 14:36

The Lord knows what is going on with us, He knows what has happened and what is going to happen. I mean he knows EVERYTHING, He made you! And sometimes he uses those circumstances to show YOU who you really are, with the desire to make you more like HIM!

Now I know (from 1st hand experience) it is not easy. Some people are thinking..."yeah right, you just don't even know the HALF of it and there is NO WAY I can be glad or thankful."
But there is!
The Lord loves us so much and He wants to be glorified in all situations..... from Him finding you that perfect parking spot at the mall to having someone dedicate their life to Him.

These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold - though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. 1 Peter 1:7

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Romans 8:28

Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you did not know. Jer 33:3

So when your feet are being held in the fire or your "bed" is overgrown with weeds seek the Lord and REJOICE and know that it is for a reason!
It is the "valley" experiences that lead us to the "mountaintop" experiences and it is the mountaintops where you want to shout "PRAISE GOD!"