My eight year old daughter...YES EIGHT YEAR OLD DAUGHTER just asked me what it means to court. I believe she overheard my husband and I talking about dating vs courting and was honestly wondering what it was her parents had in store for her future. I hemmed and hawed for a bit. I had an idea what I wanted to say but wasn't quite sure if it would come out the way her father would prefer it to. Then I found this video clip of Joshua and Anna Duggar talking about Dating Vs. Courting. If you would like to see it check it out following this link:
http://health.discovery.com/videos/17-kids-and-counting-webisodes-dating-vs-courtship.html
Bella watched it and seemed content with the results. She still doesn't quite understand what the big deal is. All of her male buddies are just that...her buddies. But that's great! That's what we want! Especially at eight!
Friday, July 31, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Top 10 Reasons to Love Summer in Arizona
Yes, we live in a desert and summers in the desert can be a great test to someone's endurance. The other day, my husband and I were discussing air conditioning. Ours went out on Sunday and I found myself seeking the solace under the shade of my ceiling fan while my kids doused themselves with the garden hose outside. I should have joined them. Our air conditioning was out for maybe half a day and I was contemplating several unexplainable things in order to find comfort in some way during this long hot summer. One half day, and my world was over.
However, God answered my prayer through my very wonderful brother-in-law. Thank you Rusty. Then again the A/C went out only this time at church. It was hot but God sustained me and my family with the strength to endure it.
Normally around this time everyone sends out funny reasons why Arizona in the summertime is quite literally hell on earth I would like to turn it around a bit and recount 10 reasons why summertime in Arizona can be quite enjoyable. So here we go...
1. Monsoons - nothing brings down three digit temperatures like a great rain. And the smell of it afterward is amazing. The best air we can breathe. Purely made by the hands of God. Perfect.
2. Red sunsets after the Monsoons - take your camera out after a good rain and go for a walk. You can't take a bad picture of the sunset here. I have yet to see one. In fact, the cover picture for this site was taken after a monsoon rain. Bella and I enjoyed that walk. God makes great sunsets here. Just Beautiful.
3. Desert creatures - you can encounter several desert creatures during the monsoon season that normally don't come out otherwise. My flowerbed has become home to some frogs that only seem to make an appearance for two months out of the year and the kids are fascinated by the fancy webs of the Orb weaver as well as the spiders own zebra like pattern. The kids and I have seen a very large tortoise, a moth the size of a red cardinal, and a three inch grasshopper to name a few of our desert friends who pay us a visit. The black widow, not so much.
4. Raspados - where else in this country (besides Texas, maybe?) can you find a great thirst quencher like this. Normally found on the south side of town this little Mexican treat tastes great on a hot day. Follow it up with a genuine shredded beef taco with some limes. You won't regret it. Mexican food is to die for here.
5. Night walks - One of my favorite memories as a kid was taking a walk at night through Sabino Canyon. Watch for snakes and mountain lions! Wait - those are bad things - but the smell of the air (thanks to the monsoons) and the cool crisp weather make these a wonderful treat only to be treasured after a hot summer day.
6. Boiling water straight out of the faucet - now I have to be sassy. This is the only place I know where you truly have to be careful running "cold" tap right out of your sink; however, the plus is you don't have to spend a long amount of time boiling water on your stove top. A great way to "keep the heat out". LOL
7. BBQs - Do you ever smell your neighbor cooking barbecue and you secretly wish they would invite you over? Or show up on your doorstep with some carne seca or tri-tip and proclaim they made "way to much and would surely appreciate if you take this" of their hands? Well, here barbecues can happen throughout the year. (I love the smell of burning mesquite in the winter) But the summertime a BBQ is a great excuse to keep the heat outside your home and dinner you know is going to be good!
8. Swim parties - If you have a pool, more than likely you are one of the most popular people in Arizona at least one season of the year. Swimming is great exercise and so much more fun if you are at a friends house enjoying their company. Pack sunscreen though and lots of it! My kids don't burn, they tan if they even think about going outside. I have to admit I love kissing those little brown feet in the summer and especially love tickling the underside of their feet where their once pink skin still resides.
9. Dry clothes in five minutes - if you are one of the "primitive people" who choose not to run a dryer your clothesline will give you dry clothes in no time here. And if you happen to throw yourself in a pool solely for the purposes of cooling off just sit in a beach chair and relax. You will be dry in no time at all. That's the nice thing about Arizona. No humidity. Well, unless it rains but it still isn't as bad as Georgia or Ohio or even Florida.
10. No school or school - This one Bella chose. I have to agree. The summer breaks are a welcome treat for both teacher and student alike; however, since we are talking about summer times in Arizona I am going to have to say that most families here actually do school through the summer to keep the kids inside then take their three month vacation during the winter. Not a bad idea at all since family comes in to visit during the holidays and winters here are normally a crisp seventy degrees.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Can a Greased Frog be Given to Christ?
" Answer me speedily of YHWH; My spirit fails! Do not hide Your face from me, lest I be like those who go down into the pit. Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning. For in You do I trust; Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, For I lift up my soul to You."
Psalm 143:7-8
Do you ever have these feelings of being overburdened? Like a tremendous weight is sitting on the nape of your neck and across your shoulders. Like somehow you have become the fabled Atlas, full of your own ego and forced to carry the weight of the world as cause for your own actions?
Imagine those cares that reside on your shoulders as frogs covered in Crisco. Now try to catch them. Can you? For days, months, maybe even years now I have tried to catch these blessed frogs. I get close enough to grab them; however, no sooner do my fingers clasp around them that they slip out and hop away. So off I go snapping my hands in a hurried attempt to harness these frogs; to conquer them for good but to no avail.
These frogs can represent anything but for me they come in the form of my marriage, my finances, my ability to raise my kids and my relationship with God.
This is me, Celi, taking of my perfect plastic mask and revealing the wretched, ugly and scared creature that lies beneath.
How do you harness these cares before they become trials? And even after that?
"Simple!" any good-natured Christian would say, "Cast them to Christ! His burden is light, his yoke is easy."
For to those I quote my former pastor, "Easy preaching but hard living."
This is like handing me a map without a destination then saying, "See you there!" before taking off in your car.
"See me where?" I ask scratching my head.
What I am talking about is dying to self. Giving everything I own, everything I care about and everything I am to God. How do you do this? Honestly?
For several nights James and I have prayed to God to help us catch these frogs. Then the next day I walk around with this hope in the back of my brain that maybe, just maybe, my conquered frog will come in the form of a check from a long lost student grant with just enough money on it to pay to have the power in the back of the 4-runner fixed so sweet Mikey doesn't become sweaty Mikey during carrides. Or maybe my conquered frog might be a revelation to shut my mouth and quench my heart of my own selfish desires and seek those of my husband first.
Can my conquered frog even be the form of added patience and wisdom when my son asks me the same question for the upteenth time since the other forty answers I gave him were not suitable for his undying curiosity?
Yet finally, I hope, I pray that the frog God will catch for me, my biggest and greasiest frog, be the frog that possesses all my desires to serve and honor Him with more than all that I am. The frog that leads me to a closer relationship with my Father. The frog that will give me a deep desire to study and learn His God-breathed Scriptures.
Only then will all my other frogs be caught and harnessed within the mighty grasp of my King. In this segment I will appropriately title "Giving Your Greased Frog to God." I have no answer. No bright words of encouragement. Only a hope and a prayer that someday the solution for this dilemma will be revealed... before it is too late.
Psalm 143:7-8
Do you ever have these feelings of being overburdened? Like a tremendous weight is sitting on the nape of your neck and across your shoulders. Like somehow you have become the fabled Atlas, full of your own ego and forced to carry the weight of the world as cause for your own actions?
Imagine those cares that reside on your shoulders as frogs covered in Crisco. Now try to catch them. Can you? For days, months, maybe even years now I have tried to catch these blessed frogs. I get close enough to grab them; however, no sooner do my fingers clasp around them that they slip out and hop away. So off I go snapping my hands in a hurried attempt to harness these frogs; to conquer them for good but to no avail.
These frogs can represent anything but for me they come in the form of my marriage, my finances, my ability to raise my kids and my relationship with God.
This is me, Celi, taking of my perfect plastic mask and revealing the wretched, ugly and scared creature that lies beneath.
How do you harness these cares before they become trials? And even after that?
"Simple!" any good-natured Christian would say, "Cast them to Christ! His burden is light, his yoke is easy."
For to those I quote my former pastor, "Easy preaching but hard living."
This is like handing me a map without a destination then saying, "See you there!" before taking off in your car.
"See me where?" I ask scratching my head.
What I am talking about is dying to self. Giving everything I own, everything I care about and everything I am to God. How do you do this? Honestly?
For several nights James and I have prayed to God to help us catch these frogs. Then the next day I walk around with this hope in the back of my brain that maybe, just maybe, my conquered frog will come in the form of a check from a long lost student grant with just enough money on it to pay to have the power in the back of the 4-runner fixed so sweet Mikey doesn't become sweaty Mikey during carrides. Or maybe my conquered frog might be a revelation to shut my mouth and quench my heart of my own selfish desires and seek those of my husband first.
Can my conquered frog even be the form of added patience and wisdom when my son asks me the same question for the upteenth time since the other forty answers I gave him were not suitable for his undying curiosity?
Yet finally, I hope, I pray that the frog God will catch for me, my biggest and greasiest frog, be the frog that possesses all my desires to serve and honor Him with more than all that I am. The frog that leads me to a closer relationship with my Father. The frog that will give me a deep desire to study and learn His God-breathed Scriptures.
Only then will all my other frogs be caught and harnessed within the mighty grasp of my King. In this segment I will appropriately title "Giving Your Greased Frog to God." I have no answer. No bright words of encouragement. Only a hope and a prayer that someday the solution for this dilemma will be revealed... before it is too late.
Maiden Voyage
Blog 1: Introduction of the Fool
If you are reading this most likely you are a friend, a relative, a brother or sister in Christ who has someone stumbled across my page via a blatant email or Facebook Note informing you to do so. If by chance, this is you, I need no introduction because you already know me. For all others, allow me to introduce myself:
First and foremost I am a lover of Jesus Christ, my Saviour and Redeemer. Saved by His grace and washed by His blood the day He hung on the cross for my MANY transgressions. I am a woman in her thirties. The new bride of a wonderful man and the mother of his five babies all ranging from the ages of eight to still incubating.
I am a homeschooler. A conservative Christian. A struggling mother and wife and believer. I am a weaver of my home and although many times I find my job as a homemaker the most difficult job I have taken possession of to date, I refuse to accept a different vocation. Paul says that in our weaknesses God shows His strength 2 Corinthians 12:10 And I pray His glory alone be shown in mine. I am a fool and these are my ramblings....
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