1,000 WORD THURSDAY

Heavy laden

Matthew 11:28-29

Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."

Tuesday's Quotes

“There are times I have been afraid to step out and offer Jesus the little bit that I have, because everyone would know I only have a little bit!” Ann Graham Lotz

God in mud puddles

We can see dandelions as a weed that invades the pristine beauty of our gardens.Or, we can see it as a beautiful flower or a fluffy white ball to wish upon.
We can see a mud puddle and see only dirty shoes, soiled clothes, and stained carpets.Or, we can see it as a pool to stomp in, splash around in, and have fun.
We can feel a wind and worry about how it will mess our hair or toss leaves on our manicured lawns.Or, we can close our eyes, let it massage our face, and imagine we’re soaring on an updraft like an eagle.
We can see a rain storm and see only that we will be drenched, depressed by the grayness, and that the warm rays of the sun will disappear.Or, we can sing and play in the rain as if it was a water fountain, realize the raindrops are nourishing our gardens, and think warmly of the sun that still shines above the gray clouds.
I find my God in mud puddles. Yes I find Him in the unexpected and extraordinary, but I also find Him in the ordinary and messy places of life. As I discover God's footprints in increasingly unlikely places, my understanding of his beauty, love and power continues to grow and I fall all the more head over heels in love with Him.
My breath is continually snatched away by the beauty of His splendor! I'm in awe of the fun, freedom and fabulosity I have in Him.
I love this quote.........
"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take - but by the moments that take our breath away."
Now go find a mud puddle!

Funny Friday

Lawyers should never ask a Mississippi grandma a question if they aren't prepared for the answer. In a trial, a Southern small-town prosecuting attorney called his first witness, a grandmotherly, elderly woman to the stand. He approached her and asked, 'Mrs. Jones, do you know me?'

She responded, 'Why, yes, I do know you, Mr. Williams. I've known you since you were a boy, and frankly, you've been a big disappointment to me. You lie, you cheat on your wife, and you manipulate people and talk about them behind their backs. You think you're a big shot when you haven't the brains to realize you'll never amount to anything more than a two-bit paper pusher. Yes, I know you.'The lawyer was stunned.

Not knowing what else to do, he pointed across the room and asked, 'Mrs. Jones, do you know the defense attorney?'She again replied, 'Why yes, I do. I've known Mr. Bradley since he was a youngster, too. He's lazy, bigoted, and he has a drinking problem. He can't build a normal relationship with anyone, and his law practice is one of the worst in the entire state. Not to mention he cheated on his wife with three different women. One of them was your wife. Yes, I know him.'The defense attorney nearly died.

The judge asked both counselors to approach the bench and, in a very quiet voice, said, 'If either of you idiots asks her if she knows me, I'll send you both to the electric chair.'

1,000 Word Thursday

1996

2009

YOUR BODY IS A WONDERLAND

If Psalm 45:11 "The King is enthralled with your beauty" is true then why do the following statistics prove true?

80% of American women claim to be dissatisfied with their appearance and shape
An estimated 1 in 100 American women binge and purge to lose weight

95% of those who have eating disorders are between the ages of 12 and 25

20% of people suffering from anorexia will prematurely die from complications related to their eating disorder, including suicide and heart problems.
Statistical source: South Carolina Department of Health

Why are we not aware of our value when our King is so clearly ENTHRALLED with us. I am committed to carrying the flame of Christ's passion for His daughters and to make a shout out for our true beauty and to proclaim our value as His warrior bride!
GOD'S LOVE FOR YOU IS EXTRAVAGANT.
HIS LOVE WILL HEAL YOU.
HIS LOVE WILL INSPIRE YOU!

Below is a poem from long ago that I have saved for such a day as this!

Bridegroom and His Princess

From the moment I first saw you,
I could tell that you were prized,
And even though you could not see it,
You are a princess in His eyes.
By the hands of the Father, the King of all eternity,
You were carefully created~to be~ can't you see?
Jesus has waited all of your life;
He has waited long for you to realize…
~You are a princess in His ballroom~
You are dancing, you are smiling and laughing~
Carried on the arm of the love of your life!
Oh, how He loves you and adores you~
And His joy in you is written all over His Face.
He is your Bridegroom…forever.
Christa Shore

Tuesdays Quotes

As I ponder what important things in life I desire to communicate to family and friends in this most fab setting, I've concluded that quotes aka "" have the ability to affect me to the core and "MARKS MY HEART". (lol quotation marks...get it)? Therefore I am going to commit one day a week to a powerful, funny, thought provoking possibly even politically incorrect quote. Sometimes it's the smallest decisions that can change a life forever and the same power can arrive to us in one simple word. Words are powerful. God's gift of language is a blessing! A picture is worth a thousand words but, "one clear well constructed sentence is worth a thousand pictures!" Dr. Calvin Linton

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others"
Marianne Williamson

Crockpot vs the Microwave

Ok I couldn't resist looking at this blog that my friend FrenzyTracy shared with me that Pearmama wrote.
It truly is the most hilarious story I've ever read regarding explaining sex with your children. Click the link you will not be disappointed!

Seriously one would think that as an adult and having had scores of sex with ones spouse, and being a RN that this would be as simple as mixing cake batter. Not so.

Everywhere you turn, the world is talking about sex. That's why it's so important you join the conversation and keep the dialogue with your kids open and honest!
It is important for our children to be educated about sex - and not just about abstinence. Most Christian teens have probably heard that they need to abstain from having sex because the Bible tells them to. Yet is that enough? Statistics tell us no. So what are Christian parents supposed to do?


The other burning question I hear is "WHEN, WHAT AGE" do I have the talk.
Without trying to sound coy, you just know. They begin asking questions, their body begins changing and they begin noticing others bodies.

My husband and I decided to stick with what we are most familiar with. He talked with our son and I my daughter. I did a picnic dinner in the middle of our living room floor with a couple of anatomy books, diagrams, clay models and I believe ended with soliloquies (speech you make to yourself). Quiet proud of my self and my professional lecture I decided to compare notes with my husband. Differences...Their talk took 10 min over a burger, ours: an hour and a half over Chinese food, theirs: erections, ours: human anatomy and the glory of how we are knit in our mothers womb perfectly, theirs: wet dreams, ours: a thesis on the physiology of a womans orgasm and the challenges we may face in discovering our body, theirs: masturbation, ours the miracle of the egg and an exposition on how it is fertilized, theirs french fries and done (microwave) ours: in depth illustrations and how to say no (crockpot). LOL

Funny thing is the kiddos forget much of what you tell them, however it does open the lines of communication.

The Amazing Human Body exhibit Theamazinghumanbody came to our area and I thought this would be the perfect follow up for team Larrabee to further educate our children. The exhibit is just as titled AMAZING. The process for preserving the bodies is called plastination and this truly is mind boggling.



Towards the end of the exhibit my daughter and I came across a male body displaying his "privates" with what I think was (30 or so saggital slices)? He looked whole from a distance but on closer inspection one could see the slices. My daughter had been unusually quiet through the tour and as we stood with a crowd of onlookers at this particular model I happened to glance at her sweet little face only to discover she was red faced with a look of mortification and terror. I had shown her the male anatomy before and was unsure why this would be so upsetting. I whispered to her "Are you ok honey", To which she very loudly exclaimed..."You did not tell me I was going to have to deal with all this!" "They have a lot going on down there!" At that point I could feel a slight flush of red in my face as I heard the respectable giggles amongst the onlookers standing around us. You see, the way the model was sliced it appeared he had multiple "man parts" and she just could not process it all.
Back to the A&P books. LOL
Maybe going out for burgers with dad and having the 'microwave' speech would have been the best.?

What is my destiny?

Have you ever seen a sunset so beautiful that you hoped it would never end? Have you been startled by a falling star streaking like a bullet in the night sky? Have you seen the northern lights shimmering off a Canadian lake? (ok I haven’t either but it sounds cool). I've a few such moments that had me gasping for a reality check. Who am I in the vastness of the universe?
Life's daily patterns of living, working, sleeping and existing shield us from an amazing fact: Life is precious! Life is fragile and life, as we know it, will end. It is appointed for all people to die at some point (Hebrews 9:27). How many more breaths will I breathe in and blow out?

But life is extraordinarily precious and delicate by virtue of the relatively tiny speck of dirt we occupy on a small blue planet suspended in the unimaginable vastness of space. Check it out. Your view of God will be expanded by watching this. http://tinyurl.com/djh2lp
Speaking of our tiny bubble in which life can exist, This is what, at some level, science and religion both are trying to tell us—how infinitesimally small the scale of human life is against the scale of the cosmos.

The Bible, God’s living word, continues to bedazzle me: "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is" (1 John 3:1-2).
It is clear that we are unique in our galaxy and we are being sustained in a narrow band of life forces. Considering the fragility of life, one would suspect the questions waiting to be asked are "Why am I here?" and "What is my destiny?"

Life is more than just the physical. Jesus Christ said: "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?" (Matthew 6:25).
Indeed it is! Life is a precious journey where we are privileged to learn of God and His amazing plan for mankind. While you have breath and imagination, use your fleeting years to reflect on life—life that is enjoyable, challenging and eternal. That gift is promised to those who learn to think vertically.