John 17:15-19 “I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They are not part of this world anymore than I am. Make them pure and holy by teaching them your words of truth. As you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. And I give myself entirely to you so they also might be entirely yours.” Let’s take a deep look at John 17. Pause for a few moments, grab a Bible and read these very personal and heartfelt 26 verses. In the hours before, Jesus and the disciples share powerful, life changing dialogue about the great teachings Jesus came to leave with his people. The opening of chapter 17 says that when he finished saying all these things, he looked up to his Father and began praying and we are given the unforgettable opportunity to listen in to Jesus speaking to his Father about his most loved treasures- the disciples. Jesus begins by bringing attention to the fact that he received his disciples as a gift from Go...

From July 20, 2008 Today, the term “cold shoulder” has been redefined for me… You know you’ve become a mom when you’re ok wearing a t-shirt that’s been used as a snot rag and you’re not squirming your way out of it as soon as possible! My little girl has had a runny nose today and now the left shoulder of my t-shirt is all gross. It gets even more disgusting…I grabbed a t-shirt out of my closet to lounge in the other evening. I threw it on and walked passed the mirror in my bedroom and noticed I had received the “cold shoulder” the last time I wore that shirt too. My only conclusion as to why it was not already in the laundry is because I was too tired to remember I had been used as a tissue that day as well! The joys of being a mom. ( I can’t believe this makes me smile!) But you know, the more I think about this whole “cold shoulder” thing, the more I realize that God allows us to give him the “cold shoulder” too. Yes, we all give God the original definition of the “cold s...

The Broken Cracker Our smallest was crying in her car seat. Hearing that my offer of a cheese cracker seemed to settle her fears of starvation, I dug to the bottom of our snack sack and found the last package of peanut butter and cheese crackers, ripped open the wrapper, and tried to dislocated my shoulder by reaching directly behind my seat to complete the offer. The screamer refused my suggested peace offering muttering the words “it’s broken” between her manufactured sniffles. I knew trying to explain the fact that the cracker still maintained most of its value despite the flaw wasn’t going to be eagerly accepted. So as to not wake the snoozing sister, I quickly handed her the next cracker in the package after a complete inspection making sure it was perfect, complete, and whole. Enjoying the moment of silence, I muttered to myself, “just because it isn’t perfect doesn’t mean it has lost its value”. Jesus thinks the same about us. Paul wrote a letter to the Ephesian church a...

Thanks for stopping by today. If you are new around here, you can find the previous 4 parts of this series, From Protected to Projected, by scrolling down and looking to the right or by clicking here .  Part 5- NASA A documentary reviewing the history of National Association of Space and Aeronautics or NASA during the time of the Apollo 11 projects uncovered, what I thought was an alarming statistic. The crew of engineers responsible for building, testing, repairing, and maintaining the equipment and vessels used during the 1960’s had an average age of 28  years old. Today’s crews for NASA engineers average 47 years old. This short dialogue in the documentary might not have jumped into the minds and hearts of many watching, but it is proof that we have babied our children into thinking they are not capable to be successful leaders until they are a certain age. We keep them dependent on us as their parents and prevent them- albeit good reasons at times- from walking thr...

Thanks for stopping by the blog today. In case this is your first visit, you've stumbled upon my Move Over Monday series. Each Monday, I pull a post from my old blog and bring it back to daylight. It's fun to re-read old things, especially when it's about the kids or life before kids. My Face My little Adi is learning to pull up these days. She is even standing alone for a few seconds right now. For the past few weeks now, she has become entranced with my face. Or anyone’s face for that matter. She wants to touch every nook, cranny, wrinkle, and corner of my face. She pulls open my mouth to discover what’s inside. She is curious about it all right now. My little sponge even has learned to turn my cheek so she can get a better view of which ever part she is investigating at the moment. She will work all her might to crawl across the room, over my legs, and into my lap just to look at my face. I often wonder why my hands or feet don’t offer such excitement to her. But ...

As parents, if we are honest with ourselves, we would probably say that we are more frightened by what the world has to offer our kids rather than our kids hunting down the evil for themselves. We fear that Satan and all his cronies will be lingering around every corner and snatch, harm, and lure our kids away from the truths that have been taught to them. Being a mom, I fear that my girls will be lied to and they’ll find themselves confused. Other parents fear their sons and daughters will not be able to stand up to the temptation offered by the world. These are all very real things that happen in our society, but they aren’t new. None of the sin that is in our world today is fresh. Satan has been around the block a few times and just reuses his strongest weapons over and over again. Knowing he is crafty at what has been done before, our families can be armed and ready to face the schemes he thinks will snare us. However, at this strategizing point of the battle plans, Christians...

In honor of finally doing the hard task of sleep training my third baby these past seven days, this week's Move-Over Monday is a little reminder of when my oldest was a little, crib-sleeping baby. I have learned so much since these days mentioned below, but still find such strength knowing that God knows and cares for me. Please enjoy (and share ;)).  Twenty-one Sleepy Shuffles My determined march is only 23 feet, 5 inches long. My sacrificial stroll is the same difference from my computer to the fridge. So why is this walk so hard to happily hike? Not to be over dramatic, but these 21 shuffles often require more from me than my 45 minute cardio workout. Perhaps it’s because this nightly jaunt is not completed per my own request, but rather by the needy cries of another. As any young mom knows, midnight feedings, 3am feedings, or 5am feedings are probably the hardest part of serving a small being weighing in only slightly more than a bag a potatoes. It’s a constant reminder...