BAXTER

Meet Baxter

We have a new member to our family.

At the Pound this weekend

Love at first sight!!!

We brought him home yesterday.
He is a Jack Russell Terrier Mix(Mutt)
and we love him already.

Wow, that went by fast

My break is over and it's back to hitting the books for me. Boo-hoo!! I can't believe I actually inflicted this upon myself. Ya know, when you cause something to happen yourself you really can't complain to much about it ...which I am not complaining that I get to go back to school I am just saying that my break went by way too fast. I don't think I will be taking summer school although.... I have to say that the idea of getting done a little bit sooner is really tempting now that the end is so clearly in sight(at least at TMCC)

Oh yeah, I also finished reading the Velvet Elvis book over my break and I give it a5 *****+ rating. A must read for all human beings who are faith seekers. Truly if you regret reading it afterward you can come hunt me down and .....force me to eat seafood(which I hate and may barf on you afterward but still I will eat it if you don't learn something interesting from this book).

Velvet Elvis

So... you might be wondering what I am doing with my spring break(other than of course the obvious-1man,4kids,1house, 1cat, 2goldfish)
I am reading a book that I have been wanting to read for some time called, Velvet Elvis written by Rob Bell. It is a book about questions and answers in faith. All faiths. It is a very quotable book to me and I found myself right away picking up a pad of paper and a pen when reading it. This to me is a sign of a really great book. I thought I would share some quotes so far and I would love to hear what you think about them or if you have had similar thoughts.
"Central to the Christian experience is the art of questioning God."
"It is possible ... to make the bible say whatever WE want it to , isn't it?"
"Doctrine is a wonderful servant and a horrible master."
"OUR words aren't absolutes, Only God is absolute"
"if you do see yourself carrying God to places, it can be exhausting. God is really heavy."
So what I really like about this guy is that he doesn't pretend to have all the answers just some thoughts of his own about faith in general and he encourages you to challenge even the thoughts that he has written in this book. So if you are one who is seeking and one who has a lot of questions for the Big Man upstairs this would be a great book that will challenge your thinking or affirm some thoughts you always had. Either way, it's a great read.

Spring Break

My kids spring break began this week and we got off to a very interesting start. Really it was like we were awakened to a war zone is a better way to put it. The week got better as we reigned them back in to the way we do things around here and as of last night I am officially on my own spring break. I have never longed for a break so much in my life!! Whoo hoo.

The Bible

"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." Hebrews 4:12

I love this manual for life that we have been given. Sometimes when I open it up to read I know that it is not just alive but it really does know the thoughts and attitudes of my heart. So often I will read exactly what needed to change in my heart for that day. It isn't always what I wanted to hear but it is always what I need to hear. How does a book do this? It's just a book right? :)
If I were to try and explain to someone who hasn't had this experience with the bible yet I would tell them, It's like going to see a psychic or counselor everyday or having someone read your journal and then tell you exactly what you needed to hear from all the emotions that were laid barren in your journal. Something like that. I guess there probably isn't a real way to know what it is like until you are there. Kinda like parenting or being in love. Those are things that even though you could explain them it really doesn't hit home til you are there.
I remember that when I was little we always had bibles around and we never read them(or least I didn't ) but they were there on the self like any other book would be. Little did I know that if I only read with a new perspective and a resceptive heart that book would change my life.
There is a reason this book has been around for so long and is the hottest seller. I am very thankful that in this country I am not put in jail for reading it , instead I can have as many copies laying around my house as I want and read it all day long if I want. I am thankful for that and for the way this book is changing my life.
If I were to rate it .....well.....it's off the charts but a 5***** for sure!!!

New favorite Quote

" JOY means the perfect fulfilment of that for which I was created and regenerated, not the successful doing of a thing. " Oswald Chambers

To me this means that when you are living the life God created YOU to live , therein lies true joy. Not in doing things but in realizing that you are a special , uniquely, gifted, talented person that no one else will ever be like or has ever been like. It is amazing when you stop comparing and start realizing that just being you is all that is required to succeed.

My Husband

My husband is a GENIUS in every sense of the word

GENIUS- an exceptional natural capacity of intellect, especially as shown in creative and original work in science, art, music, etc.

That's all!!

New Identity

Over the past few months I have really been hearing Jesus telling me to remember and never forget that my identity is in Him. To press in and get to know Him better and deeper. He gave me this very cool word picture about the ocean and how if you stay in the shallow end for too long even though you will feel the sand beneath your feet and the coolness of the water you won't see what the oceans deep really has to behold. I believe there are creatures out there that we still haven't even seen. I started to think of the shallow waters of the ocean and how when you stand there long enough you start to see the muck and sea weed and all the impurities that are in the water but if you go deeper the water gets clear and more beautiful. This is what life with Jesus is like . You put your foot in the water and you are cooled, the scenery is breath-taking at first but if you stay there you miss out on what lies beneath. It takes courage I think to go deep sea diving and I think it takes courage to press in to get to know this God that is so massive, so beyond little old me. The funny thing is that this is a interesting picture to give to me because I don't really even care that much for water stuff. I have never been snorkeling or deep sea diving(nor do I plan to) heck, I can't even swim!! All the same I got what He was trying to say to me.
What amazes me still and probably is something that always will amaze me is that after all these years of knowing Jesus there is still so much more to know, feel, learn from Him. My whole life I have been brought up in some sorta church and so I have been hearing about Jesus for 32 years and I know that even in another 32 years there will still be things about Him that will fascinate me. I am so thankful for His presence in my daily life. I am so thankful that from a very young age He has personally drawn upon my heartstrings in ways that only He can. I can't even put into words His love. Truly He is amazing and His love for me baffles me.
So digging deeper, what does that look like for me. I am reading, worshiping, listening, learning from ALL His people, taking time for Him, laying down things and picking some old things back up again and in a sense I feel like I am deep sea diving. Don't know what that feels like and this time going deeper feels different. It's good , it's refreshing, it's a new identity.
"My chains are gone
I've been set free
My God , My Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood
His mercy reigns
Unending Love, Amazing Grace."

You learn something new everyday

Today while doing some laundry and ironing I realized something about myself. I really like to iron. I don't own very many clothes that need ironing but recently I have purchased a few nice shirts for the giant and while ironing those today I realized that I really like to iron.
It was relaxing, warm, and smelt really good. It was something that for a moment or two I could look and see a job well done. This is a nice change of pace from my usual chores around here that quickly get mucked up by my 4 messy roomates (all under the age of 10 in case some of you were wondering if I was refering to my sexy roomate). Ironing on the other hand is something that I can look back upon in an hour and still see the nice, clean, ironed shirt hanging in the closet - still nice, clean, and ironed.
Yep, you learn something new everyday and today I learned , I like ironing.