Category: Faith

TRUE CONFESSION: On Being Distracted….

Posted on by Mary

DistractedAre you distracted? I know I am. I have been distracted for as long as I can remember. Think I’m exaggerating ?Ask my mom….NO JOKE. Homework in the afternoon after school I’d rather be doing a million other things besides that! Or how about my teachers, or you could just look at the comments on my report cards. I probably could have been diagnosed with ADD, matter of fact I bet I could pass the test for adult ADD, or As I like to refer to it as ADOS – Attention Deficit, OHHHH Shiny- Thanks Mark Hall from Casting Crowns (see his testimony for more explanation)

Oh wait what were we talking about? Oh right, DISTRACTIONS!

I even get distracted from sleep..no seriously, IT JUST HAPPENED. I have planned into my time here at camp for naps. One a day. Every day. I set my alarm because then I won’t sleep too long, and I really want to sleep at night. Anyway in order to actually hear my alarm I have to have the sound turned up. I keep my sound turned down for both services and while I write and read…BECAUSE IT DISTRACTS ME! It keeps me from getting the things done I need or want to accomplish. I don’t need to jump at every ding, or dong….BUT today I was so close to being sound asleep then I heard the ding. SCARED ME TO DEATH! I tried my best to ignore it, but I. Just. Couldn’t. Do. It. So I grabbed my phone.

Voicemail.

Listened to it.

“Try again”

Yep that is all it said. “TRY AGAIN” I didn’t recognize the number, it was out of state. GRRRR. And when I jolt out of sleep there is just no going back so here I am.

Writing.

Something I LOVE to do.

But in all honesty this isn’t exactly the type of distraction I want to talk to you about. It actually happened in my reading Yesterday I was reading The Battle Plan for Prayer by Stephen and Alex Kendrick. and They made a statement that left me with my mouth gaping open. “no Church program, religious event, political effort or humanitarian cause can trump the awesome power of what God can do in the response to the prayers of his people.” Now this struck a much deeper chord with me and Im going to take this a little deeper than they did. So let’s ask this question…..what is the opposite of distraction?

Continue reading “TRUE CONFESSION: On Being Distracted….” →

True Confession: On the Noises Inside My Head

Posted on by Mary

TRUE COFESSIONNotice how In that title of true confession I didn’t say VOICES…but then again sometimes the noises in my head sound a whole lot like voices…..the voices of my children, my hubby , the clients at the pregnancy center, my friends, my family, the newscast anchorman, advertisements, authors, teachers, pastors (oh wait that is my hubby) and let’s add my voice in there too. My voice that reminds me of that mile long to-do list, the needing to find such and such that has been missing for 3 weeks, books to read, notes to send, kids to feed….and the list goes on and on and on. and lets be honest MY VOICE tends to show up at 10:05 as I lay my head down to sleep, or at 4:30(Wednesday and Thursday mornings) OR like last Friday morning 3:30.It really never ends. Just as we scratch one thing off, another three jump onto the page. We keep moving.

Well I’m writing aren’t you impressed. It has been quite a while. Do you want to know how I can write?

  1. I’m not home
  2. I have no kids with me..only Rosie Our chocolate labradoodle. She doesn’t say a word…unless I leave her to go to the service, then she makes a most pitiful sound comes out of her body. She really isn’t used to the camper yet.
  3. I’m an introvert, so I have avoided human connection as much as possible and can count on one hand the amount of times I have been on social media in the last 36 hours.

The funny thing is, this is my second year taking this respite time away. My husband has made me. Last year was HARD. This year not so much. When hubby left early yesterday morning with our two youngest, I stood in the camper, stunned by the silence. Not just the external silence but the internal silence as well. THERE WERE NO NOISES. What is this strange phenomenon???

Last year I found myself putting out fires and I was on a rigorous posting schedule for a conference I was working on the team of. This year there is nothing…NOT ONE THING nagging at me to get done. Well except for my reading list.

There is one more voice though…..it is small and quiet and even though it is such, it tugs at my heart far greater that all the others combined and sadly enough because it is not “dire” enough it can often get pushed off until “LATER”.

Continue reading “True Confession: On the Noises Inside My Head” →

It’s Been a Month…..

Posted on by Mary

It's Been A Montha Month…a whole month?   REALLY? Tomorrow marks a month since I last posted , and it’s not because of a lack of want.   it’s been a very crazy month and i wish I could say it was going to get better.   Actually it will…..once we leave on vacations, but until then the month coming will hold some fun!

 

It had been a pretty focused month …and then it happened last week….I got sick.   I have not been sick all winter…I would start down the cold road and then I would take extra vitamins and then Id be fine.My seeds That needed to be are all started…They aren’t really doing much BUT they are started at least!I had my laptop sitting next to last week, open all ready to write but my arms ached so BAD!  I just rolled over and went to sleep.

So here are some of th things we have accomplished over the last month

  1. Little Bean turned 6
  2. Picnics
  3. Weasels’s 3rd quarterly report was written and sent in.
  4. Homeschool curriculum for grade 3 has been purchased  and recieveed
  5. Letter of Intent to homeschool has been sent in
  6. Away has been completed
  7. we acquired a second set of college stdents (related to a class that they take in the special education degree)  they spend 25 hours with a family over the course of a semester.   For whatever reason the second set couldn’t finish out their hours with their assigned family so we were asked if we could fit in another set.  this was a fourth semester participating in this program…a lot of this college kids don’t…or can’t connect but the group we had this semester really connected wonderfully with weasel…..they were simply amazing!
  8. My stack of reading is GOING NO WHERE FAST!   I just had too many things going on at once, but soon I will have more time once homeschooling is done for the year.
  9. we (my Women’s Bible study group that I leadI) put on this AMZING Ladies Brunch….. And we are beginning to form the foundation of a a thriving women Ministry in our church.  this was really time consuming, BUT it’s what I am called to do and I love it!
  10. we are getting ready to kick off our next ladies Bible study  using Rest Assured By Vicki Courtney which I reviewed here a couple of months ago.  I have fallen in Love with the book and it is beginning a 4 level Bible study series spanning 4 books
    1. Rest Assured
    2. The Best Yes
    3. Thrive
    4. Fervent
  11. and even though I have been silent on the blog, I have been writing.   There is a blog series pending the release of Stacey Thacker’s book  Fresh Out of Amazing.   This series of blog posts has been shall we say….HARD!  that seems like such an understatement.
  12. There have been people in my life who need me…not just my hubby and kids.  I have some friends who are really going through some really hard things…unthinkable things.  sad things.  and I will be there for them.  I made a determination a year ago that I would be that friend that God uses to be a light….(I write this as Michael W. Smith’s song I will be Here for You come on)
  13. We also have another Bible study meeting here in our home.
  14. and there are somethings I just can’t share.   tThey quite possibly could require “new Normal’s”    But we are willing.  That’s really what God asks of us, is willingness.  Usually based around our “i’ll never…” statements..
  15. Little Bean accepted christ as his Savior,  then later that week, 3 young girls from our church followed suit!  what an amazing blessing…Did I mention Little Bean accepted Christ on MOTHER”S DAY    🙂
  16. Hubby and I celebrated 13 years of marriage..while I was sick 🙁
  17. Tomorrow is Hubby’s Birthday!

Well there is a look inside our last month.  You will be hearing more from me more often I have some really neat thing coming down the line including a weekly project Post, sharing my latest creations and  a snapshot into my planner….I have been using The Happy Planner for the last 7 months and boy am I loving it.    There will also be some  Why I do what I do posts, inspired by Rest Assured and The Best yes, So won’t you Stay tuned in the coming days weeks and months as we jump into writing again!  I promise It won’t be a month till you hear from me again !

Blessings

Mary

Newsboys Edition ~Weekend Re-Cap 4/18/2016

Posted on by Mary

NEWSBOYS EditionI know That blogging never really happens for me over the weekend and yet we find ourselves on some CRAZY adventures and this weekend is NO different.   And it culminated in one of the coolest concerts I have ever been to. THE NEWSBOYS !!!  It’s rare that our weekends are slow and are usually JAM packed with ministry stuff.  Well in all honesty this weekend was no different, but there were some crazy fun adventures as well.

A lot of times I get to Monday and say “Man I really wish I could recount everything!” Well I’m going to start doing just that!!!

Friday

Friday Night was our kids school concert.  We always enjoy school concerts.   They are very sweet moments as we see all the hard work our kids put in each semester!  It ends with an ice cream social and a late night but so worth it 🙂

 

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Saturday 

AM- Hubby has worship team practice.  It’s a couple hours long, so the kids and I were in full clean up mode,  getting ready for the babysitters that night .  I had food to make for their dinner and prep work for our Youth Rally Gym night!

That afternoon was a friend’s 15 YO son’s birthday party.  We were there for about an hour and then had to head back home.

Then it was back home to finish dinner prep and making sandwiches for the Youth Rally Gym Night.    We measure the amount of sandwiches we make by the loaf.  I made two loaves worth of sandwiches and took 6 bags of chips.  The babysitters arrived at 4:30 and we were on our way @5…

PM  Youth Rally Gym Night saw over 100 kids.   (WHICH WAS AMAZING)  a Local Christian Camp’s Assistant Director spoke, we played two Minute  To Win It Games, SANG some great worship songs and then the kids were released into  the local Middle school to play Basketball, swim, play volleyball, gaga ball, table games or to sumo wrestle  in these giant Bubble balls.   AND EAT!…cookies…..sandwiches….chips…..and they pretty much ate everything! (except the chips)

Home late again!   BUT AGAIN totally worth it!

SUNDAY

AM Church.  We can’t skip church because we were  out to late…My husband is the pastor after all..LOL   We (hubby and I)also teach the  4 &  5 year old Sunday school class.  At the last minute hubby found out he had to speak because our intern was SICK.

Sunday afternoon we as a family attended a local Autism Awareness event.  It is our second year at the event.  This year we had our college students who work with our son with Autism there with us.  They are amazing!  The local college football team was also there playing with the kids.   They were so huge BUT great with the kids.   Our youngest son said to us on the way home, “I must be famous because they kept picturing me”!  The football players wanted to take pictures with the kids  for school!

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Sunday Night…and the Biggest surprise…. we have been holding a secret from our kids for a couple of weeks now, and how they didn’t Figure it out is well, quite frankly beyond me.  They got to go to their first big concert…and it was a HUGE concert.  The #Newsboys, with Audio Adrenaline OBB and Ryan Stevenson.   First, check that off this Mama’s bucket list.  I have been a huge fan of the Newsboys since I was in high school….which was *Cough* years ago….ahem. and it carried through to this day and I have trained up my children in the way they should go…..it was great to watch them rock out to Big House, by Audio Adrenaline and I Believe and God’s Not Dead…..OH AND LETS NOT FORGET  JESUS FREAKS.   Which BTW is crazy what they do with the drummer during this song, JUST SAYIN’

Photo courtesy of J. Spinner
Photo courtesy of J. Spinner

YES That is the drummer tipped on his side….and yes he was spinning 🙂
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I think one of the most amazing things is hearing THOUSANDS of people whisper “God’s Not Dead He’s surely alive”  it’s no longer a whisper….and isn’t that how it really is?  iIf each once of us as believers stood next to each other, and whispered that truth….together, unified, it wouldn’t be a whisper….it’s a roar!     A GREAT GIANT ROAR!   But  instead we stay tucked away hidden, keeping our mouth closed tightly…..

Thanks Newsboys, Audio Adrenaline, OBB and Ryan Stevenson for a great show.   It’s good to see my kids enjoying every single minute.  Our lives had been infused with some very hard unspeakable things, and it was so amazing to watch them have so very much fun..

To step outside the fears of this life, which has recently reared it’s ugly little head again as one of our sons said “mommy can we go back to ________ to the place where my friend is? You know the place _______ and I went every week” (he is referring to his counselor’s office)  to see them shout out truth, being sung into their little lives, to see the smiles, and to hear shouts, whoops and hollers praising their Savior……makes the fear melt away, at least for a few hours!

And this…This is what I am enjoying today….HOME and sunshine!! I LOVE SPRING 🙂

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Thankfulness Challenge 4/14/2016

Posted on by Mary

ThankfulnessChallengeWelcome to The Thankfulness Challenge!   A few years ago I participated in a weekly blog meet-up  called Thankful Thursday centered around thankfulness.  The host  later opted to no longer host it, and I  wrote for a short time about Thankfulness and what i am thankful for, but then I too let it fall by the wayside.  However this past year as I prayed through what was important to my blogs re-boot..THANKFULNESS became a HUGE  priority.

Thankfulness is easy when it’s the good stuff…Sunny days, rainbows, new pets, birthdays and  school concerts (just to name a few)  and somedays it is all we have…or at least that’s how we feel!  But the Bible tells us to be THANKFUL IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES (i Thessalonians  5:18)  In all honesty THAT IS SUPER HARD.

I once read a book that referred to what the author called “PollyAnna syndrome”, which is finding the good in all things.  The Christian author used it in a negative light however, Pollyanna Had the right idea.  It’s actually a Biblical principle.  So that is what this post is all about.   Or t least I’m going to try. Each week we will share our 5 things we are most thankful  for!.  Some might be simple things  but I want to encourage you to go deeper…look for the good in hard things too.  It will change how you view your world.

So let’s begin….

  1. I am thankful for sunshine…..and warmth.  Yep I know I started off with simple….but wait I will go deeper 🙂   As a person who lives in upstate NY, most of our months are cloudy,  and we spend half of the year FREEZING!   I also  have a touch of seasonal effect disorder so it compounds the problem of dreary- constantly. We are heading into a week long stretch of SUN and mostly sun.  It always makes me feel like I am being rejuvenated!!
  2. I am thankful for Dentists who know how to fix broken teeth…Yep you read that right.   A few weeks ago there was some playing around…FUN -GIGGLES- PLAYING…then BAM in one split second two teeth broken….I felt Horrible.   On Monday this week His teeth were fixed.   The look normal.  There was a day in time where they would have been pulled and forever be missing his two front teeth.  (BONUS: I am also thankful we live in 2016)
  3. I am thankful for NEW adventures.  Growing deeper in God’s word is taking me on some new adventures.  some of them are very hard.   I know though , that at the end of them as long as I have a willing and teachable spirit we will grow into what God has intended all along.
  4. I am thankful for the ability to write.  At college I learned my sophomore year that if I spent 30 minutes writing…not my thoughts, but creatively That I could then focus on my homework.  it began a practice of journaling that has since been my way to clear my head.  At that time it was a pen and a pencil….and looseleaf paper today it takes all shapes and forms.  I am by nature a pen and paper girl and I use LOADS of color, but it also looks a lot like my blog too…and the Pages  and Chapters s apps on my laptop and iPad….it also looks like ART!  growing my my drawing and painting right in my journal.
  5. Homeschooling- Im not gonna lie. It has been HARD . But I have grown and So has our son with Autism.   and it’s rewarding to watch and grow and thrive.  Especially after so many people said.  I couldn’t or that I shouldn’t.    And to hear my two older children say….”wow he’s in those books, we never made it that far. Those were for the kids who were ahead!”

And so there you have it….What are you thankful for? I’d love to hear!I