Category: Family

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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When Life Gets Overwhelming……

Posted on by Mary

When Life Gets Overwhelming.....TAKE A NAP! (I did that this afternoon–hubby and I chose a nap over date night–SERIOUSLY)  I know it’ s been a few weeks since I’ve written. In all reality I’ve been SWAMPED.  It’s been overwhelming to say the least. My kids are ready for spiring break and quite frankly SO AM I!

Since before Easter we have been moving at the speed of light!

I find myself in a really WEIRD place too.

I have all of this great and wonderful ministry stuff going on….

  1.  A super cool writing project I’m working on
  2. Mentoring clients at our local Pregnancy center
  3. 4 amazing kids who stretch me beyond  my abilities….
  4. A women’s ministry beyond anything I ever dreamed of  taking off…and I get a front row seat
  5. a Growing thriving drama ministry
  6. Bible studies
  7. Titus 2 being lived out in my life as I mentor a teen in our church.
  8. and for the first time in a long time I can actually step away from   the insanity that can be the life with an autistic child and find peace in Silence…silence with my hubby….OR  Silence  as I am hiding in my craft room typing this 🙂

God and I are taking a journey together this year like never before.  I have learned about myself far more in the last 4 months that I think I have in my whole life.

I am an introvert as I have shared before but I am an introvert-Relater.

I can be with people…I like to be with people.  I love to serve people.  and yet I hit moments where I literally can’t pour out another drop.    This last year held some pretty big AMAZING FIRSTS…and this coming year i know will hold the same.   But as I move forward, I have realized a few things……

  1. The enemy doesn’t eat me to move forward.
  2. the enemy wants me to fail.
  3. FEAR has crept backing my life…..more on that FEAR in a later post.
  4. I’m my own worst enemy sometimes
  5. I have a whole lot of questions for God…some that may never be answered. and I am okay with that.
  6. I have some to realize the need to breathe and step away…..I need to practice this…and own it.

In those moments of solitude and silence I learn about God…and myself.  and through these moments I have begun to relate to God in a whole new way.  As I strive to soak up what it means to ABIDE in Christ, I become less overwhelmed and more aware of what Christ wants to do, both in me and through me.  Is it easy?  No!  Can it be stressful?  YES  Bt I have to be willing to get off the merry-go -round before I dos my cookies! (LOL—Or lose my cool )

So  as i sit here tonight in solitude and silence I pray that God will grant peace in the midst of all the amazing things God has for us.   Peace that passes all understanding.   AsThe fiery darts fly our way I pray that God will protect us,  and  work in us., Changing our hearts to look more like his.   That we could  still shine as servants even in the stressful times and remember to take moments of solitude and silence as Christ did.  Because even the really neat things can be overwhelming.

 

Fuller House: A Promise Broken

Posted on by Mary

Fuller House_

Fuller House is the 2016 reboot of acclaimed 80’s-90’s family TV show Full House and is based on the life of  DJ (Tanner) Fuller and her two “she-wolf” Clan members, Sister- Stephanie Tanner and life-longBFF-Kimmy Gibbler.  As a true 90’s kid I was giddy in anticipation over the return of such a classic CLEAN family TV show. especially since the breed has become virtually extinct since the 90’s.  I perhaps would not have been so giddy if I had not heard the interview with Candace Cameron Bure promising that the show had “THE SAME GREAT FAMILY VALUES” and that is exactly where it stayed. A promise…it’s a broken promise!!

Let’s Talk about the 90’s show for a minute…..(TRUE CONFESSION we own all 8 seasons on DVD and we allow our children…ALL OF THEM…to watch all 8 seasons freely.  the show is played out in such a way that they didn’t condone poor choices and unhealthy habits, so therefore it is easy to talk to our kids about the poor choices.

Alcohol is barely mentioned..an occasional reference to wine or champagne, and every once in a great while beer. AND you never saw them drink…ANY OF THEM.

NO references to drugs in positive light.

Except for the very first season, swearing was very minimal.

Marriage was held in high regard.

The kids were innocent and it was frowned upon for  young kids to make out.

Dancing wasn’t raunchy.

AND there was no general RAUNCHINESS.

Women weren’t pieces of meat to be pawed at, drooled over and treated as though they were only good for sleeping with, making out with, and obsessing over.

Now just to note Uncle Jesse fit the bill with a lot of the above but changed greatly at the entrance of Becky.  BUT I will say that uncle Jesse’s behavior was only alluded to and far less disgusting than the current lifestyle of Stephanie who is definitely a downright appalling version of Uncle J.

There’s a start.

So in the light of the above statements let’s talk 2016 reboot.

ALCOHOL.  There is a whole lot of drinking, being drunk, loosing self control while under the influence and we aren’t talking wine EITHER.  we are talking Hard stuff.  Tequila is mentioned A LOT!.   The especially disturbing part is the hard alcohol  in the midst of children’s parties.  There are 2 references. One at Ramona’s birthday party and another while Kimmy is setting up a party and she says, “it’s a kid’s party, of course there will be Booze”  There is some really intense making out, due to “having a few shots”…and really far more references and instances than the few I mentioned.  Almost every episode has some reference to alcohol and is a far cry from the original series.. (I would just like to point out that people in real life get arrested for the poor judgement of alcohol at kids parties) ARE WE FORGETTING HOW DJ AND STEPHANIES MOM WAS KILLED?  That’s right, a drunk driver!    Irresponsibly drinking.  Getting hammered while watching  your own kids let alone others children, it’s the very thing Danny protected his kids from…or at least tried to.

DRUGS.  There was one reference to drugs that really glorified them.  DJ was loopy after her first kiss with Matt and Stephanie asked her “You didn’t find my brownies did you?”  This is a clear reference to pot brownies.   And clearly they must have been in the house…with kids present…ALSO SOMETHING THAT GETS PARENTS ARRESTED EVERYDAY!

SWEARING- it’s prevalent and even comes out of the self proclaimed devout Christian’s mouth…. on MORE than one occasion.

MARRIAGE. there is a reference to Steve wanting to move in with DJ.  Kimmy divorces Fernando (because he cheats on her) just to accept his engagement proposal 30 seconds later (LITERALLY).  Kimmy was married to Fernando 4 months before Ramona was born.  Kimmy offers a special rate to moms who book bridal showers and baby showers within a year of each other. It doesn’t take long for DJ to recover from the loss of her husband before she is dating (AND MAKING OUT) with TWO guys, yep you read that right!!  Quite honestly there are far too many examples to keep going but you get the picture.

KIDS INNOCENCE:  Stephanie encourages kids at a thirteen year old’s birthday party to “pair up” when the power goes out.  with all the references to sex, well  I’m very afraid of what season two will look like.

RAUNCHY DANCING…. all I have to say is episode 3. 2 guys….2 Girls, One of them DJ…..even if it were guy and girl the Dancing was RAUNCHY and DISGUSTING!  we actually shut off this episode and from this point on previewed every episode.  In all honesty our kids watched 3 episodes and we wish we could pull them back.

GENERAL RAUNCHINESS… yeah at every turn there is inappropriate comments,  jokes, and  down right disgusting-ness.  The last episode Jesse refers to “giving himself the Becky Special” Ummm. ewww.  it’s laced throughout and almost every episode has something.

So there I’ve laid it out for you!   So let’s talk about the 2 elephants in the room.

  1. “same great family values”   WHAT VALUES!?!  There aren’t ANY!  At all, anywhere.  In the first episode Stephanie hands each of the two older boys a thumb drive with the “hottest dance music in Europe” to which DJ asks “there isn’t any drugs, sex or violence, is there? ” to which Stephanie quickly grabs the thumb drives out of their hands…..HOWEVER I find the hypocritical since sex is clearly a HUGE reference throughout the show AND apparently it’s ok to have pot brownies in the house…..with kids…..can you say DOUBLE STANDARD!?!  Just because it’s the same family, does not mean it has the same values!
  2. Candace Cameron Bure is an outspoken Christian…. quite honestly Im not quite sure how she could show her face on The View since the smut in her show is not any  different than the things she stands staunchly against in her world of unbelievers.  Let alone in church on Sunday.  How does she justify it all?  She has a platform… she has been given an amazing place to live out her faith, far greater than most of us will ever have.  I know that in the Christian blogging world she has a great many friends  and at most of her projects they sing her praises, however during this release they have been eerily quiet., but we as believers are supposed to hold each other accountable, so I am going to step out…..I will say it again.  THIS IS WRONG.  I could give you dozens of Bible verses to prove my point, HOWEVER I’m going to leave you with this one verse which I think stands alone in answering the questions of Christians in Hollywood:

Romans 12:2 New Living Translation
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

There is nothing that stands out different about her in this show.  NOT A THING.  If I didn’t know already what she professes, I would think she is just like everybody else.  As for the reference to “church clothes” in the last episode, it’s sad to say but my immediate thought was “oh they are Sunday Christians… they live like the devil all week long and look completely different on Sundays.”  I’m not quite sure how that fits int0  “be holy as I am holy” (Holy means be different or set apart from everything else).

I know the rest of the world is excited that Fuller House is all set for season 2, but in all honesty, we will get rid of Netflix at the end of this month, and when Fuller House returns…we will just ignore it and go on teaching our children, that to take the name of Christ is to be an image bearer……

1 Corinthians 10:31 New Living Translation
So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

Putting On My Oxygen Mask

Posted on by Mary

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Have you seen Mom’s Night Out?  It’s a movie that released a little over a year ago, right around mothers day.   It took us almost a year to see and my darling husband found it at a store and bought it for me……I LOVE THAT MOVIE.  Without fail, it makes me cry..Every. Single Time !   No joke and it usually is a different part each time, for it meets me right where I am in that moment.

The title of this blog post comes from that movie, and it is the very thing my husband said to me 4 days ago.  I was a bit uncertain about this week.  In all honesty I was having second thoughts about the entire idea.  My husband had this idea for me a year ago as we were making he decision to place our camper on a permanent lot at a Bible Conference a few hours from home.  We had no idea at that time what our lives would look like in a year and let me tell you if I had the choice to live this last year over again, Im not sure I could do it.   It’s only by God’s amazing grace that we have made it through with our marriage and family intact and I believe stronger.  Im still not ready to post about it, but it IS coming I promise.  We were hurt in some horrible ways.  Most people who know of our last year are shocked that we are still where we are.   And we had no idea that the decision to put our camper at the Bible Conference would lead to such great healing and respite for our family.  So here I sit.  IN my little retreat I have been completely alone for nearly 36 hours.  Im at peace.  I am feeling refreshed and renewed and I sill have another 3 1/2 days .  I have written and read and studied and blogged. I have rested ….AND BARELY SPOKEN TO ANYONE!  I have talked to my husband and kids a few times over the last day on the phone but that is the limit of my conversing.  It’s ok Im an introvert.  Maybe that’s why I needed this so much.

The premise of needing to putting on my oxygen mask is this…a quote from one of my college profs

seasonal specials

And that was the premise behind the overly long observation of the husband in Mom’s Night Out.   The dad travels A LOT.  So when he FINALLY connected the dots, the idea of the oxygen mask in the airplane resonated with him.  you have to help yourself before you can help someone else get their mask on.  I needed to take some deep spiritual cleansing breaths before I can tackle another round of insanity..    If I don’t have my relationship with God front and center, how can I possibly give my kids and husband what they need?  How can I teach?  How can I write to you?   My husband knew this line would resonate with me and it did…it made me smile to.  he told me  ” you need this, and you are going to love it”   He was right…..on both counts.

So I want to say THANKS HONEY, for cheering me on to do this, to go beyond my normal, to stretch myself and to feed my soul .  and if you happen to be a guy reading this  and your wife is looking a little…or a lot frazzled, why don’t you consider a way to encourage her to put on her oxygen mask!  and if you are a mom, can I just take a moment to encourage you to take a step back, take a deep refreshing breath and sit at the feet of Jesus. Turn your chair away from the chaos  that is where you are and face  it to a window.  I know what it is to not have the words to say, the tears flow easily and no words come.  I know that ache that makes you want to be sick and I want you to know that HE hears the very cry of your heart without  uttering One.Single. Sound.   he knows and he loves you  even in the biggest of messes!  Wont you meet him there He’s waiting!