Category: Uncategorized

Coffee With Friends: An Introduction

Posted on by Mary

imageMy whole life I have been surrounded by a lot of people, but just because there are a lot of people doesn’t mean you feel less alone.  But think about it :

School = A LOT  of people

Church = a lot of people

Large families = a lot of people (have 7 uncles and 1 aunt on one side and at  the time 5 aunts and 5 uncles on the other side…now add in my parents,brothers,  grandparents, aunt’s and uncle’s spouses AND cousins!   ).  That’s a whole lot of people.

Work = a lot of people

Then we go off to college

College =  a lot of people

And then…..I got married!

I worked full time, hubby worked two jobs at first and full-time seminary and with no drivers license that left me on a college campus for long hours with….you guessed it A LOT of people.

Then due to circumstances hubby and I decided that I would quit my job and be a full time homemaker…with no kids.   I learned all sorts of new things but the novelty wore off quickly and I missed having people around.  An introvert by nature I’m ok with people around but I don’t have to always talk….maybe that’s why when I worked on campus the majority of my free time was spent in the library …lots of people with little to no talking.

Out of this came an intense desire to read my Bible and to read Christian authors……these people quite literally became my friends.   Then came mommyhood…four kids  = a lot more noise,, a hubby in full time ministry and at times full time school! and not a lot of friends. A year ago it struck me….these people ARE my friends, I may not have ever met them in real life, but we have an eternity for all that.   A book idea that day was born , and from there came my blog post ideas.   So here’s how this is going to work each Wednesday I’m going to do a blog post.   It will be a person from the Bible or a person from church History.   In the post I will write them a letter (just like the old days).  I will share bits and pieces of my life with them, ask them about theirs , and ask for advice.  When the book is eventually ready  (like a gazillion years from now) the letter will appear first thing in each chapter and then I will write the rest of the chapter about that person, what their lives were like, how they might have or did struggle and how we can relate in today’s culture with these future BFF’s

Basically I’m inviting you into my devotions and Bible Studay as I have Coffee With Friends!

So now it’s your turn…..

If you could have coffee with any one person in the Bible or in church history, who would it be?   What would you ask them? or how do you identify with them?

(To get the conversation rolling and your wheels turning I asked this same question of my facebook friends.   My friend Katie W. Had my favorite response…. She would like to talk to Daniel’s parents and ask them for parenting advice.   ISNT THAT AMAZING).  So here’s your chance!  Go!

Ministry In Marriage &Motherhood- Introduction

Posted on by Mary

Back almost 12 years ago I was newly married.  Hubby was working full time and in seminary full time.  I was working full time and signed up for a free class (a perk of being married to a full time student).  I already had  received my bachelors degree a few months earlier so basically I wanted to fill up some blank time in the evenings.  I perused my options and I kept being drawn to a class entitled “Ministry In Marriage and Motherhood”.  The first night I knew I had made the right choice!

Was the class easy?

Yes and no!

Was it fun?

99% of the time.

It stretched me. I grew leaps and bounds.  And the other day as we were cleaning out a closet I stumbled upon the notebook for the class.  I felt inspired to devote one blog post a week to what it means to be in ministry to my husband and children.  Because let’s be honest if I’m not taking care of this ministry all else is in vain.   I have learned so much in the nearly 12 years since that class! So what do you say?  Won’t you join me as we explore what it means to minister to our families?

 

Family Fun on Fridays- Fun Found at Home

Posted on by Mary

We have a tight budget. AND THAT’S OK!

It forces me to be creative and crafty.  I like to be creative and crafty., so naturally Pinterest and I are the best of friends!

I’ve seen this on Pinterest HOWEVER  a friend of ours shared it on FB, and I decided that TONIGHT IS THE IGHT!  

So Do you want to know what is on the docket tonight for Family night?

2 Ingredient Cloud Dough (also known as Moon Dough)

The ingredients are

Baby oil and Flour…yep That’s it! ALL stuff I have right at home!

Cloud dough is a great calming sensory play idea….not just for special needs kids, but for all kids….even the BIGGEST OF KIDS!   (Hubby and I might have gotten distracted by some at the craft store last week…for a good amount of time, playing with similar Stuff)

Check out this Super Simple recipe here 

 

 

AND CAN I just say that it smells SOOOOOO  NICE !

Have you made Cloud dough….or anything similare?   Share in the comments!

Blessings

Blogging Within My Mission

Posted on by Mary

Hi all,

So it’s been no secret that I have not been around much. Life has been busy and I wear so very many hats!  And sometimes I have to throw off all my other hats in order to take care of a hat that grows exceptionally heavy…..usually it’s the one with a husband, four kids and a house crammed inside of it.

And over the last year or so I have become increasingly uncomfortable with all the…”this is how you should blog”. And the “you aren’t doing things right”. Critics out there.   I also have a lot of personal critics in my life wondering “why do you waste your time doing that” and “How can you possibly have time for all that you do?”   And to be completely honest I think that Satan has used those critics to spread seeds of doubt, and frankly I have come to the realization that I was letting him!    

Did I whine and complain….maybe on the inside a little convincing myself that I had nothing anybody wanted to hear.   And everywhere you turn, people are oh so concerned about numbers……numbers!  Ugh, I’ve always hated Math! It’s a necessary evil in my mind!   Anyway, over the last 8 months I have spent A LOT of time reading and praying.   And while we were on vacation in July , I stole away a few times and focused on me.  Ways to better me.  And one of those things that I did was write my own personal mission statement.

Each year I write out goals but rarely if ever meet them.  I pick books based on areas of my life in which I desire to grow…..along with knowing I will review some as well. I choose them according to the areas that are focus points in my life.  I then also choose fiction that maybe I either missed out on in school or something that strikes my fancy! (No none of them are Romance novels….ICK)

So I wrote this Mission statement….

It is my mission to live my life with the sole purpose to give God the glory in everything I say and do-to abide in Christ, to grow in my daily walk with Him.

 It’s nothing fancy and I know it’s not short and sweet like five words or less BUT IT WORKS FOR ME.

I then added action statements for each of my main focus area in my life.  These areas include

  • My Daily walk with God…it’s a relationship and like any good fruitful relationship it takes nurturing.
  • My hubby….I love him dearly
  • The munchkins…yep four smiling, funny, keep me on my toes munchkins!
  • My home…..I want it to be a safe haven for all who cross it’s threshold .
  • My ministry….which is 2 fold, the people of our church, and my readers here on my blog!
Here is what my action statement under Ministry says
To intentionally challenge fellow women who love Jesus to grow deeper in their walk with God.  To speak truth in love and encourage women to be bold in their faith.

The Better Mom Monday-The Gum Ball Machine Gamble

Posted on by Mary

A few short weeks ago before school started we found ourselves in a grocery store.  This trip held a different tone , one of sheer excitement. For our 6 1/2 year old special needs son.  Hubby and I…..not so thrilled, you see our son had gotten this “passion”.   It was a passion to earn Money…how much?   50¢. Yep That’s it. Two quarters was just enough to get him something tiny (he has a thing for ALL things tiny). And a few weeks prior he had spotted something that bears all things tiny…..GUMBALL MACHINES!  

Now hubby and I aren’t fans for 1 major reason and lots of other smaller reasons.  But the 1 big reason…

It’s all JUNK!   Everything you get breaks easily. We believe that you should save your money for something worthwhile.   Something you really want that is great quality!   BUT as is the case with most kids like  our son, they obsess, and obsess, and obsess some more…..and sometimes we break, we go against our better judgement and we cave, because we can’t reason with him until….he learns a lesson….the hard way.

GUMBALL machines advertise the best case scenario On their fronts but in reality there’s a lot of silly stuff with the best of junk hidden in there somewhere.  So we made a bee-line right for the machines. (We had spent a better part of a week explaining why we didn’t think it was a good idea) He knew exactly which one he wanted.  It advertised little tiny men (go figure…his favorite).  But this is what he got…..

Do you, my friends, know what that is?

Tha,  my dear readers would be a hair extension….for a DOLL!

What ensued next was not pleasant to say the least.  I handed it to ladybug and he began to bawl.  Tears of lament.

Did we give him another two quarters to “try again”?   Nope that wasn’t going to happen.  God had just handed us the perfect teaching moment.  We got to teach not one, not two, but all four kiddos about gambling.  There was no guarantee he was going to get what he wanted.  And in this world we live in all those 50¢ adds up pretty quick.  He sobbed the entire time we were at the store!  He lamented the loss of his hard earned money.   (That was his biggest concern ” BUT I WORKED SO HARD”)

Did people stare?  Of course (people are rude like that)

Did some people think he was spoiled?  Probably (some people are just that arrogant)

Did some people think we were being mean or just too hard on him?  More than likely ( but those people didn’t watch him EARN the money back when we got home)

He learned a lesson, (unfortunately the hard way).  But now since then he is fast approaching the $5 dollar mark.  He is working towards a pull string Woody (from Toy Story). He’s been asking for him (and Jessie) for over a year now.  They went on clearance a few weeks ago and we scooped them up for his upcoming birthday.   

A few days after the GUMBALL machine fiasco he came to hubby and asked if he could save  towards the Woody (which he has no clue sits a whopping 5 feet from his bedroom door).  We said yes.  Some days he is more diligent than others, but he is working towards a great reward one quarter at a time.   He learned a valuable lesson.  He grew as a person.  He learned the value of working hard and then loosing it on a silly piece of hair.  Yep it was painful.

For him. AND for us ( I hated watching his little heart break). But it was all worth it.  Because now he understands that we shouldn’t waste the money God has blessed us with on things that are a gamble!