Kitty Pants

Last Friday I taught on Col. 3, which is a great chapter. It talks about Putting off sin, putting on Christ and Reflecting Him in all you do. Visuals are always a great way to help people remember, so I got a great outfit for my illustration. An amazing outfit worn by Jenny Porter for her Kitty character (a character from several church dramas we've done). It consists of bright tye-dyed stretch pants, a lime green shirt and a pink blazer equipped with shoulders pads and all! It's nothing short of amazing! I was trying to decide whether to wear the visual or not and so I was trying it on and in walks Elias. He asks, "Is that a new outfit mom?" "No", I replied. "Oh, well I really like it", he says. He's going to be a great hubby someday! Regardless, I decided I can not get away with wearing this outfit and be taken seriously. Nonetheless I think the viusual on the hanger went over just as well to accomplish the task at hand. I shared with the women how our sin, our old way of life is out of date, it's out of fashion. That Christ has a new wardrobe for us, one that does not go out of style. I want to cast off the sin that so easliy entangles me and brings me down and live the life Christ has created me to live. At the end of Col. 3 Paul challenges us to make sure that all we do can have Christ's name attached to it. When I drive, when I speak, whatever I do I need to make sure I can attach Christ's name to it. Examine your life today and ask God what sin He wants you to put off; and put on Christ.

Zaccaheus was a weee little man!

So, I love my son Elias! For a school assignment he had to do a biography book report and share it with his class. So I thought we'd be sneaky and slip a Bible story in there. We worked hard on it and wrote it as evangelistically (not a word, but it works) as we could. But leave it up to Elias to seal the deal. When I got his report back, I was reading through the comments and at the end it says, "Elias, I liked the song. You were very brave to sing to the class." I ask Elias about it and he tells me, "Yah, mom no one in the class ever sang during their book report so I thought I would sing Zaccahues Was A Weee Little Man". I love the innocence!!! I pray it stays with him...

She lost her tooth!

This morning Ryah informed me that she was going to lose her tooth today and that I had to check it. So, I checked it and didn't really agree with her that it was loose enough to come out today. But she insisted that it was and that it would happen at school. Now why she insisted that it be at school I am not sure, other than in a Kindergartners mind that would surely be the talk of the school it it were to happen. So, as I am driving her to school she tells me that she is going to tell her teacher that her tooth is going to come out today at school. Well... when I picked Ryah up at school sure enough there was her tooth in a baggy. Such determination, I love it! The story behind it was that her and her friends were at recess and that she was talking about her loose tooth and how it needs to come out. So, her friend Haley goes, gets a napkin, and proceeds to pull Ryah's tooth right out of her mouth. That couldn't have been hygenic! Now if you know Ryah, this is truly a Ryah story. Only Ryah would have a friend get a napkin and rip her tooth out. She was so proud, smiling extra BIG to see who would notice. She's in bed now and as I have reflected on the event I feel bad because with your first child the whole tooth loosing thing is such a big deal and you have to call everybody and tell them, with Ryah we barely got a call in to her dad. And to make matters worse I actually contemplated if it was ok for the "tooth fairy" to leave a check! I didn't have cash, but then I realized my name was on the check and even though she can't read her brother can and since it's the first, I made a trip to get some cash. It actaully worked out because I needed some cash to back pay the kids piggy banks from all the money we've "borrowed" for the other "tooth fairys". Congrats Ryah!!!

New Year's Resolutions???

Chris always loves the beginning of a new year, he says it feels like a fresh start. I on the other hand, with my rebellious side, doesn't like the fact that everybody holds off until Jan. 1st to straighten out their life. I mean if you have goals and things you want to change, change them, why wait till Jan1st? So with that said, I don't make New Years Resolutions, but if I did... I want to love on my hubby and kiddos, and show them more of Jesus. I want God to deepen my commitment to Him this year. I don't want to test the endless grace He offers me over and over again. I want to get past myself and to sacrifice a life a comfort so others can know no pain. I want to serve without limits. I want to know God more today than I did yesterday. I want to love without limits. That's what I resolve for this year.

Why do we need vacations to recover from vactions?

The kiddos have been off school the last 2 weeks and I was so looking forward to getting sleep! That didn't happen, needless to say... Christmas was great! We surprised the kiddos with a bengal cat this year that we pre-named Bella (we did this because Chris says kids always pick lame names like sugar or something wierd, so instead he names her Bella, is that really any better? I don't know). Bengal cats are part leopard and they are really cool looking cats with great temperments. She is 9 weeks old and can already scale her way onto the counter tops! The best part is the kids (and maybe Chris and I) fighting over who gets to hold her every second of the day! I would have pics on here but for the second year in a row Chris and I have managed to lose our camera on Christmas day, how does that happen 2 years in a row??? Then we took the kiddos up to Lake Arrowhead for a week. It was beautiful! Snow was everywhere! We went snowboarding for Chris 33rd birthday. We took our boy Elias and he did amazing! I want to take him up there every week just beacuase I think he could become a professional one day! I on the other hand was a little rusty. You see I have this fear of getting hurt! I didn't have that fear last time I went, I don't know what happen to me, but I don't like it! Chris spent a good amount of the time trying to teach me the "proper" way to snowboard, but I think my way is just fine! We also took the kids sledding. Cade, the one who I thought would be whining about the snow, was our wild sled momma! She would sled down these huge hills alone and then drag her sled back up, it was so cute. Then there were boat rides, jacuzzi soaks, game board matches, ping pong competitions, pool competitions, and eating, eating, eating! Anyways after all that craziness I am exhausted! I need some sleep this week!

Christmas story review...

I have been waiting all day to sit down with the 3 munchkins before bed and go through this Christmas in a box story. Now, in my head I am imagining this sweet time with the kids reviewing the glorious story of Christ's birth. Where all of the kids are hanging on every word I say and that each of them share with me in turn the story of Christ's birth, as we reminisce together. Needless to say things didn't go as planned... The girls fought over who opened the box and from there it was fights over who opened the little boxes, who was moving the figures in the nativity, who was touching who, who was tackling who and who could talk louder than mom while I am trying to read the story. Chris says I often envision these lovely moments and more often than not they never end up the way I am thinking. Oh well, I got the story in there. Now at least they know Gabriel wasn't Mary's friend (that was Ryah) and that baby Jesus didn't come to bring us food (that was Cade), by the end they could've lead anyone to Jesus with the gospel story! Take every advantage to pour into your kids that Christmas is the celebration of the life of Christ and not how many presents are under the tree...

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!!!

It's that most wonderful time of the year again... I love Christmas! But, I must admit, I do lose my mind a bit more than usual during this time because of the busyness. Our friends, the Yuen's, had invited us over for dinner and I asked them if they could just come over to our house because the kids have school and it would be easier. She said no problem and that she would bring a pot roast and all I had to do was provide the sides. Fair enough easy for me. That was on Sunday, well Wednesday rolls around and I'm getting my day together and trying to figure out what I shall make for our guests that evening. I decide on spaghetti. So I make a trip to the market, come home and start making my (or should I say Brenda's) homemade sauce. It's 6:00 and the doorbell rings and as I am walking toward the door I can see the Yuen's through the window and they are holding something. I think to myself oh good they brought dessert, I hadn't thought about that. As I get closer and place my hand on the doorknob and we are looking at each other through the window, I realize they are holding a pot roast! In a matter of seconds my brain is processing what to do now. I think should I run to the kitchen and hide the spaghetti dinner I made, and then I realized how awkward that would be to go from holding the doorknob staring at them through the window to running away into my kitchen. So , I decide to face the music. The music, not only that here Nancy had slaved all day over a pot roast that she told me 3 days earlier she would bring, to the fact that at 32 I am losing my mind! I don't know which is worse. Thankfully they are some really great people and went with it! Thank you Yuen's!!! All that to say, I was reading a devotional about Christmas and it was talking about how John 3:16 reads during Christmas time "For God so loved the world that He gave His only forgotten son". It hit me because I am so guilty of getting caught up in the celebration of the season that I forget the very One I am celebrating. In a world that pushes Christ out of Christmas more and more every year, it is our responsibility to make sure that we always pointing back to Him. I went into a store the other day to buy stamps and the lady said, "we only have Christmas stamps, oh I mean holiday stamps. We aren't allowed to Christmas this year, because it has the word Christ in it". I asked her, "isn't that the very one were suppose to be celebrating this year?" She said, "well maybe you are but other people are celebrating something else". "Like what?" I asked. This world has so diminished itself that we are celebrating whatever it is you want to celebrate. Be loud for Christ this Christmas and use every opportunity to share the true reason for celebration this season.