Monday, May 30, 2011

Joplin, MO

Joplin, MO needs you to pray, volunteer, donate, or do anything you can do to help.
These people have not just lost their homes, belongings, jobs, vehicles, and city but also, specifically, their mothers, fathers, husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, grandparents, children and babies. Entire families. They are trying to salvage and rebuild their lives and that is hard enough, but they are functioning during their grief and that is next to impossible.
Joplin, MO needs your help. They don't need your kind thoughts. Your thoughts are not with them. The people of Joplin need money, help, prayer, and love. They need it in the physical form. They need everything they can get and they need it from you.
Please visit Convoy of Hope or James River Assembly's Joplin Tornado Relief Effort to find out how you can do your part.

Divorce Awareness Month: Part Last

To end this month I want to clarify that I have come to this belief (against divorce) not from a place of superiority or with a judgemental heart. I come as someone who has seen divorce up close and from a few different angles.
My first experience with divorce was as a 16 year old high school-er who believed in happily ever after. My family had it all, not in matters of wealth though we weren't poor. My mom loved and adored my dad. I am the middle of three kids who also loved and adored our dad. He, evidently, did not have so much love and adoration in his own heart for our family. That was something that kicked us in the gut a few minutes before he drove away. The experience rocked my world in a way that I hope to never be rocked again. My life went down hill for 5 to 7 years from that night, life after divorce isn't pretty. I have never seen someone walk away from the scene un-scathed. My family suffered, and seems still to be suffering, in many ways. Our entire church was shaken right down to the youth group that was every bit a part of our family as I was. Wounds are still healing, wounds are still bleeding, tears are still. being. shed. There is no easy fix, there are no magic words, there's no right way to recover and no correct time frame to recover in. Divorce sucks, it just plain sucks. It sucks the life right out of those it takes down with the marriage it rips apart.
My next big experience with divorce was that of my own. The entire marriage was a joke from the beginning. After we married I found out that I didn't even know the guy's actual age, if you can believe that. There was a fake id and altered birth certificate involved, and for what? Some stupid lie to maintain, some idea to live up to. The problems in that marriage were as much my own fault as his though; I walked into that marriage with the belief that I could make it work all by myself. I could make a marriage worth staying in, or something, who knows. But it always take persistence and commitment. Neither of us had that. My one regret about the marriage is that I refused to ask God's direction before I entered into it. I knew He would say no, I knew it was not the right choice, and I refused to listen. I went my own way and followed my own path. That divorce sucked too.

The rest of my experience with divorce is from a step back, my grandparent's divorced when my mom was about 10 years old. My aunt and uncle divorced when I was a little girl and I'll have memories of that for the rest of my life. Another aunt and uncle divorced when I was a little older and I still talk with my cousins about how it affects their lives to this day, twenty years later. I have watched my friends' divorces tear up their children, and themselves. Divorce rips lives apart in such a way that the heart will never forget.

I believe there is a place for divorce although the bible does not advocate, support, or encourage divorce. The bible says that if your spouse has cheated on you, you have a right to a divorce, but not that you must divorce, or even that you should. Sometimes we exercise that right to divorce out of pain, humiliation, agony, or pride. If we look back later, we might realize that the marriage could have been healed and restored with repentance and forgiveness. Don't over look that. God hates divorce (Malachi 2:16), and I believe it's because he sees what a blood bath it is. I always wondered why I didn't die from the pain of my parents divorce. Abandonment by an unsaved spouse is also grounds. I'll tell you that some say that abuse of any kind to spouse or children has been listed under abandonment by some, and that seems right to me, but the bible isn't clear on that and to take liberties with the Word of God is living closer to the edge than I'm willing to go.
Read what this website has to say about it.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Divorce Awareness Month: Love Until You Mean It

I'm not kidding here; Your family is not an option.
It doesn't matter if you like it. I don't care if you're happy or think you could be happy in some other situation.
Happiness is temporary, it fades, it's an emotion. Emotions are fleeting. Stand up and grow up. Commit to your job as a husband or wife, as a father or mother, as a son or daughter, as a brother or sister. Be worthy of the family that loves you, and honor them. Love them until you mean it.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Joplin, Missouri

Tonight, in a town a few miles from my home, a tornado hit hard and took many precious lives. The numbers are still rising, families are still searching, praying, and hoping to find their loved ones somewhere safe.
Tonight I am praying with them, for the those that lost and those that hurt.

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Little Secret

I don't really even like marshmallows. I like to squeeze and squish them, I like to look at them, like to make fondant with them, I love to microwave them and then mix them with peanut butter, and I like to roast them.

But.

Unless they're hot.

I do not like to eat them.


Shhhh.

Friday, May 13, 2011

Divorce Awareness Month: Get Your Act Together.

I bet you wonder what I'm going to say about that, huh. Okay, I'll sum it up for you in case you'd like to roll your eyes and stop reading.
Get out of your pajamas and do your hair and make-up.
Sometimes I find myself doing this as my husband's walking through the door. There are lots of reasons that I am not dressed and ready first thing in the morning. For one thing, I am never up first thing in the morning, and we can call reason number 2 laziness. I do have something better in line for the next reason though, and that is I generally like to do my dirty work before I shower. The dirtiest work ever is cleaning in the garage. I hate to even set foot out there if I don't have shoes on. So I wear my ugliest clothes and my dirtiest hair on garage days and yard work days. Same goes for cleaning bathrooms and mopping though. So, now that all those great reasons for not being properly dressed and fresh are out of the way, lets move on.

Your husband loves you just as you are. He thinks you're pretty. So if you're bald, or one-eyed, or if you have chicken pox, it's okay! No matter what you look like though, you can take a shower and give your husband an attractive wife to hang out with. I know what its like to work all week and look forward to spending the weekend in sweats. It's a nice treat. Don't let it be a habit. Give yourself a limit like one day a month. When you look good, you feel good, and when you feel good... well, every body's happy. Grab some nail polish and shine up your toes, scrub your face, brush your teeth, and get dressed. Make that your habit. Take some time each week to soak in the tub, relax, and feel pretty. Even if you only have 5 mins; a little bit goes a long way. Now, what about the rest of yourself? Do you need to lose some weight? Start taking a walk everyday and quite drinking pop (soda). I am telling you, those two things can change your life. Just Do It!

Guys. You thought I wasn't going to say anything to you, didn't you? Well I do have something to say. Get rid of your holey underwear. We gals aren't the "visual" types in general but somethings just gotta go. That's all I'm going to say since I don't have a lot of experience in your department. Maybe I'll have my Captain America do a guest post.

There's more.

This one is big.

The most important thing about yourself.

Get yourself together on the inside.

Pray. Every. Single. Day.

I am not talking about "Now I lay me down to sleep" kind of praying either. You know in your heart who you are. If who you are inside isn't good, isn't pretty, isn't even nice, then you know it. Sister I am telling you that who you are and your relationship with God is the number one thing you can change. That change will make the number one difference in your life and your marriage. Be honest with yourself and with God, and ask God to make you beautiful. On the inside. Who you are on the inside is the best gift you can give your husband, your children, and your family, but mostly yourself. If you have your life together and everything looks perfect on the outside but you find yourself talking bad about your friends (or with your friends), being snide and caustic, or holding on to a nasty attitude, then you need to fix it. Close your door, open your bible, and start cleaning up your act.

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Happy Birthday to Marshmellow Day!

It's Marshmellow Day's 1 year birthday? Happy Birthday to me, ...or you, ...or whatever!

Interesting, isn't it, that my first post was about cake?

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Divorce Awareness Month and Your Children

Here's a great song that my little brother introduced me to. His little girls helped him sing it at their church.




Here are some links and lyrics to a couple of really great (maybe a little hokey) songs to make you think.

Broken Pieces, By: Steve and Annie Chapman. I used to listen to it as a child, never knowing that the pain caused by divorce would one day invade and destroy my life. It's a pretty old song and I can't find the lyrics online so I'll write them out for you soon.

Here's another song by the same couple. It's called
Daddy Please Find a Reason

My wife and I used to fight a lot - not anymore
Since the night we found our little boy standing in our door
He over heard me saying “ I can’t find a reason to stay"
But on my way out, I kissed him goodbye that’s when I heard him say

Daddy please find a reason to stay with my mama
We both love you daddy please don’t leave
And if you cant find a reason daddy,
I wouldn’t mind if you want that reason to be me.

Well it must have been the Lord that night
speaking through my child cause I cant begin to tell you
all the good things God has done
His precious love brought healing and I fell in love with my wife
that’s been a long long time ago and our love is still alive
Thank you Lord, Thank you ..

Monday, May 2, 2011

Starstruck? Yes!

My little cold has almost passed. Maybe it was allergies, I just have no idea. Thank God. Today has been clear and yesterday was really good too! What I came here to tell you about is not my cold though.

I had a chance to see Candace Cameron (DJ Tanner from Full House) speak Friday night and to be honest I wasn't expecting great things. I figured she would give us her childhood celebrity story and we would all be in awe of her stardom but SHE was amazing! From head to toe incredible! Take a look at her website, read her testimoy, and watch the interview! Candace is an amazing amazing woman! It was an honor to listen to her speak and to get to know her family through her amazing story.