Stew, snow and soup

Hello all! Tonight, I am making a treat! Beef stew made with VENISON! It is the perfect night to do it, as my husband (who despises venison) will not be home for dinner, but Adam's friend Josh (who LOVES it) is staying over for dinner. Yum!


So... a couple days ago, it was sunny, warm and 65 degrees. This morning, we woke up to this....
It just doesn't seem fair. But who said life is fair? I'm ready for SUMMER.
Last night, we had our annual soup and bread fellowship at church, which was wonderful as usual. We always begin with communion, and last night, it was a very powerful and intimate time of communion with the Lord. And the fellowship with the body of Christ over soup and bread was precious as usual.

I am home from work for the next couple of days, as my boys have no school due to parent/teacher conferences. It is nice spending time with them. :)
Well, time to tend to the stew. Be blessed, all!

Everybody sing!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE BEST PASTOR IN THE WOR-R-R-L-D,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

Hey Pastor, couldn't just let today go by without announcing it to the entire world! Hee hee hee! Hope your day was blessed!

God and Family

Those of you who have been reading my blog from the start know that last year, my older son Adam was awarded the medallion for "God and Me"... a cub scout award that is given in church. Well, this year he is doing the next level, called "God and Family" and it is going to be fun! This program compares families to PIZZA! Yes, pizza. The units are as follows:

1. Crust - Families are like pizza. They need a "crust" or foundation on which everything else is built. The foundation is God's love and faithfulness.
2. Sauce - Families are like pizza sauce... unique! Even following a recipie, it's hard to duplicate a special blend of herbs and spices. Each family has its own unique heritage.
3. Toppings - There is no right or wrong combination! A pizza comes out of the oven with the individual toppings intact... not blended as one. Individual family members are like the toppings, and each has its own unique God given talents and gifts that make the flavor of the family unique!
4. Cheese - Even though you have any combination of toppings, all pizzas have cheese. It adds a layer of unity. The principles of the Word of God are the cheese that makes the family "stick together".
5. Bake - Families are like pizza in that they encounter heat and are tested by the fire of difficult situations. Without heat, a pizza is a loose collection of individual ingredients. Too much heat will burn the pizza. A family that faces problems and tackles them together can be strengthened.
6. Eat, Share, and Enjoy - Pizza is made for a reason: to be eaten and enjoyed. It provides nourishment for our bodies and satisfaction for our hunger. Families are also made for a reason: they provide nourishment for each individual member, both physical and spiritual. Families provide physical necessities, and they also help one another live and grow in the love and grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Families are to share God's love with those around them!

I'm excited about this project, as we are going to get a real pizza box and "create" a pizza of our own through various projects and crafts. It will be cool! It will be a very fun way to "share" the good news of Jesus with others!

A blog that is a MUST READ

Ok... you MUST get over to this new blog I happened upon. This woman has fabulously deep things to say about the Lord. I added her to my blog roll, but it deserves mention here in a post. Go to www.solofide.blogspot.com and be BLESSED!

Sick day advantage

Well... I spent yet another day home with sick children today, and I decided to declare war on the germs! I opened every window in the house! It was extremely windy and c-c-c-cold outside, but I did it anyway. I got the clorox wipes and wiped every surface you can think of in my house... light switches, faucet handles, cupboard knobs, door knobs, computer keyboard, telephones, etc etc etc. I stocked the house with orange juice! I am determined to get the sickness OUT of here before we leave for AZ in 22 days!

Anyway, you should see my house... it looks awesome! It's clean and picked up... the way a house is SUPPOSED to look! I want it to STAY this way. But reality will surely set in...

My hubby is at an EMS instructor's banquet this evening, the boys are in bed, and I am exhausted from cleaning all day. I think I will just head to bed and read. He will probably come home and find the Bible on my face... LOL! Later!

The meaning of life

Ok. I told you however many posts ago that I was going to blog about my pastor's message LAST Sunday morning. It is now Saturday evening and I haven't done it yet. So, I will do my best to sum it up here now.

About 125 people between the ages of 10 and 19 will attempt suicide today. 5-6 of them will succeed. Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death in young people ages 15-24 and the 2nd leading cause of death in college students.

King Solomon, the wisest man ever to live, pondered the meaning of life and found that all is vanity (meaningless), until the final verse of his book Ecclesiastes, which we will get to in a moment.

As human beings, we must have meaning to our lives, or we soon sink into an aimless existence. It is one of the cruelest of conditions to simply exist and yet have no meaning to your life.

The New Testament of the Bible was written in Greek. The Greeks used two different words to describe life:

Bios - which is the biological process of our life... our mere existence here on earth.
Zoe - which goes beyond mere existence and describes life as the absolute fullness of life which belongs to God, destined to last forever.

Now... the Scriptures have a lot to say about this kind of life. Here are just a few...

John 1:4 In Him was LIFE (zoe-life with meaning), and the LIFE (zoe-life with meaning) was the light of men.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have everlasting LIFE (zoe-life with meaning).

The LIFE that Jesus imparts gives meaning to our lives.

John 6:35 Jesus said to them, "I am the Bread of LIFE (zoe-life with meaning).

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the resurrection and the LIFE (zoe-life with meaning). No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 6:63 It is the Spirit who gives LIFE (zoe-life with meaning); the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are LIFE (zoe-life with meaning).

The words of GOD are not just some dead words recorded on the page of an ancient book... they are words that come alive as they enter our being! Have you ever been reading the Bible, and the words seem to jump off the page and minister to you? That is real life... zoe life... life with meaning.

Solomon struggled as he searched for the meaning of his life. He wrote an entire book about the emptiness and worthless-ness of life. But then he wrote the last verse (praise God)! It says, "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments, For this is the whole duty of man." There you have it. Life with real meaning can only be found in a relationship with God. Solomon lived before the day of Jesus Christ. Had he lived in this day, his words would have been, "The meaning of life is Jesus Christ." He is the way, the truth, and the LIFE (zoe-life with meaning). He is the reason for meaning in our lives.

Deer dance, derby cars, and jump rope for heart

Here she is... Miss America! Actually, it's my beautiful niece Meghan in her stunning deer t-shirt. Megs was in a school dance performance Thursday night, and it seemed like the whole world showed up to watch their little ones dance their hearts out! It was so much fun. Here are a few pictures I took.... (Megs is easy to spot... the only one wearing PINK bottoms)!





AND.... not sure if this link will work for you all or not... I hope it does, because my mother-in-law recorded Meghan's whole dance, and it's so fun! Try the link and see....




http://picasaweb.google.com/cartershots/MeghansDanceRecital/photo#5044925260604952194

Other happenings around here... tomorrow is the annual Pinewood Derby! We have to be there at 7am... on a Saturday! That is just wrong. But it will be a ton of fun! The boys have awesome cars this year! I will post pictures after tomorrow's event so you can see their cool cars. ;-) Nick's car is Lightning McQueen, and Adam's car is a sleek looking car that reminds me of the batmobile... and the color is awesome... a shimmery purple/metallic blue combo... very cool!

Adam got a major workout this afternoon. He jumped rope from 3:30-5:00 raising money for the American Heart Association doing "Jump Rope For Heart". Together, they raised over $7,000.00! Adam was sweating and red-faced when he was done, but he had a blast. Between his 1-minute jumps, while his teammates were jumping, instead of resting Adam would get up on stage and do some funky dancing with a couple of his friends! He will sleep WELL tonight!!!!

Well, that is all for now. I have to blog about my pastor's Sunday morning message, but I will do that after the boys are in bed. It was phenomenal! See you soon!