picture perfect

two and a half hours of picture taking yesterday...
ten tear-stained, runny nosed, devil eyed, evil grinned poses
one sweet smiled, innocent eyed angelic pose
i bought 10 out of 11 poses. fact over fiction.

home sweet home

nothing better than being home. our own wonderfully messy,
fantastically unorganized,
brilliantly cluttered home.
oh, how i missed it.

turkey delight

yummiest of all days...
everything was better than turkish delight!

mud pies

i read this yesterday in my book a year with c.s.lewis, and wanted to share it with you all. it's scrumptious.

"the new testament has a lot to say about self-denial. nearly every description of what we shall ultimately find if we do so contains an appeal to desire. if there lurks in most modren minds the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly to hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, i submit that this notion has crept in from kant and stocics and is no part of the christian faith. indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that the Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. we are half-hearted creatures when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum b/c he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. we are far too easily pleased."

it's our brady house

dave and vicky moved into their house yesterday. both closings occurred with hiccups, but at least they occurred. megan and aaron really like the orange and blue kitchen (orange, blue and green floor tiles, orange countertops and walls, and the 1970's favorite, orange and green ceiling tiles.) the rest of the house follows the same color scheme. the palm tree wallpaper is also a '70's flashback. (definately a keeper.) but as v puts it, "it's our brady house." and that, afterall, is all that matters.

home is heaven's reflection. hopefully, it will be a little less orange in the years to come.

praise you in this storm

i was sure by now that you would have reached down and wiped our tears away
stepped in and saved the day
but once again i say "amen"
and it's still raining

as the thunder rolls
i barely hear you whisper through the rain
"i am with you"
and as your mercy falls
i raise my hands and praise the God who gives and takes away

i'll praise you in this storm and i will lift my hands
for you are who you are no matter where i am
every tear i've cried you hold in your hand
you never left my side
and though my heart is torn i will praise you in this storm

i remember when i stumbled in the wind
you heard my cry
you raised me up again
my strength is almost gone
how can i carry on if i can't find you

i lift my eyes unto the hills
where does my strength come from?
my help comes from the Lord the maker of heaven and earth

casting crowns

therefore we do not lose heart. though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. for our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. so we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. for what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 cor 4:16-18

well done

tomorrow dave and vicky are set to close on their old house (that God miraculously sold) and the new house (that God miraculously provided). God has been good to them even when His church has failed to be good and faithful. perhaps d and v are there in order to turn that church upside-down for Jesus. one day we'll know for sure why God has allowed all their hardships and struggles, but amidst all adversity they've been faithful. one day they will receive the greatest reward- "well done."

little cloud

snow's falling in indy thanks to emmy. her wish came true. i asked her if she wished on little star for snow and she said, "no, i wished on little cloud." well, that makes sense. snow comes from the clouds not stars.

wet feet

today's sermon was about stepping out on faith. interesting how that keeps coming up, huh? n- actually filled me in on this one since i was in with the kids. pastor spoke on the miracle parting of the jordan river. he focused on the fact that the river didn't part until the priest stepped in. they had to get their feet wet. the God of miracles wants me to step out into the river and dare to ask for miracles too.

classroom blues

last night we took emmy to an open house at heritage. emmy's response: " it was not beautiful. (n- and i had been discussing the facilities.) and it's boring."
i asked, "what did you think about the art room?"
"it's boring", she replied.
"what about the music room?"
response - "it's boring."
"what about the computer lab?" i questioned
"it was good." finally a positive answer from our woe-be-gone four year old.
what about the library?
"it was good too." two in a row...
"what about the K5 classroom?"
my luck ran out with this one. " it's boring."
the gym also struck out.

her continued solution to our "where should we send em to school dilema" - "i'll go to mommy's school."

to be continued...

all lines are busy, please continue holding

annoyed
disconnected twice
the fourth person finally comprehended my question
still annoyed
finished

tagged but 23 less

ghost'sword tagged me, but i haven't been blogging long enough to have 23 enteries. so i decided to pick one and use the 5th sentence.

from watch out isaac newton here comes maddie...
it's fabulous being the mother of the brightest kids in the room.

i'm a proud "ma" (as maddie calls me), so this sentence did describe me well.

also, i don't even have "token" taggees b/c elea & christy are my blogging buddies, so this is the chink in the chain...

popcorn

on sunday morning around 3:am a horrible storm rolled through indy. the wind howled, the rain thrashed, thunder crashed, and hailed danced around the house. n- went in to emmy's room to check on her and she declared that the storm sounded like popcorn. and indeed it did. our little shakespeare using simile. a mother couldn't be more proud. :-)

later sunday afternoon she set up all her cat figures and said,"they are going to the theater" i asked "what play are they going to see?" she responded, "knockdown." appearently, the stage was her slide, and she was the actor who (according to the script) would slide and knockdown the audience. wouldn't want to be in that peanut gallery. once again, a mother couldn't be more proud.

voice of truth

be not afraid neither be dismayed for i am with thee...

oh what i would do to have the faith it takes to climb
out of this boat i'm in on to the crashing waves
to step out of my comfort zone into the realm of the unknown
where jesus is
and he's holding out his hand

but the waves are calling out to me and they laugh at me
reminding me of all the times i've tried before and failed
the waves they keep on telling me time and time again
"boy you'll never win. you'll never win"

but the voice of truth tells me a different story
the voice of truth says "do not be afraid"
the the voice of truth says "this is for my glory"
out of all the voices calling out to me
i will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth.

oh what i would do to have the strength to stand before a giant
with just a sling and a stone
surrounded by the sound of a thousand warriors
wishing they'd have had strength to stand

but the giant's calling out my name and he laughs at me
reminding me of all the times i've tried before and failed
the giant keeps on telling me time and time again
"boy, you'll never win. you'll never win"

but the voice of truth tells me a different story
the voice of truth says "do not be afraid"
the voice of truth says "this is for my glory"
out of all the voices calling out to me
i will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

but the stone was just the right size to put the giant on the ground
and the waves they don't seem so high on top of them looking down
i will soar with the wings of eagles
when i stop and listen to the voice of Jesus singing over me

i will listen and believe
i will listen and believe the voice of truth
i will listen and believe
cause Jesus you are the voice of truth
i will listen to you

casting crowns

elea, these are the lyrics to the song i mentioned last night. we'll send you the file later, but n- wants me to call before we send it to avoid bogging down your email.

dive

to my dearest friends who are leaping:

the long awaited rains have fallen hard on the thristy ground
and carved their way to where to wild and rushing river can be found
and like the rains i have been carried here to where the river flows
my heart is rushing and my knees are weak as i walk to the edge
i know there is no turning back once my feet have left the ledge
and in the rush i hear a voice that's telling me it's time to take a leap of faith
so here i go

i'm diving in
i'm going deep in over my head
i want to be caught in the rush
lost in the flow
in over my head i want to go
the river's deep
the river's wide
the river's water is alive
so sink or swim
i'm diving in

there is a supernatural power in this might river's flow
it can bring the dead to life and it can fill the empty soul
and give the heart the only thing worth living and worth dying for
but we will never know the awesome power of the grace of God
until we let ourselves get swept away into this holy flood
so if you'll take my hand we'll close our eyes and count to three
and take the leap of faith
come on let's go...

steven curtis chapman - dive

i kneel before the father. i pray that out of his glorious riches he may
strengthen you with power through his spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, and i pray that you being rooted and established in love, may have power to grasp, how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
now to him that is able to do immeasureably more than all we can ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory... eph 3:14-20

house of cards

"God has not been trying an experiment on my faith or love in order to find out their quality. he knew it already. it was i who didn't. in this trial he makes us occupy the dock, the witness box, and the bench all at once. he always knew that my temple was a house of cards. his only way of making me realize the fact was to knock it down. "
c.s. lewis a grief observed
God doesn't need to send trials my way for his sake, he does it for my sake. he does it so i can see my flaws as he sees them. he does this not to break my will or destroy me, but to mold me into a vessel "fit for the master's use." he knocks down my "house of cards" because he loves me. he builds again.

watch out isaac newton, here comes maddie

our littlest einstein learned a new scientific concept today - gravity. as her ball crashes to the earth she shouts "gravity". she's been doing this on and off all day. (emmy learned this trick at about the same age, but she liked to demonstrate gravity using fries.) it's fabulous being the mother of the brightest kids in the room. :-) woo hoo!!!

current read

i'm currently reading the life you've always wanted by john ortberg. it has actually bought me to tears as it describes my life. (as you know that is a pretty difficult feat.) it is a study of the spiritual disciplines related to ordinary people. and as a bonus john quotes our dear friend c.s. lewis often.

Jesus Jesus Jesus

maddie made up a new dance this week. it's her Jesus dance. she runs in a circle around the room with her arms raised to the heavens singing Jesus, Jesus, Jesus High. true joyous praise and love to her Jesus.

suffer the little children to come unto me and forbid them not, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

refrigerators and apples

years ago (in college) my aunt helen wrote me a letter with two stories seperate stories about child-like faith and i want to share them with my dearest friends b/c God keeps reminding me of these stories.
my aunt and uncle had very little money when their children were young, so when the refrigerator broke down they weren't sure what to do. they couldn't afford a new one; they could afford a repair man; they couldn't afford to buy all new food. my aunt was in tears and their little boy, Mike said, "why don't we ask God to fix it?" being a good mom and sunday school teacher she said o.k., hardly believing anything would come of it, but she had to pray b/c her 6 year old suggested it. Mike, his younger brother, jim, and my aunt knelt before the fridge and asked God to fix it. upon the final amen the motor roared. the fidge lasted for years after God fixed it.

she also wrote about another time her children taught her a lesson in faith. the boys wanted her to make an apple pie. she advised them that she had no extra money that week to buy apples. the boys prayed for apples on the way to the store. they left the store without any apples. God rained apples on them on the way home, however. A truck lost a crate of apples and there were apples everywhere. it was such a little thing and it taught those boys (and me) that God cares about the littlest detail and desire of our lives. it's not just an apple to God.

c.s.lewis said, "lay before him what is in us, not what ought to be in us."

praying hard for purple bikes...

breakfast of champions

eggo waffles and airheads - what more can you want when you're two and four.