Stop Thief!

Maybe I am a little naive. Maybe I believe in the goodness of man kind a little too much. Oh, wait. That's right. We are all filthy rotten sinners. This was hit home to me on Wednesday night. Literally. Except it wasn't me that was hit, it was my van.

I came out of youth group Wednesday night to find my van driver's side window smashed to pieces. At first it didn't register in my brain what all that green shiny stuff on my seat was. Then I looked up and saw the hole in the window and my heart sank. My purse was my first thought. I left my purse in here. We were late getting to church and I was carrying in snacks for the teens and trying to herd three kids into the building and I forgot my purse.

It was gone.

I never carry cash on me. That night I had the girls allowance in my wallet. A whole twelve dollars. We cancelled all three credit card immediately and contacted the bank.

The punk that stole my purse was probably ticked when all he found was some crayons, a Tide spot remover pen, some lip gloss and hand cream. He broke into a mini-van with little fingerprints all over the windows. What did he expect?

Claire was the most upset that her allowance was stolen. She asked me why did God let this happen? It was a good chance to teach her that God is in control. I also expained to her that we are all sinners. We all disobey God, but sometimes our disobedience hurts other people.

It worked out for the best because we already had a crack in the front window shield for about a year and we kept putting off getting it fixed. We had both windows fixed this afternoon and all is well.

I just want my favorite purse back!

Spring cleaning part one

The school closet at the end of the year. Yikes!


The clean closet. I categorized, containerized and condensed. Always clean it before school ends or it'll be waiting for you in the fall.

This is what the kids did while I was cleaning the closet. We found the t-shirts buried somewhere in there.

The Stars Wars shirt is Claire's and Emma made one with flowers. Susannah was already off wearing hers.


It's amazing all the cool stuff you can find hidden under that pile of junk!

Tomorrow's goal... the school room book shelf.

Before the Throne

We sang this song at Church yesterday. I love the words to it and I especially like it when our church sings it. Everyone seems to sing the last verse as loud as they can. It is really beautiful.

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea.
A great high Priest whose Name is Love
Who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on His hands,
My name is written on His heart.
I know that while in Heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart.

When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free.
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.

Behold Him there the risen Lamb,
My perfect spotless righteousness,
The great unchangeable I AM,
King of glory and of grace,
One in Himself I cannot die.
My soul is purchased by His blood,
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ my Savior and my God!

Charitie Bancroft

I'm Smellin' Coffee

My husband brought home a free bag of this today. I know some of you think Starbucks Coffee tastes like an ashtray and your addicted to coffee that comes packaged in pretty colors like orange and pink, but you know what they say, "If it's free, it's for me."

Go get your free bag today. Or at least pick one up for me.

A Shirt a Day, Keeps Abortion Away

I became aware of a very well done pro-life website today. It's called Abort73.com. It is as tasteful as imaginably possible considering the topic and I thought it would be a great educational resource for teens and their families. It also has the presentation of the gospel as it's ultimate objective. It is a great example of what I am trying to instill in our teens. I regularly challenge them to find ways to connect with the culture around them for the mission God has given us. Finding ways to demonstrate that the Good News of Jesus Christ is the answer to all the social issues we face is great way for young people to carryout the mission (The Great Commission) God has given us.

They have this really great program called A Shirt A Day that high schoolers can participate in to raise awareness among their peers and possibly provide opportunities for them to share the Good News. We have done a few similar T-Shirts already (CBC Logo shirts and the High Impact Color Blind shirt). It seemed to me that it could be a good opportunity for teens to shine as a light in the place where God has put them.

Clean up in Aisle Three

Why is it that as soon as I walk into a grocery store my mind goes completely blank. I can't even remember why I came to the store in the first place. It is like I have sensory overload. I.. can't.... process... this.. much. I try writing a list. I forget it in the van half of the time. And if I don't forget the grocery list I forget the empty pop bottles to return.

I like taking Larry to the grocery store with me. He is so nice. He smiles at the other shoppers and talks to the cashier. He makes small talk with the little old men. He takes his time and isn't ever in a hurry. He reminds me that there are other people in this world. People I should be kind to.

I have more of the commando technique. Maybe my mind isn't going blank. It is in battle mode. Must..get..pork..on...sale..in ..aisle..three.

It's hard to keep it all straight in my mind and not run over that lady with my shopping cart.

Where Have I Been?

What could be keeping me away from the blogging you ask? Real Life! My Mom and dad have been here in Chilly Michigan visiting for three weeks. We have had lots of good times and accomplished a lot of work. Here is a quick review of our crazy times.

The girls and I went on a tour of the Morely Candy Factory. It was nothing like Willy Wonka's so it was a little disappointing. They did get candy so all was not lost.

It was a week of hair cuts starting with Emma and Larry.

He may edit this after he sees this picture.

We also went to a Servant's Retreat with our Church. We had a great time. The Pastor gave details about when we may start construction on a building. It was very exciting!

Here is Larry with a couple of Leprechauns on St. Patrick's Day. It was his lucky day.

More Updates

The haircuts continued with Claire chopping off about 8 inches.


We had to have a little fun so we spent one day at Great Lakes Crossing. We shopped and played at Jeepers.

Now for a little work. We cleared out the girls room and Dad painted it.


The finished project.

Finally

We got a little crazy with the paint and decided to paint the kitchen (which was a sunny yellow) to a dark red. Let's play how many coats does it take to cover yellow with red. The winner gets to come paint one more coat! Ugh! My poor Dad! He said it was the hardest paint job he has ever done. He still did a great job. And no, he doesn't hire out. At least not yet.

It was a jam packed three weeks. I left out a wedding, a sickness, buying another area for coffee news and a yard work day among other things. Hopefully my parents will come back. Good thing they just bought a house here!