Camp Time!

We leave this morning packed and excited about teen camp. We will return Friday dirty and exhausted.

Of course, the camp we are going to does have wireless internet so we will try to keep you posted on our exciting activities!

Pray for safety and good weather! Pray for the teens to listen to the Word spoken and make some good decisions.

Thursday Thoughts

Why is it that one time you love your haircut from your hairstylist and the next time she gives you a mullet?

Why is it that a man can play a video game that requires him to use six different buttons to jump, shoot, duck and switch weapons, but he can't watch TV and fold laundry at the same time?

I'm so stunned I can't think of a title

I like Tar-jay as much as the next girl, but this is a little ridiculous.

The Happy Graduate

Congratulations to our daughter Susannah on a job well done.

And congratulations to me for not having to drive her to school every morning! Here's to sleeping till 8!

First Song That I Sing

Here's a shout out to my friend Kim. We talked today about how we need to focus on the Lord before we even get out of bed and it made me think of this song by Sara Groves. Maybe my computer savvy husband will add a link later.

First Song That I Sing

In the morning when I rise
Help me to prioritize
All the thoughts that fill my day
Before my schedule
Tells me that my day is full
Before I'm off and on my way

I want to praise you
I need to praise you
Let the first song that I sing Be praises to my God and king

Before the curtains part
Before my day is starting
Before I make up the bed
Before the snooze alarm
Reminds me that it's morning
Before the dreams have left my head

I want to praise you
I need to praise you
Let the first song that I sing Be praises to my God and king

Before my feet hit the floor
I'll praise you Lord, I'll praise you Lord
Before I fill my cup I'll lift you up, I'll lift you up
Before I start my day I'll sing your praise, I'll sing your praise

Before I start my car
Before I get too far
I want to praise you
I need to praise you Lord
Let the first song that I sing Be praise to my God and king

The Little Red-Headed Girl

I met a little girl back in 1996. She was going into third grade and she had red hair. That little girl was in my class that year. Her name was Jessica. She was one of those students that you don't forget. One, because she was so cute and two, she was the perfect student. She wasn't the smartest or the fastest or the most athletic. That's not what made her special. It was that little spark in her eye. It was the way she always tried to do her best. She raised her hand for every question even if she didn't know the answer. She colored and cut and worked hard all year. That was the last year I taught third grade. The next year I had my own little pupil at home to teach.

The Lord in His goodness saw fit to cross our paths again when we joined Community Baptist Church. For five years Larry and I have watched this little girl grow into a beautiful woman. She is stunning. Not only because of her outward gorgeousness, but because of her love for Christ and others. When we began our church the youth group was just the three of us sitting around a table. There are not many 8th grade girls that are able to forget themselves and welcome a visiting teen to her church, even if that new teen is a boy. But Jessica did that week after week until some of those teens stayed. And one of the big reasons they stayed is because of her.

And now she is the one leaving. And we are sad and happy at the same time. Sad, because we will miss her, but happy to see her continue to grow and follow her Lord.

She still has that something special that makes her stand out. That little extra spark.

Or maybe it's just be the red hair.

It's Not A Cult . . . much.

My Little Surfer Girl

We took the kids to the beach for memorial day and Claire really took to the waves. It was like she has been surfing for years! I guess it's in her blood.

iCryptex

Check out www.icryptex.com for really funny spoof. If you're not familiar with the premise of The DaVinci Code or if you're not aware of the cult-like following held by Apple, then the spoof may be lost on you. I found it to be quite rich and pretty hilarious for just one page. I wonder if Steve Jobs has an albino monk running around doing his bidding!

Would you like a shake with that?

Wow. A fry holder. Who would have thought?

Honk Honk Beep Beep

Why is it when the doctors had to cut my first child out of me because her heart beat was dropping I calmly agreed? Why is it when my child turned blue with a fever of 105 degrees I calmly took her to the hospital? When the baby fell and smashed her nose flat and it immediately turned blue I calmly got a bag of ice and called the doctor. I was calm when my van was burguralized.

But ... When I come out the grocery store and my key fob doesn't unlock the car and I use my key to open the door which sets off the alarm when I start the van I freak out. The horn keeps beeping and I start to panic because the key thing isn't working and that is the only way I know to turn off the alarm. And my ice cream is melting. The kids think it is funny that the horn continues to beep. I'm more upset that my ice cream is melting.

I finally pull it together, shut the car off and go back into the store to buy a battery for the alarm button thingy praying that it works or we are going to have to drive home with the horn beeping all the way.

I thought to myself as I was changing that battery why is it so hard to trust God with the little insignificant things that interrupt our day. If I can trust Him with the "big things" why can't I remember that He is in control of everything?

Even batteries and car alarms.

Re: PLEEEEEEASE REEEEEAD! IT WAS ON GOOD MORNING AMERICA

I got a forwarded email from a family member this morning with the above subject line. I had seen the email before. It promises that internet users can receive a cash reward for forwarding messages to test a Microsoft/AOL e-mail tracking system. You know something is up when the thing says 73 times in three paragraphs that "really, this is true, trust me. I know about these things." I pointed them to Snopes.com for the history of that old email hoax.

It made me think about the old adage, "It if sounds too good to be true, then it probably is." It is a very good rule of thumb on the internet and in email. In fact, I've only found a few exceptions to that rule in my lifetime. :-) Here are a few of them:

1. Salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone
2. My wife loves me and actually chose to marry me!
3. My three daughters
4. Community Baptist Church
5. www.freeipods.com (I actually got one!)
6. Coffee News

There are a few more but a sweet deal from Bill Gates for forwarding an email is not one of them. :-)

Happy Birthday Larry!

34 things I like about Larry in honor of his 34th birthday.

1. His faithfulness to God
2. His faithfulness to his family
3. His dimples
4. His skateboarding abilities
5. How everyone loves him
6. How he acts like he is everyone's friend
7. That he likes everyone
8. He likes to play games
9. His taste in clothes
10. His positive attitude
11. His ability to make me laugh even when I am upset
12. He's funny
13. His patience with our children
14. That he teaches his daughters how to mow the lawn
15. His sweet computer skills
16. That he is willing to help me with my computer skills
17. He loves Apple computers
18. He never says a bad word about anyone. EVER.
19. The way he organizes his closet
20. The way he sleeps perfectly flat with the covers over his head
21. He does the laundry
22. He does the dishes
23. He always leaves the pots for me to wash
24. He has never yelled at me
25. His buddah belly
26. He is always ready to have fun
27. He can never remember anyone's name
28. He buys me chocolate just because
29. He still sends me flowers
30. He makes a conscience effort to spend time alone with each of our daughters
31. He likes strawberry rhubarb pie
32. He lets me put food I don't like on his plate
33. He thinks I'm funny
34. He knows when to talk and when to shut up

Must See TV

The New Apple Ads had me cracking up. PC users, proceed with caution.

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.