Mom's Birthday

So many beautiful things came my way for my birthday this year!!
The weather was perfect!!  (Thank you, Good Father!)
Lunch was delightful!  (Thank you, my baby!)
Free treats!  (Thank you, Nothing Bundt Cakes!)
Birthday wishes from my students!  (Thank you, GBA!)

A visit from my oldest girl and her beau.....and they brought flowers!
(Thank you Lexi and Eric!!)
My favorite birthday cake EVER!  (Thanks to my Mom!)
Another birthday lunch treat for Italian food!!  (Thanks to my other Mother!)

It was all good and I look around in wonderment at how blessed my life is!!

Thank you, Lord, for another year to serve and love You!!

Class President

Recently, our little homeschool co-op enjoyed a week of learning

about the democratic process of electing the President in our country.

We made this application by electing our very first "class president."

On the first day, we divided up into parties with names of their

own choosing.

They were given the assignment of having a "party caucus"

where they were to decide some new ideas for our class 

and to choose two candidates

from their party which they would vote on the next day during 

their "conventions."

They were then to create some campaign materials for their candidate,

and each candidate was to prepare a speech for the debate.

On our final day, each party voted and we celebrated the winner

with a cookie reception at the end of the day!

We had so much fun and our students can't wait

to go through this process again around spring break (term limits!)

Congratulations to our first class president, Grant Brough!!! 

Order a copy of Is God There

Have you ever asked the question, "Is God really there?" 

 If so, how? 

 "How can I know for sure that God knows who I am

 and really cares about me?"
Now, you can have in hand a ready list 

of all the ways God says He is faithful to you.

I hope you will join me in studying through His Word to see exactly what God's

faithfulness looks like and how these truths will help you!

Last year, my dear friend, Ruth, asked me if I would like to join her

in writing a Bible Study that studies this principle of God's faithfulness.

She asked if I would compile some real-life examples of how God showed 

His faithfulness to my family and me along with a corresponding scripture

that spoke of His faithfulness in that context.

What happened was a year-long process of searching the scriptures

and realizing again just how much God loves me

and how He reveals that love in His faithfulness to us!!

This book is written in a Bible study format with a scripture verse

 that speaks of God's faithfulness

and a corresponding life story that brings that verse to life.

There are questions for reflection and application at the end of each chapter

to help you grow in your walk with the Lord.

This would be perfect for daily quiet time and worship,

or used as a discipleship tool to help a new believer grow in their understanding

of how God works in our lives and how deep His love is for us!

To order your copy, please click on the picture of the book

in the right-hand side-bar of this blog (near the top.)

Or, simply click here!

Aryn's 11th Birthday

 In January, we kicked off birthday season by celebrating our youngest's 

11th birthday!!!
We invited a few of her friends and headed to our local trampoline park

for a fun couple hours of jumping, eating pizza and cake, and opening gifts.

Right off the bat, Aryn twisted her ankle while jumping

and that was it because it really hurt her.
But the rest of the girls enjoyed their time and encouraged
Aryn to focus on the fun in front of her.
Her one-off strange gift request this year was a blue ukelele.
Grandma came through on that request and it was a hit!!
Because most of her siblings and her dad were unable to attend

the girl party, we all went out for pizza (you can never have too much!!)
that evening!
Happy birthday, Aryn!!
You light up our lives with sparkle and joy and we love you for it!!!

Where have we been? In Bethlehem Inn {Part 1}

Whew!!!  What a whirlwind December was!!
So much so that it nearly knocked the wind out of my sails,

and rendered me in need of a sabbatical for a few weeks!!
I had writer's block.
It always seems to happen that way.

And here we are.

Already half-way through February!!!
We've been enjoying the less hurried pace of these deep winter months
early in the new year, and I'm finding my voice again.

In December, our family was consumed with the Christmas production at our church.
It was the very first year we did anything like this and it was amazing!!

I had the privilege of directing this and it was a 12-month labor of love!
When we walked in the doors of our church back in May of 2007, I felt immediately
that this was a place that had the potential of doing amazing things to tell the story
of Jesus's love for us through drama.
But I never envisioned that it would be another 11 years for us
to be ready for something of this magnitude.
Through a friend at a former church in Michigan, I heard about this amazing story.
When I first presented the idea to our Music Minister several years ago,
we had to shelf it because of some administrative transitions happening.
We finally received the all-clear in the middle of 2017, and my kitchen lady and I were sent
to Michigan that December to view it first hand and bring it back to our church in Texas.
What a glorious blessing it was to watch so many of our people work so joyfully
together, to use their talents and skills to create beautiful crafts and art work and all the costumes,
and to meet so many new people in our community eager to be a part of this.
So many of our people didn't know a lot of the new members and many new
friendships were forged as they collaborated together.
But most importantly was the incredible spirit of unity
as we worked together to tell the story of Jesus and how He came to us in our mess
to ultimately die to pay the price for our sins.
So much joy!!!