Mother's Day Weekend 2016 & Landscaping Updates

We had an unusual Mother's Day weekend this year.  On Friday, the 3rd-5th graders at our school hosted Grandparents' Day (earlier than the date Hallmark recognizes but before school lets out for the summer). My parents wanted to attend our son's assembly this year, but 3rd graders started at 8:30, which was much too early for them to get here given rush-hour traffic. So I went in their place and ate enough fruit and chocolate goodies for both of them. :-)

Our son's class presented a United States geography (states and capitals) sound-off followed by a recorder concert which was surprisingly pleasant given the shrillness of the instrument and the age of the performers.  Our band director is such a humorous, fun-loving guy that he makes every concert enjoyable.  They played several classic hymns and "This Old Man" for the grandfathers.  Ha!

My parents arrived later that morning and took both my son and my daughter out to lunch.  What a treat that was for them.While they were at lunch, our landscaper finished up all the landscaping projects he had been working on for the past five weeks to address our water run-off issues, to add instant gratification privacy landscaping, and to build us a patio for our fire pit.

In the picture below, there is a large catch basin under all that rock attached to a 150' underground drain that runs under the porch around the house and down the length of the other side of our house.  He added two dry creeks, this new mulched natural area, and a Rose of Sharon.  Mom gave me the hanging plant and stand shown above for Mother's Day. We have two climbing roses and trellises for each side that we still need plant.  Then we'll add some liriope, Hostas, and possibly Indian Hawthorne whenever we find the time.

He planted a 15'-20' Nelly Stevens Holly next to my fitness room window to block the unsightly view out that window of the neighbor's shed, added 50/50 to raise the soil up to level of basketball court and laid new sod all along this side where the ran run off had washed it away last year.

His crew added fresh mulch all around the house, lawn perimeter, and at the base of scattered lawn trees.

Our next project will be a stone stacked, tiered retaining along this front side.

Along the fence, he planted two Nelly Stevens Holly (4-6'), Muskogee Lavernder, three enormous Crepe Myrtle, six Osmanthus (4'), and three Loropetalum.  He also replaced our wimpier wax myrtles with newer, heartier ones and  moved our crepe myrtle from the side yard to this back corner and expanded the natural areas closing off back yard.

The patio construction was fun to watch.

You know you are getting impatient for the construction to be finished when a (random) picture (of WIP taken to test out your new iPhone) is worth a thousand words (from movie quotes and song titles).

"If you build it, they will come." (Field of Dreams)
"Road to Nowhere" (Talking Heads)
"We're Half Way There." (Bon Jovi, Livin' on a Prayer)
"Bless the Broken Road" (Rascal Flatts)
"He's Not Finished With Me Yet" (Brandon Heath)
etc.

After the kids' lunch outing with Nana and Pops, my husband and son packed and left for the spring outing at the coast with the Y Guides while I waited on hold for over an hour to speak with an IRS agent over exorbitant, bogus charges I ended up having to pay anyway.  As often as we get audited for our charitable contributions (doesn't anyone tithe and support missions and charities anymore?), I sometimes wonder if we are being targeted for our Christian views.

Saturday wasn't as eventful as my daughter would like because her mom is a teacher, and teachers must do lesson planning over the weekends. And I had to clean bathrooms plus other chores, meet a golf client at the new swap stop, and get in a much needed trail ride after a week of steady rain.  I did make time to buy her swim suits, take her out to eat, treat her to ice-cream and play card games (and stayed up past 2am getting my lesson plans done as a result), but compared to the fun her brother was having on the retreat (she knows, because she's already enjoyed three years of Indian Princesses...well it's now called "Y-guides" for boys and girls because so few people are willing to admit that one's gender is determined biologically, not emotionally, and apparently both "Indian" and "Princess" are banned words in this new progressive world of utter lunacy).  She beat me in every game of Set we played, and I never ever let her win on purpose.

I also earned some much needed "fun mom" points by pulling pranks on our pets.  Did we rescue a cat, elephant, or anteater?

On Sunday, we drove to my hometown to spend Mother's Day with my parents and my brother's family, but it wasn't the same without our guys. At least they sent me this picture from camp with some early morning Mother's Day greetings.

I got to see some high school friends at my parents' church including Craig, who brought my husband and I together.  (He and I were good friends in high school, and he and my husband sang together in the USNA Glee Club.) I also Rodney, a friend since kindergarten, at the restaurant he manages after church.  It was a nice visit, but my daughter was out of sorts. She missed her dad and her brother.  She was probably feeling jealous, and she was apparently tired because she doesn't sleep well when her dad isn't here.  At least she perked up after lunch and had fun posing for pictures with Nana.

When Nana's glasses darken in the sun, our drama queens starts having some fun.

One of the best gifts on Mother's day was driving home to find my husband and son already home. They had driven back early to be with me on Mother's Day and were outside washing the van by hand.  They were exhausted, so we didn't get the planting projects done I had hoped, but they were home, and that was enough for me.

After my son had written in my birthday card, "Mom, thank you for..." and then left the rest of the page blank, I was thrilled to receive a handmade Mother's day card from him with real sentences in it.  He used big words, proper spelling, and neat handwriting.  His grammar isn't perfect, yet, but for a third grader, he really tried. This boy almost always signs cards by simply writing Love, [His name], so this card that he put effort into was a keeper.  He also drew flowers which he knows I like.

 My daughter usually writes a sweet note, and she did not disappoint this time either.

During March 2015, we began meeting with contractors to figure out what to do with our our virtually useless lot which had started out flat and surrounded by trees when we selected it but ended up treeless and severely sloped by the time the builder finished our house. Work finally began a few weeks before Christmas. After adding a porch, deck, walkway, patio (aka bunny exercise ring, soccer drill chamber, "volley-dodge ball" court, deserted island), fire pit, three french drains wrapping around our house, a few dry creeks, dozens of trees, numerous shrubs, mounds of mulch, hidden dams, new natural areas, truckloads of soil and sod, and whatever else I'm forgetting to keep the yard from washing down the hill again, we finally got to use our backyard to the fullest on Mother's Day. The kids "commissioned" our long awaited fire pit patio tonight by serving me S'mores for Mother's Day dessert. They even saved me an extra 5oz European gourmet dark chocolate bar because  they know I like my chocolate hits dark, straight, and smooth. :-)

Hopefully the grass will turn green and the new shrubs/plants will bloom in the next few weeks.

School Stuff, Kid Quips, & Parental Ponderings

"Be careful little children what you hear." (Philippians 4:8)

 

While driving around town today with my 8-year-old in the backseat, I heard him muse, "I don't know how many times God has forgiven me because I can't count how many drops are in the ocean."
I'm assuming those thoughts were inspired by the song, "Drops in the Ocean" by Hawk Nelson. Music can be so powerful in the way it sticks in the memory and in the heart, erupting at the most unexpected times. While I have been comforted by recollections of psalms, hymns, and other spiritual songs (Colossians 3:16) over the years, too often I find myself humming, "Play that funky music, white boy!" or "I've Got the Power", for I did not discover contemporary Christian music until I was over twice his age.

 

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I gave up on nagging my kids to keep their rooms clean years ago....deciding that it was better for our relationship and my heart health if I just stay out and let them have that one area to the house to keep however they like. I was feeling proud of my control freak self for this progress until....
I asked the kids to collect water samples from a variety of sources (ponds, lakes, groundwater, rain run-off, etc.) for a water microbiology class I'm teaching, and one kid brought me a golden sample saying, "Look Mom, the water in this bottle is 4 years old! This is the water I took to golf camp when we lived on the golf course!"

How much money  we spend to move and store that water twice?
Thank you so much sweetheart for your contribution. I'll let you watch "Hoarders" again tonight.
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Why is it that whenever I place something new on the dinner table, the kids assume it is healthy & tastes terrible and then refuse to try it, but when I bring a new (to them) foul smelling substance into the science lab and warn the students not to eat it, they all sneak a bite? ‪#‎ReversePsychology‬ ‪#‎ForbiddenFruit‬

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When the rain and flooding caused us to cancel our fall break travel plans, the kids, with pouty lips drooping, lamented that the break would be too boring. But look how much excitement we've already had on day one! This early riser has a shiner. If you think he looks bad, you should see the ice that hit him at the skating rink.

 

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My daughter asked me to take her shopping at the fabric store for supplies for a gift she's making for her brother. I commented on dozens of designs I would like for myself as we perused the selections, but she replied, "Mom, I would gladly make one for you for Christmas, but I only have enough money for my brother, not you." Should I be proud of her for the way she loves her little brother or feel dissed?
  
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The kids had to clean all the van windows together to help them learn how to get along nicely and be patient with one another. Then just after one kid wiped the windshield nice and clean but before their dad could inspect their work, a bird pooped all over the glass. I guess the birdie thought they needed a little more practice

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So my daughter spent 7 hours today as an extra during the filming of a short (3-5 minute) movie. Exhausted, she lamented, "We shot the same scene over and over and over all day long." Now she has a better appreciation for what goes into making a movie. She's been reading books on script writing, laboring over the computer writing the script, teaching herself video editing software, recruiting actors and designing sets for a "movie" she wants to self-produce, so I wonder how today's experience will impact the length of her movie and her willingness to continue. Time will tell....but she sure has vision.

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And this guy knows how to recycle the Sunday comics.

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The third graders took a field trip to a working farm / public park near our previous house.  I've taken the kids there before, but it was like a brand new experience for our son since he's older now.   Here are a few pics from that rainy day (just like most days this month) in the mud.

 

 

 

Mom and Kids at Bald Head Island

One of the boys in my son's class for the past two years took quite a liking to my boy this past year.  He invited him over to play all the time, and his parents' seemed to like my son's influence, for this boy is a typical hyper, energetic boy whereas our son is more mellow and easygoing.  Their daughter is a year older than my daughter, and those two have great fun together as well (although Emily is physically much more mature than our daughter).  For the first time ever, this family decided to invite another family to join them for part of their vacation at Bald Head Island so that their kids would each have a friend.  They generously invited us, but my husband did not want to go.  He was still in a sling and unable to help with luggage or be very useful he thought.  Also, problems at work called him into the office part of the weekend.  We had also just gotten Orwell that past weekend, so he felt he should stay and take care of the critters.

I was nervous about driving the kids down by myself because I've never been to Bald Head Island and did not know how parking and the ferry process worked.  I followed our hosts down to the ferry dock, so that helped a lot.  The kids enjoyed the ferry rides to/from the island.

We got to see a popular Baptist camp off in the distance while we sailed.

Fort Caswell

Again they helped me figure out how to call a tram which took us to the nice house they rented.  I got the private room over the double golf cart garage which was separate from the main house.  It had a bathroom, bedroom, and sitting area within the bedroom area, so all it needed was a microwave and a mini fridge to make a nice apartment for a single person.  It had a super tall vaulted ceiling (maybe 15') making the room seem much larger.

King size bed in the suite over the garage

Master bedroom with private balcony

The girls stayed in a large room with a double bed and two bunk beds and a private porch while the boys stayed in a room with just as much sleeping space.  With 4 bedrooms, 4.5 baths, 2 large dining areas, a full kitchen and a large living room, and porches and deck all around, this house had more than enough room for the seven of us and their two dogs.

Posing on the deck outside my room over the garage

The morning after we arrived was spent on the beach.

After lunch we headed to Old Baldy Lighthouse.  The boys had studied Old Baldy during the school, so we made the lighthouse a priority.  We also saw Fort Holmes and the church where  Libby, a family friend from my home church, got married.

The kids enjoyed climbing the fabulous old trees.  They had so much fun (well except Ben who clung to the limb for dear life) that the mamas had to join them.  She's in her 50s, and I'm in my 40s, but we each pulled up onto those trees like a boss.  #NeverTooOld

 We spent the next morning at the Shoal's Club pool followed by a nice sit down lunch at the club. I absolutely loved the tree canopy paths and the golf cart commuter lifestyle.

We could get used to this life!

Next we went to the conservancy to get the schedule for the week and to look around. The kids did a little souvenir shopping and we all got some delicious ice-cream, but the kids talked more about their boxed water which looked like a tiny paper milk carton.  The box was simply decorated in black and white, and the kids were convinced that because the label said it was better water that it was the best they had ever had.  It should be for $2 a serving!

 

After the conservancy, the girls went paddle boarding.  I'm still waiting on pictures our hosts took us all of us on our boards, but it was a really peaceful and fun time.  Our guide and I had much in common.  He taught high school math last year and will be a STEM facilitator and instructor this coming year just like me.

When I took the kids to this quiet island, I had a simple prayer for God to speak to our hearts.  I was in a state of deep mourning for the depravity of our nation, and knowing the judgments that are forthcoming according to Biblical prophecy, I was grieving for my lost friends.  When we arrived, God gave us the most beautiful sunsets as our answer. They say a picture is worth a 1000 words, so here is a glimpse of what I heard.

July 2014: New Challenges, Thoughts, and Snippets

Family Fun

I am not a spontaneous person at all, but when I learned around noon that it was Chick-Fil-A'a annual Cow Appreciation Day, I rushed to make costumes before picking up my daughter from drama camp at 12:30.  She changed clothes at the school and taped spots to our outfit on the way to CFA while singing Tim Hawkin's Chick-Fil-A song all the way there.  For the rest of the day, we all kept singing "[We're] in love with Chick-fil-A" as we could not get the song out of our heads.  And to ensure that the song stays in your head as well, here is a video with an extra verse added to the end just for Mr. Cathy.

 

I took the kids back again that evening, while my husband, who has dressed up as cows, ducks, and the Fruit-of-the-Loom grapes enough for his mom's shenanigans, enjoyed a quiet evening at home.

Cow Appreciation Day is a family tradition my kids enjoy, so I'm thankful for their willingness to serve free food and challenge families to make memories being silly together.  (Gift #649)

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My son loves to feel grown up when his older cousins are here spending time with him. Yet, during every brief moment when he was alone with me during their visit, he could sneak over to grab a big hug or crawl up into my lap like a baby for quick snuggles. Oh that he would never outgrow his desire for affection from me. I'll take it whenever I can get it, even if it's only allowed when no one else is looking.  (Gift #650)

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You know you are married to singer when every reply to everything you say all evening long is a lyric to a different song.  My husband always has a lyrical response for everything I say it seems.  I guess as an introvert married to a talkative extrovert, he finds the lyrical responses easier.

Parenting
I would like to welcome our newest employee to the "family business". Our golf ball inventory has never been so clean!   His official title is Quality Assurance Director and Initial Sort Line Supervisor.

 
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The kids tend to misbehave more when their daddy is away on business.  My daughter never officially apologized for her latest act of disobedience, but she did make me this rose bookmark out of duct tape as a peace offering. (Gift #651)

 

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To those with young daughters, this particular presentation makes some really good points and is worth sharing & discussing with your girl(s) if you haven't already. After seeing all the slides, my daughter said, "Wow, beauty really is in the eye of the beholder." Then we talked about how every image would still be very different even if Esther had only sent the image to American photo editors living in the same town. I asked her which edited pic she liked best, and she chose Israel which had fewer edits and still looked much like the original untouched photo. She also asked about the really pale skin reflected in some of the photos, and I told her how certain cultures judge a person's value by the fairness of their skin, and she was quick to point out the injustice of such prejudice.


Disasters and Mishaps
Between my own series of disasters with an entertainment center refinishing project, my son's decision to dump MANY buckets of water out of the bathtub upstairs onto the tile floor with the result of  flooding our master bedroom downstairs (flashback to the daily flooding episodes in our apartment last summer which had us waking up each morning to new crops of mold and soggy carpets), and misc other mishaps, the total damage / repair list resulting from just one weekend's disasters included:

• Replace a ceiling
• Caulk a new bathroom
• Paint the garage floor to cover the current tie dye effect we have now as a result of various paint spills
• Clean kilz off back steps or paint over it
• Replace damaged clothes and shoes
• Refinish a newly damaged bookcase
• Administer first aid to wounds on elbows, arms, knees, and side
• Schedule a hair appointment to cut all the Kilz cut out.  (Note to self:  There is a big difference between a $15 haircut and a $50 haircut.  Next time, spring for the $50 haircut!)

We're evicting Murphy ASAP!

While we were trying to stop, sop, and dry out a water leak from the 2nd floor into our master bedroom, our bunny decided to play hide and seek. Usually, she comes when I call, but after we spent several hours tearing up the house trying to find her and imagining every worst possible scenario, she finally appeared out of nowhere around 12:30 am. Why do I feel like we are always in some sort of emergency response training?

Kids' Ponderings
So my younger child has been begging for a male cat as our next pet. His reason this time? So the cat can mate with the female bunny and reproduce..who knows what. I understand the biological limitations here, but the potential object lessons to be taught through such an experiment, both biologically and Biblically are tempting. But he's only 7, and the cat might eat the bunny, so sorry, Bud.

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Thinking he had it rough around here, my son asked me the following questions:

Boy: Did you get an allowance at my age?

Me: Yes, but it was 8 times less than you get now! (ha ha - he doesn't understand inflation yet)

Boy: Did you have to do all these chores I have to do?

Me: Yes, but without the aid of a miracle eraser, Roomba vacuum, and electric sweeper

Boy: Okay, but I bet Nana and Pops did not limit your computer/digital device time like you and Dad do to me.

Me: I DIDN'T HAVE ANY DIGITAL DEVICES!!!!

The comparison game never works!

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First-born: "What is that lovely scent that smells a bit like peppermint?"

Me: "Ben-Gay"

Unfortunately, she did not like the scent of the tea tree oil in the Neuragen Gel I was wearing when I picked her up this afternoon, for Neuragen is much more effective. And the fact that I know the difference through experience is a tad depressing.  At least she likes the smell of Ben-Gay!

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Lots of swimming and too little brushing will damage extra long, fine/stringy hair. But our daughter, like most other tweens, thinks her hair needs to be really long like Rapunzel's. So, I booked her an appointment at one of the most popular salons in town with the hope that the hip young stylists there could convince her to get some of the damaged ends cut. The stylist only took off a few inches, but my girl burst into tears when she saw the finished cut.

I think (and pray) she is realizing now that just as Rapunzel is a fictional character with hair that is stronger, longer, thicker, and healthier looking than anything close to reality (Rapunzel also never got to swim, dance, run, do back-handsprings, play on the beach, spend time with friends, attend parties, visit grandparents, ride horses, or laugh with loved ones while growing out all that hair!), every other photoshopped, cosmetically/surgically altered image she sees in the media or advertising is just as distorted, deceptive, and destructive.

What marvelous beauty God has uniquely designed into every sacred human life both on the outside and on the inside where true beauty begins. (Gift #652)

"Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight." (1 Peter 3:3-4)

New Job
I recently opened a new door to exciting, challenging unknowns in a very new ministry area for me. But now I must force myself to close other doors, and that is never easy for me.  I have cut back my freelance writing and tutoring work for now, but more cuts will have to come as well.  Maybe I should hire a maid?  :-)

I haven't seen one of these in over 10 years!

"Every line of true knowledge must find its completeness in its convergency to God, even as every beam of daylight leads the eye to the sun." - R.L. Dabney

Recent Thoughts on Current Events, Trials, Faith, & Fitness
This month has been very hard.  I have stooped lower into the pit of depression than I can ever remember.  Praise God for His truth which enabled me to crawl back out!  (Gift #653)  Of course, taking bike rides to my favorite respite always helps too.  I don't get to go bike riding alone very often with the kids here with me all the time or the weather not cooperating, but when I do, it's so refreshing to come to my favorite nearby spot where my perspective always seems to get rebalanced. All those frustrations seem so trivial when I look up to the infinitely great, big, loving, powerful, and good Creator of all things. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

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The world is in chaos right now.  Our borders are being overrun by illegal teens on drugs, with criminal records, and/or carrying diseases.  They are coming here because our borders are not protected and our president wants to give them amnesty.  Our unemployment rate is soaring, and the poor working class who voted for our POTUS are getting smacked in the face as the jobs and resources they need will be scooped by the throngs of young illegals pouring into our country.  I watched videos last week of poor residents in Chicago complaining of all the murders, drugs, theft, and vandalism destroying their communities, but the gangs are growing in numbers now with all the illegals added to their groups, so if they think it's bad now, watch out because government trucks are bringing these kids to your neighborhoods!

As wars rage overseas with radical Shiite Islamist seeking to conquer the world with the very weapons our own government supplied, our allies are left abandoned because our government will not help them.  To Israel, the Ukraine, and far too many of our fellow countrymen, despite all the recent betrayals and/or neglect, more Americans love you, respect you, weep for you, and pray for you than the actions of those with the power may suggest. The ramifications (past, present, and future) are not pretty when one abandons her closest friends.

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America is more polarized politically today than she has been since possibly the Civil War. There are lots of theories explaining why, but I'm convinced much of it relates to the shift in our culture from being ruled by our minds to being ruled by our emotions. Instead of having meaningful discussions with well thought out explanations, we shut down all dialogue with emotional attacks. We all come from different backgrounds with unique experiences which shape our views on policy, and when different ideas are exchanged in a logical, respectful way, everyone benefits, especially when the best ideas grounded on truth on both sides become the focus instead of assaulting the other party. As responsible, educated citizens, let us engage in meaningful, respectful, loving dialogue with a heart that puts others before ourselves while removing all emotional attack words (which tend to be used in error and out of context anyway) from our vocabulary. Can we attempt a conversation without using words like "racist", "feminist", "intolerant", "hypocrite", "victim", "entitled", "privileged", "hater", "extremist", "Communist", "rich", "lazy", "kool-aid", "left-wing", "right-wing", "heartless", or "baby killer".  With so many crises all around the world and along our borders, we need to unite under our shared values and under what is true (since feelings often lie), for united we stand, divided we fall.

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If the mind, body, and soul are all connected, then physical exercise preferences at any given time may be indicative of internal issues. Choosing specific types of exercise at different times may in fact be a remedy.

As a carefree young child, I preferred fun games and sports of any type. During the tween to teen years, friendships were my priority, so I most enjoyed taking really long walks (and talks) with friends. The late high school and college years felt like a series of races to the top of each new challenge, though I knew God's truth prioritized that which was sacred and eternal over all degrees, titles or accolades. That was my season of running 5K to 12K races at top speeds, trying to finish first in each new race. I also did a little rock climbing during those years. By my mid twenties, I was done with the rat race and wanted nothing more than to finish the race of life strong and faithful. I needed endurance to win the race that matters for eternity, so marathon running became my new passion, and those long runs were usually spent alone with God in prayer as He increased my spiritual, physical, and mental endurance.

Then I got married and stopped running races. I had been caught and liked it! I exercised on stationery equipment and ran for pleasure and for time alone with My Lord and Maker, not speed or distance.

The addition of children to our family brought sleepless nights, scar tissue, joint problems, and debilitating back and neck pain. I desperately needed strength and power! Weight training became my solace. With each pull-up, push-up, press, or curl, I found myself becoming mentally, physically, and emotionally stronger. The pains began to subside with occasional flare ups here and there to remind me that I will never be strong enough in my own might, so I must always wholly rely on Him.
Now I have reached an age where I am witnessing far too much injustice, loss, suffering, and corruption. On this earth, the rain falls on both the righteous and the unrighteous, but when I see the righteous suffering from diseases, abuse, oppression, or other vile injustice, it makes me ANGRY. I know I am powerless to change circumstances, so I pray to the One who can. These days, my exercise of choice is super high intensity martial arts training. To all who have asked me to pray for them recently over whatever cruel circumstance have befallen you, know that I am praying. I am also kicking, punching, and sprawling with a vengeance as an affirmation and as a way of metaphorically claiming our heavenly Father's promises to fight for you, restore you, and renew you. He will reward the faithful and right all wrongs! (Gift #654)


Thoughts on the Pro-Life Movement
The pro-life vs. pro-choice debate will eventually implode.  The more science reveals the facts...that a separate human life with a beating heart, pulsing brain waves, and every physical human component resides in the life of an expectant woman's body, the harder it becomes to call it a just a "fetus" or "blob of tissue".  Advances in ultrasound technology make it harder for a woman in a crisis pregnancy situation to agree to pull off the the cute little arm whose hand is waving at her through the ultrasound screen. And as horrific tales of gross abuses against children and women in abortion clinics continue to be exposed, abortion will not seem like such a loving solution after all.  Yet the media, government, and schools (ask me for specific examples!) continue all efforts to harden human hearts.

However, if we are to the win this war that has dismembered the bodies of well over 50 million innocent children since I was born in a world of emotional feminism gone insane, then we must take a different approach.  Images like the one below, while completely accurate in illustrating how horrific the abortion procedure really is, will change the minds of some abortion minded women, they will not address the root problem.

Most sane women do not wish abortion on anyone and certainly would not choose it unless they felt completely overwhelmed, helpless, and unsupported.  Based on testimonies from those who have had abortions and secret video footage by actors inside Planned Parenthood facilities, abortion providers prey on these emotions making clients feel like they have no other alternative while downplaying the life long negative impacts of that abortion on the hurting mom-to-be.

Pro-life advocates should choose instead respond to the debate by extending loving support to hurting women in crisis.  When I volunteered at a crisis pregnancy ministry (which was ironically located next door to an abortion clinic), our focus was always on the needs of each woman at her point of need. Oh, we were certainly concerned about the precious life she was carrying, but she was our first priority. Many women came to us by mistake, thinking we were the abortion clinic, but found what they needed most at our center.... hope, support, and love. For those who chose not to stay and immediately turned around and went next door for the abortion, many of them came back later for loving support and healing through our post abortion syndrome recovery programs. I'm happy to report that the abortion clinic next door eventually shut down.  Abortion is only a deadly band-aid when the real crisis is in the heart and soul of that woman. Let us love and support unconditionally, with respect and without judgment!  Deep emotional needs from gaping wounds in the heart are often at the source of crisis pregnancy.  Misinformation and poor role modeling combined with confusion over sound moral foundations in a world that has turned true morality upside down are also underlying factors.  Let us seek to help, not hurt these suffering women.

"Beyond the Samaritan woman's veil..[Jesus] saw the emptiness in her life that grew bigger with each divorce. Beyond the power and wealth of Zacchaeus, He saw a small man with a big hole in his heart that all the power and wealth in the world couldn't fill. Beyond the sores of Lazarus, He saw a soul of eternal worth. Beyond the clothes of the rich man, He saw a soul in rags." - Ken Gire

When we look at others, do we look beyond the surface through the windows of the soul?