A Whirlwind Week of Blessing!

I am so exhausted, but so incredibly blessed!

We spent the week with Hubby at a YWAM campus along for the ride as he taught a class for their School of Biblical Foundations. Of course the campus is right where we used to live so the kids and I ran around each day catching up on visiting with old friends - and we had a chance to meet new ones, as well!

I cannot even put into words how blessed and full of love I feel right now. I marvel at how good God has been to us in friends. The joy and encouragement that comes from walking alongside others that you love is unmatched. It is so good to be able to just pick-up where you left off and share your hearts.

And of course, as I mentioned, we were blessed to meet new friends! Through blogging I met another young mom with a heart for Jesus. We discovered we once lived just 2 blocks from each other but had never met! We had an incredible visit and our kids played so well together! It was a day full of blessing. We now have another family to add to our list of treasures and ones we will make every effort to see each chance we get. I was so blessed by my new friend's grace and wisdom. You are an awesome Proverbs 31 woman and comrade, Molly! I so thank you again for our visit!

I could go on and on with special notes to the people I love that I was able to reconnect with (yes, that means you too, my very dear soul friend Joy! and Liz, I am always so encouraged with our talks - I so forget about your rebellious past until you remind me because Jesus has truly done such a transformation and continues to. I not only know, but can SEE that you are a princess! and the Tuesday morning ladies have been one of the most important groups of women I have ever had the priviledge to know and be a part of - I love you!) but many extra chores are waiting! We just pulled in last night, but tonight we have a big fish fry at church (yum!) and I must bake for that, and tomorrow we host the children's Sunday School teachers at our house with yummy (hopefully) deserts as a thank you for their servanthood this past year. I also forgot to pack all my Proverbs 31 study material and desperately want some time to study that today.

Be blessed today with love and simple treasures!

Ruby

When the going gets tough...the tough go SWIMMING!

With all the tensions at church, mold and illnesses at home, and the general all around stress of the daily grind, we decided we needed a little time out to play as a family. Jim Burns in his book, 10 Steps to a Happy Family, suggests that a healthy family does this. (Excellent book by the way. We also met Jim at a retreat he spoke at and enjoyed visiting with him. He has a new book coming out in July on Creating an Intimate Marriage that we are going to go through as well)


We are blessed to live in an area that has 3 water parks! Being off-season and a weeknight, the rates were lower than usual and with no school today it made a perfect time to take advantage! We are so glad we did!

Water fights with hoses, sliding down water slides, tubing down the "river" and splashing through the "rapids", followed by a dip in the outdoor hot tub made a picture perfect night!

What a treasure this moment is! It's definately a night we will always remember.


I love you more than words can say my precious family!

New Toy and Old Project Finally Done!

WE HAVE A DIGITAL CAMERA!!!!!! We have wanted one for years, but trying to be wise stewards, it always ended up one of those wants that placed just low enough on the list to never get.

Finally we felt it was something we could do and we set a price limit. God is so good! We got a digital video camera that also takes 5.2 megapixal digital stills, an extra warranty plan, bag, extra battery, extra lens cover, and tapes all within our budget! We had $9.00 to spare even. I have already used it for AWANA council times and taken tons of pictures.

I also finally got some scrapping done! My four (almost 4 1/2) year old son had surgery when he was 14 months old to pull down and anchor a testicle that just wasn't wantin' to go where he should! I bought the cute doctor stickers and paper with band-aids shortly after meaning to do the page right away. Well, obviously I didn't.

But here they are now! Just wanted to show them off.

I have TONS more to post! But I have to get hustling if I'm to "oversee" the bedtime chores and get kids to bed at a decent hour. We also have a super busy week and a trip to pack for. THAT'S one of the things on my "want to post" list. I met a cyberfriend through blogging and found out this week we used to live just a couple of blocks away from each other - and never met! We are going to meet next week! How cool is that? The next thing on the list is our first family helicopter rides. A friend of ours owns one and he took us up last week. Of course I have pictures, just no time to upload them at the moment.

Later -

I've been tagged!

I'm taking the time to do this MAME (is that what it is called?).

4 Jobs I've Had:
1. Mommy
2. Teacher at an Alternative High School - worked in the daycare for the teen
mommies little cherubs and c0-taught some classes (Boy did they get a deal!
I was a licensed high school Social Studies teacher but hired as the daycare
lady - have credentials for that as well - only the daycare pay was 1/2 of
what a teacher's pay was)
3. Packed fish at a fish plant (Morey's)
4. Waitress

4 Movies/Shows I've Been Addicted To:
1. LOTR
2. LOTR
3. LOTR
4. Oh yeah! LOTR (okay, seriously - LOTR, Grey's Anatomy (don't throw things at me, my sister knows the guy who plays Alex - Justin Chambers - from church and I was curious, then got hooked) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Return to Me)

4 Places I've Lived:
1. Small town in Minnesota
2. Small town in Wisconsin
3. Small town in Minnesota
4. Minneapolis/St. Paul

4 Countries I'd like To Visit:
1. New Zealand (also fell in love with it while watching LOTR)
2. Australia
3. Holy Lands
4. Scotland (family roots there)

4 Popular False Assumptions About Me:
1. I am confident
2. I am not shy
3. I have led a pristine life
4. I have a storybook marriage (does anyone?)

4 People I Look Like:
1. Melissa Gilbert
2. Julianne Moore
3. Pippy Longstocking
4. My mother

4 Things I Hope To Do Before I Die:
1. Absorb every moment I have with my loved ones (feel
"happy-full" with them)
2. Lead someone to Christ (have led my two children to
Him)
3. Write a book/Bible Study, have it published, and speak
publicly about it (like lead seminars)
4. Be in a movie or a fill-in for empty seats at the Oscar's

There, now it's your turn Molly Doodles (unless you've already done one).

Bible Study Sample

First off I have to say a big, "Thanks" to you gals that sent some great suggestions my way concerning a clean home. The "chore charts" are going into effect this week! The kids already did some of the things on the charts, so there shouldn't be too big of change for them.

Okay, back to the topic of today. I think I am going to make my Proverbs 31 book into a Bible study. I know there are a thousand out there so this may not be wise. It just seems to be the right way to go. To help me gauge good-idea vs. bad-idea, I am posting a part of one of the days of study. I can't post it all because that constitutes "publishing" and I may not be able to use it in the final study book. If you want more (I am still in process of writing it, hoping to finish it today) email me and I will send you the rest of this one study. If you like it, you'll just have to buy the book when it comes out - if it ever does! So, here goes!

Proverbs 31:12 “She does him good and not evil All the days of her life.”

In Proverbs 31:10 we learned that as women, we have an incredible amount of influence over men. This influence can be used to honor and bless our men and God, or it can be used for selfish gain. How tempting it can be on a weak day to use it for selfishness! It’s not just a stereotype that a woman’s tears melt a man! Men are wired to save us from our distress! Tears awake his knightly heart. What about withholding our words? I am ashamed to admit the many times I have used the “silent treatment” to manipulate my husband. These are but only two ways a woman can use her influence in an ungodly way. I’m sure you can think of many more!

Read I Corinthians 7:4-5 and describe another way a married woman could use her influence for harm?


Have you ever been tempted to use your influence to get what you want?
Describe what you wanted and what you did to get it.



In our verse for today, there are two key words I looked up. The first one is “good”. The word here is used as a noun and according to the North American Encarta Dictionary it means, “something resulting in a beneficial effect or state, something worth having or achieving”. Comparative words for good are “high-quality”, “decent”, “enjoyable”, “skillful”, “helpful”, “nice”, “well-behaved”, and the noun form of “benefit”. So in other words, a virtuous woman is a benefit and contributes something worth having into the lives of her men. Strong’s Greek/Hebrew dictionary uses these words to give us a picture of what the author meant by “good”: joyful, kindly, pleasant, prosperity, and sweet.

The other word, of course, is “evil”. Again the North American Encarta Dictionary defines evil as, “wickedness, a force causing harmful effects, something evil as in a situation or thing that is very unpleasant, harmful, or morally wrong”. Strong’s uses these words to help give us a picture of “evil”: adversity, calamity, displease, distress, noisome, sore, trouble, and vex.

Read Proverbs 21:19 and Proverbs 25:24. What kind of wife is described here and where does it recommend a husband of this wife live?

Want more? Email me: just_pearls_2@yahoo.com