Today... Randomly

Today was one of those days (as Katie Walters said) that you either burst into tears or burst into laughter. I chose the latter. In fact, I am still chuckling. I can truly see where the joy of the Lord is my strength and that a cheerful heart is good medicine. God's Word is all truth! I'm living proof!

There were so many things I wanted to blog about today... not sure why, maybe I just have an itching to blog. So I apologize if this blog is random, but here we go...

My Pastor's new book
Today was the release of my Pastor, Greg Surratt's new book Ir-rev-rend. I am up to chapter 5 and I am loving it. This is what I wrote as a review on Amazon:
"I am loving this book so far! You will definitely laugh, possibly cry, and probably see things from a new perspective. If I had to describe the book in one word in would be "real." Author, Greg Surratt, tells real stories, gives real thoughts, and does so from a real heart. Ir-rev-rend is a book you will definitely want to pick up, but I warn you... you will probably not want to put it down"
Pastor Greg had some great reasons you should check it out as well. To read them, click here.
And if you just want to go ahead and get yourself a copy, click here.

Missional Moms
After polishing off a few more pages of Ir-rev-rend, I headed to Wannamaker Park for our first Missional Moms "playdate with a purpose." I was a little hesitant to go with the age span, or lack of, of my two youngest, but it was so great! I am so thankful for this new ministry and look forward to the next time we "play"!

Bye Bye to our Ford Ranger
After lunch, and reviewing some multiplication tables... oh, please note that multiplication tables are either going to be the death of me or my son... thank God for humor! ...we finally got a buyer for our truck. Sold! The cool part is that it was one of our neighbors... you know, the ones you have never met before. We officially met on Craigslist then discovered we are a block away. The actual purchaser, although she came with her Dad, was a senior in high school. We had a great chat while Mark and her dad took care of the legalities of a car purchase. I couldn't help but notice the God moment when we were talking about her education at Christian school, and it brought back such fond memories for me. I may have occasionally (but rarely) kicked and screamed at all the extra Bible work during all my years at Christian school, but now I am truly SO grateful. I shared that with this sweet girl and also told her Dad that he was giving his daughter something invaluable. It was one of those Holy-Spirit-speaking-through-you moments to encourage her and her dad and to remind me of how awesome my parents are for making the same sacrifice for me.

Mount St. Haley - the Volcano

In addition to the above, and all my other "homemaker" duties of the day, I had an extra special present from my youngest princess. Caleb handed her to me and I suddenly felt wetness. I wish I could say it was just #1, but it wasn't. Nope, it was like a volcano erupting.. not the type you parents are thinking where it shoots up the back... nope, this one was even better. It was so bad that there was a trail (yes, a trail) of it on the floor leading all the way to the changing table. Clean up consisted of at least a dozen wipes and then straight to the bath. The rest of the clean up consisted of Clorox wipes and a change of clothes for me. Now, if this is TMI, I truly apologize. However, I figured if they can make a TV show called "Up All Night" and people everywhere are finding humor in this stuff, I figured I would give them more ammo for their next episode. And hopefully you got a laugh too.

Caleb's Ink
After Haley's bath was Daniel's bath and then some time to help Caleb. During Daniel's bath Caleb had started to redecorate the door to his room. He had some "Crime Scene" tape that he was using. As Caleb started he got out Mark's tape measure to be exact in the placement of the tape. He even had a pencil on his ear. This was all cute until I joined him in the project and noticed not only the pencil, but the pen (ink) on his door. I almost wanted to be proud of his thoroughness and measurements (he actually researched "angles" on Google before he started), but instead questioned him with a firm voice and a stern look on how he planned on removing the pencil and PEN off his door. He answered, "Mom, don't worry I can get it all off!" I jumped back with  "The pen????" and he responded, "Mom, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." I had to turn quickly so he wouldn't see me laugh.

God's Whisper
But honestly, the quoted scripture by Caleb (Phil 4:13) spoke to me with so much more than being the answer to ink removal. Earlier this week I read Exodus 4:10-13. The verses are a dialog between God and Moses in which Moses tells God he cannot do what God is asking. God then tells him why he can. It ends with Moses again telling God he can't. I was using Priscilla Shirer's 5 P's and was able to pull out 6 principles. The last principle I jotted down was related to verse 13. I wrote "I'm not the only one lacking faith. lol" In addition to that scripture, the Lord has brought the story of Gideon to my attention 3 times in the past two day. This evening it was all pulled together by His whisper. You see, since Haley's birth, I have found 3 kids to be much more of a challenge than 2. There are so many times that I have whined, stressed, and "spoke death" focusing on the "I can't." However, the story of Gideon, the scripture in Exodus, and my sweet son have pointed to me to what the Lord has been trying to tell me and as well as my lack of faith in His Word... I can do ALL things THROUGH CHRIST who gives me strength. Yes, all things! I am going to be purposeful in speaking truth (Phil 4:8) and speaking life and reminding myself regularly of Phil 4:13.

So that was today... just a typical day in the life of Christie... one I am thankful for.

Playdate with a Purpose

Having fun!

He loves the slide

So sweet