From a singing heart!

It is officially summer break and even though I have a to-do list a mile long I am thouroughly enjoying sleeping in til 7:45 or 8 and then making breakfast and spending some quality time in the Word.  Most days when I have to be at work by 6:45am this time is cut to 15 or 20 minutes but lately I have been able to spend as much time as I desire. 

So this morning, I made my coffee and breakfast and sat down at the dining room table with my Bible and Bible study book... did my study and then spent some time listening to the Lord.  Those whispers we have been talking about.  One of the verses that really stuck out to me this morning is "His banner over me is love".  I almost felt like a school girl... the first time she realizes that a boy likes her and walks around with her head in the clouds saying "he loves me!".  I know this sounds silly but that is what my heart was doing this morning.... "he loves me!  The king of the universe loves ME!" 

At the end of my quiet time, I spent some time in worship as that is an outlet for my heart to express what God is doing in there.  The song "How can I keep from Singing" by Chris Tomlin has been playing over and over in my mind so I pulled it up on you tube and sang along.  Thankfully God desires "a joyful noise" from our hearts.  The lyrics just seem to say what has been on my heart and mind for the past couple of months... Jesus is the rock that I have been clinging to in the midst of the storms.  I know I can sing despite my circumstances because I KNOW my Savior is right by my side.  It is such a great feeling... it just makes my heart want to sing!

"How Can I Keep From Singing"

There is an endless song
Echoes in my soul
I hear the music ring

And though the storms may come
I am holding on
To the rock I cling

How can I keep from singing Your praise
How can I ever say enough
How amazing is Your love
How can I keep from shouting Your name
I know I am loved by the King
And it makes my heart want to sing

I will lift my eyes
In the darkest night
For I know my Savior lives

And I will walk with You
Knowing You'll see me through
And sing the songs You give

I can sing in the troubled times
Sing when I win
I can sing when I lose my step
And fall down again
I can sing 'cause You pick me up
Sing 'cause You're there
I can sing 'cause You hear me, Lord
When I call to You in prayer
I can sing with my last breath
Sing for I know
That I'll sing with the angels
And the saints around the throne

Loved by the King

"For I am loved by the King and it makes my heart want to sing.  How can I keep from singing your praise... how can I ever say enough how amazing is your love."

Lately I have been working through a Bible study entitled "Falling in love with Jesus".  It is based on the premise that God loves us so much that he pursues us like a groom pursues his bride to be.  One of the verses that has really touched my heart...

"The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save.  He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over your with singing." Zephaniah 3:17

God is truly might to save us out of the depths of despair... out of anxiety... out of depression... out of bad situations.  Sometimes he allows us to go through these situations so that we can truly see the need we have for a Savior. 

In this world that is dark and full of pain, we have a King that loves us... He rejoices over us with singing.

Pondering

It has been almost a month since I last posted here... I haven't been doing much writing as I have had no strength or motivation to do this...

The past month to month and a half has been ... well... tough to say the least.  I would definitely categorize it as a valley... probably more like the dried up river bed in the middle of the valley.  Definitely the closet thing that I have had to hitting rock bottom.  Anyway... at the moment after some medical advice and the body of Christ.coming along side... I am slowly but surely treking up the mountain again.  This visual imagery made me realize something in my pondering tonight...

When we go through a valley, the climb to get to the top again is even more spectacular because you are so thankful for the things you didn't see in the valley and the friends that come along side to join you in the journey! 

I am thinking of a trek up a mountain that I took not too long ago... walking up Mt. Sinai...standing at the bottom looking up.... it was daunting not knowing where to even start and where we were going to finish up... but with a local guide and friends by my side we started the journey.  As we started to ascend the views of the surrounding area was breathtaking... the way the sun and shadows played on the mountainous terrain... something I would not have seen had I stayed in the valley.  Yes the climb to the top was exhausting and for days after excruciating...  it was well worth each step that put us at the top to watch the sun set over the Sinai and realize that great Biblical characters walked here before me. 

God is truly teaching me that through Him ALL things are possible.  When we can't do it, He comes alongside and carries us through.  The body of Christ is supposed to work together and lift those members of the body up... my family here on Molokai has been amazing through this time.

Tribute to the 80's

Time flies when your having fun... started thinking this afternoon about all of the things that I grew up with that I sometimes mention to some of my staff or even preschool parents and I get the reaction... HUH???  Then I realize they were born in the 90's or so and didn't grow up knowing about some of these things (unless they have come back around like the smurfs and care bears)... see if you can relate to any of these things...  feel free to leave other "80's" items in the comments!

Toys and games

Charm Necklaces- I specifically remember having the coke bottle charm... I know I had quite a few others.

1. Glo Worm
2. Garbage Pail Kids
3. Atari with games like Frogger and Pong
4. Cabbage Patch Kids-  My first Cabbage Patch Kid was a dark skinned water baby... she was all plastic so she could go swimming and in the bathtub... I picked her out at Toys R Us for my christmas present... mom bought it while dad, Jared, and I sat in the car waiting for my to return.  We were still young so even though we had picked out items... we didn't know exactly what we were getting until Christmas morning.  That was always a fun outing on a Friday night to go to Greensboro and shop at Toys R Us and Four Seasons Mall to see the real Santa! 
5. Barbie and the Rockers- Their hairstyles and outfits explain the 80's
6. My Buddy/Kid Sister
7. Teddy Ruxpin
8. Popples
9. Pogo Ball

11. Get in shape girl- workout pompoms, cassette tape, and posters -  Check out the youtube video!
12. PacMan
13. Lisa Frank... this poster says it all!!! LOL!

 14. Sweet Secrets





Clothing

1. LA Gear
2. Tee-shirt clips-  I had several of these!!
3. Reebok Pump
4. Jellies
5. Slouch socks

Food

1. Hi-C- Ecto Cooler with Slimer from Ghostbusters on the front... I remember taking these to the beach!

Music

1. "Livin' On a Prayer" -Bon Jovi
2. The California Raisens Commercial-  I even dressed up as one for Halloween one year.  It was a popular costume!
3. "Forever Your Girl" -Paula Abdul
4. "I think we're alone now" Tiffany
5. "Electric Youth" Debbie Gibson
6. New Kids on the Block
7. "One Moment in Time" -Whitney Houston
8. "Heaven is a place on Earth" - Belinda Carlisle

TV/Movies

1. Reading Rainbow = The Original Theme Song... just take a look... it's in a book... reading rainbow
2. Alf
3. ET- The first movie my daddy took me to...  I remember my daddy consoling me when ET left... I was very upset.
4. Pee-Wee's Big Adventure and watching Pee-Wee's playhouse on Saturday morning
5. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
6. He Man and She Ra- Another favorite tv show Saturday mornings
7. Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure
8. Married with Children
9. Fraggle Rock
10. Honey, I shrunk the kids
11. The Cosby Show-  LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!
12. Double Dare
13. Dirty Dancing- scandelous
14. Inspector Gadget cartoon
15. Full House - had to get my room cleaned on Friday's in order to watch this!

 And who can forget things like the almighty TRAPPER KEEPER for school and "Where in the World is Carmen San Diego?" on the computers of the 80's that they later turned into a tv show with that really cool accapella group???

Sweet Pickles

Being a child of the 80's and 90's there are certain things that trigger good memories... one of them being the Sweet Pickles bus.  I loved pulling it out and playing with the games and reading the stories.  Great way to spend a snow day!!!  My smart mom had this while we were growing up.  I should probably see if she still has it packed away.  Totally forget about these like this until you run across them on YouTUBE. 

Lollipops... Polka dots... and Pinwheels...

The table settings

The favors

This shower has been in the planning stages for a while... the theme was lollipops... polka dots... and pinwheels.  Months ago when the theme was mentioned I put together a diaper cake for a centerpiece and gift.  I showed it to the friend that was planning the shower and the rest was a collaborative effort of numerous friends of Kris'.  The shower turned out super cute and mommy and baby were blessed with lots of fun stuff!!!  Great job Annie and Betty for all of your hard work!

The centerpieces

The sign in table... my contribution to the decor is the diaper cake!

Wall decor

The gift stage... with rocker for the mommy- to - be!!!

The surprised mommy-to-be!!!!

Remembering days gone by....

Over the past few weeks, my yard has been neglected due to everything going on.   It is hard to do yard work in the dark and with getting home as the sun is setting, my grass has become knee high in places. So today I got home around 5 and finally had the motivation and energy to do the yard.  Midway through the yard, I am thinking who can I hire to do this job.  Minutes later I turn around and there are three girls from the neighborhood standing there with rakes and brooms asking if they could help... my response... That would be awesome!  The girls raked and swept while I finished weed eating. 

This brought back great memories of my brother and I working for my neighbors growing up.  Mr. and Mrs. Evans were an older couple that had a big farm and orchard.  Many summer days were spent at the Evans mowing the orchard, thinning the corn, and doing other odd jobs that needed to be done.  Mr. Evan's would normally pay us a few dollars and there were always sodas in glass bottles and a huge train set to play with. 

This was in the late 80's ... early 90's before most households had "personal" computers... Mr. Evans always had the newest and best programs on his huge computer.  I remember doing numerous papers and projects on that computer because the fonts were so much more fun than the old school typewriter that my mom had.

Looking back, I think of all of the fun memories and realize that my mom probably enjoyed the break while we were with the Evans.  The Evans probably enjoyed the help and the liveliness that two youngsters bring.  Sadly Mr. Evans passed away many years ago and Mrs. Evans is living in a much smaller assisted living home in town.  I still try to see her when I go back to NC and we write snail mail notes back and forth. 

It is funny how something as simple as three neighborhood girls offering their help could bring up such a flood of memories.  My heart is blessed beyond belief!!!