One warm August evening I jog along taking in my surroundings. 

Ok, wait!  Who am I kidding, it is August in Houston it is HOT!  But doesn't the first sentence bring to mind a pleasant peaceful scene?  Don't we do that especial with social media. . . word things so they are pleasant.  There are nice peaceful moments in my life and I have deep joy and peace in my heart given to me by God.  However, I live in a hot, loud, smelly boy house:)  Anyways back to my jog...

I smell fresh cut grass, feel the mist from a near by sprinkler and enjoy the music of some kind of insect that reminds me of summers in Iola.  I see one lone bird flying, wings flapping hard and then he soars.  As, I come to a gravel path I hear the crunch when my shoes hit and enjoy the sound.  This is a peaceful time for me all alone.

Then I think I'm all alone.  Where are the other joggers, walkers and bikers.  Guess they just aren't as tough as me!  No, just smarter waiting till the sun drops a little more in the sky. 

Jogging down the path alone I think of the bird flying alone and wonder do others feel alone like I do sometimes?  Are you the lone bird flapping and flapping or the lone jogger running and running?    I get so caught up in whatever I am doing that I miss the people around me when they are right there.  I miss God in my rush. 

Jogging I really listen and I hear cars, people a distance off in the park playing Frisbee golf, a biker's tires on gravel.  I am not alone!  When we stop the rush and turn our focus we realize we are not alone. 

So this warm hot August evening I am reminded to slow down and enjoy those around me.

Hope

"For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope."  Romans 15:4

As, I read these words this morning they stopped me.  So I read again slower, thinking. 

The scripture, God's Word, is for me to read and learn.  Learn what?  HOPE!

Jesus Christ is The Word (John 1).  So through the patience and comfort of Christ we learn hope!

Christ , The Word, came to earth to give us hope!  CHRIST = HOPE!

That sounds great, right?  But what to do with it?  How do I live it out?

Instead of trying to gain fulfillment through crossing off my to do list, serving in every area, doing the "right" things and not doing the "wrong" things, having the "perfect" family, home, etc. I gain fulfillment through Christ.  Looking for Christ's love and grace in everyday, filling my heart and mind with His Words gives me hope and fulfillment.

Blue Bell

Today I took the boys and one of their good friends to Blue Bell.  The last time the three of them were there together was four years ago.  Look at how much they have grown!

Nov. 2009

 

 Nov. 2009

 

 Nov. 2009

 

Nov. 2009

 

 July 2013 

 

July 2013

 

 July 2013

 

July 2013

 

 

 July 2013

Strawberry Pie

Several weeks ago the boys were talking about pie and so we decided to bake one. The one stipulation was we had to find a recipe that we had all the ingredients for in the house.  I was not going to the store!  I searched online and find a pie crust recipe that used coconut flour--yummy!



 

 

Coconut Flour Pie Crust

Ingredients

·         1/2 cup Butter, Melted

·         2 Eggs

·         1/4 Teaspoon Sea Salt

·         3/4 Cup Coconut Flour

·         1-3 Tablespoons Raw Honey

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium bowl beat butter, eggs, honey and salt together with a fork. Then add coconut flour. Stir until dough holds together.  Gather the dough into a ball, then pat into a 9″ greased  pie pan. Prick the dough with a fork. Bake for 9 minutes. Let cool.

 

The pie dough.

 

 

 My silly chiefs!

 

The boys had a blast mixing the dough and did a great job pressing it into the pie plate!

 

The following is the pie filling recipe we went off of, but did not follow exactly :)

Glazed Strawberry Pie Recipe

Ingredients:

·         2 quarts of strawberries, sliced

·         1 baked gluten-free pie shell

·         1 cup water

·         3/4 cup sugar (or equivalent sugar substitute)

·         1 Tbs corn starch or potato starch ( I used coconut flour)

Preparation:

Fill the baked pie shell with sliced strawberries until no more will fit. (You'll have quite a bit left over.) Chill the pie crust with the berries for at least an hour.  Near the end of the hour, put the remaining slices into a medium saucepan with a cup of water. Cook until the berries are tender.  Pour the strawberries and water into a blender and puree. Then pour the mixture back into the saucepan, through a strainer. Add the sugar and starch to the strained berry mixture. Stir and cook on a low flame until the sugar and starch dissolve.  Pour the hot glaze over the refrigerated berries in the pie crust. Chill and serve, either plain or with whipped cream topping.

The boys did such a good job working together.

 



 

 Strawberries!

 

This was a very yummy and pretty good for you summer treat.  It did not last long!

Summer Reflections

On this 8th evening of summer I am reflecting on all we have done. 

 

Swimming about four times, movie http://www.cinemark.com/summer-movie-clubhouse ,a couple of play dates, bowling http://www.kidsbowlfree.com/ and lunch with friends, library, bookstore, two trips to the grocery store, hours of reading, at least three movies at home, computer games, painting, blanket tents, friends for dinner, there is a battle field upstairs(this afternoon I heard "Come on boys come on boys!" and then "RETREAT, RETREAT!"),scooter rides, craft cabinet cleaned and organized, outdoor toys organized, the thousands of papers Jackson brought home from school gone through and about 95% recycled, 30 minutes of fun with a balloon, Lego building, and roller skating.

 

Now, what do we do tomorrow?!  I don't know about you, but it feels like school has been out for much longer than a week.  Don't get me wrong I am super excited to have lazy mornings with the boys, lazy afternoons at the pool and no rush for bedtime, but it is difficult this year to fill the time.  We have VBS coming up, two other camps, a week at Grammies, a few other outings planned so we will fill the days, but it has been some looong days of summer thus far. 

 

As, I reflect on our past week it is also sad, because in just a short nine weeks school will be upon us again and my baby starts kinder :(  Ok change of though no tears tonight!

 

I think we need to get some cardboard boxes that could be hours of entertainment.  Enjoy your summer and your kiddos!

Dinner Time Grace

Meal time has been a struggle in our house lately. 

 

Translate: I can not stand to sit with my family! 

 

Yes, I just typed that and I don't like the way I feel, but it is the truth.  Maybe you feel the same way and need to know you're not the only mom having these thoughts (please say you are out there, I can't be the only one). 

 

What is the problem at our table?  Hands on feet, hands waving in the air, three huge bits in one small mouth, chewing, talking and whining all at once, mouth wide open to drink (not a pretty sight), shoveling in the food at record speed and immediately asking for more (I have only taken one bite), and the list could go on and on. 

 

Josh and I talked about meal time and concluded that the boys are not purposefully disobeying our request to take small bites and keep one's hand off one's dirty feet.  They just forget in the span of 3 seconds and thus we are repeating the request yet again.  It is getting old, but we try to patiently carry on with reminders of manners and quick meals help as well. 

 

During a quiet moment with the Lord as I was sharing my meal time struggles I realized GRACE, LOVE and MERCY.  Everyday I struggle to obey God's request for my life and everyday God lovingly with grace and mercy reminds me of HIS way.  It's that exactly what Josh and I are doing at the dinner table?  What a perfect time to show the boys grace, love and mercy.  I enjoy seeing God us everyday situations to teach me about His character. 

 

God will not give up on me ". . . He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;" Philippians 1:6 and I will not give up on one day having a "nice" meal with the family. 

 

"The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary, His understanding is unsearchable.  He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength." Isaiah 40: 28-29.

 

The Lord never tires in reminding His children of His ways through grace, mercy and love.  And what peace I have knowing that He also gives me the strength to parent the boys with His grace, mercy and love.

Three Years

Tomorrow, May 7th is the third anniversary of our daughter Jamie's birth/death.  I have been struggling with this up coming anniversary for weeks.  I have been very sad and emotional.  Mother's day being so close doesn't help either because three years ago I was in the hospital still w/out a new baby to hold. 

 

I have been praying, "help me Lord."  Not knowing what to actually pray for all I could say was help. 

 

Today my prayer was answered!  A new friend from BSF whom I am just getting to know also has an anniversary tomorrow.  May 7th is her 5th anniversary of being cancer free.  The immediate relief of sadness I felt as she spoke this today was amazing.  Only God can do that!  Now May 7th is not just a day of sadness for me, but a day of happiness, thanksgiving and hope.  God is our great healer and He healed Jamie completely by taking her to Himself and He healed my new friend of cancer!  What a great God we have!

 

note: if you are a new reader go back three years to read the full story.

 

note #2:  BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) is an amazing!  This is the last week for the welcome class until Sept.  So if you are at all interested in studying the book of Matthew next fall go to http://www.bsfinternational.org/ and find a locate group to join.