wiww, the " pump you up" edition

i'm linking up with my  fabulous s.i.l. lindsey 

from the pleated poppy 

for another edition of wiww!

 

dress- macy's {5yrs old. told the cashier i was a s.a.h.m. and she gave me a discount!}

shoes- hand me over from my sister

tank & tights- forever 21

 necklace- lisa leonard

GINORMOUS MUSCLES- jillian michael's 30 day shred 

{it's taken me 51 days to get to day 25. yeah, i'm cool like that}

 

this is josie. 

{i wore her for 9 months 9 years ago}

this is what she wore to church sunday. 

{she's super cool like that}. 

dress/top thingy- target

jeggings- kohls

shoes- same as above.

necklace- lisa leonard

sign {top left} "everything's fine just put on a little lipstick"- gift from friend

{she knows i am too cool to go anywhere without my lipstick}. 

 shirt- gift from my sis 

{she likes to cloth me.  she is cool like that}

jeans- gap

shoes- kohls 

belt- maurices

HaPpY wEdNeSdAy!! 

"it's the end of the world as we know it"

according to harold camping the end of the world was to occur today at 

6:00 p.m. eastern standard time,

3:00 p.m. pacific standard time.

 documenting this "monumental event"  

rumored with tales of earthquakes and rapture  seemed appropriate 

{or totally inappropriate} 

for this vlogger.

all silliness aside, here's what i know...

i don't know, 

and won't know  

when Jesus is coming. 

 {Matthew 24}

but in the meantime

i do know 

that i am His,

and He is mine.

i'm good to go!

Come Away With Me!

Come away with Me

Come away with Me

It's never too late

It's not too late

It's not too late for you

I have a plan for you

I have a plan for you 

It's gonna be wild

It's gonna be great

It's gonna be full of Me

Open up your heart and Let Me in

Open up your heart and Let me in

It's been a year.

One year.

Since we left.

Left.

Left a church we loved.

I loved.

That loved me.

The leaving was so. incredibly. hard. 

But...

 I could hear the LORD beckoning me...

 "Come away with Me..."

He had been pulling me away for some time.

However...

I was clinging to that church.  Not to Him.

I was dependent on their love.  Not His.

My identity was found in that building, those people, my abilities there.  Not Him.

That church reigned in my life.  Not God.

And He is jealous for me.

Wants me for Himself.

   

He wooed me, "Come away with Me..." 

Urged me to, "Come away..."

Finally...

I did.

It's been a year.

One year of learning to cling to Jesus.  No one else.

One year dependent on His love. No one elses.

One year of being found in Him.  In no one or nothing else.

He reigns in my life.

It has been GREAT!

It has been WILD!

It has been Full of Him!

*****************************************************************************

This is not intended to prompt you to leave a church. Leaving my church of 17 years did not come with out much prayer.  We did not leave in anger.  We left out of obedience. Through God's leading we immediately found another church to attend.  We firmly believe that we are not to "give up meeting together."  We are grateful to be part of the Body of Christ- the church. 

I do encourage you however to listen to God's pull in your own life.

Is He beckoning you to "Come Away" with Him... 

to leave something that has become an idol or is a stronghold in your own life?

It's never too late.

He has a plan for you.

It is going to be full of Him!

 

wiww

I'm linking up with my s.i.l. lindsey from the pleated poppy for another edition of wiww!


what i wear when it's warm

gray tee- target

black skirt- sport's authority (a couple years ago.. so cumfy)

flops- kohls (old)

necklace- lisa leonard
pasty white skin- me

 what i wear when i paint (yes, this is the second time i've posted pix of me in my paint clothes. yes, i have a painting addiction). 
shirt- husband's old navy 4th of july 2000 t-shirt
pants- hand me overs from my sister years ago.
paint- kitchen (4x), base boards (5x), frames, furniture, bathrooms, noah's room (3x), girls rooms (2x), other people's homes...blah, blah, blah.
sassy charlie's angel poses- all me.

what my friend julie wears when she delivers homemade jam. 
(julie & husband sheffie were kid free and hitting the local wine trail together. they were just a bit happy).
dress- costco
necklace- lisa leonard

what i wear to church.

white top-kohls
black & gray striped thingy- forever 21
gray belt- forever 21
jeans-kohls
boots-kohls
red cherry necklace- lisa leonard (gift from kristen)
necklace- lisa leonard
curly hair- curly girl method (i'm officially a plopper).

The Air I Breathe

#298 

The sky was majestic as we drove the 40 miles home from church yesterday. 

 God was exclaiming through the brilliant forms of the clouds billowing over our piece of the world, 

"Worship Me!"

"Worship My Majesty!"

I reach for my point & shoot camera and worship. 

Photographing is worship.

And as I worship... 

He is Exalted. 

 And the things of this earth...

 my life...

grow strangely dim...

As I worship. 

It's no longer about me.

It's about Him. 

And my deflated lungs are filled. 

He is the air I breathe.

out on a limb

to paint or not to paint, that is the question?

ever since landing on this post from lisa leonard i have been perched on a limb

in search for my own

birds to paint.

then these two little "love" birds flew my way

for just $2.50 each.

 they are pretty just as they are, 

and

sweetly remind me of  my grandparents' house,

 and my beloved grandmother's  knick knacks on her side tables.

what do you think? 

to paint

or 

not to paint?

The One Thing I Desire

Your Presence is all I need
It’s all I want, all I seek
Without it, without it there’s no meaning

Your Presence is the air I breathe
The song I sing, the love I need
Without it, without it I’m not living

So I will exalt You, Lord, I will exalt You, Lord
There is no one like You God
I will exalt You, Lord, I will exalt You, Lord

No other name be lifted high
There will be no one like You
And no one beside You
You alone are worthy of all praise

There will be no one like You
And no one beside You
You alone are worthy of all praise

(listen here)

10 on Tuesday & Questions

#1. noah's not too old for legos. #2. sweet emilie. #3. cinco de josie. #4. mutilated barbie in the toilet #5. josie in a sling again {she's not hurt, just likes to wear it} #6. the girls made me lunch #7. lego hair #8. cinco de rubber duckie in the pocket #9. kids bought me flowers with their own $ for mom's day #10. our daily devotional which helps us start off each day with our hearts tuned to Jesus.  

    ************************************************************************

blog friend turned real-life friend kristen had a list of questions for her 3 kiddos to answer about her for mother's day.  i was curious what my kid's answers would be and decided to play along.
i'm so glad i did!!

1. i like when my mom....

josie: hugs me

emilie: sings and plays her guitar

noah: makes white chocolate chip pancakes

2. my mom likes to relax by .....

josie: sitting and staring out the front window

emilie: cleaning the house

noah: playing guitar

3. the best thing my mom cooks is......

josie: white chocolate chip pancakes

emilie: white chocolate chip pancakes

noah: white chocolate chip pancakes

4.  what does your mom do for fun.....

josie: blogs

emilie: blogs

noah: sings

5.  what is your mom's favorite thing to do with you......

josie: sing with me

emilie: talk to me

noah: snuggle

6. what is the one thing she says to you most often......

josie: stop growing

emilie: you're a sweet girl

noah: "noah joseph jones!"

7.  her favorite TV show is ...... 

josie: i love lucy { i do wish i could be lucy every day}

emilie: general hospital {yes, i watch a soap}

noah: i love lucy & gilmore girls

8. what is your moms favorite food, drink, dessert.....

josie: vegetables, tea, s'mores

emilie: popcorn, "mommy's medicine" (mike's hard lemonade. which i have once a year during maycation), cheesecake

noah: corn on the cob, laughs and says "a hard cold beer" with a twangy accent {for the record, i can't stand the taste of beer}, daddy's cheesecake

9.  what does your mom do during the day..... 

josie: works, blogs, helps with school, cleans, drives taxi

emilie: works, blogs, helps us with our school work, moms {yes, it's a verb}, cleans

noah: blogs and cleans the house

10.  my mom likes to wear..... {not what i like to wear, but what i wear}

josie: socks & sweatshirts

emilie: yoga pants

noah: clothes {men}

11. the best thing she does is......... 

josie: love.."you love best"

emilie: talking & singing.

noah: snuggles

12.  it makes her happy when........ 

josie: i hug her

emilie: when she sees old cars such as ford falcons (i do get a bit  too excited when i see falcons}. 

noah: i do the look

13.  when she shops she buys........

josie: clothes

emilie: food, clothes

noah: clothes

14.  if she could go on a trip she would go....... 

josie: Azores

emilie: Flores, Azores

noah: she would take a trip to ride an elephant, and to the Azores {i really do want to ride an elephant}.

15.  i love my mom because..... 

josie: she's the awesomest mom in the world
emilie: of all she's done for me
noah: because she's my m.b. {mommy bear}

Being Made Real

From the Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
A conversation between Rabbit and the Skin Horse-

"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day. 

"Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"  

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but really loves you, then you become Real."  

"Does it hurt?"  

"Sometimes." For he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt." "Does it happen all at once, like being wound up, or bit by bit?"

"It doesn't happen all at once. You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen to people who break to easily, or who have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand.".... 

The rabbit sighed. He thought it would be a long time before this magic called Real happened to him.  He longed to become Real, to know what it felt like; and yet the idea of growing shabby and losing his eyes and whiskers was rather sad.  He wished he could become it without these uncomfortable things happening to him.

This... this "being made real" is motherhood.
This love that happens to you. 

The bit by bit, long time of becoming.
This body; physically, emotionally, spiritually~ no. longer. mine.  

Uncomfortably, wonderfully, mysteriously, graciously~TRANSFORMED!

By their love.

And this... this is understanding tangibly what it is to be made real in Christ.

To grasp His love that happens to you. 

His "the old has gone the new has come."

His "though we are wasting away outwardly, inwardly we are being renewed."

The uncomfortable, wonderful, mysterious, graciousness of  Life-giver who TRANSFORMS me...

Transforms you!

By His love. 

It is a very Happy Mother's Day Indeed!

 

You Are My I Love You

I am your parent; you are my child.

I am your quiet place; you are my wild.

I am your calm face; you are my giggle.

I am your wait; you are my wiggle.

I am your carriage ride; you are my king

I am your push; you are my swing.

I am your audience; you are my clown.

I am your London Bridge; you are my falling down.

I am your carrot sticks; you are my licorice.

I am your dandelion; you are my first wish.

I am your water wings; you are my deep.

I am your open arms; you are my running leap.

I am your way home; you are my new path.

I am your dry towel; you are my wet bath.

I am your dinner; you are my chocolate cake.

I am your bedtime; you are my wide awake.

I am your finish line; you are my race.

I am your praying hands; you are my saying grace.


I am your favorite book; you are my new lines.

I am your night light; you are my starshine.I am your lullaby; you are my peekaboo.

I am your good night kiss; you are my I love you

From the children's book "You Are My I Love You" by Maryann K. Cusimano

teenagers, rollercoasters & apes

the other day a mother informed me that having a teenager was a "roller-coaster ride."

well, then let the ride begin!

to get the "ride" off to a monumental start we surprised noah with a trip to six flag's magic mountain, just him and his dad, to roller-coaster it up!

i expect to feel the same way noah did after i complete this teenage-adventure loaded with unexpected ups, downs, corkscrews, screaming, laughter, and tears... with joy, exclaiming, "that was awesome!!"

some parents might say that teenagers drive you apes!

 good thing i love ape(s).

 noah was surprised again at school with another visit from our favorite gorilla.  the  7th graders gladly welcomed the  gorilla who interrupted p.e. class with a balloon delivery for the birthday boy and  donuts for the sweaty class.  

there is one more surprise for noah still to share. 
my favorite surprise of all...

I'm not afraid of 13.

Yeah, I heard you.
Every one of you naysayers warning me about the dreaded age, 13.
Attempting to awaken me to the harsh "realities" of having a teenager.
Peering at me as if I have no idea the magnitude of the freight train loaded with adolescent angst, hormones, and mishap that is bolting toward me.
I see your caution yellow tape.
I hear your "just waits" and "you'll sees."

But I am not afraid.

Instead I look back, hope forward. 

Look back and remember generous, loving, good God.

Who made me a mommy to this remarkable boy young man!
Who put all my fears to rest ("Rest, Peace" meaning of Noah's name) with just a look.
Who leads Michael and I in wisdom, and trains us in the Way we should go so that in Him we can lead Noah.

I Hope forward...
with great expectation in the Author of Life,
Who has penned every sentence, paragraph, page of Noah's life.

I'm not afraid of 13.

I'm grateful to be written into Noah's 13.