Wanna Hear a Story?

Our Home Makeover on an Almost-Nothing Budget

2012-02-04T09:49:00.001-06:00

Only a few weeks into home school, and we realized life would be easier (and less cluttered) if our home had a designated space for school, and some storage and organizational items for school supplies. We had a limited budget--like practically nothing. These were all out of budget expenses, so I had to be creative. Here's what our spaces looked like before:

House Full of Faith and Furniture before

We decided to nix the formal living room, make it the "family room" and transform the family room into a school room/play room.

The calendar for "Circle Time" replaced the TV. Calendar supplies = $14. Fabric bins from target replaced Texas decor on the already existing shelf. Cost = $18.
We used my Grandma's old mason jars for holding our art supplies. Cost = $0.
I really wanted a bookshelf or hanging shelves. My friend Jenny spray-painted old rain gutters and attached them to her wall for bookshelves = brilliant! But I didn't have any rain gutters lying around. I DID have Grandma's old plate racks--they cluttered up my laundry room for 6 months. Voila! Bookshelves. Cost = $0.

I also wanted the school room to feel wide open--lots of space for play, craft tables if we so desired, and nothing on the rug so we could sit for Circle Time.
We rearranged the furniture like this:

The world map and other wall decor are garage sale finds purchased for previous projects and now lying dormant in my closet. I count that a cost of $0 (since they were not purchased for this space). But if you want to get technical they cost a total of $6. :)
Trampoline and see-saw are recent Christmas and b-day gifts for the kids. I love that there is space for them in this room. We pull them out on the rug if we need more space. Thomas the train and princess folding tables come out of the closet for painting and play-dough times.

I felt like the window treatments needed to be bolder and more uniform. Again, Grandma saved the day with these old cornice boards from her previous home. They had dingy, outdated fabric. I recovered them (and by "I", I mean "Karl and I"--I needed his help to hold and staple....and then of course to mount them--they are heavy!).
I love love this fabric that I found at the outlet downtown. Cost = $25.

Total Space Makeover = $57

Home School--Social, Not "Sheltered"

2012-02-02T15:14:00.004-06:00

One of the biggest arguments against home-schooling is that it "shelters" kids from the real world. While my daughter is missing out on lines for the bathroom and cafeteria lunches, she is far from being sheltered socially.
We've settled into a nice balance of time out of the house, time with friends, corporate activities, as well as time at home.
I like lists. So here's our list of real world experiences:

1. Once we pulled her out of public school, we enrolled her in Wed. night activities at church (while in school, these activities kept her up too late). She sings in the choir, and has a concert at the end of each semester. {Now our church is no ordinary church--it's a mega church. So when you imagine these events, think on a bigger scale than normal. This Kindergarten choir concert has about 50 kids in it.}

2. On the same big scale, she participates in AWANAS where they have gym for the last hour. She has already come home, head hung in defeat, saying, "I got out every time in dodge ball. I never even got a chance to pick up a ball to throw it." Ah yes, Baby Girl, you are demonstrating the same athletic poise and skill of your mother. But she enjoys her friends and earning badges for her vest. She comes home with both experiences of success and failure.

{Ok, this face is not after a defeat in dodge ball, but just a "I don't want to take a picture" moment. But the expression is similar.}

3. Once a week, I attend a mom's Bible study at said mega church. They offer a home school class for children. She works on self-guided activities and has another hour of gym with a different set of fun friends.

4. My parents bought both daughters dance lessons as their Christmas presents. Once a week, my girls join more little girls of their age to tap and tip-toe in leotards. Exercise, coordination, challenge, and another set of friends. All looking PRECIOUS!!

5. Once a week, we take a Field Trip. We mix it up, but the regular destinations are the public library and the nature center/wildlife refuge (which we got a family membership to last year, thank you Groupon).

{The Nature Center has special sessions for home-schoolers. I like that I am not their only teacher. Here they are learning about the migration habits of monarch butterflies.}

6. Where ever we end up, we make sure to stop and say the pledge to the flag. You'd be surprised how many are around if you make a conscious effort to notice them. They also say the pledge weekly at AWANAS.

7. We hit the playground and have playdates with other homeschool friends.

8. We travel the world. We are taking school on the road for a month this Spring, and across the ocean this summer.

9. We hang out with college students. Real world. Nuff said.

I'm a strong believer in evaluating and making adjustments. But for now, we feel great about how much of the world our little ones are experiencing.

Never Say Never...I Love Homeschooling!

2012-02-02T13:56:00.003-06:00

My friends chuckle as they recall my words: "We gotta get out of Baton Rouge before Kindergarten because the public schools are not an option here, and there is no way I'm homeschooling."

Never say never. ;)

I didn't articulate why I wouldn't homeschool, I just had a sense that my personality would not enjoy it. At the time, I had only one kid, and I thought I had capacity for little else. And while being her mom brought me more joy than I had ever known, I had other interests outside of motherhood, and I knew that I would be looking forward to getting back to those things in 5 years time.

So to my pleasant surprise, here's what I love about it; not in order of importance: (Keep in mind, this post is about me. I would not choose my child's schooling based solely on my preferences. She is currently thriving in this environment, but this list is not about that, it's from MY perspective--how God sweetly surprised me, and how I've found that I enjoy many facets of homeschooling in this stage of life).

1. I love that I don't have to wake up Bubba from his nap to go pick up his big sister at school. He did not appreciate that. And he let us know it. Happier Bubba = happier everyone.

2. When the weather is bad, I don't have to load the kids in the car and drive. (Really, you have no idea how big this is for me!)

3. I love that we set our schedule to fit well with the flow of our whole family. No one is eating breakfast in the dark so that we can rush out the door.

4. I love that we are all together.

My love language is "Quality Time" as is my Kindergartner's. She is always saying, "I love it when we're all together." I have seen the closeness that it brings for all 3 kids, and hope that they will reap benefits of building deep sibling relationships in these young years. Despite my worries of "being sheltered", we have many friends and activities that take us out of the house and staying social. In fact, homeschooling gives us more time to do those activities without having to sacrifice family dinners together or weekends with grandparents. (See post: Social, Not Sheltered).

5. We unashamedly take off on birthdays.

Here we are at a petting zoo for Bubba's second birthday. Which, if you think about it is like a field trip. A really cool field trip. I never got to pet a zebra when I was in school. ;)

6. I love that life is learning.

Now this IS my personality. This is just how we do life--cooking becomes a math lesson; an afternoon walk, a science lesson, etc. After watching a movie or TV show, we discuss the attitudes and behaviors of the characters and how that lines up with scripture (Was this person respectful? Remorseful when wrong? Did they change their heart? What were the consequences people received? Did this show have qualities that we "should think on"--lovely, pure, etc? So I love love that mashing nanners can be part of school. Gotta love how Bubba samples our banana bread. (Don't worry, I gave him extra bananas knowing that he would sample it. His portion did not go in the dough). :)

7. I love that we can learn about things not in the textbook.

We're meeting the requirements for TX KG, but also, we spend a lot of time on the arts. She is learning piano, guitar, ballet, and tap. We all study famous works of art, as we showcase a different painting each week, spanning the eras between Medieval and Impressionist. We learn the title, artist and significant points of beauty/cultural influence. What a way to prepare for our mission trip to Italy this summer! I'm so excited to think of all 3 of my kids being able to enjoy the art museums because they will have knowledge which makes them appreciate it! We are also studying about Italian geography and culture, which will hopefully aid in building relationships while there. I love that we get to put all of this learning into action! Not just learning to memorize facts, but to enjoy and experience more of God's world!

8. I love that our faith is central to our schooling.

We have daily devotions during "Breakfast and Bible" as well as prayer during "Circle Time." Not only that, but from Thanksgiving to Christmas, we abandoned traditional lessons. We did everything advent, while reinforcing the concepts we'd been learning all semester. My friend Stephanie wrote an advent book called "God Made a Promise". We anticipated the birth of Christ through the scripture and stories as well as hanging symbolic ornaments on a designated tree. In this picture, the kids are crafting their rainbow ornaments that coincide with the story about Noah.

9. I love that we can minister as a family. Because home-school has more one-on-one learning than a classroom setting, we cover ground faster. Half of our day is school, and the other half is free. We can flex our day as needed and join Karl at a campus outreach, party, or conference. We can pack up as a family and live in Florida for a month while not missing a beat in our studies, and we can travel abroad for Summer Project. All of these things interfered with the public school schedule.

10. Contrary to my assumption, I still pursue my own interests. There is less time, that is a reality, so it forces me to prioritize and make the most of my time. I still participate in campus ministry by preparing lessons at home, popping in to lead a workshop, attending a retreat for face-time with students, and serving behind the scenes to hostess a party.

I also have the privilege of coaching our new staff and intern women. This is definitely a highlight for me. I love getting to know these gals and helping them navigate their first semesters in campus ministry.
And a sweet surprise this semester was that I got to use some of my background in music to lead our neighborhood kids in a Christmas pageant. It was an amateur endeavor on my part for sure, but we all enjoyed it, got to know our neighbors better, celebrate the reason for the season, and all the while I got the opportunity to pull from my experiences as piano instructor and assistant choir director. Fun for me and fruitful! Here's a pic of our little cast:

Looking back on my naive statement of early motherhood, I was assuming that teaching my kids meant I had to give up the things I love about life. But now I see that I get to share with them all that I love about life, all the while continuing to enjoy it and explore it myself.

Read all home school posts here

Lily By Grace--guest post

2012-02-02T12:20:00.000-06:00

I hope you're encouraged by reading the words from one of our students at UNT. Lillian came to faith in Christ a few semesters ago at our evangelism training (yes, she was there to learn HOW to share her faith, and realized she had not accepted it for herself, but made a life-changing decision). She immediately signed up for Summer Project, and we have seen her blossom into maturity as she has obediently taken steps of faith. Here's her story in her words:
"Before I knew Christ, I was looking for something to give me value just like everyone else. I discovered I was good at music from a young age, I got people's praise & respect often and plus it was easy and enjoyable for me, so of course I ran with it. I would always put my worth in what chair I got in my school and, or at All-Districts, or All-State, and in my future I saw my worth as being a great saxophone player. But when I came to UNT and was still finding success even at a University with a music program like theirs, I somehow still felt empty. I didn't just "notice it a little bit," this craving for "something more" often would keep me awake at night. It was sincerely making me miserable, and I praise God for that. I just couldn't believe that this was really it, I was to live my life as being a good saxophone player... and then I would die. That was unbearably purposeless to me.

When I accepted Christ, I noticed my attitude about being a musician change drastically. At first I went too far, I was angry and bitter because I could see the blatant idolatry and purposeless consuming most of the musicians I was surrounded by, and I didn't understand how they couldn't. As God began to teach me about grace though, I found myself more convinced of the truth of eternal purpose as I watched my peers because I was beginning to more deeply understand that my salvation was not my own act, but God's mercy. After a lot of work on my heart, I felt that the Lord was calling me to drop my major as a Music Education student, as well as my position in ensembles and private lessons, to pursue a degree that would get me out of college faster so that I could go into ministry sooner. Letting loose of that final finger of identity I had wrapped around music was hard because I had so much of my worth invested in it in the past, but God is gracious, patient and extremely perseverant in His love for me. When I finally believed Him, that He wasn't doing this to punish me but because He wants that part of my heart too, it became all too clear that this is what He was asking me to do. It required sacrifice, especially in big financial ways, and there have been many days that I don't trust Him. But at the end of it all, I still don't regret making the decision to surrender that part of my heart, because at the end of the day, what I have found is that it is undeniably true that my heart is only satisfied when He is occupying as much of it as possible."
You can read more from Lillian at her blog:
Lily By Grace
Lillian still uses her many musical talents to lead our group in weekly worship. Here she is giving our kids a serenade and mini-lesson about the guitar. Precious.

Demi Moore--Worthy of Love

2012-01-28T23:02:00.000-06:00

Demi Moore confessed in the latest issue of Harper's BAZAAR magazine, "I would say that what scares me is that I’m gong to ultimately find out at the end of my life that I’m really not lovable, that I’m not worthy of being loved, that there’s something fundamentally wrong with me.” Demi has been the target for public scrutiny these last few months. Check any entertainment news website, and you'll find a plethora of heated comments about her divorce from Ashton Kutcher, her hospitalization and convulsions due to "exhaustion", her weight loss, plastic surgery, etc. What you won't find is a lot of grace.

Demi has the courage to admit to the stone-throwing public her fears and insecurities (probably identifiable to the stone-throwers themselves).
When I read Demi's words, my heart ached with compassion for her. Not pity. Not judgement. But compassion for a woman who longs to be loved unconditionally and fears that she is not worthy of such love.
If I could sit down with Demi Moore, I would tell her: "Oh Demi, thank you for sharing that. I think you articulated what most people feel but are afraid to admit outloud. A wise person once told me,'God made all people with the desire to be fully-known yet fully-loved and accepted at the same time.' I think your desires are perfectly natural. And your fears make sense because those who have vowed to love you have failed you. But God says, he loves you. It doesn't make sense why He would love us so much, but He tells us over and over again that He does. What makes Him different from all the others is that He never fails. God is Love. (1 John 4:8, 16) It is His nature. It is absolutely impossible for Him to not love or to stop loving. My favorite description of His love is such: 'God's love is a never-stopping, never-giving-up, unbreaking, always and forever love.'
But Demi, I have to be blunt with you...you're right in that you are not worthy of this love. Don't take it personally. I'm not worthy either. No one is. God's perfect and no one is perfect, so we're not worthy. Thankfully for us, He loves us enough to come up with a solution: "God demonstrates His own love for us, in while we were sinners, Christ died for us."
And that's what grace is. It's what no one else is giving you right now. 'For it is by grace you have been saved through faith. Not of yourself because of something you did. It is a gift from God.' (Eph. 2:8-9)
If you want, Demi, I can explain more about how you can experience this always-and-forever love."

Involuntary Social Media Fast

2012-01-25T19:52:00.001-06:00

"Made it home," I texted Karl after driving the kids back from my parents house.
"Check your email when you get the chance. Love." He texted back.
I gasped and felt like my stomach just fell out. I texted back:
"Oh my goodness I left my laptop at my parents house. Just realized when you said that. Crap." (my very strong and rarely used expletive.)
"Well bummer," he replied, knowing the implications--I don't have a smart-phone. He does, but he was out of town and would be for another several days. My laptop is my only computer. So now I'm home alone without access to the internet. It felt equivalent to losing electricity and having to function by candle-light.
This feeling was magnified by the fact that I had just spent several days at my parents house--with no wireless internet for my computer--while he was gone. I had set my email to give an out-of-office response, letting people know, "Really, I won't be checking this. Like at all." I knew this would prevent people feeling ignored, but I also knew that my inbox would be really backed up when I returned. Unfortunately, I forgot to post such notice on facebook or twitter, so those messages would appear totally ignored.
I comtemplated loading my 3 kids back in the car...after bedtime...to drive back to my parents house so I could retrieve the computer. They don't live THAT far...what's another 3 hours in the car today? But the whining chorus of the drive home echoed in my ears, and I decided against it.
The next day, I contemplated again, but the kids' reunion with their new Christmas toys thrilled them so much, I hadn't the heart to do it. My mom offered to drive it to me. I knew she had so much work to catch up on, I refused. We attempted plans to rendezvous mid-week, but they fell through. Oh well, what's a few more days? I could wait until the weekend.

And that's why I spent 3 weeks away from social media.

Here's what I gleaned from the experience, positive and negative:

1. Positive. I accomplished more at home in the mornings if I'm not online. Duh. Since homeschool began, I stopped checking first thing in the morning, but when the kids take a break mid-morning, I'd usually dive in to answer emails, "like" people's statuses, retweet encouraging statements, etc.
2. Positive. My focus stayed on the kids, and therefore my response to them was gentler. I used to call it "efficient" to get some computer work done while the kids watched Veggie Tales, but if the show ended a couple of minutes before I had completed my task, then I would attempt to keep working. Inevitably, one of them would offend another in some way and my response half the time would come from irritation that they were interrupting me. When my secondary focus (computer) was taken out of the equation, I could more selflessly parent and discipline them with correct motives.
3. Neutral. Similarly, the people in my presence received more attention while those far away received no attention. Now, I'm not one of those people who has a face-to-face conversation while also searching imdb to find the actor whose name escapes me at the moment (hopefully this will not change if I ever get a smart phone), BUT, I do devote several hours a week to ministry over the internet. Since I'm currently wrestling with this balance, I'm calling this experience: neutral.
4. Negative. Not having the computer as a means of communication is annoying--on both ends. People would say, "Did you see my post?" Sorry, no. "Are you coming? Did you get the evite?" Nope. Facebook events--didn't see those either. Some people felt ignored. Others, knowing the situation, didn't take it personally, but it was a nuissance not being able to discuss over email/look at attachments, etc. And when I got the computer back, it took me days to catch up on all the correspondence. This is the normal standard of communicating--to completely withdraw makes it difficult for all involved. (Even the hand-written correspondence that I needed to do, couldn't be mailed because my address book is on my computer--agh!)
5. Negative. Acquiring information was difficult and in some situations impossible. Here's how it complicated a normally simple situation: I needed to find tap shoes for my daughter. Because of her foot's rapid growth rate, I usually buy used or borrow. The first thing I would normally do is post to my facebook friends: "Anyone have girls size 13 tap shoes I can borrow?" If this didn't pan out, Craigslist would be my go-to place. Hmm...what did people do before fb and craigslist? So I revert back to the old days--word of mouth from friends. They mention a few places...they can't exactly remember the name or exactly remember the location. Normally I would google. Hmm...what did people do before google? A phonebook? Karl puts those straight in the recycling bin because we NEVER use them, and besides, any place in the phonebook is probably not going to have THAT great of a bargain. Even if I attempted the vicinity of the places mentioned by my friends, I am notorious for getting lost. I typically use a gps, google maps, AND landmarks from friends, and I STILL make a wrong turn 50% of the time. It is my tragic flaw. {Our staff team came up with "Super-powers" and "tragic flaws" several years ago. At first my "tragic flaw" was "overuse of the word 'detrimental.'" But I've changed it. Really it IS detrimental how much I get lost! But I digress...} So reverting back to pre-internet ways and buying a road map at the 7-11 would not help me. I just put off the task of finding tap shoes until I got my computer back.

Conclusions: Unless I choose to live in a remote village and separate myself from the modern world and the people therein, my computer is a necessary part of functioning in community. However, I can spend less hours a day on it, delay selected responses without repercussions, and have the rewards of a more pleasant, present time with my family. I've slipped nicely into a schedule of reading my email while the kids eat lunch, (after a full, hands-on morning of home-schooling). I only respond to urgent ones at the table, and do other tasks in the late afternoon. My facebook and twitter browsing has lessened; I read friends' blogs in my leisure as I would a magazine, and I write a blog post when I feel inspired. :)

Breakfast & Bible

2012-01-17T18:24:00.000-06:00

We start our days with a devotion around the breakfast table. For the past year, we've been going through the book of Proverbs one/two verses at a time. We have a poster that my girls colored. As you can see, it has 2 columns--the Wise Person, and the Foolish Person, and as we read a verse, we write in the column the characteristics and outcomes of these two people. Proverbs is a book of wisdom, so pretty much everything can be divided into one of these 2 categories.

I got this idea from Shepherding a Child's Heart, where Tedd Trip instructed his 8 yr old son to read some verses in Proverbs and asked him to examine his disobedient behavior as wise or foolish. I loved this idea, but wanted to make it on the level for my (then) pre-schooler. Instead of merely showing her these Biblical principles when she disobeyed, I wanted it to be on-going, "shepherding her heart" day-to-day. We've made it through several chapters, and are on our second poster now. Little sister joined us in our devotions during the summer, and when we started doing it at the breakfast table this fall, Bubba hears along too. I had no idea how fruitful this would be! Now whenever we find ourselves in a discipline situation, we refer back to the poster. One of the very first verses reveals that the Wise Person obeys their parents. Then we keep reading the poster to see all the blessings that come to someone when they are wise. Then we look at the Foolish Person--one who ignores correction and hates discipline. We review what will become of the Foolish Person, maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but eventually...if they don't learn wisdom and discipline, they will come to ruin, death, destruction, terror, etc. etc. It's eye-opening for them. And it helps remind them that my motives are not to destroy their fun, but to teach them to be individuals who make good choices, who love God, and who have great character.

As my Kindergartner has blossomed into a wise child who generally obeys, the Proverbs study is still relevant to her (it's relevant to me! I benefit from these devotions as well!).

Today she was crying, dreading the cotton-swab-throat-poke for her strep test at the doctor. I tried to comfort her, and then said, "Let's see if God's word has some encouragement for you. Let's look at our Proverbs poster." We recalled that the foolish person ignores advice, and I had advised her to get the test. We recalled how the wise person has health and vitality (note: Proverbs are not the same as God's promises. They are generalities--the most common outcomes of using wisdom vs. not). We defined "vitality" and visualized what that would be like in contrast to how bad she's been feeling with her sore throat and fever. I let her weigh the cost of suffering the strep test vs. the consequences of not taking it. She smiled a sheepish smile that I know all too well, which means, she has come around to seeing my perspective. We went to the doctor, she was still dreading it, but she stopped the tears and decided to sit still so the doctor could get the swab as efficiently as possible. A wise decision for a 6 yr old. :)

Our Home School Days--Getting Started

2012-01-16T22:16:00.000-06:00

This semester has been full and fun! The first 6 weeks of our home school adventure extended me to my max. Because we hadn't planned on this schooling avenue, I had not prepared. This left me spending my evenings researching curriculum, planning the next days activities, as well as looking long-term ahead in the year to make sure all the state requirements for Kindergarten were included. I have a handful of close friends who homeschool and who span a variety of styles and curriculum. I wasn't drawn to the "boxed sets" of curriculum for this year. For one thing, we were already several weeks into the school year when we began, I didn't want to have to "catch-up" or recover ground she'd already learned. Already established in a daily Bible lesson and application activity, I didn't want to abandon that to go along with a boxed set nor add another lesson to our day. Plus, I figured Kindergarten is a good year to experiment. She had already mastered about 80% of the objectives for the year. My mom had given me a great set of weekly readers a few years ago that we dug into this past summer, so there was little left to purchase. The structure of our day and how much ground to cover at a time were the biggest question marks when I began.
Once I decided upon "Circle Time", I structured the rest around that. From polling others, I expected Kindergarten to be a half-day, with about 1.5 hrs of hands-on by me.
We enrolled the girls in children's choir and AWANAs on Wed. nights at church. Besides the obvious benefits of worship and scripture memorization, these activities provided them with a social outlet, a big group choir experience + performance, and field-day like games in the gym. It also gave me 2.5 hours once a week to plan and prepare, which is so helpful. Having that time to myself to really concentrate was much more fruitful than trying to do it after the kids were in bed, by which time, my brain is usually turned to mush. Here's what typical Monday looks like:

Tuesdays and Thursdays are about the same, with the addition that Thursday afternoon is "chore day" at our house. Each child has age appropriate chores (this is not part of home-school, but just life in our family) which of course for the little ones takes longer to accomplish than if I just did it all myself, but I feel it's good for them to start participating and learning responsibility now and eventually they'll be better at it. Big sister already cleans their bathroom all by herself, and that actually IS a huge help!

After Circle Time, we set up lessons at the kitchen table. Kindergarten has lessons every day. Pre-school has lessons 2-3 days a week. And Bubba...well I don't make him sit there. More times than not, he'll soak up the time to have all the toys in the house to himself, but occasionally he gets envious of their big girl activities and wants to scribble with a crayon or try the glue, or as pictured here, complain that he doesn't get to use a marker.

Once we settled into this routine, the kids--all 3 of them--and myself really started to thrive.

Circle Time

2012-01-16T17:41:00.000-06:00

"Circle Time" is the first pillar in our daily home school structure. I got the idea from the Counting Coconuts homeschool blog, and I pretty much copied her daily calendar. The structure of the time, and visibility of it excited me and made me feel capable to pull off this home education thing. :)

My kindergartner should master the concepts of the passage of time during this year. We begin our "Circle Time" by moving the keychain to today's date and having her recite it. We examine the days of the week--the pockets below help show what day just occurred and what is coming up next. We have cute little songs to help memorize the days in order as well as the months of the year.
All 3 kids participate in Circle Time. When I announce it's time, they come running, "Yeah!!!" They love it! Even Bubba, who just turned 2, knows the songs and sings along. Together the 3 of them examine the weather through our back room windows. Then they sit down again. We review listening with all parts of our body, "How do we listen with our ears?...by hearing", "How do we listen with our mouths?...by keeping them quiet" etc. While Kindergartner masters the calendar, Bubba is mastering self-control while I make him sit still and listen--that and learning his colors are my only goal for him. I wanted to make sure that each child had a visible learning goal on the board, so I have the color of the week for Bubba. My goal for my pre-schooler is to master her seasons and shapes. She knows a lot of shapes from puzzles, toys, and Mickey Mouse, but I want to make sure that none have slipped through the cracks, and we are learning their geometrically correct names (i.e. a diamond is a rhombus).
After we've covered the board, I join them in the circle on the floor and we say a daily prayer. I use these great prayers for different character qualities based on a scripture passage. I've got quite a collection as our church nursery has put one in our diaper bag each week for the past 3 years. My goal for prayer time is different for each child's stage of development. For Bubba, again his goal is mainly to sit still, to show reverent posture, and to benefit from hearing the prayers of others which hopefully develops a reverent heart in him. They each take turns praying aloud, and it is so precious. To hear what their hearts are thankful for and to hear how they articulate their requests for character is a window into their soul. This morning was a prayer for "responsibility", and my oldest asked God to help her "do her morning chores joyfully."
After prayer is story time. This is where I shift to the Charlotte Mason style of homeschool, and make use of her great book recommendations. Sometimes our "circle" falls apart as the girls like to cuddle while listening. :) I let Bubba bounce about, as long as his mouth is quiet and ears are listening. I got this advice from other home-school moms of boys--they found that their boys listened just as well when they were moving about as when they were still, but when the focus was on sitting still, the story was constantly distracted by the interruptions to enforce that. Self-control is important, but since he is a young 2, I don't press for too much too soon. After the story, I ask a few questions to see what they comprehended and remembered.
Our entire "Circle Time" lasts about 30 minutes, and then we move to the table for lessons.

Attitude of Gratitude--Our Thanksgiving Tree

2011-11-23T14:27:00.000-06:00

So yep, we ripped off the Pottery Barn Kids idea, and made our own Thanksgiving tree. I had intended to write "Attitude of Gratitude" on the trunk and a scripture about giving thanks, but my current reality is that I plan a lot more things than I actually have time to execute, so once the girls hung the tree up, we called it a victory. We incorporated this activity into our daily "Circle Time" for home school.
I categorized each day to help the kids pinpoint different things, otherwise it would be "Mommy, Daddy and my stuffed Kitty" every day. Not sure how much Bubba comprehended the activity, as you'll get a chuckle from some of his answers.

Taste
Big Sister = candy
Little sister = apples
Bubba = acorns

Sound
Big sister = a friend's voice
Little sister = "Shhhh" because she likes to go to sleep
Bubba = cars

Smell
Big Sister = brownies
Little Sister = bananas
Bubba = bananas

Sight
Big Sister = Bubba's face when he's singing
Little Sister = stuffed animals
Bubba = Sissy

Touch
Big Sister--hugs
Little Sister--hugs
Bubba--I spy something blue

America:
Big Sister--that I have friends all over the country
Little Sister--lots of toys
Bubba--the sky

Something eternal:
Big Sister--the Bible
Little Sister--God's Holy Word
Bubba: Murphie, Jessie and Wesley

Something about Jesus:
Big Sister: That He lives in our hearts
Little Sister: That He changes hearts
Bubba: Thank you Jesus for Murphie, Jessie and Wesley

Something about Fall:
Big Sister--That I get to stay home for school
Little Sister--screen door and playing outside

Something from the weekend:
Big Sister--painting with Mommy
Little Sister--getting to stay up late and go to the college with Daddy
Bubba--Mommy, Daddy, Sisters

Since we have 2 November birthdays, we spent a day giving thanks for specific attributes of Big Sis and Bubba. Not wanting to leave out Little Sis, we spent a day celebrating her as well. Everyone in the family took turns saying things, I didn't keep track of who said what, but just wrote in a spiral on the leaf.

Big Sister: tender-hearted, gives lovin' (hugs), thoughtful, deep thinker, pretty face, loves Jesus and others, tells the truth, remembers every detail, artistic, "she shares her toys with me"

{unicorn birthday cake for breakfast, per the birthday girl's request}

Little Sister: gives sweet snuggles, gives hugs unexpectedly, laughs a lot, beautiful blue eyes, precious voice, "that she loves me", "that she's Sissy", enthusiastic, funny, adorable freckles on her nose

Bubba: adventurous joyous boy. See previous post.

What you're most thankful for:
All 3 said: "Mommy, Daddy, Brother, Sister, Grammy & Grandpa, Grandma & Papa" :)

{Church choir performance; Karl's taking the pic, Papa had to work}

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Until I Had A Boy, I Never...

2011-11-01T13:13:00.002-05:00

Today my baby boy turns 2! After two girls, these last two years with a boy have been different to say the least. I find myself chuckling at how different God made boys and girls, and today, while celebrating my sweet boy, I want to celebrate the many new surprises that life with a boy has brought.

Until I Had a Boy, I Never Said:
--Don’t put dirt on your sisters.
--Get out of the fireplace.
--Get out of the dishwasher.
--Don’t pound on your sister’s head with a car.
--Did you dump dirt on your head?
--Don’t put your fork in your eye.
--Once a toy has been in poop, you don’t get it back.

Until I Had a Boy, I Never Heard:
--I wanna ball.
--I wanna football.
--I wanna dunk.
--I wanna climb.
--Mommy, I’m tough!
--Mommy, go long!
--{after falling and scraping his knee} Me: Aww, do you want sugar (kisses)? Bubba: “Nooo” Me: Do you want lovin’(hugs)? Bubba: “Noooo” Me: What do you want then? Bubba: “I wanna go back outside!”
-- {With the same affectionate tone as his sisters when presenting me with a flower} “Mommy, I brought a stick for you!"
--Burrrrp! heh heh heh heh

Happy Birthday, Bubba!

Fall Craft = Book Pumpkins!

2011-10-13T11:53:00.002-05:00

Home school is keeping us busy with fun activities like these book pumpkins! (I'll attempt an actual update on home school some other time). I got this idea from my friend Cheryl's blog Cutting Circles.

As we learned about Fall, I looked for a fun craft idea that would meet some requirements for Kindergarten, and also look pretty cute displayed in my house. :) These pumpkins fit the bill perfectly. My Kindergartener traced and cut the pages from an old book. (She had several from which to choose as I'm in the midst of a closet clean-out project). She completed a dozen or so pages a day, which took her about 2 weeks.

Spreading it out over time enabled her to master her cutting skills, and also built anticipation for the final results! We completed the remaining steps all in one day--gluing, spray-painting, and affixing the stick and ribbon.

The girls enjoyed looking for sticks in our backyard. I found 2 scraps of green ribbon in my ribbon box (because I save ALL ribbon!).

How have I not mentioned yet that this DIY project is a big $ saver? Right now at Walmart, Target, Hobby Lobby, etc. you can purchase various decorative pumpkins this size for a range of $15-$60 each.
Since I had all the supplies except orange spray paint, these 2 pumpkins cost a total of $1.97. That's a total savings of $26.06-$116.06!

For the full tutorial, go here

"The Big Something"

2011-10-10T18:32:00.000-05:00

I think it was the Cru ministry at Texas Tech that coined this term. At the beginning of the Fall semester, we want to gather freshmen. I know I quote this statistic every year in some form of prayer request or mailer, but it gets me every time: "80% of freshmen are open to the gospel within the first 2 weeks of classes, that number drops to 20% by week 6." Wow. We gotta grab hold of them and offer them Jesus before something else grabs a hold of them. Statistics also show that the choices students make in college sets them on the path they will tend to follow for the course of their entire life. The first few weeks in a freshman's life is pivotal.

So, like I said, we try to gather and meet as many freshmen as we can. One of our strategies is "The Big Something." Every year we mix it up a little bit in the details--it always has free food of some sort, and something fun to draw a crowd. We call it "The Big Something" while we plan for it because we don't know what the name should be until it comes together, but it is such a pillar in the first week of school, it gets this title, and as we brain storm it helps us remember that it can't be "A little something" or "A big nothing."
This year we hosted a volleyball tournament and live outdoor concert at Kerr "Beach" at the University of North Texas. Of course it was a free event, and included free snow cones. "The Big Something" served its purpose and gathered apx. 80 new students (pretty incredible considering our ministry had about a dozen students at the start of last fall, and only half that the year before).
God blessed us with fantastic weather. Record-breaking temps of 107, 108 degree days lasted for months, but the night of The Big Something was THE FIRST evening that dipped to 80. It was magnificent! One girl wore a jacket. People still ate snow cones. :)

Why Not PCA (Private School)?

2011-09-13T15:39:00.005-05:00

Since I never completed my post on how and why we chose public school, and since I DID write a post about our parent interview for private Christian school, many of you have asked, "What happened with PCA? Did she not get in? Was it too much money? Why didn't you choose it?"

We loved every experience we had with PCA.

The teachers, students, administrators--wow, they are the BEST--so respectful, enthusiastic and kind. PCA is like the fun of Disney World wrapped in the Holy Spirit. They integrate family and faith into their schooling and produce a truly stellar education.

It was heart-renching to turn down their VERY GENEROUS financial assistance offer. But on the whole, we felt like it was not right for this time. Karl and I value "room for margin." We don't pack out our schedule, finances, or any aspect of life to the max because when we've done this in the past, it leads to more stress and less flexibility. If there's no room for margin in our schedule, then we can't at the spur of the moment help out a neighbor or friend in need. If there's no room for margin in our finances, we can't offer to invite someone over for dinner or change the menu at the last minute because the day didn't go as planned. We value all of these things.

Choosing PCA would've left no room for margin for us this year. Even though their financial offer was so generous, and even though they figure the assistance based on salary, it would have taken us to our max in every budget category, and we still would have needed to ask grandparents for a little help and/or we would've had to stop giving to missionaries (the latter of which we are not willing to do). The grandparents are generous, and if we had even mentioned the need, no doubt, they would have jumped in to help (as I assume they are reading this right now and thinking, "Yes! We didn't know!"), but it wasn't just finances. If it had been just one area of crowded margin, we could've made sacrifices to make it work.
But the travel to PCA was also too much. We drive there for church and for my Wed. mom's Bible study; at those times of day, it's not a bad commute. But during school-traffic time, and because of the new construction in our town and neighboring towns, it takes 50 minutes one way (we didn't know this until we started the application process and took her to and from during school-traffic times for Opportunity Day and such). And that is not allowing any time for possible delays or walking in the building. We just couldn't spend that much time in the car everyday for Kindergarten, esp. with my 2 littlest ones in tow. Carpool is out of the question, because our vehicle only seats my 3 kids. (And we haven't even mentioned the cost of gas for 3-4 hours of driving).

So with a heavy heart, we said, "No thank you. Maybe in the future." Those roads will be fast and flowing someday. Who knows if we'll be living in this house by then. Only God knows what the future holds. :)

Our Switch to Home School

2011-09-12T17:54:00.000-05:00

I held back tears as I walked into the school. While clutching my 8-page stack of papers, my hands trembled--partly with rage, partly with anticipation of confronting the principal. I shook my head while I said to Karl, "I never thought I'd be on this side of the table." I planned to never be THAT parent--the one complaining about my child's teacher. But after 2+ weeks of tears and fears, after a sham of a parent-teacher conference, I trudged into the principal's office with documentation of mental and emotional abuse--8 typed pages worth.

If you (reader) are looking for a blog post to confirm your suspicions that public school is all bad, you will not find that here. I grew up in public school. I have walked through most of my life while my mother taught in public school. My sister followed. My aunts and cousins work for the public school system. And no doubt, if Karl and I had not joined the ministry, I would have served alongside them. And while yes, the system is tragically flawed, my empathy for teachers is HIGH. In fact, it is somewhat of a running joke with us that public school teachers must be filled with the grace of God--how else would they last in a profession where they are overworked, underpaid, and continually disrespected? I have heard stories over the years that you wouldn't believe of disrespectful students, of complaining parents with major entitlement issues, of administrators with no backbone who look out for their interests above the interest of their teachers. And yet these selfless teachers remain in position to educate and encourage the next generation. I knew I would never be one of "those" parents. I was going to work WITH the teacher, and not in an over-bearing way, but in a let-me-partner-with-you-as-you-have-authority-over-your-classroom way.

Unfortunately, our little girl did not land with such a filled-by-the-grace-of-God teacher. Mrs. Q, we'll call her ("Q" for Question why this lady went into the teaching profession), causes a pit in my stomach when I think about her. Another note to reader: This is gonna be long. But it's like an episode of Matlock, you've got to know the details on the front end if you want to be properly appalled at the reveal.

Our daughter, who has affection for all her previous teachers, never smiled when we mentioned Mrs. Q ("Q" for Question every Quality you'd expect of a Kindergarten teacher and you won't find it). She was afraid of Mrs. Q ("Q" for Question her name, but I won't drag it through the mud on the internet). And consequently, she was afraid of school. Our little girl who loves to learn, HATED going to school; and she refused to raise her hand in fear of receiving a harsh reprimand. Every day when we picked her up, she reported that she did not enjoy her day. Nighttime produced sobbing and dread for return the next day. Morning had less tears, but her face was sullen with reluctant acceptance of defeat.

She really is such a good little girl--we'd encourage her to be brave and return to school, so she did. We prayed a lot. She prayed a lot.

We kept our optimism high--surely the situation would improve. Mrs. Q wasn't getting on to her--her daily report showed all smiley-faces, but the kids all around her, we thought, must be little heathens. Why else would Mrs. Q be so mad all the time? Hopefully once they learned to settle down and obey their teacher, the classroom environment would improve. When the tears and fears worsened, I started keeping a log--mostly for my benefit. I wanted to review from day to day my daughter's fears, when she experienced them, and my response to them. I decided to review these things with my mom, my sister, and a trusted former-teacher friend. They, like I, wanted to give Mrs. Q the benefit of the doubt, and all encouraged me to have a parent-teacher conference sooner than later.

I emailed Mrs. Q just after 2PM. When I showed up at school dismissal, a mere 30 minutes later, I was pleasantly surprised when she said, "I got your email. You were on my list to call TODAY. I'm concerned too. Can we chat right now?" This was God's providence--Karl had come home from work early--he wanted to come with me so he could experience the carpool line in case he ever needed to be on pick-up duty. So he took the kids home, and I stayed to converse with Mrs. Q. I talked with her for more than an hour. I felt cared for that she was giving me so much of her time. She shared concern and wanted to do everything she could to improve our school situation. She thought the anxiety was due to 2 main components: 1. The public potty (still), and 2. A "nosy" little girl at her table.

Mrs. Q said she noticed the pattern of anxiety just before each of the 3 daily trips to the potty. She said she asked my baby girl "What can I do to make this better for you?" To which she replied, "You could go with me." Mrs. Q told me how she rearranged the schedule to take my daughter on a special trip to the potty. She allowed her to use the staff bathroom across the hall while another teacher watched her class. She said she could repeat this every day until the potty fear alleviated. I thanked her for her special effort and apologized for the inconvenience it must be causing her--after all, my daughter is just one of 21 kids in her care.

Mrs. Q asked what else caused fear in my little girl. I said that mostly her fears were about getting in trouble. I discussed some specifics from the previous week. Mrs. Q nodded along, "Yes, I recall those incidents," she continued, "I've noticed a pattern that whenever the tears come, 'Nosy Rosie' has just said something upsetting such as, "You shouldn't be doing the blue crayon book, the blue crayon book was yesterday." Mrs. Q said she reassured her, "You are not in trouble. You are the only one doing it right." But when problems with "Nosy Rosie" persisted, Mrs. Q decided to rearrange the table seating. Mrs. Q told me that after I sent the email, she pulled my Baby Girl aside and they had the following conversation:
Mrs. Q: "Tomorrow I'm going to change the seats. Can you tell me about the people at your table? Do any of them bother you?"
H: Shakes head.
Mrs. Q: "What about Michael? Does Michael bother you?"
H: Shakes head.
Mrs. Q: "What about Katie? Does she bother you?"
H: Shakes head.
Mrs. Q: "What about Rosie? Does Rosie bother you?"
H: "Sometimes Rosie makes me nervous."
"Ahh", Mrs. Q and I said it at the same time. Mrs. Q looked at me and said, "And she said it just like that: Rosie makes me nervous. She's so adult in how she talks, you know. She talks just like you and me." I nodded. My Baby Girl has been that way since she was 2. Mrs. Q said they continued their conversation with her asking, "If you could pick 2 little girls to sit at your table, who would you pick?"
H: "Sarah and Macey"
This surprised me, because I knew Alexis was her favorite little playmate in the class, and had never heard her mention Sarah or Macey. Mrs. Q said they all had a similar temperament--quiet and well-behaved, and thought those 3 girls would get along well together. Again, I thanked her and told her that I felt encouraged about these changes.
Mrs. Q said that she, too, was hopeful and asked if there was anything else that she could be doing. I thought carefully how to express my last concern. According to my daughter's reports of the day, she generally felt like Mrs. Q did not care how she or the other kids in the class were feeling, and routinely brushed them off in a hurtful manner. I began, "Well, my girl is very tender-hearted and loves affection..." Mrs. Q nodded again, "Yes, she is always the first one in my lap for story time. She sits in my lap every day. And just the other day, I was working on the floor during their Free Choice time, and she grabbed a book and hopped in my lap, which I love. So she just sat there looking at her book while I drew smiley faces in the take-home folders."

This made me glad. Mrs. Q and I exchanged friendly chit-chat while we exited the building. I was eager to talk to my baby--I just knew that today must have been better for her--with the less scary trip to the bathroom and knowing that she would be at a different table tomorrow. When I hopped in the car (Karl had to load up the kids to come get me), I asked her, "Tell me about the potty today!"
She frowned and said nothing.
I said, "You got to use a SPECIAL potty today, was it less scary?"
She said, "Mommy, it was not a special potty."
"Well, you might not have known it was special, but it WAS. It was a potty just for grown-ups, and Mrs. Q let you use it."
This irritated her and she said, "Mommy. It is NOT a grown-up potty."
I, now a little irritated at her for clinging to specifics and delaying the point of the conversation, said,"Well maybe it was the size of a kids' potty... I don't know, but it was special. What I want to know is: was it less scary? Was your day better?"
Annoyed, she said, "No."

At this point, we arrived home. The kids hopped off to play, and I relayed the parent-teacher conference to Karl while I began preparing dinner. When I've explained it all, my phone rang. It was a girlfriend of mine who has been aware of our situation at school. We'll call her "Mrs. I" ("I" for In-the-Know, not "B" for Busy-Body, but really "I" for In the loop). I won't tell you how she knows, but "Mrs. I" had just received some privileged information that Mrs. Q is bad news. Mrs. Q has received complaints from parents in years past, in schools past, and has a known reputation for being cold, harsh, and strict. Beyond complaints from parents, she has received reprimands from administrators and is up for review at the end of the term. I felt my stomach drop out from under me when I heard this news. My daughter's instincts had been spot on. The encouragement I felt vanished. We ended the call, and I sat down my phone.
At this moment, Karl walked purposefully into the kitchen. He rested his hands on the bar, and said with calm concern:
"H just told me that she doesn't sit in Mrs. Q's lap for story time. I said to her, 'Ok, not story time, but some other time.' She looked me in the eye and said, 'Daddy, I have never sat in Mrs. Q's lap.'"

I stared at him in disbelief, and explained what "Mrs. I" had just revealed to me on the phone. As we're setting the table, it all was coming together in our minds. Did Mrs. Q really just spend an hour LYING TO MY FACE? In a desperate attempt to keep me at bay, this lady who is in fear of losing her job fabricated events to make herself appear to be a nurturing teacher, but really has been frightening these little 5-yr-olds. Karl pounded his fists on the kitchen island. His face and neck turned red, and he yelled something that I don't remember. This alarmed the children, who ran into the kitchen. They stood at the edge and watched with big eyes while Karl stated with firm resolve, "She is not stepping foot back into that classroom."

We both felt too sick to eat dinner. I kept picturing Mrs. Q's false face of concern, and I felt defiled by it. As the kids sat down, I casually asked, "Baby girl, tell me about the kids at your table at school."
She said, "There's Michael, and Katie and Rosie and Caleb."
I asked, "Do any of them bother you? Do they make you nervous?"
She paused for a minute, wearing an expression of "Hmm, I've never thought about it before" and answered, "No."
I said, "What about Rosie?"
She replied breezily, "No, Rosie doesn't make me nervous."
I said, "Mrs. Q told me that you told her that Rosie makes you nervous. Do you remember Mrs. Q asking you about the kids at your table?"
She looked at me and said, "I didn't say that. Mrs. Q didn't ask me about anyone at my table."
"Did she tell you that you'd be changing seats?"
"No."
I, maintaining an aura of innocent curiosity, asked, "If you could pick 2 girls to sit at your table who would you choose?"
Immediately she says, "Alexis (the playmate I expected Mrs. Q to mention) and hmm...Destiny."
I asked her about more details from my conference--little things that I didn't even type here--all false. Then I remembered how confused and irritated she was during our conversation about the potty. So I said, "One more time...tell me about going to the potty today? Did Mrs. Q take you because you asked her to?"
She said, "No. I went during lunch. I raised my hand like this (she gestured the letter "R" in sign language) and another teacher gave me permission to go. My bathroom buddy was Katie, so she went with me."
Karl said, "Did Mrs. Q take you later in the day? Did you go to a different bathroom than normal?"
Confused she said, "Daddy, why are y'all asking me all these questions? We used the potty with the purple and white tile on the floor. We always use the potty with the purple and white tile. Last week we used the one with orange tile, but not today--it was purple and white."
Karl looked at her and said, "We believe you. You have always told us the truth, so we know we can trust you."

I felt ashamed at myself for not listening better on our car ride home. Fortunately, I had listened well the previous weeks. And fortunately, I kept track of those listening times by logging the conversations on my computer. And now I had documentation to bring to the principal.

Karl took off work the next morning. A friend kept the kids--all 3 of them, and with my hands trembling, we walked into the principal's office. Mr. K (we'll call him "K" for Kind Man) listened intently, took notes, and raised his eyebrows with concern at the appropriate moments. Like any good principal, he defended his employee first. He said, "I hate to believe that Mrs. Q said all of this just to placate you. Maybe she'll follow through on some of these things--like the table seating and the different restroom, and it will be better. Tell me, where are you two at in the process?"

Karl respectfully replied, "Where we're at is that it doesn't matter what Mrs. Q does to 'follow through'. The issue is that she can't be trusted. Where we're at is that we can't believe a word that comes out of her mouth. It's not a matter of if she changes the tables, it's a matter of her lying to my wife, fabricating conversations that never occurred. Where we're at is that our daughter will not come back to this school as long as Mrs. Q is her teacher."

Mr. K didn't defend Mrs. Q any longer. He said he would discuss all of these things with her. He took my 8 pages--4 documenting the events that our daughter reported, and 4 documenting our parent-teacher conference and how the lies revealed themselves.
He said we could begin in a new class tomorrow. My friend, "Mrs. I" had mentioned a few of the other teachers to me, "Mrs. G's" ("G" for Guaranteed to be Great!), but their classes had reached their cap. Mr. K said that the only spot left was with "Mrs. P" ("P" for Probably a better experience). We said we'd think about it and let him know by the end of the day. We contemplated home-schooling, since we knew that our missions schedule would require that come March anyway.

Feeling rushed by the school bell, I called Mr. K and said, "Sure, let's switch to Mrs. P's class." But I felt uncertain and wavered back and forth all day. Once the kids were asleep, Karl and I had the opportunity to talk it through. The stress of the day led to an off-topic argument, and at midnight, finally back on target, Karl said decidedly, "We're homeschooling her for this year." Then he added, "How do you feel that I just made the decision for us?" I said, "Good. Actually, relieved. The weight of the decision was burdensome. Now I don't have to second-guess if I did the right thing--I submit to you, so my conscious is clear." (Imagine that! When I let my husband lead our family, my burden feels lighter!)

The sunlight, not an alarm clock, woke us up in the morning. Our baby girl, pleasantly surprised, smiled ear to ear when Karl told her that Mommy was going to be her new teacher for Kindergarten. "Really?!" she exclaimed. The usual stress on her morning face melted away. We began our day with Bible time in pj's around the breakfast table. After morning chores, we drove to the elementary school and signed the papers for her withdrawal. I thanked Mr. K for his time and said I had no hard feelings against him (although I will if he does not recommend Mrs. Q's removal at the end of her term), and that maybe we'd be back for 1st grade. Then we celebrated at a playground. Basking in the sun, it felt like a honeymoon. The stress was behind us. We had an afternoon lesson, but said that really, home school would commence next week. She asked me if piano lessons could be part of her school. I enthusiastically agreed! Karl and I both told her that another part of her at-home Kindergarten curriculum was that she master the use of a public potty without fear... which she did Sunday morning at church--all by herself. (Imagine that! With a little bit of gentle encouragement instead of a scolding, she managed to overcome an obstacle!)

Several moments since, we have felt remorse for forcing her to return to that class. We picture her reluctantly walking in those doors, that huge backpack bobbing up and down covering half of her little body, her radiant smile fading as she stiffened up her lip. We had felt so confident in the beginning that we had made the right decision. We hope that just like in our adult lives, these weeks of trial had a bigger purpose. No doubt she grew closer with Jesus as she leaned on Him for strength. We also hope that God's sovereign hand placed her in that class for these things to be brought to light. The few people we've told this story to have asked, "Why hasn't Mrs. Q been fired?" There are policies in place to protect teachers--good teachers--from any bratty kid or clueless parent who lodges a complaint. It takes a lot of specific documented offenses to get a teacher dismissed. Honestly, we hope that my 8 page report is the final nail in the coffin of Mrs. Q's career in Kindergarten.

We also had to consider our hearts, and our responses as witnesses for Christ in the areas of forgiveness, mercy and grace. I have carried grudges before, and have had to allow God to work out forgiveness in my heart. Right now, I feel like we chose the right path. We felt like this was not the time for mercy, it was the time to bring injustices to light, time to stand up for "the least of these." We had spent time praying for Mrs. Q before, and will continue to. And we will keep praying for those precious kids remaining in her care for the year. We have pondered our responsibility to those kids considering we have knowledge that their parents do not. Do those kids cry at home? Do they say that their teacher is cruel? Do the parents listen? Do they validate them or dismiss them? Currently, we have no way of contacting them even if we wanted to invite them to a birthday party. So we pray that God's sovereign hand of protection would rest over them, the way His Hand rests over our little one and us.

Today, I Am a Window Washer--a Psalm of Motherhood

2011-09-02T07:42:00.001-05:00

Today, I am a window washer, by choice.
Splatters of dry rain wipe away with one stroke.
Transforming my view,
I sigh, satisfied at the finish.

Clean dishes, clean laundry,
but the dirty closely follow.
I work diligently.
Perpetual tasks, fleeting results.

Little arms I embrace.
Little hurts I kiss away.
Trifle disputes I settle.
Throughout the day, I repeat.

Far from the finish.
What's my progress?
Results not instant like window washing.
But I will repeat my steps tomorrow.

An army of ants in my bathtub,
revealed as I lift away a towel.
Again? I am weary.
They swarm my sanctuary; I terminate.

Insecurities, like ants, swarm my mind.
Supposed gone, but You reveal.
Again, Lord?
You are faithful to terminate.

You, O God, are my true sanctuary.
Your living, unchanging Word.
"Train a child in the way he should go..."
I will. With Your help.

Meager windows.
I return my focus:
My magnum opus,
my lifework far from completion.

Little arms I joyfully embrace.
Wiping tears from tiny face,
Calm correction by Your grace.

I am Christ's workmanship, far from completion.

"Am I Dreaming?"

2011-08-30T20:41:00.005-05:00

So as you know from my previous post, my Kindergartener has had a rough start. Today she said, "I liked school a little bit better today...but not a lot better." Then she said, "I feel like I'm dreaming. Whenever I walk past a mirror or some glass at school, I look at myself and think, 'I can't believe I'm already in school.'" [ok, is it just because I'm her mother that I find not only her self-reflection but also her ability to articulate it pretty incredible?]
Then she looked me square in the eye and said, "What if I AM dreaming? Maybe you should pinch me."
I smiled in wonder at her and said, "Baby Girl, you aren't dreaming."
"How do you know?"
[What? Has she seen the movie Inception? My 5-year-old is contemplating whether her current reality is in fact reality? Again, I'm amazed by her. ]
I replied, "Because I know that I am not asleep. I am not dreaming, and this is really happening, and you really have been going to school."
"Ok."

Kindergarten--Who's Really in Control?

2011-08-26T13:57:00.002-05:00

Our "Baby Girl" started Kindergarten this week. She is all smiles in this picture.

But pictures can be deceiving.

Actually, she's been dreading the start of Kindergarten. She's cried at the thought of going. She had a wonderful school-like experience this summer, and she's missing her friends and teachers from there. She doesn't want to make a new start with all new people. She's afraid of learning her way around in new buildings and learning new rules. She doesn't want to leave mommy and her brother and sister during the day. All these things legitimately cause anxiety for us grown-ups when we are transitioning. We thought, "Once she has her first day, she will have so much fun, and that will ease her transition anxiety."

But we were wrong.

Her first day was terrible. All of the fears in her little mind came to fruition: she got lost in the hallway, she didn't make a new best friend "as good as Ivy, or Abby or Emma." She only has one teacher instead of 4, so there's less affection to go around. And worst of all to her--she was forced to enter the public bathroom and flush the toilet--something which scares her so deeply, that it paralyzes her in her tracks. When we picked her up, the teacher told us that she had cried all day. The few things that she did enjoy did not outweigh to her all the challenges.

That night after her siblings went to bed, she cried even more, pleading for us to let her stay home. Of course we wanted to say, "Yes, Baby Girl, you can stay here with us."

But we didn't.

We cried with her; we prayed with her. We tried to encourage her. Then we sent her off to school again the next day.

When day 2 produced just as many tears at home, I thought, "Maybe she's too little. Maybe she's too fragile. What if she should be sheltered more? What if she's like a baby tree that is not ready to withstand the elements yet?" My wise and grounded husband helped alleviate my anxiety. He said, "We prayed about this decision. We felt like this school, for this semester, for this child was the best choice for a long list of reasons," [reasons I meant to post here months ago but never finished typing out]. Karl continued, "Sheltering is needed for a time, and then when it's not, to keep sheltering is just trying to hold on to control. It's thinking that I can do a better job of taking care of her than God can. If/when we Home-School (a very likely possibility for our future), it won't be because we want control. It will be because it is the best place for our kid(s) at that time." Gosh, I love that man.

But letting go of control is still hard.

The next day, when school ended, she hopped in the car and said, "I was still scared...But when I walked in the bathroom, I prayed to God and asked Him to give me courage, and He helped me not be afraid of the noise, and I flushed all by myself."

Tears in my eyes--good tears. More important to us than her ease of transition is her relationship with Jesus. Our biggest hope, and most common prayer is that she (and all our kids) would personally experience God, and that her faith would be her own, not an imitation of what she sees in us. The fact that she experienced intimacy with her Heavenly Father in the Kindergarten bathroom is precious to us.

HE does a better job of caring for her than I can. HE is in control.

The Simplicity of Temporary Housing

2011-08-21T21:49:00.001-05:00

Summer is always an adventure for us because we pack up our life for 2 months and move our family into various housing situations. The challenge always makes for a perspective-refresher, and usually a story to look back on and laugh (many of you have mentioned to us personally our Summer at the Peter Pan). We lived in the Silver Slipper motel in Branson, which before our arrival failed multiple city inspections and probably housed only cockroaches. The Slipper had a gigantic light-up high heel for a sign which turned in the moonlight. It was the type of motel that upon sight, you would assume that the glowing slipper was not the only thing that had been turned in the moonlight there, if you know what I mean. Since that summer, the city bulldozed the place to the ground.

We've lived in a community-bath, non-air-conditioned dorm room in 95 degree heat while I was 6 months pregnant. I never had to endure community-bath while in college, but while married and pregnant, I walked down the hall, through the lobby, used a key-card to enter the other hall, and punched a code to use the restroom--5 times a night in my second trimester, all while sweating and swollen so much that I would re-wet my washcloth on each trip to lay across my feet so they would be cool enough that I could return to sleep.

But on a summer like this one, when we serve on the Staff Conference Team in Colorado...ahhh...you can't beat the housing. Multiple bedrooms so the kids (and we) can sleep the way we are accustomed to at home, air-conditioning, a dishwasher, and the mamba-jamba of all summer-housing perks: a washer/dryer. Sure, it has its challenges--noisy neighbors hosting a perpetual Spring-Break party, full-size beds which caused me to slam into the wall when I rolled over at night, and stocking an apartment for 2 months all from things that we can cram into the back of our car or purchase at a garage sale once we get there.
This last challenge actually morphed into something enlightening and very freeing. This summer we brought our necessities and a few favorite toys. Upon arrival, someone gave us another set of dishes, which enabled us to use the dishwasher instead of having to hand wash everything before the next meal. We had a little more pocket change than 2 summers ago, so at garage sales I picked up some extra towels, a handful of books for the kids, a set of tinker-toys, and a few other odds and ends like a paring knife, a vase, a mixing bowl, etc. We had everything we needed plus the things that make life more comfortable and convenient, yet it was still significantly less than all the items that we have at home.
Since we commit to do this gig every 2 years, at the end of the summer, we can box up our items for storage. Guess how many boxes we filled? Seven. Everything we needed to live comfortably fit into only SEVEN boxes--this included bedding, pillows, towels, etc. for 5 people, i.e. bulky stuff. Granted, we brought home our clothing, shoes, Bibles, and the kids' favorite stuffed animals. This took up the space in the back of our car. If counting these belongings, we would need another couple boxes bringing our grand total to nine. Still..only 9 for 5 people. When I got home, I looked around the house and thought, "Why do I have all of this stuff?!"
I made a list of the things that I actually missed from home during our summer away:
-cheesegrater, our queen-size bed, nice dishes and glasses for entertaining guests, my good set of knives, a hand mixer and mini-chopper (both of which I purchased inexpensively while there and stored in one of my 7 boxes), a TV screen bigger than my laptop, my griddle (pancakes and grilled cheese for 5 people are a cinch with this) and pretty household decor. This last one, I've realized, is a big deal to me; I enjoy beauty. Warm colors on the walls, patterned fabrics, rustic furniture, textiles, and foliage (--I can live without them esp. in Colorado where the outside beholds a more majestic aesthetic than I could ever create indoors) but in the suburbs of Dallas, surrounded by concrete, traffic, and mere saplings, the inside beauty of my home brings me pleasure.
When we arrived home, the first few days felt like a honeymoon. The comforts of all our belongings & the loveliness of our house made it seem like vacation. The kids too, as they had sweet reunions with each and every toy that they had missed. They played contentedly all day, and Karl and I enjoyed the serenity of life without whining.

But honeymoons don't last forever.

It only took a couple of days for the kids to become bored with their toys. They liked their few favorite things, but the rest piled up untouched in the toy boxes. The hassle of putting things away (in the exact right spot since they won't all fit in the toy boxes or the closet unless stacked just so) returned. My stress returned as well. Exhausted from a day of what felt like endless discipline sessions and mountains of housework, I plopped down on the couch. I said to Karl, "Help me figure this out. Why is it that in Colorado, in our apartment with LESS COMFORTS, at the end of the day, I felt less stressed? Here I have worked all day, and there's still a list of chores a mile long." We talked it out and concluded what we already knew--LESS POSSESSIONS = MORE TIME. How many times have I said to myself: "If only there were more hours in the day!" When I own less, there's there's less to clean, less to launder, less to organize. More time = less stress. If there's more time in my day, obviously this frees me up to be in less of a hurry and/or to do more activities that I enjoy. I say we already knew this because we've talked about it before after returning from places with less. As much as we pontificated, we never implemented any change. So we resolved to make some changes now at home--to live with less. Those things that I didn't miss this summer--why do I have them? Huge appliances that I use to make the preparation of one specific meal more convenient take up a lot of space, are hard to clean, and when left out on the counter are an eyesore. I can still prepare that meal the old-fashioned way, and honestly, I don't make those things that often. So we said good-bye to the toaster oven and food processor. We filled boxes for charity with 3 sets of unmatched plates, coffee mugs (we don't even drink coffee), kitchen gadgets, roasting pans, bakeware, etc. We kept the mini-chopper.
I thought I was pretty good at reducing clutter. We have a garage sale every year and then pat ourselves on the back for cleaning out the out-grown clothes, toys, etc. but the philosophy is the same: max out our space. Even saying that phrase, it sounds like a recipe for efficiency, but my summer epiphany is that it is not. Efficient would be not having to pull out 6 baking dishes just to put one back. Efficient was what I experienced this summer--when a dish was dirty, there was an empty slot in the cabinet, after cleaning, it slipped back into its space lickety-split. I remember Bev Clary, a mentor to me, saying many summers ago, "I love living in these college apartments. Sometimes I think, 'Wouldn't life be fun if Charlie and I just had a little apartment at home. Just a couple of pots and pans in a little space.'" I remember looking at her like she was crazy. Karl and I had been married 5 years at that point, and had only lived in apartments. I was dying to get into my first house--to make a nest, to decorate the way I wanted. I could not relate with her statement on any level--did she not love and appreciate her beautiful home? Of course she did, but she was aware of something that I was not until now--
I had bought into the philosophy of our culture which seems to be: "what's the most that I can get?" Isn't it true? Our culture perpetuates the thinking: "I have $X, what's the biggest house that I can get for that money?" "I have X amount of space--what's the most amount of stuff that I can fit into that space?" Home Organization Products is a $7.2 billion dollar industry And that's just products. People are making full-out careers in helping people organize their closets. Read any January issue of a home-decor/family life/woman's world magazine and subject is always: organizing. Why? Because everyone just acquired things from Christmas and they need to make space for it all.
I'm not immune to it. Even in Colorado, I would desire more of things--I only brought 10 outfits--a few weeks into the summer, I wanted more. The kids had only a few toys--why not buy more toys at a garage sale? It's only 25 cents! But then I would stop myself, thinking, "We don't have any more space in the car to bring it home with us...Anything we buy here, I'll just have to donate to charity at the end of the summer...This place is only temporary...we can't take it with us..." Ahhhhh There's the epiphany! Why wouldn't I think like that at home? Sure it feels more permanent than a summer assignment house, but it's still temporary. And I can't take any of it with me!
Honestly, most of our possessions at home have been given to us. I don't spend a lot of money on THINGS to go in the house. BUT, I KEEP MOST THINGS that we've acquired over time. I always thought that I did a good job of living out the verse, "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." I mean, we give to missions. We raise our own support so we can DO MISSIONS. But there's more to stewardship than money. I have been spending a lot of my time caring for my possessions. God has given me treasures much more valuable--specifically 4 of them ages 5, 3, 1 and a tall one age 33--and my heart is reflected with where I spend my time. I would rather spend my time coloring with my kids, than organizing my cabinets.
And so the great purge of 2011 began. Here is step one--the kitchen. I never think to take a "before" picture, but here's my pared down cabinet.

This cabinet above the microwave used to be poked so full of water bottle and pitchers, that when I'd open it, things would fall out on me. Now the water bottles are where the coffee mugs used to be. (Don't worry, we still have some for guests). :)

Next will be bookshelves. And we're already making more time for things like silly hair (cuz they're bored with their toys anyhow).

Desert Island Part 2--Books

2011-08-10T22:33:00.001-05:00

I don't know why Jim's rules allow for 5 movies and only 3 books on the Deserted Island. (I don't really understand how we get to watch the movies either--did a portable device with limitless battery float ashore?). No matter. Not my rules, so we played along. Karl and I both immediately said, "#1: The Bible," and he replied, "That's a given. Let's each pick 3 in addition to that." [And this is where one bent rule led to us making up our own game...but I'll get to that in another post]. While I selected my movies based on criteria of enjoyment and inspiration, the printed word can have so many more functions than that, so we made our choices based on which books would prove most advantageous to us in a deserted island environment. At first I thought about grabbing a medical-self-diagnosis book and an encyclopedia of tropical plants, but then I thought that in isolation, my MIND would need more protecting than my physical body (even though my physical body is pretty wimpy). With that in consideration, these are my book selections:

Book #1: A giant Crossword/Sudoku/Various other puzzles book. The biggest one there is. Gotta keep the brain sharp. Hopefully I'll have brought a pencil with an eraser the size of a pineapple, but if not, that'll add to the challenge.

Book #2: The Hiding Place The real life drama of concentration camp survivor Corrie Ten Boom. Her story, her faith, the miraculous things that occurred would all serve as great reminders of God's protection over me. The fact that her circumstances were much harsher than mine would serve to keep things in perspective.

Book #3: Operation World This book is like an encyclopedia for prayer--it has every country, tribe, and tongue known to man listed, and it lists how to pray for each specific people group. Since God made us with the purpose to glorify Himself through worship and through telling others about him, on a deserted island, I would only be able to fulfill my purpose in part...UNLESS I prayed for the others of the world even though I couldn't interact with them. Living with purpose is vital. I cannot foresee maintaining any peace of mind (or joy!) unless my life had a purpose which lined up with God's will.
I recall a story a preacher once told about an elderly lady who had lost the ability to move or speak. All day long, she lay in her bed staring at pictures on her wall. Her family cared for her and pitied her--she must be so sad, staring at the pictures, thinking of memories that can never be again. Months and months passed before they deciphered that she was in fact spending her entire existence in prayer. (I don't remember the details of HOW she communicated this-- maybe they finally hooked her up to one of those machines that can speak from the movements in your brain, or maybe they developed an advanced system of winking...I can't recall, but this part I do remember) she stared at the pictures of cherished family and friends, and lifted them up in prayer. And she, in some rudimentary way, communicated with her family to not pity her because God had given her a task on this earth and she was content with that. They then filled her wall with pictures--brought in bulletin boards of collages! What an eternal impact she had while lying in her bed!

So after the bent rule of bringing 4 books, we decided to expand the media allowed even more and created a whole new category for music...
Desert Island Part 1

Desert Island Part 1

2011-08-08T21:58:00.003-05:00

Remember the episode of The Office, Season 2 "The Fire?" Everyone's hanging out in the parking lot waiting for the fire department to do their thing, so they play "Desert Island" to pass the time. On our 14 hour drive home from Colorado, we used this game to pass the time/stay awake between the hours of 1AM and 3AM while our kids slept in the backseat. We attempted to stick with Jim's rules: 3 books, 5 movies that you could bring with you if you were stranded on a deserted island--apparently stranded permanently or at least indefinitely because he said, "These are the movies you will watch FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE." I don't know why, but I took this assignment very seriously. I determined to make my choices with the wisest precision.
I needed criteria for narrowing the candidates, and landed on these components that, for me, make up my favorite movies: A.) Character growth B.) Good vs. evil struggle with good triumphing C.) Based on actual events--which I find most inspiring D.) Enjoyment E.) Rewatchability--needs to be one I can watch again and again and not get sick of it. F.) Killer soundtrack, music is important to me, so I wanted to maximize my pleasure in isolation by having good soundtracks G.)Romance is a plus, but only if the film has the above mentioned qualities because the romantic movie without them might be fun, but the warm-fuzzies are fleeting and I'd rather see a movie rich in substance w/o romance than vice versa.
Here are my final choices--
Movies:
1. The Sound of Music--the immediate and easiest choice. Far and away my favorite movie of all time. Don't box it in by only thinking of Do-Re-Mi on a hillside. This movie has it all. 10 Stars in Every. Single. Category.

2. Walk the Line. High marks across the board for this as well. And now on my island, I've got Rodgers & Hammerstein AND Johnny Cash--my top 2 pandora stations right there.

3. Remember the Titans. Real life sports movies = awesome. This is my fave--good vs. evil, humor, growth, great music.

4. Back to the Future. Ok, ok, so what it lacks in character development and true-life-inspiration, it makes up for in my enjoyment. It gets the highest score in my rewatchability category since I began re-watching it as a child on my babysitter's VHS copy. Now on Blu-ray, it is my and Karl's standard date-night-at-home movie, and we laugh and enjoy EVERY time.

5. Hitch.--I spent a lot of time pondering this last slot. I wanted to select something from the classic list of movies. Something epic and unforgettable. But when honest with myself, I really think I want this movie. I don't even own it, but every time it comes on TBS, I look forward to it. "Yes! It's a Hitch weekend!" I can't not laugh at Kevin James, and it's not a shallow romance like I referenced earlier. The growth of Will Smith and Eva Mendes's characters is endearing, and the more I watch it, the richer it gets. Plus, it's really clean--so rare in a modern-day romantic comedy. You know you want to sing along: "People all over the world, start a love-train..."

Ok, it's getting late, and my contacts are blurring. I think I'll share my Desert Island selections in installments. More to come. What are your desert island movies?
Desert Island Part 2

While We're Changing Names...

2011-08-06T20:23:00.000-05:00

I've been wanting to change the name of this blog for a while. A facebook friend mentioned a while back that blogs are "self-promoting." While I can't deny that blogs are in part: read what I have to say; I hope that no one would ever get the impression that I am trying to promote myself through what I am saying. The purpose of this blog is to promote someOne greater. I hope that the stories I share here will be pieces of the Bigger Story that is going on in this world, and I and my family play just one little part--no more important than anyone else's part. Average, if you will. Hmm...but the name of the blog is: Not Your Average Armentrouts. Well, I've always meant "average" to mean "typical", but that doesn't have any fun alliteration. Upon discussing this with my mom, she suggested, "Atypical Armentrouts", but I felt like that made it sound like we were from outer-space or something. So here's the new name (probably not as climatic and hopefully not as criticized by the press):
"Wanna Hear a Story?"

I love stories. I like writing them, I like telling them. I enjoy hearing others' stories. And I love stories within stories (kinda like that Bigger One that I mentioned before). In my profession, I get opportunities to speak up front to a variety of crowds. I really enjoy this part of my job, and my favorite part of speaking to the crowd is telling stories. That's why I feel this title is fitting. Hope you enjoy the stories of our family and ministry, and I hope it encourages you to think through your own story and the Story of the One who made you.
Story Resources:
Pondering Your Stories
The One Big Story

Response to the Name Change

2011-07-22T00:44:00.008-05:00

I didn't want to change our name. When filling out the survey that asked for my top 3 name choices, I wrote:
1. Campus Crusade for Christ
2. Campus Crusade for Christ
3. Campus Crusade for Christ
Bill Bright gave our organization this name in 1951; it has history, it has an esteemed reputation.

Changing it seemed foolish. Would Coca-Cola change its name? Even Exxon after their fiasco didn't change their name. This, to me, seemed like bad business. 2 of the girls in my summer project group this summer got involved as freshmen because an elder in their church said, "When you get to college, look up: Campus Crusade for Christ." These girls now lead ministries on their campus. There is value in our name.
Then I sat across the lunch table from a fellow staff member who serves in a closed Muslim country. He said that even though they do not use the name Campus Crusade for Christ there, he prays no one will ever see his pay check stub: Campus Crusade for Christ. If anyone saw the word Crusade, surely his ministry would be in danger. He said it would translate to their culture like "Campus Jihad for Christ" would translate in our culture. I thought about my neighbor, a sweet lady from Iran with whom I've recently developed a friendship. I thought about how many t-shirts hang in my closet that to her would read: Jihad for Christ and about how I would never want her to feel alienated because of my faith. And I thought about how I would never EVER want my SAVIOR to be associated with Jihad in her mind.

But a lot of our shirts just say "cru" (a nickname for our weekly meeting on campus since I was a student at Texas A&M (whoop! I can't not "whoop!" when I say my alma mater, even in a serious post)). This word would have no meaning to my neighbor. If I wore this shirt, she would probably ask with a thick beautiful Persian accent, "What-tis ca-roo?" And I could explain about our ministry with college students.
When our CCC leadership began discussing with all our staff (which I appreciate--how many other businesses or organizations welcome ALL staff at ALL levels to enter in the decision-making process?), I understood that many of our staff who serve within ministries not on college campuses, felt limited or misunderstood, and that most donors had no idea just how many ministries exist under the umbrella of CCC.
After hearing the experience of others I thought, "Ok, I can see the need for a change in other venues, but I wish we could still be called the same thing for the sake of consistency." I was so pleased when they announced that "Cru" is our new name. It is consistent and has history, yet it does not offend my neighbor. When our leadership presented us with the name, 2 things resonated with me, giving me confidence in the decision:

1. We have humble leaders. They spent time on their knees, consulted wise counsel, and kept a broken-spirit throughout the process. Having been in ministry for 10 years, I can spot a prideful speaker pretty quickly. There was no pride there.

2. Research and surveys showed that 20% of interested people (non-Christians and Christians alike) walked away after hearing the name of our organization. In business, a 2-3% negative response to a name is a failure. I cannot ignore those staggering results. Previously I thought it foolish to change the name, this was when I was misinformed, making my own assumptions of the name's success rate.

Unfortunately, many people are making their own assumptions. Liberal media-- USAToday, FOX, etc. reports their own slanted view point. Christianity Today interviewed our leaders, here is their take. But here's something even better than a reporter's opinion--here online you can read directly from our leadership, reassuring everyone that the intent is not to "post-modernize" our name, not to make it "PC." Comments that we are ashamed of Christ, have changed to "Chrislam" and the like are misinformed, hurtful, and the opposite of the words in James 1:19 "Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry."

Our mission has not changed. Our focus on bringing others to Christ has not changed. And really, our colloquial name hasn't changed. At my first CCC meeting as a student, the emcee said, "Welcome to Cru!" Karl and I met on a "Nu tu Cru" (New To Cru) retreat. As we passed fellow classmates on campus, they'd say, "You coming to Cru this week?" When I heard the word, I didn't think: meeting. I thought of friendships based on the commonality of sharing the love of Jesus with others. When surveying people who had been involved with our organization, they made 2 associations with CCC/Cru:

1. Changed Lives for Jesus

2. Friendships

I have no doubt that the name "cru" will continue to embody what we value and the role we play in the body of Christ--laborers with a heart to see The Great Commission fulfilled.

Doing it Duggar-Style: Homemade Laundry Detergent

2011-05-26T20:11:00.000-05:00

Have you seen the Duggar family do laundry? It's amazing. I feel like I am constantly doing laundry for 5 people, I can't imagine doing it for so many, but they've got a great system. We've had 2 new revolutions in laundry this past month:
1. Big Sister has learned to fold clothes! Wow, what a difference her help makes! We actually fold it together while watching the Duggars after the little ones go to bed. She gets to stay up an hour later than the others; this privilege is special to her, and not to quote Spiderman, but we try to have an equivalent responsibility for each privilege. So 2 nights a week, we do laundry (and we watch the Duggars together while we fold).
2. We made our own detergent using the Duggar Family Recipe. The girls were eager to help.

Grating the Fels-Naptha Laundry Soap.

Stirring the borax and hot water.

They eagerly took turns melting the soap.

The recipe makes 10 GALLONS of detergent! I stored the concentrate in the bucket. We've been using it for 2 weeks now--it works great! The clothes smell clean, but not perfume-y (which I don't like anyway). It took the 3 of us about a half an hour to make it. I don't think I would've tried this years ago before having kids--they were actually a big help in preparing it, and it is because there are 5 of us that I feel like I'm spending a small fortune on laundry detergent. This recipe is a huge money saver! The supplies cost apx. $6, and will make multiple batches of this. My friend, who is mother of 5, said they last her the entire year. Bucket = $2, separate cheese grater (25 cents at garage sale). Total bill = less than a gallon of Tide or Cheer, or 2 bottles of Purex or All!

Pray for Our Rights!

2011-05-19T22:18:00.003-05:00

http://www.citizenlink.com/2011/05/19/%E2%80%98candy-cane-case%E2%80%99-could-make-history/

Remember the kids from Plano, TX who got kicked out of their school Christmas parties for giving out treats with "Jesus is the Reason", etc? The same school who forbid them to write "Merry Christmas" on cards sent to soldiers in Iraq? These kids have grown up, and are taking their case to the Court of Appeals on Monday. What's on the line? 1st Amendment rights for all students. The outcomes of surrendering 1st Amendment Rights at the doors of schools are far more consequential than being forced to write "Happy Holidays." And the ripple effect could be detrimental. Please be praying for this case! Read the article linked above for full details.

Here's the update from Monday, May 21. Great news! Read here:
http://www.citizenlink.com/2011/05/23/5th-circuit-hears-%E2%80%98outrageous%E2%80%99-appeal-in-%E2%80%98candy-cane-case%E2%80%99/

Legacy Banquet

2011-05-18T22:01:00.002-05:00

Pink flowers, tomato-basil finger sandwiches, sopa-pilla cheesecake and dark chocolate cake balls set the stage for this year's Cru Women's Legacy Banquet.

"And what you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to reliable men who will in turn will be able to teach others." 2 Timothy 2:2

30 women, dressed in their Sunday best, came to celebrate the legacy for Christ that began at UNT 3 years ago. We praised God for He had done, and we challenged others to continue the line. TWU students attended as well, and will no doubt have chains of legacies for Christ on their campus too.
The first legacy banquet 3 years ago had but one UNT student: Natasha, (pictured to the left of me) who has since graduated and now serves full-time on our staff team.

Natasha ministered within her sorority and a "spiritual movement" formed. We use this term to identify a group of like-minded believers who are actively participating in the Great Commission by WINing other to Christ, BUILDing them in their faith, and SENDing them out to do the same. WIN-BUILD-SEND has been the motto for Campus Crusade for Christ staff and students for over half a century.
The next student who began a legacy is Julie, who is pictured in the center.

Julie began a spiritual movement in the Zeta sorority house, has led multiple friends to Christ, and has since passed many batons to other girls. Here she is passing a baton to Jasmine, a younger sister. The passing of the baton is a ceremonial symbol of 2 Timothy 2:2--entrusting the Great Commission to others who will in turn do the same.
Julie also organized a campus-wide outreach in the fall of '09 featuring Marion Jordan (author of Sex and the City Uncovered), which surfaced leaders in every sorority house on campus. It was at this event, where I first met Samantha, one of the many students who had been working behind the scenes with Julie and desiring to do ministry in her sorority house. Sam, pictured in the middle, has served as a leader since that outreach, has gone on a Summer Project, and this last semester served as Part-Time-Student-Staff with us.

Last year, Samantha invited her music-major friend, Lillian to come to M29 (our weekly evangelism training). Lillian heard us teach (or should I say, heard us teach HOW TO TEACH) Ephesians 2:8-9 "For it is by grace you have been saved by faith, and this not of yourselves, it is a gift of God; not by works so that no one can boast." She said in that moment, "it clicked". Lillian, pictured in the middle, put her faith in Christ that day, and immediately signed up for Summer Project.

This past year, we've seen Lillian grow so much! Here she is passing the baton to someone else! And this summer, she and Sam are serving on an overseas Summer Project together. Please keep them (and Moises, one of our guys) in your prayers!
We have so many other stories of legacies for Christ on campus! I can't share every story or post every picture here or I would be typing all night. God has been moving among our student men as well. So many new believers from our guys sharing their faith! (I don't have as many pictures of the guys). :) Please keep all of our students in your prayers as God equips them to further the ripples of the Gospel on their campus and beyond!

Bluebonnets and Homemade Dresses

2011-04-11T19:01:00.001-05:00

So I've been noticing all these cute patchwork dresses and skirts on etsy.

I thought, "I bet I could do that...or at least something similar."

I looked at patterns at Hobby Lobby = $13. If I'm going to spend $13, I could just buy a dress (not a Corrina Couture dress, but still). Plus, we don't need dresses. We have two very active and generous grandmothers. My girls have more dresses than they can wear. I decided to scratch that project.

One pulling-my-hair-out afternoon, I dialed my good friend hoping for a few moments of adult convo. "What are you doing?" I asked.
"I'm on my way to JoAnn's [as in JoAnn's Fabric]. I'm going to buy ribbon. I've started making hair bows as a creative outlet."
I felt the envy flood my entire being. I remembered making time for creative outlets...back in the day. If she could do it, SO COULD I!!

After we hung up the phone, I abandoned the dishes in the kitchen. I pulled out my fabric bins from under the bed. It took an entire dust rag to remove the bunnies who had happily made a home there.

Daughters asked, "Mommy, what are you doing?"
"I'm going to make y'all some dresses!"
Giddy with excitement, they eagerly pulled material out of the bins. My resolve for creativity came with 2 boundaries:
#1-- Do something simple that I could finish THIS WEEK, otherwise, I knew that life with 3 kids, husband, & house would usurp the creativity and these dresses would join the "incomplete projects" pile in my bottom drawer...and in my front closet...and on my top shelf.
#2--Use what I have. True creativity is about being resourceful, making something unique--so I didn't need a pattern, or the newest in-style fabric, right? Plus, shopping would just take up productivity time and spend more money.

I landed on making a t-shirt dress--quick because you just sew a ruffle to the bottom a shirt. No pattern needed because I wasn't doing anything tricky like making arm or neck holes. I found 2 coordinating scraps of fabric--enough for 2 patchwork ruffles.

Yes, you may recognize these scraps from the curtain that hangs in the girls' room, and Sweet Pea's nursery bedskirt.

The first dress took 1.5 hrs from start to finish. The second dress, only 30 minutes. It needed a little embellishment. I thought about putting the kids in the car to head to Hobby Lobby, but I remembered my #2 boundary: use what I have. I pulled out my ribbon box. I save ALL ribbon--I typically use it for scrapbooking or homemade cards, but I found 2 long lengths of pink grosgrain that I had cut off a gift bag--each piece was just long enough to wrap around the top of the skirt. "Waste not, want not" echoed in my mind. There wasn't enough to make a bow, so I needed something else--2 silver dollar sized turquoise button from my Grandma's button box = perfect.

Time spent = 2.5 hours
Money spent = $3 (for the matching pink shirts at Hobby Lobby).
And I had fun! Oh yeah!
My girls looked so cute skipping through the Texas Bluebonnets in these dresses.

Glee, Finn, & The Big Questions

2011-04-07T13:13:00.000-05:00

I wrote this note for facebook last semester after watching the "Grilled Cheese-us" epidsode of Glee. They re-ran the episode this week, so I'm posting the review here as well:

Sweet Finn—who lost his Daddy when he was a baby, who’s the masculine High School star football player, who stands loyal as boyfriend to the unpopular girl regardless of what others think, who sings & dances like a rock star--Finn, you just root for him, don’t you? While he’s got a lot of talent going for him, it’s obvious that Finn still has a lot to learn (last season his girlfriend convinced him that he got her pregnant without sex). So we say “Sweet Finn” while our heads tilt to the side ever so slightly, maybe with a slight pucker and head-bob. This week is another case in point as he beseeches his grilled-cheese sandwich with prayers for help in football, among other things--ahem. Sweet Finn (head tilt and shake), down on his knees, hands folded and calls his sandwich “Grilled Cheese-us”. But there is one point in the episode where the ridiculous becomes sincere when Finn realizes that his grilled cheese is not God or a genie, and confesses to his guidance counselor Ms. Pilsbury, “It was sorta cool—feeling like I had this direct line to God. Now I just feel like everyone else—like we’re all just floating around in space.”

I have to hand it to the creative minds behind Glee, they provide songs, dance, jokes, but then, they get to people’s hearts as well. This week they weaved together Barbara Streisand, The Beetles, REM, Billy Joel, and all the while telling the story of Kurt—who is doubting the existence of God while his Dad is lying comatose in the hospital. They tried to tackle some big lingering spiritual questions:

-If God is real, why do bad things happen?
-Why do some church-goers act hateful to homosexuals?
-Which faith is right, if any at all?
-Do prayers help?

What made my heart ache more than Kurt’s tearful rendition of “I Want to Hold Your Hand?” -- That Finn was left thinking that he did not and could not have a direct line to God. What seemed like a show offering different view points, left a void of what I have experienced as true of God--not a genie, not a tyrant, not a distant unengaged being. Jesus says, “I am the vine; you are the branches…If you stay joined to me and my words remain in you, you may ask any request that you like…I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love.” John 15

The show attempted to give different points of view, but the only mention of Jesus was Finn’s grilled cheese. That is not the Jesus I know. My Jesus—the Jesus of the Bible—has a direct connection with me. It is unique in that I have a personal relationship with Him. It is free in that it is offered to everyone. Finn admitted “disappointment” because he felt “like everyone else.” The Bible has an answer for that also: Christ died for our sins ONCE for ALL (1 Peter 3:18), and "God has no favorites" (Galatians 2:6). Being like "everyone else" is freeing, because God offers the same path of rescue for every person, and He promises the same inheritance for all those who accept Him (Titus 2:11-14).

Ms. Pilsbury responded to Finn’s disappointment by saying, “You’re not alone. The big questions are really big for a reason. They’re hard. But you know what? Absolutely everybody struggles with them.” Glee made it a point to argue one view of answers to the big questions. They attempted to show another side by having the final scene in a church. But their depiction of church as Simon & Garfunkel gospel was sweet, but a bit incomplete. I don’t have all the answers, but I do have a real relationship with God through Jesus. If you’d like to explore more about a real and living connection with Jesus Christ, go here: EveryStudent.com

If you’d like to discover more qualities of the God of the Bible, you can find that here: Discover God

Or buy the book here: Discover God

If you’d like guidance on the “big questions” from a Biblical perspective go here: GotQuestions.org or here: EveryStudent.com

Prepare Your Heart to Be Warmed: My Daughter's Wish

2011-04-04T19:44:00.001-05:00

I love age 5. My daughter is a butterfly-chaser, wild-flower-bouquet-giver, Mommy's-high-heel-wearer. I wish I could push a pause button on age 5.

You know what else I love about age 5? She tells me EVERYTHING that she's thinking. Like her Daddy says, sometimes we think our ears might start to bleed from so much listening, but really, we love it.

Case in point, one crisp fall day in November during story time, she began to give commentary of her thoughts at every turn of the page. The story was about Jesus loving little children, and in one illustration, He was bent down on one knee handing a butterfly to a little tot-sized girl with pigtails. Her commentary went something like this:
"Look how sweet. Jesus is giving her a butterfly. I bet He knew that she likes butterflies, because He knows everything, and that's why He gave it to her. And it's yellow. Maybe she likes yellow. [pause][sigh of longing] I wish I could have a butterfly. I always chase them, but I've never caught one. Maybe God will give me a butterfly one day."

I said, "Maybe. You never know." But to myself, I was thinking, "Don't ask God for a butterfly. Don't hope for that because when you DON'T get a butterfly, how will that disappointment affect your tender-heart?" I DID however say, "You know, it's Fall now. The weather is getting colder. The leaves are falling off the trees, and the animals are making their homes for winter. There haven't been any butterflies outside for a while. We see butterflies in Spring and Summer."
She said, slightly disappointed, "Yeah, I know. [pause, then mood picking up] And the mosquitoes are gone too!" We both smiled about that.

She did not say a prayer asking for a butterfly, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

We spent the next two days inside, wearing longsleeves and fleece. The sun warmed up the afternoon, and I let the girls outside to play while the baby napped and I tidied up. We have a large sliding glass door that let's to the backyard, and I leave the screen open so I can hear and see them while they play.

I heard the girls come to the screen, "Mommy, come look at this!" They said with calm excitement. It was such a curious tone in their voices, I came right away. When I turned around I saw this:

She said, "Look, Mommy, God gave me a butterfly."
"YES HE DID!" I whisper-shouted, as to not scare off the butterfly.
She said, "I chased this one for a minute, and then it just landed on my arm. I have always wanted a butterfly."
I said, "I know! And God knew that, and He gave you one." I teared up, both from the joy she was experiencing, and from the shame I felt for not believing before that God would give her a butterfly. Of course, I knew that God COULD do it. He spoke the world into being so of course, He could make a butterfly come out of nowhere in November and stop fluttering, but I didn't think He WOULD do it. I've seen God provide for me in amazing ways; I've seen Him rescue me from situations in ways only HE could, but I wasn't conscious of my thoughts, "God has bigger and better things to do than to bring butterflies, so He won't." My faith is small.

I ran to get my camera. I didn't need to run. This butterfly sat on her arm for 5 minutes.

She smiled endearingly at her gift, and I thought about the wonder of "child-like faith" (Mark 10:15, Luke 18:17), and this verse about the mustard seed:
"For truly I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there', and it will move,and nothing will be impossible for you."

Now, God is not a genie, like some might interpret this verse. It's not like the episode of King of Queens where Doug prays for his sports team to win. You can't say to God, "If you're real/if you love me, give me ______." In fact, we know that the Bible says, "Do not put the Lord your God to the test" and that Jesus resisted such when Satan tempted Him to do so. BUT, God's Word also says, "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." This is what my daughter did. And God did NOT think it a waste of time to shower her heart with this gift of love. It was I, not she, who momentarily forgot: "The Lord is close to all who call on him, yes to all who call on him sincerely." "The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to get angry, full of unfailing love." Psalm 145 Her child-like faith was fully confident of God's love for her, and her genuine delight in knowing God and having a relationship with Him through Jesus allowed God to give her a desire of her heart...which at this precious age of 5 is a yellow butterfly.

Dressed to Impress...or Not--Our PCA Parent Interview

2011-03-24T21:11:00.004-05:00

I set the alarm in order to get up and be ready before the kids. I put on a cute dress with leggings and grabbed my trendy belt. The ensemble is cute by itself, but the belt makes the outfit. I paused, "I'm not trying to impress anyone," I thought, and I put the belt back in the closet. We're exploring all our options for Kindergarten next year. Part of this process is applying to PCA (Prestonwood Christian Academy). It's a 4-step process (5-step if you count our application for financial aid). One part is the Parent Interview. Our interview was Tuesday morning.
"This is about seeking the Lord for HER schooling. It's not about me impressing them. We are just going to be ourselves." My belt is really not that impressive, but it was symbolic for me, so I put it back.
On the way out the door, little sister wanted to wear her purple socks (of course she did--she asked Santa for purple socks. She has enough purple socks to wear every day and some to spare). She wanted to wear the above-the-ankle purple socks with her pink crocs and a short dress. I tell her, "Those socks don't exactly match. Would you take off the socks please?" She made a frowny face. I thought, "She's 3. It doesn't matter if she doesn't match. This is not something to make a battle. Purple socks make her happy, and remember, we're not trying to impress anyone."
"Never mind," I tell her. "You can wear your socks." Bouncing happiness results.

Getting into the car, despite 3-yr-old's mismatched socks and my lack of trendy belt, I'm feeling that we are a pretty cute family. The girls are in matching dresses. Kindergartener-to-be is donning a flower in her hair and bracelets that she picked out. She is all-girl. She feels feminine and pretty in such things, and her smile of pleasure is adorable enough by itself.

The smaller sister was just as precious--esp. when you add her cuddling her love-worn kitty. Karl and I were wearing coordinating colors--not on purpose, it just happened. How cute are we? :) Baby boy is just plain cute. I think back to feeling this cute before--during our summer in Santa Cruz, CA. One morning in particular, I was wearing an outfit that cost no more than $25 including my shoes, but as we pushed our stroller of 3 children down the strip where the homeless people asked for handouts, I felt like we appeared to be the richest family in the world. Our clothes were clean, our cheeks had a healthy glow, we had genuine smiles of joy. We were rich in every sense of the word.
During the car ride to the interview, we had to rebuke these glowing cute kids a couple of times, "Don't touch your sister," "Stop whining," "You shouldn't have thrown your cup on the floor," and other such normalcy on any drive. I said to Karl, "I don't know how we are supposed to be 'interviewed' while we have our 3 little kids with us."
"Did they say we could bring them?" He asked.
"They didn't say 'Find a sitter.'" I said. "Oh well, we'll manage. It's not like we're trying to impress anyone."
We arrive on time (a HUGE victory). The wind was gusting 30 mph. By the time we loaded the kids in the stroller and got to the door, everyone's hair looked like this:

We had to buzz the door and be admitted. This took a few attempts because the wind saying "Goosh goosh" kept overpowering the sound of the intercom. When we got in the waiting area--and after we pushed hair out of faces so that everyone could see again--we smiled politely at the other couple also waiting for their parent interview. They did not have children with them. They were strikingly attractive in their dress. The man had on a 3-piece suit with some sort of gold jewelry peeking out from pockets or cuffs (I didn't stare long enough to tell). The woman, also wearing a suit--hers of satiny gold and blush pink, had bright gold jewelry and a Louis Vuitton purse. Their hair was perfect. They must have remembered to bring their Louis Vuitton wind-protection bubble to escort them into the building.

I looked at Karl's "nice shirt" and jeans. I recalled how we have been calling it a "nice shirt" for 2 years now. Why does it still have this title when it now has those little fabric pilings from being worn and washed so many times? [Mental note-to-self: Use clothing budget next month to buy Karl a new "nice shirts."] I thought about my outfit and how, once again, it cost less than $25 from top to toe. If you count my bag (not Louis's) that I got at Ross Dress for Less, the whole ensemble was less than $50. How did I go from feeling like the richest family to the ragamuffin-award-winner in 20 minutes? I laughed to myself, thinking that my "trendy belt" (which I also got on clearance at Ross for $2), would have certainly impressed no one.

The lady, we'll call her Mrs. Y, who conducted our interview was genuinely sweet and welcoming. She said that our family was beautiful. Mrs. Y decided to move our interview out of her office and into the conference room, which was bigger, so that the kids would be more comfortable and have room to play. She brought a few children's books from her office for them.

I surveyed the still small conference room--4 uncovered outlets, 2 blinds cords, multiple unoccupied chairs near a table with things to grab. Because of this, we decided to keep little brother in the stroller for as long as possible (bouncing baby boy has now turned into: 25 lbs. of climbing destruction). We tried to occupy him with crackers, which he ate happily for about 15 minutes.

We still had a ways to go in this interview when Bubba wanted OUT.
I let him out and gave him a toy. He maneuvered to the corner behind his stroller, bent over and began to grunt. Yeah, the grunt I knew all too well--he was messing his diaper. I looked in my bag, only to remember that I did not restock it w/ diapers and the only extras were a 5 minute, wind-gusting walk away in the glove compartment of our car. As the smell filled that small space, I thought, "Thank you Lord, that we are not in her office--poor lady would have to smell this all day." Then I started laughing--not just to myself--this time out loud as I was thinking, "Good thing we aren't trying to impress anyone." I explained to Mrs. Y about my laughter--about the diaper and the cracker crumbs on their pristine carpet. While I was apologizing for the now need to clean the entire conference room, Bubba had found an aerosol can behind a plant on the table. He brought it to her and she said, "Oh, I didn't know this was in here--I'm not sure what it is." It was scented disinfectant. "Oh good," I said, "You'll need that for when we leave." :o)
I thought for sure our interview would be wrapped up quickly. But it wasn't. She eagerly asked us questions about how we came to faith and said, "I would love to hear the stories of how God called you into ministry." Through the smell and the clamor of our kids, she listened intently and with a smile. We left the small room (thank heaven for fresh air!), and she escorted us through the halls--introducing us to teachers and showing us learning stations and art projects. The teachers, dressed up like fairytale characters for book-fair day, stopped and talked to all 3 kids. They felt like it was Disney World. It was obvious that no one viewed us as ragamuffin. We were just as valued as the gold-cuff-link-wearers.
Mrs. Y prayed for us, for God's leading, and our family in this time of decision. By this point, Mrs. Y was well aware that we were not a family who would contribute a lot of money to their school, there was no self-interest when she said, "We would love to have you here. I think our community would benefit so much from your family's presence. We respect the organization of Campus Crusade and what you do." We were encouraged by her kindness.
We left the building--comfortable in our wind-blown, faded-clothing, poopy-smelling selves, but just like that day in California--feeling rich.

What God Did At Big Break '11

2011-03-23T18:45:00.001-05:00

3 Staff and 33 Students from UNT, TCU, and MSU made the 750 mile road trip to Panama City Beach, FL for Big Break, a week of sharing Christ with college students who are there for Spring Break--like THE SPRING BREAK, the one you see on MTV.

After the morning rallies with praise & worship, devotions, teaching, and training, the group would pair up and share the message of Christ with the 200,000 visitors at the beach. This is Moises, UNT music student, encouraging the group before heading out.

Karl spent his week with these UNT students. Daily, they changed up the pairs in which they went out sharing. One of the coolest stories from the week was when Karl and Sam approached a group of 3 guys who had already been approached several times. The guys told them what they told the others who had come before: "We're Atheists. We're not interested in what you have to say." Later that afternoon, Karl and Sam walked by those same "big dudes" and noticed that they were holding hands and praying with Cedrick and Kelley (2 other students in their UNT group)! The guys finally agreed to listen (after rejecting 2 others in between as well). What Cedrick explained struck a chord with them. They looked out at the vast ocean and admitted that it did make sense that there was a God who created it. Cedrick led them through the Gospel, and 2 of them prayed and asked Christ in their life right there on the beach! Kelley shared in a separate conversation with the 3rd guy, and he too accepted Christ! Just one amazing story of 3 of the 200 people who accepted Christ that week!

Karl with Moises, Cedrick and Micah. So proud of these guys--they have really stepped up this semester to lead, initiate, take steps of faith and earnestly seek to obey God in their daily lives. It is exciting to watch God turn them into strong men of faith.

Because there was such a need for beds for students, Karl bunked in the room with his friend Andy, who emceed the week. This was another personal highlight. Andy is one of Karl's favorite friends, and also one he doesn't get to see that often. In addition to having so much fun together and side-splitting laughter, they are a true picture of Proverbs 27:17 "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." I love when Karl gets to spend time with Andy because he always come back refreshed.

The whole week was encouraging for Karl and our students in so many different ways! We are thankful for all that God did last week!

His Plan, Not Our Plan--Big Break Update

2011-03-20T19:56:00.001-05:00

I wrote this 2 weeks ago, but held off posting until now. (Didn't want to post on the internet that Karl was leaving us alone for a week). He just got back today. What a great trip they had! Will post pics and update soon.

What started out as discouragement in fundraising for Big Break turned into clear leading from the Lord...
We usually receive a fair response from our ministry partners and fellow church members when we let them know of a need for missions. OUR PLAN was to use the first donations to book our flights for the trip to Florida, and as the remainder rolled in, we could put it towards our registration/lodging, which wasn't due until March 5. But HIS PLAN was for us to not receive enough for airfare--not even close. Almost a week passed, and we still needed near the full amount. On Thursday, I was praying for OUR PLAN--for God to provide a huge check. But while I was praying, I felt HIS PLAN pressing on me--to relinquish this trip.
Karl got home that evening and started brainstorming more folks we could ask. I told him what God had pressed on me--for him to go with the students, and the kids and I stay home. Knowing that another week apart would be hard on the kids (and me), and knowing that we would have to give up OUR PLAN--our days in Orlando with some of our favorite friends (flights are cheaper to Orlando than PCB), he didn't like the idea at first, but gave it some thought. Then in the next 24 hours HIS PLAN came together.
More students decided to come, which meant we needed another van, and another staff member as a driver. There were actually more male students than female students going in our group--a first--and an answer to prayer for God to raise up men leaders. These guys are newer to our group, newer to walking with God. We got really excited to think of HIS PLAN--Karl being able to spend intensive time discipling these men for the week. It seemed like God was holding back the funds to have us entertain an idea that we otherwise wouldn't have.

And as if we needed more confirmation of HIS PLAN:
Yesterday, Big Break sent an email saying that they are having a record number of students coming. There aren't enough rooms for them all. Karl is currently making arrangements (as I'm sure many other staff members across the country are) to find housing for extra students not yet registered. By surrendering OUR PLAN, it opened up another condo, allowing another 7 students to go.
I fully believe that God values the times when we do ministry as a family. I know that it blesses the kids and I to be involved, and I know it blesses other to see them there. But this time, HIS PLAN is for us to stay home. I still lamented a little bit over the phone today with my sweet friend, Sarah, in Orlando. We wished it were also in HIS PLAN for us to see each other sometime soon, but we look forward to our time this summer when we'll see them in Colorado, and I'm excited to see how God will use Karl's time in FL to encourage these men as they all go out and share with college students how they can find what they're looking for in a relationship with God through Jesus.
(And fortunately, my parents and sis have the same Spring Break, so they can keep us company in Karl's absence).

Expansion--Texas Women's University

2011-02-24T13:14:00.003-06:00

Last fall, 3 students at Texas Women's University (TWU) in Denton showed up at our weekly Bible study at UNT (also in Denton). Having heard of Campus Crusade from friends at other universities, they were eager to start a movement at their campus in order to reach out to their peers. They committed to come to our leadership training for the first semester. They learned how to share their faith and also found new friends and community among our UNT students. Fall Retreat and Winter Conference (pictured above on "fun day") gave them a bigger picture of Campus Crusade's mission to see the Great Commission fulfilled around the world.

People ask us how we can possibly minister to a scope of 280,000 college students in Dallas. The answer is: Students like these. They have the heart, faithfulness, vision, training, and they are willing to sacrifice their time to really own a ministry at their campus. The 2 Timothy 2:2 principle: "Therefore what you've heard me say in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to faithful men who will also in turn be able to teach others."

Piper on Technological Temptations to Distractedness

2011-02-22T13:07:00.002-06:00

This is exactly why I have a purpose statement for my internet use...otherwise I get carried away and lose time. These things that he talks about aren't bad, but I've found for myself, that they key is balance, and finding that is hard and requires consistent re-evaluation on my part.

Piper on Technological Temptations to Distractedness

100 Ways We Spent Our Snow Days

2011-02-05T14:54:00.006-06:00

I have friends who live in the North. They experience freezing temperatures for months, and I'm assuming do so with reasonable functionality. But here in TX, we had 3 days of ice, and we pretty much shut down. Oh, and I did mention that Karl was gone for those 3 days? Fortunately he and the snow came on Day 4.
Here is a list of 100 ways we spent our days...in no particular order & not exhaustive...the fun, the frenzied, and the familiar:
1. Bake 36 Banana Cream Cheese Bars for women’s brunch.

2. Make paper snowflakes.

3. Set up humidifiers to combat the effects of almost non-stop heater.
4. Annual Pin the Tail on the Groundhog game (this pic from 2009).

5. Roll the ball on the floor.
6. Pull out my New Year's Resolution list that I packed away until Feb. 1.
7. Organize girls’ hairclips, bows, jewelry, etc. (Check-off list!)
8. Roll the ball on the floor.
9. Snuggle and watch The Sound of Music Act 1
10. Followed by a spontaneous puppet Show (yodel-lay-ee-oo).
11. Roll the ball on the floor.
12. Annual Groundhog Day Pancake supper.
13-15. Roll the ball on the floor. (Inside activities during the cold of Winter have never caused disappointment with my 2 girls--they love to color, paint, bake, craft, watch TV, read, etc. But my 1-yr-old boy... his 2 favorite things are simple: Daddy & Dirt. Take away one, and it is a challenge, take away both and there is a lot of rolling the ball on the floor. And prayer. Lots of prayer).
16. Color pictures on really big paper.
17. Watch The Sound of Music Act 2
18. Followed by a spontaneous chase around the house where the girls were trying to escape from the Nazi’s.
19. Conversation about how we’re not going to pretend to be Nazi’s. (Be Swiper the Fox, be Captain Hook, but don’t be a Nazi).
20-28. Eat Banana Cream Cheese Bars from canceled brunch. (Seriously—we ate wayyy too many of them—not all at once, but still...They were good! Recipe)
29-34. Play with new toys from birthday party last Saturday (hooray for new toys!)

35-39. Change and wash pee-soaked sheets and pj’s. (Yes, you counted that right, 5 times in 4 days. The stress of Daddy being gone manifests itself in many ways. For my potty-trained 3-year-old, it manifested through pee).
40. Figure out how to turn off leaky toilet. (Apparently the commode was also stressed in Karl’s absence).
41. Wrestle mania—pillows & blankets on the floor—knock each other down & tickle.
42-45. Discipline my first born who rarely ever disobeys (stress in a 5 yr old = power struggle over who’s in charge when Daddy’s gone).
46-49. In quiet alone time, read book and scripture that encourages not yelling at children (my stress = a short fuse).
50. Plan a surprise for Karl's birthday (check off my list!).
51. Make music with toy instruments.
52. Begin relocating normal activities to prevent T’s boredom with the indoors:
53. Rocking horses in the living room.
54. Outdoor cars/scooters up and down the hall.
55. Puzzles on the floor in the girls’ room.
56. Fold the laundry in his room.
57. Picnic supper in the living room.
58. Search the house for non-toy items that are baby-safe & put them in a box for T.
59. T explores the box, has a blast taking things in and out: plastic serving spoons, measuring cups, medicine dropper, rubber thingy that I use to open tight jar lids, unopened box of diaper rash cream, infant hairbrush with soft bristles, rubber ducky-shaped washcloth.
60. What else can we explore?—The toiletries under the bathroom sink (and I will check off a resolution: sort and organize the girls’ bathroom).
61. Continue the multi-tasking exploration by letting T play with my old CD folder circa 2004, while I make a new playlist for chore-time.
62. Try to lick your own elbow--they say it can't be done.
63. Line dance in the kitchen.
64. Welcome Daddy home!!!
65. Take a bubble bath with candles, ahh.
66. Build a snowman with Daddy!

67. Snowball fight with Daddy!

68. Snuggle & watch the Wizard of Oz

69. Follow the Yellow Brick Road around the house.
70-73. Continue along with our daily reading activities & "listening" time. (Currently: 3-4 pages of Charlotte’s Web, 3-4 verses from Proverbs).
74.Darn the hole in Karl's shirt (sew it up, not curse at it).
75-90. Wipe noses (this is a conservative estimate). Marvel at how my baby boy will blow into the tissue.
91. Catch snowflakes on your tongue.

92. Indoor parade (this is how I cook dinner when Karl is gone).

93-99. Play the quiet game (You'll never guess who likes to start this game--The baby! We play the game by pointing every time someone makes a noise--he LOVES to start pointing. I guess for a person whose only words are Dada, Mama, Thank You, Uh-Oh, and Yuck, pointing is a family activity that he can readily join).
100. After kids are in bed, Karl & I complete the Feb.2 tradition (2 days late) by watching the movie Groundhog Day.

2011-01-10T13:22:00.003-06:00

Digital scrapbook personalized with Smilebox

Amazing Story of Life

2011-01-06T14:13:00.000-06:00

Watch this 7 minute excerpt from 700 Club featuring Claire Culwell, who is the adopted daughter of some dear fellow CCC staff. She has an amazing testimony as an ABORTION SURVIVOR! She has toured the country telling her story, please pass it on.
http://www.cbn.com/media/player/index.aspx?s=/vod/700Clubi_122810_WS

Family Pictures 2010

2010-12-28T12:46:00.001-06:00

Our dear friends Josh & Jenny Cobbs take our family pictures in the fall. When I added text to our family shot for our annual prayer magnet, my software changed the tint. I was so sad when I picked it up from the printers. I couldn't afford to reprint all 200, and I couldn't ask for a refund (it wasn't the printers--the 8x10's I got through my iphoto were splendid.) So I wanted to post them here in their full vividness. Josh & Jenny are the only ones who have successfully achieved getting all 3 of our kids to sit, look, and smile simultaneously. Talent. :)

John 3:16--Some people don't even know that it's FROM the Bible!

2010-12-04T23:20:00.001-06:00

I posted a quote in our Christmas Ask this year from a journalist, but didn't have room to print the whole story, so here it is...
Have you ever eaten at an In-N-Out Burger? It is AWESOME! It is to Burgers what Raising Cane's is to Chicken = Experts. And like Cane's, they only have 4 things on the menu. I could write a lonng paragraph in tribute to why it is the best fast food burger in the world, but I'll keep it short--it's juicy, it's loaded, it has it's own sauce (which is NOT Thousand Island), it comes in paper that you must keep around it or the whole thing will fall apart, and the discussion ender: Our girls ate them happily, and they usually won't eat beef without a steep bribe. The chain is only out west--Cali and Arizona, etc. (although they're building one in downtown Ft. Worth in 2012!!). It's cheap, it's yummy, and we ate there this past summer whenever we could get a chance. Karl has the shirt. And by now you're thinking "What in the WORLD does this have to do with John 3:16?"
What makes In-N-Out Burger even more great is that this started in the 50's as a Mom & Pop Diner. It grew; Mom & Pop & Sons ran the whole operation for decades, and this faithful Christian family printed scripture references on the bottom of their packaging.

Mom & Pop never took interviews. After Mom & Pop passed away a few years back, Son finally gave a coveted interview. The journalist questioning him said, "We've all been wondering for years...what ARE these strange inscriptions on the bottom of your packaging?"
What? These people don't even know that John 3:16 is a scripture reference? This is the same reference that people wave on large painted posterboards at national sporting events.
In another part of the interview, he referred to them as "mysterious markings."
Wow.
These references pictured here are verses that are so well-known, a lot of Christians have them memorized.
I bet in the 50's when Mom & Pop chose to print this on their packages, customers would know what they were and maybe even flip to the referenced scripture and read it. It goes to show how much the culture of America has changed in the last half a century. Today if someone holds up a sign reading "John 3:16", the people reading it might not own a Bible or have a clue that they could turn to the 3rd chapter of the Book of John to find truths about God's love.

NOEL--Celebrating the Christmas Season

2010-11-27T20:05:00.003-06:00

Now that the girls are older, they anticipate Christmas, specifically the PRESENTS! In attempt to keep the focus of the season not on how and when they receive things, last year I made a poster of activities of Christmastime--things they could look forward to until present-opening-time, and things that keep us focused on Christ's birth and giving to others. We would check off each activity as the days in December rolled by. This year, I wanted to give even more focus to the different categories of activities and why we do them. I thought about making my poster say "Christmas JOY" and have each letter of the word JOY be a category with the good ol' acronym: Jesus, Others, Yourself. But as I've seen more and more entitlement sins grow in my kids (and myself) in our materialistic culture, I didn't want to separate Christ from any of the activities.
I decided to use the word Noel. I always thought Noel meant "Good News" (probably because of the Christmas carol "Noel, Noel, Good News I tell." But it is actually an Old French word for Christmas. It's Latin root means "birth", and in Irish they use it in their phrase for December, which means "Month of the Newborn." I thought this was the perfect word for the entire Christmas season! I wanted the birth of our Savior to be the over-arching reason for all the fun we are going to have. So our activities fall into a 4-category acrostic:

N= Nearest & Dearest

Johnson Family Christmas Eve
Family Gift Exchanges
Christmas Dinner with Grammy & Grandpa
Homemade Christmas ornaments for relatives
Christmas cards
Make candy and deliver it to neighbors
Package for the Pippins
Visit the Mirike Family and their new baby boy!
Staff Team Christmas party

O = Others

Donate used toys and clothes to Captain Hope's Kids homeless shelters
Donate new toys for Azle Angel Tree
Donate new toys for Prestonwood Christmas Store
Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes for kids in other countries
Raffle for Sudan Water Harvest

E = Exaltation

Countdown to Christmas Advent (with scripture and candy).
"What God Wants for Christmas" Children's Story and Nativity
Christmas Carols
Nativity---toy, decor, and live
Worship at church
"Merry Christmas with Love" (Prestonwood's Free Christmas Event)
Annual Charlie Brown night with hot chocolate (don't laugh at me that I put Charlie Brown in the exaltation category).
Happy Birthday, Jesus! family activities (special dessert, coloring activity pad)

L = Living it Up! (All of these "just for fun" activities are so exciting for the girls that they all receive exclamation marks on our poster. :) While browsing online for fun events in the Dallas area, I discovered that you can drop a lot of coin in the "Living it Up" category. However, there are a lot of free events around Dallas, so we opted to just do those).

Pictures with Santa!
Watch The Polar Express!
Decorate our tree!
Ice-Skating Show!
Paint toenails with red polish and glitter!
Ice Sculptures with Grammy & Grandpa!
Frisco Square Light Show!
Mommy and daughters' date to Kitty's Jr. High Choir Christmas Concert!
Cartoons! --Rudolph, The Grinch, Veggie Tales, Mickey Mouse, etc.
Bake Mississippi Mud Cake!
Make Paper Snowflakes!

The girls colored their N.O.E.L poster today, and we are hanging it in the kitchen next to our advent.
(p.s. I don't know what is up with my font color-selector--it is having a mind of its own today). :/

Coupons and $$ Savers

2010-11-09T12:50:00.005-06:00

I'm not naturally good at financial planning or saving money. I value saving money; I think it's important, and my husband and parents are gifted at this and have helped me stick to a budget (see previous post Saving Money & Other Things I Learned From My Parents), but by nature, if I have a dollar, I want to spend it. "Burning a whole in my pocket", as my Grandma would say. What my mom, sister, and others who know me well would say about me is I am a money-STRETCHER. I learned quickly that if I found ways to pay less for things, then I could BUY MORE within my budget. :)
I have clipped coupons on and off for years, but last year my friend Kim helped me focus my efforts with a few money saving tips (click on her name and it'll take you to her blog). Last week I saved $68 off my grocery bill by combining coupons from the Sunday paper, web coupons, and store specials. I learned quickly that the "total saved" doesn't mean much if you end up spending more than you would have before the coupons. With a little discipline and boundaries, I started seeing a tremendous surplus in my grocery budget. I'm not trying to convince you to follow my principles, but recently I have had several friends ask me for details of how I coupon, so here it is:

When shopping, I mentally categorize: "necessity or luxury." Milk, diapers, medicine, "meat and potatoes" stuff = necessity. Bakery cookies, a frozen prepared meal, dips and chips, lip gloss = luxury. I limit the "luxury" items to 1 or 2 per trip. Sacrificing luxury items saves me in the short-run and in the long-run by allowing me to build a surplus from which to stock up when there's a deal.

I am willing to say "No" and I'm willing to wait. I have a personal money-saving boundary to not buy a box of cereal if it's more than $2, not buy a bag of chips if it's more than $2.50, not buy a frozen family meal for more than $5. At first I thought this wouldn't always work, but with coupons or store sales, I can stick to this 90% of the time, but I have to be willing to follow the next principle:

I forgo brand loyalty. Frozen pizza, canned soup, cleaning products, toothpaste--I buy whatever is the least expensive that week. There are a few things that I am brand loyal to--my family has sensitive skin--we require Pampers, Charmin, Eucerin, etc., so I buy these things in bulk when I can get the best deal. Also we each get to choose something that we like the best. This started when Karl appealed to me one day, "I appreciate all that you do to save money, and I don't care what brand you get except for cereal. I would like Honey Nut Cheerios, not Honey Oat Rings. Can you always buy that kind please?" :) I make this happen and stick to my $2 boundary by the next principle:

I stack coupons. I buy something on sale with a manufacter coupon and stack it with a store coupon (meaning I can use both at the same time). I do this at Target and at CVS. Last month, Target had Charmin on sale. I had a coupon from the Sunday paper (2 actually as my mom and mother-in-law give me their Sunday coupons :), I printed a coupon from Target's website, and if I bought 2 bulk packages of Proctor & Gamble paper products, I got a $5 Target gift card. I ended up getting $50 worth of paper products for $30.

Lastly, I try to balance bargains with sanity. I subscribe to a money-saving-mommy blog. It sends me an email with literally 50 bargains a day around town. At first, I was so overwhelmed--as a mommy of 3 at home, I couldn't possibly get every bargain. I couldn't drive to Tom Thumb TODAY just to get granola bars for 50 cents. I experimented with a few stores and few coupon websites. I found out which ones I liked and which were a hassle. The store Aldi has super cheap produce, but it is out of my way and always had a 30 minute line. Bye-bye, Aldi. The conclusions for my enjoyment (I suggest you discover your own) are:

I shop at Target & CVS and I ignore the rest. I love Target. It is my favorite store to shop at. I hate Walmart--DESPISE it--I get stressed every time I go. 6 years ago when we lived in Baton Rouge, they opened a SuperTarget. Everyone told me that it was more expensive than Walmart. Set out to justify my shopping at Target, I spent 4 months comparing prices of every kind of grocery, toiletry, and paper item. I put it in a spread sheet and also compared Albertsons and Winn Dixie. The grocery stores proved to be significantly more expensive--about $25 per trip. But Walmart and Target equaled out--some items were a little more expensive at Target, and then some items were cheaper. It averaged about $2 more a month to shop at Target. My enjoyment of the shopping chore was well worth it to me! Since then, I have been a loyal SuperTarget shopper--they had one close by in FL and now in Frisco.

All of this does take some time and energy, but I have refined my system to make it more enjoyable. I clip coupons on Sunday afternoon while Karl is watching football and my kids are resting. I enjoy browsing through the flyers, and it keeps me in the room with my hubby while NFL is on. :) If I miss a Sunday b/c we have other activities, I don't stress about it. I usually save the flyers for the next week. I threw out my old accordian-style coupon file. Instead, I put the coupons in a small photo album, that way I can group together coupons, and at a glance, I can flip to find what I need. I hated pulling out a stack of coupons and sifting through them in the store--when I had the kids with me, I would rarely bother going through them all.
The rewards have been worth the effort, to me. We make a modest living--our salary is based on need, and we have everything we need. The discipline of bargain-shopping pads my budget for other "luxuries." This fall, with our grocery savings, we paid for: One ballet class, one baby shower for a friend, one family trip to the carnival, 2 family dinners out at a restaurant, picture printing for my son's first year baby book, and one new purse for myself :). All the while, my pantry is stocked with: 2 extra tubes of toothpaste, 2 extra shave gels, extra shampoos, jumbo baby wipes, chocolate chips of every kind, and enough toilet paper to last until the New Year. :)

Happy 1st Birthday!

2010-11-01T23:19:00.000-05:00

Happy First Birthday, to my baby boy! What fun it has been to get to know you and experience how different you are from your big sisters! I call you my "Little Lion Cub" because right from the start, you have been stronger, more physical, always moving, yet you are sweet and playful. At bedtime, especially, I compare you to a little jungle animal--always rolling over in my arms, softly swatting my face. I whisper your name over and over and over again, and you giggle a one-syllable laugh, smile, and look at me out of the corners of your eyes. Not at all complacent or laid-back as "experts" say a third child will act, you make your presence known, your likes and dislikes you eagerly express. What a delightful addition you are to our family! Can't imagine life without you! I love you, Little Lion Cub!

Saving Money and Other Principles I Learned from My Parents

2010-10-24T19:54:00.004-05:00

My parents were jumping up and down waving papers in their hands. (Well, maybe just my mom was jumping, the memory is foggy because I was in grade school, but knowing my dad's personality, I'm going to guess that only my mom was jumping). They were moving excitedly waving the mail saying, "This is our house!"
"Uh, yeah...." I replied, confused since we had lived in that same house my entire life. They seemed to be excited about some very obvious and old news.
"No, you don't understand, " they began to explain to me, "this house is paid for! We OWN it! No one can take it away from us! It is OURS!"
"Oh, ok," I smiled, guessing that at some point they had paid money for it, and since knowing that fact didn't change one thing about my day, all I had to say about it was "Oh, ok."
My parents discipline, values, and choices shaped the way I think about money and possessions. I watched them sacrifice, save, and now in near retirement, reap the benefits and spoil their grandkids like any other. :) They used their money wisely and before I graduated my first elementary school, and on one income, they paid my mom's way through college. Then before graduating that elem. school, they paid off their home mortgage. They did not (and still do not) have sought-after salaries. Dad works shift work and Mom is a public school teacher. We did without luxuries, but as a child, I never felt like I "did without." I took dance classes and had recitals. We went on family vacations and would eat out together. I had braces, and cheerleader outfits. What I didn't get was my every whim and desire.
I learned to wait for things--toys, clothes, jewelry, a car--these things were to be eagerly anticipated and appreciated, not expected. Even though I'm sure my teenage self felt entitled to many of these things, that attitude was not what my parents taught, and disrespectful selfishness received a rebuke.
Another thing I didn't get was an earful about how money was tight. I had a grade-school friend who was always worried about how much things cost because she felt the burden of her parents low income. My parents taught me the value of money without putting their burden on me. All of these things, I appreciate now as an adult. They have helped me navigate life as a missionary with 3 little kids. And in God's wonderful prosperous plan for my life, He gave me a husband who not only values the same things financially, but also one who excels at budgeting and long-term planning. Karl loves to budget and to help other people develop a budget. In his recreational time, he enjoys learning about stewardship and financial planning in a Biblical way. I am so thankful that he directs our finances!
I decided to write about this today, because every Sunday, I clip coupons and plan my grocery shopping for the week. As I do this, I am consistently thankful that I actually enjoy this responsibility.

She Asked Jesus in her Heart!

2010-09-07T18:40:00.007-05:00

Every evening my 2-year-old has been asking me to read a little paper back illustrated version of the Gospel that was given to us by our church in Louisiana for our first Christmas as parents. We have multiple children's versions of the Gospel, and this one is not my favorite of them all, but we want them to hear God's word as many times and in as many different ways as possible, so this one remains in the girls' bookcase. Our eldest ("4-and-a-half, almost 5" she will tell you) never chooses this Jesus story--I think mostly because it shows a picture of the crown of thorns up close and says how it made Him bleed. She is very sensitive, and doesn't like to think of Jesus hurting. Usually she is taking her pre-bedtime trip to the potty when her sister brings the book for me to read. But on Wed. Aug. 11, she unusually finished quickly and plopped herself on the couch beside me and said, "Can I listen too?"
"Of course," I answered.
When we reached the page about "sin", it gave the example of "hitting other boys and girls". This was something she had been doing a lot lately to her younger sister. She received consequences about 5 times a day, for about 2 weeks straight for this exact behavior. I could tell when I read that phrase, she was struck. At the end of the book, it has an invitation for the child to receive Jesus personally by asking, "Would you like to ask Jesus in your heart?" Little sister always enthusiastically says, "YESS!!!" closes the book, and jumps off the couch to get a toy without a second thought. But this night, Big Sister remained seated, deep in thought.
"I'd like to ask Jesus in my heart," she said. {Something I'd heard from her before many times, but each time upon talking about it, she did not fully grasp the significance of the decision.}
Not knowing if anything had changed in her comprehension, I replied, "Ok, when you're ready..."
"But I'm ready now. Can we do it together?"
I said, "Ok, but let's make sure you understand it all. Let's start back at the beginning. You know that God loves you." She nodded at my statement. I didn't even pose it as a question because I knew that she knew since she has talked about it a lot. "You know that you are sinful, right? And what does that mean?"
"I KNOW I'm not perfect, because sometimes I hit my little sister," she said seriously.
At this point, I started to get a little nervous/excited. Excited because I could tell she had been struck with conviction, nervous because I am quite confident in leading an 18-year-old college student through this process (I have the Bible verses and the commentary memorized), but I knew that I couldn't say the phrase "active rebellion or passive indifference" to my 4-yr-old, so I was a little uncertain of what to ask next. I said a little prayer for wisdom. {I had also prayed earlier in the day that God would continue to remove pride from my life--another prayer He was answering in this moment, as I fumbled to the last page of the book to see if it had any guidance on leading kids through this discussion. It did! It had 4 points! Here we go:}
"Do you remember what happened to Adam and Eve in the garden?" She relayed the story, and we focused on the main consequence. Thanks to us reading The Jesus Storybook Bible night after night, she knew that the main consequence was not the fig-leaf clothing, but the separation from God. I continued reading from the paperback: "Satan made the problem, Jesus is the solution."
Then, just as I would read to an adult, I read Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." We discussed a little about earning/deserving a punishment and she knew that Jesus took the punishment when He died on the cross. I asked her, "And did He stay dead?"
"No, God raised Him from the dead and the BIG stone was rolled back."
"Where does He live now?"
"In Heaven."
"And where else?"
"In Mommy and Daddy's heart."
"How did He get in our hearts?"
"You asked Him in. You know, you don't have to be a grown-up to ask Him in your heart," she said matter-of-factly.
"You're right. So what does it mean to ask Jesus in your heart?" We have gotten to this question in conversation before, and each time at this point she would answer, "I don't know," and I would prod a little and discover that she didn't understand. But this time she said, "It means that He would come live in my heart and I would go to Heaven." We read Romans 10:9--the same verse that convicted my little heart at age 7 "If you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."
I said, "If you want to ask Jesus in your heart, you can do it right now by praying. Remember, praying is just talking to God, your words don't have to be perfect, just say what you're thinking."
She said, "Can we do it together?"
"Sure. You listen to these words and see if this is what you want to say {The paperback did not have a sample prayer. I don't remember exactly the words I said, but here is the jist}: "Dear God, I know you love me. Thank you for sending your Son Jesus to die on the cross. I know I am not perfect. Thank you that you took the punishment for me. I want you to come into my heart and be the Lord of my life. In Jesus name, Amen." I asked, "Is that what you want to say?" She nodded. "Ok, I'll say it one more time, and this time, you think those words to God while I say them." When we finished, she said, "Amen. Is He in there now?"
"If you meant what you prayed, then Yes."
She jumped up and down, "I can't wait to tell Daddy! And can I tell my friend M------ too? Oh, and I also want to tell Daddy that I brushed my teeth with big-girl toothpaste for the first time and I didn't swallow!"
When Karl walked in, she was getting ready for bed, so I had a moment to relay our conversation to him. I said, "I think she just asked Jesus in her heart." I was still a little uneasy though--I asked, "She is not even 5. How can we be sure? I have special presents saved for when she makes this decision, but what if we celebrate now and give the gifts, and then we find out when she's 12 that it didn't really happen?" He silently pondered for a minute--he was the one who was skeptical of her ability to comprehend previously when we had conversations with her, but this time he said, "If an 18-yr-old had said those words and prayed that prayer, we would say, 'That person will be in Heaven. I think years of ministry has made us cynical. I think you should pull out the gifts. Let's make a big deal out of it. We'll know by the fruit in her life, and if it turns out she just said the words and makes a decision later on, we'll take it as it comes. I don't think we can start off her spiritual journey by doubting her." My husband is so wise. His words completely reassured me. I said, "You're right. And we've been praying every night since before she was born that she 'would come to know Christ at an early age'. It makes sense to not doubt it."
I rummaged through my closet to find the cross necklace and children's devotional Bible that I had been saving. I wrote her name, date, and occasion in the front. When she was ready for bed, she ran to Karl and said, "Daddy! I didn't swallow the big-girl toothpaste, and I asked Jesus in my heart!" We laughed, and celebrated, and presented her with the presents to mark the special occasion. She was grinning ear to ear. (See her pictured in her favorite cherry nightgown, wearing the James Avery cross necklace that Karl gave me while we were dating, and holding her new book.)
Since then, she and I read a devotional together while her siblings nap in the afternoon. It has been fun to talk about the "fruits of the Spirit" now accessible to her since Jesus lives in her heart. She likes this especially since she has memorized Galatians 5:22-23 "The fruits of the spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control" from her Beary Patch Bears Books. Since then, she has stopped hitting her sister. She has apologized for unkind things without being prompted. And everyday we see more and more evidence of God living in her little heart.

Study Shows Teenagers Have Watered Down Faith

2010-09-04T20:48:00.004-05:00

"90% of kids who grow up in church turn their backs on God by the time they graduate college." It is a statistic that is staggering, hard to believe, but we see it everyday. People think, "That won't be my kid. My kid will be the one who stays faithful." (That's what I think about my kids). But for 9 out of 10 college students, that won't be the case. This article helps pinpoint why that is while calling teenagers "fake Christians":
http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/08/27/almost.christian/index.html?hpt=C1

End of Summer Project

2010-08-07T22:09:00.004-05:00

We left The Peter Pan Motel and Santa Cruz in early July, but our students remained there, carrying out the mission until today. That is the most unique and impacting aspect of the Project--we spend 6 intensive weeks training them and preparing them to perform all the functions of the ministry on their own. It stretches them, helps them rely on the Lord and not themselves or others, and gives them the experience of true Christian community as they learn to work together, sharpening each other with their different strengths and gifts.
Before we, the staff, leave, we carefully and PRAYERFULLY select leaders. There are leaders for each Action Group (small group Bible study and accountability), leaders for the committees of activities (like Outreach, Prayer, etc,) and 4 Leaders called "The Foursome", 2 gals, 2 guys who are put in charge over all the others. These students are exceptional in that they are mature, humble, and are not concerned with their own ambition, but with servanthood--both in mind and actions. We confidently left the Project in their hands, knowing that they would keep it in the Lord's Hands. Here is a picture of 3 of the Foursome during our last week at The Peter Pan. In the early AM, before anyone else was up, they had a prayer walk for the people on Summer Project. I was up early with the baby and went to throw a diaper in the outside trash can, and opened my door to find them standing their, heads bowed, praying for my kids. What an encouragement! And they continued door-to-door praying for each individual there.
Today they left Santa Cruz. We've seen on facebook that they are all sad to leave each other, but excited for the ministry God has for each of them back on their different campuses. Please join us in praying for these faithful students!

Finally! Pictures of The Pan!

2010-07-01T15:27:00.021-05:00

The Peter Pan motel (affectionately called "The Pan" by the students) is like a light for Christ near the Santa Cruz, CA Beach and Boardwalk. Our "Campus Crusade for Christ" sign stays up year round, and we have a display of free books (The Case for Faith) for people as they walk to the beach. Santa Cruz is one of the most unchurched areas of the U.S. Less than 6% are churched and that includes all faiths--there are prominent Jewish and Buddhist temples as well as a Christian Science church in town.

We tried to make the girls' room cozy for them. Their cute and colorful sleeping bags along with pictures from home and wall stickers helped their space be more fun.The Kitchen, Dining Room, Home Office, and Living Room. (Also known as "Mommy and Daddy's Bedroom"). Living in these tight quarters was definitely one of the most challenging parts of our summer. The girls ate breakfast on placemats on the floor in a 4 ft squared space between these shelves and the foot of our bed. When Titus learned to crawl mid-way through the summer, it only added to the challenge.

Here's the view into the girls' "room"--it's like a big closet, but they love it! Kids are the first to let you know if they don't like something. (Let's be real: they whine and complain--at least ours do). But not once have the girls ever said anything about this space being "too small." It has everything they need and even some things that they want. It has been harder for us "grown-ups" as our perspective of "needs" vs. "wants" has been stretched this summer.

View of the entrance to the girls' "room" and Titus' room (which actually IS the closet), covered by twin mattresses as doors. People who say, "Kids adapt--we just make noise and they learn to sleep through it," have NOT spent time with our kids. They would not, could not adapt--so we did. Mattresses became doors. An actual wooden door on hinges= WANT. Something to divide the spaces and block the noise of 60 college students = NEED.

Drying dishes in the bathroom. A few of the staff have a favorite Karl-quote for the summer: (Said in his Seinfeld-esk sarcasm)"A separate sink for brushing your teeth and doing dishes? A Waaannt. Not a NEED." :)

Before the students arrived, we added twinkly lights, hanging flower baskets, and refreshed the flower beds. This made a huge impact--suddenly the shabby Pan looked more cozy and shabby-chic.

The U-shape creates a good community environment. We all eat dinner together every night at the picnic tables in the back--there is a small patch of grass called "The courtyard" where the kids run around and play.

And when you add 60 college students from across the country, the Pan comes alive. After we leave here, I know I won't miss the mattress-doors, washing dishes in the bathroom, or eating on the floor. I know I won't miss the cramped quarters, the 1980's beach-motif decor, or Titus sleeping in a closet. From past experiences on summer projects, I know that as time passes, Karl and I will laugh at the crazy inconveniences, and I will think back to The Peter Pan and say, "Wow, I liked those people."

Prayer and Evangelism on the Job at Summer Project

2010-06-19T11:21:00.006-05:00

Every morning at The Peter Pan, students gather up before heading out to work to pray. They pray for relationships with their co-workers, bosses, and opportunities to share the gospel. On week nights the Project provides dinner and students are allowed to invite their co-workers or people they meet while sharing on the beach. Here is a student sharing the "Knowing God Personally" booklet (The 4 Spiritual Laws) with a co-worker before dinner. I covertly snapped this picture through my cracked window. ;)

Sun Hats

2010-06-14T23:15:00.010-05:00

A few days before leaving for Santa Cruz, I decided to buy some sun hats for the family (except for Karl, he wears a ball cap). I thought, "We probably won't make it to the beach that many times since Titus is still so little, but I'll be thankful to have them for those few times." I am so glad I bought them, because we wear them every day all day long! There is no shade at The Peter Pan. The weather is amazing and pleasant every day--cool in the morning, mid-70's in the day. (We had a record-breaking high temp on Wed = 78 degrees). So we are outside all day, every day. The girls are loving it--but the sun is still intense. Every day I am so thankful for these good sun hats. Here are a few favorite pics.

The LOST Finale

2010-06-01T21:44:00.005-05:00

I've been thinking about the finale of LOST for the past week or so. I loved watching that show, and I'm a little sad that it has ended. I love how there was a whole culture surrounding the mystery of it--how people would talk each week about the hidden messages and how each story was intertwined with each other. One critic called it the "best dramatic TV series of all time." Another said that {paraphrase:}"no other show in the history of television has had viewers researching history, literature, religion, mythology, etc." People are more knowledgeable because LOST was on TV for 6 years. Towards the end, all of us Christian viewers were hoping that the unveiling of the Big Picture would have Christian themes. (Or maybe since that is our view, we kept finding the Christian themes in it). Certainly, Jack sacrificing himself to save the world is reflective of the main idea of Christianity. But did you catch the stain-glass window as Jack is about to pass into the heaven-like afterlife? I noticed it immediately. It represented 6 different, and opposing world religions--suggesting that all result in the same afterlife. I wish I had the time to delve into all the themes of LOST, but I don't. Fortunately, my friend Stephanie, and fellow LOSTite, has been blogging about the show for quite some time. She has also written in-depth reviews and posted a world-religions chart showing the contrasts and the impossibility of all religions leading to the same outcome. Please check out her blog InfiniteQueso That link takes you to her write-up about the stained glass window, but dig around for the following articles and more. She is a great writer with many good thoughts.

We Made It!

2010-05-27T21:43:00.006-05:00

Boy, were we all glad to be out of the car!! After 3 long days of driving and 2 in-and-out hotel stays with the little ones, everyone was so glad to be not-confined and able to move around! We arrived at the beach on the 22nd, caught the finale of LOST with our new friends and teammates on the 23rd, spent 5 days planning for the Project and prepping The Peter Pan motel for move-in, and finally made it to the sand for a few minutes yesterday. These are a few of my favorite pictures.

This is Not a Vacation.

2010-05-14T21:40:00.013-05:00

The teacher of our Sunday School class said (FYI: "Bible Fellowship" is the 21st century way to say "Sunday School", but old habits die hard. I still call it Sunday School), "When you have small children, a 'vacation' is not a vacation. It is a trip." My sentiments exactly when prepping for our Summer Mission Project to California. 8 weeks on the beach in sunny Cali-- when people hear that, they say, "Wow, what a vacation!" Not exactly. Lemme tell you a little bit about our summer: After a 1700 mile drive from Dallas to Santa Cruz with 3 kids who won't sleep in the car (and one who won't sleep at night period), we will settle into the Peter Pan Motel (yes, I said motel--not hotel, not apartment, definitely not condo). The Peter Pan has for us a suite-style room (2 standard rooms with a small opening separating them). It has a bathtub, sink and dormitory mini-fridge (that our staff leaders are bringing in special for us since we have a baby). The hotel--not our room, but the property--has one kitchen that we all can share. Laundry is done down the street at the laundromat. This description is probably not one that you would choose for yourself if you were a family of 5 going on vacation. Maybe you would, because vacation usually last about 5 days--that is usually the point in the "vacation" (trip) with small children that we say, "Ok, that was fun, but I'm ready to go home now." The sites have been seen, the kids are cranky, someone is sunburned, and we all want our own bed. We will reach that point at day five and then add another fifty-five days to it.
Also, most people would not choose to go on "vacation" if they had a baby that wasn't sleeping at night. The fore-mentioned inconveniences would be mildly uncomfortable under normal circumstances, but throw in a crying baby, and it makes it even less of a "vacation."
We asked you to pray for our sweet boy's sleep 2 months ago. We so thank you for this, as we saw some improvement. Even in the last week, he has made some excellent strides in sleeping longer stretches at night. He still remains inconsistent though, and we have to be very rigid with his schedule. If he misses a nap--just one nap like on Sunday morning for church--he wakes up all night long, and remains sleepless for about 36 hours. I am most stressed about our trip in thinking what the missed naps (he doesn't sleep in the car hardly ever) will do to our poor boy, and then consequently, our entire family as he will no doubt wake us all up. We are just beginning to get more rest, so I am dreading the fall-out from the travel.
To say we are sleep deprived is an understatement. Now that I am done feeding him in the middle of the night, Karl and I can take turns sleeping for a full night, instead of just shifts of the night. This has been a helpful improvement as well. But it takes more consistency to recover from the months of sleep deprivation. Physically, mentally, and emotionally, we are tired.
Physically: We have been sick. Our bodies defenses are just not functioning properly. Karl gave me a gift certificate for a pedicure for my birthday in March, and I have not been able to redeem my much desired pampering because I've been fighting an infection on my toe for 2 months. I reluctantly went to the doctor (I thought for sure that Neosporin would have cured this little irritation). The doc said, "You should put some anti-biotic ointment on it." I replied, "I have used that twice a day, every day for 3 weeks." He wrote me a prescription for a pill. I am now on round 2 of these antibiotics, and keeping my fingers crossed that I'll get that pedi before we leave for the beach!
Mentally: We are forgetful. Here's my favorite example to date: We were at my parents for dinner, and afterward, I got the pie out of the fridge and cut myself a slice. I went into the living room, came back and my plate was gone.
"Where is my pie?!" I exclaimed.
My mom answered, "You ate it."
I thought this was a joke, "Haha, seriously. Where did it go?"
"Seriously, you ate it."
I had no memory of it. I said, "Well, did I enjoy it?" :)
Emotionally: We are a roller coaster. I burst into tears at the drop of a hat or yell for about the same. During one of the "tears" moments, I sent an email to our Santa Cruz leaders, expressing all the dread I was feeling about our summer and why. They were very understanding and compassionate. The director is in process of building a door in that small opening that connects our 2 spaces, so that hopefully the girls can get some sleep, and also Karl and I can switch off sleeping in the same room as the baby if needed (at home, he sleeps in his own room, but at the Peter Pan, we will not have that). They are also trying to acquire a partition, to at least help divide off a little corner of our room for him. The women of the project called me, offering all kinds of help and prayers. One of them even said, "I just wanted to tell y'all: You can stay home!"
Honestly, part of me has wished for that. If someone called tomorrow and said, "The Peter Pan Motel fell over. The Project is canceled," I would probably jump for joy. But given the CHOICE to stay or go...well, that's different.
Fortunately, I have done enough of these Summer Projects to know the benefits that they produce. We have been blessed by every Project that we have ever attended--even when we were the students. Each time, there have been hard things, discomforts, and inconveniences. And each time, God has used those things to bring about changes in our hearts--making our minds more "like Christ", and sharpening our character. Each Project has also brought great friends into our lives--many whom we keep in touch with some 10 years later. The experience of the close-knit Christian community is our favorite reward that we reap.
But even more so than the personal rewards, is the heavenly rewards. "Store up treasures in Heaven, where moth and rust cannot destroy." Summer Project impacts the lives of so many others. Our students who attend leave with skills, friends, and most importantly passion to minister to others. After Project, sharing the Gospel is not just an activity, it is a normal function of their Christian life. Summer Project alumni go back to their campus as leaders. The reason for all of this growth and passion in their life is because they have spent their summer building relationships and sharing Jesus with people who don't know Him. Every year, around the world, thousands of people enter a saving relationship with Jesus Christ because someone on a Summer Project invited them to it.
When given a choice...well, that is a no-brainer. How could we justify staying home? Sure, it'd be more comfortable. And we'd get a little bit more sleep (but not a lot). When knowing that the Word of God says, "Therefore my brothers, do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind consider others as more important than yourselves," staying home would not only be disobedient, but also hypocritical of what we encourage our students to do every day. So we're packing up our family of 5, and heading out on Thursday, and I'm going to try to not complain or fret about the inconveniences and discomforts (sometimes living out the verse: "Stop grumbling among yourselves" is harder for me than any other). Please pray with us for this mission--that I will not grumble, that our baby will sleep, that our kids will adjust to their new, smaller surroundings. Thank you for joining with us. The Mission is worthy. Vacation is not worthy, so thankfully, this is not a vacation. And when I need a good reminder, I can watch this new video (we're also adding it to the top left of our blog).

Mother's Day & Baby Dedication

2010-05-14T21:14:00.008-05:00

6 Month Portrait--wearing the outfit that Karl wore to his own baby dedication.

I hung a sheet and took some Mother's Day pictures in these cute outfits.

Mother's Day morning was extra special this year because it was also Baby Dedication Sunday. We are so blessed to have family who has a common faith and who encourages us and helps us raise our children in the ways of the Lord. The thing that I am most thankful about living in Dallas is that our kids get to spend regular time with their grandparents. Growing up, my grandparents were a part of our everyday life, and I love that our children are having the same experience.
We were also excited to be taking part in the Baby Dedication ceremony with our good friends, The Cobbs. Having friends and family there helped to really live out the purpose of the ceremony: publically giving God control of our child, our child-rearing, and asking the church for support, prayers, and accountability in our endeavor. That day, our big church felt a little smaller.

March Prayer Requests

2010-03-16T14:48:00.003-05:00

3/16--Praise that Karl's surgery for his wisdom teeth removal went smoothly today. Pray for a quick recovery.
3/16--After 2 weeks of intense sleep therapy, pray for Titus (and Mommy!) as we try to help him learn to sleep independently tonight. As suggested by his great-grandparents, please pray this verse along with us "You will lie down and not be afraid, you will lie down and have sweet sleep." Proverbs 3:24(To learn why this is such a struggle, read my previous post about colic).
3/15-19--pray for the recruits who are considering joining our staff team next fall. We need 5 new full time laborers to join us by Sept. Many of them are making their decisions THIS WEEK.
3/24--New Moon (sequel to Twilight) outreach at the University of North Texas. Pray that girls would come, that they would be ripe to hear that God's love is what their hearts desire. Pray for good discussion, no interruptions, no problems with our venue or movie-watching technology, etc.

What is Colic? A Glimpse Into Our Life with a Newborn

2010-02-16T13:24:00.027-06:00

After an hour of hands-on soothing, our daughter--exhausted from screaming--fell asleep limply in Daddy's arms.

A white noise machine, pacifier, loud rattling sound, and snuggling was the only thing that would stop the screaming this particular day.

Our first daughter wanted the swing, our second wanted a vibrating seat--this is one we borrowed for a few hours while we went to the store to replace the one that she had "worn-out". Both girls would only sleep if their head was snuggled next to this soft towel.

Our son only wanted body-to-body contact. On bad days, he required light pressure on his pacifier as well. Pictured here, his big sister held him in position while I made a quick trip to the bathroom. We also found that if he was in a deep sleep, we could carefully maneuver him from our lap to the couch and lay him in the warm spot where we had been sitting (pictured in the striped blanket). This would buy us about 5 minutes to do something else. After this, we tried putting a heating pad in his bassinet--thinking that the warmth would "trick" him, and help him sleep longer independently. However, it only bought us 20 minutes. We tried a noise machine on the heartbeat sound setting in addition to the heating pad. This too only allowed about 20 minutes. My dad devised his own trick--pictured with the pillow and warm blanket on the floor. We obviously could not leave him unattended in such a position, but it did give our arms a break. When other adults were not around to help, I carried him in the sling on my body, but I chose this as a last option. The sling made my back ache. At night, we took turns sleeping with him on the couch--for weeks, we each got 4 hours of uninterrupted sleep in the bed, while the other rested with him. At week 6 when he could go longer between feedings at night, Karl was the sacrificial trooper and would keep him from midnight to 6AM because if he slept with me, he would insist on nursing. At 3 months, when he began taking formula, we resumed splitting the night 4hrs/4hrs. During that time, Karl was out of town for 2 different one-week time periods, and I spent the time with my parents who helped out tremendously. My dad and my mom each spent one night on the couch with the baby to let me get some rest.

Of course, in the grand
scheme of things, it is only 4 months--feels like forever when you're in such sleep deprivation, but it's not long before it's a distant memory. Our girls are 4 and a half and 2 years now--what a joy they are! And we are thankful that they are healthy, smart, beautiful children! Our son is full of baby smiles and happy days. Nights on the other hand are a different story, and we begin the journey of helping yet another post-colic baby sleep through the night on his own...

First off, let me say that this is not written to complain or elicit sympathetic comments. It's just that after caring for 3 infants with colic, people have asked what it is like for us. So this is an attempt to answer the questions that we've received over the years, and to give a glimpse into our lives when our children are very young infants.

The most common question we get is: "What is colic? Is it a stomach-problem?"Lots of brands of infant formula and bottles advertise that they help "reduce colic" (in conjunction with the thinking that colic is stomach-related or gas-related). We did not find this to be true. With all 3 children, we have tried different bottles and formula, and none have helped their crying, fussiness, or the amount of time we need to soothe.

Doctors don't really know what causes colic. They define it as: "an unknown crying condition that affects 20% of infants. It begins around 2 weeks of age and last until 3-4 months." Some think that it is not in fact stomach pangs, but is an inability to relax--this theory matches our children's behavior more than feeding/stomach issues. One theory is that infants with colic have a higher level of serotonin in their brains, and it's counterpart-melatonin- increases in production around 4 months of age. If this is the case, the baby's brain is more alert, has trouble relaxing, sleeping and staying asleep. (This fits in with the recent study of SIDS, where infants who died of SIDS found to have deficient amounts of serotonin in their brains, causing them to STAY asleep even when breathing was compromised. How we have thanked God in the midst of the screaming and sleep deprivation that our children are alive, healthy and awake!) All 3 of our babies have been described as "alert" by their doctors, friends, and strangers in public--it's a comment we get every time they interact with others, "Wow, she's so alert." One other mom of a colicky infant said, "It's fun in the day, but not at night, huh?" :)

Other common questions we hear are: "How much does she cry? When did it start? Is it just in the evening?" In our experience, our first and third babies began their fussiness before they left the hospital. It was only with our second daughter, who slept peacefully and sweetly at first, that we got the unpleasant surprise when she reached the 2 week mark and began to scream. It happened while we were shopping at SuperTarget--she had been resting peacefully in her carrier and then began screaming uncontrollably. She had a full belly, a dry diaper, no temperature, and yet nothing I tried stopped the screaming. And I use the word scream instead of cry. She had cried for her first two weeks, this holler was MUCH different--so different that her 2 and-a-half-year old big sister noticed, and when people asked her if her baby sister cried a lot, she corrected them, "No, she screams." My favorite definition of colic states: "Colic is violent rhythmical screaming attacks which do not stop when the infant is picked up, and for which no cause, such as underfeeding could be found." The books we've read about colic said that the fussiness would typically occur in the evening hours. This appears to be typical of most infants--in the evening, they are the most tired, and the mother's milk supply is at its lowest, so even normal temperament babies have evening fussiness. With our first daughter, her crying spells would start at about 10PM and last until 6AM with feedings being the only thing relieving the screams in between. That year we lived in a condo, and you can imagine how popular we were with our neighbors. Frequently, we would hear our neighbor stomp out of his bedroom in the early AM, and slam the door in frustration. "We're sorry. She can't help it, and we're exhausted too," was all we could think to say to him. After logging her sleep (or lack thereof) and screaming schedule, we realized that she was off the charts "extreme" (was how the book labeled it). Her onset (day 1 in the hospital), duration, and intensity was above the norm. Part of that was probably our inexperience in soothing a fussy baby, our lack of resources at the beginning (we didn't even own a baby swing at first--we thought that was a luxury item--boy did we find out it was a necessity for us!) But part of it was just our daughter--we remember the hospital nursery workers coming to us about her fussiness--not typical behavior for a day-old baby that should be having trouble staying awake, not the other way around. All babies experience periods of fussiness for unexplained reasons--here is how doctors define the difference between regular fussiness and "extreme fussiness/colic": (I have flipped through the pages of the sleep books so many times I have this one memorized) "A colicky baby is one who otherwise is well-fed and healthy, but has periods of crying/fussiness that require constant soothing, lasting for at 3 hours a day or more, 3 days a week or more, and lasting more than 3 weeks." Our kids far surpassed the "at least" requirements. :) Our second daughter was the mildest of the 3 and she still surpassed this definition for her first 4 months. We call her milder because she would not require the soothing at night. She would sleep for us about 6 or 7 hours in a row at night, which makes a huge difference in our capacity, energy, and mood.
And probably the most frustrating question/comment we get is: "Are you sure your baby has colic? I never see him/her cry?" As seen in the definition stated above, you don't just measure the amount of crying, but also the amount of time spent soothing. With our first, we didn't know a lot about soothing, so she cried literally round the clock for her first 6 weeks until friends gave us a baby swing, and another told us to buy a white noise machine. We discovered when we took her to parties (she was born at Thanksgiving, and we had several ministry events surrounding the holidays that year), that she would sleep through the whole party (this added to the frustration of people thinking that we exaggerated her crying, but we traded that willingly for a break). Her doctor (also a family friend and a godsend during that season) said that white noise--such as the hum of a crowd can be very soothing. The white noise machine helped her sleep more, but the artificial noise didn't produce the same results as the actual crowd. We attended every party that we were invited to that Christmas! :)
After learning soothing techniques, she still settled into her all-night cry routine that I mentioned earlier. Even though the crying decreased, she was still hands-on, non-stop, all day. The swing enabled us to do things like take a shower, prepare meals, watch a TV show, etc. With the swing, we still had to have a combo of white noise in the background, music playing, pacifier in her mouth, and her head turned sideways resting against a soft towel while in the swing. If any of these things were disrupted slightly, she would wake up in a jolt with a loud scream. We found ourselves running feverishly across the apartment to reach the swing before the music stopped because getting her to stop screaming and returning her sleep were not as simple as fixing the one disrupted element--it was an all-over-again, hands-on soothing process that would take 30-40 minutes and sometimes wouldn't be successful, therefore she would scream until the next feeding. Keeping a regular feeding schedule was almost impossible because of this. Feedings were so soothing for her, that she would fall asleep almost immediately (typical for a newborn, not for a 3-month-old). Because of this and my severe sleep-deprivation, my milk supply quickly dwindled. After a month of rigorous efforts to bring it back up, I gave up and began supplementing with formula.
With our 2nd child, we were better at soothing. As soon as she began screaming at 2 weeks of age, we knew what to do--she preferred different techniques (she wore out the vibrator on our bouncy seat and our massage pillow), but at least we knew different things to try and how to stay on top of it. The more we soothed, the more she slept. The more she slept, the less she screamed. But she was still hands-on, all day.
By the time our son came along, #3, we feel confident in calling ourselves "soothing experts." :) He had only a few screaming spells. But he required even more intensive soothing than the girls. He would not take to a swing or a vibrating seat. He wanted only our warm bodies. We took turns round the clock with him sleeping on us. If we didn't, he would scream. People ask us, "Do you let your kids cry it out?" Since our son is the 3rd child, of course there were times when he was left to cry--this was unintentional, but just the reality of caring for 2 other children as well. When he was left to cry, he did not fall asleep on his own. The "crying" (we're still calling it screaming at this point), escalated. As with all 3, the escalation would usually lead to what we describe as a "choking fit"--a red-faced, full-body-sweat, gagging-on-their-own-spit, scream that wouldn't stop. The more they screamed, the less they slept, the less they slept the more they screamed. We learned from experience (and were encouraged by doctors) that our biggest job as parents of a colicky baby was to HELP THEM SLEEP AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. Their little bodies and brains needed sleep. At this point they were not "manipulating us" and we were not "spoiling them." Even with all the soothing that we did, they still slept 4-6 hours a day LESS than infants who did not have colic (this statistic is normal and expected). Then at 4 months of age, when the colic subsides, we start the journey of teaching them to sleep independently from us and the soothing aids. And what a JOURNEY that is. I'll save that for another post.
Besides the sleep-deprivation and the stress caused by hearing our baby scream (when a baby cries it causes a physical stress response in our bodies--God's way of forcing sinful, fallen human-beings to tend to their babies and not ignore them, some say), besides these physical struggles, we often found that the most frustrating moments came mentally and emotionally as people offered well-intended advice or ill-intended snide remarks. We've heard everything (and tried most of it too) from adding cereal to a bottle at night, gas drops for infants, to massage and herbal remedies (we did NOT feed our children catnip--0ne suggestion that we politely ignored). We have found that the only thing that helps is hands-on-soothing and TIME. Some comments like, "Have you tried a pacifier?" and "Yea, our kids cried too," force us to walk in the Spirit and exercise self-control in our response to people like never before. Walking in the Spirit while sleep-deprived is a hard enough task on its' own. With each child, I've been in a store when a screaming fit began and have heard other customers say under their breath "someone's hungry". "No, I fed her 15 minutes ago," I'd like to reply, but usually don't as I stroll my screaming child out of the store. :)

Big Sister said it well, when asked if her baby sister cried a lot, she replied, "No, she screams."

Full, dry, healthy baby unable to relax

After a long drive to the beach, the sounds of the ocean were so soothing that she remained in a deep sleep that lasted for 2 hours! Unfortunately, the white noise machine on the ocean-setting did not produce the same results.

Winter Conference 2010

2010-01-26T13:07:00.006-06:00

Karl served on the program team for Winter Conference this year, and enjoyed having direct input into what the students would be hearing. His sense of humor came in handy to the team as they made video skits and wrote emcee jokes for the week.
The theme was REVOLUTION, and we had speakers (Tim Muelhoff, Josh Riebock, and Todd Ahrend) who brought messages of the radical transformation that Jesus will bring to your life. For the first time this year, we had a "Greek Track" of seminars to train students to reach their peers specifically in a sorority/fraternity environment. And as always, we had a day of outreach in the Fort Worth community. Because Karl's hours were around-the-clock at the conference, and because I left the first day with a sick newborn, our pictures are courtesy of Charlie--one of our "Greek Track" leaders at University of North Texas.
Thanks to those of you who prayed for our baby boy while we struggled with RSV. His condition never worsened to the point of hospitalization, and he got over it about a week sooner than expected--no doubt this was God's answer to everyone's prayers!

Real Life Miracle

2010-01-15T14:32:00.002-06:00

Read this amazing story from a couple in our Bible Fellowship at church.
http://joyful-moments.blogspot.com/2010/01/amazing-unbelievable-unreal.html

ChristmasTime

2009-12-11T19:06:00.005-06:00

This snow wasn't much, but being born in Baton Rouge, and Orlando, this was the first snow these little girls had ever seen.
She could not wait to wear her fancy Christmas dress.

Staff team Christmas party.

New Moon Review--because I have been watching hundreds of screaming girls all week on the Today Show who are anticipating the movie's premier.

2009-11-19T19:09:00.011-06:00

I can’t believe that it was only a year ago that I was first introduced to the Twilight series by seeing the movie in the theater. I say that because in the last year, I have spent a lot of emotional, mental and even spiritual energy in the world of Edward and Bella. I connected with their story immediately. From the moment Edward says, “What if I’m not the hero? What if I’m the bad guy?” I was intrigued by his self-perception. From the moment Bella says, “It doesn’t matter to me what you are.” I was impressed with her complete acceptance of him. While it is argued that Ste phanie Meyer might not be the greatest literary talent, her ability to relate to the deep heart longings of people is superb. Edward and Bella’s relationship surpasses most today, which is the reason adults find themselves in counseling sessions discussing the barriers to intimacy that they face. I heard a counselor give a seminar in which he stated, “Every person longs for 2 things: to be fully known, and fully loved and accepted at the same time.” Bella says she is “unconditionally and irrevocably in love” with Edward. Those are big words for a 17-year-old. Unconditionally: without limitations, prerequisites, or qualifications. Irrevocably: not to be revoked or recalled; unable to be repealed or annulled; unalterable. Most women will admit that they desire a relationship inclusive of these 2 qualities. I think that’s why people are drawn to this story. In my line of work with college students, I have talked about the Twilight saga with many different kinds of women, and have found them all to be drawn to it. In fact, it was their enthusiasm that first peaked my curiosity. But the more I delved into the series and discussed it with o thers, I realized that it wasn’t just college women who were fans, but women of every age and stage of life. They relate to Bella’s desire to be pursued, protected, adored, and Edward’s desire to be loved and accepted. Bravo, Stephanie Meyer, for your portrayal of a beautiful relationship!
But wait, things go wrong in New Moon. Edward leaves. Bella is shattered. Their “unalterable” relationship is altered. And even though Edward’s motives are pure, it doesn’t change the fact that he hurt her, or that he made a mistake. Bella becomes a shell of her former self—refers to the “hole” in her chest, and “walking through life as a zombie.” Meyer still hits the nail on the head about human relationships though (and Edward is not even human!)—not that they all end, or that they all lead to heartbreak, but that they are inevitably imperfect.
On yesterday’s episode of “General Hospital” (yes, I have loved GH since I was in Jr. High. I haven’t watched it consist ently in years, but last night while feeding my newborn at 2AM, I caught a piece of an episode on SoapNet), the long-time character Luke Spencer spouted these profound words: “You have this illusion that love is perfect. And you’re gonna bet your whole heart and your soul on that illusion. And when it fails—because it’s human, and all human things fail—you will be broken.” And this is coming from soap writers—writers who base their show on characters jumping into a new relationship, being on top of the world, the relationship failing, the character in despair, and then the character meeting a new “love interest” only to start the cycle all over again. It reminds me of the movie “The Holiday”—Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet are both broken-hearted at Christmastime because the men in their lives don’t treat them right. They spend 2 weeks in the doldrums, only to be relieved by the start of a new relationship. The movie ends on New Year’s Eve—the 2 of them dancing and laughing with their new fellows. Every time I see it, I can’t help but think, “But what happens next?” How do we know that they won’t be just as miserable again next Christmas? They’ve been happy for 2 weeks—does that mean “ happily ever after?” Bella thought she had found her life’s happiness with Edward, and in a few chapters later she is saying this: “The hole in my chest was worse than ever. I’d thought that I’d been getting it under control, but I found myself hunched over, day after day, clutching my sides together and gasping for air”…“Then there would come the point in my dream…whe n I couldn’t remember what it was that I was searching for. When I realized that there WAS nothing to search for, and nothing to find. That there never had been anything more than just this empty, dreary wood, and there never would be anything more for me…nothing but nothing…” Bella’s heartache is magnified because for her, Edward is her whole world, so when he leaves, her life crumbles. I have known many women who can relate to Bella’s situation; however, I know many women who have experienced such heartache, yet haven’t crumbled under it. I think the difference between the two groups is where they look for the “happily ever after” The first group looks in the wrong places. I’m guilty of it myself. I recently heard this definition of “worship”: Worship is whatever we turn to in hopes of finding life. Using this definition, obviously Bella worships Edward. Some of you are thinking, “Who can blame her? He’s the closest thing to perfect a girl can find!” Others are thinking, “She’s an idiot. Has everyone forgotten that he’s a VAMPIRE?!” As different and immortal as Edward is from every ordinary man (or even werewolf men), he still doesn’t fit the bill of deserving worship. Because if he is the source of life and hope, then inevitably, there will be moments when it feels like life is not worth living because Edward has failed.
On today’s episode of General Hospital, the writers uncharacteristically had one romance take a different turn. Hurt after hurt had been piled upon this couple. It should have been the end for them, yet here is what was said:
“I’ve already forgiven you.”
“Maybe I don’t deserve to be forgiven.”
“Who does? That’s what forgiveness is. It’s something we don’t deserve. I’m not pretending that things didn’t go wrong. It hurt…I understand, I’m the one who screwed up in the first place. I ____{insert myriad of ridiculous daytime-soap plots here}. I finally managed to find forgiveness for myself, and because I did, I’m free now. I love you with all of my heart. That’s what forgiveness does. It sets you free.”
What’s this? An alternative to the cycle? These two characters ended the episode hand-in-hand on a picnic. They suggest that there could be a different route to the happily-ever-after. But how do we get this “freedom”, this “forgiveness for ourselves?”
French philosopher Blaise Paschal said, ““There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God himself.” Meyer has the correct portrayal of the human heart, she just doesn’t offer the complete solution for the readers. If people long to be fully known and fully loved at the same time, forgiveness is an essential element. Edward reveals to Bella what he believes to be the worst truth about himself: he is a vampire who ha s killed people in the past. She offers him the forgiveness that he seeks. However, she too is human, and therefore imperfect. The forgiveness, the acceptance, that we all long for can only come from someone who is capable of “unconditional and irrevocable love”, yet who is incapable of failing. Paschal is suggesting that God is just that. Only HE can fill that “hole”—that longing inside us all. Until it is filled, we jump from thing to thing in hope that we will be satisfied. In romance sagas, soap operas, etc. it is usually romantic relationships that people turn to in “hopes of finding life.” But in real life, it is so many more things than that—career, success, family, acquisition, etc. But anytime we put all our hope in any imperfect thing, we risk ending up like Bella—searching but finding nothing but emptiness. How many times I have done this myself! Even now, now that I have asked God to “fill the void” in my life, sometimes, I continue to turn to these other things when I’m feeling down. (And yes, once you have God in your life, it doesn’t mean that everything is happy every second. Sometimes circumstances still suck.) But if I turn to so mething temporary, something imperfect, I am quickly reminded that it doesn’t satisfy. And I quickly remember how thankful I am that my life’s happiness does not rest solely on circumstances. I will never be like Bella in the woods. I will always have hope. I will always have security that I am loved, accepted, and forgiven by the only God who deserves worship—the only On e who cannot and will not fail me.
I still love the Twilight saga. I love that Edward and Bella’s journey does not end at New Moon. I love how relatable the emotions are to the human heart. But if your heart feels like it is incomplete…if you feel like you still have that void in your life, I encourage you to seek fulfillment. You can read more about my journey here: http://www.facebook.com/keri.armentrout?v=app_2 347471856&ref=profile#/note.php?note_id=2249289161
Or if you’re sick of hearing my thoughts, you can read the thoughts of others here: http://www.everystudent.com/features/reallife.html
Or if you know that God is missing in your life and you’re ready to have him fill that vacuum, you can find out how to do that here: http://www.everystudent.com/features/gettingconnected.html
If you are secure and hopeful, knowing that God has filled your heart, and you agree with the things I have written, then feel the freedom to share this note with a friend or post it to your profile so that more will have the opportunity to read it. Thanks for reading this far. Enjoy the movie!

BABY ANNOUNCEMENT!

2009-11-07T17:00:00.009-06:00

My little punkins about to trick-or-treat.

In the past, I have been overdue and have been induced to give birth. This time, I didn’t want the same experience. I had friends and family pray that Titus would come before the need for inducement. The week before his inducement date (a week past his due date), there were still no signs that he would come on his own. I called on the troops to pray, and my closest friends spent the next 2 days praying for him to drop. Even sweet big sister Holly prayed at supper, “Please let Titus come soon.” That very night (Halloween), the moment we walked in the door from trick-or-treating, Titus decided it was time to come, and we were off to the hospital. He was born at 4:37AM on the 1st of November. It was my easiest labor and delivery by far! We are home and enjoying being a family of 5. Thanks for your prayers and praise God for His faithfulness!

Thursdays with Athletes

2009-10-29T10:51:00.004-05:00

Karl spends his Thursdays in the athletic dorm, Victory Hall, at UNT. This is because on a simple afternoon of passing out free water, he met a track team member, a volleyball team member, and a former football player, who all separately asked him a similar question: "We'd like to start a Bible study on our team, but we don't know how. Can you help?" Now we meets weekly with these students, and spends time in Victory Hall getting to know other athletes. This is a little dream-come-true for Karl, who has always had a love for college sports and a passion for athletes in particular because of how influential they can be on their campus.
Please pray for Sterling--a student he has formed a relationship with and meets on a regular basis. Sterling is the kind of guy who everyone likes. After one lunch appointment with Sterling, Karl met a dozen other students because they kept stopping to sit at their table and chat with Sterling. When Karl asked him, "how do you think we can get others to come to the Bible study?", Sterling replied, "Well, I'll make them." We have no doubt that he actually does have that much influence with his peers. :) However, upon a deeper conversation, Sterling revealed that while he loves God and wants to learn more about Him, that he hasn't made the decision to accept Christ yet. It is unusual (in a good way) for a student to be so self-reflective and aware of what is keeping him from making that decision. Karl and Sterling are reading through Josh McDowell's book "More Than a Carpenter" and are discussing it. Please pray that Sterling will overcome his barriers for inviting Christ in his life.

Pumpkin Patch (33 photos), by Keri Armentrout

2009-10-20T22:03:00.001-05:00

I'd like to share my Snapfish photos with you. Once you have checked out my photos you can order prints and upload your own photos to share.

Sex & the City Uncovered

2009-10-07T14:42:00.006-05:00

Author Marion Jordan shares her story “Sex & the City Uncovered”
Nearly 300 UNT girls attended and 34 want to start a relationship with God!
Jordan exposed these 3 lies to the crowd:
LIE #1: "You are worth loving if you are sexually attractive."
LIE #2: "Sex is no Big Deal."
LIE #3: "It's too late for me."

During their summer break, University of North Texas students organized and fundraised to bring author Marion Jordan to their campus to share the message that while the college world thinks “sex is no big deal”, God has different intentions and that while the world sells the idea “You are worth loving if you’re sexually attractive,” God offers them true love. At the end of her presentation, Marion told them,”Jesus wants you to know that you are WORTH MORE...you are worth DYING FOR.”
After her message, Marion (pictured in center amongst the student leaders) hung out with the girls for 2 more hours, and offered a training session for leaders to start a Bible study/book club with her book “Sex & the City Uncovered.” She gave them free materials and prayed for their endeavors. The response was such that there are enough interested students and student-leaders to begin a study in each sorority house!
Please pray for the students who are stepping out of their comfort zone—some for the first time—to lead a study in their house. Pray for us as we follow-up individually with those who have chosen Christ for the first time.
UPDATE: The Sex & the City Uncovered "book clubs" have been going strong since mid-September. The leaders gather once a week for prayer and training from our staff on Monday mornings at 7AM for breakfast--now that's commitment for college students to rise and shine that early! :) Please continue to pray for these girls. Praise God that their own lives are being refined as they find fellowship, accountability and challenge through their new group and new roles.

Computer Troubles

2009-10-03T13:48:00.003-05:00

We haven't posted any updates in a while because I (in a moment of pregnant clumsiness) spilled chocolate milk on our laptop! This is by far the most consequential blunder to date (much worse than cooking the frozen pizza with the cardboard still attached, or looking for my cell phone while I was talking on it--yes, all of these things I attribute to "pregnancy-brain" :). Anyway, not only have we been without easy computer access for a while, but also my entire list of email addresses was saved on that computer and I have no way of recovering all of them. That being said, if you are reading this, and want to be included on our email update list, then please send me an email: keri.armentrout@uscm.org and you will receive the update with link once a month like before. Thanks!

Experiment

2009-09-17T14:06:00.002-05:00

I performed a little experiment in traffic today...
Karl and I were caravanning home. I was in front and came upon a yellow light--I could have stopped, but I also had plenty of time to drive safely through. Knowing that my husband would not have time to drive legally through the intersection, and knowing that he is a rule follower, I knew that if I went ahead, he would not follow. I decided to go through just to see how much of a difference this would make in the time it took each of us to get home. This intersection was the busiest and biggest one on our trip; it requires patience to wait through it. Not only does it take a long time, but also the timing of getting through that light can affect your flow rate of the half-dozen lights to follow. Therefore people are constantly trying to beat the buzzer, and consequently running the red-light in process. And also just as frequent are the drivers BEHIND the buzzer-beaters who rush through after it has clearly turned red, as if following closely to the other guy's bumper somehow connects them like a train and making it ok to keep going. It is becoming commonplace everywhere--you all know what I'm talking about--that when the light turns green, we actually have to wait on these people to clear the intersection. Even if there is not someone obviously running the light, I still have to pause and look to make sure no one is about to speed through it. It is even more disconcerting when I have my two little girls in the back seat. I remember grieving over a news report that told of a Mom with her 3 little girls ages 5 under, all hand-in-hand walking in the crosswalk, and all 3 girls killed instantly when a young woman ran a red light.
Why are people so careless? Why do they show such lack of consideration for human life? Are they really in that big of a hurry? Some friends of mine were in a wreck today because a guy rushing to the side of his wife who was in labor already at the hospital hit them. Ok, THAT guy was in a hurry. I have a hard time believing that everyone has reasons so legitimate. I think that people are just impatient. They don't want to wait at that light. Their impatience leads to a lack of consideration, and that leads to carelessness. And for what? I can tell you what...

90 SECONDS. That's how much faster I reached home than Karl. I didn't even have time to take both girls out of their car seats before he pulled up the drive. 90 Seconds.

So I'm imploring you red-light-buzzer-beaters out there. The next time you want to rush through the intersection, please think about my 2 precious little angels in the back seat, and take a moment to consider that they are worth more than reaching your destination a minute-and-a-half sooner.

4th of July Bike Parade

2009-07-07T21:49:00.004-05:00

The Staff Conference team has a "Bike Parade" for the kids on the morning of the 4th. They decorate their bikes, strollers, scooters, skateboards, etc. and march around the courtyard of the campus apartments. It is adorable and entertaining.

Making the decorations for the parade.

All decked out for the parade.

Of course, we had to represent the Texas flag as well.

All that work paid off--they won FIRST place in the stroller category.

She was so proud that she had me tear the ribbon off the certificate

so that she could wear it all day.

Taking the Time to Care

2009-07-02T11:28:00.004-05:00

We watched this video in staff meeting this morning. It's about 6 minutes long, but I highly recommend taking the time to watch it....it is attitude-transforming. :)
JOHNNY THE BAGGER

Colorado State University

2009-06-28T13:36:00.006-05:00

Here we are in front of the CSU mascot ram statue on campus.

The Music of the Gospel

2009-06-28T13:35:00.003-05:00

Keith Johnson, director and organizer of the seminary classes, wrote an article about the music of the gospel. He said to imagine a young man sitting in a chair listening to his ipod play music through headphones. He taps his foot, snaps his fingers, and juts his chin with the beat of the music. Keith then had us imagine a deaf guy walking into the room, and out of curiosity, he picks up an ipod, puts on the headphones and begins performing the same actions. The deaf man taps his foot, snaps his fingers, and eventually even learns to jut his chin in synchronization. Keith asked us, “If you are an outside observer and walk into the room, what do you see? Two people apparently doing the same thing, listening to the same thing. But is there a difference? Absolutely.” Keith continued, “The first guy hears the music and his actions are a natural response…being deaf, the second guy is merely imitating. He is not listening to anything. There is an important spiritual parallel here…” Many times in the Christian life our words, actions and service is a behavior learned from watching and imitating other Christians, and not a natural response to the love and grace of God at work in our hearts. Keith explained that the purpose of the classes is not just to learn more scripture, to complete a certificate or degree, or to have more knowledge of how to do ministry. Instead it is their desire that the classes will spur us on to hear “the music of the gospel” so that our ministry continues to be a natural overflow of God’s grace in our lives.

Sweet Big Sister

2009-06-19T15:28:00.005-05:00

My big 3-and-a-half-year-old loves to make up songs and sing to herself when she thinks no one is listening. Today's anthem was about her baby sis:

"Little Sweet Pea, you are sooo cute.

Sometimes you are selfish,

but I can't help but love yo-u."

Precious! And grasping unconditional love at such a young age! :)

Here are some pics of summer fun that they are having together in Colorado. I scored the Brown Bear, Brown Bear book at a garage sale for 10 cents! H had it memorized in half an hour and now can "read" it to Sweet Pea.

Summer Life in Colorado

2009-06-16T15:38:00.006-05:00

We've been settled in Ft. Collins, CO for a little over a week now. Our praises include that the girls are sleeping well, have adjusted to the time zone and caught up on lack of sleep from our travels, and no one has been sick! The children's program will start next week, so please say a prayer for all the kids that illness wouldn't be spread and that parents would be aware when their kid is getting sick so they can keep them out of the program for the day.

We managed to fit all the necessary objects in our car for the summer. We minimized with a system that gave each person one suitcase, and one container (we have 4 rubbermaid drawers about 1 foot high, 2 feet long, and 18 in. wide). It was quite a challenge since we had to bring everything but furniture, and I was really stressed about what to choose and what life would be like here for the summer. But now that we're here, it's actually really enjoyable. I have been cooking meals using one pot and 2 cookie sheets, but the clean-up has been a breeze that way. Keeping the place tidy is easy as pie, since there is a ton of storage, but we don't have many belongings. The girls play longer and more imaginatively with the few toys that we brought, and we are all outside more. We keep and use the things that we normally throw away. An empty spaghetti sauce jar is a measuring cup and a vase. An empty paper towel roll is a toy of endless imagination--megaphone, microphone, spy glass, etc. And you know what? They fight the same over that empty paper towel roll as they do over their 2 bedrooms of toys at home! All that to say, the experience is rather freeing, and is a good wake-up call that so many of our possessions are not really "necessary" to live, but just luxuries. The only task that I don't appreciate is washing dishes by hand (which Karl does most of the time, so I can't really complain). However, this is the first summer housing we've had where we don't have to leave the premises to wash our clothes, and that IS a HUGE luxury! The more kids we have, the more laundry we have, and the harder it is to go off-site to do laundry. So any time I have to hand-wash a dish, I think about how the washing machine is two-feet away, and then I don't mind so much.

Praise Report

2009-06-01T15:39:00.005-05:00

We are so excited because not only are we having a boy, but also God has provided the rest of our funding for our summer, and a new crib (well, new-to-us-crib). We are so thankful to everyone who sacrificially donated to fund our summer assignment! We are now able to leave with peace of mind of all our needs being met! We are prepping the car for our two-day journey, and I'm feeling a little less stressed about fitting everything in. Unlike other summer housing we've had, this one does not come with sheets, towels, pots & pans, plates & silverware, etc. We obviously cannot fit our entire kitchen in the back of our car, so I'm trying to simplify and think through creative cooking methods. It does have a microwave. Even still, the stress of packing is nothing compared to being under-funded, so we feel so blessed and prepared for the summer!

The new crib is a little perk too because the crib we have is "janky"--our term for functional, but almost junky. :) As some of you remember, our first daughter was born in Baton Rouge right after Hurricane Katrina swept through. The population doubled, and also babies were being born left and right (because the drop in pressure during a hurricane causes women to go into labor). As a result, there were no cribs left in the stores in Baton Rouge or surrounding areas...except for one--a used white one at a consignment shop. Karl had to rig the side rail because it would fall at a touch, and the opposite rail had chew marks all over it. It has served its purposes for the last 3 years and 2 kiddos, but we are excited for an upgrade that was given to us from some friends' of friends today.

2009-06-01T14:56:00.001-05:00

It's a BOY!! Due Oct. 30.

Easter, Bluebonnets, and Prayer for our Health

2009-05-22T18:20:00.006-05:00

Cross-shaped pancakes for Easter

Hug in the Bluebonnets

Easter Dresses

Because of my morning sickness (which is now over--hooray!) I've been a little behind in posting pictures of the girls. Here are a couple from Easter, and in the Bluebonnets (which are sparse because our family got sick AGAIN, and we missed the peak of the Bluebonnet season). Please pray for our health, as this is the sickest we've been in ages (nothing serious, thankfully, but just little viruses and such that keep us home-bound and keep us from fully-functioning). This semester, we've only made it to church as a whole family about once a month because of sickness. Karl and I have taken turns w/ one child in arm while the opposite has been sick. As I type this, I'm running a fever again. My doctor told me that my immune system is weakened during the beginning of pregnancy so that my body will not "fight off" the baby. :) I'm at week 17 today, and hoping for an immune boost soon! We find out on June 1st if it's a boy or a girl--we'll let you know!!

Support-raising Update

2009-05-22T18:15:00.005-05:00

We have been encouraged this last week with the response to our financial need for the summer! Another thanks to those who have contributed! We are still about $1400 short of our goal, and are praying for it to come in before we leave the first week of June. Any amount, big or small, will help. You can make a donation at the link (top left) titled "Give to Our Ministry".

Pastor who came to faith at Big Break

2009-05-20T16:15:00.002-05:00

excerpt from article: "What Happens After Big Break?"

A few years ago, I noticed another man reading his Bible in Starbucks and we struck up a conversation. Turns out he was the pastor of a growing near-by church. He asked me what I did and, when I told him that I worked with Campus Crusade for Christ, he said,

“I owe my life to Campus Crusade! 20 years ago I was about as far away from God as I could be. I was on spring break at Daytona Beach. My girlfriend and I were sitting on the beach, pretty drunk, when two guys came up to us and began to talk about life and God. Amazingly, it made sense, and I prayed right there accepting Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Those guys then called some Campus Crusade staff on my campus back in Maryland. When I got back to school, those staff showed up at my dorm and took me thru basic follow-up. I can?t imagine where I?d be if those Campus Crusaders hadn?t had the guts to come up to a lost guy on the beach and tell him the truth. Thank you!”

Summer Financial Needs

2009-05-14T11:21:00.005-05:00

We leave June 5 for our summer of studies in Colorado, and before we arrive, we must raise the finances for the expenses of our time there--housing, seminary courses, US Staff Conference tuition, and travel expenses. We are still short almost $4,000 at this point. We know that because of the current state of the economy, it is a tough time to find "extra" to give, but if you feel compelled, then you can make a donation at the link to the left "Give to our Ministry". Thanks for considering! For more details, read our April letter pasted below:

After a morning of building sand castles at Big Break, Karl explained to Holly that he was going to go work in the afternoon. “Why do you have to go with the college students?”, she asked.
“Well, we are going to tell the other students about Jesus,” he said.
She looked around at the crowd of 18 to 20-yr.-olds, pondered for a minute and then asked incredulously, “But how can they be BIG KIDS and not know about Jesus?”
Then she added, “That’s sad.”
We nodded in her understanding and replied, “Yes, it is. That’s why we’re here.”

One of the reasons why we love the organization of Campus Crusade for Christ, is that they encourage us to keep learning so we can reach college students to the best of our ability. This summer we will be in Colorado to continue our education in 2 ways: Four weeks of seminary courses, followed by our bi-annual staff conference—where we hear from other Christian leaders and pastors, learn the current strategies for ministering to the ever-changing college population, and be in fellowship with our CCC leadership for unified vision and prayer. In addition to this, we will also be serving on the “Conference Team”, which oversees the behind-the-scenes tasks required to pull off a conference for 10,000+ worldwide missionaries.
Like always, we must raise our funding for the summer. The cost break-down is listed below. Would you please prayerfully consider giving to cover some of the expenses? To make a donation, send a check payable to Campus Crusade for Christ in the provided envelope, or give online at www.karlandkeri.blogspot.com (click on the “give to our ministry” tab).

Housing: $2,830
Classes: 505
Staff Conf: 850
Gas: 180
Hotels: 225
Childcare: 415
Misc (books, etc): 200

TOTAL: $5,205

My Favorite Present

2009-04-05T20:27:00.006-05:00

As we anticipated my 30th birthday this year, our 3 yr. old got excited about it too. She enthusiastically declared one day, "Daddy will have to take me shopping so I can get you a present! I'm going to get you a soft white shirt." What makes this idea super sweet, is that HER favorite article of clothing is her "soft white shirt" (as she calls it). It is the first thing she wants to wear when the laundry is done. We had been traveling for the 2 weeks prior to my birthday, but she had not forgotten her idea, and when we returned to Texas (2 days before my big b-day), she asked Karl to take her shopping. He said they perused several different shirts "this one is soft, but it's not white"... "No it must be white. Mommy only likes white shirts," she said most definitely. :) They settled on the t-shirt that I am wearing in the picture (under a jacket since it was unseasonably cold that day), and also decided to pick out a piece of jewelry. Now here's where it gets even better...

I had seen this necklace (pictured) in the store a few weeks ago and loved it. When Karl overviewed the jewelry section, he quickly decided (unknowing that I had wanted it) that the same necklace should be their pick, but he wondered if he would have to convince the little one, who obviously has strong opinions about what Mommy likes. He said she walked straight up to it, fingered it, and said, "Oooo, this one!"

I felt so encouraged to think of the Daddy-daughter outing for my occasion, and I LOVE both the "soft white shirt" and pretty necklace! They made my day extra special. This picture is also showing off our at-home manicures that we did that day as well.

Big Break 09

2009-03-23T15:31:00.005-05:00

We are still in sunny Florida, spending a few days with friends after our week in Panama City Beach for Big Break--a nationwide student conference, where students are trained in evangelism. The students are then sent out immediately to put into practice what they've learned with their literally 1,000's of peers who are at the beach for Spring Break. God did an AMAZING work this last week!!! Every year for the past 2 decades, there have been 4 weeks of "Big Break" that span the month of March. This last week of Big Break saw more changed lives than ever before in Big Break history. Over 13,500 people were talked with (not talked "at" from an upfront program, but face-to-face evangelistic conversations). Out of those, over 5600 people listened to a complete and personal Gospel presentation, and an amazing 640 individuals accepted Christ in the presence of Campus Crusade students that week! (About 400 more decisions than a typical week). No one can pinpoint the reason for such a huge number of conversions, other than God was at work--the weather was great, so people were out by the droves, and the 900+ students were tenacious in sharing each day. There are so many individual stories that we could share (and will try to later) as we heard the testimonies each night from the students who labored all week. Please pray for these new believers as well as those who heard, but who did not make a decision that week. And praise God for His faithfulness!

Launch Week Update

2009-03-04T10:06:00.007-06:00

Thank you for praying for Launch Week--we could sense your prayers! We are so encouraged by the way God used this week to surface key leaders and to start new ripples for the Gospel on 8 campuses! Not everything went as planned, but God moved in His perfect timing, and we saw how He had put things in motion according to His purpose (and certainly thanks to your prayers!) For instance, the process of getting approved for our activities at UTD was tedious and kept getting delayed. We were frustrated and losing a little hope as the morning of our biggest activity, we had still not received official approval. But in the last hour, we met a student who had been working with a different branch of Campus Crusade (one we didn't even know had been ministering at UTD), and they had reserved a room for the exact afternoon we needed. Once they heard we were there launching and in need, they passed their room to us for our use. We had also hoped to secure a booth in the high-traffic area of their student union for our give-a-ways. This also did not get approved in time, so our staff passed them out from the tailgate of a pick-up in the parking lot, and some of our best conversations occurred there! Karl met 4 guys individually who are now a core group of leadership for us at UTD.

I don't know if you remember, but we only had our one student leader there--Amy, who, bless her heart, was shouldering this thing all by herself and praying for fellow peers to join her. She even had a crisis of her own faith mid-semester due to isolation and persecution [she now openly shares this testimony and has given us permission to share it as well]. Since the launch week, this core group of leaders has met once a week for a prayer walk on campus and once a week for Bible study. Karl is leading them through the book "Fireseeds of Spiritual Awakening" which is about how God has used like-minded students who join in prayer to start spiritual revivals on campus. They are excited and are sharing their visions of what an awakened campus could like. And we FINALLY received final approval for all future activities at UTD as well! :)

Our launch concentrated on 10 campuses total, with 8 of those seeing fruit and potential for sustaining ministries. 25 students were challenged to leadership roles, and 170 Gospel conversations occurred. It was also a time to train some of our new staff and to train us in new tools. We used, for the first time, some short films that had spiritual aspects. We found these to be so helpful in starting conversations. Students naturally were eager to watch them, and the awkwardness of talking to a stranger was alleviated by the 5 minutes spent watching the film together. These tools were especially helpful at the University of North Texas, where most students study the liberal arts and honestly, are more guarded in talking about spiritual things, and even talking to us at all. After Spring Break, we are planning an outreach revolving around the DVD release of the movie Twilight--more details on this to come!

This picture of the girls was taken at SpringCreek (Collin County Community College of Plano) the week before Launch Week, as we were trying to secure details and logistics there. Actually, we did not get our approval, and did not have activities there during launch week, but hope for approval in the fall. However, it's the only picture I have because the girls came down with the Flu during Launch Week, so the 3 of us missed most of the activities, which made them sad--esp. our 3-year-old who loves to "go to college", and was looking forward to the crowds of people, activities and pizza. :) [And yes, they got their flu shots--they were diagnosed with "Flu B"--the virus that broke off after the vaccine was created.] Consequently, Karl and I caught the flu from them the following week, and our follow-up of students was delayed as our physical capacity diminished. How ironic (or providential) that on the same day we were staying home sick, a devotional arrived in the mail as a gift, and I flipped open to the page where the author was telling about the time that he went to Russia for a week-long mission trip and spent the whole time in bed sick. He wrote about how he felt guilty and frustrated for not being able to follow-through on his plans, but then he realized that God knew the plans all along, and all He asks of us is to be willing and faithful. I found that to be encouraging, and a good reminder that God is in control of all things. Please pray with us that God will still honor our efforts to meet with these students even though they be a week behind our intentions.

Thanks again for your prayers! We are so convinced that the successful results of the week are due to the prayers of God's people!

Help Stop Legislation to Fund Abortions

2009-02-26T13:38:00.003-06:00

I don't speak legal, but go to this link, and it'll explain:

Focus Petitions

It's by Focus on the Family, which is an organization I trust.

PRAY FOR LAUNCH WEEK!

2009-02-15T19:56:00.004-06:00

Many of you received our prayer postcard which guides you on how to pray for our big week. Thank you for praying for final logistics at UTD and Northlake--all the details including finding faculty advisors, students to attend meetings, and paperwork have been completed (and many of these tasks were last minute through God's providence!) Pray for final approval before Wed. at UTD.

Also, here is an updated list of the week's activities---there are only a few changes from our postcard, so please feel free to keep using that one. If you are not on our mailing list, but would like to join us in praying, then please keep these in mind (or even print them out) for this week. Thanks!

32 Campus Crusade for Christ staff arrive tonight, Sunday, Feb. 15. The 32 staff will be divided into 4 different teams. Monday through Thurs. they will be on campus ALL day. Each team will have a 4 year school and a 2 year school that they'll be going to. Friday morning they will have a sharing and debriefing time about what God did during the week.

Monday, 16th--Tuesday, 17th

Team 1- U of North Texas

Team 2-Richland Community College and Tarrant County College-Northeast

Team 3 Midwestern State U

Team 4 Dallas Community College-Northlake

Wed, 18th--Thurs., 19th

Team 1- Southern Methodist University (SMU)

Team 2-U of Texas Dallas

Team 3-Northwood

Team 4-U of Texas Arlington EPIC(Asian American Ministry)

Monday and Wednesday are spiritual survey tables, informational lunch and dinner. Main prayer request: GETTING ATTENTION.

Tuesday and Thursday are one-on-one follow up appointments. Main prayer request: FINDING KEY LEADERS, STUDENTS OWNING THE MISSION.

In the words of our regional director, Jim Sautner: "Bottom line? Pray that lives are changed for God's glory. The battle will be intense. Your prayers really matter."

Rubber Duckie First Birthday

2009-02-10T20:15:00.005-06:00

Our little Sweet Pea turned one last month, and we had fun watching her dig into her first bite of cake! And she took her sweet time doing it too. Daughter #1 ate her first cake whole after one taste, and it was gone in seconds. But this time around, the cake-eating lasted a good 20 minutes!

Winter Conference 2009

2009-01-19T16:37:00.006-06:00

When 800+ college students venture into the inner-city of Ft. Worth, lives are changed, and people notice!

Check out the article in the Ft. Worth Star Telegram about our efforts during the Day of Outreach at our annual Winter Conference--held for the first time in downtown Ft. Worth.

Because we ministered to refugees, we were not permitted to take any photos during our outreach. The people to whom we ministered were forced out of their countries and identities and information is kept confidential. Many did not speak English well, but all felt the love of God's people as we provided them and their children with necessities. It was a privilege to see their demeanors transform from timid and untrusting, to warm and grateful.

"And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me'." Matthew 25:40