decisiveness from 1985

Several months ago, I started reading 'Come Before Winter', a devotional by Charles Swindoll.  I wasn't sure if the content was going to be outdated and un-relatable when I first picked the book up (it was written in 1985).  It's definitely not!  It's been a breath of fresh air and worth the read. Hope you enjoy the devotion I read today as much as I did. Acting Decisively  by Charles R. Swindoll Joshua 24:14-15 "Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” I like Joshua's style in Joshua 24:14-15. Like a good leader, he laid out the facts. He exhorted those about him to get off the fence and get their spiritual act together. He encouraged personal authenticity and strong commitment . . . but not once did he pull rank and fall back on intimidation to get his way. He risked being ignored and rejected when he left the final decision up to them. He respected their right to follow his advice or walk away when he told them, in so many words, "Make up your mind!" But there was never any question where he stood. He had weighed the evidence, considered the alternatives, and come to a settled conviction---he and his family were going to serve the Lord God, no question about it. But what others would do was strictly up to them. They would have to decide for themselves. Unusual combination. A strong leader who knew where he was going, but gave others the space they needed to choose for themselves. No threats. No name-calling. No public put-downs. No exploitation or manipulation or humiliation. He didn't play on their emotions or attack their alleged ignorance or use some gimmick to gain strokes in defense of his position. He knew what God would have him do, and he realized the consequences of their choosing differently . . . but they needed to weigh those issues for themselves. It needed to be their decision, not his. At that point, he backed off and said, "Now you decide." That's not only smart, it's an evidence of two admirable virtues: security in himself and respect for others. Today, it is clear to all of us that Joshua made the right decision back then. From our objective perspective, he chose the correct alternative . . . as they also did later on. But note again that he didn't hurry his people to opt for his position. Joshua knew that if they didn't wrestle with the issues on their own, the resulting decision might be superficial . . . fragile . . . a commitment that might very well melt under the inevitable heat of difficulty and trial. Nevertheless, there will always be some who want others to make their decisions for them. Many individuals in Christendom are continually looking for some evangelical guru or superstar pastor or bionic authority figure to cosign for their lives..... It takes the restraining power of the Holy Spirit to withstand such tempting invitations to take control. It is helpful to remember that every time we yield to that destructive desire for power we retard others' growth toward maturity. Making one's own decisions develops healthy mental muscles.... Think wisely. Weigh the alternatives. Choose for yourself. Decide now whom you will serve.   Excerpted from Come Before Winter and Share My Hope, Copyright © 1985, 1988, 1994 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc.

pictures

One of Eli's best friend's got married this past weekend- the wedding was BEAUTIFUL!
Congratulations Tyler and Arlisa

Table Rock

My Matt is an amazing dad

just a random picture of a wheel line, a 17 year old trying to boss his mom around, and an annoyed mom

new haircut

a few tricks of our own

you're laying on the couch relaxing, snuggled up under a cozy blanket.  It's late and the movie your watching is just about over...the oldest walks in and can sense your relaxed.  Kid's, no matter their age, don't like to know their parents are relaxed- nope, there is something innately in them that senses your guard is down and that is when they strike.
babies know the second you are finally falling into a much needed slumber
that's when you hear them start to wail
toddlers take the cue, just as soon as sit your fanny on a chair (after chasing them for the past several hours), to jump up and take off running again
oh, it keeps going- the perfection of relaxation interruption that our children are born with becomes a profession for them
the school age child picks up every germ going around school, only to spend the night throwing up (while we nurse them back to health and worry about their hydration). They are young and resilient so they usually find themselves completely better in the morning and ready to go.
We spend the next 4 days with the same flu, the one that took them 12 hours to get over, crawling to the toilet and then sucking it up and dry heaving our way through preparing meals for our little precious.
the age of driving comes and we are elated- Finally, we don't have to drive them to every practice or social event...
relaxation is here!!
until the first time you hear the jingle of the keys and the car start up for that much anticipated solo drive.  Good bye relaxation and hello to spending the next  several hours fervently praying over their safety and fighting off recollecting every horror story of driving accidents we've ever heard...
with driving they want to date
oh, the stress!!
then they grow up completely and get a job along with a life of their own.
They are hardly around anymore
BUT
when they are, they still take very seriously the profession of relaxation interruption they have had perfected since infancy...

Back to, you're laying on the couch relaxing, snuggled up under a cozy blanket.  It's late and the movie your watching is just about over...the oldest walks in and can sense your relaxed.

'Smell my hand mom!!'

to which they place their disgusting smelling hand just under your nose...
my cozy blanket is tossed and I'm fending off the odor assault.

But somewhere along the way, us parents learn a few tricks of our own.
We learn that any display of public affection is horrifying (for the child) and hilarious (for the parent).
We learn that every chance we get, grabbing that cutie patootie all grown up face, and planting a big kiss on the cheek,  is imperative in keeping the pecking order aligned.

Oh parenthood, how I love thee :) :)

bahahahaaaaa.........ahahahaaaaa!!

I've had a couple of interesting things happen over the past several months.  I didn't really think they were all that funny until I was telling friends about what happened and they busted up laughing- the  more I thought about it, the more I realized, 'this is funny stuff and MUST be shared'!!

Here's to keeping it real!!!

So, the first of the two funnies goes like this:

I'm a bath taker.
It doesn't matter if we have but one shower in our house and no bathtub, I'm still a bath taker.
A washcloth over the drain in the bottom of the shower to clog the drain and a good 4 inches of water will fill up on the bottom of your shower in no time flat.
There I sit, on the bottom of our one shower, night after night, taking a 'bath'

One of my boys came down with athlete's foot.  A wicked case of it.
They stand in our one shower.
Remember I sit on the bottom of that shower..

I am living proof that there is such thing as 'athlete's crack'
At first I wasn't sure what was going on- it was several days later that I saw the bottom of my boys feet and asked
'do you have athlete's foot?'
That's when I put it all together.

It was NOT fun spraying the same spray that you spray on your athlete's feet onto your case of athlete's crack.
It feels like fire
but it's better than battling athlete's crack

I still sit on the bottom of my shower every night and when I do, I think to myself
'I wonder if I will get another case of athlete's crack?'
and then I self talk about how I should clean my shower better and spray it down with bleach before I sit on the floor of it..blah blah blah
but I don't
I just sit in my four inches of water and think about my day and enjoy my 'bath'

I crack myself up!!!!!!!!!!!
bahahahaaaaaaaaa!!!

Enough about AC and on to things that leave you speechless.....literally with no words!!

We have used the same paint from the same paint store for 15 years.  This past year, I put two and two together that the manager of the paint store we frequent has children that go to AWANA at our church with Ellie.

This story is going to be short and right to the point....

Since September (15'), we've been remodeling our house- One day, Matt was picking up paint from our paint store, you know, the one where the manager's children go to AWANA with Ellie, and called from his cell.  He needed a long sequence of letters read to him over the phone...the letters were the paint code we needed for our exterior paint.

Remember we're married

I thought it would be really funny to not only say the letter of the paint code but also add my description of the letter- the description I was saying is really funny between a married couple BUT not funny at all for the masses of people to hear (especially not the manager of the paint store who I see at my church)
S is for.....and so on

mid way through my description of each letter,  Matt say's in a quiet voice....

"um, Steph, your on speaker phone"

I hung up without saying another word

I then planned my strategic escape out of ever picking up Ellie from AWANA again.

Several hours later, Matt called and was laughing- he told me he was only joking, I really wasn't on speaker phone.

Every time I see the manager from the paint store, I look into his eye's for any sort of recognition that he knows what I did...
If he does, he hides it well

I pray Matt really was only joking (that I was on speaker phone)


Happy Wednesday y'all

hee! hee! hashtag TRUTH

an unguarded moment of almost 41

There is something incredibly real about the picture below.
Something that shows an unguarded moment of what it looks like to be almost 41.
It shows a moment where my husband, unbeknownst to me, picked up my camera and took a picture-
One that later he described to me as beautiful....
To which I replied with an eye roll and then went on to point out everything I observed wrong with the image I saw in the picture...
wrinkles
gray hair
big pores
heavy eye lids
uneven eye brows
and so on
I didn't say this to make Matt contradict what I was saying- I was saying it because it's truth in my eyes....
unswayed, Matt replied with what he started with 'your beautiful, Steph'

To get older emotionally is amazing- you are so thankful for the ground you have covered and for the maturity that comes with covering that ground.  Life lessons that only age can teach...

To get older physically is so intimidating

our world is so much about the outward beauty.
inward beauty without outward is scoffed- it's put down and shamed.  with age, our world tries to teach that you automatically become invisible and cast aside for the newer younger version

the balance of not depicting our worth on what we see, on the outside, is a constant challenge for us women.  To feel truly worthy and beautiful when the world tells us we are anything but...

it seems like it all comes down to who we are letting determine what we are worthy of-
does the world determine our worth
or do we let the very One who created us, the very One who called our precious life into existence, the very One who said that we are wonderfully and fearfully made (Ps. 139) determine our self worth.
I so much appreciate that the Lord knew, as women, we would struggle with allowing ourselves to feel beautiful as we age.  I also so much appreciate that He addresses the very issue of beauty and age in the same sentence in the Bible.

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

Proverbs 31:30

Really think about some of the most beautiful women you know or have known...
consider what made them beautiful
it had nothing to do with how wrinkle free they were or how small their pores were...
nope...
it had everything to do with the beauty of their heart and the light you saw shining out of their soul.
Jesus in us, shining through, is what beautiful is!!  

No matter what you hear, especially from your self, you are wonderfully made.
you are beautiful.....
so am I (I'm talking inward, the beauty that never fades- I'm talking Jesus shining through us)

Thank you Lord Jesus!!

a visual thousand words

Sometimes, pictures are worth a thousand words.
Saturday night was a beautiful evening with friends and family celebrating the 39th Anniversary of two very dear people-
My Auntie Anne and Uncle Reid.
We ate, danced (square), and visited...

Enjoy the visual thousand words!!

P.S. Patrick and Molly you were missed (so were you aunt Petra and uncle Paul)

Aunt Anne and Uncle Reid

My dad, Ry, and nephew Ben

So sweet that my Aunt Anne is holding my nephew Jordan's hand :)

Ellie and Gretta

Add caption

My cousin Anna (L) and sister in law Liz (Levi's wife)

my sis Jodi and brother Levi

This is one of my personal favorite pictures taken Sat. night- Claire's smile is priceless

Levi and Liz

My brothers (Chris is on the left) and my youngest nephew Jett

Ryan's I AM poem

At school, Ryan had to write a poem about who he is- When I saw what he wrote and the pictures he chose to display, it brought both Matt and I to tears.

We are so proud of who you are Ry and we love you lots!!

Great job on the poem.....

'I am from the bullets out of my grandpa's gun

From peanut butter sandwiches and nasty eggs

I am from the small house with the big shop

And the smell of stew cooking on the stove

I am from orchard grass fields and palm trees

Who blew in the wind, calming the soul

I am from never waiting until Christmas morning

And big family dinners

From Jolings and Huttemas

I am from dirt bikes, 3 wheelers, and street bikes

I am from be strong and courageous

To singing the Beach Boys on the way to school

I am from Christmas dinners with nan and pops

I am from Deutschland to Medford

To roast and mashed potatoes on Sunday

From big crashes and scars

And ending at grandpa's flag on grandma's table'