Is it ok to lick Jesus?

Psalm 34:8-- Oh taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man who trusts in Him.

You wanna see God working and the body of Christ: look at the past couple days. My mom took a vaca to Peru, brazil and Argentina, but she fell at the waterfall and broke her leg in multiple places. Travel insurance paid to medivac her to Brazil to an awesome hospital. BUT my mom is on Medicare and can't afford the surgery. Travel insurance won't pay to medivac her home and it costs too much to do it ourselves... so we were stuck
"Do SOMETHING" my sister said. I suck at this. My brain can come up with 100 different ways to teach children, but things that involve politics and logistics are a no go for me. After a discussion, I told my sister that all I could do was post it on facebook.
My friends were AMAZING. I had people researching travel insurance. People looking at plane flights, calling every missionary, pilot, agency, embassy, and more .
God uses christians and non christians to accomplish His purpose. everyone can do something, even if it's google.
Now, I have missionaries coming to translate for my mom and find her a place to stay. I have the embassy working on a flight home. I have a doctor in the hospital where she's at that speaks Portuguese coming in to help her. My aunt is in the hospital with her. and if worse comes to worse, we have the money.
Thank you for ALL everyone's help. (it's not a double negative, it's a double positive).

I read Psalm 20 today

1 May the LORD answer you when you are in distress;

may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.

2 May he send you help from the sanctuary

and grant you support from Zion.

3 May he remember all your sacrifices

and accept your burnt offerings.

Selah

4 May he give you the desire of your heart

and make all your plans succeed.

5 We will shout for joy when you are victorious

and will lift up our banners in the name of our God.

May the LORD grant all your requests.

6 Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed;

he answers him from his holy heaven

with the saving power of his right hand.

7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses,

but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

8 They are brought to their knees and fall,

but we rise up and stand firm.

9 O LORD, save the king!

Answer [fn1] us when we call!

AMEN!

When worlds collide

It's a trifecta. What would be the 3 things you would ever think about me... ok maybe I don't want to know...
So we all know I like to save a dime. Don't be a hater. I do like a good time saver for the sake of sanity (thank God for uncrustables: totally worth no soggy bread, frozen/ ready by lunch, and no leaky), but for the most part, I'll buy the big bag of prezels and put them into containers instead of snack bags.
So, that's what i started doing. I baggied up things, I bought wholesale, I couponed. Then one day someone mentions cloth diapers... no way, right? Wait, I could save some money... and then i thought, " and i'm saving the environment!" The more i thought about it, the more i liked the idea of saving mother earth. Johnny, however, not so excited. "I have to spray poop!"?
So, cloth diapers were a no go.
But i started thinking of other ways that i could PRACTICALLY help protect our natural blah blah blah. i now use reusable containers instead of baggies most times. i recycle hard core. I grow veggies in the yard... i would do gray water, but we're in a drought and seriously not worth my time. I've researched composting (still working on johnny)... slowly but surely i am officially turning granola.
Then last week, we hit a new level in my third aspect of me: food. Now not only am i trying to save money, the environment, but do things creatively.... so I bought cloth potty training pants... less poo. We juice. and a couple days ago, I announced that i'm making my own yogurt!
Say WHATTT? yes , next week, i embark on a new cooking adventure and use live cultures...
i'm a live culture so soak it up friends... who knew i could be crunchy and this awesome!

why honesty is not the best policy

Don't get me wrong, I want you to tell me the truth. There is the horrible trend out now among children. They feel the overwhelming need to have word vomit all over me and my children and other children.... and when I look at the parents after such rancid comments, usually i'm getting the excuse that "atleast they're being honest"
I'm thick skinned (ok not true, but I think I have a layer of tephlon in there).
Situation 1:
In the car and Ella is singing a song about who knows what, but she's passionate about it. Zoe gets this face like she's struggling to keep the vomit down, when all of the sudden it comes out.
Zoe: Ella, Could you please stop singing... (she tried to swallow the vomit down) because... well... it's really annoying and no one wants to listen to you.
well, atleast she's being honest! NO!!! not honest, rude! Sometimes there's a point to shut up.
Situation last week:
Boy in my car playing. Girl gets in...
Girl: How old are you? (yes , this is the opening statement)
Boy: 7
Girl: hmmmm, well you're short. stand next to me. yah, I'm pretty sure you're too short to be older than me, maybe you're just dumb.
word vomit! REALLY!!??? there's only so much cleaning up I can do ... and about 90% happens in the car... maybe it's the rolling wheels making them sick, bumps, windshield wipers.
Has TV taught our kids this... have parents? I always tell my girls to be honest and to use their big girl voices if they have a problem (logic please) instead of whining and yelling stop... tell them what you'd like them to stop and maybe why... key point to use from now on: MAYBE why.
So, this birthday, I'm shooting for the unexpected: I'm shooting to reduce the amount of word vomit I have to clean up in my car! Good luck on your end... don't let it in my car!

32 comes with more Krumping

I mean, each year has been getting better. 29 was the worst, 30 was good, 31 was better.... but 32 I'm pretty sure will come with the unexpected.
What would that look like... more Krumpin in public? or publix?
Unexpectedly this year, I got a pedicure with 3 of my girls on my birthday (and a good friend). I chose fast food over restaurants. I chose 4 girls under the age of 10 rather than a date with my husband. I even grocery shopped with no coupons or grocery list.
I do'nt know what else I'll do this year... maybe move to france... or Africa. Maybe I'll be more reliable or have more patience.. but all I know is 32 is for the unexpected.

But I get airsick

I know you're not supposed to tell people when you go out of town , so that theifs don't steal my junk, but 1. grandmas and 4 girls are hard to all snag at once and 2. if thiefs are reading my blog then I've got other things to think about.
We leave tomorrow for Africa.
My husband asked me years ago, if we could go anywhere in the world, where would it be? I really thought he was asking me for the 10 year anniversary (which has passed). I said without a pause: Scottland!
And now we leave for 2 weeks with no children to Africa. No safaris, no amazing race, just backpacking and living in other people's houses for 2 weeks.
I have friends who live in other countries happily, but this is definitely a good culture shock for me. I'm just hoping I get to experience a squatty potty (and test out my legs of steal book). Some people have threatened the eyeball snack on me... I'll let the human vacuum, johnny handle that one.
I keep getting asked what we're doing and the answer is: I dont know. I don't know if we'll move there, or if we'll even sight see. I don't know who we'll meet or how we'll get there... my goal realy this week is just to get out of the country and I plan on achieving it. Otherwise, I go whereever! So be excited for us! 2 weeks to "renew" our marriage... I use quotes because I feel like we've just gotten married anyway, so I'll love on him pretty well. 2 weeks to regroup from my kids... yah, I'll be grabbing other people's kids while I'm there I'm sure. and I'll come back with an elephant and maybe a tajin.

Christians suck!

I was thinking the other day about the first person that ever friended me on Facebook. He was a guy who I went to middle/highschool with, he was a Christian at the time, and has since renounced God. I remember that I was so intimidated by him in middle school. He seemed SO confident in Christ. Almost to the point that when he would catch me doing something "wrong" I was waiting for the turn-or-burn talk. Funny thing was: I was a Christian too.
I really thought I was a good Christian too. I went to church, I helped out in the youth group, I was "zealous"... until I joined facebook.
I had another friend from middle/ highschool who has never probably gone into a church and when I talked to him for the first time on facebook, he pointed out all the horrible things I never remembered doing at school. I was struck by how much perception is important.
You are being watched.
I'm not saying that I wasn't following God or that I wasn't really a christian back then. But there are 2 sides to every coin.
Christians: need to realize that what you do when no one looks, matters. That you do not know EVERYTHING and God's wisdom is not the same as worldly wisdom. What I mean by that is the gospel sounds foolish. Blood covering sins, sacrifices, giving your heart to what seems like an invisible force, sounds reallllly foolish. But to someone who understands, identifying a source and standard for morality, knowing we will never attain that standard and realizing Jesus gave his time,blood, sweat and tears for me to come before that standard confidently AND humbly... is the power of God. Being willing to lay your reputation and face on the line even when you think no one is looking matters. And knowing how to ask forgiveness does too.
I think our confidence in Christ alone easily sways to cockiness ... I'm free and you're not na na na na na.... na. We become hypocrites to the very thing we should be falling on our faces for... and be thankful that we were pulled off the edge of the cliff, grabbing someone else's hand on the edge on our way up.
Those who don't want anything to do with God: Please understand that I'm only human. What a cruddy excuse, but true. When I was young, I trully thought I was invincible and in that I did a lot of things that hurt a lot of feelings, no matter what my intentions.
If I've said it once, I'll say it 1000 times: God is not people. I let people down all the time by accident, I say things that I think are joking or friendly, but you see as a Christian being judgemental. I may even be an ass because I'm having a tough day or waking up grumpy or on my period... BUt God doesn't have those problems... He does things with a purpose and plan. Why did your mom not let you play in the street as a child... it was so unfair because all the other kids were doing it and you were being made fun of for not. You had never been hurt before... but she did it to protect you. And when the one child did get hit by a car, you blamed mom for letting them play in the street.... same with life. God does things we don't understand and we blame him if it goes wrong or right... but his wisdom is not ours.
So what did I say to the guys I'm talking about. The one who did not know Christ I apologized. I didn't give excuse because there is none. I was an ass. I hurt him, even if I didn't mean to. and the fact he remembered it 20 years later proves that my life had an affect on him.
For the guy who was a christian but is now not one, I apologize too. I hurt him thinking he'll understand he's a christian, but it built up to a point that he walked away. God was not real enough. Science won out or logic or something... And I'm not saying God does not understand science and logic, but like I said, God 's wisdom isn't ours, and when it doesn't click- I can't expect him to stay.
My thought is, Christians can suck, we do it all the time. Those who are supposed to support me, fight with me all the time. Those I'm supposed to see as a family sometimes make fun of me or walk away because out of sight, out of mind. I have christian friends who tear people down and lord over everyone their superiority... none of this is right, but that's not why I'm a christian. I'm a christian because I know I suck. I know that I can never not suck (my mom informs me all the time about my lack of mercy toward people: t's true), but God is real and has changed me over the years , not out of my own self-discipline, but because I let him work with me and I have seen my life change over hte years. Things that I could never do myself with habits or loving or anger... those things have changed because of God and i give him full credit. Please forgive me for sucking back then, and I can't wait to see how I unsuck in the future.

how can I be expected to not break the rules when I can't even remember them?

So do you remember the movie fight club (oops, darn. first rule...) when he falls asleep and his alter ego goes out and forms an army without his knowledge. I feel like that today. I seriously think that the reason I'm always tired is because my alter ego comes out when I'm napping and does things that I can't possibly remember.
or maybe I just black them out because , as I told Zoe's teacher today, I'm an overachiever.
I got the priveledge of driving my girls to school today which I never do (funny, I think some of the moms get the idea that I don't exist). When I was dropping of Zoe, her teacher said, "you ready to make pinwheels?" Say what? Did I say that... didn't we decide not to, or did I say yes and just forget? so I also got the priveledge of running to walmart super quick.
Highlight of my day: teaching 4 year olds how to make pinwheels. Favorite pinwheel: Reo's which I think I left him alone with the scissors too long. Most excited: I think his name was LeLand. He had obviously never used a hole punch before and got WAY to excited when it worked it's "magic".
When I was done, I ran off to Sams to shop for Ada's birthday party this weekend and while I contemplated "cotton tails" (cheese balls), a friend found me holding the can staring off into space ( I blame my alter ego) and gloriously knocked me back into reality with a .96 cent pretzel. hoorah!
I rushed back to the house to drop off the goods before I picked everyone up from school, when I saw my sweet neighbor who Ada was DYING to invite her 25 year old daughter to her birthday party... she said yes... how sweet! .... but I digress.... must run back to school...
Wait, did I have a conversation yesterday with a mom who informed me that she NEEDED to bring her sons birthday cupcakes to school on Ada's birthday so she didn't wait so long that her son thought she was a bad mom... so what did that say about me?
So, I had to explain that to Ada's teacher... ok.
Off to go pick up Ella from school.
And here's where it gets interesting. we go to Harris Teeter while Ella is at Ballet and Ada is telling me about what she learned at school. A dentist came to the school to talk about brushing teeth and he let her know that if you eat too much candy, your teeth turn black... 20 minutes later we're checking out and the checkout girl has a couple rotted teeth... sweet Ada: " you must have never learned how to brush your teeth!" uhhhh.... thank you for my groceries (you're pretty)
We pick up Ella and on the way out the parking lot, Ada runs out into the middle of the street , in front of a car and jumps in a puddle. I'm running to yell at her, when the car rolls down the window and says, " you're such a busy mom. It's ok, she belongs in the water"
oh yes, did I forget to tell you that Ada had insisted on wearing a mermaid costume all afternoon and was screaming, I can't breathe! until she jumped in the puddle and sighed in relief?
We come home to international meal night with curry chicken, edemame, and ... well, milk. and my girls swear they need to smell like curry all the time and eat "acorns" (chickpeas) every night.
wow! we finish up with Zoe reading her first book all the way through and Ella reading the bible to them...
I don't know what I do in my sleep, but it has to be pretty good, because these girls make my day sometimes... and sometimes I need a frappe.