ICED IN!

We are getting slammed by a major ice storm. Right now we are without electricity, but have a generator, so I'm posting while I can, you may not hear from me for several days. We have limbs down all over the yard, and dead (thankfully) power lines across the driveway and county road.

We slid to Mom's to get her because she was without electricity, too, so we're all here together, at least we have tv for a little while! Say a prayer for all the people in our area, we have power poles that have been snapped like matchsticks, and power lines down everywhere you look. The square at Salem looks like a bomb has gone off, no tree is intact. Casey is still at work (North Arkansas Electric) and called to tell me not to expect her home for a couple of days, the Co-op is feeding them and they are taking shifts answering phones. I just pray that this storm ends soon so the electric guys can start repairing and replacing power poles and lines. The power crews just had to give up today because as soon as they got a line fixed the ice formed on it in another place and it broke again. They can't get out to our rural areas until the storm is over. We've been told not to expect power for at least 3 days, but probably more. We have no water, either, but I did draw up enough to get us through.

I have my cell phone, if anyone wants to call, though! LOL As long as we can get to gasoline we will have heat with the generator.

Read the Bible through

Week 4
I didn't post yesterday because I spent most of the day in the bed, but it's better late than never. Here are the readings for this week.

Sunday - Romans 7-8
Monday - Genesis 12-15
Tuesday - Joshua 16-20
Wednesday - Psalm 9-11
Thursday - Job 7-8
Friday - Isaiah 18-22
Saturday - Matthew 8-10

Miracles

I heard someone say once that God isn't in the business of miracles anymore, WRONG! He IS still in the business of miracles, we just have to acknowledge Him and quit trying to explain it away with science. Accept His miracles or He may stop trying to make them happen in your life!

Why did I say that? Because, right now, in Tulsa, OK, in St. Francis Hospital, there is a little 9lb 12oz miracle. Intrigued? I thought so, so go here and read Kelly's blog about her baby girl, Harper.

Look out boys, Mamma's got some clippers!

I'm not having a bad hair day, I'm having a bad hair month! I was all set for a new Christmas 'do, (had the appointment on Christmas Eve), but fate had other plans. I've gotten calls from stylists to let me know they were sick or had an appointment and needed to reschedule me, but Kathy (the best stylist, ever!) called December 21st to let me know she was going to have to reschedule me, but the date was uncertain. No one really knew there was a water line that ran through the ceiling, but they know now. Those first really cold days caused it to freeze, and the warm days that followed....well, you can guess what happened next. I can imagine the shock on their faces when the entire ceiling, lights and all, and gallons and gallons of water came crashing down! Thankfully they reopened Tuesday and I should get this mangy mass of unruliness lopped off next week. Too bad they didn't reopen in time to save my boys' manes. Yes, I decided they needed haircuts, and rather than find someone else to do it, I just bought some clippers. Cheap clippers. I got half of hubby's head clipped and had to recharge them. I really should have taken a picture of that one, he was sporting a mullet to rival Billy Ray for about half an hour. (okay, not that long in the back...but it was getting there) Being the resourceful mom I am, I parked hubby on a bench on the deck in 17 degree weather and proceeded to cut his hair. I have to say, it looks pretty darn good....for an amateur barber. Next on the list was the #2 son, the little one. I can manhandle him enough to get his hair done. I did have more compassion and make him sit outside: I parked him on the bathroom vanity, and started buzzing. He's 4, so hair or not, he's still going to be cute. Hubby has finally caught a little of my photography bug, so he snapped a few while I was working him over.

Week 3, read the Bible through

I just realized I forgot to post this week's readings, so here they are.

Sunday - Romans 5-6
Monday - Genesis 8-11
Tuesday - Joshua 11-15
Wednesday - Psalm 6-8
Thursday - Job 5-6
Friday - Isaiah 12-17
Saturday - Matthew 5-7

Prayers for a baby girl

Please say a prayer for baby Harper. She was born Friday weighing in at 9lbs, 12oz. She has pneumonia and was taken to a NICU. Her family has requested prayers as things are very critical. She was scheduled to be placed on an ECMO (heart/lung bypass) machine, but the last news I had, she was responding to other treatment (prayers at work)and was taken off the list for the ECMO. You can read more about Harper on her mom's blog here or on her grandad's blog here

I believe in the power of prayer, and I believe in miracles.

Week 2 - read the Bible through

I'd planned on posting several times this week, but it's been another busy one. Our semester tests were Monday & Tuesday due to a couple of snow days before Christmas. Wednesday night was Awanas & church, and I had to talk a little while afterward, and Thursday we took Austin to the allergy clinic in Little Rock. I guess it just wore me out! We did find out that he's allergic to dust mites, and pet dander, along with most pollen from the various plants & trees we have in the area. He also has mild asthma, but we're loaded up on asthma meds and will begin allergy shots in a couple of weeks.

Now to the good stuff, the readings for this week:

Sunday - Romans 3-4
Monday - Genesis 4-7
Tuesday - Joshua 6-10
Wednesday - Psalm 3-5
Thursday - Job 3-5
Friday - Isaiah 7-11
Saturday - Matthew 3-4

I got a little ahead this week because I just couldn't stop reading some of the passages. I went all the way through Job 8, and read from Matthew 1-4. When you look at the scriptures with fresh eyes and really try to get a mental picture of the happenings, it makes such a difference. Honestly, it was like reading a great novel to me, I just couldn't put it down! I pray that God will give me a zeal to really dig in to the scriptures and to make it real and personal to me. I pray the same for you.

Read the Bible through

Sunday - Romans 1-2
Monday - Genesis 1-3
Tuesday - Joshua 1-5
Wednesday -Psalm 1-2
Thursday - Job 1-2
Friday - Isaiah 1-6
Saturday - Matthew 1-2


As in most churches across the country, we, as Christians, are being challenged to read the Bible completely through in 2009. So many times I have made this resolution, and so many times I've gotten to the books where you have long lists of "begat a son....and the son begat....and begat...and begat..." until the only word I recall from the passage is begat. Then discouragement sets in and I think, "Maybe I'll skip this book." so I usually do, then I get behind, then something comes up and I don't get to read my Bible like I should. You know the old long list of excuses. This year, however, I am challenging myself to stick to it, to read the Bible completely through in a year. Not only am I challenging myself, but our pastor is challenging the whole church. He has even created a handy checklist and reading plan for our convenience. (talk about being spoon fed...I depend on that spoon.) Each Sunday I will do my best to post my list for the week. I hope you can join me and help hold me accountable to read the Bible through this year. And just in case you can't find the post, it will be the one with the Bible (because you know me, I hate to post without a picture!)

***OH, and one more thing, I challenge you to read your Bible for the true history book it is. Put yourself in the places of the people. Think more deeply about the lives and how they managed from day to day. What are some of the struggles of these people. They were REAL flash and blood and their voices should still be heard. If God thought we should know about them don't you think it's worth putting all your effort into?

New addition

I hadn't seen my sweet, new nephew in 4 days, so I had to have a baby fix this afternoon. Of course, I had my camera. It's so nice to have family on whom I can practice photography. I've never taken newborn shots, but I'll get to take Landon's pictures in a few more days. Logan is proud of him, too. I need to get him a t-shirt that says, "I'm the BIG cousin!" He's 4 1/2 and does not like it when someone calls him the "baby cousin", the first thing he said when he saw Landon was, "Now I'm not the baby!" I love the shot of Logan's hand and Landon's foot.

A new daddy

Today, at 2:45pm my baby brother became a daddy. Landon Ray entered the world weighing in at 7 lbs, 5 oz, and 20 inches. He's beautiful! He made his mommy and daddy a little nervous when he decided to come facing up, but Lindsay did great. She's just gorgeous anyway and didn't look like she had been through 8+ hours of labor and spent almost 2 hours pushing. She was very tired, but a happy new mommy, and as for Lance, I don't think his feet have quite touched the ground since 2:45. Landon has a big bruise on his forehead because of his difficult birth, but he's absolutely perfect!

God is amazing, He showed us another miracle today. How can you not believe in miracles when you look at the face of a newborn baby? God knows and plans every cell of our being long before we are born. Thank you, Lord, for you blessing, a little blessing named Landon.

Gingerbread houses and life lessons

"Plleeeeeese, Mommy, let's make a gingerbread house." That was Logan's request for Christmas decorations. They had made one at school (his teachers must be hiding the Wonder Woman symbol on their chest, because there is NO WAY I would attempt a gingerbread house with 20 4-year-olds "helping"). I kept putting him off with the lame excuses, "Mommy doesn't know how to make gingerbread", "we don't have the right kind of pan", etc....basically anything to keep from saying, "No a chance, no gingerbread house, nada, zip, never!" I cook, but baking is NOT my thing, you actually have to measure and be precise, I prefer the "eyeball it" method, or the "Hmmm, I'll bet this would taste good in there." Fast forward to Christmas Eve, yes, I went to Wal-Mart on Christmas Eve, only because I didn't have everything I needed for Christmas (I think God was trying to teach me patience...I learned, please don't give me another lesson). We had ice the day before, so my original plans were shot down...but I digress. So, we are in the dreaded Wal-Mart, and right there on the shelf was a gingerbread house kit! Logan spied and and turned the baby blues on me, "Pleeeeeeease, Mommy, pleeeease." so I gave in. It was only $5, so I figured it would be worth it if it would keep him quiet for a few minutes. I completely expected it to be a pile of sticky crumbs and candy before it was all said and done, however, it was the best $5 spent of the whole Christmas season.

We carefully got the pieces out of the box (yeah, right, as carefully as a 4 year old can rip open a box), looked at the instructions, then tossed them (goes back to that whole following a recipe & baking thing). I snipped the icing bag, and "glued" the pieces together. Keeping Logan away from the thing while it dried was a challenge, but it stayed up. I decided I would "help" him decorate, and took the icing bag out of his hands. After a few meticulous, careful applications of "glue" and telling him exactly where to stick the candies, he looked up and said, "I want to decorate my house!" Every cell in my brain was completely against the idea, but I handed him the icing bag and started giving directions. He just looked at me like I was insane (imagine that, me, insane, with a 4 year-old hold a giant bag of royal icing?), and started squeezing and sticking. This child can't sit still long enough to make it through an episode of Veggie Tales, but he sat for over and hour, squeezing, glueing, and sticking. There was no candy left, he even took a few mini chocolate chips to add to the top (said it was reindeer poop....such an active imagination). The whole gingerbread house thing turned out to be a great experience. He was so proud of his creation, and I learned to let him do it by himself. I also learned that I am NOT cut out to be a cake decorator because I wanted it to look like the gingerbread houses on Food Network! Better to leave the decorating to the kids.

Anyway, here it is, hope you like it as much as Logan.

Casting Crowns rocks!

Last night a group of us went to Jonesboro to see Casting Crowns. I thought it would just be them, but imagine my joy when I found out it was their Christmas celebration and we also got to see Michael English, Natalie Grant, Avalon, Denver and the Mile High Orchestra, Pure NRG, AND Casting Crowns. It was great! I was being a little Scroogey and wasn't really in the Christmas spirit, but I sure am now! I even let Austin miss the last 2 hours of school so he could go, too. This was his first concert, and what a great one. He was blown away by the whole thing. Did I mention I have their new Crowns Christmas CD in the cd player in my truck. It's great, GO GET ONE FOR YOURSELF!

I'm so tired tonight because it was almost 1am when we got home last night (this morning?) but it's a good kind of tired.

If you get a chance to see Casting Crowns....or Avalon, or Michael English, or Natalie Grant....in concert, GO! You won't regret it and you'll be so blessed you just won't know how to act!

God is in control!

I'm usually in such a hurry that I don't even look at things around me, but God had other plans for me this morning. We topped a small hill on our dirt road and the early morning (7:00am) sun was beautiful shining through the trees. The shadows were playing on the ground, the sun was peeking between the tree trunks, and the whole area was illuminated with warm, golden light. I had my camera with me and stopped in the road to take a shot of it. I had no idea that I had left the 4 cross-screen filter (usually used for taking shots of lights at night) on my camera lens. When I finally got a chance to load my photos onto my computer, I was amazed at the shot I had gotten. The light coming from the eastern sky, shining through the trees looked like a cross! Not just that, but the shadows on the road made another cross! I've been so preoccupied with so many things lately that I had drifted away from where He wants me to be. I'm so glad God showed me His glory in such a beautiful way, and helped me refocus my eyes on Him. No matter what may come, GOD is on His throne, GOD is in control, and I will place my complete trust in HIM.

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."
Deuteronomy 31:6

Hey, Kayla, this one's for you!

I had the priviledge of taking wedding photos for one of Casey's best friends on Saturday. Kayla and Joe tied the knot at 3:00 pm, then had a really fun reception following that. I just thought I'd post a few of the photos here just to let Kayla have a little hint of what will be in her hands soon. Oh, and Casey was one of the bridesmaid, too.

I hope you like them; constructive criticism is appreciated as long as you be nice! :)

His name is David...

..He sits on the front pew at church, he's there every Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night, he never misses; he's a grown man with the mind of a child; he has Down's Syndrome. I don't know how old David is, but I would venture to guess he's well into his 40's. He lives in an assisted living group home, and rides the church bus. This morning he was very agitated, I had no idea what was wrong, but he moved over to talk to our pastor's daughter. I assumed he was uncomfortable sitting alone, then I realized he was almost in tears. He always brings 2 dimes for his offering and this morning, as the offering plates started around, he couldn't find his dimes. He was so upset that he didn't have his 20 cents to put in the offering. After being assured it was okay, he just dropped his head. I guess God spoke to him through our praise and worship song, "How Great is Our God", because by the end of the song he was singing as loudly as he could, his words, under any other circumstances, would have be intelligible, but his face and hands were raised toward heaven, and you knew exactly what he was singing.

The Bible says "...suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for such is the kingdom of Heaven." Mark 10:14. Oh that we all could have such a childlike faith, that we would worry about having our offering money each Sunday, that we would be heartbroken if we didn't have something to give to Jesus. I'm speaking to myself as much as anyone. Sometimes....often times, I let life get in the way and give God what is left of my time when I should be giving Him the first of my time. I am so thankful that God placed people like David in my path that I can rethink my perspective and realize that God loves us, from the least to the greatest, from the richest to the poorest. He loves us all, His love encompasses everything and everyone. We should all be more like David, not afraid to raise our hand, not afraid to sing at the top of our lungs, not worried what the person beside us is thinking. We should live our lives to the glory of God.

Though David's song wasn't anywhere near the key where the music was written, don't you know it was music to God's ears.

20 years ago today.....

A little dark-haired, dark-eyed baby girl joined our family. Casey was exactly 2 weeks LATE, (which may attest to why she's never on time now), and weighed in at 8lbs, 4oz, and measuring 22 inches long. Now she's 20 and in her 2nd year of college, where has the time gone?

Happy Birthday, Casey!

Random things about me.

This was on my cousin, Jamie's, blog. I thought it might be fun. Please leave a comment if you decide to answer on your blog--I'd love to read yours...

"35 odd things about you"

1. Do you like blue cheese salad dressing? No!

2. Do you own a gun? I personally don't "own" one, but I can use the 20 gauge and Chris has quite an assortment. Oh, I can use Austin's .22 also.

3. What's a favorite drink at Starbucks or other specialty coffee house? Grande French Vanilla Latte.

4. What do you prefer to drink in the morning ? Coffee, it's the first thing I do, my kids have learned not to even talk to me until they see a cup in my hand.

5. Do you do push-ups? If you mean the little orange sherbety things that come in the frozen ice cream treat case, yes, if you mean exercize, no, I lift a 43 lb 4 year old, that's my bicep workout.

6. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? My wedding rings. I had a fabulous pair of silver hoop earrings I wore alot, but that evil "Wildfire" ride at Silver Dollar City stole one of them from me. If you know a pirate who needs one silver hoop, I have one, its mate is in the dirt below Wildfire.

7. Favorite hobby? Photography

8. Do you have A.D.D? Probably...Casey (DD) says I have ADOS..Attention Deficit Ooooh, Shiny!

9. What's one trait that you hate about yourself? Just one? I have several traits I don't like, but I'm working on them.

10. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment: Casey needs to get her rear in here and get the kitchen cleaned up, I wonder what that loud crash noise coming from the basement was?, If I slip off to bed will anyone notice?.

11. Name 4 drinks you regularly drink. Coffee, milk(I force myself to drink a little, tiny glass before bed every night, water, Diet Dr. Pepper (though I've really cut down on that in the last couple of months.)

12. Current worry right now? Will Mom, Greg, Stacie, and the rest of the mission group make it home safely. (and one more) Will Casey's recent ex-boyfriend cause problems for her when he's home on leave in October. He's been very nasty and threatening on his MySpace. (oh, and just in case he reads this...see the above post about firearms, she now knows how to use them all, and Chris says she can load the clip on the .22 pistol as fast as he can)

13. Current hate right now? My 7th period class (I don't hate the kids, but I really hate their behavior), my right big toenail (ripped part of it off with the door 2 days ago), my flab...not just one area, but the all-over general distribution. (maybe I should start thinking about those push-ups....not the orange kind, the icky ones)

14. Favorite place to be? at HOME with my family. I think I could almost be a hermit...especially if there was a grocery store and Wal-Mart in my cave...or hermitage (?) Hermitage...was Andrew Jackson a hermit at some point???? (It's the ADD kicking in, don't worry)

15. Do you like to travel? Sometimes, but my favorite part of travel is coming home.

16. What color shirt are you wearing? A faded, Ouray, Colorado t-shirt I got on our vacation 3 years ago.

17. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? NO! I tried it once and kept sliding off, give me cotton anyday!

18. Can you whistle? Not well, and not in any particular tune, about the only whistling I do is with 2 fingers in my mouth and 2 different "notes" when I'm trying to get the dogs to come back to the house. (you'd think the dude on the bicycle would choose another road to ride down, he goes by our house and is immediately chased by a blue-heeler and a 3 legged hound dog. I guess they don't like men in bicycle shorts....)

19. Favorite color? Oh come on! I'm an art teacher, I can't pick a favorite...but if you want to buy me something my kitchen is done in dark sagey greens, cinnabar & cobalt (Fiestaware colors, and ecru or off white (okay, the official color swatch said tea-stain, I figured with 3 kids anything that already had "stain" on it couldn't be all bad, now the rest of their stains will blend).

20. If you could would you be a pirate? No, I'd hurt myself with the cutlass, and there's no way I'm climbing a little rope ladder to a crow's nest! Besides, aren't pirates supposed to take things from people? I'd be the only one who captured a ship to give things away!

21. What song do you sing in the shower? Most recently it's been "Praise You in this Storm" just because that's my son of choice at the moment, but I'm sure it will be songs from our Christmas cantata...as soon as I learn them.

22. Favorite girl's name? I picked out Casey Lynn for DD, but that could really go either way, the other girls' names I had picked out were: Lydia Allison (but I ended up with an Austin) and Jordan Angie (got a Logan Wade, instead, there's a really cool story behind the Jordan Angie name, too, Chris's grandmother was born in Jordan, AR and her middle name was Angie. Wanna know how we picked out Logan....it's a good cowboy name (guess who picked that one).

23. Favorite boy's name? Austin Lance & Logan Wade

24. What's in your pocket right now? lint...maybe an old Kleenex if I really want to dig (I'm wearing my "jammie pants" as Logan calls them)

25. Favorite bedsheets as a child? I don't know why I remember this, but I had the coolest set of sheets with Picasso sketches (doves and olive branches). I LOVED those sheets! Picasso sheets...I guess I was destined to be an Art teacher.

26. Worst injury? Hmmm, I've had a few stitches, I guess the worst one was when I was 16 and fell off a bucking chute, I had around 25 stitches in my arm with that one. (don't ask, I wasn't riding, I was sitting on it and decided to get off..I'm NOT graceful, 'nuff said). There there was the time in 3rd grade when I fell off the teepee on the playground at Flippin Elementary....and in 4th grade when a bee stung me on the tongue...(yes, I'm serious, I had my mouth open and it flew in, that's how)

27. Do you love where you live? Absolutely! We built our house on our farm and have been here a year and a half. I love it! I don't ever want to move, ever, ever, ever.

28. How many TVs do you have in your house? Three, and I don't get to watch any of them.

29. Who is your loudest friend? I don't know...maybe my friends don't seem loud because I'm the loud, annoying one? (you can agree, my feelings won't be hurt, it's the truth)

30. How many pets do you have? We have 2 dogs, Darrell - our blue-heeler mix, and CJ- our little $40 Humane Society rescue dog that was was hit by a car back in the spring and now only has 3 legs...by the way, he's worth $700 now. I just love him, he's my dog, he doesn't even know he's handicapped.

31. Does someone have a crush on you? If they do, they really need to get a life.

32. What is your Favorite Book? The Bible...as for other books, I can't pick one, but there was one I read over and over in high school "Celia Garth" it was about a Revolutionary war spy who worked as a seamstress and heard all the latest from her "Tory" ladies she sewed for, she then turned around and told the Revolutionary army all those secrets. I had to really do some searching to find a copy since it's out of print now!

33. What's your favorite candy? M&Ms, hands down, any kind, but I'm really partial to the dark chocolate ones.

34. Favorite Sports Team? Viola Longhorns! (especially the 7th grade boys...#33 to be exact) I like the Razorbacks, and Ryan Newman of NASCAR, too.

35. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? Please let it be Saturday!

Good grief!

For some reason the link doesn't show up, so you'll just have to do it one of 2 ways, you can either go to the sidebar "blogs I read" scroll down and click on the "FBC Flippin" blog, OR you can manually get to it by using this address
http://fbcflippin.blogspot.com

Any computer gurus who read this and would like to show me how to link (or hyperlink, or whatever it's called!), please do, then I won't look like I'm completely inept when it comes to matters of the blog.

Oops

Sorry, the blog link didn't work. I'll try it again.

Romans 8:28

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

If you ever any doubt that this verse is true, then you need to ask God to open the eyes of your heart and reveal His truth, then you need to go look at this blog. Why are you still reading this? GO!