Just going through the motions?

I've heard this song before, but hadn't fully listened and gotten its message (I am definitely not an auditory learner - I learn best by watching and doing - just in case you wondered.)  My best friend sent this song to me yesterday letting me know how the words in this song have spoken volumes to her - and now, it has been replaying in my head since (I just needed a picture to go with it as well finding the lyrics online to 'sing' along.)

There have been quite a few songs that have really ministered to me this weekend. I might end up sharing more of them on here, in the hopes that they encourage you as well.  May you be strengthened and encouraged with the message.  Here's a link to the lyrics if you're like me, and need to "follow along!"

And here is another version, for those who don't want pictures, only words!!! LOL!!

Our favorite books this Easter

With our focus on Lent this year, and working through the Lenten Activity guide we found, I set out to find some more Easter books for our home.

I found 3 that we are really enjoying and wanted to share them.

The first, and probably my favorite, is The First Easter by Carol Heyer. You can see the book, here. This is a story of why we celebrate Easter and it is told in a very gentle, conversation style. This is the first children's book I've read on Easter, that includes Jesus going into the temple finding men buying and selling. It also tells of the conversations Jesus had with the priests inside the temple, and that they were angry at Jesus' answers which then led them to be afraid of him. It also tells of the Last Supper and the breaking of bread and drinking of the cup. The pictures are stunning too and I find myself very drawn to this book.

The second book, That's My Colt, an Easter tale by Dandi Daley Mackall. You can see the book here. This story is told through the eyes of a boy who may have owned the colt that Jesus rode on as he entered Jerusalem. It does not give as full of an account of the Easter story, but it is a beautiful tale as the boy follows his donkey and sees his Master hanging on the cross. While he is sad, he soon learns that Jesus has indeed risen and he rides his donkey back into Jerusalem. "Now, I galloped through the city, on our colt, shouting the good news: 'Hallelujah! He lives!'"

The final book I picked up last week at Hal.mar*k. It is titled, Easter A to Z. We have this same book for Christmas. You can see the first 4 letters of the alphabet, here. This book is a delightful way to talk about the true meaning of Easter. In the A to Z format, it shares the customs, legends, and symbolism surrounding Easter.

What books are the favorites of your family at Easter time?

The S Files

The S Files, 4th edition

I am posting 2 weeks of activities in this post.

Some of the activities are too in depth for my children (my oldest is 6), so we have been giving something up on several days throughout the weeks. We've chosen one thing to give up for an entire day, some of them have been: computer games and television watching. I think it was Elle who suggested giving up afternoon rest times, but I said we'd better not, or mom might be grouchy until evening! ;-)

Eggs: We talked about how eggs are familiar symbols at Easter time, but they are unrelated to the Easter story. They do, however, represent new life and have been a signal of spring since ancient times. Christians adopted the egg as an Easter symbol because of the relationship between spring and new life in Christ. We followed up with an egg race.

Spring: We brought some spring into the house and are admiring God's creation at the kitchen windows. (Thanks Mom!!)

Another activity was to talk to the kids about how the term Good Friday probably came from God's Friday. We talked about how the day Christ died is ultimately very good because all of us need a Savior - we need to be redeemed.

New Life: Because of Easter, we can have new life in Christ. We found a butterfly template, here, and painted them. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." 2 Corinthians 5:17.

Cleaning: We learned the Jewish families typically cleaned before Passover. We found some glass doors in need of a good cleaning. The kids loved helping to wipe the doors clean.

A final activity in the past 2 weeks was one that involved learning the traditional Easter greeting. I asked the children what they say or have heard us say to people when shopping, etc, at Christmastime. They answered, "Merry Christmas." I told them, there is an Easter greeting as well. The first person says, "Christ is Risen!." To which we answer, "He is risen indeed!" We've been praticing saying this and I look forward to offering this greeter to those we meet in the days before Easter.

The S Files, ed 1

The S Files, ed 2

The S Files, ed 3

They're watching us!

Wordless Wednesday: My Superheroes

A little sugar for the cookies . . . a little sugar for Elle!

This was taken just before he left for his first soccer practice. He chose to wear the shirt with the #17 - which was his Daddy's soccer # in high school and college. And the adidas bag by his feet was the soccer bag his Daddy carried . . . he was prouder than proud to use his Daddy's bag!Talk about melting a momma's heart!!

Down and Dirty

(If you are looking for The S. Files, I hope to publish it later this week).

I asked for it.

I asked for God to show me the places where I need to really get down and dirty with the housecleaning of my soul.

And, boy. It's ugly.

But God is good. And He led me to a parenting seminar this past weekend by Family Matters and Dr Tim Kimmel. I feel like I have some good cleaning agents in my bucket now. And last weekend, He started the preparation in me with a women's retreat at our own church regarding spiritual gifts. It was at the first retreat where I came across the housekeeping poem in last week's post. Both conferences gave me much needed support, guidance and information that needs to be processed now.

He's prepared me with the right cleaning tools and I'm just need to get started ...
... all the while knowing, it really doesn't take that long to get dirty again, but I have the tools, and it should be easier to maintain the cleaning - as long as I continue to tackle it with the right gear and strive for daily upkeep.

So, I'll be scrubbing down the walls of my heart, wiping the inside of my soul, scraping away the "layer of should haves, creeping guilt, shouldn't have said thats" and preparing for my heart to a welcome place for God to meet me.

Spring Cleaning for the Soul by The Young Clergy Women Project is a great post and a must read if you are looking for ideas how to do a little spring cleaning in your soul.

Friday's (top) Five

1 - I'm reading a book this week, by Alton Brown (host of several shows on the Food Network) while at the same time, watching the Food Network.  Addicted? Hmmmm....

2 - Earlier this week I finished, "Who Stole my Church?"  I really enjoyed this book.  It is a fictional account of a church struggling to "move into the 21st century."  A concerned group of members meet with the pastor and it turns into a series of meetings in which everyone grows, well, rather than trying to explain, see if you can pick up a copy from the library!!

3 - I really enjoyed the above book so much that I'm having a hard time trying to figure out what to read next ... hence the lite reading material mentioned in item #1!

4 - We are all excited to see Daddy very soon.  He's had a busy week away and you can see what he was up to here.  I very much appreciated Shirley's pictures, as they provided a much needed daily dose of daddy for our house!

5 - My baby has shown an interest in the pot.ty this week - could it be?  No more diapers?  Whatever will I do? ;-P

Wordless Wednesday

A tiara-wearin'-gun-totin'-tot!

Good Housekeeping

Lord, it is not the dirt and clutter in plain sight that nag at me.
It's that hidden . . . You know,
behind the refrigerator, in the closets, under the bed dirt that no one sees
or knows about but me.

It's the same way with my life, God.
It's those hidden sins that I can't keep up with . . .
those petty little grievances, the grudges, the resentments,
the unspoken harsh feelings, the superior attitudes;
thoughts and feelings that no one else knows about but me . . .  and You, God.

Help me, Father, to clean my heart as I would my home.
Take away all dust and cobwebs of pride, ill feelings and prejudice.
The dirt behind my refrigerator will never hurt anyone.
The dirt in my heart will.

~Source Unknown

Some time back, as I was cleaning my shower and wiping the dirt along the top edge of the shower (where I can't even see it, but I know it is there), a similar thought occurred to me.  I'm spending time cleaning areas that maybe only a giant can see, but I know the dirt is there.  When was the last time I spent time removing some of the dirt hidden inside me . . . those sins "that I can't keep up with."  And, those hidden sins, that I can't see - but I bet a mouse can. 

I mean, I'm sure there are obvious signs in my life, outward things, which my friends and family see in me as a result of those sins.  I clean my shower even though my husband and I can't see the dirt up there, but I haven't worked at removing the dirt - the sin - that is hidden inside me doing so much more damage to others and myself and yet, I spend more time making sure the top of my shower is clean; and honestly, I don't clean the top of my shower that often.

This makes me sad.  It is a sad realization of how I'm not letting the Lord work in me and therefore, I'm not functioning as the Lord would have me to for my friends, my family . . . my loved ones. 

I want a cleansing, Lord, that can only come from You.

Saturday School Files

The S. Files, 3rd edition

(Click to see 1st edition and 2nd edition)

Monday: We searched the playroom for some purple objects. After we had our little collection, I explained that purple is the color of Lent. It symbolizes the pain and suffering leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus. It's also the color of royalty and symbolizes the kingship of Jesus in our lives. Colin wanted his picture with the purple end of a dart. Elle liked her purple paper with her name on it. And Quintin liked this purple sash. We then decided that we'd all wear something purple on Tuesday.

Tuesday: We made homemade pretzels (recipe here). These originated as a Lenten treat, their twisted shape suggesting arms crossed in prayer.

My helpers in purple (the boys are wearing maroon!)

Our finished product - which was Oh So YUMMY!!!!

Wednesday: The activity selected for this day actually didn't get accomplished until Saturday. We pulled a slip of paper suggesting to sing, "O for a Thousand Tongues." I used the wonderful book, Hymns for a Child's Heart, Vol 1, which has a story telling about the song writer and reasons why he chose to write songs in the style that he did. My cd wasn't working, so we went here, to sing along.

Thursday: We chose to select some toys from the playroom to donate. It was difficult for them at first to part with some toys, but they did, in the end, see the benefit of passing on some unused toys to children in need of them.

Friday: We baked cookies to send along to Alabama for the men who will be working to help John and Shirley! Read more, here.

Saturday's activity focused on sand. Sand is also a Lenten symbol. We talked about how God let the people journey in the desert and how Jesus faced temptation during the 40 days in the desert. We visited the sandbox to gather some sand to display on our bookshelves and to remind us that the desert can be a place free from distractions.

We also did a little sand craft - each child chose a piece of construction paper and a word that related to Easter.

We wrote the words on and then wrote over each letter with glue. We headed out to the sandbox and here are our results:

While this week didn't go exactly as planned with the timing of our activities, I am assured that they will remember these lessons. As soon as we finished our "sand projects" tonight, Quintin came inside and got started on his journal. (click on the picture to enlarge it)

Until next week,

In the eye of the beholder...

Where man sees but withered leaves,

God sees sweet flowers growing.

~Albert Laighton

Wordless Wednesday

When: Last week

Where: 2 feet outside of the garage

Chicken Blobs

While yes, I realize that may not sound like the most appealing name for a main course, it is a nickname we've grown to love for these:

Pill.sbury calls them "Crescent Chicken Squares." When I first tried my hand at making these, when in my teens and dating T, I couldn't seem to come up with a square shape, so my mom and I changed the name to blobs. Sounds so appetizing, doesn't it?

They are a great way to use some leftover chicken (I used some grilled chicken from the weekend) - and I just posted the recipe, here. Along with a homemade crouton to put on top, found here.

My good friend, Just Mom, also had chicken and crescent rolls for supper last night - you can check her recipe on her cooking blog, here.

Yesterday was a day to celebrate chicken and crescent roll goodness!! MMMmmmm!! MMMmmmmmm!!!

A little LA

When I posted last Monday, with this picture...

...many remarked how much my kids look like T.

My parents gave me the following picture over the weekend - I think it is safe to say my children get some of their good looks from my side of the family. I just wish one of them would have gotten my blue eyes. :(

That look on my face in this picture looks so much like Colin...oh boy!!!!

My brother is 8 years older than me, my sister is 4 years older than me, and the bunny is no longer with us! ;)

Saturday School Files

The S. Files, 2nd edition

Another fun week of meaningful activities as we continue to observe the season of Lent.

Monday - I pulled a slip in the early morning because I knew that day's plans would fit well with one of the suggested activities. I selected 'sacrifice something nice for someone in the family.' We were celebrating T's birthday this past Monday and the kids and I sacrificed our afternoon play time to make supper and a cake for him. The kids were more than thrilled to do this for their dad and it was a great way to share about God's ultimate sacrifice - the sacrifice of His One and Only Son.

On Tuesday, we randomly chose the activity to talk about and help the children to understand why Jesus was called "The lamb of God." We followed a short talk with a lamb craft.

Wednesday - The slip that was chosen told us to sing "Jesus loves me" - a favorite in our house.

Thursday - Using the word "RESURRECTION," we were to make as many words as we could. This was definitely just an activity for Quintin and I and we made a pretty good list. Some of our words being: sin, rise, sun, son, rest, cross, secret, section, curse, notes, site and sure.

Friday - We had a fun day having pulled out the slip suggesting to act out the "parade" of Palm Sunday. We found a template for palm branches, here, and took turns playing all the parts!

Saturday - This morning, with T home, we talked just a little about how the Jewish people sacrificed lambs and other "clean" animals as an acknowledgement of their sin. We shared with the kids how God doesn't want us to do that anymore and that Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice by shedding his blood for our sin - as our lamb. Then we looked at our lambs from Tuesday.

Have a blessed weekend!!