HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JESUS!

I hope that you have a very blessed and Merry Christmas. I'm praying that each of you will meet Christ in new and exciting ways during this season!

Merry Christmas from the Langfords.

A peace of my mind

Note: This was written at 2 a.m. so if it makes no sense at all, you know why! If you ever see me with a caffeine drink, do me a favor and pry it out of my hands!!

Philippians 2:5-11 " Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus"... one commentator said that this should actually read :"In your relationships with one another, have the same attitude of mind Christ Jesus had/has." I'm not supposed to simply imitate Christ in what I DO, but to actually have the same mind set and attitudes of Christ . What would happen to our world if the church, IF I, obeyed this verse in totality? Verse 6 tells us that Jesus didn't exploit or use His son ship to God for His own advantage. Instead of glory He chose to make himself like nothing, He took on all of the limitations of being human (including being a baby - dirty diapers and all!) to help others - to help me! Instead of grasping to be seen as equal to God, He chose to take the role of a slave. Remember how he willingly washed the disciple's feet? (John 13) He didn't live in pride but in humbleness with a servant's heart. The result? Eventually EVERY knee will bow and tongue confess - God has and will give Christ the highest honor.

What if, instead of giving people "a piece of my mind", I strive to help them have a "PEACE of mind"? What if I had Christ's attitude and mind set?

Father,
Renew my mind! Develop in me a Christ-like attitude and mind set. Help me to see others as You see them.

Celebrate!

“I bring you good news of GREAT JOY that will be for all the people.” Luke 2:10 (NIV)

Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth; break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises. Psalm 98:4

Joy is one of the focus topics of Christ's coming into the world! Rejoice! - Is that a command??

I have an opinion about parties: I think that God loves them! (DUH!)
In fact, the Bible tells us that they "throw" a party in heaven everytime someone turns to God. There is celebration in heaven!

As I've heard people talking about Chritmas and their plans, I've heard an attitude of "I've got to get through this" or "I've got too much to do!" I know I'm guilty of this. I get so caught up in what has to be done that I lose sight of the joy of the season. I feel like I need some ideas on how to celebrate this year - to really enjoy the season.

So, tell me, what are you doing to REALLY celebrate this Christmas?

Friendly Friday Flops

Just so you know, we haven't forgotten Friendly Fridays, we've just flopped!

Our plan a couple of weeks ago was to go to "Grandma's" house and clean her house for the holidays, but....she wouldn't let us come over! LOL!! I think it has something to do with the Alzheimer's. We had told her a week before that we'd be coming, and she was SO excited about it. But on that day, she was making stew and with the Alzheimer's she can only focus on one thing at a time, so she didn't want us to clean. That or she just didn't want us there. :-) We may try that one again later.

Last week I had the flu (or something like it) and didn't want to expose anyone to that, so we were putting a gift box together to send to our favorite soldier in Iraq. (Aaron's idea). The thing is, by the time we got it all put together, it was too late to mail it!! He'll be home in January so, we decided to wrap the box up and give it to him when he gets home. SIGH
Good intentions.....(sorry, Erick!!)

Today we'll be doing something to make up for LAST Friday, and then this Friday we are planning on going back to Living Water, if they'll let us come! We'll update you later on our project for today!

Bad Joke...

What did Santa say when he was stuck in the chimney upside down?
!OH !OH !OH
(get it??....sorry, couldn't resist)

Favorite verse

My favorite verse this week in Psalm 27 is verse 8: (New Living Translation)

My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.” And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming."

Why say any more when that says it all?

First Friendly Friday!

Guest blogger: Aaron

This Friendly Friday we went to Living Water in Borger. I helped pass out groceries to people in need for Thanksgiving.
First, as people came in I took pictures and Benjamin passed around coloring books for the kids. Aunt Becky made sure everything was running the way it was supposed to. Matt & Sheri Cox led the music. They also led the music in my camp two years ago! Uncle Andy preached a sermon about how to be saved. Then we went out back and put groceries on the the table to give to the people. Mr. Gib kept bragging on me to other people. I liked working with him.
It felt good to help others. Their faces looked very grateful for our help. I loved it, it was so much fun! We plan to go back at Christmas time and help again.


Guest blogger: Benjamin
"It was fun. I didn't find very much kids, but there were some. I passed out books and crayons. And there were some kids though that I handed out books to and some were too small to be coloring but I didn't care so I just handed them coloring books with the crayons. When it was time to go it was very cold. When we got into our car my Mom decided to give Becky some books back and all that stuff. I hope you go to heaven so I can meet you there and know your name. Live happy. I hope you believe in Jesus." :-)

Friendly Friday!

Over the last few weeks I've seen several blogs with these cute (and some not so cute) daily and weekly blogs - such as "Flashback Fridays" (really cute) or "Days of Decluttering"(the not so cute one - ha!) and even a blogger who is cooking with a crock pot every day for a year. As I've perused these blogs, I've thought to myself, "I want to do something like that - something fun!" I considered the decluttering piece just to have a way to be held accountable and get my house in order. (I may still do this later!) I contemplated a weight-loss blog but that was a little too real for me right now and cooking, well, I'll have to get my oven and/or crock pot repaired first. I know I'm not a great writer, but I've enjoyed blogging and wanted to expand my horizons.

So...(drum roll, please!) I finally came up with an idea! It hit me right after our Veteran's Day project. We enjoyed that project so much that we decided to make it a weekly affair in home school. EUREKA! Why not blog about that? Aaron named it "FRIENDLY FRIDAY". We plan to do something for someone else each Friday. It may be as simple as sending someone a card or something much more involved when we get inspired. Who knows, maybe we'll start a new blogging trend. A really great thing about this is that I can use it in several different ways in school: Bible study, creative writing and English grammar (making Aaron a guest blogger at times), art (Benjamin and Aaron making cards or other crafts), math (measuring ingredients when we cook, doubling recipes, etc.), and history (Veteran's Day study, Thanksgiving study, etc.- to prepare before the "project"...). The biggest plus is that it will hopefully teach us to reach out to others, be more grateful for what we have, be more aware of other's needs, and have a better work ethic. So, there you have it - Friendly Fridays! Stay tuned!

Mark's Favorites

Becky and Amy both "tagged" me to list some of my husband's favorite things, so, here I go!

First and foremost is : GOD

(and I won't attempt to get HIS picture.)

OUR KIDS - all 5! (and I hope I'm included SOMEWHERE in here!)

His favorite SCRIPTURE passage is Jeremiah 29:11-14

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile."

MUSIC - Contemporary Christian and Classical are his favorite types of music. He plays trumpet and french horn.

Radio Station: America Family Radio

One of his favorite T.V. channels: The History Channel

MOVIE:

FAVORITE FOOD:

CANDY BAR:

His favorite DRINK is Vanilla cream Dr. Pepper:

(Pour a 16 oz. bottle D.P. over ice and add 3 Tbsp. Half & Half and 2 Tbsp. vanilla syrup)

COLLEGE AND MEMORIES:


SPORT: Baseball
SPORTS TEAM:

VACATION SPOT: The mountains!

FAVORITE PLACE HE'S BEEN: Ireland



BOOKS:
"Red Storm Rising" by Tom Clancy and "The Walking Drum" by Louis L'Amour


and finally, his favorite HOBBIES are reading, shooting, camping, fishing, computer and sleeping!

I Love you, Mark!

Whew! I finished! Now, I tag Sue.

Our Veteran's Day

One thing I've discovered about homeschooling is that it pushes me to do things that I should have been doing all along....like teaching about patriotism and gratefulness...

The traveling Vietnam Memorial wall was in town for the week of Veteran's day, and the boys (Nathan, Aaron and Ben) helped clean the grounds with their Tae Kwan Do class.
They liked the wall so much that we made several trips to see it.

The last day I finally thought to borrow Scott's camera and get a few pictures.

On the day before Veteran's day we made flag and star shaped cookies. (Thanks for the idea, Amy!)

We even tinted them red and blue!

Here is the finished product.

Aaron drew cards that said "Thank you for our freedom" and we delivered cookies to a couple of our favorite veterans.

The one pictured above sat down with Aaron for about an hour and told stories of being in Okinawa Japan.

Unfortunately, by then Ben was sick and Nathan was in school, so they didn't get to help deliver cookies. But the vet pictured above was teary-eyed when we came. He showed up at our house yesterday morning to bring the boys flag pins to "help you remember all veterans" and to thank the boys. He said, "You touched my heart that I was remembered on Veteran's Day by fine young men." How sweet. We should have done this years ago!

Look, Mom!

Benjamin came running in the house one day before his birthday yelling, "Mom! Come watch me!" A neighbor boy had let Ben ride his bike so that he could try riding without training wheels. Ben jumped on and just started riding... So, he used all the money he got in gifts for his birthday, and bought a Spiderman bicycle...

and a helmet.

This is almost as good as when he decided to potty train himself!
(Don't tell him I said that!)

Homeschool links

I've added a list of links that I use from time to time for homeschooling. Some, like Danielle's Place, I use almost daily and others I listed to remind myself to look at and maybe use. I'd love for you to comment and let me know what websites you use! I know that there are a few out there who are "lurking" on my site, so feel free to "de-lurk" (is that a word?) and leave comments. I'd love to hear from you!

Pine boxes

While reading Lindsey's blog on Kid Talk, I was reminded of a conversation in our car this week. Let me first explain that we live near a cemetery and have had several interesting conversations because of that. My kids really aren't as morbid as it sounds!
Aaron: "Someone is about to have a funeral - they're digging a grave."
Ben: "Mom, what is it called that they put them in?"
Me: "A cockpit?" (ha! he was playing with a lego plane @ the time and he had been talking about it first.)
Ben: "no, what do they put the bodies in?"
Me: "OH! Do you mean a coffin?"
Ben: "Yeah! What is a coffin?"
Me: (stating the obvious)"It's a box that they put the bodies in"
Ben: "WHY?!!?"
Aaron: (putting his two-cents worth in) "to keep the body protected from detoriating quickly and to keep the worms and bugs away from it"
Ben: "Why"?!!?

Good question Ben! WHY?!!?

Later.....
Ben: "I feel sorry for the bodies in the ground - not for the people, I know if they believed in Jesus they're in heaven and in a better place, but still, I feel sorry for those bodies!"

Mooving on up!

I have to admit something here. I'm a bad mother. I hate throwing birthday parties! All the mess and stress, and after it's over where do you put all those gifts?? Well, this year when Benjamin's birthday came around, a private school in town was having a fall festival PLUS cousins were in town - instant party and no work for me! Yep, I'm a bad mom. Ben has never had a "real" party. But he did get to "milk a cow" - which ended up being his favorite activity....

Jump in some inflatables....

race through inflatables....

ride a train...(Even Nathan & Aaron agreed to ride, what good sports!)...

stopped to pose for a picture (I didn't risk making them pose for long)...



decorate his own cake...(look closely, it's a football field)

(Notice the water guns...the boys had water gun fights, just no pictures for that)



blow out candles...
(Sarah even came in for it, but somehow didn't end up in the pictures.)







and open a few gifts.


Happy Birthday, Benjamin! I love you more than you can ever say!

Maybe next year he'll have a "real" party and get to invite all those girls
he wanted to invite this year.

His goodness

I don't know who wrote this, but I enjoyed it and wanted to share it.

His goodness shines with brightest rays
When we delight in all his ways.
His glory overflows its rim
When we are satisfied in him.
His radiance will fill the earth
When people revel in his worth.
The beauty of God’s holy fire
Burns brightest in the heart’s desire.

When Scott downloads pictures for me, I'll post some photos of Ben's birthday, so stay tuned!

"Fireproof"

Mark and I went to see "Fireproof" this Friday. We loved the show! Kirk Cameron plays a firefighter who begins trying to save his marriage after his father challenges him with something called "The Love Dare". Some of the conversations are a little stilted and awkward, but by the end of the movie you've forgotten all of that as the emotional and spritual tug of the movie has you examining your own marriage. This is the third movie (that I know of) that this church has made, and in each movie you see an improvement in the quality of the film. My opinion is that this movie is much better than "Facing the Giant". It's a great clean movie for a couple's date night. Check it out!

My Princess!

Sarah took a "practice" Math test this last week at the suggestion of a professor. (I'm sure I'll get the details wrong, Sarah, so just comment and correct me!) Basically, she can "challenge" a test and if she passes it, will be certified to teach that subject in addition to her Early Childhood Education certification. When "Miss Pris" took the 3 hour (!) test, the professors said she had made the highest score that they had seen someone make on their first attempt. Now, they want her to finish her Trig. class and try the "real" test. The Dept. head told her about seminars available to teach math that he wants her to look into doing as well.
As proud as we are of Sarah's accomplishments, it made me think. We'd be just as proud of Sarah even if she were a high-school drop-out. It isn't just what she DOES that makes us proud of her, but who she IS: our princess!

Recently Sarah and I sat down to have a long drawn out discussion when she'd asked my opinion on some things going on in her life. It reminded me of how I need to be more encouraging and less critical. So, I want to simply list some things that I admire in my daughter's life!

The first thing I've actually already mentioned: she is obedient. She comes to her father and I for advice - she has willingly placed herself under our authority and actually listens to our advice. WOW! I wish I had been able to be that open to my parents and share things about my life with them! Actually, at times I wish I were that open to my Heavenly Father! Willing to ask, listen and obey!

Secondly, she speaks truth! She seems to have a sense of urgency when dealing with others and wants to reach them with God's truth! There is one story I always think of when I'm remembering things from Sarah's past (in grade school). My mom and a friend visited a family in our neighborhood to share the gospel with them. When they asked the family if they wanted to "ask Jesus into their heart", the daughter (Sarah's age) said, "Oh! I've already done that. Sarah told me at school." Sarah had never mentioned it to us, she'd just seen something in her friend's life that needed changing and went about telling her what she needed. Sarah definitely sees things in "black and white".

Next, Sarah has always been a conservative young lady. We've never had to worry about her dressing or acting immodestly. Also, Sarah is honest. She is very goal oriented and works hard to achieve her goals. She is willingly. She helps us - usually by babysitting her brothers so Mark & I can have a break. She takes her brothers to the movies, museum, out to eat, etc. all without being asked to! She remembers birthdays and special occasions even though she's now off at college and could just as easily forget. She willingly listens to Benjamin talk on the phone incessantly about what has happened since she was last home.

She has handled herself well while waiting patiently for her boyfriend to come home from Iraq. I can't even begin to imagine what that is like for her, but I do know it hasn't been easy.
I could go on and on, but suffice it to say, I'm proud of my daughter!
No, she's not perfect, but I love her just as she is.
I love you, Sarah!!

Now, having said that, put this in perspective of us and our Heavenly Father. Do I have to accomplish "big" things to please God? Do I have to be perfect to have His love and acceptance? No, of course not! He is my Father! He will love me know matter what I do, how I act, or even who I am!

I know this is basic stuff here, but sometimes I think we need to be reminded! Satan has told me that I am worthless, stupid, not able to do anything. I have felt that if I did enough, was good enough, THEN God would be proud of me, accept me and want to spend time with me. But you know what? I want to spend time with Sarah and my other kids EVEN WHEN THEY DON'T WANT TO ! - even when they've been embarrassed that I'm their mother. ha! God is the same way. Even when I'm embarrassed to come to Him, (Lord, I messed up again....) He DESIRES to spend time with me! I am His princess and He loves me unconditionally. He wants to spend time with me no matter what I have done or haven't done. He cares about the details of my life. James 4:8 says "Come near to God and He will come near to you." He's just waiting for me to draw near to Him, to turn my back on all the "stuff" and just spend time with Him, being refreshed, taught, encouraged, challenged, disciplined, LOVED! My heart hears His invitation. "COME" "DRAW NIGH". Imagine that.

"I see two of you!"

This summer we noticed that Benjamin's eye was beginning to cross. One day after Sarah and I had discussed it, I began to question him on what he could and couldn't see. He told me, "Mom I see two of you! But, that's okay because I know which one is the real you." Oh my. Time to see an eye doctor! Here are a couple of "before" and "after" pictures:

Benjamin at VBS this summer

He wanted to take a "silly picure" first:

And here he is with his Power Ranger glasses. (Side note: he doesn't get to watch the show, he just liked the glasses. Ha! )

Wake-up call

(photo of Scott in China)

I woke up this morning hearing Mark on the phone:

"Are you okay?"

Between "Are" and "okay" I made it from my bed to the living room. We had let Scott go with a friend to Lake McClellan last night to camp out, so I KNEW who was on the other end of that conversation! Then:

"Where are you?" and
"I'll call emergency services and I'll be right there".

My heart dropped to my knees. The boys were on their way home for church this morning and hit a deer. Thankfully, all 3 are fine, just sore from air bags.
They were in a Mustang and Scott was in the front passenger seat where the deer went over them. He said that if the deer had jumped, it would have gone through the windshield. Scott said, "I should be dead."

So, today, I'm praising Yahweh-Raah ~ The LORD My Shepherd~ for protecting Scott!! I am thankful to God for allowing the deer to hit the hood and the roll bar frame rather than the windshield and my son. THANK YOU, FATHER!!! Thank you for his life and those of his friends, thank you that the injuries were minor (scratches heal.). Thank you that they didn't end up rolled over in the nearby culvert. Thank You, God, for all my children and their health. Thank you for the "wake-up call"!
So many things to be thankful for today!

Teenagers!!

Aaron turned 13 on Wed. or Thurs. (depending on who you ask)! Happy Birthday Aaron! He was born at 12:01 a.m. on Labor Day. My mom swears that the nurses "fudged" on the time because they wanted him to be a Labor Day baby. Me? I was a little distracted and wasn't too concerned about what time it was. We now officially have three teenage boys in our home and I'm starting to feel old.

You know they are getting older when just about all they get for their birthday is cash - and they're happy about it! Scott took him out to eat for his birthday, Sarah remembered to call from Wayland, and Nathan is taking out trash for him one week - sure is great when your kids surprise you by being nice to each other!

A Little Help, Please?

Okay, I downloaded Picasa to my computer thinking I had to have it to put photos on my blog. Do I? I don't think I like it. :-( Can anyone help me out? If I understand correctly, it just organizes my photos right? If I delete Picasa from my computer, will I lose the photos that are on it? Does anyone else use it? Love it? Hate it? I can't figure out how to save an original photo and keep the edited photo both. Can I do that on Picasa? Any help will be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Admission

I have to admit - I've been lurking on Blog Spot for a few weeks now. I'm afraid I may be addicted - to lurking, that is! I decided that if I was so nosy, I should at least give others the chance to snoop on me as well. I'm not sure I'll figure this all out, have anything worth posting, or even have anyone to read a blog. I guess time will tell.
My Space has always been a great spot to keep up with friends and family, but it seems they've moved on and so, to keep up, I will follow.
I've been inspired, encouraged, and challenged by other women bloggers - and so, as I jump into the world of blogging, I plan to share what is going on in the Langford home, and, hopefully will return the favor by encouraging someone else along the way. This may be quite interesting - things at our house are very rarely quiet! Here's hoping I'm up to the challenge!