Ben's Youngest Granny

In the van yesterday, Ben began talking about having lots of grannies. "I have great, great, great, (etc.) grannies" I told him that if he wasn't careful, he'd go back far enough to be listing Eve from the Bible. Trying to get him to quit saying "great, great great....." I began listing his great grandmothers names to him, "Olive, Sadie, Effie, and Clara." Ben said, "I DO have a lot of grannies!" Then he began listing them...."Becky, Granny....." ROFL! I stopped him to say, "No, Becky is your AUNT". I don't think I ever convinced him he finally hopefully said, "But she's LIKE my Granny- isn't she?!"

April showers!

We had an unusual event for Pampa this weekend. Rain! Lots of rain. Over 3.6 inches as of noon yesterday - and it rained all afternoon after we heard that measurement. Above is a picture of my mother-in-law's back yard. (The puddles in our backyard weren't as impressive. LOL) The boys and I decided to head to the Pampa City Lake and see what it looked like.


Nathan and Benjamin began wading in the parking lot beside our van.



See the rectangular pieces of wood? That isn't the dock, it is the handrails for the dock!



Aaron decided to venture further out, determined to get to the dock.
Note that less than a week ago the water was 2 or 3 feet below
the bottom of it.



Success! He made it .

I'm singing in the rain
Just singing in the rain
What a glorious feelin'
I'm happy again..

Joel Osteen's Fault?

I'm not sure how I came across this, but here is an unusual take on our economic woes:
click here and then here. (I don't know Jennifer Taylor, I just happened upon the blog and thought it was good!)

Book Review: Lonestar Homecoming by Colleen Coble

Author Colleen Coble's thirty five novel and novellas have won or finaled in numerous awards. Her goals of writing books that acknowledge God and to write for Him was brought to fruition after the death of her brother. She states that she learned that she didn't have time to wait to accomplish what God was telling her to do. Having been raised in the Midwest and growing up with the adventures of living on a farm must have helped inspire her newest book LoneStar Homecoming.

This charming book begins with Gracie Lister fleeing from her fiancee' on her wedding day. Gracie's response to problems seems to always be the same - she runs. Gracie fled with five dollars, a train ticket and the wedding dress she was wearing. She and her young daughter land in a small Texas town and are offered refuge by widower Michael Wayne. Michael is in need of a caretaker for his children and agrees to consider hiring her. Romance quickly springs up between the two but that is a limited piece of the story. Gracie's learning to face her past and the mystery involved is a larger part of the story. LoneStar Homecoming is the third in the LoneStar series, but can be read as a stand alone book. I have not read the first books in the series but had no trouble following this story. If you enjoy prodigal son stories, Christian fiction and are looking for a light, enjoyable read add this to your reading list.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

My first Lent....

The practice of Lent is not a thoughtless practice, of giving up something just for the sake of giving it up. Quoting Jon Shuler on Ash Wednesday, "at the heart of the call of Lent is the stripping away of what really you don't want back and the putting on of what you would like to be the habit of the rest of your life." Lent is a facing of what we need to repent from , to expose our sins, to renew our commitment to Christ, to fast as a way to learn how to deny ourselves "to bring our flesh, our mind and our will into conformity with God's purposes." (again quoting Jon Shuler) It is about inward change.

It is humbling to admit that it took my 7 year old son's willingness to lead me to practice Lent. I don't think I would have ever considered it unless he had asked to do it. I think I tend to want to ignore the suffering of Jesus. To skip the story of Jesus' suffering and go right to the joy of His resurrection. The practice of Lent has begun to lead me to reflect on how my actions and thoughts have displeased God. I am uncomfortable looking at my failings and sinfulness. I don't like for things to be messy emotionally, I don't want to see the blood or acknowledge the pain. It is almost too much to bear to hear of the intense agony Christ suffered because of MY sin! Yet it is the very suffering and dying that brings me to God, to forgiveness and eventually from confusion and despair to hope. There is no real joy in Easter without the cross. The cost of my sins can not be ignored in favor of a joyful Easter. In fact, facing the debt He paid brings me from the point of facing the cross of pain to seeing the empty tomb of triumph. I'm not ready for Lent to end, I think I'm just now beginning to really understand, yet, I think I am more ready to truly celebrate Easter than I have ever been before. To be able to declare, "Christ is risen!" He is risen indeed.

How Deep the Father's Love For Us

How deep the Father's love for us
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
And make a wretch His treasure
How great the pain of searing loss
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the man upon the cross
My sin upon His shoulder
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection
Why should I gain from His reward
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

Why should I gain from His reward
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

*Lyrics by Stuart Townsend

CVS Deal

I'm not one of those people who can save hundreds of dollars every month using coupons to get groceries. I wish, but I'm not. Living in small town Texas makes it tough - no double coupons, no great sales,(excuses, excuses). But I did find a great deal at CVS this week! I scanned my card at the price-scanner and it spit out a coupon for $1 off CVS hair care products. The shampoo and conditioner above are price at 99 cents, so I walked out with a free bottle of shampoo. I went back the next day to get some medicines, got the same coupon and walked out with another free bottle! I may not have all the coupons or CVS deals figured out, but I nailed this one!

Promises Kept

In homeschool this week we've been studying the events leading up to Jesus' death and resurrection. Yesterday Ben and I read the story of Mary anointing Jesus with expensive perfume. I asked Ben "what can we learn from this story?" His answer was "That Jesus always keeps his promises!" Huh? That's a great truth but where is that in this story? "Well:, he said, "Jesus promised Mary that whenever the story is told, what she has done will be told too, and we're talking about her today"! (Mark 11:9) Good lesson! With that we ended the Bible study - I figured what he learned was as good as what I'd planned on teaching!