The other day, someone asked me if my kids grew up “churched.”
The pause before my reply was noticeably long.
I was thinking.
What does that mean? I realize my personal background and filters contribute to my way of thinking, but no definition I could come up with made it seem like growing up “churched” would be a good thing. Merriam-Webster defines it as:
adjective: “affiliated with a church.”
Well. That’s vague.
churched.
The word has connotations. Through my personal filters, adding “ed” after the word church makes it reek of religious knowledge and practices, not relationship with Christ.
So, if growing up churched just means my kids grew up knowing the traditions of church – whatever church or religion that might be, then yes, they grew up churched. They know what a call to worship is, they can sing the doxology, they know what to do with an offering plate, they know the different ways to take communion and what an alter call is. They know what the Apostles’ creed is and they know the Lord’s prayer doesn’t end with the words “with liberty and justice for all.” They can follow the verse order of a hymn and even though they both have searchable Bible apps, they can find a scripture in a Bible with paper pages by it’s reference. In more contemporary churches, they know that a worship service usually begins with what we in our family affectionately term a “giddyup Jesus” song, and they know why this video is funny.
So, if all that means my kids grew up churched, then yes. My kids grew up “churched.”
Some might say, “Well, it’s better than nothing.”
Not necessarily.
Here’s the deal. If all that stuff is a precursor to a personal decision for Christ or an expression of a growing relationship with Him, then yes. It is better than nothing.
BUT, if all those things are part of their life instead of or apart from a growing relationship with Christ, I don’t necessarily think growing up churched is better.
It might actually be worse.
I’ve personally met so. many. people. who grew up going to church and as an adult, have not only abandoned church, but faith altogether.
A few months ago, I asked God to break my heart for what breaks His. (CLICK HERE to read that post – and if you ever think about praying that, brace yourself.)
One clear and constant answer has been the fact that so many people have turned away from faith in Christ without ever really knowing what it is.
Who He is.
Growing up churched has kept more than a few people from relationship with Christ because they think that all those things I mentioned about church is evidence of a relationship with Christ.
Not always true.
That’s what I was thinking during the extended silence that followed the “Did your kids grow up churched?” question.
But when I broke that silence, what did I say?
“uhhhhh. Well. We took them to church if that’s what you mean.”
I am so articulate sometimes.
The truth is that despite all their knowledge and understanding of religious practices, my kids never heard the gospel explained in kid language at the church we attended. Hell was too scary for kids and Jesus was a role model, not a Savior. Discussions about asking Jesus to come into your heart? The Holy Spirit as a helper after you ask Jesus to come into your heart? No. (By the grace of God and through an extended, painful revelation process, we now understand that we need to be part of a Christ-centered church.)
We went to church on Sunday mornings, did a few summers of VBS, went to some fall costume parties, some Christmas breakfasts with Santa and some Easter egg hunts. Sunday school was mostly Bible stories and crafts. VBS was a rotation of Bible stories, crafting sessions and outdoor games interspersed with music, snacks and cute videos with moral and ethical messages.
They learned that God loved them. They learned they should help people. They learned God wanted them to be “good” like Jesus. They learned that they should give joyfully.
But my kids first learned about having a relationship with Christ from my husband and I. Because we knew that our faith couldn’t be theirs by force or wishes, we prayed that the Holy Spirit would draw them to Christ, and we told them about Jesus. Through our lives – our words and our actions – they saw what faith in Christ really is – a relationship. They knew Jesus loved them – no matter what – just like we loved them. We prayed with them, we did family devotions together, we were authentic with them about the lessons God was teaching us, we listened to their problems, their fears and their joys and we continuously helped them to view and navigate all three through faith in God.
By the grace of God, they both accepted Christ at a very early age. By the grace of God and equipped by the Holy Spirit, we did our best to disciple them as they grew in their faith.
We enrolled them in Christian school because we wanted them to learn as much about the Bible as they did about math, science, history, spelling and English. When they moved onto middle school and began building on that Bible knowledge and learning theology, we actively engaged them in discussions that helped them figure out and ground themselves in their own beliefs, some of those beliefs different from what were being taught at school. As my son has grown older and graduated from high school, he’s come to some beliefs that differ from his mom and/or dad. (No surprise, mom and dad don’t always agree either.)
Regardless of the tangential beliefs we each have, we share faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord. All four of us depend on the Holy Spirit to equip us for the life we live, striving to follow the Father’s will.
My husband and I are confident that each of our children have their own faith in and relationship with Christ. We pray for those relationships regularly.
But “Did your kids grow up churched?” is a yes or no question. There wasn’t time to think through all that, much less say it.
Saturday, March 15, 2014
shared Judah Smith’s status:
“If we’re not careful, we’re going to take the greatest message on the planet and turn it into a horrible form of humanism.”
#JesusIs #Passion2014 http://goo.gl/SDO77w
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Sunday, March 16, 2014 Me, as we were leaving IKEA today: “You’re welcome.” Hubs: “You ain’t kiddin.”
That’s Mills code for “We NEVER have to come here ever again.”
(Our 1st visit today. I wanted to sue the building for harassment. & I wanted OUT.)
#wherestheexit #wheresthepassinglane #ihateshopping #clickaddtocart
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Shopping/hunting online.
Answer: 18. so far.
Who knows the question?
(How many browser tabs do I have open right now?)
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Monday, March 17, 2014
Our two new living room chairs are cat approved.
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If you hear someone screaming “OMYGOSHOMYGOSHOMYGOSHOMYGOSH!!!” it’s PinkGirl. The Frozen DVD we pre-ordered just arrived in the mail. The day BEFORE it is supposed to be released. “ITCOMESWITHPOSTERSOMYGOSHOMYGOSHOMYGOSHOMYGOSH!!!!” When I went to the mailbox to get the rest of themail, my neighbor just asked me if she was okay. True story.
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There’s a book I want. It’s in stock at Brightlight Books. I wonder how many books I will actually buy. #cantbuyjustone #bookbinge
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Can you tell we like symmetry in this house?
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(Ellen and Genie were best friends when they were kids, but grew apart over the years. Until this reconnection in their early twenties, as written by Genie.) “For the next hour I stormed the conversation with highly exaggerated accounts of my great successes…
She [Ellen] listened quietly and at one point when my voice was way up and bragging she broke in: “That’s all very interesting. I know you’ve done some fine work, but you’re probably the unhappiest looking person I’ve ever seen, Genie. What’s really the matter?”
from Burden is Light by Eugenia Price
#seepeople #edify
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Thursday, March 20, 2014
EPCOT. Norway. 3 hour wait for Anna and Elsa. #ilovemydaughter #springbreak2014
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Only a 3.5 hour wait for Anna and Elsa today. MUCH better. (than 6.5) Time to put some steps on the fit bit zip. #ilovemydaughter #springbreak2014
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Dear fellow Disney patron: I do NOT commiserate at the most Magical place on earth. You complain to me about ANYthing while waiting in line with me and you will be subtlety innundated with a steady stream of reminders of why you are here: Making dreams come true. I’m either going to turn your attitude around or annoy the crud out of you. Your choice. #NOcranky
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We’ve been at EPCOT since before it opened. Met Anna, Elsa, Jasmine Aladdin, Aurora, Alice, Mary Poppins and of course Mickey, Minnie and Goof. We’re going to Magic Kingdom tomorrow. 5:10pm PinkGirl: “Can we go home now? I’m tired.” #disneypassholderscanalwayscomebacktomorrow
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oops. The only sunscreen I remembered to wear today was the tinted sunscreen I wear instead of makeup. #themeparkproblems
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9578 steps today because pedometers don’t count hours of standing on concrete as exercise. 30 minutes for the sauna to heat up. 20 to 30 minutes in the sauna (depending on how many times I go in). Quick shower, with an ibuprofen chaser. I should be curled up in bed with my Kindle app by 9:15pm. Hopefully, I can stay awake until my hair dries.
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shared Carlos Whittaker‘s status:
Sometimes the hardest thing to do is nothing. Many times the best thing to do is nothing.
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Watching PinkGirl dance and lip sync. “Hello my name is child of the ONE TRUE KING!!!”
Amen.
#ilovemydaughter
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Friday, March 21, 2014
Got on the Peoplemover for a break and it got stuck.
We were secretly hoping for that.
#wdw #magickingdom
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Back row of Carousel of Progress. #naptime
But we may wake up with a song stuck in our head. #wdw #magickingdom
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“There’s a great big beautiful tomorrow…” It’s just wrong. Who remembers the original song/lyrics? #wdw #magickingdom
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THIS is what Carousel of Progress should sound like. #wdw #magickingdom #throwback
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PinkGirl and Gaston. Just before he dipped her. #ilovemydaughter
(He was SO funny. She hugged him and he immediately asked,
“How does it feel to have your arms around me?”
And he kept telling people “It’s nice to meet me.)
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Magic Kingdom really is beautiful at night. #wdw
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To see more previous facebook update and compilation blog posts, CLICK HERE.
Didn’t post much between March 8th and 14th. Blindsided by passive-aggressive actions. It was a painful, praying, processing, healing, closure-filled week. Now, in hindsight, I’m thankful for the lesson.
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Monday, March 10, 2014
“The enemy is NOT creative. He uses the SAME lies over and OVER again in your life.”
PinkGirl after reading The Adventures of Tom Sawyer: “HOW did Mark Twain even WRITE that book without falling asleep?!” #ilovemydaughter
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If she hadn’t taken the time and effort to be unkind, this wouldn’t have happened. Nearly 600,000 likes, 85,000 shares and nearly 27,000 comments. #edify
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Thursday, March 13, 2014 (breakfast)
Sometimes, when I read subjective (and incorrect) opinion obliviously stated as accurate undisputed fact, I put down my yellow highlighter, find a red pen and mark lots of giant X’s all over the page. I’m not saying that just happened. #wheresthefootnote #sayindontmakeitso
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To see more previous facebook update and compilation blog posts, CLICK HERE.
Monday, March 3, 2014
1:03am. photos later, but it’s FINALLY down. Not done, but down. Tomorrow we rent the 100 lb. roller for the third and last time. Tuesday, I clean and “polish” the new flooring in the kitchen and eat in kitchen area. And at this moment, we have zero kitchen chairs around our kitchen table. Our comfortable but flooring killer caster tainted rolling chairs are on the back porch, never to be allowed inside again. I NEVER want to lay flooring again. Everything hurts except my ears. and maybe the top of my head. #thehomeprojectthatneverends
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Monday, March 3, 2014 (breakfast)
Me, to FirstHusband this morning: “Part of me says I’m going to take my minivan out into the world today and bring home 4 kitchen chairs. Then I think, nah.”
FirstHusband: “You know what I would say if I were you?
Me: “G’night?”
FirstHusband: “yep.”
(we laid flooring till 2:30am Saturday night and till 1am last night. I got up to take PinkGirl to school this morning and let him get an extra hour and a half in the bed. I think we’re both heading back to bed after breakfast. and after ibuprofen. #mycoffeeisbroken #thehomeprojectthatneverends
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Monday, March 3, 2014 (afternoon)
There’s some ugly furniture on Craigslist. And calling it “high end” doesn’t make it any less ugly. #ihateshopping
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Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Little known fact: My husband is a sucker for old war movies. I swear these ship and submarine scenes were filmed in a bathtub with toys. Does every sub have a red knob somebody has to turn to stop the water spraying in the sub after they’ve been hit? And now I can’t go to bed till I find out what happens. Good thing the music is so good. #ilovemyhusband Torpedo Run on IMDB
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Craigslist should filter and disallow certain words. Like “beautiful” and “gorgeous” and “MUST SEE!” These words are completely subjective. and more often than not, flat out WRONG. #ihateshopping
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Getting fitted for a crown this morning, and if you know me, you know I ain’t talking about a tiara – and if you know me, you know what I mean when I say I’d rather go shopping.
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This is 99 cents on Kindle right now.
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Thursday, March 6, 2014
The cats were digging around in the root veggie box in my pantry like it was a litter box. Turns out they were after this little guy. In my house? In my pantry?
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Reading too much on the internet today and keep thinking one thing: Sarcasm is an ineffective persuasive technique. It’s condescending, arrogant, divisive and shuts down dialog. It’s too often used by people in a manner to indicate that an issue is simple and anyone who doesn’t see the simplicity and logic of their side of an argument is an idiot to be ridiculed and dismissed. Seriously. If these issues were simple, they wouldn’t be so controversial. Anyone who uses trite, flippant sarcasm to make a point – especially without even acknowledging any opposing points of view, loses credibility with me – and my interest in any discussion with them about how stupid my point of view is. #seepeople #edify
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Social Media Guard. #seepeople
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To see more previous facebook update and compilation blog posts, CLICK HERE.
Saturday, February 22, 2014
We are loving our new microwave! Last one didn’t have the express cook feature and this one has it from 30 seconds to 6 minutes. and it is so. quiet. Best of all, it doesn’t continue to beep nag us when the cook time is complete.
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You know what I LOVE about reading Philip Yancey? He’s not afraid to barrel headlong into the hard questions even when it could make his readers ask “uhhhh. Is this guy even a CHRISTIAN?!”
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Only one thing missing from today. A tin roof.
#torrentialdownpour
The view out my back porch today. It’s raining so hard even a turtle is looking for shelter.
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CLICK HERE to see the latest photos of the 2014 home makeover project. My very own mini LIBRARY.
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FavoriteHusband and Bob have been fighting over this chair all day. FavoriteHusband just left the house.
You got about an hour and a half, Bob.
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I know. that in a home improvement project, the house will go from bad to terrible to chaos before even coming close to better. But at this very moment, we have so many things happening at the same time, it feels like the light at the end of the tunnel is being carried in the opposite direction.
#thehomeprojectthatneverends
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Sunday, February 23, 2014
Although we are hours behind our hoped for schedule, the game room baseboards are finished, every piece of furniture is back in place with felt on the bottom and the electronics are all hooked back up. Unfortunately, because of all the rain yesterday, we created a dependent task by using wood cutting power tools on the back porch. EVERY. THING. is covered in sawdust, which I have NO intention of cleaning up today. Next up. Laying the new flooring in the kitchen.
#thehomeprojectthatneverends
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My husband just pulled the oven into the middle of the kitchen floor.
that. is. dis. gusting.
#ewww
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The kitchen floor will not be finished by the time we go to bed. At this point, both the fridge and the oven are in the middle of my kitchen. We just broke for dinner. Takeout from Gino’s. We’ve lived here since 1996 and we’ve only eaten there once. Four thumbs up. And the portion sizes are HUGE. Who can eat this much in one sitting? All four of us will be getting two meals out of our orders. Which is good. Because our fridge and stove are in the middle of the kitchen right now.
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Monday, February 24, 2014 2:40am.
The fridge, stove and dishwasher are all where they should be. With new flooring under each. The room we thought would be the easiest has turned out to be the hardest. The kitchen is…1/4 – 1/3 finished.
We. are. tired.
#thehomeprojectthatneverends
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You know what people don’t say enough? “dagnabbit.”
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dagnabbit. No water comes out of the sink when I turn on hot and no water comes out of the fridge door when I try to get ice water. obviously, we’ve done something to break something. twice. or maybe just once with double consequences. But the floor under the fridge and dishwasher look excellent. Have I mentioned that I HATE dependent tasks? Especially when we actually CREATE them.
#thehomeprojectthatneverends
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And two more dominoes fall in #thehomeprojectthatneverends. Both involving shopping. I hate shopping. (1) Putting the loveseat back into the living room and we noticed it was actually THREADBARE. Not sure I’ve ever seen threadbare before, but this is definitely it. Found a new one I actually LOVE yesterday on accident when I was returning shelving to Big Lots. and it’s a floor model on clearance! FavoriteHusband is taking his truck this afternoon. REALLY hope it’s still there. (2) 2nd domino is replacing the rolling office chairs we have around our kitchen table. Floor manufacturer’s instructions warn against the casters. Casters that meet specs are a minimum of $50 a set. $50+ each to make chairs that already have “cosmetic issues” more functional. no. I’ll be shopping for new kitchen chairs. Comfortable. Cheap. CLICK HERE to see 2009 photos of our chair preference progression AND the threadbare loveseat before it was threadbare and the flooring we will be covering up this weekend.
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That lizard Bob the cat presented to me and then set free in the house on Valentine’s Day?
Found him.
And it’s clear that Bob found him first.
#ewww
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FavoriteHusband is picking up my new reading spot right now. Then we need to feed my old reading spot to the Whale POD (charity storage unit.) Hoping to lay more flooring in the kitchen tonight.
#thehomeprojectthatneverends
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(10:30pm)
FavoriteHusband and I spent the last hour and a half laying only FOUR rows of flooring in the kitchen. He went into the garage to get tools to switch out the water filter on the back of the fridge.
Me, to FavoriteSon: “I tire of this game. I don’t want to play anymore.”
FavoriteSon: “Then quit. Make dad do it.”
Me: “That wouldn’t be very nice.”
FS: “Well, then stop complaining.”
Me: “yeah. That’s not gonna happen.”
#thehomeprojectthatneverends
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Tuesday, February 25, 2014
It is February 25th. Who knows why my daughter is ECSTATICALLY HAPPY it is FINALLY February 25th? (digital HD release of Disney’s Frozen)
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If you know me, you probably already know this. In the context of my everyday interactions with people, I am very open about my faith. Because I’ve learned that if I hide the thing that is most important in my life from the people I interact with in an effort to make them more comfortable, we will never be true friends. They will never know who I really am. I will be a big fake. The hiding would be deceitful. I tell people about my faith in Christ because it is such a integral part of my life that to hide it from people would be to hide myself. It would keep people at a distance.
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The rest of the flooring is going to go down SLOWLY. The reason? We are working BACKwards. Up until the kitchen, we were working north to south, which meant we were laying flooring on TOP of the last laid row. In order to match up with the connecting room, we have to lay the kitchen south to north, which means that every. single. plank. has to be tucked UNDER the previous row. The adhesive is STRONG. If we let any part of the planks touch before they are positioned, it is a struggle to readjust.
#thehomeprojectthatneverends
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“I’ve found my bliss.” and/or “I need to find my bliss.”
#thingsIwillneversay
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Wednesday, February 26, 2014
To continue from yesterday…Here’s what evangelism looks like in my life: When I interact with people, the first thing I want to do is get to know more about them as an individual. I ask questions. I listen. I ask more questions. and I listen. Sometimes, the other person shares something about their own life or experiences or goals or dreams or obstacles or fears that calls to my mind something in my own life and experience – something which relates in some way to what they’ve shared with me. Since Christ is such an integral part of my life, it’s only natural that those experiences would be saturated by His presence and influence.
I don’t filter God out of my life stories to make other people more comfortable.
What about you? Do you filter out what Christ has done and is doing in your life in an effort to make people more comfortable? To make yourself easier to like? Are you hiding the most important part of yourself and in the process, sabotaging the potential for authentic friendships? Are you keeping people at a distance? Settling for another acquaintance when you could have a true friend? What happens if you give the other person more credit than that? What happens if you trust them accept you for who you are even if they are different than you?
(this is an excerpt from one of my February 2013 blog posts – CLICK HERE to read the full post)
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Would this count as a Rick Roll?
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PinkGirl, on the ride home from school: “Mom! Did you know there’s a gorilla that can communicate using sign language?” Me: “Yes.” PinkGirl: “Her name is Koko.” Me: “I know.” PinkGirl: “I want a gor…” Me: “Noooooo.” PinkGirl: “But she’s so swe…” Me: “No. You may NOT have a gorilla.”
#ilovemydaughter
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PinkGirl, trying to pack her lunch in our construction zone kitchen: (spoken wistfully): “Mom. Do you remember…when we used to have a counter?” Me: “yes. smart alec kid.” PinkGirl, point waving at all the painting and flooring supplies: “and I didn’t make this mess.”
#thehomeprojectthatneverends
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LONG overdue catharsis. no holds barred. (my latest blog post): The lying tempter would persuade.
(click the link above or the Jim Carrey photos below to read the full post)
Thursday, February 27, 2014
We put the game room back together last weekend. FavoriteSon: “It’s not really a man cave.” Me: “You use this room more than anyone else. It’s a man cave.” FavoriteSon: “There’s a quote by Henry David Thoreau on the wall. It’s not a man cave.”
touché
#ilovemyson
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Me, to FavoriteSon: “Part of me says (excited voice) ‘Your Dad is coming home today!!’ and part of me says (depressed voice) ‘Your Dad is coming home today.'” FavoriteSon: “Because you have to get back to work on the house?”
yes. I did miss him. But it was a wonderful two days off.
#thehomeprojectthatneverends
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Seriously affirmed in my reasoning to create and publish facebook compilation blog posts. Working on one now and there’s so much stuff I flat out can NOT find on facebook that I know I posted less than a week ago. It’s like it disappeared. If you think facebook is a great way to chronicle your everyday life, it’s not. I’m going to try and do these compilation posts from here on out – and post on my own blog. Where I have control of content.
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I LOVE my daughter’s school and the middle school teachers. She just called me in uncontrollable happy tears to tell me how much she loves me because she just came out of drama class where her classmates (PinkGirl included) just “poured their hearts out about everything they were all going through and how we’re all so thankful and blessed that we have Christ in our lives to help us and…” Her next class was Bible and she asked to go to the office to call me and ask me to come up to school so she could hug me. I’m outta here. #ilovemydaughter
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Just got back from going to PinkGirl’s school to give her a requested mid-day bear hug. One of the kids involved in that heart-wrenching discussion was sharing really, really hard things and everyone was telling him it would be okay. PinkGirl said: “I can’t promise you everything will be okay. At least not the way we see our life. But it will be okay the way God sees it. I think God is using the things in our lives to mold us into the people we’re going to be. It’s like a blacksmith. Sometimes, a blacksmith has to heat stuff up and hit it really hard with a hammer to mold it into something beautiful. The blacksmith knows what he’s making.”
#ilovemydaughter #seepeople #reachout
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EVERY day matters. EVERY conversation matters. Don’t settle for conversations about nothing. Platitudes can be lies. Ask questions that let your friends and family KNOW you care about them and talk about things really that matter, even if it makes them uncomfortable. Even if it makes them back away. Even if people think you’re too serious. It doesn’t mean you are wrong. It means they aren’t ready. #lessonsfrommydaughter
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HOW have I never seen this? I LOVE smart fast funny! so. good.
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I add “read books” to my to-do list every day so I know I’ll get at least one thing done.
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Here’s another facebook compilation blog post. Everything I posted on facebook between February 15th thru 21st, all on one page. Because sometimes stuff on facebook doesn’t show up in my newsfeed. or disappears.
Whenever I see something arrogantly or sarcastically hateful on facebook, I can’t help but wonder what is going on in that person’s life that would prompt them to take time and effort out of their probably otherwise demanding day to be openly and intentionally hurtful to strangers. or friends. #seepeople #edify
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To see more previous facebook update and compilation blog posts, CLICK HERE.
This is only a partial compilation. I waited 3 weeks after posting to create this facebook fragments and some of my facebook posts are already MIA. Which is why I do these posts.
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Saturday, February 8, 2014
If the Holy Spirit prompts you to step into a stranger’s life and offer to help them, don’t fight the prompt. Turn around and go back if your initial reaction was to rationalize your way past the opportunity. Risk rejection. Even if there’s no chance you’ll ever find out what comes of it. And make sure you give God the credit for prompting you, or the person you help will just think you did it all on your own.
#loveGodloveothers #Luke1027
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Sunday, February 9, 2014
Check it out. We started laying the flooring last night. It looks beautiful, but it was a S L O W start. And there will be no cooking in this kitchen until the floor in the living room is laid. Every. square. inch. is covered with the contents of the giant armoire.
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I was a little curious about what’s going on at the old Borders in Oviedo.
Looks like the property was purchased by BJ’s Restaurants in January.
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I HATE dependant tasks. HATE them, I tell you.
#thehomeprojectthatwillneverend
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Just went upstairs to find PinkGirl. Me: “Do not “Like” your mother’s facebook posts when you are supposed to be in bed.”
(laughter) Me: “Seriously, Facebook just sold you out. Go. To. Bed.”
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Monday, February 10, 2014
The flooring is down! But the dependent tasks continue. I just want to put the furniture in the living room already! But the manufacturer recommendation is to clean it and “polish” it (with their proprietary polish, of course). I was going to let Scooba clean the floor while I paint the one remaining wall (the wall that the giant armoire has been up against all this time) but it appears I left Scooba’s battery in him after he cleaned my kitchen floor the last time, so he will be charging while I paint, cause ya KNOW I am NOT cleaning a floor by hand when I have him to do it for me. The green towels are covering the exposed transition area that will continue into the next room…after we empty it.
Do you hear someone wimpering? it’s me.
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Favorite Q&A about Roomba on Amazon: Q: “I have 6 cats, a pot bellied pig, and two small dogs in the house. Can a roombah handle those?” A: “I have no idea, and I don’t want to imagine.”
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2nd Favorite Q&A about Roomba on Amazon: Q: “How do you store it?” A: “Mine docs herself along a low traffic wall, but honestly, she does more cleaning than anyone else in the house… she could dock by the front door & I’d thank her every time I stepped over her. ”
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You know what happens when you paint the inside of a window frame? You get an up close look at the window. The 26 year old energy inefficient, thin as paper window you elected NOT to replace a few years ago when you replaced all the windows upstairs with those kickin double panes. One thing at a time.
#thehomeprojectthatwillneverend
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I was going to get Scooba started on the floor before I pick PinkGirl up from school.
Am I mean enough?
#lazycat #sunbeam
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How tired am I? I gotta get these books off my kitchen table. Three dependent tasks for that.
1. Move a giant loveseat through a doorway that would be blocked by bookcases if they were in place.
2. Move temporary bookcases into place.
3. Put all the books on the shelves.
(in alphabetical order by author’s last name of course – and there’s twice as many books than you see in this photo)
After we finish the flooring connection with the next room, we can put together the new bookcases and so I can move these books again.
That won’t be tonight.
or tomorrow.
or the next day…
#thehomeprojectthatwillneverend
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Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Today’s agenda. Some might call it rearranging furniture. I call it purging and reconstructing the contents of a perfectly “fine” room in the middle of a major home project. In my own defense…yeah. I got nothin.
photos to come.
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Wednesday, February 12, 2014
You know what word I don’t use often enough?
“Remarkable: worthy of attention; striking.”
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“I love looking at the snow.
on facebook.
from Florida.”
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Chest congestion. Sinus congestion. (sounds better than “I have a cold.”)
If I was smart, I would load up on meds & go to bed…after I just do this one more thing…
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Thursday, February 13, 2014
Two paws up for the new living room floor.
#lazycats #sunbeam
(I suppose that should be 8 paws up)
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“I think that’s a little bit of what it’s like when you are Christian. We have a genuine desire to please the Lord and to trust Him and to love others, but we can’t do it. However, when we fail our Father steps in and does the task for us. Our weaknesses only serve to display to us (and sometimes others) the love that God has for us.”
(To read Jeff’s full post, entitled “Selfishly Selfish” CLICK HERE)
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Friday, February 14, 2014
Bob the cat just brought me a live lizard. He put it down in front of me.
and it ran under the couch.
yay.
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“Only at the point where the insufficiency of natural strength is faced, felt and admitted does divine empowering begin.”
J.I. Packer
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PinkGirl, watching Tangled. again.
“If you told me I could NEVER leave some tower, I’d be like, “NO!” She could just throw her hair down and go see the floating lights all by herself. Why does she even need Flynn Ryder?”
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To see more previous facebook update and compilation blog posts, CLICK HERE.
Saturday, February 1, 2014
Who else would have to eat these one line at a time?
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Shopping for a new blender because we smoothied ours to DEATH.
This is my favorite amazon.com review so far:
Pros: It blends. I can make protein shakes with this blender. Cheap. Cons: Does not clean itself. Does not make my drinks for me.
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I LOVE shopping online instead of in a store.
Free shipping and coupon codes make it even BETTER.
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Sunday, February 2, 2014
Yo, FirstHusband. Taking the power supply from a laptop that can’t hold a charge is like taking a crutch from someone with a broken leg.
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Listening to my husband sing “Let me sleep on it” softly as he’s putting away groceries.
This is what happens when he drives his son’s muscle car and listens to classic rock.
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FavoriteSon: This smells disgusting!
Every time I think something died in our garbage disposal I look next to me and there’s BROCCOLI.
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FavoriteSon: “Watching the Superbowl commercials early on youtube is blasphemous.”
Meanwhile, there’s a Doritos commercial coming up that reminds me of this one:
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This one made me laugh.
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Monday, February 3, 2014
I’m chaperoning PinkGirl’s 7th grade trip to a “coastal classroom” on an island in south Georgia later this week.
FirstHusband went with FavoriteSon when he was in 7th grade so I’m getting some info.
Apparently, there will be a night hike.
And supposedly, “snakes are in hibernation this time of year.”
umm hmm.
#ilovemydaughter
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Going over the packing list for the trip I’m going on with PinkGirl’s 7th grade class. My least favorite item on the list? “Plastic bag for muddy clothes. (clothes may come home very muddy and wet!)”
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There was no floor laying this past weekend.
My flooring shipment was somewhere north of snow & ice.
26 boxes of flooring will be here tomorrow between 1 and 4pm.
I think I’m going to get a free pallet or two as a bonus.
#pinterest
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Me: “There’s no floss down here.” (two story house) FirstHusband: “yes there is.” Me: “I am NOT using the bubble gum floss. (pause)
Why do we even HAVE bubble gum floss? How old is it?”
But did I throw it out? no.
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Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Make homemade marshmallows. #thingsiwillneverdo
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Teacher: “Who wants to be in charge of bringing cups to the snack party tomorrow?”
PinkGirl: “ME!”
Teacher: “okay. and who wants to bring homemade brownies?”
That’s my girl.
#ilovemydaughter
kid homework fail? I think not.
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Least favorite task of the day complete:
taking a double bagged diarrhea sample to the vet.
#tmi #pitifulcat
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“Legal fees, jail time and loss of business make the sale of humans a less lucrative trade. Regardless of the verdicts, raids and arrests send a message to the local community that sexual slavery is not acceptable. When we apply pressure to the trafficking mechanisms from a legal standpoint, we slowly force modern-day slavery into the category of higher risk and lower reward. This is potentially one of the greatest steps we can make as a community fighting this injustice.”
(to read the full article, CLICK HERE)
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It occurred to me that coffee at a “coastal classroom” might be…less than optimal.
This is going to be a disappointment, isn’t it?
#ilovemydaughter
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Wednesday, February 5, 2014 (at the CRACK of dawn)
The coffee pot is fully loaded.
none of that half-caf, half-decaf nonsense today.
#ilovemydaughter
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Thursday, February 6, 2014
Breakfast is at 6:30am.
At 5am, a cell phone alarm goes off. (set for the previous morning)
Seconds later, it goes off again.
And again.
The 3rd noise is multiple voices calling the cell phone owner’s name in a fruitless attempt to wake them up, followed by “SOMEBODY POWER IT OFF! ” and “ARHHH”
It’s now 5:45am and the cell phone owner is still asleep.
“Somebody WAKE HER UP! Her cell phone woke US all up at FIVE O’CLOCK IN THE MORNING!”
#13girls3chaperones2bathrooms
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PinkGirl, coming in the chaperone room to change: “you have clean floors in here. You don’t find that a lot out there.” #suburbgirlproblems
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My kinda field trip. Even it is cold and windy. #ilovemydaughter
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Thank you God that it is NOT raining.
Thank you God for the rain jackets I bought and brought.
so. cold. so. windy.
#beachhike
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Cumberland Island Guide, talking about the Carnegie family:
“How did they make their money? I’ll give you a hint. Pittsburgh.” Teacher, under her breath: “steel… steel.” PinkGirl, exuberantly: “They would STEAL IT!!” Me: “not that kind of steel, babe.”
Oh.
#ilovemydaughter
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Answer: terrain and wind chill. Question: what is it about an 8 hour hike on a coastal island that exponentially kicks my butt more than a 14 hour, 25,000 step, park-hopping day at Disney theme parks?
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How many tickles does it take to make an octopus laugh?
The correct answer put a group 1st in line for dinner.
PinkGirl nailed it.
Everyone else had to stand in line in the freezing cold and sprinkling rain.
#iREALLYlovemydaughter
#hotcoffee
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Facing the Giants. #dry #warm #tired
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Friday, February 7, 2014
God is good, all the time.
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It’s been one of the longest, shortest, frustrating, rewarding, heartbreaking, hopeful, disappointing, hopeful 3 days of my life.
Kids who love Jesus,
kids who need Jesus and are looking for him
and kids who keep themselves so distracted they have no idea how much Jesus is jealous for them.
Praying this trip remains a stone in their shoe.
Praying that the Holy Spirit would draw them closer to Christ.
AMEN.
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PinkGirl after coming home from a 3 day trip to a “coastal classroom” in Georgia: “I’m gonna take a shower.” FavoriteDad: “A warm shower?” PinkGirl: “The water in that shower was either like the inside of a volcano or where the Titanic sank.”
true. there was a very, very small window on that shower dial where the water didn’t burn you alive or freeze you to death.
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I was complaining about an incompetent vendor billing error.
PinkbGirl, dramatically gesturing: ” Mom. Let it Go. Let it Go.”
FavoriteDad: “You know, you can never legitimately say “The cold never bothered me anyway” ever again.”
PinkGirl: ” It’s metaphoric, Dad.”
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I’m home.
I’ve been in the sauna.
I’ve taken a shower and washed my hair
and I’ve written some alternate lyrics to “My Favorite Things” that I’m calling “Suburbanite Things”
Toilets with knee room and floors with clean carpet
Light bulbs that light things and wi-fi and Target
a king size mattress, complete with box springs,
These are a few of my favorite things.
Sinks with hot water and unfrozen throne seats
Paths free of horse scat and clean shoes and warm feet
Ground with no incline, wind with no sting
These are a few of my favorite things.
When the cold bites
When the wind stings
When I need a heating pad,
I simply imagine suburbanite things
And then I don’t feel so bad
To see more previous facebook update and compilation blog posts, CLICK HERE.
Saturday, January 25, 2014
Me, to PinkGirl, who was head down in her iPad: “Whatcha up to?”
PinkGirl: “Talking to people.”
Me: “Who ya talking to?”
PinkGirl: “What difference does it make?”
Me: “When I’m on the phone, what do you always ask me?
PinkGirl, grinning: “Who ya talking to?”
Me: “When I’m texting someone, what do you always ask me?”
PinkGirl, rolling eyes: “Who ya texting.”
Me: “So, who ya talking to?”
#ilovemydaughter
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PinkGirl: “Mama, you know what I realized? Owl is a narcissist, Rabbit has OCD, Piglet has anxiety, Pooh has an eating disorder, Eyeore has depression and Tigger has ADHD. (pause) Kanga and Roo…I don’t have anything for them.”
#ilovemydaughter
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FirstHusband and I CRACKED up. The music was a dead giveaway.
(And he’s either a bachelor or his wife was NOT home.)
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Me, to PinkGirl, who’s in the shower: “Do you have a towel?”
PG: “no” and after I give her a towel: “Thank you!”
Me, to PinkGirl, who is walking upstairs wrapped in her towel: “Please put on your wrap and hang up your towel.”
PG: “I’m going upstairs to get dressed.”
Me: “yes, I know. Please put on your wrap and hang up your towel, so that the NEXT time you take a shower, your towel will be AVAILABLE to you….and I can see you mocking me.
PG: “Yes, but I did it with a smile.”
#ilovemydaughter
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Check out what my FavoriteHusband made with scraps of 2×4 today. #pinterest #honeydo
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Saturday, January 26, 2014
The distance between being a target & praying for the shooter is so much shorter for my daughter than myself. #sweetestbedtimeprayers
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Monday, January 26, 2014
I’m going to be painting walls this week and my brain will be idle, so I’ve decided to spend the time in prayer. Is there anything I can pray about for you? Message me. You don’t have to tell me exactly what to pray about if you’re not comfortable sharing – God knows.
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I shared a facebook updated by Mandisa:
“Yesterday #Overcomer won a #Grammy for Best Contemporary Christian Music Song and Album…and I wasn’t there. My reasons why might surprise you. I wrote about it here.” –> http://wp.me/p3Gq0r-cE
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Listening to PinkGirl sing mouth guitar to this while I’m painting.
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Day One of painting complete. The big red wall is gone. Both cats are still black. Success. In case you missed it, here are the photos so far: (click the photo to see the post with all the photos)
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13 year old PinkGirl, at the beginning of watching this video: “What’s this puppy doing? I’m intrigued.”
I love hearing my kids use words like this in everyday conversation. #ilovemydaughter
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Clearly, my socks are broken.
And we need to replace the sliding doors in this house.
#cold
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Bank decided to replace our credit card.
1st vendor I updated?
My amazon.com 1-click, of course.
Then paypal, then…2 hours later…I hope I’m done.
#thankyoutarget
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Chili 2 ways tonight – white bean chicken & traditional (but with ground Healthy Choice sausage because I’m out of ground beef) and cornbread. oh. & Beano for an appetizer.
Both my men will be in the house with me all day tomorrow. I, of course, will not need it. I always smell like books.
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It is NOT okay to be mean to someone & then act like it never happened. It’s dysfunctional. Own it. Apologize.
Even if it’s uncomfortable.
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What a PHENOMENAL story of God’s providence!!!
#providencenotcoincidence
I hate it when Ernest is sick. (Ernest is my laptop.) His battery transplant from Ebay has shipped. Meanwhile, I’ve been tethered to an electrical outlet for days.
FYI, Ernest got his name from the following book quote:
“For some reason, everyone thinks, ‘I should know how to write.’ No one thinks, ‘I should know how to play the piano.’ But when it comes to writing, ‘I should know how to do it.’
What if I told you a story about a man who buys a piano, sits down to play for the very first time and is shocked when he doesn’t sound like Arthur Rubinstein?
‘I don’t understand,’ he complains, ‘I’ve listened to lots of music, I should know how to play the piano.’
Ridiculous you say? Yet there you are: Banging away at the typewriter, you’re mortified when your work isn’t as good as Ernest Hemingway’s. Hell, it isn’t even as good as Ernest Goes to Camp.”
from “If You Can Talk, You Can Write” by Joel Saltzman
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To see more previous facebook update and compilation blog posts, CLICK HERE.
Wednesday, 12/25/13
What time did you wake up? PinkGirl came in our room at 8:52am.
I told her the time was too weird to get up and I had to snooze for 8 minutes.
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Saturday, 12/28/13
Toto, I don’t think we’re in Orlando anymore. #mykindamovietheater
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Sunday, 12/29/13
“Julie’s road trip driving tips:
1. If your vehicle has cruise control, it must be used.
2. If you set the cruise control on your vehicle, leave it alone. seriously.
3. If you feel compelled to constantly change the speed of the cruise control, let someone else drive.
4. If you pull in front of me and tap your brakes, my family will be forced to hear the nonsensical rant of Yosemite Sam until I can pass you. and probably for at least 60 to 90 seconds after that. #homesweethome ”
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Monday, 12/30/13
“Out with the old (1996), in with the new. I can’t believe I actually picked FLOWERS on purpose.
#whatwasithinking #girlytominimalist”
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“I love the sound of my kids laughing together. #dontblink”
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Tuesday, 12/31/13
“My daughter is so lucky I only post stuff about her with her permission. so. very. very. lucky. #ilovemydaughter”
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Monday, 01/06/14
“Waiting for PinkGirl in car line. I’m gonna miss this when FavoriteSon’s classes start. I’ll only get to drive his car on Fridays.”
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After the National Championship game that night:
“The Mills men will sleep soundly tonight. Eventually.”
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Wednesday, 01/08/14
“Setting up Outlook 2013 on my new desktop. Just Googled “Outlook 2013 ugly” #ewww”
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Thursday, 01/09/14
“This just seems like a band who got tired of trying to think of a name.
Maybe there’s artistic quirkiness or deep profoundness I’m unaware of.”
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“This is what PinkGirl looked like when she got in the car after school today. #ilovemydaughter”
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“In my dream last night, James Garner was a drug dealer. But I think it was okay because he was the one buying the drugs from himself. And the drug turned out to be a very rare cheese. #ihavenoidea”
But my kids first learned about having a relationship with Christ from my husband and I. Because we knew that our faith couldn’t be theirs by force or wishes, we prayed that the Holy Spirit would draw them to Christ, and we told them about Jesus. Through our lives – our words and our actions – they saw what faith in Christ really is – a relationship. They knew Jesus loved them – no matter what – just like we loved them. We prayed with them, we did family devotions together, we were authentic with them about the lessons God was teaching us, we listened to their problems, their fears and their joys and we continuously helped them to view and navigate all three through faith in God. 
