God is Good

noreply@blogger.com (Ginger) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:37:00 +0000

Just to have for future refernce. Not thoughts from me.

“…our situation (is) this: we have a jigsaw puzzle in a box, but someone put the wrong lid on the box. We keep trying to use the pictures from the wrong lid as a guide to putting the pieces together. With the wrong picture implanted in our imaginations, some of the colors on the pieces don’t seem to belong, and some shapes don’t fit. We may assume they were include by mistake and push tem to the side, or maybe let them drop off the table edge altogether. And we keep searching for other colors and shapes that we see in the picture on the lid but which for some reason aren’t included in our box of pieces. What do we do? We push more and more unfitting pieces aside. We take out some scissors and colored markers and “adjust” some of the pieces that remain. We do our best to conform the pieces in the box to the picture on the lid. We do the best we can do.

Some people become so disillusioned and frustrated that they throw out the whole thing – pieces, box and all. They give up puzzling altogether. Others decide that it’s the box lid rather than the pieces that determines “orthodoxy” and they zealously defend the lid and bestow on all who dare to question it the labels “heretic” and “apostate.”

Others become uncomfortable with the realization that their loyalty is more to the picture outside the box than to the pieces inside the box. They wonder what would happen if they reversed that loyalty and refused to accept a lid that doesn’t do justice to all the pieces of the box. They refuse to cut corners or alter colors. Eventually they decide the problem isn’t with the pieces – they actually fit together: the problem is with the picture on the lid.”

--Brian McLaren, Everything Must Change

New Art Work

noreply@blogger.com (Ginger) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 11:16:00 +0000

Our preacher, Brian Mashburn, spent the summer preaching about the Anatomy of God. Our friend, Gregg Paxton, either painted the following paintings while we sang, while Brian preached or one time before the sermon. Jason and I fell in love with the paintings and commissioned him to make us a set suitable for our living room. I LOVE THEM! Oh, and a great story to go with these paintings....three or four weeks after the series ended my second grade class was able to name all nine paintings! God truly gave these two men a great gift and we are so blessed to now have them be a part of whatever home in which we live.

The Ear of God

The Mouth of God

The Eye of God

The Finger of God.

The Heart of God.

The Hands of God

The Mind of God.

The Face of God.

The Nose of God.

12 years

noreply@blogger.com (Ginger) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 12:35:00 +0000

Jesus tells a parable about a widow who time and again comes to a king begging for justice. Eventually, this king who neither fears God or man gives in and give the woman what she wants because she is so persistent.

Twelve years ago today, I finally gave up and agreed to go on a date with Jason. He asked me on a regular basis since March of 1997 and even though he spent the summer in California and I spent the summer in Austin, he did not let up. This man would write me letters that would go unanswered (thank you, Tarese) and yet, when we returned to OKC, he still asked me out.

I only agreed to go out with him thinking that if I said yes, he would leave me alone. And I only agreed to go out with him on a double date. So his best friend at the time, Tom and one of my girl friends, Tara agreed to go with us.

Our first dat was to the Oklahoma State Fair with the intention of going to a concert there (I don't remember who it was, but Jason will). We hadn't been walking down the fairway more than seven or eight minutes when one man yells out to Jason "Win something for your wife!" I was mortified. We kept walking and ended up at the concert site which was not a pleasent experience.

Some how or another we sat in front of some teenage kids who were smoking. And they weren't just smoking good ole nicotine. No, they were smoking weed. The first act came out and completed a nice set. The lead act came out and he had overnight lost his voice. He played two songs and then excused himself from stage for the rest of the concert. Nice, huh?

As we walked the rest of fairway, Jason did eventually win something for me in a baseball pitching game. We then headed home.

The nice, easy, tidy ending would be that since that first date I was taken by Jason and we have been together since. But come on, you know me, right? I don't do anything nice, easy and tidy do I?

After the date, Jason and I stayed up talking for while. He was still determined as ever that I was who he wanted to be with. I on the other hand was still determined as ever not to date him. Don't get me wrong, I liked Jason. He was sweet, compassionate, and doted on me. However, I had just always assumed for so many reasons that dating/marriage was not my "thing" so why bother. Besides, I had so much to balance between school work, basketball and church I could not see how he could possibly fit into my life.

I don't remember the details the conversation and I don't think Jason does either (I consider that one of the many ways God has been gracious to us) but I do know that I said some hurtful things and he responded in kind.

The problem was that following weekend we had both signed up to attend a church retreat. I was hoping that Jason would decide since I was going he would not but being the stubborn man that he was he was determined to go enjoy the retreat anyway. Again, I don't quite remember details (Jason does), but the van ride to the retreat was uncomfortable.

All of our friends had decided that the two of us were should be dating and they pretty much all spent the retreat weekend trying to convince of us this. I remember one conversation with Tom, Cedric and Anthony that lasted long into the night. It was that conversation that turned me around and convinced me that I needed to give this man a chance.

Years later those three men would stand as witnesses in our wedding.

The past 12 years have been a whirlwind. Our relationship has included miles of distance between us, hundreds of basketball games, miles traveled cross country together, more than 70 kids, a couple of very hard funerals and the ups and downs that come with marriage.

Recently in the course of one of our Bible Classes at church, we were challenged by our preacher to find out the meaning of our names. I think the defintions of our names shows how Jason and I were made for each other.

My name means "Pure Archer".
His name means "Healing Brave"

I thank God on daily basis for Jason being persistent in pursuing me. I thank God that we had friends who were willing to fight for a relationship for us even when we had both determined it was not going to happen (okay, me more than him).

Thank you, Jason, for an amazing 12 years of life together. I pray that God grant us dozens and dozens more. I love you!

Sitting with "Tammy"

noreply@blogger.com (Ginger) — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 02:10:00 +0000

I had the privilege of sitting with a "special needs child", whom I will call "Tammy". She is nine. I am not at all familiar with this child, her disablity, her family situation or anything about her. I was asked to sit with her so that her parents could attend a class we have at our church for parents with special needs children. This is a great blessing to these parents as it allows them time to connect, learn, talk, and just be with others who are having the same struggles they have. So, when I was asked to go sitting with Tammy, I immediatly said yes.

In this quite little room, Tammy and I sat watching Dumbo. Tammy's brother was there, reading a book. He acknowledged my presence but stayed very focused on his book. Tammy made eye contact with me, smiled and turned around. I opened my Bible with the intention of reading Luke. However, I was easily distracted by Tammy and her interaction with the movie on the small TV.

You see, I was in Tammy's world. My presence there was of no consequence to her. This movie was on a for many puroses but as with most 9 year old children who have seen a movie more than twice, she was almost constantly doing something else - playing with toys, wandering the room, messing with the clock- while watching Dumbo. It was obvious that this is a movie Tammy watches on a very regular basis. She would quote pieces of the movie about 1/2 a word ahead of the movie. That was not the interesting part. She had control of the VCR (yes, we were watching a VHS tape, crazy, I know). And I became intruiged in watching her rewind this movie. There were times that she would rewind the movie for the sounds the animals or people would make. She would imitate these sounds. This would probably be considered "normal" for many children, especially one with special needs. It was the other times she rewound the tapes that took me by surprise and made me think.

The first time she rewound the video, it was watch Dumbo, who had just gotten out of the tub, dance and play with his mother looking on lovingly. We watched this scene three times. She sat quietly, contenedly and still all three times.

The next time she rewound the tape was when Dumbo's mom "goes mad" because the kids at the circus are picking on Dumbo. Seven times, count them seven times, she hit the rewind button to watch as one little boy was yanked back, bent over the ropes and spanked by Dumbo's mother. Again, she sat still, quietly watching the TV each time.

A few minutes later, Tammy rewound the tape as the adult elephants were ignoring Dumbo. This time, though, Tammy pointedly immitated Dumbo's sadness and loneliness.

And finally, as Dumbo triumphately flies over the circus, disrubting the clowns routine and shooting peanuts at the adult elephants. Again, she imitated Dumbo "flying" the elephant in her hand around the room. As she did her circles each time, she very clearly made eye contact with me and gave me a big smile (and that was just an added blessing).

Interestingly, there were two parts she skipped, neither of which I blame her for. The first is after Dumbo drink the alcohol tainted water. Yes, Dumbo and his pal, Timothy mouse are slightly inibriated and hallucinating. It is a bit scary and kind of creepy if you really watch it. But again, this is the part she fast fowarded through. The other part she skipped was when the birds are making fun of the him and being mean and ugly to him. During both these times, while she was distracting herself with toys and such, she was also imitating some of Dumbo's reactions in these scenes.

Do I need to point out how her heart was very much expressed and protected in these scenes? Do I need to point how this child is obviously relating to the "underdog", Dumbo? Should I reveal how deep down, I too enjoyed watching those same parts over and over again because there was a since of justice? Or how I too wanted to imitate Dumbo and his sadness? And how I long to fly over the clowns and be the star of show, triumphing over all who said I would be nothing?

"...I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:3

I love you

noreply@blogger.com (Ginger) — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 20:57:00 +0000

God is love.

Simple enough, yes? But as I was sitting in worship service this morning, hearing this statement, a statement I have heard my entire life, it took on a deeper meaning for me.

God is love. That becomes more difficult to grasp as I attempt to merge my concept of God and my concept of love. God is so complex, so diverse, so deep He alone is difficult, if not impossible to wrap my brain around. And love? In the society, the culture, the family I grew up in, love has so many different meanings it can become impossible to figure out which meaning applies to God. But as I let that simple three word sentence penetrate to the depths of my soul, I begin to wonder if I don’t have it all wrong. Maybe my thinking is backwards. Maybe instead of applying my definitions of love to a God I don’t understand, maybe what I need to do is discard all my definitions of love altogether and apply to my life the only definition of love that matters: God’s.

Given the complexities of God, it would seem like that would be a difficult thing to do. However, God, in His infinite wisdom and grace, gave us a very human example of Himself in the form of Christ. He gave my small, inadequate, human mind something tangible, something I can actually get.

So, I have a tangible expression of God’s love for me. What did Christ do? He gave everything He had, everything He was to make it possible for me know the God. That is the good news of the gospel. That is what brings peace, joy and hope to my daily life. This is not news to me, however, today, a deeper understanding was revealed.

I am going to in my head, change what I say, what I mean, when I say “I love you.” When I make that statement, what will now be heard in my head is “I Christ you.” Okay, okay, I know the grammar is horrible but think about that statement just for a brief minute and hear the implications deep in your soul. What is really being said in that statement is this: “I would give all that I am and all that I have for you to know God.” Is that not the truest expression of love? 1 John 4:10 read “This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” Jesus’ sacrifice was not just some ritual to fulfill the blood thirst of a vengeful, angry God. No, His sacrifice, His entire life, was for the purpose of letting us have access to and an intimate relationship with God.

So, before you say “I love you” the next time take a minute and consider do you really? Would you really give all that you have, all that you are so that the person you are talking to might know God? If not, why not? Remember what Romans 5:8 says before you heap judgment and condemnation upon that person. “…while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” If you can say, yes then ask yourself this-do I live that way to this person?

Temporarily Closed

noreply@blogger.com (Ginger) — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 06:52:00 +0000

Just an FYI...This blog will be temporarily closed. Life is up in the air for the time being. Check back ever so often to see updates. But don't expect one any time soon. You are welcome to leave a comment but it will more than likely remained unchecked for the time being.

God bless.
Ginger

Awful, Horrible Day

noreply@blogger.com (Ginger) — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 18:02:00 +0000

I have had the worst morning ever. If you want to know the details, ask and I will email you personally. Otherwise just know that it was downright horrible.

Stale

noreply@blogger.com (Ginger) — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 21:09:00 +0000

I was describing my spiritual life to someone earlier today. The word that came to mind...stale.

Now what?

Update on Aunt Jeanette

noreply@blogger.com (Ginger) — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 12:42:00 +0000

The family was advised on Tuesday to give Aunt Jeanette's body at least 48 hours to attempt to heal itself. This was done. However, there had been no change in brain wave activity or heart beat in that amount of time. It was decided yesterday evening about 8:00 pm to take her off the respirator. She was given a morphine drip to stop any pain and some sort of IV with fluids and substance to stop her from starving to death. She stayed in that state for 11 and a half hours. Surrounded by many in her earthly famiy, Jeanette Chandler drifted from this earth and was welcomed home by her eternal family today at 7:30 am.

I grieve not for her loss but for my grandmother's, my uncle's, my mom and her siblings, my sister, my cousins and myself. I grieve for the great nieces and nephews that will not know her here on this earth. But I rejoice in her victory. I rejoice that she is with my unlce Bill whom she has seen in over fifteen years. I rejoice because she will be reunited with many others she loved that have gone on before her. I rejoice in the fact she will meet new people in my great cloud of witness that she did not know here on this earth and be reunited with those she did-Shannon, Uncle Bill, Uncle Wilson, Aunt Evelyn, Stacy, Nathan, Aunt Elsie, Papa Cearly, Grandma Leer, Popkins. I rejoice because she ran "with perseverance the race marked out for" her and in that running she touched many lives. I am blessed to have known Jeanette Chandler. And now, throwing "off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles" me, I will continue to "run with perseverance the race marked out for" me while fixing my on "eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of [my] faith..." (Hebrews 12:1,2) so that one day, when the victory over death is mine (1 Corinthians 15:54), I will be reunited with my Aunt Jeanette as my Father welcomes me home.

Thank you in advance for taking the time to read this and lifting my family up in prayer as we grieve our loss. Our pain is made easier to handle knowing our names are being placed at the Father's feet.

My great aunt

noreply@blogger.com (Ginger) — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 15:01:00 +0000

My Aunt Jeanette has had a strong influence on my life.

She and my uncle were childless and doted on her siblings children and grandchildren as if they and we were their own. It was always a great treat to go to their house and hang out with her and Uncle Bill.

My aunt was at every Christmas we spent in Kentucky. She was at many that we spent at home in Austin. She was at many New Years Eve Parties. She always sent me a birthday card.

My Aunt Jeanette was present when I was baptized. She told me that day that I made smartest decision of my life and every decision I made from then should be made with this event ever present.

After my uncle Bill died about fifteen years ago, she and my grandmother (already a widow for sixteen years or so) began traveling on a regular basis. First they followed my cousin as he raced four wheelers. We attended one race with them and the looks people gave them were down right hysterical. These two gray haired women yelled louder and harder than most of the fans combined. Always the dedicated Kentucky Wildcat fan, they soon began following the basketball team to tournament games. Again, these two ladies put more energy into cheering for their team than all those around.

Actually, my Aunt Jeanette is one of the reasons I ended up marrying Jason. Jason and I had been dating about two months when I flew to Nashville with the basketball team for a tournament. My grandmother and Aunt Jeanette picked me up and hung out with me. We went to dinner and the next day we went shopping. I told them a little bit about Jason and we spent the shopping day looking for a Christmas present for him. If I am not mistaken, we ended up finding him a belt buckle with the letter "J" on it. Before I went back to Oklahoma, Aunt Jeanette said "You treat him right now you hear. You will marry this man." I think Aunt Jeanette liked Jason then but fell in love with Jason after meeting him in San Antonio, Texas at the Final Four. Kentucky was in it, so my grandmother and Aunt made the trip. Jason was very brave and had to meet all of my family for the first time that trip and many, many times, I would catch Aunt Jeanette watching the two of us, a huge smile on her face. Before we left to return to OKC, Aunt Jeanette pulled me aside again and assured me that I had found my mate for life. Years later, when Jason and I got married, Aunt Jeanette was extremely happy for us. Her blessing: "I hope you and Jason find as much joy, fun and happiness in your marriage as your Uncle Bill and I did in ours." It is that blessing that I have sought after in my marriage and it is that blessing that I have passed on to numerous friends.

Late in life, Aunt Jeanette started painting. She was truly amazing and it took us years to convince her that people would actually pay money for her work. The first time Jason visited my family in Kentucky, he walked out of Aunt Jeanette's house with a mountain cabin scene she just happened to have laying on her bed. Our wedding gift from her is a beautiful painting of a snowy mountain scene, with a small village in the background and a wolf in the foreground. She painted it specifically for me and Jason. It hangs above our bed and I have always been very proud to show it off (if you have ever been to my house, you will know this).

My great aunt Jeanette is currently laying in a hospital bed, breathing with the aid of a respirator. She has diabetes. She recently started dialysis. She has had (at least) three heart attacks. She has been in and out of the hospital more times than I know of in the past two years. She is dying and I am okay with that, sort of. I am okay with that for her because she will go home to be with our Father and see her husband, Bill, who has been gone for over 16 years now. I am okay with that because I don't want her to suffer anymore. I am okay with that because I understand that someday, I will get to see her again and she will be the vibrant, joyful, beautiful, amazing woman I remember as I was growing up.

I am not okay with her dying because she is leaving us behind. I am not okay with her dying because grandmother's best friend is dying and I hurt for my grandmother's loss. I am not okay with it because it will be very painful for her brother, Sonny, my mom, my uncle Steve, my aunt Lori, my aunt Lisa, my sister, Lockie and my cousins, Brent, Candice, and Chris.

As I look back over my 32 years, Aunt Jeanette was there for many more events than I have shared here. It is unbelievable to me that she was such a constant presence in my life since I have never lived closer than 9 hours away and at times as far as 28 hours away from where she lived all my life.

I know and believe fully that death for the follower of Christ is not a tragedy but a victory. And for those of us left behind, the separation is only temporary. I am at peace in knowing that Aunt Jeanette will be added to my cloud of witness. I am still in pain.

Bad Monday

noreply@blogger.com (Ginger) — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 12:14:00 +0000

After the weekend I had, I should have known that things were not going to go well on Monday. We have had a situation looming over us for about 7 months now and we thought we were going to be able to come to a resolution on Monday. However, that is not what has happened. Now it is looking like maybe the situation will begin to get resolved sometime in the middle of October. While God was faithful in providing support, strength and control I still don't like how the situation has played out. We will be walking a difficult road over the next few months, one more difficult than before, honestly and again, God is providing people to walk that road with us. Still, it does not make it any easier or fun.

I covet your prayer over the next six weeks as we journey. A few of you who read this may know some of the details but honestly, the details are irrelevant. The prayers I am asking for are strength, forgiveness, peace and the vision to see God's presence in all of this. And those prayers are not just for me. I want that for all those involved. Thank you ahead of time for laying this request at the feet of our Master and Father.

Easy Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Ginger) — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 13:28:00 +0000

So this weekend has been so easy. Three of my four high school girls went on the church retreat at 5:45 pm on Friday night. After dropping them off, I went home, and those that were left (4 kids, me and Jason) grabbed a quick bite to eat and headed to the high school homecoming football game. Saturday morning, me and the girls got up and went to the state fair parade then came home and chilled until the tailgate party we were all invited to by the WT Bible Chair group. We sat at the football game until half time (WT was beating Azusa-Pacific something like 45 to 6) and then came home. The high schooler return home at noon today. Jason went to lunch with a friend of his who was passing through town and the guy felt bad that he was disturbing our day. Jason said "We have four kids at home. One of us could do this in our sleep." So very true. Four kids is nothing anymore.

On the parade note, it was so cool to see people we knew in the parade. All of them were from church. I posted pictures for people who go to our church and read the blog. They don't actually include any of my kids. That and I have a funny story to share about the last photo.

Our friend Andy walking with her softball team.

Our friend Katelyn marching with her band. Not the greatest picture, I know.

Our friend Jessica skating with the Panhandle Christian Education Association.

Our young friend and preacher's son, Shade, riding with his BMX crew.

Our preacher and friend, Brian, riding with the BMX crew.

Okay, so Brian stops and gives all of us a hug and we chat for a minute or so (Their group was one of the last groups so it didn't really matter much). There was a nice couple that was sitting behind us and we had been conversing back and forth about random things. She made a comment about how nice that family seemed and asked how we knew them. I told her that Brian was our preacher. "Uh...really? Like your head pastor or some sort of associate?" I told her that he was our full time pulpit preacher. She asked where and I told her. She seemed slightly apprehensive and it was like she couldn't believe me. She asked again "Like he preaches every Sunday?" I told her yes and she said "Wow." I was very unsure how to read her on what she thought but it was funny.

9/11

noreply@blogger.com (Ginger) — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 11:52:00 +0000

If you were in any affected by the events that happened 7 years ago today, my prayer is that God has made His presence in your life and that you have found peace and comfort that only He can provide.

We will not forget.

Hurt

noreply@blogger.com (Ginger) — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 00:37:00 +0000

I have had one of those weeks where my eyes have (unwillingly) been opened the pain, hurt and destruction that Satan continously dumps on this world. Goodness knows that in so many ways, due to the life that Jason and I are living, the reality that he is involved, active and present is always in my face. However, once I get involved in the daily routine of raising kids and being married, I am usually able to completely ignore that fact and usually, his presence. But starting last Wednesday, there has been a daily reminder. And in all honesty, I am tired of it. I long for the day that those in my life will no longer have the pain, hurt, sickness, diseases, and destruction to deal with.

Until then, my prayer is will be that as I see Satan's interference, agony and harm inflicted on this world, I will be made even more aware of God's presence and power and reminded that eventually Satan has lost and Christ is the victor.

If you are one of the many who has shared with me your story this week, please find comfort in knowing you are in my prayers by name throughout each day. Please know that God is control, Jesus is present and the Holy Spirit will comfort you.

Vacation

noreply@blogger.com (Ginger) — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 02:58:00 +0000

Blew a tire in Gallup, New Mexico.

Replaced in Farmington, New Mexico.

Arrived in La Salle, Utah around 9 p.m. to discover that they had one gas pump that closed at 6 pm.

Dropped the trailer in Paradox, Utah to drive to Naturita, Colorado to fill with gas. Slept on the side of the road in Paradox, Utah that night.

Almost got the trailer stuck 2 times due to bad roads. Finally set up camp.

Horrible, difficult, painful hunting.

Moved camp to a different mountain range.

Nail in new trailer tire. Two other tires begin to seperate and show signs that they will blow out.

Replaced tires in Moab, Utah, headed to Monticello, Utah.

Trailer almost stuck on mountain due to bad roads.

Table broken in setting up camp.

Tub faucet broken in attempting to fix water leak.

Wind storm almost destoryed awning on trailer.

Wind storm severely damaged brand new pop up tent and a brand new tarp.

Mud tires on truck begin falling apart and cause possible blow out type situation.

Hunting better but still not great. No bucks killed.

Okay, for some reason, as I tell the story of our vacation, people want to laugh. I am really glad people find it humorous. No really, I am. However, it was by far, the worst vacation Jason and I have ever been on. Period.

We did make each other come up with blessings from the trip. Here is that brief list:
1. Through it all, I got to miserable with my husband. I wouldn't want to be that miserable with anyone else. Oh, and no one else would have been willing to be that miserable with me.
2. Through it all, we witnessed God's splendor, beauty and power. We saw hundreds of deer, a few that wer just beyond beautiful. We saw lots of turkey and elk. We even saw albino fawn (couldn't get a picture of it).
3. We both completed hikes that were extremely difficult and challenging. It reminded me that "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strenght" (Phil 4:13). There were two different times that if I had only to rely on my strength, I would still be on one of those mountains.
4. I got to watch Jason stalk some very big bucks. It was very cool.
5. We met some really cool people who were camped around us and were able to be a blessing to them.
6. We made it home safely without any extreme bodily harm (we are both very sore and are feeling our age if not older) and without damage to our property that will require major work, renovation or loss of property altogether.

Warning! Please read

noreply@blogger.com (Ginger) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:06:00 +0000

This is a public service announcement:

The Mr. Clean Magic Eraser has the potential to turn a normally sane person into Danny Tanner from Full House

Thank you. You may return to your normal, everyday activities.

Gettin' ready to leave

noreply@blogger.com (Ginger) — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 12:14:00 +0000

So, Wednesday, August 20, Jason and I are leaving for my hunt. We will be in Utah for about 12 days, camping in the mountains and hunting until we both tag out. That of course means I will not have internet access for that amount of time but upon returning you will be able to read all about, if you have the patience.

Happy Birthday

noreply@blogger.com (Ginger) — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 16:24:00 +0000

So, My husband stops by my blog periodically so I thought I would take this time to say:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I LOVE YOU!

Works for me

noreply@blogger.com (Ginger) — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 16:35:00 +0000

So, I am all for punishing criminals for their crimes but I do think this is a very appropriate response from a very good man. Thanks, Amy for sharing this story.

"I will not vandalize other people's property"

Tye Dying

noreply@blogger.com (Ginger) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 19:32:00 +0000

The girls and I tye dyed t-shirts last night. We had a great time though our hands are slightly stained still.

Aubi, Misty, Kayla and Kasi tye dye their shirts

The group photo

Charmonta and Misty

Kayla and Kasi

Presious and Aubi

Leslie and Amber

Me and Jason

My new slogan derived from Amy's blog comment.

Agreements

noreply@blogger.com (Ginger) — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 02:34:00 +0000

Agreements.

That was the subject of our preacher’s sermon this week. Agreements we make with the Enemy. Not agreements like “I will give you my soul if…” But agreements that rob us of the freedom and abundant life that Christ came to give us. At the end of his lesson, he gave us time to think about the agreements we have made. Not that I needed a lot of time to do that. Sadly, I know exactly what agreements I live under and until this past Sunday, I was okay with that. However, listening to Brian talk made me realize how absolutely ridiculous it is to live with these agreements. They are pretty unreasonable, stressful, burdensome and draining. So now, I am going to attempt to let go of the following agreements.

At one point of time I agreed that it was my responsibility to make sure those I cared about were right with God. As a child and teenager, this included my best friend, who happened to be a member of another denomination different than mine, and my step father. In college, this included the group of friends I hung out with as well as a few people who were struggling deeply with some very serious identity issues. As a young adult, I added to this list my husband and some members of his family. As a houseparent, I added all of my kids which now numbers somewhere in the 80s (not millions, Amy). As people are added to this list, no one is ever taken off. It is not as stretch to say that about 50% of these people are in my thoughts and prayers daily. Now, on the surface, praying for them does not seem to be a bad thing. I have found though that my prayer time is not very refreshing, giving or effective because I spend so much of my time asking and pleading rather than praising and giving thanks.

I also agreed to believe that by being religious, things in my life would fix themselves. This has never been proven true, ever, and yet, I still find myself thinking, “If I read my Bible, go to church, etc then I will avoid the problems I have seen so many other people have.” Yeah. To put it mildly this has never happened.

Ever since I can remember, I have lived with the belief that everyone will leave me and/or disappointment me. That pattern can be seen in my life. However, the contrary is also very clear in my life. I have a friend I have known since I was about 6 years old and we talk on a regular basis. My mother has always been there for me. Period. There is a great family whom I claim as my own that I have known since I was about fourteen and for some reason, they claim me as well. My college friends are some of my best friends and though a few of us have scattered around the country/world, they are still there for me. My husband has made being in a marriage a wonderful experience and we have been married far longer than I ever thought I would actually be married (because statistically speaking, I shouldn’t be married still and I tend to believe most statistics).

If I were a “normal” parent, most people wouldn’t argue with me on the next agreement. However, I am anything but a “normal” parent. Still I agree that my kids’ behavior/attitudes/spiritual choices are a direct reflection of me and my parenting skills. Forget the fact that my kids come to me with a ton of baggage and most of the time they have very few social skills. It is still all my fault.

I also live under the assumption that my kids’ negative behavior is a direct attack on me and done purposefully to make me angry or upset me. Therefore, when my kids do something that is wrong, I react quite quickly in anger and respond as if it is a personal attack. Very rarely is there is love or teaching in my response to my kids poor choices or negative behavior.

The final one I think is very hard to put into words unless you attend our worship services. The life that we are being called to by our elders and ministers is biblically sound, holy, and pleasing to God . However, I live under the understanding that to let go of the past way of living out my faith and live that life instead would be a rejection of my heritage and faith and thus wrong. Therefore, I am convinced that I shouldn’t really change.

And that last reason of course gives me the justification I need to continue to live under the previous agreements.

The Enemy is really good, huh?

Pictures from vacation trip

noreply@blogger.com (Ginger) — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 13:26:00 +0000

Here are some of the 161 pictures I took on our vacation with the kids. We had a good time. I would highly recommend the US Olympic Training Center to anyone who goes to Colorado Springs, especially in a Summer Olympic year. We were lucky enough to get to see the Men's Gymnastic Team compete in an intersquad challenge. That was beyond cool! I wish we could have had more time at the US Air Force Academy. Bot of those were free as was a trip through the Garden of the Gods. Pikes Peak took my breath away (and not just because it was such thin air). I will be forever amazed that God allows us to witness His creative nature and amazing power. The tea was in interesting experience to saw the least. I would do it again in a heart beat but I don't think most of the girls would. Tent camping is getting harder as I get older and less in shape but the kids did a lot better than I expected them to. Okay, enjoy the pictures.

The girls in front of a statute at the US Olympic Training Center

Wrestlers practicing at US Olympic Center

The swimming pool at the US Olympic Training Center. Okay, one interseting fact that I have to share. They only empty this pool once every four years while the athletes are at the Olympics because it takes something like four weeks to drain it and 8 hours to fill it.

The family a the US Olympic Training Center

I have never seen a Komodo Dragon. It was kinda cool.

Three of the girls play with an orangutan

One of my girls plays with the baby lowland gorilla

The bird crawled onto the stick that had food. I thought she was going to freak out and drop the stick at first.

And of course, a giraffe.

Our group at Pikes Peak Sign

The girls in the group being silly

Can you figure out why I took this picture?

Me and Jason on a rock in the Garden of the Gods

At Tea

Back from vacation

noreply@blogger.com (Ginger) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 18:48:00 +0000

A quick run down of what we did with pictures to come later:
Saturday-Olympic Training Center, set up camp
Sunday-Zoo, hung out at camp swimming
Monday-Air Force Academy, back to school clothes shopping
Tuesday-Waterworld
Wednesday-Pikes Peak, Garden of the Gods, Glen Eyrie Public Tea, drove home

Fast and furious to say the least but we had a great time.

More later.

On vacation

noreply@blogger.com (Ginger) — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 04:01:00 +0000

Jason and I are headed to Colorado Springs with the kids for a family vacation. We will be going to the Olympic Training Center, The Air Force Academy, the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, The Outlet mall, Pikes Peak, Garden of the Gods, Water World and Glen Erie Castle. Overnights will be spent at a camp ground in tents. Pray for us! And check back at the end of July for an update. BYE!

California Trip

noreply@blogger.com (Ginger) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 17:37:00 +0000

So, Jason and I spent almost a week with his family in California. We had a good time but we were glad to get home. Most days were in the upper, upper 90s and lower 100s which made it fairly difficult to enjoy being outside and even inside the ACs had to work really hard to make it comfortable.

We spent the 4th of July at my sister-in-law's house, swimming and eating ourselve's silly. Then we went to my mother-in-law's church parking lot to watch fireworks. It was a really a very pleasant day all around.

Josh playing with a ball from the pool.

Josh and Kristen playing with sparklers

Our niece, Stephanie, had a fast pitch softball tournament so we spent quite a bit of time out at the ball park. It was fun even though they lost 2 of 3. They are usually better than that and Stephanie was really upset that they didn't play better for us. It was really fun anyway.

Kristen listening to conversations at the ball park.

Josh and Jason playing.

Stephanie at bat.

The kids have grown so much it is amazing. Stephanie is sixteen and will be driving on her own in August. Kristen is almost 12 and is beautiful. Josh is 3 and is about the size of the average 5 year old. They are all wonderful, loving, respectful and kind kids. It was an absolute blast to be with them. These pictures weren't taken this weekend but I still had to show them off.

Josh, age 3

Kristen, age 11

Stephanie, age 16

In Sacramento, Jason and I stopped at The Squeeze Inn, a great little dive we saw on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. It was really good and totally worth the trip. If you are ever in Sac, check it out.

Jason and Me outside the Squeeze Inn

Our cook was pretty much in arms reach of us.

These burgers were huge!

On our plane ride home, we had four warm weather penguins flying back to their zoo. Their handler took one out and walked up and down the isle with it. It was really cool.

Alright, that is all for now.