thanks, baby einstein, i'll take it from here...

I was reading another blog the other day that talked about the amazing amount of commercialism associated with children's programming...it got me to thinking about some of the birthday parties that i have been to for younger cousins in past years...they all seem to have to have some major theme, that is usually associated with a children's show and every piece of decoration, food, etc. is covered with their favorite character...now, i don't mean to criticize...i don't think that television is evil...i mean, we all had our favorite cartoon characters, and yes, jack does watch the occasional baby einstein, sesame street, and ball games with his daddy...but i agree with this other blogger that i don't want jack's room in a few years to be covered from floor to ceiling with tv show paraphanalia...

and more importantly...it reminded me once again that my mom threw the BEST birthday parties in the world!
i could go on and on, but just to name a few of my favorites...

my 5th birthday was a tea party...everyone came in their dress up clothes and brought their baby dolls-except for one girl who chose to come dressed as a dad...my mom made tiny sandwiches and set up card tables in our living room, and she and some of her friends were the waitresses...then after we ate, she had baked little individual cakes for all of us and we got to decorate them...it was such a simple idea, but it still is one of my favorite memories...

on my 8th birthday, i got to have the infamous sleepover...i do believe that was also the year i got the hot pink leather skirt...wow, gotta love the 80s...i have a summer birthday, so we had the olympics in our back yard...my mom set up an obstacle course, consisting of my brother's fisher price car, a swingset, a hula hoop, a picnic bench, a baton, a wading pool and, of course, a slip-n-slide...it was so fun...we all went through and cheered for each other, and then at the end got medals and sang the national anthem in the silly way that you can imagine a bunch of 8 year old girls doing! then after we got inside and cleaned up and opened presents, had cake, etc...we had another game where we paired off...i believe we were given notecards with animal names on them and we had to close our eyes and make that animals sound until we found the other person doing the same sound, and that was our partner! then we were given a roll of toilet paper and sent to various places in the house and told that we would have a toilet paper fashion show in 20 minutes...it was so fun...we had cheerleaders...brides...football players...and to this day, i still cannot figure out how in the world my friend shara made such a beautiful wedding gown, veil, and boquet out of one roll of toilet paper! surely she is a fashion designer now!

my little sister's 3rd birthday was in the backyard, a hamburger cookout and a pony that all of the kids got to ride in a circle around the backyard...my brother's 4th birthday was a jungle party where we all wore safari hats and my mom had decorated the living room with plants and sheets, and made it into a rainforest...it also helped that the living room had bright green carpet...it was also always fun that at a siblings party, we were allowed to invite one friend also...

oh, i could go on and on...but mainly i just wanted to talk about how blessed i feel to have grown up in a house where creativity and imaginative play were encouraged and modeled-i hope that even in this age of severe overmarketing and, to quote that other blogger, merchandising frenzy, that i can teach jack to appreciate creativity...i hope he will have campouts in the family room under a tent of sheets and pillows, i hope he will put on shows for matt and me on saturday nights, i hope that our home will be filled with stories and music and not just the hum of a television in the background...and i hope that my son will never lose the God-given ability to dream beyond what common sense tells you is possible...

i believe i have one of the most creative mothers in the world, and i feel so lucky that she was the one throwing my birthday parties, making stories from the Bible and other books come alive, and teaching me to embrace my imagination...she has always had a natural ability to engage children, and they can't help but fall in love with her...i got an extra bonus...i get to call her mom

Just for Dad

I'm Tarheel born and Tarheel bred
And when I die, I'm Tarheel dead!
Go Carolina-lina
Go Carolina-lina
Go Carolina-lina
(inappropriate words for Duke, tonight Illinois, go here)

GO TARHEELS!!!!

counting the cost...and going anyway

Some words from Beth Moore today...

Our nation today knows very little about persecution. We too rarely hear
accounts of people like John and Betty Stam, missionaries to China, who
were beheaded just one month after their arrival in Tsingteh, leaving
behind a three-month-old infant. Or, what about Peter and Lydia Vins,
missionaries to the former Soviet Union? Peter was imprisoned and
never seen again. Lydia's imprisonment followed later. Such a heritage
might be enough to dissuade a child from faith in the gospel. Not so.
Their son, Georgi, surrendered his life to the same pursuit, on the same
field, and was ultimately imprisoned as well. Enough is enough, right?
Nope, his son, Peter, Jr., grew up, dedicated his life to Christ, and
followed the same path to prison. In 1979, under Jimmy Carter's
leadership, the surviving Vins family members were released
from prison, and they continue to serve faithfully in the United States
and abroad. Consider this excerpt from The Hidden Price of Greatness,
written by Ray Beeson and Ranelda Mack Hunsicker:

It seems a paradox that the death of Christians could be the key to
church growth. Yet as surely as the cross of Christ was essential to our
salvation, the sacrifice of believers is crucial to world evangelism. That
is as true today as ever. In fact, the rate of Christian martyrdom has risen
dramatically in recent years. The World Evangelization Research Center
estimates that there were approximately 35,600 Christian martyrs in
1900 compared to an estimated 325,000 in 1989.Martyrdom is a fact of
life in at least fifty countries. The Center concludes from its research that
out of the two thousand or so plans for global evangelization by A.D.
2000, martyrdom is probably the most potent and significant factor of all.

When we read such accounts, we wonder if people like the Stams had any
idea what their commitment might cost them. Would they have dared
surrender to such a sentence? Consider this excerpt from a speech
delivered to the Moody Bible Institute graduating class of 1932:

Let us remind ourselves that the Great Commission was never qualified by
clauses calling for advance only if funds were plentiful and no hardship or
self-denial involved. On the contrary, we are told to expect tribulation
and even persecution, but with it victory in Christ...It is ours to show, in
the salvation of our Lord Jesus Christ, and in personal communion with
Him, a joy unspeakable and full of glory that cannot be affected by outside
circumstances.

The speaker? John Stam, just before his departure to China.

mommy tip of the day

When trying to get those last few pounds of baby weight off, just don't even walk down the ice cream aisle at the grocery store...TORTURE!

lessons from the nursery

there really is nothing like the feeling of holding your sweet baby in your arms and watching him fall asleep. baby jack is sick again and i feel so awful for him. this is the second ear infection in a month, and his little tummy is also not doing so well with the medicine for the ear...what a vicious cycle! he just wants me to hold him all the time, and i really don't mind because he is just about the most adorably cuddly little thing in the world! i finally got him to sleep for now...we'll see how many hours he goes before waking in pain...poor little guy, on top of it all he is congested...matt spent the night with him the other night on a blanket in the bathroom with a hot shower running so the steam would let him breathe...what a good daddy he is!

there really is something just so amazing about the fact that my arms have the ability to comfort this little person...to bring him a feeling of safety, warmth, peace, and love. my little boy continually gives me a new picture of God's love for me. i realize that i look to alot of other things to bring me comfort before looking to the source of ultimate peace. my little boy knows where to look...why don't i? i once heard chris seidman explain the holy spirit with an analogy of his little boy. Chris said he didn't think his baby always knew what he needed when he cried...he just knew he needed something, so he cried, and it was his job as a parent to figure out what he needed. in the same way, when we don't know the words to pray and all we can do is groan and cry out to God, the Holy Spirit intercedes and speaks to God on our behalf...i have always thought that was beautiful and it has taken on new meaning since jack was born. just recently i have been reminded again that i often put my faith in people and not in the Lord, and then i am disappointed when people fail me. but God will never fail me. as my baby boy grows, although i love his need for my comfort, i pray that He will always look to the Lord to be His ultimate strength.

one thing about chris seidman's analogy that must happen on our parts...we must cry out...we must look to the Lord...i have learned yet another lesson from my seven month old...help is not far away...all we have to do is cry out, reach our arms up and let our Father hold us in His arms...

things have been crazy lately...i have let myself get completely overwhelmed and unfocused...but as i held my sweet boy in my arms tonight, i cried...i prayed...and i rested in the overwhelming peace of knowing that the Father was holding us both.

Trip to the Alma Mater

So we went to Abilene for Sing Song this last weekend. It was alot of fun...the clubs that Matt and I were in (Ko Jo Kai and Galaxy) both got second place...again! But they were very cute and both had good shows. I had to remember to be sensitive to my brother and sister, trying to remember how upset we were when we lost. I had to assure them that there is no conspiracy, though I do remember wondering about that when I was the Kojie director! I am confident that their lives will go on and they will still be able to function in society...eventually! The hosts and hostesses were fabulous...I was especially proud of the ones that I knew, and equally entertained by the ones I did not. I am always amazed at the talent. My favorite number in the show was an a cappella version of "Poor Wayfaring Stranger" to the beat of none other than SHADES, the ACU step team! It was AWESOME! Sing Song is such a funny thing when you really think about it...what a neat tradition...and yet, so weird! I got to talk to Kendall and Vivi (the director and his wife) and they told me that they are thinking of having a big reunion of old hosts and hostesses next year for the 50th Sing Song and 100th year of ACU...it was actually pretty sad just how excited I got about that! Being a hostess is one of my favorite memories from ACU...we had such a fun group...and there are people that I am great friends with today because of that experience...Watching the show reminded me how much fun I had being on stage in both Sing Song and all of the theatre productions I was a part of. There is just something about live performance that you can't beat.

I got to Abilene last Tuesday because the Kojies wanted some advice on their show ( I obviously wasn't much help!) Matt couldn't come out until Saturday, so I got a SMALL taste of single-parenthood...and it was SO HARD! How do these people do it?! I wasn't even going to work! And I only have one child! That's just a side note, and it takes me back to a blog that Mike Cope wrote a few weeks ago about reaching out to single parents. I am so thankful for my partner, and help-mate...He is such a good daddy and I don't know what I would do without him. I was also very relieved to read his blog last week entitled, " I hate bachelorhood"! I'm glad he didn't enjoy it too much!

Every time Matt and I are in Abilene we realize how much we miss it there. We actually drove around on Sunday afternoon just looking at all of the houses for sale! We just talked about how while we love where we are and being close to our families, we still feel like we have not found a home. We don't know where we are supposed to end up...maybe just on another side of the metroplex, but we definitely have that "just passing through" feeling. We still would really love to go to Nashville, but who knows what God has in store? I guess we'll just have to wait and see...

Thank you Casting Crowns for Today's Inspiration

"Who am I,
that the Lord of all the earth would care to know my name;
would care to feel my hurt?"

Who are we not to feel the hurts of others and to reach out when the God of all the universe has given us so undeservingly not only his love and salvation, but his broken heart for our sins, our sadness, and our loss.

Who are we to turn our back upon the widow and the orphan, the homeless man on the street, the person sitting next to us in the pew?

Who are we to fill our thoughts and storehouses up with things of this world, when a home more rich and beautiful than anything on this earth has been prepared for us?

Who are we to set our eyes and hearts upon the things that will surely burn, when God has promised us eternity with Him for only fixing our eyes on things eternal?

Who are we to withold from others the forgiveness that has so freely been given to us?

Who are we to deserve this love, this forgiveness, this hope, when all that we do is hate, hold grudges, and complain?

Answer: We are no one, we are nothing, we are hopeless...

But thanks to his mercy and grace, we are free...

It will never be possible to attain the promises that God has for us, but we can choose to live our lives in hope of that day and bathed in His righteousness. We can choose to set our eyes on the only one who can truly satisfy, and we can try to remember exactly who we are...

"I am a flower quickly fading,
Here today and gone tomorrow.
A wave tossed in the ocean;
A vapor in the wind.
Still you hear me when I'm calling;
Lord, you catch me when I'm falling.
And you've taught me who I am.
I AM YOURS."