Good Clean Fun!

Jack, my 6 year old, disobeyed and wore his "school shoes" on our friends farm.
With all the rain we've had here in Ohio-they came home looking and smelling disgusting!

I gave him the "natural consequence" of cleaning his own shoes. Thinking that would be a fair
punishment for his disobedience.

Little did I know, his actions would remind me of a wonderful-summer time tactic!!!!

Give your little ones a big bucket of soapy water-some sponges and just about anything at all that you want cleaned!!!

Voila!!! Hours of entertainment and items that if not spotless are certainly cleaner than before they started!

While I type (sitting in the front doorway- out of waters reach-and the littles are on the front porch)
they are presently washing all the crocs in our shoe collection! They have also wiped down the legs of the porch chairs, the wheels of the stroller parked there, not to mention that their toes are very shiny!!!

This afternoon when the olders come home, I think I'll put all the porch furniture on the front lawn and continue this cleaning....um, I mean FUN!!!!

What do you have that could use a good scrub and which of your kids are in the mood for some

GOOD CLEAN FUN??!

My Hubby Whistled At Me!!!!

My Top Ten Reasons Why You Should Consider Becoming A Consultant with Lilla Rose!

10.  We have just hit the 90degree mark in Ohio. I pulled my hair up in two seconds-phew-feels so good! How hot is it where you live???

9. The clip I just put in my hair..I got for free...along with about 20 per month since December. I am building up my personal collection and my sales supply-without paying for them!!! As a consultant-I would teach you how to get your own for free each month!

8.  When my hair is up..I feel so much more feminine. Even doing housework-feels better when I am "put together" so beautifully. When is the last time you felt like a princess while mopping the floor?

7.  I have an easy way to do my 3 daughters hair-no plastic clips that hurt-no headbands that give headaches-no rubber bands that pull their hair out! Are you tired of the crying and whining when you want your girl's hair to look neat and pretty?

6.  I am "meeting" wonderful Christian women through the blogging community. Some on my team already-others I advertise with. It is fun...and encouraging! Join us!!! You will be blessed!

5.  I am making money to help my husband and our household. The ultimate goal is for my husband to be able to get back to the mission organization we moved to Ohio to join. We're not there yet. But..who knows-all things are possible with God. You can earn a little-or a lot-depending on how much time you invest.

4.  The Lilla Rose team are amazing. The staff and owner have personally called and emailed me to encourage me in my business, answer questions, and do whatever they can to help-without pressure. As part of my team-I would be here to help you build your business.

3.  As a busy Mom of 6..I don't get out much. I enjoy working a craft fair each month where selling clips and making some money is just a side benefit. Really and truely-I love the break and the opportunity to meet people and socialize with others.

2.  My 11 year old daughter comes to craft fairs with me and the time with her all day-is priceless.

1.  Yesterday, my husband whistled at me when he drove by and I was walking the baby in the stroller. I'm 40. I'm tired a lot of the time. I was wearing sloppy clothes. Want to know what looked so good from behind??? My hair!!! Seriously-we've been married almost 18 years and last year when I found/bought/and signed up to sell Lilla Rose was the first time (of now many times) that my husband ooed an aaahed over my hair. He notices it-still-a year later-almost every time I wear a new clip or try a different up do. Takes me 2 seconds and is worth it all day when I get a whistle from my hubby!!!!!

Click here to go to my Lilla Rose site to sign up in about 5 minutes!

Just hit "become a consultant" and remember to call or email me if I can help in any way.

A Walk With A Worm

A Walk With a Worm

A Struggle Between Compassion and Control

Caeleen is two years old and today, for the first time, we took a walk alone together.

I used to take walks like this one with my now 13 year old everyday! I call them...control walks. For just a little, teeny part of their life....I let the child be in control instead of Mommy. And so, I followed her.

When she stopped to pick moss of the neighbors tree trunk for 20 minutes, I enjoyed the sun on my legs as I sat beside her.

When Caeleen wanted to cross-hand in hand-we crossed.

When she wanted to examine each daisy petal in someone's garden...we did.

Then-she discovered- the worm. She loves crawly things. Ants, spiders, beetles, anything that crawls. She catches them and lets them climb all over her hands and arms while she giggles in delight.

I try not to mind. Really I do. The spiders are the hardest for me and the bees she tries to catch...well that's where I draw the line.

But today-her baby was a worm. She got down on her belly to watch it wriggle on the sidewalk.

 She touched it and when it squirmed away- she too, squirmed away. She went in for another try and this time tried to pick it up. I found myself actually encouraging her-and repeating a line from a book we read "Squishy, squirmy, wiggly wormy, who made you to wriggle in the dirt? God did!"

Once she figured out how to pick him up-we were back on our walk-worm in hand!

It was love at first site. She talked to it, she cooed at it, she maybe even kissed it...yuck! She stopped several times to bathe it in puddles throughout our neighborhood. She seemed to be handling him genlty-at least for a while.

Once, when crossing the street-a car turned the corner and we needed to pick up the pace. In her hurry to keep up with Mommy, she squeezed wormy a bit too much and once safely on the other side, looked down to find she now had not one-but two womies!!! This might have been a pleasant discovery-had she not had the sense to somehow know she had hurt him. She started to cry and in her jibberish baby talk looked up to me to explain what had happened???

As our walk continued, she began to enjoy the squishy feel of the worm a bit too much!She made him do whatever she wanted. Put him on her elbow-inside her hat-on a metal pole-even wrapped him up once or twice in a leaf blanket!  I feared he would not last much longer, and twice more his body separated. The third time this happend, Caeleen semmed partially upset and partially angry at the worm.

 "Why do you keep breaking, wormy!!! I'm trying to play with you!" I felt she would yell if she could.

Finally, at a stop to admire some rocks in a driveway, she accidentally dropped little wormy. Phew! Free at last! She didn't even realize it until we were almost half way home.

Then, suddenly, she looked down into her hands and realized he was gone!

She started looking all over her arms, on the ground, in the grass beside us, in the next puddle we passed. She was so sad to have lost him. I knew where she had dropped him-but felt certain, if he had any life left at all-he needed to be left alone to recuperate from his worm walk.

I found myself amazed at the complexity of emotions and behaviors that Caeleen exhibited on her worm walk. She seemed to think this guy needed her. She seemed to care for him and showed real compassion when he was hurt. She also insisted on having everything her way as if she knew what was best for a worm. When she determined it was time for a bath-in the puddle he went. Can worms breathe under water, by the way? Apparently, Caeleen didn't need that token of information! She, being like the little worm's Mommy loved him-and wanted to control his every move. Sometimes to protect him-and rightly so-for his own good. But other times, her controlling choices hurt her baby. Need I suggest breaking him in two several times as a good illustration?

I love my children.

I delight in the things they do and say and in spending time with them.

 But, I also find myself trying to control them more than I need to. Sure, sometimes it is for their own good. But, sometimes I wonder if I am just enjoying the squishy feeling a bit too much-and-woops....broke a bit off them that time.

I desire to be the kind of Mommy that encourages my blessings and builds them up. Makes them stronger-helps them grow into Godly young men and women. Not a control freak that just takes pleasure in getting to be the one to make the rules, call the shots-like it or not-because Mommy said so!!!

The sun was warm and wonderful...Caeleen's company was endearing.....the relaxing and quite pace was much needed......but it was the worm that spoke that loudest on our walk today!

"Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the

 training and instruction of the Lord."  Ephesians 6:4

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I don't need anything

"A gentle answer turns away wrath." Proverbs 15:1

"Jack, come sit at the table and get started on your homework." I tell my 6 year old foster son.

"Ok" he replies. He sits down and I ask him to start by reciting his Bible verse for the week.

At this point, I am mentally noting that he is unusually co-operative.

After the verse-comes spelling. Some days I just have him practice spelling orally. Other days, I have him write the words a certain number of times. I know ahead of time that whatever number I say, he will whine and then I will increase it by one. Sometimes he will whine again-or cry it is too hard-and then I will add another. Usually-that's as far as it goes and then he knuckles down and gets it done.

"Time for spelling. Here's a piece of paper-I want you to write each word 3 times, neatly, please."

I wait for it.

"Ok." Jack says.

Wow! I am not sure why the sudden change, but I notice and respond with:

"High five buddy! That was a great way to respond to Mommy!"

I then move on to finish what I was working on. After a minute or two, Jack gets up from his seat and walks over to stand next to me. I finish what I was saying to my oldest son and then ask,
"Do you need something Jack? Do you need help?"

"I don't need anything." He replies.
"I just got up to give you a hug...and a kiss....and tell you I love you."

I think I'll just stop there-except to mention that when he first came to us he was described as "distant...unapproachable...internalizes emotions...builds up walls....not affectionate...doesn't know how to bond with adults, etc."

I've got chills all over again...just remembering the moment.

Fly in the Fridge

All I intended to do was open the fridge to pull out some vegetables for dinner. 

The king of the flies, however, had a different idea!

As I opened the door and that magic light came on, King Fly, buzzing loud enough to be a trumpet blaring to announce his presence, came zooming past my head and flew right inside!! He was determined to find the source of that light and it was obvious to me that it was now his sole purpose in life! Forget reigning over the other flies...or mating with his queen, or even that wonderful pile of doggy-well-you get the idea.

He forgot it all in pursuit of that magic light in side my fridge. 

While King Fly buzzed frantically around the milk jugs, ducked under the soda shelf and zipped past the leftover ham, I desperately tried to catch him or at the very least-shoo him out of my fridge!!! Energy wasting, food getting too warm, but I dare not shut the door and leave him in there! In just that split second I had visions of throwing out all of the contents for fear this great-giant-big as a bumble bee fly might lay eggs or something on our food. Ok-yeah-the laying eggs thought kills the theory of him being King...but-who can process that in a split second?????

I swatted, shooed, swiped, even pounced and suddenly-King Fly was gone! I would certainly have known if he flew out. I could no longer hear his buzzing. I looked on and under each shelf. He was just-gone!

It was then, that I realized what had occurred. King Fly made it to his destination. He not only found the source of what he thought was this amazing, wonderful light-but he found his way right inside of it!  

And- well - King Fly reigns no more. 

If only that fly would have realized I could have saved his life! I would not have hurt him if he would have just followed my calling..my shooing...my pleading to get out of the fridge!!! I could have even opened the back door and set him free! Free! Free at last to find true fly happiness!

But, no. He was too intent on what he wanted. What he thought was best for him. My giant hands and arms flapping around him scared him. The idea of something so big, so powerful, taking control? Not a chance! He was King after all! The light he wanted! The light he was going after! The light he achieved!

And with it-his death.

I'm a bit dramatic tonight-what can I say! I'm a busy Mommy cooped up with 6 kids all day, with no adults to talk to and so....King Fly ignites my imagination and one minute I'm looking for veg and the next I'm relating my spiritual journey to a dead fly!

Truth is...I can relate. 

I remember after many seeds had been planted...after I recognized the weeds in my life....feeling the strong desire to just run after my own way. To plow ahead with my own selfish desires...to ignore this BIG-POWERFUL and in some ways scary God that I didn't know -who seemed to be trying to stop me from everything I had been trying to accomplish! I had a battle going on in my mind and in my heart.

What I didn't know was that God was calling me to himself to SAVE ME! Not to harm me or to hurt me in any way. And...I didn't yet understand that by ignoring him and running full speed ahead with my own ways-would lead to destruction. To death!

Poor King Fly. Died an untimely death. But...PRAISE GOD!!!! He saved me from the King Fly in me!!!

Wink!

I've Got The Power

Apparently, my little son is still pondering about God's power and how he can get some!

Again, completely out of the blue, he inquires of me:

"Mom, can God, like, give away his power to people and not lose any of his power?"

Wow. He's five! And I get the opportunity to explain to him...in POWER TERMS...the amazing truth of

Hebrews 13:8!

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever".

He listens as I explain that God is always the same-always has been. He will never ever change and that is how we can always trust him and know he will always do what is best in our lives and be there for us. I make sure to answer his part of the question and say that, yes, God can give you gifts-or power-whenever he wants and it doesn't change him or take away from him one bit!

"Oh" is all he replied.

Satisfied, he went back to playing with his trucks. 

I'm excited as I wait to see what "Power Question" he will come up with next and what opportunity God will graciously give me through this curious little boy's mind-to talk about God while we work and while we play..when we get up and when we lie down.

Thank you Lord for a wonderful moment and for your amazing power!!!!

Seeds and Weeds

Last week when I winked at you I was remembering the first people that

planted the seeds of God's word in my life.

This week..I'm remembering the weeds!

The warm sun on my back, the flowers blooming right before my eyes, the smell of the rich soil under my nose. Love, love, love getting my hands into the garden in spring! Don't get the wrong idea though-I am NOT a gardener. I am a gardener wanna be. Each year-I try. I dig. I plant. I water. I weed. Then...they all die.  Hanging baskets, potted plants, seeds, shrubs, annuals, perenials..it doesn't matter the type-I kill them. I don't even know what I do wrong -so I can't even learn from my mistakes. But-I still-love, love, love getting my hands into the garden in spring!

And so, I have been enjoying this year's attempt at growing a green thumb a few days this week. The first item on the agenda...pulling out the weeds!!!

Have you ever stopped to consider the amazing amount of variety of weeds!!??? My garden is filled with them. Some are gigantic!!!! We have this one weed-it looks like a tree!!!! It has a really thick, strong trunk and branch like things and my son keeps chopping it down with his ax and that baby can grow back to 4 feet tall in a matter of days! Some are really tiny but there are millions of them! They are everywhere-taking over and their small size shouldn't make you doubt the damage they can do! Then, there are the tricky ones. The ones that look like real plants. I stare at the leaves, turn them over, feel them. Hmmmm...plant? or weed? Better leave that one for a while-until I know for sure. Some even have flowers! Weeds..with pretty flowers.

Bad stuff-with a decoration on top!

From seeds to weeds. That's my Wednesday wink.

Various people planted seeds in my life. God watered them-God made them grow. And as He did that I became more and more aware of the weeds in my life.

Some were gigantic!!!! Strong-hard to get rid of and as soon as I thought they were gone-they were back!

Some seemed so little. No big deal...but when I realized how easily they spread and how much damage they caused...I knew those weeds had to go!

Then, the tricky ones. The ones I liked to decorate on top! The weeds in my life that I thought I could hide-cover up-make them look pretty so I could keep them.

"O my God, I am too ashamed and disgraced to lift up my face to you, my God, because our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens." Ezra 9:6

Yes-God sent the people to plant the seeds...and He watered and grew those good seeds and as He called me to himself He showed me the weeds in my life-my sin. He showed me that no matter how hard I tried to grow a green thumb and take care of my own garden-I couldn't do it. Not without Him. He loved me-even while I was a sinner-living in my sin-running from Him.

Praise God I'm no more a track star than a gardener!!!!

Wink!



I've Got The Power!!!

The Scene: Driving in the car with 5 of my 6 children.

Brogan-five years old -has been very quiet during our drive.

Out of no where he tells me,

"I wish I had power. I wish God would give me power. Like, God Power. Lots of it."

I'm just driving. Telling myself, like I often need to, "You don't need to comment-
he didn't ask you a question, so no need to add your two cents." But, as usually happens I comment anyway.

I start to use this as a "teaching moment" reminding him how God has given him many talents and gifts that he
can use for God. He doesn't seem to be listening.

He continues:

"If God gave me power I could do a lot of things with it. I would use my power for you Mommy!

I would use my power for you...(he pauses to think) to make you beautiful!!!"

Hhmmph! I let out a strange noise and ask:

"You would, would you? Don't you think Mommy is already beautiful?"

Now-that might sound a bit conceited. But, I'm talking to my five year old. My five year old who is in that incredibly, adorable stage where he thinks when he grows up he will marry me! I love it! He is constantly reminding me how wonderful I am, how much he loves me, and that when he grows up I will be his wife! So...it seems only natural, that at least for right now, he would already think I am beautiful!!!

He is quiet again.

Then replies, "Well, ummm, you are a little bit beautiful."

Hence..the obvious need for some power!

I love that little, blue eyed man!!!!



My Not So "Little" House

I had a wonderful "Little House on the Prairie" moment yesterday.. For those of you new to It's A Blessing, that's when something brings back fond memories of a Little House Episode...and I bask in the moment and try to pretend I live that life! That is not to say I am not content with the wonderful life God has blessed me with-just that I'm a Little House Junkie!

"But godliness with contentment is great gain." 

I Timothy 6:6

Early am...the house is quiet...I am up, showered and wearing my favorite to the floor skirt. I decide to go let my sons chickens out instead of them having to wait for his sleepy head to get up.

I am excited to join the early morning birds, chipmunks and squirrels as they dance around my backyard! Obviously, they are  as excited as I am to see the sun for the first time this spring!

Due to the extreme amount of rain we have endured, the majority of our yard is more swamp then grass. So, I grasp a gathering of my long skirt in my left hand and saunter to the back of the yard where the coop is.

There it was. My moment. Did you catch it?

I found myself lifting my face to feel the warm sun on my cheeks and smiling as I felt like Ma. Feeding the chickens, or hanging out the laundry, or even helping Pa with plowing. Long skirt in one hand to save it being dragged through the dirt.

 

Simple-I know. Who cares? Maybe. But for me...a very busy Mom of 6 (yes..last time it was 7..join me for my Wednesday Winks and you'll put the pieces together) that small moment-that warm smile-that fond memory-is just enough to get me through a hectic morning when they all wake up!!!

Annie, Flying Frogs and Aliens...Oh! My!

"I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow." 1 Corinthians 3:6-7

Do you ever stop and think about all the people who God put in your path to plant seeds and water them?

I did not grow up in a Jesus following, Bible teaching, Christ honoring home. Yes, it was a good home. I was loved and cared for well. I have no complaints. But I was raised in a home that followed a traditional religion and practiced that religion's traditions only during certian holidays and to check off the right boxes that my parent's thought were their obligations.

My first encounter with a seed planter, occured some time after Annie and the Flying Frogs. A new family moved in to the townhouse attatched to ours. They were from somewhere down south and I was ingtrigued by their accents and their different ways. I have two distinct memories of this family.

The first is the time the son, who was about my age, asked me if I was a born again Christian. "A what?" In his youth, he didn't know how to explain as tactfully as some adults might but, he cut to the chase and without mincing any words told me, "You don't even know what it is? Well, then you're not one and you are going to HELL!"

I'll admit, if I had my choice, that might not be how I would have planted the first seeds of my Christian life. However, there it is. My first encounter with a powerful God. A God who can not be in the presence of sin and therefore I would be going to hell as I was certainly not born again. Seeds...there were many more to come-but that was the first.

The second memory I have of this family has nothing to do with planting seeds. It's all about alien encounters. I am not kidding.

The same son and I were lying on the hood of my father's car one dark evening. Just chatting. Not about being hell bound, or anything that serious...just chatting. All of the sudden a noise -so loud -boomed out of the silence. It was similar to the whirring of helicopter wings, but so very loud the we feared it must be about to land on our front lawn!

We both instantly sat up! We peered into the dark sky-for any sign of something that could make such a monstrous noise! Then, over the top of our townhouse, suddenly, we saw it!

An alien space ship!!!

It was huge and black and had red lights on it. There were no helicopter blades or anything that looked even remotely like a plane or helicopter.

The noise was deafening and the flying object appeared to be about to land on the top of our homes!

All of this occured in a matter of seconds and I remember once our eyes cast upon the ship, we both let out a scream and simoultaneously ran into our own homes.

From the safety of my bedroom, I called my neighbor friend. I said, "Tell me I'm not going crazy! Did you just see that?" We agreed to each draw a picture of what we saw and then meet again to compare our drawings. They were very similar.

The end.

Seriously.

That's the end. I don't even remember telling my parents or any friends or anything!! I don't remember checking to see if anything was on the news. I remember nothing past sharing our drawings and the amazing reality of feeling like we had just seen something incredible and once in a lifetime.

That was an incredibly exciting moment and created a very vivid memory from my childhood. For many years later I would remember that moment and not at all remember the time he told me I was going to hell.

But...God sent others. More seed planters. More waterers. And in time, the first memory. The memory of him asking if I was a Christian...began to overshadow the alien encounter. It doesn't matter how incredible or exciting that moment was. It doesn't matter why it happened, what it was or why it is one of the few childhood memories I have. Soon, I understood that all that matters is the God of the Universe that created me and all things and His still quiet voice calling me to him...the one I could hear clearly...even through the amazing noise made by our alien visitor!!!!

Hope you are having a blessed week! Wink!