Walking for Life

Yesterday my sister, Laura, ran her first 10K at the Peachtree Road Race. I am so proud of her accomplishments. It’s amazing that after only training herself to run for about 6 months she finished the 6.2 miles in just over 1 hour. Awesome! She’s found a healthy hobby and she looks and feels amazing. Laura is an inspiration to her own sons and students alike.

Of course, being the younger sister, it did make me the tiniest bit jealous that she can do something I can’t do. So after breakfast this morning I suited up in my own running gear and dressed my boys (ages 3 and 6) likewise and set out for a walk. They rode their bikes and I walked, jogged, and stopped to help up and down the sidewalk, fix helmets, encourage tired toddlers to persevere, watch for traffic, etc. In the 90 degree heat (at 9:30 am) the 1.5 mile walk seemed like an eternity. We all did persevere and made it back home in 30 minutes 3.12 seconds dripping with sweat! Suddenly, I remembered the words to a Miley Cyrus song, “It ain’t about how fast you get there. Ain’t about what’s waiting on the other side. It’s the climb.”  I may never be a hard-core athletic runner. I may never be able to run a mile in under 10 minutes, wipe the snot off my face with my bear arm, pee in my pants {on purpose} to save the time a pit stop would take and keep the pace. But I will forever remember the comedy of going for exercise with my boys and watching them wear the training wheels off their bikes speeding up and down the sidewalk. I will cheer with my son when he celebrates making it back to the house first (even if it took all day to get there). Hopefully, along the way, my boys will get the message that exercise is important and fun and I’ll keep on walking for life. 

Louisiana Landmarks

We've had a busy 4th of July weekend, however, we managed to squeeze in a few hours of family fun in the midst of summer camps, church cookouts, and traveling to switch trucks. We visited Baton Rouge to take a closer look at some of the landmarks we have passed by for the last 3 years and never gotten to see. First we went inside the state capitol building.  Built in just 29 months the 34-story, 450 ft skyscraper is said to be the tallest state capitol building in the U.S.  It is also the sight of Gov. Huey Long's assassination in 1935.  There is quite a view from the observation deck on the 27th floor. You can see the Mississippi river, Exxon, and all of downtown. Not sure why there is a fake snake on the desk in the Legislature.

After touring the capitol building and gardens, we decided to venture into another local monument, Frost Top, for a classic root beer float. A yummy treat when it feels like 105 degrees outside.

Hope you all enjoy a safe July 4th and thank a soldier for their service to our country! Happy birthday USA!

A Joyful Sight

The boys and I worked on an outside project in the summer heat today. We made these beautiful planters and attached them to the fence posts. It's just simple mason jars and annual flowers but the view from my kitchen window makes this project every bit worthwhile. It's like seeing a fresh bouquet of flowers every time I look outside. What a welcoming sight against such an otherwise boring view of a fence. Thanks for the idea A Feathered Nest blog. Yours look much more chic with raffia but in the ultra humid south I thought it would get nasty in a day or two so I just opted for plain cable ties. Even still, something about seeing fresh flowers reminds me of the scripture, "Consider the lilies, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God  so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow thrown  into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith?" Luke 12:27-28. The Lord will provide for His children, for He is gracious.

Summer Fun in Georgia

Visiting family in Georgia this week has been so much fun. What better way to spend a hot summer day than under the shade of a tall Georgia tree throwing rocks in the pond while dad is trying to fish? 

Another Happy Birthday

I can't believe our firstborn son just turned six years old! My how time flies. He had a great time at the gymnastics place with friends from church for his party.

Summer Break?

This post is for all you at home mom's out there who are busy busy planning your kids summer break so it will be fun, educational, and entertaining. You hope by making such a detailed plan of lessons, camps, play dates, "school" work, and projects, that you will limit hearing the dreaded words, "I'm bored" from your children. I too am guilty of all this. I have printed my summer schedule and posted on the fridge. We started immediately the day after school was out with our play school time (my attempt at summer homeschooling) and projects for home and others. Still, by 4:30 in the afternoon when they're tired of playing video games, nothing is on TV, they don't want to play with toys or do school work, I hear "There's nothing to do!" which to a mom who has devoted 100% of herself to planning the perfect summer is like a punch in the gut. So what to do?


Stop trying to be perfect! In all of my planning, I came across an awesome website of a Christian home school mom that has tons of free resources on it. It's called Confessions of a Homeschooler. While I was taking advantage of all the free phonics printables I came across the real reason the Lord probably led me to that site in a post called "Super Mom vs. Abiding Mom". I highly suggest every woman who has sacrificed her career to be a 100% in the home  mom print this out and put it somewhere where you can see it daily. It seems that almost every mom I know has at some point struggled with the underappreciated, unpaid, unmeasurable role of motherhood.  Stop thinking the Lord will have some great assignment for you in the future when your kids get big enough for you to go back to work and realize He's already given you the greatest assignment right now in raising your children! This is a reminder to make sure our priorities are right in that everything we do is for the Lord first. 

Super Mom	Abiding Mom
Does	Is (Psalm 46:10)
Tries to impress others	Pleases the Lord (Eph. 5:10,Proverbs 29:25)
Is controlled by an agenda(curriculum, schedule, etc)	Is controlled by the Holy Spirit: (Gal. 5:22-26) (Uses curriculum & schedules as tools for orderliness so she's more free to follow the spirit)
Her self worth is found in her accomplishments (clean house, perfect kids, the perfect bulletin boards, etc.)	Her self worth is found in an accurate view of who she is in Christ Jesus (Eph 2:10)
Her peace is found in the “perfect” environment	Her peace is found in Jesus in the midst of any storm (Is 26:3)
She is discouraged by failure	Failure reminds her that God's strength is made perfect in weakness (2 Cor. 12:9-10)
She expects perfection from herself and others	She practices grace with herself and others (Eph 4:32)
She teaches her kids to be good	She teaches her kids to be Godly (Proverbs 22:6)
She is frustrated with her lack of spiritual fruit	She abides in Christ and bears much fruit (John 15:5)
She does things with her children	She builds a relationship with her children (Deut 6:6-7)
Her perspective is based on what is seen	Her perspective is based on what is unseen (Col 3:2)
She chooses quantity of activities	She chooses the most excellent Way (I Cor 13)

From the mouths of babes

This morning I asked my youngest son, Shawn, to say the blessing at breakfast. After some reluctance on his part, because he was in a hurry to eat, he prays, "Thank you God for our food, family, and the whole universe. Amen!" I chuckled at a three year old praying for the whole universe, after all that's a big word for such a little guy. But then I started thinking how little my own prayers are. How many times a day do I quickly shoot up arrow prayers for help or thanks for something without really taking time to be thankful for all of the many blessings around me? Have I taken for granted that the same God who created the whole universe and everything in it at the sound of His voice is still in control of it today?  The same Creator who allows natural disasters also limits them from destroying the whole earth. Although, sadly, several people have lost their lives in the deadly tornadoes in Alabama, Missouri and elsewhere, countless other lives and property were spared. Don't forget to look for the blessings even if you are in the midst of what seems like disaster. Philippians 4:6-7 says, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."