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I Surrender All…

March 31, 2008 by Laura 8 Comments

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As I continue to read the book Irresistible Revolution as talked about in this post, I am searching to find answers to what it means to give and love as Jesus gave and loved.

Yesterday at church, we sang the hymn “I Surrender All”. Later my husband and I were talking about this song we’ve sung our whole lives…which begins:

“All to Jesus I surrender,
All to Him I freely give…”

Do we really surrender all?

Or do we just surrender some…sometimes?

And the question remains. How do we surrender all?

With a family to support and feed and care for…we really can’t just sell all we have and go live among and minister to the the homeless and drug addicts (as the author of this book has done).

So, what does it look like for us?

We’re still searching (and I pray that we always continue to search out how we can surrender all…).

But as I’ve pondered and prayed, I’ve come to this:

For me, as a wife, mother and homemaker…it begins at home. As I care for and raise my family, as I work to make my home a haven, as I work to support and love my husband…

That is where it begins.

And, I can open my heart and home and always be ready to welcome others in.

God gave us a big beautiful home. I can surrender it to Him. And oh the ways He might use it…

So what are your thoughts? What do you think it should look like in your life to surrender all?

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How Big is one Serving of Fruits and Veggies?

March 31, 2008 by Laura 3 Comments

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Does it sound overwhelming to eat five to eight servings of fruits and veggies each day?

What does a “serving” look like anyway?

I’m guessing that you’re picturing that you must sit down to the table with a whole head of cauliflower..a banana…a large carrot…and Larry the Cucumber. And eat it all in one sitting!

But guess what?!

One serving of fruits and veggies is equal to a half cup. That’s not very big! 

So, a half of an apple equals one serving. Eat a whole apple…and you’ve just eaten two of your servings for the day! 

About six baby carrots…one serving!

Eat a big plate of salad…and you’ve got about three servings right on your plate!

Your side dish of broccoli and carrots at dinner…probably equivilent to two servings.

Go here to find more information on this!

A half cup is NOT very big! You can do lots of those every day!!

Okay now, does that sound more like it?! Can you do it?! 

Yes, you CAN do it!!

Now go eat a nice juicy orange (which is equal to two servings) and you’ll be off to a great start!

Come join the Challenge!

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Eat More Fruits and Veggies…the Menu

March 30, 2008 by Laura 4 Comments

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With spring in the air, and more delicious foods becoming available to us…what better time to start eating more fruits and veggies!

Come read about the Eat More Fruits and Veggies Challenge!…and join in! What a great way to take care of yourself and your family!!

Here’s our menu for the week…full of delicious, healthy choices!

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Come on and join in the Eat More Fruits and Veggies Challenge!

More Menu Plan Monday…

[tags]healthy eating, eat more fruits and veggies challenge, menu plan[/tags]

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Eat More Fruits and Veggies! The Challenge

March 30, 2008 by Laura 10 Comments

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First it was the NO SUGAR Plunge…

Now…it’s time to take the Eat More Fruits and Veggies Challenge!

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Do you know how many servings of fruits and veggies we’re supposed to be eating everyday?

A LOT!

Do you know how much people usually eat everyday?

Not nearly enough!

Do you eat enough?

It is recommended that we eat at least five servings a day. Minimum.

Really, really…we should be eating lots and lots of these wonderful, delicious, healthy foods!

I say…let’s go with the number eight!

So here’s the challenge:  Focus on eating at least eight servings a day of fruits and veggies. 

Hey, if you eat more than eight a day…great! (By the way, one serving is equal to only a half cup – it’s not very big!)

Set a goal that works for you! If your goal needs to be less than eight servings a day…no problem. You’ve gotta start somewhere!

Let us know you’re going to take the challenge! Keep coming back here for ideas, recipes, and some great fruit and veggie encouragement!!

Come on…it’s the perfect time of year to take this challenge…when everything around us is in bloom and fresh and new!

Do it!! Go to the store and get all kinds of beautifully colored, God given food!!

Come on back tomorrow…we’ll chat some more about this!

SO…WHO’S WITH ME???!!!!

WFMW

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A Dragon For Dinner

March 30, 2008 by Laura 6 Comments

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Saturday, our homeschool group performed the musical, A Dragon for Dinner.

Here’s the cast…which includes a storyteller, a king (Asa), a queen, a princess, maids, a gardeners boy, a prime minister, a security guy (Justus) and a two headed dragon.

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Here’s King Asa and Security Guy Justus. (um, Justus doesn’t really have buck teeth…but it kinda looks that way in this picture.)  :)

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And here are two of the sweetest girls EVER!! (Matt and I are working out contracts with the parents of these girls for arranged marriages for two of our boys…) 

A few more shots…

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Ah, I wish you could have been there! It was a proud, sweet moment for parents, that’s for sure! These kids worked SO HARD and did such a great job!

Oh, and thankfully, this fairy story had a happy ending…as everyone remembered their lines…the scenery stayed in place…the dragon did not eat the princess…and everyone lived happily ever after.

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Learn About Laura…One Story At a Time: The Day Matt Fired His Favorite Secretary

March 28, 2008 by Laura 6 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

Way back in our college days…

You know…way back in the 1990’s?

Back in the day when girls had big hair… 

Back in the day when were singing the Bryan Adam’s song:  “Everything I Do…I Do it For You…”

Back in the day when we wore shoulder pads (or was that the 80’s?)…

Okay, I could keep thinking of these really cool things we used to do…

Or I could just get to the point.

Matt and I met at York College and began dating our sophmore year. 

After a few months, our relationship began to get serious. So serious in fact, that I began to type his research papers for him.

(You know it’s true love when you start sharing a typewriter.)

This worked out just fine, because I was the kind of student who really couldn’t sleep well at night until her research papers were typed, placed carefully in a plastic cover, and turned in to the professor…three weeks early.

And Matt was the kind of student who, waited until the last minute…um…worked better under pressure.

So, our relationship grew…and so did the number of research papers I typed for him. 

Ah, the memories. 

Me (with my big hair) sitting in the dorm parlor at a table with my typewriter,  Matt standing behind me with two or three books open…dictating his paper as I typed. It was a pretty good system. We got to spend (quality) time together…I was a fast typer…he liked to “talk” out his papers. It worked.

So one research paper leads to another, and we ended up getting married just after our junior year of college.

For a wedding gift, Matt’s family all pitched in and surprised us with a computer. Wow! What a nice surprise! 

Thus we said goodbye to our dating days with the typewriter…and entered our new lives as husband and wife with a computer.

Now, we would sit in our little apartment…me (with my big hair) in front of the computer…Matt standing behind me with his books open…dictating his papers as I typed.

Ah, it was the picture of married bliss.

Until one day.

I’m not sure what the deal was with this particular research paper…but um, well…it was due in about five hours…and we were just sitting down to start typing it. (It must have been soccer season…which took up a lot of Matt’s time…and prevented him from getting his papers done three weeks ahead of time.)

So, we were a couple of pages into the writing of the paper. Matt started looking through one of his books to clarify the facts in his head before he started dictating some more.

And I decided to take advantage of the pause in typing to close my eyes and stretch.

Bad idea.

I straightened my back and kicked my feet forward to stretch my legs…

And I opened my eyes to a blank screen.

Yep, I had kicked the cord and unplugged the computer.

Matt looked up and saw what had happened…looked shocked and dismayed for about two seconds…then smiled and said…”Ah, man. It’s my fault. I should have been saving it more often…and I should have started earlier in the first place…”

Of course I was sitting there sobbing at the computer (like all the good wives do when they have just helped their husband get a bad grade)…

So I hiccupped and apologized and asked him what he was going to do now…

And he just calmly picked up the phone and called the professor and told him that his research paper had just accidentally been erased. Not, “My wife just chucked my paper”…just , “it got erased.” He didn’t even slander my good name.

Did I pick the right guy to marry or what? (Especially if I was going to do this kind of thing very often…)

Oh, and the professor was kind enough to give him a deadline extension…and we started over…and the paper was better than it would have been in the first place…and I think he got a B on it.

The end.

I did continue to type his research papers..so he didn’t really fire me that day. But you better believe that we clicked that save button obsessively from then on. 

We still do.

Now what should I tell next…about burning the barn..or shoplifting? Or any of the others on the list?

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Kids in the Kitchen, Pt. 12: Baking Day

March 28, 2008 by Laura 4 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

Tomorrow, Justus and Asa are performing in a musical…more on that later!!

Each family involved with the musical is supposed to take refreshments…so of course, I put my boys on the job!

I wrote down a chocolate chip cookie recipe for them…handed it over, and asked them to double it.

I stood in the kitchen with them, listening to Asa teach Elias about doubling fractions, “If you have a half cup plus a half cup…what do you have?” And Elias says, “Two – half cups.” (well, true…)

I left the kitchen (to go sit out in my hammock and sleep, of course)…and they made the cookies all by themselves!

I got out of my hammock only to snap a couple of pictures…

Oh – and to show the kids where the sugar was. How great it THAT? They are so used to using the good stuff…they didn’t even know where the sugar was!!

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Okay now…what is UP with Justus?! He seems to have this THING about standing on the countertops!! That kid cracks me up! (And wears me out!)  Oh, and check out Elias…he’s giving the vanilla a big sniff! And Asa, the ever-so-practical oldest child was saying to him, “Yeah, it smells good…but be sure not to taste it plain…it doesn’t taste as good as it smells…”

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Ah, at last, at picture of Justus cooking at ground level.

So, right now my house smells like cookies baking… 

I’ll be calling them in soon to start lunch…

(You know don’t you, that I don’t really have a hammock?!)

:)

[tags]kids in the kitchen[/tags]

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To Give…or to Give More…

March 27, 2008 by Laura 7 Comments

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Many of us are careful with our money…

Here’s what I want to know.

I want to know what it means to give.

I mean really give.

My husband and I have been reading a book called Irresistible Revolution, by Shane Claiborne.

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This author is completely challenging the way I think… 

About my life and my priorities. 

About what I have and what I do with what I have.

About who Christians are and what it really means to be the church.

So many thoughts are really swirling around in my head  (I know, scary…).

But I’m really questioning…

What does it look like to truly give of yourself? To be Christlike in a world that is full of materialism and greed?

What kind of world might we live in if we all start looking outward more? If we rely on God for our basic needs, and let Him use us to meet the needs of those around us?

I think that many (most) people already think that they are doing enough. And some people are really just doing nothing.

But really…REALLY…what might happen in this world if we all just let go of all of our stuff and just became givers?

I would love to hear your ideas on this topic. 

Please walk this journey with me and let’s examine this together. I highly encourage you to read this book.

 I want to be a part of this irresistible revolution…in which we begin to understand what it is to give like Christ gave of himself.

As I continue to read this book, I’ll be posting more of my thoughts, questions and suggestions…

But I would really love it if you have read this book or are interested in reading it…for you to join in the search to help “figure it all out”. 

God is calling us to something more…what is it?

[tags]giving, being Christlike, encouragement[/tags]

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Prayers Please…

March 27, 2008 by Laura 12 Comments

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If you know my family, you know that our littlest guy, Malachi has struggled with severe eczema since he was about 2 months old. He is now 3 years old.

We’ve tried…well…everything to make him better.

But, we really, really do not want to resort to drugs…as they might help the eczema…but they would just cause other – worse – problems later (or now).

We’ve worked very hard to find a natural remedy for Malachi. (That’s one of the main reasons we’ve switched to more a more healthy eating style.)

And, we’ve taken some heat from some folks who just don’t understand why we wouldn’t simply give him the drugs. If it would make the eczema go away…

Well, yes….but eczema is not the real issue here… Malachi’s problems are just manifesting themselves through the skin. We want to get to the real issue. 

We were encouraged almost a year ago when our family chiropractor called an offered us something new to try. Black Current Seed Oil. And it did help quite a bit.

But winter has been hard on him…and he’s slowly getting worse again.

And now…well, he’s getting these horrible, puffy, pussy, red with infection sores all over his feet and legs.

They look SO ouchy. 

I am discouraged. And I am weary. I want my baby to be better. I don’t want him to wimper with pain…nor do I want his sleep to be disturbed anymore because he’s so itchy.

I so want to get to the root of the problem.

Please pray for Malachi. He’s such a tough kid.

I’m taking him to our chiropractor this afternoon again…who is such a good doctor.

He’s more than just a “back adjustor”… He works to help heal the whole body…

He will be testing Malachi again for allergies (we tested him when he was little…but nothing showed up at that time. He was too little and not really eating on his own yet…)

I appreciate this doctor so much, because he truly cares about Malachi and has worked so hard with us to try to get to the bottom of this.

Thanks for letting me share this with you…and I appreciate your prayers so much for Malachi. (And maybe one or two for his parents too.)

I’ll give you an update after our appointment. 

You are all a blessing to me. :)

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Road Trip

March 26, 2008 by Laura 15 Comments

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Last weekend, we hopped in our van and headed to Kansas City for LTC (Leadership Training for Christ), which is a great big event for kids in third grade on up. Asa, our oldest, participated in several events…and did great!!!

Then, we stayed the remaining Easter weekend with some friends there close to KC. SO fun!

Here are some highlights of our trip: 

1. I got to have a few conversations with Matt while we were on the road and all the kids were busy with other things…or asleep…at the same time. Now that’s something that doesn’t happen all the time…

2. I was reminded again that I’m not a fan of big cities…and I was REALLY glad that Matt was driving us around in downtown KC…with all the unfamiliar one way streets and construction. (And I was also amazed that at one point…he was using his electric razor to shave before we got there…and looking at the map at the same time. Now, here is a guy who will never have an ulcer.)  (I’m not saying he was being unsafe…he just wasn’t frazzled, that’s all.)

3. While watching the skits and puppet shows at LTC, I was surprised by the creativity and talent of young people. And I also got a really big kick out of watching lots of puppets with their mouths hanging open for long periods of time. (Hey, when you’re eight years old, you can only hold that  puppet mouth closed for so long.)

4. Asa participated in the Bible Bowl while at LTC. He studied A LOT…and out of 70 questions…he only missed eight. (I’m not trying to brag or anything…) (Okay, yes, actually, yes I am.)

5. The LTC convention was held at this HUGE hotel…in which there were many, many escalators that you must take in order to get to where you need to be. For some reason, I always get all freaked out getting onto them, and kept checking the little guy’s shoe laces (which are actually velcro…duh). As we were constantly herding our kids on and off the silly things, I was reminded of how much I am not a fan of escalators. (And I also don’t like them very much.)

6. The friends who housed us for the weekend had Captain Crunch cereal. Partaking in this was one of the boy’s greatest joys of the entire trip. ;)

7. There were two dogs in the house where we were staying. (My kids have now decided that they like dogs.)

8. I let the boys pack their clothes on their own. When we were getting out our church clothes for Sunday, we realized that Justus had forgotten to pack his church pants. So, he had the choice between sweat pants…or sweat pants. He chose the sweat pants. ( Now that’s an Easter picture to remember.)

9. While on our way home, we found gas for $2.99 a gallon and were talking about how great it was to find it so “cheap”. And then we realized what we were saying. I guess it’s all relative.

10. The boys pretty much ate the entire way there…and the entire way home. And the entire time we were there. (Oh wait, that’s not unique to this trip…)

11. We have two Game Boys and three boys who know how to play them….and the batteries died in one of them (Uh, one of the Game Boys that is.). You do the math.  Thankfully they sort of figured out a system of taking turns…sort of.

12. I realized how much I don’t like the hand held game of 20 Questions. While it’s impressive in that it does usually get the answers right…it often asks difficult questions that the boys can’t answer without help. Such as, “Does it bring joy to people?” or “Can you give this object as a gift?” I suppose you could give just about anything as a gift and it could bring joy to someone…but not everyone likes artichokes or telephone poles as much as the next guy… We finally had to tell the boys to just make a good guess and to stop hollering out the questions to us. (Wonder if the batteries in that game will ever die?)

13. When we pulled back into the driveway of our home…one of the boys started crying (and wouldn’t stop), one of them started asking about a dog…one of them asked if we could have Captain Crunch for breakfast…and one of them asked if we could go back to our friends’ house. 

Welcome home… :)

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