Two sides to every coin -
Is the glass half full or half empty?
Are they trials or temptations?

Draw circle: Object of desire: trials – positive spin, temptation – negative spin and while both my cause pain/hurt. By succeeding in the trial we mature in our faith. By succumbing to the temptation we fall into sin.

James 1:12-18
12Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
“When tempted” – not if, but when he endures. Temptation is simply the invitation to sin. Being tempted by the object is not sin – Christ resisted temptation throughout his life. So, temptation does not always lead to sin – by conquering the temptation, faith is built.

Where Temptation does NOT come from:
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.
James starts out by saying straight out – God is not tempting you – don’t blame God, he is not evil. God’s goodness never changes, never waivers is a constant solid truth. Satan planted doubt about the goodness of God back in Genesis 3. God allows, permits temptation/trials to occur but, never breaks his own laws.

Where Temptation does come from:
14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.
Each is tempted by his own desires.
A 3 year old is caught eating cookies in the kitchen. “I just climbed up here to
smell them and my tooth got caught”, in other words, “don’t blame me”.
It’s all about where we keep our focus – on objects of desire or on Christ. Other versions have “dragged away” and that sounds more graphic, more violent – more accurate. Make note that there is no mention of the devil in these verses – the blame is put solely on us – alone. Our personal responsibility.

15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
Temptation is a process: a pattern – desire, deception, disobedience, death. Our evil desires (fleshly lusts) “war against the soul”, 1 peter 2:11. Birth of sin looks like: Gal 5: 19 – 21 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.
Temptation must be fought at its place of origin, in our mind and heart. Just as Christ fought temptation with scriptures so should we, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. Eph 4:21-24
Don’t be deceived, For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Rom 6:23

17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

18 Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of His creatures.
Brought us forth – born through truth, birth through his word. With this birth there is no death – we become the first fruits of creation, of life.
Last verse look at Ps 119:9-11
How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.
With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!
Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.

Conclusion:
If we fail and give in to our object of desire: we have given birth to sin and have died through temptation. However, if we succeed in our trial – strengthening our faith we have overcome our trial and are counted among the first of life.

Two sides, one coin.

I thought this was pretty good. Luke prepared this talk for his class at church.

Just Stuff

What's going on:

Crop tonight at 5:00 Lord willing, going strong until 11:00 ( We are making cards, decorating clip boards and ........ scrapbooking!) Be there or be square!

Monday, March 3rd, Kids Market opens to the public at 8:00 am. I'll be there working so come on over and see us. lOts and lots and lots of stuff for your wee ones and not so wee ones. Every year the amount of stuff just blows my mind and my back and feet feel it. But I love it so....... check it out. www.kidsmarketandmom.com

Over and out

Good Random Monday Photos

A.R. on the job

I'm Scrapbooking Tonight! Woo HOOOOOO!!!! Let's just says it's been a while! (and i haven't fixed anything to take yet...Ahhhhhhh) O.k. keep it together - And.... my scrappin buddy is coming to get me at 5:30!

Must hurry!

My Alter Ego is................

Take the Quiz here!

But, I really am........

Take the Quiz here!

Jack's new favorite movie!

Yep! We still watch VCR Tapes. We are so 1980's. Actually, we are even older than that because we listen to RECORDS! Granted, I love i-pods and dvd players and GPS and would give up a lot of things before I'd give up my TIVO but I still like the old stuff too. I remember learning Windows in DOS. Crazy stuff like F12 and F1. We had to memorize everything and I also remember writing code in college to create a webpage for my computer class. I hear that people still do this! Ha. Now I just make friends at Kids Market with people who will do this for mem a.k.a - bluemama.

Living in 2008

YOU KNOW YOU ARE LIVING IN 2008 when...
1. You accidentally enter your PIN on the microwave.
2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.
3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of three.
4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.
5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't have e-mail addresses.
6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.
7. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen
8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't even have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it.
10. You get up in the morning and go on line before getting your coffee.
11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. : )
12. You're reading this and nodding and laughing.
13. you know notice that there was no number 9

All I'm going to say is.....

The two feet to the left of the sink, and about 3 feet under this step-stool are now VERY CLEAN! He just can't resist a sink full of bubbles. And as a side note - Jack and Luke are now running around the house with the Nintendo guns you use to shoot the ducks in Duckhunt stuck in their pants (imprompto holsters) and playing like they are in a cowboy/western movie (should I be concerned?). I'm just going to go on the assumption that this is normal.

Angie sent this to me - So... I filled it out

1. What is your occupation? full-time mom, house builder (only built one house but hey that's something right -i'm helping with dad's), luke's book-keeper, realtor, and serious SCRAPBOOKER!
2. What color are your socks right now? not sure what this tells you about me but they are beige
3. What are you listening to right now? Old Michael Jackson RECORD (Luke!)
4. What was the last thing that you ate? Luke's homemade pizza
5. Can you drive a stick shift? Nope, but luke use to let me try to drive his saturn (back when he was still trying to convince me to marry him)
6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Hot Pink definitely
7. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Either my sister or my grandmother (can't remember)
8. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Of course, I love Angie
9. How old are you today? oh man, 31
10. Favorite drink? Sweet Tea, but I drink Unsweet
11. What is your favorite sport to watch? Sport? (is DIY TV, where they are scrapbooking a sport?)
12. Have you ever dyed your hair? uummm.... I'm naturally blonde and if you believe this I have ocean front property in kansas to sell you real cheap
13. Pets? 3 dogs that I don't have to feed or pay vet bills for (they live at my mom and grandfather's house but I claim them all)
14. Favorite food? I have so many..... Italian, Mexican, Vietnamese
15. Last movie you watched? Sabrina, I just love this movie
16. Favorite Day of the year? Christmas
17. What do you do to vent anger? Surf on the computer
18. What was your favorite toy as a child? Cabbage Patch 3 wheeler or my Barbie Dream House aunt Dee bought me
19. What is your favorite season? spring and fall, I love them both
20. Hugs or kisses? both
21. Cherry or Blueberry? neither - peach
22. What is on the floor of your closet? IT's CLEAN!!! Yeah!!!!
23. Favorite smells? When I"m baking cookies, definitely
31. Who inspires you? God, A lot of people at church, my parents, a lot of my family, really good scrapbookers
32. What are you afraid of? luke having a really bad year with his business
33. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? cheese
34. Favorite car? I really like a car that runs and has seat warmers (I use them year round-I fell in love with them when I was pregnant)
35. Favorite cat breed? I'm a dog person, but I'm definitly about being kind to all animals including CATS!
36. Number of keys on your key ring? too many to count
37. How many years at your current job? a little over 3
38. Favorite day of the week?Friday's (luke takes Jackson a lot on Friday's and I get a little me time)
39. How many states have you lived in? 3
40. How many cities have you lived in? 3
41. Do you think you're funny? I don't but people laugh at me a lot (so you can judge this one yourself)

Charlie

Charlie went to a psychiatrist.
'I've got problems. Every time I go to bed I think there's somebody under it. I'm scared. I think I'm going crazy.' 'Just put yourself in my hands for one year,' said the shrink. 'Come talk to me three times a week, and we should be able to get rid of those fears.' 'How much do you charge?' 'Eighty dollars per visit, replied the doctor.' 'I'll sleep on it,' said Bubba. Six months later the doctor met Bubba on the street. 'Why didn't you ever come to see me about those fears you were having?' asked the psychiatrist. 'Well Eighty bucks a visit three times a week for a year is an awful lot of money! A carpenter cured me for $10. I was so happy to have saved all that money that I went and bought me a new pickup!' 'Is that so! And how, may I ask, did a carpenter cure you?' 'He told me to cut the legs off the bed! - Ain't nobody under there now !!!' Git 'ER dun!!!!!!!!!

Relay for Life

Amy is trying to help fight cancer by doing Relay for Life - if you are interested in helping her check out the link below -

http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RelayForLifeMid-SouthDivision?px=4862452&pg=personal&fr_id=8115

Everyone remember to pray for Ken's mom who will have Open Heart Surgery this week as well as MaryAnn who will have her cancer scan done on Wednesday, I believe. As well as Joel Mark who is in the hospital.

Things change the more children you have...or so they say

BIRTH ORDER OF CHILDREN
1st baby: You begin wearing maternity clothes as soon as your OB/GYN confirms your pregnancy.
2nd baby: You wear your regular clothes for as long as possible.
3rd baby: Your maternity clothes ARE your regular clothes.
______________________________________________________
Preparing for the Birth:
1st baby: You practice your breathing religiously.
2nd baby: You don't bother because you remember that last time, breathing didn't do a thing.
3rd baby: You ask for an epidural in your eighth month
______________________________________________________
The Layette :
1st baby: You pre-wash newborn's clothes, color-coordinate them, and fold them neatly in the baby's little bureau.
2nd baby: You check to make sure that the clothes are clean and discard only the ones with the darkest stains.
3rd baby: Boys can wear pink, can't they?______________________________________________________

Worries:
1st baby: At the first sign of distress--a whimper, a frown--you pick up the baby.
2nd baby: You pick the baby up when her wails threaten to wake your firstborn.
3rd baby: You teach your three-year-old how to rewind the mechanical swing ______________________________________________________

Pacifier:
1st baby: If the pacifier falls on the floor, you put it away until you can go home and wash and boil it.
2nd baby: When the pacifier falls on the floor, you squirt it off with some juice from the baby's bottle.
3rd baby: You wipe it off on your shirt and pop it back in.
______________________________________________________

Diapering:
1st baby: You change your baby's diapers every hour, whether they need it or not.
2nd baby: You change their diaper every two to three hours, if needed.
3rd baby: You try to change their diaper before others start to complain about the smell or you see it sagging to their knees.
______________________________________________________

Activities:
1st baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics, Baby Swing, and Baby Story Hour.
2nd baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics.
3rd baby: You take your infant to the supermarket and the dry cleaner.
_________________ _____________________________________

Going Out:
1st baby: The first time you leave your baby with a sitter, you call home five times.
2nd baby: Just before you walk out the door, you remember to leave a number where you can be reached.
3rd baby: You leave instructions for the sitter to call only if she sees blood. ______________________________________________________

At Home:
1st baby : You spend a good bit of every day just gazing at the baby.
2nd baby: You spend a bit of everyday watching to be sure your older child isn't squeezing, poking, or hitting the baby.
3rd baby: You spend a little bit of every day hiding from the children.
______________________________________________________

Swallowing Coins (a favorite):
1st child: When first child swallows a coin, you rush the child to the hospital and demand x-rays.
2nd child: When second child swallows a coin, you carefully watch for the coin to pass.
3rd child: When third child swallows a coin you deduct it from his allowance!______________________________________________________

Pass this on to everyone you know who has children . . . or everyone who KNOWS someone who has had children . . (The older the mother, the funnier this is!)GRANDCHILDREN:God's reward for allowing your children to live!

Found this at a very talented lady's scrapbooking website. Had to share.

The Cousins...

The Two Photo's I'll leave you with for the night! The Cousins at Christmas Time!

3 Ringed-Circus and Dead Squirrels

do you ever feel like you live in a Three-Ringed-Circus?
I DO!
Take today for example:
1.wake up, remember lexi is off work today, call lexi - discuss birthday plans for matt and nancy, plan party
2. head with Jack to southeastern salvage to look for garden pavers (needed for birthday party) so as to not track in all the dirt in my front yard (there is still a lot - even with all the sod we put down)
3. get call from luke - needs checkbook
4. turn car around from heading south on interstate to now headed due north
5. get to office - checkbook hand off (talk with don about dr. phils email I had sent out in middle of parking lot)
6. head to southeastern salvage (due south again)
7. get call from eenie asking for computer/chiropractic help
8. turn car north again instead of the south route I was taking
9. stop off in Dee's office to look at her gorgeous 2 dozen yellow roses she had recieved on Valentines Day (talk about this later)
10. work in Een's office for about 30 minutes - work on game plan- come up with game plan
11. Head down hall to Dee's office again to help her on her computer
-Een flys foam airplane with Jackson in Dee's office
-Mandy can't fix Dee's computer - Luke comes into office to try his hand at it
-Dee off in la la land daydreaming (get to this later)
-Dad walks in trying to get a hug from Jackson (he's running all over the office with airplane) - is not very successful with his bid for a hug (At this point is VERY loud in office)
-I'm trying to talk on phone in office with Luke's dad working on the computer problem
It is at this point that I realize my life is a Three-Ringed-Circus and i'm not real sure I'd change anything. Crazy I know.

Also, went to dinner with Jarod and Ellen tonight - Fun! (We always have a good time)
Here is the breakdown of the night:
Get in car discuss Ebay
Get to restaurant discuss 101 ways to kill a squirrel, were we are going to go camping, why every american should carry a fire arm at all times (jarod), and the electorial process of the United States (it was mostly a three way discussion between jarod, ellen and luke who must be walking history books about this process - I was amazed!) Head to Krispy Kreme, where I proceed to make friends with 3 elderly widowed women who give me coupons for free donuts (sweet). Luke commented when we got home how he's always amazed at how much fun we have with them and the crazy stuff we talk about!

Pictorial Difference Between a Woman and A Man

Got these from a friend - Pretty Funny!

What a snaggled-toothed smile!

Does this dog have a beautiful smile or what? She turned 14 years old this month. Wow, hard to believe. I remember getting to hold her when she was just a few weeks old and hadn't even opened her eyes yet, and having a hard time wrestling her out of my cousin Becky's hands when she was about 3 months old. Becky kind of fell in love with her. We all did. She's just the best dog. She slept on my couch all day long today. I do make her go outside for fresh air and exercise when I can rouse her from a deep sleep and her LOUD snoring. Mom has undertaken the task of trying to brush her teeth every week with dog food flavored toothpaste. But actually she'd rather have CREST in peppermint or the like. We kid dad about using his toothbrush to brush her teeth. He says he wouldn't be surprised. And she's so snaggle toothed now. She's missing as least 2 or 3 of her front bottom teeth. Really kind of cute. When mom and dad go out of town, it takes 3 of us to take care of her. Gmom feeds her, I get her during the day and she rides around in the car, and lexi gets her at night because Lexi and Matt don't have a 3 year old running around the house - she like's her undisturbed sleep. She is one spoiled pooch. But I've always said, if your going to have something, then just love it to pieces. Life's too short to not find joy in simple pleasures. Just thought I'd show you one of my best furry friends name G.

News and other things to ponder.....

News: Angie is moving her store from ebay to etsy.com Check her out at http://www.froofrooforyou.etsy.com/ She makes awesome clothing for kids!!! I need to get on the ball and move to etsy with you. I'm currently working on the transition. Looks like Luke is leaning towards going to www.wagglepop.com . We'll see.

And a little food for thought from an email sent to me from a friend in Bowling Green (Thanks Don for the great quotes):

A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have.-Thomas Jefferson

If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it's free!-P.J. O'Rourke

Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.-Ronald Reagan (1986)

A liberal is someone who feels a great debt to his fellow man, which debt he proposes to pay off with your money.-G Gordon Liddy

I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.-Winston Churchill

So my aunt sent this to me.......

Dear Tide: I am writing to say what an excellent product you have! I've used it all of my married life, as my Mom always told me it was the best. Now that I am in my fifties I find it even better! In fact, about a month ago, I spilled some red wine on my new white blouse. My inconsiderate and uncaring husband started to belittle me about how clumsy I was, and generally started becoming a pain in the neck. One thing led to another and somehow I ended up with his blood on my new white blouse! I grabbed my bottle of Tide with bleach alternative, and to my surprise and satisfaction, all of the stains came out! In fact, the stains came out so well the detective who came by yesterday told me that the DNA tests on my blouse were negative and then my attorney called and said that I was no longer considered a suspect in the disappearance of my husband. What a relief! Going through menopause is bad enough without being a murder suspect! I thank you, once again, for having a great product. Well, gotta go, have to write to the Hefty bag people.

Hilarious! I'll let my aunt remain nameless but for blogging purposes lets just use her code name: Eenie

Ebay Boycott!

For those of you who buy and sell on ebay - check this out. This is real and very disappointing. I love ebay but will be moving to another auction site. Luke has decided to leave too and he is a much larger ebay seller than I am. Maybe with the boycott we will be much more than just "noise", because as we all know - MONEY TALKS!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=23TomS5--nQ
http://forums.delphiforums.com/boycottebay/start

We went to the CIRCUS!

Jackson's First Trip and mine and Luke's first time in I think about 5 years! Jack just thought it was so cool and loved the motorcycle cage. He said he wanted one of those balls to ride HIS motorcycle in ( you know the electric powered miniture version he has!) So funny. I've got more pictures, but I just let this one do for tonight.

Such a Cool Picture!

Isn't this just the coolest picture of the two of them (even if I say so myself!)
Luke took these! Lori and I were riding Tower of Terror I think. Anyways, Luke was keeping the Kids Happy!

Happy 6th Birthday Linus!

Happy Birthday Linus! We had a great time at your PIRATE party! ARRRR.....................