Happy Birthday Mini-Me

Mini-Me turned three yesterday. So cute, and yet so difficult. I have a love-hate relationship with her. The third child I never wanted, but fell in love with anyway. So sweet, and so un-cooperative. Very snuggly, stubborn, single-minded, frustrating, smart, resourceful, and imaginative. I couldn't imagine my life without her and very grateful she came to me. Here she is, from her first days to now.

"Imaginary Jesus"

Have you ever discovered that the way you imagined Jesus to be wrong? I clearly remember the time it struck me that Jesus did not look anything remotely like the flannel graft Jesus I grew up with. Gone was the vision of light brown, straight hair, blue eyes, glowing white clothes, and perfectly manicured nails.

Matt Mikalatos carries the analogy even farther in his book "Imaginary Jesus". I was hesitant to start reading it. Was he going to poke fun at people who believe Jesus is real? Was he going to push one type of "Jesus" on me? Once I started reading, I couldn't put the book down! I finished reading it in one sitting.

Join Matt as he takes you on a fun filled, laugh out loud romp "through time, space and Portland, Oregon". He journeys to discover if his Jesus is the real Jesus. Along the way he meets Magic 8 Ball Jesus, White Supremacist Jesus, Political Jesus, and a host of others. Would one of them be the real Jesus? I'm not going to spoil the book. I promise you one thing, you will enjoy this book. It will make you think, while laughing. What could be better?

copy of "Imaginary Jesus" provided by Tynale House

The New Living Translation Break Through to Clarity Bible Contest and Giveaway

The New Living Translation Break Through to Clarity Bible Contest and Giveaway

Visit www.facebook.com/NewLivingTranslation and click on the tab that says “Sweepstakes”

Fill out a simple form, take a quick Bible clarity survey, invite your friends to join and you’ll be entered to win one of our exciting prizes.

With each fan number milestone a new prize will be given away.

Grand Prize

Apple iPad 64G and a Life Application Study Bible
Awarded when the NLT Fan Page hits the fifth milestone
Retail Value: $829.00

2nd Prize - Already awarded

32G iPod Touch and a Life Application Study Bible
Awarded when the NLT Fan Page hits the fourth milestone
Retail Value: $300.00

3rd Prize – Will be awarded when fan count hits: 3500

Kindle DX and a Life Application Study Bible
Awarded when the NLT Fan Page hits the third milestone
Retail Value: $489.00

4th Prize Will be awarded when fan count hits: TBD

Apple iPad 16G and a Life Application Study Bible
Awarded when the New Living Translation Fan Page hits the second milestone
Retail Value: $499.00

5th Prize Will be awarded when fan count hits: TBD

Apple iPad 32G and a Life Application Study Bible
Awarded when the NLT Fan Page hits the first milestone
Retail Value: $599.00

Prize Eligibility – Recently updated to include more countries

Sweepstakes participants and winner(s) can be U.S. residents of the 50 United States, or residents of any country that is NOT embargoed by the United States, but cannot be residents of Belgium, Norway, Sweden, or India. In addition, participants and winner(s) must be at least 18 years old, as determined by the Company.

Sweepstakes Starts

March 17, 2010 @ 10:24 am (PDT)

Sweepstakes Ends

April 30, 2010 @ 10:24 am (PDT)

Wait, there’s more!

Visit http://biblecontest.newlivingtranslation.com/index.php for a chance to win a trip for two to Hawaii!

Here are the details:

Choose one of six passages of Scripture from the New Living Translation and consider:
How do these verses encourage you to know God better?
What is God teaching you in this passage?
How does this passage apply to your life?

Submit your answer and you’ll be entered to win.

Just for signing up: Everybody Wins! Win a Free .mp3 download from the NLT’s new Red Letters Project. It’s the dynamic, new presentation of the sung and narrated words of the Gospel of Matthew. You win the download just for entering! Or choose to download the NLT Philippians Bible Study, complete with the Book of Philippians in the NLT.

Every day, one person will win the best-selling Life Application Study Bible!

The grand prize: One person will win a fantastic trip for two to the crystal clear waters of the Turtle Bay Resort on Oahu’s North Shore in beautiful Hawaii.

Fire!

God is an All Consuming Fire. Think, consume the whole universe! We are called to be on fire for Christ, to be a spark, and a light in the darkness. So, I ask you, what kind of fire are you?

Let's consider the various types of fire we have and what they do.

Forest Fire - This type of fire is very painful and can be seen as destructive. But, as we've often heard, forest fires can be good. They destroy the old, often dead growth, to make way for the healthy, new growth. Forest Fires can be cleansing. These fires clear the land for those who follow to till and sow the fresh soil. Think Martin Luther.

Bonfires - These bring to mind the outdoors, columns of flames, roasting hot dogs and marshmallows. Often there are lots of people grouped around these kinds of fires. Many people are touched by bonfires and there is a lot of fellowship going on. Think Billy Graham.

Wood stove - These are the behind the scenes, hard working, keep you warm all winter long kind of fires. Often not noticed until the heat is gone. Think my parents, John Watson, The Froh's. Ok, so you may not know these people specifically, but God does and he knows better than I all the things they do. I'm sure you know someone like this. Pray that God keeps their burners well stocked with wood!

Fire Place - Romantic, cozy, only a few people grouped around it. These fires offer intimate heat to a few people. These people provide comfort and warmth when you need it. They are always ready with a prayer for you, an apt word, a loving hug, or even just a quiet presence. Think of those people you run to when you need comfort or a special word. I think of Diane Watson or Kim Cobb

Candle - The simplest, often smallest, of the fires. Compared to the others, these fires don't seem that great or grand, but they are needed. We need a candle to light our way, to light our book, to produce a spark. These people often work one-on-one with others. They work hard to light the way for others to follow, to provide insights and direction in personal study. Me.

I ask you again. What kind of fire are you?

Ode to The Summer That Wasn't

March roared in like a lion,
and exited like a lamb.
Normal seasonal weather ended - Bam!

April showers
dried in the air.
Sunburns and Global Warming glare.

May flowers
cried thirstily for rain.
Their wish granted, swept down the drain.

Summer choked before appearing.
each grey and dreary dawn,
did bring a lush, green lawn.

April's record highs
driven from our mind
a monotonous chill on the temperature line.

Sunscreen leaking in a drawer
pools, no ripple broke.
We all hoped it was a joke.

To see if they had
Rip Van Winkled May to October,
some checked the calendar.

Summer oozed muddily
into a normal Fall.
Thankfully the Yankees were on the ball.

A memorable Summer,
except,
it wasn't.

(disclaimer: I know this is not written in an Ode form. The is for my husband, who does not understand poetry at all. He believes they all should rhyme. He asked me to write him an "ode" about our last summer. Hope you enjoyed!)

Burried under a Mountain

A mountain of laundry, that is!

I've been busy analyzing my life. Why am I so discontent with everything. I have a great husband who works hard and is a wonderful dad. Four wonderful kids who are very easy to deal with, mostly. A house, a job I can work whenever I want, great friends and family, money for everything we need and a few extra dollars for some small fun stuff. Many people would look at my life and see I have nothing to complain about. No major in-law battles, no health issues, no catastrophes of any kind.

Finally it hit me. Supposedly, Mothering is an Adventure. It's not, at least not for me. I want to do great things, go on quest to save the world, have adventures in far away places, battle the forces of evil, and look darn good doing it. I was always the kid in Sunday School who wanted to be "called" to deepest, darkest Africa (if there is such a place any more). I want to go to far off places and do momentous things to help the people there.

Where am I now? George Lucas says it best, "In a galaxy far, far away." I am the furthest from a quest of my dreams. My world consists of laundry, dishes, runny noses, potty training, diapers, homework, coats, boots, mittens, lost bears, sippy cups, and puking kids. Doing the same things day in and day out. It makes me want to scream! It makes me sad and depressed.

It is a struggle every day to find some joy in what I do. I love my children, I love my husband, but I often feel they would be better off with a better mother. Yes, I know how to be a good Mom, but that's not who I want to be. I have no contentment, I have no joy, I have only an endless sorrow of endless mundane days of endless repetitions of endless tasks.

What's my weakness? Everyday, Mommy, tasks.

I try to hide, in books, living vicarious quest through other people. But, when I return to reality, after having ignored my family and house, the excitement gets lost. So, I pick up the next book, and the next, never getting enough of the adventure. Wanting to depart from this world that sucks me dry.

My kids deserve better than what I can give them. My husband deserves a better wife. But right now, I'm all they've got.

This is not suppose to be my life. How did I get here? Why didn't God stop me? Last first, He didn't stop me because this is where He wanted and knew I would be. The place where I would have to turn to Him for help, daily, not just occasionally, but daily and often hourly. I did not plan this, nor did I think this far into the future when I was falling in love with my husband. Blindly, I would say.

What do I do? Well, reading doesn't seem to be helping, so I'm going to cut that out for a bit. At least the questing ones. Like romance novels make me disappointed in my husband, these books make me disappointed in my life. While that's not going to make things magically better. It will help when I don't constantly have examples of adventures others are having that I'm not.

This verse keeps popping up every time I want to wallow in self pity. "God's strength is made perfect in my weakness." So what? I kept asking. Then, it hit me. Duh! My weakness isn't kryptonite, it's everyday life! At least this everyday life I'm living. The world is supposed to see God through me. How can they do that if I'm able to handle things on my own strength, aka questing and adventuring? That's not God working, that's just me.

For many, the life I live isn't hard, difficult, etc. etc. It's easy, my life is what they are good at. For me, this is hard. I'm so weak at doing this. It's a daily struggle I have to wake up to each and every day. And, to top it all off, I've been blocking God from giving me His strength. I never thought of everyday life as a weakness before, just a chore to be done over and over. So, I never asked God for His strength to survive and thrive in my world.

I started doing that, two days ago. Am I a brand new person? Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Not really. But I've noticed a difference. If I talk with God about my weakness and ask Him to be my strength, my day goes so much better. I feel better, that's the difference. I have more love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Things that touch on every area of my life. I'm happier with my children, with other people, with my life.

Are things perfect? Far from it. I'm relatively new at this, so I've slipped often. Sometimes I remember to go back and talk it all out again with God, sometimes I don't. I just cling tight to His promise that He is standing next to me with open arms, just waiting to give me all the strength I need.

Why Today?

It is vacuuming day here at my house. Not just the quick run through, but a thorough cleaning complete with doing the edges and moving easily movable objects. As I finished vacuuming my bedroom it happened. The vacuum broke. It was already party broken. I had changed the brush belt and could not get the lid to stay on. Apparently the holes in the plastic lid where the screws went lost its thread so the screws could not be replaced. I've been holding it together with rubber bands. Some how the lid slipped and part of it came up. I can't get the other half to come off now. It's over 8 years old, so it's time to go. Until I buy one, I get to look at the crumb strewn downstairs and hope no one stops by unexpectedly!

Not My Child, Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

At the grocery store this morning...

My daughter did not walk along the condiments aisle, flipping all the condiments upside down and setting them on their caps.

My daughter did not try to eat through the package of taco seasoning to get to what was inside.

My daughter did not remove at least 3 price tag stickers from the shelves in the dairy aisle, before I caught her.

My daughter did not runaway with a container of mini-M&M's, when I told her she could not have any today.

My daughter did not hide under a table of cookies and try to open said container.

My daughter did not turn on and start pushing buttons on the closed register next to us.

And finally, at home...

My daughter did not poop in her underwear 15 minutes after she peed on the potty.


Does anyone want a Mini-Me? I'm giving her away free. She comes complete with sullen looks, stubbornness, grumpiness, and the ability to disappear in a clear, open area at a moments notice. Will accept first offer.

Media Fast

I've been spending way too much of my time goofing off on the computer. If I was working, I might not feel as bad, but I'm not. So, in light of this, I will be taking a media fast for the next 48 hours. No movies, (we don't have tv), no internet, no fiction books. My only form of entertainment will come through my children, my writing, or studying the Bible.

Will see you in a few days.

-Juli