Go on over to Mabel's House

I read a beautiful post on a blog I frequent that made me cry. It said so much...and on the eve of driving 8 hours north to go see my mom...I thought I'd send you on over to Mabel's House to read Liz's awesome writing and insights.

I love you MOM! I can't wait to see you soon!

The Shack- Summer reading

Taking a personal "time out" to do a little reading and soul searching.

Jacob was assigned some "summer reading" for school...and of course, I just had to see what they assigned the senior class to read. One of the books was "The Shack"...and for me, it's turned out to be exactly what the doctor ordered. And who says God doesn't speak to people these days?

...Sadness has a place in every human life...and unfortunately we all experience it from time to time.

The Bible says “There is a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance” (Eccles. 3: 4). We will all experience sorrow. In Wm. Paul Young’s novel, The Shack, it’s called "The Great Sadness".

Lately I feel deeply saddened by circumstances that are going on right now. I can relate to "The Great Sadness" the author speaks of. I am only half way through the book right now...I am savoring it like a delicious piece of decadent cheesecake. Letting the author's words settle into my spirit and grow; leaving me hungry for more.

What I’ve learned today is that, "Great Sadness is one of God’s greatest gifts; that it has an important place in every life, that it has many faces, many expressions; and that God offers special grace to those who mourn, through us."


“It’s been a while. I’ve missed you. I’ll be at the shack next weekend if you want to get together. – Papa.”

...so happy for mandatory summer reading...Now if only I could get my kid to read it. Now I'm going to go have a piece of cheesecake.

Goodwill and Garage Sale Hunting

look at the detail of the arms.



{Please excuse the major mess in our garage...it's seen a lot of action the past few months with kids moving in and out}

My good friend, Diane and I went out today in search of pre- 4th of July garage sales. Much to our dismay, there were only a few advertised in our local paper. We only really found two sales...not much of anything but I ended up with a few platters, a unique tin can, and an old ottoman for 2 bucks. I have been looking for a square ottoman for some time now, so I cannot deny I let out a little squeal when I saw how cheap it was.

Since we couldn't find any more garage sales, we ventured out to a few stores, then out to lunch at our favorite Chinese restaurant. Goodwill is located in the plaza next door, so we decided to take a look. I found a few edible arrangement tins and a wrought iron thingy. As we were about to leave, I decided to take a quick look at the furniture in the center aisle. Oh.my.gosh. Sitting there under a 1970's desk was this to die for mid-century modern danish lounge chair priced at $8.99!

Can you believe I hesitated? I guess my biggest worry was if Pat would have a few choice words for me after dragging yet ANOTHER "old piece of crap" chair into his cluttered garage.

My friend Diane cheered me on, telling me all the wonderful things I could do to this chair to breathe new life into it. SOLD!

I told the lady at the checkout I needed help with a chair... she went over to tell the young man to bring it over. As he was heading over, carrying the OBVIOUS CHOICE chair, I quickly told him, "Oh, no... I wanted the hideous floral one." He chuckled at my choice of words describing my new purchase. I chuckled inwardly to myself thinking I just SCORED big and they were none the wiser.

Jer 29:11 (NIV) "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Yep, I've got plans of my own for these two diamonds in the rough...stay tuned for the hope and future.

Happy ONE MONTH anniversary, Jen and Patrick!

Oh What a NIGHT! Never have I seen my daughter, Jennifer so happy as she was on the day of her wedding. Such a beautiful wedding ceremony and reception. We had so much fun...dancing and letting our hair down.

Jennifer and Patrick came home over Memorial Weekend...and are now back in Chicago. Jennifer is getting adjusted to living in a big city, being a wife and setting up their beautiful new home. She's been painting the boring white walls in their condo...I cannot wait to go visit them so I can see what she's transformed their place into. It gives me such joy to see them finally together, where they can start their exciting new life together. Although I miss her dearly, I realize she's always just a phonecall away...makes me wonder: How can a person be so happy and so sad at the same time?

It's a slow fade

Lyrics from Casting Crowns

It’s a slow fade when you give yourself away
It’s a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
It’s a slow fade, it’s a slow fade

Be careful little ears what you hear
When flattery leads to compromise, the end is always near
Be careful little lips what you say
For empty words and promises lead broken hearts astray

It’s a slow fade when you give yourself away
It’s a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day

The journey from your mind to your hands
Is shorter than you’re thinking
Be careful if you think you stand
You just might be sinking


It’s a slow fade when you give yourself away
It’s a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day.


Wow. How true this is.

“Slow Fade” is performed by Casting Crowns. This song carries a profound message as it speaks about how it has become more and more common for Christians to become morally compromised. The lyrics have a certain level of simplicity and innocence yet they carry deep meaning, describing how small steps of compromise, though seemingly unimportant, transition into deeper and more serious sins. The lines “The journey from your mind to your hands is shorter than you’re thinking, be careful if you think you stand you just might be sinking” describe how though we may not immediately feel the effects of our wrongdoings, they add up, and before you know it, you are too engulfed in your sins to get out.


The Message

Mark Hall, the lead singer for Casting Crowns, wrote a small piece about the song and its meaning on the band’s website: ”People don’t crumble in a day. You don’t fall, you fade. In your mind, there’s that pride that says ‘I’d never do that’… but you don’t just do it, it’s a slow, series of compromises, little ones that go there eventually, until you’re sitting in a place you’d never go, doing something you’d’ never do… and yet the way you’re living totally makes sense to you somehow because you’re so numb…
This song was inspired by the spreading cancer of moral failure in the fathers of this generation. As believers, we must guard our hearts and understand that no one crashes and burns. They just slowly fade away one little compromise at a time.”

Finally…

This song is a clear reminder that as Christians we cannot let down our guard under any circumstance. There are constant and daily attempts to undermine our belief and moral standing, and we must not compromise in the least. As portrayed in the music video, even the smallest of things can start a downhill slide into committing more grievous sins. It is vital that we stand out by remaining firm in our faith and persevering through any temptation or desire to do even the smallest of wrongs.
(from interhigh.org- april 17)

Jacob at Prom

Thought I'd post an adorable picture of my "LITTLE BOY" with his lovely and adorable girlfriend, Aubrey...who happens to be celebrating her 18th birthday today. I made her some babycakes for Jacob to give to her tonight.

Sigh. What happened to my little boy?

Just married

click on photo to enlarge

I'm still recovering from the beautiful and amazing wedding of Jennifer and Patrick this Saturday...their awesome photographer (Amy Carroll) posted this pic on her blog to share.

Patrick's dad surprised them with a Rolls Royce awaiting their departure from the church. A doctor who has a passion for old classics dresses up in a suitcoat and tophat to take the newleyweds for a spin around town. What a classy touch!

...and how about that daughter of mine? Wasn't she just positively glowing?