Beautifully Poor

How Are You Known? One of the biggest sellers to kids and adults these days is to be famous. For everyone to know who we are and what are name is. To somehow put an impact on the world whether it be from inventing something awesome or being an actor(actress), rockstar, or singing. We all have some sort of talent, though not all of us can play an instrument better than most or sing like an angel, making this dream far fetched for most of us. In fact, I would imagine a lot of us feel like the turtle in the above picture. He isn't real easy to pick out of the bog. Between the stick and lillypads he kind of just blends in. I took this picture while on a walk through our local nature center and we spotted a few turtles, but we had to look pretty hard to notice them. If we would've just booked it through the trail without paying close attention we would have missed them altogether.  So how do we get noticed? How do our names fit into this world so people know who we are?...

Family and Adventure I had such a blast this past week and am so exhausted from all our adventures! My parents and nephew drove up from Michigan on Friday of last week and my brother and sister-in-law flew in from Arizona on Saturday afternoon. It was a tiring week but so worth it. I love my family.  First order of business! Letting the two cousins have some pool fun!!! They had such a blast in the pool!  Absolutely love this picture Second order! Choo Choo Bob's in St Paul! One of our favorite stores in the city for kids! Train sets everyone can play with as well as story times and you can even have your child's birthday party there! Then it was picnic time on Colby Lake! Frisbee and food! Playtime and sunshine. So wonderful to have family with us! Cousins Relaxing after a long day Then I was lucky enough to have my family watch my brother and Lawrence and I run the 4 Miles for Hunger in Burnsville. It was so great...

End Of Summer Race Woodbury Days race - August 24th Not many of you know this, but I joined a running group this last spring when we moved to Minnesota. I wanted to join something that would improve my health, be something that involved exercise and something just for me. I knew that becoming a stay-at-home mom after working 2 jobs was going to be hard on me in the aspect of alone time or even doing things strictly for myself. I was right too. I needed to join the class and I must say, it is the best thing I could have done for myself. I found Moms On The Run through the Bing search engine trying to find things to do just for women that involved exercise. I was extremely nervous about it after I finally got enough gumption to sign up. The first night of class I felt so sick to my stomach I almost took the next exit on the freeway and headed home. To my surprise, it wasn't as intimidating as one might think, or as I thought, I should say! That first night it was cold and rainin...

The Tempest in the Storm As I see the headlines every day for the Christians in Iraq going through this terrible tragedy it breaks my heart. So many uprooted from their homes. So many having to flee on foot, pay a large tax, or be killed. Many lives taken for the mere fact of a religious preference. Here in America we do not have this to worry about much. Yes, there are a few instances where Christians are targeted for beliefs about gay marriage, birth control issues and abortion. BUT, they are NOTHING compared to this. NOTHING. That is not persecution, but only a small prick into our faith bubble. These people are going through intense persecution. Hundreds of thousands of Christians and other religious minorities are being affected and must flee to avoid the inevitable: genocide. To see the pictures breaks my heart. To see the families speak to the news reporters on the TV hurts me inside. What is this coming to? What can I do to help these people? My brothers and sisters in C...

Accepting the Love  "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him, shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16 NIV I have always struggled with acceptance. Whether it be by friends, family or even my husband. The only person I really feel who accepts me is my little boy, and that is because he is my child. No, I am not saying this to get sympathy; far from it. I know there are others who feel just as I do. It is hard to accept other people's love when you yourself feel inadequate and never good enough for that love. The thing is, with God's love, none of us are deserving of it. Romans 3:23 states that well: "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."   I certainly don't deserve it. Of all the things I have done in my life that I know are against His 10 commandments, or other things that we all know are wrong. Like lying or cheating. Most of these the world says are okay. Some of ...

And Here We Are.... I must say I am loving our new life. From where we came from to where we are now is an amazing stride for Lawrence and myself. I am so happy to say I am proud of where we are now compared to what we were & where we were not even 6 months ago. Lawrence got Employee of the Month this month at work, I am so proud of him! The tides change, keep that in mind whenever you go through a tough time. It is never forever.  "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven;..."         Ecclesiastes 3:1 NIV There have been times, especially when we lost Adora, that I felt at my end and never thought I would feel different about life at all. There are times to be sad and times to be happy. We must go through the hard times to become who we are. If life was just peachy keen all the time, how boring would that be? And our character would never be built-up and we would never be tested for who we really are. "...

Making Choices and Changes Change is scary. And it takes a lot of time and effort. If marriage is going to work, both parties need to be willing to make it work. If only 1 person does, they will eventually wear out from not getting anything back in it. I don't know one person who could go through marriage always giving and never getting anything back in return. In our case, Lawrence and I both had changes we had to work on.  I had to change my attitude towards him. If we were going to stay to together I also had to learn to forgive. The hardest thing for me to do was to forgive him for all the pain and hurt he had inflicted upon my heart. Changing your attitude towards a person is never easy either, but with God's help, I knew I could do it.  Lawrence had a lot of bad habits to kick, starting with the pornography. His counselor was/is fantastic and has helped him come a LONG ways from where he started. It makes a huge difference when you have someone helpin...