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ByAngie
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Sticky Hands: Out Of The Mouths Of Babes

I was recently discussing this topic with a friend who stated that, long story short, her little girl lead her to having a relationship with Jesus.

I cannot emphasize enough just how cool I believe this really is!!!

Little did I know that my little guy was going to be used, once again, to minister to me. You may remember that on Monday I posted about taking a leap of faith and how God spoke to me by watching Tommy jump off the couch.

Well, fast forward to this morning. I’m stressed. I’m scared. I’m worried. My Dad is going in for another surgery tomorrow. I’ve been praying all morning for peace. I went in to do some dishes when I heard my son sing “Hahahahahahaha” as in the verse from “The Joy Of The Lord Is My Strength”. I couldn’t help but grin a little.

“Why didn’t I think of that? Duh Angie!”

Needless to say, I’ve been singing it for the last couple of hours.

What about you? How have your children ministered to you lately?

 

ByAngie
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Sticky Hands: Take A Leap Of Faith!

As I’m typing this, my 3 year old is jumping off of the love seat onto pillows that he has gathered into a pile on the floor. (My husband hates when he does this, but I let him. Shh… 😉 ) He has no worry, no fear, and is completely enthralled in pure giddiness. (If that’s not a word, I just made it up… Because it perfectly describes him right now!)

My friend Julie took a leap a few years ago... out of a perfectly good airplane. I could also use a lesson from Julie...

I feel as though I could use a lesson from my little guy. Lately, I feel like God is gearing me up for something. Some of it I know already, but I just feel like there is more. I’m amped up and very excited… but also scared. The unknown kind of freaks me out a little. Like when you’re expecting your first child and you have no idea what it would truly be like to be a mother, but you think you do. You feel all that wonder and adoration for someone you’ve never officially met and have only felt growing within you. You worry, “What if I mess this up? What if I fail?” but at the same time “Thank you Lord for this wonderful opportunity, I will be eternally grateful!”

That’s where I am now…

I just glanced over to my little boy again and he is laughing hysterically, jumping into the air, and falling semi-gracefully on his cushions. With each leap he takes I feel God speaking to me… “It’s your turn Angie. I’ll be here for you to land on. Trust me. Jump! Have faith!”

What about you? Is there anything you need to leap into with faith right now? Pray for me, and I’ll pray for you.

1, 2, 3…. JUMP!!!

ByAngie
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Sticky Hands: Update!

Worshiping... or more likely just really comfortable.

Sorry, but I’m going to do a little bragging in this post… I’m really hoping I don’t come across as rude, a jerk, or proud too proudful…

Since a little before I began this blog, as I mentioned in my “Why So Sticky?“, I’ve been just stopping when I feel the need and praising. I pray with my children more. I sing when the mood hits. I make it clear before them that Mommy is in love with Jesus and that it is a good thing to be. That praise does not have to be hidden. In fact, it shouldn’t be. That time for quiet prayer and Bible reading is not always allotted, so to pray where you are and read when you can.

I know, she's not really praying. I promise I'm not one of those moms who says my kid talks at 1 month old.

Immediately I saw a change in them. But these last few weeks they’ve taken me by surprise. My 2 year old, who rarely speaks unless he’s in the mood, talks quite a bit about Jesus. He even sings, “Jesus” when playing with his toys. My 3 1/2 year old prays for just about anything. I even once had him come up to me randomly and say “Thank Jesus, Mommy!” The cutest is when he uses the 4 month old’s jumper as a “Microphone” and sings songs about the Lord.

This has been quite a motivator for me. To know that they are learning more by my actions has me thinking, “Hmm, I need to do this more…” and more importantly… “I should probably do less of some of this other stuff…”

How about you? Have you taken the Sticky Hands Challenge? If so, what changes and impressions have you seen?

ByAngie
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How To Build Your Own Lemonade Stand Step 5: Be Positive

So, here you are. You’ve gone through all of the steps to make your lemonade & construct your lemonade stand by grieving, forgiving, accepting, and moving on. Now you have reached the point where you set up shop, practice good customer service, and make those sales.

“Huh? What are you even talking about? Stop with the metaphors or at least explain them!”

Okay, I’ll explain. Sorry.

  • Set up shop: Carry yourself in confidence. Never think that because this event happened that you are damaged or less than anyone else. Walk with your head held high and know that you are a child of God. Never walk aimlessly, have a purpose… To serve God and live according to his will.
  • Customer Service: Smile. Be positive! When someone tells you a story or something they are going through, don’t try to bring them down by putting every ounce of negativity you have on them with your words or expressions. Having a bad day? Stop and mention the positive. Remember Pollyanna? (If you don’t, watch the movie) Look on the sunny side. You might be having a bad day, but for everything you count as bad count 2 more things that you are blessed with. When you’re down, you bring everyone down around you. Don’t be that guy… (To clarify, you can feel down sometimes. Just don’t let it define you.)
  • Make The Sale: When someone says to you, “Oh wow, I can’t believe you lived through that.” feel free to say what a struggle it was. Be real, and give God the glory! You never know who you might encourage or witness to by giving all acknowledgement to Him! Don’t act like a victim, be a survivor!

(If achieving this step is just too much work, consider seeking counseling. There is no shame in asking someone for a little help. Also, depression is a very serious illness that can happen to anyone. It is not something that you can “just snap out of”. Seek help if you need it, please.)

So, what do you do now? Sit back, relax, and drink some lemonade!!!

God bless!

 

 

ByAngie
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Sticky Hands: Disciplining Mom

DISCIPLINE

2 obsolete:instruction
3: a field of study
4: training that corrects, molds, or perfects the mental faculties or moral character
5 a: control gained by enforcing obedience or order b: orderly or prescribed conduct or pattern of behavior c:self-control
6: a rule or system of rules governing conduct or activity
Yesterday, I took a Facebook survey of my friends to see what was the first word that came to their mind when they heard the word “Discipline“. Jimmy said “Marine“, which I found honorable. Kathleen said “Behaved” which I loved. Kara joked around and mentioned spanking, but said in all seriousness “Teach“. Love that one too! Susie brought up “Consequence“, which is something it seems we all seem to forget about sometimes before we do something, so I really enjoyed this one too. Our very own Emily came back with “Being in order and in line with how you know you’re supposed to be” Wow, huh? When I asked my “Sis” Michele she stated “Inner Strength“. Great one! My buddy Keith said “Focus“, which is so true, isn’t it? Christi said “Correction“, and honestly, I was surprised we got this far down the list without it. Not because it was what I was looking for, but because many associate those to words. Tasha made a good point with “Chaos … I know .. weird, but I guess because if you don’t discipline you have chaos.” She got that one right, didn’t she? Kelli stated “Parents“. Kristianna replied “Consistent“, Dawn “In Order“, and Robin “Biblical“. I love them all! Especially Jessica’s interpretation with “Love“…
What does the above word make you think of? Probably your children, right? We want them to grow up to be wise, well mannered, and well liked so we correct them and mold them all the while praying that God guide us and use us for His good as we raise the next generation.
But what about you, Mom? Who keeps you in line? Who molds you? Who corrects you? Who teaches you? What training has brought you to a place of self control and structure? A Mom without discipline herself would have a very difficult time disciplining her children, would she not? And think about it, how can you be a disciple without discipline?
I know, you want to say “Um, duh Angie. I control myself and with the help of The Lord I do all the others…” Yeah, okay, I know you know this stuff. But I mean I want you to stop and think REALLY hard about this. Read those questions again, one at a time, and ponder them for a moment.
  • Who keeps you in line? Is it you, your pastor, your spouse, and most importantly the Lord? Maybe with a little help from friends & family? If so, good!
  • Now, who molds you? Is it God and God alone? Sure we can be influenced by others, but I am talking about molding you. There was a time that my friends molded me, the ways of celebrities and what I thought I should be instead of what God wanted me to be were how I was molded. Obviously, I had a lot of cracks and was very oddly shaped. (Not claiming to be perfect now, still a few defects there…)
  • Who is correcting and teaching you? A few months ago during the Summer, I woke up one morning and God started dealing with me to change some things in my life. The conviction was so strong that I had to stop doing the morning dishes and just cry, which lead to a lot of prayer. It was as if He had taken a switch to my backside and I instantly realized my wrong doing and WHY it was wrong when I didn’t even see it before. You’d think I’d be angry, but no, I was more in love with my Savior than before. I was so glad that I finally let HIM correct me instead of the world. So refreshing!
  • What training have you received? Well, as Christians we read our Bibles, listen to sermons, and read books penned by anointed hands. All of these used as a combination are a great way to learn to walk the straight and narrow.
Discipline from God is a key part in living in His will. As my husband says, “You shouldn’t have the intestinal fortitude of licorice.” When we stand strong, firm, practicing self-control and willing to accept His correction we find that the path, while straight and narrow, becomes a lot clearer to see.
Now, PLEASE, share your answers if you are willing. Let us all encourage each other and lift one another up!
1 Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, But he who hates correction is stupid.2 A good man obtains favor from the Lord, But a man of wicked intentions He will condemn.3 A man is not established by wickedness, But the root of the righteous cannot be moved. Proverbs 12:1-3 NKJV
ByAngie
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Living Your Legacy: Walking The Walk And Talking The Talk

It’s really easy to get an idea of what we would LIKE for our legacy to be. Living that legacy, well, that can be another story, right? Just like everything else in parenting, easier said than done.

So how can we set those examples before our children and others?

Well, first of all, we must strive daily to NOT be a “Do as I say, not as I do” parent. Telling our children to live one way while we live another is obviously not the way to achieve a Godly legacy.

Second, if we want our children to grow up and have meaningful relationships we must show them that by our example also. Being a true friend, a loving wife, a good daughter, etc are all ways for them to learn how to interact with others on their own. If we talk trash behind others backs, hold grudges, allow our husbands to put us down or abuse us emotionally or physically, disrespect our husbands, and argue consistently with our families then our children will believe that these actions are acceptable. Plain and simple. When your kids are grown and they shine in their relationships, I guarantee someone is going to say “They must have had a really fantastic mother.” Seriously.

I have to remind myself of these things EVERY day. I am human, and sometimes I have to stop myself and say “Hey! Don’t be a hypocrite! Little eyes are watching you, as are those of others who expect you to be what you say, a Christian. Shape up!”

Thankfully, with diligent prayer and discipline, we can do our best and bring up our children to know the Lord and live his ways… I’m going to try my hardest. Will you?

Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 22:6 NKJV

 

ByAngie
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How To Build Your Own Lemonade Stand Step 4: Moving On

8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the Spiritis in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), 10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. 11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. 13 But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. 14 Therefore He says:

“ Awake, you who sleep,
Arise from the dead,
And Christ will give you light.”

Ephesians 5:8-14 NKJV

Okay, so you’ve done all that you can in the kitchen for now. It is time to grab a hammer, some nails, a couple planks of wood and head outside.

Moving on can be one of the most difficult tasks. Leaving behind something that has been consuming you for some time can be a lot of work. So, why must we move on? Why can’t we just stay where we are? Because if you sit and dwell on what has happened, you will never be happy. It is not God’s will for us to be sad or angry. There is a season for that, yes, but it does come to an end. That is why it is a season, it changes.

Now is the season where things become warm, metaphorically. You began this struggle in the late Autumn. During the Winter you grieved. Late Winter and Spring you forgave and accepted. Now, it is Summer… and people are thirsty and in need of your lemonade. Soon they may be in the late Autumn and will need to remember how wonderful Summertime was and what that Lemonade you made them tasted like.

Will you ever go back to the kitchen? Oh yes. You’re going to have to go back to get sweetener, supplies, and once in awhile you’re going to have to take in more lemons to squeeze them out. But for now, you’re building your stand and preparing for the next step which I’ll be talking about next week when we conclude this series: Setting up shop and customer service.

As tempting as it is to go back inside because the sun is so bright and the air too warm, remember God got you this far… He’ll take you even farther! And if you want to go farther, you can’t live in the past… Put on a smile and a pair of work gloves (Read your Bible and have faith), because it’s time for you to construct (pray for) your shop front (attitude)!

ByAngie
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Sticky Hands: Toys And Trials Everywhere!!!

This is the "clean" part of the room. Seriously. And yes, my couches are out dated and the lamp shade is crooked. Now you see how human I truly am! Oh, and I took this photo while telling my youngest son to stop climbing on the tv stand and feeding my youngest daughter her bottle. Human? DEFINITELY!

My house is a disaster today. I mean seriously. A complete disaster. It looks as though a tornado touched down and only knocked around the toy bins. I considered making the boys pick all of the toys up, but then I decided to let them have a fun day with all their toys. We’ll clean them up, one by one, at bed time and start “clean” tomorrow.

Ever stand in the middle of a room covered in toys? So not fun. Even worse? Walking through it. Add carrying an infant through it and it becomes down right frustrating!

As I sat here looking around my living and conjoined dining room thinking of how each toy will be picked up at the end of the day and all will be okay, it hit me. This is how I should approach life.

What do I mean? Well, have you ever been completely overwhelmed? One thing after another piling up around you. You feel like you’re drowning. You have no idea how to dig out. So you try to manage it all at once, only bringing yourself down deeper.

What if I handle each situation one by one? Instead of worrying about tackling it all at once I’ll pick up one situation, wipe it off and handle it with prayer, and put it away by giving it to God! Then, I can move on to the next, and the one after that… Seems to work for my kids, why can’t it work for me?

Next time I’m standing in the midst of trials all around me, I’m going to try my kids approach. Besides, everything will be less likely to be swept under the rug only to show up again later this way. 😉

 

ByDiania
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If We All Pull Together

How many of you remember that little song with the big meaning from your childhood, the one that only had a few repeated choruses about pulling together and how happy we’d be? I think we learn more from our younger years then we even realize, we take little songs and apply them to simple little things without having thought about that little tune since childhood.

Pulling together is the very importance of Christianity, getting the impossible done when it almost seems impossible, raising funds for children you will never meet, but knowing they will be blessed from something you and a handful of others felt led to do.

Pulling together somehow keeps the joy in your heart, the smile on your face and the skip in your walk. Age holds no barrier to helping, God can and will use any one who applies for the job. You just have to be willing. No paper work or application necessary, and you get full benefits with a vacation package your sure to be happy with when you reach paradise…

Today I watched everyone pull together, the job got done and I thank God for letting me be a part of such a wonderful group of Christians, SO IF WE ALL PULL TOGETHER, TOGETHER, TOGETHER, IF WE ALL PULL TOGETHER THE HAPPIER WE’LL BE……

 

 

ByAngie
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Your Legacy: How Will You Be Remembered?

Unfortunately, I don't think I'll ever be able to live this one down. Oh yeah, that's my legacy. Go me!

This question has been on my mind a lot lately. How will my children, grandchildren, friends, and family remember me?

Will I be remembered for making gingerbread every Christmas? Will it be for being a woman who strived her best to be a Godly wife and mother? I’m desperately hoping it’s not for being a procrastinating, scatter brained, unorganized, occasionally crabby person who ONE time made a bad batch of tacos and ever since her husband questioned her every time she suggested them for dinner… Or made anything else new for that matter.

How can we make sure that we are remembered for the good and not the bad?

I would say the best thing we can do is to make the positive in our lives outshine the negative. Live with a positive outlook as much as possible. Let Jesus’ light shine through you. Don’t hold grudges, act bitter, be mean, or easily offended. And while it can be an easy way to handle a delicate situation by being passive aggressive, is that really something we would want to be remembered for?

My Grandparents having my Mom dedicated as an infant

Recently I’ve been trying to take note of my habits. Which ones are great to have, which ones I don’t mind or are not damaging, and which ones I would never want to be remembered for. Then I sat and thought of my Grandparents… Two of the most caring, loving, Godly people I’ve ever known. I remember them for all the funny and wonderful things they did. I remember them for raising their family for Christ. I remember them for loving coffee, Diet Coke, and going out to eat. I remember them for being compassionate and passionate for the work of The Lord. Do I recall them having flaws and being human? Certainly! However, more often I remember them leading us by example in a positive, unique, Godly way.

I have taken it upon myself to be sure that I leave a similar legacy for my own children and grandchildren. Why “similar” and not the exact same you ask? Because it’s MY legacy. Not Dorothy’s. Not Paul Benjamin’s. It’s ANGIE’s legacy. I want to pass down all of those same things, but in my own way with some added flare that says “Angie was here…” Part of that is that I MUST agree to have my photo taken more often. While still. Not on a ride at Disneyland making some dumb face. Ugh… 😉

What about you? How will you be sure that you are passing down what would be good habits for your children and not setting them up for a fall?

 

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