monster house.

October 26, 20123 Comments

as parents we are called to love, protect, teach, nurture, guide and correct our children.

this week as parents, we loved our wee babs with tickles, cuddles and affirming words…

we nurtured their hurts, clarified their questions, and helped guide their decisions…

we corrected unruly behavior and taught them to make wise choices…

and this week as parents, we protected. we protested. we were proud. and we prayed.

we protected our kids from a black hairy googly-eyed spider. sure, it was only a quarter of an inch long. but it was a spider. *hooray* exclaimed our kids ~ mom and dad saved the day!

we protested after our 3rd grader saw the movie monster house at school.

{what? you protested a silly little kids cartoon movie?}

why yes. we did.

today the whole school watched monster house after returning from their fall field trip.

p.a. called the school and talked to the principal, who was apologetic. he asked why this movie was shown without parental consent? it’s rated pg {ahem. that stands for ‘parental guidance’}.

call us overprotective. call us prudes. call us crazy. we don’t care.

while some might think this is an overreaction, we are taking action.

nope. we’re not going to file a lawsuit. that would be *ridiculous*.

however, we do hope that next time a movie with no educational purpose is shown during school hours, paid for with our tax dollars, we will know ahead of time and have a right to keep our child out of school for the ‘movie time’ without being counted as an absence if we do not approve of said movie.

yes that was meant to be a run-on sentence. thank you for reading.

the point is:

we are not trying to be holier-than-thou-pastor-parents.

we are called to protect our kids.

the school is not going to do that for us. culture is not going to do that for us.

it is our parental job to protect.

so. we choose to use our parental right to protect our kids from certain media.

and we expect to get a note ahead of time the next time said media is going to be shown at school.

this week as parents, we were proud.

when the movie began, soleil was immediately uncomfortable. she also noticed another classmate who seemed to be shaking and physically scared by the movie. she went to her teacher and explained her feelings. she was given the option to turn her chair around and read.

i wish we could’ve just come to the school and picked her up.

we were so proud soleil spoke up.

and this week as parents, we prayed.

we know we can’t control everything every second of the day about our kids. especially while they are in school or any other time they are away from us.

so we pray.

we pray over them everyday.

we know we can’t make decisions for them,

but we can influence.

our home is our training ground for life.

it’s our base camp for tackling situations that arise.

it’s our headquarters for problem-solving.

home is where we teach, train and take-to-heart the truth.

…

we choose to follow Jesus as the Way, the Truth and the Life.

The living Word of God.

The Bible is our root, our foundation, of truth.

…

when we teach our kids to think about ‘whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable…’ as in Philippians 4:8, there are very few movies that fall into that category. there is so much media [even media deemed *kid friendly* that is contrary to those things].

we are humbled to love, protect, teach, nurture, guide and correct our wee babs.

this is our calling as parents.

we are honored to have this job.

and this week we are *proud* of a job well done.

Soleil for President

October 5, 20121 Comment

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I know who I’m voting for on election day…

Soleil. Yep. My 8 year old daughter will be getting my vote.

Her convictions, ideas and vision for our future are astounding.

*Here are 5 reasons you also should vote for Soleil on election day*

1. Soleil will remove all cars and replace them with horses for future transportation. Imagine a world with no more toxins or fuel prices to fuss over. This will save the planet, peeps.

2. Soleil will make sure all children, 5 and up, have iphones. These iphones will have a feature called *pop outs*. These *pop outs* will access anything you need. Need food? Need clothing? There’s ~~an app~~ err… a *pop out* for that. Imagine a world where everyone has an iphone with buttons that access and *pop out* anything we need… actually, I think we are well on our way of heading toward this reality. Soleil will make it happen.

3. Soleil sees a future where money is not needed… except to buy your iphone. This will be our only need for money – so that no one is greedy.

4. Soleil will equip every house with an invention – a button. You will push this button to set up parties or a place for gymnastics. She sees a future where everyone will be healthier by having parties and doing gymnastics. Sounds good to me.

5. Soleil will ensure all bad people are exiled to space. This point speaks for itself.

Soleil for President, Everyone – Hip Hip Hooray!

Obviously I live in reality and Soleil is not a presidential candidate. Just to clarify any confusion. Although she does have some wonderful ideas, her name won’t appear on the ballot.
We will have to make a *for real* decision for this upcoming election. How will you decide?

As a Christ follower, The Bible is my ultimate authority.In this “election season” I am reminded of Romans 13:1-14.

Yes, I will choose a *for real* candidate. But first, I choose to pray continually, trust wholeheartedly and live my life fully… so that~regardless of the election outcome~I know God is in control.

He’s got this.

lies we believe.

September 30, 20121 Comment

5 lies we believe…

1. you’re. not. cool. if you don’t own a pair of TOMS shoes. and the Bobs Skecher version doesn’t count. and neither does the Payless version. if they even have a version. sorry.

the truth is ~ TOMS shoes are impacting the world in a great way. buy one give one. but you don’t have to own a pair of TOMS to be a cool and giving person.

2. you’re. not. hip. if you’re not on Pinterest. sorry. you’re just not. and you have to be invited into Pinterest. so you probably don’t have any hip friends either.

the truth is ~ Pinterest is hip and trendy. for now. but don’t feel bad if you haven’t been invited and you’re not ‘pinning’ anything. life will go on. i promise.

3. you’re a terrible housekeeper if you leave dishes in the sink. or on your counter. over night. you will start the day tomorrow with dirty dishes in the sink. you are already behind. just give up now.

the truth is ~ you can do the dishes in the morning. really. they will still be waiting patiently for you in your sink. or on your counter.

4. you will. miss. out. on the greatest deal, the final sale, and your last chance to save 20% if you don’t use that coupon to Kohls that expires today. and you will never. ever. get that chance back again.

the truth is ~ those deals run every. single. day. and they are stupid and pointless. and they clog up your inbox. so you need to ‘unsubscribe’.

5. your underwear is crap unless is comes from Victoria’s Secret. in fact all of your hoodies and stretchy pants are also crap if they don’t have the PINK logo slapped on the buttocks.

the truth is ~ victoria’s secret underwear get holes in them too. just the same as undies from target [pronounced ‘tar jay’ en francais] where you can also, btw, find perfectly fluffly $5 clearance hoodies.

whew. i am certainly relieved these 5 lies we believe have been exposed… and i am so thankful that God loves me *and you* regardless of my clean or dirty dishes or underwear choices.

*In the Bible, Matthew 6:25-34 also renounces these lies we can believe:

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on {or what kind of underwear you will put on}. Is not life more than food {or dirty dishes in the sink}, and the body more than clothing {or whether or not you have a pair of TOMS}?… verse 27. and which of you by being anxious {or pinning things on Pinterest} can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing {or whether or not you will be able to use your 20% off Kohls coupon that expires today}? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these {Kohls customers}… verse 33. but seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble {and shopping at Victoria’s Secret can be more trouble than its worth}.” Amen.

this post will be continued… there are many more lies to uncover another day, but for now… happy monday!

*please note {emphasis added by me} these notes are not in the Bible 🙂 but don’t just take my word for it, read it!

love your neighbor. or not.

September 26, 20122 Comments

we live in a nice suburban neighborhood. in the middle of nowhere Ohio.

well… to the people who grew up here it is somewhere.

but to us. we liken it to the middle of nowhere. no offense.

we moved here from new york city. and once you’ve lived there…everywhere else seems like the middle of nowhere.

but now we live here. and we love it.

in new york city we had neighbors but not for real neighbors.

we had next door apartment dwellers.

we rubbed shoulders with fellow subway riders.

we scurried past hurried walkers.

we barely made eye contact with other elevator riders.

in new york city, we “learned” how to avoid our neighbors.

and here in our lovely suburban neighborhood in the middle of nowhere we’ve kinda done the same thing. unintentionally.

we’ve lived in our house for nearly seven years.

and only recently have we begun to know our neighbors.

it’s a shame. really.

sure. we love our church. we love our friends. we love the random strangers we meet and pray for at the grocery story, kohls and target.

but our neighbors?

hmmm. not doing such a good job.

home sweet home. we close our garage door. a house. a job. 3 kids. a tv. we’re good.

yet our hearts have been tugged time and time again…

meet your neighbors.

and we know how to be kind. we do have manners.

i grew up in oklahoma where everyone waves and says “howdy”.

p.a. grew up in california where everyone is smiley and everyone calls everyone “dude”.

and we didn’t ignore *all* of our new york city neighbors.

we exchanged waves and hellos with our doormen. i mean c’mon. we at least owed them that courtesy for opening the door for us, right.

we exchanged bad breathy smiles with fellow subway riders as our bodies were pressed together crammed into this small transportation tube.

i shared fake laughs over laundry as i patiently waited for my turn to use the communal washing machine.

p.a. turned the other cheek while answering the church door to many a homeless friend who would refuse food offered if money was not in the negotiation.
i mean. we were sometimes neighborly.

so p.a. lands a job in a new church. we move to a cute little house in the middle of nowhere Ohio.
technically, we only have *ONE* neighbor because our house is on the corner.
we spend lots of time outside watching cars go by and exchanging neighborly waves.
we have a block party one summer and meet about 3 neighbors from that shindig.
we have dinner with one neighbor down the street.
we meet another few neighbors from a g-sale one saturday morning when we spread out all of our crap on our driveway to sell.
isn’t that enough neighborly interaction?
still our ears heard the whisper…
know your neighbors.

sure we are a family made up of a pastor, his wife and three kids.
yet obviously we still have a lot to learn.
and God is a God of redemption and grace.
He orchestrates who our neighbors will be and gives us opportunity to know them.
this past summer, p.a. had the chance to talk with one of our neighbors about Jesus.
i’ve chatted with a few neighbors during morning walks and quick visits when dropping off our kids at school.
some of our neighbors attend our church.
some of them have joined our worship team.
God is throwing opportunity to know our neighbors into our lap.

still the words of Jesus echo to be obeyed…
love your neighbors.

Jesus calls us to love our neighbors as ourselves. Leviticus 19:18.
and to not be so freakin’ selfish. duh.
our home is a sanctuary. we treasure our time together as a family. to get renewed, refreshed and refilled for the daily grind of life and ministry.
outside our home is a mission field.
just the other day, p.a. had the awesome opportunity to talk with one of our neighbors.
they just recently moved in next door to us. so yes.
they are technically our only neighbors.
we’ve seen them sitting outside on their front porch and given the neighborly wave as we back up out of our driveway.
we’ve assumed they’re as busy as we are and avoided further contact.
but our hearts tugged and our ears heard the whisper echo…
meet. know. love. your neighbors.
after his run the other day, p.a. went up to meet them and in a matter of minutes he learned part of their story…and invited them to church.
the husband is a pastors kid, the wife had a load of questions – she asked if it was okay that she smoked while p.a. was talking with them? yes. she asked it is okay to wear casual clothes to our church? heck yes. she asked is it okay that she cuss? hell yes. and btw so does the pastors wife. occasionally.
*and the best part*
p.a. asked them where they moved from…
the apartments right across the street from our church.
the same apartments we’ve given groceries to.
this family received groceries from our church 2 years ago.
coincidence? i think not.

so… Jesus calls us to love our neighbors as ourselves.
and He’s not kidding around.
…
do you have any neighborly stories to share? please. do tell.

Model ~ Size 8

August 15, 20122 Comments

I’m not a model…
But that doesn’t matter…
My hubby thinks I am the most beautiful woman in the world.

Most of the time, I wear a size 8.

Sometimes, I can wear a size 6.

I’m only 5’3″, so I’ll never be a model.
You’ll never see my face on the cover of People, Cover Girl or Vogue magazine.
Oh, and add the fact that I’ll most likely never wear a size 2 again either.

Usually, Models are super skinny… super tall…and for some reason they always look super sulky, serious or sad.
These things I am not.
However, I am perfectly comfortable in my size 8 jeans.
And… my hubby thinks I am the most beautiful woman in the world.

When we went on our 15th Anniversary trip to the coast a few weeks ago, we were goofing around with Adam’s camera on his new phone which does rapid shooting.
I absolutely LOVE laughing, making silly faces and having fun.
This is our photo shoot 🙂