bus thief

I had to laugh when Diamonte (2 1/2) decided to put one of his Fisher Price little people in a time out.

Why did this little Asian girl end up on the step you ask?  Well it all started when she decided to take her school bus for a spin.  Apparently she is not the bus driver.  The girl with the geeky outfit and huge glasses plays that role.  Since little Asian person broke the rules and drove off through the living room, D decided to handle the situation.

He quickly removed her from the bus and placed  her on the step.

LOL.  It's been 10 minutes and she's still there.

an afternoon drive

Our fam took an afternoon drive to Havre de Grace on Monday and it was THE perfect day weather-wise for a stroll down the promenade.   Of course all roads lead to a sweet playground!

Here are a few pics.

one person can make a difference

Take the time to watch, cry, learn, and be amazed at how God used the life of one teenager to change the lives of countless orphans.

http://www.allgodschildren.org/about/videos/

congrats to brian & amy smith

It's been years since I have been asked to be a bridesmaid in a wedding.  I must confess that I was actually giddy and in tears when Amy asked me to be in her wedding.

Watching Brian and Amy's courtship develop and seeing first hand how they sought to honor God in their relationship was a beautiful thing!

I am thankful to God that I got to stand beside my friend on her wedding day!  What a privilege that was and it's a day that I will not forget!

Welcome to the "Smith Club" Ames!   To God be the Glory for the work He has done!

can you tell?

O.K.  How obvious is it that my Stephen-boy is NOT into animals.  Especially not farm animals.

Big pig mama just squeezed out a litter of 18 piglets and we were there to greet them at the State Fair.

Piglets are really cute.  Adult pigs?  Not so much.

i know, we admit we're geeks

Yep, Matt and I are geeks.  As you can tell from the first photo, we don't even seem to mind.  For my birthday way back in May, Matt bought us tickets to see the American Idol Live Tour, so last night we drove to Reading, PA to catch the show.

We had amazing seats and the show was excellent:  very entertaining, fun, creative, and LOUD.

Highlights for me:

1- Adams's performances and hearing his voice range live.  My eardrums were actually throbbing.

2- Danny singing "My Wish" and his attempt to encourage those going through trials and hard times.

3- Allison's performances and hearing her sing "Cry Baby".

4- Matt's rendition of "Georgia".  My Matt was impressed with his piano playing.

Did you notice that I didn't mention Kris in any of my highlights?

a picture of sacrificial love

This is a must see.   Set aside ten minutes of your time, grab some kleenex, put your cell phone away and watch.

humility

My earlier post on "rights" has been on my mind all day and I was so happy when I received an email update from Desiring God.  Piper's words have served as a continuation of what I believe Jesus is trying to teach me.

He makes the following summation in regards to humility.  I found it very helpful.

Humility is glad that God gets all the credit for choosing us so that we boast only in him and not man.




Humility happily admits that everything we have is a free gift from God, so that we can’t boast in it.




Humility is glad to affirm that God sovereignly governs our heartbeats and safe arrivals, or non-arrivals.




The root of Christian humility is the gospel that Christ died for our sins. That’s how sinful I was. That’s how dependent I am.




Humility gives itself away in serving everyone, rather than seeking to be served.




And humility is glad to affirm that this service is true greatness.

Humility gives itself away in serving everyone, rather than seeking to be served. If I am on board with #1 - #4, then #5 and #6 should be my heart's response.

my rights

Unfortunately, I"m one of those people who struggle a lot with what I believe are my "rights."

It manifests in many ways but most often enough, it is after I feel that I have spent the day caring/serving others  (my kids) and therefore, it is perfectly reasonable for a little ME time.  I feel deserving of what I want, when I want it.  And those things I want are not bad in and of themselves; it's the fact that they become demands and expectations.

While I recognize this as pride (I deserve nothing) after the fact, it is often hard in the midst of a situation to catch myself in the act.  Expecting things I feel I have deserved just comes so natural.

I started reading the Gospel of John this morning and the word "right" stuck out to me and I was gently convicted and reminded that the greatest right that I have is one that has been given to me.  I had nothing to do with it.  It was all a gift from God.  And this right should inform my thinking regarding every other right.

He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.  But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:11-13

My hope is that during the day I can remind myself of the right that God gave me, through the gift of His Son, and that my heart, soul, and mind will be filled with thankfulness and humility, as opposed to prideful demands.