One Fine Day

One fine July day, we ventured to one of our favorite places, Ararat Acres. Ararat Acres is a post in itself, but if you are curious you can visit Liz's blog at The Bee's Knees. She posts about life on the farm.
We met Ararat Acres' newest family member, a miniature donkey named Diego and affectionately called "Donkey Boy." Donkey Boy isn't much taller than Snugglebug.




Snugglebug wasn't sure about Donkey Boy. As far as Snugglebug was concerned Donkey Boy was still bigger than he was. But, for Donkey Boy, he saw another miniature just like him and immediately fell in love.

But, meeting Donkey Boy was only the appetizer, the real treat was apple picking. Snugglebug picked his first apple and thought that was heaven on earth. Apples are one of his favorite foods and pulling them off the tree was tons of fun.









For the apples too high for him to reach, I picked him up. He reached and grabbed them without any effort. And for those wondering what happened after he pulled them from the tree...He gingerly dropped them in the bucket. Okay, so some of the apples ended up slightly bruised but they all became apple sauce or apple butter in the end, so it didn't really matter.





Of course, you cannot pick apples without working up an appetite. While Liz and I picked the higher apples, we let Snugglebug take a break...And, of course, eat an apple. YUMMO!!

Once apple picking had been finished, we retired to the house for some fresh watermelon and cantaloupe! Unbeknownst to Liz and I, Charlie, Liz's husband captivated Snugglebug with his guitar and banjo. Snugglebug was entranced by the music but even more so by the ability to produce the music.




Keep in mind that Snugglebug is only 2 1/2. The typical two year old is a disaster waiting to happen and certainly should not be let anywhere near a guitar or banjo, but Charlie let Snugglebug hold and play the banjo. For the next 45 minutes, Charlie instructed Snugglebug on the fine points of banjo playing. And by the end of the lesson, Snugglebug was holding the banjo just like Charlie held his guitar and strumming the strings with his little fingers. Something tells me we may have guitar or banjo lessons in our future.

We ended the morning with dueling banjos and a very fine performance it was. I wish I had my video camera! It was a sight to behold.

I'm Back...

Back by popular demand! All 12 of my readers have requested that I return to blogging. This has been an incredibly busy summer, so I hope to catch you up and continue to post as fall rolls around.



Snugglebug is 2 1/2 and a busy little fellow. Between Speech Therapy twice a week, Occupational Therapy once a week, Storytime with friends every Wednesday, play-dates on Tuesdays, birthday parties, church get-togethers, and just your basic weekends, we have not had a whole lot of down-time for things like blogging, reading, and watching TV. Through it all we have managed to find a nice balance between therapies, doctors, friends, and social engagements. While we have scurried from one thing to another, we have had an equal amount of fun as we have work.

My hope is that despite our busy schedule, we, Snugglebug and I,will look back on this summer and say, "This is the summer friendships began." I don't think we will look back and see a hurried season that blurs one day into the next. I think we will look back at events such as Storytime each week and remember fondly playing with friends, reading fun books, singing even more fun songs, and simply enjoying a hot, summer day with friends.

Book Review: The Hole in our Gospel by Richard Stearns

I passed up the opportunity to review this book once already. I wasn't sure what the "hole" could possibly be in our gospel. That title could have so many meanings. So let me clear it up for you. The hole in our gospel is quite simply the fact that we all too often pass by the beggar at the gate rather than stop to help the man. We argue that we don't have money, or time, or means to help the man and that someone else should help him who is better equipped.

But, Stearns points out throughout the book that the job is ours and not someone else's. We as Christians are to do what Jesus would do. Jesus would not pass by the man, but help him in whatever way he could at that moment.

Richard Stearns is the President of World Vision. You hear about World Vision a lot throughout the book, and at some points feel your are being sold on World Vision, but the sales pitch isn't to donate to World Vision. The sales pitch is to listen to and follow the calling God lays on our heart, no matter what that may be. Stearns uses his experiences throughout his life and as President of World Vision to highlight exactly what he means. His stories are poignant, and I was reaching for tissues on more than one occasion.

The stories are of individuals living in the situation that he is writing about whether that be about disease, lack of water, or poverty. The stories, as he explains, are meant to break down the statistics that make it so hard for us to comprehend the plight of those in South America or Africa. The stories do just that. They tear at the heart strings and make you ask yourself, "why didn't I know this before."

The last half of the book is about ways in which you can make the world a better place. He talks about ways other churches and individuals have worked together and on their own to achieve the calling God placed on their heart. In many cases, it did not mean packing up and heading to Africa. These people made a difference in the jobs and from their homes. But, they heeded the calling.

And the last chapter, gives you step by step instructions on how to get involved and how to get others involved. You are not left empty handed.

In the last chapters, Stearns talks about the calling of missionaries and equates it to becoming a radioactive Christian. The radioactivity builds to a point that is boils over, meaning that God's calling reaches a fervent pitch and you pack up your belongings and take the Gospel elsewhere. I found myself asking if I am a radioactive Christian. But, even more importantly I found myself asking if those who I sit next to in church are radioactive Christians. I am proud to say that while I may not yet be radioactive, I am working that direction. And those I sit with in church are on the same patch as I am. A radioactive nightmare for Satan is brewing in our small town. I can't wait to see what happens when it explodes!!

Book Review: The Sacred Journey by Charles Foster

Foster warns in the preface of Sacred Journey that we will not agree with everything he writes. He was very correct in that assumption. While I found myself agreeing with certain ideas, others were completely lost on me. Part of that is because I went into this book expecting the idea of a journey to be metaphorical and not realistic. Foster is not speaking of a metaphorical pilgrimage but an actual pilgrimage, an actual walk to Jerusalem.

All throughout the book he quotes individuals who actually set out on foot on a journey or pilgrimage to find something. Different people are looking for different things. For the most part, they are discovering the true meaning of their lives and learning to appreciate the things around them. He explains on page 31, “The pilgrim will be given new eyes for the suffering. He’ll see a limp in a passerby that he wouldn’t have seen on a New York street, and will find that he’s bandaged the bleeding heel of Jesus.”

While I totally agree that this is the way to see the world, I don’t think a literal pilgrimage is necessary. I think a mission trip to another city or even within one’s own city can open a person’s eyes in the same way.

No where does Foster talk about missions, he merely focuses on walking. He talks a lot about walking and the advantages thereof. His argument being that God wanted us to walk which is why the Israelites walked in the desert. I could easily argue that the Israelites walked because cars had not yet been invented. But, alas, I digress.

Foster makes many interesting points that are quite thought provoking. And while, the text itself is written on a higher level than the average book that I would read, I found it challenging to grapple with his complex thought process.

A reader looking for a book to challenge his reasoning and force him to really contemplate the writing will enjoy this book. One must think while reading this book and not merely read it for enjoyment. This book is work! And unless you are interested in the history of pilgrimage as well as the reasons to go on a pilgrimage, you might also find it a bit boring.

I did not enjoy this book, and found myself having to really work to finish it.

Quest for Acceptance: We are Flawed!

We are flawed! While that doesn't seem like a revelation, it really is. Stop and think about it. How many times have we been disapointed in ourselves for not succeeding or for something not being perfect or perhaps for not doing as good a job as someone else? How many times have we judged others for not doing a good job at something? We gauge ourselves on a standard that would require perfection to achieve and that is just not possible.

While cleaning out my closets, I discovered just how much of a perfectionist I am. I have dozens of projects half-finished because they were too flawed for me to even spend the time finishing them. I would toss it aside with the others in hopes of correcting the flaws at a later date or even starting over and making the next project flawless. Thus my flaw is my perfectionism.

But, my desire for perfection doesn't stop with craft projects but extends to motherhood. I expected so much of myself before becoming a mother. I had a long list of things I was going to do and a tall pile of books to teach me how to do them. None of those ideas worked, and no amount of books would provide me with a child who slept or who would stop crying from the pain of acid reflux.

My quest to be the perfect mom was flawed from the beginning, and it just went downhill from there. My other pre-baby idea was that all babies were born perfect. That's what we always hear. "He's perfect. Ten toes, ten fingers." "She's perfect and beautiful." My baby had a swollen eye that was completely closed. He was slightly jaundiced and not perfect.

But, before you chastise, acceptance begins with the realization that we are not perfect, not even as infants. We are not perfect physically or spiritually. We are born with the blood of our fathers polluted with the sins of Adam and Eve. Our bodies are just as flawed. If we weren't flawed, we certainly wouldn't need the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ or the help of a gracious God.

In my pursuit of perfection, I certainly would not have found any need to call on God for help if I had had a perfectly healthy child, who slept through the night, and did not have acid reflux. I certainly would not have called on God for provision if we had not found ourselves in a situation in which we could not provide for our son and his medical needs.

I've received some backlash for focusing on my son's health issues and speech delays, but in truth, I am realizing that by focusing on his imperfections, I am seeing God working in miraculous ways. By accepting that life is not perfect, that my son is not perfect, that I am not perfect, and that our situation is not perfect, I am admitting that our life is a perfect place for God to show his handiwork.

Thus, I am, as a non-professional, suggesting that the first step to acceptance is accepting that we are all flawed, physically and spiritually, and that we need a God that is greater than our flaws and more gracious than we deserve. But, most importantly, because of our flaws and imperfections, we must rely on God to get us through, to provide for us, and to give us the strength in the tough times.

Operation: Clean Up Your Messy House

The unpublicized quest to clean my house of all the clutter actually began last year. Oprah had a challenge where you could sign-up for the challenge and her cleaning guru would send you monthly instructions with the goal of having a clutter free home in 5-6 months. It sounded like a good idea, so I signed up for the monthly newsletters. But, low and behold, reading newsletters doesn't get a house clean.

I had every intention of cleaning my house and ridding us of all the clutter but about the same time, we had two car accidents in two days and my son was diagnosed with 7q11.23 duplication. My focus turned to him and to putting our lives back together after so much chaos knocked all our socks off.

This January, I took up the cause again! Actually, it was the last week of December. I made a plan to clean one room and one closet each week. I stuck to it, and am proud to say that as of Monday, I have accomplished the task of cleaning up my messy house. The clutter is still here, as I have dreams of a garage sale once all the snow melts and the weather warms. I would love a little extra cash from all that clutter. It would sure seem like it was all worth keeping.

While I am overjoyed to have clean closets and a clutter-free house, I found myself dealing with a lot of emotional baggage while discarding so much junk. I was astonished by the shear magnitude of stuff that we had collected, hung on-to, and refused to simply let go of. Letting go became the theme for the 6 weeks that it took to clean everything. There's a reason for all that junk. There's a reason for hanging onto the junk. But to see the reason, one must be willing to look beyond the mess into one's own heart and mind. And, that's exactly what I did.

I discovered a great deal about myself while looking at items that had a purpose but were never used for that purpose. I don't want to unload what I discovered, but know that I know far more about myself after having cleaned out my closets than I ever knew before.

I would challenge anyone surrounded by clutter whether it be at your office, in your closet or somewhere in your house to clean up your mess, and in the process, examine why the clutter exists, and what you can learn about yourself by clearing it out. It is an incredible process, and while painful in the moment, well worth it in the end.

Book Review: Mom's Bible with Notes by Bobbie Wolgemuth

I haven't had time to read much lately, but have been determined to stick to my Read Through the Bible challenge. So what little reading I have done has been Bible reading. Which is why when Thomas Nelson had a new Bible up for review I jumped on the opportunity.

The Mom's Bible: God's Wisdom for Mothers with Notes by Bobbie Wolgemuth is written in the New Century Version. I had never heard of NCV until I saw this Bible. I am by no means a scholar of translations but did some research and learned that the NCV began as a Bible written for the deaf, leaving out the common theological terms that they would not have heard or be familiar and simplifying the text to make it easier to understand. The NCV is not the same version, but the text is nevertheless quite simplified and reads a bit like a Reader's Digest version of the Bible. Theological terms that we have come to understand are replaced with simpler words. For instance, covenant is replaced with agreement. Tabernacle is replaced with tent of meeting. In my opinion, these changes take away from the meaning of the text.

With that said, I would like to say that the Mom's Bible is a great Bible for quick reads. If you need a moment to remind yourself that someone is in your corner while all the kids are in their corner, then this Bible is for you. This Bible is fast food for the Biblically hungry. I was able to read three chapters from Numbers while my son watched Sesame Street. Fast food or not, I felt much better after having spent some time reading the Bible. This Bible is not the best for in-depth studies, but for those quick reads while eating breakfast, this one will do the job.

The notes are written by Bobbie Wolgemuth and four other busy moms. I found the notes to be very insightful and thought provoking. They are not long and also make for a quick read. They are a bit like mini-studies over a couple of chapters.

The Bible itself is a great mom-tool as well. It is hard-backed with thicker pages than the normal Bible. This is good because, as I found out from experience, blueberry muffin wipes off fairly easily. My NIV study Bible would have immediately been ruined with muffin soaking through multiple onion-skin pages. The text is a bit small, but this allows the book itself to be thinner which in turn allows a person, even with small hands, to hold the book with one hand while spooning oatmeal with the other.

I would give this book 3 stars only because of my dislike for changing such important words in the text. As a fast food source, I would give it 4 stars. Every mom needs a source of fast food nearby for those occasions when gourmet just won't do.