Psalms 139 Sermon Series

Our pastor is doing a great series on Psalms 139: God's Character Revealed. Today was Psalms 139: 17-18, "I am Always on God's Mind."

Psalm 139:17-18 (NIV)

¹⁷ How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!

¹⁸ Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand.
When I awake,
I am still with you.

5 of the ways God pays attention to me:

1. God is thinking of his love for me.
2. God is thinking of my future.
3. God is thinking of my hurts and my needs.
4. God is thinking of my service to him.
5. God is thinking of my hidden motives (so no need to hide them).

MY RESPONSE: Pay attention back to God. Do I think about God as often as He thinks about me?

WW & SEW: Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

Check out more Wordless Wednesday and Special Exposure Wednesday!

Care for the Caregiver Retreat

Yesterday, CREDO (Navy chaplain org) offered a day retreat for those in the role of caregiver. It was 7 hours, and they provided childcare free! I honestly didn't care if it was the most boring 7 hours of my life-I knew I had to take advantage of it. Two of my favorite MOPS moms joined me. All of our kids are used to playing with each other, which made them all feel like they were just getting a really long play date! (By the way-these are 2 great friends. One brought me a strawberry cake Fri night just because I had such a hard week.)

It turned out not to be boring at all. We had 4 themed sessions that would introduce a topic, and then we went around the table answering discussion questions. Here were a few things that stuck with me:

1. Explanation of why to use "I" instead of "you" when answering a question-In our English language, we tend to use the word "you" when describing incidents. This allows us to disassociate from our feelings and experiences. Using "I" makes us take ownership and "reclaim" our story.
2. Stress Assessment-I took one of these a year ago and my numbers were off the charts. It was encouraging to take the assessment this time and score in the borderline high stress. And some of the things that added to my score occurred a few months ago and aren't happening any more. It's nice to be reminded that stress comes in waves, and it can decrease!!
3. "When I weave, I weave." We watched a video of a photographer from National Geographic, who walked us through what his process is in discovering the best shot. He was once assigned to photograph a weaver, and when he asked her what she thinks about while she's weaving, she said simply, "When I weave, I weave." I must practice that discipline of simplicity. When I'm with one of my children, I'm with them. When I listen to a friend, she has my full attention. When I'm driving, I'm ONLY driving!

The chaplain invited a friend of hers to visit with us during lunch. His name is Keith Barany, and he's a comedian who has done a bunch of stuff. He currently writes for Jimmy Kimmel, although it's not in his bio. He was funny, except for the one question I asked, "What's Jimmy Kimmel like?" Suddenly he had only one word, "Nice". It was awkward! But he had some good jokes, and I guess his emphasis is PG Comedy.

Leading up to Sat, the organizers were asking me all kinds of questions about Sam's illness. Her breathing treatments & chest PT are done in the morning and at night, but she has to take her enzymes before she eats (in other words, all day). At one point I thought they may not let me come, but they allowed me to go into the childcare room to administer her meds throughout the day. I couldn't help but think of the women not present because they care for children who have really difficult special needs. Those women can't go to something like this, and my heart breaks for them.

One cute thing that happened. When I went to the kid's room for the morning snack, the workers realized that Timothy and Samantha were siblings. Samantha had called Caedmon (Amber's son) "my brother". I think the workers really thought they were brother and sister for a while. Ironically, as they were telling me the story, Timothy said, "Caedmon is my brother, too". Sweet, sweet friends.

Living Worry Free

Our pastor is doing a sermon series on the Sermon on the Mount. It's been great! I'm typing up the sermon notes from yesterday so that Dan can see them. Hi honey! And I'm also writing this to be reminded not to worry! Samantha finished her steroid last Tues and her antibiotic on Fri. Sadly, her cough returned yesterday, and it sounds so painful. She's in good spirits, but we have an appt at noon today. I have a hard time thinking she won't be admitted, but I am reminding myself not to worry.

Matthew 6: 25-34

Jesus says there are 4 problems with worry:

Worry distracts me (v 25)
Worry devalues me (v 26)
Worry doesn't work (v 27)
Worry dishonors God (v 28-29)

The root of all worry is doubting God's goodness. Worry is practical atheism.

Remember to...
Live one day at a time (v 34)
Do one thing at a time (v 33)
Trust God all the time (v 31, 32)

Replace panic with promises!!! (He listed a bunch, but I don't have time to copy.) Here's a website he referenced: http://www.olivebranch.com/promises/promises.htm

Definition of worry: Assuming responsibility that God never meant for me to have. Opposite of worry is trust.

So, I'm headed to the dr. appt now, and I'm remembering the truth of God's word as I go!

Quick Update

It's been a busy, but happy week:

1) Timothy's school week has been great. He's had a few meltdowns, but no notes from teacher. I continue to feel like she and I are a team. We are also hearing bits and pieces of what he is learning in school. He explained to me yesterday that when we see an exclamation point, "we have to read with excitement!" That's mommy's favorite punctuation mark!

2) Samantha and I have had so much fun this week. Monday I went to a craft time and she got to play. Tues was story time at library. Wed we met at playground, and she got to play with Caedmon. Yesterday and today we just hung out shopping. (She got to pick out her very own apple to eat). Plus twice every day she gets to play on the Kinder playground at T's school. She is loving life these days and acting older by the second.

3) On Wed we had an AWANA parent orientation. In Sparks this year, they're starting new curriculum for the kinders, and it looks really cool and modern. I look forward to this year, and I wish Samantha could start Cubbies right now! The director has a great idea for discipline issues. They don't want to ask a child not to return (because it is an evangelistic outreach of our church), so if a child acts up, they ask the parent to come to the class for a few weeks. I love it! I anticipate spending some extra Wednesday's there.

4) Timothy started karate yesterday. Karate is good for kids with sensory and self-control issues, as long as he can make it through the classes. I found a program that allows me to pay weekly and doesn't require uniforms. He absolutely loved it!! He listened, he was focused, he didn't get angry when he was told to move his foot to a different spot. At the end, he said, "Mom, I want to wear a white belt." I told him that if he makes it 3 weeks and wants to keep coming back, then we'll buy him the uniform. He said, "Okay, good, only 2 weeks more to go."

5) I'm leaving for a Women's Retreat today at 4:15 today. I haven't been to one in 7 years! I'm looking forward to it.

Hope you all have a blessed weekend! Talk to you next week!

Vacation Bible School

The theme this year for VBS at many churches in San Diego (maybe everywhere?) is "Power Lab"! It's totally cute. I got to see the material up close and personal because I was in charge of 3 and under. Our church had VBS coincide with a church wide event, so we needed childcare for all ages. I have extremely happy memories of VBS. I went every year as a child, then I was a teen helper (that was very cool starting in 7th grade at my church growing up). And I've done VBS periodically in my 17 years of being an adult, but this was my first time as a mom. I made some observations about my kids this week...

1. Bubbles are universally loved by children (okay, that observation was about every child).
2. Samantha LOVES it when I'm her teacher. Dan and I volunteer in her class once a month, which helps because she has definitely had some serious separation anxiety. She was able to relax and enjoy all of VBS knowing I would be there. As we were walking in the second night she asked, "Mommy, are you going to play with me?" Oh, it's so sweet, and the best part is that she doesn't need to me to tend to her at all. It's just enough that I'm in the room.
3. Samantha is starting to like kids! If you know her, you know that she has about a 4 foot personal space rule. She does not want children near her. She was standing at the top of a slide with another little girl, and instead of screaming she kindly patted the girl's back. I just happened to look over there at that moment, and I'm so glad I got that little snapshot into her development!
4. VBS has this magically special quality, like what youth camp does for teens. The theme this week has been power, so each day we have emphasized what Jesus gives us power for. The 1st day was to be thankful, the 2nd day was to help others. Because I had the leader's guide for preschool, I was able to tell Timothy what to expect each day. And we would practice yelling "Aha!," which was also part of the curriculum. The last night (we only did 3 days) we were driving to church, and I had forgotten to tell Timothy what the lesson was about. My heart melted when he said, "Mom, what does Jesus give us the power to be tonight?" "...to be brave, my sweet son." Perfect love casts out fear, and it's really good for me to remember because I was also reminded this week that...
5. My son has Sensory Processing Disorder. You wouldn't think I really have to be reminded, but sometimes it's way more obvious than others. Because this VBS material had a science theme, it was all about doing things with the senses that he doesn't typically have to do. Plus, there were many more transitions than in a normal Sunday School setting. My heart breaks for him sometimes that so many things that can be fun and enjoyable have to be scary and intimidating to him. He starts Kindergarten in 5 weeks, and it's not going to be easy.

Just keepin' it real!

What Guidance is Not

I think I'll post some things going on currently! Our pastor finished up a 3 week sermon series on the Holy Spirit yesterday. Our pastor is awesome, and I should post his stuff more often, but one part of his sermon really struck me. Before he discussed what the Holy Spirit's Guidance is, he explained what it is not. So as not to copy his entire sermon, I want to focus on one of his points...

Guidance is Not "Insider Information". How often do I seek God's guidance when I'm NOT facing trouble or a difficult situation? [It hit me that often real "guidance" is used for big decisions: what car to buy, church to attend, job to get, area to live.] He proposed that we ask for guidance for the growth of your soul. That means asking questions like the following...

1. How do I become a more truthful person?
2. Whom do I know who can teach me to pray in a way that will nourish my soul?
3. What practices will enable me to live in joy continually?

It just got me thinking the Holy Spirit has so much more He wants to guide me in than the circumstances of my life!

YembiYembi People

Dan and I are attending Clairemont Emmanuel Baptist Church here in San Diego, and this church has such a beautiful heart for international missions. The church financially supports about 30 missionary families that have come out directly from our church, so it is really the heartbeat of everything they do. The associate pastor is called the missions pastor, and his role is leading our church in missions of every sort. Once a month on Sunday nights is a "Missions Update", and since we started coming in September, 3 of those months there has been a missionary on furlough to tell us what's going on. Prayer requests for all our missionaries are shared, and after the missionary is done speaking (or from the beginning if no missionary is there), the church just prays. It is powerful to me, and really gets my global world view back on track. Life becomes so ego-centric, so easily!

Tonight after Missions Update, our church has started a 24-hr prayer chain for the YembiYembi people of Papua New Guinea. Some New Tribes missionaries will be presenting the gospel to these people for the first time through a series of teachings this week. I signed up for a 30-minute time slot to pray, and I have to be honest that at first I was wondering how I was going to pray that long. Once upon a time, I could easily pray that long, but I am out of practice. I feel like I need to confess that my prayers are short and the subject is often me. I'm very thankful that my church loves people here and around the world and is leading me to focus on others.

If you have a few minutes check out this stuff about the YembiYembi people, and pick one of the people in a picture to pray for:

http://bringingthesecrettalk.blogspot.com/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/yembiyembi/

Merry Christmas!!!

I think this was my favorite Christmas ever. Our church had a Christmas Eve service. Our pastor is a phenomenal, humble teacher, and the music is fantastic on a usual basis. It was no surprise that the Christmas Eve service was extremely worshipful. Our church also overlooks the San Diego Bay, so we got to watch the sunset over the ocean during the service! The sky matched the praise song slides. Afterwards we wend to the Del Mar Holiday of Lights, which is cool lighted scenes of Christmas. We came home and everyone got into their Christmas pjs. After that we read the Nativity story (Sam wanted to crash my glass Mary & Joseph together), & we let the kids open 3 gifts. We only gave the children 3 gifts from Dan & myself, but of course they ended up getting 11 or so total. Because we still wanted to explain the 3 gifts that Jesus received we decided to open 3 on Christmas Eve and then the rest this morning.



This morning was so joyous. Samantha has to get a breathing treatment as soon as she wakes up. As Dan said yesterday, "CF doesn't stop for Christmas". The treatment lasts about 15 minutes, and Timothy was completely patient while we got it done. We had a relaxing and enjoyable time opening gifts, and then the kids just played and played happily. Samantha is crashed out taking an early nap and Timothy is going to get to play his remote control car out in the cul de sac. At 1 today we are going to SEA WORLD!!! How fun is that?