Ndamukong Suh, What's up with you?

An event happened in the Detroit Lions Thanksgiving Day game that has everyone talking, and since I love NFL football I feel the need to jump in!  Defensive Lineman Ndamukong Suh hit the head of Green Bay Packer's guard Evan Dietrich-Smith into the ground 3 times and then stomped on his arm while walking away.  Here's a video of what happened:

And just to add insult to injury, here's what Suh said after the game:

If somehow you bought any of that, please go back and watch video #1.

Of course everyone in the NFL has a different way of expressing their opinion on this, but I am happy to observe that everyone is in agreement on this one thing:  There is NO place for that behavior in the NFL.  Thankfully, Commissioner Roger Goodell tends to have a pretty heavy hand for this kind of thing, so I suspect I will agree with whatever decision he makes next week. 

This event is being likened to the "Albert Haynesworth stomp" of 2006.  Haynesworth stomped his helmet-less opponent on the head.  Haynesworth was ejected from the game and suspended for 5 additional games.  Considering the fact that Suh has been fined 3 times already for unsportsmanlike conduct many think in addition to another fine, Suh will be suspended for 2 games.  After careful consideration of this possible 2-5 game suspension, I have decided I want to see a 4-game suspension:

Game 1:  Head butt #1
Game 2:  Head butt #2
Game 3:  Head butt #3
Game 4:  Stomp on the arm

The BEST part of a 4-game suspension is that there will be 1 game left for Suh to play in the season.  And guess who the Lions will be playing?  The Green Bay Packers...again...IN Green Bay!!   And Green Bay can settle this the way it's supposed to be settled...by beating the Detroit Lions.

Thanksgiving Thoughts

This week I heard someone speaking to a group of people say something to the effect, "Just in case you didn't know, Thanksgiving isn't all about food."  That struck me a little funny at the time since the first Thanksgiving was literally all about the fact that the Pilgrims finally had food!  I know the point he was making...let's not gorge ourselves all day like mindless fools.  But as I contemplate our Thanksgiving banquet table this year, 2 thoughts keep popping up:

1)  I'm thankful for the food.  This year my family had some financial surprises that threw us for a loop.  For a few months, I was digging in the pantry on more than one occasion to pull out some canned tuna just to make it to pay day.  It wasn't pleasant!  Am I trying to say it was anywhere near what some people experience every day, every week?  No.  But did it teach me to be thankful for canned tuna?  Absolutely!  And when I bought groceries this week to make our Thanksgiving meal, I was particularly mindful that if that financial shock had happened in November, we would be eating tuna for Thanksgiving...and we would be thankful we were eating at all. 

2)  Jesus told a parable of a great supper to symbolize grace.  In Luke 14:15-23 we read that a man had prepared a feast, but everyone he invited had an excuse for not attending.  This man wanted his house full and all his food eaten, so he told his servants to go get the poor, sick, blind, and lame.  This is the invitation made by Christ.  His grace extends to everyone!  Sadly, those who often have their lives "together" don't recognize their need for the feast!  It's only those who admit their own need that cling to Christ's invitation.  So as I gaze on our Thanksgiving meal this year, I will ponder how that abundance of food represents the abundant, mercy-filled life that I live.

Aren't you glad you have been invited to the feast?

Good Friday: An Earth Day Testimony

Two years ago my birthday fell on Good Friday, and let's just be honest:  it was awkward being happy. How in the world could I fully enjoy celebrating my birthday on the day that my Lord gave his life for mine? This year Earth Day falls on the same day as Good Friday. Signs celebrating Earth Day are everywhere, and every one of them makes me a little sad. As much as I think we should care for our earth, I just wish the giant banners were marking Good Friday.

I wonder if anyone realizes the ultimate Earth Day was the original Good Friday.  Look what happened in Matthew 27:51-54...

At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people. When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”

Did you catch that?  When the guards saw the earth quake, rocks split, and tombs break open, they believed!!!  The earth shared a testimony that pointed directly to the glory of God!

May we speak about the Creator as boldly as the earth did that day! 

And may those who hear us believe!

Hearts at Home Bloggers: The Miracle of Miracles

I am excited to be a part of the Hearts at Home blogging community! The third Thursday of each month this community will blog about a pre-selected topic! I can’t wait to read all the diverse and original points of view. So for this initial post, we will get the ball rolling with the following question:

Have you experienced any miracles in your life?

Most definitely! I’ve been very sick, and awakened one morning completely well! I’ve given and received forgiveness for wrongs that could only be possible with the intervention of the Lord. I’ve been on a mission trip to Kenya where an evangelistic conversation that began needing two translators ended in the American and Kenyan understanding each other directly! All very powerful experiences, but by far the most amazing miracle I have experienced is…

being raised from the dead.

You read that correctly. I have been raised from the dead. Romans 5:12 says, “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people…” Subsequently, 1 Corinthians 15:21 says, “For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.”

Which is what makes Romans 5:6-8 MIRACULOUS:

“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us!”

He did that for me! He did that for me? He did that for me!! Miraculous!! While I was still dead in my sinful nature, completely unable to even make the first step towards Him, Philippians 2:8-11 says he took these ENORMOUS, MIRACULOUS, GOD-SIZED steps towards me:

8 And being found in appearance as a man,  
   he humbled himself
   by becoming obedient to death—
   even death on a cross!
9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
   and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
   in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
   to the glory of God the Father.

And this truth in my life leaves me with no other response but the one Peter expressed in 1 Peter 1:3-5:

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.”

I hope that no matter what miracles you have experienced in your life, that you also have experienced this one. It will not only change your heart, it will change your eternity! If you don’t think you have experienced this miracle personally, please email me: experiencingeachmoment@gmail.com. I would be more than happy to talk with you about it! The miraculous work has already been done-you just have to choose to receive it!

Book Review: Same Life, New Story

"Move from what is to what can be by changing how you think and talk to yourself" is a description of the book found on the book jacket. I would add that Jill Silvious also emphasizes an important step before that: accepting your individual story (not denying it, resenting it, or running from it) so that you can embrace what amazing things God has in store!

Not only would I HIGHLY recommend this book, I actually have already endorsed it in multiple conversations ever since I’ve read it! Somehow Silvious put into words thoughts that have been swirling around in my head for quite some time. Silvious peals away at the lives of women from the Bible and present day women she has come in contact. In doing this, she shows us what a difference our lives can make if we accept our story…not someone else’s, not what we always wanted, not what is easy.

There have been so many things in my “story” that I didn’t want to accept and it was such a good reminder I’m not the only one! The Bible is full of women who were used to fulfill God’s plan, and who wants to be comfortable with their own story when the God of the Universe is writing one for you! This book will inspire you!

Disclaimer:  I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Books for my honest and impartial review.

Siesta Verse:Tax Day

If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?

Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 

Matthew 5:46 NIV

Wordless Wednesday: Giddyup Elephant!

Spring into Storage: Week #2, Coat Closet

I had to pick an "easy" project this weekend because I AM SICK!  Not much is going on around this house these days except trying to get well!  I couldn't get the whole closet in one shot, so I had to take a "top" and "bottom" photo.  Before pics:

Even though the whole thing seems a mess there are 2 main things that I wanted to change:

1. Clothes on the top shelf-those are clothes the kids have grown out of that need to be given away. Once I clean them, I throw them up there, so I need a box for each child so it's neat from here on. On the left is a stack of bags, and I've put them all in the black bag to use them whenever I need.

2. I thought these vertical storage shelves would be perfect for shoes. Well, I liked them, but the rest of my family couldn't quite get on board, so I needed to go back to the shoe rack we had at our last home. Whatever it takes for a 5 & 7 yr old to put up their own shoes!

While I was cleaning up, I put the kids' snow boots up high so they wouldn't get in the way.  The basket on the ground has gloves and scarves, and the walmart sack is a bag that I need to give to someone.  I love opening my coat closet now!

Siesta Verse: April Fool's Day

Since I knew I would be posting this verse on April Fool's Day, I couldn't help but post a verse about "fools".  The Bible has much to say on wisdom and foolishness, and I found this verse which is unfamiliar to me:

Resentment kills a fool, and envy slays the simple. 

Job 5:2 NIV

April Fool's Day Giveaways!!!

Don't be a fool on April Fool's Day!  Carrie, over at Reading To Know, is having multiple April Fool's Day giveaways ALL DAY tomorrow.  Don't miss out!  I hope to win something, and I hope you do too!

Book Review: Judgment Day

This mystery novel centers around a driven news anchor, Suzanne Kidwell, who has a cable show called Judgment Day.  She exposes anyone in power to get ratings, and in her attempt to get the scoop she tends to cut corners in the fact-checking department.  While investigating a string of missing teenagers, Suzanne finds herself in a great deal of trouble.  Before she knows it, she is being arrested for murder. 

As despicable as her actions have been, there is something likable about Suzanne.  This book is full of interesting characters...some honest and some evil to the core.  I would say it's an easy read that can be done in a few hours, but because of the variety of characters and interestingly woven plot it kept my attention! 

One final comment:  The book jacket says Suzanne is accused of murdering an entrepreneur, John Edward Sterling.  In the book, she is accused of murdering a woman and Sterling is a Senator she is investigating.  It doesn't affect the review of the book itself, but I just couldn't post this without mentioning that discrepancy. 

Disclaimer:  I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for my honest review.

Wordless Wednesday: Undeveloped Film

Just a few words:  I cleaned out my basement storage this weekend and found a roll of 35 mm film!  I had the pics developed ($10 at Walgreens.  Yikes!) and discovered they were from a trip to my husband's hometown, Girard, Kansas.  Based on the weather, the dog, no kids, and the car we drove, I think it's from a trip we made in February 2003 for the wedding of my brother-in-law and sister-in-law.  Kind of random since we bought our first digital camera in Spring 2002, but fun to see nonetheless...

Organizing Side Effects!

This weekend I started my Spring cleaning in the basement storage!  It was hard work, but something tells me it won't be the hardest room I plan on conquering!  In the midst of that project I was reminded about 2 side-effects of organizing:

1.  Organizing encourages creativity.  I was taking a break after removing everything from the basement storage, and in the big pile of stuff I saw these two items, a black crate and red ribbon (in the Christmas box):

 I suddenly had this idea to weave the ribbon through the crate.  Here is the result:

No, it's not the prettiest thing ever, but I put a piece of cardboard in the bottom (which could be covered with wrapping paper), and now it can house smaller objects because they won't slip through the cracks.  If I was actually planning it, I could purchase cuter ribbon (wouldn't a black and white polka dot be cute?)  I plan to use this for storage in my daughter's room which is decorated in ladybugs.  It will probably be stored away in the closet, but at least when she pulls it out to play with its contents it will match her room! 

2.  Organizing may require compromise.   Even though my dream is to have unlimited funds for organizing, that's just not realistic!  I have more than 10 spaces to work on.  Buying new containers for every single one can get quite expensive!  So I started using the items I already have  in the house.  I was originally going for a symmetrical look in this space, so I put a shoe rack on either side:

I quickly realized these were inadequate!  I wanted to put more on these shelves, but the shelves were too narrow and not sturdy enough to hold everything!  What I realized I needed was a tall bookcase, but the only spare one we have is black, not something I would pick in such a small space . As I told my husband my dilemma, he made a request of me.  He asked that I would use the black bookcase for a few weeks to find out if that is really the shelving that will work, and if so I can buy a bookcase in the color of my choice.  I said yes because I'm organizing these spaces to make my whole family happier, not just me!  So in addition to being an "after" picture, this is a picture of compromise: