Think Twice, Speak Once

Think twice, speak once... that's the title of an article I got from a Sparkpeople email today and it really got me thinking about how that kind of advice sure could prevent a lot of unnecessary trouble. The particular article ended with, "Once you have said something out loud it cannot be taken back, and rarely can it be undone even with a tremendous amount of work." 

It's so ironic how I sometimes get messages like this in my inbox, either from subscriptions I ask for, or from people who get placed in my path, that are so applicable to what I'm going through in my life right now. Not very many people know that my husband and I are currently in marriage counseling. It's been a long time coming, and I'm quite sure it's the best decision we could have ever made for our future and for our family. I'm so grateful just to have an opportunity like this, and so thankful that he has chosen to come alongside me and to strengthen the bonds that keep us holding on to one another. At the same time, however, it saddened me deeply to HAVE to get to this point - as I know that God's idea of marriage wasn't for us to go all destructo on things before we both figured out it was time to stop taking care of everyone else and get some help for us.

Lately it feels like we're not the only ones in the rocky marriage boat. I'm pretty sure I'd feel a lot more happy if we were all alone on that boat, but to see many of my friends and my family aboard this not-so-loving Loveboat cruise makes me really afraid that something has gone horribly wrong. Typically I'd prefer that those I love be standing on SHORE waving at us, and encouraging us to steady our craft and keep up the work so we could be on solid ground with them soon, but instead they're bouncing around on the same rickety boat. The one that tosses it's victims from one side to the other with no regard for the little kids rolling around on deck getting trampled in the process. Not pretty.

Everyone has a different story. Some have to do with addictions that have been swept under the rug far to long, recurring problems with abandonment or rejection that stem from childhood mistreatment, abuse issues that never really got dealt with, worry, self-doubt, lack of trust in others and in God, the list goes on, but most of all there is this screwed up belief that we need to take care of SELF, and not others. 

A wise friend stated that you must first put on your oxygen mask before you can help those around you. And I believe that is absolutely true - but I think somewhere that statement gets completely misinterpreted. We don't put on our oxygen mask instead of helping others. We also don't badmouth, intimidate, lose our temper or force our will onto someone else to get them to put their mask on. We HELP them. I think somewhere along the way in marriage, the thought of helping or serving those around us gets lost in the whole idea of "I need to take care of myself first". Then the rest of the thought process, the part about helping others, drops off into oblivion and doesn't get revisited until a few anniversaries later when the pretty bride and handsome groom finally remember that they are in this thing to honor, respect and love each other as Christ loved the church. Nowhere does Christ say to "Help yourself as you'd maybe, eventually, possibly, help someone else, if you feel so inclined, and if it's not your time of the month, or if he put the lid down on the toilet seat." He said, "Do to OTHERS as you would have them do to you". End of sentence.

Quite simply put, this really just says you are responsible for making the first step. This isn't at all about waiting for someone else to straighten up and pull his (or her) head out from wherever it's stuck. It's about you adjusting your own behavior, to be more Christlike, and to be less selfish.

Philippians 2:3-4

³Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. ⁴Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

To bring this point back to where I started in the first place (I do not ramble!), what comes out of our mouths must also be in the forefront of our minds as a way of caring for, and serving others. It's those words that will come back to haunt you when you aren't expecting it, because someone else remembers them. Those words etch into the brains of our children, friends, family and our mates - and those words can't be taken back. Can you go through the lengthy process of accepting and forgiving each other and getting a do-over? Sure! But is that an easy road to take? Heck no. I strongly advise taking the road of least trouble and just thinking twice and speaking once.


From my life experience, the words I heard in my past, now make up my present. So seriously, what kind of present do you want to give your family?

Totally random shot of an unknown couple who climbed on a big rock out in the surf to hug and watch the sunset together. It touched me, but...

I'm totally betting they have relationship problems too.

High School Camp

I have so many words to say about this last week of camp. I couldn't possibly fit them all into this space. Let's just say the Lord did his thing, and as usual it was loud and clear to me. I'm going to let these pictures show a little about our week - just a tiny taste. And hopefully I'll be able to come back soon and tell the story of how I got toothpaste in my eye. Or was it contact lens cleaner on my toothbrush? No, wait... it was both. Or how I got the short end of the stick and ended up being the main speaker for our Monday night session. Totally, completely unplanned... except God knew the plans all along.

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Jeremiah 29:11

Yeah, camp is good!

I'm glad I didn't plan anything this summer

I'm glad I didn't plan anything this summer, and the reason I'm glad is because if I had, I wouldn't have had time to do it. My summer is full. Booked up. Not much wiggle room. I'm busy!

So in case you're wondering what we're up to, I'll just give you the run down. Just a partial list. A taste...
We have:

Softball games twice a week
Practice on the other days
Baseball games twice a week
Disneyland trip for my firstborn
Weeding
Painting of the auto shop
Going away parties
Open gym three days a week
A week of camp for my oldest son
Weeding
A 12th birthday
A week of camp for Mr. Nice Guy and I with High School students
A rodeo
A week of camp for Princess D
Some Weeding
One week of Vacation Bible School
A long weekend at camp for my youngest
A week of camp for my Firstborn
Followed by most of a week in Wisconsin for Mr. Nice Guy
Lots of mowing and weeding
By that time, softball and baseball season will be over. We will have sent kids to youth group, small groups, 4H and orthodontist appointments each week just in time for the County Fair and a family reunion.
This will all be followed by a week of volleyball camp for the girls, registration for school and then daily doubles practice begins and all of the sudden... school! 

Wow, I'm SO glad I didn't plan anything this summer! I just don't know where I'd find the time.

In Case Something Happens...

I just want my readers to know that if I don't blog for a long time it's probably because school is coming to a close in 84 hours and I'm just about to die. Not that I'm counting down, but it's getting here pretty quick and so is the feeling that my head is going to explode. But before we get there, we first have to jump through a hundred hurdles that have names like, "Getting through the end of 8th grade and living to tell about it." That's just one of them actually. The others issues are things like, "Did you remember you had a first grader?", and "Hey, I'm your kid, do you remember me?" Oh, let's not forget about, "Are you ever going to be in a good mood again?" (For the record, NO, I'm probably not.)

My dear other children, I do know who you are, and right at the moment I even remember all your names. I think. But your sister is overwhelmed with all of the end-of-the-year crap and nobody in the whole entire household can function when she's spazzing out about everything. We love her dearly, but quite frankly, we just can't wait to be DONE with school! Even though it will only be a few hours after school gets out that she'll be moaning and carrying on and wishing she was back IN school so she could see her FRIENDS. Fat lotta good they are right now - nobody else stays up late helping her with history projects, models of monuments or the topic of xenophobia. How about dress shopping for that super important dance that has overshadowed everything else worthwhile for an entire two months? Good thing the dance turned out pretty cool - because I got some great pictures before I dropped her off for her three hours of dessert, silliness, and the dance with "that boy" that I got to hear all about on our way home.

 Summer Vacation, we are SO ready for you.

The post that makes you gain a pound

So here goes. I've been on this kick for the last few months to BETTER myself, to kick the habit of drinking my all-time favorite DR. PEPPER (which I have been successful at for over 300 days now!!) and most recently I went on a NO SUGARY FATTY NASTY FOR MY BODY stuff challenge. Two weeks - that's what I was going for.

It was the longest two weeks of my life. It was terribly painful and traumatic. This is the post in which I heal from that horrid memory.

I made these today. Someone got me a birthday present and so I was trying it out. It worked goooood. (Too bad I didn't get out my REAL camera though - I just used my iPhone, bear with me)

These are Pioneer Woman's "Spreads". They are pretty easy cookie bars - and pretty easy on the eyes too. I only ate one.

At a time.

Then, since my wonderful birthday present was such a fun thing to use, I kept on going!
I couldn't stop at dessert...

Mom - don't look! Don't say I didn't warn you!!

How about some yummy yeasty delicious rolls!

Yes, they do taste as good as they look. Maybe even better. You'll have to come over and share some with me.

I didn't forget a picture of my birthday present. I knew you wanted to see what color it was :)
This is a teensy peek at my new Stand Mixer... to replace the hand-held mixer I've been using since 1994.

It's gorgeous! It makes me want to feed my family - and actually plan ahead. Nice thinking on my hubby's part, don't you think??

One great day deserves a great BIG blog post

To be classified as a good day - usually three out of six things must take place from the following list:

1. An activity or event that is not really planned, but anticipated
2. Some element of surprise - that isn't disastrous
3. Sunshine
4. People that we love
5. Good food and conversation
6. A wish comes true

To be classified as GREAT - then the number bumps up to five.
And excellent? All six.

The day before Mother's Day - in our family - is typically a day of tradition. We get up at the crack of dawn, find an outfit that is still clean, and probably not quite dressy enough, travel the hour and a half to my home town, attend the annual Mother's Day Tea/Brunch/Lunch/Whatever that the church has always put on since probably before I was born, and then we visit longer with my Mom & Dad, visit with my Grandma, and then we go home.

Usually that event fulfills three or four of my "good day" qualifications, but there's always something lacking. It's never GREAT.

I know someone will read this that knows me from way back and will wonder what kind of an ingrate I am. How dare I diss the Mother's Day Tea that practically helped me become the Mother I am today!? Well for goodness sakes, things like that have their place. They are lovely! But this year, I had more than just lovely to look for in making sure MY Mother felt honored, appreciated and enjoyed. I think we both knew that if we went to a Mother's Day Tea this year, that we'd cry more tears than we were prepared to cry, and we just didn't want to do that. Her Mom wouldn't be with us this year, and we wouldn't be able to go visit her either. How strange these first few holidays are after the death of a loved one. I'm realizing that I should be prepared to be continually caught off guard. Hmm... how to go about it?

So anyway, about my Mom, she never really verbalized that stuff to me, about how she'd probably get all emotional if she went to the annual Tea/Brunch/Lunch thing without her Mom and would rather not be there this time, but I'm pretty sure I can read her mind. (Gosh, sometimes it's scary in there) She did say she would rather do something ELSE with us this year - to which I almost TOO hastily agreed. (It's probably because I could sleep in. I'm shallow like that.)

We threw some general plans together. Nothing too detailed, but the general idea was in place and then we spent a couple days in anticipation. First, we ran into a problem. My in-laws had planned something else and we were invited. Then, the planned in-law event got canceled and we were all the sudden off the hook and back ON for our new-to-us-day-before-Mother's-Day outing. The best part about this outing? It included our whole family. Not JUST FEMALES. What's up with a bunch of women sitting around celebrating themselves anyway? I don't get that. No, wait... I do. Nevermind. *snicker*

So my parents showed up to our house around 11:00 as planned, 11:30 after a small delay, NOON because they stopped off at a place with nuts and chocolate along the way. We packed up our picnic lunch into the back of their new Chevy Uplander (yay Mom!!) and we all piled in. Our first stop was back at the haircutting place in the neighboring town where my beloved husband had left his coat behind after his haircut that morning. (I'm not the ONLY one who leaves things behind - I just prefer to leave my purse or wallet instead!)

Then, we went to a cemetery where none of our family members lived.

Yep. Umm hmm, You heard me right. We PLANNED to go to a cemetery.
After all these burials this past year, apparently cruising headstones had become somewhat of an interest to my Mother (and my kids) and they were off. I suppose if history and genealogy was something of interest, the rest of us would be doing that all the time too. It was fun actually. It was fun and sad all at the same time.

Here in this place, dozens upon dozens of people were memorialized by those who had loved them. It was touching. It was even more touching now that we'd all been there and done that too many times this last year.

The kids were fascinated by the names, we were fascinated by the dates. We tried to picture what it might have been like to be standing on this same hill in 1868. I think the one we pondered over the longest was a set of three headstones. All children. All siblings. All with the same date of death. We made up stories about what we thought might have happened. We decided, with our keen investigative skills, that it probably wasn't sickness - and for a moment our hearts broke for the family that was left behind after what must have been a most horrible tragedy.

We passed headstones of people that I knew in our community. Grave markers of the people whose names now mark streets and buildings in our little town dotted the hilltop and spilled down one side. Our interest peaked as we moved to the area of the more recent burials. Here, we came across a friend of my husband's who had been murdered when they were just fresh out of school. She was buried not more than three rows away from the young man who had taken her life. This one place, this quiet, beautiful place, held so many stories, and yet so many unanswered questions.

Then, we got hungry.

We traveled down the road a few miles to this adorable park that had been on my list of "places to return to" ever since we came upon it during a road construction detour a few years ago. I thought it would be cool to dine on the longest picnic table I've ever seen. It was constructed at one of our local sawmills out of a solid length of lumber that extends 85 feet from end to end.

That little dot at the end of the table is my daughter. I've told her not to sit on the table, but she just won't listen.This is her, pretending to be in trouble.

Which is pretty silly - considering she never gets in trouble :)

The views from this park were the kind of view I wouldn't mind having out my window or in a painting on my wall. Just beautiful. My Dad helped me compose a few...

I took one of my favorite parents (because my REAL parents aren't this much fun, right?)

After we ate lunch, played around awhile, and threw pinecones at each other... we proceeded to head towards Alsea Falls.

This is where the day moved from "good" into the "great" category. First, we parked at the campground entrance, which was about a mile from the falls, on a path that was on the opposite side of the river. No biggie, it was great weather (sunny!!) and I had on my new keds and was rearing to walk a mile. So we crossed the bridge and walked. And walked.... and walked some more. We found rushing water, but no waterfalls. About the time we came to another bridge that took us back to the original side of the river that we'd started on, we realized we had probably parked in the wrong spot. Thankfully it was only a mile back. Unfortunately, nature called and I had to hunt for a bathroom. I sent my kids further on down the path with my Mom, while my Dad hung back on a picnic table. I'm pretty sure my fast pace wore him out. (Riiiight!)

We searched around for a bathroom, but didn't have any luck. About the time the first raindrop hit my head I was already heading back down the hill towards the river to find the kids. The first raindrop was no big deal, but the next hundred that hit me a few seconds later were a surprise. (See... we just bumped up to the GREAT day category!) All the sudden, our perfectly sunny day - even according to the forecast - became a perfectly RAINY day. Not only rain, but hail. And lots of it. Bryan got the keys from my Dad and headed back for the car on down the road (instead of taking the trail on the opposite side of the river), Dad hid for cover under a tree after trying unsuccessfully to use a garbage can lid as some sort of shield, and then I slipped my way down the increasingly muddy trail toward the bottom of the falls to retrieve my excited children and my adventurous mother. By the time I got to my kids, they were squealing. I figured that like all hail storms, we'd be seeing sunshine in about 3 minutes. I wanted to get a good look at those waterfalls I worked so hard to see so I was really glad that I made my packhorse daughter haul my camera bag along.

Now at this point, you're not seeing any photos of a waterfall. The main reason is, the hail did NOT stop as anticipated. Matter of fact it began increasing in intensity and there was no way I could even get my camera out of the bag, let alone take any sort of photo that might resemble a waterfall. We all turned and dashed back up the hill (picture me dashing... try it... I dare ya). Ok, so I lumbered up the hill, while they dashed, and we all headed for cover. I tried hiding under a few trees, but fir trees with dead branches and bare limbs don't stop much hail. Wearing my sunglasses on top of my head provided some sort of protection from the bruising effects of the ice clumps falling from the sky - but they all got caught in my mess of hair.

Bryan showed up with the chariot and we couldn't get in fast enough. We were completely soaked. Nobody wore a raincoat, the boys just had on t-shirts with their jeans, we didn't have umbrellas or boots or anything even resembling protective outer gear. My light windbreaker soaked through to the front of my shirt and made it look like I was a mother to a hungry new infant - what terrible flashbacks that brought on! And what's worse is all the hail stuck in my hair started to melt. Fun stuff I tell ya! We dried off in the van with a roll of paper towels, and still the hail came down. Bryan drove us out of the hills and for a solid thirty minutes or so the hail came down like mad, the roads became covered in white, and my hair continued to melt.

Arriving home, we were surprised to find out that it was sunny as planned all day. We would have had to stay home to enjoy it. We finished off our evening with a yummy Taco dinner, our good friends the Anderson's joined us, and the conversation was delightful. After everyone went home - I sat down to practice my music for Sunday morning when one of my wishes came true. The weird part is that I noticed it in a text message. I'll save that for my next post - but let's just say I finally got to cross number three off my 101 in 1001 list and that, my friends, bumped my day right on up to EXCELLENT!

Happy Mother's Day Mom! Thanks for such a special day - one we won't soon forget.

It's a Fiesta every day

This is why I haven't posted in awhile. I've been busy. I was having a fiesta. Matter of fact I have a fiesta every single day. Sometimes two or three times a day.All in all, I am in love with my new dishes.


I've also been busy doing other stuff, but that's not as exciting as my new Fiesta dishes. Are you tired of hearing "Fiesta" yet? Well I am, sooo I'll change the subject now. But if you want to see how I made that really yummy looking fruit dip, you'll have to read that post over here at the Nearly Rural Farmgirl Connection site where I contributed that little tidbit today. Speaking of tidbits, I'm going to throw out a list of what I've been busy doing, so as to remind myself when I come back next year, just how busy I was and how far I've come. (And how insane I can be, but that's another blog post entirely).

This past month:
I got to help with six of the productions of the play,  Beauty and the Beast at the Middle School (fun!)
We had Spring Break
We took a trip to Idaho and got to meet our new nephew
I judged a spelling bee and made little kids cry (oh, now that's what pressure feels like!)
I grew closer to the realization that teens really do cause insanity
I found out my brother-in-law has lymphoma
We had Easter - it was pretty low key, but meaningful.
My husband turned 39 (Woah! Teetering on the edge there baby!)
We got new chicks - and then a few more - and then just two more - because that's how it always works.
My Mom got a new car (noteworthy!) It's actually a mini-van. So she can have room for all her grandkids (I sure do love her)
I helped run a mega time consuming fundraiser at our kids' school. I learned some more of my strengths and weaknesses during that couple of weeks.
I signed up 2 of my 4 kids for softball/baseball season. I've always been a bit worried about sports that chew into summer vacation time, but I think it will work out ok.
We signed my eldest up for High School *gulp!*
I helped with the district Band Concert, which was a HUGE undertaking, but one of the most fun things in a long time. (Not counting the vomit from the kid who got sick during rehearsal.)
I helped organize my husband's new (to him) office space. I wish I had that kind of initiative in my OWN space!


And right now? I'm procrastinating on my next project. A workshop on Teens and the Internet. It's frightening, and I desperately need occasional breaks from reality and statistics. Ugh!! Maybe I'll share my notes with you in the near future. Until then, I'm off to class - oh yeah, we signed up for a class this past month too, it's on "What Makes Your Middle Schooler Tick". I haven't learned what makes them "tick" yet, but I already have lots of lessons on what makes them "ticked off". Ha!
I'm outta here... for now.

P.S. I love my Fiesta Dishes.

The Back Acher's Practical Guide to Weight Loss

I'm not going to say that I'm an expert, but I've been struggling with my weight long enough to declare myself "superior in the wisdom of what works and what doesn't". I've got a list here, of the tried and true ways that the weight stays off. Or at least it doesn't go UP (much), but whatever. These methods WORK. I should charge for this kind of advice. Or start a fan club.

BIRTHDAYS

1. When it's time for a birthday, don't spend all day making a cake and frosting. You will consume too many hidden calories when you lick the bowl. The spoon. The spatula. And the beaters. And the front of your blouse. Instead - go out and BUY a cake. It comes with free frosting.
2. When you share the cake, after a rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday to you, You live in a zoo...", you should cut the cake into small pieces. You will be less inclined to eat a large one, and then when you go back for a second piece, you will have eaten less calories and fat by having two small pieces than if you had stuffed in two large ones. You see people? It's just simple math.
3. The day after a birthday, after you consume a piece of leftover chocolate cake for breakfast, you should throw a clean dish towel over the cake in order to keep it out of sight, and out of mind. This will keep you from downing the same amount of sugar for lunch too. Plus, it will make your dish towels taste better.

MEALS

1.  The best method for keeping meals healthy, is to eat them on the run. Running (around town in a suburban full of children) + meals = heathy. Right??
2. Skip dessert. You probably already had some for breakfast anyway, and if you skip dessert after dinner, then you'll save yourself TONS of weight gain. If you feel the urge to have dessert, at least find something with protein in it, like peanut butter.
3. Sit down to eat with the family at least [fill in the blank] times per week. If you lose your appetite over the dinnertime conversations like I usually do, chances are, you'll not put away so many calories. If you increase the amount of times your entire family is required to eat together, then you will lose lots more weight over the long haul. Eat with your family - it's great for your health!

SNACKS

1. If you should decide to eat Cheetos for a snack, do yourself a favor and put some in a bowl, instead of hauling the entire bag around with you. This will keep your portion size down (to that of a large bowl of cereal) instead of an entire bag. This has extra benefits, in that you also won't have to explain to your children, who already saw the bag before it was ever opened, why they didn't get a single one. Keep this rule in mind: Your family will love you if you use a bowl, and so will your figure.
2. Let's say, hypothetically speaking, that the urge for ice cream as an afternoon snack comes into play. The way to avoid this, is to just not eat it. But we know that's not reasonable, so the method that works for me is to bury it in the deep freeze. Do this the second you bring home the ice cream, and then when the urge strikes, you will be less inclined to eat as much ice cream because you can't manage to get any out of the container without a lengthy process that takes entirely too much time and energy. You'll more than likely seek some other source of comfort and calories. Hopefully you will happen upon a carrot or or a stick of celery or something else, and you'll actually talk yourself into it. Good luck with that.
3. Peanut butter is a good alternative snack to things like chocolate cake and ice cream. But if the ice cream has peanut butter IN it, then you might as well go with the ice cream. Think of all the calories you will burn when you go out to dig it from the bottom of the deep freeze and attempt to chip out what resembles a scoop. Plus I'm sure the particular kind of peanut butter in ice cream packs as much protein and fiber as you'd expect from a jar of Jif anyway. And, to take it one step further, you are consuming a dairy product. Two birds with one stone. That's how I roll.

DRINKS

1. The best drink is water. Drink lots of it. But don't drink it in the morning if you have lots of errands to run, or you'll be spending all your time running back and forth to the bathrooms at fast food joints along the way. Then, you'll be inclined to order something fattening while you're there - for fear of being judged as one of those people that uses the facilities, but never pays the rent. Also - don't drink water in the afternoons, because you need to save up bladder space for the hours you'll spend sitting and doing homework with your kids. If they catch you getting up and wandering off, chances are they will too. Then nothing will get done. Also, forget drinking water at night. Trust me, getting lots of rest is good for your metabolism, and drinking all sorts of water in the evening will ruin that. So drink water when you can. Which is pretty much never. 
2. Avoid alcoholic beverages. They are loaded with calories and they do nothing to benefit your health. Although, they do make you look more attractive to your husband, so give him drinks. As much as he wants, so that he will do things like take out the trash because he believes you are a hot super model wife. 
3. Have that cup of coffee. But limit yourself to just a few cups an hour. Caffeine boosts your heart rate, so you can probably get more chores done during the day, and it will help burn off that cake you ate for breakfast. Coffee should actually be listed as a health food. I'm not sure why it isn't yet. Could be all the loads of creamer we like to dump in it. So, the solution for that is to stick with the fat free kind. We all know that fat free means there aren't any calories either, so it's good for you. Stock up on it.

In summary...
Being healthy is an option. I've listed everything I can think of to help you, and if you decide to screw up and have cake for breakfast two days in a row, don't say I didn't warn you. At the very minimum, keep up with your coffee habits, and eat lots of meals with your family. May you have many healthy years to come.

Beautiful

It was a beautiful day

About a beautiful woman

Who had four beautiful children

Of those four beautiful children that she loved, three remain

And of those three beautiful children, 

she came to love five beautiful grandchildren

And of those five beautiful grandchildren, 

she came to love seventeen beautiful great-grandchildren

And of those seventeen great-grandchildren, 

was this young boy

who looked upon her grave 

with the utmost amount of stillness and sincerity

And it too, was beautiful

Mostly because it was the only time he stood still
for the entire weekend.

But you know what I'm sayin...

 

Our family had a going away party.

It lasted two days

There were balloons, flowers, and even cake.

There was music

There were heartwarming gifts, and stories about old times.

There were plenty of kids 

and everyone went home with a smile in their heart and a tear on their cheek

And it really was... beautiful

You will be missed Grandma... thanks for the lifetime of memories.

Word Filled Wednesday 2 Peter 3:10

The purpose of Word Filled Wednesday is to share the WORD through a photo and a verse. 

It happens every Wednesday - but apparently I missed the boat. Or the last FEW boats. I haven't posted one in SEVEN months. Yeah, you read that right. Put away the "tsk tsk" sounds and read on...

 

Full sized version HERE

2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief; the heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. 


~Ouch. If you have any doubt about your future or the coming of the Lord, I'd say this is as blunt as it gets. Get right with God. Do it now because tomorrow could just be a bit late. If you want to go to my church, there's plenty of seats. And you can wear jeans.
Or even camo.

This week's Word Filled Wednesday is being hosted by Penny Raine. 

Click the button below to find more inspiration for the rest of your week!