If I could be like da!

My little Drewlbug.. he wants to be like da soo bad...



Praying Power

5  years ago I read a book called What Makes a Man Feel Loved.

I never finished it. I have lots of books like that. I read them halfway through and they get lost under the bed.

The author talked about how his wife prayed everyday. Prayed for him everyday. She was really organized about it too. She had a list and a BINDER! Each day was allocated to a certain subject matter except Sunday which was a day of rest and for church. WOW! I never thought of putting a binder together!! And categorizing prayer lists? Awesome!! Totally right up my alley. I found a basket, a binder and created my tables I and was ready to go!

Later , a year and a half later, that binder turned into a pocket planner with just lists on each day. Then it just disappeared as I set up Outlook with reminders everyday of specific prayers for my husband. Every day at 9:30am I’d get a pop up screen with different scriptures and prayer for my husband. I said the prayer quickly and moved on.

This morning I realized what a transformation my husband had made. What a different man he is. How blessed I am to have him in my life. One major factor is that he quit drinking.. completely. Five years ago I would have laughed at anyone who would predict this phenomenon. It’s actually a miracle. We got into the worst fights in the beginning of our marriage because of his drinking habits. He became a different person and I hated it.

HATED IT.

Now, I’m starting to get to know the real man. I so love what I see. He takes care of the laundry, the bills, pitches in around the housework as needed, I never have to ask. I can’t believe how lucky I am. There are many things I that I never have to worry about in my marriage. We have our days when we’re snippy and don’t like each other much but this power of constant prayer has changed us both 180.

We have some major issues that need to be worked out… by a professional. We will get through it. These issues are mostly from my insecurities. They stem from when I was victimized as a child.  God has a way of making all things new.

Prayer changes everything. Even if it takes you years to realize it.

Resources:
http://www.reviveourhearts.com/topics/downloads/index.php?id=9473
http://www.reviveourhearts.com/topics/downloads/

5 Minute Friday

Today I am linking up for the first time to Gypsy Mama's 5 Minute Friday segment.

Today's topic is GRATEFUL. I write for 5 minutes and just keep writing. Here goes nothing.

A grateful heart is something I should have. But these days are so wild and busy and insane with tasks, appointments and more errands than I can run. I am out of breath. I am grateful for this. It is wonderful in this crazy time. It will be gone all too soon. All too soon the house will be quiet. All too soon the house will be clean and immaculate but lonely. No pitter patter of sweet little feet running away from you. Ah. I am so grateful for this moment when I am the only joy and only love of my little boy. Too soon he'll realize he doesn't need me. Too soon he'll realize he's smarter than me. Until then... I just savor this craziness. I soak it all up and forget about the dishes and the sticky floors and just sit and watch him sleep. Why is this simple thing so beautiful and magical? This right here must be a glimpse of heaven. This is why people must take recreational drugs. To feel this enormous glory. To be right here where I am.
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Thanks Gypsy Mama!

Birds on the Wall

Welcome to my craft corner.

I saw these bird decals on a website and they wanted some crazy amount for it! So, I decided to make ‘em myself!  I was so in love.

I went to Walmart and saw room décor circle decals on clearance for $1.00.. SCORE!!!
At that point I knew God loved me.

I found some bird silhoute clip art and enlarged them as much as I could on the copier settings. Each 8X10 paper had a different bird decal design on it.

I got the decals out, traced them and cut them out. I used only the largest circle decals

I even used the adhesive white backing as an extra decal. I stuck em on the wall with masking tape folded over on the back. I am so pleased with the project. It costs a minimal amount and the fact that my hands made ‘em makes my heart so happy. I see them every day in my living room and they remind me to:

“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Matthew 6:26 (NIV)

So the birds.. okay.. for some reason Seve and I have this cosmic magnet on us to attract fledging birds. We’ve had more birds show up on our doorstep than we can count. They are always hurt or have fallen out of the nest or something. Steve and I have had to build a makeshift nest for them and pray that the momma bird comes for them, we have had to take one to a wildlife rehabilitation place, we have had to save one from a cat, we’ve had to catch one flying around the house.. it’s CRAZY. CRAZY I tell you.

We’ve tried and tried and tried to figure out this phenomenon. Most times I think it’s God telling me not worry about everything so much. I asked him to take care  of it in prayer and he will, according to his will and his timeline.

Then I read something that stopped the world for me.

I realized the birds represent me. It’s me that’s forgotten how to fly. It’s my fear  which keeps me from my dreams. The fear that has paralyzed me from childhood. So I sit, and I pray and try to find the strength to be myself; all of me, not just a sliver of what I think is the best part. All of me: the good, the bad, the OCD..Here is where the work begins. The forgiveness work. The hardest work of all. The type of work that makes me run far… Oh but how I want his anointing in my life. How I need his blessing. It becomes clear, crystal clear that I must endure and allow the pain to leave me. Go through it all even though it’s hard and there’s suffering. In the end, I have to learn, I am “fearfully and wonderfully made; [HIS] works are wonderful..”
Psalm 139:13-15

I leave you with a song and singer close to my heart. Enjoy.

http://youtu.be/JB2I5refJec

Love Button: Bono

http://dooce.com/2011/07/06/chills-i-tell-you

Bono.. wow............

So, my dear husband called;
 said he's stopping at Sonic,
did I want anything?
 In a frantic rush in the driveway trying to corral the child along with his bag, my purse, etc. I hastily said, "Yea, just get me whatever."
Little did I know...
Stop laughing...

He came home and got me chicken tenders... with chicken fried steak sauce of some sort. I ALWAYS get the Crossanwich at Sonic or the grilled toaster sandwich... ALWAYS. And... he got me a COKE. A COKE!!! Everyone knows that at Sonic you must always get the Strawberry LimeAde!!!
Wow. I guess men's brains really are different and you must explain things with detail and send them detailed instructions with pictures and hope that they don't mess it up... again.

MY LIFE GOALS

MY LIFE GOALS

Work for NASA | Have my very own dressing room | Have a closet of just shoes | Take that photography class | Safari in Africa | Scuba dive | See the Pyramids at sunset |  Have a croissant at a French cafe | Try escargot | Take a road trip across the U.S. | Travel to Greece | Whiskey at a pub in Ireland | Open a Swiss bank account |  Grow vegetables |  Write a novel | Be conversational in Hindi | Set foot on all seven continents | Set foot in all fifty states | Stand atop the Great Wall of China | Stand inside the Taj Mahal | Take tap dancing lessons |  Make my own perfume | Make a peaceful living space for our family  | Tithe |   | Have a portrait done of myself | Ring a church bell | Own land | Write a million dollar check to a charity |  Zip line through a canopy | Lemonade on the front porch swing, warm summer night | Finish up or give up all the unfinished projects in the house  | Buy a stock on my own |  Have a big wedding anniversary party |  Finish the baby book | Read every book on the book list I started | Get my degree | Be a college professor | Remove toxins from our food and environment | Have a family portrait taken |  Make my own font |  Sleep in a treehouse | Take a drawing class |  Finish wedding album | Swing dance |  Create an office that cradles me | Start an annual event |  Movie nights on the patio | Themed dinner night | Look great without makeup | Become a chessmaster | visit  St. Peter's Basilica | Invoke Thursday Bubble Bath Night | Be Able to do the NY Times Crossword in 2 Min.  | Create my portfolio  | Write that book  | Ballroom dance well  | Backyard Camping  | Star in a Broadway show  |  Be on Oprah  |  Bellydance  | Become a Yoga Instructor | Be a Music/Movie/Book Critic | Be on the Momversation  | Take Drew to Disneyworld!  | Have a master bedroom with matching furniture | Paint portraits, capture the essence of people |Forgive fully and easily

RECIPE: Slow Cooker French Beef Dip Sandwiches

Slow Cooker French Beef Dip Sandwiches
1 3-pound boneless beef chuck roast, trimmed
1 10.5-ounce can condensed French onion soup, undiluted
1 10.5-ounce can condensed beef consommé, undiluted
1 10.5-ounce can condensed beef broth, undiluted
1 teaspoon beef bouillon granules
8 French or Italian rolls, split

Halve roast and place both halves into a slow cooker. Pour the soup, consommé, broth and bouillon over the roast. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or until meat is tender.

Remove meat and shred with two forks. Serve on rolls. Skim fat from cooking juices and serve as a dipping sauce. Serves: 8.

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My husband aka "Seve" thought this was the best thing ever. It was so easy.

I forgot about the beef boullon granules so I just addded some salt and it was perfect!! Oh, and we trimmed the fat only after it was all cooked and ready for the table.

This will definitely be added to the family recipe book.

It was a beautiful Sunday morning

It was a beautiful Sunday morning. I spent it at Starbucks reading the New York Times arts section. These are moments I’ve always dreamed of and when they come to life… it’s surreal. It’s like I’ve always been here doing this very thing but not. Surreal. That’s the only word I can come up with. Some experiences have no words to describe their intimate glory. I wanted to spend all morning there, leisurely… but after about an hour, I heart missed my sweet little boy’s face. Alas. Another day. There will be days when that little boy will be all grown away at college and I’ll have all the time in the world to drift away in articles, stories, games on my laptop. But for now, this very precious moment is cut short to give me a glimpse of heaven. A glimpse of what’s to come. And now, on to diapers and dishes and Barney. Whoever introduced my child to Barney must die… oh wait. That was me.

People who need people...

There are the those people that are always willing to give the benefit of the doubt. Those who believe intrinsically that the heart of man is overall good and kind. I am not one of those people. I am always slow to let ANYONE in. I think I can do everything myself. That I would be happy all by myself in a room with my laptop and music.
It's taken me a long time to get away from the mindset that everyone is out to get me.. That they are all just waiting for me to make one wrong move so they can pounce and cackle and laugh at me. They willl say, " I knew it! I knew she wasn't really good. She really wasn't perfect. She's trash. She's worthless. She doesn't belong."

It takes a lot for me to ask for help. I'd much rather go to the library and get 12 books on the subject, vigorously take notes and formulate a plan without anyone's help.

As a mother, you learn the value of needing other's help. Their opinions. Listening to those who have walked these aisles of Walmart before in a frazzled hazy disheveled daze.

And as a woman who can't figure out how to get out of the Starbucks parking space on a Sunday morning, you praise the Lord over and over again for the sweet chinese man and his friend who offer to help weave the vehicle out so you're not stuck there all day in tears wondering why you can't apply simple geometry.

People need people.

"People who need people are the luckiest people in the world."