Focus

I seem to lack focus.

I had some time to send in my garden recently. It has been weeks since I've been out there so I spent my time weeding.

It never ceases to amaze me how the weeds that grow in various places in my garden look so similar to the "good" plant it is growing next to. I mean in the same garden bed the weeds growing near the oregano plant look like oregano and the weeds growing near the bell peppers look like pepper plants.

Made me think of my own life and the weeds that grow up, the things that begin to take over my time and heart from God. The things that grow up and look "good" when in reality they are not.

When a garden gets overgrown the first thing to do is simply focus on getting the weeds out. With several raised beds in my yard I bounced around wondering where to begin. Then I focused on one bed and one task: weeding. This one task can make a HUGE difference.

Just like my raised bed of life. Focus is good.

Focus on time in God's Word.

Focus on the reality of the goodness of my life.

Focus on the truth of God being with me, for me and beside me.

When I focus on these things it seems to weed out the junk. I find it easier to trust and believe, easier to walk by faith; when I focus on Christ the inside of my head just seems a little neater, just like my garden after a good weeding.

Peace and love,

Phoneless

So I will be without a cell phone for a few days while I wait for my new phone to come in and Justin uses my current phone because his phone couldn't survive 6 months of hardcore texting.
I am also thinking of not getting on FB for the month of September, for various reasons.
Today.
Today I am going to spend it with my family.
Church, lunch, beach, nap and then Clash of the Titans at 6pm!
-Michelle <3

33oC, Known and now...

... I won't say.
Each year our Wednesday night youth group has a name. A focus.
08-09 was 33 Weeks On Cool or 33oC
09-10 was KNOWN
This year, well you'll have to wait.
For the last two Wednesdays we've been meeting for youth group. The Lifeguards meet for about a month before hand to focus, learn and seek God about the upcoming year at youth group.

I am excited! I always am.
I enjoy the summer down time but it gets to me. I get antsy and I think it's been part of my funk lately. I haven't been as focused. Now I am getting super excited! I can't wait to hear what God had, to follow His lead and to serve the students this school year!!

Above is a picture of one of the teaching times from last year.
Did I say I was excited?!

O My Strength , come quickly to help me

Been in a funk.
Simply seeking God and asking for more of a desire for Him.
Somedays I just don't wanna run the race or fight the good fight.
Then again perhaps I depend too much on my own strength than the Lord's, depend too much on me and not the Holy Spirit.
Holy Spirit come and fill me.
Ps 22

Another Day W/My Man

My man works really hard.
He has worn many different hats in our 17 years of marriage, he's worn many a shoe, boot and flip flop as well. Again this weekend I had the chance to go to work with him for a few hours. I love the view from the deck I got to hang out on.

I even love to watch my man work.

But sometimes I just watch his feet. Each step done in love for us, each step working toward providing and caring for us, his family.
I love that man!

Self-Employment @ the Beach

One of the neat things about being self-employed is the fact that I get to ride along with Steve some days. One of his duties is to clean the jacuzzis in the houses he works on. Since many of the homes are rentals I go along with him to help or just to keep him company.
Here's one of the views I got to enjoy last week.
Actually I like this view better cause my Hottie is in it!!

Remembering to enjoy the little things in life or better said, working on enjoying the daily things in life!

Have a great day- enjoy every aspect of it!

...

I've sat down several times recently to blog about my inner (and outer) struggles going on. Each time I just can't get the right words down and so I leave a half written draft in my posts section.
What can actually type is that I am a very passionate person and that makes it tough to make some decisions, especially when it's between two things I am passionate about.

So instead of a draft I am leaving this post introducing you to the latest addition to our family, our pet turtle named Raul.

And the cats.

I love it when the cats sleep or hang out in silly places.

Like the birdbath!

Until I can actually type something,

First Day of School

Yesterday was the first day of school.
It also marks the first Fall since 1997 that I haven't home schooled! When I really first felt a call on my life to home school my children I was 16 years old. I wasn't even dating Steve at the time but I knew God had called me to home school my children, and I knew I would home school them through the 8th grade.
So that's what I did. I home schooled.
When we began we lived in Oklahoma, then we moved to New Hampshire and finally Florida; when we began we knew 1 other home school family, then 2, then three,now it seems every other person I know either is or has home schooled.
These past 13 years have stretched me beyond where I wanted to stretch and grown me in ways I probably don't even realize. The coolest thing about home schooling has been the time I have had with my children.

High school.

Public school.

Day one went well, both boys seemed happy with their teachers, their classes and they made it home safe and sound, not that I fear for their safety, God has those boys and I trust Him with them and have since the days of their birth. As far as I know they were safe from mean kids and neither one sparked up in the bathroom.

As another year starts I already know it will end in the blink of an eye, 2 shakes of a lambs tail and it'll all be over.

I will sit on my porch with Steve one day and we'll wonder where it all went; until then I am enjoying my days off with no children to clean up after, no lunches and snacks to make, no books to teach from, no papers to correct. I am reluctantly, excitingly, nervously welcoming this new chapter in my life.

Now what to do for the next 7 hours?

Wastelands

Title: Wastelands

Author: Elisabeth Elliot


There are dry, fruitless, lonely places in each of our lives, where we seem to travel alone, sometimes feeling as though we must surely have lost the way. What am I doing here? How did this happen? Lord, get me out of this!

He does not get us out. Not when we ask for it, at any rate, because it was He all along who brought us to this place. He has been here before--it is no wilderness to Him, and He walks with us. There are things to be seen and learned in these apparent wastelands which cannot be seen and learned in the "city"--in places of comfort, convenience, and company.

God does not intend to make it no wasteland. He intends rather to keep us--to hold us with his strength, to sustain us with his sure words--in a place where there is nothing else we can count on.

"God did not guide them by the road towards the Philistines, although that was the shortest...God made them go round by way of the wilderness towards the Red Sea" (Ex 13:17,18 NEB).

Imagine what Israel and all of us who worship Israel's God would have missed if they had gone by the short route--the thrilling story of the deliverance from Egypt's chariots when the sea was rolled back. Let's not ask for shortcuts. Let's keep alert for the wonders our Guide will show us in the wilderness.

Vacation Day 2

So we didn't make it very far north after our first stop of the trip. We found ourselves checked into a Days Inn in Richmond Hills Georgia.
Yep broken down in Georgia, that's where we found ourselves.
I'm not really in a writing mood this morning but I wanted to get our pics posted.
We made the best of our vacation changes.
Here was the view from our hotel:

We ate at Waffle House, twice in a 24 hour period of time; while this was pure joy for Steve and Justin I think it certainly should be illegal in some states.

Vaughan's brilliant wife suggested he download a Mad Libs app. We played some Mad Libs!

We cheered up the overworked staff.

We enjoyed each other.

Here's what the day looked like when we weren't eating at Waffle House. We spent it in this room. If any reason to not have cable television, or satellite for that matter, is for vacation days in a hotel room- add some cable and our family is happy.

Getting the car fixed by a mobile mechanic in a gas station parking lot. Good times right here.

Stopped at America's Smallest Church so Justin and Uncle Jim could check it out, yes Uncle Jim made his way to us but that's another story.

So our family vacation 2010 was a 440 miles, 36 hour vacation for us. Good times.

Well, I did pout when we returned home and Steve went right back to work. And I did pout because it's what I do best when things don't go my way.

I did pout but eventually God changed my heart and I spent some good, quality, time alone on the beach.

Happy summer!

Vacation Day One

We pulled out of our yard around 9:30am to head to New Hampshire for our first road trip since 2004 and family vacation since 2006.
We almost had a stowaway.

I started out driving and the kids settled into the back seat.

Then, it happened. We pulled over for our first gas/bathroom/food stop when a small river flooded the ground under our car. We opened the hood and steam poured out just like in a movies. After further investigating we added coolant and then headed back out headed north unsure of the seriousness of our issue.

We didn't make it 2 miles before my fancy-shmancy Cadillac began to tell me the engine was too hot and I needed to idle the engine. I made it to an overpass where I pulled over to keep us out of the 110 degree heat index outside.

Again steam rolled it's way out from under the hood of our car.

Steve got out and checked whatever he checks and I encouraged the boys to get out and hang out up under the overpass. I mean how often do you get a chance to spend hours under an overpass? In our case it had been since 2004 when we were on our last family road trip and found ourselves broken down under an overpass, but that is another story.

We weren't on the side of the road but a few minutes before a State Trooper, who had pulled someone in the southbound lane over, crossed the median and asked if we needed help.

He then gave Steve a ride to not 1 but 2 auto parts stores so he could purchase the parts we needed for the car.

Meanwhile the boys and I spent our our taking pictures and watching the excitement that happens on the side of the interstate in Georgia.

I gotta be honest my mindset started off pretty positive. I was fine with where we were at, enjoying the here and now, but then somehow I let my mind go and I began to feel sorry for myself.

I couldn't believe we had not been away as a family in years and this is where we ended up just 220 miles from home. My husband who works incredibly hard was now spending his first day off in almost a year, working on the mechanics of our car. I sent out frantic texts asking for prayer. I eventually settled back into a rational mindset.

Then after being on the side of the road for over 2 hours we pulled back out into the northbound lane until....

People Working and My Hair

Random stuff:
Here's my friend Mary who just got a job! One day we'll all go to concerts that she has organized, until then: let us all eat chicken.
Here's the best looking kid at Chick-fil-A

Here's my head partially taken out of cornrows.

I really do love this style for me!!

FUEL

Our FUEL student leaders met in July for a sandcastle building contest.

The boys had more fun destroying the creations.