Isaiah 44:6-8 Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god. Who is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and set it before me, since I appointed an ancient people. Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen. Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it?  And you are my witnesses! Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any.” Yesterday, I wrote about how much I hated Oklahoma when I first moved here 15 years ago because of my fear storms (among other things like humidity, the lack of cool air after sunset, and gigantic June bugs)!! But I forgot to mention something really important.  Not only do I love … [Read more...]

I love living in Oklahoma. I never thought I would say that!  When we moved here I hated just about everything about Oklahoma. But the thing I hated most about Oklahoma were the storms.  Every rumble of thunder made me cower.  Every time the sky darkened I thought a tornado would drop out of the clouds.  I couldn't believe that in an area with such a chance for tornadoes there were not more basements and storm shelters.  Fear gripped me every time a storm rolled in. I've lived in Oklahoma for 15 years now.  I lived here during the May 3rd tornado that hit Moore in 1999.  I drove to Oklahoma City shortly after that tornado to take my state boards for cosmetology.  The storm wiped whole neighborhoods completely away.  I had never seen such devastation.  It fed my fear … [Read more...]

Last weekend I got to go to a friend of mine's wedding. We met when I was in 4th grade.  She was in 2nd. We had just moved from Illinois to Farmington, New Mexico and she was my first friend.  Shortly after we became friends I met Becky, Amber, and Jannela.  The five of us did just about everything together.  There really isn't a childhood memory that I have from Farmington without one of those 5 girls in it.  They colored my days with laughter and fun.  We had this awesome ant farm at school!  We made roads for them and everything. The last time we were all together Precious A was only 10 months old.  My brother and I drove from Broken Arrow to New Mexico for another friend's wedding and all five of us were together.  It was like we hadn't missed a beat...we still … [Read more...]

Proverbs For Life - Proverbs 24:6 For by wise guidance you can wage your war, and in abundance of counselors there is victory. I've been reminded lately of something very important. There is a war going on. A knock-down-drag-out-winner-takes-all war. I am exhausted. I want to yell, "Timeout!! I'm on base," like the small fries do when they play chase. But there are no time-outs. This war has no ceasefire, even if I feel like I am too tired to fight the endless battles that rage for our hearts...and the hearts of our children. The constant pull of the world around us to live life on our own terms. I don't want to escape the war I am in (although a rest and water break would be nice). I want to stand firm. I want to equip my children to stand firm. But right now, I feel totally … [Read more...]

Last year I walked in the first annual Walk for Hope. This weekend I have the privilege to once again show my support for an organization that helped me in a time I felt alone, scared, and totally unprepared for the future. I was 19 when I found out I was pregnant with Precious A. What a lot of people didn't know at the time was this was actually the second time I discovered I was pregnant.  The first time was when I was 18, just a few weeks shy of my high school graduation.  Selfishness, plain and simple, led to my making the worst decision of my life.  One I wish every day I could undo.  But there are no do-overs after an abortion, only mercy and grace that flows from the cross.  I am so grateful for that undeserved outpouring of love lavishly poured out on … [Read more...]

Shhh....Don't tell Daniel:  I have fallen deeply and madly in love...with photography. It's been a relationship about a year in the making. I know, I know.  My heart was very full with Daniel and the kiddos, but there was just something missing in our home. The walls just felt empty.  Well, in reality they were/are a little on the bare side!! Then entered this hobby of mine.  It took me by surprise and captured my heart. It has filled my walls with pictures, beautiful pictures (well, two of them at least; I'm still working on the other ones)!! I got a camera from my brother-in-law who is a photography guru.  It is a camera I never would have purchased had he not offered to sell it to me.  It's a beast, and I am learning the functions and training my eye to see … [Read more...]

Spring is here in full force. For some people, the busiest time of year is Christmas.  For us, it's spring. Precious A has tech-week this week and show-week next week for her theater.  I am so glad that we homeschool during this time.  In previous years she would be so exhausted at the end of these two weeks.  This year, she is holding up pretty well. School is winding down.  Princess L finished already.  Big Boy has just a couple more lessons left.  Precious A is on track to finish soon too. It feels really good to have this first year of homeschooling almost complete.  I didn't know how it would all play out when we started, but it's been mostly good...not all good, but mostly good!  The hard moments haven't made any of us what to stop which is saying a lot!!  Next … [Read more...]

I love the differences I see in my children.  All four are so unique in looks and in personalities. I'm not sure why, but I didn't expect the differences in their looks. I don't think my boys could look more different! One little brown boy. One little blond boy. And then there are the girls. One with thick wavy blond hair...so much hair she could divide it in two and still have thick hair. One with thin straight brown hair with perfect highlights people pay lots of money to get (I get asked all the time if I color her hair. I don't; I promise!)   And then there are personality differences!!  These I expected, but it still shocked me by how different they all are. Precious A loves the spotlight and being center stage. Princess L wants to blend into the … [Read more...]

Proverb for Life - Proverbs 6:16- 19  There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers. Last weekend I went on one of my dream trips.  A trip to Washington, D.C. I love history, and I am slowly marking off the places here in the US I have longed to see.  This was a trip to see all the things I have read about in my many history classes.  A trip to remember and honor men and women who served our country. I saw the monuments honoring the work of visionaries and idealists who fought for a land where men worship and work in … [Read more...]

Spring Break seems like a lifetime ago.  But really, it has only been a couple of weeks. Easter week followed spring break this year so it was a whirl of activity for two straight weeks. Then came two weeks where I have had very little motivation to do much of anything.  We all passed a cold around and that didn't help things either. Daniel and I took a communication style quiz together the other night.  He needed it for work, and I took it with him so we could compare.  It's so funny that we share a few strengths, but for the most part, we are exact opposites. I'm a relator;  he's an achiever. It's funny because the way we get out of our funky periods is totally different.  He needs to accomplish something.  I need to think about the past and spend time just … [Read more...]