Random Tidbits

I've spent my evening watching the Democratic Fundraising Dinner (well, inbetween rocking a child with a boo boo on his hand, a little "Charlotte's Web", hide and seek tag, etc.). I find that I am way out of the loop on current events. I personally don't believe that Repbulicans have a strong enough candidate to undo the frustrations with the current administrations. I don't really claim to be a die-hard republican. I really believe in voting for the canidate....I have my own personal favorite, but I'm not sure he really has a chance. Yes, I said *he*, so that gives one small hint. But I feel it is good to see what we're up against. We are up against strong voices with the world's strong sense of reason.

I really wish children's shoes would come with a special tag that says, "These laces can be replaced with 36" laces, etc. I'm so tired of buying the wrong size since the charts on the packages are NOT intended for children's shoes.

I came out of Walmart last night and saw a replica of the 1980's model, white, LTD station wagon that I began my driving career in. It made me smile.

Sometimes we do things over and over just because we've always done them that way, and there really is no reason...like the family who had the tradition of cutting the end off the ham before baking. The husband asked his wife one day why she always did that and she said that it was just the way her mom always did it, but she wasn't sure why. She called her mom and asked her why she always cut the end off the ham. Her mom gave pretty much the same answer, "Well, my mom always did. I don't really know why, but her ham was always good." Next time the family was together, the woman and her mother approached grandma. "Why *did* you always cut the end off your ham before you baked it?" "Well," Grandma replied "I never had a pan big enough to fit the whole ham in."

But sometimes we do things over and over because there is a purpose. Last night I forgot that purpose. I have a shopping routing. Walk into Walmart, grab a cart, walk straight to the back of the grocery section, and work my way to the front. For whatever random reason, last night I decided to start in the front. Maybe I was just tired. It didn't take long before I realized that I was going to have to shop really fast if I was going to finish before my frozen foods thawed out....and then there was the matter of always moving the bananas off the bottom and back to the top. Yes, cereal boxes and cheese blocks make much better foundational items in the cart.

When I was working in Chicago, I had a wonderful boss. He engrained so much in me about always looking for how to do things better, faster, cheaper, etc. There seemed to always be a way to improve. I'll be forever grateful for that instilled mindset. Now I continuously find myself evaluating what I do, what I lead others to do. How can we make things better? Is there a die-hard purpose in the way we do it now? Sometimes there is, and it is best left alone....and sometimes you just need a bigger pan for your ham!

This week has been full and wonderfull. It's been one of those weeks where you find yourself running crazy, not sure when you'll be able to breathe. But it has been balanced with great fellowship, coffee, friends, finished schoolwork, birthday preparations, and the opportunity to bear witness of God's work in my life.

Tuesday, I had the opportunity to share a video with my MOPS group that I made regarding my own journey through Post Partum Depression. When we went to Arkansas this summer, I retraced some steps with a video camera and very openly described my struggle and what God has taught me since. It is healing to confess, and it brings healing to others. God is faithful to His Word. James 5:16 speaks of confessing our sins to each other and pray for each other so we can be healed. This is one of those interesting times in Scripture where the NIV just blows it. King James is actually more accurate by using the word "fault" instead of "sin." But even then, it doesn't do it justice. The Greek word translated "sin" here isn't the same one that most of the New Testament uses for "sin" (hamartano-to miss the mark, err, trespass, not share in the prize). The word used in James 5:16 is paraptoma - a side-slip, lapse or deviation, untintenional error or willful transgression, fall, fault, offence, sin, trespass. Sometimes we need to just confess our faults, our lapses, deviation from what is right, our unintentional errors. Confession invites accountability. It invites people to pray over us. It invites healing. It invites others to identify and feel safe to share their own faults and be healed too. It is fun to be a part of that kind of confession.

Wednesday brought a hopsital visit to a friend and her baby, and a date with my seven year-old son. Thursday was a good catch-up around the house day. I cleaned our bedroom and hung lights I've been meaning to hang for a year. We were reminded at "A Weekend to Remember" the importance of the master bedroom being an enjoyable place and not just a "catch-all" laundry room, etc. Boy, we're guilty!

Friday brought coffee with a new friend and prayer together, coffee and cookie decorating with Dawn and her boys in the afternoon. The boys all jumped in the leaf pile and cut out their own pod racers out of cookie dough. It was a mess, but fun. Then a surprise call to do the storytelling for BreakOut, and a great worship service. Friday was also Bill's first day at his new job, and he came home with surprise paycheck that we weren't expecting from hours in October. Coincidently (*cough* whatever!), it was the same amount I'd just spent on groceries and birthday stuff. God is great!

Today a friend trying to revive her Mary Kay business came and did a makeover for me. I proved to be the longest makeover in history. She insists it was the fellowship that made it long and not the challenge of my face. LOL! We had a great time. I'll post pics when I get them from her.

So anyway, it was one of those weeks where you knew that you had actually been productive- not just in getting things done, but in growth, in meeting needs, being in fellowship. Very full!

Tonight, I'm off to make a Star Wars lava cake from Episode 3, complete with Obi-Wan and light saber. :D

Kid sayings - Ian: "You have to seek where you sook last time!"

I just need to take a minute to brag on my kids.

Clayton is getting funnier everyday. He is thriving in school. It is great to see him come home with so much to talk about and share. It almost seems he just needed to get out of the house, like a sahm who is trapped in the house 24/7. I can sympathize with that. He really seems to enjoy his break, own identity, and more responsibility. He is starting to look so grown up. He's getting really picky about clothes and the way he looks. His typical day's attire is jeans, layered shirt, black and gray knit beanie with his blond curls sticking out, and his bright green and yellow skate shoes. We were going somewhere together a few weeks ago. I noticed that he had a nice, green kool-aid mustache; but I decided not to tell him. I decided that something about him needed to say, "I'm only 10." Clayton's current book series is the mysteries by Brian Jacques.

Riley is such a little cheerleader. Today I went to visit a friend at the hospital whose baby had surgery today. He was so worried and really wanted to come with me. He really identifies with any kid in the hospital now. He came and was so interested in the baby, asking hundreds of questions and sharing his experience with the family. If it weren't for him, I'd have never found my way back to the van. I forgot to take the slip off the wall that reminds you which floor you parked on. Luckily, Riley is very visual and was certain which color the floor was. Of course that wasn't a choice, and we discovered we were in the wrong garage altogether. He was right. The floor WAS yellow! ....and what other seven year old stops playing at the Carl's Jr. playground to thank the young lady sweeping the floor for making the restaurant such a fun place. Sigh. Riley's favorite books right now are I Spy, Where's Waldo, and any other "look for this in the picture" kind of books. I asked him tonight what he wanted to be when he grew up. He thought for a minute and said, "Well, I know I don't want to be a robber." Then he said, "I want to work at Krispy Kreme!" He also informed me that his favorite part of his Friday night discipleship program was wrestling. Somehow I don't think that is a sanctioned activity. Riley also decided this week that taking the trash down to the road was so not worth it that he was willing to give his bike to his brother to have his brother do it. We'll see what he is begging to do for his brother in the spring to get his bike back.

Ian is a total crack up as usual. When I left for the evening, he was attacking a piece of black fabric with scissors, determined to make a black spider man costume. He is learning to read, and is drawing up a storm. He tells us frequently that he is an artist. He really is pretty good. He's a great leaf-raker and the first eager one to help dad with anything. Whenever you say, "Dad is outside," or "Dad is working on..." he runs yelling, "I'm going to help!" His favorite book right now is "The Runaway Bunny." You just never know what they will take to. He's told us that when he grows up he will live in a VW bus and park in our yard, so he can use the bathroom.

Hayden will turn four on Monday. My baby. He wants a Star Wars cake (half Yoda and half Obi-wan Kanobi- or some spelling such as that). He asked for a sled for his birthday. This week I had two bags of Hershey kisses by the door to take to MOPS. The kids kept asking for them, and I kept reminding them they were for the moms. Hayden came down to my bathroom to try one more time. I reminded him that they had a "Secret Something" jar of treats, and the chocolates were for the mommas. He thought for a minute and said, "I have an idea. How 'bout we keep the Hershey kisses and let them have our "Secret Something" jar. Smart kid. We have difficulty getting Hayden to wear socks. I was thinking that it was because he doesn't have enough in his drawer, or can't get them on easily by himself, but yesterday he informed us that Uncle Jimmy never wears socks, and that is where he got it from!

We had a great day Sunday. Bill will start work at the Valley mall tomorrow. Sunday, we clocked the drive, and found the store. Then we hung out in a game and puzzle shop and found all kinds of interesting things. We then browsed Game Stop (seeing a theme here) and enjoyed the mall playland. We tried on Cherry Blossom lotion at Sharon's Bath and Body Works and smelled the pillowy sheep's belly. :D After all that excitement, we headed to Krispy Kreme for a snack, but missed our turn. When we turned around, we ran into a group of people racing their RC cars on a track. So we stopped and watched for awhile. The boys' wheels were turning thinking of how they could make a track in our yard, etc. We did our annual trip to Toys R Us to see what everyone finds interesting, and then to Mc D's for $1 chicken sandwiches and water. We had a focus event at church that night. The kids were inspired to be good at the thought of the long tables full of cookies out in the lobby for afterwards. We sat in the very back of the stadium style seating area of our auditorium. The kids spread out on the floor with coloring books. I was really proud of how quiet they were. It was encouraging. Maybe the family reading in the evening will pay off in more than one way.

Speaking of family reading, I know I've said this before, but I'm really treasuring our free nights. I'm sure it will change before too long, so I'm determined to embrace this season and not feel guilty for the lack of busyness. The busyness in the day is enough and it is nice to just take baths, have dinner, and read and color together in the evenings. I don't miss sports, and truthfully, I don't think my kids do either. But basketball is around the corner...so I treasure this time now.

Memories

Years ago, "Grandma Nell" and "Grandpa Gene" lived down the road, and Jonathan and I would spend hours in the basement shooting pool with Jason and Andy (grandchildren they were helping raise) and usually a bunch of other friends. They've stayed dear friends, then their spouses joined the gang, and now we all have a whole gaggle of kids. Grandpa Gene has been with Jesus for several year. Grandma Nell just moved into an assisted living facility. Jason's family just bought her house. So today, I took my kids back to this house to go visit and play with their kids. They were all running around in sunglasses, chasing each other with machine guns, playing hide and seek, and giggling in. What fun! What memories! I guess a few incriminating photos showed up when they were cleaning out the basement. But I haven't seen them yet. :D

The golf course is closed for the season. Bill has been home for a couple of weeks. The course is talking to him about a long-term position starting in the spring that could work into something really nice in the future. There are possibilities of him working in a golf store starting next month. But for now, we're back in limbo and wondering what is next. I know God is more concerned with our character than our comfort, but comfort really sounds nice sometimes.

So much is going on in my heart right now. I feel an insatiable craving for God's Word and not near enough time to be in it. New book ideas are spinning in my head. I really know I could write full time - if I had full time. I keep re-evaluating how I'm using my hours, and what God really needs me to be doing right now. God has filled me with a supernatural confidence in Him this week and an excitement about what is to come - even if it is uncertain. I just know He is at work!

and MOPS says....

"No." I really already expected it. After all, when someone says 8-12 weeks and takes 24, one takes a hint. :D There response was encouraging and kind, they are simply not looking for "that kind" of material right now. I'm doing really well with the bad news because I think it was already settled in my mind. I'm actually glad to just have a response, and some closure to that. I was beginning to wonder where my book was floating around or if it was buried on the bottom of a dusty pile in someone's old office. :D I already knew it was time to start re-writing proposals. Now to find that time. It will happen.

Gifford Goofs

In headlines this week at the Gifford home:

Angela was trying to show her kids how she could still do a headstand, which was enough of a risk to her neck. But when a cute little five year old, thought it would be fun to push her over...well, the twist landing really did her in. She will be very anxious for November's chiropractic visit.

Riley felt confident that he *could* make a batch of chocolate chip cookies by himself while mom was in the shower. He did pretty good, except for that 1/2 cup of salt.

Sunday
I love Sundays! Today, I took an extra long walk up and down the driveway, reading, proclaiming, and praying through Psalm 29. O God, Your voice is powerful! Speak! Speak with clarity! May we hear you!

I was ending my evening on my face before God and realizing how much that has become a position of comfort. It has become a habit in the past six months to fall on my face before God when I didn't know what else to do, when I needed to hear from Him, or put myself back in my place. Now, I find it my favorite place to be. On my face, I can truly say, "It's just you and me hear now." I can seek Him with all my heart and remember who I am in contrast to Who HE is, and there is peace.

Treasure Verse!

Every now and then you find that verse that just pops at you and answers one of your deepest soul questions. For me, it has been the question: Does God really want to hear from me? I don't mean, does he want me to pray; but does he want me to ask over and over and over again. When my kids won't quit begging for something, I get annoyed. Do I annoy God? It has been a struggle for me because I know that God hears me the first time and doesn't forget what I asked for. My trust in God says He knows what I need. He remembers what I asked for. He doesn't need to be reminded. He's not human like me and forgets what His kids ask about. So when I hear others saying, "Keep praying about it," I always wonder if I should.

SO, when I found this verse this week, I had a whole new outlook on life....and that is what it is all about: Finding the truth about Who God is and replacing the lies in our heads that tell us Who we think God is. When we really know Who He is, there is confidence in Who we are, and in approaching Him.

Isaiah 62:6b-7 "You who call on the Lord, give yourselves no rest, and give HIM NO REST till He establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth."

I looked up some of the words.
call on - remember, recollect, reflect upon, to mention, declare, proclaim, to commemorate
rest- quiet, cutting off, rest, silence
establishes- to be established, be steadfast, be firm, be prepared, set in place, make secure, to be made firm, provide, to be made ready.

My prayer: "O GOD! I want to reflect upon what you've told us and make mention of it to you - PROCLAIM IT! I will bet at peace about not giving you rest or being quiet about your promise until you establish, provide, make firm and set in place the things you've promised. THANK YOU for your Word! Thank you for your freedom! Thank you for wanting to hear from me. I love you, too!

In other news, it seems like the moment you give birth to your precious babies, you have to begin to let go of them. They need fed less and less often. They need fewer hugs and snuggles. They begin to put themselves to sleep. They learn to go potty on their own. Before you know it, they can pack their own lunch, bike to school, take care of forgotten homework with their teacher, and stay home by themselves while you run an errand. I'm learning so much about giving my children over to God. This week I was thinking about something Clayton was facing, and telling myself, "Angela, you have to give Him to the Lord." Then I thought, "Wait! I did that when He was born." But, oh, do I take them back. Over and over I have to give them back to the Lord and remember that He loves them more than I do. He wants to fulfill His destiny for them in their lives. I have been transitioning from caretaker to coach since the day they were born. Some days, I just want to swoop in like a good helicopter parent and save them from themselves. Sometimes the lies in my head shout, "Good parents dictate good instructions and require compliance!"...and then God reminds me of His order of creation. The ultimate parent created us with a a free will. He speaks His desire. He coaches us through, always hoping for the best, and doesn't pound us when we choose the wrong path. He redirects. He loves. He forgives. He lovingly disciplines - but never manipulates and forces our compliance. Wow! I have a lot to learn from my Ultimate Parent.

All of that has been prompting a lot of thought in my mind about the Holy Spirit. It seems to me that the average Christian community is afraid of Him. We work so hard at controlling the atmosphere of our worship, our programs, our services. We want order, flow, polish. We want wise decisions. We have a fear of part of the Trinity. What if the Holy Spirit, Who is to be inside of each of us, Who is our helper, really wanted to to help us?! Well, He does! What if He wanted to take over in our worship? We don't often let Him help us worship. How often we quench the Spirit. I often think of that phrase in regards to sin. But when He wants to help us approach the throne with all we are, with absolute protrate humility, with joyful dancing, with tears or uplifted hands or total abandon. Do we pay more attention to what is going on around us? Do we worry about the people who might see us? Better yet....how do we react when someone else does that around us. Do we criticize their worship? HOW DARE US! It isn't about us! It is worship of the Holy, Almighty, Creator of the Universe and has NOTHING to do with us or our comfort.

So what do you do when your church just doesn't get it? Well, let's pray about that together. :D

If only it were always so obvious!

Ah! Stew in the crockpot, rolls in the bread machine, cookies in the oven, rain drizzling outside, two fawns resting in the grass while they wait on mom to finish snacking. Did I mention I love fall?

We've been struggling so much to figure out what to do with Clayton for school. For years we've been looking for the "right" thing. We had some dissappointments this year and weren't able to get him in the school we'd hoped for. We thought home was the best plan b, but it just wan't working. I'm so tired of going back and forth and second guessing ourselves about what the best decisions is or should have been. It's tiring. I have known one of the fifth grade teachers at Dalton since he was a little boy. He is one of four boys - and they've all turned out great. I often wish I could just rub shoulders with their mom a few days a week. But anyway, we felt we could be more comfortable sending him back to that school (where he went in 3rd grade) if we knew Mr. Staples could be his teacher. But when Bill went to ask about the school, they said they were completely full. They gave Bill a registration form and told him we could wait until there was an opening or just put him in a different school that had room. We filled out the form, and Bill took it back on Friday. But school was closed. So finally today, he decided to try again. The secretary told Bill, "TODAY is your lucky day! We had a student drop out YESTERDAY, and we have one opening.....in Mr. Staples fifth grade class! God is so good! I bawled when Bill called to tell me. Such a huge sense of relief and confidence that it was God's direction.

So tonight was a frantic school supply rush. It's not easy to start fifth grade in a public school in an uppity part of town - much less when all of your clothes say "WALMART!" and most are full of holes. We'd been putting off clothes shopping and grateful that he's home most of the time, but God provided some good deals. Kohl's just opened here. We've had a card since Arkansas, but they let me have the promo discount because it was grand opening, and we got coupons in the mail for $10 off. We found backpacks 60% off at K-mart. Some of the supplies we already had.

Random - I get so sick of reaching int the pen holder by the computer to only find pencils with their tips bitten off and never a pen. Yesterday at MOPS, we put last years pens on the giveaway table - silk flowers stuck to the top. I grabbed a couple thinking, "Now I'll have some pens I can always find and my boys are sure to leave alone." Well, today my boys couldn't keep their hands off them. In fact, fighting over who got to use the flower pens. In fact, one of them has been dismantled. I give up!