"Even Her"

It has been said that forgiveness is the final form of love. Jesus's earthly ministry repeatedly bore witness to the Father's love for us all and his death on the cross was love in its final form. Forgiveness so great that One should die for a sinner such as I. For Jesus to leave Heaven, lower himself to become human, then be humiliated, rejected, and suffer the most intense death imaginable just to show the Father's love for his Creation, we are unworthy. This unsurpassed act of love and forgiveness should compel us Christians to act the same. Jesus said it himself in Luke 6 32-35:

"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. [33] And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. [34] And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full. [35] But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked."

I recently finished the book Same Kind of Different as Me, and I was blown away at the forgiveness of the dying wife. She was on her death bed from cancer when she told her husband and grown children that she was releasing her husband to marry and be happy again. This alone is an amazing act of self-less love that personally I would have a really difficult time with. But she went 1,000 steps farther when, alone with her husband, she spoke the words, "Even Her!". Just 11 years earlier, her husband had an affair. Through God's grace and a lot of counseling the couple stayed married and fell deeper in love than ever before. She explained herself: "It was a good thing, a thing that turned out good for us. Look at the past eleven years.....if she hadn't happened our life together wouldn't have been as wonderful as it has been. And now you have my permission to go back to her." What a humanly vivid picture of forgiveness as the final form of love. I could not imagine and it still leaves me speechless. Part of me thinks, there is no way on God's green earth that I would ever wish that upon my husband. But imagine being in that place, with no regrets, and no ill-will for even one who people would consider their enemy.

This is true freedom. Freedom that we cannot gain in our own strength, But through the power of God all things are possible. Whatever the circumstances of life may be, in each of us there is always a "her" or "him." May God grant us the ability, strength, and peace one day to utter the words, "Even her."

Superpower - Health Care Law Signals US Empire Decline? - CNBC

Superpower - Health Care Law Signals US Empire Decline? - CNBC

This is worth reading about and listening to

tell me what you think?

Practice makes perfect

This is a daily occurence at our house

With each jump, he gets a little higher.

April 16th will be his first BMX race.

Phrase of the Week

"Mom, when we die only our legs go to Heaven!"

while driving him to school this morning, Caeden blurted this out. He has been thinking about this for sometime. He said, "well Daddy's grandpa, when he died, all I could see was his body but not his legs" referring to the casket at the funeral. Grandpa was all covered expect for his head and upper body, so why not assume that his legs went to Heaven.

I am still laughing about this.

No More

No more will I......

1) have to be stressed in the morning because I woke up too late and now I have to get myself ready for work, Owen ready for the babysitter, and Caeden ready for school

2) will I have to hear Owen say, "who am I going with today?"

3) get a paycheck

The clinic doesn't need me anymore and this is one happy mama who is losing her job. I gracefully stepped out, (as opposed to being fired like last time). I have worked 2 days a week since Nov. 30th and I and my family are ready for a break. I love being a Physical Therapist, and am so thankful for the opportunity to have a job that helps other people and that is flexible with my time and schedule. When I told Owen that I didn't have to work today, he squealed with excitement and said, "Caeden, mommy doesn't have to work!!!" I love that he loves me.

Although he loves me more apparently when my hair is back in a pony tail. "Mama, I wike your hair wike dat." So today we hung out at Woodsmoke, helped daddy, drove the golf cart along side the highway to the gas station so he could get a treat, tried to eat lunch, but he had too many m&m's already, came home and played with trucks, then took a nap. I didn't miss working, not one little bit.

Date Night

Mike and I went with my parents to Cirque Dreams Illumination.

It has been 2 years since we saw the last one. I think I liked that one better.

But who am I to complain when we actually get a date night!

Sticky Buns

I had seen this blog before, but actually used one of her recipes this morning for Caramel Apple Sticky Buns. The Pioneer Woman is the website and here is the recipe.

I messed up a little toward the end of the recipe, but they were still very very tasty.

strawberry milkshakes

We made fresh strawberry milkshakes tonight.

Recipe was Found HERE

Delish

The Count of Monte Cristo

The Repudiated, the Clandestine, and the Avenger

What I learned from the Count of Monte Cristo

A classical novel from the 1800's, don't be fooled by the proper grammar, the characters are anything but innocent. Each filled with his own secret tale of neglect and the need for revenge. Much like today, except we don't necessarily challenge others to a duel. Edmond Dantes was young, innocent, and in love. His life , as fate would have it, ended the day he was wrongfully accused, sent to prison without trial, thrown into a dungeon, and kept there for 14 years. Through his escape, he was "re-birthed" as the Count of Monte Cristo, hence the Repudiated becomes the Avenger. His new life had one goal now, to avenge the life of Edmond Dantes. Edmonds accusers were now a part of wealthy Paris society; pristine on the outside, clandestine on the inside. Each living with a secret that, if let loose, would end their life forever. Money was the ruler in Paris, and marriages were arranged accordingly, so that your place in society would be set. Real love without any strings attached was similar to Romeo and Juliet, forbidden . As I read this book, I felt as though my mind were watching an incredibly riveting movie, filled with passion, betrayal, and suspense. I throughly enjoyed the book up until the last chapter, it ended without the reconciliation I was looking for. Not sure if I am too unusual, but when I read a book or watch a movie, I undoubtedly, search for some life application. Whether that is good or bad, it's just what I do. In this book, I was saddened by the emptiness in the life of the characters. No honesty in any relationships, and lived a facade of appearances. Life was more about what others thought of you than who you really were. I think it is easy to fall into that trap of performance, and not letting anyone know the real you. My husband has been my life example in so many ways. Owen commented just today, "Daddy has a lot of friends." I got to explain to my 3 yr old the reasons why, "because Daddy is real, genuine, honest& trustworthy with everyone and in any situation. And when you are friendly to others, they will be friendly to you." Maybe my life applications should come from my 3 yr old conversations more often and then I need not read any 600+ page novel again.

Ruminate on this

Please go read this blog. What a wonderful thing for us mom's to remember!

Atypical Life

In Training

Big Brother needs to watch closely, because the little one is close on his heels,

or shall we say tires!

Caeden is always pushing wood together for a make-shift ramp, so Mike finally drilled on toghther that wouldn't fall apart. Owen is loving every minute of it also. I wan't so popular when I made them wear full face helmets on this paticular day. The below picture is so funny to me because it shows competition and camraderie all at the same time. They both blamed each other for "who got in the way." That is what life has been like lately: competition, all out brawls enough to drive a mom nuts, and yet camraderie, with statements like, "Just a minute mom, I want to play with Owen first." At times, the Younger wants to be so independent and just like his brother, while the Older still wants to be taken care of like the baby and forego all independence. It seems that there should be a good caption for this photo, but I can't quite pinpoint it.

Fast asleep

My little one who is trying to stop taking naps fell asleep in the target shopping cart. It was 5 pm and he and I were getting a few groceries then going to eat at Panera while Daddy took C to the BMX track. I carried him to the car and he slept about 15 minutes in the car. Then I carried him into Panera and he woke up as soon as I ordered a chocolate chip cookie. :)

Enough Already

We have been down and out for quite while now. It all started a few weeks ago, the boys both had high fevers. Owen with upper respiratory, and Caeden with vomiting. Plus my cell phone decided never to work again, so i was without one for 5 days. Plus I got a sinus infection of sorts that has lingered way too long. Plus my doctor called me with my blood test results and informed me that my Thyroid levels were low again and I need to increase from 90mg to 150 mg. (No wonder I have been craving naps lately.) Plus I injured my back yesterday, can't stand up straight, and have bad muscle spasms. Plus PMS!

One would think I am exaggerating, but unfortunately I am not. I have been irritable lately, maybe from all of the above, but I still don't like my easily angered self. Sometimes I blame it on the fact that I am working two days a week and can't handle any added stress. But I still need to get a grip! The goodness that came out of the boys sickness is that Owen is now POTTY TRAINED! but has also decided he is too big for naps as well :) We have been staying home a lot more, reading a ton of library books, riding bikes, & enjoying the weather. Last night, because of my back, mike went for pizza take-out. The boys were going to go with him, but Caeden didn't want to "stop riding." C's love for riding bikes is a tender spot for his Daddy, because it reminds him of his childhood. I have been trying to get a video of Owen on the "cruiser bike" because he will be riding a bike really soon. Owen will push himself quickly with his feet and then lift them up while balancing and cruising on his bike. He loves that rusty little bike and really wants to be on the BMX track with big brother.

Just thought I would jot down the good and bad lately, time to go take a little nap :)