My New Resume

In this economy it is a good idea to diversify your skill set as to appear more lucrative to companies, so I decided to update my resume.

Julia Ping
123 Main St.
(317) 222-2222

Professional Experience:

Professional Laundry Maid -- skilled in removing all types of stains and smells.  Can make your clothes look new again, or at least wearable.

Professional Housekeeper -- skilled at tossing toys long distances into proper receptacle and scraping unknown particles from tile floors.

Professional Reader -- skilled at making any children's book exciting

Professional Nurse -- (no nursing degree) skilled at applying Elmo band-aids to any real or imagined hurt.

Professional Insomniac -- I can stay up all night if needed.

Professional Wiper -- skilled at wiping down walls, floors, couches, chairs, televisions, but especially faces and butts.  


Please call me only if you don't need me to perform any of these skills.



I have been thinking about what a great but wiper I have become and ran with the idea for a new resume.  I hope it makes you smile or even giggle right our loud.

Testing the Strength of Your Marriage

It has been a really, really busy few months for my family.  We had to make some repairs to our home which led to a month and a half long remodeling project.  My husband and I began home improvement projects from the first day my husband purchased our home.  The old saying is:  If you want to know how strong your marriage is, wall paper together.  Well there is a lot of truth to that.  Jason and I have put tile into our kitchen and dining room, remodeled our upstairs bathroom, made two bedrooms out of one, remodeled our bedroom, and painted our entire basement.  Painting the basement was one of our first projects.  I spent most of the time complaining and being confused, not understanding what my husband wanted me to do.  He spent most of the time being frustrated with me.  6 years later, we have learned how to talk to each other about what we need, how to offer encouragement, and give compliments.  We have also learned to stand up for ourselves and say when enough is enough.  We have learned that it is okay to walk away from the project and each other and start again the next day.  Our last remodeling project, the bathroom, was long and hard on the family waiting to have their bathroom back, but was smooth going for our relationship.  We have come a long way.  If you can remodel together, you can do anything.

The Sin of Pride

As I have mentioned before, I listen to a lot of Moody Radio.  In many of the sermons I hear, the preacher mentions that the sin and temptation that is most common and hardest to deal with is the sin of pride.  And if you really think about it, most of the pain we inflict and is inflicted on us is rooted in our pride.  What do I mean?  Well, when our feelings are hurt, it is often our pride that is hurt.  For instance, if someone makes a negative comment about the dinner we made, we are hurt because we took pride in our effort.  We hurt others often because we are more worried about ourselves than the other person.  I would say that attitude comes from pride.  Also this mind set that we deserve something.  Like today, I had a terrible attitude and was not a very good servant to my family.  I was extremely tired from a very busy week and all I wanted to do was rest today -- I didn't want to cook or clean or really show any effort.  Deep inside I thought I deserved a rest.  So I was spoke rather rudely to my husband and my children.  But let's really analyze that attitude.  All we really deserve when we peel everything away is death.  Yes, that's right, we deserve death.  Everything else that is given to us is a gift.  Our very breath is a gift.  Yes we do work hard and often get rewarded for that labor.  But we don't deserve anything.  This attitude leads to all kinds of problems: failed marriages and a bad economy just to name a few.  We can't live our lives with our hands stretched out expecting a handout.  Instead we need to be grateful and gracious.  I didn't have much grace today with my family and I pray that they will forgive me.  My pride has taken a much needed hit and now is the time for humility.  God said it  best, "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.

My Life Revolves Around Food

I have always had a slight obsession with food.  I enjoy cooking and of course eating.  I especially like to eat the items I cook.  But lately my entire world seems to revolve around eating.  It seems that my thoughts are often going to when I am going to get my next meal.  Now this isn't from any lack of food, so I put some thought into the why.  And I think I figured it out -- becoming a mom.  Just think about it.  When you are pregnant you start obsessing about food, with weird cravings and having to eat to ward off nausea.  Then the baby comes, and if you are breastfeeding, your hunger is unsatisfiable.  Your children's need for food fuels the obsession.  Babies eat every 2-4 hours for up to 6+ months, then when they start eating solid foods, you have to start packing snacks from every trip, even the 5 minute trip to the bank.  The time and thought used up by preparing, serving, and eating food is astronomical.  I am hoping that as my kids get older and they can better get their own snacks, that maybe my obsession will diminish -- my waistline needs the break. 
In honor of these thoughts on food I want to give you a list of all the things my soon-to-be one year old son has tried to eat.  I hope it makes you giggle:)

petroleum jelly
groat
rocks
a lady bug
a dead leaf
dog food
part of a oak tree helicopter seed
a dust bunny from behind the stove
a used bandaid
a dandelion
a coupon
crusted food from his high chair (who knows how old)
the stuffing from a bean bag
banana peel
chalk

And yes he is fine:) 

Veggie Non-lovers

I have talked before about trying to get more veggies in my diet and just trying to eat more healthy in general.   But I wanted to give you all some more ideas about how to sneak veggies into your meals and still enjoy them. 
Here are a few quick add on ideas:
1.  Add broccoli, cauliflower, and/or tomatoes (tomatoes are actually a fruit) to mac and cheese.
2.  When making a salad for dinner add extra veggies besides lettuce and chop them up nice and little and you will not notice they are there. But don't over do it on the dressing -- it kind of defeats the purpose of having a salad.
3.  Add extra veggies to some of your favorite meals.  Add peppers, onions, and mushrooms to your pizza and tacos.  I sometimes cook them down a little and blend them to add them to my sauce so I don't even know they are there.  You can add veggies to just about anything if you get creative.  Add shredded carrots to your sloppy joes. 

Okay now here is the even more fun stuff.  Look online for different veggie salad recipes.  Like broccoli cauliflower salad or fun coleslaw.  Here are a few of my favorites.

Broccoli Cauliflower Salad
1 cup chopped broccoli
1 cup chopped cauliflower
4 strips crisp turkey bacon, crumbled
3-4 medium chopped mushrooms
1/4 cup chopped onion (your choice what kind)
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup raisins
Add any other veg if you want
Sauce:
1 cup light mayo
1/2 sugar or Splenda
1/4 cup cider vinegar (Now some people don't like that much vinegar so play around with ratio)
Directions:
Mix and eat.  Don't eat the whole batch in one sitting because the sauce isn't the healthiest but you will enjoy eating your vegetables.


This next recipe is from my buddy Andrea.  She is great about adding fun and different grains to her diet.  This recipe calls for quinoa but I couldn't find any at Kroger so I used couscous and that worked too.  I also used all variety of veggies I hard on hand.  I used carrots, radishes, onion, broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, and tomatoes.  Get creative or throw in all your soon to expire vegetables.
Quinoa Vegetable Salad
1/2 C chopped or shredded carrots
1/2 C chopped pepper (any color or add all the colors)
1/2 C chopped broccoli
1/4 C chopped onion
1/4 C diced Roma tomatoes
1 C cooked quinoa
Sauce:
Juice from 1 lemon
Zest from 1 lemon
1 tsp lemon pepper seasoning
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 large clove of garlic, crushed
2 T olive oil
Directions:
Mix and eat:)

Before you try these recipes I want you to know that I make up recipes from trying food that others make and I recreate them to my taste.  So what I am saying is that these measurements may not be correct -- I didn't follow a recipe when I made them.  I like to eye ball it and add stuff as I go.  But I would love to hear how all of you sneak vegetables into your diet and please improve or correct my recipes.  Good eating to you all.

What to do about Bullies?

I am reading a book called Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult.  It is about a school shooting.  I am only about half way through the novel, but it has really got my mind churning about what is the right or wrong way to deal with a bully.  You see, the boy in the story was teased and abused relentlessly by his classmates and even his older brother since the first day of kindergarten.  His parents were blissfully unaware and totally shocked when one day he shot 10 people at school.  One point of the novel thus far is that the shooter is someone's child just like the children who were shot.  He has a mother who nursed him when he was sick and washed and laid out his clothes for school just like the other kids.    None of us what to be the parent of the bully or the one getting picked on.  So how do we help our kids. 
Well let me start off by saying that I am no expert!  I really just want to open the discussion to the viewing audience to get some feedback that may help all of us.  I have a little personal experience with bullying.  In fifth grade I was bullied by a boy in my class.  He would trip me in the hall, pull my chair out from under me, and slam my head down into my desk.  My friends told me to tell the teacher, but I was so scared of this boy.  Finally one day he kicked me so hard in the shin that I bled.  My friends demanded that I tell the teacher.  So I did.  He never really bugged me after that.  I don't know what punishment he received but it must have worked. 
I also experienced a lot of intimidation from an entire group of girls that ran around together in middle school.  They would make up stories about things that I had done to them that required them to get revenge on me.  They also would threaten to hit me in gym class where it would look more like an accident.  They never actually ever hit me, but one of them did attack my friend while we were in the locker room.  My friend had walked in a few seconds ahead of me and the girl that was waiting inside jumped on her and started punching her in the head.   I didn't know what to do. I was completely in shock.  But when the bully saw that I was standing there, she stopped and left the room.  I don't think my friend and I told anyone about it.  Telling on bullies can sometimes lead to more violence because they see you as a rat. 
My youngest brother was often bullied and it infuriated my other brother and I.  We often weren't there to witness it or to help him.  I do remember that we walked through the school with him one day after he had been slammed into a locker and had his backpack thrown down the hall.  We wanted to give him safety in numbers so that no one else would mess with him.
When my husband was young, if someone bullied him, his parents told him to ignore it the first time, but if the kid kept messing with him, then he should defend himself, even if it meant getting into a fist fight.

So what have these experiences taught me?  Well I am not in favor of fighting violence with violence, but I think kids should be allowed to defend themselves, just like adults are allowed to do.  I also think there is safety in numbers.   Bullies are less likely to pick on a kid if he is with someone else.  Now I know that there are kids who don't really have any friends.  But here is where we can teach our kids to help.  I want to teach my kids to stand up for the little guy.  I want my kids to tell the bully to stop if they see him/her picking on someone.  And I want someone else to do the same for my kids. 
I think one of the best deterrent of bullying is when the bystander speaks up.  Kids and parents, don't sit on the sidelines and say nothing!  Get involved.  You don't have to throw a punch but make your presence known and let your voice be heard. 
I would appreciate any thoughts on this subject!

Ever had one of those days?

This last week I have had zero motivation and it has taken all of my will to make myself get up and get stuff done.  So I was super excited when I woke up Thursday morning with extra energy and renewed clarity of mind.  However the rest of the world did not get the memo that since I had energy, I wanted to get stuff done.  My kids decided to be extra needy.  Then right after I swept the dining room floor, I proceeded to knock an open tin of straight pins onto the floor.  Then after I re swept and mopped that same floor, my husband walked through it with muddy boots.  So I started over to then discover that while I was cleaning that floor again, my kids found a container of toddler puffs which were now strewn all over the living room.  After cleaning that mess, while the kids were napping, I went into the basement to try and get a small sewing project completed.  But I knocked over another tin of straight pins.  Are you kidding me? 
It is days like this that it seems that dishes magically appear in the sink just as you put the last clean one away.  It also seems like a mystery to the family how the house gets so dirty and why mom can't keep up.  Isn't the definition of insanity, doing the same thing over and over again with the same result?  Sometimes I think motherhood and insanity walk hand in hand.  But thankfully everyday is not alike and it may seem like everyday has the same result, but as mothers we are building a lasting future for our families by cleaning up all those messes.  The example we set with our determination and our attitude is molding their little minds to become strong, confident, problem solvers.  May God help us to keep a good and positive perspective.  Especially when I turn away from typing this to find my dog has gotten into the trash:)

May you find time to laugh at yourself and your circumstances -- sometimes it helps:)

Valentine's Day

February 14th used to be a day that brought dread and sorrow.  Being seemingly eternally single, I would dream of having a Valentine while sulking and cursing the day.  But in 2005 I met my first and only Valentine, my husband Jason.  I would like to say that Valentine's Day became magical from that moment on, but let me tell you a little about my husband:)  When I woke up yesterday I told him "Happy Valentine's Day", to which he responded with a grimace.  Well the romantic in me was hurt and "spirit-stomped".  His response was, "but I love you everyday, I don't need a special day to tell you that."   Well I was still hurt so I sulked for a while and looked up Valentine's blogs to get ammo for having a little chat about how Valentine's Day is important to girls regardless of what men think of it.  I found a great blog on fivelovelanguages.com which just basically told everyone to make the day special because it is good to have a day dedicated to love.  While on the site I took an assessment to find out my love language.  I discovered that I express and receive love through words of affirmation.  That is why it hurt that my husband wasn't excited about Valentine's Day.  I wanted him to gush over me with words about how much he loved, needed, and appreciated me.  But I also discovered that my husband's love language is acts of service.  I scored the lowest on that one -- ouch!  But it helped me to better understand his response to the holiday.  My husband shows his love for me and our children by going to work everyday, doing odd jobs to earn extra money, cleaning up the porch, filling my car with gas, and getting my car washed.  His actions that I used to consider everyday activities are his way of letting me know he loves me.  Now my challenge is to learn how to show him in his love language how much I love him. 
Oh and by the way, I got my wish for those mushy words:)  While my husband and I were reminiscing about how we met, he stopped and looked me in the eyes and said, "I am so glad you are in my life, you and the kids mean everything to me!"  Love tank = Full!  I love you Jason!

Marriage is Hard

My wise mother-in-law once said, "Marriage is hard. If people say it isn't, then they are lying to you!"  I haven't written a post in a few weeks because I have been in a wrestling match in my marriage.  I write this blog to be an encouragement and to bring practical advice on parenting and marriage, so I didn't want to write until I had a resolution to the problem.  Well I am hear to say that we haven't come up with a solution, but we did learn some valuable lessons along the way.  What the battle was over wasn't important but the outcome was: it is true that sometimes you really do have to agree to disagree.  I was trying desperately to help my husband see my side of the issue and he was trying just as hard to have me see his side.  I prayed to God and asked for Godly counsel and still couldn't come up with an ultimate resolution.  So what came of all of this?  We agreed to disagree, we asked God to give us grace to deal with each other and help to see the other's pain, and I asked a dear friend to be a prayer warrior for my marriage.  God never promised us all blue skies, but he did promise that he would never leave us nor forsake us.  God wants our marriages to succeed and if you ask him, He will help --  but don't for a second think it is going to be easy.  We are in a battle against unseen forces that desire our destruction.  Don't let them have your marriage.  Put on the full armor of God, ask for prayer from a prayer warrior, pray together as a couple, seek God in His word, and keep working on your marriage.  My in-laws have been married for almost 51 years that they are still learning how to treat each other and how to be better spouses.  The learning will never end and neither will the battle.  But Praise the Lord we have a strong defender on our side who has promised us victory if we stand firm!

Not a Bandwagon Mom

I do not consider myself a bandwagon mom.  I don't get caught up in the hype on just about anything, especially the fickle reviews on certain foods.  Take the incredible eatable egg -- one day it is as bad as a cheeseburger and the next it is a super food.  But one bandwagon I am jumping on is the Down-with-fructose bandwagon.  That stuff is in everything: your bread, coffee creamer, and your child's yogurt.  I am disgusted that the foods that I thought were decently healthy are just giving me more of the same.  I am happy to say that there are some products out there that don't have fructose in them, but you have to look pretty hard.  So I found a website that has a list of products to help save you some time and energy reading those labels.  Now remember that this list may not be completely accurate, so take a quick glance at those ingredients.  But I hope that this gets you started.  http://stophfcs.com/list.html
Now let's also remember that there is no substitute for just plain old fresh food.  Obviously there is no fructose in broccoli.  Fresh is best, but I know as a mom sometimes Jello Pudding Snacks can be your best friend when you are facing a cranky two year old.  I have decided that I am going to try trade some of my favorite products for similar ones that don't contain fructose.  I really think that I am addicted to it and that I eat more calories when I eat something with fructose in it.  My first step was buying bread without it, so that I start my day without fructose. 
I am hoping to report that I will feel more healthy, energetic, and in control of my cravings as I cut out the dreaded fructose. 

Why Lord

I just learned today that a dear friend of mine just buried her husband after a 6 year battle with cancer, leaving behind 3 year old and 1 year old children.  It is at times like these that we ask, "Why Lord?"  This man, Scott, was a loving father and husband whose love for his wife was so evident on his face.  I met him just once but I saw his love for Jenn just oozing from every pore.  And just last year my best friend's brother-in-law was taken to heaven leaving behind his wife Katie and their two daughters.  And just a few weeks ago I also learned that a couple that I went to college with have a 5 year old son who is in the fight of his life with a very aggressive form of cancer.  And again we ask, "Why Lord?". 
I have been struggling with this very question ever since my sister-in-law, Kara Schenk McCue, died in a horrific boating accident in 2006.  Her death rattled my faith in God more than any event thus far in my life.  I began to question God's love for us.  I have never doubted God's power, but I really didn't understand his reasons for what he does or doesn't do. I believe that God has the power to heal and to rescue, but will he?  And for some reason I have been really struggling with this just recently.  I didn't understand what good can come from taking believers from their families who love them so much and hurt so much when they leave. 
But God had begun to answer why in a way that only he can. 
My husband and I have been studying John and recently read the story of the death of Lazarus.  I hope that you will all read it.  But in it Jesus learns that Lazarus is ill yet he doesn't run to Lazarus's side to heal him.  He waits 4 days.  The Lord knew that Lazarus was dying but he waited. When Jesus does join the family, they are in deep mourning and are wailing.  Jesus is so moved by their sorrow that he weeps.  The creator of the universe wept for a man and his suffering family.  Jesus also said "it is for God's glory" and "so that you may believe," that this happened  This story brought me such comfort.  To know that Jesus weeps right along with us when we hurt.  And also that he knows the ultimate outcome.
I may never see in this life the reasons for the suffering of the saints but I will see in heaven the completion of each of these lives as we celebrate for eternity.  Even now as I type I think that God may be calling his saints home to save them for this world that seems to be so quickly decaying.  Maybe instead of thinking "why Lord" I should be asking "Why not me Lord"?
I hope that you are ready to go if He calls you home!  If you want to know how to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior and have your name written down in the Book of Life, I would love to tell you how.  May God bless Jenn and her family and yours!

Sometimes You Just Need a Day Off

Sometimes you just need a day off.  I feel this about every 3 or 4 weeks.  But for us moms there is no such thing as a day off.  Everyday there are diapers to be changed, clothes to change, baths to give, dinners to make, lunches to pack, and dishes to wash.  Tonight I am reminded that Jesus understood this feeling.  There were many times that Jesus tried to get off by himself to pray and often he was followed by a crowd or by someone needing a healing.  He was, I am sure, physically exhausted and emotionally drained.  But the joy he felt in doing his father's work was all he needed to keep going. 

Lord I pray that you would help us moms.  We need an infusion of you.  I pray that you would help us to find the joy in doing your work, in being a helpmate to our spouses and being a mom to our children.  Give us renewed energy.  Help us to find strength from you and from other moms.  Help us to not waste time feeling sorry for ourselves, but help us to remember all the blessings we have.  And I do pray that you would give us moments of rest and relaxation, even if it is just a cup of coffee while looking over the weekly ads.  And help us to be an encouragement to others as we see them struggling.  Help us remember that you know each of our sorrows and pains, and that you walk right along side of us through those times.  Thank you for loving us.  Surround us with your love.  Amen

Ladies if you are feeling like you could really use a day off, I hope that this prayer helps you.  But I also hope that you call a girlfriend and have a physical person to lean on who gets it.  Try as they may our husbands just don't really get it sometimes; we need to talk to someone who has been there, done that.  We need someone to cry with us, get mad with us, and not tell us to buck up soldier!  Hang in there:)

Embrace Your Differences

When my husband and I first met we thought we had so much in common.  We have the same favorite ice cream: mint chocolate chip.  We both like to listen to music and watch crime shows.  We both grew up with parents that worked really hard to earn enough money to care for their kids.  We both have a strong work ethic.  We both love kids.  But the longer we have been married the more we realize how different we really are.  And we are also learning that that is a good thing.  As the Lord himself said, "It is not good for man to be alone.  I will make a helper suitable for him."  God didn't say, "I will make a helper that is just like him."  Why are our differences good?  Balance.  We balance each other's weaknesses and strengths.  My husband is an energetic person that runs at 100mph, crashes hard, and wakes up raring to go all over again.  I run at about 40mph.  I am pretty even keel and don't get too excited or worked up about much of anything.  My husband will go out and immediately buy something that we need without giving it a second thought.  I will go without in order to save money.  I will wear stained shirts until my husband forces me to buy new clothes.  We need these differences in personalities to make our marriage work and help our family survive.  My husband has made a lot of split second decisions that have saved us a lot of money and heartache.  He saved us from loosing all our investments when the economy turned south.  If I had been in charge of making that decision, I would have waited, prayed about it, asked family for advice, and procrastinated until it was too late.  But sometimes my desire to never spend money has helped us to not live above our means.  See we balance each other out.  Maybe it is the social worker in me, but I enjoy our differences; it is like a new case study everyday.  Sometimes those differences frustrate us and make us crazy, but I am truly thankful for the mate God has given me and even more thankful that he is not just like me.  Try to remember this when you are frustrated with your mate.  God didn't want him or her to think just like you do.  We would be in a real mess if they did.

Laughter Really is the Best Medicine

Before I had kids, I worked for Community Hospital in a partial-psychiatric-hospitalization program for kids.  I loved my job, but in it I often heard some really terrible stories about what some of our patients and their families have been through.  I worked with kids who by age 10 had already attempted suicide or experienced hallucinations that told them to hurt themselves or someone they love.  These heartbreaking stories could sometimes be overwhelming and there were times when you just wanted to cry.  The staff's remedy to crying and becoming bogged down was to laugh.  Now understand that we never laughed at a child's expense but we learned to laugh at some of the silly things that would happen or at funny things the kids would say.  We even taught the kids how to laugh at themselves.  Our motto was "laugh so that you don't cry".  I think that this is a great motto for life, especially motherhood.  We can choose to get overwhelmed by the mess and the annoying things our kids and husbands do, or we can laugh it off.  For example, just yesterday my daughter asked for a cookie.  I told her "No".  I went to check on my son and I heard a strange sound coming from our kitchen.  I ran in there to find my 2 year old daughter kneeling on top of the kitchen table trying to get the cookie container open.  Now I could have snatched her up and put her in timeout or sent her to her room, but instead I just laughed.  I thought about how ingenious she was to find her step stool and climb up and try to sneak a cookie.  Now I am not condoning what she did.  She was not following mommy's rule, but sometimes it is okay to just laugh.  It becomes especially important on those days where you know it is going to be a long day.  You have to go to the store and the bank and your husband needs his jeans washed and the house needs cleaned because you are hosting playgroup in the morning and you have church tonight, and you also need to go into work for just a couple of hours, oh and you need to figure out what is for dinner.   You know the kind of days I am talking about.  Learn to laugh so that you don't cry.  You will feel alot better.  Life is too short to take everything so seriously.  I would love to hear some of your stories about some funny things your kids have done, like coloring all over your walls:)

Can I Have Some Cheese To Go With This Whine?

I am having a self-pity moment tonight.  I can’t really pinpoint why it started but I am knee deep in it.  I am just sick of cleaning to have the house look like a tornado hit just hours, sometimes minutes later.  I am sick of not having any money or time to myself.  I want to go on a date with my husband.  I want someone else to cook and clean.  I want to eat a greasy hamburger and I want to eat it by myself with no one to judge me.  Whine, whine, whine, whine, etc.

Self-pity doesn’t do anyone any good!  I know that, so why do I sometimes let it get me down?  We all do it, get focused on the crap and we lose sight of all the good.  Well it’s time to remind ourselves of all we have.  My pastor often gives the anecdote: I felt sorry for the man with no shoes till I met a man with no feet.  Someone always has it worse than us.  What about all I have?  I have a wonderful loving husband and 3 healthy kids.  I have a warm house to live in and food in my cupboard.  I have hands to type this blog.  I have the ability to take a walk with my kids on a warm day.  I have nice tile floors to walk on.  I have two working eyes to see God’s creation.  I have ears to hear my daughters sing.  I have arms to hold my infant son.  I have the abundance to have a choice about what I want to eat.  To some I have it all. 

Now don’t you feel better?  I do.  Counting your blessings is a perfect combat for self-pity.

You Might Be a Momma If

You might be a momma if... you have ever made a 2am Walgreens run for a paci.
You might be a momma if... you accidentally pour baby cereal into your coffee instead of sugar.
You might be a momma if... your wallet isn't in your purse, but 3 pacifiers are.
You might be a momma if... you wear scarves to cover spit up stains.
You might be a momma if... you ever have had to hand wash poopy socks (yeah I said socks).
You might be a momma if... you know all the uses for petroleum jelly.
You might be a momma if... you know where everyone else's shoes are but can't find your keys.
You might be a momma if... you think spaghetti tastes better cold.
You might be a momma if... you wash her tutu each night so that the morning is more pleasant.
You might be a momma if... you can feed a baby and stir the soup at the same time.
You might be a momma if... you have ever heard the words "Mom, he's touching me."
You might be a momma if... vomit, snot, and blood don't really bug you.
You might be a momma if... you have over 600 pictures on your camera memory card.

I hope this brings back good memories and hopefully some laughs for you.  God bless all the mommas.

Generosity Takes a Hit

I know this has happened to all of us.  I came out of the grocery store and was approached by a man asking for money.  He used the same line that every person does, "I need gas money to get home."  They always point to their car to show you that they really have a car.  Most of the time I don't carry cash, but I had some ones on me that I was going to use for a tip for getting my hair cut.  So I gave the guy a buck.  He seemed a little disgusted that that was all I gave him.  As I pulled away I started feeling my anger rise.  If that man was really in need why didn't he call one of his friends or his family.  Why doesn't he just use a credit card.  That's what most of us would do if we didn't have enough money for gas but really needed it.  Isn't that what credit cards are for -- emergencies?  So using that logic, why didn't this guy use his card?  There are really only three reasons why not.  1. He doesn't have one because he is a cash only kind of man.  2.  He left his wallet at home.  3.  He is a bad manager of money and has terrible credit and can't get a credit card.  You have 3 guesses to guess which one this guy's reason was, and the first two don't count.  My frustration continued because I thought that I should really feel good about helping someone, but really I just wanted my dollar back.  I had just went to the store to get enough food to make my husband's lunch with the last $40 dollars we had until pay day.  I was literally adding each penny on the calculator to make sure I didn't go over budget, and now I give my last dollar away.  Shouldn't I feel good about being generous?  I have to be honest that I am not naturally gifted with generosity, that's more my husband's thing.  But I am more than willing to help someone that I know is in real need.  Our country offers lots and lots of ways to get access to the things we need.  If a person needs food there are food pantries all over town.  You can also find churches who have free clothing for families in need.  The news channels give away toys and coats for the needy.  You can apply for food stamps and free health care if you need it.  You can even get free rent and reduced utilities if you need it.  So why are there people asking me for money in the parking lot? 
I hope that you understand that I am not discriminating against the poor, because I have had to use some government assistance in my life.  I am just frustrated with people who don't want to work.  Even in the Bible the poor had to work to eat.  During the harvest the harvesters were to leave the grain that fell to the ground for the poor.  But the poor had to actually come and glean the field themselves and pick up the grains that fell.  They didn't just stand on the edge of the field and ask for grain.  The ones that sat and asked for money were those who were physically unable to work.  I understand that times are hard and that jobs are scarce but the Bible says that if a man doesn't work, he doesn't eat.  Even if you don't have a job that pays money, you can work for what you need.  Like clean a local church in exchange for food.  Or pick up scrap metal for and trade it in for money.  If you are trying your best then yes you deserve help.  But please don't sit on your butt with your hand out, because you won't get a hand out from me any more.  And buddy, I want my dollar back.

I posted this and then thought about what was really making me upset.  I feel like he was lying.  If you are in need tell me, but don't lie about the reason.  If you are going to buy drugs say that.  And please don't tell me that your kids are starving if you are going to use the money to drink.  Genuine need deserves genuine help.

Creators not Consumers

I heard an interesting commentary today about Black Friday.  Most of us are appalled at the violence and the greed of Black Friday, but we hope to hear good news about the economy.  Do we really think that the economy will get better if we consume more?  On the contrary.  Our personal state and the state of our nation will get better if we create more and consume less.  We are made in the image of God.  Have you read anything about God consuming anything (expect sending consuming fire on evil)?  No.  God created and is continuing to create.  He created us to create as well.  Our nation's economy was built on a free market which is run by creativity and ingenuity.  If we are just consumers that sit and wait to buy or take, our economy will self destruct.  As moms we know all about being creative.  We have to be to keep our kids out of trouble.  Let us be creative in other areas of our lives.  Being creative doesn't mean just making a craft, but producing something that helps us or others in some way.  For instance, someone created the Slap Chop.  I use one on a weekly basis to chop veggies for salads and soups.  This tool helps me to make dinners more quickly so that I have time for other activities.  What can you create today that will be helpful?  I created this blog to inspire myself and others to live better lives and bring encouragement, challenge, and maybe some laughter.  Tell me what you have created, lets inspire each other.

Praying Expecting

This week in our church bulletin, our pastor's wife wrote a little message about noticing God in the small things and thanking Him for those blessings and answers to prayers.  And I had to give God praise for how He watches over my son.  Just this week, Landon pulled the frame to his swing down on himself.  It weighs at least 10 pounds.  And the way it fell, it perfectly fell on either side of Landon, missing him completely.  And then this weekend, I fell really hard in my parents stone driveway.  Thankfully I wasn't carrying either of the kids.  As I started reflecting on God's protection, I thought why am I so shocked when God gives protection, I pray for Him to protect my children each night as I go to bed.  What I mean is that we pray so often without really expecting God to answer.  At least that is often how I pray.  It is like I am just hoping that God will hear me, and not looking for the answer.  But if I really step back and take a good look, God does answer my prayers.  Like just today, I was so shocked when my husband led our family in family devotions.  Why was I so shocked?  I have been praying that God would make my husband into the spiritual leader our family needs.  And I have been praying for God to meet our financial needs and two weeks in a row God has provided extra work that we weren't expecting.  I challenge you and myself to pray expecting.  God wants to bless us.  "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for an fish, will give him a snake?  If you then, though you are evil,  know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" Matthew 7:11