She died on Christmas.

I don't know the time exactly.

All that matters is that it was on Christmas.

Every Christmas from here after her daughter will think of that.

Instead of a day filled with hope and happiness,

It will be filled with sorrow and questions.

Do the questions get answered or does the grief just fade?

I have heard it never fully goes away.

So years from now as her daughter watches her children's eyes

 dance with delight at a stocking full of joy,

her thoughts will be on her mom and

 her last Christmas, her last day, her last hug with her mom.

Many years ago a baby was born to save the world,

Crying, cold, coming to bring us peace.

She knew this baby

And called Him her Savior,

She trusted him

all the way until the end,

And even then,

her husband says

"We have seen His blessings in all this.

From day one of the cancer until the very end.

We have seen the blessings in all this."

We have seen the blessings in all of this.

His blessings.

My questions fade, and my longing increases,

My longing to be where she is at this moment.

Seeing His face and knowing His grace

 more fully 

than I will ever know this side of the open door.

My friend has walked through 

the winter of pain and has found the place He has prepared for her.

He led her through this open door.

Her family will still know this pain.

Her husband missing her laugh,

Her son missing her smile,

and her daughter missing her mom when years from now, 

she holds her own sweet baby on Christmas day.

But she has found peace.

My Sometimes...His Always

I am back.  My perfectionist part of me cannot do this blog without each message having a meaning, without each entry having a picture, without each sentence peppered with insight and juicy words.

But that sometimes can't happen.

And that is the message for today.  Sometimes, you can't give your all.
 Sometimes the words have run out.

Sometimes your strength is gone.
Sometimes, your day is too full.
Sometimes, you are just tired.

And that is when your sometimes
 becomes
 God's
ALWAYS.

His strength is ALWAYS there.

His day is ALWAYS full of love.

His rest is ALWAYS there.

I thank God for his perfect love.

Thanks for God's NEVERENDING joy!

HE MAKES ALL THINGS NEW

BLUE IS THE NEW BLACK!!

CHECK THIS TREASURE FOR $3.00!

Yep, You read it right... $3.00

It was from a garage sale a few weeks ago.

  And she had a sister:

I will take both for $5.00!

I couldn't believe it!  I have wanted to add some blue to my home and I love the shapes of these finds!  I especially loved how it added a little pow to my free table.  Those details will come put later in another post!

Doesn't it look pretty?

Of course, as always, God has a way of taking the ordinary and turning it into an extraordinary learning lesson for me....

You can see the pretty outside...
BUT,
When I was taking the picture for this, I happened to look inside:

AGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

They are not real! 

I repeat they are not real. 

They are those creepy crawlers that you make with rubbery material and a creepy crawler oven:

  Yep, Actually another garage sale find.
That one was a little more money though.
I think I paid around $6 or $7 for it.

Looking inside the beautiful jar, and seeing the muck, I realized what is really inside of me.  I might look okay on the outside, doing all the "right things," but on the inside, there are my insecurities, my struggles, my creepy crawly mess ugliness...the ugliness of impatience, worry, or fear of not being everything to everyone.

The thing is, when I see this:

Closer view of the crawlers!

God sees this:

 

...The whole picture.

He knows my fears, my struggles, my sins...

Because He created me.

But even seeing the muck, He also sees my beauty within because He  is inside of me...

Living inside my heart...He knows because He died on the cross for that muck.

I can give Him my muck, and He makes me new.

And that, my sisters, is truly the find of eternity!

And He who sits on the throne said,

“Behold, I am making all things new.” Revelation 21:5

 

 Thank you for letting me share a few of my wonderful treasures!

Enjoy the blessing of the MOMent,

   Angie

Courage for Another Day

I will try again tomorrow.

Today was long.

My gentle voice came too late.

My sighs came too fast.



I will try again tomorrow.

The courage of a mother

young or old

Giving of herself for love

Giving of herself for Him



Him who gave these children to her

Whether from birth

Or later

Whether hers together

Or alone




I will try again tomorrow

To finish the Lego game

To read the next chapter

in Anne of Green Gables

To have special time with every one of them.



For that is the true joy.

When the courage opens the door

To hope, faith, and love,

and one more round of Legos.




I will try again tomorrow.


"This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Joshua 1:9

May you have courage in your MOMents today!

Blessings,

Angie

Super Easy Cake Pops Equals Special

I love cooking with my kids!
I especially love baking with my kids!

I feel like it is not only a great learning time, but a great way to just spend some quality time together. A few Sundays ago, we decided to make cake pops.

My sister-in-law brought these yummy cake pops from Starbucks on a recent road trip. They were beautiful and just the fact that she brought them made us all feel special because they just looked so special!

Our family was going to a dinner with about five other families. I was in charge of the dessert. I thought cake pops would be the perfect dessert to make everyone feel loved and special!

I found out that making cake pops turned into a life lesson on making time.

First, here is an easy recipe and the pictures to go with it...


Ingredients:

*box of cake mix ( eggs, oil, and the stuff written on the box for this)
*frosting - flavor to match cake
*cake pop sticks ( get at any Jo-Anns or baking store)
*Melted Candy Wafers ( flavored or colored)

I put foil on the bottom of a cake pan for easy clean up.
(You will see later that it the only thing that stayed clean was the bottom of this pan!)

Next, bake a cake according to box directions.
You may certainly use a homemade cake, but the thought of crushing something that I made from scratch seems too painful too handle, so the box made cake was perfect.

Next cut up the cake into several big pieces and put them in a large bowl.



Here is what it looks like with Funfetti cake mix!
My daughter was in charge of this one.



This is the fun part!
Take about 3/4 of a can of frosting and mix it with the cake.
This is what helps it stick together.
Mash it with your hands to make a big ball.
You read right...with your hands.
It's really the best way...


It will end up like a softball size of doughy cake.



And the chocolate ball will end up looking like...

poop... :)





Scoop out about a spoonful and make smaller balls of the
cake mixture.

Now, take those bags of melted candies and
put them in the microwave or melt them over the double boiler.

Follow the directions on the bag. I used the microwave. I also did not flavor them because I wanted the cake part to be the tasty part.


Now, this next part is important:
It is important to dip the sticks in the melted candy mixture and then shove
(Yes, shove...remember, I am doing this for a dessert that starts in 20 minutes!) them onto the cake pop. This will help the sticks to stay in the cake pops.

Here is a bowl showing the melted candy and the first dipping of the cake pop.
It takes a while to get the hand of it.

This is the part where you can be super creative.
A girlfriend of mine made the cutest animals.

Here are some examples of fun ideas:

And a perfect one for Father's Day:

This one is for my Man and My Daddy!
You are my heroes!!!




Yes, I will try the Superman ones next. For now, these were my special desserts in hopes of making some friends feel cherished and special.

Now you might wonder why they are all not fully dipped.
Going back to the sweet wisdom of my daughter
who said it was okay just to have blank ones, I agreed.

The cake pops still tasted yummy yummy!


Yes, they were still yummy!


And here is what I was talking about when I said
the bottom of the pan was the only clean part:

Oh Yeah...That's a whole lot of mess to clean up.

I usually do clean a little more during the process, but we were pressed for time ( who isn't?!) and we had to focus on the preparation.


As I was trying to finish these quickly, a friend stopped by to say hello. I ran out of the house, barely having time to say hi, much less invite her in and visit with her.

We were also 20 minutes late for our dinner.


So, in all my attempts to make people feel special, I actually probably made one feel rushed and not listened to ( she said she understood...it was a drop by visit) and the whole group was fine as they had just started the meeting, yet I really wanted to make them feel special.

I realized that I need to make time for the special in my life. Not just try to pack it in quickly.

Make time for an extra bedtime story.

Make time to create a homemade card.
Make time to pull up the sheets for my bed and not just the blanket.

Make time to go to the grocery store for a fresh meal for my family.

What do you need to make time for today? I would love to know!


Enjoy the MOMents!

Blessings,
Angie

Linked Up to

 

The Joy of True Refeshment

Love is the greatest
refreshment in life.
Pablo Picasso

The day started out cloudy, then became so sunny and warm, we had to get outside. And lately, every time we play outside we invariably end up using the sprinkler to refresh ourselves!

This day we shared our sprinkler fun with our cousins!

It starts out with just a quick run through the water and ends up with standing over the sprayer getting soaked. Laughter can be heard between the houses and screams of delight as the water splashes each child on the back.

There is still homework that has to be done. There is still some bedrooms that need cleaning. But for a few minutes, the world is okay, the day is happy, and cheerful cries of glee are found in our front yard.

God wants to refresh us like that. He wants us to take time out of every day and spend some time with Him. There is still work to be done, and there are still houses that need to be cleaned. But for those few minutes, He wants us to sit at His feet and hear His promises and refresh us so that we can do our work better...with a little more peace, with a little more patience.

And even how we shared our special sprinkler fun with our cousins, God wants us to share His refreshment with others. He wants us to be refreshed so that we can be more joyful when we work, when we teach, when we parent.


Only God's love can truly refresh. And when he does, he will not only give us what we need, but as it says in the scripture, a "bountiful harvest". For a mom with children touching, teething or toilet training, that means He will give you the patience and wisdom to get through it. For a mom with children rebelling, rolling their eyes, or reading College Applications, He will still give her the patience and peace to get through it!

Thank you God for sprinkling us with your love!

You sent abundant rain, O God,
to refresh the weary land.
There your people finally settled,
and with a bountiful harvest, O God,
you provided for your needy people.

Psalm 68:8-10 (New Living Translation)

Enjoy your MOMent of Refreshment today!

Blessings,

Angie

Hopes for Infinity and Beyond

Well, Hello My Friends!

I have been off for a bit and I am so sorry about that!

I have been thinking a lot about goals and dreams. The fact is that I have my list of what I want to accomplish...a bucket list of sorts...but I am often reminded that God has a plan for my life that might not be exactly what I desire, but it is always best.

He promises that to us in Jeremiah 29:

"For I know the plans I have for you..plans to prosper you and give you peace."

So I write this list with
a little hesitancy,
a little humility ,
and a lot of humor!

Goals and Dreams For My Life

Top 25 Things that I Want To Do
Subject to change Daily...

1. Run a Marathon.
2. Go camping with all four of my children and husband.
3. Go to Disneyworld (again).
4. Clean out my closet.
5. See my children get married.
6. Go on a vacation with just my husband.
7. Go on a cruise with a fun couple we know.
8. See Wicked.... is it really that good?
9. Play drums for the GoGos (Some dreams I kept from my childhood...)
10. Write a book.
11. Love Jesus with everything I have.
12. Go to the beach.
13. Make a perfect Danish Layer Cake.
14. Grow more than just tomatoes in my garden.
15. See the Holy Lands.
16. Get up early to read the Bible for more than 21 days in a row.
( 'Cause doesn't it become a habit, then?)
17. Watch one of my children in a musical or play.
18. Finish a triathlon ( half or whole...I'm not choosy)
19. Speak to women about the changing love of Jesus.
20. Finish our Master Bathroom.
21. Teach my children to be confident and kind.
22. Write a Mother/Daughter Bible Study Book.
23. Read the whole Bible.
24. Teach a college course on anything.
25. See my children walking in the Truth.


Another goal is to write and encourage people so that everyone might be able to find a little joy in their lives - whether it is making cake pops with their child or going on a 16 hour in one day road trip only to come back 2 days later! And that is the purpose of this blog. To encourage joy in the midst of the daily events we all encounter. Whether it is something on our list, or just dropping the kids off at school, you can find joy and ways to share joy.

Because if you look at my list, in the whole realm of life, not a lot will be important. But a few are eternal. I would love to hear about a few of your dreams, hopes, or goals...

Blessings,
Angie