The Bird is Back in Town

Three of my friends, Dee, Jennifer, and Denise, and I are getting ready to do a retreat this coming weekend in Dana Point. (We would LOVE your prayers!) At times, in the craziness of life and the sixteen children between the four of us, it can feel a bit out of control. And as the retreat gets closer and closer, I begin to wonder, "Am I crazy to be trying to write my talks? Is it too much to try to do this while the kids are all still at home and my husband is in Africa? God, are you hearing my prayers? Are you really such a God of details that you will give me every word to say, and bring exactly the women you desire to be there?

And then, something like the Bird Story occurs, and I am convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that He does care, that He is present, and that He oversees every single detail.

A week ago, Friday, my son's friend's family lost their cockatiel bird. They had forgotten to close the door on the cage and the bird, Sunshine, had not had its wings clipped in a while. So, Sunshine found her way out of the cage and flew to their front yard and across the street. They tried to catch her and were within a couple of feet when she flew out of reach.

Fast forward to six days later when their son, Connor, my son, James, and another friend were walking to the park near my house. We live about a mile away from the bird's home. As they arrived at the park, James happened to notice a bird fly above his head and into a tree. For some reason, she caught his eye because she looked like a household bird and not a bird of the wild. He turned to Connor and said, "Connor, is that your bird - Sunshine?" Connor could not believe it. There she was, sitting right up on a branch in a tall tree.

The boys eventually caught Sunshine with their bare hands. Connor held onto the bird while James called Connor's mom. James asked her to please bring a cage, but the mom thought James was teasing. So, she drove up in her SUV and James asked, "Do you have the cage?" She said, "No - I thought you were joking!! I can't believe you found Sunshine!" And the bird finally made it safely home that day while fluttering around their SUV.

Do you believe God is a God of details? What are the chances that the housetrained bird could survive in the wild for a nearly a week, not get eaten by hawks, and be able to be caught with bare hands? I'm so glad that God is detailed and that He is not a God of chance. I am thankful that somehow He will pull together this retreat in a way that will bring glory to Him because "when I am weak, He is strong" and "not even a sparrow can fall to the ground without His knowledge."

Dear Lord,

We praise you that you are a God of details. Thank you for caring for the little things in our lives. Thank you that you care so much for your children, that not a detail about our lives escapes you.

Today's Bargain Tip: The Purpose Driven Connection Magazine

Rick Warren has a new magazine available that costs only $20 for four issues annually. You can save $20 by subscribing for the magazine because a single issue will cost you $10. He is also providing a DVD of his small group curriculum, "Wide Angle", that he filmed with Chuck Colson regarding a Christian worldview. It also comes with the text for the six week study, inserted in the magazine. Such a deal!

Now go and enjoy every moment!

Kim

Seven Minutes of Pure Surprise

Okay, now that I have figured out how to post a YouTube video onto my blog, I just had to share one more unbelievable clip with you! (Although you must click on the link below, as they have blocked bloggers from sharing the clip on their site.)

This is the story of Susan Boyle, a 47 year old spinster from Scotland who tries out for the television show, Britain's Got Talent. You must see this for yourself, if you haven't yet witnessed this clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

Yesterday, when I checked YouTube the clip had received 6 million hits. This morning, it has gone up to 12 million. As many people have said, she just opened her mouth and out came the voice of angels. Let God be praised. For He is the creator, the creator of all things. Hearing her beautiful voice draws me near to our Creator, the one whom we will worship for all of eternity. (Perhaps we will all have Susan's kind of voice in heaven?!)

Psalm 145 states: "I will praise you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. I will bless you every day, and I will praise you forever. Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! His greatness is beyond discovery!

Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts. I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendor and your wonderful miracles. Your awe-inspiring deeds will be on every tongue; I will proclaim your greatness. Everyone will share the story of your wonderful goodness; they will SING with joy of your righteousness."

Dear Lord,

You are mighty and worthy of our praise. Thank you for blessing people like Susan with an unbelievable voice, a voice that touches our souls and draws us near to you. Let us each use the voices you have entrusted us with to glorify You.

Today's Bargain Tip

Buy the quart at Golden Spoon Frozen Yogurt for your family, or buy some extras when they go and sale and keep them in your freezer. You can save a lot, especially when the $6.99 quarts go on sale for $3.99 and a small is normally over $3.00.

Now go and enjoy every moment!

Kim

Dancin' with the Sound of Music

Okay, I love this YouTube video. Check it out - it's only four minutes long and based on the Sound of Music...it might just make your day!



Dear Lord,

Thanks for joy. Thanks for fun. Thanks for creating music and dance. You are great and greatly to be praised.

Bargain Tips for Today

Three tips I heard today...kids can get a free lift ticket at the BrianHead Ski Resort in Utah with straight A's (Thanks, Teresa Genoway, for the tip!), Orange County Pizza in Trabuco Canyon has large pizzas on sale on Mondays through Thursdays for $7.99, and iTunes now gives a price break for the OLDER songs from my generation. Rock on!

Now go and enjoy every moment!

Kim

Don't go so fast!!

My daughter, who will be sixteen in two weeks, drove us all home yesterday from visiting colleges in San Diego with her learner's permit. I sat in the backseat with clenched fists, while she navigated the freeway, with my husband sitting close by her side in the front seat.

"Don't follow the car ahead of you so closely, you won't be able to stop! Watch out for people merging onto the freeway into your lane. Careful...you are awfully close to the car on your right." I really want to live to see your 16th birthday!! And the instructions, went on and on...

While I nearly feared for my life, I also sat there thinking and wondering what happened? How did we get here so quickly? One minute, I found out "It's a girl!" The next minute, it seems I blinked and my little girl is driving me on the 405.

How similar my journey with our daughter reminds me of life. One minute it seems like life just stretches out ahead of me forever. The next minute, I am figuring out how to color my gray hair blond or paint it with hair spraypaint. (Seriously, have you tried the Bumble and Bumble hair paint? I love it!) One minute, the road seems nice and flat. The next minute, I am unprepared for the bumpy road or the sudden curve on the road.

I am so thankful that God knows. He knows the bumps, the curves, and the speed by which life will pass us by. I want to focus on the destination, eternity, and where we are headed. With Easter being just a few days away, I want to remember what our Lord has done for us on the cross. I want to keep my eyes fixed on Him, and embrace and enjoy every moment of this crazy life! I don't want to wish it away and I don't want to wish it were different. I just want to keep learning to be content with the ride and be thankful that HE is the driver!

No wishes, just extreme gratitude for the gift of life with Him.

Dear Lord,

Thank you for being our Lord, for rising from the grave, and for providing a way for us to spend eternity with You and Your Father. Thank you for Easter and new life. Give us your joy and your hope in this Easter season to share with someone who may not know you. And, would you please send special angels for all of us who have teen drivers?

Today's Bargain Tip

I was blessed today by a dear friend who gave me a wonderful bag of hand me down clothes that she could not use: Ann Taylor, Banana Republic,...My bargain tip for today is for each of us to put together a bag of clothes that we no longer wear, and see if there is someone we can bless as well.

Now, go and enjoy every moment and have a wonderful Easter!

Kim

Hiding His Word...

God's Word in Our Hearts...

I remember when I was in college and a woman challenged me to memorize God's word, to "hide it in my heart." You would have thought that I would have been inspired, and motivated to do so. Instead, I resisted the thought and countered her by saying, "But that's brainwashing." She agreed. It was brain washing and it was exactly what my brain needed. And, it is still what my brain needs each and every day!

Over the years, I have thought of the truth of God's word where He says,

"My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8-9

Sometimes, His way and His word feel exactly the opposite to the way we are feeling. He wants our brains to be brainwashed by His word. If they are not filled with His word, then they are brainwashed by the world's words and ways. I don't know about you but I'm not finding a lot of encouragement in today's world lately. I would much rather be encouraged by the truth of God's word hidden in my heart and in my mind, and to view the world from His perspective.

I love the two verses 10 and 11 that follow the above passage:

"For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater. So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth: it shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it."

I love that God's word never returns void, and always accomplishes His purposes.

Right now, I am blessed to be a part of a small group of women who are holding each other accountable to memorize the first chapter in the book of James. Without these women, I would not be as diligent to memorize the verses. We each say the verses as a group and then sometimes say it by ourselves. I am challenged. I am encouraged by one gal who takes her index card ring with her on walks so that she can purposely hide His word in her heart.

Will you join with us and hide His word in your heart? Choose one verse that perhaps helps you with a struggle you are having. Every time you are tempted to be discouraged or to give up, try saying this verse over in your mind. God will meet you where you are at, and He will replace your thoughts with His precious word and promises.

Dear Lord,

Thank you for providing us with your word and your truth. Thank you that you give us weapons in your word to fight the fiery darts of the enemy. Help us to do the hard work of putting your word into our hearts and into our minds. Thank you for being faithful for calling it to mind in the battle.

Scout-a-Rama Booklets

Just a tip for you when you enter the Ralph's grocery store this weekend. Most likely, there will be Cub Scouts selling Scout-a-Rama booklets for $10. It's an amazing bargain. You can save $10 off of a $75 shopping trip...plus lots of additional free items. On my recent bill, I spent $74 and the receipt said that I had saved $67 (kind of reminds me of old times with double coupons!)

Now go and enjoy every moment!

Kim

The Journey

I wonder if your heart has been tugged like mine has with the recent deaths in the news over the past couple of weeks?

Natasha Richardson, beautiful 45 year old daughter of Vanessa Redgrave, died suddenly from falling on a beginner ski slope in Canada. She leaves behind Liam Neeson and her two teenage boys.

Jane Goody, the woman who has been battling cervical cancer in Great Britain just died on Monday. (She was 27 and a single mom with two sons. She knew her cancer was fast progressing and felt like she had very little money to leave her sons when she died. So, she agreed to sell her rights to allow tv cameras to witness her departure from this earth. It was the first "reality tv show" that centered around someone dying.)

The three families from California: six adults, one pilot, and seven children all under age 10, who crashed their plane in a cemetery in Montana. The grandfather was waiting to pick them up and received a phone call that he had lost two daughters, two sons-in-laws and five grandchildren in an instant.

Are you struck as I am how one phone call can radically change your life? One decision to go skiing or take an airplane, and your days on earth are done. It's amazing to me how life as we know it, carpools and all, just seem to keep going on while others around us are nearly paralyzed with mind numbing grief. Whenever I have attended a funeral, I always feel so odd when I reenter life.
I am reminded of the hymn, "It is well with my soul."

This hymn was written by an American businessman, Hoaratio Spafford, whose four daughters drowned when the ship they were travelling on with their mother sank to the bottom of the ocean in 1873. The words to this hymn are still sung today, some 136 years later.

"When peace like a river, attendeth my way, when sorrow like sea billows roll, Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, 'It is well, it is well, with my soul.' "

Dear Lord,

The days of our lives are numbered. You know exactly how many days we have on this earth. Be with the families and children of those who have suffered such loss in these past two weeks. May we be a comfort to those around us who have also suffered a recent loss. Help us to live each day here as if it were our last, and to cherish every moment.

The ESV Study Bible

Here is a bargain for $32.49. The English Standard Version Study Bible is an incredible resource that is available for the public. It has 2,752 pages which is equivalent to a 20-volume Bible resource library all in one volume.

According to their website, "the ESV Study Bible has 2 million words of Bible text and insightful teaching in 2,752 pages.

20,000 notes—focusing especially on understanding the Bible text and providing answers to frequently raised issues.

Over 50 articles—including articles on the Bible’s authority and reliability; on biblical archaeology, theology, ethics, and personal application.

200-plus charts—offering key insights and in-depth analysis in clear, concise outline form; located throughout the Bible.

Over 200 full-color maps—created with the latest digital technology, satellite images, and archaeological research; printed in full color throughout the Bible.
80,000 cross-references—to encourage easy location of important words, passages, and biblical themes.

40 all-new illustrations—including full-color renderings and architectural diagrams of the Tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant, Solomon’s temple, Herod’s temple, the city of Jerusalem in Jesus’ time and throughout the history of Israel, and many more."

You can check it out for free at www.esvstudybible.org.

Now go and enjoy and CHERISH every moment!

Kim

Paint Colors and Disneyland Days

Paint Colors

What is it about paint colors that makes it SO hard to choose the right color?

You see it in a friend's house, you love the color, you go and buy the can of paint, and then you put it up on your walls and are convinced it is a different color! The paint stores shudder when they see me coming! One time, I bought 11 different cans of paint for the exterior of my house. You see, I had an orange roof, so the color could not go green or it would look like Halloween. And, I couldn't tell until it was up on the exterior. The color looked different when it was sunny out than when it was cloudy.

I feel really sorry for the painters. Their job is to paint and yet how many times have I asked them, "What do you think? Does this go pink or yellow or green when it's on the wall instead of tan?" (Numerous times, that "painter" has been my husband!)

I have learned a few things along the way...

The type and color of flooring you have, the color of your ceilings, whether or not you have a pool outside to reflect the light, all factor into why the color might look different in your friend's home or different on a swatch than in your lovely home.

The Dunn Edwards paint store will give you free samples in the "flat" type of paint when you are working with a painter. You just need to give them your painter's contractor number.

The Entertainment Book has a great coupon for Sherwin Williams paint. A friend of mine saved $25.00 by using it.

Tear out magazine articles where designers suggest paint colors they love and have worked well for them in a number of houses.

Always get a quart or multiple quarts if you are like me! Paint a 2 X 2 square on the wall and look at it in the daytime and in the nighttime, as it will change according to the light.

I've learned that unless you get a really good designer to help you, who understands YOUR style, the designers will often gravitate toward the paint colors that they like. I love light colored walls and invariably, people have suggested much darker colors than I would have naturally chosen or been happy with.

I just recommended a paint color called, "Softer Tan," (Sherwin Williams) to a friend. I had seen it thoughout a beautiful house in Corona del Mar with bright shiny white molding. I used in my office and upstairs and LOVE it! It does not go pink, nor yellow, if anything it gives off a very slight hint of green like a beautiful khaki. Try it, you just might like it!

Finally, in the end, it's best to follow the old German proverb, "Choose what you love and love what you choose."

And, always remember that it's just paint. The room can always be repainted...like my chocolate brown dining room that I had to change back to white, or my white color that was just a tad yellow and we had to repaint it the RIGHT shade of white.

So, what is the inspirational or spiritual insight from this post? Marry someone who is REALLY patient with you when you are choosing paint colors! And, be thankful for how patient our God is with us at all times!!

Dear Lord,

Thanks for being the God of all creation, who created every color into existence. Thank you that You do not grow weary of us and are always patient and loving. Help us to use your strength to be the same toward others.

Disneyland Days

Did you know that this year in 2009, you can go to Disneyland free on the day of your birthday? So fun! You can sign up simply by logging onto http://disneyland.disney.go.com. My friend, Teresa Genoway, has tried this out and had a blast with her kids. She also found out that you are eligible to then return to the other park (California Adventure or Disneyland) within 30 days for free as well. So, it's basically two days for free! One of the perks for living 20 minutes away from the Greatest Place on Earth!

Now go and enjoy every moment!

Kim