Well, We're Off!

Well - in just a couple hours almost 100 women of Crossroads Community Church will be headed to the annual Women Who Worship Fall Retreat! I am pumped! I am looking forward to see what God has in store for us this weekend as we gather to worship Him! I am blessed to be able to be traveling with my good friends, Faythe and Tracey to Camp Michindoh and then sharing a cabin for the night with these wonderful ladies. Don't know if the cabin will be able to handle all the laughter that will most likely continue into the wee hours of the night - - so we'll see! :) Please pray for us as we prepare to our hearts and minds for this wonderful experience and may we be able to feel the Holy Spirit's presence during our time together. Blessings!

Charisma!

This was taken from a book I am currently reading, "The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader... Becoming the Person Others will want to Follow"...

The Cleverest in England

During the second half of the nineteenth century, two strong men vied for leadership of Great Britain’s government: William Gladstone and Benjamin Disraeli. The two politicians were intense rivals. You can detect how they felt about each other based on a comment once made by Disraeli: “The difference between a misfortune and a calamity? If Gladstone fell into the Thames (River), it would be a misfortune. But if someone dragged him out again, it would be a calamity.”

Many people believe that Gladstone, leader of the Liberal Party for three decades, personified the best qualities of Victorian England. A career public servant, he was a great orator, a master of finance, and a staunchly moral man. He was made prime minister of the United Kingdom four different times, the only person in the nation’s history to achieve that honor. Under his leadership, Great Britain established a national education system, instituted parliamentary reform, and saw the vote given to a significant number of people in the working classes.

Benjamin Disraeli, who served twice as prime minister, had a different kind of background. In his thirties, he entered politics and built a reputation as a diplomat and social reformer. But his greatest accomplishment was masterminding Great Britain’s purchase of shares in the Suez Canal.

Though both men accomplished much for Britain, what really separated them as leaders was their approach to people. The difference can be best illustrated by a story told by a young woman who dined with the two rival statesmen on consecutive nights. When asked her impression of them, she said, “When I left the dining room after sitting next to Mr. Gladstone, I thought he was the cleverest man in England. But after sitting next to Mr. Disraeli, I thought I was the cleverest woman in England.” Disraeli possessed a quality that drew people to him and made them want to follow him. He had charisma!

I don’t know about you, but I know I want to be just like Mr. Disraeli. When others are around me, I want THEM feel clever, special, loved and valued.

Beware of Dogsitter!

Okay... so I am more than a little concerned about my dogsitter. I think she has gone off the deep end this time. She claims she makes him happy when she's there and that he really enjoys being dressed up, but come on, now, does he look happy? You be the judge!

Oh - and why is he on my couch? I can't decide if the look on his face is because he is afraid of this doggy-dress-up time with the dogsitter or if it's because he knows mama 'aint gonna be happy when I see that he has been on the couch! :0

Ten Things I Love About You!

So, a few weeks ago, my family started a daily ritual at the dinner table. What we realized was - the dinner table can too often times become a place for "complaining" about our days/weeks. We tend to bring all the "stuff" from our days to the dinner table and unleash it all. Okay - NOT HEALTHY! So, we decided to try something different. Every evening at the dinner table we start with prayer and then go around the table sharing one thing we love about each other. It can be anything at all! Just spending time appreciating one another is such a great booster and has really worked for us! I decided to come up with a 'top ten' list for the members of my family and would like to share them...

10 Things I love about - TREVOR
- Your sense of humor
- Your honesty (even when it hurts)
- Your patience (even though you don't think this one is true!)
- Your constant support
- Your devotion to our family and marriage
- Your humbleness
- Your generosity
- Your calming spirit
- Your helpfulness
- For being my best friend and confidant!

10 Things I love about - CHLOE
- Your sense of humor
- The way you light up the room!
- Your giggle
- Your spunky personality (I bet you get this from your dad!)
- Your cuddles at nighttime and in the morning
- Your generosity
- Your happy spirit
- Your thoughtfulness
- Your contagious joy
- Your smile!

Thank you for being my FAMILY! I thank God every day of my life for both of you. I don't know where I'd be without you...

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!

Okay - I must be the world's worst daughter! In the midst of my own "stuff" I TOTALLY forgot that today was my parents anniversary! I cannot believe it! It's been 35 wonderful years for them today and I totally blew it! Mom...Dad... if you're reading this - please forgive me.

But really - I have two of the most incredible parents on the PLANET EARTH and I am grateful to them in more ways than I can count! They are truly a blessing to mine and my family's lives! I am thankful to them for their love and support and encouragement over the past 33 years! For their patience and guidance and understanding. For always being on my side - NO MATTER WHAT!

Happy Anniversary mom and dad - I LOVE YOU!!!

Quotes...

I received this in an email yesterday afternoon and I really enjoyed these and wanted to share them...

"The only thing worth stealing is a kiss from a sleeping child." Joe Houldsworth

"There is no point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes." Doctor Who

"When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare and compete, everybody will respect you." Lao Tzu

"You don't stop laughing because you grow old, you grow old because you stop laughing." Michael Pritchard

and my FAVORITE...

"I am careful not to confuse excellence with perfection. Excellence, I can reach for; Perfection is God's business." Michael J. Fox

First Day of School!

It's hard to believe that my BABY (and I say this very quietly so Chloe doesn't hear me call her this) is in First Grade this year! Where does the time go? Someone once told me that time would FLY once I had kids... I never would have believed it until I sent her into that big girl school all by herself just one year ago.

This is Chloe's first grade year and that certainly means a lot of "frists" for her. The first time she will eat in the big cafeteria with her class... the first time she will actually have an art class outside of her regular classroom... the first time she will have homework (four nights a week of math is what I heard today!) It's a milestone year for her and I thank God every day for blessing my life with this remarkable daughter! I cannot wait to see what God has in store for her life this year!

I love you, baby!

Goofy!

My friend, Roxanne, just got back from her DISNEY cruise!! I am so jealous that I have decided to put her picture here on my blog.. I know she will appreciate it. It's really a portrait of her true self.. :) GOOFY! You know I love ya' Rox!

Chloe's 6 Year Pictures

Got Chloe's 6-year pictures taken the other day - even though she won't turn 6 until June 27th. I always like to have them in my hand on the day of her party - so to avoid rushing, I got them done a bit early this year. It was such a fun time and I must say - the camera loves her. Must be she is so used to me clicking that flash in her face for so many years now.. :) She was very good and they turned out great! Here is my favorite one.

Our friend, Kathy, went with and here is a posting she had on her blog about the days event....


"Miss Chloe... it's time for your shoot"

I had the privilege today of watching Miss Chloe, a beautiful, soon to be six year old, have her photos taken to mark the milestone event. Chloe is the darling daughter of my "boss" Wendy at the church office where I love to volunteer. I help her with mindless, time consuming things and fill in for her so she can go get lunch, do errands and the like. Anyway, Wendy has become a Godsend to me. She has become a friend, confidant and someone to talk to when there is only self, me and God. Anyway, back to Miss Chloe....she chose to wear her Easter dress for the shoot...a darling pink floral chiffon and white sandals. She looked picture and princess perfect!
Mom and I watched the baby ahead of her appointment get her photos done and were absolutely giddy and silly with this baby's chubby little legs and cheeks :) It was such fun but then it was the star of the hours turn. I can honestly say in my 49 years on this planet I have never seen a child take to a camera more naturally than Chloe. She was AMAZING! She did as she was asked like "bring your smile down a notch". "How is a nearly 6 year old supposed to know what that means?" I thought to myself. But she did it perfectly, beautifully, amazingly naturally. She is such a sweet and happy little girl who loves life, God, her family, her friends and even looking at herself in the mirror. Not a thing wrong with that...she was looking at one of my favorite little people too! Thank you, Chloe, for allowing me to watch you today. You made my heart smile :)

Proud Parent Moment!

For the past several months, we have been talking to our 5-year-old daughter, Chloe, about what it means to be a Christian. She has had some really fascinating adult-like questions and at times, it has been a real challenge. You really have to put yourself in the shoes of a 5-year-old and be very strategic about the way you answer - in a way she can really understand. Well - last weekend we were preparing our Sunday afternoon meal together. We were making tacos and she was pretending to help me cut up the lettuce. Totally out of the blue she said to me "Mommy, I forgot to tell you what I did at last week... I asked Jesus to come inside my heart!" I don't think I will ever forget those words and how sweet they sounded coming from my Chloe! As a parent, I cannot think of a more proud moment than that. I immediately dropped everything, as did my husband, and began asking her more questions... "Where did you do this, honey, when, how...?" She sweetly explained that she had been out on the playground at recess and was playing on the grass by herself and it reminded her of being on her knees praying so she simply asked Jesus to come live inside her heart! I can't explain the joy I felt listening to her explain about this decision to me and what a thrill it was to rejoice with her and to celebrate God's presence in her life! "She gets it!" I kept saying to myself - - SHE GETS IT! Often times we underestimate the depth of her understanding. Her mind had been absorbing more than we were giving her credit. We are so looking forward to seeing all God has in store for her life!

My Jesus

This is a great song that I just heard for the first time today on the radio... It really hit me - LOVED it! and wanted to share it with you -

My Jesus
Todd Agnew

Which Jesus do you follow,
Which Jesus do you serve
If Ephesians says to imitate Christ,
Why do you look so much like the world

Cause My Jesus bled and died
He spent His time with thieves and liars,
He loved the poor and accosted the arrogant
So which one do you want to be

Blessed are the poor in spirit,
or do we pray to blessed with with the wealth of this land
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness
Or do we ache for another taste of this world of shifting sands

My Jesus bled and died for my sins
He spent His time with thieves and sluts and liars,
He loved the poor and accosted the rich,
So which one do you want to be

Who is this that You follow,
This picture of the American dream,
If Jesus was here would you walk right by on the other side,
Or fall down and worship at His holy feet
holy
Pretty blue eyes and curly brown hair and a clear complexion,
Is how you see Him as He dies for Your sins,
But the Word says He was battered and scarred
Or did you miss that part,
Sometimes I doubt we'd recognize Him

My Jesus bled and died He spent His time with thieves and the least of these,
He loved the poor and accosted the comfortable,
So which one do you want to be,
Cause My Jesus would never be accepted in my church
The blood and dirt on His feet might stain the carpet,
But He reaches for the hurting and despises the proud
And, I think He'd prefer Beale St. to the stained glass crowd
And I know that He can hear me if I cry out loud

I want to be like my Jesus
I want to be like my Jesus
I want to be like my Jesus
I want to be like my Jesus

Not a posterchild for American prosperity, but like my Jesus
You see I'm tired of living for success and popularity
I want to be like my Jesus
but I'm not sure what that means to be like You Jesus
Cause You said to live like You,
love like You but then
You died for me

Can I be like You Jesus?
I wanna be like you Jesus
I wanna be Like my Jesus

Tag I'm it! WHAT?!?!

Thanks for the tag, Kyle Brooks! :) Although mine won't be nearly as interesting as Petes!

Four Other Jobs I've Had:
Title Clerk for a car dealership
Nanny (I loved this job!)
Real Estate Assistant
Ice Cream artist (this was my first job and I think I earned much of my wages in the consumption of the ice cream I made!)

Four Movies I Can Watch Over and Over:
Titanic (okay, so I am a hopeless romantic. I also think Leonardo is one cute dude... wait, somone just told me that "dude" actually means the hair on an elephants butt, so forget it, he's not a dude!)
Steal Magnolias (a CHICK flick!)
Napolion Dynamite (Me, TOO, Kyle!!! Yes, I am a NERD!)
Anything with Adam Sandler

Four Places I've Lived:
Tecumseh, MI
Adrian, MI
Only two - sorry. I know, HOW DULL!

Four Shows I Like To Watch:
CSI rocks!!!
Crossing Jordan
Numb3rs
30 Minute Meals with Rachael Ray

Four Foods That I Like:
Anything mexican... Tacos, enchilladas, nachos... YUM!
Lasagna
Homemade Mac and Cheese
Homemade mashed potatoes
(Okay, is it lunchtime yet??)

Four Sites I Visit Everyday:
ilovemychurch.org
lenconnect.com (it's my only source of local news!)
fellowshipone.com (our church database)
http://www.charthouse.com/ (this one is maybe not everyday - but once a week, rather)


Things I Want To Do Before I Die:
"I went sky-diving, I went rocking mountain climbing, I went 2.7 seconds on a bull named foo-man-choo!" Oh wait - that Tim McGraw tune popped in my head. I really don't want to ride a bull - EVER!
Travel the countryside with my wonderful husband.
See my daughter grow up to be happy and healthy.
Be the best person I can be.
See my community band together for the purpose of worshiping our GREAT GOD!

Four People I'm Tagging:
Kyle Mitchell
Shari Glass
The Hiatt Family
Sorry - I am tagging only three. The other ones I liked to hear from who have not yet been tagged don't have blogs! :)