Laurel Wreath’s Reflections

Well not really conquered, more like survived. Today marked the first game of football for Ms. Laurel Wreath. I sweated, I worried, I drank a lot of water, and made sure I kept my fluids up. I survived! I would have made Queen Bathsheba proud. Hubby set up my tent so I could watch my “soon to be teenagers” run up and down the field in full pads, in Florida weather. Oh and by the way, we ran the gamut of Florida weather. It was hot and muggy (I had the face fan going full speed), then it poured buckets of rain (I moved deeper into my tent) while “soon to be teenagers” braved the rain, and then after the rain there was a cool breeze (so the fan got a bit of a break), then the hot and muggy returned (time to go home, thankfully).

Anyways, I guess I have to give all the applause to my wonderful, persevering, now apprearing on Sports Illustrated cover “soon to be teenagers”. I am proud. They are not “first stringers”, this was the first game in their whole life. And despite being flattened a few times, by kids that resembled semi’s they got back up and took some more.

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What more could a Mother want? (well except football games in an air-conditioned arena)…

Isteer away from political posts on my blog, but I did want to bring your attention to a story Michelle Malkin has up on the persecution of Lin Joy.

Now, meet Lina Joy. Like Rahman, she was born Muslim, converted to Christianity, and is facing death threats for abandoning Islam. She wants to marry a fellow Christian man in her native Malaysia. A Muslim legal advocate for Joy, Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, also faces death threats for defending her in a case that has reached the highest court in their country

I think we need to keep her and fellow Christians over there in our prayers. Oh what everyday liberities we can take for granted.

I had some wonderful “girl” time tonight with a special friend. “Girl” time is rare for me, because my life seems to be filled with sports and boy things. Not that I am complaining, I would not change a thing. It just really rejuvinates and refreshes me after some good girl time.

My friend and I can go out to dinner, sit there and chat all night, and go home saying “we have had the best time”. Exciting things do not need to be going on, for just sitting down with a cup of coffee is what excites us. We do not see each other that often, even though we only live a few miles away. Thank God for email, for we can keep in contact day to day. We both have busy lives, and try to get together every month or so. But once together, we can share things we would not share with another person. I am so blessed to have this friend. My family lives far away, but having this special friend makes me feel like I have a sister right here.
With some friends you are careful with what you share, or they only share some aspect of your life; some friends are hi/bye, “how are you friends” (which I value very much); and then there are (like my friend I went out with last night) “drop all masks, how are you doing, what is going on, tell me everything and I will still love you” kind of friend. I can count on one hand how many of these types of friends I have had in my lifetime. So I thank God for my special friend and for the special “girl” time.

Why don’t you head on over to Jules over at Everyday Mommy . She has a post so people can list things they appreciate. Things we at times can take for granted. Also, while you are there leave your link for your Everyday Things, and put on your blog what you are thankful for.

Thirteen Things I swore I would Never Do or Say while I was young BUT DID….

1. “Eat your food, there are starving people in Ethopia”

2. Go to the store looking like a very worn out, no make-up, don’t care what I look like wife.

3. “Just you wait till your Father gets home buddy”

4. “I don’t care what other people are doing, if they are jumping off cliffs would you!”

5. I use to get so upset that my Mom could never find her keys, she would make all of us kids “find her keys”….well guess what, guess who….can’t ever find her keys!

6. Sound like my Mother. I swear I hear her everyday in my house, even though she lives across the US (love you Mom).

7. Not eat dinner at the dinner table but instead in front of the TV. (I swore I would never do that…)

8. Say improper words like “balls of steel”, “bling-bling”, “dude” (remember I have “almost teenage boys, and as I do NOT says these words on regular basis, they have come out of my mouth in a moment of weakness”)

9. Set the toilet seat down. You see I was from a mostly female family, the seat up position was not a problem….UNTIL I GOT MARRIED!

10. Have to go down the street to apologize, because it was MY kid who punched someone. You see I thought I would have raised perfect kids….HA!

11. BECAUSE I TOLD YOU SO, THAT IS WHY!!

12. Ask, “are you sure you are using YOUR toothbrush?”

Last but not least:

13. Explain to three boys what a jock strap is, have to stand in line to buy three jock straps, and then see them “knocking” themselves because they are so excited they finally do have “balls of steel” (sorry if that offend anyone…)

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Terrible Speller, has an awesome post. Her vulnerability and openness really hit me. I encourage you to go over there and read “My Afternoon with the Repair Man” .

(Now I know why my repairman is always late, he is over at Terrible Speller’s house) Just kidding.

Thank you again for sharing your story.

I am at a loss of creativity right now. So my works for me Wednesday is my shoes…

I am always leaving my shoes laying around, with them looking a lot like this.

So when I was in a hurry, finding two that matched was a challenge and frustration. Plus I did not want to run to the boys football games in my high heels or church in flip flops because that is all I could find. So when they had a huge sale on clear boxes,

this is what I did to make my sanity life better.

I can now find my matching pairs of shoes. Yea, Works For Me!!!

Now I don’t want any emails asking “how many shoes do you have gal!” Because I am not telling!

Head on over to Shannon’s for more awesome tips.

PS - if you think of it could you say a quick prayer for my Mom she has cataract surgery today. Thanks!

Head on over to Lindsay’s at My Splatter Painted Life and watch the video of her son Travis. It made my day I laughed so hard.

Great job on the video Lindsay!

I came across a powerful quote while reading an article about different world religions, “One of the sneaky things about {world religions} is they use our vocabulary but not our dictionary.” I don’t know about you but that sends a shiver up my spine. We, as Christians, need to know the differences of the different world religions and be able to confront the differences with truth and compassion. How do we do this?

As Christians we need to be able to know and explain the basics of Christianity.

I believe it is important to be knowledgeable of the core of Christianity. We need to be able to present atonement, salvation, the Trinity, and the nature of God in general. And most important, the basic defense of the resurrection (without which, our faith is in vain!).

We need to know this in order to be able to recognize copy cat gods or copy cat religions. I define, these copy cats as anyone who adds or subtracts anything written in the bible. I believe there is no excuse for Christians not to be articulate in what they believe and why, and this means being informed about the foundation of your beliefs.

Now this is where some believers differ, some believe we need to “be fools for Christ and hit hard” and basically bop the lost sheep over the head with our words. Others believe we need to just be “examples” and not rock the boat. I believe we need to be somewhere in the middle.

Now Col 4:5 says:

“Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”

As Christians we need to let our answers always be filled with grace and seasoned with salt. “Salt is a symbol of lasting concord, its purpose is to protect food from corrosion and preserves it unchanged” (Strongs). When Christ walked the earth he not only talked about God’s judgment and justice but also about his forgiveness and hope. Also his message never changed no matter the circumstance (salt).

For your kind words on my last post here. With football every night, hubby working late on some of the nights, homework, etc… you know the drill you all do it also…but I just crashed and it came unexpectedly. Then I thought I am never going to get to sleep tonight after sleeping so much. But nope, 9pm rolled around and I was in bed, and the Lord blessed me with a wonderful sleep.

Now a I am new woman, ready to tackle a new week, hoping to learn new things from the Lord. (oh and a little coffee this morning helped also)

Rachelle, thanks for the suggestion of the book “The Rest of God” I am going to have to look that one up.

Thought for the day:

Isaiah 43:19
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.

Is the Lord working on something new for you? Do you sometimes feel like your life is in the desert and you feel dry and empty.

Maybe the Lord is trying to lead you in a new direction, maybe he is saying, “Look around, don’t you see I have a change of course for you, where you are is used up”. Thank you Jesus, for always guiding our path. Help us to be open when you adjust the way you want us to go. And guide our steps all this week.

Scarecrow: I haven’t got a brain… only straw.

Dorothy: How can you talk if you haven’t got a brain? (I ask myself this many times)

Scarecrow: I don’t know… But some people without brains do an awful lot of talking… don’t they?

Boy I crashed today!! Have you ever come to the point where your body says….ENOUGH. And you want to argue, “but I have so much to do”. Well your body wins out every time. I woke up tired, I could not think clearly. I did not go to church because I did not feel well, but I was not sick.

I felt like the Scarecrow in Wizard of OZ, who kept losing his stuffing, and could not put himself back together. I began my mountain of laundry, folded one load, ate a little bit of lunch and then told hubby “I am going to go lay down”.

“I don’t know what is wrong with me but I am so tired” I mumbled. That was around 1pm; hubby finally came and woke me up around 3:45 worried I was going to sleep the day away. I do feel a little better, a little more “put together”. I guess my body just needed the rest, and my mind needed to shut down. I praise God I have a wonderful husband who is there to help me “put myself back together”.

See you tomorrow.