Camp Ryan - "Unplugged"

Ryan is 5!!!!

(and pardon me while I stand here shell-shocked)

If you know Ryan, then you know he loves campin'.

LOVES campin'.

Loves to roast dogs.

Loves to roast mallows.

Loves to fish.

Loves to sleep in a tent.

Loves {everything} that {is} camping.

So it's no surprise, then, that we threw a camping party for him.

Here's his cake, complete with cornflake trees and a fruit roll up tent:

This was one of those ideas that sounded way better than it turned out. Those green streamers were supposed to look like a tree...you know? The kind you see campin' :)

When the kids arrived, they saw all kinds of campin' stuff laying around the yard.

pine cones

snakes (plastic) - Gage's favorite :)

bugs (plastic)

rocks They each got a ziplock bag with a scavenger hunt printed on it and started searching...When they found all their 'stuff' they brought me the bag in exchange for a PRIZE!!!Each kid got the campin' essentials:

a flashlight.

a compass.

and cookies.

yeah, I said essentials.

The rest is history. Just check out the smiles on these campers!!!

Oh, and just so you know, my brother (Kasey) took most of these pictures...

Ryan: It is SO STINKIN' FUN BEING YOUR MOM!!!

Happy birthday, lil camper. You sure make life a LOT more awesome!

To the End of the Earth.

Last night JD made me watch the movie, "Taken". Made me, I tell ya. Pinned me down and said "watch". Ugh, I hate when he does that. :) Anyway, we stayed up way too late watching a super-intense movie and now I can't stop thinking about it. If you've not seen it, maybe you should. Maybe it will shake you like it did me. Maybe the shear thought of the plot will drive you into a spin. Or maybe not. Maybe if you're comfortable living your joyful, peaceful, hopeful , seemingly hell-free life, then you don't want to be brought down by this tragic {story}. After all, it is just a story. I'm sorry to be so blunk folks, but this stuff really gets to me.

The gist of the movie is that this dude's daughter is kidnapped by foreigners and then sold into sex trafficking. He spends the entire movie trying to find her - and save her. I know, I know- uplifting, right? That's not what grabbed my attention. What struck a chord with me is that it's something that could happen- does happen- is probably happening as I type this out and it breaks.my.heart.

I like to live in {my world} where yes, bad things happen but we grow- we get stronger- we move forward all the while praising God. I don't want to live in {that world} - that world that seems as though it's too far from me to have to worry about. The world that I sometimes think is none of my business. The one that seems like it's at the end of the earth- or possibly closer to hell than I ever care to touch.

When I think about the ends of the earth, I picture the scenes from that movie. Scenes where women are drugged and forced to 'service' men - sometimes 30 per day! Women live that life. I know this particular movie is Hollywood. I know that. But I also know that sex trafficking is REAL and it happens every day. Trust me, I've done my homework (and yeah, OPB counts). These enslaved women live a life of no hope. No joy. No peace. They live that life every.single.day and it breaks.my.soul. Can you even imagine a life like that? Can you even imagine living at the end of earth? In hell?




How can I reach the ends of the Earth? How can I help? What can I do? How can I help women who are enslaved by a hopeless, joyless, peaceless life? How can I help them find YOU? What can I do to help one- just one woman avoid a life without peace, love, and joy?

And then it occurred to me. I may not be able to fly over to Rwanda (or Paris, like in the movie) and bust open these camps. I may not be able to go on a Compassions Ministry tour and make a face-to-face difference. But when I look into the eyes of this little girl...this little girl who is almost the same age as Olivia would be...when I look into her eyes, I see hope. I see peace. I see a joy that is waiting to spill out of her sweet smile. I see a young woman who can escape hell. Can you see it? Can you see the hope???

I'd like you to meet the newest member of our {family}. I found her at the ends of the earth and I'm delighted to see what the Lord has in store for her. You too, can go to the ends of the earth to Sponsor a child and make a difference. Sometime soon, we'll be learning her name and what she does with her free time. We will find out how she feels about her faith- and her future. She'll write letters and together, with my family, we look forward to reading and seeing how God will work in and through her sweet life.

And just so you know, if you're thinking, "Lisa...how do you really know you're making a difference? How do you really know where your money is going?", the answer is:

I trust that God will take care of that part. Leap and the net will appear. I'm leaping, here. And after what I've read on many Compassion Ministry blogs, I just can't sit back any longer and think that someone else will make a difference. I just can't. So I'm leaping.

Oh, and here is some of what the bible says about the 'ends of the earth':

Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. Psalm 19:4

Like your name, O God, your praise reaches to the ends of the earth; your right hand is filled with righteousness. Psalm 48:10

All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him. Psalm 22:27

He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire. Psalm 46:9

You answer us with awesome deeds of righteousness, O God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas. Psalm 65:5

God will bless us, and all the ends of the earth will fear him. Psalm 67:7

He lifts up a banner for the distant nations, he whistles for those at the ends of the earth. Here they come, swiftly and speedily! Isaiah 5:26

It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth. Isaiah 49:6

Okay, so here's the deal.

I'm SO STINKIN' EXCITED that you want to run a marathon with me. You don't EVEN know. So here's the deal:

1. Let's make it a BIG deal. I mean, setting goals and reaching them is BIG.
2. Let's look forward to next spring all year long!
3. Let's get Bloomsday T-shirts and wear them with pride until they literally fall off of our bodies years and years from now.
4. Let's rent a fab hotel - like a fancy schmancy one - and make a whole a 'girl's weekend' out of it.
5. Let's run our hearts out and CELEBRATE that we're hard workin', dedicated, God-fearing, goal-setting, goal-accomplishing, super fine WOMEN.

I'm thinking home-made pedicures. I'm thinking home-made manicures. I'm thinking laughing, loving, talking, bonding, maybe even a little bit of margarita-drinking...especially if my good friend (ahem...) brings her vitamix 1200 blender.

Sound good?

You In?

I've never thought I could - I mean, I'm not die-hard or anything nuts like that. Besides, I'm just starting out and I don't have time to (train) or whatever you call it. But the idea of running something that takes...

endurance

strength

persistance

passion

heart

...well, I guess that appeals to me. Maybe I'm competitive like that. Or maybe not. I mean, the only person I really want to {beat} running, is JD. Does that sound bad? So here's the deal:

I want to run a marathon before I die.

There I said it. Okay, you can stop laughing.

Seriously. I want to do it and I've made up my mind that it's gonna happen. I'm going to run Bloomsday in Spokane next spring and I want to extend a personal invitation to anyone else who wants to run a marathon before they die as well. Before I do that, however, I want to be VERY clear on a couple of things.

1. I am not TRAINING for this. I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing (which is running about 3-4 times per week). I have enough to worry about so I'm not going to go all crazy marathon lady and drink protein shakes and all that jazz. I'm just not.

2. There is a HUGE possibility that I may walk a large portion of this and I'm fine with that (because if what's-his-face on Biggest Loser can walk, then so can I).

3. I am prepared to run this marathon by myself. THAT's how bad I want to do this in my lifetime, so don't feel obligated to join me if your {heart} really isn't there.

4. I sweat A LOT, so don't be alarmed. It's genetic or something.

5. I breathe really HARD when I run, so don't freak out. I'm fine.

Just think. By this time next year, I'm gonna pin a number to my chest and run 7 miles.

You in?

Keep ON: His Work Installment (I lost count).

Keep on.....keepin' on......

JD's only recently joined 21st century technology. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I'm much further ahead of him, but at least the effort is there. I set him up with a hotmail account three weeks ago. Um, yeah, he's a bit behind. I'm not making fun of him; just merely stating the fact.



So it comes as no surprise that when I asked him for an MP3 player for Christmas a few years ago, he paid his buddy's teenage daughter to put music on it for me. Sweet, huh? (actually, it really is pretty sweet).



My point is this: When I turn on my MP3, I never know what I'm going to get. The musical genre can range anywhere from Kenny Chesney to who knows??? I don't even know the names of most of the artists. I just know that some songs make me run faster than others and I have yet to hear the same song twice.



But I do know that I'm SO lovin' my running time. I love to breathe the air in through my nose and feel it in my toes. I love the feeling of my throbbing heart - so alive. I don't even mind the wind pushing me along...but most of all, I love the time {alone} because I talk to God. And the best part? He talks to me too.


This week, in the "Living Beyond Yourself" study by Beth Moore, I have been learning about joy. True Joy. Not the happy-happy joy-joy kind of joy. I'm talking about the kind of joy that is ever-lasting. The kind that transcends time or circumstance and penetrates the eternal heart. The kind of joy that I look hard for, but must admit, can't always see. This week, I see it though; some of it for the first time ever.



In this study, Moore speaks of five catalysts of joy. Among these, the restoration of joy, which particularly hit home for me.


There was a time in my life when I gave up on joy. There was a time in my life when I quit. I quit trying. I quit caring. I quit living. I quit loving. I wanted to quit breathing. Losing a child does that. It stops the world. It stops the love and the joy - or even the possibility of it. Everything ends.


Except, God's love. It never ends. It's magnified. It's loud. It's there. It's there in the thunder and quake and it was there on those frost bit 'mournings'. Is it a blessing to suffer? Is that where joy is? I have learned through my own suffering, the footprints poem is right- He really does carry us. Moore has pointed out to me this week that God's POWER and PURPOSE and PRESENCE is best discovered through difficulty. It doesn't mean it's easy because life ain't easy, that's for sure. But God is{powerful}. He's {purposeful}. And he's definitely {present} in my life.

I found God in my struggles. I called out to Him and He was there. And then life went on I, well, I didn't call on Him as much.

Lately, I've felt like I've had it all wrong. I've been feeling like I keep screwing up. I've felt like I've not been using all that I've learned in the way I have imagined myself - I feel like I've been on a perpetual screw up roller coaster. Some days are better than others, but overall, I'd say I'm a sinner with a capital {S}. I've not been patient and kind and loving and gentle - not like I should...not like I can. I try. Oh, I try.

I've felt joyful for MY salvation when it's not really mine to begin with. It's God's. It's His gift. Somehow, when I think of it as MY salvation, I think that maybe I did something to get it- learned something- performed something- made or did something, but I didn't. I can't. God's grace allows me to draw near to Him even when I feel ashamed to admit I'm {still} a sinner after all these years...so I've been calling out to God letting Him know that I need and desire for Him to change my heart. I want to know and understand His love like I never have before.

Then He revealed this scripture:

Jeremiah 29: 13

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart.


I am seeking Him and you know what is exciting me to no end? I'm finding.


I'm falling...in love...with God. I'm opening my bible eagerly and you know what? I haven't searched this HARD for God since Olivia died.


In the margin of Moore's study, she asks "How does God want you to respond to what He showed you today".



My response scribbled practically illegibly in the margin?


Keep seeking.



Keep asking.



Keep showing.



Keep loving.

and it all morphed into a phrase that one of my favorite people uses often:

Keep on...keepin' on.


So it was no surprise when I stuck my MP3 earbuds into my ears in preparation for an afternoon run.... and asked God to speak to me through the music JD's buddy's daughter put on it.... He revealed this song (Keep on Keepin' On by JoJo????). If you have never closed your eyes to this song and imagined God singing it to you, you should. It's amazing.


Keep on keepin' on ya'll. Even if you are like me - a sinner with a capital {S}, seek him with all of your heart. He's waiting in the whispers of your life and I promise you this: you will find Him and when you do, you will fall in love like never before.

Takin' a Blog Break

...not taking a break from blogging...just taking a break and decided to blog about nothing...lucky you, eh?

- I tried to explain what blogging is to my 80 year-old grandma. I told her that blogging {for me} is: "journaling....meets scrapbooking....meets social networking". I kinda like that definition.

- I found a really cool spot for Ryan next year and I'm pretty excited about it. {and so is he}

- Gage is now officially de-binked (except for sleeping) and we're continuing to work ever so hard on the fit-throwing.

- This weekend is jam-packed with fun. We get to have dinner with some great new friends AND celebrate my nephew's birthday. We got him a balloon rocket. He's just going to {freak} when he sees it.

- I have been running and now I can make the huge loop (approx. 2 mi) without walking. That's a lil miracle I like to call UNHEARDOF. Welcome back muscle. It's been a while.

- JD got a pretty big raise so I told him I married him for his money- $$$$$$$$$$$hahahahaha.

- Today during class, a student very enthusiastically told me he got an A on an assignment. We both went to High-5 one another and stopped mid slap, looked at our hands, and at the exact same time blurted out, "nahhh....I just put hand sanitizer on my hands". I laughed so hard I seriously almost stopped breathing. I guess we're all just a *wee* bit flu conscious these days.

- God is good. All the time. Have a JOYFUL weekend :)

Soccer Mom

Ryan had his first ever soccer game on Saturday

and it was a complete and total crack-up.

Here he is all nervous and excited: A few pre-game kicks:
I'm not exactly sure what this move is but I'm sure glad I 'caught' it.
I'm calling it his 'bowling move' because this is what he
does when he's waiting for a bowling ball to hit and well,
the soccer ball was goin' pretty slow...


This is Marcie and she's the coach.
She rocks.
Seriously.
How stinkin' cute is it that they are all holding hands?

Stretching.

More stretching.

More stretching.

The pre-game 'talk' with the Ref.

The Ref rocked too.

So much so that I had to tell him how much.

He even tied some shoes

AND told the kids to turn around when they were headed for the wrong goal.

Yeah, he rocked too.

Gearin' up for the start. What can I say? My kid's a shrimp :)

The rat race begins.

Takin' turns.

Cheerin' the team on.

6 years ago I sat in an office filling out paper work.

That paper work required me to write down how many times I had been pregnant.

The answer (at that time) was 4.

4 pregnancies and my {home} was still empty.

4 seemed like a really, really, really {lonely} number.

Fast forward 6 years and now I'm a soccer mom.

God is good.

All the time.