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inside features inside features 52 editor editor readers.talk readers.talk serious.life serious.life serious.photos 60 serious.spirit serious.money serious.phot serious.family serious.spiri your comments 68 serious.extras serious.mon serious.fami your comme serious.extra

8 serious.photos

Great photos and captions submitted by our readers.

16 dear.brent

Brent answers a question submitted by a reader

18 serious.spirit

SigEps:BigHearts

A college frat shows that the real party is helping others and being kind to a little girl.

Spiritual growth, answers to life and personal maturity.

28 serious.money

Each month we talk about personal finances and good money management.

36 serious.family

Great families, great relationships and great stuff about living life!

48 your comments

Interesting comments, feedback and posts from our blogs.

Neil Boyd

Personal or business, discipline is required to reach your goals and achieve a long term vision.

Paul Refior

In our “Living Faith” series we look in on Rafe and Pam to see a marriage and a life that is true living faith.

76 serious.extras

All sorts of great stuff, different topics, humor and your content.

Are you a writer or photographer?

We are always looking for people who want to contribute high quality content and photos to the magazine. Shoot me an email if you’re interested: editor@seriouslifemagazine.com

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A Letter froM tHe

Will you pray for our daughter who has Leukemia?

The serious pursuit of a fulfilling, contented and happy life. Publisher Tulsa Design Works, Inc

Editor-in-Chief/Designer Brent Riggs Copy & Proofreading Carolyn Hill Terri Williams

Contributing Writers Steve Cummins John Barnett Jim Nienhuis

Cover Photo Amy Block

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Serious.Life.Magazine© is published monthly. Reproductions in whole or in part without permission are prohibited. Serious.Life. Magazine© is not responsible for the return of unsolicited artwork, photography or manuscripts and will not be responsible for holding fees or similar charges. All digital submissions and correspondence will become property of Serious.Life.Magazine©. Statements made, implied or expressed in Serious.Life. Magazine© do not necessarily represent the editorial position of the publisher.

Another story in this issue is about Paul Refior, a big fella with a big heart. You’ll be amazed at what recently happened to him, and you’ll be even more amazed at the love he has for his wife.

The serious pursuit of a fulfilling, contented and happy life.

Then there’s Neil Boyd. If you want to learn something about discipline, goals and success, he’s your man. I sat down with him and asked him to share with me, and you, the secrets to his disciplined life and successful business.

We have a lot of folks submitting content and photos now, so don’t get discouraged if you didn’t get in this issue. There’s only so many pages, and we keep everything for future issues. Shoot me an email and let me know what you would like to see in Serious.Life Magazine in 2009. brent@brentriggs.com

LIVING A

Brent Riggs

Editor-In-Chief

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The “SigEps” are such guys. It was refreshing to do a story on a fraternity that purposely focuses on serving and learning the true meaning of building relationships.

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I’m really looking forward to you reading about some great guys in this issue.

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Cover Design Brent Riggs

She’s the whole reason for all this (magazine, blogs, etc). Would you go over to our blog, www.riggsfamilyblog.com and look near the top right for “About Abby”?

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Susie Grace & Mom (Brent Riggs)

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Landis Cracker thief on the prowl. (Brent Riggs)

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Kristen, Kya Blu & Sami

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(Brent Riggs)

Proud Dad &

Adoring Daughter. (Kelly’s Korner)

Small Fry shows off her grin.

(MckMama)

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(Kristin McKean)

A Helping Hand

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(Kristin McKean)

Good thing Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m wearing a diaper. (Brent Riggs)

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We want to show everyone your great pics! Send us your best photos along with a caption, and every month, we will publish some of them for everyone to enjoy.

The cutest pumpkins in the patch. (Lisa-Jo Baker - lisajosbakerboys.blogspot.com)

Forever Friends

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MckMuffin on a cruise. (MckMama)

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A day at the beach,

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serious.extras dear.brent Dear Brent,

I am going through some things… problem after problem. My boyfriend (my kids father) is in church and fully dedicated. Am I hindering him if I am not in church as well? It feels like every time I try to serve GOD, I am distracted. Any advice.?

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Anonymous

Matthew 6:34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (NKJV) Such is life for all humankind. Whether Christian or unsaved, life is all about facing and dealing with the problems that this sin cursed world produces. The difference is, Christians do it with joy and purpose… the unsaved do it with despair and hopelessness. If your boyfriend is a fully dedicated Christian, and is the father of your children, I hope that he has confessed the sin of fornication, and before the Lord, is doing whatever he can to be responsible for his actions, and seeking God’s direction in what he should do (marriage?). If you are still fornicating with him, then neither of you can be labeled as “fully dedicated” Christians, assuming that you have knowledge that God disapproves of sexual immorality (if you didn’t, you do now; Gal. 5:19–21; Eph. 4:17–19; Eph. 5:5; Col. 3:5; 1 Thess. 4:5) If by “in church” you mean that you are not seriously living a Christian

What is your question for Brent? Send it to: dearbrent@ seriouslifemagazine.com

life, then YES. If you are implying that showing up to church is the same thing as being a Christian, you have missed the true meaning. You are not equally matched in belief, devotion and purpose, so of course, that will cause you to be a hindrance if he is truly following God, and you have no care for it. Should you become more familiar with the Bible? That’s like asking “should I BREATHE if I want to live?” God’s Inspired Word is paramount to our spiritual and emotional health, not to mention the only way that we can find out what is pleasing to God. Think about it… the CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE wrote down what He wants us to know, practice, teach and live by – and yet it is routinely ignored or given only

cursory attention even by those who claim to love God. 2 Peter 1:3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, (NKJV) You get distracted while serving God? Of course you do. Satan will not bother you while you live for your SELF. He only gets interested when you try to make some step towards God. Satan is not all powerful, or all knowing… but he is most skilled in knowing what it takes to discourage, deceive or side track us when we turn towards God. The very fact that you are experiencing “something negative” when you make an effort to be Godly, is often PROOF that you are on the right track! ~

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serious.photos serious.spirit serious.money We Need Encouragement serious.family your comments serious.extras By Brent Riggs

here are times when the Lord sends us a friend to encourage us at just the right moment... and it’s like the clouds part, the rainbow appears, the sun shines and the birds start singing. God knows how our emotions affect us. We don’t live by our emotions, but they surely are a part of our daily life. God knows that there are times when we need someone to listen, comfort and lift us up in fellowship. As Christians, we are commanded to encourage one another. The word “encourage” in (1Thess 5.11) has many facets: • Encourage - to fill with courage or new zeal; to lift up the low in spirit or despondent; to give strength and hope to overcome and endure • Exhort - to make urgent appeal; to give advice; to strongly urge or

advise • Comfort - to give strength and hope; to give cheer; to ease grief or trouble • Lift up - to raise up; to stand up when fallen; to raise to a higher standard; to bring up from lowness • Build up - to restore brokenness; to add new hope or zeal; to provide additional good Does anyone out there besides me need these things? We have two basic ideas going on here: to strengthen and remind each other of the truth we already know; and to lift the spirits and bring new hope to those who are hurting. 2 Peter 1:3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, (NKJV) We need to return to understanding and practicing that God’s word is practical, sufficient and profitable for ALL things about living a Godly life. ALL THINGS. When we remind each other these things, we bring the hurting...

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Comfort and Hope

Primarily, our comfort and hope comes from reminding each other of God’s truth. We are comforted when we are reminded that God will right all wrongs, and reward faithfulness. We become hopeful when we are reminded that God knows everything about our life and that He cares. We are comforted when we are reminded that God will never give us anything we can’t handle and that He is with us every

step. We have hope because we know that this life is but a blink of time and then we will be with God for all eternity. God made us emotional creatures. We have very real and powerful feelings that affect us physically and spiritually. So along with reminding each other of God’s great truths, we do some other things that give comfort and hope such as:

Listening

By Bob Walters We are nearly through Christmas, a gift-giving season when people reflect on Jesus Christ more than any other time of year. I say “nearly” because the Orthodox (Greek, Russian, Eastern, etc.) Christmas (Julian calendar) is actually tomorrow, Jan. 7. Fans of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” know that yesterday or today, depending on which Christian part of the world you’re in, is the “Twelfth Day of Christmas.” Today, Jan. 6, marks the start of the ecclesiastical season of Epiphany (Gregorian calendar), celebrating the Magi’s visit to the child Jesus and thereby manifesting Christ to the gentiles (a very big deal … it meant Jesus came for all mankind). Feel free to Google any of these terms if you care to ingest a larger dose of church history and ecclesiastical tradition. Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant Christians all agree on Christ’s position as Son in the Father-SonSpirit Trinity, but – even congregation by congregation – take vastly different approaches to doctrine, worship, salvation and church organization. Christianity can look very confusing from the outside; shoot … it can look very confusing from the inside. Yet many of us arrive at a point where faith overrides confusion, and for that we

must thank the Holy Spirit. Especially at Christmas we Christians love to say “Jesus Christ is” this or that: He is Truth, Love, Hope, Joy, Mercy, Salvation, the Way, Light, Good Shepherd, Prince of Peace, Wonderful Counselor, etc. Then we harshly judge and/or argue with those who simply look at us and say, “I don’t understand.” If there is one thing we should know as Christians it’s that our actions are our real

HELPING US UNDERSTAND OUR FAITH IS THE HOLY SPIRIT’S jOB; SALVATION IS CHRIST’S jOB..

Blog: believerbob.blogspot.com

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witness, not our words. “No one is argued to faith,” Cal Thomas wrote recently. As badly as we may want to provide an understanding of Christian faith to others, we can no more do that by ourselves than provide salvation. Helping us understand our faith is the Holy Spirit’s job; Salvation is Christ’s job. And this is true: We can’t, won’t understand Christ until we involve the Holy Spirit. When Christmas is over, many people stop reflecting on Jesus. Believers should make it a point every day to be a reflection of Jesus that will make others ask the Holy Spirit to awaken understanding inside of them. That understanding is a gift God provides every day of the year. ~

(continued next page)

Reflecting God’s Gift

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How powerful is the simple act of listening? This one act alone is a powerful testimony that you care. Many times a hurting person just needs someone to stop and truly hear them. In our day of ultraactivity, we don’t have time for each other anymore. And WOE to the person who needs a little extra attention. That person is quickly identified as “too needy”, a burdensome person to be avoided lest you have to sit and listen to them over and over. People need other people. The world is full of lonely people. Your church is full of lonely, hurting people. I guarantee it. That’s a shame. People need the comfort, companionship and love of other people. If you were to view our society objectively today, you might conclude that people need entertainment and activity; or people need drugs and alcohol; or people need distraction, or people need prosperity. We rely on the church to have every imaginable “program” in place to free us up from having to

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take time for other people. It’s sad that we don’t have time right now for the very same people that we will spend all eternity with.

Understanding

How comforting it is to have someone who understands what you are going through; someone who can relate to your circumstances and can identify with the discouragement you are feeling. This is so much more effective and uplifting than just offering tired old clichés and platitudes. In light of that, you and I have a responsibility to use our experiences, and how God walked us through the valley, to help others in the similar situations. Have you dealt with cancer or sickness? Find others who are going through it and encourage them. Have you been through divorce or adultery? Look around, there are probably a dozen in every church who are in some stage of that nightmare. Dealt with a rebellious child? Death in the family? Loss of a job? Drug or alcohol addiction? Pornography? What situation has God seen you through? What comfort did you receive from the Lord, or from others? Take your experience and use it to provide understanding and encouragement to others. Otherwise, you are wasting your experience and neglecting those who might be comforted by it.

Spiritual Growth > Truth > Eternal Perspective

is the effort to be sensitive towards another’s hurts, to take part in the emotions of the situation so that you can relate to the person more closely. It’s more than just feeling sorry for

shamefully gives the other person a false sense of comfort. Now I’m NOT trying to say that praying is equal to “doing nothing”, of course not. But how many times is prayer

someone. Its hurting with them, taking part in their sorrow, helping to bear the burden of the pain for them.

offered (with no real intention of follow-through) in what is really a good way to get out of doing anything further for the person? How shameful to use one of God’s greatest gifts (prayer) as a selfish way to make us look good, and avoid getting involved. Don’t offer to pray for someone unless you mean it! When you offer to pray, ask SPECIFICALLY how you can pray for them. Tell them when you will pray, how often you will pray, and for how long into the future you will pray. Then check on them occasionally and find out how you can modify your prayer effort for them.

WHEN YOU OFFER TO PRAY, ASK SPECIFICALLY HOW YOU CAN PRAY FOR THEM.

Prayer

We need encouragement. It is our nature. We live in a sin-cursed world full of hurts, sorrow, disapppointment, pain and trouble. God comforts us. We comfort each other. We are family. We will be together for all eternity. It’s okay to start acting like it NOW. ~

Brent Riggs is an author, mentor and Bible teacher. For Bible teaching and answers, visit his ministry website at www.seriousfaith.com

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Okay, how many of you are guilty, like me, of this: “I’ll sure pray for you about that”.... and then you never do. How AWFUL!!! To offer to pray for someone with no intention of doing it, is to use prayer as a selfish way of APPEARING to care, when you really don’t. It makes you look good; it makes you appear to care; it gets you off the hook many times from actually DOING SOMETHING for the other person.... but it

------------------------

Put your self in the other person’s shoes and try to feel what they are feeling. Empathy

To have compassion is to have a sympathy towards another person’s distress, coupled with the desire to want to do something to alleviate it. It’s one thing to “feel sorry” for someone; it’s another to actually want to help them through it. Sympathy is easy... just feel sorry for someone. Compassion is the real deal... actually taking your time and effort to help. Compassion is the most mentioned emotion of Jesus in Scripture. Hmmm...

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Empathy

Compassion

serious.photos serious.spirit serious.money Living Hope: The Love of Jesus serious.family your comments serious.extras By John Barnett

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or God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16, emphasis added). Who could ever forget the dramatic scene of Revelation 6? Somewhere beyond the starry sky a herald angel stood with a trumpet in his hand, and at an elected time, by the decree of the Lord God Almighty, the trumpet sounded and the kingdoms of this world became the kingdoms of our God and of His Christ! Thus the Tribulation opened, and Christ began taking back the earth, which is rightfully His. One by one Christ will unroll the seals. As each seal is broken, He will gain further possession and control of His inheritance. Revelation 7 then opens with the love of Jesus sending 144,000

missionaries into this time of Great Tribulation upon the world. This is the most important chapter to help us truly understand the love of Jesus Christ. In no other place in the Bible is it so dramatically etched out as it is in the contrast between the wrath in chapter 6 and the mercy in chapter 7. Christ’s merciful love in Revelation 7 is demonstrated by His sending over four times as many missionaries into the world as are currently serving Him. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, there are only 35,000 missionaries of every persuasion, but during the Tribulation He will provide 144,000 evangelists! Look at how Jesus shows His love throughout this overview of Revelation 7: • Verses 1–3: Jesus stands with the servants of the Lamb, and prepares them for the bad times ahead. His Spirit signs, seals, and secures them. • Verses 4–8: Jesus knows where His servants are at all times. He directs His servants, and seals 12,000 members of each of the tribes of Israel. • Verses 9–10: Jesus wants His servants with Him. • Verses 11–12, 15: Jesus seeks His servants’ worship. • Verses 13–14: Jesus promises His servants a fruitful ministry. • Verse 16: Jesus comforts His servants after all their troubles on earth. • Verse 17: Jesus refreshes His servants by His presence.

What a beautiful chapter! Like Jesus, do you share His loving passion for lost souls? Do you have a burden for the lost? If you haven’t up to this point, would you like to get started? You can begin by making a list of unsaved family members, friends, and neighbors, and then start praying for them. Get a supply of gospel tracts at your local church or Christian bookstore, and ask the Lord to give you divine appointments to share those tracts. Then keep praying, and look expectantly for the Lord’s direction. Once you begin giving away tracts and loving lost souls, Christ will grant fruit, and you will share in His joy over each person who turns from darkness to the Light.

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of the love of Jesus for His servants. Jesus shows His love as He stands with these slaves of the Lamb. How does He do that? Look at the elements of Christ’s love in Revelation

mark, just as sheep and cattle are branded. In this instance, the 144,000 missionaries belong to the Lamb of God. 2. Loyalty: A soldier would sometimes brand his hand with

7:1–3. Notice that Jesus calls for the angels to hold back the four winds lest the judgment should blow across the earth. Before the judgment sweeps down upon the earth, and these servants who are residing there, Jesus prepares them for bad times. Have you ever thought about that? Have you ever experienced some great and fruitful times of fellowship with the Lord just before bad times hit? So many times my wife, Bonnie, and I have talked about the challenging and difficult periods we have gone through in our lives, ministry, and family. During such talks, we remembered with gratefulness how the Lord has often given special seasons when our fellowship with Him through the Word and prayer was elongated because He was lovingly preparing us for the hardships ahead. These Jewish evangelists are also being lovingly prepared for what is ahead by being sealed with the mark on their foreheads of Christ’s name and the name of His Father. But the term “sealed” is different from anything we know about. In the ancient world, a mark upon a person could stand for at least five different things. A mark could stand for: 1. Ownership: Often a slave was branded with his owner’s

the name of the general whom he loved, and would willingly follow him into any battle. In the presence of the Lamb stand the veterans who have proved their loyalty. 3. Security: Historically, a wax seal pressed with the imprint of an owner would secure that object as owned and belonging to another. Similarly, God’s seal upon these witnesses, as well as upon us (2 Corinthians 1:21–22), shows God’s ownership— and the great security that brings! 4. Dependence: The great Arab chieftains had some humble clients who were absolutely dependent on them. Often, to outwardly identify that dependence, a sheik would brand his clients with the same mark used to brand his camels. In the company of the Lamb are those who are utterly dependent on His love and the grace of God. 5. Safety: “It was common for those who were the devotees of a god to be stamped with his sign. Sometimes that worked very cruelly. Plutarch tells us that after the disastrous defeat of the Athenians under Nicias in Sicily, the Sicilians took the captives and branded them on the forehead with a galloping horse, the emblem of Sicily.”1 So these marked ones in chapter 7 are owned,

DO YOU SHARE A PASSION FOR THE LOST LIKE jESUS?

How Jesus Shows His Love

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After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree. Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, “Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads” (Revelation 7:1–3, emphasis added). We now meet the evangelists our loving God sends to rescue helpless sinners at earth’s darkest hour. In the company of the Lamb are those who rest in the absolutely secure safety

(continued next page)

serious.photos serious.spirit The Love of Jesus... cont’d serious.money serious.family your comments serious.extras

loyal, secure, dependent, and trusting. They are resting safely in the Lord because they have responded to the love of Jesus. Have you made time to experience Christ’s love as you worship Him today?

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The Holy Spirit Signs His Servants

… He who establishes us with you in Christ … has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee (2 Corinthians 1:21–22, emphasis added). God not only seals and secures His servants, but Jesus also shows His love by always knowing the whereabouts of His servants that He has signed His name upon (Revelation 7:4–8). There is something comforting about this in verse 4: … One hundred and fortyfour thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed …. If you really want to

confound a Jew, ask him, “What tribe are you in?” He won’t be able to tell you. In A.D. 70, when the Roman General Titus came and burned the temple, genealogical records that were stored there, and zealously guarded, were destroyed. But God knows which tribe each of His people is in, and Jesus always knows where His servants are. In Revelation 7:5–8, the tribes are not listed in their right birth order. Not all the tribes are there. Dan is missing, Manasseh is the son of Joseph, and Ephraim is not in this listing. The order according to birth would be: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, and so on. However, the list as it appears in chapter 7 is God’s order. Judah is shown first because that is the royal tribe. The tribe of Dan is not there because they apostatized, and no apostate can be an evangelist. God has His purposes and He sets things in order as He sees fit. (By the

way, this is not the same order listed in Revelation 21 and 22.) Jesus will identify all the members of these tribes, confront them face-to-face, and draw them to Himself. Some people have a problem with His chasing after the 144,000 like this because of feeling that in their own lives they had to search for Christ a long time before getting saved. Such persons simply have a wrong view of salvation. No one personally seeks the Lord: “There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God” (Romans 3:1011). God is the One who always does the chasing to draw us to Himself. We were born dead in our trespasses and sins—we were not born looking for Jesus. We can clearly see in the 144,000 that there are three elements to what the Holy Spirit does in each believer at salvation: (1) the Spirit signs us; (2) the Spirit seals us; and

(3) the Spirit secures us. (We will cover all three elements over the next few days.) First Element of Salvation— The Spirit Signs Us: … He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God … (2 Corinthians 1:21). Anointed is the signature of God showing that we have security, and authentically belong to God. Many people in Christendom worry a lot about whether or not they are really saved. Usually this is due to having an incorrect view as to how they became a Christian. They forget Who does the action and Who is the initiator of salvation. The Bible says that it is always God. Remember: we don’t find Christ, He finds us. We are lost,

Spiritual Growth > Truth > Eternal Perspective

and He is the seeker: “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). He first finds us, we respond to Him, and then He establishes us. That means He grabs hold of us and anoints us with His Spirit; He signs us so that we are authentically His. • His gift of salvation is gracious: But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name … (John 1:12). • His supply is inexhaustible: For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure (John 3:34). • His anointing is personal: But you have an anointing from

the Holy One, and you know all things (1 John 2:20).

It is so wonderful that we don’t need a mystical anointing from some teacher. The Holy Spirit signs us so that we are authentically God’s. Hallelujah! The Holy Spirit Seals His Servants

After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation (continued next page)

Living Hope is a 365 Day devotional to take you through the entire book of Revelation in ONE YEAR. The Revelation of Jesus Christ, the very last book of God’s Word to mankind, describes the final chapter in human history, confirming that Christ Jesus is the fulfillment of every promise that God has ever made. Paper Back (672 pages).

“In Living Hope for the End of Days, john Barnett has made the book of Revelation accessible to anyone, casting it in a wonderful, manageable set of daily devotions. These devotions will do far more than merely pique your curiosity about the book’s remarkable imagery. They will serve to enrich both your worship and your walk by prompting you to focus on the central figure of Revelation, Christ himself. So dig in on a regular basis to this mighty treasury that exalts the glory of our Lord.” - john MacArthur Pastor Grace Community Church (Sun Valley, CA)

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belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:9–10, emphasis added). In the verses above Jesus shows His love by wanting His servants with Him. Christ has a global desire to cry out His message. The 144,000 missionaries will go to the entire world and find the greatest response in history to the gospel—a numberless multitude will come to Christ. Because of His merciful love, Jesus wants lost people on earth to be with Him. Think about this: when you and I witness and share the gospel, we are extending Christ’s invitation to people whom He wants to live with Him forever. What a privilege! Why are the white-robed people there in verse 9? The Beast, the Antichrist, killed them. In fact, the Antichrist and his legions followed them around. Can you imagine being a missionary and having someone with an AK-47 standing behind you, ready to kill the people you lead to salvation? It would be hard to evangelize. Maybe that is why there are not more in the Muslim world coming to Christ because few missionaries are willing to go to them and be killed. But these 144,000 evangelists will boldly go forth to evangelize in spite of Antichrist’s agents spying on them, and in spite of seeing

those who come to Christ being martyred. They will be so zealous, and God’s love in Christ will be so powerful, that as all hell is breaking loose on the planet, countless people will be led to Christ. For they will realize that their true citizenship is in heaven, as Scripture tells us in Hebrews 11:13–16. Second Element of Salvation—The Spirit Seals His Servants: … Who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee (2 Corinthians 1:22a). The ancient world recognized the sealing of goods. People wore signet rings with distinctive markings on them. They would press their signet into soft wax or clay across the opening of a document, tomb, sealed box, and so on; it would bear an exact imprint of that signet ring, which signified that a representation of the owner was going with it. The Holy Spirit’s sealing of us is the believer’s security of divine ownership. In other words, we have the image of our owner transferred to us. We bear the image of Christ—our precious possession. As we yield to Him, we will look more and more like Him every day because the Holy Spirit will impress the image of Christ on us. We can’t escape this truth: as we age we will act more like whoever our “god” is. For

that reason, it grieves me as a pastor when I see professing Christians who do not look more like Christ every day. Instead, they idolize a current rock star, movie star, or sports figure. Although they may deny it, that person is their “god.” Who you admire is who you want to look like. If you admire the Lord Jesus Christ and belong to Him, as you view Him through the picture window of the Bible, you will want to look more like Him every day. When the Spirit seals us, it assures us of three things: We are verified—the image of the owner’s signet is transferred to us. We are signified—by the presence of the owner. If the owner could not be at a transaction in ancient times, his ring signified that he had been there in spirit at least. We are certified—the contents are authentic. We really have God’s life and have His image within us! Who or what do you serve? Is your “god” made in the image of man—or do you serve the authentic Lord God Almighty of the universe? The answer to that question determines your eternal dwelling place. ~

john Barnett has been teaching the Word of God for 31 years and is currently the Senior Pastor at Calvary Bible Church in Kalamazoo. Email john: jb@dtbm.org

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1. uit drinking expensive coffee. Do you really need to pay five dollars for a cup of coffee? The overwhelming majority of people cannot tell the difference between an inexpensive coffee and expensive name brand from coffee shops. The truth that no one wants to admit is that expensive coffee is a fad, and drinking it is just going along with the crowd. 2. Shop around for auto insurance. The average person can save anywhere between $65 and $85 a month on their car insurance if they spend a little time researching different companies and different prices.

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Pay off your credit cards. The interest rates on credit cards will eat your budget alive. You are simply throwing money in the toilet when you buy on credit and hand over free cash to the credit card companies. Shop around for better cell phone plans and make sure you cancel features you are not using or that you can live without. If you’re paying any sort of bank fees, you shouldn’t. Take time to find a bank who offers free checking, free online banking and just about free everything when it comes to the bank services. Quit buying prepackaged food. Bite sized, prepackaged, and conveniently-portioned-alreadyprepared foods are many times more expensive than regular foods that you prepare yourself. When you enter a parking lot, park near the street and far away from the building. This not only saves gas from driving around the parking lot, it also gives you a little exercise, which in turn will cut down on your food and medical expenses. Befriend your neighbors and learn to borrow and share items with each other. There is really no sense in every person having their own seldom used items or tools. Make a list of the items that you would like to have but are rarely used and see if you can’t get a group of friends to divide up the list and each one buy a separate item and then share them. Stop drinking soda pop. It costs money when you buy, it costs money when you lose productivity because of it, and it costs money and increased health care when it makes you fat and sick. Result: soft drinks cost you LOTS of money.

Personal Finances > Debt Reduction > Stewardship

Nobody wants to admit that expensive coffee is a fad and most can’t tell the difference anyway. 10. Don’t put a light bulb in every socket of a multi-light fixture. Often half the lights or even less will give you plenty of illumination. 11. Slice food very thin. Foods like cheese, breads, fruits and anything else you can slice go a lot further if you’re eating lots of little slices instead of big chunks. 12. Call all your credit card companies and ask them, no beg them, for a lower interest rate. Do not take no for an answer and request to speak to many different people before giving up. Often you will be able to get your credit card interest reduced to varying degrees.

13. Buy classic clothing that does not go out of style rather than spending top dollar for current fads. The most current and popular styles are always significantly more expensive than clothing that is simply classic in style but not on the cover of Hollywood magazines. 14. Have a list and a budget when you go shopping for food. If you know what you’re going to buy, you’re much more likely to control the cost of your grocery bill. 15. Be sure you go grocery shopping on a full stomach. If you start

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walking the aisles and your belly is growling, everything will look appetizing and you will buy twice as much as you intended. Just get rid of all those stinking credit cards. Don’t make up excuses about why you need one for emergencies or to build your credit or to get airline miles. Use a bank card instead of credit cards and quit flushing your money down the interest rate toilet. If you can’t get lower interest rates and haven’t paid off your credit cards, try to consolidate all your credit cards to the lowest interest card. Pay off the smallest debts first, and roll that payment into the next smallest debt. By doing this you see quick results and gain momentum in paying off your debt. Before buying software, check the Internet for free or open source versions. Most common software like word processors, spreadsheets, calculators or finance programs all have three versions available on the Internet. There are also many graphics and business programs available for free. Do not buy magazines off the rack. Either get a subscription which is usually heavily discounted or go to the library. Another way to read fresh magazine material is to read it online. Buy used books, go to the library or again choose reading material online. Any of these choices are a fraction of the cost of new. Quit smoking. It is hard to

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exaggerate not only the cost of cigarettes but also the long-term costs in health and productivity. This one choice alone can save hundreds of dollars a month. Find someplace cheaper to get haircuts. You can sneak around so your friends won’t see you go into the Supercuts, but using expensive salons and name brand hair care products is unnecessarily expensive. Cancel the gym membership. Full body workouts at home or at the park are not only just as effective, they are free. Sell all your home gym equipment. Forget treadmills, ellipticals, BowFlex and weight sets. Wind sprints, push-ups and pull-ups are better than anything you can do on a piece of equipment. Get to know your neighbors, share rides, not just to work but also to the store or out for recreational activity. A Deep Freeze. A freezer full of frozen vegetables, bulk prepared meals and left-overs uses very little electricity because it’s full of frozen food, and rarely changes temperature. It’s a great way to save by buying bulk meats and veggies. Thermostats. Programmable thermostats that allow you to set a room temperature and benefit from cool nights when windows can allow the breeze to cool a room during the warm months. With gas prices going haywire, it now pays to plan trips carefully. We live about 20 miles away from any real

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shopping areas, so it now costs us $10 every time we want to “run to town.” Turning several casual trips into one can save $20-40/week, or about $100/month… not exactly chump change. Left-overs. Gas goes up, food prices go up. Being more diligent and creative with leftovers can make a significant impact on your food budget. Cooking batches of meats (hamburger, sausage, chicken, etc) then freezing for later use can save both time and money. Old Fashioned Fun. Reading, going for walks, rocking on the porch, doing crafts… old fashioned fun saves lots of money over movies, dining out and shopping, AND it’s a lot healthier for your family (physically and spiritually). Find some friends either at work or neighbors who work in the same general vicinity as you and set up a rotating car pool. You can use email or classified ads to find people, as well as posting flyers in your neighborhood. Be creative. Someone might not live next door, but they might be PASSING BY your neighborhood on the way to work. On days you drive, they can leave their car at your house. Or you can just pay them for the gas. Keep your car tuned up, oil changed, and tires properly inflated so that you can get the maximum gas mileage at all times. Proper air pressure in tires can have a great effect on mileage. Run your A/C less. Save it for genuinely hot days or

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to give it away to the first person willing and able to come pick it up. Garage sales, estate sales and resale shops offer quality merchandise at extremely low prices. Clothing, furniture, games, home decorations, CDs... just about anything can be found. Save your change when you make a purchase. At the end of the year, you can accumulate a nice little chunk of money to help with Christmas shopping or other needs such as the heat bill. Use automatic and online bill pay systems. You not only save money with postage and envelopes, you save time which is money also. Use debit cards, not credit cards. Debit cards take the money directly out of your

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41. Stay out of the mall and stores except when you have a plan and need to be there. Shopping shouldn’t be a hobby. It’s much easier to not waste money when you aren’t bombarded by a mall full of ads. 42. Use CASH when mall shopping, grocery shopping, and for other entertainment like bowling, movies, golf, etc. It’s much easier psychologically to part with a piece of paper (check) or plastic (credit card) than to actual relinquish cold hard cash. It will make you most cost conscious and help you to budget better as you see funds dwindle. 43. “Craigslist” those items that are sitting in storage which you never use. They take up space which ultimately costs money. On Craigslist you can either charge a flat fee or offer

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when you’re stuck in hot, slow moving traffic. When you have a little speed, open the windows and use your “4x60 air conditioning” (four windows down at 60 miles per hour). Drive like “a little old man” - slow starts, easy stops, reasonable speed, don’t “gun” the gas pedal. This will greatly increase your gas mileage. Don’t waste your time or money or risk your car on gimmicks. Most additives are worthless, and outrageous claims of gas mileage are nonsense. Combine trips when possible. My wife and I plan to take care of other errands whenever we know we are forced to drive anyway. For example, we leave early (or go after) for some scheduled event to take care of a few quick shopping needs as well. Whenever you are forced to travel to a certain area of town, take a minute to consider if there are other things that are going to pop up soon that will cause you to drive to the same area. Call home before going home… my wife and I always try to call each other when we are already “out” somewhere. Frequently, this saves a trip. “Honey, I’m on the way home, do you need me to stop anywhere on the way home?” or “I had to run by Walmart, is there anything you need while I’m here?” Consider pooling trips with friends. Why drive to shop for groceries alone? Arrange with a neighbor to take turns driving every other time. Buy and sell at consignment stores and garage sales. It is amazing the bargains you can find and the nice things that others cannot use. Pare down your closets and feel better knowing you have only what you need and what you use.

Personal Finances > Debt Reduction > Stewardship

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bank account, and you do not pay interest on borrowed money, in fact, you probably make a little bit of interest on your money in the bank. Use the ATMs from your bank system which typically do not charge fees for withdrawals. If you must use an ATM outside of your system that charges fees, think into the future and determine if you’re going to need more money. If yes, withdraw it then to save from paying more fees in the future. Look into computer Internetbased phones like Vonage or Skype. Both services can be significantly cheaper than traditional or cell phonebased services. Consider dropping cable or satellite services or at least cancelling the extra channels and movie channels. Even basic cable has more choices than any person should waste their time trying to watch. Give serious thought to times that you can buy, walk or even ride public transportation. Not only does it save a lot of money in gas and maintenance, it will save you money as you increase your health and get more exercise. Break your “brand name” addiction. Whether it’s clothes, food or coffee, the truth is most name brands are no different or better than the discount brands. If people are honest, most of the time they want name brands so that other people will notice. It makes us look more in style and successful. Don’t be fooled into buying

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something because it’s on sale or there is a limited supply or offer. Marketers know that putting something on sale or implying you have a limited opportunity to purchase something creates an urgency to buy. People do not stop to thoroughly consider whether they really need it or not, and marketers hope people will forget that the very same items will turn right around and be in another urgent sale in the near future. It’s all marketing hype, and you have to learn not to be affected by. Don’t buy anything that you do not have the cash currently to buy. That means don’t borrow money from friends or family to buy consumer goods, and don’t buy them on credit cards. This one discipline alone will save you countless thousands of dollars per year. Do things for yourself like lawn care, simple car maintenance, basic handyman work and common manual labor. Not only do you save a lot of money, you also get good exercise and learn new skills. Actually use a budget. I know everyone hates this, but having a budget would keep you from spending money that you do not plan to spend. You either plan to spend your money, or it will disappear on its own. This one may sound funny, but learn to use the toilet at your job or school, or a public restroom before you go home. You save on toilet paper, water and electricity. Cancel magazine subscriptions, cable TV,

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even Internet if you aren’t genuinely getting your money’s worth. For occasional use of all of these, you can go to the library, restaurants and other places that offer them for free. Get rid of all but one phone, unless you need extra for business purposes. This whole thing we’ve got going today where every single member of the family has their own cell phone on top of a landline at home can be very expensive. Always try to bargain and get more than you paid for. The worst that can happen is someone can tell you “NO.” Learn to ask for a discount, learn to ask for extra items with your purchase and try to see if buying multiple items can get you a volume discount. Cancel your landline telephone if you use a cell phone. If your home Internet is dependent on purchasing a landline as well, which is often the case with DSL, consider going to a cable Internet service. Depending on your living situation, if you have a free room, consider having a housemate or roommate. If you find a good match, it can significantly reduce both parties’ household expenses. Try automatic savings. Automatically transfer or deposit regular amounts of your income into a savings account. This is an especially good idea for unannounced bonuses or gifts of money. This money becomes more out of sight, out of mind, and you’re less likely to spend it

before choosing to save it. 65. Stay current and educated on your credit score. While I discourage the use of credit cards, it is important that you pay other bills on time such as medical bills and utilities so that you will not have a negative effect on your credit score. This can save you a truckload of money on a mortgage interest rate. 66. Become disciplined about going through your house and selling the stuff you don’t really genuinely use or need. Not only can you bring in extra income, but it helps you develop a greater resistance to buying new things, and you save money not maintaining, insuring, cleaning and organizing stuff you don’t need.

Personal Finances > Debt Reduction > Stewardship

67. Do not purchase shipping or mailing supplies. The USPS has just about every type of box, envelope, padding and shipping materials that you could ever need and they will give it to you free. 68. Did you know there is a place, actually two, where endless amounts of books, magazines, even movies and software are available? They even have free Internet service and oftentimes music for free. Have you ever heard of this place? It’s called the community Library. 69. Make your own household cleaners. It doesn’t matter what name brand they are, they are usually made up of the same effective ingredients. Learn how to make cleaners with vinegar, baking soda

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or ammonia. Buy your own plastic spray bottles and mix them up for a fraction of what you buy name brand cleaners for. Do most of your laundry using cold water. This will save a bucket load of money and almost all of your clothes will come out just as clean. Keep your car tires properly inflated. This has a big impact on your fuel efficiency as well as being a safety issue. Be flexible on flight arrangements and you can save a heap of money using services like Priceline and Hotwire. Use the Internet to research car repairs. Often something can be fixed with an inexpensive part whereas a car mechanic may give you a more elaborate solution. For example, recently our van would not shift out of park. My first inclination was to go to a dealer to have it fixed because “obviously” something major was wrong. I took a few minutes to research it on the Internet and found out that it was a four dollar brake light switch that needed to be changed which took me five minutes. Use Restaurant.com to buy certificates for meals at participating restaurants at discounted rates. When eating out, try to get in before the evening dinner hour price increases occur, which is usually around four o’clock. Most of the time you can still get lunch prices before the dinner rush begins. Take your own snacks to work. Bringing a few Ziploc bags of snacks from home is a fraction of the cost of vending machines or concession stores. Take your lunch to work. Creating a new brown bag

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lunch is probably a pain in the butt every day, but learn to cook a little extra for dinner the night before and you’ll have a quick and nice meal to take for lunch the next day. Unplug and turn off lights, electronics, appliances, chargers and equipment when they are not in use. All those little fans, computer chips and lights use up electricity. Instead of buying expensive coffee at Starbucks, by a $10 coffee pot and keep coffee and creamer at your office. If you just have to have a more expensive coffee like Starbucks, those coffee brands can often be bought in bulk at places like Cosco and Sam’s which are still butt loads cheaper than buying them from the coffee shop. Brew coffee at home and invest in a high-quality coffee mug which you can take with you. Investigate mortgage refinancing. Depending on the terms and your plans for the house you’re in, the right refinancing situation can save thousands of dollars over the years. Make sure you’re maximizing the amount of money you are putting into things like 401(k) s, especially if your employer is matching. Not only are you getting a great return on your money, but it is also money that you’re not blowing on needless and impulsive purchases. Plan to have a baby. If you know you’re planning a family and going to have babies in the next two to three years,

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begin to look for the items you will need and carefully purchase them now at garage sales and clearance sales. You can save a ton of money if you don’t simply run out one Saturday morning and quickly buy everything you need for the new baby. This also gives you time to put the word out to people who might want to give away things like cribs, high chairs, strollers and baby clothes. People have so much of this kind of stuff, if they know you need it, you may not ever have to buy any of it. Now I know there are some of us who just can’t live without it, but if you can learn to drink water, you will save a lot of money giving up flavored beverages. If you’re fighting the urge to cut back on dining out in restaurants, don’t forget to add in the expense of gasoline in use of your transportation. Maybe realizing that restaurant food is 10 to 20 times more expensive than home prepared food will give you the motivation you need to cut back. Plan for holiday spending. Make a budget months ahead of time, list out exactly what you’re going to buy and stick to that list. If you holiday shop impulsively at the last minute you’ll always spend many times more than you would have if you make a list and a plan. Good health saves money. Drink plenty of water and stop drinking anything with sugar in it immediately. Good health saves money. Get

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off your butt and go out and do some work in the yard, go for a walk, learn to spend most of your time being active. The savings in health care and increased productivity will amount to tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars in your life. Good health saves money. Reduce the stress in your life, slow down and do a little less. Most of all, get out of debt because financial stress is the number one stress in most families and marriages. Good health saves money. Eat real food like raw vegetables, chicken and fish. Prepackaged, convenience and fast foods are pure junk and whatever time and money you save now you’ll pay for many times over in health costs and lack of productivity. Look into bundling services like Internet, phone and cable. You can often get a lower bundled rate than what you are paying separately for each. Cancel extra phone features that you are honestly not using like conference calling, three way calling or caller ID. Learn to use coupons, but be smart about using them. Don’t drive 12 miles across town to save $.50 on a can of beans. Keep your eyes out or free entertainment. Often there are free concerts, shows and events going on that will reduce your budget spent on movies and dining out. Make sure you pay your bills on time so that you are not getting hit with late fees or increased interest rates. Make sure you are only

purchasing the exact amount or a little less of perishable items. Throwing away meat and vegetables can greatly increase your food budget. It never costs you money to run out of those and choose to eat something else. 98. Purchase bulk items when appropriate. You can save a lot of money buying a case of something at a discount club if they are stored properly and you will actually use them. However if you buy a case of an item and throw out half of it, you’re obviously costing yourself money. 99. Learn to eat foods that genuinely increase both your energy and your health levels. Increased energy means increased productivity, which translates into increased income. Increased health results in decreased medical

Personal Finances > Debt Reduction > Stewardship

bills and health-related expenses. Together both of these can have a very high positive net result. 100. Have a set time to manage your bills once or twice a month. By having a disciplined routine to manage paying bills and tracking your budget, you’ll save a lot of money by not making mistakes, forgetting to pay something, or losing track of your finances. 101. Regularly view either your online bank ledger or your credit card statements to make sure you are not being charged for things you didn’t purchase and to keep a realistic view of how much money you’re spending and what you’re spending it on. 102. Regularly review your statements to make sure you’re not being charged

for fees or services that are incorrect or that you have not applied for. This is especially true for credit cards and phone bills where lots of little fees show up and hopefully go unnoticed. 103. Set aside some money for impulse purchases and to just simply blow. There’s nothing wrong with just having some money to go shopping or to spend on whatever you want as long as you have planned that amount of money and don’t exceed it. It’s when you do not have a plan for impulse buying that you end up spending a lot more than you should have. 104. Check to see if you can get a discount, reduced rate or some sort of reward or paying off a bill, charge or loan early. ~

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serious.money serious.family your comments FulFill Your Vows serious.extras By Steve Cummings

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ome say the most beautiful sight in the world is the innocent and precious face of a child. Others ask, “Is there anything more beautiful in life than a young man and a young woman clasping hands in the path of marriage, promising a lifetime of love and commitment to one another?” A bride has a special ray of beauty on her wedding day that is matched on no other day in her life. Is there anything more beautiful than that?

Allow me to suggest that there may be something even more beautiful. It is the sight of a man and woman in their twilight years finishing their life-journey, still committed to one another and the vows they made so many years ago

on their wedding day. The words, “…to have and to hold, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, till death do us part…” were not just words they hurriedly and thoughtlessly repeated at their wedding ceremony so they could rush off to the honeymoon, but principles that became the bedrock of their marriage and their life. Their hands are gnarled due to arthritis, or possibly from years of hard work in their dedicated attempt to raise and support a family. Yet, those gnarly hands are still clasped. Their faces are seamed, but still radiant. Their hearts are tired, yet satisfied. They are stronger than they have ever been even though the world perceives weakness due to their grey hair, and wrinkled, and tender skin. Through the struggles of life they have proved their unfailing love and have vindicated marriage from the jeers of the critics and cynics who proclaim, “Marriage just doesn’t work anymore!” In this washed- out disposable world in which we live, where people’s commitments to one another in marriage are taken so lightly, the people who encourage me the most are those among us who have remained faithful to one another in marriage for 30, 40, 50 years, or even longer. It is a wonderful thought to think they still get goose bumps around each other. While visiting a local park recently I saw an elderly couple holding hands while walking and affectionately smiling at one another. Often, while I am in the

pulpit preaching, I gaze out into the audience and see many of our senior members holding hands. If you pay attention, you’ll see this scene every day, somewhere. In my opinion this is one of the most beautiful sights to behold, and I am encouraged by it. In this simple act of harmony, I see the results of years of trust, honor, forgiveness, dedication, faith in each other, total commitment, and above all--love. It was a little over 21 years ago that I married my bride, Deidra. Since then, my most favorite thing to do has been to fall more deeply in love with her every day. She makes it so easy to do. As the song goes, “How sweet it is to be loved by you.” On the day we got married, I told her that if she ever left me I was going with her. It’s total commitment.

Marriage > Parenting > Communication > Recreation

My parents passed from this life several years ago, my mother in 1993 at the age of 65, and my father in 2001 at the age of 73. However, before they died, they left a legacy of love to their seven children. They were married for 47 years, and just like the wind, I can almost hear them whisper to one another, “I still love you, sweetheart, and I always will! That kind of love never fails, and never dies. The testimony of many who live among us and many who have gone on before us speaks loudly, “Fulfill your vows!” ~

Steve Cummings is a full-time minister and life strategies coach, who conducts family and communication workshops, instructing people on how to improve all aspects of their interpersonal relationships. Email Steve: steve@tusculum.org

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ow do we, who are so imperfect, even begin to perform one of the most difficult tasks in life— parenting? We begin by seeing our great God as He is, and then, in the power of His Spirit, we emulate Him. Though we will sometimes fail as His students, we can always point our families to their Perfect Father. The perfect father would be one who knows everything about you, and still loves you. The perfect father would always be on your side. He would be big enough for anything, and never ever let you down. Of course, that description can fit only one Person—God the Father, as declared by Christ, His dear Son.a Jesus introduced us to Him as our Perfect Father. 1. God Our Father Is ALLSEEING: “Your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly” (Matthew6:4b; see also

Matthew 6:6b and 6:18c). When you fear that you don’t know enough to get the job done— remember who you work with! Nothing escapes our heavenly Father’s notice! Jesus calls Him our “Father who sees all of our secrets.” Whenever we keep our charitable deeds secret, prayers a private act of worship, or fasting strictly between us and the Lord, our Perfect Father sees, and will reward us accordingly. He is always “keeping watch on the evil and the good” (Proverbs 15:3b). Yet, even though we fail Him at times, He still loves us. What a comfort to have God as our Perfect Father, and to know that He is on our side! 2. God Our Father Is ALLPROVIDING: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (James 1:17). When you feel completely inadequate, remember that we are invited to draw upon our Supplying Father, whose resources are limitless. Have you met and entered into communion with our Father of Mercy? Oh, how much He loves you—and is supremely on your side! 3. God Our Father Is ALLPOWERFUL: “Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected [us], and we paid [them] respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?” (Hebrews 12:9). This “Father of our spirits” is powerful, and we should therefore trust in His strength to deliver

Marriage > Parenting > Communication > Recreation

Remember that we are invited to draw upon our Supplying Father. us—even during times of correction. Chastening is always intended for our good; our Perfect Father is able to make us victorious because He is big enough for anything! 4. God Our Father Is NEVER-FAILING: “… the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow or turning” (James 1:17b). When you feel like you have failed again—remember that He never does. His name “Father of lights” reminds us that our God is the Creator

of the sun, moon, and stars.b However, unlike these “lights” that are subject to movement and change, the incredible truth is that our great God is changeless. He can never be anything less than absolute perfection! In everyday language, that means He is the Father who will never let us down. Therefore, we can constantly be at rest as we place all our hopes in our Secure Father. 5. We Should Imitate God and Those He Uses

as Examples: “Therefore, be imitators of God, as dear children” (Ephesians 5:1). So we have partnered with our Perfect God and we can accomplish all He calls us to do. To help us know how, He has given us His Word to glean insights from other dads who have done things God’s way—especially fathers of the Word. We are therefore going to look at four godly habits to emulate, as demonstrated

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in the lives of these biblical models: Job, Noah, Abraham, and Joseph. How does God—through the lens of Scripture— portray these Word-filled men of the past? When He took their “pictures,” what images stood out most clearly? I am delighted to say that their wonderful habits are not outdated, but can be followed by us in the twentyfirst century as well! Four men, four methods, four examples—God is so good. He tells us what to do, and then shows us how to do it. He then provides His grace and encouragement to go out and imitate the same godly characteristics. So as you read about the habits of these Word-filled dads, I exhort you to carefully analyze what they did, and then ask the Lord to guide you in doing the same. The Book of Job is perhaps the oldest book in the world. It is probably the clearest view into the spirit world, the spiritual side of parenting, and the cosmic proportion of conflicts we face as parents. From Job’s life example, we can learn how to copy his habit of prayer, and by the power of God’s Spirit, start making it characteristic of our own lives. 1. Job Prayed for His Children’s Activities “So it was, when the days of feasting had run their course, that

Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings [according to] the number of them all. For Job said, ‘It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.’ Thus Job did regularly” (Job 1:5, Emphasis added). Note these words: “when the days of feasting.” This indicates that Job prayerfully followed the lives of his children. He knew what was going on in their lives—their cycle of house visits, parties, get togethers, and so on. He was in touch daily with where they were, and where they were headed. Job followed his children around in his heart, because he had a godly concern and love for them. You and I will never pray effectively for those who are not regularly on our hearts. Do you follow your children’s lives in this same manner? Part of friendship is sharing what’s going on in our lives. If our

sons and daughters become our brothers and sisters in Christ—the next step is friendship. We stay in touch by love. When apart, we share their days joyfully by praying for them. We ask them to keep us posted so we know what we can be asking the Lord to do. This closeness is only earned by a loving friendship they have experienced with you . 2. Job Prayed for His Children’s Purity “So it was, when the days of feasting had run their course, that Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings [according to] the number of them all. For Job said, ‘It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.’ Thus Job did regularly” (Job 1:5, Emphasis added). Job prayerfully sought the personal consecration of his children. This speaks of his high priestly role at the head

of his family. He went to God seeking their purity before the Lord. We likewise need to know our children, and seek their sanctification. As fathers, we should tell them when they are out of line, immodest, heading toward sin, and so on. Word-filled men will know the spiritual status of their children, and be prayerfully caring about their growth toward Christlikeness. How can you do this? By asking the Lord to make you sensitive to their struggles, their concerns, their fears, their anticipations. And then, after you have both remembered and prayed about these areas, ask your children how you can better encourage and support them. This will open up a new level

Marriage > Parenting > Communication > Recreation

of your relationship with them. I write these things down for my family in my prayer journal. (To help you get started, Appendix B has sample pages.) Then, as I read the Word, verses actually leap from its pages and into my heart. I pray those verses, asking the Lord to do what He promised in what I found for them. Afterwards, I share a verse or a principle from God’s Word that touches their lives. Do you care about the consecration of your children? How about your wife? Then ask the Lord to open His Word to you—for them! 3. Job Prayed for His Children’s Relationship With God “So it was, when

the days of feasting had run their course, that Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings [according to] the number of them all. For Job said, ‘It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.’ Thus Job did regularly” (Job 1:5, Emphasis added). Job prayerfully offered himself to God as an intercessor for his family. Every morning, without fail, he rose early to offer sacrifices on their behalf. This habit wasn’t just “talk”; it was work! Prayer is much like holding something for someone we

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love, and making sure that it is guarded carefully. Have you offered yourself to God as an intercessor for your family? 4. Job Prayed for His Children’s Hearts “So it was, when the days of feasting had run their course, that Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings [according to] the number of them all. For Job said, ‘It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.’ Thus Job did regularly” (Job 1:5, Emphasis added ). Job prayerfully looked at his family from God’s perspective. This godly dad was so vitally concerned about his children’s inner spiritual lives that he cried out to God for them! Have you started doing this, Dad? Job kept himself aware of the constant pressures of the world, the flesh, and the devil. He wanted pure children, a holy family, and strong worshipers of God Almighty. He diligently watched over their lives, trying to see them from the inside out. We likewise ought to sometimes look at our children as they will be, instead of as they are right now. After all, God does that for us! In Ephesians 1:3-6, being seated with Christ refers to our future glorified condition, and the Lord relates to us on that basis—never overlooking

sin, but always seeing us as we shall be, by His grace. Do you compassionately look at your children as they will become—or only at their present immaturity? 5. Job Never Stopped Praying for His Children “So it was, when the days of feasting had run their course, that Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings [according to] the number of them all. For Job said, ‘It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.’ Thus Job did regularly” (Job 1:5, Emphasis added). Job prayerfully persisted in his prayer ministry for his family. He was a great dad because he persevered in prayer— throughout their entire lives. The way to success in any endeavor is to get started, and not quit. Job not only started following their lives, offering intercessory prayers along the way, but he also wouldn’t stop. Therefore, he was ready for the unexpected death of his children, because he had prepared them for it every day. Have you started? Keep on. Have you quit? Get started again. Fathers of the Word will be like Job who interceded prayerfully for his family. He had five objectives: 1. Job followed what was going on in his children’s lives; 2. Job

cared about their personal lives being consecrated; 3. Job personally stood as priest of his family by offering atoning sacrifices for their sin in general; 4. Job looked not just at appearances but at their hearts; and 5. Job continually watched over his family with spiritual persistence. Godly fathers in tune with the Scriptures will know their children deeply, personally, and directly. They will get involved in making sure they stay pure, and stand ready to seek their repentance and restoration as needed. Godly fathers will look at heart attitudes, and will not ever stop! Noah models another facet of the Word-filled dad because he obeyed. Have you ever wondered how Noah ever did it? Every other family on earth was losing their children, who had all “gone to the devil”— literally! But Noah’s children did not. Why was that? It was God’s grace through a man who had responded and cultivated a heart for God. There is a pattern to his life we all would do well to note! Job was a great dad because he prayed! Noah was considered great because he obeyed. ~ This article is an excerpt from John Barnett’s Book: Joy of a Word Filled Family. Visit www.dtbm.org to purchase the book.

Our ads are interactive... click on any ad to visit their website or blog With a made-for-TV kind of twist, husband and wife duo Joey+Rory only started performing as a duo for the audition of CMT’s hit series, Can You Duet, in early 2008but you’d never know it. Bringing beautiful harmonies, top-notch songwriting plus their natural joyfulness, authenticity and romance to traditional country music, Joey+Rory quickly became fan favorites on the show. As finalists, their rendition of “Cheater Cheater” earned them a huge response and went on to become an internet phenomenon. Now signed to Vanguard/Sugar Hill Records alongside a venerable roster of alternative country, bluegrass and Americana greats, Joey+Rory’s musical journey together is just beginning.

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Love Is Not Self Conscious - When your kid gets a bloody nose because of chemo and throwing up every ten

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I Lub You Daddy

Abby, sweet little thing, will walk up to us out of the blue, hug my leg and say with great conviction, “I... lub... you... Daddy”. When she says that, she is hugging my leg, laying her head on me, and it comes out like a great big sigh, as if she is very tired and now finally everything is okay. It is so sweet.

‘Cause I’m a Stinky Little Kid

We have this thing with the two babies (Abby and Landis) where we hug them and say, “I love you so much. I love you too much. Do you know why I love you too much?” To this they reply: “Because I’m a stinky little kid.” Don’t ask me how or why this came about, I don’t

minutes, you don’t care about how it looks when you do something to make them smile.

remember, but it’s what we do. Other people hear it and either think it’s funny or sweet (or weird!)

Sign Language

My wife and I taught our kids sign language when they were a few months old to help them learn to communicate. They could say “please”, “more” and other simple words even before they could speak. It was really cute and helpful. Michelle and I often respond with “I love you more...” when the other says “I love you”. Because we were teaching the kids sign language for “more”, the “more” sign became our secret way to say “I love you” and it meant “I love you more”. We could say “I love

you more” across the room or driving away using our little sign. That’s right, I’m a sap. Don’t tell any of my ex-Drill Sergeant buddies. Here are some things that our readers wrote about:

You’re Sponge Bob

littleaboutalittle.blogspot.com We tell our kids we love them all the time - maybe too much if that is possible. I can only think of one thing out of the ordinary that my son does (since my daughter is really just developing her language skills). Sometimes, when I tell my son I love him, he gets a little twinkle in his eye and responds with the following: “Mommy, you’re a princess.

Mommy, you’re Snow White. Mommy, you’re Sleeping Beauty. Mommy, you’re Tinkerbell.” All to which, I respond with “Thank You.” Then, he gets that really bright twinkle in his eye as the corners of his mouth begin to curl up into that devilish smile of his, and he says “Mommy, you’re Sponge Bob.” He then gets tickled like crazy. He has turned an ordinary exchange of a few powerful words into a game we will always remember - and that is just one of the reasons I love that kid beyond words.

Wook At Me

crazeescotts.blogspot.com When Maeci was little, around 2, she would grab our

Marriage > Parenting > Communication > Recreation

face in her little hands and say, “Wook at me....” When we looked at her, she’d say, “I wuv you berry good.” Now that she’s 12, sometimes, especially when she’s being her grouchy pre-teen self, I’ll grab her face and say, “Wook at me.....I wuv you berry good.” It always gets a chuckle and reminds me of days gone by. After watching “Nacho Libre,” we all loved the part where he writes the nun a note and signs with XOxOOXXOXO and it says (big hug, big kiss, little hug, big kiss...etc) So we almost always sign notes to each other with varying sized X’s & O’s! I was reminded of this today, when I visited another blog, and she ended her post with the same thing.

Good Momma

mastomama.blogspot.com When Gavin is in trouble and on time out, he is usually crying his little eyes out and screaming because he is so mad that he got in trouble. He will go from super mad and combative to a sad, cute puppy dog with teary eyes and ask: Gavin: “Mommy, do you still love me?”....sob, sob... Me: “Yes, baby, of course I still love you!”. Big hugs and kisses.... Gavin: “Because when we are mad at each other we still love each other, right?” Me: “Yes, baby, that’s right.” Gavin: “Good mama....

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serious.money serious.family Thecomments Ways We Say... cont’d your serious.extras when I am mad at you mama....I still love you. Okay?!” He melts my heart, he has such a sweet and sensitive soul!

me.” Of course, my hubs is so understanding that he was not offended and we had a great laugh about it. I love him so much!

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Not Listening

I tell my husband several times a day that I love him. I tell my dogs several times a day that I love them. B tells me and shows me all the time how much he loves me. Rarely, I just hear him, rather than listen. Oops. Early in our marriage (like, oh, 4 months ago), this conversation took place while watching TV: Mumbles from B: “Blah blah blah” was all I heard. Me: “But I think we should have communicated about that sooner. Oh well.” I thought he had been talking about how our schedules had clashed that day and ended up leaving our doggies alone for 7 hours (something we HATE doing and avoid if at all possible). He did not say anything back to me and when I finally found his eyes, he was just staring at me and burst out laughing. Me: “What is so funny about that? I hate leaving the dogs alone that long.” B: “All I said was ‘I love you’ and you did not even hear

One Love At A Time

Brendan is learning a lot these days. He knows what love is, but he hasn’t figured out that he can love more than one person at a time. Typically, he’ll come up to me and say “I love mommy!” and one of the girls will ask if he loves them, and he’ll say no. Or, if he’s in trouble for something like pulling all of his sheets off the bed or all of the pillows off the couch, Gabbi will usually come to his rescue. He will walk up to me all huffy and tell me “I love Gabbi!” which, of course, if you can only love one person at a time, means I’m off the love list.

Competing Love

kelliebeans-zoo.blogspot.com Circumstances, like too few bedrooms or a very sleepy working mommy, powerless to return little late-night visitors back to their beds, always seemed to lead to our kids sleeping in our bed all-too often when they were toddlers. When they got to be three-ish, and their nighttime squirminess became more

than we could stand, we started The Official Big-Kid Bed Transition. It was during this time that the bedtime routines grew longer and longer as each one anticipated a long night alone. One of the best things to come out of that tough time, though, was the three unique ways each of my Fantastic Three and I say “I love you.” When Courtney was little I taught her the one-handed sign for I love you. I remember looking up in the rear-view mirror and seeing her in her car seat, showing me “our sign.” It was also a part of our bedtime routine. In time, it grew into this: “I love you” with the hand sign, “with all my heart,” with 3 pats on our hearts, we’d blow a kiss, and “Grandad waves,” when we’d do the finger-scrunching wave my dad always does. She’s 14 now and we still do this. In fact, when she spends the night with her friends, she texts me before she goes to sleep with an “all my heart, Mom.” Delaney’s a competitor with maybe just a smidge of manipulator in her. One night, before bedtime, I told her, “I love you all the way around the world and back again.” Her response: “Oh, yeah? Well I love you all the way around the world three times and back again.”

With that, she triggered my competitive streak. “Well, I love you to the tippy-top of the very tallest mountain in the world and back down again.” Delaney: “I love you to the very bottom of the deep ocean and back again.” Me: “Ooh, that’s a good one! Well, I love you all the way up to the moon and back again.” Delaney: “Hmmm. Well, I love you all the way up to Heaven and back again.” We had a winner. To this day, saying goodnight to now 8 year-old Delaney includes “up to Heaven and back again, that’s how much I love you!” Even when he was a young two, Jay had a penchant for humor. I’d ask him, “How much does Jay love his

Marriage > Parenting > Communication > Recreation

mommy?” He’d say, “A teeny-tiny bit,” and hold out his fingers to show me just how teeny-tiny. He loved it because I’d always scrunch up my face and ask, “What??!!” in a silly, high-pitched voice. Then he’d hold out his arms really big and say, “Aww, I mean a whole lot!” and throw his arms around me for a big hug. After the hugs, he’d ask, “How much does Mommy love her Jay?” and we’d switch roles. Back and forth we still go, until he’s “ready for sleeps.”

I Love You Back

thehixsonfamily.blogspot.com “I love you back”... One day, while enjoying some snuggle time and a book

together, Brennan turned to me and said, “I love you, Momma”, to which I replied, “I love you back”. Several days later I said, “I love you B.”, He quickly turned to me with his charming little smile and bright blue eyes and said, “I love you back”. It’s “our thing” now :o) Squeeze three times... Way back when, before we were married, Josh told me that when he was a little boy he and his dad would say “I love you” by either 3 hand squeezes or 3 taps, etc. One squeeze for “I”, one for “love” and one for “you”. After he shared that story, we were holding hands in the car and he squeezed my hand 3 times. It’s been “our thing” ever since! ~

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serious.family your comments serious.extras The Funny Things Our Kids Say

ach month we go back and find some of the comments and feedback from our blogs that we think you wil enjoy reading. We never cease to be amazed at the good stuff readers respond with. The following are excerpts from “Funny Things Our Kids Say.”

keep from busting a laugh. We’re horrible parents. I know from the looks we were getting.

Abby Doing CrAps...

MCKMAMA sAiD...

Not what you think... she’s really doing CRAFTS but she cannot pronounce it correctly.

Our oldest son, calling to me from the backseat of our car: “Mama? My pants are getting cold.”

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Now I know the folks who got offended when I said “buttcrack” in a previous post will probably really get sideways about me typing “craps” on our blog, but it is screamin’ funny when you hear her say it. “Mommy, can I color and do craps?”

We are, after all, the house “...where laughter lives.” I know my limits, so I won’t tell you about how our oldest daughter pronounced FORK when she was two, doing so loudly for the first time in a restaurant. We almost got kicked out because she kept asking for her “FORK” and we couldn’t

Now on to what the readers shared with us:

Me: “Oh, your pants are cold?” Apparently, I misheard him. So he corrects me: “NO, my PENIS is getting cold.” “Oh! Your penis is getting cold?” Apparently, I misheard him again. He corrects me: “NO!! My penis is getting OLD!”

BigMac - MckMama’s oldest

nAnCy gEnE bAXTEr sAiD...

My son used to like to play with the “maggots” on the refrigerator (magnets). I am sure people thought we lived in filth!

“Your penis is getting old?”

KArEn sAiD...

“Yes.”

When Parker was three we were out running errands and he shouted from the back seat “Hey Karen, I have a

“Uhm. Okay.”

penis in my underpants.” He has had a red rash on his face, I was looking at it, and said out loud, “I wonder what those are.” Parker responded, “Maybe they are pickles.” I had no clue what pickles had to do with the bumps. Then he said “you know like you have on your face”..he meant PIMPLES... sHELLiE D. sAiD... Our newly adopted daughter from China enjoys eating “porn on the cob”! CoLoUrDUJoUr sAiD... When our daughter was about 6 or 7, she was always saying some funny stuff...at one point her father asked her, “Elizabeth, where did you come from?” to which she replied, “Out of your wife’s body.” T H E Q FA M i Ly sAiD... My oldest 2 boys (4 and 6 years old) call “goggles” “gobbles”. They are adamant that they are right. My kids call their dad “Abba”. Well, when my oldest was about 3, he had a new teacher in his Sunday School class. She was trying to get a feel for each child and who they were, she asked Michael what his daddy’s

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serious.family your comments serious.extras name was. Michael looked at her, very confused, and said “I don’t have a daddy”. The assistant in his class knew us well and laughed as she told us the story when we picked him up. Needless to say, we made sure all the kids knew, from that point on, that their Abba is their daddy;) n H o WA r D s A i D . . . When my oldest (now almost nine) was about 2, we were driving down the road. From the back seat I hear, “Ohhh noooooooo!” Not being able to turn around and look, and trying not to panic, I asked what was wrong. She said, “I got peetos on the cuttas” (Cheetos on the fingers)

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I told her to lick the cheese off of her fingers. She said, “I can’t!” And I asked why.

Her response: “It hurts!” I had no idea why it hurt to lick the Cheetos from her fingers but I had to exit the interstate and pull over, get out of the car and wipe her hands off with a baby wipe. I will never forget that, and we always talk about

Fun With Craps - Abby enjoys doing “craps” and coloring

peetos on the cuttas when we’re eating Cheetos now! LisA sAiD... We have always used the correct words for body parts, all body parts. So one day driving down the street, my 4 year old daughter asks me, “Mommy, why do girls have chinas and boys have peanuts?” I could not stop laughing. About a month ago, I was trying to get her tights pulled up. I put my hand sideways between her legs and pushed it up to try and get them where they should be. She

said to me, “Mommy, don’t break my china!” I again could not stop laughing. b E T H A n D ryA n sAiD... My son told me once I was “stretching” him out....he meant “stressing” him out. JiLL sAiD... Several of our children are from Guatemala - 5 to be exact. Well, a few words have stayed with them - one is “bo bo” you know for going #2. Well, our 2 yr. old Noah loves to say this all of

The Best of Your Comments & Feedback the time. We know he gets it - but says it for everything. When someone behind gets close he sniffs them and says “BO BO” very loud! Our family can’t help but fall down laughing. I homeschool the children in our kitchen and Noah usually sits in his high chair with things to do. My back is to him most of the time. Well, one day while writing on the board, I got close enough for him to put his head right on my behind -immediately he screams, “Mommy BO BO!” The children and I could barely contain ourselves. He, of course, was laughing so hard too. He really just wants to hug you and in no way is trying to say you stink - but who knows that! He has done this to a few of us in public too - LOUDLY!

2 C H i n A 4 Ay L A sAiD...

ALLEEn sAiD... Gabriella got sick and threw up for the first time since she was a baby (so, it was the first time she was aware of it). She had eaten spaghetti for dinner that night. So, after she got sick she told us, “I spilled my noodles”. A couple of days later, I got the same lovely virus. She said to my husband, “Did mommy spill her noodles?”. We cracked up.

Our youngest daughter was excited about going to kindergarten this year. Her 1st grade sister told her she

My kids have both said some of the expected “crazy” things from time to time, and right now the only one that comes to mind is from yesterday, as my son and I walked through the hallway where the wedding picture of my husband and me hangs. I believe my darling 4-year old’s exact words were, “Mommy, what HAPPENED to you?” Apparently I look just as tired as I feel :-) WA i T i n g A r M s sAiD... My four year old cannot for the life of him say chewing gum. He is always so proud of himself when he talks about my “shooing gum”. His favorite Bible story is Adam and Eve and the sneaky snake. Recently when I give him apples, he always wants to feed me a bit and tells me to eat a piece so that “I can be like God”! Need help soon for an appropriate response to a four year old before his theology gets totally warped! ~

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K E L Ly s A i D . . .

bECKy sAiD...

When my oldest daughter was around 4 years old she thought our Pastor was great. She talked about him all the time, but couldn’t pronounce his name right (Pastor Crabtree) she called him Pastor Crappy. To my dismay we were standing in the entry way at church, and she yells loudly, “There is

My Olivia is constantly cracking us up with her words. One day we were talking about the planet earth and Ayla (my youngest) said “Oarss” and Olivia felt it necessary to correct her. She said “No Aya, NOT OARS it is ERFF, say ERFF Aya.” Ayla repeated “Oarss” and Livi got so frustrated (or as she says it FRUDERATED.) with her sister.

had to learn the pledge of allegiance. So I walk into the playroom and hear, “I pledge allegiance, to the flag of the mumble mumble of America. And if it hollers let it go.....”

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Our sweetest one is Dear Heavenly Fodder.

Pastor Crappy!” Everyone around laughed, and he came over and said, “It is okay that she calls me that as long as she doesn’t turn it around and call me “Crappy Pastor.” Everyone got a big kick out of it.

Abby’s Fifty Boyfriends:

bby is a Dude magnet. For the longest time she only had one boyfriend. Then she picked up a couple more from some of our friends down in Texas who have a herd of boys to choose from (that’s her with one of them on the cover of this issue). So she was cruising along with about the normal number of boyfriends a typical four year old with leukemia has until one fateful day when she got a 50pack of strappin’ studs, all for free. I guess there is hope after all… That’s what I wrote when we found out 50 frat guys from

Oklahoma University were headed over to our house to bring Abby a present and visit her. If it had been a group of girls, everyone would think “how sweet,” but for college guys to do something so kind and be so selfless was VERY heartwarming. Here’s the scoop: We got a call a couple of weeks ago from John Williamson, who attends Wildwood Community Church. He said he heard Mark Robinson talking about Abby and just really felt like doing something for her. He informed us he and the entire frat wanted to plan something special not only for Abby, but our whole family. “How nice,” we thought. We really didn’t give it a

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By Brent Riggs

SigEps BigHearts

50 Pack of Boyfriends - Okay, that’s not all fifty but it’s all we could fit in our living for the shot. The fella straight up ^ in the

back, to the right of the Christmas tree, is Brad Gray, who really put his heart into helping Abby.

whole lot of thought after that, primarily because we’re so busy running Abby back and forth to the hospital. On Thursday I’m sitting out in my office working, and my wife comes rushing in, “There are 50 guys from that frat headed to our house right now!” Holy cow! We had no idea what to expect. I go out to the front yard and look down the road, and sure enough there is a caravan of cars pulling up to our house. I could tell they all had the same question, “Where in the world are we supposed to park?” I start directing them to pull into the grass along the edges of the front yard as our

driveway will hold maybe three automobiles. The guys all pile out of their vehicles, and the mass of humanity makes their way through our front door like rush hour traffic through a toll gate. Once inside, we all start introducing ourselves, and of course the first thing I do is grab my camera. Come to find out, several of them had traveled 12 hours the day before to go get Abby a big playhouse for the back yard. The drove TWELVE HOURS, yes 12, to get a present for a little girl they had never met. They showed up, unloaded it, and set it up in the back yard. One group of guys took

our 17 and 16 year old out to an OU/USC basketball game. Another group stayed at our house for a couple of hours and played with Landis, Sami and Abby (our sister was there caring for Abby medically). Another group went out and bought presents for the kids for Christmas. Another group took Michelle and me out to dinner - made us reservations and paid for the whole thing. It was truly heartwarming and amazing. We could not have been more impressed or more touched by what they did. I decided I wanted to get to know them better and once I did, I knew I wanted you to get to know them better. They W R I T E U S AT: L E T T E R S @ S E R I O U S L I F E M A G A Z I N E . C O M

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john Williamson Blue jacket, far right; he’s the leader of this rag tag gang.

SigEp, cont’d. are an exceptional group of guys, and I was very happy to sit down and interview them about the fraternity.

Tell me about your fraternity…

Our founding principles are virtue, diligence and brotherly love, especially brotherly love. I think what kind of sets us apart is our focus on these virtues. It’s probably not the thing that people notice most about us, but those things are what drive and motivate us. We’re not just a social fraternity, although we do a lot of social events. We really focus on teaching the true meaning of brotherly love and how to be a man.

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Tell me a little more about how you guys found out about Abby and decided to do something for her…

It started out with our pledge program which is a list of planned activities, events and service that all the pledges or involved in. The pledge program is designed to develop and teach the virtues to the guys coming into the fraternity. We were trying to come up with something new to do, and the idea about Abby got tossed out there and then it just kind of took on a life of its own. We have 60 guys in the program, so that’s a lot of time and resources and we wanted to make sure that we use it in a way that was worthy of that time and those resources. We wanted to show them through serving others how we could be a blessing and help somebody outside of ourselves.

What are some examples of some of the things you either have done or you’re going to do? We have a dodge ball tournament once a year among sororities that we host, and the proceeds go to some sort of charity. In the spring, we have an event called Coffeehouse. Some of the student musicians come and play, and we charge admission. It’s really huge and is one of the biggest

things we do each year to raise money for charity. Last year, we teamed up with the Tri-Delta sorority. I think we’re going to do that again this year and send it to St. Jude’s. We do a lot of service work, and for the last two years we have won the highest honor for that called the President’s Trophy. The trophy is given for combination of service, multicultural events, parades, campus involvement and other things. We are involved in

community service projects all over the Oklahoma City area. Last year we got to go to a nursing home to help paint and clean. A few of us got the chance to eat lunch with the

up the entire place. So what we did for Abby and your family was one of these pledge projects where weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re trying to teach a lesson on learning to serve other

residents, and it was apparent how thrilled they were to have someone there to visit them. Another time we went to an older neighborhood where we were able to clean up, trim, and help make the yards look nice. The elderly residents were overjoyed by not only what we did for them, but for our presence. Once we went to a homeless shelter where people could come get a meal and spend the night, and we were able to repaint and clean

people. Brad Gray was the one who kind of jumped on the idea and became the leader of it and really put his heart and soul into it. Brad is the one who was so dedicated to finding Abby just the right playhouse that he was willing to drive several hours all the way to Texarkana to pick up one that he had called around and found. As far as he was concerned, it was going to be the perfect playhouse or no playhouse.

The other guys planned out and organized the rest of the evening, and you know the rest of the story. A lot of the guys really got attached to your kids, theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re kind of cute. We foiled some kidnapping plans that are in the works. I really believe that was one of the more meaningful nights for them, because they had the opportunity to see and experience a very real and obvious act of service that was helping someone in a difficult situation. We got a lot of positive feedback from that night, especially from Brad.

WE ARE INVOLVED IN COMMUNITY SERVICE PROjECTS ALL OVER THE OKLAHOMA CITY AREA

About Sigma Phi Epsilon

Sigma Phi Epsilon was founded at Richmond

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The playhouse - The guys unload the new playhouse they drove five

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hours to get!

Teamwork - The fellas had to hand the parts over the fence.

College, now the University of Richmond, on November 1, 1901, on the Cardinal Principles: Virtue, Diligence, and Brotherly Love. Today, the Fraternity has grown to more than 262,000 lifetime members, including 13,500 undergraduates on 260 campuses in the United States. SigEp is currently the largest fraternity in terms of undergraduate enrollment. Our mission statement is “Building Balanced Leaders for the World’s Communities.” Carter Ashton Jenkens, the 18-year-old son of a minister, had been a student at Rutgers University, New Jersey, where he joined Chi Phi Fraternity. When he transferred to Richmond College in the Fall of 1900, he sought companions to take the place of the Chi Phi brothers he had left behind. He found five men who had already been drawn into a bond of friendship and urged them to join him in applying for a charter of Chi Phi at Richmond College. The request for a charter was forwarded to Chi Phi only to meet with refusal. Chi Phi felt that Richmond College was too small for the establishment of a Chi Phi chapter. Wanting to maintain their fellowship, Carter Ashton Jenkens, Benjamin Gaw, William Carter, William Wallace, Thomas Wright, and William Phillips decided to form their own local fraternity. In November or December, 1901, an unheated, unfurnished single room in the tower of Ryland Hall was assigned to the new fraternity by the college. Before January 1, 1902, SigEps had lined all open wall space with wide

All smiles - Abby loves her new playhouse and never misses a sunny day to play on it.

About John Williamson

I am the old guy in the house. Of all the guys currently in the house, I’ve

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About Burke Lewis

been here the longest. I don’t hold an official position, but am just around to advise the new guys. I’m from Northwest Oklahoma City and went to Edmond Santa Fe High School. I came to Oklahoma University in the fall of 2005 and went to rush. My dad was the Chapter Advisor for this fraternity for about 10 years, so it was pretty obvious which fraternity I would end up at. I love the guys here and I could always tell that everyone here was genuine. In February of my first year I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. I

I am from Jenks, Oklahoma, and went to Jenks High School (which we won’t hold against him; my son went to Union High School in Tulsa, and they are the bitter rivals of Jenks ~ Brent). My mother went to Oklahoma University. A lot of my friends were doing

the fraternity thing, but I really had no idea what it was all about. I held the typical stereotype image of fraternities as just being a big party and kind of like animal house all the time. I knew some guys from Jenks who were already in this fraternity, and some of my friends really encouraged me to come to this fraternity. So I ended up signing here and going to pledgeship two years ago. I’m currently the VP of brotherhood.

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board benches. The wall was papered — purple and red. A rostrum, shaped like a horseshoe, was built in a corner. A small oil stove would not heat the room, so secret meetings continued to be held in SigEp dormitory rooms until March, 1902.

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SigEp, cont’d.

About Brad Gray I’ve grown up in a Christian family. I have two parents and a sister, all of which share Christian beliefs. When I was in high school I didn’t even know what rush was. All I knew about fraternities was that they “partied hard” and drank. When I went through rush I met a lot of people. There are

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FEBRUARY 2009

had to go through chemotherapy and radiation. Physically it was really difficult, but looking back figure it is probably the best thing that ever happened to me. It was a great time in my life, and I gained a whole new perspective on what is really important.

The guys here at the fraternity really loved me through the entire thing. I had never experienced that kind of friendship and relationship outside of my own family. I stayed in school the entire time and got my chemotherapy on Fridays. I finished all of my treatment about a week before my sophomore year started.

FINISHED! - It was already getting dark and cold, but no one quit until it was all put together and ready to rock!

18 fraternity houses on OU’s campus and during rush you go to every one of them. When I got to SigEp I felt a different atmosphere. I met some really solid Christian guys and also some other guys who maybe didn’t share my beliefs but still were awesome people. I literally love everyone in the SigEp house. Every other house has something they’re

good at: Lambda Chi Alpha is good at sports, Beta Theta Pi is great at grades, but SigEp is SO diverse. That is why I joined there. I have had so many experiences during SigEp, but the most meaningful was BY FAR when we helped Abby. Everyone in the fraternity, even members that didn’t have a chance to meet her,

loves that little girl so much. The time and effort we have all put into that project for her was worth every second. When I graduate and move on I want to be a better man because of Sigma Phi Epsilon. SigEp has changed so many men like me, and I hope to change more people as they pass through the SigEp house as well. ~

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Neil Boyd:

On Discipline, Leadership & Business

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By Brent Riggs

iscipline is in short supply these days. It’s not a glamorous topic and to make things more rare, it’s hard to find someone who actually IS disciplined and also has the ability to teach and mentor others about it. Neil Boyd is one of those rare finds. My first contact with Neil was the day I went over to his house because my wife and I were going to be married at their home. Michelle had known the Boyd family for many years, and they have a beautiful home out in the country. We visited them to scope out where to conduct

the wedding and for me to meet them for the first time. Neil was pretty quiet, but friendly. Even now knowing him very well, he still comes across as mostly quiet, introspective but with something obviously on his mind most of the time. He also has the habit of long pauses before answering or responding. I really like this attribute in people because it takes real confidence to not want to fill the air with words because we mistakenly believe silence is equivalent to something negative. The silence doesn’t bother me because I know he is genuinely thinking about what he wants to say, rather than the typical behavior of people which is to be chomping at the bit to make a point before you’ve even finished making yours. This “pause” is hard to communicate in writing, but I’ll throw it in anyway hoping you’ll be able to pick up the visual and the feeling of the interview. I sat down with Neil and talked with him on a personal level, then quizzed him about his business. You’ll find the common thread throughout the entire conversation is discipline, vision, and purpose. Neil believes that discipline and goals need a higher purpose, a reason- a foundation. You have to see the bigger picture of “why?” and “what for?” Otherwise, there is no real need for the effort in the first place.

Neil, the most common thing I hear about you is that you are a disciplined person. Why do people call you a disciplined person? One thing about me is that I am an abstract thinker and also a goal setter. I’m naturally wired to set and achieve goals. Pause… I’m driven by a long-term vision that I have for my life. In the areas of my life where I’ve been highly disciplined, health and fitness, savings, building a business, those things that have measurable goals, to the degree that I’ve been disciplined in those areas, I have a specific long term vision for each. In those areas that I might not be as disciplined, I can look back and see that there hasn’t been as clear of a vision. Pause… Who instilled in you the importance of discipline? Did you have role models and people in your life who helped you to realize that discipline was important?

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kind of confusion is called pride). Remember Jesus said, “…if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, “move from here to there,” and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” Vision is about having a central purpose in life - a dream - a lifetime goal worth dying for. Men of vision are men of God; you must hear the voice of God and with your whole heart internalize His call on your life. There are many distractions in life – you must keep your focus at this point. Abraham went outside with God and during this time of meditation he received a vision that took him on a dangerous adventure in search of “the city that has foundations”. Moses spent 40 years in preparation and then received a call from God to lead his people to freedom. Nehemiah, after spending days fasting, praying and seeking God with all his heart (literally in tears) received a vision from God to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. He ignored the death threats and pursued the vision of his heart - the vision of his God. If you decide to count the cost – risk the danger – and pursue greatness you will need integrity, faith and vision. You don’t have to be perfect – men of greatness never are. And while on this dangerous way you begin to feel lonely – look behind you – and you will find that there are many following you- for these are the qualities of a leader – and that is what you will have become. ~

Does anyone in particular (continued next page)

By Neil Boyd Life is an adventure – But not necessarily a safe one. As you move forward as a man you will discover that there are two distinct ways of proceeding, one way is safe and the other - very dangerous. Part of you will find the safe way very attractive. It will feel comfortable, predictable and may even seem like the most responsible way to go. But ultimately this way will not satisfy the thirst for significance that is deep inside of you. God has put in your heart a call to greatness and this call will lead you into the most dangerous elements of the adventure. Ultimately your survival will depend on you having integrity, faith and vision. Integrity comes from the word integer – meaning a “whole” number. You have integrity when you are whole, or one, in your character. For example what you say in public is one and the same as what you say and do in private. Your wife can trust you to be faithful. Your word means something in the business world. When you have integrity you are pure and solid on the inside – you will be able to take some blows without being crushed. Faith is being certain that you have the power to do everything you are called to do – no matter how difficult (or dangerous) the adventure gets. Even though you feel this power in you does not mean the power comes from you (many men have been destroyed because of confusion on this point – this

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My father was very disciplined in his career. He instilled the idea of pursuing excellence in his work, satisfying customers, and he has a very strong work ethic. I had several spiritual mentors who helped me develop spiritual discipline and emphasized the importance of the true relationship with God, knowing the Word of God and, spending time with God, building good relationships and marriage, developing relationships with my children, and teaching me how to impact other people through relationships.

Life Is An Adventure

Neil Boyd, cont’d. stand out to you? Pause… John Bingaman had a big impact on my life. He was my Sunday school teacher, and it was through him in that Sunday school

the dispute or conflict that can occur between competing goals that might confuse us. By “vision” I mean having a clear view of where you want to be long-term, a lifetime goal. You should be able to

except to pay bills.” During that one month period of time where they have curbed their spending, they’re able to reflect on the internal attitudes that are causing the spending problems. The point is by setting outward constraints with rules for a temporary time, it gives us the margin and opportunity to evaluate and reflect on the change we want to make.

PEOPLE WILL ULTIMATELY LIVE ACCORDING TO THE INTERNAL GOALS THEY HAVE ESTABLISHED. class that I became a believer. He has spent countless hours mentoring me, spending time with my wife and me after we were married, and even just a few weeks ago, I sought his counsel about a business decision.

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If I came to you and said, “I want to become a disciplined person,” what would you say to me?

I think the most important thing in becoming a disciplined person is to have a big picture or idea for your life or a specific area. Pause… People will ultimately live according to the internal goals that they have established. Some of our internal goals can compete with each other for example, on the one hand we want to save money and become debt free, and on the other, we want to drive a nice car. Those competing goals will drive us one direction or the other. The importance of having a vision is that it sends a clear signal to our self and establishes internally what we are truly about. Having a clear vision allows us to settle

clearly articulate that vision and write it down, repeat it. Pause… The second thing that has been helpful to me in developing discipline is to identify a specific area where I am not disciplined, acknowledge what the longterm goal is, and admit that I’m just not there yet. I use a technique I called “personal disciplines” which is the idea of setting a rule for the purpose of helping me to change an inward attitude that is keeping me from my goal. For example, in 1996, one of my concerns was that I spent too much time watching TV and not enough time in prayer and reflection. So, I set a rule for the entire year that I would watch no TV, no news, no movies, football, anything for one full year. Setting that rule for myself is not the thing that actually changed me on the inside, but what it did was give me the opportunity to reflect and evaluate myself and the opportunity to make the change. Another example, if someone is trying to save money, the personal discipline might be a rule that “I’m not going to spend any money

Do you think that period of time also allows a person to starve a bad habit or attitude rather than feed it by giving in to it?

I think it does diminish or starve the particular appetite in question, but more importantly, I think it gives us time to really see what the issue or problem is, what is going on internally. I go back to the idea of having a vision behind your goal. Without a vision, goals quickly fizzle out which is why you see so many people setting new year’s resolutions that don’t even last a couple of weeks. It is the foundational vision that drives our goal setting that is the real power behind discipline.

What are the benefits of being disciplined? Why is it so important?

Pause… If you ask the question “why did God put me on this earth?”, “what are the things I want to accomplish in my life?” Ultimately everything worth accomplishing is going to require some level of personal

discipline. God is the ultimate source of strength in our lives, and He is definitely the One who gives us what we need to be disciplined. The Bible is filled with imperatives that require discipline in the Christian life. To accomplish these imperatives, personal discipline is required.

So would you say then that discipline is the means for the tool by which we fulfill what God requires of us?

Discipline is definitely one of the tools that we need. Some other tools would be hearing God, effective planning, exercising the incredible power of our mind to create the ideas that are translated into the goals and vision for a life that require discipline to accomplish.

OK, so you’ve convinced me that discipline is important, but what if I were to ask you “how can I become a disciplined person?” what would you say?

Can a person who has a clear vision for his life, still be disciplined without having a list of goals? Must you have both a long-term vision and short term goals?

• • • • • •

You will watch TV You will eat junk food You will be in debt You will have surface relationships Fashion will drive your purchasing decisions You will have the latest technology Your environment will be noisy You will work at least 40 hours a week You will be in a hurry You will be sleep deprived

These things keep most people from being focused on or achieving any goals.

You are also known as a person who helps people with life management skills. What is your mentoring philosophy?

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I like to mentor people in the course of a relationship rather than in some sort of structured “let’s meet once a week” type of arrangement. I developed those relationships for business, through cycling, and other friendships. I’d take a group of kids backpacking or snowboarding each year and I usually have something prepared on leadership or knowing God that I will spend time talking to them about, but most of the mentoring occurs during the course of the activities rather than a structured time. I tend to want to listen to the person I’m mentoring and understand what motivates them, helping them make the connection between their long-term goals and their vision, bringing it down to a

Pause… If you have a longterm vision, and you know where you want to be in 20 years, or what you ultimately want your life to be about, but you have no 90 day goals, no clear plan to achieve your vision, I think that you’ll end up lost or distracted. The short term impulses and cares of this world will easily pull you away from what you thought was a clear vision. The short term urgent interruptions and temptations are going to have more power over our lives when we do not have specific goals that we have set out to achieve. We should have 3 to 5 year goals, 90 day goals, all the way down to weekly goals to help us move step by step towards the long term vision. A person with no goals will be easily distracted and have no real clear direction as they set out to live each day. Without goals, a person’s life will be characterized by responding to crisis and reacting to whatever urgent but usually unimportant things pop up each day. Without goals, people tend to be busy and reactive rather than effective and disciplined. I’ve written what I call “10 mandates of our culture” which are 10 things that tend to keep people distracted and ineffective such as:

• • • •

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Pause… I would shoot back with a question and ask you “what do you want to accomplish?” As you answered that question, I would help you understand and see how your existing goals might be in conflict with each other. I know that some people are naturally more disciplined than others, but I believe that all people can have a clear vision or purpose for their lives that will help cultivate discipline for every person. If you don’t have a clear purpose for what you want to accomplish, it’s going to be almost impossible to find the energy and motivation to

discipline yourself to pursue that which is just not clear in your own mind.

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Neil Boyd, cont’d.

practical week by week application. I’m sure by now you’re beginning to notice the common thread in each of my answers: goals and vision and how they tie together to help cultivate discipline in our daily life. I always like to finish with this question: you have the attention of a large multitude of routers. You get to choose what thought or comment you want to leave them with. We’re still going to talk about business, but I wanted to give you a chance to make a final personal comment before moving to that topic. People are too busy. There is a need for people to schedule some retreats and spend time getting away from the busyness of their lives and reflect on what it is they really want their life to be. For me, it’s being out on my bicycle for hours at a time or up in the mountains, and that becomes my time to reflect on my life and hear God. It is the time that I meditate and reflect on what I want my life to be and the ultimate purpose of being here. Pause… I recommend weekend retreats to make time to establish a vision in five key areas of your life: character and spiritual, relationships with others, career and finances, health and fitness, and finally personal goals. I recommend people write out the long-term goals, where do you want to be at the end of your life? You might refer to that as a mission statement or your long-term vision. Then break down those goals

into two or three goals and then again into 90 day goals. Finally, use those to plan each week and make each week with theset of goals that help you move toward your longterm goals. Write your goals out in prayer at least once a week, adjusting them as God leads. I would also encourage people to spend time during those retreats just being still and really trying to hear what God wants to tell you through prayer and Bible study about the changes needed in your life. Okay, tell us about your business…

Alliance Maintenance is a company I started in 1983 when I was newly married and had just graduated from the University of Oklahoma. I was looking for a way to earn a living and I was already cleaning the walls of my dad’s auto machine shop. I was standing in line at Sears, buying vacuum cleaner parts, and I met some ladies there who said they were earning over $10.00 an hour cleaning new homes. I thought to myself that I could do well doing the same. So Barbara and I started doing new construction cleaning and eventually got into commercial cleaning, hiring hourly employees, a supervisor, project managers and built the business up to about $1,000,000 a year with 115 employees in 1996. We converted to a franchise model and look to our existing employees to become franchisees in the Oklahoma City and metro area. We

then expanded the business through independent business associates that we refer to as “area business developers” who market the service and help us locate franchises to individuals who cleaned buildings. We expanded the business into Houston, Dallas, St. Louis, Tulsa, Northwest Arkansas, Atlanta and currently moving into other new markets. The unique thing about our business is that we are a franchise model. For most franchises, you have to put up a large down payment. We offer a no-money down franchise opportunity. This opens up the opportunity of who we might work with. For example, we provide opportunity for people who want to do this kind of work that don’t have the money that is typically needed to start a franchise. We furnish equipment, supplies and even do a micro lending, a small loan, and allow them to pay that back from the accounts that they have. Does the process you use to identify potential franchisees help you determine who’s actually qualified and serious about the opportunity? The fact that we do not charge any money down puts the burden on us to try and size up the person to see if they are really serious about us. One way to find out if the person is serious is to ask them to put up money. In our model, we don’t do that so we’re looking for other indicators to tell us whether or not they are suitable. We

look at their goals, what they want to accomplish and try to see if their intent is serious or not. I’ve heard you say before that the purpose of your business model is to empower people. What do you mean by that? Pause… Empowerment is a frequently used term, and the idea behind it is giving people the freedom to achieve their full potential without the normal controls that are characterized by an employment relationship. Empowerment has the idea of giving both the possibility of achievement but also the possibility of failure as well making it their personal responsibility either way.

What are the foundational principles of your model? What are the traits you are trying to cultivate?

Another benefit of this model is that we share a common vision. Our goals are aligned so that there is not a conflict of what we’re trying to both accomplish. In a typical employment situation, the opportunity for

can work whenever they want to work, they can accomplish tasks more efficiently, and ultimately the decentralization allows us all to earn a good living and spend less time working so that time can be spent with family and spent pursuing other things in life.

conflict always exist because of the struggle between the employer wanting more work and more hours and the employee wanting more pay and less work.

I BELIEVE THAT THE FOUNDATION OF LEADERSHIP IS INTEGRITY.

Can you elaborate more on the benefits of this type of model?

Give us two or three practical examples of how you mentor and lead…

First of all, you have to have integrity yourself. People are

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Pause… I have a very welldefined leadership philosophy. I believe that the foundation of leadership is integrity. Integrity comes from the word “integer” which means whole number. It has the idea of oneness. For example, is what a person says one with what they do? Integrity has to do with our character and also has to do with the consistency of our beliefs and our goals. I believe the means by which we lead have to do with empowerment. It is giving people the freedom to both succeed or to fail. The purpose of leadership is to help create long-term vision and goals.

If a business model is characterized by empowerment, giving freedom to the business associate, there is a greater opportunity for relationship development. Typically in an employment environment, there is a structure where there are high levels of control. Over the years, I’ve developed great friendships and mentoring relationships and have the opportunities to impact people because the relationship is not characterized by a high level of control. Pause… They’re free to operate their business and accomplish what they want to accomplish. We try to empower them but not control them. This opens the door for mutual relationship.

What is your leadership philosophy?

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Pause… One of our foundational principles is simplicity. We have developed a business model that is simple. We believe that if you can develop processes in a business and refine those processes to the most simple elements, that ultimately you are going to spend less time to accomplish the same thing. Pause… We have figured out the best way to accomplish the elements of our program and then have reproduced that model and trained others how to do it. Another foundational principle is decentralization. We have spent thousands of dollars on technology, specifically Internet based software to allow people

that work within our system the freedom to work from anywhere and have a real time interaction with others in the business. They can perform their work without having to come into the corporate office. This means our franchisees

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Neil Boyd, cont’d. not going to follow you if they don’t see consistency between what you say and what you do. A practical example is our franchise model. We start out the franchisee giving them one or two small accounts, and we watch and see how they do. Then we will assign them additional accounts based on their performance. We have seen franchisees start out with a few small accounts and grow to impressive numbers of accounts because they prove they can take the freedom we provide and use it to empower them to be successful. We allow the franchisees to grow their business as large as they are capable of handling.

The whole idea is that we model integrity for them and then look to see if they have the same integrity themselves. We empower them by giving them the freedom to succeed or fail, and as they succeed we give them even more freedom and more opportunity to be a bigger success.

You get the final word, what you would like to leave the readers with?

Pause (of course)… It’s critical to know your purpose for existing as a business. You have to know your long-term goals and have a real vision and mission. Business owners should spend more time

cultivating ideas, reflecting on what is and is not working, and ask the question “how can we do this better?” You should write down your long-term goals and then break it down to short term goals which are dictated by and help you to accomplish the long-term. Each week should be planned with those goals in mind and weekly goal should be set based on longterm vision. It’s extremely easy for business owners to become reactive, responding to urgent crisis rather than investing their time in those things that will help them reach their long-term goals. ~

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Living Faith: Paul “Rafe” Refior

The Man Who Loves His Wife

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unny, kind, faithful, devoted to marriage, wise… want to know someone like that? Then stick around while I tell you about Paul Refior, AKA “Rafe”. I don’t quite remember how I first met Rafe, I think it was through my site, SeriousFaith. com. We emailed routinely over time, and then one day he invited us to come stay at their guest house in Indiana. A vacation with no hotel bill sounded great to me, so we packed up the herd and headed north.

From the moment we arrived, we were made to feel like long lost friends or family. We spent a week there with complete access to their life and home. We left knowing we had made some life long friends. I thought the best way for you to get to know them would be to share some of our emails, some things I’ve written about them in the past, and some content that Rafe himself wrote, especially concerning a recent accident he had that will cause you to cringe. So, in no particular order, here’s some “stuff” about Rafe, including some written answers

Rafe’s FREE Book Download his free book here:

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he provided for our “Living Faith” Series. Let’s start with that, and then we’ll talk about The Accident:

Give us a little background…

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he opened Refior Law Office in Warsaw. In September of 2001 he was also admitted to do practice in Florida. Rafe is admitted to all of the courts of the States of Indiana, Florida, Iowa and Wyoming, several Federal District Courts (including Indiana, Michigan and Florida), the U.S. Tax Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Services, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit and 11th Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court. He is a member of The National Lawyers Association, Indiana State Bar Association, The Florida Bar, Wyoming State Bar, Iowa State Bar Association, the Kosciusko County Bar Association and the Tippecanoe County Bar Association. Rafe and his wife are members of Faith Baptist Church in Lafayette, Indiana. He is the chairman of the board of Lakeland Child Evangelism Ministries and is on the international board of directors of The Evangelical Alliance Mission (TEAM). (continued next page)

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Paul D. Refior (my friends call me “Rafe” and my name is pronounced “Ray’-fee-or”) was born in 1950 in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa and was raised in Iowa and Wisconsin, graduating from Whitewater High School in 1968. He returned to Mt. Pleasant to attend Iowa Wesleyan College, where he met and married his sweet, wonderful and beautiful wife, Pam, and where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree magna cum laude in 1972 prior to attending law school. While at the University of Iowa College of Law in Iowa City, Iowa, Rafe was elected president of the Iowa Student Bar Association. Rafe was awarded his Juris Doctor degree with honors and was admitted to practice law in the State of Iowa in June, 1975. Following law school graduation Rafe served as a Navy JAG officer stationed at the Naval Legal Service Office, Naval Station, Norfolk, Virginia. His primary duties involved criminal trial work, both as a defense attorney

and as a prosecutor. His large caseload included murder, armed robbery, bank robbery, rape, counterfeiting, large narcotics cases, theft, and a variety of other criminal matters with jury trials and bench trials in San Diego, Panama, Italy, and Norfolk. When Rafe returned to civilian practice he joined a law firm in the small town of Pinedale, Wyoming, which is a beautiful, authentic western town with an elevation of 7,200 feet at the foot of the towering Rocky Mountains of the Wind River Range. Both Rafe and his law partner had a pilot’s license, and they carried on a trial practice covering Wyoming and parts of Colorado. In 1979, Rafe and Pam received an unexpected invitation from missionaries in Takamatsu, Japan, to serve as short-term missionaries under The Evangelical Alliance Mission. After much prayer and counsel it was decided that it was the will of God for the Refiors to accept the call to go to the great nation of Japan as missionaries. Following that 13-month sabbatical the Refiors moved back to the Midwest, deciding to settle in the State of Indiana which is Pam’s home state. In the fall of 1981 Rafe was admitted to practice in Indiana and

Living Faith, cont’d. Your family now…

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Pam and Rafe have two beautiful and godly daughters, with great marriages and lovely families - Nikki Lambeth and Laura White. Nikki is married to Jonathan Lambeth, and they have three sons, Luke (7th grade), David (3rd) and Stephen (1st). The Lambeths reside in Lafayette, Indiana, where Jonathan is the elementary school principal at Faith Christian High School and Nikki is an effective wife and mother and a freelance French translator. Laura is married to Brian White, and they have four children, Karis (kindergarten), Jocelyn (almost 3), and identical twins Samuel and Nathan (almost2). Brian is the Senior Pastor of Harvest Bible Chapel North,

Indianapolis. Laura is the head of women’s ministries. Rafe enjoys loving his gorgeous and outstanding wife Pam, being a happy and involved grandpa, the beach, warmth and fun in Naples, international travel, family travel, family activities, sports of all kinds (especially following the great Iowa Hawkeyes), woodworking, writing (e.g., novels, articles, books on Christian topics, children’s stories), kayaking, woodcarving, art and graphics, walking the beach, bicycling, studying, meditating and applying the Bible, speaking at seminars and retreats, Bow-flexing and weightlifting. Rafe’s wife, Pam Refior loves the Lord, loves her husband, loves her daughters and their husbands, loves her grandchildren, loves her

friends … and loves life. Rafe states (repeatedly) and he really means it, “Pam is the sweetest person I have ever met in my life, and I get the wonderful blessing of living with her.”

Name a couple of people who have been most influential in your life, and why?

You may be asking for someone other than a spouse, but the immediate first answer is my precious Pam, who has demonstrated and taught me the value and ministry of being a servant, being humble, being gentle, being compassionate, and how to give undivided attention. My dear wife is the sweetest person I have ever met....and I get to be mated with her!

behind us, that I felt it would be just as dangerous to turn around. When I was higher than 18,000 feet I had us put on our oxygen masks. I did not share with Pam that we were in life and death trouble, but I remained in constant prayer asking for God’s help and guidance. We could not see the ground, and I was flying around and between huge cloud heads and kept needing to fly higher - all of which was in direct violation

MY VIEW OF PEOPLE HAS CHANGED IN THAT I AM LESS IMPRESSED WITH PEOPLE WHOM THE WORLD COUNTS AS IMPORTANT.

You must have many great memories and stories... can you share one or two of your favorites with us?

GOD’S GRACE AND PROTECTION EVEN WHEN I WAS STUPID. About 20 years ago I was practicing law in Wyoming. I was President

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and a staunch submission to the sovereign plan of god - no matter the circumstances.

of regulations. I vigilantly watched my instruments and made calculations of my location. My fuel level became the next issue. I did not have a valid second airport choice for landing to get fuel, but it would be suicide to fly down into the clouds over the mountains. When the instruments and my calculations told me I had to be close to that little airport, I begged God to save our lives and allow us to land somehow. That very second I saw an area of contrasting light below. I slowed the plane and turned toward that light. When we got there it was like a mineshaft of light down through the clouds to the ground, and it looked like there might be a small distance between the ground (continued next page)

of the Young Lawyers Section of the Wyoming State Bar Association. The American Bar Association paid for all such presidents to travel to Las Vegas for a meeting. I had a private pilot’s license so I used the funds to pay the cost FOR my dear wife and I to fly a private plane. Before the trip back to Wyoming I carefully planned the flight and filed my flight plan. The weather was VERY “iffy” - especially for a pilot who was NOT instrument rated. I decide that it was okay to go, and we took off. Almost the entire flight was over mountains. I had a fuel stop planned at a small airport tucked in the middle of the mountains in Utah. After about an hour the clouds moved in and I kept going higher to be out of the clouds. The weather had so caved in

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Another person influential in my life is Pastor Gene Garrick, formerly the pastor of Tabernacle Church of Norfolk, VA. I was a Naval officer and a new Christian when I sat under Pastor Garrick’s preaching and teaching. Pastor Garrick’s expository preaching style guided me into a proper approach to studying and learning the Word of God. Gene Garrick has been with the Lord for many years, but I will always be indebted to him. A third influential person is Pastor Ivan French, former pastor of Pleasant View Bible Church and former professor at Grace Theological seminary, Winona Lake, Indiana. Pastor French wrote The Principles and Practice of Prayer, which is both theologically outstanding while being very practical. Pastor French showed me “the power of a godly life.” He also taught me how to be a valiant warrior for the faith and to be uncompromising, while maintaining humility

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A RULE OF LIFE There is NOTHING more

The Accident

Thursday, July 24. While holding a large one hundred

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My view of life has changed with a greater appreciation

Last word… millions of potential readers could see this story… what advice, encouragement or lesson would you like to leave them with?

Over the course of your life, how has your view of life and people changed?

that I must decrease and Christ must increase (John 3:30). My view of people has changed in that I am LESS impressed with people whom the world counts as important, and I am MORE impressed with the true servants of the Lord who are looking for no acclaim and no reward this side of heaven (Mark 9:35). Also, as a sinner saved by grace, I do not expect someone who is spiritually blind to live as if he/she is with sight, but instead I want to help that person avoid walking blindly into the fire. (Rom. 5:8; Eph. 2:1, 13).

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and the cloud ceiling. So with high emotion I flew a tight spiraling pattern down that hole, and as we descended the clouds got thinner. When we reached the bottom (i.e. ceiling) of the clouds and I pulled up, I was lined up exactly and perfectly with the runway. I put the plane down and tanked up. I was so thankful.....and relieved. I was ashamed that I had placed my precious bride, and both parents of our two little girls, into that peril with my decision to fly that day. Hours later I was able to resume the flight the rest of the way back to Pinedale, Wyoming. I do not want to presume on God ever again.

important in ANY day than my Bible study and prayer . . . . nothing . . . . no matter what else is scheduled. If I have substantial quality and submitted time with the Lord in serious Bible Study and prayer and live for the Lord that day, then the day is a success, no matter what else happens or does not happen that day; and NO DAY can be considered complete or a success unless I have spent such QUALITY quiet time with the Lord that day . . . . no matter what else has happened or has been accomplished that day. The example of Jesus: Mark 1:35 “Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.” The example of David: Psalm109:4 - David was a man who “gave himself to prayer” [NKJV]….”I am a man of prayer” [NIV]; and 1 Sam. 13:14; Acts 13:22 and 16:7David is called “a man after God’s own heart.” God’s simple design for you to walk uprightly today: The one intending to walk uprightly can be equipped to do so, with God’s abiding help, if he/she will seriously study God’s Word and be fervent in praying. Psalm 119:11,”Your Word have I hidden in my heart that I might not sin against You”…and … Psalm 119:33 “Teach me, O LORD, the way of Your statutes, and I shall keep it to the end.”… coupled with … Mark 14:33, “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.”

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Living Faith, cont’d.

fifty pound object on a ladder, I fell straight down to the concrete floor crushing bones and body parts on both sides. Both my “wheels” were out of commission. I had an initial surgery on Friday, July 25, 2008 in Indianapolis that placed rods through my left ankle and leg fixed to an exterior structure, and I have another device on my right ankle and foot. With bones being broken and some pulverized on both sides it would be months before I would have the privilege of walking again with a walker. God has been so good to us. A HUGE answer to prayer occurred when I was waiting to hear back from Dr. David A. Porter who specializes in ankle and foot injuries. He is the orthopedic surgeon used by the Indianapolis Colts when one of their players has either an ankle or foot injury. Dr. Porter received and reviewed the films from the CAT Scans and x-rays of my legs, ankles, and feet and he concluded that he would like to accept me as a patient and proceed with my surgeries and treatment. I was scheduled to be examined by Dr. Porter at 1:45 p.m. the following Monday in Indianapolis and had another surgery on August 8, 2008 (my birthday). A great man of God, John Dunlop, made the following statement about 30 years ago in his last public sermon while he was in the mist of excruciating pain, shortly before his death, “It is a joyful and amazing thing. I have spent my life sharing the allsufficient Word of God with people, and knowing that because God had revealed

them in His Word, all of those promises are absolutely true. But when one finally has an experience in his own life when he actually tries on God’s promises personally, he can rejoice in how perfectly they fit.” As I pray about this I take sweet comfort in the truth about God’s sovereignty, as He says in Psalm 115:3, “But our God is in Heaven; He does whatever He pleases.” And in Psalm 135:5, “For I know that the Lord is great and our Lord is above all gods. Whatever the Lord pleases He does, in Heaven and in Earth, in the sea and in all the places . . .” I say along with the Psalmist David, in Psalm 144:15, “HAPPY are the people whose God is the Lord!” Earlier in Psalm 55 we read, “Cast your burden on the Lord, and he shall sustain you . . . but I will trust in You.” My hospital bed here at our place in Warsaw is next to a ten foot long picture window overlooking the lake. I simply could not do better than that! With the benefit of some efficient procedures

and equipment at my office, and the assistance of an outstanding staff, I am “back to work” and I am back on the job providing legal services to my clients. I have had the blessing of visits from dear friends and family in Lafayette and Indianapolis. Since being transported to Warsaw, numerous beloved friends have visited. I have stated many times before that, “My dear wife Pam is the sweetest person I have ever met.” That really is true, of course. However, it is brilliantly proving itself day by day as she is my hero, dealing with all of these dramatic changes in her life and lifestyle. Pam helps me with daily life and all that is entailed in caring 24/7 for a bed-ridden man. I cannot imagine being more blessed than I am. These have been intense times of basking the truths of Scripture and being engaged in significant prayer.

The Court Story

Here is an amazing testimony of our great God choosing to dynamically

intervene into man’s courtroom. Background: My client committed a crime while backslidden and was sentenced. He has since gloriously repented and is a growing man of God six months later. I had filed a motion to modify the sentence to (1) remove the no-contact order with his teenage daughter, and (2) to change the court-ordered counseling from a godless secular counseling center to my client’s pastor. When I rolled into the courtroom like the picture in my wheelchair, the judge was sitting on the bench and he immediately looked up and gazed at me, but with a pleasant countenance. After the judge confirmed how to pronounce my name, he said, “Mr. Refior, I understand your situation much more than you might expect. For you see, nine years ago I had a terrible accident and I wheeled into a courtroom in a wheelchair just as you did today.” After that I carefully explained my motion and argued why it should be granted. Just when it was the time for the prosecutor to argue against my motion, the prosecutor’s cell phone went off. The judge’s countenance that had been so supportive toward me turned to ice and the judge raised his voice and bristled, “Mr. Smith, I have a sign on the door to my courtroom that says, ‘Turn Off Your Cell Phone!’ You are in this courtroom almost every day. What is going on here?!?” The prosecutor was so flustered that rather than just disarm his phone right there, he ran out of the courtroom to do so then quickly returned.

At which time the judge leaned forward and said to the prosecutor, “Mr. Smith, shall I show on the record that these modifications to the sentence are entered by agreement?” To which the prosecutor

The doctor does not know if I will ever be able to walk without pain, or just how accomplished I will become. I am not presuming on God - it is His call - but I am optimistic that I will continue

sheepishly answered, “Yes, your honor.” WOW! God touched the courtroom that day.

to recover much faster and to a far greater extent than the medical people expect. I am thankful for all that God has given us and taught us through the accident. May we be open to continue to grow and learn in the months and years ahead. I will never forget the prayers of God’s people....prayers that God has magnificently answered....and all the acts of kindness and love. On Thanksgiving Day, after I walked to the Thanksgiving dinner table, I answered the question about what I am thankful for, with a sincere statement that I was particularly thankful for my accident. I did not request it. Many difficulties have been experienced, of course. But I am a different person than I was before the accident. God has put us through a high level course, and we are infinitely better off for it. The relationships with our heavenly Father and with my beloved wife are so very much deeper and sweeter. Precious Pam will always be my hero. Without her I would have spent a couple months in a nursing home. With her 24/7 love, care and attention, I resumed my law practice almost immediately. And I was HOME. God is so perfect and so very good. ~

I AM A DIFFERENT PERSON THAN I WAS BEFORE THE ACCIDENT. MY RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD AND PAM ARE MUCH DEEPER AND SWEETER.

Update:

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By God’s grace I am walking now without crutches or a walker or even my canes. Recently I went to my scheduled appointment with my surgeon, Dr. Anglen. He was expecting that I would come in showing off how well I can walk with crutches. Instead when Dr. Anglen opens the door to the examination room I walked over to him and shook his hand briskly. He grinned and then directed me to walk back and forth, turn around, etc. Then he vigorously manipulated both feet and ankles. Then he stopped, looked up, and smiled as he exclaimed, “You are a miracle man!” I was able then to testify again to Dr. Anglen about God’s power and help. I do not have to go back to see the surgeon until next April. The physical therapists said that I am a full year ahead of where he would expect me to me following my serious injuries. I have continuing pain issues. I can’t walk very well on unstable surfaces or anyplace that is not flat.

your comments serious.extras

The Fire

A Burned Down Home & God’s Grace

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Editor Note: this is an unedited blog post from aplacecalledsimplicity.blogspot. com. They are a wonderful family whose house recently was lost to fire two weeks after adopting two orphans from Africa. I wanted you to know about them and see if God might have you help them. - BR

I awoke to a steady beeping. I had a hard time waking, since I hadn’t been asleep long and went downstairs to see what was up. It was the smoke alarm that Kyle had fixed. I kind of stumbled around, still very sleepy and thought it must just not really be fixed and that I had better call Kyle in the morning and they probably should just replace it. I went back to bed and wondered why the alarm company hadn’t called because it had beeped probably more than a minute (they call after one minute of any alarm to see if everything is okay). About two hours later I woke up again to the smoke alarm going off. I went down again. And again, before long it stopped. I woke up around six to it going off again. I got my bathrobe on to check it out and also spend some time alone with the Lord. I love my early morning times with my precious Lord with the whole house asleep. He has ALWAYS been soooo faithful to me. But this time the alarm didn’t just quit. So I got a photo album and started fanning it. I

thought how weird it was that the alarm company didn’t call. I kind of smelled some smoke coming from the laundry room so I went down there to look. Yes, it smelled like there was smoke in there. But the alarm had quit. I went to build a fire. We heat our home with hot water baseboard, but mostly the wood stove. Within minutes the alarm started going off again. I looked at the clock. It was about 6:15am. I tried to think of someone I could call to come and see if there was a problem. Within a minute or two it was really going off. I went back to the laundry room and got down on my knees next to the box that heats the water for the baseboard. It is an old box, but I distinctly remember the home inspection man tapping it and saying, “This thing will last forever. It’s old, but they never give out.” So as I looked under the box (it is raised off the floor a couple of inches) I saw that there were two little trails of smoke inside heading up. I thought, “That’s weird, I wonder if that is normal?” I ran back out to fan the smoke alarm because I didn’t want to wake the babies. I looked at the clock and thought, “I will call Dw at 7. He is so exhausted and I don’t want to wake him out of a sound sleep.” I tried to think of someone who could come and see if they thought those little trails of smoke were normal. (I am kicking myself. How could I have been so silly? I should

have called 911 right then. Please, dear friends, learn from my mistake.) So for the next 40 minutes I stood fanning the smoke alarm which was now going off steadily. I kept looking at the clock waiting for 7 to call Dw. Then I noticed that there seemed to be smoke I could see near the laundry room door. It was almost 7. Only a couple more minutes. I also couldn’t figure out why the alarm company hadn’t called. At 7 I dialed Dw. He had been sound asleep. I told him what was going on, and in his sleepy stupor he told me to turn some dial off. I had no clue what he was talking about. I went down to look at the hot water baseboard box in the laundry room. I couldn’t figure it out. He was still on the phone with me and then the alarm started beeping faster. NONE OF THE OTHER ALARMS IN OUR HOME WERE BEEPING OR BLARING - ONLY THE ALARM KYLE HAD FIXED!! So I ran to wave the photo album at it. It stopped. I ran (still on the phone) back to the laundry room and this time when I opened the door there was lots of smoke. I yelled to Dw, “Oh Dw! I have to call 911. There is so much smoke.” I hung up on him. I ran for the house phone (which I found in my hand) and ran back to the laundry room. At this time I entered the laundry room and saw the flames. The floor was on fire!! The 911 operator answered and said, “What is the address

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essence.) I was getting frantic. After repeating myself that second time she again said (to someone near her): “I cannot understand her.” At that point I began to feel hysterical. Why could she not understand me? I was repeating things slowly and enunciating carefully. Another lady came on the phone, she said, “Are you trying to report a house fire?”

She said, “I cannot understand you. What is your emergency?” I repeated myself enunciating every word as slowly as I could yet knowing there were now flames, the laundry room floor was on fire and the babies were asleep right next to the laundry room. Right next to the flames is the hot water tank. I wondered if a gas hot water tank can blow up? (I still have no clue, but I guessed that time was of the

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of your emergency?” I tried to speak clearly and told her. Then I said, “I am home alone. My husband is out of town and I have SIX children sleeping. I have to hang up.” She said, “I can’t understand you.” I said, “I - AM - HOME ALONE....MY HUSBAND IS OUT OF TOWN....THERE ARE FLAMES IN MY HOUSE... I HAVE SIX CHILDREN SLEEPING....PLEASE COME AS FAST AS YOU CAN.

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The Fire... cont’d

Oh my gracious I really got hysterical....my house is on fire, I can see the flames and they can’t understand me. (In hind site our home phone is muffly, so maybe that’s why...because although I talk fast anyway, I was enunciating as slow as possible every word.) I am so panicked even as I type this. The emotion was so powerful and I was desperate for them to understand. I, again, as slowly as possible repeated the same thing. “MY HOUSE IS ON FIRE. I AM HOME ALONE. MY HUSBAND IS OUT OF TOWN. I HAVE SIX CHILDREN SLEEPING. I HAVE TO WAKE THEM AND GET THEM OUT.” She seemed to understand and said, “Stay on the line.” I screamed crying, “I CAN’T - I HAVE TO GET MY BABIES,” and I hung up on her. I ran down the hallway: Boys door first on the left Girls directly door across the hall on the right - I was banging the doors and screaming, “Get up, get up, get your coats on... help me get the babies...get up...get coats on...grab some blankets...get coats on...get the babies...the house is on fire...” The bathroom door is next on the right, and next on the left was the babies’ room. Across from the babies’ room is the laundry room. I opened the door and the smoke was choking me. I ran back to the phone and

called Dw (although I don’t remember this). I said, “The house is on fire.” He threw his stuff in the car and ran toward the cabin owners, yelling, “My home is on fire,” and he sped toward home (which is about an hour and a half away). I could not find my purse. My cell phone was completely dead. I frantically ran around the kitchen/living room trying to think what to do. Emma and Graham were getting the babies’ coats on. Liberty was crying hysterically. I yelled at her, “You can’t get hysterical, you must think - get your shoes on and your coat.” I had no idea where Isaiah was. All the while the ONLY smoke alarm that was blaring was the one that Kyle had fixed less than 24 hours before!! (Yes this is a Memorial Box story, and I will have to think about what to put in our Memorial Box as a symbol of God prompting us to have Kyle fix the only alarm that worked. Seriously, I could not have done it without my big kids. They could think much clearer than me. I couldn’t find my purse and needed my keys so we could start the car for the kids to stay warm. It was no where. Graham appeared with our handheld fire extinguisher. He went with me to the laundry room, and on the way we realized the extinguisher wouldn’t work. Dw had mentioned flour so I ran to the

kitchen for flour. I know how rural we live and knew that the trucks would take awhile to get here. I thought (foolishly) that maybe I could slow the flames. Emma was with me this time and as I opened the door we saw the flames leaping and the smoke was so thick. I closed the door. I then yelled to Graham, “Do you think I should try to run through the laundry room and open the outside door of the laundry room?” I again opened the hall laundry room door, and the smoke made me choke and cough while making it more difficult to see. To go through to try to open the door would be stupid. And now, in hind sight, how could I have been so stupid to think that I should open the door? My house was on fire, a broken door in the back was not going to hurt anything. It must be part of denial. I was already thinking that we would be back in our home in a few hours...and Dw would have to repair a broken door....it would be maybe a little smoky. What a ridiculous thought!! Somewhere in there 911 called, and I guess one of the kids answered. I didn’t talk to them but yelled to the kids to tell them to “hurry up.” She said that they were en route. I had a nightgown and bathrobe on, so I ran to my room to get a pair of sweatpants. I couldn’t find any.

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I ran back and forth trying to think of a pair of pants I could pull on. It has been about 1 degree in the mornings when I had last looked. It was bitter. I ran back downstairs to see where the kids were. I looked around. I wondered if I should try to get my photo albums from upstairs. I didn’t know, but Graham ran upstairs to start carrying them down.... but the smoke up in the loft was so bad he couldn’t breathe. Emma finally found my purse (she had put it away while cleaning the night before). The kids were in the car. I couldn’t think of what to take and I was so concerned that the gas tank would blow up. I ran out of the house and made sure the kids were in the car. And then we sat and waited for the fire department. Smoke was coming out the back of the house. In a minute or two smoke was coming out of the crawl space vents. In another minute it was pouring out. Just pouring and pouring. I made some phone calls. I called Tiffany to see if she could bring diapers to Kim’s. Tiffany answered her cell all chipper...I was hysterical. I tried calling Kim (friend and neighbor) to see if the kids could come there. I called Jo (as of JoJo) my dear old friend who has been through thick and thin with me since I was young. I knew she would pray. I was sobbing and sobbing and wondering what was taking so long as I watched my home burn and smoke fill the air. I called Bill and Lynsay, but they didn’t answer. I called our (continued next page)

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The Fire... cont’d

grown kids. I called, Chelsea, my prayer partner who is away because her husband’s job has taken him out of state..... Many didn’t answer...so I’m sure I sounded like a hysterical nutcase while I was leaving them a message. I then called Lori and asked her to put it on my blog so our sweet friends around the world would be on their knees for our home to be saved. I knew you guys would pray, and I don’t say this lightly…I love you all. I wish I could personally thank you for praying for us through the fire, through Uganda, and through our son’s upcoming deployment. You guys are the best - how gracious of God to give us such wonderful friends here in our church, community, and bloggy community. When I realized I didn’t have diapers for the babies, clothes, anything, I felt so unprepared. It is starting to make me cry just thinking about it. It is just so weird to have your home burn up. Simple things we take for granted, just gone. I eventually wanted to brush my teeth. No toothbrush. I wanted to put boots on. Inside and gone. Yes, these all can be replaced; BUT it is overwhelming to this mama to even think of going to the store and getting 8 toothbrushes, deodorant, diapers, underwear, clothes, floss; much of it dumb stuff but all necessary. When the first person

arrived on the scene, it was the sheriff. He was very nice and so concerned that the kids were all out. (Yes, Nelly was safe in the car, as was Polly.) I assured him they were all in the car. A firetruck arrived next, and like I said, it got completely stuck in the narrow plowed drive that is embanked with snow. They could not move it. They started laying hose around the truck and had to set up a pool at the road which they had to fill with a pump truck from a neighboring pond, I guess. The set up pool was about the size of a long backyard pool. Before long 15 fire trucks were there lining our country road. The smoke was pouring out and they were carrying oxygen tank after tank from the road back to our little log home. Dw arrived about an hour later. He had sped as fast as he could. As he approached an intersection about a mile from our home he looked in the direction of our home and saw the huge cloud of smoke billowing up into the sky and said, “Oh no! That’s our home!” Our neighbor, Curt, was wonderful. He loaned me a coat and hat. Friends of ours started arriving: Mark (one of our staff pastors), Jerry, Durango Joe (owns several local coffee shops), Terry, Pat, Dane. Thank you, gentlemen, for holding up our arms. We watched as fireman/ woman after fireman/woman

came out of our home and took off their mask, red-faced and coughing and spitting junk out. They would switch tanks and go back in again. I asked the Fire Chief if he thought they would save the house? I held my breath. I wanted him to say, “Yes, no problem. Everything is going to be fine.” He didn’t. (I guess they only do that in movies.) He said, “I don’t know. I am concerned for the safety of my people. I am concerned that they will be trapped in the crawl space. There is a danger that the floors will collapse.” (Which they did in the hall and laundry room.) The kids were taken early on to Kim’s. My sweet friend Jill went to Kim’s as well to help care for all the kids. Carie showed up at Kim’s with donuts and chocolate milk for all the kids – oh, and stuffed animals. Little did the kids know that their treasured stuffed animals and dollies were all burning up. Carie then came and held my hand and cried with me. Deb came and checked on our horse Daisy. Someone came and got Daisy and took her to their barn for us. Friends started texting and calling. The news had traveled fast. Seth called the Christian Radio station here and was put on the air asking the Christian community to pray because our home was burning down

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sift and count what’s there and take pictures of everything. Your prayers are not only needed, but deeply appreciated. Thank you for all of you who posted it on your blog to ask people to pray. We are truly humbled by your love. Please pray that the babies will know peace and that this disruption will not interrupt bonding. Thank you so much! We stand in awe of God’s faithfulness in allowing us to be prompted to fix (less than 24 hours before the fire erupted) the ONLY smoke alarm that would work.... HE, again, is our MiracleWorking, Mountain-Moving, Awe-Inspiring, Gasp-Giving God - we continue to PRAISE HIS NAME - though our world, as we knew it, has drastically changed - He is completely faithful but oh how desperately we need your love, kind words and prayers! ~

sure what is going on, but are you leaving me here for good?” I scooped her up and told her over and over how much I loved her and that I was her Mama FOREVER! She started to smile. She seemed relieved. We went to Seth and Maria’s to stay the night. By the time we got there to shower and for me to get out of my nightgown and robe (it was now 2 in the afternoon) there on the couch in the living room was a set of clothes for each of us. Jogging suit for me with underwear and even a bra in my size. I was so thankful. The ladies from our church had already been shopping and had picked out an outfit for each of us. Thank you: Irma, Sara, Linn (same name and same spelling as me!). Kim and Martin brought us dinner. There is so much more I need to say. But I am feeling a bit sleepy. I will try to go sleep for a bit. We are going at 9:30 am to begin doing an inventory of the contents of the house. We have masks to wear as it smells horrible. We will need to get some gloves as everything is black with soot. We have to

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at that very moment. Dw and I have ministered here now for almost five years and people in our community started praying. Prayer chains were mobilized *tears welling* - oh how thankful we are. After two hours the fire was still going. I called some to keep praying. The fire captain said that there were multiple fires still in the crawl space that they were having trouble getting to them. Eventually they were put out. Hours later we were allowed to go in our home. Like I said in yesterday’s post, it appears that the inside is a total loss. The outside we are not sure. We have to find a rental. Please pray that God will give us clear direction. We have to find furniture. Being a Mom of Many it is not so easy to outfit beds for eight people. Don’t forget we have no sheets... and no spare sheets in case someone throws up or has an accident. Like who thinks of that when there is a fire?? We went to see the kids at Kim’s eventually. Elizabeth looked at me (sucking her thumb) as if to say, “I am not

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Magazine Monday

Each month we choose blog posts that are submitted for MAGAZINE MONDAY and publish them, unedited, just like it appears on the blog. If you would like to have something from your blog considered, visit www.seriouslifemagazine.com and look for the MAGAZINE MONDAY link.

Why Are They Calling Me MckMama? Blog: MckMmama (mycharmingkids.net)

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(Editors Note: MckMama is one of the most popular “Mom Blogs” on the Internet. We are friends and our family is especially grateful that she asked her readers to pray for Abby. BR)

Who are all these people and why are they calling me MckMama? Who am I? Why do I call myself MckMama? And where on earth did I come from!? If you have ever wondered, grab a cup of cocoa and read on... In late summer, 1977, I am born, the first child in my family, in a state known for cheese. Elvis dies. I meet baby Prince Charming in our church nursery. At age 3, in the spring of 1981, I am knocked unconscious after falling off

a large play structure while vacationing with my parents in Paris. I am hospitalized for a few days and get a doll that I name Mawasha. My parents don’t speak French and have a difficult time communicating with doctors in the hospital. I remember a large glass wall separated my room from the room of another young girl with a huge cast on her leg. In the summer of 1981, a huge craze is sparked when Pac-Man is introduced, I welcome a baby sister, and MTV is born.

I attend a Christian school, and in 1986, become obsessed with educator Christa McAuliffe, have her photo hanging in my bedroom, and then watch in horror with the rest of my 3rd grade class as the space shuttle Challenger exploded. Later that year, I accept Christ as my personal savior and am baptized by my father. In 1989, the Berlin Wall fell. My dad visits Germany and brings me home a piece. It has red paint on it. My parents and I make

Anything for Shot - MckMama slings baby and camera looking for a perfect pic.

Want us to publish a post from your blog? www.seriouslifemagazine.com/yourblog the decision that I’ll switch from private to public for high school. In the fall of 1991, I enroll at Central High School and only know one person in my class of 377 students. I am possibly the most freaked-out Freshman ever. I join the swim team. I have a mad, mad crush on Prince Charming, who runs track and Cross Country for my high school’s rival school and who I see at church every Wednesday and Sunday. In September of 1992, Prince Charming’s brother and father are killed in an accident. I knew them well and I remember holding Prince Charming’s hand briefly at their funeral. It was my first taste of death and it stung me very deeply. I decide to become

healthier and declare that I’m a vegetarian in 1993. I eat no meat at all for the next 6 years. I have trouble deciding if I want to study math and physics or become a nutritionist when I grow up. All the while, I really enjoy art classes, but don’t consider that course of study to hold any future for me. Joey Buttafuco becomes a household name. I have my wisdom teeth removed. In 1994, I participate in an exchange program in Germany, live with a family whose son listens to Rage Against the Machine, attend school and have my first kiss while still overseas. His name was Ulrich Duedenhoeffer. That summer, I take a missions trip to Mexico with Prince Charming and

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other kids from our church. I braid his long hair while we ride in the van and my heart races. We visit Waco, Texas and see what remains of the Branch Davidian Compound. I graduate high school 7th in my class with a 4.2 cumulative GPA (Gotta love those accelerated classes with their weighted grades) in 1995, having never received a B, had a real boyfriend or ever said a swear word. I was voted captain of the swim team and swam at State. The Oklahoma City bombing takes place. I prepare to move over 3 hours away--to the big city where we currently still live--for college. I don’t realize it, but my legalistic view of Christianity (continued next page)

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Magazine Monday... cont’d

is about to change. In 1996 while in college, I vacillate between wanting to study math or medicine. I end up settling on studio art instead and I pursue that relentlessly for the rest of my college career. I also major in Bible. People are still doing the Macarena. I join the soccer team, but start rarely and score only one goal during my entire career. I begin to learn more about God’s grace, mercy and forgiveness. I learn how to flirt in 1997 and have more than my fair share of boyfriends, but still pine after Prince Charming when I’m home from college and run into him at church. I work at a Bible Camp in Nebraska in the summers, right off I-80. Dolly the sheep is cloned. I switch my major from Studio Art to K-12 Art Education. I have a spiritual awakening after experiencing hurt and heartache and recommit my life to Jesus. I begin to walk with Him personally-reading my Bible, praying with passion--for the first time in my life. I graduate from college in the spring of 1999 with a GPA a little less than my high school one, search for a job, buy my first car--a periwinkle blue Toyota Corolla--and the Columbine shooting takes place. I still have the hots for Prince Charming, but it seems all he ever wants to be is friends. I spend many, many summers teaching at youth camps in Austria, further hone my German, see many European youth come to Christ and make long-lasting

relationships. I get my nose pierced, bleach my hair and dye it hot pink. When I was heavily into my awesome job teaching elementary art in a great school district--and still sporting pink hair--Prince Charming contacts me out of the blue in the winter of 2000. We’ve never really been friends outside of church, though my mad crush still lingers. He professes his love for me, tells me he always knew we’d get married, and wants to start together on the path towards forever by beginning to date. I am amazed, flattered, stunned and a little freaked out. He wants to know if I’m on board. I say, “No,” and refuse to talk to him for a solid year. I feel badly for the way I rejected Prince Charming and really regret doing so. In the winter of 2001, I get up the nerve to call him while I’m back home for Christmas break. I tell him I knew it had burned the relationship bridge between the two of us and that there was no more hope for that, but that I just wanted him to know that I was sorry for turning him down the way I did and that I actually regretted it. As he went on with his life, I didn’t want him to look back and feel rejected. I tell Prince Charming how great I think he is, what a good husband I know he’ll make someone someday, apologize for shunning him, and ask if we can still be friends. He says yes, and that he is actually still in love with me. I am floored and giddy. I give him a big hug,

and then must return back to the big city to my job teaching art. The No Child Left Behind Act is signed into law. I do not hear from Prince Charming for 3 straight weeks and I practice waiting for him to make the moves. He, of course, eventually does and we begin officially dating in January, 2002. He was watching Uncle Duke in an indoor swimming pool when he asked me on the phone if I’d be his girlfriend. In August 2002, we had our first kiss, just after I returned from a vacation. To this day, I can’t believe he held off that long, but I am as impressed with his integrity now as I was then. After having a long distance relationship for a year and a half, Prince Charming and I get married in a small, private ceremony in October, 2003. I wear a black dress. He wears a hot pink bow tie. He then moves in to the house I had in the city and starts to dream about building his own company. In the winter of 2004, Big Mac is born, two months after our first wedding anniversary. I leave my job teaching elementary art and begin to offer private art lessons in the summer instead. I bring baby Big Mac to the lessons with me and have my students help take care of him. Prince Charming gets his general contractor’s license and starts a small business which he names after our son. George W. Bush is re-elected president. MckNugget is born in the summer of 2006. Big Mac is 19

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Turtle Gazing - The entire MckClan scopes out turtles with Dad.

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I re-name our children after McDonald’s menu items and even I think I’m a bit crazy. By February of 2008, Prince Charming and I are proclaiming to anyone who will listen that we are done having children, and then proceed to get pregnant with MckMuffin when Small Fry is only 4 months old. May of 2008 held one of my blog’s first Name That Photo contests. In mid July, 2008, our unborn baby is diagnosed with heart failure. I am admitted to the hospital where I remain for

comments per post. When MckNugget is 6 months old, we get pregnant again. In fall, 2007, Small Fry is born. In a desire to make my blog more anonymous, I come up with stage names for my family. I first create the name “MckMama” for myself, because it incorporates the letters M, C and K, which are the first letters of our children’s names and also the first letters of our last name. I think it’s ingenious, but can’t stand that it seems to allude to McDonald’s. I decide that I can’t think of anything better and that I’ll embrace the McDonald’s theme after all.

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months old. I have bounds of creative energy and need an outlet. I take up photography as a hobby and photograph my friends’ children as well as my own. My friend Rachel tells me that I should really start a blog as well. I respond by asking, “What’s a blog?” The next day, I start this blog and never look back. In the winter of 2007, Prince Charming’s business grows, Anna Nicole Smith dies, I start a photography business, and my blog gets about 700 hits a day. I post about nutrition, parenting, photography and our family and get an average of 3

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Magazine Monday... cont’d

nearly three weeks as doctors try to save MckMuffin’s life. We are told that our baby will not survive. We decide to find out the gender of our baby and name him Stellan. We desire that everyone know who our wonderful son is before he’s gone. We make plans for a Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep bereavement photographer to join us in the hospital for Stellan’s birth and death, believed to be imminent. But God has other plans. Angie, Nate, and countless other bloggers link to us and a gigantic prayer movement begins for our son. Stellan comes out of heart failure, begins to get better, and I leave the hospital, still pregnant! In September, 2008, I write this post entitled I did not!, and everyone loves it so much that I am inspired to create a blog carnival that I name Not Me! Monday. My blog gets many more than 700 hits a day and many amazing comments. By late summer of 2008, stress and Satan get in between me and my husband. Our marriage suffers. God uses it for His glory, though, by reaching down and showing us His plan for marriage, forgiving us, healing wounds and setting us on a new and beautifully glorious path. I write this post about what I’ve learned about submitting to my husband and how it has made all the difference in our relationship. Very late in October, 2008, our fourth baby MckMuffin is born with no heart problems to speak of. Prince Charming

MckMuffin - Visit MckMama’s blog for the latest MckBaby. and I cannot stop praising God for our son’s healing. And thanking all of you for joining us in our journey of faith. By fall, 2008, I continue to share our life through blogging, unbeknownst to our MSC (Many Small Children), who spend their days in a family full of Many Big Blessings, knowing nothing about MckAnything to do with my blog. I strive to love my husband as God would have me to, and to parent our children together with him in a balanced, loving way. And, in 2009? God only knows!

Tis So Sweet to Trust In jesus

Blog: Kelly’s Korner (kellyskornerblog.com) Two years ago we started trying to start a family. We got pregnant very easily and then miscarried just as quickly. So we kept trying

but nothing happened. After a year – we sought medical help and I started on fertility drugs and tried a few different procedures. Because of my age – we moved things along quickly. In March – we met with a fertility specialist from Little Rock and we were told that our only hope was to do in vitro and even then our chances were 50/50 and it really didn’t paint that rosy of a picture for us. I left that appointment feeling lower than I have ever been. I was devastated. I remember calling my mom and crying and just saying over and over “I just don’t know what to do”. So we decided to take a break. The past year had been a horrible roller coaster of emotions and I just needed a rest. So we planned a dream vacation in Hawaii and I knew after some R&R and the beach – either we would get pregnant or I would have

www.seriouslifemagazine.com/subscribe clarity of what to do next. I didn’t have a peace about in vitro and I didn’t have a peace about adoption. But I also knew that I would never feel complete without children. So in April – not only did we take a break from focusing on trying but I took a break from TV and the internet. I needed to take all of my time and spend it with Scott and with Jesus. I needed it to be

quiet so I could hear Him speak. At the time we were doing “Experiencing God” in our Sunday School classes and our chapter that week was on FAITH. I also had been praying for God to give me a book of the Bible to focus on that week and He kept saying “Hebrews”. And in Hebrews – there is a chapter that speaks of all the men in the Bible who had great faith and because of their

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God is able - To do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine.

faith – God did amazing things. During this time – I started to feel this peace and joy come over me that I could not explain except to know that God was holding my hand and whispering “Wait on me – have faith that I can do anything”. Three days before we left for Hawaii – I took a test. God is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine. Eph 3:20 I can’t even begin to tell you how shocked we were. But I know how big my God is. I also know how many of you have prayed for us for so long and I will never begin to be able to show you my gratitude. I have prayed for the past few months that when I got pregnant – that God would get all the glory – and He did it in such a way that only HE and HE alone can be the reason. I almost hate to share this news because I know there are so many of you who will read this and be happy for me but your heart will hurt because you are still waiting for your turn. I pray that I will give you some hope. I hope you know that there are so many of you that I am praying for daily by name and I pray for all others to cover any I don’t know of. I hope that all of you who are moms will commit yourself to pray for those who aren’t and are having trouble. It’s one of the worst pains in the world to not be able to get pregnant. It’s a grief that few will understand. I know that my infertility wasn’t near as long

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Magazine Monday... cont’d heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this. Psalms 37: 3-5 I am almost 11 weeks and due on January 13th . We are overjoyed at God’s blessings. I have been very tired and very sick but just like I said when I wrote my post about Mother’s

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FEBRUARY 2009

as some of you have waited – know that I still have faith that God WILL do a work in you also. Please don’t give up hope. Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the lord and he will give you the desires of your

Harper - Be sure to visit the current posts at Kelly’s Korner to find out about their newest addition.

Day – even in my sickness – I thank Him. I am so thankful that God is entrusting us with a child. We had one ultrasound at 6 weeks because my levels were so high my doctor thought I might be having TWINS! (there is just one!) My doctor and nurse (both are girls my age and I ADORE them) hugged both of us and cried as we saw the ultrasound. It was one of the best moments of my life. We had planned to wait until after this Friday to tell everyone because that is when we will hear the heartbeat – but people were starting to ask questions and we just couldn’t keep it in any longer. Also – if you don’t mind – I would covet your prayers for us on Friday that everything would be okay. I feel deep in my soul that it will be. Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead-since he was about a hundred years old--and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. Romans 4: 18 – 22 I’m thankful that our God still does miracles! I’m thankful He hears and answers our prayers. He doesn’t need medicine or doctors or for the economy to change to answer

www.seriouslifemagazine.com/subscribe our prayers. He created the universe – can’t we believe that anything is possible with Him? All He needs is for us to put our complete trust in Him. Jesus, Jesus, How I Trust HIM How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er Jesus, Jesus, PRECIOUS Jesus O FOR GRACE TO TRUST HIM MORE!

Dear Buzz Lightyear:

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a Buzz Lightyear lazer gun and DVDs of Toy Story 1 and Toy Story 2 waiting for him (because our Toy Story video tape from 1996 is barely holding on). He has asked for a Buzz Lightyear birthday cake. I can hardly wait to give him his Buzz presents. But Solomon has asked for something even more special than a cake or a toy. You see, because Solomon is an incredibly special little boy, he gets to make an incredibly special wish, and the amazing people (angels really) at Make A Wish will make it come true. Solomon could wish to go anywhere. He could wish to meet almost anyone. He could wish to have almost anything. (And his brothers and sisters have tried to push him in multiple directions!!!) But do you know what he wants more than anything? Do you know what he wished for with his one very special wish?” In the words of Solomon, “I wish, I wish for Buzz. I wish to meet Buzz. I wish to hug him and kiss him.” There is a commercial playing on TV right now, where the “real” Buzz Lightyear hugs a little boy at Disney World. The moment that Solomon saw that commercial and realized that it was possible to meet you, his wish was decided. It will be a truly magical day when my Solomon will get to have his greatest wish come true, and will get to hug and kiss you in real life. Not many little boys get to actually meet their heroes! He also cannot

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Blog: Full House & Hearts (fullhousehandshearts.typepad. com) My Grandma Claire always used to tell me that it was only possible to love “real” people. She would say that I could really, really, really, really, like my doll (or my sweatshirt or my book or whatever I was professing my love for), but I couldn’t LOVE my doll. I could only love people. Well Buzz, despite what my Grandma tried to teach me, I do have to say that I love you. I love you because my baby, my Solomon... he loves you. And Buzz, he really, really, really loves you. He thinks you are incredibly brave. He thinks you are super strong. He thinks you are cooler than anyone or anything else, ever. He thinks you are hysterical. He believes that you truly can (no matter what that Woody says) fly. If any of his brothers or sisters claim that something or someone is cool (or funny or brave or whatever), Solomon responds with an enthusiastic, “NO! Buzz Lightyear is COOL!” On mornings when Solomon’s meds leave him

without any appetite but a little crabby because he is hungry at the same time, it is watching “Buzz Lightyear” that makes him happy. In the afternoon, when he can’t sleep for naptime because his medications make it hard but he is wiped out, it is watching you, Buzz, that makes him lay down and rest. For many months, Solomon had no interest in television, movies or characters. Lightning McQueen is ok. Spongebob is alright. Dora and Diego have a decent gig. Elmo can be entertaining. But the very first time he saw Toy Story, it was instant love for you Buzz. He will lay still and watch the entire movie any day we let him (and would watch it over and over in the same day if we let him... which we don’t... no offense). He laughs outloud throughout the whole thing every time like he has never seen it before (and I am telling you Buzz, this kid has an amazing laugh), . He is happy when you are happy. He is so very sad when your arm falls off and you are sad. He gets mad at Woody when Woody yells at you. He never, ever gets tired of watching you. He proclaims often, “Buzz is mine” and, “To Infinity... and Beyond!” Next week Solomon will get to celebrate his birthday for the first time. (He is turning three, but he was an orphan for his first and second birthdays). Of course, he has asked for Buzz presents. He has a super cool Buzz Lightyear doll (complete with buttons, lazer, helmet, etc.),

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www.seriouslifemagazine.com/subscribe wait to ride your ride at Disney World. (He loves all rides, but of course he knows that YOUR ride is going to be the coolest, because it has you, and lazer guns). So thanks Buzz. Thanks for being so cool, funny, smart and brave. Thanks for being my little boy’s hero. We’ll see you pretty soon (hopefully sometime in the spring), although not soon enough for Solomon. We love you. Love, Solomon’s mom

The Sunny Side

Blog: Dimples & Stars (guateawonderfulworld. blogspot.com)

Its hard to keep a Mommy down when you wake up to a smiling baby girl every morning! Fresh sheets... every single day....”sweet” $65 a day Breakfast served to order and delivered to our room everyday. $3 a day Daddy learning how to keep the house clean..so he can help me when we get home. FREE and no complaints can you believe it! Kya’s Nana coming to visit soon...SHOPPING...TOO MUCH MONEY! Waking up to a laughing and cooing baby...who is MY DAUGHTER....PRICELESS!

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Blog: Carolina’s Hope (carolinahopeadoption.org) If you’ve ever wondered how important spiritual adoption (i.e. God adopting us as His children) is to God, take a look at Galatians 4:4-6. “When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’” Consider the lengths to which God the Father went to give us adoption as sons and daughters. First, He sent His eternal Son—the one with whom He enjoyed eternal communion—into the world to redeem those who had committed cosmic treason against Him. It’s not just that He sent His Son to redeem the weak and helpless (though we are those things). No, God the Father sent him to redeem those who were in utter rebellion against Him (Colossians 1:21-22), those whom Scripture describes as “children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:3). We could go on and on, but I think it’s already clear that the Son’s redemptive mission was no small undertaking. He was sent to deal decisively with our cosmic treason and rebellion in order that “we might receive adoption as sons”

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Kya Blu - You make the world a beautiful place, even a hotel room!

What God Has Done In Adoption

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Magazine Monday... cont’d His only-begotten Son—into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” Jesus is the only one in Scripture who ever cried out, “Abba! Father!” (Mark 14:36), and, get this, he did it on the eve of his crucifixion in the Garden of Gethsemane. So, I think we can safely say that this expression carries with it deep, profound, heartfelt affection and emotion. No one loved the Father like the eternal Son. His love for the Father was and is infinitely greater than the vast universe in which we live. So, when Scripture says that God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts to cry “Abba! Father!”, it’s telling us that

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(Galatians 4:5). He came not to condemn us (John 3:17) but to graciously give us the unbelievable status of sons. Second, because we have been given the amazing status of sons (Galatians 4:6), God the Father sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” Did you notice God the Father’s two sending actions? Both of them concern our adoption. He first sent His Son to give us the status of children (Galatians 4:4). He then sent the Spirit of His Son to give us something else in addition to status, namely, the experience of our family relationship. God the Father sent the Spirit of His Son—

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we have been brought into something that is far greater, far more wonderful than we can even begin to imagine. This is what God the Father has done in adoption. He was not content merely to give us the status of sons, to bring us in but keep us at arms’ length. No, His intention was to bring us in to share in His most precious communion with His eternal Son. If we meditate on this so that it works itself down into our hearts, it will deeply enrich our understanding of orphan ministry and adoption. It will also mobilize the church to reach out in ministry to orphans.

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it is a criticism not of me but of God who builds our families to reflect His own perfect plan. In the big picture of my life I would rather take the world’s rebuke and God’s praise on any day.

Open To Openness In Adoption Transracial Adoption - Still out of the ordinary in America

Outsiders’ Views Of Our Family . . .

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Blog: Carolina’s Hope (carolinahopeadoption.org) My husband and I have been adopting transracially for 9 years and have almost forgotten that our large multi-racial family is still an anomaly in the United States. On Christmas Day, our local paper ran an interview and published an internet slideshow about who we are and how we are living. I was amazed at the outpouring of support that the article has generated and saddened as I received the negative as well. But out of those negative comments much good has come. Here are a few of the benefits that I am praying over today. It has been so good for me to hear from the people who think it is wrong for us to adopt Black kids, because it reminds me to pray that God will raise up more Black families who are willing to adopt. It is good for me to be accused of adopting simply for

the income generated through adoption subsidies, because it is a common fallacy that profit can be made through adoption, and I need to speak truth about it. It is good for me to be accused of neglecting the children in my home, simply due to the number there are, because it reminds me to look into each one’s eyes every day and affirm them that they are precious and not a burden — that there is not one I would rather not have in my home. It is good for me to be accused of seeking public recognition because I must in all things give Glory and Praise to God who sustains our every breath. What a blessing it was that both the article and slideshow ended with the name of God. It is good for me to have strange men in my house, men of the press, and have nothing to hide. No need to diminish or lessen what we believe. No need to pretend we are living this life for any other reason than obedience. It is good for me to be publically criticized for the obedience of adoption — for

Blog: Carolina’s Hope (carolinahopeadoption.org) [The following post is by Laura Godwin, director of Carolina Hope Christian Adoption. This article is adapted from The Complete Adoption Book, co-authored by Laura and her husband, adoption attorney Ray Godwin.] Many prospective adoptive parents ask whether our agency requires all parents and birth families to participate in an open adoption. Although openness is not an absolute requirement, we do expect families to be “open” to an open adoption. First, let’s define openness. Openness in adoption means some level of communication between the adoptive parents and the birth parents. In addition, it can also mean that the child, as he matures, also communicates with the birth parents. So when we require families to be open to openness, we mean that the adoptive parents should be willing to meet with the birth mother before the baby is born, be with her at the hospital, and

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provide her with pictures and letters after the child is placed with them. Thoughts of meeting a birth mother while she is pregnant (and perhaps the birth father, too) can, understandably, cause great anxiety. Everyone is nervous about meeting; it is only normal. Some parents have been so frightened by the prospect of meeting a birth mother and by the prospect of her possible involvement in the child’s life - that they choose to adopt internationally. We certainly encourage adopting internationally. (In fact, our agency has strong international adoption programs.) However, before a family embarks on any adoption, they need to assess their attitudes about their child’s birth family - even if their child’s birth parents can never be found. Each child will need to know where she came from and that someone released her for adoption. Even without names or faces, the birth parents are real people who gave life to a child. When a family examines their attitude about their child’s birth parents, they are also preparing themselves for how they will tell their child about his adoption. A child is going to ask what his birth mother and birth father look like. A child, most likely will ask why his birth mother chose adoption. The more open the adoption, the more answers parents can give their child. If

prospective adoptive parents meet with birth parents before the child’s birth, the adopting family will want to appropriately get as much background information as possible so this can someday be shared with their child. If a family keeps in contact with their child’s birth parents after the child’s birth, then they will be able to share information about the birth parents as they themselves learn new things. Even apart from an open adoption, the prospective adoptive family will receive a background report describing the birth family, but it is unrealistic to expect that a social and medical background report of the birth family will answer the many questions a child will have as she matures. Some people find the idea of openness threatening and a challenge to their very parenthood. However, having a closed adoption does not add an ounce of “realness” to adoptive parents’ parenthood. The joys - and frustrations - of being “real parents” are shared equally by adoptive parents in open and closed adoptions. Few birth parents in an infant domestic adoptions pose any real threat psychological or otherwise - to the adoptive parents or child. However, that does not mean that every situation is appropriate for having an open relationship. Not all birth families want to have an open adoption. Some birth parents want to “get on” with their lives and feel that their

adoption plan is what is best for the child and do not want to stay in contact. Others have such lifedominating problems that staying in contact is nearly impossible. Or a young birth mother, especially a teenager, may be very dependent and may have unrealistic expectations about her role in the adoptive family, expecting in some way to become a part of the family - to be “adopted” herself. These false expectations may occur among girls who have families with profound problems and who view the adoptive couple as the perfect family. No relationship is perfect, so it is not expected that all adoptive parents and birth families are going to have great relationships. Given the emotional factors associated with adoption in particular - and relationships in general - there may be stress in some open adoption relationships. However, for the benefit of your child, we strongly encourage every adoptive family to at least look at some ways that openness can be maintained - even if at a minimal level or by staying in touch with a trusted family member of the birth family. Openness can be a positive experience for the adoptive and the birth families. However, the person who benefits most - and the one who has the least say about whether an adoption will be open - is the adopted child. And that is why we

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want families to be open to openness - for the sake of the child who is being adopted.

God’s Faithfulness Through Heartache

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In time, we healed. The Lord was faithful to mend the break in our hearts. I felt certain we had learned enough of Gods love and faithfulness that he wouldn’t call us to that sort of trial again, but I was wrong. God placed a little girl in my womb just nine short weeks after Samuels birth. I couldn’t believe I was pregnant again so soon. The pregnancy with Abigail was uneventful, the delivery was a miserable, but Abigail was a beautiful, healthy baby. God had spared us a health trial for the present. When Abigail was eleven months old, I found out I was carrying another little darling. I didn’t feel ready, but in time I grew to accept the pregnancy and of course I loved the little baby growing in my womb. A sonogram revealed a healthy baby boy, but that wasn’t to be the case. The night Josiah Kent was born, there wasn’t anything visibly wrong, yet he was struggling to breathe. Before we knew it the doctors were taking him away from us and rushing him to NICU. Kyle followed. It was several hours later before we were told that Josiah had a diaphragmatic hernia (continued next page)

was afraid of seeing death, especially the death of my own child. I prayed and poured over scripture. I sought comfort and received it. We prayed for a miracle, but the miracle would come in a different form than we anticipated. Samuel was born July 1, 1992. He wasn’t healed as we hoped, but I wasn’t afraid when I was staring at my precious son. The top of his head, from above his eyes was absent. He definitely looked different than Jared, but he was still beautiful. A mothers love for her son isn’t tainted by appearances. I couldn’t have loved him anymore than I did. My fear was unfounded. Samuel lived for thirteen glorious days. They weren’t fun days. They weren’t the usual days following a birth. They were stressful and emotional days, but they were so full of the Holy Spirits love and comfort, that I remember them with fondness. The day Samuel died I felt a little relief, because I was weary of waiting for him to die. Its hard to admit that, but its true. However, the days following his death were sad days. I was full of sorrow and only wished I could hold him again.

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Blog: Dancing Barefoot (lynnettekraft.blogspot.com) On September 12, 1990, I gave birth to my first baby, Jared. God had a plan for my life that started the day I was born, but I began to see his plan unravel while I was carrying this first child. My husband and I called ourselves Christians when we met, but it wasn’t until we had a child on the way that we really began to contemplate who God really was and what he meant to us. We began to go to church and both accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior when I was carrying this baby in my womb. When Jared was a year old we decided it would be an ideal time to get pregnant. After- all Jared was in need of a playmate. It didn’t take long. Jared and this next baby would be less than two years apart. It was perfect! The pregnancy was different. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. At my 32 week sonogram we were told our baby had anencephaly a neural tube defect which affects the growth of the brain and skull. Our baby would die. The following months were difficult. I wished I didn’t know I was going to lose my baby. I was fearful and full of anxious anticipation. I

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and had a 50/50 chance of survival. He fought for life for five days, but the Lord had already made the decision to take Josiah home. Josiah means God has healed. We hoped he would be healed on earth, but God chose to heal him by taking him to his eternal home. I wasn’t pleased with the direction God was taking us. I couldn’t understand why we had to face death twice in just 2 years. I cant say I was angry. It wasn’t anger. It was self-pity. I spent the early mornings at my kitchen table alone, seeking God. True to form, he was there. He blessed me through the Psalms. He answered my prayers. He comforted my broken heart and gave me a new perspective. He called me to suffer and I needed to be okay with that. I determined to be faithful to his calling on my life and to serve him with gladness. Just six months later I was pregnant with baby number five. I was a bit fearful of the outcome, but every time I took it to the Lord, he gave me peace. He’d given me the strength to endure heartache twice. I would trust him. Cecily Kate was born April 10th, 1996. She was little compared to the others, but she was healthy. Our firstborn Jared, who was now 4 years old prayed in the hospital room. He said, Lord, thank you for our baby. Please let her not die tomorrow. Yes, the heartache had affected more than just Kyle and me.

Our young son had been down the road of heartache himself. It was very hard for me to hear that, but I was so happy he wouldn’t have to face death a third time at least not yet. Anna Gabrielle was the next addition to our family. She was the sixth child. Samuel and Josiah were babies two and four we feared the pattern and yes, she would have problems too. She was diagnosed in the womb with heart problems, but we had to wait until she born to know the full extent of them. She faced closed heart surgery when she was just three days old. We were told that she had heterotaxy syndrome (cardiovascular and gastrointestinal anomalies). She had a single ventricle, no spleen, and other very serious heart malformations. She would need many surgeries to survive. Anna faced her first openheart surgery when she was nine months old. Kyle and I left the other children at home in Sedgwick, KS and we traveled with Anna to Kansas City, where her surgery would be. Surrendering her to the nurse and watching her walk down that long hall with our baby in her arms was one of the hardest moments of our lives. Anna pleaded with her eyes and cried the whole way. We cried too. We knew it was a risky surgery and we also knew we might not see her alive again. We spent the hours waiting in different ways. Kyle read. I journaled my feelings, my prayers, and my

thoughts. I wrote down the updates we received from the nurses. When the surgery was over, the nurse came out and told us that everything went beautifully and that they would be removing the intubation-tube soon. We rejoiced for about ten minutes. They hurried back to tell us that Anna died, but they had revived her and re-inserted the intubation tube. She was barely hanging on to life. We were told to prepare ourselves because there was a good chance she would die. Annas condition was unchanged for many days. When she was stable enough, she went back in for another surgery to repair an obstruction that was created in her first surgery. The surgery went well and she finally began to get better. After three grueling weeks, we took our sweet baby home. We had never been more grateful in our lives. We faced a few little bumps here and there, but over-all Anna was very healthy. She brought each of us joy on a daily basis. She talked very early and made us all laugh with her big words. When Anna was nearly three, we welcomed another baby boy, Silas, and just two years after that came baby brother, Jonas. Both boys were healthy. I would have praised God in any situation but I was grateful he spared us more health trials. God has a way of using trials to draw us near to him and to each other. Our family grew very close through

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Two Revelations

mom. I do want to be a mom and mold the clay that is my children. I do want to see the world thru their eyes and see things new all the time. I signed up for this - not once, but twice! - and I meant it. So today is Day #1 of my attitude adjustment.

The Things I Learned In Kenya

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Blog: One Breath At a Time (txmomx6.blogspot.com) Well, I finally have time to sit and go over my journal so that I can make this post, as previously promised. This is only a list, and can’t contain everything I learned about God, Kenya, others and myself. Hopefully it’ll give you an idea of the things one can learn on a trip like this -- both the serious and the humorous! 1. There is no such thing as “hurry” in Kenya -- unless you’re in a car. And Kenyan drivers LOVE their horns! 2. Never, ever sit at the back of a bus. 3. The stars at night are big and bright -- deep in the heart of Kenya (sorry Texas, but you’ve got nothing on Kenya!). 4. Mosquito netting doesn’t work quite as well when it has large holes in it. 5. Mosquito netting makes me feel claustrophobic. 6. It’s possible to squeeze 14 adults into an 8 passenger van (painful, but possible). 7. Joy can be found in the worst of circumstances. 8. It’s possible to fall in love with complete strangers and a (continued next page)

Blog: I Love Adoption (iloveadoption.blogspot.com) So I’ve had a couple of revelations in the past few days. The first one was a Sat morning and it was 36 degrees out, very cold for here. I was at a stoplight and a Jewish man and his two young children were walking to their synagogue (they can’t drive on their Sabbath or even ride in a car). The kids were maybe 2 & 4 yrs old, and dressed up, and the father was dressed in traditional garb. I

thought, man, if this man can get his kids up and ready to go to church and walk in this weather, if he has that kind of commitment to God - then I have no excuses when I can hop in the car and drive there. In any weather. Without any discomfort at all. The second revelation started when my mom forwarded me a little story called A Mothers Hands, and it describes how kids see their mom as a pair of hands to do things for them, the mothers themselves are invisible. I’ve realized that I see my new kids as a set of tasks that need to be done, faces to be washed, toys to be picked up, food to be prepared... but I am not seeing the CHILD in there, I am not recognizing the person inside. This is not why I signed up to be a mother (unlike most people, I actually had to sign up for this, LOL). I need to open my eyes and look at my beautiful, obstinate, ornery, wonderful, laughter filled, goofy children and just revel in the joy that is them. I need to bask in their innocence and laugh in their sweetness. I got so wrapped up in all the things that needed to be done for them when they first came home - all the medical stuff, dr visits, etc - that I never did focus on the children themselves. I got stuck in a rut with blinders on. Hopefully with this realization of why I’m not enjoying my life right now, I can change my focus and start to love being a mom again. Because I do love being a

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our testings, but God had a huge heartache in store for us all. On November 19th, 2004, Anna woke up sick. I thought she had a stomach virus. It was more than that. Her heart was failing. Two hours later, while sleeping next to me in her daddys spot in bed, Anna breathed her last breath. We fought to save her, but it wasn’t in Gods plan for her to live. She entered her eternal home and we suffered heartache again. God and time healed us. Its been four years since Anna was ushered into heaven. God has blessed us with another healthy son, Harrison. I wish Anna could have met him. Our life is good, and I am thankful that we haven’t been called to suffer again yet. I know that whatever God has for us, he will give us the strength to endure. Lynnette Kraft - Author of In Faithfulness, He Afflicted Me

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country you never wanted to visit. 9. My body can retain fluids for at least 12 hours (OK, I know it’s not healthy, but it is good to know!). 10. Sometimes it seems overwhelming difficult to touch someones life and heart, but it’s really quite easy. 11. Instead of the word “detour”, Kenyans use “deviation” (this could make a whale of a sermon illustration -- & I even have a picture!). 12. African mothers perform nothing short of a feat of magic when they tie their babies onto themselves (ask me about my “sling” experience with my baby!). 13. Kenyans have awesome smiles that start in their eyes and light up their entire face. 14. Every American should be required to go to a third world country to help out. 15. America has great restrooms. 16. Electricity is an awesome convenience! 17. Kenyans and Texans have an all-together different idea about hot & cold weather! 18. A window screen company would be a fantastic thing in Kenya. 19. Kenyan children have the patience of Job. 20. I will have less patience with the complaints and “problems” of people back home (and I do--though I’m working on it). 21. People have cell phones in unbelievable places. 22. A 2 yr old Kenyan child can operate an iPhone.

23. Kenyans love to pronounce my name (we wore name tags) and they did a much better job than most Americans! 24. There’s always one in every crowd (and that’s all I have to say about that). 25. I now know that I can do anything with a positive attitude when it’s in God’s plan. 26. Obnoxious wake-up calls usually set my teeth on edge -- but not in Kenya. 27. There are fewer pregnant woman than one would think (I saw one in 5 days). 28. Kenyans do not “help themselves” to food. It must be offered to each individual personally before they’ll take it. 29. Most Kenyans love having their picture taken and ALL love looking at them in the digital cameras. 30. Kenyan mothers love it when we pay attention to and touch their children. 31. Most Kenyans age really, really well. 32. When you’re desperate you can learn to really enjoy warm Coke. 33. Peanut butter does not translate well (neither does tuna fish). 34. There are obnoxiously stubborn, persistent people in every country. 35. If you could make people this happy every day in your job you’d never retire! 36. People who try to cut in line in Kenya are dealt with swiftly and loudly.

37. Young Kenyan women have got to be some of the most soft-spoken people on earth -- and it’s impossible to get them to speak louder. 38. I’m going to miss the sounds of Africa -- no T.V.; children laughing and playing outside in the evenings; frogs, birds, chickens & roosters; women laughing and talking and singing while they work & cook outside. 39. Kenyans have longlasting handshakes. 40. It’s possible to leave a piece of your heart somewhere.

One Year Video

Blog: Tubre Quads (tubrequads.blogspot.com) This is, by far, my favorite post EVER!! I FINALLY started working on their one year video on Saturday and finished it last night. Some would call this video bragging and I would say...”you’re dang right!” I am (Torey is as well) so proud of my children that it brings me to tears. They have fought through more things in their short life than most face in 30 years. So here it is, their first 12 months packed into less than 7 minutes...enjoy! Up there, next page... that’s the video.

Searching for Three Twenty Sycamore

Blog: Scravings (scravings.blogspot.com) You know Mary Bailey, George’s wife? From Bedford

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really wanted it and the town may have even paid her to take occupancy. That’s all a little unclear, but she did move in and within just a few hours she whipped up an ingenious rotisserie/ record player that could create a romantic mood while at the same time cook the Cornish game hen. The hen was cooked over the fire she started from the logs she’d cut earlier that day, as soon as she noticed George would be busy for a while at the bank. She hung posters, moved in furniture, put out her best china, and you should have seen the Honeymoon Suite. George was lacking for nothing. Through the years, while having babies, Mary worked on the old Granville place. There seems to have been no real structural damage, no problems with the foundation, no rodent infestations; it just needed some wallpaper and paint and maybe a few new windows. Mary loved it and

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Falls? She’s the classy dresser with the perfect hair. Her hair’s perfect even after she’s been swimming in the high school pool, the one located under the gym floor. She’s good and kind and loved by all. Mary lives in her dream house at 320 Sycamore. She’s always admired the old Granville place, the rambling, forgotten mansion hidden behind the shade trees. Others, including her future husband George, threw rocks at the windows, but she got dreamyeyed and knew that her future children, the ones she’d have with George, would slide down the oak banister one day and sing Christmas carols in the parlor. When she married George, all of the money they were going to spend on international travel was used to save George’s familyowned business. No matter. Mary got right to work. That afternoon she moved into 320 Sycamore. Apparently no one

made it homey and beautiful. She never quite got around to fixing the decorative newel post on the main stair though. It frequently came off and drove George nuts. That and the draftiness. George didn’t like draftiness. But other than that, 320 Sycamore was pretty idyllic. And it was done without money, without a Home Depot, and with the sole efforts of a perfectly dressed and coiffed beauty in a tool belt named Mary. This was how my romantic notions regarding real estate were born; and how they were nurtured year after year at Christmas. Growing up, my time spent dreaming about my future George Bailey was often surpassed by time spent dreaming about my own personal 320 Sycamore. And I’ll have you know that I did in fact marry George Bailey. He’s got the same skinny, boynext-door wholesomeness. He’s humble and friendly and just like George, he also went into the family business-not banking, but dentistry. So I checked George Bailey off of my to-do list and went searching for the old Granville place. Our first house we knew would be only temporary, just until we found the house on Sycamore. I hummed Buffalo Gals while I happily searched through the real estate listings and we religiously watched This Old House. After each episode my husband spoke in a Boston accent like Tom Silva and I wondered if I could (continued next page)

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possibly have some of his tools autographed by Norm Abram. He’d like that. On the real estate search engines, we narrowed our choices to houses built before 1920. In our neck of the baby-faced Northwest, “old” homes tend to be more Brady than Bailey, so it wasn’t easy. Through the years the search engine alerted us to about 10. There was the 90 year-old farmhouse on an acre of land on Bainbridge Island. It wasn’t large or turreted, but it had charm. It also had no closets and a hall that ran through each of the bedrooms. Still, Mary would have seen the potential. We put in an offer. Our kids were convinced it was haunted and we were convinced the owner was insane. Mercifully the deal went nowhere. Then there was the sideways house, named for obvious reasons. There was the 90 year-old house with the root cellar our kids refused to enter, the house covered with asbestos siding--our realtor said that was a big deal. There was the red farm house redone in the 70’s-- nineteenseventies, the turreted castle house with the modular home in front and the trailer around back. There was the Tudor on Sawdust Hill that apparently wanted to live in the valley evidenced by some structural propping and tilting floors. Our realtor stepped gingerly. Our realtor. The poor woman. She got tired. She said things like, “You know, there’s a beautiful development going up over

on Clear Creek.... Please? I can take you today....” The George in me considered, but the Mary in me thought it sounded suspiciously like something endorsed by Mr. Potter. No thank you. Still, I had to admit that the old Granville place was proving elusive. I bagged the search engine and just drove down every street in our community looking for a house that spoke to me. I felt like Inigo Montoya. I was on a quest. Guide my sword. Guide my minivan. One evening I bounced down a long dirt road, dodging puddles and ignoring hungry kids in the backseat. I passed a white farm house with a front porch and mountain view. A light flickered on in the third floor attic bedroom. There was a little guest cottage and a pasture and even a sand volleyball court in the back. No “For Sale” sign; it was very much occupied, but charming.

Months later a friend (everyone knew about the quest) mentioned a new listing. “It’s not old....Hear me out! No, it’s not falling down, but it looks old and it’s got land...It’s even got a volleyball court.” We toured later that day. True, it wasn’t old, but I got dreamy-eyed and envisioned our kids singing Christmas carols in the parlor while our big dog snored in front of the fireplace. I saw our youngest learning to roller skate on the long driveway and our oldest striding downstairs in a tuxedo, heading off to pick up his prom date. My husband carefully measured the detached garage. “I don’t think we’ll paark the caar in here,” he said in his best Boston accent, “but it’ll be just fine for a wood shaap.” It wasn’t the Bailey’s old Granville place; it was better because it was ours. And you know what? For a new house, it’s pretty drafty. ~

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Serious Blog Directory

There are LOTS of great blogs out there that cover every imaginable topic. Visiting blogs is a great way to make friends, build a community, and discover what is going on in other families and lives.

FEBRUARY 2009

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Brent Riggs Type: (Graphic Design) www.brentriggs.com Brent is a graphic designer and professional web developer. ~~~ ...Where Laughter Lives Type: (Family) www.riggsfamilyblog.com Riggs family blog, praying for Abby. ~~~ MckMama Type: (Family, Photography) www.mycharmingkids.net MckMama’s blog about her Prince Charming and kids. ~~~ Kelly’s Korner Type: (Family,)

kellyskornerblog.com Kelly’s blog about family, babies and other Blog Moms. Very popular. ~~~ Full House, Full Hands, Full Hearts Type: (large adoptive family) fullhousehandshearts.typepad. commy_weblog/ The thoughts and adventures of a busy mom to 11, who is passionate about my husband and kids, and about adoption, advocating for HIV+ children and educating people about HIV. There is never a dull moment! ~~~

Annachka Type: (Our child) annafinley.blogspot.com This blog about our daughter, who is fighting reare disease called Atypical HUS. ~~~ Conner....Party Of Four Type: (Adoption) connerpartyoffour.blogspot. com A family celebrating the adoption of their two sons. One from India and one from Vietnam. Chronicles the every day ups and downs of family life. ~~~ Refining Moments Type: (Christian, Breast Cancer)

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www.shannonsjourney.com I was pregnant while diagnosed with Stage IV Inflammatory Breast Cancer. By medical standards I was handed a death sentence. By my Savior’s, I was given a new chance to live. This is my journey one step at a time..but every bit of it is HIS STORY! ~~~ It’s Always a Production Type: (Family, Adoption) itsalwaysaproduction. blogspot.com Cast of nine - a mom, a dad, five homemade kids and 2 Ethiopian treasures - around here it’s always a production. Good thing we have God as our Writer, Producer, Director and Biggest Fan. ~~~ My Roller Coaster Life Type: (Charity, Art, Chronic Illness, Christian) www.ugottafriend.com I’m a 30-something unpublished writer from the Hurricane Katrina-battered Gulf Coast. I left the corporate world to teach people how to paint like Bob Ross. I’m chronically ill and an “old soul”. I am devoted to charity work. My blog is very random. ~~~ Cole Family Mission Type: (Adoption, Christ Followers) colefamilymission/blogspot. com This is a blog featuring the life of a family through God’s calling to adopt a child from Korea. We are on a continuing roller-coaster of missions that God has asked us to do. Please

join along on the Mission of Life! ~~~ Our Life With Dylan Type: (Family, Christian) ourlifewithdylan.blogspot.com Our blog originally began to keep Dylan’s out of town relatives updated on him, but is begining to grow. How God led us from “Our Life” to “Our Life With Dylan.” Not just pictures and quick updates, but stories of our life and our blessings from God. ~~~ Taming the Animals Type: (Family, Christian) taminganimals.blogspot.com The adventures of a stay at home mom in the wilds of suburbia. ~~~ Ramblings of my Life Type: (Family / Current Affairs - Africa) ponderingsinsa.blogspot.com I live in South Africa. I often feel that there are so many important issues in Africa that are not shown honestly and without prejudice by the media - so I wanted a place to talk about not only my family, but items of interest - to bring awareness. ~~~ Wheeler Journey Type: (Adoption) thewheelerjourney.blogspot. com The Lord might in battle; our adoption journey. ~~~ Reinventing Dorsey Type: (Empty nester) reinventingdorsey.blogspot. com

My four girls have grown & flown and I’m no longer a mother with children living at home. I’m now an empty nester. It’s time to reinvent myself, Dorsey. It’s bound to be an adventure. ~~~ My journey through weight loss surgery Type: (Health) nancygene.blogspot.com I made the decision to have weight loss surgery to improve my health. It has also allowed me to become more active in my family’s lives. I started this blog to keep family and friends aware of my progress. ~~~ Wilsons Adventure to Guatemala Type: (Missions) pjwilsonguatemala.com We are a family from NH. We are raising support to head down to Guatemala to work with AMG International. We are excited to see what God has in store for us once we get there. Once there we will be working with child care and nutrition centers. ~~~ A Normal Teenage Life, with Pain Type: (Daily Life) teenagelifewithpain.blogspot. com My blog chronicles the daily ups and downs of a teenager (me) living with a painful chronic condition, RND. Topics covered include my Jewish faith, schoolwork, friendships, and, of course, boys. Pain is a part of my life but not my whole life.

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~~~ Forever ‘n Ever ‘n Always Type: (Adoption, God-created Family) www.forevernevernalways1. blogspot.com Our family has grown by God’s grace through International Adoption. In the past 3 yrs we have grown from 4 to a family of 10. We see God’s hand clearly on our lives and calling us to continue to seek His will and not our own in all we do! Come visit! ~~~ 28795 Our Way - The Schindler Family Type: (Familly) 28795ourway.blogspot.com OUR WAY is filled with PASSION and PURPOSE, but has its share of bumps and potholes along the way. They remind us to cherish the many souvenirs we’ve discovered on our journey down the road we live on. ~~~ The Millers Adventures Type: (Adoption, Christian, Family) www.millersadventures. blogspot.com God has entrusted us with the awesome task of raising 6 precious treasures. God chose to bless us with 4 children through natural birth and 2 through the gift of adoption. Our blog has become a way to share the journey that God has us walking. ~~~ Vaughn Family Chaos Type: (Family) www.vaughnfamilychaos. blogspot.com “chaos”: the inherent unpre-

dictability in the behavior of a complex natural system. Come follow us in our life of ‘organized’ chaos! ~~~ Joan’s Blessings Type: (special needs, Christian) joansblessings.blogspot.com My family are my greatest blessings. Our 13yod Hannah has a rare chromosome deletion and is one of our best blessings. She has a lot of issues that we have to deal with. And of course can’t forget our beautiful grandaughter, Taylor. ~~~ Baseballs and Tutus Type: (Family) www.baseballsandtutus. blogspot.com I’m a mom entirely too close to 30 for my comfort with four children two of which are in diapers. After three boys we were blessed with a precious baby girl and are loving pink! Some days I’m close to certifiable but loving my crazy life! ~~~ Dillon’s Adoption Type: (Adoption) www.hanksadoption.blogspot. com It starts as a story of our son Dillon’s “journey” home to the United States from Guatemala. The blog then continues to document our lives as a family of 5. ~~~ Inside Aileigh’s Heart Type: (Family Prematurity) insideaileighsheart.blogspot. com After having my son 7 weeks too soon, I started a blog to

talk about our adventure in raising a preemie. I went on to have a second baby born full term in October 2008. ~~~ Life in the Fast Lane Type: (Family) jayefamily.blogspot.com My blog is our way to keep family and friends up to date on our busy life with our three children. It also connects my readers to other blogs that I think will have an impact on their lives. ~~~ snowboarding future vet Type: (my life) my.opera.comjajinka1/blog/ someone once called me an artist...and I wondered if that was true.I´m still not sure, the only thing I know that I really love God and all I do is to celebrate him. :) ~~~ Living Freely Type: (Adoption, Africa, OrphanCare) brandisthoughts.com Living Freely is where I blog about learning to live as I have been given. . freely. This is my journal of my learning to serve the Lord in my relationships (especially parenting 3 little ones, 1 of whom is adopted from Liberia) and in my life. I serve at our local church and love doing so, but my passion is Africa. I love that God chooses to use us from half a world away and especially love sharing the stories of when He lets me see His work in Africa close up! Come follow my journey at www.brandisthoughts.com hurry, I’m leav-

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ing for Uganda in April and I can’t wait to share the precious stories and sweet faces of a hurting nation and how WE get to help! ~~~ Muchos Bendiciones Type: (Christian Adoption) muchosbendiciones.blogspot. com The purpose of my website is to talk about, as honestly as I know how, our process of adoption, and the calling that God has placed on our family’s life. ~~~ Through the Valley of Serenity Type: (Inspirational) www.throughthevalleyofserenity.com In 2006, God bestowed a miraclous healing on her daughter Serenity. Since then, we feel He has called us to share our testimony in an effort to encourage those struggling with their own valleys. Our sole purpose is to bring Glory to His name! ~~~ The Copelands Type: (Healing from RAD) www.copelandswalkinginfaith. blogspot.com Our son, adopted from Russian at 8 months, and our daughter, adopted from Ukraine at 17 months, are our treasures and our full time ministry. Our daughter suffers from FAS and by God’s grace, is healing from Reactive Attachment Disorder. ~~~ Family by Chance Friends by Choice Type: (Christian Family)

gipsontable4seven.blogspot. com The ups and downs of a family of 7. A Mom a Dad and 5 kids. ~~~ A Midwest Girl In Arizona Type: (Family, Christian) peekaz.blogspot.com My family and I have always lived in the Midwest. Now we are living in AZ and things are pretty different. This blog shares our day-to-day lives and how God has blessed us in this new place! ~~~ A Voice For Moms Type: (Current Events and Politics) avoiceformoms.blogspot.com A conservative voice for moms in the ever changing political landscape. A place to find your voice and know you make a difference. ~~~ The Chronicles of 7 Type: (Family) thechroniclesof7.blogspot.com Journaling the adventures of our family of 2 blessed parents and 5 fun kids. We are passionate about international adoption, serving the people of Guatemala (the birth country of our 3 youngest children), and living out God’s purpose for our family. ~~~ Kramers Type: (family) www.kramers1234.blogspot. com the ups and downs of our life ~~~ Growing Colin Type: (Christian, Family)

growingcolin.blogspot.com An anecdotal, day to day narrative of our life with a toddler. Growing my faith and relationship with Christ. ~~~ Rylee For Life Type: (Adoption) ryleeforlife.blogspot.com Family blog about the journey through adoption and the joys and struggles of becoming a family. ~~~ If You Loved Here, I’d Know Your Name Type: (IVF and Foster/Adopting) www.ifyoulivedhereidknowyourname.blogspot.com Big tales from a small mountain town. I am a 33 year old Mom of one amazing little boy. We are looking to add to our family after the heartbreak of m/c, and now a failed IVF cycle. We are on the road to foster/adopting while to adjusting to life in a small remote mountian town! ~~~ The Tubre Quadruplets Type: (Multiples Family) www.tubrequads.blogspot. com We were blessed 4 times over with 2 boys and 2 girls 9/19/07. Our blog gives a little glimpse into our lives with our miracle quadruplets! Come follow along. ~~~ Katie’s Story Type: (Family, Meningitis) www.leeleenews.blogspot.com This is our story. Our Dream: Katie is our only child and was

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~~~ With Six You Get Eggroll Type: (Adoption) toribugsmom.blogspot.com My crazy life with 3 teenagers and a two year old....and my wonderful husband. ~~~ The Connell Family Type: (Family) faithfulinourjourney.blogspot. com Our Families struggles through the years with God leading our lifes and hearts. ~~~ Miss Maya Type: (adoption) www.missmayita.blogspot.com Mostly pictures and updates of our perfect little girl adopted from Guatemala. ~~~ Readyaim.com Type: (Personal Protection) readyaim.blogspot.com Family blog w/family business. Readyaim.com, providing the TASER C2 for personal protection. ~~~ The Brosious Project Type: (Family) thebrosiousproject.blogspot. com Our journey to become more like Him. Ryan is just starting his ministry as the worship pastor of a growing church, Manda is a stay at home mom trying to discover God’s calling in her life, and Elijah is the first addition into their growing family. ~~~ Our Quest....Our Daily Walk with Christ Type: (Christian family) www.harrisquest.blogspot. com This is a journal of the daily happenings of our family. We

~~~ Grace Comes By Hearing Type: (Adoption, Family) gracecomesbyhearing. blogspot.com I’m a happily married wife, mother and teacher. These are my stories and feelings about life and our new son. God is my guide and strength. “God never closes a door without first opening a window.” ~~~ Jessie’s Home Type: (Family) www.freewebs.comjessieshome A small glimpse into our insanely ordinary, mundane, life. Our lives have been greatly enriched via the gift of international adoption. You can’t change the world by adopting one child, but you can change the world for one child. ~~~ The Adventures of T & Super B Type: (Family, Christian) tandsuperb.blogspot.com A journal of my life as the mother of a 5-year-old superhero. Super B is our IVF/ preemie miracle; an answer to many years of prayer. My blog is a window into our daily adventures, along with my journey to establish my own small business. ~~~ Praire Tales Type: (Family ) www.prairiebren.blogspot. com True stories by a little housewife on the prairie. A place where you can come and see my beautiful family, and read the burdens and thoughts that God puts in my heart. My desire is to bless you with my blog!

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born healthy in December of 2008. Our Nightmare: She contracted Late Onset GBS Meningitis at 18 days old and we almost lost our angel. ~~~ Hairbows and Fishin Poles Type: (Adoption ) hairbowsandfishinpoles. blogspot.com Daily life as we raise our children. Our son adopted in 1997 through Domestic adoption and our daughter adopted from China in 2006. ~~~ alom mo ny an Type: (Christian, College) courtneyblackwell.blogspot. com A student at a liberal arts college dishes on God, life, future plans,and the children she loves ~~~ Life at the Lunds Type: (Christian Adoption Down Syndrome) lund7.blogspot.com We are a Christian family sharing our joys and tears as we raise five children. Our youngest was adopted from Guatemala 1 year ago. Another child has Down Syndrome. God has so richly blessed us and we want to share our trials and triumphs with you! ~~~ Phoenix’s Fight Type: (Cystic Fibrosis) www.phoenixsfight.blogspot. com Our son Phoenix was born April 30, 2008 with Cystic Fibrosis. Day in and day out he struggles to do one of lifes symplest tasks, breath. While the road ahead is unsure we now Phoenix is strong and will continue to rise above. This is his journey.

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recently added to our family of 5 by adopting a baby girl from Guatemala. Our children range from 18 to 1....so we are living life B-I-G!!!! ~~~ Ethiopia or Bust Type: (Adoption Ethiopia) bottomlysandethiopia. blogspot.com My husband Josh and I adopted our precious son, Silas Tesfamariam from Ethiopia! Our adoption experience has been life changing. We could not be more excited about our sweet little Ethiopian boy. We are in the process of adopting from Ethiopia again! ~~~ Tab and Jeremy’s Adventure with Triplets Type: (Family Christian)

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This blog is our testimony and a look at our life raising triplet daughters (age 15-months) and our soon-to-be 4 year-old daughter. We share everything from the perils of diapers to how God is glorified in the silliest circumstances. ~~~ ABS Type: (Family and Friends) www.faithboundbylizwinks. blogspot.com My blog was started in memory of a girl I knew from College. 3 weeks after her wedding, she became very ill (unexpectedly). 3 months after her wedding, she passed away from Epstein Barr related HLH (23yrs old). She is an angel in heaven now. ~~~ Our Journey

Type: (Family) booboosgirl.blogspot.com Finally we are blessed to be a family of three. Follow our journey as we strive to bring glory to God through our little family. ~~~ Lesley’s Life Type: (Family) lesleyslifeblog.blogspot.com Follow me and my family as we take this journey through life. ~~~ Suburban Granola Type: (Christian Adventures) bakerbonnie.com Adventures with Kids is just that. Our adventure in the suburbs with a “granola” twist. The story of our large Christian, homeschooling, somewhat organic vegan family. Its funny, faith-filled, with crafty ideas, recipes, and homeschool stuff. ~~~ Another Journey Type: (christian, family, adoption) www.kassebaumfamily. blogspot.com A family with 4 teenagers is blessed with two preschoolers through the adventure of international adoption. Follow along as we enjoy another journey! ~~~ The Stairs Family Type: (Family) thestairsfamily.blogspot.com Our blog is about the day-today life of a stay at home mom and short, funny stories about our children. We hope to encourage other young parents and remind them about the

simple pleasures in life. ~~~ From the Round Oak Table v2.0 Type: (Family) roundoaktablev2.blogspot.com “From the Round Oak Table” was a weekly column written by my mom from 1974~2002 for our small town Midwestern newspaper. The Round Oak Table V2 is my 21st Century continuation of Mom’s work. ~~~ Baby Faith Type: (Adoption/Family) www.ourlittlefaith.blogspot. com Our blog was designed to follow the adoption process of our daughter from Guatemala. Since her arrival home we found out that she has special needs. Our blog takes you through our journey with her as well as tidbits about the rest of the family. ~~~ Madelyn Belle Type: (Adoption) www.our-journey-to-madelyn. blogspot.com We started our blog so our friends and family could follow along on our adoption story. Madi is home now and we are enjoying life with her and praying about adopting again. ~~~ Salzwedel Family Adventures Type: (Adoption) salzwedeladventures.blogspot. com Sharing our family, faith & the journey to adopt from the country of Haiti. Praying through the highs and lows of

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Jesus Christ Type: (Christian) revelationtheunveilingofjesuschrist.blogspot.com My blog discusses matters of eschatology, the study of end times prophecies in the Bible. My goal for this blog is strengthen the faith of individuals. ~~~ Trawick Family Adventures Type: (international adoption/ orphan hosting) trawickfamilyadventures. blogspot.com Join the Trawick family as we walk through the journey of life, which includes: Faith, prayer, love, laughter, Home Schooling, International adoption, special needs (C.P.), learning differnces, orphan hosting and a few Boo-Boos here and there! ~~~ Our Life With Lindsey Li Type: (Family, adoption) www.lindseyli.blogspot.com Our family story and daily fun and other things. We are dealing with the loss of a child as well as the addition of a daughter from China! We are starting the process to adopt a son! ~~~ Uppercase Woman Type: (parenting, politics, being a mom/woman) www.uppercasewoman.com The rantings of a foul-mouthed liberal, feminist, fat, recovering alcoholic, mother, wife, woman, and writer. ~~~ Safe In His Arms Type: (Christian Family) nason5.blogspot.com Safe In His Arms began after we lost our 11 year old son to cancer. It’s a blog about our

married, and has children? She becomes One Anxious Mommy! Check me out to find out what I’m worrying about (because I am always worrying about something!). ~~~ I’m Ghana Adopt Type: (Christian Family) imghanaadopt.blogspot.com i’ll send description later ... ~~~ They’re Only Little For A Little While Type: (family, adoption) abbieadellenatalie.blogspot. com This blog is a journal of our lives as a family of 3 beautiful girls...1 adopted and 2 homegrown. We love Jesus and want to tell the world about Him in any way we can. ~~~ Bullfrogs & Butterflies Type: (Christian Military Family) thebakerkids.blogspot.com Follow the Baker family as we prepare and experience the year deployment of husband and father. We are organizing 365 days of prayer for Steve as he deploys to the desert. ~~~ In Due Time Type: (Infertility & Life) in-due-time.blogspot.com This blog is about a 20 something’s journey through life as an infertile. ~~~ Faith, Family, Adoption Type: (Christian Adoption) jasonandkam.blogspot.com Married for 12 years, a Youth & Education pastor and stay home mom parent two daughters and await the arrival of a son from Thailand. ~~~ Revelation: The Unveiling of

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walking by faith & not by sight. ~~~ God’s Faithfulness Through Infertility Type: (Infertility) www.twosheldons.blogspot. com While I certainly wouldn’t have chosen to walk this road of infertility, I have learned that God has a special plan for me that is far greater, and bigger, than anything I can plan for myself. My blog shares my story and my faith as I walk this road. ~~~ My Dominican Dream Type: (Humanitarian Aid) www.heroholiday07.blogspot. com The blog of a University student who spends each of her summers volunteering with Haitian refugees in the Dominican Republic. ~~~ The Mighty M Family Type: (Family) mightymfamily.blogspot.com Boy marries girl. They buy a house. They get pets. They start a family. Then girl starts a blog and shares the story with everyone. Visit us for a glimpse into our busy, wonderful lives. ~~~ I Get To!!! Type: (Family and Christian) www.i-get-to.blogspot.com Sometimes serious, sometimes hilarious. Weekly feature of crazy things that happen in my life...and the only thing to do is laugh about them. ~~~ One Anxious Mommy Type: (Parenting) oneanxiousmommy.blogspot. com What happens when one nervous girl meets Mr. Right, gets

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family, day to day events, and how JESUS has been our ROCK through the greatest loss of our lives. The JOY of the LORD is truly our strength! ~~~ Simpson’s Paradox Type: (Travel) www.simpsonsparadox.com Reflections on travel in China and Chinese life from a Jersey girl living in Beijing. ~~~ Blended Blessings Type: (Christian Stepfamily) bethanyspencer.blogspot.com We have a stepfamily consisting of my husband and I and are 7 wonderful children! My blog is just about that...day to day life in our world. ~~~ Married To The Military Type: (Family, Military) married2military.blogspot. com Life and times of a military wife and Mom trying to keep it all together as she holds down the fort. Deployments, cancer, a premature baby are all in a days work as she muddles through with her eyes turned toward the Lord. ~~~ The Bossy Yankee Type: (Journal) www.thebossyyankee.wordpress.com Well I am a twenty something single woman living in the north. I go to school full time, work in a corporate real estate office, watch two little ones a few hours a week, and own my own photography business. I am someone who is passionate

about preserving the environment and implementing healthy things in my life. I may not always be exciting but this is my life and I am happy to share it with you. ~~~ Life with Miss Magoo Type: (China Adoption) lifewithmissmagoo.blogspot. com This is our blog about our daughter with Cleft lip and palate that we adopted from China in May 2007 ~~~ Our African Daughter Type: (Adoption) www.africandaughter. blogspot.com One big crazy family with two adopted children from China and Ethiopia, two college boys, one homemade boy, two dogs, and two parents crazy about God! ~~~ One Day At A Time Type: (Christian Single Parent) odat23.blogspot.com Single mother to 3 children trying to live my life as God would lead me and teach my children that as well. Life is a little crazy at times, but through it all God has blessed us immensely! ~~~ No Greater Joy Mom Type: (Adoption) www.nogreaterjoymom. blogspot.com We are a homeschooling family with five kids. God has chosen to add to our family through the blessing of special needs adoption. We just got home

with our newest daughter--adopted from a disrupted adoption in China and diagnosed with Autism. ~~~ From Guatemala With Love Type: (Family) fromguatwithlove.blogspot. com This blog is just a journal of my life with Kristen to keep friends and family updated on us. Funny things she says or does, firsts, pictures, adventures with friends and family. ~~~ consider it pure JOY Type: (christian almost-emptynester) kimbowid.blogspot.com i am first and foremost, a daughter of the King, a keen observer of life, have a heart for adoption, for the widows and orphans, for creativity, for children and sharing my love of Jesus. ~~~ Following God To... Type: (Adoption) www.followinggodto.blogspot. com Follow our journey as we seek to follow God in our adoption from Ethiopia. ~~~ Pilgrimage Type: (Adoption Family) www.pearlsfromafrica. blogspot.com This blog is dedicated to adoption and our family life. With a focus on what the Lord is doing as well as the plight of the orphan, the widow, the poor, and opressed. ~~~

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The McKaughan Family Type: (Family) www.themckaughanfamily. blogspot.com Thank you for visiting The McKaughan Family Blog. We are so blessed by our two boys & needless to say, there’s never a dull momment. God is so great and we are so thankful for our family! ~~~ Michelle’s Path Type: (Adoption) michellespath.blogspot.com Happily married couple with male inferitlity.We’ve had 2 miscarriages, 1 after an IUI and another after IVF. We now are adoptive parents to our duaghter. The USAF has made our new home at Andersen Air Force Base, GUAM and we are now living happily. ~~~ Steven’s Journey Life with Von Hippel Lindau disease Type: (health,hope) stevensjourney.blogspot.com Steven’s journey describes the life of our son as he battles a genetic cancer syndrome called Von Hippel Lindau disease. ~~~ Following Our Hearts...No Second Way Type: (Family Adoption) nosecondway.blogspot.com A blog about our family... Our family includes Me & My Husband, of 19 years, and, of course, our 6 Children (5 Bio and 1 Adopted-hopefully by March 2009) in China. Follow our Journey to our dd in China, while we follow our Hearts, No Second Way! ~~~ Better than Good Type: (adoption, Ethiopia) 4blessed.blogspot.com

We are the Howlett family... Dad and Mom, big sisters Allison and Abby--and the newest addition, Baby Amelia. What an adventure our family experienced when we travelled together to bring Amelia home from Ethiopia. What joy and fun we’re experiencing now that we’re home in Colorado. God has changed us forever by our experience in Africa. We pray He will use us to do His work, and may He always be glorified! ~~~ The Drays Today Type: (Family) www.thedraystoday.blogspot. com A blog about the daily of a Christian family life. My husband is a police officer and I run a home daycare. Topics covered include everything from trips to the park to the frustrations of having a baby who is a slow grower. ~~~ Dimples and Stars Race Cars and Guitars Type: (Adoptive Family) guateawonderfulworld. blogspot.com This is our family BLOG...it follow our journey of life after having both of our children home from Guatemala. ~~~ Handsful Type: (Adoption/Multiples) www.handsful.com We are a Christian, homeschooling family with five children - a 13 yr. old daughter, 10 yr. old triplets (son, son, daughter), and a 2 yr. old daughter adopted from China last year. We blog about our daily life with our hands (and hearts) full! ~~~

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Stalked by God Type: (Christian) stalkedbygod.com Contemplations of the presence of God in my life. ~~~ Pursuing Micah 68 Type: (Christian Encouragement) pursuingmicah68.blogspot. com This blog is the journey of my family with the Lord, pursuing the life described in Micah 6:8, a life-verse for us. Come and visit our blog for encouragement on your walk with God and details of our adoption journey as well. ~~~ Welcome To Our Adventure Type: (Family - Parenting Life) jadenalexandra.blogspot.com My blog is a day to day (well almost) blog about parenting my 7 yaer old and my newborn - not just parenting though parenting while living 1200 miles away from my family and 90 miles away from my husbands family - its a struggle but we do it! ~~~ The Place Called Home Type: (Adoption ) theplacecalledhome.blogspot. com I blog about adoption in general, the need for more adoptive families, and the Christian’s responsibility to the orphan. We are currently on our second adoption journey. I blog frequently about our domestic adoption adventure. Join us for the ride! ~~~ The Howletts 5--Better Late Than Never Type: (Ethiopian adoption) thehowletts5.blogspot.com

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We adopted 2 children from Ethiopia, this is our story. One child is HIV+, blogging is my way of sharing our lives. ~~~ Beautiful Child(ren) Type: (Family/Ethiopian Adoption) www.beautiful-child.blogspot. com We are an Ethiopian/American family created by the gift of adoption. ~~~ For Keeps Type: (Adoption) forkeeps-michelle.blogspot. com We are a christian family hoping to expand our family through fostering/adopting. ~~~ Labor of Love Type: (Parenting & Pregnancy) laboroflove.typepad.com We are mothers, fathers, children, doulas, midwives, childbirth educators and pregnant women who love music almost as much as we love children. We strive to find a natural rhythm in childbirth, parenting and family life. ~~~ All Things Family Type: (Family) www.lindsrog.blogspot.com My day to day adventures with my husband, a 1 year old, 2 dogs, and another baby on the way. Often, the general comedy that is my life! ~~~ The Byrd’s Nest Type: (Missionary Family) lottiegracebyrd.blogspot.com God has blessed us with two

bio children and a daughter from China and another daughter from South Korea. The Lord is sending our family to Puebla, Mexico for a long time to tell everyone about Jesus and establish relationships. Please pray for us. ~~~ Ana Cristina Home at Last Type: (International Adoption and family of five) www.babysites.comsites/bellagirl/ Follow our journey to Guatemala and back to adopt our darling daughter, lots of bumps along the road and the lose of two toddler girls through a bad agency as well as Ana’s successful adoption with a private hogar (orphanage). ~~~ What’s going on? Type: (Family) brinsfield.blogspot.com Day to day life with my family. I try to find the humor in everyday things. ~~~ The Dawson Diaries Type: (family/disabled child) www.dawsondiaries.blogspot. com Keeping up with our family as Brian and I work to help our disabled child (Rasmussen’s Syndrome/ left side hemiplegia), but also to keep balance with our other children. ~~~ Life As I Know It Type: (Family, Christian) www.robinbrooke.blogspot. com I am a stay at home mom to 3 girls. I blog about my daily life

as a wife, mother and friend. I also work for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and participate in raising funds to find a cure for this disease. ~~~ Emily’s Adventures Type: (Family, semi-terminal illness) emilysadventures08.blogspot. com My blog is about my life dealing with a semi-terminal illness and an illness so rare that there is no cure, and I’ve never met anyone that has it. I am learning to trust God everyday and in doing so, I know that He has the perfect plan for my life. ~~~ I am heading towards my destiny! Type: (Christian, Family, Adoption) bethinnc.blogspot.com I am heading towards my destiny in Christ! I want to journal what I learn along the way. I share every day humor as a wife, mother of a beautiful daughter (through adoption), and as a partial care-giver for elderly parents with poor health. ~~~ God’s Gracious Gems Type: (Christian) godsgraciousgems.blogspot. com This is a place to read short encouraging devotions each day. ~~~ Growing Up Riggs Type: (Christian, Family) growingupriggs.blogspot.com Our adventures as first time

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Type: (Christian) www.crazyhomeschoolmamma.blogspot.com About a homeschool mom that is crazy about her kids. ~~~ Tiny Tidbits Type: (Domestic Tips) sometinytidbits.blogspot.com Tiny Tidbits is my outlet for my creative and domestic life. It is a place where I’ve compiled helpful hints, recipes, and craft ideas for adults and kids. ~~~ Beautiful Like This Type: (Family) beautifulikethis.blogspot.com A glimpse into the lives we call beautiful! ~~~ Mixed Nuts Type: (Adoption) www.pletcher5journey. blogspot.com We are a family of 5 living in Connecticut. We adopted our son, Cainan from China in 2007. He had cleft lip/palate. My two youngest are only 30 days apart. Our kids are 6, 2 and 2. This is a story of our becoming a blended family. ~~~ living graciously Type: (family; Christian) macandemma.blogspot.com living graciously started out as a way to keep friends and family updated while we lived in the UK. It has transformed into my little piece of ‘sanity’~~~a place for me to just ‘be’ as I strive to be a Christian mom, wife, and friend. ~~~ Knowing Norrah Type: (Parenting, Miracles, Christian, Prayer) knowingnorrah.blogspot.com A blog about a little girl who

Kids...Raising Cancer Type: (Cancer/Family) moonsfamily.blogspot.com Upon learning my diagnosis of Stage 3 breast cancer in September 2008, I began my blog. I felt like like I would go crazy if I didn’t get my thoughts down...so here is my venue. ~~~ My Father The King Type: (Homeschooling) www.homeschoolblogger.comDragonflyPrincess Occasional musings from a homeschooling mom of three boys. I blog about homeschooling, the kids, life, and all kinds of miscellaneous stuff. Come join me! ~~~ LorelaiCC aka C.C. Almon Type: (Family, Christian) www.lorelaicc.com My life as a Christ follower, wife, mom, and soon to be hospital chaplain ~~~ too {blessed} to be stressed Type: (Family) stierjohnson.blogspot.com chronicle of a mother of four in the process of selling a business that means the world to her ... in order to become the person God is calling. you’ll find inspiration, laughter, struggles, and even some design and fashion tips! ~~~ Heaven In Our Hearts Type: (Christian Family) www.heaveninourhearts.com The adventures of a family striving to get closer to God while going through the trials of being a large blended family. 6 kids, 3 girls, 3 boys, 2 on the autism spectrum, never a dull moment. ~~~ Crazy Homeschool Mama

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parents. We’re trying to raise our daughter in a way that glorifies God and we hope you’ll share in our journey. ~~~ Riggs Report Type: (News Opinion) www.riggsreport.com Family, Conservative and Patriotic News, Articles & Current Events NOT fair, balanced or objective... at least I admit it. ~~~ Mommy’s Lil’ Blessings Type: (Guatemala Adoption) mommyslilblessings.blogspot. com My blog empicks what it’s like to be a family with a child adopted from Guatemala. It also helps others embark on the journey to help give back tot he coutnry that gave us so much!! Helping one orphan at a time!! ~~~ Suddenly it Moves With Such a Perfect Grace Type: (family, stay-at-home mom) www.lainiesmom.blogspot. com Funny and sometimes very ordinary stories from a stay at home trying to find her way back to the Lord. ~~~ Prairie Mama Type: (Motherhood, Family) www.prairiemama.org I knit, sew, bake, clean, cook but most importantly, I Mother. In my blog I talk about the joys and challenges that come with raising 3 children and having one who has already gone on to Heaven. I write about love and loss, diapers and hugs;my life. ~~~ A Public Dialogue about my Private Problem - Raising

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has perservered through poor prenatal and post-natal diagnosis, physical challenges and medical mysteries of many kinds. It is the blog, written by a praying, learning mother, of a daughter who lives to reveal miracles ~~~ You’ve Bewitched Me Body and Soul Type: (Family Fun) shanderson.blogspot.com The adventures of a young married couple trying to figure this life out and give glory to the Lord. ~~~ grandmamacsclan Type: (family, including adoption) grandmamacsclan@blogspot. com Life is too short to be limited by the “titles” that we are given..I may have been a foster parent to hundreds...and an adoptive parent to one,but...I am a parent/grandparent and all around very crazy person... with the help of the love of my life ~~~ Welcome to the Jungle Type: (Life) faithfullyhis-fmattso.blogspot. com I just started my blog and wanted to do it just for every day life stuff. I am currently on a weight loss journey and thought it might be fun to journal on here. Just writing about life. ~~~ Journey with Jackson Type: (Special Needs Parent)

baby-jackson.blogspot.com My journey with Jackson started 2/8/07 and has been a truly amazing trip through the world of Arthorgryposis Multiplex Congenita (AMC). It is a rare (sometimes genetic) condition, that affects 1 in 10000. We celebrate everything and share our story. ~~~ We are THAT family Type: (Christian parenting, humor) www.wearethatfamily.com A blog about family life that asks the question, “Are we normal?” I’m afraid the answer is, “Yes, you are more normal than you think.” Some good clean fun, kind of like “The Family Circus” comic strip only more trips to the E.R. ~~~ The Bailey Family Type: (Family) www.maxabbyandlucy. blogspot.com Life in the Bailey Family. Crazy, loud, chaotic, loving...but most importantly, Blessed! ~~~ Imperfect Perfection Type: (Christian, Contented Living) mygodisfaithful.blogspot.com I am persevering sanctification, following Christ, and practicing thankfulness for the abundant grace and mercy afforded me for my shortcomings. God, who has done a great work in me, will bring it to completion! ~~~ Night Light Stories Type: (Original children’s

stories) www.nightlightstories. blogspot.com Night Light Stories is a podcast featuring original children’s stories. These stories were all originally told by the friendly glow of a child’s night light. We invite you now to share these stories with your own children, at night, in the morning, or anytime...anywhere. You can download and listen to the stories from the links on the blog or download it free at iTunes! ~~~ Life As I Live It Type: (Life, Family) threerowlands.blogspot.com This blog is a day to day update on myself and family. It started as a way to keep my family up to date Now it is somewhere to vent, ask for prayer, and laugh at! ~~~ The Mommy Diaries Type: (Family) www.ethanzachemma. blogspot.com The Mommy Diaries is a blog written by me, a SAHM and pastor’s wife. I write about my kids, my life, and my husband, and add a lot of humor. ~~~ Making Our Mark Type: (Family and Career) www.minishfamily.blogspot. com I blog mostly about my kids. My son who has overcome developmental delays and our healthy daughter. I am also trying to be a work from home mommy and try to show off my sewing skills on the blog.

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on life has been wonderfully changed! I hope you enjoy reading about my adventures with my new husband as we learn more about life, love, and the God we serve. ~~~ The Judge Family Type: (Family) judgefam.blogspot.com On raising children, Christian values, family, attachment parenting, working moms, and photos of our little one! ~~~ His Heart Type: (Christian Adoption) his-heart.blogspot.com Reflections of my personal journey to follow Jesus Christ since the day I recognized Him as more than Savior, but also as LORD. It is also the account of how God has worked in our life through infertility and adoption to draw us closer to Him. ~~~ I’m The Momma, That’s Why! Type: (Family) imdamomma.blogspot.com Misc. ramblings, hopefully humorous, about my life & life in general. I also put in whatever weird holidays I can find for that date (such as No Housework Day!). This is something that I want people to have fun with & enjoy coming back to see me! ~~~ Our Gift from God Type: (Christian Family) wuenschel.blogspot.com Our life with an infant, on a budget, with a God that is so good! Cloth diapering, learning to make baby food, finding great coupon deals, and sharing our joys, trials and laughter all along the way.

My blog focuses on me and how I handle life as a working mother. I include favorite recipes, meal plans, and any making-life-easier tips I find along the way. ~~~ Loving Mom 2 boys Type: (Family) lovingmom2boys.blogspot. com Chronicling the life and times as a family of four, complete with two crazy funny rambunctious little boys. ~~~ Life, Laughs, and Love Type: (Family) lifelaughsandlove.wordpress. com Life, Laughs & Love is a blog that chronicles the daily exploits of a stay-at-home mom, her 2 young children, husband, dog, and 4 frogs! From wandering around the grocery store with gum dangling from her rear end, to chronicling the birth of her second child, there is never a shortage of stories that will amuse you and warm your heart. ~~~ 3 Stairs Type: (Family) 3stairs.com I am a SAHM to 3; awardwinning Graphic Artist; Typesetter; Web/CSS Designer; Avid Reader; Blogger; slightly Techy/Geeky Nerd and very proud of my Irish heritage. I write about my passions, but mostly the wackiness of life with my kids and husband. ~~~ Adventures of a Newlywed Type: (Christian, Newlywed) rachelnoelhaney.blogspot.com I had the privilege of marrying the love of my life on August 4, 2007, and my perspective

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My work website is www.polkadotpixie.etsy.com ~~~ In God’s Time...Not Mine Type: (Korean Adoption) www.ingodstimenotmine. blogspot.com I am a mother without a child, my daughter died in August 2006. I am now officially waiting to adopt a baby from Korea. My blog details my journey from loss to life. ~~~ The Newsome Family Type: (Frugal Family) ericandmistynewsome. blogspot.com This started as a blog about our Christian family life, but it has turned into a way for us to share how to save money and earn money in this economy of frugality--by being good stewards of our money. ~~~ Following HIM Type: (Christian, supporter) liveandlearn711.blogspot.com Christian gal going to college to fufill a dream of working with Special needs and is on a mission to support any blogger on a daily basis. Everyone loves comments and so every blog I visit, I comment...and only encourage and support :) ~~~ Our Life’s Journey Type: (Christian Family) brittnesnyder.blogspot.com Our blog allows our readers what life is like for an Active Duty Air Force couple. Both of us are stationed at Shaw AFB and love God with all our hearts. ~~~ A Working Mom Type: (Motherhood) FromAWorkingMom. Today.com

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~~~ Mommy’s Take On Things Type: (family and fun) www.mommystakeonthings. blogspot.com

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~~~ Keeping Up with the Cases Type: (family, Christian) keepingupwiththecases. blogspot.com Young mother with three kids under the age of two attempts to cope in the Midwest! Lots of photos, tantrums, spilled sippy cups, and fervent prayers for patience are guaranteed. Try your best to keep up with it all. ~~~ Follow the Journey Type: (Faithful Follower) followthejoyfuljourney. blogspot.com This blog is simply to share the goings on in my life & my family and friend’s lives. It has also become a place for people who need to be lifted up in prayer or people to share their PRAISES! More than anything, it’s a place filled with God’s love. ~~~ Life After Ukraine Type: (Adoption) lifeafterukraine.blogspot.com Christian mom of two boys. Husband died six days after return from Ukraine adoption. ~~~ The Nie Nie Dialogues Type: (Plane Crash Survivor) www.nieniedialogues. blogspot.com Burned over 80% of body in August of 2008. 4 children full of life.

~~~ Our Crazy Wonderful Life Type: (Parenting) www.courtneyb613.blogspot. com Courtney loves Jesus, is the wife of a Youth Pastor & mom to 3 great kids. She writes honestly about her many weaknesses so that others may see what Christ has done in her life. Her children also provide quite a few histerical reads. ~~~ The Rowan Four Type: (Family) the-rowan-four.blogspot.com What’s this blog? A blog to share the good, bad, and hilarious with our friends and family across the US. A blog to eliminate the large gaps in our memories from when we saw each other last. A blog to look back on and laugh really hard at ourselves. ~~~ I Used to be the Perfect Mom...and Then I had a Baby Type: (First Time Mom) racheltheperfectmom. blogspot.com Read about how I went from the “perfect mom” to the “notso-perfect mom” in a few short months after my first born daughter was born. ~~~ Busy Hands Busy Minds Type: (Christian homeschool family) busyhandsbusyminds. blogspot.com We are a large Christian homeschooling family. We have seven children ages 24, 20, 16, 12, 9, 4 and 4 months. Our

married daughter is expecting our second grandchild in March. This blog chronicles our day-to-day lives. ~~~ Let Go, Laughing Type: (Almost Newlywed) www.lashleyadams.blogspot. com A blog about life as a twentysomething, almost-newlywed just trying to figure out what I want to do in the world and enjoying family and friends as much as possible. ~~~ The Deel Spot Type: (Family) www.deelspot.blogspot.com

~~~ Life On Beech Grove Road Type: (Family/Christian) maria-lifeonbeechgroveroad. blogspot.com Maria lives in a small town in Marrowbone Ky. she is a Salon owner, wife, Mother, and loves God..her blog offers a look into her wonderful blessed world in Kentucky, on Beech Grove Road. ~~~ MomDot Type: (parenting, mommy bloggers) www.momdot.com MomDot is a Mom Blogger site that brings the best in reviews, contests, websites, parenting, and more. Our number one goal is to feature and bring forth new and exciting mommy bloggers everyday and expose them for free. ~~~ Learning by Faith

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on all the medical hurdles that have come her way & still have time to hang out with friends & family. ~~~ Ask Miss Mommy Type: (Parenting, Reviews) www.askmissmommy.com I am a mommy blogger blogging about life with two small children and doing reviews on products I love. ~~~ BEAUTIFUL MELODIES - The highs and lows of life’s symphony Type: (Christian mama) singingmamaslife.blogspot. com My blog is all about the way I live my life each day Just trying 2 serve the Lord as I go With my family in tow I stumble & fall, but get back up I have lots of fun & run amuck I praise God in all that I do, I love to share it all with u. Singingmama ~~~ Mad Fam of 5 Type: (Family) www.madfamof5.blogspot.com random thoughts of a Christan stay at home mom, working on her faith, family and future. ~~~ The Wild Wild Wests Type: (Family) thebestofthewests.blogspot. com Our blog is a play by play, day to day in the life of a SAHM with a 2 1/2 year old and a 1 1/2 year old. It also walks through my road to healing in the loss of our third baby this past November. We’re just a normal family sharing our story. ~~~ The Pit Stop Type: (Family)

such a busy mind crammed full of thoughts, fears, worries, prayers... worries... did I mention worries? I have been online journaling since September 2003. I write to sort out my thoughts, sift through head noise... but mostly to pray. ~~~ Still serving HIM through the storm Type: (Family) stillservinghimthroughthestorm.blogspot.com We are a Christian family.We have 5 beautiful children here on earth, twins in heaven do to miscarriage and we have recently dealt with the tragic lost of our baby girl Emily Grace Hedges. Emily was born May 3,2008 and lived for 17 minutes. ~~~ Steele (the Day) Type: (Christian) tooblessed4myowngood. blogspot.com Ramblings on living the life of an empty nester who loves the Lord and in her heart feels like she’s still 35 (and all too frequently acts like it). ~~~ Luv My Arrows Type: (Christian Family) luvmyarrows.blogspot.com We are a growing family of 7, trusting the Lord to do His will with planning our family. We homeschool and know that each child is a reward from Him. Psalm 127:3-5 We are thankful for each day, full of whatever it may bring, because we know Jesus! ~~~ My Crazy Oklahoma Life Type: (Life) erink007.blogspot.com A college girl struggling to get through college, dodge & take

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Type: (Family, Christian) www.learningbyfaith.blogspot. com I’m a mama to, two but first and foremost I am a child of God held by his hand. Follow me in my journey through motherhood and life as I learn by faith. ~~~ Bloggers Give Type: (Charity) www.bloggersgive.com Bloggers Give is an online blog that combines the skills of review and giveaway bloggers to receive additional products from thier sponsors for a designated charity. This year we are working for The Center for Courageous Kids. Learn about us today! ~~~ The Adventures of Cat and Bambam Type: (Family) theadventuresofcatandbambam.blogspot.com Mom of two preemies shares life after the NICU ~~~ Taking Heart Type: (Faith, Family, Wellness) www.takingheart.blogspot. com Believer, Wife, Mom, Sister, Friend, OB Nurse. I love my husband, my kids, my family, my friends. I am a sucker for sharing a hot steamy cup of coffee with a good friend or with my goofy husband. I love my job because it connects me with people, and people fascinate me! I am very passionate about solid and compassionate patient care. In a time where health care is rapidly changing, I strive to keep my focus on the people I care for, and for the families there to support them.Personally, I have

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~~~ Madhatter Mom Type: (family, momblog) www.madhattermom.com Sit down, strap in, and join the ride! Read about my trials, comedic conversations with a 3 year old, inspirations and just randomness that happens to this “mad” mommy, step-mom, and wife. ~~~ Four Plus More Type: (Adoption) www.fourplusmore.com Follow our family that has gone from 4 to 6 with the adoption of two siblings (9 and 8) from Ethiopia who came home in December 2008. ~~~ His Life for mine Type: (Christian) hislifeformine.wordpress.com Living life day to day, good times and bad, happy and sad, knowing I’m in my Saviors hands. ~~~ Serving A Mighty King... Reaching The World For Jesus Type: (Ministry, Changes) sebcintern.blogspot.com I’m a bible college senior who works with a ministry called Whosoever based out of Birmingham, Alabama. The ministry is often the focus of my blog, but also about what ministry in the largest youth movement in America looks like from the outside. ~~~ Hold it UP to the Light

Type: (Faith, Family, Motherhood) www.holdituptothelight.com With thanks and praise to the one true God, we Hold it UP to the Light. I am raising my sweet, crazy, sassy children with my patient and loving husband, and I tend to see life through rose- colored glasses. Welcome to our little piece of the world!! ~~~ Smithsoup Type: (Family/ Adoption) smithsoup.blogspot.com Our family of 14 kiddos is growing by 2 more: coming home from Liberia to Calico Acres Farm in OK.We’re about dairy goat farming,horses homeschooling, growing in our walk with the Lord,2 sons and dad serving in Iraq, kidsports and moms love of music ~~~ Firefly Photo Jewelry Type: (Family) fireflyphotojewelry.blogspot. com Shawna....wife to a man I can not imagine my life without, mom to 2 girls who are my world, wanna be photographer, in home daycare provider, jewelry designer, thrift store shopper, home decorator, but most importantly, follower of Jesus Christ!!! } ~~~ Heaven-Bound Sinner Type: (christian) heaven-boundsinner.blogspot. com Public confession in hopes that as a result people will be able to see the God who lives in

me and perhaps, maybe even motivate other Christians to become more transparent; because, I am convinced people can’t see God through a facade. ~~~ Blue Castle Type: (Family, Decorating) www.sarahsbluecastle.com Armed with way too much spray paint, decoupage glue and imagination, I enjoy decorating my house using thrifted items that I recycle into works of art when I’m not homeschooling my two crazy boys or cleaning my house. ~~~ A Pure And Holy Passion Type: (Christian, Family, Marriage) apureandholypassion. blogspot.com A young, God-seeking, husband-loving, mom of four. I’m trying to overcome my past and use that in my future to reach teen girls who are in a difficult place! Lots about marriage, children, and my faith! ~~~ Kickin’ It With Kellianne Type: (Fun!) www.howsweetitis-kellianne. blogspot.com Kickin’ It With Kellianne is all about being honest and having fun! Each post is different and usually doesn’t have a “theme” but in the end, it all makes sense. From pictures, to stories, to laughter and tears, you will find it at this blog! :) ~~~ naturallyestes Type: (family, parenting) naturalyestes.blogspot.com

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~~~ Newly Wed, Newly Bred Type: (Family, Motherhood) www.newlywednewlybredinne.blogspot.com Life as a new wife and new Mom, and day to day adventures with a newborn. Laughter is key! ~~~ A Giveaway A Day Type: (Giveaway Site) www.AGiveawayADay. blogspot.com A Giveaway A Day is an enjoyable site where readers can comment each day on an awesome item that is up for grabs. Winner(s) are picked randomly and there are NO strings attached. We do this to make someone’s day a little brighter. Maybe you’re next! ~~~ Picture Of My World Type: (Family, Photography) www.pictureofmyworld. blogspot.com Picture Of My World is a glimpse into my life as a single mother to one adopted little boy. I am trying to parent him while taking pictures, doing social worky things, making baby food, laughing a lot and praising the lord. ~~~ It’s the little Things Type: (Family) appelligartafamily.blogspot. com Just a day to day evaluation of my life- the one of mom, wife, widow, scrapbooker, lover, christian, the list goes on and on. Putting things that mean the most to me out there for the world to read! ~~~ The Q Family Adventure Type: (Christian Family) theqfamilyadventure.

with a very rare, spontaneous syndrome (RTS). He has had many medical issues, and almost died at birth. He is now 16 months old, and is the light of our lives. He is changing others views on special needs world wide! ~~~ Valerie at Home Type: (Family, Homeschool) valerie.thestranathans.com Valerie at Home is a “mommy blog” with a light-hearted twist on crafts, homeschooling, adoption, faith, and life with two daughters. ~~~ Colbert Family - A.L.L. in His Hands Type: (Leukemia) www.colbert-family.blogspot. com Our blog is our journey as a family through our daughter’s leukemia. We use it to list prayer requests & journal her progress. We are living through what seems like the impossible, but learning so much about our Savior’s love for us along the way. ~~~ Jack & Mandy - The Blog Type: (Newlyweds/Marriage) jackandmandy.blogspot.com A country boy and a city girl, trying to figure out this marriage thing, one hilarious day at a time. He loves budgets and she loves scrapbooking. They both have straight brown hair, green eyes, and complete lack of singing talent. ~~~ Mandy Crafts Type: (Crafting) mandycrafts.blogspot.com Stuff I made, stuff I love, how to make the stuff I love. My name is Mandy, and I have a crafting addiction.

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Life can get a litte crazy, and I love it. So this blog is what I often call my theorpy session. I have the best family a girl could ever dream of, and the only thing missing is a baby girl. So for now I’m stuck in a land of baseballs and bruises! ~~~ Who Says 8 is Enough? Type: (Mega Family) bouffard11.blogspot.com A Christian family trying our best to live our lives as God intended. It’s told by the parents about our 9 children, some adopted & some biological. We are always sharing our values, our love, lots of laughs and of course lots of pictures. ~~~ Faith Into Action Type: (Christian Missions) faithintoaction.blogspot.com Following very clear call from God to serve the people of South Africa for one year. I will be helping a Christian organization raise funds to continue their good work of assisting those suffering of HIV/AIDS. I have to raise my own financial support ~~~ Our Little Miracle Type: (Miracle Baby) babyowain.blogspot.com Owain was born with a life threatening birth defect called Congital Diaphragmatic Hernia. He spent six weeks in the NICU.And another week at nine months. Looking at him today you would never know he has had three surgeries.He is our little miracle! ~~~ new kind of normal Type: (speical needs child) www.newkindofnormal. blogspot.com Our third son Alex was born

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FEBRUARY 2009

blogspot.com The TRUE real life adventure of a military family striving to follow the God we serve while serving our country. With 5 kids, ages 6 and under, our life is ALWAYS an adventure. ~~~ Masto Mama Chronicles Type: (Chronic Disease) mastomama.blogspot.com Our 2 children & I have a rare disease called Mastocytosis. This is our story of life with chronic illness. It’s filled with stories that will make you laugh & cry, and sometimes both at the same time. Join us on our journey and be encouraged! ~~~ Kathy’s Krew Type: (Family) www.kathykellogg.blogspot. com

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~~~ Ahhh, This is the Good Life!!! Type: (Family) rachelboldman.blogspot.com Adventures in parenting, reducing our environmental impact, and making ends meet on one salary. ~~~ Good Times Delgado Style Type: (Family) goodtimesdelgadostyle. blogspot.com We are learning to Praise God in all things. We have four kids Destinee is 15 (we have custody of my sister), Kenya is 2, Melody and Madison (our conjoined twins) lived here on earth for an hour before going home to be with the Lord.

~~~ random thoughts from a not so random mom Type: (Christian family) pridelandsmommy.blogspot. com I don’t have an amazing story to share, other than the Amazing God I serve and follow. I seek Him in every part of my random day. I give thanks to Him in my sunniest days, as well as the darkest. Peace Michelle ~~~ Safe In Pita Care Type: (Christian Family) blogspot.comsafeinpitacare My blog is about my everyday life dealing with Bi Polar my feelings and emotions and my anmails witch I have meany of ~~~ Wind Beneath My Wings Type: (Christian Family ) www.theytakemybreathaway. blogspot.com A Christian couple that both have lived short lives in the lime-lite, and now living life to the fullest as Godly parents to our two children. While capturing on the blog of the things that are “the wind beneath our wings.” This is our testimony. ~~~ Created for His Glory Type: (missionary family) pracharfamily.blogspot.com We started our blog to keep family and friends current in our lives when we accepted God’s call to missions in our lives. We have found our blog to be a living record of God’s faithfulness to us as He meets our every need.

~~~ Kidz and Dogs Type: (Christian Homeschooling) www.homeschoolblogger.comkidzanddogs/ All about God, family, homeschooling, crafts, and raising dogs! A heavy focus on our kids (homeschooling 3 of 6 this year) and our dogs (Pomeranian, Shih-tzu & Dachshund) with the occasional knitting, political or frugal living rabbit trail! ~~~ from chaos to Grace Type: (Christian family) momof3darlings.wordpress. com I’m just a Mom, trying to make it through the chaos of this world into His never ending Grace. I write about God’s perfect love and my sweet family, and all the craziness in between. ~~~ I’ve Got Poop In My Pocket Type: (Family Parenting) poopinmypocket.blogspot.com Amazing discoveries of motherhood - always uplifting snippets of life as a chronically ill, yet life-loving mom in a world filled with laughter, love, and God’s many blessings. ~~~ Waiting for Happy Type: (Infant Loss) babybolte.blogspot.com The story of a family learning to praise God when He gives and when He takes away. Blessed with five children, two on earth two in Heaven and one in the womb. Trying to live

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children can relate to (and laugh at) some of our “everyday moments.” ~~~ IBuildAGreatLife.com Type: (Great Life) ibuildagreatlife.com We are a ministry site designed to share our life story as well as articles from other Christian authors. We have been so blessed to have a wonderful life in Jesus Christ as he truly guides our lives one step at a time. We simply want to be a light! ~~~ A Future And A Hope Type: (Family) www.johnjillhope.blogspot. com Our crazy life with a very, um, spirited 4 year old and her sweet, but terrible sleeper, baby brother. ~~~ A Real Life Fairy Tale Type: (Family, humorous) areallifefairytale.blogspot.com Ever wonder what a fairy tale life would look like if the REAL secrets were shared? This mom gives you a up close look at living life with a charming husband and four adorable children who are just trying to make it to the happily ever after... ~~~ I Heart Bowheads Type: (Family, Christian ) iheartbowheads.blogspot.com I Heart Bowheads is a blog written by a Mommy of 2 sweet Bowheads and one sweet Baby Boy. A vehicle to share and a vehicle for prayer. I am moved daily by the words that I read and enjoy coming up with a few to write down myself. ~~~

that end in courage through miracles or loss. Raising kids and being real.Life living on a farm in Ohio. ~~~ The Drama Mama Type: (Christian, Family) thedramamama.net Follow our every day kind of drama of raising three kiddos while doing our most important job of trying to lead them to know Christ! ~~~ A Day In The Life Type: (Family) jsguerra.blogspot.com Just a place to come catch up on what is going on in our family, the good, the bad and the ugly... ~~~ A Little Piece Of Me Type: (Christian Life ) www.aad108.blogspot.com I am just a single Christian woman striving to live my life to the fullest while glorifying Christ. I have my joys and struggles, and I share them with those in the blogosphere. ~~~ Nevaehh Kaylene’s Journey Type: (CHD survivor) nevaehkaylenewalp.blogspot. com This blog follows our daughter’s story as we journey through the world of CHD congenital heart defects. It’s titled in her name, but has a little of our family as a whole mixed in. ~~~ 3 under 4, Jada, Ethan and Zachary Type: (Family, Christian) www.ourcutekiddos2007. blogspot.com Take a peek into our busy lives with three kids under the age of four. Everyone with little

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life to glorify God and reach out to others who are hurting. ~~~ The New Norm Type: (Family) not-the-norm.blogspot.com Air Force active duty mom raising a 5 year old and stepmother to a 7 year old. Have been married for 5 1/2 years and life is very crazy in the Washington DC area. ~~~ When Hello Means Goodbye Type: (infant loss, kidney transplant, faith) whenhellomeansgoodbye. blogspot.com Our son Brenham was born prematurely at 21 weeks on Feb, 29, 2008, but passed away shortly after birth. weeks later I found out my kidneys had suddenly failed, my sister donated her kidney to me in Oct. now we are folllowing God’s calling to adopt. ~~~ Simmons Family Type: (Heart Transplant) simmonsfamilyupdate. blogspot.com We are the Simmons Family and our littlest guy, Owen, was born with 1/2 a heart. He has had 2 open heart surgeries, 4 cardiac caths and is waiting for a NEW Heart. All this in ONE year! This is our Journey. How BLESSED we are to have him here. ~~~ Butterflies and Bananas Type: (Family, Christian, Infertility) butterfliesandbananas. blogspot.com My effort to bring awareness to others about the blessings of God through the trials of family life and day to day living. Sometimes journeys

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Jesus-Filled Hope Type: (Christian Family) jesusfilledhope.blogspot.com This is the story of my family ... and the incredible journey we are on following God and Jesus. We want to give God all the glory for what He has brought us through and how He blesses our lives each day. My husband Cory and I were married in 1998 and just celebrated 10 years together! Our marriage has been met with a lot of challenges, and we were separated for 3 years, and 7 months. We have been reunited for over 3 years and I praise God each day for that gift. Cory is a special education teacher and football coach. We have a little boy named Jonah who is 8 years old and is in third grade. He amazes us each day with his tender heart and playful spirit. He is such a joy to us and I love being Jonah’s mom. We have a strong desire to have another child, and after struggling with infertility for over a year, we decided to give up and give in to God. He has revealed to us His grand plan for us to adopt, and we are so excited to be starting the journey! ~~~ All For Lucy Type: (Adoptive Family) www.all4lucy.blogspot.com The life and story of our daughter adopted from the SN list in China, and the journey to our next child through domestic adoption. ~~~ God Given Passions Type: (Faith Adoption)

www.godgivenpassions. blogspot.com Join our family’s exciting journey as we take up our cross and follow Jesus on the many great adventures that He has chosen for us! Who knew that we would start over with parenting just as our youngest was getting ready to go off to college? So fun! ~~~ If There’s One Thing I Know Type: (Family) iftheresonethingiknow. blogspot.com Living a normal life in the mist of confusion and uncertainty that cancer brings to it. As well as bringing awareness to Blood Cancers. ~~~ Growing and Growing Type: (Practical Faith) www.growingandgrowintg. com G&G is a journey of fun, love, joy, laughter, pain, and controlled chaos! Recently, we have followed the miraculous recovery of our Dad, a Nashville pastor who had a near fatal car accident in September 2008. Visit G&G to see some practical faith! ~~~ Asperger’s Faith Journey Type: (Faith Journey) www.faith4thejourney. blogspot.com I will email this to you in the next few days - thanks! ~~~ Crazy Days...Sleepless Nights Type: (Family Life) bethanylbishop.blogspot.com A blog about life as a homeschooling, stay at home mom

and my desire to serve the Lord. ~~~ The Awareness Warrior Blog Type: (Awareness, medical journey) Awareness-Warrior.blogspot. com The Awareness Warrior blog is my tool of choice to raise awareness for children’s causes (medical conditions, abuse, adoption & more), as well as to document my journey as a 13 year old girl battling a rare & serious disease called dermatomyositis. ~~~ One Breath at a Time........ Type: (Family, widowed) txmomx6.blogspot.com The roller coaster life of a recently-widowed mother of 6. Sometimes raw, most times humorous, always honest. ~~~ Encouragement From My Heart Type: (Christian Poetry and Devotions) encouragementfrommyheart. blogspot.com Writing from heart is passion, Writing from my soul is prayer. I am a woman after God’s heart, sharing words of Hope,Comfort, and Encouragement through poetry and devotions. ~~~ Our Adoption Journey and Beyond Type: (Family, Adoption) markandcourtney.blogspot. com We have been married since June of 1999. Our two little boys came home in Decem-

www.seriouslifemagazine.com/subscribe ber of 2007 from Ukraine, and we’re hoping to continue expanding our family as God leads us to our children. Our blog highlights our journey as a growing family of God. ~~~ Minnow Musings Type: (Family, Adoption) www.minnowmusings. blogspot.com Tales about our family that has been blessed through adoption. ~~~ Tyler Family Type: (Family) www.sotyler.blogspot.com The Tyler Family blog is the everyday adventures of Grace and Max. We love family, being together and being happy. We know everything isn’t always perfect, but we are blessed to

have each other. ~~~ La La Land Type: (loss, Christian, playing, love) lindsaylala.blogspot.com ~~~ Life of a Princess! Type: (Mommy) jalenapearl.blogspot.com The blog of me, the Mommy, and Jalena, the daughter.I write about everyday happenings,I’m new to the blog scene, trying to build up my followers, yet don’t expect to reach MckMama! ;-) ~~~ The Malson Family Type: (Family) jmmalson.blogspot.com ~~~ Life on the edge of The Devil’s Track

Type: (Family) www.lifeontheedgeofthedevilstrack.com A southern gal living on the edge of a creek called “The Devil’s Track” in the foothills of NC. Get a real look at what southern life is all about, the good the bad & the ugly, we’ve got it all. Walk with us as we seek God’s path for our lives. ~~~ Friends of SEEK Type: (Romanian orphans) friendsofseek.edublogs.org “We need your help. While honoring our adopted children, we know there are other families who also ’seek’ an honest means to give back. ~

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Science

Noah’s Flood, Noah’s Ark

Editor’s Note: The following is an excerpt from “Old Earth? Why Not!” by James Nienhuis. Be sure to visit his blog: www. dancingfromgenesis.com. ~BR

FEBRUARY 2009

here are a lot of people who claim Noah’s Flood was a fairy tale. The evidence tells a different story. Hundreds of tribal groups are spread all over the globe. Their oral traditions and legends have been passed down from their ancestors through the generations. One legend is very common among the tribes, like this one from New Guinea: “Once a great flood came which covered the whole earth

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and wiped out everyone on earth except for the ancestors of the Biami people. Those ancestors climbed up into the Gobia Tree, the bark of which they make into string for their string bags. They took up into the tree their planting materials for crops, all their animals, their dogs and their pigs and everything else necessary for life. As the floodwaters rose up on the face of the earth the people climbed further up the tree. They were safe in the branches of this tree because the tree grew up above the waters as the waters rose up. When the waters went down from the surface of the whole earth, the people were able to climb down the tree. The ground was very muddy, but eventually

they planted their crops and their animals began to reproduce. They moved away from the tree and began to repopulate the earth. Those who had climbed down out of the tree were the ancestors of the Samos, the Kubos, the Gobasis, and the Etoro.” Over 270 tribes have been documented to be proponents of the notion that the whole world was once inundated by water.2 Here is one from the Greenlander tribe of Canada: “The world once overturned. Some people were turned into fiery spirits, all the rest drowned but one. Afterwards, the survivor smote the ground with his stick, a woman sprung out, and the two of them repopulated the world. Proof of the flood is

Get a FREE subscription: www.seriouslifemagazine.com/subscribe found in the form of sea fossils on high mountains.” The details of the basic flood theme vary from tribe to tribe, but obviously, this story was passed down from ancestors who were knowledgeable of the same cataclysmic event, a flood of water unparalleled in human history. The ancient Assyrians knew of this flood: “The gods, led by Enlil, agreed to cleanse the earth of

an overpopulated humanity, but Utnapishtim was warned by the god Ea in a dream. He and some craftsmen built a large boat (one acre in area,

of the abyss rose up, and it stormed for six days. Even the gods were frightened by the flood’s fury. Upon seeing all the people killed, the gods

seven decks) in a week. He then loaded it with his family, the craftsmen, and ‘the seed of all living creatures’. The waters

repented and wept. The waters covered everything but the top of the mountain Nisur, where the boat landed. Seven days later, Utnapishtim released a dove, but it returned finding nowhere else to land. He next returned a sparrow, which also returned, and then a raven, which did not return. Thus he knew the waters had receded enough for the people to emerge. Utnapishtim made a sacrifice to the gods.” No other legend pervades the lore of the world’s tribes as does the Great Flood. In Africa, the Pygmies (Central Africa), the Kikuyu (Kenya), the Yoruba (southwest Nigeria), the Mandingo (Ivory Coast) and the Kwaya (near Lake Victoria), among others, have ancestral knowledge of the Great Flood. In North America, the Eskimos and the Innuit (Alaska), the Yakima (Washington state), the Chippewa (Great Lakes), and the Choctaw (southeast U.S.), among others, have generational awareness of a global flood. In Asia, the Kamchadale (Siberia), the Bahnar (Cochin China) and the Miatso (southern China), the Chingpa

THERE ARE LEGENDS AND TRADITIONS ALL OVER THE WORLD OF A GREAT GLOBAL DELUGE.

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(Burma), and the Andaman (Bay of Bengal), among others, know by oral tradition of a cataclysmic flood event. In Europe; the early Greeks, Germans, Celtics, Vikings, and Welsh, among others, noted the Flood in their lore. In Central and South America, the Yaqui (northern Mexico), the Nahua (central Mexico), the Maya (Guatemala), the Ipurina (upper Amazon), and the Coroado (southern Brazil), among others, speak of a worldwide deluge in their ancient histories. In the Pacific Islands and Australia, the Kabadi (New Guinea), the Maori (New Zealand), the Mangaia (Cook Islands), the Gumaidj (northern Australia), and the Polynesian Hawaiians, among others, know the Big Flood. In the Middle East, the Zoroastrians (Iran), the Egyptians, the ancient Babylonians (Iraq), the ancient Hittites (Turkey), and the Hebrews (Israel), among others, have recollections of an historical catastrophic deluge. The Hebrew report in the Bible (Genesis 6,7,8) of this world famous Great Flood is the most well-known account: God was displeased with mankind, so He flooded the earth, killing all that were not on Noah’s Ark. The waters flooded the earth for 150 days, then began to recede. The Ark landed in the Mountains of Ararat (Eastern Turkey), then, Noah sent out a raven that did not return. He then sent

Most animals are sheep size or smaller.

out a dove that returned with an olive twig. The next week he sent the dove out again it didn’t return, so Noah figured it was to time disembark from the Ark. The Michoacan tribe of Mexico has a similar flood legend: “When the floodwaters began to rise, a man named Tezpi entered into a great vessel, taking with him his wife and children and diverse seeds and animals. When the waters abated, the man sent out a vulture, but the bird found plenty of corpses to eat and didn’t return. Other birds also flew away and didn’t return. Finally, he sent out a hummingbird, which returned with a green bough in its beak.” To perceive the Biblical Flood story as fantasy is to call the ancestors of these tribes liars. The politically correct mainstream scientist

has a real dilemma here. It seems extremely unlikely that disparate people groups from around the globe, with no interest in copying each other’s heritages, would have similar legends of global destruction by water, unless of course, these tribes are actually recounting an historical event. Evidently, there is more to this Flood thing than most people realize.

Could Noah’s Ark Really Hold All Those Animals?

The proposition that all the types of air-breath ing animals were sustained on Noah’s Ark is ludicrous to old earth evolutionists. After all, the millions of “species” of animals could never fit on a primitive barge. As shown in the previous chapter, all the “species” developed by gene pool division and by adaptation of certain gene pools to certain environments;

www.seriouslifemagazine.com/subscribe thus, the number of original ancestors was much less than millions because their gene pools were large and capable of supplying enough genes for their offspring’s highly varied descendants. Therefore, the number of animals on the Ark was much less than the millions of “species.” Creation scientists estimate that only 16,000 animals, from all the animal kinds, could have been the original ancestors of all the millions of current “species.” 1 Most of the animals were sheep size or smaller, so 16,000 animals would fill only 15% of the Ark! The Ark was about 440 feet by 80 feet by 45 feet high. “Teenage” dinosaurs and other “teenage” large animals were

probably selected to be saved, as they would require less room and food. Additionally, according to Ark feasibility calculations, only 12% of the Ark’s volume was required for food storage, and only 9% for water.2 There was plenty of room to fulfill all the needs of the 16,000 animals and the eight humans who cared for them. The technology needed to build such a vessel, and efficiently maintain the animals on board, was available to the ancients. Massive warships were built by the Greeks, such as the “Leontifera” around 300 B.C. It had eight levels of oarsmen, with 100 oarsmen per level, making a total of

1,600 oarsmen.3 Its estimated length is 500-600 feet (bigger than Noah’s Ark). The people of Mohenjo-Daro built an elaborate sewer and sanitation system complete with toilets and hot and cold water in northwest India around 2000 B.C. From about 2000 B.C., Lothal, India had an ar103 tificial dock for berthing ships; a trapezoidal shaped basin measuring 600 feet by 100 feet with an inlet and spillway with backing device. It had facilities for loading and unloading cargo. The earliest Chinese showed advanced “joining skills” in their construction of waterside structures. The ancients utilized almost all the tools of (continued next page)

Sarasvati River Paleodrainage

Imagine the combined riverflows of the Ganges, Indus, and Jamuna Rivers of India, in one river, flowing down from the Himalayas to the Arabian Sea off Pakistan, that was the flow of the ancient Sarasvati River of ancient hindu vedic literature, which was said to have flowed so wide that one could not see the other bank.

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FEBRUARY 2009

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modern carpentry: axes, adzes, hammers, mallets, wedges, chisels, drills, lathes, t-squares, plumb bobs, compasses, planes, and rasps. Almost all modern carpentry techniques were also performed: mortising, tenoning, treenailing, beveling, gluing, and intricate joining and inlaying. Post-Flood mariners navigated the globe, as evidenced by the intricate maps that reveal pre-Ice Age shorelines and geomorphic features that only recently have been verified by remote sensing through the icepacks of the polar regions. The accuracy of the longitudes and latitudes on these maps necessitates high technological savvy. The recent revelation of such a capability, through the utilization of an instrument for astronomical measurements that consists of a wheel on a cross that is oriented by a plumb bob, shows that the ancients had the knowhow to navigate and survey with modern precision. The pyramid builders of earliest Egypt and the ziggurat builders of Assyria, Babylon, the Mayans, and of the Incas, display incredibly advanced engineering acumen, and probably utilized this “Celtic Cross” for their engineering surveys.6 There are historical verifications of the Ark’s coming aground in eastern Turkey (in the Mountains of Ararat, according to the Bible). The following was written by Josephus, about

2,000 year ago: “Now all the writers of barbarian histories make mention of the flood and of this ark; among whom is Berosus the Chaldean (Babylonian); for when he describing the circumstances of the flood, he goes on thus: “It is said there is still some part of the ship in Armenia at the mountain of the Cordyaeans; and that some people carry off pieces of the bitumen, which they take away, and use chiefly as amulets for the averting of mischiefs.” Hieronymus the Egyptian, also who wrote the Phoenician Antiquities, and Mnaseas, and a great many more, make mention of the same. Nicolaus of Damascus in his ninety-sixth book, hath a particular relation about them where he speaks thus: “There is a great mountain in Armenia, over Minyas, called Baris, upon which it is reported that many who fled at the time of the Deluge were saved; and that one who was carried in an ark came on shore upon the top of it; and that the remains of the timber were a great while preserved. This might be the man about who Moses, the legislator of Jews wrote.” The area of which these ancient historians speak is in current day eastern Turkey, in the “Mountains of Ararat.” These pagan historians, having no interest in copying Jewish lore, speak of an historical global flood and an ark, on which the survivors were saved. A Persian expedition

to these mountains around 600 A.D., reported discovering “Varuna’s house of clay.” Varuna is the Persian and Indian “Noah.” This vessel was found in a mudslide and reportedly had many compartments. Many of the documented 270 tribes of the world that have the global flood legend tell of the survivors floating in a box, or chest, or hallowed out tree, or canoe or boat; all generally descriptive of the same means for flood survival. All the world knows of Noah’s Flood, except modern and “enlightened” old earth evolutionists. The most far-fetched religious fairy-tale to some appears to have much scientific plausibility and historical documentation. Nothing of the Noah’s Ark story has been shown to be false, while the geological evidences of a global flood are overwhelming, as are the historical corroborations from ancient pagan chronicles. The logistical requirements for the Ark are satisfied, considering the advanced technologies of the ancients, and the need for only about 16,000 animals on the Ark, not the millions of “species” which, old earthers ignorantly believe, would need have been on the Ark. ~

Author and speaker, james Nienhuis has a B.Sc. in Earth Sciences from Dartmouth College. His blog is www.dancingfromgenesis.com

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Humor

Smart Mom A mother was walking with her four year old daughter one day when the daughter picked up something off the ground and started to put it into her mouth. The mother stopped her and said she shouldn’t do that. “Why,” asked the little girl. “Because it’s dirty. It’s been on the ground. You don’t know where it’s been. It probably has germs.” The little girl looked up at her mom with admiration and asked, “How do you know so much?” Thinking quickly, the mother said, “All moms know so much. We have to. It’s on the Mommy

Test. If you don’t know it, you don’t get to be a mommy.”

The little girl pondered this for a few minutes, then her face brightened. “I get it!” she said. “If you don’t pass the test, you get to be a daddy!” “Yup,” said the mom.

Dumb Mom

~~~

Not all kids think their moms are smart. Did you hear about the five year old boy who was sent to his room by his mother for having a bit of a tantrum and calling her dumb? After about fifteen minutes, the mother went to his room to see if he was repentant. She found that her son had regained his composure. He calmly and politely said to her, “But Mom, you really are dumb.”

Ironing

~~~

A mother was ironing the clean laundry one day. Her son

asked her, “Mother, why are you ironing those clothes?” His mother said, “To make them nice and wrinkle free.” Her son said, “Then, why don’t you iron Grandma’s face? ~~~

Children and Childbirth The baby was coming way too fast so the paramedics were called. To make it worse, when they arrived, there was a power outage. The paramedics asked the four year old sister to hold the flashlight for them. Despite the difficulties, all went well and the mother delivered a baby boy. The paramedic smacked him on the behind and he began to cry. Looking over at the wide eyed little girl, the paramedic asked her what she thought about what she had just witnessed. She said, “That naughty boy should have never crawled in there. Spank him again!” ~~~

I’d Like to See That “Oh, boy! I’m glad you’re here,” the little boy said to his grandmother on his mother’s side. “Why?” she asked. “Because now Daddy will do the trick he’s been promising us.” “What trick?”

Got something funny you want us to include? Email it to editor@seriouslifemagazine.com “Well, he told Mommy that if you came to visit, he would climb the walls.” ~~~

Child Psychology A new teacher thought she would use what she learned in her psychology courses. She said to her class, “Everyone who thinks they are stupid, please stand up.” After a few seconds, one boy stood. “Do you think you’re stupid?” she asked. “No, ma’am, but I just didn’t want you to have to stand there all by yourself.”

Beauty

~~~

A little boy watched, fascinated, as his mother covered her face in cold cream. “Why do you do that?” he asked. “To make myself beautiful.” When she began to rub it off, the boy asked, “Why are you doing that? Did you give up?” ~~~

Grandma’s Age A little boy asked his grandmother how old she was. “39 and holding,” she replied. “Well, then, how old would you be if you let go?” ~~~

The Water Pistol My five year old son squealed with delight when he opened his birthday present from his grandmother. It was a

water pistol. He promptly ran to the sink to fill it. “Mom,” I said. I’m surprised at you. “Don’t you remember how we used to drive you crazy with water pistols?” My mom smiled and said, “Yes, I remember.”

Tribute to Abby

Click on the video image below for to see our tribute to Abby. http://www.brentriggs. com?ItemID=330

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Reader Recipes

The following recipes were taken from the “Adoption Cookbook”. The pics are from the cookbok. If you would to purchase it, go here.

Chinese Raindrop Soup Ingredients: 6 Water Chestnuts 2 Scallions 1 tbsp. Sherry 3 c Chicken Stock 6 oz. diced cooked Chicken Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions: Slice the water chestnuts and slice the spring onions (scallions) finely. Put these in a saucepan with the chicken stock and the chicken. Bring to the boil and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Add the sherry and season to taste. Submitted by Karen, mother of Kaitlyn, China

Ingredients: 2-3 tbsp. sesame seeds 1 pkg. (2 oz) slivered almonds ½ c, rice vinegar 1 tsp. salt ½ tsp. pepper 9 to 12 green onions (finely chopped) 1 lb pkg. coleslaw mix 3 pkg. Ramen Noodles 2/3 c. salad oil ½ c. sugar

Directions: Preheat over to 350 degrees. Toast the sesame seed and almonds in a shallow pan in oven. You can use a little butter if you wish. Let cool. Chop onions, put them in a big bowl with coleslaw mix, the toasted seeds and almonds. Add the crunched up ramen noodles. In a small bowl, mix together the oil, vinegar and sugar. Pour over the coleslaw mixture. Salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate to chill. Toss and serve. Submitted by Diane, mother of Matthew and Nate, Philippines

FEBRUARY 2009

Brazilian Tomato Salad

Kira, South Korea 136

Nutty Coleslaw

Ingredients: 4 ripe tomatoes 2 onions, thinly sliced salt and pepper to taste 1 clove garlic, minced 1 cup basil vinaigrette sauce

Directions: Arrange the tomatoes and onions on a plate. Season to taste. Mix together the garlic and vinaigrette and drizzle over the tomatoes and onions. Serve immediately. Submitted by Deborah, grandmother of James, Brazil

Cheese Flan Ingredients: 4 oz cream cheese, at room temperature 1 cup sugar 1/4 tsp salt 1 12 oz can evaporated milk 1/2 cup water 5 slightly beaten large eggs 1 tsp vanilla caramel made with 1 cup sugar (recipe below) round mold, 7” x 3” larger mold for the bainmarie

Directions: • Caramelize the flan mold and set aside • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees • Add water to bain marie mold to come up to 2/3 the height of the flan mold and set it in the oven • Beat Cheese with the sugar and salt until smooth • Mix the milk, water, eggs and vanilla and strain over the cheese. Blend well. • Let the foam subside before pouring into the mold. • Set inside the larger mold in the oven and bake for 45 minutes. • Cover loosely with a sheet of

Got a recipe you want us to print? Email it to recipes@seriouslifemagazine.com aluminum foil. Bake for 45 additional minutes or until a cake tester inserted near the center comes out clean. • Let cool for 2 hours before refrigerating. • Turn over a platter before serving.

NOTE: Instead of evaporated milk and water you may use an equal amount of half-and-half.

Glazing Caramel

Ingredients: 1 cup of sugar non-porous heavy metal saucepan or skillet

Directions: • Put sugar in the pan over low to moderate heat. • Stir continuously with a wooden spoon until the sugar is completely melted. Continue cooking until you reach the desired color, from light to dark. Do not make

too dark, though, as it will taste bitter. • Keep over very low heat while glazing the mold. • Pour the caramel in a metal or heatresistant mold. Tilt the mold around with your hands (use oven mittsthe mold will be scalding!), working rapidly until the bottom and sides are caramelized. Set aside to cool. Submitted by Maria, mother of Miguel, Guatemala

Hungarian Noodles Ingredients: 1 pkg. Hungarian egg barley

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Directions: Brown tarhonya noodles (egg barley) in olive oil in a large pan until lightly brown, turning periodically. Add one pkg. chicken broth, diced onion and garlic. Let simmer on low heat, adding second pkg. chicken broth over the course of ½ hr. Noodles are done when all are simmered through (consistency of well finished noodles is like spaghetti with a light sauce.) Serves 8-10 Submitted by Teresa, mother of Hannah and Ross, Russia

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Jacob, Guatemala

noodles (2) 32 oz. pkg. Swanson Chicken broth 1 tbsp. olive oil 1 white onion 3 cloves crushed garlic Salt to taste

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FEBRUARY 2009

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Mr. johnny Comes a-Knock’n Brent Riggs

When Aggravating Turns to Funny

So Mr. Johnny got his TV tuned in; our son got his ride to school and I was left searching in vain for a bottle of Grandpa’s old cough medicine. (not really, I was just trying to be funny... about the ride to school.) It was SO aggravating that it finally disintegrated into “funny”. Have you ever had a situation that was so outrageously annoying, interuptive, chaotic or frustrating that you ended up only being able to laugh about it? ~

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“Get... out... of... here!”, I grumble knowing full well that HE knows full well he’s not to simply come prancing in our bedroom when we are in bed - not to mention the fact my mood was already plummeting faster than Britney Spears reputation. So I stumble out of bed, and go to the bathroom. No sooner than I had sat down, and someone is banging on the front door again and I’m sure this time that they are going to wake up the kids and

IT WAS SO AGGRAVATING, SO FRUSTRATING THAT I HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO LAUGH MY BUTT OFF.

Michelle - probably one of my teenager’s friends on the way to school. Our bathroom window gives view to the front door, so I peaked out the window. It was Mr. Johnny on a return visit. What was it this time? Johnny knocks a second time, even louder. Then a third... fourth and fifth pounding, with increasing conviction each time. How come my teenager didn’t answer? He was on his cell phone. Giving up on the door, Mr. Johnny turns and I figured he was giving up. Wrong. He goes over to the front living room window and begins rapping on the glass! Everyone else is still sound asleep, so I launch from my perch, and get to the front door as quick as one can “get” from that porcelain position. I answered the door to find out (you know where this is going, don’t you?)... Mr. Johnny got Channel Five finally and didn’t need my help.

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t was an extremely frustrating night last night. Abby was up and down until about 4am throwing up and needing to go to the bathroom. Anyone who has ever slept in :30 minute or 1 hour increments, waking up over and over, knows how draining it is. We had finally fallen asleep, and our dear 80 year old neighbor (the best neighbor you could ever ask for) came pounding on the front door about 8am. For a frail fella, he can knock LOUD. I get up, half awake, and answer the door to find that Mr. Johnny couldn’t get his new-fangled flat screen TV “to go over to channel 5”. I told him I would be over to help him later, and returned to bed for a few minutes of desperate sleep. About 60 seconds after I fall asleep, one of our teenage boys bangs on our bedroom door, and comes walking on in!

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