A Horse is a Horse, of Course, of Course

A horse is a horse, of course, of course,

And no one can talk to a horse of course

That is, of course, unless the horse is the famous Mister Ed.

This song may be too old for you to remember but it's the song that comes to mind when I think of my friend, Levi.

Levi encountered this horse while fishing on the pond, only this horse wasn't far off in the distance but too close for Levi's comfort. In fact, the horse was grazing so close it sent Levi into a panic with great anxiety! The horse, was just a horse, of course, and was grazing in the grass. But Levi, only saw the size of the horse, of course, and his closeness seemed to harass.

Levi's mom was alerted to his fear and with a mom's art of distraction, invited Levi into a canoe out on the pond, for some relaxation. Levi eagerly took the invitation, knowing that the horse, of course, would not graze in the pond and he could plan is next action.

Although Levi's dream is to be a super hero, he talked with his wise mom, out on the pond, about his fear and anxiety. In his small wanna be super hero frame; he confessed that he was tired of worrying and being filled with fear on many occasions. His wise mom shared with Levi about the true Super Hero who we can cast our fears on--The One who gives us strength to face our fears and to carry on.

With the horse looking on, Levi confessed his need for the Super Hero named, Jesus, right there on the pond. He leapt from the boat and was able to carry on, realizing that the horse is a horse, of course, of course, and a Super Hero named, Jesus, used the horse to show Levi his need for Him, of course.

Welcome to the heros of faith, Levi! His power is made perfect in your weakness!

So Close and Yet So Far

Our house is almost finished. We're so close and yet so far. There's some painting yet to be done, in addition to hanging a ceiling fan, switch plates, shelving, etc. We're almost there, just not yet. Do you have things in your life that are so close and yet so far? Maybe, like me, you never finished college. So close and yet so far. Maybe you too have household projects or an unfinished craft, scrapbook, yard work, savings account, work project.... So close and yet so far.

Christmas is so close and yet so far. It's two days away and I'm scrambling to get the house cleaned, laundry done and out of the way, presents wrapped, shopping finished, desserts baked, etc. I'm almost in panic mode because Christmas is so close! However, it also seems so far because I'm busy in the doing and not busy in the reflecting, worshipping, treasuring, like Mary, "all these things" in my heart. I just want to sit with my family and light our advent candles and read a Christmas book by the fire. I want to watch A Christmas Story DVD and wrap presents and snuggle with my love, Michael. But the tyranny of the urgent calls and I wane for the true Christmas that's so far in the distance. I see it but I'm not experiencing it.

As it approaches, quickly now, I intend to reverence it and bow down to it. It's my hope, my song, my life. So close I can feel it now. I can hear the angels singing "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." Can you hear it? Can you see it? Can you feel it? Come close and not so far.

Go Before Us

In all our home construction, I have times of anxiety, like when my husband, Mike, says, "Oh, I can do that." Having a very capable, handy-man husband is always nice to have around but Hurricane Ike has left us with a wake of too many household projects in addition to working and daily responsibilities. So the "Oh, I can do that" usually equates to long hours and hard labor.

On one particular week we had construction workers who installed, floated, taped, and sanded dry wall in four rooms but we were planning on doing the texturing, priming and painting to save on labor costs. While Mike was researching how to texture walls and ceilings, I began praying Isaiah 45:2 "I will go before you and make the crooked places straight..." asking God to go before us in providing the work we needed without more stress.

No sooner did I pray that when Mike called and said that the workers were coming back to texture the walls and ceilings. We did not think we had initially communicated that to the contractor but they said that it was apart of the job. God immediately made that crooked place straight! Our schedules, minds, and emotions were made straight. God had gone before us knowing that this would be a time of great anxiety and provided a way for us.

What are your crooked places? Just like God moved waters for the Israelites, He can move obstacles and straighten the crooked places of your life. Ask God to go before you.

Give Thanks!

Don’t we all appreciate our children’s teachers, coaches and those who serve us? What better time to thank them than at Thanksgiving!

Featured is a festive “Give Thanks” wood block set
(each set is approx 4”x12”) for $5

All proceeds will be given to missions thru The Met (www.themetonline.org) on December 14 in response to the “big give” project. I’ve been given $1 to reinvest for missions in response to The Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25. Please help me fulfill my challenge.

Please note: “Merry Christmas” block set also available.

To place an order contact Ellen Humphries at
281-345-0013 or ekhum@earthlink.net.

Great Fall Finds

Check out http://www.jellytelly.com/ for the kids and www.http://www.faithcreations.shutterfly.com/ for mom and mention the name Carson Richardson (a young boy fighting cancer) and she will give 25% of your purchase to Carson's medical expenses.

This is a great Fall recipe:

Pumpkin Crunch Cake

1 can of pumpkin (14-15oz)
1 large can of evaporated milk
1 ½ C of sugar
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp salt
4 eggs
1 box yellow cake mix
1 ½ cups of chopped pecans
1 stick of butter

Beat together the first 6 ingredients and pour into a 13x9 greased pan. Sprinkle dry, yellow cake mix evenly over the mixture in pan. Add chopped pecans over cake mix. Thinly slice the butter and place on top of the pecans.

Bake 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes. Serve slightly warm with whipped topping. Enjoy!

Life Under Construction

Lately I have felt like a bird whose nest has been weather beaten. I've been flying around my nest flapping my wings, heart beating, and chirping away. Hurricane Ike brought to us a life under construction in many ways. Not only are we in the midst of reparing $30K+ worth of damage to our home but we are in the midst of heart, mind and soul reconstruction as well. We are learning patience, longsuffering, and contentment in all circumstances.

After the storm I wrote on our family chalkboard the following advice from Ike:

- Stay organized (you never know when a hurricrisis will hit)

- Help each other

- Someone always has it worse

- Family and friends are a gift (So use them! Ha ha! Just joking)

- Comfort your dog (poor Miss Sadie Mae has been distressed too!)

- Be thankful

- God won't waste your stress

- Even if your stress doesn't change, He'll change you.

A special verse God recently gave me is II Peter 5:10 "And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered for a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm, and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen."

I'm now sitting on a His branch, watching Him put my house back together. My wings aren't flapping as much, my heart has stopped beating so anxiously, and I've quieted my chirping to hear Him more clearly.

And He's certainly strengthened my studly husband, Mike, to clear debris, build a fence, tackle electrical problems, hang insulation, and start painting soon. What a male specimen he is!

You Rock, Mom!

“You rock!” “I’m cheering for you!” “I love you!” “I’m proud of you!” “I miss you!” Those were the words on the notes I was hiding for my two boys, before I left town. As I was hiding the notes, I was wondering, “Do I rock as a mom? Will they miss me?”

But I secretly placed notes on their clothes, their daily snacks, soccer shin guards, a belt buckle, in their drinking cups, and on scooters and bikes, all the while excited to surprise them yet questioning my significance as their mother.

You see, what started this questioning was something that happened a few days before. I had sat my boys down with a calendar to show them how many days I would be gone and what day I would return. My youngest, is a very affectionate child, so I knew he would miss me. My oldest is more independent but I was surprised when he said, “That’s okay. I’ll be fine. I don’t care that you will be gone that long.” And then he ran off to play. Even though I wanted the boys to be prepared for my absence, my heart sank when my oldest said that he didn’t care. In addition, my husband is a very involved parent, so I began to question if he would do a better job than me in the daily details of parenting and running our household.

Much to my surprise, though, every time I called home, my oldest would talk of nothing else except to hound me about the whereabouts of all the notes. My heart was thrilled that he was thriving on my notes of encouragement. His excitement spoke to my heart, “You rock, mom! What you do and say does matter.” Besides the fact that it took one husband, two grandparents, and a kind neighbor to do my mothering job.

Upon my return home, the boys had left notes on my bike and guess what they said? “You rock!” and “I miss you!” In addition, I was somewhat thrilled that the house was a mess! I thought, “They do need me around here! My house keeping rocks!”

The dailiness of our mothering does matter. It may seem mundane and like anyone could step in and do just as well or better. But only you matter to your children. You rock, mom!