Father's Day Weekend

Mike's Father's Day present still isn't here!  Nope, not here yet!  I was so excited about his gift this year and it didn't arrive on time.  We went ahead and told him what was coming.  I ordered a picture of Mike's dad with our three kids on his tractor with him in Alabama from Canvas People.  Right now you can order an 8 x 10 canvas for FREE!  You only pay shipping and handling.  They have super discounts on other sizes as well.  Their site is super easy to use.  You just upload the photo you want on canvas to their site and they do the rest for you.

This is the picture I ordered for Mike on an 11 x 14 canvas:

I tracked the order this morning and it is in Orlando at the FedEx warehouse, so hopefully it will be here tomorrow!

Despite his gift not being here in time, I think he's had a pretty good weekend with the little ones!

JennaBeth loves trying to help her daddy!

She even tried helping him practice some songs on the guitar.

Instead of taking him out to eat somewhere on Sunday, he requested a relaxing day at home after church.  So, Cecily and I grilled some steaks and fixed some baked potatoes, salads and garlic bread for lunch.  Then she and Bentley fixed him some "mini brownie bites" for dessert.

The funniest thing occurred after everyone was done eating.  Mike was relaxing on the couch and Cecily curled up with him.  She rarely gets alone time with daddy having a 4 year old brother and a 1 year old sister!  As soon as Bentley saw this he ran over and wormed his way in the snuggle time.  Guess what happened next?

JennaBeth was whining for her spot as well.  So, the snuggle time ended up looking like this:

"Anyone can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a daddy!"

Blessings,

Stumbling Souls: Is Love Enough?

I  only thought that when I read David Platt's "Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream" I was challenged.

Well, I've just finished what I feel is the perfect companion book to Radical.  

Chris Plekenpol, former Captain in the U.S. Army and  recent Dallas Theological Seminary graduate, wrote Stumbling Souls which is the story of his interactions with a homosexual, HIV-positive, homeless man named James.  Chris tells the story of how he and a Bible Study group choose to pour their lives into James in order to try to help him get back on his feet.

Through many twists and turns in his story, Chris finds that he is the one who "gets back on his feet" spiritually and in his understanding of what it really means to love the Lord and serve others in His Name.

"I went from a Christian ideologue to a person who has an understanding of life on the streets and an understanding of how Christ makes believers righteous on the basis of grace, by means of faith.  I have a deeper love for the lost.  I have a better grasp at how rotten I can be in my own sufficiency.  There wasn't just one stumbling soul in this book; my sins were pretty apparent, and God is still working on my selfishness and pride.  I know that with God all things are possible."

 I was struck from the very beginning with Chris and his story.  Here is a piece from the introduction:

"I love seminary.  I love sitting under the teaching of amazing godly people who have been walking with Christ far longer than I have.  But I have found, during my time in seminary, that God has revealed as much of Himself to me through my interactions with "the least of these" as He has in the classroom.  Some days I walk out of class and my head would be spinning because of how great and incredible our God is - in theory.  But for any disciple, there comes a time when learning Christ must become living Christ.  The greatness of my seminary experience was complete only when the miraculous intangibles of God's character became real in me - when I strove to be Christ to the 'sinners' in my world."

 What follows is an intriguing story of a seminary student, who between study sessions of translating passages of the New Testament in Greek, learns what it is to live out those very passages of Scripture.

I appreciate the transparency of Chris as he shares his story about his interactions with James.  He says the very things you and I struggle with in ministering to others but are just to embarrassed to admit.  The chapters are short and you will be dumbfounded at the end!  This is a MUST READ!!

Thank you B&B Media Group, Inc. for sending me this book to review. 

Stumbling Souls can be purchased at Amazon.com.

Number Forty-Three

Mike turned 43 yesterday.  We celebrated his birthday today, because he had such a busy day planned at work on his actual birthday.  He was able to take the day off today and sleep in a little.   We made his favorite supper, Poppyseed Chicken and Green Beans, and dessert for his birthday tonight.

Speaking of dessert...

I have to be a little creative with Mike's birthday dessert, because he is a diabetic.  I can't just bake or order a cake, so I took an idea from his mother who cooks for Mike's dad who is also diabetic.  Now every year on his birthday, Mike gets "Mike's Trifle" instead of a birthday cake.  I try to change it up a little each year, but this is what I did this year:

I baked an Angel Food cake and let it cool.  I then took a large glass bowl and began layering the trifle.  The first layer is pulled apart Angel Food cake, followed by a layer of frozen berries.  This year I used a berry medley from Wal-Mart that included strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries.  What makes this dessert so good it to layer the trifle while the berries are still frozen, so as the berries thaw, the juice just kind of soaks into the cake!  The layer of berries is followed by a layer of sugar-free, fat-free Vanilla pudding.  Next, layer is sugar-free cool whip.  Keep layering until you reach the top of the bowl, ending with cool whip and the remaining berries.  

I covered the dessert and put it in the frig until we were ready to eat it.  Somebody had to test the vanilla pudding that was left over.

After supper, the kids presented Mike with his homemade birthday card.

We all wrote a special note on each page.  I gave Mike the book, "Mike and Mike's Rules for Sports and Life" and the kids gave him some "noise reduction" ear phones!

Blessings to you from the wife of the "Darn Awesome Dude",

A Morning at the Park

I decided to take the little ones to the park this morning.  We went early, around 9:30, because it is already very hot here in SW Florida!  As we were pulling out of the drive way to go, Bentley asks me, "Mutter, why are you being so nice and happy this morning?"  I guess a mother taking her four year old son to the park to play must mean she is happy and being nice, and when she says no to that same four year old, that same mother is being mean and unhappy! Oh well!  I'll take "nice and happy" today!

Bentley loves being outside and loves the park.

He especially loves the rock climbing wall!

He made it to the very top today and I made him hang on for dear life while I ran and got the camera!

He was pretty pooped after that and had to rest for a little while.

JennaBeth likes the slides and really likes to swing!

However, her MOST favorite thing is to chase after her big brother and try to do just exactly what he is doing.

Like I said before, it is already really hot here and by 10:30 it was time for a snack and something to drink.

My girl likes her tinkerbell cup, and her brother's drink too...

It was nice to watch them both play and have such a good time.

"He who fears the Lord has a secure fortress, and for his children it will be a refuge."  Proverbs 14:26

Blessings,

Are You Having a Good Day?

I sure hope you are!  Having a good day that is.

Have you ever sat in a church service and been listening to your pastor's sermon and frantically taking notes, when all of a sudden he says something that just floors you?  Well, that happened to me yesterday morning!  The funny thing about this is that the point that made me stop in my tracks wasn't even one of the "main" points of the sermon.  However, in God's sweet transforming grace to me, He had my pastor share this point JUST FOR ME!

Hal, my pastor, has been preaching through the book of Ephesians.  Yesterday morning, he was in chapter 4 and exhorting us from verse 12.  I'll give you verses 11 and 12 to get the context:

"It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up."

Hal was making the point that the immediate purpose of Christ's gifts of pastors and teachers is to equip the saints for the work of ministry.  He went on to say that pastors have a "repairing" ministry.  In the context of that discussion, Hal said some things about what it really meant for someone to have a good day.

AND THAT'S WHAT GOT ME!

I won't put it in a direct quote, because I don't remember exactly how pastor worded it, but this is what the Holy Spirit ministered to me:

We think that "having a good day" means we have not had ANY problems during the day.  Everything has gone smoothly and without trial.  However, a good day is one FULL of problems along the way.  What makes it a good day is that we have chosen to trust the Lord and lean on Him at every point.  We have NOT given into the difficulty, but have risen to the occasion in the power of Christ and taken the gospel and used that very trial to glorify God.

So, for me that means that a good day may be one full of:

• leaking sippy cups and spilled messes, but in God's grace I clean and wipe up with patience, serving my little ones with joy
• children misbehaving and not getting along, but in God's grace I choose to stay calm and use those moments to gently guide and shape the hearts of my children to understand God's love and desires for them
• the checkbook not balancing, but again in God's grace I choose to trust Him to be Jehovah Jireh, the God Who Provides, and not give in to worry
• tension and disagreement with the husband, but in God's grace I choose to submit to his leadership in our family and look past his faults as he surely looks past mine

"Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:  Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.  I say to myself, 'The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him."
Lamentations 3:21-24

Praying you have a GOOD day,
 

Real World Parents: Christian Parenting for Families Living in the Real World

When I found out I was pregnant a little over 12 years ago with my oldest daughter, I immediately began devouring just about every parenting book I could get my hands on!  I realized that this title of "mommy" was one of the most important roles I would ever fill. So, over the past 12 years, I have read my share of books seeking advice on how to be the best mom I could possibly be.

"Real World Parents" by Mark Matlock, the founder of Wisdom Works, a non-profit organization that seeks to help teenagers accelerate biblical wisdom in their lives, stands now as ONE OF THE BEST parenting books I have read in 12 years.  In his own words, Mark says this about his book:

"This is not a book about taking your kids to church, saving them from the world, or producing good behavior.  Many Christian parenting books focus on helping parents figure out how to raise well-behaved, well-mannered kids.  The goal of parenting, in the long run, isn't for our kids to be known for how well behaved they are, but for how well they know and respond to God."

You won't find "formulas" or "methods" in this book.  What you will find is the challenge and encouragement as a parent to make sure YOU are living and walking according to God's story and not the world's story.  He also stresses the importance of engaging your children in "worldview-shaping conversations" where as a mom and dad you communicate God's worldview to your children.  More importantly, as you read this book you are challenged to examine what story you are telling your children, both intentionally and in the way we live with and for God over time.

I really liked the "conversational" feel of this book.  As I read through the chapters, I felt as if I were having lunch with Mark and he was sharing profound biblical wisdom with me in our conversation together about parenting our kids.  Throughout the book are engaging illustrations that help drive home important points and at the end of each chapter are a set of questions for you to think through before moving on to the next chapter.  This feature makes this book one that would be easy to use as a small group study.  Up to date statistics are used and websites are given for further study.

I'll leave you with the encouragement to read this book if you are looking for solid biblical help in your role as a mom or dad and with a couple of quotes from chapter one:

"We may wonder how God could ever look at our families and grin.  And the problem is that, as parents, we sometimes forget that we're also children - that our God is our Father, and that God is more lovingly inclined to smile at us than we are to smile at our own kids."

"No matter how good or bad you believe your family is, God has plans for you that will unfold in the Real World.  God will continue to move your family along in the journey he has in store for you.  Which is why this book is designed to help Real World Parents understand that journey - or story - and communicate it to our kids."

"What we don't want to generate are well-behaved kids who mindlessly follow our directions without ever willfully owning the faith in Jesus that they see in us."

Thank you B&B Media Group, Inc. for providing this book for me to review!

This book can be purchased at Amazon.

 

Thursday Through Monday

The McIlwains have had a busy time since last Thursday; hence this "catch-up" post!  I've had too much fun "living" life and not enough time to stop and blog about it; so, here goes:

THURSDAY:

On Thursday evening, Cecily had her Spring piano recital.  Actually it was a band/piano concert and she was one of three students chosen to present her piece on stage.  She played Bach's Prelude in C:

We are really proud of her and how she has blossomed in this area!

FRIDAY AND SATURDAY:

Friday morning at 6 am, Mike and I, along with help from a sweet neighbor, were putting out things for our garage sale.  We did really well.  We got all the big stuff sold and had very little we had to put back in the garage.  Now the main task is getting the garage straightened up so we can at least put one car in there!  That IS what a garage is for right?  To park a car in?

At one point on Saturday morning, I caught two girls sitting in the grass in my front yard wiggling their toes:

We made enough money from the garage sale that we were able to buy some things for the kids rooms that they have been needing for some time.  

Bentley picked out Transformer stuff for his room:

And of course I won't have one minute's peace until it is out of the package and in his room!

Cecily picked out some really cute things for her room:

She has a student-loft bed in her room so these things will be really nice in there.

SUNDAY:

I love Sundays!  I have the best church family and I so look forward to worshiping with them each Sunday.  After church, we grabbed a bite to eat and then headed to the hospitals to check on a few people.  I have three ladies in my Sunday School class I teach who have all been in the hospital recovering from surgeries or having tests run.

When we got home, we had a few neighborhood kids come over and want to play.  I have  a feeling my house may be hoppin' this Summer with kids!  We have young families all around us in our new neighborhood.  When it was time to leave for choir practice at church, we had to gently encourage them to go home!!  I love it that Bentley makes friends so easily.  He will have a blast this Summer!

MONDAY:

We got up and had a late breakfast and then hit Target and Wal-Mart to let the kids pick out the bedding for their rooms.  Cecily and I then caught up with some good friends from church to do some shopping at the Mall in Fort Myers.

WE. HAD. THE. BEST. TIME!!!!!

I'm not sure I have laughed that hard in forever!  Kim and her daughter Grace were some kinda fun to hang with.  Cecily and Grace were on the hunt for some clothes for youth camp coming up in July.  Grace had actually already completed her shopping (or so her mom thought) when we caught up with them, but she and her mom hung around so that Cecily could find some things with Grace's help.  How sweet was that?

Now, if you don't have teenage girls to shop for, can I just tell you how hard it is for them to find modest and stylish clothes these days?  I mean it can be done, but it is really difficult.  The things the stores are marketing toward this age group are absolutely ridiculous!

We were in one store, which I won't name, because I don't want to be arrested for slander later today, that should have been X-rated.  It is a wonder Kim and I (the Mom Squad) didn't get arrested.  Naked mannequins is all I can say.  It was disgusting.  One only had a necklace on and Kim turned it around so we'd be spared the b**** hanging out in our faces.  I did a little readjusting on another one so we wouldn't be knocked out with  the n******.  The shirt on this particular one said, "I love my boyfriend".  The neckline was BELOW the b**** and the back was ripped to shreds.  I was really embarrassed that anyone would wear this, but more sad that any teenage girl wouldn't care enough about herself or have a mother care anymore about her than to let her wear it!  Needless to say, Grace and Cecily were livid that Kim and I were basically re-arranging the entire store!!

We moved on from there to Bath and Body Works where we encountered more disgusting marketing!  Right there on the back wall was this huge mural of a naked lady.  And I might say things got really interesting here.  We spent most of our time looking through the selection of the purse size hand sanitizers and picking out the little "thingies" that you put them in that hang from your purse.  We left the store after our purchase and immediately put our little "thingies" on our purses.  And yes in good blogging etiquette I took them went back in the store to have a sales clerk take our picture.

I was so proud of the sales clerk's picture taking abilities.  She very strategically left out the naked lady on the back wall :)

The girls wanted to take a stroll through the Disney store.  They had all the Toy Story 3 stuff out and Grace and Cecily had fun in there:

They are both sweet and beautiful girls!  Cecily and I were blessed to get to spend the day (literally) with such precious friends!  The best part was that my sweet husband was willing to take the two little ones back home with him so we could enjoy this time together.  We needed it more than you know!

We ended the Mall extravaganza with a trip to Starbucks.  By the way, if you haven't had one of their Shaken Iced Tea Lemonades with Green Tea then you are missing out on the best Summer drink ever!

Yep.  Some times you have to LIVE life and blog about it later!

Blessings,