No I haven't fallen in!

We have been at church camp for a week and had a family reunion.

I will begin addressing the things we have seen and done soon.

Just wanted to let you know that I didn't drown!

We screamed, we jumped, we ate . . .

and ate and ate some more!

The ice cream social was a huge success! Check it out here and here.

These friends have digital cameras that are not on the fritz!

Got to reconnect with people I hadn't seen for a while and meet some new faces.

THANKS SHELLY and the planning crew from Macomb County Christian Homeschoolers!

God doesn't remember what we were . . .

His word declares that our transgressions are removed as far as the east is from the west. Psalms 103:12.

But what a powerful presentation of transformation when we remember what we were and tell others what HE has changed us into.

You've got to see this!

Camp season is upon us again.

Crusaders camp is next week. I will be secretary again this year.

It should prove to be very exciting. WE WILL BE HAVING AN ELEPHANT TO RIDE!!!

I think our assistant director is more excited than the kids! We will be going to the zoo and having a zoo come to us. Should be wild in more ways than one.

I'm sure that I will fall into bed as soon as this is over.

Converse isn't just for Basketball anymore.

WHAT?!

Yep! They make workboots too!

SAY WHAT?!

It's true. Check out the work boots here.

My husband has to wear safety shoes. I know that he doesn't really like to but safety requirements mandate it. I don't think he knows that Converse make workboots. I'm sending this link to him now.

If you Dad or husband needs comfortable workboots, let him know!

Sponsored by WorkBootsUSA

I scream, You scream . . .

We all scream for Ice Cream!

I can't wait! Our homeschooling group is having our annual Ice Cream Social this Saturday!

Our families will be building a 40 foot sundae in an aluminum gutter! I wonder if anyone has looked up what the largest ice cream dessert record is? Reminds me of the huge sundae the L&J Dairy in Jackson, MI served when I was a kid. Don't remember the name of the sundae or the prize you won for eating all of it. Anybody out there remember?

I love ice cream and have passed that trait on to my kids. They are pretty excited about this too!

Will let you know how it goes!

Want to Attract More Attention . . .

to your blog or your business site? Check out Zookoda.

Zookoda is an unique way for bloggers to promote their sites to their audience and beyond.
You can use the cool options available to you to notify your regular readers that you have posted new and interesting info on your blog. This gives your posts the power to reach your audience faster!

Does this replace your current RSS feed? No, but it allows you the control of pushing the info to your readers rather than waiting for them to open the RSS door. Zookoda uses this current technology too.

What do you mean its for BLOGGERS?!! I could use this for my business too! Sure you can!!

So, you don't blog. That's OK. Zookoda can handle your sales traffic too. So you have big news to tell your customers. You can set up to alert your customers about your cool new product or service.

So, how does Zookoda work? You use your feed address, choose your template or make your own and Zookoda does the rest. Once you are satisfied with your template and have made the appropriate changes, you can schedule your broadcasts.

So, how often should you broadcast? It's all up to you. How often do you post? How often do you want to have your blog or company in front of your audience? Again, it's all up to you.

So, have I asked enough questions to get you interested yet? Check out Zookoda and it's unique approach to promoting your blog or company.

Well, it's official . . .

our oldest is 15 years old today!

She is having cheesecake and waiting for the pool to open tomorrow. She got lots of generous presents.

I can't believe how fast time goes. This whole thing just makes me tired!

Do you love your family?

My good friend tagged my for this very important awareness campaign.

June is BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH.

If you have girls and women in your family, tell them you love them by clicking on the pink button as a charitable donation to sponsor free mammograms for women who are underinsured or not insured at all.

• The first sign of breast cancer usually shows up on a woman's mammogram before it can be felt or any other symptoms are present.

• Risks for breast cancer include a family history, atypical hyperplasia, delaying pregnancy until after age 30 or never becoming pregnant, early menstruation (before age 12), late menopause (after age 55), current use or use in the last ten years of oral contraceptives, and daily consumption of alcohol.

• Early detection of breast cancer, through monthly breast self-exam and particularly yearly mammography after age 40, offers the best chance for survival.

• Ninety-six percent of women who find and treat breast cancer early will be cancer-free after five years.

• Over eighty percent of breast lumps are not cancerous, but benign such as fibrocystic breast disease.

• You are never too young to develop breast cancer! Breast Self-Exam should begin by the age of twenty.

Remember that breast cancer can strike men too! Tell you family that you love them and click TODAY!

Gotta Love Those Pants!

Dockers San Francisco is sponsoring a Dockers contest for people like you and me to create independent commercials. Some have submitted their video clips to the Dockers contest. Check it out! There are several really innovative clips with peoples thoughts and ideas. Take a look at the videos chosen for the finalists. Watch these and vote for your favorite. The Grand Prize Winner will be chose next week!



Unfortunately, the deadline for submitting clips has passed. Support those who did make the deadline and made it to the finalist stage by voting for your favorite.

Dockers are meant to be worn by all. They are the epitome of comfort and classic looks. Check out their styles for work, weekend, dress and golf. For men, they have bermudas and polos for the golf course, slacks and sweaters for the weekend and slacks and jackets for the office or theater. For the ladies they have lovely dresses for evening and stylish capris for chasing the kids or running to the store.

If you don't have access to Dockers in your area, check out their online store. I'm sure you will find something to suit your fancy (or unfancy!).

Don't forget to vote for your favorite! Gotta Love Those Pants!

The reunion will be very different this year.

We have had another loss in our family.

My mom's cousin Norman Younkman passed this afternoon.

We will be gathering again at the end of June but it will be significantly different. We are now without any of Erdie and Guy's children. Of those nine children, some of their children are also gone.

I'm not sure if I posted it here or wrote about it personally but I feel that God is raising another generation to take the reins. That generation is mine.

Arrangements are still being made. Please pray for Adele, Kirsten and family.

Details, details, details. . .

Pastor spoke from his heart today.

I know what a pastor is but I looked it up anyway. The Merriam Webster website defined the word as “a spiritual overseer; especially : a clergyman serving a local church or parish.” If you have a Pastor that cares for his local congregation, he should speak from his heart; especially if the Lord has given him a word to share. Remember that the overseer is responsible for what he “sees over”.

In the Bible this is demonstrated in the role of a shepherd. I looked up the word “shepherd”. The Merriam Webster website defined the word as “1 : a person who tends sheep 2 : pastor. Did you catch the second definition?

Look at the following verses.

John:10:14: I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
John:10:15: As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.

This should be the relational role between the pastor and his congregation and the pastor and the Lord.

Back to what Pastor said.

Salvation is in the details. We are not to live in the general realm of Christianity. We are not to live within reach of the World.

The Bible calls us to be separate, distinct and peculiar. We are to be in this world but not of this world.

How do people know that you are different? Do they see Christ in you? Do they see a reflection of the world? It is in the details where Christ and the World are different.

As I was thinking about today’s sermon, the idiom “the devil is in the details” came to mind. I looked up what the general thought of the line is. Here is what goEnglish.com said.

"the devil is in the details"

When the hard part of what you are trying to do is in the many small details, you can say "the devil is in the details." Example: "I thought I would be able to write that article in two hours, but it ended up taking me five. The devil was in the details." The devil is known for always make life difficult for man in many small ways. Example: "I can sketch a basic outline of the plan for you and it may look very simple, but the devil is in the details."

My goodness, if the devil and salvation are in the details, how are we to be saved?

Ph'p:2:12: Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

How are we to work out our salvation?

Ph'p:2:14: Do all things without murmurings and disputings:
Ph'p:2:15: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
Ph'p:2:16: Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.

Why with fear and trembling?

Ph'p:2:13: For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

You are working to please the Almighty God. This should not be done lightly, flippantly or without respect. Imagine you are physically in HIS presence. How would you act? That is how you should act here as well.

As I continued to process this information, I began to think about a practical application of this message; where the rubber really meets the road.

What is it about me that makes me different from other 40 something married women with children?

• I wear skirts and dresses.
  
• I don’t cut my hair.
• I teach my children at home.
• I don’t listen to mainstream music.
• I attend church on Sunday AND Wednesday.
• I meet with other ladies from my church every week to bombard the Throne of Grace for others requests.
• I make my own soap and laundry detergent.
• I make some of my own clothes.
• I knit socks for my husband.
• I sometimes make dinner from scratch.
• I garden.
• I don’t work outside my home.
  

I am not saying these things like I have arrived but to illustrate some things that I have consciously chosen to do. I do them out of love, some for me, some for my family and some for God. Some of these details may be the same as yours and some may not.

That is where, I think, Pastor was going.

We all can be categorized in a general sense. Each individual story is different. They are different in the details.

You can get lost in generalizations. But in the details, is where you see differences.

What details are required by the Lord? What details has your Pastor given you? Have you listened to the Lord and the man he appointed? What are the details people see in you?