Two days: No Facebook

It feels longer, honestly. At first it was hard. Facebook really puts you on a guilt trip. Why do you want to leave? (Yes, "I spend too much time on Facebook" is actually an option to choose.) It warns you that everything you've ever done on Facebook will no longer be there if you deactivate your account. Then it shows you pictures of five random people. It says, "Donna is going to miss you!" above her profile picture and below it says, "Send her a message." Like you are going to get so distracted you will just end up forgetting what you were doing and never leave. Then you have to type out the weird letters and finally when you do get deactivated it tells you: Don't worry. You can always come back. Just type in your same user name and password. Wow.
Then it was FREEEEEING! Wahoo! I don't ever have to worry if I am missing some new status update, because I can just know that I am! I don't have to think about what my next status update is going to be...because I'm not going to update it. I can email and call someone if I want to connect. And I do. I talk on the phone and I meet with friends.
Then I find I am lonely.
No one is emailing me....(they are all on FB)....I only check my email during Brielle's nap time and nothing except emails that are Reply to All's. That's okay. I write emails to people. I write this blog. I upload pictures on here. I learn a few new things. I hope I'm connecting with others. But then I remember reason I closed FB (and why I'm only checking email once a day and slowly lowering my daily Internet and phone-talking time) is so that I can focus on what is in front of me, the life that God has given to me. And so that I can hear Him.
Monday night Tyler and I rode our bikes to his basketball evaluation at the local community center. About 8pm we were flying back, in the dark, under the stars, cool air in our lungs .... and it was a m a z i n g.
I've also been praying more for the people in my life and listening to more music. Cleaning & baking as usual. And soon I will begin the list of projects I've got in mind. I have already started a couple and will just listen to how God tells me this is the way it is to be. I like being aware. Of others. Of myself. Especially of Him, and I want more. That's what is on my heart right now.


Disclaimer: Shortly after posting this a dear friend who has been recently on my heart did reply to an email I sent her with a thought-provoking one. (I like that she challenges me.) And yesterday I did have an in-depth and at-length conversation with someone who's current situations have been greatly on my heart (she's doing amazing and giving God all of the glory). I have to believe that these (even once a day) are more important than spending an hour each day on reading updates and looking at pictures (see why I had to leave?) even though the people posting them are SO important to me, I am just going to have to trust that I get to connect with them despite FB.
I have to remember this, because I know there are going to be lulls...times when God intends to draw me out to Him alone. There. I am waiting in anticipation of this rhythm.

Veterans' Day

Waiting and watching for the Parade




She waved the flag at everyone in the parade

Can you find Josh?

November is turning out to be beautiful weather after all!!!

Josh White just released Nov. 9th

Have you heard of him yet? I hadn't. (Apparently he was in the band Telecast, but I didn't recognize their name) I get these free downloads in an email spam thing and so I always take them (hey after a few months it's like getting a free CD!). Is it ancient of me to type "CD?" We all still know what those are right? I mean, I'm glad they are being faded out, less trash.

Anyway, back to the album. It has been a very very very long time since I've purchased music of any kind. Think-- Budget. Confession: I have bought several $.50 paperback books. But not music. That's because I can listen to it free online...or I just think if I am meant to hear it, God will get it to me (and yes, I've heard of the Library). Well, I think He got this free song to me "The Wall" by Josh White and I am going to say that I actually feel compelled to buy the whole album off of Amazon. I can't believe I'm saying this. But I've never heard anything quite like it, therefore I'm qualifying it. I just have to scrounge up $5.99 first (even if I have to sell a few books). If you've got the $ and you like Organic Earthy Jesus-Loving music like I do: I'm going to highly recommend it.

Sweet pictures

Brielle in Clarksville, TN:

Silly Bands and stockings and time to brush our teeth (no, I don't like the Disney Princess thing, but we don't refuse other peoples' offerings) and fresh from her bath.

Can you believe she is almost 3???

I love spending my days with my children (yes, it would have matter if I would have been asked about an hour ago - right before nap time).

On the other side of the Lens

Yesterday we needed to get something we had signed up to bring to house church gathering and newspapers (for coupons) so we set out on our bikes. Josh & Tyler went on theirs also, to go to other places in the same area, and Brielle and I headed down the Lane to behind the Shopping Center that Aldi is located in. We were riding along the long stretch of empty backshop doors where trash and cardboard are taken out, where the trucks are usually pulled up to load in the merchandise. It was calm on this Sunday afternoon though. As we were flying along I caught a glimpse of my shadow along the pavement because the sun was to the side of us. There was my hair blowing wildly in the breeze, my long skirt flying (I also had on long pants) and the outline of Brielle's shadow riding on the back of my bike. I looked up into the warm sunlight and smiled.
It was at that moment that I felt like God, my Father, was right there, snapping a picture of me. Like He had been waiting just up ahead of me, just watching, ready. Like He saw us coming and thought, "oh, that's so beautiful."
I say this in the most humble way. As a person who struggles with insecurity and self esteem, it was amazing to feel God seeing me in that way. Just like when we see our children (or friends or friends' children or whoever) and we pull out our cameras because we are thinking, "that's so adorable. that's so worth capturing. that brings me joy! I want to remember that."
We all need to feel God seeing us in that way! Because He does!
So, my challenge to you this week is this: look for when you feel Him watching you, delighting in you, enjoying you, capturing you. Enjoy how it feels to be His child!

Note: After I wrote this blog, I was walking (jogging) with Brielle later that day and ran ahead of her to snap this picture. It seemed to capture somewhat what I was trying to convey, only with God it's of course even more amazing!

Facebook No More

If you and I are "friends" on Facebook, you may already know that I am closing my account tomorrow. I am waiting to see if anyone lets me know they still want to keep in touch via email, you know...just in case. I really do want to stay in touch with all 186 people that I have as FB friends (I mean that, because last month I loosed around 100 people who I never really talked to - ever - or who repeatedly said unmindful things (meaning, mean). Is this important? Probably not. The point is that I just cannot control myself! I mean, I check my email, respond to whoever, and then get some email from FB so I click over there to reply to a msg or something, then I hit "Home" and next thing I know it's an hour later. There are people who do NOT have this problem - who are on FB. I know there are. But I am not one of them, and I am not the only one who gets sucked in like that either!
The thing is that there are results in my life that I desire. The first being that I desire God's presence in my life, and I desire to know what His desires are and what that means to me. Then there are like 25 things underneath that umbrella! (Yes, I have written them down) It's just never going to happen if I am distracted all of the time. And not just FACEBOOK...there is: checking email, phone conversations, reading blogs, shopping/comparing online, and probably many others I can't think of. Then, when I don't want to be distracted anymore I look around me and think, Okay---what can I do with what time I have left? It needs to be the complete other way around. I have been hearing God prompting me to do this for several weeks now, and I really think He has been VERY patient with my bantering with Him and justifying all of the reasons why it would make sense to keep it "just to check once a week, or every other day, or daily, or twice a day, or............hmmmmmmmm...." Yeah.
It may be different if I were single, or my husband were in the military and deployed, or I didn't have three kids at home...or if I were housebound. I don't know. But I just know that I need to listen and I need to allow some things to be pruned from my life...so that I can hear my Father, just in case He chooses to whisper.

Series of Life: Three

After school:

Because they are on the front of a train that is flyyyyyyyyying down the tracks:

Working on the Railroad:

Tyler :)

A trainyard in Fall is quite lovely:

Series of Life: Two

Cutest thing of the whole trip by far was Brielle giving the goats bottled milk to drink. They only got two suckles each then she yanked it from them and went off to the next one that she force-fed. It was hilarous!

This guy asked Will, "what do you think about taking me home with you?"

My kids find fun anywhere:

Perusing through history:

Isn't the next one adorable?

Series of Life: One

This is Brielle's new comforting mechanism: pinching her upper lip. Here we are at Josh's Raiders competion for Northwest Highschool's JROTC program (event took place at APSU). Unfortunately, yesterday Josh found out that this was his last competition of this year, because 1st Sgt. will not allow him to be in both Raiders and play basketball. Josh thought about it all day and I was praying throughout the day for him. He may not get much playing time in basketball, but that is what he chose and we are so proud of him for making the team. Well, we would just be proud no matter what. He also did awesome in the Raiders competitions!

This is Brielle after MOPS when I tried to apply what I learned:

Titans Fan in the making:

Anheuser-Busch Tour in St. Louis, MO:

Used our Groupon here:

The Deals This Week!

Every once in awhile I am so inclined to post about the great deals that I get on sale with coupons. I get really excited when the savings actually work out! There are lots of times I spend clipping coupons and printing lists only to find that the items are sold out on the shelves (another frugal fanatic got to them before me!). So here is what I bought and what I paid. Disclaimer: I plan to recycle much of the material you see. I'm not a fan of mass consumerism, despite what the items below portray, but when I get items for free (or get paid for taking them) I will do my best to reuse and recycle.
Walgreens: $57.32 worth below - I paid $7.96 and got $9.00 in Register Rewards to spend next week (I also used some RR from last week's on this purchase).

Kroger: $58.34 worth below -- I spent $15.25

Walmart: $34.22 below -- I spent $3.98!

So, if you've added it up I spent $27.19 (price includes taxes) on everything pictured above (which is worth a whopping: $149.88) and saved $122.69!