Goodbye Pandapalooza, Hello....

Well, I have dearly loved my Pandapalooza blogging days. It's time for something new. You can find us over HERE!!!

A TIme To Pray

No matter my thoughts, God is in control. As a believer I want to be found faithful, not cynical. Let's pray for our country and our President Elect to see God's will. None of this is by accident. Believers let's wake up and be who we are called to be.

Worms...Exit Can, Please.

Do you or don't you know about it? Are you aware of the Twilight hype? I wasn't until a few weeks ago. As of last Wednesday I've been swimming in the sea of it. To get you up to speed in case you're wondering---Twilight is the first book in a series about vampires. It's written by a Mormon. Yeah. Me too. I was hesitant to waste my time on this book for those two facts alone. Originally this post was going to gush all over Twilight. I was preparing to be land-blasted by a few people who would comment in the negative about a Christian "promoting" a book about vampires. However, since I first turned the pages of the fiction book last week many thoughts have flooded my mind. The first being this--reading about a vampire isn't going to compromise my faith.

Lots--and I do mean lots--of teenagers at my church and those I know from Facebook from other places we have lived as well as several of my peers were just giddy about this book. My first thoughts were unfortunately judgmental. Come on--how could I justify a vampire book? For whatever reason, I chose to borrow book 1 last Wednesday. By Thursday morning I was sucked into the vortex of Edward & Bella. My friend brought by books 2,3, & 4 for my next fix. Had I become a sick-o? No. Twilight was just so alluring. Mysterious. Ethereal. Intriguing. I found myself entranced by the character of Edward--the vampire.

He was beautiful beyond description. He adored Bella as if no one else existed. He was always there for her. Bella found someone whom she couldn't quite figure out, but Edward seemed to woo her to himself. She found comfort in his presence.

Now, I'm not by any means making a vampire into a picture of Jesus. Wait. Maybe I am. Uh-oh...here it comes.

Reread those things I just said about Edward and then how Bella responded. I do believe Jesus fits that description. Don't you know we were created to long for God? To be in fellowship with Him?

There is that empty space in our heart that searches for something to fill it. You know you have it. Even if you are already a Believer, there is that place you can't quite articulate, but it is none-the-less insatiable when filled with the wrong thing leaving you still searching. It is meant to be filled by Jesus. It is the whisper you hear calling you to Himself. It could be the scream in your head telling you "NO!" when you are filling up that space with something other than the desires of God.

What lures you?

It's supposed to be the Presence of Christ.

He is beautiful beyond description. He adores me as if no one else exists. He's always there for me. I can't quite figure Him out, but He woos me. He is alluring. Mysterious. Ethereal. Intriguing.

THAT'S what happened when I read Twilight.

I found myself deeper in love with my Jesus. Believing He is right here beside me. Watching me just because I'm His and He thinks I'm beautiful. Watching after me when I don't even know what He's protecting me from.

I didn't get lost in the vampire world. For Pete's sake---they aren't even real!!!

I loved the book and am glad I read it. However, my deeper love of Jesus isn't the only reason I'm glad I read it. I have already had an opportunity to talk about it with some young girls. The author wrote this series geared towards teenagers. Did I mention the book is very sensual? Though Edward is a "good" vampire he is very much attracted to Bella yet he chooses to remain pure around her--BUT the electrifying sensuality is evident when they are together. Too much for teenagers to be reading. Believe me, I know teens see, hear and experience far worse with the media available to them today, but I just can't imagine WHY on earth the Mormon author wrote it FOR teenagers!!! I just don't get it. I guess she saw a money bath and wanted to jump in. Millions of these books have sold. The 4th book sold 1.3 million copies on the first day--BUT many of the books were returned due to the fact that the fan base disliked the author's ridiculous spin. I must agree. I drank (no pun intended...yes, it is!) the first book in two nights. I plowed through book 2 and didn't like it at all so I skimmed book 3 hating it and G*oogle*d 4 finding out that I wish the author would have called it a day at the end of Twilight. Total waste of my time.

Here's the cool part: yesterday when I was teaching my 6th grade girls in Bible study I was 100% able to connect--for the 1st time--with two Gothic wanna-be girls. They were trying to be sly by saying they dressed up as Alice & Rosalie Cullen for Halloween. The other adult asking them about it had no clue--not to slight her in any way--but I was instantly able to say, "I totally know who they are!" Those girls were now going to let me "in". By the grace of God, I have a connection to their world. That could be a different post entirely about how these affluent girls are being left solely to the influence of their computers to direct their paths...but I digress.

This whole issue over these books and their lure to think about "other" worlds has stirred me to seek out the mysteries in the Bible. Ever read Revelation? Talk about being from another world! Little ol' vampires have got NOTHING on those creatures! Except that they are REAL! Now, let's not debate the literal or figurative here of Revelation. Let's just agree that whatever God has planned for us as Believers in Jesus Christ on the other side is too great for words of a mere mortal being. I count it a privilege to belong to Him and all He has waiting for me.

Perhaps it's time to look at the intriguing, mysterious, ethereal, heavenly beings and proclaim like them, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to come." Revelation 4:8

As for the book? It's just a book. Fun read. The midnight showing on opening night with my girlfriends will be lots of fun. Is the book appropriate for teens? NO WAY. Will I pray for the very lost author? You bet. She's still searching for something to fill that empty space. Lord, let me be light in this dark world and bring glory to You.

Little Bit of This & That...

PandaGirl was a medieval princess for trick-or-treating. Got lots of candy! She has this costume because this coming Friday we are hosting a medieval retreat for the 5th & 6th graders in the Children's Ministry and the leaders are all dressing in character. Of course, PG HAD to have one too! ; )

Last week we went on our second date in a WEEK!!! We had fun double-dating with friends while going to a golfing range. I'm am not a golfer, but had a BLAST hitting those little balls!! Great stress reliever, I found. We decided that we want to go on a date night at least twice a month. So important to continually date my man. I just love him so.


PG's hair is growing out so beautifully!


A little bit of stuff:

~Gained 6.5 pounds since starting work. Yuck. Got my rear on the treadmill.

~Had a teacher/parent conference to listen to PG's kindergarten progress. She is doing very well and right on track. Woohoo! However, PP and I were totally cracking up when the teacher told us that she had difficulty recognizing just a few of the lower-case letters. Guess what one of them was? /x/ LOL!!! Doesn't that look JUST like the upper-case one?! Maybe my sweet baby was nervous...or blonde. ; )

~Excited for my MommySpice friend getting the Auntie Ann's pretzel store they wanted.

~Have been able to keep up MORE with my BFF who moved across the big Pond since over there she has fast internet and not dial up like she did just three hours from me.

~Haiti paperwork going right along.

~Found my stride at work. Still counting down the days until June, though.

~LOVING the fall weather!!!!!!!!!!

~Made a wonderful beef vegetable soup, then noticed---right before spooning the soup into the bowls---that the garlic jar lid was oozing black stuff and the lid DID look like it had been "popped" when I was cooking--I thought it was nothing, but after seeing the black goo...we ditched the tainted soup and headed out for Tex-Mex instead. HATED wasting a whole pot of soup!!! GRRRR!

~Found one of my best friends from high school on Facebook whom I haven't seen in 19 years. Very fun.

~Got sucked into a new book and devoured almost 400 pages in two nights! Which leads me to this:
~~~~I'll open up a fun little can of worms with my next post...Twilight.

Have a blessed and happy weekend! ; )

Be patient!

I promise I haven't forgotten my blog!!! I will try and post on Sat. Lots to say! Be a blessing to someone! ; )

Cookies, Art and a Little Chart

It's that time of year....woooohooooo! I adore fall with all my little heart so it was time to bust out with the cookie cutters and frosting. I always love cooking together with PandaGirl. She is great in the kitchen! These aren't the most beautiful cookies, but they are made with love and are part of our tradition that I hope PG will one day look back on with fond memories of her and her mom in the kitchen just being together.


PG's favorite thing to do on her own is art. She loves to make books, scrapbooks, family drawings, the cat, the dog, the Princesses...whatever her little heart desires. Well, her long beautiful legs have out-grown her Little Tykes Step 2 art table, but her art has expanded. We found this great sketch table that will grow with her forever. It is PERFECT for her and sits right in our living room. She has been very busy "designing" clothes for all the Princesses to wear (just like in the movies). Love it!

PG is six. She is precious. She has attitude. She needs guidance.

We started this chart for her to earn gold stars and a reward for 1st time obedience and then other stickers for a few daily chores like teeth brushing and making her bed. There is also a place for "X" when she rolls her eyes, argues or sulks over whatever she was just asked to do. So far, so good. This approach really seems to hit home with her. Her love language is a strong "Quality Time". Just to spend some one-on-one time with her for even as little as ten minutes...she is a new person. She longs to "help" do something with one of us. She truly is precious and tender-hearted, but when bored, hungry or doesn't get exactly her way, well, she's quite a bear. We had to find some way to let her feel successful and accomplish what we need to teach her as well. We'll see how long this little approach works. Hmmm.

A Must See