We Need to be Connected

"Wrennie Wednesday"

"A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver." Proverbs 25:11

Faith Wrenn has learned how to link rubber bands together and make a chain. She apparently found a rubber band stash in her Sunday School class and made one of her chains at church.

The sermon that morning was about God using people to grow us. Our pastor talked about how God created us to be linked or connected together with other people. He said that we can't obey a lot of the Scriptures if we don't have other people in our lives (i.e., being a part of the body, loving one another, etc.) - this really spoke to me.

Anyway, after the service, Faith Wrenn was playing with her chain while we walked to the car. She was using it as a jump rope when she said, "Hey Mom, this (chain) looks like what Pastor Jeff was talking about. We have to be connected to God and to other people!"

It brings tears to my eyes when Faith Wrenn and Tanner actually "get it" - you know, when they truly understand God's Word and take it to heart. Faith Wrenn was playing with her chain again this afternoon and made a comment about needing God and other people.

God used a handful of rubber bands hooked together to teach a 7 year old (and a 38 year old) an important truth. Isn't He amazing?

Monkey See, Monkey Do

"T-Man Tuesday"

"Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones." Proverbs 16:24

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Saturday night I asked Tanner and Faith Wrenn if they would be willing to donate some of their stuffed animals to a local children's home for Valentine's Day. Faith Wrenn was hesitate because her stuffed animals are very special to her and she is "collecting" them. Initially, she said no.

Tanner said he would be glad to give his stuffed animals away, and he went to his room to get them. As Faith Wrenn watched Tanner put his animals in a bag, she was inspired. Once he was finished, Faith Wrenn headed straight for her room with Tanner close behind to help her.

As Faith Wrenn debated long and hard about if/which animals to give away, Tanner encouraged her and offered pros and cons to make the decisions a little easier. With Tanner's prompting, Faith Wrenn did donate several animals. It was Tanner's example of selflessness that made Faith Wrenn want to follow suit. His generosity was contagious.

May we never forget that someone (i.e., our child, spouse, friend, co-worker, family member, neighbor, stranger, etc.) is always watching us and that our actions can have a positive impact on them. May we be like Tanner and imitate God through our actions (Ephesians 5:1.)

A Man After God's Own Heart

"My Man Monday"
"Encourage one another and build each other up." 1 Thess. 5:11

I am so grateful to have a husband who has a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and who is growing in his faith. Recently, Shawn's prayer has been for God to fill his heart with compassion for other people. (Mercy is not one of my husband's strong suits. He's more of a "pull yourself up by your boot straps & get things done" kind of guy.) But, he truly has been asking God to change his heart and to love people through him.

Here's how God has answered this prayer in the past week:

*Last Thursday, I walked into our bedroom to find my husband putting some socks into the pockets of a nice jacket. The next morning, he gave the jacket to someone at work who is struggling to make ends meet.

* Friday night, we were at a restaurant with my family waiting to be seated when Shawn got a phone call from another co-worker who was in a difficult situation and needed some help. Without hesitation, he and I were in the car heading to help. Dinner had to wait.

* On Sunday afternoon, we went with another family from church to help some folks in need of firewood. This required Shawn to borrow a wood splitter from his grandfather, get it in working order and then use it to cut large logs into firewood.

WOW! God is up to something GREAT in the heart of my husband! And I'm so thankful that Shawn is pursing God and is willing to have his heart transformed by Him.

Me and My Man

Take Your Daughter to Work Day

"Wrennie Wednesday"
"A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver." Proverbs 25:11

While you all were enjoying MLK Jr. Day on Monday, Faith Wrenn had to go to work with me - thanks to the relentless stomach virus that is still circulating amongst some of our family members.

She did FANTASTIC! She helped around the office by doing things like watering the plants, moving furniture (on wheels), taking things to other people for me, picking up cans after the recycling truck left them on the ground, etc. She really was a great helper, and she never once whined or complained. I was sooooo proud of her!

We did pack her a bag of fun things to do while we were there all day. Here's a few pictures:

My desk is L-shaped and it made a great hideout for my little spy while she played on the computer and with her PSP. Fortunately, there was plenty of room for her and my feet!
Smiling faces from cool hideout places!

"T-Man Tuesday"

"Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones." Proverbs 16:24

Here is my T-Man with a few of his favorite things: his X-Box 360 controller, his bandana, and his cellphone. I am amazed when I think about Tanner turning 13 this year!

We had a "teaching opportunity" this weekend that reminded me that he is definitley growing up and that God has given him a noteable ability to discern between right and wrong (by God's standards, not the world's.) My prayer for him is that he will continue to seek the Lord and His will as he gets older.

"My Man Monday" - on Tuesday

"Encourage one another and build each other up." 1 Thess. 5:11

To say that Shawn, my husband, is a positive person would be putting it mildly. Not only does he see the glass half full, he automatically starts looking for ways to add more to the glass!!! I admire this about him.

He also likes to take care of things ("to do" lists, etc.) immediately. Opposites really do attract! Often times, God uses this quality in my husband to keep me motivated and on track. Usually, I come up with an idea or "a project," and Shawn takes the steps to make it happen. THANK YOU LORD FOR MY HUSBAND!

"Wrennie Wednesday"

READ POST BELOW FIRST - then you'll understand these pictures!!!!! SORRY, inexperienced blogger error!

The picture above is of Faith Wrenn's spy gear. She and her friends love to play spies. She has a wonderfully vivid imagination.

Faith Wrenn got a keyboard from Nana at Christmas. She sings, plays, and dances to music all the time. She has an ear for music.

This is a picture of Faith Wrenn's science lab kits. She wants to be a research scientist who discovers a cure for something like HIV/AIDS when she grows up. Until then, she will be honing her skills via concoctions made in her own laboratory at home.

THANKS FOR THE PICTURES FAITH WRENN! YOU DID A FANTASTIC JOB!

***START READING RIGHT HERE FIRST***

"A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver." Proverbs 25:11

Not only has Faith Wrenn been setting her own alarm for school and actually getting up when it goes off, she is also checking the weather every night and laying out her clothes for the next day - WITHOUT BEING TOLD!

When I walked into her room the other night to turn off her night light, the picture to the left is what I found in the middle of her bedroom floor.

This girl is very prepared! When she commits to doing something, she goes all out. I admire her motivation and determination.

Case in point, she just saw me typing this post and was inspired. She took my camera to her room and took pictures of some of her favorite things to share about herself on today's post. Now let's see if I can upload them. Hmmmmmm.........

Obviously, I'm having blogger issues! I did upload the pictures, but they are ABOVE this post instead of after it. Even tried to delete them, but couldn't get that to work either. I'm so glad God started working on my perfectionism years ago......

If you go back to the pictures at the beginning of this post, they should make sense now.

I'm a work in progress, how about you??!!! Hey, is there a "Blogging for Dummies" book? Could be a birthday idea.....

"T-Man Tuesday"

"Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones." Proverbs 16:24


God has blessed Tanner with a gentle spirit. I saw evidence of this on Saturday at his cousin's birthday party. One of his cousin's is about 7 years younger than he is. He is protective of her and very patient with her. He cheered her on when she was shooting basketball until she made the basket. He did what she wanted to do instead of what he wanted to do. He spent a lot of time with her outside playing and laughing. He's going to be a great father one day! You know, when he is about 35 years old or so!!!

"My Man Monday"

"Encourage one another and build each other up..." 1 Thessalonians 5:11

This weekend, Shawn and I went to a parenting conference. It was very useful and so in line with what God is teaching me right now. After the conference, we stopped at the store and saw someone that I grew up with. She asked us how we managed not to have our children with us. I told her where we had been and a little bit about what we had learned. She commented how blessed I was to have a husband on the same page with me when it comes to God, to parenting, etc.

I do tend to forget how blessed I am to have a husband who loves the Lord and who is seeking His will for our family. It took talking to someone who was longing for that in her husband to make me appreciate the gift God has given me in my husband.

P.S. Not only did we learn some new parenting prinicples, but we have actually started using them - with my husband taking the lead!

"Wrennie Wednesday"

"A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver." Proverbs 25:11

It's Wednesday and time to brag just a little on my daughter Faith Wrenn.

Faith Wrenn is 7 1/2 years old. She is very creative and wants to be a scientist when she grows up. This week, she has her eyes set on Harvard because if you go there, you can get a job anywhere!

For Christmas, Faith Wrenn got a clock/radio/cd. Since school has started back this week, she has been setting her alarm and getting herself up! I'm very proud of her because she is a night owl, not a morning person.

Also, Shawn's grandmother is in a nursing home with alzheimer's. Faith Wrenn and I try to visit her once a week. We usually go after Faith Wrenn gets out of school and before we have to pick up Tanner. (There is an hour difference in their dismissal times and the nursing home is very close to Tanner's school .)

Anyway, we went for a visit yesterday, but Grandma was asleep when we got there. Instead of being ready to leave, Faith Wrenn said, "Mom, let's go see who else we can help." Then off she went looking for someone to push in their wheelchair or talk to. She has learned the names and rooms of some of the residents, and she is sure to check on them when we visit. She also just goes with the flow when she gets asked "interesting" questions from the residents with alzheimer's. I'm very proud of her.

"T-Man Tuesday"

"Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones." Proverbs 16:24

It's time to brag a little on my son Tanner.

Tanner recently had a birthday and turned 12 years old. Every year around this time, I am reminded of the miracles that God performed in that little guy's life as he was born 2 months early and is 100% healthy today. God is sovereign and so very worthy of our praise!

Tanner had his first basketball game on Saturday. When one of his teammates got hurt during the game, Tanner was the first one to forget about the game and run to his friend's side to check on him.

Also, on the ride home from church Sunday night, Tanner was asking me questions about how did I know when God wanted me to do something, & how did I know for sure it was God, etc. We had a great discussion. Then, just before we got out of the van, Tanner said, "Mom, something is telling me that I want to read the Bible in a year and I think it's God!" We talked some more, and then I gave him my One Year Chronological Bible so he could get started!

In the Beginning...

For as long as I can remember, I wanted to move away from "Nineveh" and live somewhere else. As early as 3rd grade, I used to daydream about living in another city, another state. Before the internet, we actually had to get our factual information from books - what a novel idea! Anyway, we were fortunate enough to have a set of encyclopedias at our house. I can remember looking up various places and reading about them in the encyclopedia. I began to plot and plan my escape then.

Enter reality. Every time I have tried to move away, God has SLAMMED the door shut. He has been gracious enough to let me travel to a lot of states and even go to college for a year in California on an exchange program. But, when I have tried to move away to another state, something major has happened every time.

I am very thankful that God did allow me to live about an hour outside of "Nineveh" for 16 years. What a difference an hour can make!

Anyway, I don't really know why living in "Nineveh" is so hard for me. But it is! We have lived here nearly 5 years now, and I still struggle. Maybe it's the small town mentality - only "Nineveh" has grown by leaps and bounds. Maybe it's the lack of things to do & places to go - only "Nineveh" is surrounded by larger cities with lots to do. Maybe it's flashbacks to high school where bored kids used their vivid imaginations to create rumors for excitement & I want my children to avoid that - only that happens everywhere. Maybe it's pride because I said I would never live here again - only it's not about me; it's about God. Honestly at this point, I don't really have an answer.

Enter trust. God is calling me to trust Him with all of my heart, especially when I don't understand. I have struggled with trust for most of my life. Just recently, God has connected some of the dots for me and revealed that my struggle to trust others (& ultimately Him) began right here in "Nineveh" when I was a teenager. Maybe one of the reasons God has brought me back here is so He and I can tackle this issue and pull it out by the roots from the exact spot it was planted all those years ago. What a mighty God we serve!!!

"My Man Monday"

I'm going to be brutally honest...I'm a recovering perfectionist - in progress! Unfortunately, my perfectionism still rears its ugly head from time to time, and I find myself focusing on the shortcomings of my wonderful husband and children more often than I should. So, God has impressed upon me to brag on them a little each week instead. "Encourage one another and build each other up..." 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Mondays belong to my husband Shawn. Let the bragging begin.

Last night, Shawn was watching TV before going to sleep. Then, I came into the room and started talking to him. A few minutes later, he turned the TV off. I assumed this meant he was going to sleep (he has to get up at 4:15 a.m.) So, I made a comment to this effect. Then he very sincerely said, "I'm not going to sleep yet. I turned the TV off because it was getting to the conclusion of the show and I knew if I kept the TV on I would want to watch it. I turned it off so I wouldn't be distracted and we could talk." WOW! He got major brownie points for that one! He definitely has his listening ears on! This really meant a lot to me.

A Few Disclaimers Before I Start

Disclaimer #1..... I really enjoy reading other people's blogs, but I did not have any plans to blog myself. The optimal word here is "I." However, God had very different plans so now I am blogging out of obedience to Him.

Disclaimer #2..... I have a very large and loving family that I am blessed to be a part of. My reasons for not wanting to live in "Nineveh" have absolutely NOTHING to do with wanting to be away from them. My family is very important to me. To be honest, I saw most of my family more when I lived out of town than I do now living in the same town!

Disclaimer #3..... Learning the ins and outs of blogging is a process. So, please bear with me as I navigate this new adventure!