Georgia on My Mind

We are in our home state of Georgia for the opening day of the college football season!

Go DAWGS!!!

Since we have an extended weekend for the Labor Day holiday, we decided to head for Middle GA. We loaded up the van about 7:30 last night and off we went! We love night travel with our kids...it's so quiet!

This trip to GA is a sad but sweet trip. Jarrett's grandmother, "Nanny," is currently residing in an Assisted Living Community. She is selling her home that she lived in for almost 50 years. Unfortunately, Jarrett was unable to see Nanny's home one last time before things were moved out. My husband is quite the "family man." He holds much value in the memories he has shared with his family through the years. So, this trip he will have the opportunity to say goodbye to a home he loved dearly and spent so many years of his life.

We should be heading over to her house in a few hours. I will definitely be taking pictures and letting you know how it goes.

Until then...Bye Y'ALL!

A Sentimental Gift

Have you ever received "those" gifts? You know, the ones where you could see that a LOT of heart was put into it. It was made with so much creativity, but it lacks that perfect spot in your home. Why do you have such a hard time finding a home for your homemade gifts? Well, my guess is that you really don't like it. But, you just don't have the heart to throw it away. So, the decision is made to keep it and let it haunt you forever.

Well, this time it was not given to me. It was given to my daughter. It was made by her sweet cousins. They actually made it for her birthday (back in May). I've been able to avoid having this ornament reside at my residence. But, yesterday, her adorable Aunt Cassie suggested to Annalise that we take it home. She's so sweet! Yeah, she was tired of having it in her garage filling up space. I quickly came back with, "We have a smaller home, not as much room as Aunt Cassie's garage. There's just no room for it in our garage....and we play outside more at Aunt Cassie's house. We need to keep it here or throw it away." Well, I must be stupid, because I was completely caught off guard when Annalise buried her head into my leg and began crying. I know, you all saw it coming. I was oblivious to how much she really loved this gift. She was sniffling while saying, "mommy, why would you throw away my birthday present." Oh my!

So, I must say thank you to Aunt Cassie for her willingness to let this contraption leave her home to stand glorious in my garage! You are SO thoughtful!

So what is it? (notice the training wheels hanging on for dear life).

A wagon for your baby dolls of course!

Second Gymnastics Class!

So, remember those great pictures I was telling you about from Annalise's first time at Gymnastics? Well, they are gone! Even computer forensics couldn't save them! Jarrett did say that maybe 1 was recovered. But, I wanted them ALL!!!

So, knowing that losing them might be the case, I took my camera with us for her second class. And low and behold...she's still cute as a button! She really loves her class!

Annalise is wrapped upside down on the bar in this picture. Her instructor is helping her with a pull-over. Sorry for the distance and quality. I am about 60 ft. away and behind a window.

In this picture, Annalise is learning how to walk on the balance beam. This is the first time ever trying the beam. She wobbled quite a bit! I like that the beam is low!

And here you can see exactly how unstable her little body is on the beam. I'm so proud!!! I hope it's not too dark on your home computers. I can see if I look hard :)

She loves her Gymnastics Class! And I love that she loves it!!!

Our Nation Needs Prayer

The Lord has moved me to pray today for our Nation. And I believe we are ALWAYS called to PRAY.

"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."

Ephesians 6:18

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Please join me today in praying for our country, it's leaders, it's future leaders, the youth, our children, and our hearts.

Blessings,

Jaime

Rearrange my Surroundings

"They Brought to Him a deaf man who also had a speech dificulty, and begged Jesus to lay His hand on him. So He took him away from the crowd privately." Mark 7:32-33

"The Lord was calling me out of my element, growing in me the spiritual gift of love for the body of Christ. But to do that, He needed me in a new set of surroundings, out where He could show me that even if we speak with the tongues of angles, if we don't have love, we may as well be clanging brass.
Until He has us out of our element-and into His-we will never see His glory. We will always be deaf to what He was trying to say."

- Beth Moore

On the brink of me trying to figure out how to minister to a single mom (see posts here and here), the Lord did some work in me...yet again. I Love Him! I have been so busy these last few weeks with my first year of teaching home school, that my time with the Lord has been zilcho! So, tonight, when I curled up on my bed to spend some time with the Lord, I played eeny-meeny-miney-mo on books to open. This time, it I picked up "Jesus" 90 Days with the One and Only by Beth Moore. And it just so happened that the chapter I was on was titled, "Out of Your Element." Don't you love those days when life has been hard...and you know that you and the Father need time together...you don't really know where to start...and when you finally give Him the time...oh, how He makes it so perfect (even when you play eeny-meeny-miney mo)! And it's at those times that you realize how important it is to spend more moments with our sweet Savior!

Father, take me out of my element. Lead me, mold me, protect me. Teach me how to love...a love like yours. I want to see glimpses of your Glory!

"For if I live at the eastern horizon or settle at the western limits, even there Your hand will lead me" Your right hand will hold on to me." Psalm 139:9-10

Blessings,

Jaime

She Wants to do School Too!!!

Okay, so Allison didn't bless me with a great morning nap yesterday. She woke up early and was ready to play. Well, this was a little distracting to her sister and cousin. So, I pulled in another table and chair and she immediately sat down to participate with the girls. We grabbed some flashcards and puzzles and we were on our way to learning!

So, once I got Allison hooked on a puzzle, the girls could work with peace and quiet...HA!

Well, at least for a few seconds...Look quick!

Check out my little Einstein Princess in training:

A Forgotten Challenge

A few weeks ago, when posting about A Practical Step, I challenged myself to step out of my comfort zone and minister to a single mom beyond material giving. I had forgotten my challenge. I had asked for accountability. Apparently I needed it.

In reflection of our message at church yesterday, my pastor spoke on his desire to become more compassionate to a couple of his friends. The two friends he was speaking of are homeless. My Pastor had mentioned that he wanted to build a relationship with these 2 men...go out of his comfort zone, even though they are very different from him. He said that he had no problem giving them food, money, or monetary things. But, to invite them to an event, or dinner, or a movie, would be stretching him.

As I heard him speaking about this, the Lord so obviously began speaking to me...you know, through the hard pounding heart beat and lump in my throat. I remember when I was being called to minister to this single mom, months ago! I had forgotten. How quickly we can lose passion if we are not in constant prayer and repetition. That is why I believe it is so important to keep a journal and refer back to it. We can get so busy that we lose sight.

I want to re-post my challenge to find a way to reach out to this mom. I pray that the Lord will ignite that passion within me once again, to pop out of the tight bubble I have put myself in and walk without judgement into the life of someone who needs the Lord. I will also be praying for my pastor, for his heart of compassion as he allows the Lord to stretch him.

I hope to fill you in on the Lord's work very soon!

Blessings,

Jaime

Lakeside Living!

So, shortly after I posted my pictures from yesterday, I took the kids over to my sister-n-law's - parents' house. They live directly across our backyard (on the other side of the golf course...only separated by trees). This is what their backyard view was:

It was amazing! And look! Shamu and his friend have escaped Sea World!!!

And watch the escapees as they travel down stream...

And our children watched in enjoyment while doing the Shamu Chant! Thank you Sea World for teaching them this never ending song :)

We had a great time at our friend's lakeside home. School was canceled all across the mid-state. The kids watched movies. The adults put a puzzle together and played cards! It was a fun day indoors...AGAIN!

Today...skies are BLUE!!!

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

So, instead of posting adorable pictures of Annalise at her 1st day of Gymnastics, I am posting pictures of the new lake forming in our back yard! I am so sick of rain!!! Yes, I am so glad that we received some refreshing water on our grass, trees, and soil, but...3 days of non-stop raindrops on my bedroom sunroof is ENOUGH!

Orlando should be free from Fay's gigantic, slow moving rotation by tonight. And forecasters are telling us that we should be getting more rain from the tropics over the next several days! AHHHH!!!

Views from our back patio

View from our neighbors backyard:

Another view from her yard (looking left). Notice the golf course cart path is covered with water from the 2 rain lakes joining together.

And lastly, a squirell has found it's dry home in a small ledge on below our gutters. Poor thing!

By the way, I would still post those adorable Annalise pics if I had them! Jarrett won't be able to work on the memory stick until Monday when he as access to the program needed.

Annalise at the Gym!

Well, unfortunately, something traumatic has happened with my camera's memory stick...

it's not working!!!

I took some great pictures of Annalise at the gym yesterday. I even viewed them shortly after. They were just great! But, now the computer and camera tell me that the disk is not formatted (whatever that means!). Jarrett said he will take it to work to do some working on it with it computer forensic expertise! Let's hope for the best that my pictures are saved!

Since much of her first experience was "journal worthy" I have posted about her first day on my other blog. You can read about it here.

Oh how He loves us!

Yesterday, as I was describing my daughter's first time in Gymnastics class to my husband, I realized on a more intimate level how much our Heavenly Father loves his children! I also started to understand some of His pride in his creation!

I let my child go...on her own...to walk with a complete stranger...across to the opposite side of the gym from me. She was nervous. She is shy. She has tried other classes before and cried for the majority of the time or glued herself to my leg and refused to go. This time, she was wanting to join so badly that she decided to rise above her anxieties and try it. I was so PROUD!

I walked to a second level observation deck that divided us by a wall and window. She couldn't see me very well unless she walked closer and looked hard. But, I could see her. She practiced with all her might to get the stretches and warm-up exercises just right! She was adorable! She wasn't as flexible as the other kids, but that didn't lesson my pride.

Next, she was doing handstands, cartwheels, back bends and more! She had been working on these and was excited to show others what she knew. This was completely out of her character. And the instructor gave her a high-5! She smiled. Her confidence was growing. Oh, I am so proud!!!

Then were the bars. She had never been on the bars. But, she did the floor skills well and those bars were stopping her. She was jumping up and down in line and couldn't wait to tackle this new adventure. She started with the instructor and was being helped along the way. She was unable to conquer this task but tried over and over and over again! I just LOVE her!!!

Annalise is excited to go on Friday night for an open night at the gym for additional practice. She said, "mommy I want to get better on the bars!"

Wow, I just love that picture. I was looking down from above at all Annalise was doing and couldn't love her anymore or be any prouder than I was right then! She was afraid but rose above her fears. She wasn't the best, but tried her hardest. She was excited to share what she knew with others. And when she couldn't complete the task, she continued to press on! I can now start to understand, even at the smallest level, how much the Lord is in love with us and how proud he must be!

Thank you for that picture! It was heaven sent!

Blessings,

Jaime

Gymnastics Class!

I have been teaching Annalise and her nieces Gymnastics for about 3 years now. Although, I haven't been too consistent until this past year. And the girls love it! In my younger days I was a gymnast and later instructed gymnastics while I was in college. So, the passion lives on! Unfortunately, because I don't have access to a gym, the girls only learn floor exercises. But we make the most of it! I have such a talented little class! I even have one that has about conquered a back handspring!

This year we have a couple new students!

Welcome Abbie...And my nephew Jordan!

My youngest 3 students!

Our homemade balancing beam!

Jarrett and I have given Annalise an option to take some type of organized sport to get her interacting with other children (other than her "sisterly cousins"). Jarrett was really hoping for Soccer! Well, she wanted to take gymnastics! So, we are signing her up this week to take gymnastics at a local gym that has more than a hard carpeted area! She is so excited! More details on that to come. She starts tomorrow night!

Thankful

Lord, thank you for...

my sweet and caring husband,

my 5 year old that still snuggles with me every morning,

my 1 year old that almost never stops smiling,

an incredibly smooth, peaceful, and awesome first day of school,

a toddler successfully taking 2 long naps today,

great neighbors that watch out and protect each other,

slip-n-slides,

recycling bins,

free trial gymnastic classes (especially when the student fails to participate in 75% of the activities),

Chinese fast food,

pacifiers,

vulnerability,

forgiveness,

a Daddy that still checks on his kids at night before he heads off to bed,

for the ability to fall asleep fast,

a great day,

Amen!

A Special Day!

Daddy kissed Annalise and wished her good luck on her first day of school! Jarrett was leaving for work and wanted to be a part of making this day a BIG DEAL as much possible. Unlike our days of past, Annalise was clothed and teeth were brushed by 9:00. She was excited! We picked up her cousin Sydney and headed back home for school! We started off our morning with prayer (and both girls wanted to pray also...so sweet) and devotions. Then we talked about our plans for the school year, learned our memory verse for letter "A," made a craft, reviewed our summer Spanish words, did a few worksheets, ate a snack, and more!

It was a great first day!!!

School starts tomorrow!!!

Jarrett and I took Annalise and Sydney to buy backpacks for homeschooling! So, you must be thinking...why would a homeschooler need a backpack? Well, they don't. But, Annalise has been wanting a backpack for a long time now. And I have the greatest memories shopping as a child with my mom for the big first day of school each year. I think a homeschooler deserves the same rights! So, off we went! Annalise picked a Princess bag and Sydney picked Tinkerbell! They were so cute walking proudly through Target with their backpacks on!

When we got home, Annalise helped me put hooks on her school room walls for the new bags. Each bag will hold their homemade pencil boxes, writing tablets, work folders, and a snack. Yes, I said snack! Isn't homeschooling fun!!!!!!

I will post our first day together soon!

Anxiety

I am a little anxious tonight. I have been preparing for most of the day to embark on a new journey in our home. I begin homeschooling my Kindergartner tomorrow. I am so very blessed to be able to stay at home with my girls. Homeschooling is what we believe the Lord has called us to do this year for our daughter. Over the last few years, I have done some light schooling with her on preschool work. But, wow, this seems to be a much bigger task. That perfectionism kicks in pretty hard. Stinky thing!

So, tonight as I sat with our small group family, we gathered our children around and prayed over them and their schooling this year. We prayed for the parents. We prayed for their teachers. It all became very real to me. I have known many moms who go through anxiety when their little ones are sent away to school. Well, I am now one of those moms and my child will in the comfort of her own home!

Will she like it? Will I be able to provide her the education she needs?

But, the Lord is SO good. We just need to let the truth in!!! Tonight, I was reminded of several key verses that help put me at peace.

Phil 4:6 - "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."

Matthew 6:25 - "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?

1 Peter 5:7 - "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."

Lord, I believe that you will bless that which you have called me to do. Father, bring me to full surrender to you. Increase my faith. I will trust in YOU! Thank you for the precious gifts that you have loan to me in the life of my children.

Blessings,

Jaime

She's starting Kindergarten!!

Family week is almost over and we have had a blast! Tonight we celebrated taco night and movie night! We even had Mexican mood music playing in the background while we dined (I love digital cable)! The only thing missing was sombreros!

So, tomorrow is our last official day of summer before school begins. Our little Annalise is 5 years old (sniffle sniffle) and will be starting Kindergarten on Monday. Through much prayer and discussion, we have decided that we would be homeschooling this year. Annalise is SO very excited that she can go on lots of vacations and still be at school! Annalise is also pretty pumped that she will be doing school with her cousin, Sydney. I have to say, I think I'm a pretty awesome teacher! Because Annalise loved pre-k so much at home last year, she wanted to continue through the summer. I wasn't to thrilled about doing 5 days a week of school in the summer. We needed to be swimming, going to the movies, and playing!!! So, I agreed to one day a week to teach her and Sydney together.

The girls love making fun crafts,

Baking yummy muffins,

And letting Allison be a part too!

Since Annalise and Sydney are a grade level apart, they will only do a few hours together each morning. Then, during Allison's afternoon nap, I will solely be working with Annalise on her reading and writing. I plan to only have classes Monday - Thursday with Friday as a Fun Day! We like to have fun!

So, we are off to enjoying our last few days of summer break!

She's growing up so fast!

Cleaning the Floors...why should we?

Can you guess what we had for dinner tonight?

And why did I sweep the floors today?

A Comment worth Posting...

I love when I get good ideas on simplifying life! My sweet Grandma Ellee sent me an email in response to my first post on simplifying. With her permission to share, I have posted it below:

"Now, to comment about your desire to simplify. This is a good, God given desire. Grandpa and I are also working on this. Here are some of the things we are doing. I have promised myself that I will not buy a single piece of new clothing until I have sorted out my whole closet and all my drawers and gotten everything into 4 piles; (1) throw out; (2) keep for working in the garden and cleaning out the cellar/garage. etc. - total grub clothes; (3) give away - anything that does not fit, is not a good color for me, or that I don't like anymore but is in decent condition; (4) things I don't need anymore, such as fancy cocktail dresses I needed to go to Air Force receptions, etc. - I will keep one for each season in case I need a fancy outfit. I will still most likely have plenty of clothes!

Also, Grandpa and I have a big house. It is beautiful but much more than we need. We want to downsize but the housing market is such a disaster right now that we could not sell our home for anywhere near what it is worth. So, we are trying to economize any way we can until the market gets better. We have NO debt (God does not want us to have debt). We are slowly filling boxes of things to give away (we gave 13 boxes full of books to our church fair).

We are also trying to eat with more sensitivity to the world. There are many many people in the world who don't get anywhere enough to eat on any day. I am co-director of the Waldoboro Food Pantry and I see this whenever we are open - more and more people come because the economy is so bad that people have to choose between filling their cars with gas so they can get to work and buying groceries for their families. I am sure that Orlando has many people in the same situation. There is a wonderful cookbook series by the Mennonite Missionaries, which I am sure your Pastor could find. There are 3 cookbooks - Extending the Table, More with Less, and Simply in Season. I am trying to cook from them as much as I can and change our eating habits to be healthier and not waste resources. We also recycle as much as we can (newspapers, mixed paper, bottles and cans, etc).

Last winter in Maine was very cold with record amounts of snow. Grandpa and I closed off our third floor, set all the thermostats at 60 degrees, put fleece blankets on our chairs, and burnt wood (which is much cheaper in Maine than oil) in our two woodstoves. It was a lot of work lugging the wood upstairs from the basement and keeping the woodstoves going, but we saved mega bucks and were still plenty warm. The US as a whole needs to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, which you may not feel so much in Florida as we do in Maine, but it must be an issue with air conditioning.

The Lord gives us many messages about caring for His creation and they do not involve the excesses that our American (and generally Western) cultures have led us to believe are needs.

I love you and support everything you and Jarrett are doing to simplify your lives. - Grandma Ellee"

Family Week

Since the girls and I have had such a busy summer of "going and doing," I thought this would be a great time to spend a week as a family AT HOME! This is typically something Annalise complains about. She really enjoys getting out and playing with cousins and friends.

But, this week is going to be different. Jarrett is taking a semester off from his MBA classes and this gives him more time with the girls. I am so excited!!! Since, Annalise still likes to have a schedule, she grabbed the calendar and began x'ing off the days of old and began with picture descriptions of our family week of fun activities and quality time together.

You may notice that "Clean Day" is written in the schedule. I did not have any influence in that decision. Annalise and I had actually made up "Cleaning Day Cards" that she loves! She does have her favorite cards and those cards that make her frown. But, all in all, she thinks it is so much fun to pick a card from the pile with anticipation that it will possibly say "dusting" (her favorite)!

So, moving on to today (our most fun yet)...

This is what her picture drawings stood for on Wednesday the 13th...

Making popsicles out of Orange Juice - the old fashion way!

Sprinkler idea that turned into the Slip-N-Slide!

And last but not least...enjoying popsicles!

A Weekend Away!

Jarrett and I were so blessed to get to spend a weekend all by ourselves!!!

We sent the kids to their cousins house to have a fun filled weekend. And that, they did! You can see it all here.

It was so nice to get away and have quiet conversation and sleep in!!! What is funny is that even though I was so excited to get some extra sleep, I didn't sleep past 8:15. I must say that our bed was quite uncomfortable. There is nothing like your own bed. I'm so glad I didn't forget my pillow!

Now we had never been to Melbourne, FL and didn't really make any plans. It was nice to not have a schedule but also a little frustrating because a lot of our time away was trying to figure out what to do!

We actually spent much of our time riding down the beach (sometimes 3 times a day) to find some waves. We love to boogy board! It never happened. Although, the beach was beautiful and very calming. We took a few walks along the shore line and talked. The last day was spent camping out on our boogy boards in the "lake-like" ocean and relaxing.

We did spend quite a bit of time at Andretti's Amuzement Park. Jarrett and I are suckers for some air-hockey! We actually played a lot of air-hockey on our honeymoon. It's kind of a weird tradition.

We also got HOOKED on "Deal or No Deal." We were a little greedy, which worked out some of the time! 75 tickets BABY (and that was just one game we played)!!!

And after the morning rain, we headed out for some mini-golf. Jarrett slaughtered me!!! I don't think golf of any sort is going to be "my game."

It was a great time and am looking forward to another weekend away in the future!

Thanks Uncle Cory and Aunt Cassie for watching our girls!!!

Go to Your Room

So, Jarrett and I went on a little vacation this weekend. It was so nice to spend time with each other and have no interruptions. The beach was calm and we did a lot of talking about our family and our desires for our girls. All of it seemed so wonderful and perfect.

Then we came home...

Yesterday was my first full day back as mommy. Those great ideas that Jarrett and I talked about seemed millions of miles away when my morning started. As I have mentioned before, I struggle so much with perfectionism. Don't you just wish that when the Lord shows us the Truth, we could listen and apply it ALL the time? Well, let's just say that when trials or difficulties hit, it is very easy for me to forget how to "be still and let GOD"!

Every morning Annalise and I have morning devotions and spend some time together talking while Allison takes a nap. Although, yesterday morning I was quick to send Annalise to her room when she was in a bad mood and didn't want interact in conversation with me. I tried to talk to her and just got frustrated. So many times I not only want my life to be perfect. I also tend to expect the same out of my 5 year old. I had lunch with a sweet friend yesterday and she reminded me that I am not always in a good mood and sometimes don't feel like talking. And I expect others to understand me when I'm feeling that way. Oh no! I never thought I was going to be "that" parent. You know, the one who expects more out of my kid than I do myself. Help!!!

So, I was reading this morning in an incredibly fun and inspiring book called, "God's Blogs - Insights from His Site" by Lanny Donoho. And the chapter I read was titled "Go To Your Room." What is fun about this book is that the author writes as if he is God speaking in blog form. Let me give you an example that I was touched by in this chapter -


"You worry and stress because you aren't sure how to parent. Your nerves are shot because you can't handle the schedule you have put yourselves on. You think things are supposed to be better than they are, and you put a lot of pressure on yourselves that doesn't have to be there. You forget to follow My directions, and you forget that I love you and want to take a lot off your shoulders. You become like your kids (in a bit of a different way), and you need something that will calm you down.
The thing you do that I'd like to do too is send My kids to their room. That is you!
I want to send you to your room. And you ought to stay there until I tell you to come out.
And you might stop and take a breath and relax and grab hold of some truth that would set you free."


Need I say more?

Psalm 46:10 - "Be still, and know that I am God"

Blessings,

Jaime

And the Award goes too.....

CASSIE Largaespada, I humbly except your being the funnest mom and aunt (for the weekend). You WIN! After reading your wild post about this competition, I had the perfect, frugal idea set for when we came home. Unfortunately, I read your post this morning and you ripped the idea right out from under me. I did have a few additional ideas for the beauty queens that I will have to use another time. So, I must say that you most definitely wear the hat as the most funnest mom and aunt in a 2 day run. In order to beat your antics, I would probably go bankrupt. Since I don't consider myself quite that competitive I will just have to leave this competition with one little note: I do believe that consistency is key!

A Competion of FUN!!!!

I love being a fun mom and aunt! And apparantly someone is jealous. You can read about it here.

All I can say is BRING IT GIRL!!!

Let the competition begin! Well, it will begin on Monday, as Jarrett and I are enjoying a weekend away...just the 2 of us!!!

Received Free, Give Free!

I just love Beth Moore. She is spunky, she is southern, a woman of God, and she tells it like it is! A few weeks back, I sent out an email to some of my friends and family about some exciting things God was teaching me. It was actually through publicly sharing my quiet time with the Lord that I decided to start this blog. I couldn't have others possibly miss out on a really cool discovery in the Word of God! Sometimes we can read something and read right over an important message from the Lord. Well, I'm sure that I had seen the following verses before...but, prior to today, they were nothing more than words I skimed over with no known depth.

So, because I have been thinking a lot about "heart change" and giving, I thought I would post a summary of the email I sent (it's so good to have a refresher):

Read thsese few verses below and get ready to jump into some Greek study!
Matthew 10:8 "You have received free of charge; give free of charge."
John 15:25 "They hated me without reason."

The word "freely" and the phrase "for no reason" both come from the Greek word dorean. And Beth Moore states..."We have received freely from God in ways we can't begin to count, but has that unreasonable grace caused you to freely give of yourself to to others recently"?

Ouch!!! Doesn't that make your stomach turn! Wow, if only we freely give. And what is freely giving?

So this is what the Lord taught me that day and is reminding me TODAY -
I have received FREELY, FOR NO REASON, and UNDESERVED. Lord help me to give FREELY, FOR NO REASON at all, even when I think others DON'T DESERVE IT.
I just love digging deep and really grasping even a small understanding of scripture. Greek translations ROCK!!!

Blessings,

Jaime

A Visit with Friends!

We Had an incredible time at the beach visiting with the Wasko Family! Guy and Rebecca have sweet girls, Emma and KP (Kendall Paige). They are about the same age as Annalise and Allison. Since they have moved away to PA, we try to get together as often as we can. Our girls had so much fun playing at the beach. We had a blast as families and did a lot of laughing this week!!! And forgive me for not posting pictures of the adults. The kids were much more adorable in their bathing suits than we were.

We sure are going to miss them until the next time we meet!