Well, we are back to the grind again. Last week was such a departure from our regular routine. I feel the need for structure agian. I went to the gym this morning, and had a really nice visit with another girl who was also there workingout. I felt like I was losing control of everything in my life because I wasn't starting my day on the right foot. I don't know if anyone understands that. But yes, when I'm not working out and starting my day with a good breakfast I feel very undone, and when I don't do it for weeks at a time I feel very very undone. Anyways, today was the beginning of putting myself back together. Some how the house got completely destroyed this weekend so I have a large cleaning job ahead of my today. but instead of feel defeated before I even start I'm going to decide it is do-able. Like my mom always says, "Just pick one thing up at a time and put it away" Good advice mom.
So off to my day I go...

My prayer

To my children:
I pray that you will grow to know your value. That you prize the treasure that is you. That you find joy in your own uniqueness. That you never demean yourself by wanting to be someone else. That you find contentment in your circumstances, where you live, single or not, school or at home. I pray you have the ability to discern what is good and right. As the people around you speak and live I pray you would know the truth from the lies. And that you would have the courage to live with truth. I pray you would know what a man and woman of God looks like. Humble, servant, with self-respect, honour, responsible, loving and full of grace.

Hey Scott

If you are reading this leave me a comment some time...I'd love to hear your thoughts!
And everyone else just a plug for the coolest guitar playing cat around Scott Orr. Check out his blog at www.scottorrmusic.blogspot.com

Noise (a very different kind!)

Yes, I know I recently titled a blog "noise", but there really was no other appropercaite title.
Have a ever mentioned that we live behind the town Bar? Well we do. the problem being that very often we go to bed to the thumping of very loud music or we are awoken by very loud music in the middle of the night. Take for instance last night. At 2:00 am Elijah came into our room very upset. Ofcourse now awake we could very clearly hear why he was scared, there was annoying thumping music and loud screaming voices come from the Bar. When Grace wake up at 4:00am and I was sitting with her the music continued and when I finally got back into bed at 5:00am it had faded a bit. For my sake I wish ppl were alloyed to smoke in Bars so that they wouldn't go into the bar's back deck, which faces our back yard, and talk very loud, and curse and swear, and listen to their music while they have a drag. So anyways...what can the only pastor in town do...complain and make it look like we are condeming them all to hell? Or just live with it and lay in bed fumming mad? Either way I think we're screwed!
Okay I feel a little better for getting that off my chest.

Sick!

Not fun...we have been sick all week with throwing up and the runs. The only good thing I can think of is that I haven't had to cook. Actually I usually love cooking but I haven't been in the mood and been sick is convient or the reason.
Mom told me to give the kids rice water, but I doubt incredibly that they would ever drink it. I do think it might work if they ever would though. So its been toast, soda crackers, and water. Yummy!
Jon is at a volleyball tournament today. He left the house thinking they would win it all. I love his confidence. He phone and said they had won their first game and were going on to glory. So we'll have to see if his perdictions come true. I really hope so because in three years of coaching he has never won a tournament...poor guy. I wants it so bad.
Well one of the kids is upset at the TV so I'd better go see what is up.

Excitment fills the air !!!!

No we did not run into a lot of money, and we were not given a free trip to Alaska...so what am I so excited about. Well, this coming Feb. at Youth Quake you know who is coming to play? Downhere! And you know what that means? I get to see Jason. (long lost cousin) Yes, yes indeed I am very excited.
Thought you all might want to know how excited I am.

Cold

Burrrrr...it is getting cold. My toes are freezing as I sit here typing. I should run and get my sheep skin slippers...I'm back and my toes are already warming the wool. Toasty!
What does the cold bring to mind??....??....hot chocolate, cold bundled walks, its dark when I wake up and when the kids go to bed, apple crisp, beef stew, knitting, christmas, and cold hands when I'm reading, just to name a few. I'm not complaining. The beginning of winter is wonderful, is by the six month of it that I start feeling down!

Can't see for the TV

I lovingly,( I say that sarcasticly), rented Elijah a movie tonight (Clifford's BIG adventure). Anyways, he loved it. He was laughing and , up off his seat when things got exciting, and then he bitterly cried when the movie was over. I mean he was very, very, very upset about this movie being over. I actually started wondering if this had not been such a bright idea, to let him watch an hour long story on tv. When I got to thinking about it, it upset me how much emotion he was giving to a story, to characters, and pictures. I mean the kid doesn't know any better and he has a hard enough time controlling his emotions at the best of times. Hey that sounds like me...not the crying bitterly because a movie is over, but giving my emotions, time and sometimes energy (if its a really sappy love story all the crying really wears me out) into a plastic box that tells stories. I wonder if God ever looks at me and says, "Man, I wish Amie would invest her energy into something real, like ME!" I guess it really doesn't have to be the TV. It could really be anything that I acknowledge in my life over God. Do I look like a toddler, sitting inches from the TV, eyes afixed on the characters and tears running because the dog lost its owner? How much greater to weep for those around me in pain, or worse the unsaved? How much greater a life would be laughing at the sound of a child, running in feilds created by my King, or giving up everything for the joy set before me? But alot of the time I can't see all that for the perverbial TV.

What do I believe?

This is not going to be very cohesive but I thought that by writing I may be able to put my thoughts in order. Jon and I have recently been faced with the issue of how to interprete the Bible, whose theology is sound, and what makes someone right and others wrong? I guess it all started when I began to read Rob Bell’s book, “Velvet Elvis” He talks about Christianity being a wall of bricks and if one of the bricks is removed than the whole thing falls. He suggests faith should look like a trampoline that flexes and moves. Bell desires to see the church openly discussing the issues of our faith. He says that he affirms to foundational doctrines of our faith such as the trinity, virgin birth and salvation through Christ alone, but also believes that we are only human that the authors of the bible were only human and therefore can never really understand God and consequently need to continue to hash our interpretations of the Word. This made sense to me , in fact I found it relieving to hear someone say it. Just yesterday we had an old dear friend drop in on his way by going home. He had actually been to a conference in the States and one of the speakers had spoke negatively about Rob Bell and his philosophy of interpretation. Our friend pointed out that the above doctrines of our faith can not be interpreted differently, that in fact they are so foundational to our faith that without them we would not have “A Faith.” I clearly see what our friend is saying, and yet I felt as though there still are things in the Bible that people through the centuries have interpreted completely differently, and had staked their lives and others on. So I still wonder if there could be a balance. For example I am unnerved when someone stated emphatically that the world was created in seven days, and if you don’t believe that you are going to hell. I also am very annoyed with people who speak as if to have the inside scope of the “end times.” I mean, first of all, does it matter to God what we believe about these things and secondly, it takes a certain kind of arrogance to assume you have read to mind of God. That you have put him into a neat little box. So anyways…ranting now stopping…my dilemma now remains, do I believe there is a need to affirm certain truths, and to do so with conviction, or do I believe there is a need to be open to all possibilities about God and the Word????? Could there be an in between? Could there be a road that could hold both? Affirming the orthox doctrines of our faith but realizing God doesn’t say everything in black and white and wants me to go to him for direction and guidance when it comes to some things. I don’t know…. I feel like I have to believe something with conviction or else what do I have to give anyone else. And it does seem to me, that God does say some things very clearly…