It All Goes Back in the Box

John Ortberg has a new book with this phrase in the title. I had every intention of reading it until it became somewhat autobiographical. I am living this little story right now as we sold our house this weekend and have to be out in less than 2 weeks. Now you may be wondering why I am sitting here writing instead of packing.......honestly, this post has been on my heart for a day or two and I frankly just needed a break from the boxes! My friends laughed at me when I told them two weeks, but then they followed it up with "if anyone can do it Sherri, you can. You have no junk!" I guess that is true, and even the junk we have we are throwing out or donating. We are moving most of our things into storage and the things we need will go into an apartment until we know where God wants us to be. I am surprisingly excited about the apartment (ask me again in a couple of weeks and that may change), but for now I am excited. I'm relieved to have less square footage to clean, less toilets to scrub, less stuff to collect dust. I am thankful my children will have only the toys they play with instead of an entire room full of stuff they barely touch, let alone engage in. Now don't get me wrong, I have loved the space of our house and I don't think there is anything wrong with "stuff", but there is something truly freeing about going through my house and asking how much I really need it. As I sort out what I want to keep and what needs to get tossed, I remember going through my Dad's things when he died. My mom and brother, and me and my husband picking out a few things we wanted to keep - nothing of value, just sentimental. I still have those few things and enjoy looking at them every now and again. My husband chose not to keep anything from my dad. He said he had gotten all he wanted from my father while he was alive. The advice, encouragement, love and acceptance he received from his father in law was life changing for my husband, and those are the things he still holds onto to this day. As I go through my things, I envision what my boys will have to rummage through when their father and I have gone to be with the Lord. What things will they keep? Will they keep anything? I hope our children do what my husband did when my father passed away. I hope they have enough great memories to hold onto forever, that the "stuff" we leave them pales in comparison. Because when the game is over, it truly does all go back in the box. I guess it's just a matter of how many boxes you have, how many times you are going to move it, and who is going to be the final one to get rid of it. "But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;" Matthew 6:20 "

Tossed around

"..until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ." Ephesians 4:14-16 I think about this verse often throughout my week. Too many times I feel tossed back and forth by the ups and downs of life, and blown here and there by situations that are thrown at me. You know how those days go don't you? You get some great news, lose a few pounds, husband gets a promotion and you are feeling great - thanking God. You're friends are thanking God for you - telling you that God must be with you because everything is going so smoothly. "It must be God's will" you're thinking. Then you hit a bump in the road (or a mountain). You get bad news, your husband's promotion only lasted until he was laid off a couple months later. During these times I always wonder "what did I do God? Was this not your will? Did we miss something?" Up. Down. Up. Down. I am reminded of Peter when he saw Jesus walking on the water and Jesus beckoned him to come. Peter immediately got down out of the boat and walked on the water and went toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and started to sink. Peter cried out to Jesus to save him and he did. I picture Peter being confident as he looked upon Jesus. "This is my Lord. He can do anything" I imagine him saying. Then the wind caught his attention. He took his eyes of Jesus and briefly glanced at the wind. It was just enough to cause panic, and the firm ground that once was beneath his feet became fragile water again. Focus on Jesus. Focus on Jesus. How I long to stay strong and steady as I see the wind. If I keep my eyes on Jesus and not the storms, I can remain in Him. Maturity is out there, I just have to keep striving for it.

A rough day at the office...

The dentist office that is. My oldest had to have his top tooth extracted due to infection. This tooth got bumped when he was about 2 when he fell and it didn't get infected until last week when the new tooth was coming in. Getting this tooth pulled was a harrowing experience. The dentist kept pumping him full of Novocaine, but he still kept hollering. He wasn't in pain, just the pressure that was bothering him (or so she said). I've never had a tooth pulled while I was awake and after watching that I have no desire to do so. His daddy and I thought we were going to lose it. Between closing our eyes to pray and having tears fill them, we held his hand and kept telling him it would be over soon. My tough little guy made it and although he didn't eat for about 24 hours, he's pretty much back to normal. He went to school today and came home and got in his pajamas. We played board games and just hung out until he collapsed around 7:30 p.m. Even though my son doesn't believe in the tooth fairy, we still left a gold dollar coin under his pillow...of course after buying him new tennis shoes, football cards and a magazine yesterday. I swear I would have taken that kid to Disney World after that! Before the tooth came out....happy After the tooth came out.....not too happy Game night with the new shoes!

Great Crab Cake Recipe

I made these crab cakes for Valentines day for my husband. I have never made them before but they were a huge hit so I thought I would share the recipe. Ingredients 1-1/8 cups crushed saltine crackers 1 cup mayonnaise 1 teaspoon prepared brown mustard 1/4 cup chopped onion 1 stalk celery, chopped 1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning 1 pound crabmeat Preheat oven to broiler setting. Lightly grease a baking sheet. In a medium bowl, mix together the crushed saltines, mayo, brown mustard, onion, celery and Old Bay seasoning. Gently stir in the crabmeat. Shape into 6-7 patties. Place on prepared baking sheet. Broil crab cakes 8 to 10 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. I only used 1 cup of the saltines, 1/2 cup of mayonnaise and put an egg in there to hold it together better. These were great and I loved the fact that they are broiled. Great taste! Served with mashed potatos and steamed broccoli. Recipe taken from allrecipes.com

The Wedding

This weekend we had the priviledge to attend a beautiful wedding of our cousin in Charleston, South Carolina. Charleston is such a beautiful place to visit in February. The weather was gorgeous and it was so wonderful to see family we haven't seen in a long time. The first part of the reception was held outside with a beautiful view of the water and then we moved inside for a great dinner and dancing. The best part of the whole weekend was I got to dance with my husband. This is something he hates, but did it for me and I loved it! This was the first wedding we have attended with both children so I came prepared. Our oldest did great; our youngest got bored really quick during the ceremony. We started with coloring and then moved on to playing cars. I had a lollipop already opened and ready in my purse in case I needed it. I didn't, but my cousin Karen did. Thankfully it bought her a few more minutes before she had to take out her son J.P. who kept calling for his daddy who was the best man. Big brother Bri-Bri was the ring bearer so you can see why he wanted to be up there. It was very cute to hear him call out for his dad, but frustrating for Karen. I later got to dance with J.P. at the reception. Their boys are so well behaved and caring. We were so thankful to finally be able to meet them and have all our boys hang out together. Watching all four of them running around on the deck and in the yard will be something I remember forever, and worth all the grass stains in their new outfits. There truly is nothing like the love of a family. No matter how long it has been since you have seen each other, there is an acceptance and love that never goes away. We are spread out all over the place, from upstate New York to Hawaii, but once we all get back together it's so much fun and comfortable. Kudos to Bobby and Sarah for having us over for brunch the day after their wedding at their home. That was just as much fun and such a nice thing to do for a newlywed couple! (I think it was weeks before I saw our family again after our wedding!) We are looking forward to going back to Charleston soon - hopefully for a girls weekend!

The little seed that could

Our bible study girls are doing "Tune In: How to hear God through the static" by Jen Hatmaker. Great study and I recommend it for anyone to do as a group or on their own. This last week we went over in depth Jesus's parable of the seed in Matthew 13:1-23. It reminded me of something the Lord spoke to me about years ago. Each day the Lord plants a seed in your heart that is from Him. What His desires are for you to become, for you to be for His glory. At the same time, the devil will attempt to plant weeds to kill off God's seed. You can't make it; you're a failure; who do you think you are to do something that big; you'll never amount to anything, etc., etc. We have a choice each day what we are going to do with this garden of our soul. As I look out my window, I am reminded how easily weeds grow. They need very little water, little to no food - a weed can grow even in a crack in the hard concrete! But imagine if they were to be tended to - fed heartily, given the proper nutrition, sun, and shade. The weeds would overtake the entire yard if we did not make some attempt to control them. At the same time, I look past the weeds to my rose bush off in the distance. My goodness how difficult that thing is to bloom. It has to be planted in the right soil, in the proper sun and shade, given the right amount of food and water. The neat thing about roses is they cannot grown from true seed, they must be cloned and rooted from another rose bush. It reminds me of how we are created - cloned if you will - in God's image. God roots his image directly in us. We need to be nurtured and cared for just like the rose bush. Sometimes we are pruned so that we can bring forth a more beautiful bloom. The weeds remind me of what the enemy plants in me to choke out God's beauty. All the lies he tells me - why do I nuture them? God gives us the weed killer - his word. Am I spreading the weed killer by proclaiming out loud what God has promised me? He also expects us to tend to the rose bush as well. Anyone who has grown a rose bush will tell you that the key to a beautiful rose is in direct correlation to how much care is given. How much time am I spending with the Father? How much am I reading his instruction book on how to grow? Gods beauty in me is only going to be brought forth if I take the time to nurture my relationship with him. This Valentines Day, I hope you are reminded of the one who loves you most - your heavenly Father. He has sent you much more than flowers, balloons or candy today. He sent you the greatest gift of all - his son Jesus. May we all be reminded of the greatest love their ever is.

A great girls night out

I went out this past Friday with several of my girlfriends from church. We had so much fun eating at City Tavern and then watching "27 Dresses" from the front row (that wasn't the plan by the way, just waited too long on the waitress and those were the only seats left). My poor friend Leslie had gum thrown in her hair from 2 little immature teenagers sitting behind us, which put the only damper on the evening. The guilty party tried to act innocent, but the cow-like chewing from their mouths gave them away. That, and the fact that they left before the all-too-important conclusion to the movie. The movie was good and it was nice for a change to watch something other than Disney/Pixar! It was so much fun to be around people I enjoy so much. Girlfriends, food, and laughter can fix just about anything that ails you! (We owe you another night out Leslie - without the gum!)