Homesick

You're in a better place, I've heard a thousand times

And at least a thousand times I've rejoiced for you

But the reason why I'm broken, the reason why I cry

Is how long must I wait to be with you

I close my eyes and I see your face

If home's where my heart is then I'm out of place

Lord, won't you give me strength to make it through somehow

I've never been more homesick than now

Help me Lord cause I don't understand your ways

The reason why I wonder if I'll ever know

But, even if you showed me, the hurt would be the same

Cause I'm still here so far away from home

I close my eyes and I see your face

If home's where my heart is then I'm out of place

Lord, won't you give me strength to make it through somehow

I've never been more homesick than now

In Christ, there are no goodbye

And in Christ, there is no end

So I'll hold onto Jesus with all that I have

To see you again

To see you again

And I close my eyes and I see your face

If home's where my heart is then I'm out of place

Lord, won't you give me strength to make it through somehow

Won't you give me strength to make it through somehow

Won't you give me strength to make it through somehow

I've never been more homesick than now

Matthew 5: 3-11

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me."

This was in my daily study one day recently. It reminded me again that all of us are blessed.. you know we wouldn't mourn if the life we had lost hadn't blessed us.

This is close to my heart as the anniversary of my Mother's death draws near.

God is good. He loves us and blesses us. Are you looking for the blessings He has given you here on earth?

Some of my family favorites...

Yesterday, I was visiting with a friend at church. She has recently returned to work and is juggling work and home life. I told her I would email her with some easy crockpot recipes....
which I did....
Here are some easy crock pot recipes..

1. Crock pot Barbeque chicken- chicken breasts (they do not have to be totally thawed) and a jar of bbq sauce

2. Pork Bbq sandwiches- Hormel Pork bbq flavor and a jar of bbq sauce cook all day... then use a big fork to shred the pork.. eat on hamburger buns and serve with your families favorite veggies or mac n' cheese, etc

3. Stupid Chicken ( I got this recipe out of the newspaper don't know why it is called that)
Diced chicken breast ( you do not have to thaw out the chicken breast totally to cut into pieces)
2 cans of Italian diced tomatoes
1 package of Savory Herb and Garlic mix ( this is like Onion Soup mix )
Cook all day in crockpot.. Then serve over Bow Tie pasta with salad and cheesy Texas Toast bread (found in the freezer section)

4. Crock Pot Roast
Roast
2 cans of sliced new potatoes (drain)
baby carrots
2 cans of Golden Mushroom Soup
2 cans of water
Season roast and then layer veggies around the roast .. cook all day

5. Chili Coke Roast
Roast or stew meat (already cut up into bites.. that is what I buy)
1 can of coke
1 jar of chili sauce (you can find it by the ketchup)
cook all day on low in crockpot.
Serve over rice

Enjoy!

Tag! I'm It!

I've been tagged by Stephanie at Stephanies Spot for this fun little meme. To play, you have to go to your sixth photo folder and post the sixth photo.


I actually have several places I keep my photos. I download them once into Picture Project from Nikon. Then, I transfer them over to Memory Manager by Creative Memories. I also have some miscellaneous files in My Pictures. So I decided to go to Memory Manager by CM for my pic. If you do not have Memory Manager, let me recommend it to you. It is awesome and a great tool to organize all of your photos.


My Sixth folder was found in the year 2005 photo box. It is from June of 2005 when my nephew, Cole came over to swim with Cara at the neighbor's pool when we lived on Foxchase.




Cole and Cara have always had a special bond. They are eight days apart. The first child for both of us. I kept Cole when he was an infant several days a week. As they are growing older, my prayer is that their friendship continue as it is harder to find commonalities.... things to play and do together...

Now it is my turn, to tag five people to play along..

Bryan at Spare Change

Stephanie at AbundantJoy

Jennifer at AJournalsAddict

Tamara at ThisismystoryThisismysong

Brian at Grooverz

Enjoy!

Safe and Sound

Can’t believe you’re here now
Tiny dream come true
The answer to a prayer now
I’m so in love with you
Couldn’t wait to meet you
Hope you like your name
I get the funny feeling
Life will never be the same

Safe and sound
You’re here with me now
Like I hoped you’d be
Safe and sound
You’re here with me now
And that’s all I’ll ever need

The world’s a scary place here
But baby it’s alright
I’ll make sure the coast is clear
So you can just sleep tight
But if you’re afraid of monsters
Like everybody is
I’ll be right beside you
Closer than a kiss

Safe and sound
I’m here with you now
And you will always be
Safe and sound
I’m here with you now
And that’s all you’ll ever need

Someday I’m gonna teach you
The reason why we pray
So that heaven’s love may reach you
Every single day
So, baby close your eyes now
And say a prayer with me
Lord, I lay me down to sleep now
But I know I will be

Safe and sound
You’re here with us now
And we will always be
Safe and sound You’re here with us now
And that’s all we’ll ever, all we’ll ever need
You’re all we’ll ever need

Matthew West artist
I wanted to put the song on my blog, but couldn't find it on playlist.. so I included the lyrics instead.


It was two years ago a day I will never forget .. October 5, 2006. My prayers were answered that I had conceived a child. My husband was in a foreign country doing Mission work. I couldn't share with anyone but my GOD who had answered my prayers. I sat in awe as I looked at a plus sign. As anyone who has experienced years of infertility knows.. we always have a stash of pregnancy tests... but never get to see a + sign. It was amazing that when I saw that + sign that God gave me a peace like no other. You see I had been pregnant four other times besides my Cara but everytime I never brought that child home. It was my prayer to not only conceive but to bring a baby home with me. God gave me a peace and a doctors appointment that day, October 5, 2006. Thank you God for knitting my Caleb in my womb and bringing him to this world. May he know you at a young age and follow you all of your days. May he serve you mightily. You are a FAITHFUL God.. I love you so...

Squidoo (an online group that raises tons of money for charities) is giving $80,000 to the charities of your choice. Basically, anyone who wants to participate can vote for one charity (from a list of about 50...don't vote more than once or all your votes will be deleted)...Squidoo will donate $2/vote. You don't even have to sign up for anything! Just click here
http://www.squidoo.com/squidoo-charity-giveaway

There is a charity on there that I am very compassionate about The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society . As you know, my Mom passed away from Lymphoma. Vote for any charity you believe could use $2...OR, choose mine that I mentioned above! You have until October 15 to vote!

My soapbox..

Why is it that we can not allow children to be children? Why do we have to think they are little adults? Why do we as adults expect so much of them? We push and push and push. It frustrates me to no end. Yes it is important to have high expectations, but there needs to be a balance.

There are numerous examples.. and some have to do with the change of our times.
When I entered Kindergarten, we learned letters, sang songs, cooked, played, had circle time for half of a day. My mom said I was so exhausted I came home everyday and took a nap. So I must have had a good time.

When I began teaching Kindergarten in 1991, we taught letters,their sounds and how to write them, sang songs, cooked, had centers, math, science, pe and library for half a day.

When I taught Kindergarten again in 2005, we taught children how to read, how to write a complete story,how to do addition and subtraction, science, math for all day. We sang some songs, but we never cooked. I was the rare teacher who had a home center in her classrrom and allowed time for her students to just PLAY!

If you can see the difference in expecations at Kindergarten.. think about 1st grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, 4th grade and 5th grade. My 5th grader is doing things that I did in Junior High when I was 11 and 12 and 13. However, at the age of 10, she is expected to do so much and remember so much. I think educators often forget that the kids they teach are children.

Children who like to run outside, tell a joke, get a hug, who still play with dolls and cars. Children who have feelings and emotions.

We must remember that they are not minature adults.