Welcome to SCA

SCA? What the heck is SCA?  You mean you DON’T know.  Just Kidding. ( I had an extra shot of espresso today.  Please excuse all “smart-butt” comments).

Let’s begin with a bit of background.  Way back in the day when I began this blog (last November), I stated in my profile that I was a Christian.  That’s true.  I am.  I believe in God.  I love God.  I so bad want to be the woman that He designed me to be.  However, my free will gets in the way.  Why in the heck did He give us free will?  Ugh!  I can totally hear Him up there belly laughing and answering my question.  He wants to be loved.  He wants us to WANT to spend time with Him.  He WANTS us to desire to do the right thing. 

I get it.  I do.  Who wants to be in a relationship when they feel like they are making that person spend time with them.  Who wants to go on a date with someone to only watch the person spend the entire night playing on their phone throughout the entire date.  (Seriously, be considerate!  Not that I know anyone that does this… I’m a people watcher & I see it happen).  Recently I went out to eat with Lauren and witnessed a guy spend most of a date on his phone.  Which brings me back to the title.

SCA is Struggling Christians Anonymous and I am a member.  Like I said before I am a Christian, but I am also human.  As I watched this scenario unfold the last time I went out to eat, I couldn’t help but think of 1 Corinthians 13:4

Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy (jealousy)…

And I couldn’t help but wonder… because it was obvious that this girl was jealous of a cell phone.  Yes, jealous of a cell phone.  All she wanted was some of her boyfriend’s attention (I didn’t see wedding rings).  So as I observed this couple and thought of this verse I wondered how often Corey & I have been here.

We both enjoy our phones.  He loves all the sports apps and I like to read blogs.  I wonder how often he was upset that I was giving my phone undivided attention and he was hurt and I know that I’ve felt that way.  I realized that jealousy comes in all shapes and sizes.  There are many things that can get in the way of people interacting and truly relating to one another and touching each other’s hearts.  Jealousy (or envy) isn’t always about being jealous of your significant other giving their kindness to another person of the opposite sex but just giving positive attention to anything or anyone.  When someone doesn’t feel loved, or they feel ignored, belittled, demeaned, or disrespected it doesn’t take much for them to get upset about their significant’s positive attention going elsewhere.

However, I know from experience that usually those that are in a good relationship rarely feel jealous, because they are secure in their relationship.  They know that they are loved above all else (Except God, hopefully)…  they feel respected, they feel enjoyed, they feel cherished, they feel pursued. 

Wait!  Isn’t that the kind of relati0nship that God wants from us?  For us to WANT Him…  For us to WANT to know Him better…  For us to read want He has to say.  It is!

The funny thing about that is that when I was find myself in a good positive relationship I have to work harder at my relationship with God.  Yes, you read that correctly.  When life is good, I’m out there happy and enjoying myself.  I am thankful and I appreciate all that God does in my life, but I find myself opening the Bible less.  I am distracted by all the bliss surrounding me.

However, when life keeps throwing curveballs I turn to Him to fill me up with love, understanding, support, and to remind me of who I am when I feel belittled.  That isn’t how it is supposed to be. 

Here I was enjoying a nice dinner with my daughter and watching a couple’s lack of interaction and I could feel God completely calling me out on my own lack of interaction in my relationship with Him.  Not to be gross, but I felt as if I was being told that He didn’t want to just be an emotional tampon.  There to soak up the sadness, loneliness, and be supportive.  He wanted to enjoy the good times too.  He wants to take long walks on the beach (a.k.a spend quality time with me reading the Bible and getting to know Him better). 

As I reluctantly looked back at the couple, and watched the guy tapping away on his phone I vowed to set aside some “date time” with God.  I want to let him know how thankful I am that He is so persistent,  that He makes me feel so loved, and I want the opportunity to let him know just how much that I love Him by pursuing Him too.

She’s a Man, Baby!

I’ve always loved gadgets.  I’m a practical kind of gal.  So if there is a tool out there to make life a little easier, a bit more simple, then I am a fan. 

(Just so you know, in this sentence above the word “tool” can also be interchanged with the word “toy”.  I’m just being realistic here).

As of late, my top three websites have changed. 

And Lord (I am not using His name in vain… I am praying with you), help me… (my husband would probably agree that I need it).

But two of my top three favorites are sites that are for MEN.  They are for men who like gadgets, but still they are for MEN.  Hopefully next week they will debut a cool scrapbooking tool (FOR MEN) and I will feel better about myself. 

Wish me luck,

Jess

Fundraising

Hello everyone.

I hope that everyone had a wonderful weekend.

Lauren’s school (Victory Christian ELC) is having a fundraiser and Lauren is very excited. They have provided a great incentive to motivate the young ones. If the students sell a certain amount of items then they get to have a group outing and go to a local venue to play. She is very excited and hopes to be able to participate (or rather play).

So please take a look at the website.

Here are the instructions, for those that are interested.

1. Go to www.innisbrook.com

2. Click on the box on the far right of the screen that reads “Out of Town Orders”

3. Enter the School code “103312”

4. The next screen should confirm Victory ELC, if so hit “continue”

5. On the next screen please enter Lauren’s seller number, which is “R154230E”

6. The following screen should say something like L STU*** K4. That’s our girl

7. Now you can begin shopping.

Thank you so much!

We really appreciate any participation!

Well Why NOT?

Can someone please break this down for me?  Because I’ll be honest.  I don’t get it. 

I’m not the kind of person that saves the “good china” for special occasions.  I’m more of the kind of person that would use it to serve dinner to my husband anytime.  (That just might be why I don’t grasp this theory of his).

We were talking tonight about cars.  Which is something he enjoys.  They make him smile…. REALLY BIG.  ( I love those dimples)!!!

And he was trying to explain why some cars… like say the B-E-A –UTIFUL Dodge Viper below are not what one would consider an “every day driver”.

The thought of owning a vehicle like this and not driving it everyday left my mouth hanging open.  (Maybe not but it could’ve been… I was that shocked).

I mean seriously.  If I owned that vehicle, I not only would want to drive it everyday… I would probably hire a contractor to see if I could install a shower. 

I could finally see myself actually drinking eight bottles of water a day.  (I would purchase ONE and only one, drive back home drink it then suddenly realize that I AM REALLY PARCHED & need another  - & off to the store I’d go, to buy ONE & only ONE.

For the most part, cars (for me) are just a way to get from point A to point B.  However, I do enjoy going to car shows and drooling over sports cars and cars with every gadget imaginable already installed.  (If my DNA sample is ever needed, it can more than likely be found there).

So can someone, please break it down for me.  :-)

Until then,

Jess

How Lovely Indeed

Today when I read my email I was welcomed with this sweet award from D to the Fourth Power . What a sweet gesture!

What I love most about receiving awards like this are the strings. Yes, you read me correctly. I like the strings. After all, that means that I get to introduce some of my favorite blogs to you. Although, I may not write everyday, you can count on the fact that I most likely can be found reading each of these blogs on my phone. My computer runs terribly slow… my phone functions better than my computer. I do LOVE today’s technology.

But wait there’s more. (I’m practicing for a job in infomercials. How did I do?) We must not forget the rules.

1. Claim your award.
2. Post it on your blog along with the name of the person who gave it to you linking it to the person's blog.
3. Pass on the award to 4 more deserving "lovely" blogs (ok, so I didn’t follow the rules… I ran out of time. Some is better than none…. right? RIGHT?).
4. Don't forget to contact the recipients.

So without making you wait a second longer, here are some of my favorites (in no particular order of preference… I love you all):

Adventures of the Reluctant Housewife Her humor keeps me laughing and coming back.

Bloggin’ It From the Burbs I have learned so much from her blog’s “Tech Stuff” and from her photography.

One Hip Mom Let me count the reasons: I love how she changes her blog design each month. (I usually read all blogs via a reader, but I make a point to go to her blog to see her designs). I enjoy reading about her family… she makes me laugh. AND I love her crafty creations.

Decisionally Challenged She’s funny… she makes me smile, laugh, giggle, and maybe even snort (I will never tell).

Lights, Camera, Action!

(I love all her smiles, even the fake ones).

We had been struggling about making the right decision regarding entering Lauren in a Pre-K program at a local school.  First, she has been learning things at home at a level that we know that she wouldn’t be learning at school.  I wish I could take the credit for pushing her, but it was her pushing me to find things for her to learn.  I was concerned that she would get bored if they were just going over things that she already knows.  I don’t think that it would hinder her by any means to homeschool, which was the other option that I was heavily weighing.  We may still have to choose to do that someday. 

Now having said that, if you are a long time reader then you know that Lauren is EXTREMELY social.  She loves her friends.  Since she was 6 months old, she has shown the desire to be around other people.  (She once even cried when the couple that came to give us an appraisal on our home had to leave.  I had to explain… “She hates to say goodbye… TO EVERYONE”).  If she had it her way we would have a house large enough to start a live-in community.

She once listened to me visit with a woman who owned a bed & breakfast.  After listening to her tales of all the new people that came to spend the night in her home, Lauren said in such an excited voice, “Oh Mom, she is the LUCKIEST WOMAN I know!”

So needless to say, that choosing to put her into a school environment was difficult and we probably made our choice based on the wrong reasons.  The only thing that a school environment could offer her that we couldn’t at home is the ability to blossom in a social environment. 

We  went to her new school to register after a busy and exhausting day.  It wasn’t ideal timing, but due to receiving a run-around from the school’s front desk that was the only remaining option.  It was an experience. 

After going through the interview process which she surprised the interviewer by her desire to show off by going above & beyond with her answers to his questions, she overheard me tell him that I still wasn’t sure that we were going to enroll her.  Upon hearing this, her legs gave out and she turned into a heap on the floor exclaiming, “I will just DIE if I don’t get to see my friends everyday!” 

At this point, I turned to the interviewer and asked if his pre-school had a drama program. 

(This was a photo of Lauren during a church program.  She kicked off her shoes and began the comedy show.  She was supposed to be singing a song with the other kids but instead we were watching the beginning of her comedy act.  She did a great job of making the parents laugh).

Are We There Yet

 

(Photo taken from our trip last February.  Corey was not going to stop under any circumstances to let me get one this time.  Clark Griswald, I mean Corey, had a schedule).

During a recent trip to Table Rock in Missouri, Evan (aka "Repeat") was in rare form.

(I was trying to get a cool picture to celebrate our fun day at the park, but little man had a different pose in mind.  “Mom take a picture up my nose and see if I have any boogies!” God bless him). 

I have to admit this was only because Lauren (aka "Pete") was catching up her beauty sleep.

(No, we don’t usually let our kids lay down in the street.  But her legs have a tendency to stop working when she doesn’t get her way.  I’m still looking for the medical term for this ailment.  However, I was extremely pleased to get such a pretty picture out of the ordeal).

My husband on the other hand was in not-so rare form. He was teasing and flirting and making me laugh. (He was harassing me endlessly).

(In this photo, Corey is pleading with me to never take his photo again.  Of course, my response is “Me no speak Ingles.” Sorry Corey, I love you too much to not ever take your photo. LOL)

So I lovingly helped repeat out and redirected Evan's focus to Dad... All I had to do was ask Corey once, "Are we there yet?" and for the next ten minutes that's all that we heard from Repeat. Each time made me giggle and laugh. Paybacks baby.

 

Our friend’s beautiful home.  Thank you for showing us such sweet hospitality. 

Still ornery,

J

-- Post From My iPhone