It Only Takes A Spark...

When I was praying this morning, this old song came to my head...
"It Only takes a Spark
To Get a Fire Going...
and Soon all those Around
Can Warm up to It's Glowing
That's How it is With God's Love
Once You've Experienced it
You Spread His Love
To Everyone
You Want to Pass it On"
Why, oh why, that song? From the 70s...
Well I believe God is reminding me of all he is doing in the life of my family....

A little spark in two young girls...
One would become my daughter in law.
One is my my daughter.
Two girls, both longing to be mommys.
Two girls living in a world where motherhood wasn't the most valued occuptaion.
Two girls with mothers who showed them the HIGH HONOR in begin a mother.
Two girls whose eyes lit up when they saw international babies...
My daughter often asked me why I always bought her "white" dolls to play with...
Two girls curious about adoption.
Two girls whose worlds were changed by adoption.
God lighting a spark...
Two girls lit by the fire of God's love.
Two girls grow up and marry their loves.
God is igniting that spark...
Two girls have little boys.
Two girls have beyond difficult pregnancies.
God is fanning the flames...
Two girls who believe there is more than one way to be a mommy.
Two girls who win over their husbands in their longing.
Flames are growing...
Two couples who begin a journey at the same moment
Two couples who don't know what the other couple is doing.
Two couples who are both my children.
Two couples who share with their parents over dinner the fire in their hearts.
Two little African Dolls...both with "sister" shirts.
The spark shoots to a set of grandparents...
Two families begin a journey of longing.
The fire begins a bonfire...
Two families waiting for a princess.
Princess #1 is such a fast journey, the parents are overwhelmed.
Princess #1 comes home to her family,
The fire is seen in two states...
Prayers are lifted, flames grow.
Princess #2 is such a long journey, we are weary.
The fire is not ebbing, it is growing.
Princess #2. She is coming.
She is not here yet. She is a photo, she is flesh. She is coming.
We are almost there. Spring will see her arrival.
Two girls.
Two sparks.
A work of God.
Two Ethiopian Princesses.
My grand daughters.
See God's love? It only takes a spark!
How many people will be touched by those tiny sparks so long ago?
What potential lies in these two dark skinned beauties...
To change the world.
To spread his love.
"I'll shout it from the Mountaintops
I want my World to Know
The Lord of Love
Has Come to Me
I want to Pass it On!"
I want to Pass it On"

Surrendering and Soaring

How is it that I can finally surrender to God my desires and come out of it feeling like I've been on the most amazing, fun, rollercoaster of all times....unbelievably frightening, certainly crazy, but with a giant smile on my face....feels like the Rockin Roller Coaster at MGM Studios!

In the last few weeks, I've had to surrender to my Lord my strong desire to be primarily at home, my desire to care for my grandchildren on an unlimited basis, my desire to go for a run each and every morning, my desire to control my own schedule of when to shower, dress, work, do laundry, do yardwork, etc. etc. I've had to, in doing so, deeply change my sister's life, causing her pain and significant inconvenience. I've had to tell my pastor I'm not available any more to serve in a capacity I thought Jesus wanted.


I cried, I prayed, I pleaded, I got angry...I fussed some more, I wept, I agonized...I was miserable. Then I did my Bible Study. Once again, HE knew what I needed to study, what lesson I needed to prepare to teach.

The Rich Young Ruler. So together, so spiritual, so helpful, so right. One thing more to do, Jesus said....sell everything, and follow me.


It wasn't all about the money, it was about what defined that rich young ruler. His success, his plans, his dreams...all he had become.


Can I give up this part of me that defines who I am? Can I give up who I thought I was?


Jesus said "with man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible"


So this last week, I went back to work full time for the first time in 31 years. My husband and I had to tell my dear, sweet, sister that her job was being taken by me. My dear, sweet sister needed to file for unemployment. My dear, sweet sister is so sweet. She has no anger at us, she is worried about me. My older, much wiser sister, so willing to give up all. She is so far ahead of me in understanding surrender.


But, I am learning. I am surrendering. I am choosing to take HIS hand in mine, and let him lead me on this new journey.


Know what? I had fun. I had frustrations, I had to readjust my body, I ran behind in my schedule, I got my son to school late. I made mistakes. However, I took that step and rode the roller coaster. It was terrifiying. But I came off the ride smiling, not puking. I'm gonna keep riding. And with my hand in my Saviors, the impossible will be possible. I will surrender.


I love having Jesus the driver of my life. I'm sorry Lord for wanting to drive myself. Please be my driver. Take me on the roller coaster ride you intended. Now I'm soaring.

Joan's Burgers and Brew Night

One of the sweetest times on earth is having everyone back in the nest for an evening. It happens so rarely, that I just can't let go of it! Last night was such a night. Gathered because of the Olympics, two birthdays, and circumstances, we grabbed the occasion to enjoy Joan's Burgers and Brew.

This has a longgg history here. For as long as I can remember, Friday night was the night to take a break from coming up with something to cook. We ALWAYS have Burgers on Friday night...in the summer, with chips and dip, in the winter, baked french fries. Throw in some fruit and we're good to go. Pop is ok too. Moms of 5 need a break. Since my lovely hubby does not enjoy cooking, I grab the flipper and head outside to the grill. Thus...the Joan's Burgers and Brew name.

After the food was prepared, I savored the moments of laughter, emptying of cabinets by one year olds, and the "skating around the island" of the 8, 5, and 3 year old...with son Shane counting the time for our "Junior Olympics"! There were tired parents, crabby one year olds, and lots of chaos. When son Lance asked me if it was too crazy, I just smiled. Just imagine, my dear son, Lance, when your kiddos are adults, how weird it would be to go weeks without seeing them. I'm treasuring this chaos!!

When the last car left, I was left with an empty house, hubby took a nap, 15 year old watched tv. As I cleaned the last dish, set the chairs on the table for a good vacume and floor scrub, I thanked the Lord for each of my lovely children, and the joys their marriages and children have brought to my soul. I'm kinda tired today. It's been a busy week at work, and after they were gone, it was back to the computer for a bit more work preparing for next week. Am I happy? I'm glowing. Thanks, Lord, for Clint, Lance, Megan, Shane, Alec....it was a ton of work raising them...I'm not finished yet, but the joy of being a parent and grandparent, and being in a loving relationship with their dad is the best!!

God is Good. And I LOVE Joan's Burgers and Brew.

Wow What a Dinner!

What we thought was a "thank-you for picking up the kids from Seattle" dinner was oh so different than we expected! While child #1 and wife spend their 10th anniversary in Cabo, we are sharing the grandparenting duties of their 3 adorable boys with the other grandparents in L town. We met them, as they traveled from their home in the Portland area, and child #3 and her husband who live in the Seattle area for dinner at a restaurant. After a quick shopping excursion at Southcenter, we headed to Stanford's for dinner. I must admit, the kids seemed in a big huury, and didn't even bother to wait to show us the way, just gave us directions. When we arrived, they were not waiting for us in the foyer, but were already seated. We saw our two older grandsons peaking behind pillars and giggling, we thought they were just excited to see us! When we finally reached the table, we were greeted by two squirming one year old boys with brown matching shirts. Both boys were holding dolls...I just kept thinking what a liberated family we had giving both boys dolls for a toy! When they wiggled the boys in our faces, we took the time to "read" thier little shirts. They BOTH said "Big Brother." Then we were to focus on the little dolls. They were little African American cabbage patch dolls....with little bows in their hair...on further look, they both expclaimed in big letters "little sister.' Being old and confused, I couldn't quite process all of it, but soon realized we had two little girls on the way. When I peered at my daughter's tummies, they were too flat to be both pregnant and know the sex of their babies...then the black hair and dark skin made me realize, these are children conceived elsewhere. These babies are in Africa. Yes, both our son and daughter's families are adopting a beautiful daughter from Ethipia. Wowser! We will be grandparents again! We are overjoyed at the expansion of our family, and our children's heart for God's precious children who need homes so desparately. THIS journey will be new, but what a delight! CANNOT WAIT!

Missed a Year...

Talk about a crazy year....Little did I know in May 2008 what God had planned for us...In Review...

Feb, 2008 : Child #1(son) and Child #3(daughter)Announce (on the same day)we are expecting two new grandchildren, in August and October

April, 2008: Child #4 (son) becomes engaged wedding in December

April 2008: two pregnant people become sicker and sicker...throughout pregnancies

June 2008: child # 5 turns 14 and graduates into high school

June 2008: child # 2 graduates from UW School of Dentristy and becomes a Doctor of Dentristy

June 2008: child #2 announces from the podium of above they are pregnant TOO!

June 2008: Mom reels in shock....stops writing in blog b/c so overwhelmed!!

June 2008: Mom agrees to help sew all bridesmaid dresses for wedding in December

July 2008: Daughter and Daughter in law still sick....

August 2008: Real Estate Crashes and we start making very little money

August 2008: Child #1 Baby born c-section crash in the end...a grandson....

September 2008: Child # 3 develops Life-threatening toxemia

September 2008: Child #3 delivers baby 3 wks early all is well....a grandson

October 2008: Husband becomes VERY ill on long hunting trip....not good.

October 2008: Mom agrees to sew wedding dress for soon to be daughter in law

November 2008: Mom agrees to sew 6 capes for wedding party....

November 2008: Child #2's wife develops Toxemia, bed rest

November 2008: Child #2's not yet two year old needs care

November 2008: Sewing like crazy, shopping like crazy, babysitting like crazy

December 2008: Child #2's wife admitted to hospital on hospital bed rest

December 9th: Child #2's wife delivers our 1st granddaughter

December 12th: Leave for destination wedding

December 13th: Snow begins falling...guests cannot make it to wedding

December 14th: Child #4 decides to head across pass with premature baby and newly turned 2 yr old and exhausted wife for wedding

December 14th.: Wedding Rehearsal Dinner, In charge...overwhelmed

December 15th; Wedding Happens and it's amazing

December 16th: Head home in snowstorm

December 17th: 1/3 of Wedding Guests get Food Poisoning...Including Child #4's wife

December 18th: have 2 year old whose mommy is sick

December 22nd: Pest Invasion in home of child #4--they move into our home

December 23rd: Wash 14 million loads of clothes from pest invasion....

December 24th: No time for Christmas Eve

December 25th: Child #1's children get flu

December 29th: Finally celebrate Christmas on Child #1's Birthday

December 29th: Get Ready for Wedding Reception tomorrow and another snow storm

December 30th: Wedding Reception Cancelled due to Child #4's new wife getting flu (sigh)

December 30th: Call and E-mail too many people to count to cancel wedding reception (sigh)

January 2009: More snow, more snow, more snow.....

February 2009: Lots of bills very little money

April 2009: No money for Spring Break

April 2009: Lucky thing no money, because husband ends up in hospital for 5 days with Pancreatitis

May 2009: Husband recovering, slowly

May 2009: Happy Birthday to me...husband needs surgery

June 2009: Husband has surgery

I may have missed a few things...but herein is the reason for a year off....hopefully, things will get better, soon!!

So Blessed!

Yes, I am a spoiled brat. My hubby took me on a surprise cruise for my birthday! What fun! Not only that, he took me to Maui for a treat in December. So, now I've been longing so much for a new RV, as ours is 14 years old to us, having recieved it for my 36th Birthday when I had just given birth to our 5th child. It has served us well. We have camped many, many, many times in it. I'm thinking we've probablly spent well over a year of our lives in that RV BUT, it has a bunkhouse, which our son no longer fits inside, meaning, that space is used for storage, or grandkids (occasionally) and we have to make up our bed, as well as collapse the table every time we sleep. I'm sick and tired of the whole thing. We've been talking about a new trailer for the last 3 years. SOOO...with some inheritance money, we have just ordered this:

And yes, I feel overwhelmed with gratitude to both of our parents...we felt it would be a great way to honor them with something they would enjoy seeing us use. Our favorite times spent as a married couple with our parents often revolved around camping as a family! Thanks mom and dad and mom and dad! We miss you so! Hope you know how much we'll enjoy it!! And...all you kids of ours, we are expecting to enjoy you inside this trailer as well!!

Consume Me From the Inside Out

I heard this song this morning as I was running errands--I LOVE this song! If only I could always live my life CONSUMED by loving and serving HIM! It is the cry of my heart to give him praise from the inside out!

From The Inside Out
by Hillsong United
album: United We Stand (2006)


A thousand times I've failed
Still your mercy remains
And should I stumble again
Still I'm caught in your grace

Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame

In my heart, in my soul, Lord I give you control
Consume me from the inside out Lord
Let justice and praise become my embrace
To love You from the inside out

Your will above all else, my purpose remains
The art of losing myself in bringing you praise

Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame

In my heart, in my soul, Lord I give you control
Consume me from the inside out Lord
Let justice and praise become my embrace
To love You from the inside out

Chorus 2x
Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame
And the cry of my heart is to bring You praise
From the inside out Lord, my soul cries out