Busted with Bleach

Shoot, Sara, I was hoping you weren't going to catch this post. Sara is my very "green" friend. She is very aware of what kills our earth. I am not always a bleach freak, it just happens that it did work wonders for me yesterday. When we went on our trip to Haiti, our city had so much rain that homes where all getting water in them. My dear parents came and worked so hard to try to keep our home from flooding. We had water coming in the window wells running down the wall and the sump pump quit from so much pumping. My dad spent hours over at our house trying to keep the water damage to a minimal. My brother-in-law traveled to our house to help my dad, and men from the church were helping. So all of this to get to my bleach point...trust me, it's coming. The wall in which the water was coming down was so wet. Earlier this summer I sprayed it with bleach water, but didn't scrub it down. The basement had turned into a "dreaded zone". The girls were completely freaked out to go down there, because they thought that spiders had overtaken it. :) Well, I decided enough was enough...that is great space to use in our home and why should I be wasting it because I don't want to clean it?!?! Therefore, the Comet with Bleach came out and I started scrubbing the wall down. I was able to get all of the mildewy stuff off of there with some major scrubbing with my Comet. Now I just need to repaint it because I scrubbed some of the paint off in my madness...I'll go with a good gallon of Kilz. I am sure there are some major toxins in Kilz too, but what am I suppose to do? What earth friendly substance kills mildew?

Today is a happy day because the basement is on it's way to cleanliness! We are putting some new carpet down there and reclaiming the space from the spiders. It will be so nice to be able to use that space again. It is a shame that I didn't have enough motivation in me to clean it until now. I am telling you the whole super-bad orphanage deal that we have been involved in has been so extremely draining. I can not even explain it to you. I had turned into a different person, and now that we are done working with them the Lord is restoring me. There was such heavy oppression that it is hard to even explain it to others. Those that know me saw what was happening though. We will still continue doing what we need to do to protect other innocent families from getting hurt by this organization. They are continuing on in their sinful, sinful ways and it is disgusting! We can not sit by and watch this happen without doing our part. We will continue to seek the Lord and do what He asks us to do. I do not want to operate out of anger...although it is righteous anger. They are completely misrepresenting the name of the Lord, and it angers me. They are mistreating the children, and it angers me. I know that it angers the Lord even more and HE WILL DEAL WITH THEM!!!! Victory is His...and they've got it coming to them for what they are doing in His name!!

Whew...all of that and all you ask was that I not use bleach! :) Guess you can tell I am still very passionate about this issue!

Cleanoroni...

Who invented Comet with Bleach? This stuff is amazing! I had another day of scrubba-dubba-dubbing!

So pickin' cute...

Isn't Bets just the cutest...check out her latest post!!!

So here's a question for ya...

If you were in a college group stage singer's what songs would you want to sing with your group? I am looking for recent top hits or old school songs....acapella or musically arranged......movie or TV theme songs...country or pop.

My dad is a choral director at a college and I am trying to help him find some new/fun songs for his group to sing. And since I am a groupie who is at every concert they do...well, I have a bias in choosing songs that I want to sit and listen to! ;) He is an amazing music director!! He can get anyone to sing great! We absolutely love going to his concerts, and having some personally chosen songs will add so much more fun for us!

Now I liked songs like I'm Too Sexy for this shirt...this shirt...so sexy it hurts by Right Said Fred...however not something I want my kids singing around the house after the concert. No AC/DC, Aerosmith, or Genie in a Bottle...my children are groupies by default, so try to keep it clean! :)

Here are some to get your juices flowing...Kelly Clarkson's--Because of You, (old school) Brown Eyed Girl, Rascal Flats--Life is a Highway, (old school) Footloose...now jump in and give me your suggestions!!!

What were your favorite songs in jr. high, high school, college, or currently on the radio? I am counting on you to "help a sista out"! :)

I've had a lot of words on here lately, so here is something to break it up...Enjoy!

Ponderings of my heart...

I want to share some of the things that have been upon my heart lately. My heart has been going through a transformation, and it is a good thing. One of the things that has inspirational to me is the book Streams in the Desert by L.B. Cowman. It seems each day the writings have a profound impact upon what my heart is "feeling".

Today's entry is this...

I can be sure that part of God's promised blessing to me is delay and suffering. God is going to test me with delays, and with the delays will come suffering. Yet through it all God's promise stands. I have His new covenant in Christ, and His sacred promise of every smaller blessing that I need. The delays and the suffering are actually part of the promised blessings, so may I praise Him for them today. May I "be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD" (Psalm 27:14)

Unanswered yet the prayer your lips have pleaded
In agony of heart these many years?
Does faith begin to fail? Is hope departing?
And think you all in vain your falling tears?
Say not the Father has not heard your prayer;
You will have your desire sometime, somewhere.

Unanswered yet? No, do not say ungranted;
Perhaps your work is not yet wholly done.
The work began when first your prayer was uttered,
And God will finish what He has begun.
If you will keep the incense burning there,
His glory you will see sometime, somewhere.

Unanswered yet? Faith cannot be unanswered,
Its feet are firmly planted on the Rock;
Amid the wildest storms it stands undaunted,
Nor shakes before the loudest thunder shock.
It know Omnipotence has heard it prayer,
And cries, "It will be done"--sometime, somewhere.
Ophelia G. Browning

This struck my heart so hard this morning. My faith is not failing. Our only desire is to obey the Lord on this journey. If that means that He completely closes the door on adoption to us then we will accept that as His will. We do not believe that He will do that, but our utmost desire is for His will to be done. Now although my faith is strong. My hope has been departing. I found myself the other day saying to a friend, "If we get a baby..." She turned to me and said, "Not if you get a baby, when you get your baby...your baby is coming." I realized that I was losing hope. I think with each situation that doesn't work out it chips away at my hope. What amazing lines in this poem that say...FAITH CANNOT BE UNANSWERED! IT KNOWS OMNIPOTENCE HAS HEARD ITS PRAYER, AND CRIES, "IT WILL BE DONE"--SOMETIME, SOMEWHERE. That is what I believe and how I feel, but I was allowing myself to loose hope.

Here is another portion of this book...
Difficulty is actually the atmosphere surrounding a miracle, or a miracle in its initial stage. Yet if it is to be a great miracle, the surrounding condition will be not simply a difficulty but an utter impossibility. And it is the clinging hand of His child that makes a desperate situation a delight to God.

Oh how I feel sometimes that this is a utter impossibility. Will a b-mom actually want to place her baby in our family when we already have four children? Where will we get all of the money to afford the adoption? Will I be able to handle a newborn and home school the children? That is when I grab His hand and cling to it even tighter. He knows my desperate thoughts...He knows my fears. He also knows exactly how He is going to answer everyone of my questions. All I have to do is keep on pressing on with faith in Him. I don't need to solve the problems. I need to cling to Him, because He is going to do all of this according to His perfect will. Oh that my desperation will turn into a delight to God.

Allow me to share one more portion of this book that has encouraged the depths of my heart...

Mark 9:23 says "Everything is possible for him who believes."


The "everything" mentioned here does not always come simply by asking, because God is always seeking to teach you the way of faith. Your training for a life of faith requires many areas of learning, including the trial of faith, the discipline of faith, the patience of faith, and the courage of faith. Often you will pass through many stages before you finally realize the result of faith--namely victory of faith.

Genuine moral fiber is developed by enduring the discipline of faith. When you have made your request to God, and the answer still has not come, what are you to do? Keep on believing His Word! Never be swayed from it by what you may see or feel. Then as you stand firm, your power and experience is being developed, strengthened, and deepened. When you remain unswayed from your stance of faith, even in view of supposed contradictions to God's Word, you grow stronger on every front.

God will often purposely delay in giving you His answer, and in fact the delay is just as much an answer to your prayer as is the fulfillment when it comes. No amount of persecution will try you as much as experiences like these--ones in which you are required to wait on God. Once He has spoken His promise to work, it is truly hard to wait as you see the day go by with no fulfillment. Yet it is this discipline of faith that will bring you into a knowledge of God that would otherwise be impossible.

I know this is a really long entry, but I have felt pressed by the Lord to share what He has been doing in my heart. He is using the words in this book to bring incredible renewed hope. I can not be swayed by what I feel. I can not lose hope. He is gently reminding me what this journey is about--It is not about us getting a baby...that is the outward appearance of our journey. But to Him this journey is about capturing my heart. About Him walking me through the stages of faith with my hand clinging to His. As He brings me through the stages of faith and produces growth in me, He will bring me to a realization of my faith and the result will be--victory of faith. There is nothing about this journey that I can do on my own. Over and over I need to be reminded that this is all for Him. Praise Jesus that He is a God who transforms our hearts when we least expect it.

Thank you, Jesus, that through this waiting you are producing a deeper faith in me. You are working in the waiting!

Tag--I'm It!

Steph the Arrow Mama tagged me

Jobs I have had in my life:

1. Summer Babysitter for two kids that were almost my age (what was that mom thinking?)
2. McDonald's--I almost got promoted to Drive Thru window, but sports started up again and I quit
3. Janitor--being in big buildings at night with a vaccum running is scary!
4. Temp Girl--BORING!
5. MOPS Council Coordinator--volunteer job (those are the types I like)

Places I have lived:

I haven't lived anywhere exciting or exotic so why even answer this...boring, I know!

TV shows I like to watch:

The Office
So You Think You Can Dance
24
Chuck
The Amazing Race

Places I've been to:

1. Colorado is my favorite
2. Canada
3. Europe (Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Austria)
4. Mexico
5. Haiti (never been so scared in my life)

Fave Foods:

1. Specialty Coffee Drinks (they count as FOOD)
2. Desserts--any kind! ;)
3. Knoephla, Sausage and Sauerkraut
4. Dumpling Soup
5. Meatballs, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
The thing about me is this...I LOVE food, pretty much any kind of food. I LOVE it!

Books I've Especially Appreciated Lately:

1. Streams in the Desert
2. Fresh Faith
3. My Utmost for His Highest
4. Praying the Names of God
5. I Come Quitely to Meet You
Each of these have had a profound impact on me during this time! Thank you, Jesus!

Things I Enjoy:

1. Being a Mom
2. Coffee Shops
3. Laughing with Friends (read as...me making them laugh by being a Goon)
4. When the kids are finally in bed and it is
just Matt and I watching our TV shows!!!
5. Shopping


I tag Courtney at CampGirdwood, Heather at Chronicles of MotherHood, and K-Mum at Tacheny Adventure