No Love Like This

Alex had sprained her wrist while snowboarding in Utah with the Swindlers, January 13 or so. We hadn't had family worship in a month or so and have certainly missed it! Tonight was so sweet, singing and having a time of edification. And then I spontaneously recorded this song Alex had written last year. I LOVE the hymn she added at the end. Hope you are blessed like we are! (you'll have to pause the music in the Louis iPod on the right)

A Winter Wonderland in... AZ?

The Harris Family was kind enough to take us to the snow, to stay in their folks' cabin. We skiied at Snowbowl after a beautiful storm had been there. (Dorian is with Emma somewhere)
Here's Julie Morelock and her booboo. They met us at the DUMP, for some great sledding, until she got hurt!

Jeff and Lilly

Lizzy turns 11

Winter Wonder.. Sneak Peek

Final Dress rehearsal....
Scottsdale Bible's Winter Wonder Program
Friday and Saturday 7pm and Saturday 3pm
It went pretty well, considering all that had to come together! Even the paper snow! You could hear it falling on the mics. We'll see how THAT goes. And the bass and cellos had to move so it wouldn't fall inside!

Jana's worshipful dance to O Come O Come Emmanuel with Karen Schreck on the violin is just stunning.

Alex did beautifully in 'Breath of Heaven'.


The Horizon High School dancers couldn't be there because of their own concert, but their swing number and jitterbug number on Jingle Bells with David Hone (singing with me here) add so much to the first section.
Hope you can come enjoy the music, but more importantly, bring a friend and pray for God to move in a mighty way, as He always does.

Candy Cane Lane

First we start with the manger scene.... the reason we have Christmas in the first place, to welcome the Christ Child. And then the kids picked the Candy Cane and red and white for our theme this year. And we love the book The Legend of the Candy Cane. It was fun collecting red and white candy! It's even in the bathroom!

Missing Jim.. "life's an hourglass"....

This song is on my playlist,"Hourglass" (the girl with the red umbrella) and it captures my thoughts about missing the moments of life, and my kids growing up way too fast! and I know we miss the little moments when our loved ones are gone... don't blink it goes by so fast....

When you reach for the stars
Don’t forget who you are
And please don’t turn around and grow up way too fast
See the sand in my grasp
From the first to the last
Every grain becomes a memory of the past
Oh, life’s an hourglass
Life’s an hourglass



It was a sweet time. So many gathered for our dear friend's Celebration of Life on November 22, 2010 at the Evangelical Free Church in Fullerton CA. You can read his story here at Caring Bridge (Jim Mohler) where I think 79,000 visits have been made, see the service here at Memorial Webcasts (singing is unmixed) and the written program is here.











I was so amazed how strange it felt to be celebrating and mourning at the same time. I felt guilty enjoying his memories, without him being there with us. Laughing at his absurd jokes, talking about the way his ministry effected others because it was always relational first, even doing magic tricks and eating candy. Emily got up and explained the song(here it is below, pause my music on the side before you play it) that she and Alex had written a few weeks before he died. It was all I could do to not lose it. I kept looking at the amazing pipes of the pipe organ so I would have it all together before I got up to talk and sing.


I think of Miriam, Emily and Clayton every day, lift them up in prayer. Praying for them to make it through the day with hope and peace. That each day is a little easier. They know they'll be with him one day, it's the days here that can be hard. We've talked about them spending some time at Christmas with us here, I am so looking forward to that. Praying they can come, hoping we can make some more sweet memories here.

Give them rest Lord, comfort, a plan for tomorrow, hope for the future, security in You and JOY in the new journey they're on.

Drawing Close when I want to Run Away

I miss the simple days

There are those days. Today was one. I wanted to run away, go into the next room, find something else to do, when one of my kids was making the wrong choice. Choosing to disobey. Choosing to argue with me, with a sibling, to not do the work we were doing, to find anything to be contrary about. I was so ready to check out!! Instead of choosing JOY, I found myself choosing a louder decibel to express myself! Maybe if they heard me better, they'd make a better choice. Ha. That never works. Not only that, it makes the other kids do the same thing.(the ol' thermostat/thermometer trick. Funny how I seem to set the temperature for whatever I want it to be!) Then we have 5 people hollering. Instead of PRAYING about what to say next, I felt myself getting angry and trying to figure out what I had done to deserve this. Any of this sound familiar? I am modeling the exact opposite of what I'm trying to teach my kids. The fruits of the spirit in Galations 5:22.

Love, Joy , Peace, Patience, Kindness, Self-control, Gentleness (the fruit I used to think I'd left on the tree to rot) Faithfulness and Goodness.

Time to draw near. My LIFE verse for home schooling. I have to put myself in time-out, get my 'mama's praying' apron out. Susannah Wesley, mother to 19, used to put her apron over her head and her children knew not to disturb her when she was praying! Her motto in raising her children was "strength guided by kindness". Imagine in schooling her children at home, that she had time for each of them individually. Auntie Otto made us aprons that actually say "Mama's Praying" underneath so when you flip it up, the kids see it!

I put on my Jane Austen music.

Read my verse and ask God's forgiveness and guidance. And then ask for my children's too.

My verse is Philippians 4:4-5 "Rejoice in the Lord always! Let me say it again, Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near!" And you know what follows. Be anxious for nothing and the rest of the verse about making your requests to God with thanksgiving! Well, how perfect that speaks to me each and every day about teaching and training my children with gentleness, knowing that He is right beside me through my day and that He will hear my prayers and petitions.

And finally, my favorite edifying blog. A Holy Experience. Ann Voskamp had posted a parenting manifesto of joy which is now posted in my kitchen where I can be reminded! Which is printable by the way. So please go there to read and print it. My favorite is #7 "Today when I am most repelled by my child's behavior, that is my sign to draw the very closest to that child." Oh yes.

And here's another edifying place for you to read about joy. Another favorite author of mine for many years is Sally Clarkson. Oh to sit and have tea with her is on my bucket list. To pick her brain, to talk about favorite books, to meet her kids, so many things. I hope to go to her conference in the spring. But take a gander to I TAKE JOY. She wrote about 'what you practice, you will become'.

Very much like my thermostat/thermometer idea that I am setting the tone in my home for my kids. What we are talking about, reading, watching and listening to, that is what will form our thoughts and dreams.

Let's go back to Philippians 4:8, whatever is noble,pure, upright, of good repute, if anything is praiseworthy or admirable, let's think about those things!

One is Silver and the Other's Gold

We call it 'doing life together'.
Like minded families are hard to come by.
I remember an old Girl Scout song we used to sing. 'Make new friends but keep the old, one is silver and the other's gold.' I love the amazing blessing of finding new friends. And then discovering we've shared some of the same friends all along.







And then we discover our kids love eachother and even our husbands 'click'.

This to me is really beyond a blessing. When both spouses like both spouses. My parents told me years ago how unique this is. What a treasure. Our men don't often have the time or energy or even the inclination to put into 'relationships'. I know, surprising! If they are relational at all, they gave at the office all day and save some for the family when they get home. If they aren't relational, then 'giving' at the office completely drained them and even the relational bit at home can be too much. They used up their 500 words compared to our 5000 words we women use a day.

I'm beyond grateful for new friends who build us up, challenge us, are so generous and when I think of them, I smile. When I think of them, I want to be with them, be like them, be more like Christ. Isn't that the best kind of friend?

DO HARD THINGS

DO HARD THINGS conference at our church Scottsdale Bible this Saturday. We read this book after we got it from my sister in law 2 summers ago. Funny thing is we had seen it all over our home school convention that same summer. They really got something going, these twin home school brothers from Portland Oregon. Their older brother Josh Harris is the one who had written "I Kissed Dating Goodbye" too.

So we are taking our 3 'bigs' to the conference and our whole family is reading it together before we go. It really is a thought-provoking book. Our society meant well in getting children out of the factories 100 years ago, but it started a whole generation of time wasted after puberty. Our 'young adults' are capable of so much more than shopping, hanging out, playing video games and IMing!

This book invites you to explore some radical questions:

• Is it possible that even though teens today have more freedom than any other generation in history, we're actually missing out on some of the best years of our lives?
• Is it possible that what our culture says about the purpose and potential of the teen years is a lie, and that we are its victims?
• Is it possible that our teen years give us a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for huge accomplishments--as individuals and as a generation?
• And finally, what would our lives look like if we set out on a different path entirely--a path that required more effort but promised a lot more reward?

Baby is 9

two fingers, I'm two

emma is so proud to hold her baby brother

sister karen and i, expecting our boys jackson and jefferson 3 weeks apart. they came 8 days apart! and no, we didn't plan to wear these matching dresses to my baby shower. and there was no time to change!

Ponder Anew What the Almighty Can Do

Do you know what hymn that line is from?

Hymns have been such a strong, meaningful part of my heritage. A day doesn't go by that I don't listen to or ponder the lyrics to a hymn. The words coming to mind at a certain moment or during a prayer. Yesterday I had the privilege to sing in a memorial service and it really was an honor. I didn't even know the man, the family had picked the songs. The church picked me. How strange I felt, that I didn't know the family. That has happened many times, weddings and funerals, I don't know why yesterday felt different. Maybe because I was alone up there and the songs were so dear to me and I sang no less than 4, all by my little self, one with a trumpet.

I didn't think there was a hymn in our hymn book that I didn't know, I was wrong. I have many hymnals, several German ones in fact. My great grandfather was a German Baptist preacher, Immanuel Bibelheimer. My paternal grandfather was an American Baptist pastor in World War II and then here in Tempe and in Oregon he had churches, his name was Clayton Shepherd. Grandma Clyttie was his organist. Both sides of the family love the hymns and music.

But Beyond the Sunset was a new one, written before my parents were born and still in the church hymnal. We ended the service all singing that sweet song, with the son-in-law playing the trumpet. What a joyous time of celebration of a life well lived, enjoying a glorious dawning with His saviour, evermore.

Beyond the sunset, O blissful morning
When with our Savior heav'n is begun
Earth's toiling ended, O glorious dawning
Beyond the sunset, when day is done

Beyond the sunset, no clouds will gather
No storms will threaten, no fears annoy
O day of gladness O day unending
Beyond the sunset. eternal joy!

Beyond the sunset, O glad reunion
With our dear loved ones, who've gone before
In that fair homeland, we'll know no departing
Beyond the sunset, for evermore!

(Praise to the Lord, the Almighty is the hymn 'ponder anew' is from. One of my all-time favorites. Ponder the words some time.)