*Please excuse my "poetic liscence" otherwise known as lazy writing! Words in "quotes" are Geoffrey's my responses are not marked.*

It is nearly midnight. The house is quiet, all the kids are tucked in, prayed for and sleeping. Oh no, please not tonight... I hear the pitter patter of little feet and the little voice cry out, "Mommy, I am scared." Earlier today the kids were playing outside, we had some out of town friends over and my children were eager to show off the abandoned house in the woods next door. A few neighborhood 'darlings' joined in the fun and proceeded to tell the kids about the 'Haunted House' and the man who died in the house and has come back to haunt it. Little wonder that my six year old can't sleep tonight. Of course all this drama happened unbeknownst to us parents - remember being a kid and spending the day outside making up wild stories and adventures to fill the day?

"Mommy, I am scared, can I sleep in your room?" How do you turn that away - there he is standing in the doorway holding his pillow and blanket and three webkinz, he is sobbing and the tears are running down his chubby cheeks. I scooped him into my lap and began to question what he was afraid of. Apparently the house is not only haunted by the long dead owner, but the owner left her dog and puppies there. "Little Innocence" from down the street KNOWS because she was in the house and she heard a man say "Get out, get out, get out!" and saw a floating key.... we talked about things that float and things that do not float and determined either she was confused and wrong or she was lying. Geoffrey stated that if she was wrong then she is lying... totally not understanding the confused part, but moving on - he realized that a floating key is ridiculous. Tomorrow when it is daytime Daddy will take you to see the house and you can see for yourself that it is not haunted. "But she heard the man." he reminds me. That is true, but lets think about this, who in our house says "Get out, get out, get out!"? "ummm, you mommy?" thanks kid, really (do I? I don't think I do but...) Ok, whose ROOM is on that side of the house? Ya think maybe Preston had his window open when this girl was in the house and he shouted "Get out, get out, get out!" to one of his siblings who dared to enter his room? Could it be possible?

"But Mommy, the house is haunted." No baby, the house is not haunted, but it is dangerous. I don't want you guys playing there because it is falling down and someone could get hurt. "But what about the puppies, they were left locked up in the house." No, there are no doors - a mommy dog needed a safe, warm place to have her babies - remember the puppies (no he was only 2 at the time) daddy and I found homes for the puppies. "It is a haunted house" he insists. No, from here we began discussing what happens to someone when they die. The undertaker cleans them up and they are buried, like Uncle Robert - remember? "Yes, but I don't want to do that when I grow up." I understand, neither would I, but I am glad there are people who do take care of those things. What about a persons spirit? Where does it go? Beaming he says, "HEAVEN" Right "Mom is everything in Heaven golden?" The streets are. "Cool" And the gates are pearl and there is a crystal lake. He is grinning so big now.  

"And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass." Rev 21:21

So when people die, they go to Heaven? "Well, some of them go to Hell." Ok - so if your soul is in Heaven, are you coming back to earth? "No way, who would want to leave Heaven?" Ummhmmm, what if someone is in Hell, do they get a break from the eternal burning to visit earth? "NO!" So you see, once someone is dead, they are either in Heaven or Hell - they are not making trips back to earth to scare kids! *he was recently very interested in learning what Hell was like - apparently he was considering a visit, but with the worms eating you forever and the fire constantly burning he changed his mind!*

There are no ghosts Geoff, but there are demons. His eyes get big and he looks concerned. But - for every demon that is serving Satan - there are 2 angels to whip his bottom! Ahh, there is that grin again! Bible scholars say that when Lucifer was cast out of heaven he decieved 1/3 of the angels who were cast out with him - leaving 2/3 of the angels serving God - thus 2:1 ratio. I am no Bible scholar but I do like those odds! "What is Satans weapon?" Being a 6yr old boy he is very interested in weapons. He is a little taken aback when I reply - LIES. "So what is God's weapon? Fireballs?" Nope, his weapon is the TRUTH! I can see the light go on in his mind. He understands.

Who lives in your heart Geoff? "Jesus" and who surrounds you? "Jesus" Right and his angels  - you are safe. He is feeling confident and secure. "So does the universe just go on forever and if you are in space how come you can't breathe?" Where is this coming from? Before I can formulate an answer he continues "Oh yeah, because there is no oxygen in space. Do you think if you brought a tree to space you could breathe?" Ok we are getting off track here... No, bc there is no carbon dioxide for the tree to breathe. "Oh yeah, why is there oxygen on earth? Oh... I know because God wanted us to be able to breathe!" Right! "When I am a teenager can I have my birthday party in space? Just me and you can go because I want to try to breathe without my space helmet" It will be expensive, about 10 million dollars, you better start saving! "Ok, but mom, can I still sleep in your room?" Sure. "And I don't want to go visit that house tomorrow, I would rather go another day when I am more brave." Sure, we can wait.

We prayed and he is sleeping sweetly in my spot! But, I am so thankful that I am here with him and that I took the time to share these conversations. Our babies grow up so fast and it is so easy to get caught up in the rules  - he was up past bedtime, he did need to go to sleep, I am tired, I do want my down time... but I am grateful for the opportunity to tie strings to his little heart, to minister to his hurt and to guide him to his Savior.

As Christians we constantly hear "God is good" sometimes to the point of it becoming just a phrase. His goodness is so beyond our tiny comprehension. I wanted to share today exactly HOW He has been good in my life...

1. I am accepted - in my faults, my arrogance, my pride, my foolishness - He has accepted me and called me daughter. It is so good to be 'daughter', because of my messed up relationship with my earthly father, I was well into my twenties before I could welcome being someones 'daughter'. I have the greatest Father and I love Him dearly.

2. God ordered my steps even before I served Him. He caused my husband and I to cross paths as young people and I am so thankful that I have 'grown up' with Andre' - he is a great husband, caring father and faithful friend.

3. God planted us in a thriving church family where we are loved and challenged. We have such amazing friends - we really DO LIFE together. The church we came to Christ in was not proactive about members getting together between services. Sad really. We NEED others to walk along side us and encourage us and lift us up and also for us to encourage and lift them up. My friends, you know who you are, and I praise God for allowing our journeys to join one another.

4. God blessed us with five amazing, beautiful, talented, creative, rambunctious children. It has been a joy to be their mom. Of course we have our days - sometimes whole weeks- where I long for the yellow bus and noone seems to really like anyone else. But on the whole, we have wonderful children. I delight in spending my days with them, I miss them like crazy when we are apart and I still am allowed to kiss all of them on the face!

5. God has always met our needs. We have a lovely home that fits our family and our budget , which according to all I am hearing in the media, is not the case with lots of families across our nation. We have never gone without our basic needs being met. And most of the time life has been exceedingly, abundantly above all that we could ask.

6. God has allowed pain in my life and used that pain as a point of ministry to others who are broken and hurting. I never understood the pain as I was experiencing it - we never do. But each time my heart has been broken - He has been faithful to mend it - and I have become softer and more tender towards those suffering a similar wound.

7. God has provided mentors to me. As I have grown up in Christ, He has faithfully placed Godly women in my life to sharpen me. Some of these women know me well, and some of them have simply been obedient in writing a book or preaching a women's event, both have touched my life in a profound way and I am a more mature Christ follower, more honoring wife, more patient mother and more loving friend because of them.

8. God has allowed me to witness miracles. My dear friend was in a terrible accident with a drunk driver last week. Her family of four were all injured to various degrees. She is also expecting their third child. For a couple of days we were ever present in the Throne Room because the report was not good, but Praise God - the doctors were wrong, there is no danger and the baby and mom will be fine. When I was delivering my daughter I was suffering from preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome, they did not know if I would make it. I was told that if I had any more children I would be blind and on kidney dialisys - if I lived. We refused to recieve that report and God blessed our family with three healthy pregnancies giving us three more children. We have experienced miraculous financial blessings too numerous to recount. A 14 yo local girl went missing recently, the body of Christ mobolized in prayer and she was brought home safe, she had been with an 18 yo boy she met online. God is good, He is faithful and He is just.

How have you experienced the goodness of God in your life? (now for the shameless plea!) Please post a comment with your praises of God's goodness. If you are not a Homeschool Blogger Member - you can still leave me a comment. Simply press 'leave a comment' below and post as anonymous - just be sure to sign your name too!

Thanks - I look forward to hearing from you!

It is official, Preston has safely  landed in Ghana, West Africa! He and the team have had quite an adventure already ~ you can read about their missions trip at http://www.reachourworld.org/ , click on the Trip Blogs tab and scroll down to Ghana, West Africa. They will be spending the next week organizing a concert for the local church in Accra, street witnessing through skits and visiting an orphanage.

Please pray for the team to continue to work in unity and that God uses them in a real and powerful way to reach the hearts of those they minister to. We are believing for miracles to take place this week in the lives of the citizens they are working with and in the lives of our precious missionaries.

I am excited to see the impact this trip will have on Preston's life ~ I know he will come home a new man, forever changed by the miracles he is privledged to witness this week.

It was nearing midnight and we were finally finishing up the last tasks of the day. Andre' headed outside to take out the trash when he heard something large walking at the edge of our yard. Being the super protecter that he is, he came in for his favorite handgun and a flashlight. I hesitantly followed him and waited on the porch while he secured our home and yard. It was dark, really dark and I could barely make out the treeline at the edge of our yard. Gazing intently on the trees I noticed a white shirt that was hidden in the wooded lot next door.

Deep inside me I wonder, do I call out? does he see me? Oh Andre' he is not in the backyard you are digilently searching, he is right there in the woods, looking at me. Can he even see me? Oh gosh he moved. I was frozen in fear, if I call out Andre' will run to my rescue, but what if he has a gun? What if he runs away and hurts someone? What if he hurts me or what if what if.... my mind is racing, what do I do. I lean over the porch rail and look over the back fence. Sweet relief, Andre', my hero, my protector is coming back.

I point the spot out to him and whisper "What is that in the woods?" Cautiously he walks over, ready to defend me if needed and shines his flashlight.....on a plastic grocery bag. That is what has held me captive the last few minutes? That is what I was afraid of?

There is a significant lesson here, Darkness flees in the presence of light. Once we shine the light of Christ on a situation we can see it for what is really there. And sometimes it is just a grocery bag! So go ahead, do not be afraid, shine your light and the darkness will flee!

Our ladies small group is reading through "The Power of Your Words" by Robert Morris, the senior pastor at Gateway Church in TX.

We met last night and began our discussion about the power of the words we speak. Every word, every situation, to everyone MATTERS. There are no "idle" words. The words we speak, those we remember and those we do not remember, do not just evaporate into thin air. They are remembered, obviously by God, He is recording every statement we make - which causes me to stop and think before I speak - sometimes. I need to remember always that I am not speaking to thin air. But our words also impact those around us, our husbands, our children, our friends, and neighbors.

I was speaking with a friend yesterday who replayed a conversation she and her mother had a few years ago, her mom said some horrible things, things that wounded my friend deeply - they are engraved in her memory and her mother. does. not. remember. speaking them. at. all. The story gave me pause, how many things have I said in anger that I did not mean and do not remember that are engraved on my babies hearts? I pray for the Lord to show me any wounds I have caused them that I may repent specifically and mend, apologize, and rebuild.

One of the discussion questions asks what do you feel you can do to learn to control your toungue. The only way I can control my toungue is to stay focused on the Lord and maintain an eternal perspective by asking myself "How important is this issue that is threatining to send me over the edge emotionally?" Truly I have a difficult time remembering the exact times I have lost control verbally because the event/ trigger was so insignificant. I tend to overreact when I am too tired, overstressed, over stretched, over booked etc. But if I make time with the Lord daily a priority He keeps me and the proper perspective is easy to maintain.

We are only on Chapter 2 - so far the most powerful, sobering truth Mr. Morris pointed out is that I am speaking not to MY husband or MY children but to God's precious children. It really puts everything into perspective when I realize they are not mine, Jesus has granted me the priveledge of caring for His beloved. How am I doing? How are you doing? Most days, pretty good, some days, not so much. I refuse to continue to use how I *feel* to dictate how I act! Who's with me? I will rise up and be the woman, wife and mother I am called to be - even when I don't *feel* like it!