Words? Thoughts? You mean they matter?

If you will, think about the relationship between a parent and a child. The parent cares, loves and provides for their child. They want the best for their child. They try and guide their child down life’s paths that lead to prosperity. Now imagine that while the child is still young, let’s say about 6 or 7 years old, and someone they have seen but not gotten to know well tells them that their parent doesn’t really love them. They didn’t really want what was best for them. They are keeping something from them. How terrible we would think that person was. But how horrifying would it be if for no real reason other than that person had said those lies that the child believed it.  That is what Satan does to us. He creeps into our lives and whispers lies just like that into our hearts. And he doesn’t always focus on our relationship with God. Many times he speaks to us about our spouses, our parents, our co-workers and friends. Sometimes he even takes aim against fellow church members. He is more conniving and deceiving than we give him credit.

Oh not me he doesn’t speak to me. He can’t get me to do that. Let me remind you of two children that lived a long, long time ago. Their names were Adam and Eve. They were God’s first children. He created them and breathed life into them. They were his babies. He walked with them every day. Talked with them and answered any questions they might have had. He wanted the best for them and he knew how to make it happen.

Now my family hears me say all the time that what we choose to say is important. Those words are extremely powerful. If you have ever been skeptical to that pay close attention to this next part. At this point in Adam and Eve’s life they are still young children just like that 6 or 7 year old earlier. Satan comes into the garden and SAYS. He speaks. He uses words. He says ‘did God really say you would die if you ate of that tree?’ With one question, a few statements from Satan and he had convinced Adam and Eve that God didn’t love them, he didn’t care for them truly and he didn’t want the best for them. So how powerful can words be? How good is Satan at deception?

We don’t mind hearing about angels watching over us keeping us safe or running around proclaiming the good news. But when it comes to talking about Satan we usually shy away. We don’t want to go there. We don’t want to believe that true evil is not just out there but sitting next to us. Could that urge to say a smart retort be our need to be ‘cute’ or ‘smart’ or could it be that we haven’t put on the full armor of God? That Satan has found a crack in our vase? Our minds are the battlefields where Satan has waged war. If we are not reading and putting God’s word in our minds and hearts we are not properly clothed in God’s armor. We are not prepared for the daily battles with Satan.

As the children song goes: Be careful little eyes what you see, be careful little ears what you hear, be careful little hands what you do, be careful little feet where you go, be careful little heart whom you trust.

It doesn’t get much simpler than that. What you see you become, what you hear you believe, what you do you are, where you go you dwell and whom you trust you follow.  What we put into our body, mind and soul needs to be weighed carefully. What we watch on TV, music we listen to, books we read and the list can go on and on. Now I am not advocating read this, or listen to that. I believe you must follow were God leads you not where someone else tells you to go or do.  I am saying as the Bible says ‘in all things glorify God Almighty.” Don’t allow Satan to have a stronghold on your life. Don’t allow Satan to come between you and your Heavenly Father like Adam and Eve did. Trust Him, he holds the future. He wants you to be happy and he wants to see you prosper too. Just as parents he only wants what is best for you. You can trust him. He will not forsake (forget) you or leave you. How do we know that? Satan might ask. Easy, cause the BIBLE tells me so. If I can believe that God loves me because the BIBLE tells me so I can believe that God keeps ALL his promises. So study his word, commit it to your mind so that you can have the armor of God on and defeat Satan and keep him from winning the battle for your mind.  Defeat Satan with God’s WORDS. Because Satan is more deceitful than we give him credit for and words are more powerful than we think.

The End Is Comming

Is the end near? Is the end really going to be 12/23/12?? Does it really matter?
Anyone can read the Bible or Revelations and see how the world we know is going to end in total anilation at the end. People are so obsesed with how the Earth began and how the Earth will end. But come on think about it. When did the Earth begin? Is that really the main point or just small insignificant part of the story?
Remember Adam? He was created on the 6th day of creation. He was a fully grown man and yet on the 7th day he was only 1 day old. Knowing that I think we can assume that God made the earth fully grown as well.
So when did the Earth begin, it doesn't matter other than it began.
When will it end? Now that is a better question! Will it be like the movies? Did the Myans get it right with the calender? Are the Aliens coming? PLEEEZE! What is the big picture here? If I die today does it matter if the world ends tomorrow? Does it matter if the world gets to be around like it is for another 5 years? 10 years? 10,000 years? Not really, because as for me I have met the end of MY WORLD. My world as I know it is over. There are no more do overs for me. All my choices have been made and I can't change my mind.
This is why Jesus says to live life today for tomorrow will wory about itself. I can't worry if the world is going to end in 2012 I have to be concerned that my life may end now. If you knew that your world was going to be over in 24, 12, 6 or 1 hour how would you live? Would you spend it watching your favorate TV show? Taking a nap? or spend it in prayer and reading the Bible? There are so many posablities to the choices we might make, but everyday we wake that choice is laid out before us.
Should we all quit our jobs, shrugg of our responsabilites? No we are not. If it is time to go to work, clean the house, do my chores, take the kids out then I should do it to the best of my ability because in the next few minutes it may be my time to meet my maker and then the real question is brought forth.
Am I ready? Have I really loved the LORD with ALL my heart in every situation. Have I lived my life in a way that points others to HIM. Have I brought Glory to HIS name by following HIM and haveing a relationship with HIM, the ONE true GOD, My Father in Heaven. Have I treated HIM in reverence as HE deserves, did I share my love of HIM with others by my actions and words. Did others see HIM in me or did they just see me? These are the questions that we need to know the answers too. These are the things that matter, because the end is comming for us all.

What A Summer

What a summer it has been. Now that the heat has hit I find I am venturing outside less and sitting under the fan with a cold glass of ice tea reviewing in my mind the events of our summer. At first I was thinking we haven't done a lot this summer but oh how wrong I am! We started in spring by going to Sounds of Sumatanga. Camping in our tent with our dearest friends, having a fun filled overnight camping trip with face painting, music and moon bounces, and lets not forget the loosing my 2 year old (in the car) and the adventure of getting my keys out of my locked SUV! Love you dearest BIG GURL!
Then in just a few short weeks we were back at Sumatanga for the CHEF conference where we camped with a bunch of really AWESOME fellow homeschoolers. We even got to build a dam using rocks in the creek. It was lots of fun and educational too!
A few weeks later we were off to Empire Alabama for camping and horseback rideing! Too bad that wasn't how it turned out. We got there and set our tent up and thanks to our new homeschool buddies we removed some small baby trees so we didn't have to sleep on them. This was our first time to 'ruff it'. We had our little charcoal pan grill and we made some great tasting hotdogs (and we are not counting the 2 that fell on the ground). But it was not to last, the rains came and they weren't leaving. We woke up to a down pour! We had mud everywhere! Needless to say horse camp was canceled and I was not concerned with folding up our tent 'properly'. I rolled it up and through it into the back of the SUV and slid my way to the main road as quickly as the mud would let me. We got home to a beautiful sunny sky (of coarse) and set up the tent. We spent the next few hours rinsing it off and let it dry proper so that it would be ready to go on our next adventure of the summer!
A week went by and then off camping yet again! To Bear Creek Run, were we 'ruffed' it for the second time. No food unless you brought it and cooked it on an open fire. Wish I could say that ours turned out great but at least I brought stuff to make PB&J sandwiches :) We were so thankful when the outdoors group came the next night with enough hotdogs to feed thier group and ours! FreshAir Family Rocks! They had planned on feeding everyone and did a wonderful job! This momma was SO thankful. I was not looking forward to another dinner of PB&J. It was the first time that we realized how hot it was. We went to the creek 3 times a day! But we had a great time with our homeschool group. We went and saw bugs that glow in the dark called Dismals. We went to a place called The Natural Bridge. It was amazing to see God's work. My crew really enjoyed hiking around the grounds and doing some geocaching while we were there. We collected some rocks and Mac learned how to skip rocks in the creek.
Then back at camp we swam down the creek to find a beautiful waterfall. Then our group decided to climb it and see where it went. That was a wonderful little adventure. We eventually climbed 3 waterfalls! and me with a 2 year old! I SO appreciated the help! Cause without everyones help I don't think we would have made it. Exspecially back up the creek. Lets say Mac learned what a current was and how strong it could be not to mention how hard it is to swim against it! Thank God for rope!
You would think we were through right? Not my crew! After a few weeks off to rest we were headed back to Sumatanga! This time we didn't stay in the tents (Thank God for small favores!) we stayed in the guest house with 2 twin beds and a mattress on the floor. We did have a community bathroom but we had AC!
We stayed for a week and we had a full schedule! Mac attended Day Camp  while me and Abs helped with Elementery Camp. Then in the evening all 3 of us worked Elementery Camp. Between hiking, swimming, ropes corse and get in bed until midnight each night! My little campers were SO tired at the end of the week.
So it was back home for a very quick rest and you guessed it 1 week later back for more! This time we were camping in the tents again for 4 nights at Camp Sumatanga. We thought we were prepared but looking back I'm still not sure we were. We thought it was hot earlier WOW! heat index of 104-108 degrees those 4 days, now that was HOT in the South. The humidity was so bad that when we looked at the trees they were hazy. I have never appreciated the kitchen staff at Sumatanga so much. They made sure that when we needed ice water we had it! I still can't believe we hiked as far as we did and back! Next time we will know better :) The pool even felt like bath water so it was better to just turn on the waterhose, which we did.
A LOT!
Since that weekend I find that it is hot but I am not as miserable as those around me. Don't get me wrong hot is hot but I find I am not sweating as often as I was in the begining of the summer.
Now that our camping trips are done I find that I miss listening to all the crickets and frogs singing me and my crew to sleep. Can't say that I miss hearing 'stop it, don't touch me, I'm hot' all night. Oh but the memories of this summer my crew will have to remember thier crazy momma!

Great Strides CF Walk 2010

What a day! After church we headed to Bridgestreet to meet with the rest of Team Kat for the 2010 Great Strides for Cystic Fibrosis. We were so pumped to walk our first ever 10K! We had our tye-died shirts on, water bottles and our walking shoes on.

We met up with the rest of our team and alas we were sad to find that Miss. Kitty was not feeling well and the walk part of the day had been canceled due to the weather. But we were determend to continue on! We compiled our donations hopeing we had met our team goal of $200 and WAHOO! we collected OVER $400!!!!!! WAY TO GO TEAM KAT! That SO made up for the walk being cancelled.

After that we sent Miss Kitty home to rest and we headed over to Mrs Flex and Mr Boat's house for a celebration feast! It must have been to much for me cause I fell asleep on the couch. At least they woke me for dinner! The food was AWESOME! and of course the company was ROCK'IN!
Thanks to everyone on Team Kat! We can't wait for next year!

Books, Flowers and Scraps

Today was a very good day. We all had lunch together today. Yes thats right all 5, well 6 'cause D came too. We also went to Wisescrappers and helped Mrs. Scrapper herself. She had sold alot of stuff but she still has alot to get sold by the close of the store at the end of May. I got some books for Mac. We got a science book that covers plants and I almost bought a book about gardening but I passed on it. I did get 2 math books by the company that I want to teach math from so I was excited. After spending our day in the Big Town of G we went home and changed clothes 'cause we were about to get dirty.

We had bought 2 flats of marigolds the other day and it was time to plant them around our mailbox. We had already planted some in a big pot on the back deck so we wanted to get the rest done. Mac did a great job helping with the newspapers and dirt. While I dug out the area Mac and Abs played in the water from the hose. They made mud pies and mud muffins. After an hour or 2 we were done. Isn't it beautiful!

Once we were done we were DIRTY! So off to the shower and tub. The girls got PJs on and I changed my clothes we headed out to Wisescrapers again for a evening of friends and scrapping.

We had a blast! Abs fell asleep on the way so Kat got some Abs time without her even knowing it! :) Kat's can be so sneaky ;P But we loves our Kat even with bats.

Tornado Damage in Albertville

Took a day trip down to Camp Sumatanga today and didn't give much thought about going through Albertville. Untill we got there as we looked at the devastation all around us it was hard to take it all in. Concrete power lines on their sides, wooden poles snapped in half like toothpicks. Trees that looked like the sides of the road when they come with the trimmer but instead of trimmed back half the trees where gone all at the same level. Roofs missing, insulation every where. A church van with windows blown out, gas stations missing their signs and boards on the windows. A traffic light hanging from the side of a store. And this description doesn't even come close to seeing it all in person. I was in such disbelief that I forgot to even use my camera and take a picture. But I am sure out on the net some where there are plenty of the damage here is a link to one I found that shows some good pictures www.flickr.com/photos/brandonkemp .
Even Mac who never stops talking (not even in her sleep sometimes) was brought to silence as we traveled through. In the picture from the link that shows the BP station from a distance you can see a white van. All the windows in the van are gone, like the remaining buildings it sits there lifeless.
I praise God that people survived and I know that they will regroup and rebuild. 'cause that's just what we do.

Bumps along the road

Me and my best friend (Ms Chell) went on a camping trip to Sounds of Sumatanga an hour and a half from home this past weekend with our girls. I had my 2 youngest girls (my Eldest girl had other plans and couldn't make it), Mac and Abs and she had her 3: Eld, Rie and Roe. We got there and everything was going great. We had dinner at the chapel on the mountain, went to the assembly hall and played games and silly dances and headed back to camp.

First Bump: Got Fire?
I got Camp Staffer Bama Z to start a fire for us, yeah that didn't work out so well. We roasted marshmallows in between him dumping lighter fluid on the logs. Oh well, I open the back of my car and go get the marshmallows and put them in and close it up. I look around for the girls to tell them it is time to head on to bed and...

Bump #2: Where is Abs?
There is Mac, Rie and Roe playing in the dirt, Eld had already gone to bed not feeling well. That leaves one 2 year old Abs unaccounted for. I walk over to Ms Chell's car, "do you have Abs?" She said no. So we check the bathroom, nope. She sits the girls at the tables with strict orders of 'stay sitting at the table or die' as I run up the hill with a flash light calling Abs name. No Abs there. I run over to another camp fire and ask if they had seen a 2 year old. They hadn't, I gave a quick description as I was panicking now. They were gems! They quickly grabbed flashlights and started searching. I ran to the edge of the lake and called for Abs and scanned the water praying I didn't find her. Then one of the gems asked if we had checked the cars. So I ran back to check the cars screaming out her name. As I get closer to my car I hear a muffled 'momma'. My heart jerked and I ran faster. I jerked open the back of my car and there she was looking at me. I held her so tight thanking God. Then I wanted to kill her! But I didn't, instead we went to bed and I held her tighly in my arms until...

Bump #3: Can they stay with you?
Ms Chell wakes me up. Eld is running a fever and she is going to take her home, can the other 2 stay with me? Sure, we move everyone over and make room. This bump is no where near as heart pounding as the last one...

Bump #4: Got Keys?
We get up in the morning and I've got 4 kids ranging from 2y-6y. okay no problem. We start getting things packed up. I get something for everyone to carry to the car. They are dragging sleeping bags, pillows and bags of clothes. I load things up and then put the 2 youngest in the car. That way Abs wont get lost and Roe can unlock the door if Abs locks it. I give Roe instructions to not get out of the car. As I am leaving the tent with my last bit of supplies to load into the car but who do I see coming up the hill? Roe and Abs. I round them up and we head to the car. We set everything down and I go to open the back of the car. It's locked. Where are my keys? In the car! My spare key is no where to be found. The campers that helped me look for Abs are now trying to help me unlock my car. Nothing we can think of works, the metal hanger was to short. So we go to the camp office and MJ is there and says he has to go and get it but they do have something to unlock the door. Praise GOD! 15 minutes later I have keys in hand and we finish loading our stuff and head to breakfast...

The rest of the day went smoothly. The girls had a great day of moon bouncing, face painting, playing on the playground, crafts and playing in the dirt. I got to listen to some great christian bands and help paint some awesome stuff on the kids faces and made some great friends. When Sounds of Sumatanga was over we took the tents down and finished loading two families worth of camping supplies into my car. Loaded 4 kids and seats and hit the road home.

Bump #5: Need a vacuum
I gave the girls a bag of pretzels for them to snack on... the bag ripped. Pretzels and salt are now everywhere. Guess I know what sound I will be listening to tomorrow.

We did have a great time despite the chaos and Eld is feeling better. But best of all we ALL came home safe and sound! And next year? We will be back!

ROCK ON Sounds Of Sumatanga!