helping

374. "under the overpass" a great read!
375. encouragement from the Kropp family!
376. cici's pizza cinnamin rolls-best cinnamin rolls ever

too much time can be so easily wasted on the computer, and yet here I sit determined to write a post as it has been far too long and I'm feeling bloggy :)
I jIust finished the book "under the overpass" and it was amazing! it changed my perspective on homeless people and the way the church responds. Let me first just say that I too have done many things that the church does and know that it was wrong. For instance I looked the other way when I passed a homeless person, pretended not to see them, just plain ignored them. What does it feel like to the person sitting there below the sign, covered in dirt and stink, just hoping to eat that day, losing hope, turning to the wrong things to ease their pain and suffering? When we don't look at them we say they aren't people who exist, we say that they are of no value, we tell them that we just don't care and they are below us. How much can a smile affect someones day? I enjoy people who smile at me that don't know me, so how much more than does it mean to someone who is ignored by the marjority of the people who pass by? A smile is free and it brings joy to both the give and the reciever. See waht happens when you smile and look into the eyes of the person sitting there down on their luck. Sometimes I feel silly just smiling at them, but I pray that it lifts their spirit even just a little.

tips for helping a homeless person according to the author, mike, for one thing tortillas are better than bread as they take up less space and don't get squished and taste just as great with peanut butter. flip flops are very handy to have in case theirs are broken so they dont have to walk barefoot and risk stepping on an infected needle. Get a couple of friends to bring an extra shirt or sweatshirt and go together to talk and clothe/feed your local homeless. Spend time just having a conversation and even share a meal. Don't treat them like somethign you have to try and fix or like a project you need to work on, just show them Christ's love and be genuwine.

Of course this extends beyond homeless if we only treated everyone with Christ's love what a different place we would live in right? We teach our kid to share and to love others and yet how great are we doing it? How well are we treating others we come into contact with? Do you thank people who you appreciate? do you tell people how you feel about them? or do we assume they know? how good does it feel when someone does these things to you? Yesterday my newer friend Kim told me that she really enjoyed and appreciated my friendship and it was so nice to hear! it was reaffirming and a blessing because lets face it I'm crazy and I get in my head and sometimes see little worth in myself as a friend to others-I'm human....last night we went to Ci ci's for dinner and there was a waitress there that I have seen every time we have gone and she is always very kind, helpful and gracious. I ran into her at the dessert bar while I waited for some fresh cinnamon rolls and she apologized for me having to wait (all of about a minute) and I told her it was okay and then I couldn't help myself I told her that she was good, that I have seen her working before a few times and that she was a hard worker and I appreciate her and she said a simple "thank you ma'am"

377. being called ma'am-gotta love texas manners

my man playing with the kids and our neighbors kids after work, love him so!

we can't help everyone, but everone can help someone in even the simplest ways, who is right in front of you needing help? serve them with Christs love...as for me right now that means going and playing with my kids so until next time enjoy!

healthy healthy health health (for my sis that was to the tune of turkey turkey trust trust :)

368. coffee with 1 tsp. of honey and 2 Tbls of creamer = healthier and now it actually tastes good since I have acquired a taste for it!

369. taking friends on their 1st couponing trip
370. making choices that honor God instead of indulge my wicked sinful self...
371. being able to encourage others with their health.
372. simple ways God uses to move big and make an impact in His kingdom! such as a Ruth class that turned into a meetup for the people in the class as well as added others......can't wait to see what God does with this wednesday night gathering!
373. completing projects as gifts for others :)--you will soon see mom!

my good friend Marylee and I are on a journey to be healthier and it is awesome because we are doing it together. we are on myfitnesspal.com and it has turned into some other people being on there as well--my sis and her boyfriend were already on it and I am very thankful Marylee taught me about it. If you know how biofeedback works, this is how I see the fitness pal. You see how you are doing during the day, its in front of your face how much fat, cal, sodium, cholesterol, sugar, etc. and so you choose your foods more carefully and you workout and get exctied to have that posted! we don't know how much time we have on this earth and its true you could eat like crap and live forever or you could take great care of your body and be hit by a bus at a young age, God will take us when He wants to take us. The only control we have in any of it is the choices we have to work out and what to eat and it directly affects the quality of life we can have. I want a quality life and I want it now, I don't want to wait til I'm 60 to decide I need to change and take care of myself so I can run around with grandkids, I want to be my best me now.

Yesterday was Moms day, Happy mom's day friends! I had a nice day! my man took us to mexican lunch--yummy! and then to Old Navy --awesome score on workout pants for me $4.91 yay! and then I went couponing with my friend Kim and then we had a great dinner of cheese and crackers and wine--yumm yummm yummmy! The best part about it was that I chose to indulge that day and knew I would be going over in all catergories (calories, fat, carbs, etc.), but I was okay with it and I didn't feel like I needed to punish myself for it, I just enjoyed it and today I am back on track with healthier choices-what freedom there is in this! I can have cheat days and not fall into a guilt spiral and I can keep pressing on with being my healthiest me most of the time! Thank you M for your encouragement and for my new pal :)

In other news: my dear friend Gretchen and her family are about to head to the Phillippines and start their mission there. Right now they are taking care of her mom who is dying of cancer (she is on a different mission while waiting for the next mission) I am sad becuase I miss them and wish I could greedily keep them in Texas a little longer, but I am so excited for them at the same time to get to the Island and start "washing feet" please join me in praying for them to have a safe journey there and for them to be able to be okay with leaving. Pray for peace that surpasses understanding and comfort and a gentle passing for her mom when that time comes. I am very thankful to have spent the time that I did with their amazing family and even more greatful for the impact they made on my life! they are very loved and missed by this family :)

some random spring pics:

 krazy Kenni

 silly tanner

sweet daddy/daughter love!

confessions...

wow I do not like the new blogger posting part, just like the new facebook timeline, but anyway

Lately I have been struggling with judgement. yikes I know. I have been a busybody and I am in some ways ashamed to admit it, but i cant deny its truth and i am convicted so here i am repenting. I have been worrying about what other people are doing or not doing instead of just making sure I am doing what i should be doing. If I were making sure I was doing what I was doing I would never have been judging. For example there is a woman who coupons at my walgreens and she is a hoarder. I need to focus on me doing what is right and taking fair amounts and donating a lot of what I get and not worry about what she is doing. I teach this to our kids, worry about yourself make sure you are doign what you should be doing and yet I have failed to listen to my own lesson.
The good news though: my sin was nailed to the cross and I don't have to feel bad over the past sins I made because Jesus already bled for those sins and forgave me for them! I am so very thankful for my precious saviour and I am being proactive in getting out of my own way so that He can lead me and help me walk in His spirit so I don't continue to make the same mistake. The way I do this: read my Bible, focus on things above and not on the things of this world. I make a better effort to love thy neighbor and put others before myself. I can't do this on my own, but Jesus can help me to do this if I let Him. I know I will struggle with sin my whole life, but I don't have to struggle alone and I thank God for that!
I was very encouraged when i read Colossians 3 this mornign and I encourage you to all read it as well. here is a bit of scripture from it, verses 12-17:

"Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. but above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body and be thankful.. let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."

I was also encouraged by the last 2 sermons at church (hence my last blog) and would encourage you to listen to it, even just play it in the background while you check your email or facebook or fold clothes, it will be worth your while. here is a link  and it is the one titled gospel obedience part 2 (though again both are great and i recommend both)

http://austinstone.org/resources/sermons

paychecks

362. waking up early to spend time with God, today that looks different-instead of reading God's word I am speaking on God's word....

On Sunay at church pastor Tyler (pretty cool dude by the way) taught on Gospel obedience. We discussed the point pastor matt made on Easter about how religion says I obey therefore am accepted, but Gospel says I am accepted therefore I obey! I love that! He also discussed paychecks in a way that made complete sense to me and I want to share so others may understand as well...

we get frustrated sometimes because we don't think we get what we deserve, we work hard, we do right, we get nothing, no glory, no recognition (I'm sure mom's and wives can relate), sometimes in fact people who don't work as hard or do as much as us get the reward we feel we have earned. I will admit I never thought of myself this way, but pastor tyler hit the nail on the head in some ways with this. It also explains some of my lack of joy. I am looking at life as though I work hard and earn what I get. When we get paid our normal weekly or bi-weekly paycheck do we get excited and find joy in it? no usually I mean maybe a little-but its not real joy-its more like oh good now i can get_________ and pick up some groceries as well..... in fact sometimes we probably get frustrated with how little we preceive we are getting with our paycheck.

Ready to have your mind blown? We have worked hard and definitely earned something---death and hell-----yep hell that is what we have earned and deserve, but God send His son Jesus to use His paycheck to pay the debt we couldn't pay so that we don't get what we earned. Jesus died for our sins and atoned for them and because of Him we can choose to accept a free gift-the gift of salvation-eternity in heaven with our good and kind heavenly Father. Most Christians get excited about this right? Now picture this-Jesus paid our debt so we owe nothing and we don't get what we deserve (this is grace to the maximum) so whatabout those paychecks we don't find joy in? what about the lack of recognition for the hard work we do? what about all that stuff we feel robbed of? what about that person who gets more than we do even though they work half as hard?....

If you remember and beleive the gospel fully than you realize that we have earne nothing but hell and yet Jesus gave us a gift and all else other than HELL and DEATH are GIFTS--all else are GIFTS! Not just the stuff we think we find joy in or in fact do find joy in, but all of it--yes that includes trials, suffering, the tough stuff-what is worse than hell? nothing! I'm getting real with ya'll right now because I want to celebrate together in heaven as well as right here right now. Our paycheck shouldhave been hell, but instead it's life, its a love that we can't fully comprehend, its a savior who cares so much He would suffer in our stead to save His children. He was fully God but because fully man as well and walke this earth livinga completely perfect life and suffered greatly for just being HIm, then He was brutally beaten and tortured, hung on a Cross and died. He expereienced death fully and 3 days later He rose victoriously from the grave-that is good news for all who accept and believe that there is a love that great that sets us free and if we believe it, He will dwell in our hearts and help us to remember the gospel. We will see that what we get is a gift because we have no debt to pay. God is blessing us with gifts all the time and we can choose to see them that way and worship Him for it and find joy, or we can forgot the Cross and think we don't get enough of what we deserve. I don't want religion, I don't want a set of rules I try to follow and fail continually. I want my life and joy to reflect my rememberance of the gospel and count all things as joy since I do not get what I have earned (to go to hell) because my amazing Jesus, my savior died for me! Thank you Jesus for reminding me of what You did for me and how much I am blessed in spite of my sinful heart! Thank you for being good when there is nothing good in me, for being joy, for paying my debt and giving me so many many gifts-the greatest gift I have ever received is You, thank you!
363. the Cross
364. sermons that remind me of what I have been saved from
365. being reminded that when I don't get the credit I feel I have deserved that it doesn't matter-my credit come from Jesus and any credit I do get is mercy, a gift from God!
366. my aunt lora and her family! for inspiring me and edifying me
367. my computer, table, chair, internet, home, AC, lovely morning breeze, my body, my health, my family, friends, fingers....everything, every single thing about my life and the lives of those I love is a gift I don't deserve.........

gifty gifts and missing you

354. time can be a gift, it can be slow and painful, but I'm looking at it today as a gift (easier to do when I know my man will be home tonight with a more normal routine)

Today I feel a litte uneasy for some reason. I am not quite sure what it is, except that I feel like there is so much to do and normally I just say okay lets start doing stuff and I dig in, but today is not like other days. I have definitely dug in and started, but the unease is still lingering. I went in T's room and played with him and K (pretend kitchen play) which of course turned into us searching through the 3 toy buckets in various rooms for all the kitchen stuff (a.k.a. cleaning up involved here)...played a bit then decided to put away some laundry and finally check my email. I have already worked out today and spent my wonderful time with my savior this morning, so what is it???? I thought it was that my focus was on too much of my to do's and not enough of my kids, but that didn't change it. T worked on school today, dishes done, k's high chair deep cleaned, table cleaned, deal lists printed, bed made, laundry going....

I read my email from my dear friend G, then read through her blog posts and in many ways I was encouraged and I was also brought to tears with her kind words for me, thank you my dear beautiful friend! I love and miss you so very much! Maybe that is just it, I am not a huge cryer (though that is changing as I age) and I really miss my friend as well as my family back home in Oregon. I looked at pictures from Christmas when we visited home for 8 days (not long enough for sure)....and I remembered that those are special people who make me smile and laugh and they make Oregon feel like home. I miss people I guess is what is going on. I miss my family--just being all together in the same place sipping coffee and watching tv and laughing and eating big meals together. I miss my amazing friend G, who would bring a smile to my face and heart every wednesday when i would get to see her and talk with her and be real with her. She always challenged me and edified me (loving this word lately) and her kids made me smile too!....G I miss you very much, you are a spiritual mother to me (even though you are not like a mother more of a sister) and I thank you for all that you taught and inspired me! I apprecaite the fact that you have a blog to help grow me, but it will never measure to spending time with you in person! You are a very special gift to me!

355. G's blog and friendship!
356. stepping out of my comfort zone-thanks M for inviting me to sing with you on Easter!
357. back at church this sunday and it was amazing as always!
358. milk and crackers (this time its generic club) thanks dad for sharing this snack with me and now I get to share it with my kiddos -they love it too, next its smoked oysters on saltines

359. health
360. family walks
361. looking at pictures of family!

*these are oregon pictures from 2010, but I'm feeling nostalgic and wanted to post my family and home anyway.....p.s. my hubby is an amazing rock skipper

It's so hard to say goodbye.....

349. precious kids that have a special place in my heart that say they will miss our family as one of the things they will miss most about the states! It makes me feel so good to know that we will be missed almost as much as they will be missed :)

We took our dear friends G and her 5 amazing kiddos to the train station this morning, it was very hard to say good bye to such amazing people who have influenced my life in ways I can't even put into words! They are goers, they have sold everything (gave away much of it) and are moving their family to the Phillipines to be part of the Great Commission to love others like Jesus loves and tell them about the Prince of Peace! It is bittersweet to say goodbye because I am so encouraged by what they are doing and yet I want to selfishly hold them here near me so I can soak up more of them and more of what they have to teach me.....

I am a new woman thanks to you, Gretchen! You have done amazing things for me and for my family and have led by such an amazing example, you and Brian and the kids: Tom, Yosef, Seth, Ethan, and Bis! Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for simply being you! Thank you for loving us and teaching us and inspiring us and loving Jesus so much! I wish I would have spent even more time with you all!

The hardest thing about saying goodbye to someone who means so very much to me is not knowing when I will see them again! It is hard to say goodbye to my family, but I generally know when I will see them again and its hard to not have a clue when our time will be to see each other again. But, I am saying this with confidance that I will see you again! We will make it happen whether its in the Phillipines or somewhere else!

350. My hubby not working today, all for the cost of homemade cookies! thats all I have to do to get to have him here today is make cookies for a couple of generous guys from his work. It was nice to be able to cry on his shoulder! Thank you Lord, for working that out for me and us!

351. Great neighbors including an amazing friend (Jenn that is you), whom G prayed for me to have to help me pick up the torch and continue on serving Jesus and others.

352. Realizing God has us exactly where we belong and seeing the possiblities for more to come to serve Him right here in our neighborhood.

353. Other people seeing growth in my man, its not always to recognize it when you are with him daily, but there is a great change and I am so proud of my man for getting out of his own way and letting God work in him!

Kropp family~ my dear friends  you are like family to us and you are literally our brothers and sister in Christ, but more than that you are like family to us and I thank you for all you are and all you have don't for us! for the amazing example you have set and for touching our lives in ways we couldn't have even asked for! Thanks for being "weird" and helping us to get "weird" (of course that is a term of endearment that I use the word "weird') We are set apart and we should look different in the way we live our lives so thank you for showing us what it means in a tangilbe way! You are going to be missed so much and we will continue to pray for you and will remember you every day and we love you all! Thanks for everything!

*pretty ms. Gretchen helping me with Kenni

*Sweet Ethan with his buddy Kenni

For more pictures of this amazing family please visit countingkropps@blogspot.com and follow them while they serve Jesus in the Phillipines.

--Darn why didn't I take pictures while you guys were here, of the dancing game and the crop of Kropps on our living room floor....well at least I have the memories of it, thanks for staying with us, it meant a lot to have you here for the epic sleepovers before you left :)

full house

344. a full house--full of loud, sweet, energetic, fun boys

We went to the park with our boys today and their dad, it was fun! I got up like a kid and was on the bars doing can openers and impressing them with what I could do at my old age of 27! ha they couldn't believe I could remember how to do things from so long ago when I was in elementary school....so funny how kids see thigngs!

Then they came over, are over now, and are playing the wii and we have a wonderfully small single wide mobile home and there are 6 boys, 2 men, me, a toddler, and a dog and I have to say I love it! It could have something to do with the fact that all the boys here are awesome kids! I just enjoy people though too, and I can imagine having a huge group of kiddos a gaggle of kids, if you will, via adoption.

345. man talk, the 2 men and one boy were just discussing and looking at guns...
346. christian concerts
347. dad's that actively are involved with their kids, doing what their kids enjoy doing
348. youtube = listening to Christian music