Pretend City!

On Friday Hope and I went to one of my new favorite places. I had heard about Pretend City awhile ago, but didn't think Hope was old enough. On Friday they had a dress up and trick or treat thing so I figured it was a great day to go and a good excuse for Hope to wear her costume! When we 1st got there, they had a children's dentist on site to do free teeth evaluations. Since we haven't taken Hope to the dentist yet, I decided we'd let him take a look. Hope did an amazing job and just layed there and let him look. We got an A+ for Hope's teeth!

After we finished visiting the dentist we were off to play! Pretend City is basically a whole city for kids where everything is hands-on and they can play and imagine as long as they want. I let Hope lead the way and she loved every minute of it! Here are some pics...

She was pretty fascinated by the bathtub and liked being able to turn the knobs.

This was part of the Curious George exhibit. Each window had different characters from the show behind the door. She loved opening and closing them. We did this several times.

She really enjoyed all the cars. There were ones to ride around and a few stationary ones, like this fire truck.

In the garden area there were fruit trees and bushes where the kids could "pick" the fruit. This area was for planting veggies. They had baby chicks in one place and Hope was pretty excited to watch them eat!

This is on the other side of the bathroom...I loved watching Hope try to figure things out.

The grocery store has shelves full of food and groceries for the kids to put in their baskets and then they can ring it up at the end. Hope picked all mustard for her basket.

Another favorite for Hope was the mini-golf course in the middle. She didn't really get the golf part but she sure loved the balls!

She thought the chalkboard in the baby's room was pretty fun too!

If I would've let her, we would have spent our whole time playing in the water! She loved the boats, ducks, fishing, and getting all wet!!!

Several of the different places (restaraunt, Dr. Office, etc) had phones for the kids. Pretty fun!

We had such a fun time at Pretend City together! I can't wait to go again!!!

www.pretendcity.org

You Can Have Me

Here is that song I was trying to remember when I wrote last.

You Can Have Me: Sidewalk Prophets

If I saw You on the street
And You said come and follow me
But I had to give up everything
All I once held dear and all of my dreams

Would I love You enough to let go
Or would my love run dry
When You asked for my life

When did love become unmoving?
When did love become unconsuming?
Forgetting what the world has told me
Father of love, You can have me
You can have me

If You’re all You claim to be
Then I’m not losing anything
So I will crawl upon my knees
Just to know the joy of suffering
I will love You enough to let go

Lord, I give you my life
I give you my life

When did love become unmoving?
When did love become unconsuming?
Forgetting what the world has told me
Father of love, You can have me
You can have me

I want to be where You are
I’m running into Your arms
And I will never look back
So Jesus, here is my heart

When did love become unmoving?
When did love become unconsuming?
Forgetting what the world has told me
Father of love, You can have me
You can have me

When did love become unmoving?
When did love become unconsuming?
Forgetting what the world has told me
Father of love, You can have me

My Father, my love
You can have me

Come, Follow Me

As I was driving to work yesterday I was struck by the lyrics of a song. Of course, now that I am typing this, I can't remember the song and have no clue what it is. The verse of the song basically asked the question, "If Jesus were to call me today, would I leave everything to follow Him?". It got me thinking...would I leave everything to follow?

"Come, follow me, " Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed Him. Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Him." -Matt. 4:19-21

These men left EVERYTHING, to follow Jesus. Did they know who He was? Did they have a sense of His power? How did they know they could trust this man who was asking them to follow him? Maybe I haven't read enough of the verses prior to these as I forget the context or their relationship to Jesus prior to Him calling them.

It just makes me think...would I leave everything to follow Him? If I were at the park with my family and Jesus walked by and asked me to leave everything and follow Him right then and there...would I? I honestly can't imagine leaving my family for anything or anyone. If He were to call to me today, would I go? To be perfectly honest, I don't think I would. I guess times are different today, but I am in awe that the disciples chose to be obedient and go...they left their families behind to follow this man who called to them.

I know He isn't calling me to leave my family today, but what is it that I must leave behind to truly be a Christ follower? What is it that stands in my way of completely following? Why is it that we hesitate to follow Him even though we know He is good? His Word is full of numerous examples of His goodness, His love, His plan for our lives, and yet we hesitate to fully follow?!?

"Closing of Deliverance Prayer"

I came across the following prayer on a piece of paper in my Bible today:

"Thank you Lord that You will awaken our sleeping spirits, and bring us into the light. Thank you Lord that You will transform us by the renewing of our minds daily in Christ Jesus. Thank you Lord that You will pour out Your Spirit on us, and reveal Your Word to us. Thank you Lord that You will give Your angels charge over us in all our ways. Thank Your Lord that we believe in You, and from our innermost beings shall flow rivers of living waters. Thank you Lord that You will direct our hearts into the love of God and the steadfastness of Jesus Christ. In the name of Jesus Christ."

This was given to me by a friend 4 or 5 years ago and yes, I read it a few times, but it never really sunk in at a heart level. As I came across this today and was reading it, my eyes got watery and I realized how true this prayer is of my life. No, I never struggled with a horrible addiction or lived a terrible lifestyle, but I sure was complacent and very apathetic! I was held captive by fear, insecurity, and worry for so long that I was never truly free to be me...I was too afraid. Not that I am totally there yet (wherever "there" may be), but I do feel as though I have been "delivered" from those things that held me down for so long. I feel as though I am a very different person than I was a year or two ago and I feel as though I am finally on my way to becoming who I was created be. I'm not totally sure exactly what that looks like, but I am enjoying the journey right now and I am excited to see what God has for me as I walk with Him!

Conversations with Hope

Playing peek-a-boo @ Disneyland!

Hope and her friends, Abigail and Violet, on the carousel.

Today we went to Disneyland (CA Adventure) with friends from church. The first thing we had to do was see Playhouse Disney as that is Hope's all-time, hands-down favorite! She points it out on the map and it is a must-see each time! Playhouse Disney features Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Little Einsteins, Handy Manny and My Friends Tigger and Pooh and has a cute little scene for each show. Hope is starting to remember the show and interact more with the characters throughout it. Here's how our conversation went on our drive home tonight:

Hope: Mama, D.
Me: Yes Hope, we went to Disney today.
Hope: Mama, Minaminamina mou.
Me: Yes Hope, we saw MIckey Mouse.
Hope: Quack quack.
Me: Yes, and Donald Duck too.
Hope: Hay Maeeee
Me: Yes, and we saw Handy Manny.
Hope: Bubbles Mama?
Me: Yes Hope, Handy Manny fixed the Bubble machine.
Hope: Pa
Me: Yes, Pat helped too.
Hope: I?
Me: Little EInsteins?
Hope: Ya. Rae
Me: Rocket was in a race?
Hope: Yah. Je
Me: Yes, Rocket raced big jet.
Hope: Pooh. Kie
Me: Yes, we saw Pooh and the kite.
Hope: Tree (then blows)
Me: Yes Hope, the blue kite got stuck in the tree.
Hope: Lee
Me: Yes, and the leaves fell down.
Hope: Mama, choo choo
Me: Yes, we went on the choo choo today at Disneyland.
Hope: amal mama, mmmmmm
Me: Did we see the animal cookies on the choo choo? Did they smell good?
Hope: Yah. Apple?
Me: Yes, and we saw an apple too.
Hope: (as we are almost home) Mama, D?
Me: Yes Hope, we went to Disneyland. We'll go again soon.
Hope: Apple? Minaminamina mou pun?
Me: Yes Hope, tomorrow we will look for the D picture with the apple and the one with the Mickey pumpkin too (freeway billboards), on our way to Grandma's house.

REPEAT CONVERSATION OVER AND OVER FOR 35 MINUTE CAR RIDE HOME. I love my conversations with Hope!

Taming Our Tongues

As I've been reading this week, I am reminded of the power of the tongue and the words we speak. It is something so simple but so important.

-"A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." Prov. 15:1
-"The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit." Prov. 15:4
-"Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing." Prov. 12:18
-"An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up." -Prov. 12:25

Now, I'm not one to speak harsh words and I don't often say mean things, but how I say things doesn't always convey love and kindness. The response I give is not always one of gentleness. After the 10th time of Hope asking "Mama mama", I often reply with a quick "what?!?", feeling rather annoyed. I was reflecting today on the power my words will have in Hope's life. The words I speak to my sweet daughter can be life giving and empowering or they can be hurtful and discouraging. The way I speak to Hope teaches her how to speak to others. The way I speak to Jaye and respond to him, teaches Hope how to talk to others and how to communicate. I'm not one to share my heart quickly or speak my feelings openly. I tend to do the opposite...I hide my heart and feelings for fear of being vulnerable. I don't want that for my daughter.

I want Hope to grow up feeling free to speak her mind (respectfully, of course). I want her to know that its okay so share her sadness, disappointment, fear, and frustrations and also her joys, accomplishments, etc. I want Hope to speak words of kindness to her friends and her teachers as she gets older. I want her to speak to others with respect and gentleness. I desire for my daughter to use her words to lift others up and bring joy to those around her. All this starts with me though...She will learn by watching how Jaye and I communicate and speak to those around us.

Lord, touch my tongue. May my words be life giving and encouraging. May those around me know of their value and worth by how I speak to them and the words I share with them. Help me to hold my tongue and be quick to listen, slow to speak. Close my mouth when I try to utter unkind or impatient words. I have so much to learn Lord, but I am willing to listen to You and Your Spirit. Use me to show Hope how to speak words of love and kindness to others. Give me words to offer hope and encouragement to those in my life and help me to bite my tongue when I go to offer unkind or impatient words.

Grandma Woo and Grandpa Daisy

Last weekend Jaye's parents (and Daisy) came over for dinner. It's been really fun to live close to them and Hope is enjoying playtime!! So far we are still trying to figure out what to call each set of Grandparents...they are both just "Grandma" and "Grandpa". When we were trying to explain to Hope which Grandparents were coming over she said "woo woo woo"...when Jaye's parents babysat Hope Jaye's Mom taught her to say "woo woo woo" as she slid down the stairs backwards on her tummy. When we were talking about Grandpa she equated him with Daisy. Jaye's parents may very well become "Grandma Woo" and "Grandpa Daisy"...we'll see what she comes up with! Enjoy some fun pictures of playtime with the Grandparents (and Daisy)!

Hope and Daisy wearing their Mickey ears!

Grandpa helped Daisy get in costume.

Grandma found a tu-tu for Hope and bought one for herself too so they could have dance parties together!

Dance dance dance!

Thankful!

It was one of those nights at work tonight...nights that leave you extra thankful for health and life and family! I am so thankful for Hope tonight...that she is well and healthy!!! Life is so precious and can be so short and I am reminded tonight how often I take my family and our health for granted. Thank you Lord for the incredible gift of joy and life and laughter I have in Hope. Thank you for her curious mind, her adventurous spirit, her easy-going personality, her giggles and snuggles, and yes...even those moments where we get glimpses into the "terrible twos". Lord, I pray your hand of protection around my little investigator each day. Watch over her, surround her with your angels and guide her every step of every day. May she always know that she is loved and treasured God. Thank you. Bless her sleep. Restore her. Renew her strength and energy. Watch over her as she sleeps and wake her well and happy tomorrow.

Heart Whispers

I grew up a pastor's kid. (yes, I am one of those) I grew up going to church, learning verses, working in the nursery, leading the Christian club at school, singing on the worship team (which now I don't know how I thought I could sing), and the list goes on. I grew LOVING camp of any kind which for me, was a chance to get away and meet new friends. Oddly enough, the thing I loved most about camp was the staff. From the time I was in jr. high I remember almost worshipping the staff at camp and then bombarding them with letters when I got home. I think I so longed for that approval and mentor figure that I looked for it everywhere. As a high schooler I led multiple Biblestudies at school on our lunch period and read all sort of books and devotionals that were supposed to help me grow in my faith. I was a good kid and I genuinely enjoyed all things church related. I started journaling in high school, thanks to a camp counselor who encouraged me to do so. I started reading a Proverb a day thanks to another camp counselor. I was very driven to make everyone happy.

In college I followed a similar pattern...getting involved in leadership, journaling, loving chapel, etc. However, my senior year of college wound up being a life-changing year. My family moved to Canada the summer before my senior year, while I was in Calcutta. When I came back to school that year everything felt so different. I was lonely, homesick, and didn't know where I belonged. Where I once tended to be very extraverted, I became very introverted. I tried to grasp onto people and friends and think I may have pushed many away as I was desperate for approval and companionship. After college I settled into a place of complacency. I attended church and loved it, but my spiritual walk didn't go past church.

A few years after working in the "real world" I got offered a job working at a church. I found an amazing mentor who walked with me and encouraged me for 3 incredible years. Thanks to my time with her, I was really challenged to figure out who I am and who I wanted to be. Although we were journeying together, I really struggled with finding my own personal desire to be in the Word. I did Biblestudies and read devotionals because I knew she'd ask me about them when we met next. I had become so accustomed to doing things because I "should" or "ought to". I knew how to talk-the-talk and often did things because I knew that is what was expected of me. I never understood how people could wake up extra early for quiet time...that was so foreign to me!

Anyway, fast-forward 3 years to now...I was journaling last week about how grateful I am to finally feel comfortable in the skin I am in. I feel as though I am whole and happy with who I am. I love my job, my family, our home...I love where we are at in life! As I was thanking God for this place and the contentment I finally feel, I felt Him whispering to my heart. For the first time, maybe ever, I actually felt a desire of my own, in my heart, to spend time with the Lord. I wanted to, not had to. It's a new adventure for me and some days I'm not really sure what to read or do, but I have to start somewhere. I so pray that God would continue to grow this desire in my heart and that He would continue to grow me into the woman He has created me to be. Don't stop whispering to my heart Lord!