The Crown of Creation

God sets his own image on the earth. He creates a being like himself. He creates a son.

"The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." Gen. 2:7

It is nearing the end of the sixth day, the end of the Creator's great labor, as Adam steps forth, the image of God, the triumph of his work. He alone is prounouned the son of God. Nothing in creation even comes close. Picture Michelangelo's David. He is....magnificient. Truly, the masterpiece seems complete. And yet, the Master says that something is not good, not right. Something is missing...and that something is Eve.

"The Lord God cast a deep slumber on the human, and he slept, and He took one of his ribs and closed oved the flesh where it had been, and the Lord God built the rib He had taken from the human into a woman and He brought her to the human. Gen 2:21-23

She is the crescendo, the final, astonishing work of God. Woman. In one last flourish creation comes to a finish not with Adam, but with Eve. She is the Master's finishing touch. How we wish this were an illustrated book, and we could show you now some painting or sculpture that captures this, like the stunning Greek sculpture of the goddess Nike of Samothrace, the winged beauty, just alighting on the prow of a great ship, her beautiful form revealed through the thin veils that sweep around her. Eve is...breathtaking.

Given the way creation unfolds, how it builds to ever higher and higher works of art, can there be any doubt that Eve is the crown of creation? Not an afterthought. Not a nice addition like an ornament on a tree. She is God's final touch, his pie'ce de re'sistance. She fills a place in the world nothing and no one else can fill.

j. eldredge-captivating

The Story of Cinderalla Turns Upon An Invitation

up until the moment that the courier from the palace arrives at her door, cinderella's life seems set in stone. she will always be a washerwoman, a cellar girl. her enemies will forever have the upper hand. she will live a life of enduring disappointments, though she will suffer them nobly. no other life seems ossible. this is her fate. then, word from the prince arrive--an invitation to a ball. it is at this point that everything breaks loose. her longings are awakened. her enemies becaome enreaged. and her life is never the same.

how gracious that it comes by invitation. as a woman, you don't need to strive or arrange; you don't need to make it happen. you only need to respond. granted, cinderalla's response took immense courage, courage that came only out of a deep desire to find the life her heart knew it was meant for. she WANTED to go. but it took courage not to abandon all hope even after she danced with the prince. (she ran back to the cellar, as we all do.) but she became the woman she was born to be, and the kingdom was never the same. it is a beautiful parable.

in much the same way, the invitations of God come to us in all sorts of ways. your heart itself, as a woman, is an invitation. an invitation delivered in the most intimate and personalized way. He has written something on your heart. a call to cultivate the beauty you hold inside, and to unveil your beauty on behalf of others. and it is a call to adventure, to become the ezer the world desperately needs you to be.

j. eldredge

Celebrate Your Differences!

1. EXTROVERT OR INTROVERT: extroverts love crowds while introverts would rather spend time in solitude or with a close friend. Extroverts are energized by people and intoverts are worn out by people.

2. SPENDER OR SAVER: if spenders have extra money, they want to spen--on themselves, on others, on worthy causes, on anything. if savers have extra money, they want to put it away for a rainy day. they do not like to spend uless it's very important.

3. PLANNER OR FLEXER: planners love structure with everything organized and neatly packaged. they like schedules and deadlines. flexers ben with the flow of life and take things as they come. they tend to be spontaneous and laid back. loose ends dont bother them because they believe everything will work out.

4. THINKER OR FEELER: thinkers focus on facts and principles. they base decisions on objective data and ten to be task oriented. feelers focus on people and emotions. they base decisions on subjective data and tend to be relationship oriented.

5. DREAMER OR WORKER: dreamers are creative people who love to come up with ideas. they are optimistic and oriented toward the future. workers are practical. they like to take other people's ideas and make them happen. they tend to be realistic and focus on the present.

6. COLLECTOR OR TOSSER: collectors gather things. they hate to throw anything away because they know they just might need it sometime. tossers get rid of things. they hate clutter and they insist that if you haven't used something recently, you probably never will.

7. JUGGLER OR HOLDER: jugglers are multichannedled and can deal with many things simultaneously. holders are singlechanneled and can only deal with one, maybe two, things at a time. if they try to do more, they become stressed and overwhelmed.

8. LOOKER OR LEAPER: leapers take risks; when they see an opportunity they want to jump on it before it's too late. lookers are more cautious. they like to carefully check everything out before making a decision.

9. OUTLINER OR DETAILER: outliners have a general focus and look at the big picture. they think in terms of direction and getting things done. detailers loook at the nuts and bolts. their concern is how to get things done.

s. stephens

as i look at this list, even tho' i think my way is always the best way (grin), i'm actually thankful that God allowed us to be different. life would sure be boring if everyone was just like me. but there are definitely challanges to having relationships with people, especially if we aren't able to celebrate the differences! so, look around and find a reason to be thankful when someone you love has a different perspective.

blessed are parents who...

1. blessed are the parents who listen to their children, for they in turn will be heard.

2. blessed are they who do not expect more of their chidren than is appropriate for their level of maturity, for they shall not be disappointed.

3. blessed are the parents who do not attempt to tackle the new math, for they shall not fail.

4. blessed are parents who can laugh at themselves, for their children will laugh with them and not at them.

5. blessed are the parents who may be called "old fashioned." they can be assured they are on the right track, for so have children persecuted parents for genereations, and their opinions will change by the time they are old enough to pay taxes.

6. blessed are they who teach their children to understand and love each other, for they shall not get caught in the crossfire of a sibling war.

7. blessed are the parents who let their children do for themselves what they are capable of doing, for they shall not be merely unpaid servants.

8. blessed are the parents who take their children with them often for they shall see the world with fresh eyes.

9. blessed are the parents who have found success-outlets for their own energies, for they will not need their children as status symbols or as justifications.

10. blessed are the parents sho do not pretend to be perfect, for their chidren will not be disillusioned.

*lists to live by

Blessings!

... when i count all my BLESSINGS i get a smile on my face ...

Maegan's TWENTY!!!

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder
You get your fill to eat
But always keep that hunger
May you never take one single breath for granted
God forbid love ever leave you empty handed
I hope you still feel small
When you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Living might mean taking chances
But they're worth taking
Lovin' might be a mistake
But it's worth making
Don't let some hell bent heart
Leave you bitter
When you come close to selling out
Reconsider
Give the heavens above
More than just a passing glance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
Dance

I hope you dance
I hope you dance
Time is a real and constant motion always
I hope you dance
Rolling us along
I hope you dance
Tell me who
Wants to look back on their youth and wonder
I hope you dance
Where those years have gone

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance


Thank you, precious girl for who you are. I am so thankful that God put you in our family and that He allowed me to have the wonderful opportunity to call you my Daughter. As you know, many times I feel inadequate to be your mom, but God has filled in the blanks. May He continue to bless you with much love, joy, peace, grace and health! Dance, sweet princess!

I love you, girl!

choose your battles!

everyone has battles to fight. the differences between people and the way we all see and interpret things--as well as some of the inherent facts of life (two people who disagree can't both get their way) make this a virtual certainty, an unavoidable and unpleasant part of life.



the question isn't whether you're going to have to fight battles in your life, you will! the more important question is, "which battles do you choose to fight?"



you've probably known people who rarely let things go, those who seem to battle over practically anything--correcting people, arguing, proving themselves, pointing out flaws, needing to be right all the time, validating their sense of worth, complaining and whining, etc. the tiniest dispute or disagreement becomes an automatic battle.



the problem with living this way is twofold. first, it's exhausting. when everything is seen as a big deal and worth fighting over, your whole life becomes a battleground. and who needs that? second, people will begin to push you away and/or avoid being around you. after all, who wants to be around someone s=who is argumentative and conflict-oriented...someone who can rarely just let things go? further, when you fight battles all the time, no one will take you very seriously, they will assume you're just letting off steam again.



i used to be the kind of person that spent too much of my life fighting battles. but lately, i have started something new. when a conflict comes up...potential arguement, disagreement, or whatever...i asked myself to rate the importance of the potential battle on a scale of 1 to 10 (low to hi). for example, if i feel myself "gearing up" for a battle over who forgot to load their dish, i might rate that a #1. or if i've asked faith to get her chores completed by 10am so the family can leave by 10:15, that might be a #2. the girls talking disrespectful to me (or anyone) would rate about an 8. cheating or lying would rate a #10 for me.



i've decided that anything i rate 5 or under, isn't worth a battle for me. i would rather find a way to simply let it go, or find a way to peacefullly resolve the issue with out needing to be "right". you can imagine the number of conflicts that has been dramatically reduced. but now i have more time to spend on things i enjoy.



is this easy? no way! becos, so often when i'm in the middle of a potential battle, everything can seem to rate a #10. i have to take a deep breath and ask myself, "is this battle truly worth fighting..am i fighting out of pride...if i win what does it change...is there any good going to come from this?"



i challenge you to explore this strategy. you may be surprised to find that also the battles that are worth fighting, are easier to win. i suppose it makes sense that when you battle less often, you are more focused on your positions...and other people take your positions far more seriously.



don't get me wrong. and for those of you that know me already know that i believe in standing up for things that are right and just. i especially dislike passive people who stand by and let any and everything happen. that's a disgrace, in my opinion. i suppose the word would be balance.


*these pictures were taken this weekend at a fast pitch softball tournament. this team, coaches and parents were just awesome! they all did a great job and placed third in the tournament.


this is the first time that the girls have been on a field together since last year. it brings back so many memories of passed summers on the softball field. tarah pitches, and plays outfield. she's a left handed slap hitter. as usual, they can be such opposites (while having so much in common)...maegan catches, plays anywhere infield, but absolutley loves first base. she bats right and is a power hitter.

there were several times that i was really concerned about maegan's cracked ribs, but it's been almost 6 weeks and even tho' she said she was sore, over all she did alright. she didn't even tell coach stan that she had cracked ribs. i finally mentioned it to him about the 3rd game. he looked at me in surprise and i just shrugged and said "she was probably afraid you wouldn't let her play!" we both smiled.