There's a monster at the end of this book!

When I was a little kid this was my absolute FAVORITE book.

I would ask my Uncle John to read it to me over and over and over again...daily...poor guy...lol

I don't know if it was the way he read it or the fact that Grover was always my favorite, furry, little, not-so-super hero...or maybe he just reminded me of my Uncle with his long limbs and sweet demeanor...who knows.

What I do know is that it was my favorite.


And as I sit here thinking to myself..."What should I write about today?" it seems fitting that this book popped into my head.







Some days I feel like this:

            I feel like I know

exactly what might be around the bend in this crazy

life of mine and it just scares the snot out of me.

I feel like, "Hey now...we don't really have to move forward from this spot, do we God? I mean, I KNOW what these challenges I am facing right now are like. I KNOW how to make it through this one...why do we have to jump ahead? Can't we just chill here for a while...please" (yeah, I'm usually begging a little at that point)

God, however, in His infinite wisdom and fabulous sense of humor simply smiles down at my petulant pout and turns the page:                                                   I sometimes sigh, sometimes stomp, sometimes swear by all that is holy that I will not be able to live through the challenges on this page of my life and question "Why God Why?!?" did He turn the page when I was not yet ready.

And through His amazing grace and abundant mercy He looks down on me, his little girl, with eyes filled with love and compassion as,

with a knowing smile, 

He turns

yet another page....

"Another page God? Really?" Again I sigh..."Fine." I say, "I know that You are all knowing. I know that You are all powerful. I know that You have never, ever, EVER let me down, not once in my entire lifetime...no matter what I was thinking at the time, when I look back on my life I see YOUR hand EVERYWHERE...so God...               if it's Your will...                               go ahead...                                         turn the page."

And He, joyfully, lovingly reaches out His mighty hand and reveals to me the Monster at the end of my book...and it's always got the same face...just like poor, lovable Grover..my misguided attempts to protect myself from some unknown enemy, some uncertain path always lead me to the place where I am standing alone, surrendered before the One who loves me most, facing the fact that I am, in fact, the only "monster" at the end of my book.

Go Figure!





It's not about me

Thank God..right..lol I realized that as the holidays ended I really just stopped posting about my amazing kids. Therefore I declare today Mommy Monday..lol At least for this week. I'm terrible with structure.

This last week and the two weeks before it have been hectic for all the kids. School is in full swing after the break and everyone has high expectations.

Boyo is still doing Speech (Hooray!!) I'm really proud of him for going out for something that requires his brain rather than his brawn. He hasn't won yet and is actually doing horribly. He has been in last or close to last place at every meet. BUT he keeps trying. He goes to the coaching sessions, reviews his feedback and tries to adjust. I'm really proud of his stick to it attitude!

Bubba is waffling about the Academy for Performing arts. His drama teacher doesn't think he should be there because he isn't serious enough. He is learning piano as well and that takes up allot of his extra time. He also wants to get back to the trumpet. The hard part is that if he does one he won't have time for the other. Science Olympiad takes up a TON of his time daily, plus the boy maintains a high B average. I'm in awe. I'm not sure what he will decide at this point but we are behind what he wants to do 100%. Bubba is one of those kids you just know has gone over all the options in his head and made a "wise" decision. I do like to throw an out of the box type of monkey wrench in there now and then, to remind him that the world isn't all neatly packaged and well ordered, but overall, he has learned to handle even that well.

Tabby is into girl scouts...praise all that is holy! I'm so happy to see her involved in something that totally lacks that competitive spirit that every other activity she's into has. She needs a place to be her crazy tweeny self and not feel less than because she isn't #1. She is, unfortunately, like me; she HAS to be #1 because #2 means something is wrong. Yeah...stupid mentality...but it's the way we are.

Zabo has a crush. Really? She's 7!! But yes, she has a crush. She has told said crush about her crush, then reneged because she is absolutely NOT allowed to look at boys as anything other than minor annoyances until she's 30. Still, she has a crush. Lord....HELP!

Moose is in desperate need of 2 things. 1. a volume control knob. 2. attitude adjustment dials. Why aren't kids made with these things?  He has been getting in trouble every day at school. Even when I was there last week, sitting with him, at his table, going over his work with him, he still acted like a pain in the butt. He is cranky. He is rude. He is loud. Mostly he gets in trouble for refusing to do his work and for trying to distract other kids with faces and goofy activities. Yep...he's an Adams. UG! I changed his diet a bit, and that helped at first..now I'm adding morning yoga to the attitude adjustment plan in hopes that getting some energy out, learning to focus and balance will help him in school. With my luck it will just be the topic of the next note home, "Mrs. Adams, Moose was doing yoga in class today. I know that doesn't seem like an issue but he wouldn't stop "Downward Dog" ing until I picked him up and planted him in his seat. Please deal with this."

Such fun at the Adams household. lol

Overall everyone is well and doing well. (except Moose, of course, but he IS only 5) I hope your family is doing well too :)

Stupid Boy-Keith Urban

To all of those amazing, beautiful, intelligent young women who have forgotten that sometimes boys are just stupid. Brittany, Amanda, Hailey, Taylor, Alison, Tony...you girls are MIRACLES waiting to happen. Don't let some stupid boy convince you otherwise. Whether you know it or not, I love you girls and I'm praying for you that you would see yourselves as I see you, as God sees you, as you can be, not as this stupid boy or that jealous girl sees you...don't give in..don't give up on real love because of some stupid boy.


Well, she was precious like a flower
She grew wild, wild but innocent
A perfect prayer in a desperate hour
She was everything beautiful and different

Stupid boy, you can't fence that in
Stupid boy, it's like holdin' back the wind

She laid her heart and soul right in your hands
And you stole her every dream and you crushed her plans
She never even knew she had a choice and that's what happens
When the only voice she hears is telling her she can't
Stupid boy, stupid boy

So what made you think you could take a life
And just push it, push it around?
I guess to build yourself up so high
You had to take her and break her down

Well, she laid her heart and soul right in your hands
And you stole her every dream and you crushed her plans
She never even knew she had a choice and that's what happens
[ From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/k/keith-urban-lyrics/stupid-boy-lyrics.html ]
When the only voice she hears is telling her she can't

You stupid boy, oh, you always had to be right
But now you lost the only thing
That ever made you feel alive
Yeah, yeah

Well, she laid her heart and soul right in your hands, yeah
And you stole her every dream and you crushed her plans, yes, you did
She never even knew she had a choice and that's what happens
When the only voice she hears is telling her she can't

You stupid boy
Oh, I'm the same old, same old stupid boy

It took a while for her to figure out
She could run but when she did
She was long gone, long gone

She's gone
Long gone
Yeah she is now
Yeah, ohh

On and on [incomprehensible]
She loved me, she loved me, she loved me
God, please, doesn't matter no
I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry baby

Yeah, I don't believe
She's never coming back to me
Keith Urban

Empty buckets, broken vessels, clay pots

Some thoughts from today's sermon 

From the book of John ~ in reference to the story of the Samaritan 

woman at Jacobs Well

This love that we have from God should leave us with an "If, then" 

perspective. If we have received forgiveness then we should 

forgive. If we have received knowledge of Christ and His 

goodness then we should share that knowledge with others. If we 

have received unconditional, unprejudiced love from our Father 

we should also give unconditional, unprejudiced love to one 

another. How can we say that we love whom we have not seen 

and then not choose to love those we do see who are hurting, 

broken and lost?

The bucket that the Samaritan woman carried embodied the 

extent of her understanding, the sum of her "religious experience" 

of God.It held nothing of value and even though she came with it 

empty, she could not bring herself to draw with it on behalf of 

another because of what religion and prejudice had taught her. 

Jesus didn't leave her in that position though and from her 

experience with Him, the living Christ, she walked away from her 

empty bucket and went to tell her whole village of the One she 

had met who changed her life. 

When we're all worried about what everyone else is doing and 

how their behavior is effecting the world we're missing what God 

wants to do for the world through our right standing with Him. 

When we are in right standing, then we can hear His will for us 

in this lost world. When we are in right standing, having forgiven 

our enemies and released our prejudice and our predisposed 

judgments, then and only then can we be filled and empowered to 

obedience. THEN we can be a vessel that God can use to spread 

truth, peace, hope and love. Without that crucial step, looking to 

our own salvation, the cleanness of our own hearts, we are just 

cracked and broken vessels that may eventually be tossed in the 

fires that the very world we judge so harshly is burning in.

encouragement

Over the years I have come to the conclusion
that besides my relationship with God, this is the most
important thing I can grasp a hold of in this
lifetime:  When you live life trying to be
good enough for everyone else and never feeling
personally valuable everyone else becomes
a standard to be lived up to or a record to break.
When you see people this way, when you
project your personal judgementalism onto
others they become faceless enemies rather
than fellow human beings. 

The other problem with this attitude is that 

to know God you have to

 let down the walls

of your defenses and actually allow Who and What He 

Amen! And amen again!

is into your true heart. You cannot do that if

you have not reconciled with yourself who you 

are because, in truth, you're hiding from your own

heart. You can't give to someone else, open

to someone else, what is hidden even from your

own reality. 

If I could urge women out there, young women, 

old women, teen and tween girls who are just developing

 their sense of self and self worth, to one end it would be this; God made you so amazingly unique that He knows how many hairs are on your head. He knows your hurts, 

holds all of your tears as precious treasures in a bottle in heaven, has a name for you that He has shared with no one and will share with no one until the day you meet Him face to face. You are not the sum of your experiences. 

You are not the results of your pain. 

You are a precious Princess and Daughter of the High King of all Kings. Allow yourself to be valued. Allow yourself to be healed. Allow yourself to be loved by the One who carved your name in the palms of His hands.