Not Everyone's Mama

Psalm 33:6 By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.

Wait, did I say weekend.  I think it’s Thursday.

Egads.

Where did the week go?

Saturday was my first day coaching Alyce’s soccer team and what I dreaded happening, happened.  She hung on me the whole time.  If I tried to make her step away from me, she would cling even harder.  She was better by Tuesday nights practice (midway through).

The whole group of girl U6 players, all the teams.

Katiana also had a game right after Alyce’s grasskickers.

She made her first goal of the season during the first game, which I missed because Nano had been rolling himself all over the ground throwing a fit, I offered to go get lunch, then Nano didn’t want to go.  sigh I swear it was an endless day.

Katiana in the middle in white

Katiana is number 17.  Is her hair not getting so long?  It’s down to her waist now.  She loves it.

Jordan had a game scheduled for Sunday.

He went to go get the mail for me on his bike on Saturday.

I got a call from him and he sounded upset, but not yet crying.

Mom, I fell off my bike, can you come get me.

How is your bike going to get in my car?

Mom, come get me.

sigh Ok

Note to self: I have to apologize to my son for thinking that he was being his normal drama king self.

I went down and picked him up.  He was sitting on the side of the road and he looked like he was in agony.  My high school math teacher was there and she told me he hit the speed bump and basically his bike flipped over him.

That was after we cleaned it up and Pato used the tweezers to pull the rock out of his skin.  I seriously thought Jordan was going to break my fingers as he squeezed them when it hurt.

That was also just one leg.

His other leg had it behind it.

He could hardly walk so he missed the game on Sunday.  First game.

They lost 17 – 3.

Here’s to this Saturday’s game. 

Sunday we went to church as a huge family for the first time in years.  A whole family, minus Pato, who had to work, and my brother in law Justin who had to work.

Oh, you thought I meant just my personal little family?

No, I mean: Mom, Dad, me, Jordan, Katiana, Alyce, Nano, my brother Steve, his girls: Jadah and Sydney, my brother Josh and his family: Shelley, Taylor, Cambria, and Carter, and my sister and her kids: Mikayla and Aiden.

We took up a whole long row even with the little ones in Sunday school.

Someday I’ll remember to bring my camera and not rely on my phone for shots when we go out to eat afterwards.  Josh and his family didn’t go to eat because Taylor had a game.

Alyce, Jadah, Katiana, and Sydney peaking from behind.

My dad and Nano’s “Nano, smile at mommy for the picture” face.

Abby and Kayla

My mom 

It was so much fun being together like that.

I was raised at First Assembly of God, but haven’t gone in years.  Something recently happened that made me really choose not to go back there and my sister had been going to Glad Tidings Assembly of God.  I had been there when I was younger, but only for Junior Bible Quiz meets.  It took my sister and my mom a month or so to truly talk me into going.  I had some bad experiences in church when I was younger that had me completely scared of going now.  When I was trying to talk my mom out of making me go, I heard in my head, Satan is doing that.

sigh

I suppose I will go.

I went and had a talk with the pastor afterwards about some things that have been going on in my life and he made me feel so comfortable, and at home, and just, he is truly a wonderful man.  His sermons are awesome.  He has a sense of humor, and for the first time in a long time I feel at home in a church.

Jordan has asked to be baptized.

God truly is amazing.

It was time to go back and give my children that same rock solid foundation that I had.

It had to be a Pentecostal church.  I need clapping, and hands raised, and praising of the Lord to truly feel at home in church.  So not a quiet church kind of person.

If you’re looking for a church in the Des Moines area, I highly recommend Glad Tidings.  The congregation will make you feel like you have gone there forever.

Someone emailed Pastor Bill and said that as a guest, they felt like they had been welcomed by Jesus himself.

Love them!

Have a wonderful day!

Popularity: 3% [?]

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I thought since I posted about finally finding a church that I am comfortable in – make that, feel God led me too.  I thought I would share this.  I grew up in an Assemblies of God church and don’t truly feel at home in any other church for a variety of reasons, 1 being – how quiet can a church be?  Praise the Lord people, he wants us to Shout to the Lord and make joyful noises, not whisper!

I got these from the Assemblies of God USA site

These are nonnegotiable tenets of faith that all Assemblies of God churches adhere to. This list is derived from the official Statement of Fundamental Truths. Click links below to see the complete original statement with scriptures.

1. WE BELIEVE…The Scriptures are Inspired by God and declare His design and plan for mankind.
2. WE BELIEVE…There is only One True God–revealed in three persons…Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (commonly known as the Trinity).
3. WE BELIEVE…In the Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. As God’s son Jesus was both human and divine.
4. WE BELIEVE…though originally good, Man Willingly Fell to Sin–ushering evil and death, both physical and spiritual, into the world.
5. WE BELIEVE…Every Person Can Have Restored Fellowship with God Through ‘Salvation’(trusting Christ, through faith and repentance, to be our personal Savior). [1 of 4 cardinal doctrines of the AG]
6. WE BELIEVE…and practice two ordinances—(1) Water Baptism by Immersion after repenting of one’s sins and receiving Christ’s gift of salvation, and (2) Holy Communion(the Lord’s Supper) as a symbolic remembrance of Christ’s suffering and death for our salvation.
7. WE BELIEVE…the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is a Special Experience Following Salvationthat empowers believers for witnessing and effective service, just as it did in New Testament times. [1 of 4 cardinal doctrines of the AG]
8. WE BELIEVE… The Initial Physical Evidence of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is ‘Speaking in Tongues,’ as experienced on the Day of Pentecost and referenced throughout Acts and the Epistles.
9. WE BELIEVE…Sanctification Initially Occurs at Salvation and is not only a declaration that a believer is holy, but also a progressive lifelong process of separating from evil as believers continually draw closer to God and become more Christlike.
10. WE BELIEVE…The Church has a Mission to seek and save all who are lost in sin. We believe ‘the Church’ is the Body of Christ and consists of the people who, throughout time, have accepted God’s offer of redemption (regardless of religious denomination) through the sacrificial death of His son Jesus Christ.
11. WE BELIEVE…A Divinely Called and Scripturally Ordained Leadership Ministry Serves the Church. The Bible teaches that each of us under leadership must commit ourselves to reach others for Christ, to worship Him with other believers, to build up or edify the body of believers–the Church and to Meet human need with ministries of love and compassion.
12. WE BELIEVE…Divine Healing of the Sick is a Privilege for Christians Today and is provided for in Christ’s atonement (His sacrificial death on the cross for our sins). [1 of 4 cardinal doctrines of the AG]
13. WE BELIEVE…in The Blessed Hope—When Jesus Raptures His Church Prior to His Return to Earth (the second coming). At this future moment in time all believers who have died will rise from their graves and will meet the Lord in the air, and Christians who are alive will be caught up with them, to be with the Lord forever. [1 of 4 cardinal doctrines of the AG]
14. WE BELIEVE…in The Millennial Reign of Christ when Jesus returns with His saints at His second coming and begins His benevolent rule over earth for 1,000 years. This millennial reign will bring the salvation of national Israel and the establishment of universal peace.
15. WE BELIEVE…A Final Judgment Will Take Place for those who have rejected Christ. They will be judged for their sin and consigned to eternal punishment in a punishing lake of fire.
16. WE BELIEVE…and look forward to the perfect New Heavens and a New Earth that Christ is preparing for all people, of all time, who have accepted Him. We will live and dwell with Him there forever following His millennial reign on Earth. ‘And so shall we forever be with the Lord!’

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Activist Reveals How One Act of Community Service

Can Spark Thousands More

<– The Legend of the Wolves of Gunflint Lake by Lisa Sellman

Don’t tell Lisa Sellman that one person can’t make a difference. She knows better.

Sellman, a community activist and lifelong volunteer, recently learned how one act of kindness can set off a chain reaction that can span the globe.

“It just started out with me asking a regional pet food company for a donation of dog food for Red Lake Rosie’s in Minnesota,” said Sellman, a professional dog trainer and owner of a pet care business. “I called Solid Gold Northland, and one of the marketing managers there advised me that they were trying to increase the number of people who ‘liked’ them on Facebook, and that if I could get 40 new Facebook members to click on their ‘like’ button, they’d give me $200 worth of pet food.”

So Sellman, who currently volunteers for six different community groups, sent a message out to all her Facebook friends inviting them to Solid Gold Northland’s fan page on Facebook. Somehow, the invite made it to the Facebook page of The Patrick Miracle, a page devoted to the story of a two year old pitbull found by a janitor in a dumpster. Their Facebook page has charted over 109,000 “like” clicks from users. When the founders of the page posted Sellman’s invite, Solid Gold Northland received more than 2,000 new fans from all over the world in the course of about 48 hours.

“When I contacted them the next week, they were blown away by how quickly the response took off,” said Sellman, also author of the children’s book The Legend of the Wolves of Gunflint Lake (www.dreamcatcherpress.us), which contains the theme of the value of community service and which she hopes will serve to inspire others. “As a result of the combined outreach, Solid Gold Northland and Chuck and Don’s Pet Food Outlet have committed a donation of $2,000 worth of pet food, and I’ve helped to forge new friends from other countries who all care about the same things I care about. And it all started with a simple posting on Facebook because I wanted to help a local animal shelter. It’s been magical.”
Sellman’s simple act was a drop in the bucket compared to her schedule of volunteer activities. She works as an after school care volunteer at the Minneapolis Indian Center, a special events assistant at the Loft Literary Center, a volunteer marketing director for canine events at the Gunflint Lodge (the real location contained in her children’s book), and a trail staff assistant with Wilderness Inquiry, where she and her husband take disabled children and adults on outdoor adventures throughout the US. They’ve been volunteers with this organization since 1997.
“Although I work hard, I love being able to serve my community.” Sellman said. “The people in all the organizations I’m involved with, all share my values and my world view and they are my friends and my family. The people and the activities fill up my life with fun, joy and a purpose I could never have achieved any other way. It doesn’t mean that I think everyone should take the same path that I have. I know most people don’t have the time. My point is this: it only takes one simple act, one click of a mouse button to start a movement. It happened to me and it can happen to you. All you need to do is give it a shot.”

About Lisa Sellman

Lisa Sellman, owner and professional dog trainer at Aloha Pet Care & Dog Training, volunteers for half a dozen charitable organizations. She believes that community service is its own reward, a message that resonates throughout her new children’s book The Legend of the Wolves of Gunflint Lake.

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<– Boy Scouts, Bullies and Indian Creek by Dr. Bill Page

Dr. Bill Page would rather teach than do just about anything else any day of the week.
“During my career I was an educator and administrator in elementary, middle and high schools, as well as college, for 33 years,” Page said. “During that time I enjoyed serving as a Boy and Cub Scout master, and a Sunday school teacher. Through all that time, I have seen just about everything children can experience, both positive and negative, and helped these kids solve what many today see as practically unsolvable problems. For the most part, I didn’t have any special technology or divine wisdom. All I had was the head on my shoulders and the heart beating in my chest, and for 33 years those were the only tools I needed.”
Page, a PhD who in retirement became a children’s book author known as Billy D, said that he has dealt with the absolute worst kids in his school and the best ones, too. In most cases, he said that they were one and the same, just on different days.

“It doesn’t take a PhD to figure out why a kid bullies another kid, or why that kid lets the other one bully him,” said Page, author of the children’s book series The Marion Series (www.billydbooks.com). “Both kids are scared of something. The kid who is being bullied is afraid of getting beat up, and the bully is afraid of most everything. The secret is being able to connect with them and figure out what both kids are afraid of and helping them face and defeat those fears. The heart of the matter is really one of the most basic truths I know: every child is special. If you want to prevent problems, then parents and teachers simply need to remind kids of this fact on a regular basis. If you tell them often enough, they’ll begin to believe it and feel it, too.”

But as much as Page is an idealist, he also knows he has to channel that idealism to kids through some harsh realism.
“I put the characters in my books through some paces,” he said. “They encounter the challenges of responsibility, honesty, self-pride, peer pressure, sibling rivalry, and race relations. They experience the consequences of drug use, over-confidence and facing ridicule. On the other hand, my characters also see the benefits from loving people, befriending them and cooperating with others. My characters are grounded by events that are true-to-life, so that the kids who read them, who are also dealing with the realism in their lives, can relate, understand and learn.”
In that way, Page believes kids who read his stories can unconsciously see the parallels in their own lives, and learn the same lessons his characters learn in his stories.

“Is the bully somehow less special than the bullied?” he asked. “Or are both simply good kids in a bad situation who need to see that their lives can be better if they only see how special they are and the difference they can make in other lives? We all need to know where we keep our strength, the parts of ourselves that help us overcome adversities. If our children don’t learn where those places are when they’re kids, they won’t know where to find those places as adults.”

About Bill “BillyD” Page

Bill D. Page, PhD, a.k.a. BillyD, is a graduate of Marion High School, Northern Iowa, Michigan State and St. Louis Universities. He has published two books for children ages nine to twelve, and has others for children two to six near completion. Dr. Page has been a teacher at all levels of public education from elementary through graduate school in Manson and Marion, Iowa, Lincoln Park, Michigan and adjunct professor for Western Michigan University. He lives with his wife of sixty-three years in Muskegon, Michigan. They have three children, seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. He and his wife are proud to state that there have been no divorces in their immediate family, which has accumulated 181 years of marriage. (www.billydbooks.com)

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