A common ailment no amount of hand sanitizer can protect against

Entitlement. Lord, how I even hate the word.

We struggle and fight and try to smash that ugly entitlement bug that creeps into our every day lives but how very invasive it is in today's world.

I feel like we are standing firm against a wave that reaches five feet above our heads.

Our kids are inundated with a world that spoon feeds them the idea that they "deserve" the newest shoes. and the "everyone else has the new game system"...etc...

When I came across this lady's blog post I did an out loud "AMEN SISTER!" and a air high five. to which I may or may not have promptly returned to myself. :)

Please, take a second and read her post. It was very encouraging in a very overwhelming time to raise kids.

We are not alone in this battle!

http://wearethatfamily.com/2013/03/raising-grateful-kids-in-an-entitled-world/

"An Ambush," said Owl, "is a sort of Surprise."

For a birthday of mine a couple years ago, my husband made me an owl house. I wrote about it here: http://thesuels.blogspot.com/2011/02/owl-take-it.html

Each year, our owl comes back, sets up shop then leaves during the winter. I understand that male owls have to have a home to show a potential female. If she approves, bingo. Owls are pretty smart, huh? :)

Recently a pesky squirrel decided to move in while Mr. Owl was away at his winter home. I warned the squirrel. I even hosed the guy with a water hose to make him move on. He didn't.

Mr. Owl is back. and he dominated.

:)

We have enjoyed watching our owl. The owl house was easy to make,  here are some instructions: http://www.owlcam.com/whatever/boxbuild.htm

 Owls are AWESOME rodent eliminators, screech owls in particular love those big tree roaches (shudder!!) that fact alone makes him my new best friend. And makes we want to set up 78 more owl houses. {{{{still got the willies}}}} tree roaches are demonic. In case you didn't know. Here's a few pictures I snapped this morning. He's been keeping watch over the tile guys comings and goings.....

Weird kitkats and bagels.

I know I am weird and this I accept- but recently my husband has been pestering me to post about a particular weirdness of mine.

So, here it is.

I normally work at home surrounded by tiny, needy but lovely, humans-in-training. Not alot of conversing happening. So things I think upon usually just turn out to be a conversation with myself. I often find I don't express where or what or why I am doing things.

But lately, I ditched my lovely family and went to work in Round Top, Texas at Marburger and surrounded myself with intelligent talkative adults. Adults with ALLLL kinds of thought patterns. Interesting. :)

Here are a few of the AWESOME people who tolerate me for a couple weeks twice a year:

The hardworking porters Rodney and Nick:

My boss sits here but wont let me take her picture. So imagine a very pretty, sweet lady sitting across from me here:

The sheriff's officers and Brad's daughter Bailey:

And operations manager Brad. (I adore his entire family!)

One day in the office, my boss' teenage daughter walked by and expressed her love of kitkats. She rummaged through the candy bowl until she found a kitkat. Well, I don't like kitkats. Haven't for YEARS. bleh.

But several weeks, months? ago I decided I STINK at empathy. My son rocks at it and I really really stink. I mean I am really awful with empathy. And a while back as I thought/prayed about my stink empathy abilities I thought about people who use tricks to remember names. Red hair, Reba... etc... I decided to make up an empathy exercise.

Still with me?

So I decided that in order to put myself in someone elses' shoes, I'd try foods they liked. Even if I hated them. Maybe Id discover new likes as well as put my mind in a place to think about a person and why they like that item, etc...

So, boss' daughter liking kitkats, meant, I'd try a kitkat. still bleh. BUT now when I see or smell or taste kitkats, I think about her. And pray for her.

All of this had been just happening in my own head. Until one morning I saw my sister make her coffee and it was what I call a "frufru" coffee. Flavored. yeck.

But, I'm exercising my empathy vein so I try it. and I LOVE IT. weird. but I did. Being that she's a conversable adult and it's my rare opportunity to speak up about things rolling around in my head, I walked in her room and told her I tried her coffee and I liked it. She asked me what made me try it. I explained my new empathy strategy. She smiled. I assumed she thought, WWWWEEEEEIIIIIRDDDDOOOOO... but she's used to me... so nothing new there.

Now, macadamia nut coffee reminds me of my sister and I pray for her when I smell or taste it.

And today, my sister called me and told me that earlier she had to run an errand for a friend and pick up that friend's breakfast.
The friend had ordered a really strange concoction of bagel and peaches and something else. She immediately thought. REALLY?? But then, she ordered the same for herself. To try to put herself in his shoes and see what it was that he liked. and guess what? She liked it. But MORE than that, she said that taste will forever remind her to pray for that friend.

Empathy exercise? maybe? definitely an exercise in getting outside of yourself, trying something new, and remembering to pray for someone.

Heaven

I've spent a lot of time thinking about Heaven lately. And what it will be like.

I recently read, One Minute After You Die. By Erwin Lutzer

I highly recommend it. It was so helpful to me in clearly understanding the biblical truth of what Heaven is and the choice we make.

The other day Tim and I were watching American Idol when the top ten were announced. This year, they did American Idol differently. Only Ryan Seacrest knew who was a finalist. The family and crowds did not know who would be coming through the doors until they walked through. And as they did, the friends, and  family would jump to their feet, throw their hands in the air and just celebrate.

Tim paused the video right as Kree walked out to show the crowd she was a finalist. Tim turned to me and said,"You know, this is what Heaven will be like. Your dad, granddad, friends and family will be there and as you enter, they will be standing and clapping and grinning, throwing their hands in the air and saying, "YES! YES! YES!"  as you see what the Lord has for you."

I was struck with how amazing that analogy is. I can just see Jesus, going over to my dad, nudging him and saying, "Come on. I wanna show you something." and as I walk into Heaven them being there, just beaming.

Let me show you:

Now, hit play

Do you have the assurance that you will be walking through those gates? You can, it's free. Christ died so you can live.

All it takes is accepting that He died for your sins and without him and his death on the cross, you would be eternally separated from Him. Believe that Christ, the Son of God, died on the cross and rose again, and that His death alone paid the price for your sins. Tell him.

If you are still on the fence, check out One Minute After You Die. and The Bible. 1 John 3:16“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17“For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18“He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

The Bible: viewer discretion is advised.

The Bible.
Have you been watching?
We have. And you know what strikes me EVERY TIME it starts? That there's a statement at the beginning. A warning.
It says, "viewer discretion is advised."
This actually makes me smile. And it reminds me of that line by C.S. Lewis when speaking of Aslan the Lion, ""He's not safe, but He's good".
Our God is powerful, right, good, and dangerous.
We are looking forward to tomorrow's episode.
The mission. This picture is from tomorrow's episode.
.
As I have become a mother, I have identified more and more with Mary. Look at her face.
That is her baby.
Her boy.
And her God.
What her heart must have been feeling is unimaginable. Remember this scene from The Passion of the Christ?
 My heart stops.
 My heart just stops.
As a follower and disciple of Christ, this Easter season is important.
It's holy. It's beyond words what our Savior did for us.

I love the reminder from Christ, "I am making all things new."

Even as He was being scandalized, beaten, and murdered, He encouraged US.
The ones that put Him on that cross.

I encourage you to watch tomorrow night.

The Mission.8/7 central on The History Channel.

I leave you with the song we will be doing tomorrow at church:

The Vintage Soul

So I've been thinking,

What makes Mumford & Sons stop me in my tracks, cause me to tear up, and celebrate all in one split second?

And what makes Kree Harrison, from this years American Idol, make me sit up and listen? Good vocals, definitely. But it goes beyond that.

What makes me disappear into another world when the Avett Brothers start playing? oh and Patty Griffin. I could go on.



I don't think it's just about vocals, or lyrics.

It's about the life they've lived. Now, I don't know any of these people personally, and for all I know, they may have lived an ice cream and waffles life. but I bet not.

When I see Kree, I see pain and life.

It is the same for all my favorite gut wrenching, soul-ripping, artists. They've lost something dear. They've experienced pain.

Maybe it didn't register so fully with me before I felt  life's deepest wound. Before I felt such an indescribable loss, I didn't realize how it affected you after.

I see it in people. I see the gold vain in the rocks that the pressure of sorrow has created. Yes, Ive also seen the bitterness, that those who suffer and get angry, are embracing.

But for those who don't get bitter and angry, and instead let that sorrow and pressure and pain grow them, have a new feature. It's a vain of gold that God creates in the cracks pain causes.

I see Kree's gold.

And I see the gold in my friends who have been fractured. It's in their eyes, their words, their stance, their posture, their hand motions.

I see it.  Thank you God for turning the fractures into ribbons of gold. And thank you God for letting me see it.

James 1:2-4 ² Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,^[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds,³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

To hear a few of my favorites: {I dare you to listen- it'll make you close your eyes and feel every word}

Patty Griffin: Up to the Mountain


  Mumford and Sons Timshel Kree Harrison: Stronger

Marburger Farm Antique Show Tshirt Giveaway!!

So, y'all know I work for the greatest antique show on earth, right? Well, if you didn't know, I do.

I work for Marburger Farm Antique Show.

I help in lots of ways and recently I helped with the design of their Spring Show Tshirts. (yikes! its approaching FAST!)

And personally, I LOVE them. That works out well for myself.

  Here they are:

The front has a small logo on the top left, and the back has all the names of the 12 historic buildings that are on our property.


We are so excited about them we are giving one away. Go comment HERE to enter to try to win one! I guarantee, you will LOVE it!