Love One Another

When asked what the greatest command was Jesus said "to love one another...your neighbor as yourself." (Paraphrase compliments of yours truly) Then my pastor taught that as a Christian your debt to this world is LOVE. Seems plain and simple to me! Why is it then that people seem to think different when I stand up for what I believe? Why can't they seem to understand that I can LOVE a person even if I don't agree with their choices or opinions?

Seems like my LOVE or rather my ability to LOVE has been tested over the past few weeks not once but several times. As a national debate waged on Gay Marriage I decided to still support said fast food chain not necessarily because my belief lined up with theirs but because as a Christian organization they chose not to back down from what they believe is right and true. People said those of us in support where guilty of "hate and judgement"! I was appalled! You stand up for what you believe in and it is free speech we stand up for what we believe in and it is hate? I posted a fb status a little like this " I don't have to agree with what a person does to love them. The command was simple LOVE! With the same passion you believe what you believe I also believe what I believe. And to quote a rather smart guy " I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ and I refuse to change the subject!" My LOVE was tested again when a family member made a choice for their family that was not one I agreed with as a matter of fact went against everything I believe. But I respected their choice and even kept my opinions to myself (not that any were needed they already knew how I felt). During what was one of the hardest times in their life I loved them and prayed for them.

That is the thing with Loving like Jesus loved us... You don't have to agree with a person to love them. He loved us even before we were born and went to a cross so that we would NEVER have to pay the price of our sin. NOW THAT IS LOVE. Love without conditions, love without reward, love beyond understanding, all consuming love! Why is it so hard for others to believe that if we are called to be like Jesus and follow those commands we are capable of that same love? Come lets just love one another despite our differences!

Not to curve too far off course but I want to clear one thing up about love. It has been said that if I "loved" one person or another I might do more to help them in their situation. I like how my pastor puts it " you can love them but don't have to take them home to raise." That is a wonderful way to look at things. Take them to lunch, give them a ride, pray for them and their family but not take them on as a project. I personally struggle with the part of love. I like to fix things, I can't stand to see someone struggle if it is a need that I can meet. But the truth is even if I can meet the need it isn't always my place to do so.

I just wanna love! I wanna love like others love me! I wanna love like Jesus did! The command really was simple....LOVE ONE ANOTHER!

Sum Sum Summer time!

We here at the McClendon house LOVE us some summer time. And even though it is a million degrees here we try to get out and enjoy the wonderful weather our area does have to offer. We have spent the last 2-2 1/1 months just being a family and enjoying each other. I thought I would save JUST A FEW pics of some of our summer fun! ENJOY...

Jesse started the summer of right. She took her blue ribbon winning dress to 4-H regional and won 3rd! Great job Jesse!

Cooper helped daddy clear some paths in Grandmothers woods. Highlight of the summer for Cooper for sure!

Took the kiddos (and my niece and nephew) to the local water park Spring Valley Beach. The kids were so excited I had to snap a shot while we waited for the gates to open.

360 Rush water slide that the Duece, Taylor, and Michael spent most of the day on.

"Ding Ding Bucket" in the kiddie area where Cooper and I spent ALL DAY!

Bella, Duece and Taylor

Cooper relaxin

Jesse waiting for lunch

 



Welcoming Jesse home from a week at camp



We spent several night this summer babysitting this little doll. J and D loved helping out with her:)





Decor at Coopers 4th Bday party. We celebrated at our local Chick-Fil-A easiest birthday party EVER! And so much fun!

X marks the spot for a wonderful birthday.

Present time

I made Cooper this cape for his birthday. He is showing off his mad bike riding skills with no training wheels and how the cape catches wind.

Updates...

Seems like forever since I took the time to up date everyone on all our "madness". With a move, swim team, unpacking, setting up house, and looking at curriculum for next year there just hasn't been a seconds time for updating this lonely little blog. I have come to find out several people actual read this thing:) So I thought I better get back to it.

We have been here at the "country house" for 3 weeks tomorrow. We are so in love with both our new location and with our new home. It is such a wonderful place for us to practice making our lives a little more simple like we want. I am working so hard to get things all "set up" so I can share pictures with you all. I am working hard to have everything done in time for Coopers upcoming birthday party.
I am finally back at my sewing machine working HARD on a big order to recover a moses basket. I can't wait to share what I come up with and possibly add it to my shop! I have been BUSY BUSY turning out birthday gifts for the many parties we have attended the last couple months;) I love being able to create something personal for gift giving.

Exciting things seem to always be happening around here these days. My family has been asked to care for a sweet sweet 1 month old baby girl named Ryleigh. Her mom is a special person to us and it is our pleasure to look after this angel and love on her. My kids say they are practicing for when God blesses our family with another treasure. I have to admit Michael and I really do enjoy looking after her;)

Not much more to update! I think I have about covered it all. I am praying things will settle down enough that I will be able to update more regular. I would love to share more about our journey homeschooling and the road to simplifying our lives. Keep reading you never know what kind of "madness" awaits here at the McClendons!

Bet you didn't see this one coming...

On July 1, 2011 Michael and I signed a one year contract on a house that we loved in hopes that when he had been at his "new" job long enough (now is current job) we might be able to buy said house. If nothing else we would possibly even owner finance what we believed to be the best house for this season of our lives. When we packed up and walked away from our other rental we thought we were moving to possibly a forever home. Or at least a 5 yr plan kind of home:) We didn't and couldn't have imagined what the year would hold. And now almost 1 year to the day later I find myself in my living room with barren walls and boxes lining every single empty wall in my house....we are moving again! One door closes and God opens another one and this is the story of how it came to be and how wonderful and MIGHTY our GOD really is!

So about 2 months after moving to this house we got some horrible financial news that would impact our income for at least 18 months but more like 2 yrs. We were devastated but determined to keep this house. We did ok for months then things got REALLY REALLY tight. My sweet husband was and still is working 7 days a week to make ends meet and we are still falling very very short. We went from being very comfortable in our lives to not being able to breath and in a very scary place a place we had never been before. Fast forward several months to the beginning of June. A gentleman Michael works for on the weekends approached him about a rental house they had. The name told Michael "that they had been praying for the right family and we were that family." Of course hearing the price and knowing how much money we would save made it a really good idea.  But because of how much we loved where we were currently live it wasn't black and white to us. Our flesh really wanted to stay here. So I asked a friend at church to pray with us about a decision we were about to have to make. I told her how this man had approached us and she said "she had been praying for us a new house for months." In that moment I realized that before she even knew my need, before I knew my need God had spoke to her and told her what to pray! It was like God was using these people to show us in the flesh what He had in store. We prayed about it and decided to move. And God has been ordaining every single step of the way. And He never stops amazing me. As a matter of fact this move was in jeopardy of not happening when I asked a friend to pray and someone showed up to meet the very need we had to make this happen!

No I don't want to move but who is going to argue with God. We know this is a door that only God can open because only He can work like this to make sure all the details are taken care of. I am so overwhelmed by His love and how He is holding us up during a very emotional time.

I guess if you walk away from this post and remember anything I want it to be...God loves all of us just this much. I mean He sent us a house and was working out the details before we even knew we needed a house. If you lean on Him He will do all the work for you...just believe! I am still in awe how everything is working. I am grateful for the door He opened for this season that lead us to this house but I am also excited about this new door leading us to another house. He sure is good and He is so much better and writing the book of my life than I could ever be.

Works For Me Wednesday- Snack Mix

I have been buying a "Sweet-N-Salty" snack mix at my local Dollar Tree for months now. It happens to be the ONLY pre portioned snack I buy! It is an okay deal 4 in a pack for $1. But I have to buy like 4 packs for our family since Michael takes them in his lunch. Much to my surprise and upset they haven't had them in weeks and don't know when they will be getting more. I was so sad so using the ingredients that are normally found in the mix I thought I would make my own. I bought all the ingredients at the Dollar Tree but the peanuts were small cans so I think I would have come off better if I bought those where you can get a larger quantity:) But my grand total was about $7 and I was able to make just over 20 bags. I didn't figure in the cost of the snack size baggies b/c I keep those here to package my own snacks anyway! I think if we hadn't of snacked on it before I started packaging it I could have gotten more bags out of it. Side note the most expensive thing was the M&M's which you could totally leave out. Total per snack was about .30-.35 cents not bad for nuts!

Ingredients:
Salted Peanuts
Cashew Pieces (instead of almonds since we don't think those)
Sunflower Kernels
M&M's
Rasins
Mix everything in a large bowl then scoop desired amount into snack size baggies.

I used snack size bag and put 1/4 a cup of the mix in it.

 

Here are the bags all lined up. I stored all of them in a larger Ziploc!

Music Therapy Thursday

"But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Joshua 24:15

A few year ago after attending an Emmaus walk my husband come home and declared this verse over our home and our family. That year on his birthday I gave him a sign quoting the last line "As for me and my house we will serve the lord". That sign hangs over our dining room table as a reminder of the covenant we made as a family to serve God and no other idols. Until recently I hadn't really thought about the idols we were serving...then as I drove my children to one of our many activities I heard the song I am sharing today. It brought me to tears as I was reminded of the kingdom I was busy building that had nothing at all to do with what God was calling me to. And then last week God gave Michael some verses Deuteronomy 1:29-33:

Then I said to you, “Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes,  and in the wilderness. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.”  In spite of this, you did not trust in the Lord your God, who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go.

Michael looked up from the pages of his Bible and said "What do you think? Is he talking to us!" I was beyond moved! Of course God was/is talking to us. Do you know the story do you know where this story is found? It is after God has brought Moses and his people out of Egypt they have made it to the promised land and aren't going in!!! They are there everything God has promised is at their fingers tips and what do they do they send in spies and vote NOT TO GO! It was like a spiritual ah ha moment...God was telling us "I have led you there my promises are at arms reach, what are you doing complaining about your situation, I have protected you! I have not left you I love you and I am fighting just for you...just for you! Do you not trust me?"

Then enters this song again at the perfect time. As the words played over the speakers in my car my heart nearly jumped out of my chest I was overcome once more by HIS great love for me. I called out "God forgive me for not trusting you! I stand firm on all you have promised my family. We surrender... use us!" Now this song is part of our declaration kind of our theme song.

I 'm done building my own kingdom...No more seeking worthless idols...Like sheep we have gone astray...but we must chose this day whom we will serve...As for me and my house we will serve the lord...Idols raised tear them down...to one kind we bow down...I'm done with powerless religion...no more living in deception...We will cross over Jordan and claim what you promised!

Works for Me Wednesday-Snack Cups

 A few weeks back I did a post on ways we save money and one thing I mentioned was that I don't by proportioned snacks because they cost so much more. But my kids love Jello and Pudding but making and storing it in large bowls takes up alot of room in my fridge. So I had an idea to save space and money I wanted to make my own. For the cost of 1 4-pack of jello or pudding ($1.20) I can make 5 snack cups of my own. I am not counting the cost of the containers which are a one time cost and can be used over and over again. I only paid $1.00 a pack of 5 for these bowls I snagged at my local "Dollar Tree". I am going to get more because all me have made so far is Jello and I want to also make pudding.



Here is a photo of the lable that was on the snack cups. I found them in the baby section of the store!

Here is a photo of the bowl so you can get an idea on the size perfect for snack sized portions:)

Pack of Jello .60 cents fills 5 cups. Mix jello according to package directions.

Use a ladle to fill the cups up with the desired amount of jello.

After all my cups are filled I place them in the fridge to set up without the lid on them. Once they are set I snap on the lids.



There you have it a ready made snack for about .12 cents a cup compared to .30 cents for the ones you get at the store so that is half the price!