A verse for this week

The preface to this verse is that you reap what you sow. Immediately I think of how my actions and reactions affect my children and the people around me. I am already aware of some parenting patterns I have created that I want to undo. Parenting a teen and a tween is quite interesting.

My friend, Christina suggested this verse due to some tough circumstances in her life. For me, it is a reminder to keep "fighting the good fight".

Galatians 6:9
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

My personal illustration/application:
When my daughter gets short and demanding with me; respond in gentleness. When my guilt attacks since I fear she learned it from me and I am tempted to lecture her; respond in gentleness. Put a hand on her shoulder, give her my attention...slow down.

A life in my kitchen

I am going to give you a peek into my kitchen. This is somewhat frightening and revealing because you will see the total chaos and messiness that occurs there. First off, you must know that my house measures in at a whopping 1485 square feet. Even though I joke, it is usually enough space. Space only becomes an issue when life crowds in. And life in the kitchen is: A pile of dirty dishes in the sink after dinner. The one chore I refuse to do is unloading the dishwasher. I am confident that this is something the kids can do handily. ( I am still a bit controlling when it comes to loading because I am also confident that only I can load the dishwasher efficiently. I am working on this.)

If you pan to the kitchen table you see this:

I absolutely LOVE this table. As you can see it serves as a workstation for me and a landing zone for the kids' school stuff. Many nights you would see Jeremy in the chair closest to you. (With his back against the wall,of course. There is something about him being able to survey the room.)

If you look far to your right you see this:

This is the family computer which doubles as a television. (Hence, the obnoxious screen size. BTW, I rule at Wii bowling) Tonight it is also a staging area for Noah's "Science Faire Project". This project is a thorn in my side but, I really shouldn't complain because I was homeschooling 2 months ago and this was my EVERY day.

Thankfully, a large portion of the square footage of my home was alotted to the kitchen. And, I quite enjoy living life here. But, I must add just one more pic that signifies the inclusivity of this room:

My two scandalous puppies waiting and scrapping beside an open dishwasher. As if I am that sloppy! Oh wait, they must know I hand out scraps.

Please ignore the ugly yellow cord that stretches the length of my home when the nighttime falls. That is my sons' direct connection to the internet that ensures his timely kills in "Call of Duty." (Yes, my son plays killing games...sorry)

So, that is a little look into the life of the McGinty's that is lived within the walls of the KITCHEN. As I am sure you have realized too, everyone gathers in the kitchen.

A verse recap, new verse and a celebration!

I am going to start with a recap of the verses I have meditated on and somewhat memorized since we began this journey. I say somewhat because I have realized that I need to put the verses all in one place and review them often to keep them fresh in my memory.

Philippians 4:6-7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition,
with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
And the peace of God, which trancends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds
in Christ Jesus.
[I shortened the portion of the verse ;) and used the NIV translation which is my favorite]

James 1:2-4
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perserverance. Perserverance must finish its good work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Isaiah 61:1
"The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners."

My goal this week is to find a small notebook of some sort or maybe notecards to keep with me so that I can keep track of what I am learning. I am so excited to press on and refuse to be discouraged over my "forgetfulness". I would love to hear from you guys as to what your memorization experience has been. Please feel free to comment.

For the new verse this week, I am choosing one that I want to not only memorize but also put into immediate action.

Ephesians 4:29
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for
building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

Now....for the celebration. (insert drum roll) 12 years ago today, my husband Jeremy and I commited our lives to Jesus Christ. I will save the whole story for another post but, I thought that was an exciting thing to share. Thank you Lord!

A St. Patrick's Day wish

Last night, as I was tucking my kids into bed, my daughter asked me "Will I still have tumbling tomorrow since it is St. Patrick's Day?" Her seriousness caught me off guard and the whole family had quite a laugh about it. (her too)

Thanks to Uncle Jobey, my daughter thinks today is a national holiday. If you happen to know Jobey, his passion for Ireland and our heritage is somewhat contagious. So, our family has happily adopted ourselves into this celebration.

So, although Grace's gymnastics class will go on as scheduled, and we all have to work today, we will proudly wear our green today and look forward to tonight!

A verse for the week

I am reading a book by Beth Moore entitled "Breaking Free". Part of the challenge she puts forth in the book is to memorize key verses in Isaiah. So, I thought I would share one for us to learn this week.

Isaiah 61:1

"The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,

because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives

and release from darkness for the prisoners."

Lately, my husband and I have been discussing talking boldly about Jesus and how he has changed our lives. My personal desire, having been raised Catholic, is to present my relationship with the Lord as real and relevant. I always pray that I would not be "religious" and off-putting.

When I read this verse, I am reminded of my freedom in the Lord. And, the one thing I am sure of, He has truly changed my life.

I most certainly do not want to get preachy. And, I am sure most of you know I am not ultra-pastor wifey. But, if you ever have a question or a comment for me, please feel free to ask. I would love to hear from you. I get comment alerts from this blog to my e-mail or, you can e-mail me directly at sunshine@themovment.org

Just for fun:

I went to the beach to read today! Jeremy and I had gone for a walk at the beach on Friday and once again said to each other. "Why don't we come here more often?" After all, we live in a vacation destination! It takes me a matter of 7 minutes to get to the beach. So, my husband encouraged me to do my reading at the beach today and I must say it was time well spent.

A bittersweet moment

I am going to chime in with a few age old adages, "Time flies, kids get old fast, enjoy it while you can." Let me just say, that while they are all true, it kinda sucks.

Yes, I said it. It does suck. Because you vacillate between loving seeing them grow up and lamenting that they will never be 7 again. Or 3. Or 2. Or, a crying little infant. And, to all the sleepless moms out there, I am sorry. I have been there. I have done it. I probably hated it. But, the key word is "probably" because my memory is so short that I may turn back time if I were given the option.

So, my kid is 13. He is taller than me. He wears cologne. His shoes are a size 11. He has a laugh that makes him seem like a man. He says things that I have not told him. When he is quiet, a simple question will just not do. And, when he blows it on a court or a field, I am totally NOT allowed to run out and save him.

We attended a basketball team party tonight. I dropped him off and returned 30 minutes later. Wouldn't you know, he hadn't yet eaten a thing. But, readily accepted a plate I prepared for him.

Yay! He still needs me.

A confession...or two and a verse

First confession: I was a bit overzealous in my choice for a memory verse. In hindsight, I should have chosen a bit shorter verse to "warm up" my brain.

Second confession: Due to confession #1, I only know the first part of the verse. (oopsie) But, that might have been the plan of the Lord because I have used the verse countless times in the past week.

Phew, now that I have gotten that out of the way, let's get on with the next verse. My dear friend Christina suggested this one and I am so excited to meditate on it this week.

James 1:2-4 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perserverance. Perserverance must finish its good work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

I would LOVE to hear from you about how this relates to your life. Please leave a comment here, Facebook me or e-mail me. And, a huge thank-you to all of you who encourage me and are joining me in adopting the discipline of scripture memorization.

And, I have decided that Monday seems a more appropriate day to introduce a new verse. Some of us see each other on Sunday so, we can "test" each other then! Have fun.

A suprise: this still happens somewhere in America

My daughter and her friend set up a lemonade stand today. There was a little hesitation in her voice when she queried me about the idea. But, since it was at least 85 degrees today and playing Mario Cart was her current activity, I said "why not?"


As you can see from the picture, these girls dove in head first. It looked like a pretty legit operation. I must say a few things about this that brought me joy.


-it is really sweet and nostalgic that this can still happen in SoCal


-when Jer and I walked down to take the pic, my formerly "shy" girl was very boisterously hawking lemonade to passing cars


-at one point, there was a crowd of neighborhood kids hanging out. ahhh, feels like a small town in Nebraska


-a passing firetruck stopped, bought a lemonade and gave the girls stickers (an apparent highlight according to them)


-each girl made 11 bucks! Jer jokingly said, "keep setting up until the city shuts you down" (or taxes you...he added


As a parent of a teen and pre-teen, I am always happy when my kids find activities to entertain themselves. Or, should I say, do something that is a bit reminscent of "when I was a kid" without me having to say "when I was a kid".


By the way, I took my two little dogs to visit the lemonade stand and my hubby rode my sons' bike alongside. We were VERY midwest...which you know I love! :)