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! :)

An addition to the blog

First off, a little shout-out to those of you who are reading my blog. (hoot-hoot) I know I may sound silly but, when you write stuff, you invariably wonder if anyone will really care. So, to all the girls, and Brandon :) who has commented on my blog...a HUGE thank-you. It is truly an encouragement to me.


So, I have been much more motivated to play around with and update my blog. My visiter counter is always fun because it lets me know you are looking. But, please leave a little comment of hello here on the blog, e-mail me: sunshine@themovement.org, or Facebook me!

And, if you will notice, I added the blog roll to my fun, new features. These are blogs that I look at daily. A little description of each, if you don't mind...

Grace Kaley- This is my daughter. She is a writer, artist, singer and creator of things. She is constantly growing and changing right before my eyes. A Mac computer in her hands is a thing of beauty. Her blog is her VERY random musings.

Kacey Luvi Makeup and Photography- Jeremy's little sister is so amazingly talented. She has truly been given a gift. Not only does she take pictures, she captures life. It always amazes me. I can see the beauty in every person because of the beauty behind the lens.

Twice a Week- Jeremy's dad is, quite possibly, one of the best artists I know. (I may be partial) I have wandered a gallery here and there and probably know little as far as art goes, but, his passion and skill shine through and it is always so fun to see his "stuff". If you head to his blog, you must click on his actual website to see some of the fine art and illustrations he has done over the years. Amazing work.

McGinty's Pub- Jobey unfailingly brings newness to his blog. He goes in spurts, I must say. But, he balances enjoyable family antecdotes with random wisdom (ie. travel interaries) and obligatory church stuff. One of those blogs you bookmark.

The Simple Wife- This is a friend from the past who is currently living in Denver. I only knew her for a short time but, her story is valuable and encouraging. She is one that I learn from.

The Beauty of it All- Again, a friend from the past. One who perserveres and has been victorious. One who struggles but, finds strength in the Lord. I have learned SO much from her.

So, there you have it. A few blogs I check each day. Maybe you will enjoy one.

A new start

First off, it has been an interesting week. I am ending that statement with a light chuckle. For me, it has been a week of dodging arrows and gently pulling out the ones I didn't escape. I was just telling a friend that the "enemy" goes on the prowl when I least expect it. I am sure you all know this, and experience these same onslaughts.

So, since I have been rescued a few times this week, right when I was ready to throw in the towel, I found the verses I want to commit to memory.

My kids tease me because I alway say "timeout" when I want everything to pause for a moment. This usually happens when everyone is talking at once, there is confusion or something is happening that I just plain don't like. I am thinking, armed with the following verses, my "timeouts" will be properly handled.

Philippians 4:5-8

Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and let the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy-meditate on these things.

I have had a few people respond on my Facebook that want to join me in this challenge. So, this first week let's make this our plan: meditate and memorize the scripture throughout the week. On Sunday, I will touch base with all of you to see how we are progressing. However, I would LOVE to hear from you sooner if you have any insight, cool ways this related to your life or just to share and encourage one another. Please feel free to leave a comment here or on my Facebook. Let's see where this takes us. I am so excited to employ this discipline in my life and VERY thankful to have fellow friends join me.