Archives for 2010

For You

October 20, 2010 by Amy 6 Comments

One of my most memorable Christmas gifts was somewhere around 1987. I came down the hall Christmas morning and saw something like a big box under a caramel brown blanket. I think my mom might have taken the blanket off to reveal my first big stereo. You young ‘uns won’t remember these but this one was 2 or 3 feet tall. It had two tape decks, a radio and a record player on top. AND it had a section on the bottom that had a cassette tape rack down the middle and space on either side for your records. Pretty sure that’s the stereo that blasted Tiffany, Debbie Gibson and even New Kids on the Block. It was a good Christmas.

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Emma asked for an American Girl Doll for her birthday this year and the now budget mindful side of me screamed that I shouldn’t get such an expensive doll for her. But then I remembered she’s turning 8 and I don’t know what it is about a little girl turning 8 but it’s special. I think it’s about the same age I was when I got my stereo. I just knew I wanted this one to be memorable. I can’t wait to see her eyes when she sees just the one she’s hoped for sitting in front of her.

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Yesterday when we got home a box was sitting on our front porch. There were several things I was expecting but had nearly forgotten the doll I ordered over a week ago. As my hands were full of stuff coming into the house I asked Emma to bend down to see who it was from. “American Girl” she said knowingly. I brushed it off but a little part of me had hoped she’d be completely surprised. She brought the box in and set it by the front door. Every few minutes she’d pretend like she was going to carry it off or asked to open. I would sternly say, “No, it’s for your birthday!” I knew I wanted to salvage any surprise that was left so she could enjoy and remember that moment at her party. She stamped her feet a few times still and said, “I want it now!” We continued in our rounds of “Now”-“Wait” until she finally let it go.

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Yesterday I was reading Beth Moore’s blog and she asked her readers of something God had challenged them to do but had seen joy on the other side. I skimmed through the answers and one answer I read I couldn’t get out of my head since reading. She said she had been challenged in her promiscuity. She had taken the mindset that it wasn’t a big deal but eventually realized it was and felt used. After changing her ways she said she realized that God was not keeping sex FROM her but FOR her.

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I think that happens with a lot of things don’t you? You want something so bad. You get a glimpse of something and you start stomping your feet and saying “I want it now!” But just like I know what it will feel like for Emma if she just waits on a special moment to open her doll, God knows of a moment that this thing you are desiring will be worth the wait. It will be special. It will be unforgettable. It will be worth talking about for years to come. If there is something you are desiring so strongly but God is holding it back may I suggest that he’s not holding it FROM you but FOR you? He just might have the package sitting on the porch delivered and waiting on pins and needles to give it to you at just the right time. Wait on Him. It’s FOR you.

Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD. Psalm 27:14

Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

Rockaholic: A Review

October 18, 2010 by Amy 7 Comments

I have always had such thin, fine hair. And when you have fine, thin hair you can not. I repeat CAN NOT NOT wash your hair every day. It’s a greasy mess barely passable for the gym. I was mentioning it in passing to my stylist and she recommended TIGI’s Dry Shampoo Rockaholic. Well. That was WAY out of my new budget UNTIL Ulta ran a breast cancer awareness campaign and put their specially marked cans on sale for $6.99 last week AND put out a 20% coupon in the paper.

So this morning, I rolled out of bed just a few minutes before having to get to work and found that my hair was as usual…smashed in the back, sticking out at on the sides and starting to get a bit greasy in the front. I started spraying at the roots, concentrating at my hair line and then at the crown. I used my round brush to restyle as I would with my hair dryer and voila! My hair was suddenly passable! It even poofed at the crown like I like! This picture is about 10 minutes after rolling out of bed and no flat iron either!

Now, I can’t say it was just as good as the first day. The texture was much more coarse than normal and I had to tame a few stray pieces through the day. But FOR SURE hundreds of times better than having to do the whole thing over again. For days like today where my biggest outing was Walgreens for a good deal on cough drops and aspirin, it worked like a charm.

So. Have you ever tried a dry shampoo that you’d recommend?

Budget – Envelope System Update

October 17, 2010 by Amy 14 Comments

I’m sure you’re waiting on pins and needles on an update about our envelope system. I mean we HAVE been on it for a full pay cycle of 2 weeks now + the 1 week test run. You’re excited, RIGHT?!

Well, you should be because it’s going SPLENDIDLY. Splendidly, I tell you. We stayed under budget for both the test run and the full 2 week cycle. In fact, in all 3 weeks, we came $30 under in groceries, my most feared category, EACH week.

I can’t tell you how nice it is to open my Mint.com account and only see 2 red lines (thanks to extra Charity (yay) and pharmacy (boo)). Usually by mid-month, the budget was shot and it was difficult to find a green line. I mean, seriously, all the rumors are true…we finally know where our money is going instead of where it went! It’s amazing! We already have money set aside for our car taxes next spring for crying out loud. It’s fantastic!

All of that to say it hasn’t been complete smooth-sailing. There have been a few times we’ve been caught out without our cash and then we’re left juggling cash around envelopes after using our debit card. Scott is more of the spender than me (really) and he’s stomped his foot and lowered his bottom lip a few times when I’ve had to say, it’s not really in the budget. I can’t say I haven’t been disappointed just in the last two weeks not being able to spend like I want (fingernail polish or fall decorations, anyone?) but in hindsight it feels really good to have stuck to my guns.

We have made a few changes. There are a few categories that Dave recommends we use for envelopes like gas or vacation that is just too inconvenient or silly to keep in envelopes. So far, I’ve kept other things super divided. Food is our sore spot so I have separate envelopes for groceries, fast food, sit-down restaurants and coffee. I know it seems like a lot but knowing ahead of time it is our weakness, we are better able to keep an eye on how many times we’re eating Taco Bell and how many times we’ve gotten coffee etc. with it like this.

Speaking of food, I still haven’t mastered weekly meal planning. I’m at the grocery store constantly, only thinking of dinner a day or two ahead of time but you know, we’re literally 3 minutes from the store and it’s just hasn’t been a big deal. It’s the only way I don’t completely stress over the whole thing. And you know they say the only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. So I’m tackling this dinner thing bite by bite…or something like that.

So all in all, I really can not imagine not having this even just a few weeks in. All our needs are met, our wants are managed and we have flexibility to help others. Win, win, win!

Water Marbling Manicure Take 2, 3 and 4

October 17, 2010 by Amy 3 Comments

I did the girls nails today. And then mine again after mine was destroyed doing theirs. They picked white, pink and purple. Go figure.

These are Emma’s. Her pinkies are my favorites.

photo 2 (1)

These are Lexi’s little chubby hands and I just want to *squeeze* them. I can barely get passed the cute chubby to see her nails. Her right thumb is the best but you can’t see it well.

I picked white, purple and some peachy color (quickly when my orange wouldn’t work) which I sort of regret. I think I’m getting a handle on the patterns though. These are at least much more consistent in look across all the fingers.

Things I noticed: my high lacquer polishes hardened almost immediately. My older Revlon polishes wouldn’t spread well. I stuck to newer Revlon colors I had.

I really want to try out some neon colors!

The Water Marbling Manicure

October 14, 2010 by Amy 17 Comments

OK so I heard about this marble manicure thing from Katie on Twitter the other day. Side note: I feel like everything I know is starting to come from Twitter. Every other sentence I say is something like “Oh, I saw that on Twitter” or “The other day on Twitter”. Oh well. So the other day on Twitter I heard about these things and some of them looked SO cool. And they made it look SO EASY. Here is one of MANY tutorials on YouTube.

Here’s the basic steps though:

Paint your nails with a base color and let dry.
Pick 3 other colors to use.
Fill a bowl with tepid water.
Tape up one finger (see videos).
Let a drop of the first color drop on the surface of the water.
Let a drop of the second color drop in the middle of the first drop.
Let a drop of the third color drop in the middle of that.
Repeat as many times as you want.
Use a toothpick to pull in the colors to the center.
Dip your finger in the spot of the pattern you like.
The polish has created a film on the water. Pull that away from your nail while it’s still dunked in the water.
Pull your nail out and untape it immediately.
Repeat for all your nails.

Yeah, it’s not the fastest thing ever. One video I watched said it only took 15 minutes. HA!

So I picked this mint green color for the base and then silver, pink and dark purple colors for the swirl which apparently were horrible picks because really only the green and purple showed up. I had to redo a few fingers and still a few are pretty sketchy. I think if I try a few different colors and practice with the patterns in the water I’ll get better. Here is my first water marbling:

I think my thumbs came out the best:

So, that’s that I guess. I definitely see some potential.

Have you heard of this? Tried it?

Wordless Wednesday – Mommy, Why Are These So Poopy?

October 13, 2010 by Amy 4 Comments

Radical Chapter 5

October 12, 2010 by Amy 5 Comments

The concept in Chapter 5 that has stuck with me is this:

If we were left to ourselves with the task of taking the gospel to the world, we would immediately begin planning innovative strategies and plotting elaborate schemes. We would organize conventions, develop programs, and create foundations. We would get the biggest names to draw the biggest crowds to the biggest events. We would start megachurches and host megaconferences. We would do…well, we would do what we are doing today.

Er, 4 days ago, actually Pastor Platt. Now I’m not knocking Catalyst. Trust me, to experience what I experienced and come away with what I did, no one will ever convince me there is not worth in what they are doing. But that’s what we jump to don’t we? I mean, since leaving I think that’s what I’ve been trying to do…strategize and plot and organize and just…figure out a way to make a difference. And not saying organizations are bad either. But Jesus gave us this clear picture of going alongside just 12 guys and changing the world.

Even through Sisterhood of the Traveling Belt I’ve learned you just need a handful of people to make a difference. (over $1,000 raised!) It doesn’t have to be complicated. If you yourself can just use your own talents and gifts for him it’s enormous. I just think so many people are stuck in trying to use their gifts and talents for themselves. They’re still stuck in attaining that American Dream. But if we we didn’t? What if we banded together with our friends that had the same mindset and just WERE the church? There are no limits. I love David’s closing comments:

A community of Christians each multiplying the gospel by going, baptizing, and teaching in the contexts where they live every day. Is anything else, according to the Bible, even considered a church?

Man, I pray that me and you and you(!) and(!) you (!) would come alongside each other and be the church together. I don’t need to create anything brand new. I just need to jump in where God is already moving. I love what my friend Dani wrote today…she’s working on being more frugal because people even at her own home church are being turned away. I’m learning there isn’t a magical formula for making a difference. It’s just me using my passions and you using your passions and us doing that together to meet needs we already see. I love what Christine Caine said at Catalyst. She said the Samaritan in Luke 10:33 had compassion and then he went and bandaged his wounds. The passerbys before had seen the man too but they did nothing. Christine said compassion is only sympathy until we cross the road and do something about it. Guys, I’ve seen. If you’re reading this, you’ve seen some of the needs. Are we going to be sympathetic or compassionate? Jesus says in Luke 10:37 “Go and do likewise.”

Today I printed our Shoebox labels and had the kids watch a video on it (going alongside my family). I also volunteered to man a Compassion table at a concert next week with my friend Becky (Attention locals: Jeremy Camp/Carlos Whittaker/John Mark McMillian in concert in FM next week!). I’m not saying that to boast but to let you know I’m not just spouting this stuff out to you. I’m challenging me too. What if we did stuff like that every single day and not just once a year. You know what I think?

We just might end up being RADICAL.

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Catalyst Takeaways

October 12, 2010 by Amy 6 Comments

Yeah, so I’m going to be talking about Catalyst for a while I suppose. Just to start I thought I’d make a list for you (but mostly me) of organizations that Catalyst promoted. I’m planning to research many of them in depth that I feel called to but you might have a heart for a different ministry. Here’s a quick overview.

Operation Christmas Child. No stranger to many of us. Fill a shoebox for a child for Christmas.
Compassion. Definitely not a stranger to this blog or to you probably. Sponsor a child for only $38 a month. Catalyst had a graduate of Compassion there who is now sponsoring another child. Do it. Do it, do it, do it. I LOVE Compassion.
CharityWater.org. They reminded me a lot of blood:water mission who we are supporting through the Sisterhood of the Traveling Belt. Very worthy cause to say the least.
A21Campaign.org – Helps women who have been a victim of human trafficking.
Street Grace – Atlanta based group that help children who have been victims of trafficking.
Tronie Foundation – Survivor led organization to support survivors of trafficking.
First Response Team – A group that responds to United States natural disasters to aid local responders do their jobs.
143Million.org – Brings awareness to the 143 million orphans across the world that need adopted.
Project 7 – A company that sells COFFEE where a part of it goes to charity.
aHomeInHaiti – They provide shelter to homeless Haitians.

Here’s the thing. I KNOW that’s a lot. But as Helen Keller said, “I may not be able to do everything, but still I can do something”. Yes, I feel overwhelmed with all the ways we can help make a difference. But not understanding all the ways doesn’t mean I can’t understand at least ONE way.

So pick one.

Do something.

Start a small monthly donation to one. And then add another when you can. Having any number of options should not lead us to no options. Do something.

So I’ll start the thinking process for you…which one jumps out at you as you read the list? Go ahead, put it in the comments.

For me, obviously Compassion is really close to my heart but sex trafficking has been heavy on my heart for weeks leading up to Catalyst. A21Campaign, Street Grace and Tronie Foundation were a big bright neon sign to me. I’ll be posting more about them in coming days. Stay tuned!

Read more Top Ten Tuesday posts over at ohamanda.com.