OH THOSE TEENAGERS!!

This morning my dog ran out the door to chase his little female friend that walks the same time every morning. As I ran out the door with no shoes I noticed that someone had t.p.'d our home. At first I was touched that someone took the time to show their love for us. I remembered my days of youth ministry and knew that you only t.p.'d the homes of the ones you love. Then suddenly my joy turned to anger when I saw egg, toilet paper, red candy, syrup, mulch and yes...my favorite..yellow sticky notes plastered everywhere.

So how do I know it was a teenager? I know because I had to ask my teen to explain some of the words that were written on my car. She had to explain to me their meaning. So here is my advice to the one who chose to deface our property. If you really wanted to offend the adults in the house....splurge and buy the larger bottle of syrup. We need for you to completely spell the words...no abbeviations. Also...next time...use larger letters. Thanks for the additional toilet paper. With the state of the economy all donations are appreciated. Also...we like our eggs scrambled...not in our tail pipes. Next time...please bring over a little more mulch. We were about to order a truck load and you could really help us save money.

If by chance we meet and you have to fulfill some kind of community service...I have a few ideas in mind. I think the two of us would have a great day serving together while you listen to me tell you every story about my childhood, my lectures on teenagers and most importantly....you will about the term grace. I will explain to you what it means and about the One who gives that to everyone...yes...even teens who are creative and energetic.

TO THE CORE OF MY BEING

The other day I was watching (not participating) a work out video on television. There was a word that the trainer kept using "core". She kept saying "strengthen your core" "tighten your core" "work on your core." What's with the core? I just want tighter legs and arms...as a matter of fact...what is my core? I learned the core is the center part of our body and really needs to be the strongest part of our body. It carries and supports everything. It made me wonder about the "core" of my spritual walk. First of all...what is it...how do I make it stronger? My spiritual core is my faith. If it's not strong...forget about the rest. It needs to support so many areas of my life. How do I exercise my spiritual core? That's what I am pondering now. I know the obvious ways are prayer, studying, fellowship, worship, etc. How strong is your core? Are you watching or participating?

The Necklace

A few years ago I wrote a children's book called "I AM BEAUTIFUL". It's about a little girl who only feels beautiful when she is wearing her princess costume. One day she is searching frantically for the costume so she can feel beautiful. Her mother sees the importance of this costume and explains to her little girl that she truly is a "princess" with or without the costume.

When I wrote the book I had a dream that a special necklace would come with the book. I envisioned that it would be round and pale pink. It would have a little silver crown in the middle. Not just any crown...but one that looked like a "fairy tale princess crown" with little round circles on top.

A few weeks ago I was at a conference and look what I found...and bought....




I spoke to a representative about the possibility of buying this special necklace for my book...I'll keep you posted.

GOD IS GOOD!!!