This one isn’t related to Breast Cancer Awareness, but to climate awareness. Yes, that is an important issue too.
Over at Design-My-Handbag.com I am giving away my entry in the Crafster 350 for Climate Change contest that I entered back in August. No, I didn’t win, but YOU can!
The official rules & entry form are on the other site, so head over and read all about it!
Yes, I changed the theme again… it IS breast cancer awareness month, after all!
I know, I finally found a theme that I LOVE… and I’m not letting myself use it for a month! But it IS for something important!
For today, this is a pink as it gets… but I really love the quote at the top… it somehow seems fitting.
Are YOU changing your theme to pink for breast cancer? If so, you can join me & the hundreds of others over at PinkForOctober.org - and get yourself added to the list.
There are so many pink themes out there, just google (or yahoo or MSN, whatever your preferred method is) pink [blog platform] theme inserting your blog platform (wordpress, blogger, typepad, etc) and choose one.
I’m looking for some more breast cancer related giveaways to share, so I’ll add another post in a bit.
Have a great day!
Jennifer
I was thinking the other day about how we as followers of Christ are called. We are called to live “in the world, not of it.” As I was thinking about this idea, the story of Lot and his wife came to mind.
Lot’s wife… not too much is known about this woman, other than the fact that she had 2 daughters and lived with her husband in the city of Sodom. After reading through Genesis 11 - 19 I feel it could be assumed that she came from the area.
If you have ever heard a commentary on this, you have most likely heard the idea that Sodom is a picture of the world… and that Lot was the righteous man living there. Unfortunately, he was the only righteous man living there.
The basic story:
We have two angels heading through the city gates - a place where men of power and prestige sat during the day. Lot was among these men as evening was drawing near. Yes, Lot was a very wealthy man when he entered the Jordan Valley, and he would have easily been able to be among the men of power.
With the verses that follow, one has to wonder what Lot’s introduction to the city was like… he seemed to know what would be happening if the visitors were out of doors overnight. Josephus says in his commentary Jewish Antiquities that the angels were “young men, who were outstanding in beauty of appearance” as the reason behind the men’s desire for them. They were angels, after all - shouldn’t they be pleasing to the eye?
Lot is sitting at the city gate with the other med of power and leisure, and saw the two men entering the city. Genesis says that “seeing them, Lot rose up to meet them and bowed to the ground. And he said, ‘My lords, turn aside, I beg of you, into your servant’s house and spend the night and bathe your feet. Then you can arise early and go on your way.’” Hmmm, it sure sounds like he knows what will be happening soon. It took a few tries to convince them, but he eventually won them over.
He gets them home and fixes a meal himself for them, complete with fresh baked bread (I’m wondering where his wife was all of this time). Before they can take their rest, however, the men of the city came a-knocking. Every man in the city. Even Lot’s soon-to-be sons-in-law. Seems like he should have had a problem with this idea… seems like his daughters should have had a problem here too! Lot even went out and offered his two virgin daughters (their fiance’s are out there… remember?) in exchange for saving the men, but to no avail. This was a place that had some very strange ideas indeed.
God struck the men of Sodom blind in order to save Lot and his family. Praise God! He kept His promise to Abraham in this. Early in the morning - long before the sun came up - the angels awaken Lot and his family and tell them to flee. They began to take time to pack up some things, to dilly-dally around and the angels took them by the hands and pulled them out of the city and told them to run for the hills. They knew what was coming. Lot, ever the mediator and smooth-talker, pleads with them to let him merely hide in the next little town over - the little town that he later runs from in fear - and they amazingly agree, on one condition - they must run and not look back or falter.
Well, apparently this was just too tall of an order for Mrs. Lot. After all, her world was back there. Her home was back there, perhaps she even had other children or grandchildren back there. Genesis 19:15 states that Lot was to take his wife and the two daughters, the family that was there with him. We don’t know everything that she may have been leaving behind, but we do know that it was apparently too much to drop everything and simply walk away from.
She turned.
Chances are good that she had already slowed her pace and was falling behind her family. Chances are good that she didn’t truly believe that the visiting men were being honest - after all she doesn’t show up in the story until it is time to head for the hills. Perhaps she heard the sounds of destruction behind her and thought of her friends. Perhaps she wanted one last look at the life she was being told to leave behind. We don’t know what she was thinking. All we do know is that she turned to look back, and her life ended.
Some scholars believe that she may have been caught up in the swirling fire and brimstone that was laying waste to the Valley of Siddim, and her body was encrusted with salt. That layer upon layer of salt was added to her body, growing larger and larger until she was a pillar - possibly even the beginnings of a mountain - of salt.
Out of curiosity, I looked up the location of Sodom and Gomorrah. Those two great cities and three surrounding towns are located near the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea is surrounded by mountains of salt and the ruins of 5 cities that have been discovered that have been turned to ash. Not only are these ruins ash, but they are filled with sulfur balls. Millions of little balls of pure powder sulfur surrounded with glass.
Near these cities is Mount Sodom - a large mountain of pure salt.
The evidence that God poured destruction upon this area is there. What was once a most beautiful and fertile valley has become a barren, lifeless wasteland. A place where life flows in, but there isn’t any place for it to flow on to. It is an ending.
Back to our story… the family was fleeing for their very lives, one turns back and the others continue on to later find that she is missing. They stayed in Zoar for a short time, and then ran away to the mountains out of fear. But that is another chapter in their tale. We are focusing on Mrs. Salt.
So, what can we learn from this mystery woman?
Well, a few things!
1 - When God says go, it’s best to listen! Don’t hem and haw, lolli-gag around or try to reason with God. Just go. Oh, and make sure you go where He tells you to - chances are good that is where you will end up anyway.
2 - When God calls you to leave something behind, it is for a good reason. He has something better out there for you, if only you will listen and follow His commands. Often He is calling us away from something that will hinder our walk with Him, or be a stumbling block to our faith. Other times, He is simply calling us to something that is better, or that we have grown enough to now be able to handle.
3 - There is nothing of this world that is worth defying God over. Nothing.
4 - God is reaching out to you to save you from the evil around you, but you have to choose to follow Him.
The personal side of this… I have tried to ignore God in the past when He was leading my family away from where we were. I spent 5 months being where I was, rather than where I was being called to be. They were 5 very long months! They were months of being somewhere out of a longing to cling to the comfortable, the familiar, to stay with the family that God had surrounded us with. They were months of staying at times out of a feeling of guilt and obligation. They were months of struggling with submitting - not only to the wishes of my husband, but to the leading of God. Dissatisfaction, discord and pain were the results, forcing my family to live in limbo, not sure where we would be going or what we would be doing.
Once I stopped fighting and trying to cling to what had already become the past and started to listen to the leading of God in our lives, the choice was an obvious one. We were being called to something new. Is it something better? That is yet to be seen. God used us and ministered to us in so many ways where we were, and the people were such a huge blessing to us - and still are - but he has also began to use us and minister to and through us in ways that we had never imagined we could be used. He has blessed us with a new church family that is already in many ways closer than much of what we left behind. Yes, we still spend time with those that we had built relationships with, and we intend to continue to do so! But He has also brought us to so much more.
When you refuse to walk away from the world that you have surrounded yourself with, it can be a very painful place. When you cling to that which God has called you away from, you may find yourself in the midst of swirling fire and brimstone - and starting to get a little bit crusty.
God has promised us that we will have an abundant life… not that it will be an easy life. When we walk in His Spirit, we have the abundance of Him in our lives - Him leading us, walking with us, carrying us from time to time. We have the abundance of His Church around us, sharing in our burdens and our triumphs, our joys and our sufferings, the awesome privilege of lifting one another up before Him. He has promised that He will not leave us or forsake us, that He will send a Helper, that He will guide us in all things, and that everything that happens is for the good of His kingdom.
He also promised us that it would not be an easy road… Christ was persecuted, who are we to think that we should live a life free from persecution? He was hated, who are we to expect that the world will love us? Many modern Christians are living in the midst of Sodom, and don’t even realize it. We see that there is evil in the world, and we strive to protect the innocents from it, but we are not willing to leave behind the comforts of our worldly lives. Often we are even willing to sacrifice things that are all too precious in attempt to appease the world.
Look around you… we are living in a time that is filled with evil. Thank God that there are more than 10 righteous men living in our cities! Praise Him for that! Let’s go out there and live our lives in a way that shines forth His righteousness into the darkness that surrounds us… but don’t get so attached to the place in which you live that you are unable or unwilling to walk away from it at a moment’s notice. Yes, live among the sinners! Yes, share Christ with them! Yes, shine God’s light out among them! Just remember that we are aliens in this world… this world is not our home. We are called to leave our earthly dwellings in the twinkling of an eye and to flee to our true home in heaven. We do not know the hour that He will call, we are simply called to be ready.
While we are still here though, we must live out our faith. We must live in God’s kingdom while we are here on this earth so that those who are lost in the darkness will be drawn to His light shining forth from us. We must follow the leadings of His Spirit in our lives, and be willing to go where He is calling us to go… sometimes at a moment’s notice.
If God has called you away from something, walk forward in faith and trust and in the knowledge that He will provide what you need every step of the way. We serve a God that is holy and righteous and just. He is love! You and I have been created for Him, and we are called to worship Him in all that we do. He loves you so much that He was willing - nay, eager - to sacrifice His only Son so that you could enter into His presence and call Him Abba Father… but that is for another day.
Don’t cling so tightly to the world around you that you lose sight of what God may be calling you to. Don’t think of the past so longingly that you cease to walk forward into the future that God is calling you to. Follow His leading, go where He is sending you, and keep you eyes pointed towards the future!
There is a new walk about that has hit the internet… and this one is for a great cause!
The Gal to Gal Foundation is holding their second annual Gal to Gal Walk to raise funds to help women with stage IV breast cancer. It runs the month of October, and it is $5 to join in.
I would love to have you join on my team! Just head over to GalToGalWalk.org and design your gal (or guy!) and join in! They are walking in a different city each day - today happens to be New York.
It seems that everyone knows someone who has had a battle with cancer. My grandma has had breast cancer twice - and has survived Praise God! We also have loved ones that have lost thir battles, as well as those who are currently on that battlefield. Cancer has become so prevalent in our society… it is affecting just about everyone on some level. It has almost become a way of life.
This is an opportunity to help those who are currently on that battlefield - and you don’t have to exert the effort of walking yourself (I love that part!). Spread the word, join in, and walk with us!
If you join in, leave a message here - I’d love to know who is joining in!
*** UPDATE ***
If you join team Mimsi, leave a comment over at Design-My-Handbag.com - I will be doing a drawing over there at the end of the month for a free Rachel Purse from everyone who joins in!
Well, the contests aren’t being run by me… but they are good ones, so I thought I’d pass them on.
The first one is over at The-Giveaway.com Katie is giving away a custom Marguerite Handbag from Mimsi Bags… head over to get entered and to see the great pictures she took of the bag I sent her!
The second Mimsi-related giveaway is going on over at MommyMandy.com - she is giving away an Alex backpack messenger bag - it’s a messenger bag that is convertible from backpack to shoulder sling. And it’s pink - that alone is worth checking it out!
Another giveaway that I came across today over at Just a mom’s take on things is for the cutest lunchbox notecards. If you ever struggle with writing notes for your kids lunchboxes, this could be your solution! Deb is giving away 2 sets of cards to 2 lucky winners. In case you don’t win, you can head over to KidsFunCards.com to order a set (or 3) of your own.
If you like goat milk soap, PJ over at Many Children, Many Hugs is giving away some! Head over and get yourself entered!
So what was the big announcement? Well, it’s not such a big one, I just wanted to pass on that I posted some pics of the Michelle Messenger Bag over at Design-My-Handbag.com. The picture has needed updating for about a year, and I haven’t managed to get a decent pic until now. I know… shameless self promotion… again. I’m just curious what everyone thinks of the bag!
The other big announcement is that I am getting my camera back tomorrow - hopefully it will be bringing my hubby home to me with it. Yay! Did you enjoy his guest blogging yesterday? See, I’m not the only writer in the house - in fact, I’m probably the worst writer in the bunch. In retrospect, I shouldn’t tell you that… then you might stop reading my miscellaneous blatherings altogether. Nah, y’all like it too much… right?
Well, I’ve got to go fix something for my kids to force down their throats, so I’ll catch you all later.
Keep it fabulous!
I’m sharing a guest blogger today… ramblings of another sort. Enjoy!
Today was, practically, my last day in Utrecht. I headed out early again, like last Sunday, only this time “who needs a map?” At this point, I can get around pretty easily. I sat on the bench immediately under a statue of a girl riding a horse, did a little work, waiting for the coffee shop to open. Once it did, I nursed a cappuccino for an hour or so, read a book. Sat. Thought.
I went back to the Dom Kirk and found an open door that was closed to me last Sunday. What’s a curious boy to do?
I walked through it.
And a beautiful, secluded, quiet courtyard opened up to me. With the towering gothic structure of the cathedral watching over me, I explored the vaulted hallways (pic attached) surrounding the courtyard (pic attached), which had a small burbling fountain in the center and a very pleasant-smelling herb garden filling the area.
I stayed there for awhile and thought about how small I really am…
Wandering around, I came across a huge marathon, with the main streets closed to the public. A small band was there, with trumpets, drums, trombones, and a huge tuba. Each of the band members was wearing bright red overalls with blue t-shirts…and traditional Dutch wooden shoes. They were playing non-stop as the runners passed by, encouraging them with happy tunes and occasional cheers. Their rendition of Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” was kinda funny. Da, da da, good times never seemed so good.
I only had a couple Euros left in my pocket, and knowing I’d get hungry later, I wandered back through the alleys back to the Oudegracht and found a small pizza shop on the water that had a TV crew in front of it last Sunday - I’m hoping it was because it was sooo good and not because it had “health issues.” I spent the last of my cash on a beautiful, magnificent, decadently yummy salami calzone, with soft thick pastry and fresh tomatoes, mushrooms, garlic and salami. It was well worth it. That’s the end of my eating today.
And a few last parting shots of Amsterdam… just because I want to add them.
Almost makes you want to live there… beautiful.
I have been bad… I haven’t written in almost 2 weeks!
To update you… no, I didn’t win miss congeniality, but I did come in 2nd! My pre-crowning myself just didn’t do the trick, unfortunately!
The reason for my lack of bloggy-ness? Well, there are actually 2.
Reason 1 - Eric went to Europe for business. Yup, left the girls & I here to make due on our own. Such fun, I know. He gets to traipse around Amsterdam (albeit all alone) while I get to stay here and deal with reason number 2. But, at least he sent home some pictures… I guess that’s the benefit of letting him take my camera. It did put me in a bit of a bind though when I neede to take pics of new bags! C’est la vie… his came ot pretty good. Here are a couple.
I can’t be too upset with him though - he tried to get out of it, and managed to shorten the trip by 4 days. I just wish I was there with him!
Reason number 2 - M had strep throat. Ugh. Her throat was so bad that there was blood on the cotton swabs when they did the throat culture! Poor li’l shicken. She was feeling rather ucky all weekend, and earlier this week - even stayed home from school a couple of days.
So, are my excuses valid? I have one more if not… due to having said sick child underfoot - or rather, on my lap - I didn’t get much done in the way of sewing up bags to ship out, so I have been down in the dungeon office sewing like a mad woman! Well, down sewing and up here making homemade applesauce and fresh bread. Ah, the life of a modern homemaker. Actually, it’s usually not that bad of a gig… sick children aside! Here is a pic of one of the new bags… it converts from a messenger sling to a backpack. Pretty cool, no?
As Eric was touring about Europe, we didn’t make it to a recent wedding… thereby missing out on seeing family & friends that we rarely get to catch up with (bummer). Sorry we didn’t make it to the big kick-off shindig, but I’m sure our presence won’t be a deal breaker.
On a side note… are you aware that you can now register for your honeymoon? Who ever heard of such a thing! I thought that was the groom’s responsibility! While looking through the registry, I noticed that they had registered for drinks for 2 ($20), hiking up to Diamond head for 2 ($45), a honeymoon suite ($160 per night), kayaking for 2, dinner for 2… you get the idea. While I see that this is a great way for the groom to save some dough on his part of the nuptials, it just seems… odd… to me. I guess I’m just a traditionalist. Although I’m not sure which I view as worse… registering for your honeymoon, or adding an x-box and games and a slew of dvd’s to your wedding registry. What part of setting up a home is video games, movies and electronics? It’s the guy’s part, I realize, but it seems to me that video games can take away from the special one-on-one time that newlywed couples revel in. Oy… what is this world coming to?
Off my soap box now… mini-rant over. See, that one was shorter than most! I’m getting better, less angst-y or something. Or maybe I’m just tired due to lack of sleep.
The weather here can’t make up it’s mind… yesterday I had to pull out the extra, extra long scarf and a jacket b/c it was so stinkin’ cold and rainy, yet today is sunny, clear skies and lovely. I even turned on the heater last night! Yes, me, the lady who doesn’t let it get touched until around Thanksgiving actually turned on the heater before October. It was cold! The wet, seep into your bones kind of cold that we just aren’t used to having until around December or so… or perhaps it is just that it has remained in the 60’s with sunny skies until yesterday, and the cold just felt all the more colder because of it. Or perhaps I just need to go pull out the winter blankets for the beds. Oh, and stop sleeping with 2 little people who kick my covers off ALL NIGHT LONG… well, in between kicking ME. See? No sleep.
So, here I sit in my thick, warm Thorlo socks (with cold toes) and a fleece vest over my long-sleeved t-shirt sending out a short update on our lives here. Convincing myself that I need to go exchange the pirate stickers I purchased yesterday for do;phin ones, as li’l bit changed her mind (again!) on her birthday theme. This is not normal for her… she usually has them planned out 2 years in advance - and sticks to the original plan! This year has been odd… first she couldn’t decide, then she saw a picture of a mermaid doll cake & wanted that, then we broadened it to encompass all of Peter Pan, so she could have mermaids, pirates, Indians, and fairies. That sounded like it would be easier, but apparently you just can’t find ANYTHING related to Peter Pan except Fairies these days… and that just wouldn’t fly with that one. Oh no. Her sister likes fairies, so she just can’t. Seriously, she can’t. In her words, she “HATES FAIRIES!!!!!” NO emphasis added from me, in fact, I may have left some out.
So, last night she changed her mind to dolphins. I can deal with that. An undersea adventure. Kewl. So I am off to Michael’s again to get inspiration. I know… I’ll be breaking the compact for this one. In my defense I will be exchanging things, rather than purchasing new things. Does that save me at all? And it’s for an 8 year old drama queen’s birthday - that should make it fall under the “necessary” heading! How about if everything I get is actually on sale? Clearanced out? Headed for the garbage bin? Yes, I’m justifying… but I don’t care at this point. I’m tired, remember? Ha, ha, ha.
So, I shall bring this post to a close… the day is reaching it’s middle, and I am still sitting here rather than being out there somewhere getting things done. I need to go & get back so I can get more bags made! I have a new wallet style on the agenda today… we’ll see how it all comes together!
Have a fabulous weekend! I hear it’s supposed to be sunny here… I guess that means I have to mow the grass…
First, I want to thank everyone who has voted for me! You are all so very sweet.
Second… for those who are on the fence, might I offer up a bribe? If you look me up on facebook, I will gladly send you sweet and savory treats! Chocolate Dipped Strawberries anyone? Animal Fries from In-N-Out perhaps? How about some yakisoba?
I can also send beautiful flowers…
And in the spirit of the competition, I actually made a little picture for you all! Yes, I have chopped off my hair since then, but it is still fairly recent
It’s not too presumptuous is it? I just really liked the crown… The sash proved to be a bit more difficult, but I made due.
For those that haven’t voted yet - or have no idea where to go - just head over to MomDot.com to place your vote today! Hurry - the voting ends on Sept 22nd (that is Monday).
Thank you so much, and I hope you all have a fabulous weekend..
We are going to hit on a topic that is near to my heart today… waste.
The average school child who brings their lunch to school generates 67 pounds of lunch related trash each school year. That is PER CHILD. The average American school generates more than 18,000 pounds of waste each year. 18,000 pounds!!! And that is just one school.
Wow. That’s pretty impressive, right? It’s downright scary!
So, what can we, as parents, do to help cut down on the amoung of waste generated by our kids? Well, we can start by packing a lunch for our kids - that’s the healthy part - but make sure that we pack it into a container that will not generate waste!
I know, you walk through the grocery store and you see all of those easy, single-serve packages of stuff that your kids beg to have in their lunch, and it’s tempting! Believe me, I know the temptation! But I have found that with the right lunchbox system, I can make sure that my girls are getting a healthy, balanced lunch and cutting down on the waste!
What’s the secret?
First, I made sure that they have lunchboxes that either have compartments for everything, or that they are able to hold the containers I can re-use.
Our favorite lunchbox is the Laptop Lunchbox. I like them so much that I got one for my hubby too. They come with 2 large and 2 small containers, a mini container with a lid and a fork and spoon. One of the large containers has a sealing lid, so you can send “wet” things in there - applesauce, yogurt, etc.
laptop lunchbox
Yes, they are plastic, but they are tested to make sure that it is food safe. Laptop Lunches was started by 2 moms who wanted to cut down on waste and find a better alternative.
One thing that I love about them is that I feel this sense of obligation to put something healthy into each container. This helps me make sure that I get a good, balanced, healthy meal each day to send with them.
We picked up a couple of fabric bags that they carry them in each day, and we toss in a cloth napkin and a milk or their Sigg water bottles for a beverage.
Happy Balloon Bento Box
The other lunchboxes that we use come to us from Asia. I found some adorable bento boxes at Daiso for a few dollars each and the girls love to use them. The ones we use most are 2 levels with a lid for each. I put the sandwich in on e level, and put the rest of the goodies in the other. Ours have a strap that keeps them closed, but there are many styles that are self-locking. A fun thing about these in particular, is that they have a space set aside for the matching chopsticks to just fit inside the lid. My daughter loves anything Chinese (well, Asian, actually!) so this just made her day.
If you look online or have an Asian market nearby, there is a plethora of fun little things that you can use in a bento box - the Japanese use them daily, and they get quite creative with some of their lunches. As you can see above, these small boxes can hold quite a bit of food.
Now that we have the container squared away, what do we put inside? Think bulk. Think homemade. I buy a large jar of applesauce (or make it) and put it into smaller containers to send to school. I buy a large container of plain or vanilla yogurt and add some fruit to it in a smaller container to take to school. I buy lunchmeat and portion it out for the week - then freeze the rest for another week. I bake bread once a week, and occasionall bake muffins or cookies. I make granola. I slice up farm fresh veggies.
Each day they get a sandwich, some veggie sticks and dip, a treat - cookie, yogurt, applesauce, poki stick, etc - and either milk (that doesn’t have to be refrigerated) or water in their Sigg’s. I will usually toss in some fresh fruit too. All of this goes into their lunchbox, the box goes into the bag with a napkin and drink, and they are good to go! The only thing that goes into the trash is their milk carton.
On the rare occasions that I use a “traditional” lunchbox, I have some small Tupperware containers that everything goes into. Snack cups and sandwich keepers work great, and I have yet to have either of the girls forget to bring something home. They remember to put everything back into the bag, and their school has a big bin outside each classroom for lunchboxes to go into.
When I figure that our school lunch program increased the cost to $2.75 per student, per day this year, I figure that I am saving a few dollars, and my kids aren’t eating chicken nuggets and pizza every day. Fortunately, the split is about 50/50 between kids that bring lunch and kids that are “hot lunch” so they don’t feel weird about being the only ones eating a cold lunch.
Is this what we really want them to eat?
So, skip the individual sized packages and send reusable containers with your kids to hold their lunch. Get creative with it! You may just surprise yourself with what you find to use! Just don’t fall into the ziploc bag rut now that you have cut out wasteful packaging… that would be a bit redundant, no?
Stumble It!
