20 Second Testimonies

So I have been off the blogosphere radar for a little while now, with my computer crashing, my ministerial duties and a my children's god-parents in town from New Zealand it's been CRAZY! Seriously I think I'm making use of every single minute in the day to maximize my potential as super mom, it's really ridiculous, and I'm happy to say won't be carrying on this way forever!


BUT all that is to say, I couldn't wait to get online this morning and share with you all this new little "activity" (thanks Speeds) that I came up with.... I called it a game and I was reminded by my dear friend Speeds after we had completed my game that really it was an activity... so the idea... I think lots of us struggle with how to cultivate a culture where we talk about our faith and what God is doing in our lives freely, so I came up with 20 second testimonies.... Hebrews 10:23-25 was my inspiration...



Hebrews 10:23 NLT - Without wavering, let us hold tightly to the hope we say we have, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. 24 - Think of ways to encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds. 25- And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near.


So next time you're in a group setting or even one on one with someone, ask your friends to share in 20 seconds a neat story of God's power in their lives or a lesson that they've been learning recently. It's really a non threatening way to share what God has been doing in their lives... any one can manage 20 seconds... right? And most people once they get going can offer way more than 20 seconds... It's so important to build up one another and I think we can get really cynical and doubt God sometimes, but when we hear what He's doing in our friends lives, it can be so encouraging... Soooo stir it up... get the love and the faith flowing! Have the courage to present your friends with 20 second testimonies... you'll be so blessed and you'll help your friends remember what it's really all about!

CRASH!

I've always hated dust! I hate that moments after I've dusted my old house it has returned, I dust and I dust, and I'm dusted! And now I have even more reason to hate it! My computer has crashed! And the reason is DUST! So now, I'm going to be swallowed whole, by re-configuring my new computer with my old stuff.... argh! It's so inconvenient to have all this convenience!
So blog, I'll see you around sometime...

1940s House

I just finished watching a BBC program called 1940s House . If you haven't seen this amazing social experiment, it is worth every minute of it's 3 hours! I can say that I was truly ignorant of how life was for people during the war... I think for me I've always looked back with such an idilic perspective, I knew that people had to sacrifice and work hard, but I really had no idea to what lengths people went to make it during WWII! In this miniseries this family, the Hymers, applied to live in a house that was completely restored to late 30's early 40's fashion, which of course was better than disneyland for me! And they we're all given clothes and haircuts... no detail was missed. They even set up a store for them to shop at (which by the way, rarely had much in it!) and they had to make a bomb shelter and do regular bomb raiding exercises... it was wild!
The biggest reason I wanted to post about this show, was how incredibly inspiring it was to see how people went above and beyond the call of duty whilst living on practically nothing. This family, the Hymers, we're totally surprised by how hard things were and from time to time wanted to quit. But they stuck with it, and they were definately changed by the experience!

I've always thought that I would have been a totally awesome home front wife, but man I can't believe how hard it was for them... I have this idea that it would be so awesome to have my victory garden and make every meal from scratch everyday... all in my cute little house dress with my snood on and my red lips... (which they called the red badge of courage)
But I totally had the picture all wrong... imagine getting called in to your bomb shelter 17 times in one day! Try making a meal that day, let alone from scratch... so your in your bomb shelter for the 10th time that day and all you've managed to eat is some gray bread from the day before and your kids are crying that they're hungry and you can't get in to make them anything else... and then it hits you that you need to go to the bathroom... all while you hear bombs going off in the not too far distance....oh man!


I've always known that if a senario like WWII were to errupt today, we would be in serious trouble, because there are not many left today that would sacrifice like people did back then... but now after seeing this I know that we could do it, it's just a matter of buckling down and pushing hard through tough times...

So great! Get it on Netflix you won't be sorry... and you WILL look at your grandma and grandpa differently after this!

Proof!

So I had mentioned before that I had a fruit stand in front of my house, and any of you who have been over in the last few months, know that I'm not a bold face lier... but for the rest of you, here's the proof....

See you CAN trust your Old Time friend... and now you can buy fruit from her too! I know it's crazy! But maybe we'll cure world hunger with the proceeds or send Emmy to swim class so she doesn't "drain"...