G is for Giants

It seems like I'm always buying someone new shoes or a pair of pants to replace the high waters they're shlubbing around in.  I'm pretty sure they are going to be giants.  Well, maybe they already are.  Meet my kids, the BFGs.

E is for Evangelism ~ Operation Christmas Child

National Collection Week for Operation Christmas Child starts on Monday.  Not sure what Operation Christmas Child is?  It's an arm of Samaritan's Purse.


From the Samaritan's Purse website:

Mission Statement

Samaritan’s Purse is a nondenominational evangelical Christian organization providing spiritual and physical aid to hurting people around the world. Since 1970, Samaritan’s Purse has helped meet needs of people who are victims of war, poverty, natural disasters, disease, and famine with the purpose of sharing God’s love through His Son, Jesus Christ. The organization serves the church worldwide to promote the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

They provide assistance to people in need around the world.  By responding to natural disaster sites, war torn environments, and more, they are able to share the Good News to hurting men, women, and children.  They help people rebuild, give medical care, work with wounded US veterans and their spouses, train people to care for animals and plants to provide food and a livelihood to individuals and their neighbors, greatly improving their quality of life.  And really, that's just a small sample of the many things Samaritan's Purse does.

Operation Christmas Child is a ministry that reaches kids ages 2-14 around the world.  With the gift of a shoebox, the door is opened for the eternal gift of the gospel.  Children receive a gift, prayerfully and lovingly packed by other children, families, and churches.  Items packed generally include school supplies (paper, pencils, crayons, coloring books), hygiene items (soap, washcloths, tooth brushes), clothing (a shirt, socks, underpants, shoes), and toys (a slinky, whistle, cards, dolls, soccer ball with pump).

We've packed shoeboxes almost every year since the bigger littles were baby punks.  It's part of what we do each fall now and I think they would be pretty disappointed if they didn't get to choose toys and games to include in each box.  We go through our stash of small toys, tools, games, and gadgets and pack items in each box very intentionally.

Some items are more expensive than others, but there are often sales on most items you might want.  I never imagined I could afford soccer balls and pumps for boxes, but I found a sale last year for $2.50 for real soccer balls.  Then I shopped around for inexpensive, but sturdy, ball pumps.  I've purchased small fleece blankets (originally $5, on sale for $2.50 or less) and with some creative folding, rolling, and packing, they are easy to fit in a shoebox without displacing other important items.  Sometimes, a great toy assortment or small stuffed animals become reasonably priced.  I don't get "cheap" toys, but rather items at a good price.  I figure, if my punks would break a toy in ten minutes, a lot of other punks would break the toy in ten minutes.  There's no fun in broken toys.

It's just as much fun to pack for older children as it is for the littles.  I like getting to put a bit more thought into what a 13 year old might be interested in as opposed to a six year old.  I've included small tool kits for boys and crochet hooks and yarn for girls.  Somewhere, on the great wide interwebs, once upon a time, I found crochet instructions with NO WORDS, so no language barrier.  In just pictures, girls can learn to crochet basic items.  The source of that document is no longer on the internet, but it has me thinking of other things that can be taught in photos.


We make purchases year round.  It makes it a lot easier to pack more boxes without a big expense all at once.  I don't follow the Samaritan's Purse shopping schedule; I just purchase whatever I see on sale (shoes, clothes, toys, and school supplies) at the end of the season, then add washcloths, soap, and toothbrushes.  This year, I had so many little girls' shoes, and shirts for both boys and girls I was able to pass them on to a church to include in their boxes.   I had thought about keeping some for next year, when I heard the Slugs & Bugs Sing the Bible version of Matthew 6:19-21 and Luke 3:11 decided to get them sent out this year.  I know I'll find more bargains for next fall.



Another great feature of the Operation Christmas Child ministry is that we can track our shoeboxes.  By paying the reasonable shipping fee online, we can print labels for our boxes which can be scanned and we are emailed the country of the box's final destination.  Some years, all of our boxes go to the same country and other years we've had boxes head to as many as four different countries.  Only once have we not found out where our box went and we learned it went to a "hard to reach" area.  This means the final destination can't be revealed for safety reasons.  I imagine that may be one of the places of greatest need for the gospel message.

Check out Samaritan's Purse to see what happens to a shoebox as it travels from your home to a child in need somewhere in the world.





Find drop off locations and times for your area.

#ipackedashoebox

C is for Cuddle

Earlier this year, we celebrated five years with a member of the family.  No, not Merrick.  It was BooBear.  Merrick loves his little friend that he got from Grandma of the Forest around his first Easter.  We had a nice little birthday party with a balloon and presents for BooBear.  He invited his friend Barnabas, too.

Sadly, as BooBear has gotten older, he has needed some repair.  We've looked high and low for a replacement bear, but never could find one.  I dread the day when BooBear can't be repaired again.  But in the meantime, he is a great cuddler.

Steamtown Part 1 ~ Field Trip Friday {AKA V is for Vacation}

A couple of weeks ago (or way more now!), I told you about the trip we took to Animal Adventure Park in Harpursville, NY.  While we really enjoyed seeing April the Giraffe, Oliver, and Tajiri, and the other animals, the main vacation destination was Steamtown in Scranton, PA.  I may have mentioned a time or two that the punks [warning: understatement ahead] like trains.  Dad planned the whole trip as a surprise.  And happily, Xav is a fourth grader and Steamtown is managed by the National Park Service.  That means we all received FREE admission through the Every Kid in a Park program.  Truthfully, admission isn't that high anyway.  The entrance fee was, surprisingly, only $7 per person for ages 16+.  Extra charges applied only to the Scranton Limited train ride which was $5 each, ages 6+.

Today, I'm just sharing the basics for this destination.  There was FAR too much to cover in one post.

First, we drove to Scranton on the 4th of July.  It was not as terrible as you might imagine and that was probably due to the fact it was a Tuesday.  We stayed at a hotel with a pool and that is basically enough to keep the boys happy.   HOWEVER, we were able to see multiple firework shows throughout the town from both the pool and our room.

The punks didn't actually know in advance where we would be going.  We told them before bed that night and, let's just say the response left a lot to be desired.  They were so "meh" about the whole thing.  All I did was hope they would be way more excited when they actually got it.  Merrick also got a little surprise that night.  He got a cute little indoor tent in which to spend the night.  Three boys in a queen size bed is a no go.  Two in the same bed leads to plenty of kicking, pushing, and growling until sleep is finally reached.

In the morning, we had breakfast at Dunkin' Donuts just down the road, then we headed straight to Steamtown.  I wish I had a video of the punks' reactions!  My preteen boys, literally, squee-ed when they got the first glimpse in the parking lot.  "It's the Big Boy, the Union Pacific Big Boy!"  Sadly, I thought the Big Boy was in pretty rough shape.  The boys thought it was the most incredible thing they'd ever seen.  Maybe it was... so far!

We didn't stay outside for long, though.  We had a train to catch!  Xav got his official "every kid in a park" card, we paid for our train tickets and headed inside.  We didn't have long to wait for our train ride and since that was almost the first thing we did there, I'm including it here.  Everything else we did will be in next week's Steamtown Part 2 post.

First, let me tell you, I was *shocked* to learn that, until the 1980s, Steamtown was located in Vermont!  Then the funniest thing happened.  Our guide turned out to be from Vermont and, until a few years ago, worked for the same company Daddy did.  Small world.

This is what happens when you wait too long to write up your post, you forget details.  I could research these details, but since I'm not finding them quickly, I'm just going to have to let them go.  *tries not to sing*  You can thank me later.  Anyway, we learned about the family who ran the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad.  This was one of the earliest rail lines in northeastern Pennsylvania.

This Ramada Inn used to be the Train Station.  We didn't go inside, but did see some pictures online.  The family certainly believed in doing things up lavish-like.

We need a Part 2 post because I took so many pictures of our day, it wasn't even funny, but I knew I'd need them for the Train class at our co-op.  *justifies*



Homeschool Discount -Discount for 4th graders and their families, but not for homeschoolers specifically.  Reasonably priced, either way.
Educational - History, Science, Technology, Art, Math (in the gift shop!)
Family Oriented - Yes.
Duration of Visit - 6 hours+.

W is for Water Park

Why, yes.  Yes I am still working on my ABCs.  Just a few more to go! 

My mother-in-law gave us some money to do *something* with.  (Don't you love when Grandma's do that?)  So we got passes for the boys to a water park.  Well, it's way more than that, but that's mostly all we use it for.  We have so much fun when we go, but the weather hasn't been great this summer.  If it isn't cold, it's been raining or thundering.  Or all of the above!  If summer actually arrives in August, we are ready!

There are some dry spaces we can access when it isn't pool weather.

Some odd things to explore.

And pool space for every age.  Even Merrick and I have gone down this insane slide!

X is for X'ed Out

This post makes me so heartbroken to write.  Today, I discovered a photograph that just a couple of days ago had been on the bookshelf by my bed.  It's now a wrinkled mangled mess.  Some very angry/sad/frustrated child was obviously not happy with me.

Micah and I disagree on who is likely the culprit.  I'm sure it will all become clear in the morning.  sigh...

P is for Peanut Butter Cup

Those letters I skipped in the ABC series?  Well, I'm determined to get them all in.  You'll just see random letters on random days as I get a word chosen or a post written.  For now, enjoy this "blast from the past."

Introduced the kids to these.  Xav loves the old commercials.  And now he gets it when I shout, "You gotcher chocolate in my peanut butter!"





Watch them all.  Classic!

R is for Repentant

One day, one terrible day, I was angry at one of the kids.  I think I may have actually been angry at the world that day.  I was trying to get them to do the bedtime things that need doing and one poor soul was in the living room.  I had him pick up something he didn't get out and he did, cheerfully for him.  I thanked him, I really did.  I was trying to be appreciative.  Then I asked him to do one other related thing.  He ignored me and went to "take care of" something else that didn't need taking care of.  So I stopped him and redirected him to what I wanted done.  One thing leads to another.  He is doing this mindless fluttering around thing he does when he is stressed and I am snapping.  Suddenly, my husband is yelling.  At *me*.

Yeah.  Low moment.  And now I'm "explaining" myself and my frustration.  And he is explaining louder.  We rarely argue.  It was so unusual, that said child split at the first chance.  As soon as bedtime was finished, I went and got in the shower.  Now, the shower is *my* place.  It's where I unwind.  I clean my spirit in there.  If I feel like crying, that's where I let it out.  I talk to God and no one is interrupting us with ridiculous demands.

But...  This time was different.  I was angry.  I was angry that my kids couldn't follow simple instructions.  I was angry that my husband didn't understand (and I maybe felt he might be a bit hypocritical).  I was angry at myself for feeling so angry.  I didn't cry.  I just didn't want to cry.  I talked to God.  I told Him I just didn't feel sorry.  I told Him my anger and pride were getting in the way of me being sorry.  I told Him I wanted to be sorry, I just didn't feel like it right then.  I knew my pride was hurting me.

As I turned off the water, I suddenly felt better.  It was like my pride and anger had surrendered to the King.  I knew I sometimes I am demanding.  I knew sometimes said child has a hard time listening or focusing or whatever the deal is.  I knew my husband is human.  Just like me.  We are all doing the best we can (most of the time).  There was nothing wrong with lovingly pointing my flaw out to me, I just couldn't listen right then.

I just couldn't listen right then.

How many times do I keep on harping when the kids have stopped hearing me?

My pride was in the way.

I could not let go and be remorseful because my pride was in the way.

I surrendered.

I was sorry and I cried and I repented.  And I know my Father forgave me.


2 Cor 7:9-10
⁹ yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. ¹⁰ Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

This post is part of Blogging Through the Alphabet with Annette and Amanda.  I'm late posting R, but I think it's a good message and I really needed to click "Publish" and get it up there.  Thanks for reading.

T is for Time Changer

One of my favorite Christian films ever is Time Changer.  I think I've mentioned it before.  The movie was released in 2002.  It takes place in the year 1890.  Well, sort of.  It starts out then, but a Biblical scholar, played by D. David Morin, is sent into the future by a colleague.  He soon learns that teaching children morals without teaching about Jesus Christ leads to terrible changes in the world as he knew it.  Even in the modern church, he is startled by the actions of members of the congregation.

The cast is actually pretty good (Gavin McLeod, Hal Linden, Jennifer O'Neill, and Paul Rodriguez), so the acting is better than a lot of older Christian films and TV shows.

I love time travel films and this was no exception.  I enjoy Christian films and this one did not let me down.  There are a lot of moments while Russell Carlisle is struggling to understand this future and all of the strange things he sees.  Some of it is pretty humorous.  Not "guffaw" funny, but humorous.

One of my favorite lines is “Satan is not against good morals, he’s against Jesus Christ.”



Anyway, it's a film I enjoyed and every now and then, it reappears on Netflix and I watch it.  It's one of those movies that, once you see it a few times, you can do something else in the room and follow along without worrying that you've missed anything.

If you're looking for a more recent, low budget Christian flick, bring the time machine back to 2016 and watch The Resurrection of Gavin Stone.  We just watched that and I really enjoyed it.  Another predictable plot, but with some fun twists and great characters.

S is for Sabotage

By the time this post is published, it will be months later.  But I want to talk about how we sabotage ourselves.

You all know about my weight loss journey.  My ups, my downs, my stagnated progress.  Sometimes, a small gain just happens even when you're working really hard and other times, you step on the scale at a meeting and, well, you just know.  You know exactly what you did to yourself this week.  You can say, "It's swelling." or "I don't know what happened." or "It must be muscle gain."  But, girl, you *know*.  You can lie to the app and your friend, but you *cannot* lie to yourself.

The scale at my meeting is consistently about 4 pounds higher than at home.  It stinks, but it's a fact.  So, one week, I was almost in *Onederland* at home and I knew, that week I'd be hitting it.  In fact, the day after weigh in I weighed in at 199.8!  It had been a good 3 years, maybe more since I was under 200.  I was pretty excited.  And then I spent the *entire* week stuffing my face.  It was horrific.  I couldn't stop.  I didn't *want* to stop, even though I knew I was going to be so angry at myself all week.  And I would seriously kick myself on Saturday.

My heart hurts for the girl who sometimes hates herself so much that she sabotages her health and happiness like this.  I'm hoping when this posts, it will be such a long ago bunch of silliness.  I hope I will be able to say I didn't do this again.  Hopefully.

Don't hurt yourselves.  Love yourselves.

Q is for beQueathing a Legacy

Here we are blogging through the alphabet.  Q is late.  So are a few other letters.  I told you, sometimes the letters are easy, sometimes not so much.  Q was not easy until this week.  Well, with a bit of cheating, Q was easy this week.

This week, my grandma died.  The last of my grandparents.  She has been ailing for a long time.  Had she lived just another month, she would have been NINETY-SEVEN years old.  Someone told me to "cherish the memories" I have of her.  I can't help but juxtapose my memories of this grandma against my memories of my other grandma.  Every person is different and shows love in different ways.  My grandmas were night and day.  One loved to spend time with the grandkids, the other barely seemed to notice us.

When I look back, the one thing I know is that one loved me as much as any human could love another.   And I do not have any idea if the other grandmother had any strong feelings for me one way or the other.

To beQueath something is to pass something from one person to another (generally by a will).

A legacy is a gift left via a will, an inheritance or birthright.

I cannot think of a better gift to leave to your family than for them to know how very much you love them. 

If you think there is any question in the minds of your children or grandchildren that you love them, please take the time to build those relationships.  Don't leave them wondering if, or flat out doubting that, you have real feelings for them.  My boys are so blessed.  They have three sets of grandparents who talk to them and play with them.  We don't see them all the time because of distance, but the time spent is usually pretty high quality.  I don't think a single one of the punks will ever think that they weren't loved by their grandparents.

Day 2 N is for Notes ~ Scripture Memorization

Welcome back to Day 2 of Hiding the Word in Their Hearts!

One thing I know really helps *me* memorize a verse is saying it frequently throughout the day.  The most likely way I will do that is if I see it regularly.  For years now, I've added notes to the bathroom mirror.  I've used the markers and crayons that crayola makes to write on glass, but usually all that takes is one shower to cause it to run and make a mess.  I started making post it notes.  Sometimes, they are a new verse I want to memorize and sometimes, they are of an uplifting or encouraging verse that I already know, but may need to be reminded of.

I also have this verse with a picture of my boys right where I see it every morning when I get dressed.

 Confession:  That is not the whole picture.  Some days are rough.

And this one hangs on our fridge.

At Walmart, I found this sweet box of cards to be colored.  I like coloring, but I don't do it often.  It seems sort of like the kind of thing someone with scads of free time can do.  I get out my special Faber-Castell pencils and no one else can use them.  :)

We know repetition aids with memory, so there's no wrong way to make notes for yourself or your family.  Any place in your house or car or work that you will look at regularly is a *perfect* place for scriptural encouragement.

M is for Mud Season

Some weeks blogging through the alphabet is planned out months in advance.  Some weeks, it takes some serious thinking.  In Vermont, the logical M word would be maple and I seriously thought about it.  After all, Maple Openhouses were held at Sugar Shacks all over the state just a couple of weeks ago.  But then, *this* just happened.  (PS.  I'll tell you all about maple another day.)

Vermont has six official seasons.

1. Spring
2. Summer
3. Fall/Autumn
4. Stick Season (That time between the end of September/mid October when all the leaves have fallen and when winter finally arrives.) 
5. Winter
6. and Mud Season

Mud season is a lovely time of year, often warming up into the 30s-50s, rainy, gray, and brown.  The only splash of color in mud season is a daffodil or crocus.  Which reminds me, we need to plant more spring bulbs this year.  We get a nice long rainy season each spring here in Vermont, but we also have the winter thaw.  There is a ton of liquid running off hills and seeping up out of the ground as the thaw line moves through layers of dirt and clay.

I'm sure you can imagine what that means to a dirt road.  Or maybe you can't, so I'm here to show you.

These are actual pictures from my road.  We were the third car *that day* to get pulled out of that exact spot!

This week, I heard the grader shortly after I got up.  I like the sound of the grader in the spring.  The driver spent about half an hour working on a particularly rough spot in front of the neighbor's house.  When he left, it was only superficially improved.  Sadly.  I think the town purchased a gravel pit *just* for this road.  I'm sure that's not true, but it sure seems like it.

Later, that same morning, I came home to a road closed sign.  I decided that the work being done was *probably* at the same area on the other side of my house, so I took the chance.  Thankfully, I was right.  And this is what we found.

Merrick spent some time "helping" by tossing one small rock at a time into the pile of stone being spread on the road.  Don't worry.  No equipment was running at the time.  We were waiting for one of several loads of very large stone to be delivered.  I was amazed at how much clay was under the road.  And equally surprised to see a fountain of water when the stones were being tamped down.

This is what the road looks like here now.   Smooth....

Too bad the rest of our road wasn't as nice.  :)

Join us every week at A Net in Time and Hopkins Homeschool for Blogging Through the Alphabet!

L is for Lies

Some weeks the Letter of the Week just falls into my brain and I shout: A-HA!  Other weeks, I can never think of a word.  This week, it was the former.

I was in the car, listening to K-Love.  I didn't catch the entire segment, but this caller basically said, "Stop buying the lies, because the Truth is free."

Pretty excellent advice.

Satan cannot create.  He can only twist and warp what is true.  He isn't called the father of lies for nothing.

In John 8, Jesus said:

⁴⁰ But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.
⁴¹ Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.
⁴² Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
⁴³ Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.
⁴⁴ Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
⁴⁵ And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.

As homeschoolers, I think we look at everyone's blogs or Facebook posts and believe a lot of lies.

• Her kids are so much (smarter, well-behaved, godly) than mine.
• That may be somewhat true, but so what?  You're kids are uniquely them.  There are no other kids like them.  And that's good.  If you think they could use a bit more discipline or a tutor, or a dose of Biblical teaching, then *do* it.  But don't compare them to others.  It just isn't fair to them.
• Her house is immaculate.
• Maybe so.  Or maybe she enlists the kids' help before a get together.  Maybe she just spent five weeks purging her home of the excess so she can feel comfortable and in control of her home.  Don't compare your home to hers.  Find contentment in what you have and do what you need to do to get your home to a point that makes you happy.
• She always looks amazing.
• If you feel frumpy, get a lovely haircut.  But really, mama, you are pretty amazing yourself.  Just the way you are,  My friends, Bob and Larry, always used to tell me, "God made you special and He loves you very much."
• Her marriage is perfect.
• Maybe.  Maybe yours is, too.  Perfect for you.  

We have to stop believing the lies.  The things that hurt us and worry us the most are, quite likely the areas we need to focus on for a season.  Let go of what you can and banish those lies, mama.

What are some of the lies you believe?  Take your receipt and return them to their maker.

J is for Me {5Things}

I've never done this before, but today I'm writing about myself, Jodi.  I've told you things about me and a bit of my weight loss journey.  I've told you my #OneWord a few times.  My About Me blurb just says, "I'm a homeschooling, Jesus loving, wife and mother. I'm Learning to be a Light."  Hmm... that's pretty short and vague.  I might need to update that.

A rare sight on my blog.  Me!

So, here's J is for Jodi and Journey.

Today, I'm sharing #5Things about me and expanding on the About Me section.

1. Homeschooling.  I started homeschooling *many* years ago (the bigger will be 32 this year).  He belonged to a program through our school in NY where he attended classes at the vocational facility 8th grade through high school.  The problem started when the district decided to save some money and not send that class to the BOCES campus and educated them in town.  They did not take gym.  For years.  I knew this would not go well, but I *assumed* they had figured this all out.  I was wrong.  He was starting 11th grade when we moved to another district and (surprise, surprise) he did not have the required PE credits to graduate on time.  Suddenly, I have a kid in 11th grade taking triple gym classes (12th grade would have been double PE).  I asked about other ways he could earn the credits and was told classes at the Y could substitute for the missed credits.  When it was time to get the credits at the end of the semester, they would not award them.  So, I pulled him from school and began our homeschool journey.  A few months later when we moved to Vermont, he took his GED and the kid who was failing chemistry because he did not have a free period for labs, now had an HSE diploma with a nice high score attached to it.

That was it for us.  Micah was completely OK with me staying home once we started having children.  He was "co-op schooled" in NY for grade school, so had a pretty good idea how this would all go.

2. Jesus loving.  I struggle with this one a lot.  Not the loving Jesus part, but the *living* Jesus part.  Seeing all the Christian self-help books available out there, I'd guess I'm not alone.

3. Wife.  I have the most amazing husband.  He's smart and loving.  He's the hardest worker I know.  And he's *funny*!  He makes me laugh every day!  The wife part, well, I'm not great, but I like to think I bring him a bit of joy and make his days a bit easier, too.  Most of the time.

4. Mom.  The bigger, the bigger littles (or middles, I guess), and the little (who also is not so little anymore) call me Old Lady, Ma, Mom, Mommy, Mama, The Meanest Mom in the World...  The days are monotonous and long, I won't lie.  The years are incredible.  The fears seem overwhelming.  I've stopped praying for God to make me a better mother and helping the kids control themselves and have started praying for God to help me defeat my fears *through Him*.  It feels good.  When I remember to pray...

5. Learning to be a Light.  I actually started a blog on this.  And promptly stopped writing in it.  I keep pretty much everything here on Insane in the Mombrain now.  It was a prettier, girlier blog than this one!  I liked my post on Lent over there.  (It isn't difficult to spot, I only have two posts up!)

So, there you have it, a bit about me.



Check out the rest of us, blogging our way through the alphabet.

H is for Hidden Sin

I was making myself the most beautiful salad, loaded with veggies, an egg, craisins...  Yum!  As I sliced into this gorgeous bell pepper, {GAH!} rotten and nasty inside.  I had specifically chosen this particular pepper because it was the nicest one in the produce aisle.  Pleh.

Our sin is like that.  Darkness lurks in our hearts.  While we are often able to conceal sin from other people, even those who are quite close to us, we cannot shroud our wrongdoings from the One who created us.

In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve hid from God.  God called out to them, "Where are you?"  I'm pretty sure He knew where they were.  Nothing is not known to Him.  He knows every secret sin in our hearts.  There is no hiding from the Creator of all.

Thanks to A Net In Time and Hopkins Homeschool for hosting this Blogging Through the Alphabet run.


My other H post:
Helpful

G is for... Chocolate!

No.  That isn't a typo.  G *is* for chocolate, really Good Chocolate.  Namely Ghiradelli chocolate.  Aaaand Lindt.  And Ferrero Roche and Rondnoir.  And...  You get the gist. 

You may have noticed I like chocolate quite a bit.  I managed to run a series about hot cocoa one winter, for crying out loud.  I eat cocoa roasted almonds.  I drink chocolate mint tea.  I eat chocolate every. single. day.  I would say chocolate is *very* responsible for my slow weight loss.  No.  Not chocolate, but the *love* of chocolate.  (See what I did there?)

Chocolate means way too much to me.  As yesterday was Ash Wednesday, or the first day of Lent, I gave up chocolate.

Some of the chocolate in my house right now.

I only put one of each thing in there, but there are BAGS of tasty chocolate in this house.  You may have noticed there is no actual high quality chocolate in this pile.  That is because I ate it.  I literally ate every piece of Good chocolate in the house on Monday and Tuesday (except for the ice cream and almonds).  I also am out of chocolate mint tea.  Thinking about my binge session just makes me want to cry.  I don't even know what is the saddest part.

• I wanted the chocolate so much, I ate it before Lent started.
• I binged so I could have it *all*.
• I sabotaged my weight loss and health.
• I did not even take the time to enjoy it.

Lately, I've been thinking about persecuted Christians.  I wonder if I could be strong enough to be true to Christ if this thing or that thing happened.  My heart breaks for the people who have to make those decisions.  Then, here it was, the first day of Lent, and my brain actually for one minute said, "Screw it.  I'm not Catholic.  Forget this Lent stuff.  I'm going to eat that chocolate."  I was shocked at what was in my brain.  For a split second, I wasn't even feeling willing to GIVE UP CHOCOLATE for 40 days.

Then I thought about every single thing Christ did for me.  ME.  The girl who contemplates giving up on giving up chocolate on the first day of Lent.  And I thought.  Man, "that girl" really needs her some Jesus.

God help me.  Please.

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Gentle