Best break of the day...

If you give a 16-year-old a driver's license...

... and send her with her brothers to Target for milk, you get...

...milk, plus Perry the Platypus...

... who changes into Agent Perry...

... and maybe even the dinosaur from Toy Story, complete
with sound effects. Just squeeze.

What's blessing my heart right now?

Kelsey just got home from the Camp Caleb mission trip. They went to Islamorada, FL, and helped with VBS for migrant workers' kids. She had a great time loving on the kids. We are so proud of her, and we all missed her terribly.

My heart's blessed that she's home and blessed that she got to spend the week with Sara, who leaves for college in a few weeks. For nearly a decade, I've gauged where Kelsey is heading by where Sara is now. I've learned two things: 1) time really DOES fly, and 2) we have been blessed to have Sara set the example for how to grow into a young woman who loves Jesus and lives to serve Him by serving others. She has been an awesome encouragement to Kelsey. There aren't a lot of young women who take time to pour into the lives of girls a step or two behind them in the walk through the teen years.

I stand in awe of God's goodness to raise up girls like Sara and Kelsey who love Jesus and others. It blesses my heart.

Confession...

I have never been to Trader Joe's.

Collective Gasp.

Just in case you were wondering...

... how the surfing is at CB today...




Go to Swellinfo.com for free local
Surf Forecasts, Surf Reports, Surf / Swell timelines, and more.

You had me at "Overwhelmed"...

Overwhelmed. Miserable. Exhausted. We know the feeling well. As wives and mothers with toddlers and teenagers, and husbands who serve as local church pastors, we often feel pulled in five directions at once. We've learned there is no such thing as simply a busy month or a busy year. It's a busy life, pure and simple. Around every corner is another potential hospitality, another counseling opportunity, another church meeting, another diaper to change or carpool to run.

But we also have learned from God's Word that it is possible to deal with life's demands without becoming overwhelmed, miserable, and exhausted. We can surmount the numerous responsibilities that threaten to wear us down. More than that, we can actually do all that God has called us to do.

"Ha," you laugh. "You've got to be joking! Do it all? You haven't seen my to-do list. It's longer than an unwound roll of toilet paper!"

A fantastic claim, we know. But it's true. We can accomplish everything God has ordained for us to do in this life. (Hint: It's probably not half of what's on your to-do list.) And we an do it in a peaceful, joyful manner and get sufficient rest besides.

With encouragement like that in the introduction, I was scared NOT to read the rest of this book. For reals.

Plus, it's only 95-ish pages of nice-sized print, written in a conversational tone, to make for a solid, quick read, which is only fitting, dontchathink, for a book about time management.

True to all Mahaney-women books I've read (Feminine Appeal and Girl Talk), this book is grounded in God's Word. It's not another time management program (thank goodness), but a reminder of godly principles that underlie a life well-lived for His glory.

I've always believed that the Bible is the handbook for all of life. You know, the Creator wrote it and revealed everything we need to know to live life on His earth well. It's essential reading. Yet sometimes, OK... a lot, I find myself benefiting from other women who are "a little further down the road" than I am. Their insights go a long way towards unlocking the practical applications of God's Word.

For this book Carolyn, Nicole, Kristin, and Janelle take Ephesians 5:15-16 -- "Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil." -- and unpack it for those of us who are temporally-challenged. Based on five tips for making the most of 24/7/365, the book is full of advice and encouragement to choose the best bargains in exchange for our time in a manner similar to the way we choose great deals in exchange for our dollars. Actually 24/7/365 isn't totally accurate. These uber-smart ladies base the day on 16 waking hours. Wow, could I have used that concept this past year of teaching!

And yet, our God is the Redeemer of all things, including time. What great news! I'm setting the alarm for 5AM, printing out the One Year Bible Reading Plan, and scheduling a personal retreat BEFORE the 2010-2011 school year kicks off.

Gotta go now. I've got people to see and things to do... While you're online, though, why don't you check out Shopping for Time?

Poolgress report...

Once upon a time, there was a family that had the brilliant idea to buy an older house and "make it theirs." They had attempted such a task once before, and having had to address multiple foundational issues on a house they thought needed "only a few cosmetic tweaks," they really should have known better.

But, oh, the size of the lot, the ridiculously cheap price per square foot, the fact that the previous owners had already done the messy work of smoothing the ceilings and replacing/refinishing the hardwoods, the location, and the overriding "P-word" (potential), all these things came together in a force that caused the family to abandon all common sense and buy the house anyway.

Among MANY updates the family undertook in the first three years was the update of the pool area. (Side note: It is true. A pool really is the land-equivalent of a boat: a hole in the ground into which you pour money.)

Below is a lovely photographic essay of the family's pool-ventures so far.

First appearing is the pool during the first season the family owned the house. Why the previous owners built a pool in the woods, the family never discovered. Freeing it from the deciduous forest became the primary goal. Freeing it from early-stockade decorating style ran a close second.

First went a few trees. Then went the stockade fence.

See? Pool stockade in the woods....

And then AFTER the removal of a few oak trees and the stockade fence.
(Never fear, tree-hugging friends, there are PLENTY of oaks remaining to drop their acorns and clog the pool filter.)

The shallow end of the pool BEFORE...
(Can't see it, can you? It's because of the inordinate number of oak trees.)

Oops... the family neglected to get a good shot of the actual shallow end of the pool AFTER, but here's a lovely shot of the new fire-bowl seating area. The Man of the House replaced the wooden landscape timbers with blocks. The old landscape timbers are outside the new fence. See? They're still there because MOTH will repurpose them as part of a retaining wall on the deep end of the pool.

And here is said deep end of the pool BEFORE...

And here is the deep end of the pool AFTER. See how the new black fence allows the family to enjoy the remaining good trees that are far enough away not to drop leaves, twigs, acorns, ants, and spiders into the pool? Ah, living in harmony with nature.

Here is the view of the pool entrance area BEFORE:
(This view makes the Woman of the House twitchy because she knows they are going to have to replace the lovely circa 1984 Masonite class-action-lawsuit siding with Hardiplank siding in the not-so-distant future.)
*WOTH bangs head against laptop keyboalsjfkdh.*

And here is the thus-far-completed portion of the pool entrance now. Block on the left. Wood on the right. The family undertook this DIY project over Memorial Day Weekend. After that, going to the beach seemed a lot more fun that hauling landscape block in 100+ degree heat. So... instead of AFTER, here is SO-FAR:

If you live near the family, they cordially invite you to come for a swim. When you arrive, please grab a couple of landscape blocks (sitting behind the dump-truck load of dirt resting next to the circular drive in the front yard) and place them neatly in the pile on the landing outside the lower pool gate.

Thanks!