It’s Just a Game…Right?

This past weekend I had the opportunity to spend time with a friend of mine and her husband in New York. Usually when I travel out of state I have my family with me. This time I was on my own; no kids, and no hubby.

My friend and I had talked about me coming to New York back in December. I had not seen her since she had gotten married two years ago. We were both pretty excited and talked about some possible things we could do while I would be there. One of them was going to see a play or having dinner in the city. What we did wind up doing is sleeping in on Saturday, going to the Bronx to the Armory to see a young man we knew, run in a competition there and hung out at the mall. No, it doesn’t sound exciting but for this busy wife and mom it was pretty fun.

That evening we returned home and we spent time with her husband and his sister talking and just having some fun. After a while we decided to play Scrabble. Now this is where it gets pretty interesting. See, I have never, I repeat “Never” played scrabble before. My host and hostess said, “Don’t worry you will do fine.” Now I’m not the greatest speller and I was truly starting to feel like, “Where is my husband when I need him!” he’s a great speller. Well, we started this game around 1 or 2 o’clock in the morning and we were not done until 5:00am! It was that much fun. I had never worked so hard to make three and four letter words in my life!

The highlight of the game was when my friend’s husband had one tile left, the letter ‘v’. He tried to convince us in so many ways that “Vi” was a word. I challenged him on that! But he put his foot on the dictionary and said, “No you are not going to look up another word!” I had challenged a couple of his words during the course of the game, but I knew I was right about this one. The funniest part was when he not only tried to convince us that Vi was a word but Ve was one too. He kept the straightest face while he attempted to come up with some bogus definitions. It was just hilarious! I went to bed that morning cracking up! It was the best game of scrabble I could have ever had.

On my drive back home to New Jersey I began to think about what fun it would have been if my husband, Alphonso, could have come with me. He would have had a great time. He also would have pulled the ‘this is a word’ stunt I’m sure.

As I’m driving along I began to reflect on some of the married couples’ fellowships that my husband and I have attended and a few we have hosted, and this bought Hebrews 10:24-25, to mind. “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another….” Being around other couples brings home, to me, the idea that we should not isolate ourselves within our marriages.

Fellowshipping with other couples in and outside of church has not only given me and Alphonso an opportunity to encourage others, but for them to encourage us. What joy it can bring when we get together with other couples just to have a good time. To sit, talk and share experiences with old and new friends. I remember a couple that attended one of our fellowships who originally did not want to come, (because like many couples they were experiencing some problems) and were pretty uptight in the beginning. But as the night wore on they began to loosen up and by the end of the evening they were having a great time. The praise report came the next day when I was talking to the wife and she told me that just being around other couples that night helped them and they were glad they came. What a blessing that was to hear. Who knew that a rousing game of Pictionary, Balderdash or Monopoly could make you feel good?

Over the years my husband and I have forged some really good friendships with other couples. So we’ve come to understand that it’s not always just about the fun but also about getting to know other couples and becoming friends on a deeper level.

I told my friends before I left New York that in the spring we would be having a “married couples” fellowship at my house and I would love for them to come. They agreed they would be there. So as I’m writing this I’m thinking of a date for our next couple’s fellowship. Guess what game I’ll be buying so we can play? You got it! SCRABBLE!



Be Encouraged,
Rita

I'll be back on Friday, March 19th, hope to see you then!


Saturday's Blog: Pat Betters, Part 3 of "It's Not About You"

Let it Rain, I Don’t Care!

Hello Everyone,

I am glad you returned! Come join me at the table. Before we start our visit I must confess something to you that I hope will not cause you to look at me differently. Well here it goes. I do not have a kitchen table. You see I wanted an eat-in kitchen but I gave it up to have a front porch and a backyard. Please don’t leave. You are more than welcome to sit with me at the dining room table. Sit have some tea and cookies, they’re chocolate chip. Okay now that that’s settled let’s begin.

About a week or two ago on a Thursday morning I was awakened by the sound of my bedroom window rattling. The weather outside was wild. It was cold, rainy and gale. Gale? It means a strong wind. Yeah this is one of those words both Brandon and I learned while home schooling. No I did not know what it meant prior, so what! Well, while listening to the weather I began to think about not so long ago, the 2008-2009 school year when Brandon was in first grade. It felt like at least once or twice a week the weather was horrible. Brandon, Christian and I would walk to school in unfavorable weather. It seemed that every puddle we came to Christian would step into and somehow I managed to step in as well. We would come home with wet shoes socks and pants. I remembered waking one morning and telling Brian before he left for work, “That’s it! Brandon is NOT going to school today!” To which he responded, “Rain, you’re going to keep him home because of rain?” Then he said, “Okay whatever you want.” This statement along with the idea of keeping my kid out of school simply because of some water, albeit a lot of water made me feel guilty so we were wet yet again.

As I thought about last year I began to thank the Father that I DID NOT have to go out in this weather. This may not seem like a big deal to most but to those who are considering homeschooling and have to deal with walking in inclement weather often, let this be a lure to join me on this side, LOL. Thinking about the weather prompted me to think of other perks to home schooling. So here is a list of my top ten reasons I like home schooling. Keep in mind that some of the items will be Brandon’s reasons too.

Top Ten Reasons Why I Like Home Schooling

10. The wonder of the snooze button. I do not have to get up at the crack of dawn to take the kids
to school.
9. Its casual every day. If I do not want to get dressed until noon so be it.
8. Me time. I do not have to make lunch and iron uniforms at night, which leaves time to… (Feel

free to fill in the blank).
7. Ka-ching! I can use the money I would have spent on uniforms on something else like paying off

debt so I can prepare for college (Sharon would be so proud).
6. Early dismissal. At times school is over at 12:00 (of course Brandon loves this).
5. NO HOMEWORK YAY! I like that there is No homework or crazy projects that teachers assign

that parents end up doing most if not all of the work (I do not need to tell you who appreciates

the no homework).
4. Field trips. Sometimes we can go bowling, to a museum or to the store in the middle of the day.
3. Teacher prep time. There are times of the day when I need quiet in order to ”prepare” so the

kids can’t talk to me.
2. Oh yeah, I like that I am being reacquainted with information I once learned because I feel

smarter already (Okay I know its second grade, whatever!)
1. Late night parent teacher conferences with the science teacher. No explanation needed.

That’s it! That’s all there is and I hope it made you think of your own reasons for educating your children at home. I also hope it made you smile and maybe even laugh. Sometimes we as moms regardless of whether we stay home, work, home school or send our kids out to school take ourselves to seriously. The bible says in Proverbs 15:13 “A happy heart makes the face cheerful but heartache crushes the spirit.” See also Proverbs 17:22. So please I urge you take time to relax, laugh and remember the next time there is a torrential downpour you DO NOT have to go out in it!

Well of course I never want to end without praying so let’s do it. Father we come in the amazing name of Jesus thanking You, for your many blessings. We thank You for how You care enough about us to make us smile. Please help us during those times when life becomes stressful to count our blessings and remember that You are in control, In Jesus’ name amen.

Until we meet again, happy home schooling.


Hugs and Kisses,
Cheryl

Please come back to visit on Thursday, March 18th....
...And don't forget to tune in on Friday, March 12th for Brian Mackey's (my husband) guest blog. It's the flip side of my speical from February 11th. It's on girls!! LOL!!


Friday's Blog: Rita, gives us a humorous perspective on playing board games. Need a laugh, make sure you spend a little time with her.

The Voice......

As I was preparing for a special date, I noticed that the outfit I so desperately wanted to wear didn't seem to fit right. In fact, it wasn't fitting at all. I don't care how much I sucked my belly in, and prayed the zipper still only went half way. By now I had broken out in a sweat and I feared my makeup would run, and my hair was going to go limp on me. As I started to cry silently inside, holding back the tears of frustration that wanted to run down my face (which would only add to the damage the long beads of sweat had already done), I heard a voice say, "Wear something else." "No! I screamed out loud! I've been dieting for weeks so that I could wear this outfit and I'm going to wear it!"

"This is war" I thought, as I franticly rummaged through one of my dresser drawers. At last! I found what I was looking for.......an old girdle. Do they still call them that anymore? Oh, well on with my story. I put plenty of talc on and wiggled and squirmed, grunted, wiggled some more until I almost passed out, but Praise the Lord I finally got it on. Now for the darned pants that refused to zipper. Would you believe after all this work, I still had to suck it in and wiggle some more before the zipper went all the way up? Hallelujah!!!! As I stood in the mirror to take a look see, lo and behold there was this big roll of fat (that would put any inner tube to shame), starring me right in the face. Now what in heaven's name was I going to do with that? Again, I heard that voice say, "Wear something else." This time I didn't even bother to acknowledge that I had even heard it. I know what I'll do, I can switch tops; I have something that will look just lovely with these beautiful champagne silk pants and matching jacket that I'm wearing.

Okay now I'm dressed, just need to remember not to drink any liquids while I'm out, couldn’t take the chance of having to use the bathroom. As I was doing a quick touch up on the makeup and hair, that same distracting voice interrupted my wonderful fantasy about how this evening was going to play out and again I heard, "Wear something else." I sucked my teeth, rolled my eyes, and said, "You must be kidding!" And went on my merry way.

Getting into the car proved to be an adventure in itself. Once I was finally able to get seated, it seemed that someone had been messing with my car and had adjusted the steering wheel. It was sitting right on that camouflaged roll of fat. "This is crazy," I thought to myself......who would have been in my car? The drive to the restaurant proved to be very tricky. I had to figure out how to shift my body so that when I made a left turn I didn't cut off the blood flow as the wheel dug into my stomach. Once I hit the expressway it was smooth sailing from there.

"Oh this is the life," I found myself thinking as I drove 15 miles over the speed limit of 55, and listened to my Christian Jazz CD. I've been going to Weight Watchers for 3 months and had lost a few pounds, bought some new clothes 2 sizes smaller then what I really wear in anticipation for the new me, and I finally have a date after 5 years. Wow, life is soooo good! What is that sensation? Oh no, I couldn’t have to pee!

Finally, I pull into the parking lot of the restaurant. Oh no, valet parking! That means that some person will be standing there watching me struggle to get out of this car and then switch my right shoe from a slipper to a mule. Dog gone it, can anything else get in the way of this perfect evening? I tell you the devil is always busy trying to mess things up for me. The Lord was gracious in the fact that I had a female to park my car so it wasn't as embarrassing as it could have been. I would say she was about twentyish, and had the bod of a personal trainer, but as I huffed and puffed to get out the car she just looked at me and had this smile plastered on her face that read, "Boy if this isn't my mother."

Usually I don't wear heels, because I had gotten to a point that comfort was more important to me then looking cute, but somewhere along the way I forgot that once I had this date lined up. As I'm strutting my stuff into the restaurant I trip in the heels that I am so not accustomed to wearing and landed face down in the hedges near the front door. Of course the doorman immediately ran to my aid, It seems he wasn't sure how I fell and before he had me up the manger was there by my side wanting to know if I was all right or did they need to call a doctor. What they needed to do was get their hands off of me and let me try to salvage what little pride I had left. No I wasn't hurt, but I did get a free dinner for 2 on my next visit. Sure like I would ever come back there again. Yet then again, it was free food, so you never know.

Fortunately the ladies room was outside of the main dinning room and I was able to discretely slip in there without my date seeing me. Once again I fixed my hair and makeup and held back the tears that wanted to mess it all up again. At that point I really just wanted to go home, but I couldn't stand my blind date up, that would not be the reflection of Christ. And with that thought someone flushed the toilet and I remembered my bladder was telling me that it would soon need to be relieved. I thought to myself, I'll just speak the Word of God over it..."Bladder you will hold this pee until I get home, in the name of Jesus!" There, that takes care of that! Now on with this date.

I was 15 minutes late, which I think is fashionable, I didn't want to seem too anxious, even though I hadn't thought about anything else the past 2 weeks. There he was, (exactly like his picture) sitting patiently with a bouquet of yellow roses. I thought....."Ah, just for me, what a sweet man!”

As I approached the table like any gentleman he rose to his feet to greet me and pulled my chair out. Once seated he handed me the bouquet and I knew instantly I could really learn to like this guy. He advised me that he had taken the liberty and ordered dinner for both of us. Now this could be taken as, "Such a sweet gesture," or "Has he lost his mind? He doesn't know me that way!" Personally I was torn between the two, but leaning toward the latter. Oh, the heck with it, I'll play along for tonight. "So, what are we having for dinner?" I asked. "I hope you like surprises," he answered. "No not really," I thought, but I'll play along since you’re paying......

Well, my dear sisters you will have to tune in next week on Thursday, March 11th to see what the surprise was...LOL!!!



Blessings & Love
Ponnie

Thrusday's Blog: Cheryl, "Diary of a Home School Mom"

HAVING A CHEERFUL HEART IS GOOD MEDICINE!

The Bible says “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” Proverbs 17:22. I had to find the right picture to reflect a “cheerful heart”. I fell in love with this picture and it reminded me of the times when I was that small and having the giggles (I still do..LOL).

This reminded me of last year’s Thanksgiving Day. We usually visit family for Thanksgiving dinner. My husband and I decided to stay home and make our own dinner...We had a good time. Spending time as a family watching movies, cooking and baking. Baking? Now this will make you laugh. My husband was sooo pumped because we have not had a working oven for a long period of time and one of my good friends (Maria, Bless her heart) gave me a stove. My husband baked brownies that he had his heart so set on. He put the batter into a cookie sheet … LOL…sorry it is too funny! You should have been there. He was so happy when the “brownies” were done. I have to share the picture …

My kids were so excited, they were going to eat brownies…when they took a bite, I heard “crunch” instead of “quiet munching”…LOL. The kids said this isn’t brownies! They are toasted! My husband says, Oh, yeah they are toasted brownies, which he called them “brownsters”! (I mentioned to Ponnie, she can have the recipe for the Lazy Woman’s Snack, LOL) I laughed so much, I could not contain it in front of them, since I have a contagious laugh, and they laughed along with me.

I looked at the bible dictionary definition of laughter, which means “a chuckle or explosive vocal sound (that is definitely me), cause for merriment”. I always seize the opportunity to make someone smile or laugh, it just lifts up their spirits. It turns your frown, upside down.

This just came to mind, try it out, it was so much fun…One year, I was at the “Contagious Joy” conference at Women of Faith, one of the women speaking asked us to look at our neighbor and say the word “J O Y” exaggerated and express a funny face while doing it. I know some of you are going to have a laugh attack like I did.

All I can say is enjoy every moment, always find the humor in every circumstance, live life to the fullest with joy and happiness, and remember “a cheerful heart is good medicine”!

I pray these special moments I have shared with you may make your day brighter! I pray for the ladies that are reading this blog and are finding their joy again and may spark joyful days to come and for those who already have joy in their life, that may it be rubbed off on others. In the name of Jesus, Amen!

P.S. Since “Having a cheerful heart is good medicine!” I wanted to recommend a funny book. It’s called “All Cracked Up…Experiencing God In the Broken Places” by Patsy Clairmont. Enjoy!!



Take care and God bless you always,
Maria Guzman

I will be back to share with you on Tuesday, March 16th, until then, have fun making family memories.


Wednesday's Blog: Ponnie, if you could use a good laugh she is doing something a little different for all women to enjoy, please check it out!

¡TENER UN CORAZÓN ALEGRE ES BUENA MEDICINA!




La Biblia nos dice “El corazón alegre constituye buen remedio; Mas el espíritu triste seca los huesos.” Proverbios 17:22. Tenia que encontrar un retrato adecuado para reflejar un “corazón alegre”. Me enamore con este retrato y me recordó de los tiempos cuando yo era pequeña y teniendo la risas (Todavía las tengo…LOL).

Esto me recordó el día de Acción de Gracias del año pasado. En general, nosotros visitamos familiares y compartimos la cena de Acción de Gracias con ellos. Mi esposo y yo decidimos quedarnos en casa y hacer nuestra cena…Tuvimos un buen tiempo. Pasando tiempo como familia, viendo películas, cocinando, y horneando. ¿Horneando? Ahora bien, esto te hará reír. Mi esposo estaba tan entusiasmado. Porque durante un periodo de tiempo, no habíamos tenido una estufa con un horno que trabajara y una de mis buenas amigas (Bendiciones a Maria) me dio una estufa. Mi esposo horneo bizcochos de chocolate (brownies) que estaba en el corazón para hacerlo. ¡El puso la mezcla en una bandeja de horno (de galletitas)…lo siento es demasiado gracioso! Deberías haber estado ahí. Estaba tan alegre cuando los bizcochos de chocolate (brownies) estaban hechos. Tenia que compartir este retrato…

Mis hijos estaban tan entusiasmado, porque iban a comer los bizcochos de chocolate (brownies)…cuando dieron una mordida, yo oí “la mordida” en vez de “comiendo calladito”…LOL. ¡Mis hijos dijeron esto no es bizcochos de chocolate (brownies)! ¡Están tostados!! Mi esposo dijo, o si son bizcocho de chocolate (brownies) tostado, el lo llamaba “brownsters”! (Lo mencione a Ponnie, que ella puede tener la receta para el “Lazy Woman’s Snack, LOL). Me reí mucho, yo no podía contenerlo afrente de ellos, ya que tengo una risa contagiosa, ellos se rieron conmigo.

Busque la definición en el diccionario bíblico la palabra risa, que significa “una risa o un sonido vocal explosiva (esto es, sin duda quien yo soy), motivo de alegría. Yo siempre aprovecho la oportunidad para hacer sonreír a alguien o reírse, solo para levantar el ánimo. Convierte tu esto pone su ceño fruncido, de arriba abajo.

Esto llego a la mente, trátalo, fue muy divertido…Un año, Yo estaba en la conferencia de “Contagiosa Gozo”, de Mujeres de Fe, una de las conferencista nos dijo que miráramos al nuestro vecino y dijéramos la palabra “G O Z O” exagerada y expresando una cara chistosa mientras lo haces. Yo se que algunos de ustedes van a tener un ataque de risas como yo lo tuve.

¡Todo lo que puedo decirte es disfruta cada momento, siempre busca el humor en cada circunstancia, vive la vida al máximo con gozo y alegría, y recuerda “un corazón alegre es buena medicina”!

Oro que esto momentos especiales que he compartido con ustedes hagan tu día mas brillante. Oro por la Mujeres que están leyendo este blog y están encontrando su gozo nuevamente y puede hacer su día más luminoso, y para aquellas que tienen gozo en tus vidas que puedan contagiarlo a los demás. ¡En el nombre de Jesús, Amen!



Cuídate y Dios te bendiga siempre,
María Guzmán

Running a 5K.......

“Do you know that those who run a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.” -1 Corinthians 9:24

Hi Ladies! Can you believe that March is here already? Seems like just yesterday we were ringing in the New Year full of excitement for a fresh beginning in 2010 and here we are 3 months deep into the year. So, you know I have to ask, how are those goals holding up? Are you staying on track? I thought I would fill you in today on how my “Fit by Forty” campaign has been going. Well, let me just say....trying to get Fit by Forty is waaaaaaayyyyyyyy harder than getting Fit by 20 or 30!!!! Oh man! What in the world have I gotten myself into? It would have been far much easier if I had just made my goal to become Fat and Fabulous by Forty...that is much more doable!!

Okay, so I’ve told you that part of my plan to reach my fitness goals was to start running. I am scheduled to run my first 5K in April....April 17th to be exact...and I am training by using the Couch to 5K program. It’s a program where you do walk/intervals and each weekend you increase the amount of time that you run and decrease the amount of time that you walk. My wonderful little sister, Joy, is training to run the 5K with me and we were supposed to train together. It was going to be great. Boy oh Boy...does God have a sense of humor! I bet when I prayed to ask Him to help me meet these goals He said, Sure...this is going to be fun!

Before I go any further, let me tell you about my sister Joy. First, she is only 35...not months away from 40...there is a difference. Next, in her older years she has picked up weight and like most of us she has become inactive....but while in High School, she was MVP of her high school basketball team. She has won numerous awards for her athletic abilities in basketball to include a scholarship to the University of Tennessee-Martin only to be sidelined by a torn ACL. She has also won 1st place in the State for Shot-Put and was a talented Softball player. Get the picture?

My athletic resume? ***Silence...birds chirping***

Okay...so back to the training. We decided in the beginning that at least one day a week we would “run” together and early in January (before the harsh winter temps hit) we decided one windy Sunday to go for a run at the lake. I was feeling strong and looking forward to it. We started out with our warm up...5 minutes brisk walk...no problem....we’re walking, we’re talking. It’s going great. Then the alarm goes off to signal our first run cycle....and ZOOOMMM....my sister takes off into a SPRINT! A SPRINT!!!! What in the world? We are supposed to be JOGGING...HELLO!!! Nobody told me we were training to run against Usain Bolt!!!!

Anyway, where am I while my sister is running the race of her life? I am like a 1/2 mile behind her...huffing, puffing and trying not to embarrass myself by dying out there at the lake. It was horrible! My legs felt like lead. I could NOT breathe. I started having chest pains. The world starting going black. All of these symptoms occurred within the first 15 seconds of the 1 minute interval!!

What in the world had I gotten myself into? I thought running was going to be fun? Somebody lied to me! It’s not! My knees are constantly aching, my shins are always sore and my back is always stiff. Many mornings, when I get on the treadmill, my knees will make the decision that they simply aren’t going to bend for me to run that day and my lungs...sigh...do they have to make me breathe so LOUDLY? It’s embarrassing!

Most days...I want to give up. But I don’t...I keep going and I keep pushing. The whole time that I am running, I keep thinking..”I can do all things thru Christ who strengthens me!”...”God, please give me the strength so that I can finish this workout”...and sometimes even,” I shall not die but Live...LOL”. The point is...it’s hard, very hard...but God never said that our race would be easy. However, I do believe that He will give me the strength that I need to finish. The truth of the matter...with every workout...I am getting stronger and I am already seeing the benefits of getting fit. I am able to run a little longer and a little faster (still not sprinting though). I have a lot more energy during the day and more clothes are fitting better. The best thing so far, I have lost 10 pounds!

I don’t know what goals you are working towards but I hope that I have encouraged you to not give up. And if you have already given up, I hope that you will find the courage to start again. You can do it!



Until next time,
Sasha

Don't forget to cheek back in with me on Monday, March 15th.


Tuesday's Blog: Maria, "Life Unsceipted" English & Español