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SO, of course, after I spent hours setting up a new blog because I couldn't get on here, this blog works... oh well! That's how it goes!

I've had trouble with Blogger, so I've switched over to Wordpress. I'll delete this one soon so make sure you change your favorites...

My blog: www.sarahunderhill.wordpress.com

Check out the family site… www.underhillfamily.wordpress.com Carrie and Audrey convinced me about posting the kids’ pictures where anyone can see them. As one of them said, “You can’t be too careful these days…” It’s protected so you will have to:
1) sign onto www.wordpress.com
2) Click on “sign up”
3) Enter just a few words (literally) including a username
4) Email your username to me

It’s really not that big of a deal, and you don’t have to sign in each time because it gives the option of “Remember Me”.

Love you all!

WOW! I'm Blogging!

For those of you faithful blog checkers, I haven't been a complete slacker... I am having a problem with blogger.com!!! When I TRY to sign on from my home computer, the page won't pull up. It is a humongo pain! There have been at least five or six times in the last week or two that I have gotten on to post at home and can't pull it up. I can pull up my page and look at it, but I can't post on it. Anyone else have a problem with this??? I am actually writing this from school during my lunch break! If it continues, I am going to have to switch to vox or wordpress.

I am going to do a blog one one of those that is more family-oriented. A couple of my friends are changing over so that ppl have to sign into their blogs for privacy protection with pictures of their kids. I thought it was crazy at first, but it's winning me over... Look for it to come soon.

Kick off your shoes, paint your nails, shave your legs, and get ready for warm weather!!!

I am just drinking in the warm weather today. It is fabulous! I am so ready for spring. What are you most looking forward to or what do you most love about spring/summer? I am one of those people that whenever someone asks for my favorite season, I'll tell you whatever one is coming up. I love ALL of the seasons.

Here's what I love about summer:

Eating fruit - lots of it! My mom always kept cut up fresh fruit in the fridge. She'd go to the Farmer's market every week and make a huge fruit salad. We'd devour it. I'm not as good as doing all the cutting EVERY week, but I do love it when I get to it.

Being in the warm sun - I never mind the hot. When we were in TX and I was lifeguarding, there was one week or two that it was like 113 degrees everyday, and I just loved it! Of course, there wasn't nearly as much humidity as there is in TN. BUT, I love to lay down and feel the warm, hot sun beating down on my face and body. LOVE IT! Of course, it's always better with a pool nearby!

Being out of school!!! (Enough said, huh?)

Camps and VBS! The summer is my downtime and Jason's absolute busiest! It gets a little crazy with our family around summer, but it is so fun to go to the camps and VBS to see Christ moving in little one's lives. I'm telling you, if you aren't serving, YOU are missing out!

Everyone not serving says they can't take the time, can't make the commitment, etc... That is true; you do have to be regular when kids are depending on you. BUT, it is such a blessing to be a part of a ministry where preschoolers first encounter the stories of Jesus, where children give their lives to Christ, and where teens finally get what it means to TRULY surrender your life to Him! Not to mention that there are needs in your church (whatever church you go to) for volunteers. There always are! If your children are partaking in that ministry, then we as parents should be supporting that ministry. Think of how much we TAKE from our preschool and children's departments and all of the times our children are given safe, loving care. It's just as much of a blessing to GIVE back. If you're not involved, check out even volunteering for just two Sundays a month or something.... It's a challenge!

Wow, that's why this is Sarah's RANDOM reflections! So, leave a comment on your favorite thing about summer OR serving!!! :)

THE TEXAS HOUSE SOLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No more paying for a house we aren't living in...

No more hassles with renters, will it sell, etc.....

No talking to realtors!!

No houses in other states!

No electric bills or water bills for an empty house!!

Praise God! It has been a long, long, long journey on this road. A hard one! We have had doubts about many things and have questioned God's purpose through this. Now, at the near end, I look back and ask what I've learned and what God has taught us.

We have grown in our marriage, in our faith, and how much bigger of a financial crisis can we face? I imagined the worst case scenario and stressed out at the first thought of it. Once I put my faith in God for those fears, even the worst case scenario wasn't scary. God is bigger.

I have learned a lot about money and feel we've been less materialistic only because we've had to be. When we lived in the Dallas area, it was very easy to get caught up in who has what. The culture there is VERY materialistic. Even at our church it was hard to not get caught up in it as they had almost unlimited funds to work with. A huge blessing for the church to have that freedom to do ministry as they desire, but I think I at least developed a mindset that there wasn't anything we couldn't do! At church, there really wasn't, but I think it slipped into my personal mindset (and spending) as well. I have often called Dallas the "shiny" city. There was a lot of glitz and glam and plastic surgery. Fashion was/is huge. I remember moving away from Dallas and being shocked at how different the fashion trends were. It was so easy to slip into those surface things! It was a fun place to be for a while, but just not a good place for us personally.

Paying two house payments nipped that in the bud quick and being on a strict budget now has continued that. Our Bible study last night focused on greed. I'm not saying that I never struggle with greed anymore, but I can see that I have grown in that area over the past three years. I used to be very much a "I gotta have that" kind of person, and I'm just not now. Again, there are still some things I struggle with in that area - just not as much as I used to. It's a blessing to be freed from a lot of that.

I could go on and on with the lessons we've learned. The biggest and most important lesson though is that even if things are not going as they should, when bad things happen to good people, when you are seeking to serve the Lord and sacrificing but there doesn't seem to be any answers to prayers, when everything that could go wrong does, GOD IS STILL GOD.

Our faith should not be constructed and based upon our circumstances. Our circumstances change, but God does not. He alone has the perspective of our past, present, and future in His view. He alone knows what areas I need to grow in, what experiences I need now in order to minister to someone else in the future, and what experiences I need to make me more like Him.

So many people quoted the verse, "All things work for good for those that love Him." That's true! But, when I first heard that, I expected everything to just work out. A miracle would occur for our house to sell and pay off debt and just be set. Now that happens to some people, but it's not what the verse means. I think people (including myself prior to this experience) get caught up in the word "good" and equate it to financial success, the situation working out as we think it should, or everything having a peachy, rosy ending. That's not true. The best things in our life here on Earth is to come out of a situation where we are closer to God and more like Him - even in the smallest ways. That means things will not always work out, and there is not always a happy earthly ending! "Good" may mean that I learn a lesson, someone learns from my example, someone comes to Christ through someone else's bad experience, or just that God's kingdom is furthered in a way I'll never see here on Earth. We should never lose our faith!

That's been a VERY hard lesson for me to learn! But, it's one that I will cherish forever. I've always known that in my head, but knowing it in my heart through a life experience is more precious to me than 100 billion sold houses and trillions in the bank!

Keep us in your prayers as we seek to stay on budget and pay off debt. The storm has passed, but there's still a lot of debris to clean up! I'm excited to see how God will work through these lessons as well. Many thanks to all of you who have prayed for us through this and been a huge support. The situation was made easier with your love, concern, and prayers.

Well, it's 8:46 am, and I should be teaching how to add and subtract fractions with mixed denominators.... BUT, I am at home!!!

SNOW DAY, SNOW DAY, SNOW DAY!!! Whoo-hoo!!!! It's a snow day, I'm staying home, whoop whoop!!! (Ok, who cares that there actually is NO snow and today is a huge freebie day - I don't care about the snow necessarily, just the day to get some things done...It's ALWAYS Sumner County that gets out for even one flake of snow - just glad it's Metro's turn for once! We always go when everyone else is out!)

One of my students made me a magic snow wand the last time it snowed. It didn't work on that Thursday, but it worked on Friday. That time we had also taken all of the kids outside to do the snow dance. Again, it worked two days later...

This week, I used it on Tuesday to be out on Wednesday, but it worked on Thursday. I also see consistency with "ta-da-ing" the wand TWICE instead of just once. I did it once for Wednesday and twice for Thursday. Just a snow wand tip... Hey, it never hurts for your kids to think you are magic, right???? :)

Kids are gone, and I have a to-do list that is a mile long of EVERYTHING I want to catch up on. We'll see how much I get accomplished. I hope to update my blog template to show some more blogs of note. I got halfway through that process last time when my computer stalled out so it's only halfway done. We'll see if I get to that today. I have a jillion things to do!!!!!!!!!!!

Whatever you are doing today, enjoy it!

Did anyone else watch the Democratic National Convention last night? I'm sorry - they called in the "Grammy's"; it just SEEMED like the DNC with Al Gore and the Dixie Chicks there... ha ha! Anyone else disgusted by the Dixie Chicks??? Let's put aside the fact that they spoke out against our president at a concert in London (I'll get to that in a second...) and the content of their videos and music (in one video, they have a woman being abused by her husband kill him. Great message to fight back and stand up for yourself, but murder isn't the answer to domestic problems obviously).

What SERIOUSLY irritated me last night, for those of you who didn't see it, when they were called for one of their FIVE awards, Natalie Maines came to the microphone and said, "In the words of the great Simpson... heh heh... A lot of people just turned off their TVs right now..."

I was still irritated about it this morning, and I was really asking myself why it bothered me so much. It really does bother me that they spoke out against our president, in a public forum, and to another country. Of course, non-Christians are not going to behave as Christians should.

It is not wrong to disagree with our President. I don't agree with some of the things President Bush has done. But, there is a difference in disagreeing with a LEADER and promoting those opinions publicly to "outsiders".

The Bible tells us that the leaders that have been placed over us - whether in the church, in our workplaces, or our country - are placed there because God has ordained them to be there. We are to respect them, pray for them, and submit to them. Agree with them always?? NO! Romans 13:1 says, "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God." Even those who may seem to be the worst of the worst leaders are placed there by GOD! ALL authority is established by God!

So, what is our response when we don't agree with our leaders? Do we go over to London and say we are ashamed that our president is from the same state we are? NO! That causes dissension within our own country, and it portrays our country in a bad light to another country. Relations within this political world today are so fragile that the tiniest cracks in unity can make a big difference!

The same is true with the authorities in our church. Are we going to agree with our leaders all of the time? Are we going to understand all of their decisions? NO! But, we are to submit to them because they are ordained by God! They are in leadership and see a picture bigger than that of the one we see. They make decisions based on the whole of the church or the whole of our country, and not one small fraction.

And, if we do disagree, the Bible gives us ways to handle those conflicts:

Matt 18:15-17 says, "If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector. "
We are to go TO the person we have a conflict to - not announce to another country or gripe to everyone else about it. Within our country, we can write to our congressmen or president or work on trying to change laws we disagree with. Within our church, we should go to the leaders if we disagree with something, OR just submit and understand that they know better than we do. Our leaders are going to be held accountable by God for the decisions that they make; it is not for us to hold them accountable! We certainly should not go out into the community bad-mouthing the church or to other countries bad-mouthing our President! Just as our country is politically fragile, so is the spiritual warfare we face! How much more serious when we talk about someone's eternity! There is NO reason to create or continue dissension within our churches or to cause a "seeker" to not visit our church because of something we've said.

Isaiah 1:18 -20 says, " 'Come now, let us reason together,' says the LORD. 'Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.' " We are to reason TOGETHER - GOD forgives ALL of our sins as we are to forgive others. We are to be willing and obedient not resistful and rebellious!

The Bible also talks about conflicts within all relationships:

Ephesians 4:25-27 says, "Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 'In your anger do not sin': Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold." Speak truthfully - tell someone directly if there is a problem and....

Ephesians 4:3 says, "Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace." .... keep at it working on the problem until peace is resolved! We have to do our part. We can apologize and repent for our own actions only... I was just having a conversation about this yesterday! At some point, we have to make sure we have repented for our own actions and apologized with the right heart. Once we've done all we can do to mend a relationship, it may be up to the other person to then work and pray through their part of the conflict.

Proverbs 10:12 says, "Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs." Whether dealing with Christians, our church, or our country, we are to deal with ALL conflicts and wrongs with LOVE! It may take praying through things to get to that point, but LOVE is what we are called to do! And, we have to do HEART CHECKS - see previous post on that - to determine whether our hearts are truly in the right place!

Snow Day!!!! For everyone!!! Except Metro!!! Where I teach!!! Yea!!!! :( This is a real bummer day for me - I was so counting on a snow day! My kids are home, although with no snow, and I was hoping to join them. I figured I had two choices - think up mean revengeful things for all the forecasters who SAID we would get 1-2", gave driving warnings, and even predicted "messy conditions" on Friday as well - come on! I could think up all kinds of mean thoughts for them. Uncle Paul is our saving grace keeping the kids today - THANK YOU!! I know they will have fun with him.

INSTEAD of mean thoughts, I thought I would share the white Christmas we had at our house - hadn't gotten around to posting Christmas pictures yet... I will soon... since it's February! If you live in the area, you won't recall a white Christmas... nope, it only snowed at the Underhills... (Okay, Jason got me gift that came in a huge box with a billion styrofoam packing peanuts... we let the kids dump it all out and play in it... super fun!)

Uncle Paul helping to spread the "snow"!

My sweet SNOW ANGELS!!!

Snowflakes that stick to our nose and eyelashes... and the back of our head... due to static electricity!! What fun!

The kids did help clean up afterwards which was a MUCH bigger chore than I thought it would be... this was one of my most fun Christmas memories... lots of others that I'll share - hopefully before June, but I thought these were great for today.

What a weekend!!! Here are the top five highlights:

5) Driving home on Friday, my car was vibrating - a lot! I knew it needed to be aligned, but I was like getting a massage! I just prayed to make it home, and I did. Jason and I looked at the tires, and at first glance, everything was fine. THEN I looked closer to see that my back two tires were SHREDDING - literally the leather was coming off - a blowout waiting to happen... maybe that's why my car felt like it was driving on ice while going 40 MPH on the entrance ramp to 65 - huh. Well, the guy at the car place said I was VERY lucky to not have a serious, serious accident - I know that was a God moment. AND, we got to fork over $ for a whole new set of tires! FABULOUS! :)

4) My dad got put in the hospital for a MAJOR staph infection... it puffed up the whole side of his face - he looked pitiful. He did go home Tuesday night though and is doing better... still has some healing to do.

3) We had a cancer scare in our family - turned out negative, praise God! I was praying and praying about it and just felt a peace that it was going to be fine - and it was!

2) Everett developed a 103 temperature on Saturday and kept it through Tuesday... viral infection, he was just miserable for 30 minute stretches at a time and would then be fine. He's all better now!

1) An AWESOME women's retreat at church! The theme was transformation, and the biggest blessing I was able to recognize was that as I look over this past year, I do feel God has "lifted my veil". I feel that I have truly been in a sort of depressed fog over this past year with all of the house stress, etc. Going back to work was definitely not my idea, but in the past month or two, God has just given me a peace about everything. I feel like I have been able to let go of my disappointments, expectations, and frustrations and just come out of that fog of yuck! (Great theological term there, huh?) I'm not saying I was clinically depressed, just maybe spiritually depressed. It has been such a blessing to come out of that and feel like myself again. For anyone that knows me well, you'll see a difference in me; for those that have known me for a long time, you'll see the old me. I just feel back to "me" again, and it's so great! Not that problems will not come again (see #'s 5-2 above), and I can even feel some of Satan's attacks with other things this week, but I just have been given a sense of spiritual revival. Chris Adams said in our breakout session this past weekend, "Valleys are where you learn how to live life, and mountains are where you enjoy living the lessons you've learned." Okay, shouldn't have put that in quotes because I know that's not exactly how she said it, but you get the jist!! :) I feel like I am getting to enjoy some of the lessons I've learned! It's a nice place to be for now... Check out www.longhollowwomen.com for more retreat info and all kinds of inspirational and encouraging nuggets!

Hope you enjoyed my top five list - any to share of your own???

I had to pull into McDonalds this morning to pick up some breakfast as we are in need of a grocery store run at our house. The line was a little long, but I was starving and knew I needed some energy for the day. I pulled up to the window and heard the most cheerful, kind voice say, "Good morning! What can I get for you today?" Not the mumbly jumbly-I've said this 500 times already today-I'm ready to go home-hurry up-what do you want kind of voice that usually comes over those speakers, but a genuine, cheerful, sweet voice that said "Good morning!" - gasp! - like she really meant it! The kind of good morning you would like to have someone wake you up with each day. I was really surprised! I ordered, and she asked, "Is there anything else I can get for you?" in the same sweet tone. I pulled through, paid, and picked up my order. As I was leaving, the food passer outer lady said, "Have a great day and come again!" I thought, "I sure will come again!"

You may be reading this thinking, well, that's what all drive through people do. No, I can't show you over a blog while typing, but the tones of their voices were truly KIND, GENUINE, and even LOVING! Honestly, it was the first time I had experienced genuine-ness in a fast food restaurant. It really stood out! It made me think of a phrase from a song, "Your kindness Lord... leads me to repentance..." We heard this phrase at Bible study the other night, and I looked up the verse that goes along with it.

Romans 2:4 says, "Do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?" The chapter is about judging people - a good one to read. Our Bible study with Andy Stanley was on guilt. Jesus doesn't use guilt to get us to obey, although He could. He uses KINDNESS! His KINDNESS leads us to repentance, obedience, and a broken heart for him!

I found a couple of other verses this morning on kindness.

2 Chronicles 32:25 tells of Hezekiah's response to God's kindness in healing him, "Hezekiah's heart was proud and he did not respond to the kindness shown him; therefore the LORD's wrath was on him and on Judah and Jerusalem." Thankfully, Hezekiah repented and they were spared the Lord's wrath.

Jeremiah 31:3 says, "The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: 'I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness...' " That word "drawn" in Hebrew is "mashak" pronounced "maw-shak", and it means to draw, drag, seize, cheer, attract, or gratify. I'm normally not one of the big Hebrew translators, but I liked this one. The Lord draws us - he seizes, cheers, attracts, and gratifies us with LOVING KINDNESS!!! Isn't that exciting!!??!!

On 89.1 FM (love them... I'm going to add them to my links whenever I get around to reorganizing my blog) this morning (after I left McDonalds), I heard this verse - Proverbs 18:21 says, "The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.." Our tongues quite literally have the power to lead someone towards or away from eternal life with Christ! The power is of course God's, but how many people have you seen that have turned away from the church because of something that someone said?

Just as God draws us in with kindness, the only way that Christians are going to reach the lost world around us is with kindness. Strong historical arguments, great theology, personal testimonies - they are all good ways to bring someone to Christ. But the best way to draw, attract, or even drag someone to Christ is through good ole' kindness! Acts of service, sweet words, an encouraging spirit, and just a light up your world smile will draw people to our Savior!

TX house update:

The contract I wrote about back in December fell through. We received word last week that there were two new contracts on the house. We accepted the better of the two and were anticipating a closing this month or the beginning of next.

The realtor requested that we have our utilities turned back on so that the inspection could take place. Jason called to have the water turned on, no problems. However, when he called to have the electric turned on, they said they could not turn it on until we had paid our bill. Of course Jason answered, "What bill? We haven't lived there in two years!" They replied that we have a $642 electric bill due on the house and that the electric was shut off for non-payment.

To make a long story short, we had turned on the electric after our renters moved out in order to repair all of the damage that had been done. We called in May to have everything shut off to avoid high cooling bills during the Texas summer. Apparently it did not get cut off; they have no record of our disconnect request. They cut it off after two months for "no pay". They sent bills to an old address that we of course never received.

The electric company knocked the bill down to $450, but we are faced with paying it or the house not selling because they can't do the inspection. We are trying to work with our realtor to see if there are alternatives, but her son passed away yesterday after a long fight with a disease. Not a good time to work something like this out.

This is just the millionth challenge in this whole thing. It's so discouraging. There hasn't been one thing easy or even the slightest break with this TX house. God is really building our character I guess. Please pray for this to work out and for us to have wisdom.

I attended a Bible study last week in which we are watching a series by Andy Stanley called, "It Came From Within". It's all about guarding your heart. At first that didn't mean much to me, but as we watched the opening sermon for the series, I was blown away by the way God pricked my heart. I believe this is something many Christians deal with.

Andy opened by explaining that as children we are taught to use a "filter" to determine our actions and words. We have a filter we use at a formal dinner and a different one for hanging out with friends. We have a filter we use to say the right things (and avoid saying other things) to get a job, to keep a relationship healthy, or to deal with people who get on our nerves. When we say or do something inappropriate, we are shocked and say something to the effect of, "That is so unlike me!" Proverbs 4:23 says, "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." Jesus says that when we say, "That is so unlike me!" that it actually isn't - it's a reflection of our heart!

Andy continued by saying that we need to not look at what comes out and slips through the filter. If we blow up in anger at someone, we don't need to just say, "Oh, I can't get angry like that anymore. I've got to control my temper!" We must look at our heart and find out WHY we got angry. Examining our heart and asking some tough questions will help us see the root of the problem. Then we work on the root of our heart and the output will be fixed as well. He asks his children a series of questions every night and closed by having us close our eyes and thinking about these questions as well: Did someone make you mad today? Did someone disappoint you today? Did someone break a promise to you? Have you lied to someone today? Have you secretly rejoiced in someone's failings? Have you had extended imaginary conversations with someone recently? All questions that can reflect heart problems.

There were a few other questions, and all of them prodded my heart. That last one really got me. So many times I will be angry at or hurt by someone and try to "be nice" on the outside. My goal will be to try not to let that anger or hurt seep through the filter. That is quite honestly exhausting after a while. I'm not very good at this actually; I wear my feelings on my sleeve and am not good at ALL with "faking it". I will have imaginary conversations with people where I get to tell them what I think and why I was hurt, try to imagine what they would say, and then decide how I would reply. That is a sign that there is an issue that needs to be dealt with! The Bible tells us in Ephesians 4: 25-27, "Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. " Wow, put off falsehood (quit just pretending I'm not upset or hurt by trying to work my filter more) and speak truthfully - don't let the sun go down on your anger! That really spoke to me. There were a few situations that I was hurt by that I had to go to those people (with hopefully a Christ-like attitude), bring up those things, and work through them. It was hard! But, what a peace that transcended afterwards! And, it's not like everything is perfect now, but I examined my heart to determine the source of the hurt feelings. That makes me be honest with myself; I discovered some things I can work on, and now the relationships can heal! The loss of my own hurt and bitterness is the blessing.

It's been really interesting this week to apply these principles to every aspect of my life and to see how God has blessed those times that I have examined my heart. That icky feeling you get in your heart when things just aren't going right - it's great to get rid of it! It's very freeing to not let those little things build up!

Most people have experienced a "Christ-follower" who hasn't checked or guarded their heart in a very long time. Often, these people are very hurt and very angry about many things - some of them going way back! I can think of a few times where I have witnessed the output of one of these hurting people; it was very scary and not Christ-like at all. It's one thing to have an "icky" feeling for a few days; it's a whole different one to have years of ickiness built up. In situations like this, honestly, Satan has been given a foothold. Satan is working people's lives that are bitter, angry, and deeply hurt in such a powerful way that he can use that hurt to poison many things, people, families, workplaces, churches, and entire communities around them. The potential for wide-spread damage is so great, and Satan LOVES it! That, my friends is spiritual warfare. When faced with it, it is honestly downright TERRIFYING! The times I have experienced a life in such turmoil, it has turned my stomach. Lift up people you know struggling in this area, and be alert to clean your own heart regularly.

Resolutions... I have several things that are really more lifetime goals:
Make the kids bedtime routine more consistent
Be more consistent with whole family devotional times
Continue our couple's prayer time Jason started (which has started many late night conversations - great
until the alarm clock goes off, and I only got four hours of sleep.. ha ha!)
Continue paying off all the debt from our TX house trauma

My only real resolution that might be short term is that I'm also cutting out carbonated beverages. It's really not been that hard. I still do coffee and lightly sweetened tea, but I had gotten out of control.

These things were pretty easy to come up with, but I was really praying about what area God wanted me to improve in personally. God has been very clear this year; more clear than any other previous year that I can remember. He gave me a verse that I've just meditated on for the past week or two. Isaiah 43:18-19,21 says, "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland... the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise."

God does new things every morning. Lamentations 3:22-23 says, "Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. " Because of God's LOVE for us, he has compassion for us and we are not consumed by our sin. Grace!! His compassion is new every morning - every morning is a chance to start afresh.

However, I really felt God telling me to forget EVERYTHING that has always been. I am doing something new in your life. You think your life is great, but when I look at it, I see a desert, a wasteland because I know what it COULD be. I want to make a new way and refreshing streams for you! I want your life to praise me even more!

When I started working in August, everything changed - my family time, my time to spend on my house chores, friendships and "girl time" has changed drastically, the format of my quiet times, my ability to serve more widely, EVERTYHING has changed. I have been trying to hold onto everything. God is beating down my heart telling me that my plan may not necessarily be His. I may have some big changes ahead of me; or, God may just be wanting me to surrender all of my plans and ideas.

Over and over, God has said to me that my resolution this year should be to do nothing... NOTHING... NOTHING... without Him. God always wants us to bring our decisions before Him, but I feel God is really pressing this upon me now with an even greater emphasis. I feel He wants me to really not make one move for ANYTHING based on what I've known before and without praying about it first.

There have been a lot of shut doors in my life in the past year or so. For example, moving to a new church has closed some ministry opportunities that have always been passions of mine. Other people are in those roles, and I'm the new kid on the block. It's really hard to give up something I love to do so much - something I love to do for the Lord and things I know I can do well! God is telling me to let go - He is doing a new thing!

I have a lot of friendships that have changed drastically over the past few months. Ones that I've tried to hang onto, but it just hasn't worked the way it did before. Shut doors! God has just been telling me to let go - He is doing a new thing!

And, MY choices for this upcoming year work-wise have either been teaching or at home - my preference is to be at home. That's my passion, that's my heart. Working this year shut that door for now! But God is telling me to let go - He is doing a new thing!

This is scary thing for me; it's hard to let go of some of my "sacred cows". In some ways, I feel like a 100 year old lady at a 300 year old church trying to hang on to the old hymnals. They are good, but God may have something better! Answering honestly, I think that God is not necessarily trying to shake up my entire life, but perhaps trying to shake up my priorities. It's very easy to get caught up in "good" things - good ministry options, good friends, good family habits, good careers. They are good things. But, at the loss of them or with a change in our lives, we have to remember the BEST thing - Christ! If we mourn too greatly those good things and our perspective and focus on Christ gets lost, He wants to bring us back. Oh, what an awesome God we serve!

It's also very exciting to see how God is changing my heart. I feel like I am a mature Christian - I'm going on 24 years of being a Christian! But, it seems the more I learn, the more I have to go. What an fascinating walk with Christ that we have the opportunity to take! We will never max out on what we can learn and how we can improve! His compassion is new EVERY morning... He wants to love us, grow us, and improve us DAILY!

I'm excited to see what is ahead!

SKY DIVING PHOTOS!!! FINALLY!!! This was my 30th birthday goal for about the last five years at least....



Above - I'm suiting up - I really wasn't nervous at all!! I did get a little nervous when he gave me my crash course lesson on sky diving in about three minutes. It was this complicated kneeling, backing out, leaning thing that I couldn't do on land much less in an airplane with him attached to my back. I was a little worried at first and then just decided that people do this everyday, it's not that complicated, and he's the one that's responsible for remembering all this - not me. It was great. I really trusted him as he seemed he knew what he was doing. He used to be a criminal... and was definitely not saved. I prayed for him. He took his first sky dive at the age of thirty (like me) and just kept jumping and got his certification. He has done a lot of instructing in warm tropical places during the winter. He just travels around to these great tropical beach areas. That is SUCH a job I could do. I bet it would be a great mission field - thing the NAMB would sponsor me??

The pictures are out of order, and I don't have time to mess with them, but to the left is when we are taking off. It was a much smaller plane than I expected, but it was fun! When we got pretty far up into the air, I looked way way way down and asked if we were about to jump. Chris said, Nope, we're not even halfway there! That freaked me out a tad because already the cars looked like little dots. But, when we got up twice as far, it didn't seem that much higher. It was so awesome!! He also did a couple of barrel rolls in the plane since it was a small one. You just sit on the floor and feel the force. I was so excited!!!


Above is our landing, which was as smooth as butter. VERY smooth! He picked the spot we were going to land, and we did! On the left is us coming in closer. All I kept seeing as we were coming in were these cows right below us. I just kept processing that over and over. FUNNY!

This is us walking out to the plane. SO, out of order pictures and hard to see, but you get the drift. We have a video of it all which is great. This was an awesome awesome experience, and I would HONESTLY go once a day. I love it. If we lived near a strip and it wasn't expensive, I would get certified! I encourage anyone who hasn't tried it to go for it!!! Now, what to do for 40... or even 35! I would love a long kayak, rapelling adventure or something with hikes in between. Like the Adventure Junkies website. Gotta get in shape first though!

OK, so we came home from New Year's Day festivities tired, and I'm gearing up for a tenth grade girls sleepover tonight. I was resting in bed watching mindless television just to chill for a bit. I found a ridiculous show called "Beauty and the Geek" - perfect mindless television. It's a reality show where geeky super intelligent guys (MIT, robotics, etc) are paired up with beautiful, not as smart girls (2 cocktail waitresses, a camp counselor, tanning bed attendant, etc.). The girls are to get smarter in theory I think, and are tested on things like being able to set up a computer from box to working order. Guys are tested on fashion definitions like monochromatic and popular designers. Today's particular challenge was the girls got to do a makeover, and the guys had to get rated in speed dating to see who had improved the most. Well, one guy, forgetting that his "beauty" partner was listening and watching on camera told his speed date that he was glad to get enjoy some intelligent conversation with her (the speed date) because he hadn't gotten any lately (hence, his Beauty was dumb). So, the beauty and geek are talking later, and she's demanding an apology. He says something to the point of that he wouldn't be offended to be called socially awkward, and she shouldn't be offended to be called unintelligent; he said that's why they were paired up together. WELL, Beauty's chin starts quivering and she asserts, "I am NOT unintelligent, and I DO get offended when I'm called that." The geek replies, "Okay, maybe not unintelligent but unacademically inclined." Beauty gets up in a huff and stomps off saying, "I'm not academically uninclined (or something of the sorts mixing up the words).... or whatever it was that you just said..." I BUSTED out laughing... she was insisting she WAS intelligent but couldn't repeat the complicated phrase, unacademically inclined. I wouldn't laugh at her personal lack of intelligence if it weren't for the background of the show. It was SO SO hilarious!

Why do Christmas trees never go back into the box as easily as they were originally packed in there? We un-decorated for Christmas yesterday, which I think for most people is not a fun day. Dragging things back up into the attic is a lot harder than getting them down. Jason says at least the Christmas tree comes down easier than it goes up, but what a pain to try to get it to fit in whatever storage container you have!

Everyone has a different theory about when to put away the Christmas decorations. Some do it the day after Christmas, others before the 1st, others immediately after the New Year, and then everyone knows that one house where the decorations don't come down until March - if at all!

Growing up, my mom was huge about getting it down before the New Year began; she always quoted bad luck, but I know she didn't really believe that as she wasn't superstitious. But, I have adopted that mentality, and we've always taken everything down before the New Year begins. One year while we were living in TX, we had been in Nashville for Christmas and came home mid-day on the 31st, went and did something for New Year's Eve, and came home exhausted and ready to crash. We had company coming the following day for our annual New Year's event anyway. (It's an Underhill tradition to make my favorite black eyed pea dip for either a New Year's Eve or Day event - I love it!) I just decided we could take it down on the 2nd or 3rd. We went to bed and slept well, but at around 5 am (company was due at around 9 am for football games), I woke up straight in bed thinking, "What in the world are we doing? We have got to get these Christmas decorations up!" To my husband's alarm, I hustled us out of bed and we got everything down and clean before company got there. We didn't technically make it before the New Year, but 9 am was pretty close! :)

Ever since, I've made sure that we get everything up before the New Year. I'm not superstitious either, but I just like having a fresh, clean house to start the New Year off. I'm ready to put behind me the two months of holidays, crazy schedules, and parties to get down to a fresh new routine. I love facing a brand new year of possibilities, a few resolutions, and the promise of spring coming with an organized, clean house. It just goes along with the New Year for me.

The Bible talks about fresh starts too! Lamentations 3:22-26 says, "Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, 'The LORD is my portion; therefore I will WAIT for him.' The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord." God's compassions are new every morning. Each day is a new opportunity to praise him with our lives. Each day is a chance to start over and be all that God has called us to be.

I also like Isaiah 43:18-19, 21 - "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland... (for) the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise." WOW! God says, forget about this last year, forget about 2006. Don't dwell on the things that went wrong. I am doing a new thing - I have great plans for 2007! I am making good come out of all the bad (the desert and the wasteland). I formed YOU for my own joy; I made you so that you can tell everyone how great a God I am! This verse was written to the Israelites who went through cycle upon cyle of being oppressed and then restored due to their disobedience and focus on the past.

God wants to do a new thing in our lives. My house is clean in preparation for a New Year, but it will dirty quickly... very quickly I'm afraid! But, God's mercies are new EVERY morning! His compassions fail not. His plans for us are so far-reaching that if we knew them all, we would probably collapse! How exciting!

More on this, reflections of 2006, prayers for 2007, a few resolutions, and PICTURES (finally!!) in the next couple of days.

Well, we had an exciting dinner tonight. Jason's mom had brought over a Honeybaked Ham on New Year's Eve Day that we have thoroughly enjoyed. Jason and I decided you could almost justify the price of it with as many meals as we've gotten out of it; of course we got it for free. I decided I'd be super economical and non-wasteful and make a soup out of the leftover ham bone. I printed off a couple, narrowed it down to two, and to my delight, Jason chose one from Food Network which was a spicy New-Orleans style stew. It was noted as "medium" difficulty on Food Network so I was looking forward to the challenge; Food Network recipes always intimidate me a bit. However, this recipe appeared to be actually very simple. I got the stock going with the ham bone and corn cobs, and the aroma of the ham bone was so delicious. It was finally cold, and just smelling that ham bone today made Jason and I both anticipate the yummy taste of a warm bowl of soup tonight.

The ham bone, corn cobs, and ten cups of water were to simmer an hour and a half. I had to scrape the cobs to release the corn milk which sounded very chef-like to me. I measured out the water precisely as to not mess up the esteemed Food Network recipe. I even made sure I had the temperature on exactly medium-low; I spent a few minutes debating what was actually medium low. Is it halfway between "medium" and "low"? Or is it one or two clicks past medium towards low? Why don't they label that? I went for two clicks beyond medium towards low.

So, as I said, we enjoyed the lovely ham aroma. I was taking down the upstairs Christmas tree, and I was waiting for the time to add the other ingredients to the now simmering stock. I had checked it a couple of times, but I did wonder whether I was to add more water or not. There were no instructions to do so, and I assumed that adding more water would only mess up the consistency of the recipe. If the hallowed chefs at Food Network did not say to add water, then by all means, I was not going to add water.

Suddenly, as I was tying up the branches of the tree, I smelled an unfamiliar aroma. It was not the aroma of the sweet smelling ham, but a different smell was wafting towards my nostrils. I smelled for a moment and then rushed downstairs. The closer I got to the kitchen, the clearer the smell of scorched food became. I rushed in to find the pot nearly on fire. It was smoking ferociously, and I could hear the remnants sizzling in the pot before I even got into the kitchen.

I rushed it outside and doused it with water. After opening windows, and the smell still not dissipating, we did what any other American family would do. We went out to dinner and left the windows open. Salsaritas was good, but it wasn't the savory soup I'd longed for. And, throughout dinner, all I could smell was my hair reeking of scorched food... There's nothing like scorched food to replace that new house smell! Upon returning home, the smell still lingered. Right now, we have every candle we can find and a stick of incense burning. Our bedroom is very romantic!

The lesson I've learned is perhaps Food Network does not belong on the cooking pedestal I have placed them on. A couple of weeks ago, I looked through a Rachel Ray cookbook and was not impressed enough to keep it on my Christmas list. Of course she's on NBC now with Harpo. So, I'll be more wary of Barefoot Contessa and her cohorts. I do love Paula Dean though and want to try her fried chicken recipe...

The other thing I've learned is I want to burn more candles. I used to burn them ALL the time and haven't had time to do so lately I guess. Just got out of the habit. I like it!! :)

Of course this experience can happen to anyone. Our dear Uncle Paul, a fireman no less, once BURNED his kitchen (and had to call the fire department) when something on the stove burned. Needless to say, he still hears about that... :)

We have a contract on the TX house! Didn't take long once it was priced right! The realtor was leaving to go out of town so we didn't get into the details, but we do have a buyer. My only regret is that we didn't do this long ago. But, as Jason and I have talked, if we had done it a couple of years ago and our credit had been damaged, we never would have been able to buy this house. So, I guess it all works out. Thank you for all that have prayed! Continue praying that this will finish up and close as planned!

PRAISE GOD!!! All the time of course, but specifically in this time...

Jason just emailed and said that we are approved for the short sale... not only that, but the agreement we have with the mortgage company is that we owe NOTHING for the house - no part of the remaining balance. Our realtor told Jason that only one in fifty people applying for a short sale get one in which they don't have to repay any of the difference. She said the letter we wrote to the mortgage company was what made the difference. We just explained all that we have gone through with the renters, hanging on to it and paying double mortgage payments for more than a year, the extensive financial hardship on our family from this house, and me going back to work because of that. Looking back on all of that just makes me sick thinking of all we have gone through, the many tears I've cried (and still cry) from working this year, the deep ache in my heart as I leave my two babies every single morning, and the strain my working has put on our marriage and our ministry.

BUT, I heard a Word on the Way yesterday that pointed out that FAITH is not giving up even when the worst is at its worst. Faith is constantly believing that God is God, and He has the PERFECT solution to any problem. He quoted the verse about faith producing perseverance. I have NEVER understood that verse better than I did yesterday when it all struck me. And that's before I heard the news today! James 1:2-4 says, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." Through ALL trials! Amen!

Here's my prayer and hopefully the reason for all of this - we won't know until we get to heaven for sure. BUT, my prayer is that someone is impacted by our story. When I wrote that letter to the mortgage company, I prayed and prayed and prayed. I basically wrote out a testimony of our faith on that letter. I tried to demonstrate how we had tried to handle this in a way reflective of our faith. I talked about our struggle with the renters, the financial destruction this has caused our family, and my going back to work to try and cover that. But, I also said that we had total faith in God that He would take care of us! I just have prayed over and over that whoever read our letter would be a person whose heart God would pierce for us. I pray that someone who reads that might get a glimpse of what kind of hope a real, breathing, loving God can offer. I still pray that!

Thinking about all of those things is hard to think about looking back. It is still VERY hard to leave my babies in the mornings. It's hard for Jason and I to maintain just sanity and balance in our marriage - both of us working is really hard! We've sacrificed a lot this year. But, isn't God so good? If someone could be impacted through this, then it would all be worth it! And, irony of all ironies, while we were cramped in that apartment this summer, our house that we are living in now was being built just a mile away from us! God is good!

On the practical side, pray for our house to sell! We feel we are so close to the finish. Jason is of course hopelessly optimistic and is pulling for us to be finished with it going into 2007. While I certainly hope this is the case, I'd be happy for sometime soon. Our realtor did say that she has 12-13 people to look at it this week! That's double the amount of people we've had look at it in 9 months - well, 2 years for that matter!

Our $163,000 house is now appraised for $132,000 (which I think is actually a little high). The mortgage company is asking for at least $108,000 which gives us some room for realtor's fees. Just pray that it sells within this price range and that it will sell quickly. Pray for our realtor Mendy as well!

Thanks to all of you who have been prayer warriors and supporters with us through this. We love you so much and are so thankful for your precious aromas of prayers lifted up unto our Lord. Thank you!

It was so warm today that when I took the kids out for recess, I actually wanted to lay out. Not in a bathing suit necessarily. It wasn't hot, but the sun actually was tanning my face I think. Had I been out longer than 10 minutes, I think I could have gotten a little color today... reminds me of TX!

My quiet times have certainly changed over the last few months with going back to work. I used to cherish the times the kids went down for naps for obvious reasons, but I would mainly use that time to stretch out and just have me and God time. It was quiet, middle of the day, and it was such a fabulous recharge. Since my fourth graders don't take naps, ha ha!, I've had to be creative in finding time.

I think this is a subject many people struggle with. So often our lives are filled up with an insane amount of activities and responsibilities, and it's hard to get a schedule down. Hey, that's just life. Most people I talk to really love having a quiet time and want the time. It's not that they are neglecting their relationship with God, it's just hard to make the time. I think a lot of people, epecially moms, feel like a quiet time is "Me" time and feel guilty taking it. A quiet time is like anything else, if you want to do it and it's important to you, you just have to make yourself carve out the time. Easier said than done, eh?

SO MANY people feel so guilty when they miss a quiet time or even a couple of weeks of quiet times that they just give up. Many of us look at quiet times with a diet mentality. Well, I'm on a diet, I've been doing good, I can see improvements, OH! I blew it tonight at that party (or the whole month of December)... Oh well, I just can't do this, it's too hard to lose weight. Ever feel like that about something? Add feeling like God is mad at you or you're not eligible for the holiest of holies club at church and people treat quiet times the same way.

God is not up in heaven keeping a tally sheet of our quiet times. It's not a sin to miss one, and it's not something we should feel guilty about. HOWEVER (did you sense that coming), a quiet time is something we should strive to do. It's like any command in the Bible, take tithing for instance. God is not going to strike us with lightning for not tithing, but when we do tithe, we have an even closer fellowship with God. That closer fellowship is a blessing in and of itself. Quiet times are not so much for God, although he does crave fellowship with us. But, they are for ourselves because we benefit the most from having a quiet time with God and basking in his love and presence for a specific time each day.

The other thing people get hung up on is time of day. A quiet time is not "holier" in the morning. There are benefits to starting your day off in the right mentality and right frame of mind, but talking to God at night and analyzing your day's actions and words can be just as beneficial. I've talked to many people that once they missed their quiet time in the morning just decided they'd missed it and would try it again the next morning. That successful morning sometimes never comes - Satan is good at that! The best key I found when I was struggling with starting a regular quiet time was committing that I would NOT go to bed until I had my quiet time. If I had it in the morning, great; if at lunch, great; but if I hadn't finished it by that evening, I would not go to bed until I had completed it. Some people say they are too tired to do it at night. I agree that sometimes this is true. But, I've overcome this by praying through those times and just deciding to at least read something. Sometimes I'll just read a few verses and pray through those before I go to bed. God will give you that extra bit of energy if you pray for it. This strategy has worked for me through several periods in my life. Anytime that I am struggling with getting them done, I try to start this process and am usually able to get back on track.

So, what qualifies as a quiet time? I've had many different phases in my life.

I've had phases where my quiet times consisted of 15-30 minutes of reading a devotional book, journaling, and praying at various times of the day. My favorite book was a devotional entitled "Women of the Bible" where I just studied a different woman each week. There were lots of insights God taught me. I "happened" to study Hannah as I was struggling with not being able to get pregnant and God taught me to be satisfied with what I have when I have it. Most recently, I've really enjoyed "Voices of the Faithful". God has really used that with me this year. I received it as a birthday present last year and started it in January. The devotionals lined up almost perfectly with my struggles that I went through at the beginning of the year. My jaw would almost drop open at what I was reading.

I've had great times in my life where I've taken the kids' whole nap time to just sit and do a big long study for an hour or two at a time and then do a more inspirational quiet time at night - two a day! Earlier this year I was doing Disciple's Prayer Life (just at my own pace) and then reading through the Bible at night with journaling.

And, then there have been other times where I have to take what I can get when I can get it. Both times that the kids were small babies and my physical NEED was to take a nap during any small moment, I would have to just read a verse here and there to meditate on or when I had a few minutes to think (clearly or not), I would meditate and pray on whatever the sermon had been about that week. Sometimes my quiet time was as I was nursing or rocking one of them to sleep just singing praise songs to God and praying through the words I was singing. Just a moment here and there where I was completely yielded to God. Could I live on that forever? No, but it was better than nothing at the time.

Lately, my quiet times have been either something inspiring in a song or a verse read as I listen to christian radio on the way to school. I've prayed a lot more in the car than I have in past years. That's been a neat thing. In the past, my quiet times have been more reading and learning and listening and not as much me talking necessarily. Now, I am praying more where I'm talking, and I feel my intercessory prayer has grown more. My input has been less though. I was getting the Word on the Way devotionals at school for a while, but those just randomly stopped coming recently. It's hard to get that input at times!

Just the other day, I was flipping through stations on the way to work and heard just a brief 10 seconds or so of a random radio station. It was one I haven't heard before and it faded out not to be found again before I could listen to the rest of what the guy was saying. He was talking about how years ago, using welfare was really looked down upon. He lived with his grandparents and needed glasses. Someone had suggested they go to get free glasses, but his grandparents refused. They saved and scraped together the money to buy the glasses eventually. He talked about how people in those days, not even very long ago, really depended on God to get them the things they need. Their prayer life and faith was a lot stronger because there was no instant gratification. I told Jason that I guess if one of the kids needed glasses and we couldn't afford them that we would certainly accept free ones or just put it on credit to pay it off a little at a time, and we wouldn't think a think about it. In a sense, I think someone providing them for free would seem like God's provision to me. But, I really prayed that day about relying on God more. Our society is so instant gratification focused! That's interesting to compare our faith with those that are older and lived during the late 1800s and early 1900s. It gives new meaning to the mention of God in our pledge and on our money because that's what this country was founded upon. Just an interesting way that God touched my heart...

Now that I've gotten into the routine of school, quiet times are getting a little easier. I'm hoping to get more regular at the start of the new school year. For a while, I just honestly wasn't doing them at all. I really missed that fellowship though. I'm hoping over winter break to get some long periods of time where I can really dive in to study God's word. Oh, I crave it!!!

Anybody else have creative ideas to offer?? Good devotional books to recommend?