The Crunchy Mommy

I forgot just how much I love Monday mornings! That sounds incredibly strange doesn't it? LOL!

But I love the opportunity to sit and reflect on everything that happened this weekend.

I had planned on going to the Louisville Nature Center this weekend for their Earth Day celebration, but then, luckily, I was reminded that my niece Krista had a beauty pageant so we quickly changed our plans so we could go cheer for her!




I, personally, am not a big fan of pageants, but I love my nieces and would NEVER tell them that! LOL. BJ and I tease each other all the time... I tell her "I wouldn't ever want to be a pageant mom" and she tells me "At least I'm not a soccer and cheerleading mom!" hehe. It's all in good fun though, because I'm at every pageant and she's at every game!

Then Saturday night, we had some scary weather! We were up late from our naps and Josh and I were taking pizza out of the oven, when my computer started thundering. I have this program that does that every time there's severe weather. So I checked it, and there was a tornado warning for ... pretty much the next road over from our house! They said the tornado would be there within ten minutes!

We live at the top of a hill and DON'T have a storm shelter, although Josh keeps promising me to build one. We jumped in the van and drove to the sheriff's department, which is one of the strongest buildings around, to wait out the storm. It was SO SCARY!

Luckily, the tornado was just an EF0... which means it only damaged some trees and roof-tops and other slight damage. *sigh* I don't think any tornado is less scary although I am glad there wasn't that much damage. We were lucky too, because our power comes from 'down the hill' instead of 'on the hill' and we didn't even lose electricity when it went through.


Then on Sunday...

Josh finally went to church with me! I told him I didn't care WHERE we went, as long as we WENT as a family. And so, on Sunday morning, he got up, reluctantly, and got dressed and we went to a church a few miles down the road that I'd never been to.

You could tell that he was so nervous, but the people stepped up and really made him feel welcome. An usher came by and introduced himself and asked Josh and I if we were saved. Josh told him he was having trouble with his faith (after the murder of Jessica, and the deaths of so many friends and loved ones we had at the end of last year) and the usher prayed for him and told him that he would still be praying for him during the message and if he needed anything to just come and find him.

The pastor stepped up and started talking. He was great, and the message was awesome. He spoke on living in depression and how the bible teaches us to live each day as though it was the day when Christ would come back, because one day will be that day. As soon as he was finished, the usher came rushing over and said to Josh, "Brother, that message was just for you, wasn't it?"

Josh broke down and said "Yes. It was."

He walked with Josh to the alter, and almost all the men in the church went to pray with him and encourage him. When he came back to the seat, he was smiling like I haven't seen in smile in a long time! We stayed and visited for a little while and on the way home, Josh told me he had rededicated him life to Christ with a big smile on his face.

When we got home, he even thanked me for forcing him to go because he was planning on going and using the bad experience as an excuse to not go back! But he said he wants to go on Wednesday and promised the children we ALL could go back on Sunday.

Praise God, I am still crying... I'm so happy! I had been praying all night Saturday and all morning that God would lead us to a church with a message that Josh would hear... he certainly did!

“Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28)

This afternoon was especially lovely. The weather hovered around 65 degrees and sunny. The children were all occupied playing soccer, swinging on the swing set, or jumping on the trampoline with their Daddy. I had been working since Thursday cleaning up all manner of construction debris out of the yard and was sitting down at the picnic table with my mom enjoying my relatively neat yard, contented family, and beautiful sunshine.

I've been a bit concerned about getting a 'farmer's tan' before BJ's wedding... I don't want to end up immortalized in photographs as the matron of honor with two toned arms in my bridesmaid dress, and so I was sitting in the sun in a spaghetti strap shirt. I didn't really think twice about it, except to think to put it on.

But when my mom and I decided to run to Wal-Mart, it was a completely different story. I, oblivious as always, started to gather my things to get in the car, while my husband discreetly tried to get my attention.

There I am, running about, and my sweet Josh "Ahem-ing" himself hoarse. Finally, he managed to catch my eye and give a little tug on his shirt sleeve. It took me a second, but finally I caught on and boy, I was mortified!

I was about to not only wear something out that I was bought to wear as pajamas, but I was going to go out, on the busiest day of the week in our busy little town, which also happens to be the Sabbath (see me cringe, even now?) with some rather private property on display and I hadn't given it a second thought!



I heard a fantastic sermon again this afternoon, after I had my usual elbow-length sleeves and below the knee shorts on, entitled "Ladies, Does how you dress cause men to lust?" by a pastor names Al Martin. In it he, very candidly, discusses all manner of (mostly) unintentional ways that women fail in dressing modestly. I wanted to share his list of common stumbling blocks with you, since they've left such an impression on me; and opened my eyes to several of my own shortcomings in my own personal attempt at modesty. I don't think that I can put it in a better perspective than he, so I am going to share some of the transcript of his sermon, straight from his own words.

These are the 10 Magnets for Men, written and seconded by men in men's language, for the women who walk amongst them and don't wish to cause another to sin:

#1- Dresses or Skirts with Lengthy Slits.
Anything above the knee causes men to think "Oh, a few more inches and what would I see?"

#2- Dresses or skirts that hug the bottom.
When you see pictures of prostitutes, one of the marks of a prostitute, she always has her
buttocks hugged, whether it is a mini skirt, whether it is jeans, whether it is tight slacks,
her butt is always hugged because that is what she is selling. And that is what she wants
men to buy.

#3- Any upper garment that hugs the bosom.
People should not receive an anatomy lesson in mammary glands when they
look at you women.

#4- Unbuttoned blouses or cleavage.
You not only unbutton here and here and here and here, but you unbutton down to one
button away from bearing your bra. And when a man sees only one button to go his mind
goes, I wonder what is under that one more button

#5- Sleeveless blouses or dresses with large armholes.
You look down on your sleeveless dress and you see nothing but your shoulder.
But if it is a large arm hole, a man sitting behind you looks up at the pulpit, sees through
to your bra. And his mind goes where he doesn’t want it to go.

#6- Low rise skirts or pants.
....flaunting their bodies in their gyrations with their so called music. They have made this style popular with the skirts that barely hang on the hip bones and with the jeans that barely come up and cover the crack of the buttocks. I have been in situations with Christian women where I have had to look at the crack of their buttocks because of the low rise jeans, skirts or pants.

#7- See through clothing of any kind.
Clothing that does not cover your under garments to the point where no one can see them. Some of you need to know the function of a camisole.

#8- Skirts and dresses that are just plain too short.
Difficult when you are seated to adequately covered yourself. And then you get engrossed in something in a public setting and you are not keeping your knees locked together and before long the legs are spread a bit and anyone just happening to glance can see clean up to your pants. That is not modest. It is immodest.

#9- Pants or jeans that hug the bottom, thighs, or crotch.
Slacks that either have spandex in them or they are a kind of material that is a stretch material that hugs the buttocks, comes around and hugs the thigh and presses up on your crotch and the crack of your buttocks and you have no idea what that does to many a man when he sees it. You draws the eye to the most erotic part of your body.


Aren't we all guilty of one or the other? So what should we do, then?

Pastor Martin continues:

I love Jesus. I may see things from a strange perspective that has been formed over 24 years of a very unusual life, we will see. But there are times when I just want to run to Him, throw my arms around His neck and give Him a big kiss on the cheek. He never dances around a subject, He gets right to the meat of it and tells you what you need to hear... even if you don't want to hear it.

I try to listen, Lord, every chance I get. Please never stop trying to tell me even though I am usually to thick and oblivious to hear.

OK, to the meat of this post. :)

It seems incredible how two weeks can hold such highs and lows of the human mind, two such opposing emotions warring for the right to dominate. Do I rejoice or do I mourn? Am I full of praise or full of sorrow?

I am full of rejoicing!
Two weeks ago today, my niece, Kelley Leigh-Ann, was born after a long tumultuous delivery that eventually resulted in a cesarean section. BJ called me before she got to the hospital and I stayed by her side until she, Daddy, and Baby were resting peacefully and I could barely hold my head up straight. I was so proud of B and so joyful for such a beautiful baby! I spent the night getting to know Kelley's dad in a way I hadn't been able to before, and shared several precious moments with the two of them I will never, ever forget.



I am full of sorrow.
Then last Thursday, Jesus called one of His own home to Him... we were just not willing to share. My dear friend, Jessica, won her fight against PNETs cancer after two long years of battling. She went to her ultimate reward, and left us all here to celebrate her life and mourn ours without her. Jessica's father is the man who joined me and Josh in marriage. Her mother helped me with all the planning (and actually did the majority of it herself!) and Jessica was one of the few of my friends there to celebrate with us. I've known her all my life (at least since my life began) and grew up with her, besides. She was beautiful, inside and out, and I can't imagine how beautiful she is worshiping her Savior at His feet. I will truly miss her.


But where does that leave me? Do I celebrate and rejoice in a precious new life or do I weep and lament in the beginning of another? I don't have the answer.

I did, however, hear a wonderful broadcast on Sunday morning. "Peace," the preacher said, "Peace in yourself and peace with God. Most people will say that they have peace with God and themselves, but whenever great tragedies or great wonders happen, they find themselves torn from the inside and learn that their peace was nothing but a veneer over rotting wood."

It stopped me in my tracks. Peace. The knowledge and understanding that God truly controls everything, a comfort and assurance of our place at His feet. Peace. How wonderful it sounds.

I am trying to hear, Lord. Quiet my mind so I can hear your voice!

I sat down over the past couple days to really try and discover if I possessed peace. Do I know for sure that God is watching me, and caring for me? Am I really able to weather a storm of emotions from some elusive inner wellspring of peace and joy or am I just faking it? How do I know when I am actually peaceful?

Jessica's mom, Sharon, sent me, although she doesn't realize she did, to a website called What About Jesus where I found this in the Daily Devotional section:

Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again: rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all, the Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God, and the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus - Philippians 4:4-7

"In our reading for today, the Apostle Paul actually encourages us not just to rejoice but to rejoice always. Crime in the streets ... rejoice? Young people dying in foreign wars ... rejoice? No job ... rejoice? Yes, what we have in Jesus lifts us above all that. All of these things are problems in this sinful world. Jesus lived and died to take us out of this sinful world to be with him in a perfect world forever. But can we rejoice and find peace while we are still here? Again yes, because “the Lord is near." We don't have to scratch and claw our way through life grabbing things as if this is all there is. Jesus is with us, and through him we are blessed with God’s favor and the joy of life with God now and forever.

We don't have to be anxious about anything, either. We know who is in charge of all things, and he has invited us to present our requests to him. We can take our worries and problems to our God in prayer and leave them with him, knowing that he will always answer according to his great love and his eternal will for us. Then, as Paul explains, "The peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." '

Rejoice Always! Again, Rejoice! Present your cares to Jesus and the peace of God will guard your heart and mind!

I am Listening. I think I really am beginning to understand!

Maybe peace is not something that we have or have not.

Maybe peace is not something we can earn or lose.

Maybe, just maybe, peace is a gift waiting for us to reach out and take it for our own.


Am I brave enough to accept it? Are you? Or do I think I can somehow find peace apart from the Peacemaker?


When I search my mind, heart and soul, I am confident when I say to any who read this, "I have peace in my life. I am peaceful, regardless of the sorrow that pierces my heart. I am peaceful when I am rejoicing and I am peaceful when I am shattered. I feel peace with Jesus, my one true love, my God Most High, my shelter, and Savior. I rest in His glory, and I am peaceful in His arms."

I saw an episode of Wife-swap yesterday (Yes I know, I have much better things to be doing with my time!) about a woman from a conservative Christian family who lived as a 'help-meet' for her husband, home-schooled, taught her daughters to be home-makers and mothers, and her son to be a provider and protector. She was swapped with a woman who took a very liberal view of God, was the sole provider of her family, and her husband raised her daughters to be liberal and not believe in the Bible as it was written... when the Ms. Non-conservative arrived at Ms. Conservative's home, she immediately began attacking the values of the family- telling the children that their parents were not teaching them right and making every effort to contradict the values of purity, virtue, and obedience to God that resounded in the home. When Ms. Conservative arrived at her 'new home' she began trying to instill a work ethic in the children and husband, and set out to serve the family with joy and love.

Yet, when it came down to the table meeting, Mr. and Ms. Conservative were repeatedly attacked by Mr. and Ms. Non-conservative for being 'brain-washers, close-minded, and bigots', whilst they took their verbal beating with grace and composure.

Coincidentally, a devotion showed up in my inbox this morning on the meaning of the word "Christian" from the Institute for Creation Research which says :

" 'Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.' (1 Peter 4:16)
....
We can "glorify God on this behalf," or "in this name." This implies more than just praising the name. We can glorify God in what we do--in how we live in that name. We can certainly also bring dishonor to the title "Christian" by our actions. A solemn responsibility is then ours, to bring honor and glory to God through our lives."

Both women called themselves Christians, but which brought 'honor and glory to God through their lives"; which could you look at and really see the grace and love of our Precious Savior in?

It is for this reason that when I walk into a crowd and am picked out as a Christian based on outwardly signs (my large family of polite, -mostly- well-behaved children, mine and my daughters uncut hair, our modest dress, and orderly appearance) people seem to immediately shy away, fearing either a heretic, holier-than-thou family, or a bunch of crazy 'bible-thumping Christians'.

Yet we, as Christians are commanded to be a light unto the world- to go out and share the gospel with all that we meet, to live our lives in service of the Almighty so that the world may know us, not by our words, but by our actions! How is it possible when people are reluctant to talk to you- fearing a beating and condemnation for all of their sins? Simple. Sharing the gospel doesn't always mean immediately shoving Bible verses down their throats nor does it mean that every other sentence should begin or end with "By the grace of God" or "Praise Jesus"

You see, I make it a goal whenever we are out and about to always start up a friendly conversation with strangers- the over-whelmed mother dragging her unruly twins, the scared looking father trying to find the best diaper brand, the young woman looking through cleaning supplies with a befuddled look on her face... the punks, the goths, the rednecks, the corporate types... whatever name society has given them, they all find their way onto my radar and involved in discussions with me about everything from fertilizer to child-rearing to decorating styles to video games. :) I try to remember that no matter what a person's outward appearance, they were all created in the imagine of God... of my God. And He loves them!

No matter what direction their lives have taken they were all created with one purpose- to love God with all their hearts, minds, and souls. They may be biased against Christians or they may have had no experience with religion but they are still precious.

Sharing the love of Jesus with unbelievers doesn't mean being pious and un-reachable. Sharing the love of Christ means reaching out to all people, understanding and excepting them, and through your actions and reactions showing the grace and forgiveness that you have been shown. No matter what (Godly, I hope!) topics comes out of your mouths, if you're actions don't back up your words, you will be branded a fake and lose the blessing of sharing Christ with that person!

Always remember : Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. Let your speech be always seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man. (Colossians 4:5-6)