A Brother's Love

I've been realizing over the last few months how desperately Gabriel loves his little sister Shelby. He oozes love in all ways for his little sweetheart. It's adorable, selfless, compassionate, and endearing! He truly LOVES her as we should love others. He always puts her needs first and his last.

When she is being ornery, he simply holds he hands and sweetly says "Sugey (pronounced like shuggey, as in sugar) that's a no no. You need to be nice to brother!" He is patient, and kind with his words to her. Always begging to get Shelby from her naps...following her down the stairs to make sure she comes down on her belly backwards. Showing and guiding her if she does it wrong...all with a lovely singsong voice of true compassion.

It's a wonder for sure. We have always taught our children to try and be kind, loving, and understanding to one another, but Gabe takes it to a level that only God can inspire. This is how God wants us to be. Why is it so hard for us?! Gabe makes it look like a piece of cake. He will hear Shelby say "Ma, Ma!" as she awakes from her nap, and doesn't think for a minute about dropping whatever he's doing (including eating dinner) runs for the stairs and happily brings Shelby to us and says "Baby Girls awake!

We have a living example in our home of Christ's love. Through a CHILD!

1 John 3:16-18 says:
16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.

1 John 4
*4:7-8 Love comes from God
*4:9-10 God shows us what genuine love is
*4:11-12 God commands us to love

We all have a lot to learn from these little people...God has them in our lives for a reason. When was the last time you sacrificially loved someone without needing a thank you, or a pat on the back? Having just done it because you love them and God calls you to???

Christmas Decor

Christmas Decor by messybunch on Polyvore.com

With a new home this Christmas comes a desire to make things new...including the Christmas decorations. Our home is mostly earth tons, browns, taupes, grays, and white. In my book that ='s boring! So for this Christmas we are going to spruce it up a bit and add the color through decorations, lights, candles, pillows, and all those fun accents. Looks like Crate and Barrel stole my heart this season with beautiful ornaments, candles, and fire starters!

The tree is cut down from the Aching Back Christmas Tree Farm in Yacolt, WA. Thank you Swifts for the beautiful tree (it almost looks fake, because it's so perfect!) All we need now is for our two eldest children to come home so we can trim the tree! It's a fun time of Christmas music, hot chocolate with marshmallows, peppermint sticks (Bob's Candy Shoppe of course), and whipped cream, and don't forget...a broom & dust pan in hand for that ornament that gets loose from some small hands.

It's a joyous time of year for sure! Christ is the reason for this season and that brings a smile to the faces in our home. Matthew 1:18-25 Tells us the story of Jesus' birth.

"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" which means, "God with us." Matthew 1:23

So even though the gifts, trees, and lights are so beautiful, don't forget the beauty of the Messiah's birth. The real reason for this season! People celebrate Christmas without knowing what it's about. The Christ in Christmas says it all. It's about praise, honor, and glory to our King!

May your Christmas be one of reflection and glory for HIS kingdom...

Welcome to Polyvore!

Welcome to Polyvore! by messybunch featuring a military coat

My ideal, no budget, Christmas look!

Let me introduce you to Polyvore. It is a fantastic website that allows you to create outfits or living rooms or gift sets and more. I Love it!

To me, this is a fabulous Holiday look. It is extremely unattainable financially, but what fun it was to create! Click on the picture to link to the list of items and their price and website. Whether you want one piece, or the whole look, it allows you to pick and choose.

Enjoy dreaming, that's what I do!

Avon

My great friend for the last 17yrs Katie Sanders, has opened up shop with Avon!

I love the fact that I can shop from home, look through a catalog, see what's the best deal, what's on sale, or process my purchase over a few hours (instead of rushing while I'm in a store), and know that I will still get quality products. One of the best parts for me too is, it's also helping a mom who desires to stay home with her wee ones (but needs extra income) to accomplish that goal!

Avon has a plethora of items ranging from makeup, skin care, jewelry, shoes, clothing, purses and more.





My favorite items are the Big Color Eye Liners, Glazewear Lip Gloss, & the mark. fragrances!


Katie's website is: www.youravon.com/ksanders6501

So, if you are needing to purchase your usual items or want to try it for the first time, give her a call or send her an email, and she can get it ordered for you! She's in the Battle Ground, WA area. Katie is there to take your order and deliver it to you, or if you're out of the area (like me being 4hrs away) you can purchase off her website and it will be directly shipped to you (with a shipping charge of course.)

Check it out, see what you think!

My Top 3 Places to Travel...

Where might they be you wonder....?

Well needless to say, I surprised myself by deciding upon 3 that did not include hot beaches year round, skin smelling of coconut, sweat & hibiscus, drinks with umbrellas, monkeys swinging in trees, zip lines in the jungle or music with steel drums. Awhile ago I might have picked 2 out of 3 to be some tropical paradise, but as of now these are what it would be. Although these all do have beaches & sunshine, or at least a beautiful lake or two! :)

#3 GREECE



#2 ITALY
Although I think I might gain a few (alright a TON) of weight being here. Gelato, fresh bread bakeries, delectable desserts in so many shapes forms and flavors!!


Imagine staying at a B&B eating old family recipes, sipping wine (well if I drank wine, it would be an experience...lol) Let me dream! :) Looking out on the valley below wishing there was a villa...awaiting your company in which you fall in love with it (the house) and proclaimed "I'll take it!" (Yes, I know too many movies!)


#1 AUSTRIA The hills are alive with the sound of music...awhawhaaaawh

The hills are alive with the sound of music
With songs they have sung for a thousand years
The hills fill my heart with the sound of music
My heart wants to sing every song it hears

My heart wants to beat like the wings of the birds
that rise from the lake to the trees
My heart wants to sigh like a chime that flies
from a church on a breeze
To laugh like a brook when it trips and falls over
stones on its way
To sing through the night like a lark who is learning to pray

I go to the hills when my heart is lonely
I know I will hear what I've heard before
My heart will be blessed with the sound of music
And I'll sing once more

Can't you just picture yourself like Maria, spinning and singing and breathing the cool crisp fresh air? Boy I love that movie!


Do you think the bell hop wears Lederhosen in this hotel? Yeah, me either, but wouldn't that be a hoot? :)

Well these are my dreams. What are yours?!

Paradoxical People

Today's sermon was absolutely wonderful! An Australian accent mixed with humor and truth made for a delightful, amusing, healing, and fresh change of pace. The kids were laughing, we were laughing and we all learned a HUGE lesson this morning!

*We have been struggling lately with the decision to put our children in Children's Church. We are torn between what "today's" standards are for family worship, and our belief that a family should and needs to worship together. So many tell us that the only thing they learned sitting in church was to be quiet or you get pinched, glared at, etc. Or, that they learned nothing from sitting for an hour while wishing they weren't in service.

Today confirmed our belief that our children WILL sit in church with us! They sit quietly, minus Shelby which stays in the nursery, and are quite pleasant during service and today were fully involved in the sermon. It was amazing! Dr. Allan Meyer shared how even the best of the best in the Bible were "bad" people. They went from "good" to bad within a few chapters. Here is our outline:

1. Noah was a good man. *Genesis 6:9


2. Noah was a bad man. *Genesis 9:20-25

3. It was is son who paid the price. *Genesis 9:20-25
This is a paradox, but it was the
child who needed to be able to handle it.

4. King David was a good man. *2 Samuel 1-10

5. King David was a bad man. * 2 Samuel 11-18

6. It was his sons who paid the price.
This is a paradox, but it is the children who
needed to be able to handle it.

7. How do you honor a defective parent? *Exodus 20:12
"Honor your father and mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord
your God is giving you."

8. The key is the word "Kabed"- to give weight- but not only to the good. Both positive and negative issues.

9. On the positive side, we need to learn the skill of gratitude.

10. On the negative side, we need to learn the skill of forgiveness.

Two things that can help you learn and apply this skill:
A. Do a treasure hunt.
B. Understanding their wiring, and their history.

*An example he gave was: One day as a kid, he went and bought a new tube for his bike tire. When his father got home he grabbed a branch off a tree and gave him a good "whipping" is what he called it (the one and only time he ever did this). His father never explained why he did it, or talked with him about the situation. From that day on he decided that his father was a man to fear. "It was just a tube for a tire!" in his mind. But, in his father's mind, his fear that his son was going to be a wasteful man when he was grown, was the drive for his reaction. To explain his history...his father had 9 siblings and lived during World War 2. So for his father, the most foolish thing his son could have done was take money out of his savings and pay full price for a new tube, instead of being wise and fixing the flat one. Hence the "understand their history".



So many of us demand that our parents give us something to be grateful for. Our hearts should be thankful for the fact that they chose Life! If that is the only good thing your parents did in your life, that's enough. We live today with all these expectations of privilege, when we are called to Honor our Fathers and Mothers without expectation. Parents (usually) do their best. If they didn't, it doesn't give you the right to harbor bitterness and unforgiveness towards them. God says "Honor you father and mother..." Not "Honor your father and mother if you see that they are a qualified and have done what "you" think is deserving."

*Dr. Allan did a treasure hunt on his parents. What he found out was life changing.

Here are some ?'s for you:
- Have you ever thanked your father for working hard all his life to provide the home, food, and clothing that you had?
- Have you ever thanked your mother for carrying you in her womb?
- Have you ever thanked her for all those meals she made?
- Have you ever thanked your father for coaching your sport teams?
- Have you ever thanked him for sacrificing his youth for your comfort?
- Have you ever thanked your parents for tucking you in at night?
The list could go on and on. Yet, we focus on the things that they didn't do! Most parents are good willed people. Not perfect, just good willed.

*It's your responsibility to take that disappointment, honor it, and then lay it at the cross for Christ to heal you. It's not your parents job. Stop blaming and be proactive about it. Christ is the only one who can change you. You do this in order to not repeat the offense or action with your children. Even though we don't mean to do it, we act/repeat our parents. This is how a baby can learn to speak. They absorb everything their parents are doing. No one sat there and showed them the grammar of English language. They witnessed it, and did it. If your parents argued a lot, you will most likely argue in your marriage. If your parents divorced, you are at a higher risk of becoming divorced. If a parent shut down when angry, you'll probably do the same. If your parent yelled, you'll probably be a yeller. If your parent wasn't self-controlled, you most likely not have self control. You repeat what you see. It's a simple as that.

A paradoxical person is someone who was doing well and fell into sin.

The definition of paradoxical is: Contradictory, inconsistent, self-contradictory, puzzling, baffling, incomprehensible.

Doesn't that sound like most all of us? At least at some point in our lives? That is why it is so important that we follow Exodus 20:12 because the best is yet to come! Again, it comes down to forgiveness from your heart.

I challenge you to do a treasure hunt for your parents. I bet you'll be surprised at how long it is! Send it to your parents and leave it at that. You shouldn't expect a thank you, or response of any kind. That's not what this is about. It's about honoring the ones who you are called by God to honor. Can you argue with HIM? Nope you can't. Wouldn't you want to know what your children were thankful for with you? I do! I know that I would be surprised at what my children put on their lists. It's not going to be thank yous for gifts or things of that nature but, things like, time you said they did a nice job on a project, or the kiss you gave them for being them, or your cheering for them at their baseball game. Those are the things they will remember, that you most likely wouldn't have given a second thought to. But, it's their memories, their prospective on their life. And, we all look at life from a different angle!

Blessings~Heather

lia sophia Here I Come!

All of you who are my friends on FB already know that we have decided to include lia sophia as a part of our family income. For those of you who didn't hear, here's the scoop! http://www.liasophia.com/sites/heathermessner is my new website.

Bob's job hasn't been super great with the hrs since the 1st 2 weeks of us moving here. By God's grace we are still managing to make ends meet and keep on, keeping on! With prayer and going through the pros and cons of me possibly working out of the home, we decided that lia sophia would be the perfect fit for our family! For us it's much wiser for me to be gone 3hrs a week, compared to Bob getting a second job in the evenings and never seeing him. With this business, I can pick my own hrs, do as many or as little parties as fits our families needs. Also, I can stop at any time that Bob or I feel it being too much. We have a lot on our plate with our 5 children, homeschooling, and just life in general, so we have a very easy out with this business. If it doesn't work than it was a good experience. If it does, than our family will be blessed. Simple as that!

It's a great company with very good pay for the amount of work you do away from home. But, can you really call it work when you are enjoying the company of other moms or ladies wanting to have a fun ladies night in??? I can't! lol It should be a fun time, indeed! What female really doesn't want to spend an hour or two trying on pretty things that make you feel "beautiful"? You get to laugh, re-energize, & use the last of your 20,000 words for the day. I love the fact that these moms can bring their children to the parties. I don't know how many times parties are off limits to little ones, due to a consultant/advisor that isn't appreciative of little ones. Well, I get to say "let them come!" little girls love to try it on (and little boys, like ours, love to pick out jewelry for their future wife. So cute!). One of the best parts is, it's ALL lifetime warrantied. So, if something breaks while a wee one is playing or it just gets worn out from all the admirers, guess what lia sophia will replace it! Fantastic!!! Perfect for my life :)

I really do desire that doing this business will allow me to get to know many great women with whom a friendship could possibly arise. How neat is that? My prayer would be that they can see HIS light through me. Isn't that what God desires? I am hopeful for these opportunities if it is HIS desire for me, to build lasting friendships and to help out where & when I can for our family, while still keeping my "stay at home mom" badge. That is first and foremost one of the most important things. I'm just excited that I have a "fun" option for a job.

We shall see what HE has in store for us. I don't know enough people to really have a good base for this business, so Lord let's see what you've got in store!!!! Because this isn't going to happen without YOU opening those doors. Thank you, Lord for this chance!

Blessings~Heather