InstaFriday. Ok, InstaSaturday. Ok, InstaMonth.

Lawzee! It's been a month of Sundays since I last posted.

I'm catching up and catching my breath!

What did the last month look like through the lens of my cell phone (and, I must confess a few pics from my real camera)? Well, appropriately enough, it's mostly full of sweet and sassy females, since those are who live in our house right now.  Makes you want to say, "Lord, give Lou strength," doesn't it?

I think we keep him smiling most of the time. Hope a pic or two to follow brings a smile to your face!

As is her custom, our Elizabeth is snapping pics left and right and often grabs somebody to join her. I found this on my phone's lock screen one day.

I love her - and I think she has pretty eyes.

These next couple of months will probably be "Elizabeth heavy." She's my senior, so we're in last hurrah mode. This was our last time to play in one of my favorite venues in Springfield, MO. Central High School's "The Pit" is definitely from the old days, but aside from the really uncomfortable bleachers, I love it.

The girls in green were there to cheer our favorite Lady Liberator on.

Dona (Lou's sister),  Erin (good friend), and yours truly

Our last regular season home game is "Senior Night." The seniors are escorted by their parents as a brief bio is read about them and their future plans. All the girls, including Elizabeth, ended theirs with words about "marrying the man of my dreams and living happily ever after."

After the introductions, we got to watch a little basketball. Nobody is more pesky on defense than our girl.

Ok. This next picture is hilarious.

Did somebody throw frowning powder over the crowd?

Even Hannah and Alex, the happy newlyweds, aren't smiling

Our local radio station interviews each of the senior girls after the game. A fun little perk of a small town and a locally owned radio station.

I have no words for that bun...

Come Sundays, words that remind me of life giving truth get flashed before my eyes. So very, very grateful for that weekly reminder.

Good thing He doesn't, because I sure do.

Sunday nights this winter, Elizabeth, Mary Grace and teammates have been kicking around the soccer ball.

Indoors.

Mercifully, comfortably, indoors during this long arctic winter we've had.

Hannah, Elizabeth, Grace, Brionna, Mary Grace, Julianne

With Luke living in LA now, I totally rely on my phone for glimpses of him. The couple I've gotten this month are just a tad different. An aspiring actor needs to rock completely different looks, right? Love, love that boy either way.

Via text 

Sweet words from sister to brother are pretty precious, too.

One of the highlights of late February was heading to Colorado Springs to attend the graduation of our Faith from Discipleship Training School with YWAM (Youth With a Mission). We had to wait till 5 pm to see her the day we arrived, so we enjoyed a hike at the beautiful Garden of the Gods.

We weren't the only ones enjoying the banner weather in the Garden. This is just a little too ambitious for my blood.

The YWAM graduation was a worship experience - encouraging and convicting. To observe the passion of young people on fire for God and to hear their testimonies is powerful. God is alive and at work!

Faith made lifelong friends

While in The Springs (do I sound like a native?), we stay with some lifelong friends of our own. And boy, do they know how to spoil ya. Nothing like a little Ghiradelli chocolate on your pillow. Thanks, Don and Naomi, and Darrell and Denise!

Once home, Faith shared some Lebanese coffee with us. A little thicker than I typically like, but good in a different, I'm-gonna-try-to-like-it kind of way.

Grandma is very glad Faith's home

I have to include this next picture because it is so, so typical - especially on Sunday afternoons. Sunday afternoons were created for guilt free napping. Add the warm sum streaming in on a cold winter day, and oh my. Heaven on earth.

And I'm not the only one who thinks so.

Sneaky Mary Grace snapped this;)

This past month Lent began, which means one of my favorite decorations came out. I need the reminder that all the joy and grace on this earth and all that is promised me forever came at a very, very high price.

Got this from Ann Voskamp. See "A Holy Experience." 

And as we approach Easter, we are finally starting to see this! Spring has sprung!

Doing a little spring cleaning this past week, I found this. How I thank God for Elisabeth Elliot. She is one of my spiritual mothers. I wrote her once, and she wrote me back and included her autograph and her prayer. These are at least 20 years old. I treasure them.

My man and I had a date this past Wednesday and hit Zio's Italian Kitchen. You get crayons there so you can put important stuff on the paper that covers their tables.

I follow Jon Acuff on twitter and Instagram (and you should too…so funny and motivating). He instagrammed this new Legacy app. It's a countdown to important events and its goal is to remind you to make the most of your limited time with the ones you love. I like it.

At this point, if you're familiar with my family, you might have noticed that one kid is missing from this little "catch up" post. I noticed, so I texted our David and said, "Hey! I've forgotten what you look like! Send me a pic!

Here's what I got.

What a completely adorable goofball. Love him and miss him.

Whew! I'm done, and I feel slightly caught up. Thanks for coming along for my Instamonth. Hope you smiled a little and were encouraged. Encouraged to stop, and remember the ones in your life that you'd fill your InstaFridays with.

Let's thank God for the incredible gifts they are. None of the people who God has us traveling this earth with are always easy or convenient, but then, neither are we. We're all beautiful messes, so let's give each other a lot of grace!

Blessings to you!

InstaFriday - Sometimes a Texting Parent is a Dangerous Thing

I typically check Urban Dictionary before I include abbreviations in a tweet or blog post. Now, it seems, I need to do that before I send a text.

My name is Shelley, and I am an uncool parent. 

The other night, at a basketball game, I tried to be cool and clever with my son. He was sitting on the bleachers and I saw him shake his legs like crazy. Then he'd be still. Then he'd shake them up and down again. That behavior prompted the following series of texts. Mine are in green.

Which then prompted uproarious laughter on both sides of the gym.

I have since checked Urban Dictionary for POS. The number one definition is as David so delicately pointed out. Number 2 is parent over shoulder - an instant message warning that a parent is near and could see what you are typing, so don't type anything you wouldn't want them to see. Number 3 is an abbreviation some companies use for positively outstanding service. (#3 even seems lame to me, but being as uncool as I am, I don't really trust my  "lameness" sensor.)  My definition of that abbreviation came from a friend who used to use it quite frequently. Obviously I need to pay attention to the words "used to."

The "don't tell your friends!" text was prompted because, as David was practically falling off the bleachers laughing, he was showing everybody around him our conversation. At the time, I was a smidge embarrassed. Now I think it's hilarious. I must. I'm posting it for the world to see.

A joyful heart is good medicine.

Proverbs 17:22

The joy continued throughout the weekend as I watched my daughters, Faith and Elizabeth, play in a volleyball tourney. We didn't win, but it was fun anyway.

The tourney was held at Evangel University in Springfield, MO. The bathroom in the gym sports a little old world, a little new world style. To wash your hands, you step on the black bar near the floor at the bottom of the sink, and a waterfall cascades out into the huge sink. To dry your hands, you wave them in front of the paper towel dispenser. I kind of feel like a surgeon when I'm in there.

At volleyball tournaments, you have a little down time, so I read my Health magazine. Since this is where I'm at, it caught my eye. I'm not sure if this is good news or bad news for my family...

Me? Competitive?

Monday was another day out of school for President's Day. I love seeing all the flags around town.

Thanks to the Bolivar Optimists for setting these out

Mary Grace suggested flying ours too!

And once again, at Classical Conversations, the kids impressed me - this time with their imitation of the style of Jim Davis, the creator of Garfield. Notice they copied how Davis gave all his characters big eyes.

Mary Grace's harrowing encounter with a spider inspired her comic strip

And then we come to Tuesday afternoon. The meal before the game. The light before the dark. The calm before the storm. The happiness before the sadness. The hope before the loss.

 And as proud as I am of these boys, I still don't want to talk about it.

Momerators feed the Liberators

Wednesday, Ash Wednesday, marked the beginning of the Lenten season. I got out one of my treasures -
my wreath that I first learned about over at A Holy Experience.  I wrote a few thoughts about Lent here.

Wednesday is also my hubby's day off, so we spent a little time finalizing some of our plans for our trip to Italy to see Hannah next month. (!)

Ciao!

And I ended the week with two nice surprises, courtesy of Mary Grace. First, completely unsolicited, she cleaned the kitchen. Oh. Oh. Oh. How nice is that.

Not only was she feeling the clean gene, she was feeling the creative one, too. I walked into my clean kitchen to see this beautifully decorated plate.

"How'd you think of this idea, Mary Grace?"

"I googled cute Easter sayings."

Cute. Very cute.

In fact, I'd say that's PO - Positively Outstanding.





I do know what PO usually means...once again, I'm trying to be cute and clever. Hope it doesn't backfire:)

Lent

We need Ash Wednesday. We need to be reminded of this truth.

This kind of sobering truth forces us to think about our life. Why we live. Why we die.

The season of Lent is a good time to think about those things. 40 days out of 365 to contemplate in a different way Jesus' sacrifice for us - the sacrifice that saves us from the wrath to come. (I hate typing those last 4 words. I wonder at those last 4 words. Do I really believe those last 4 words?)

I've come across a couple of helpful sites that suggest readings and practices for the next 40 days. Maybe there's something for you there...

40 Ideas for Lent

The Trail to the Tree


Please know that I've said a prayer for you, my readers, as you contemplate these things today.

Lent

Today is Ash Wednesday. Being raised in a town that didn't even have a Catholic church, I never saw anyone with ashes on their forehead until I went to college. I can still see the girl walking toward me in the hall of the Learning Resource Center at ORU. I remember feeling a bit embarrassed for her - she obviously didn't realize she had some kind of dirt thing going on on her face.  After she passed, it dawned on me what I was really seeing.

It's kind of funny that my first introduction to such an ancient practice happened at a modern charismatic university. I was definitely getting a feel for all things ecumenical. Also humorous, that from such Catholic ignorant beginnings, I ended up marrying a former Catholic.  In the years since then, I've become more interested in at least a couple of the ancient traditions of the church - Lent being one of them.  Every year I keep trying different ideas to make this season leading up to Easter more meaningful, more powerful. This year, when I was looking around on the internet, I found a helpful site and wanted to pass it on.

                                     http://rachelheldevans.com/40ideas-lent

God may use something there as a spark to draw you closer to him.

Some of you may also be familiar with Ann Voskamp's blog, A Holy Experience.
                                     http://www.aholyexperience.com/
If you haven't visited it, quit reading mine and go to hers. She has beautiful, God exalting thoughts. Her words help you love God more. This year I purchased the Advent to Lent Wreath made by her family . You move the candle and carved figure forward a space every day. We are looking forward to using it as a daily reminder during these next 40 days leading up to Easter.

I need all the daily reminders I can get. The chorus to Come Thou Fount says it all.

Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love.
Here's my heart. O take and seal it; Seal it for thy courts above.


Offering our heart to God starts today. Not because today is the official beginning of Lent, but because today is what we've been given to live. We can't go back and change the past. We can't live in the future. But we can fully live today. And that journey begins at the heart and the cross.