Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Do You Miss Me?



I've missed you, have you missed me?
 

I'm over at Wordpress now and would love to have you c'mon over
and follow me there. 
 
Besides, since I'm not super techno-minded,
if you stop over at my new place to become a follower
 
 
and leave a comment, it will be a lot easier for me to add your blog
to my Wordpress reader and become a follower.
 
Have you been wondering what Momma Mindy's been up to?
 
Our son, Dan, got married this summer.
Or, you could say I gained a daughter, Sarah,  without labor and delivery.
 
 
 

Blogging Pics 065 - Copy

That's why I crafted and wrapped up a storm.
 
 
6
 
I tried rock climbing at the Stampede Rodeo in Montana.
 
 
 
 
 
 
We dined often at the Redneck Grill in our backyard.
 
 
I'm still writing through my crazy life as a Christian wife,
mommy of six, MIL to two,  and Gwamma to three.
 I'm homeschooling, writing, crafting, cancering,
coffee drinking and avoiding cooking as much as possible.
 
C'mon over, Blogger Peeps! 

I'd love to have you part of my world again.
 
 
 

Friday, June 15, 2012

Have a TIE-riffic Father's Day!

This year I wanted to do something special for
Father's Day.
Afterall, my hubby and my son-in-law
are worth celebrating.

I


When I found Amanda's Parties To Go printables,
I knew I wouldn't have to work very hard to make the day special.


Since my blog has moved, you'll have to click on my name
to see our celebration.


Hoping to see you there and hoping you have a
wonderful Father's Day!

Thursday, May 31, 2012

City-Slicking Rednecks Celebrate...

If this is YOUR kind of campfire food,





come find out more at



My blogging friends have been such a blessing,
as we blog through our lives together.

I'd love to have you follow me over to Wordpress
 and  become a follower.

Thanks!



Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Up or Down? The Debate Continues...

Husbands can be annoying,
but usually because wives are easily annoyed.






Follow me to


to read about my Midnight Splash
ans find a solution to the age-old problem -

up
or
down?

*****

Because I eventually plan to develop an
author website,
yea' I wanna' be an author,
I've changed to Wordpress.
Later, my blog will merge with my website.

I don't want to miss my blogging friends who have supported
me through years of laughs and tears.

Wordpress doesn't have the same functionality,
but you can sign up to receive my blog in your email.

I'd love to have you remain a part of my journey!

Thanks!

Momma Mindy






Thursday, May 10, 2012

Never Weary in Well-Doing

Galatians 6:9
 And let us not grow weary while doing good,
for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.



It's easy to lose heart,
when we're
tired,
tested,
battle-weary
and
discouraged.


Follow me over to my new wordpress blog
to see how the Lord greatly blessed me
in a surprising way.

I was weary,
and almost said
NO
to a blessing the Lord had planned
to encourage me at a time
when I needed it most.

C'mon, click on the link,
I know you wanna' hear how the story ends...





Sunday, May 6, 2012

A Peeping Tom is Watching My Cheese Move

I have two serious issues to blog about.

One is
cheese moving,
as in Blogger has moved my cheese so many times,
I'm no longer interested in the maze.



I've moved to WORDPRESS, as in
 MommaMindy.WordPress.com

Please follow the cheese crumbles over,
my followers mean so much to me,
and I'd love to have you continue to be a part of my life.




My second serious issue is that I have
a peeping Tom.

Portions of my life, blogged and unblogged,
are being made public for the whole world to see.


My most recent blog is at Wordpress,
sing the title to the tune of
"Where is My Hairbrush?"
if you can without annoying yourself.

C'mon, click on the words
"recent blog" above to find me.

I didn't go far...

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Things I Don't See in My PNW Neighborhood

In May 1986, my husband graduated from college
the same weekend we had our first baby.

The Lord led us to Wichita, KS, to teach at a Christian school.
We put down roots so deeply, we still count it as our spiritual home.
The Christians we fellowshipped with greatly impacted our lives.
We left with four children a solid foundation.

We've been gone 18 years,
so long I forgot what the state was like,
especially if you live out in the country.



My recent trip back to Kansas brought it all back to me.


(When I travel  I like to compare my old homes to my new home.
I previously blogged about the Midwest and Hawaii.)

 See that white trail behind the school bus? 
That's dust.  Big, huge clouds of dust.
It follows you like a bad habit,
leaving even your teeth and dashboards gritty.


I saw armadillo roadkill.
Another night, an opossum tip-toed across the road in front of us.
Instead of turtles in aquariums and in fancy restaurants,
 they have turtles on the road.


It was a good thing my sister warned me that if I heard a woman scream
"Help me!  Help me!" 
I shouldn't be alarmed.
I guess peacocks have a Hitchcock vocabulary.
The donkeys across the road occasionally harmonized
for an interesting lullaby.

 

In the PNW, we rarely have bugs in our houses.
We rarely have bugs outside our houses.

And when a person from the PNW visits people in KS
and never remembers to close the screen doors,
they end up having bugs outside their houses
and
inside their houses.

"Who left the screen door open?"
That would be me.
"Who didn't shut the screen door?"
That would be me.
Moths.
They totally freak me out.
They hover in a holding pattern around outside lights,
then kamikaze into your hair when you try to enter your home.
EEWWW!

Of course,  in the PNW we have spiders big enough to carry off our firstborn,
but that's another blog...

This is a very, very loved dawg.
Ya', that's how ya'll say it in Kansas.
But, is it really a dog,
as they would call it in Seattle,
if it hasn't been had its toenails painted or eaten an organic dog treat?
She's never been to a doggie park, either.
(Is this OK, or should I report them?)

Do you see what I see?
The gun?
The deer mount?
Out in a public place?



Notice this menu.
No sushi.
Nothing free range.
Nothing offered for our culinary delight after it experienced a  "low stress kill."
No kiddin', I actually heard that line in a PNW restaurant once.
I pretended I was coughing to cover my spasmodic laughing into the
organically dry-cleaned linen napkin.


This here is a hedgeapple.
In season they are bright green, like a tennis ball.
Only, don't kick one when you first move to Kansas,
it's like kicking a bowling ball.
Ya', I dun did that once.

We have some littering in  our area, but not much,
thanks to high fines and years of having a toll-free tattling reporting number.


The Quick Trip sign brings back memories of chips and pop,
snacks often ingested after buying gas.
One time we stopped for chips and pop on the way to the hospital.
My son was almost born in a parking lot much like this.

Oh, like the gas price?  I paid $4.19 two days before this.



Ya' don't be seein' this in my big ol' neighborhood either,
my little sistah, LAHRIE. 
She followed us down to KS, then ended up staying.
We called her LORRIE growing up,
but ya'll know how it goes when yuh marry a SUTHERNER.
Kansas is southern to someone from North Dakota,
by the way.

She's crazy, she eats Beans 'n Greens,
she argues with me about who prettiest and smartest,
and can out belch me and out-cook me,

 
but, she's one of the things
 I miss the most about Kansas.

There's no one like her in my PNW neighborhood.

I love you, little sis!

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

The Unexpected Journey of a Blogging Mommy


I've been so very thankful for the love and compassion
 shown by my readers during the past year. 

Your prayers and your comments have upheld me
during a very hard time in my life.

When I first started blogging,
I intended to be a "mommy blogger"  and share
whatever the Lord brought into my mommy moments.
I envisioned sharing spiritual lessons,
recipes, housekeeping tips, crafts, and funny stories about my kids.


Instead, I became a "cancer blogger" as I
typed  my way through my second and third round of thyroid cancer.


Then, I became a
"I'm trying to keep an Innocent Man from going to jail blogger."


When five friends were called home to Jesus in less than a year,
I became a "grieving blogger."

When my  pain was so great and my anguish raw,
I wondered if I would turn people away from my words seared with suffering.
I wondered if I should quit writing.

Instead, the Lord opened up doors to hearts.

At times, the Lord lifts my burden.
Just when I need it most,
someone comments or sends an email
voicing their appreciation for my words of pain
and words of encouragement.

Other times, He allows me to help carry burdens of others.
I've learned  many, many, many people are suffering
and they've cried with me and shared their stories with me.
They grieve for my pain and for theirs,
but through the journey,
we've upheld one another.
We have been blessed in the fellowship of suffering.



When I first started blogging,
I intended to be a "mommy blogger" and share
whatever the Lord brought into my mommy moments.

Since these are the things the Lord  brought into my moments,
so this is what I write, because


Moment by moment I’m kept in His love;
Moment by moment I’ve life from above;
Looking to Jesus till glory doth shine;
Moment by moment, O Lord, I am Thine.

Monday, April 30, 2012

I Just MIGHT Do That

When we say we might do something,
we probably aren't going to do it.


We're not interested,
but we don't want to be totally honest.


We don't want to hurt feelings,
so we let people down easily by first making them think we
might
do something asked, but in reality it won't happen.


Friend, "So, why don't you come to our son's concert this weekend,
he's playing the kazoo in a comb band with other homeschoolers."
You, "Oh, really, that's this Friday?  I just might do that."

Not.



 Friend, "You should totally color your hair blue
and shave a circle in the middle on the top.  It would look so darling on you!"
You, "Ya' know, that sounds pretty cute.  I might do that."
Not.



We distractedly accept their advice, offers, and opinions,
and relieve the pressure by saying
"I might."

C'mon, admit it. 
You're never going to do it.

We need to be careful we don't impose English definitions
and American applications into words when we read the Bible.


We don't use the word
might
the same way the Lord does.


Psalm 119:11  Your word have I hid in mine heart,
that I might not sin against thee.
Psalm 119:71  It is good for me that I have been afflicted;
that I might learn thy statutes.
Psalm 119:101  I have refrained my feet from every evil way,
that I might keep thy word.
Psalm 119:148  My eyes prevent the night watches,
that I might meditate in your word.


When it comes to God's Word,
might
isn't an escape route, to get outta' something you don't wanna' do,
it's a plan of attack to accomplish what you need to do.
It's an outcome for obedience.


I'm not a Greek scholar  because I can't  remember all the English words and rules as old age leaks information out of my brain as fast as it enters.
But, in Hebrew might isn't a word, it's a tense combined with other words.

In verse 71 "might learn" is the primitive root "lamad"  defined "learn"
 and  the imperfect tense Qal.
The imperfect expresses an action, process or condition which is incomplete,
and it has a wide range of meaning.

OK, that mumbo-jumbo above driving ya' crazy? 
Read this article, it says it better.


Or, ya' wanna' hear it in red-neck language?
Try this on for size.

Might
means "live in the state of."

Apply it to those verses.

Powerful, huh?


This new definition
might
change your life as you read the Word.
Ya' know might as in
"you'll be living in the state of having your life changed"
as you read the Scriptures.
That might happen.
"You'll be living in the state of that happening."

Thursday, April 26, 2012

What's For Dinner?

The same  question haunts me daily.

No matter how many loads of laundry I've washed,
how many weeds I've pulled,
how many errands I've done,
it's never enough.
There's always demand for one more task in my day.

I could swim the seven seas,
scale Mountwashmore,
and cross off 29 things on my To-Do List.

Still the question buzzes in my ear
like a Kamikaze mosquito who comes out of hiding
after the bedroom light is extinguished.

Sometimes,the demands of life are so great,
I actually get annoyed when this
survival-of-the-fittest question is asked.


Remember, I'm the one who wishes the Wonka pill was real?
You can read about it here.

As if breakfast and lunch weren't enough,
even though the kids often make their own,
they always gotta' ask
"What's for dinner?"


It's not that I don't wanna' feed my kids,
it's not that we are poverty-stricken and
need to beg for food from the starving kids in Africa.

Most of the time I just can't come up with any idears.

Nothing sounds good,
nothing sounds easy.

Then one day I heard giggling in the kitchen.


Like handwriting on the wall,
I received my answer.

She looks so delicious,
 we might have to make this again.

***********

(Please don't panic.
No children were hurt or abused
in the writing of this blog.
A mommy trying to carry an adorably chubby baby
and a large gleaming kettle upstairs at the same time,
merely simplified her life.)

(Blue words are links to past blogs,
just in case you were too busy trying to figger'
out what to make for dinner to notice.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Does Jesus Care?

Does Jesus Care?
 
Does Jesus care when my heart is pained
Too deeply for mirth or song,
As the burdens press, and the cares distress,
And the way grows weary and long?
Refrain 
 Oh, yes, He cares, I know He cares,
His heart is touched with my grief;
When the days are weary, the long nights dreary
I know my Savior cares.
 

Does Jesus care when I’ve said “goodbye”
To the dearest on earth to me,
And my sad heart aches till it nearly breaks,
Is it aught to Him? Does He see?

**********

A believer doesn't say
"goodbye"

to another believer who dies.
We aren't parted forever,
only for a season.
We will have all eternity together.

I prefer the French goodbye
"au revoir",
 until we meet again.


Yesterday,  I attended a funeral  with 500-600 people
honoring the life of a woman who was taken too quickly
and too soon for our feeble hearts.

By faith, we seek to trust the Lord, His ways and His plans,
but the spirit is willing and the flesh is weak.

This was a hard "av revoir" to say.

An adored and adoring wife,



an amazing and honored mother,
an excited new grandmother,
friend and confidante to innumerable people,
Lori Horn
fell in death and landed at the feet of Jesus.


All there were longing for one more of her amazing smiles,
one more of her comfort-giving hugs,
one more of her life-impacting spiritual insights,
one more of her snappy jokes,
one more of her thoughtful deeds of service.

You could even meet eyes with Lori across the room and be affected.

She had a presence that was such a light,
 many lives are experiencing a black-out.

But, if this sister knew I was glorifying her,
she would turn my thoughts to Jesus,
and gently encourage me to give Him glory.


Her death brought her to worship at His feet,
I know she would long for her death to cause us
to worship at His feet.

By faith, we choose to accept the sovereignty of God,
and choose to believe this Jeremiah 29:11 plan is for our good.

Until our feeble hearts totally grasp this plan,
and we learn to live without this faithful servant of the Lord, 
I'm thankful
Jesus Cares.
I'm  thankful He collects our tears in bottles,
intercedes with sighs too deep for words,
and holds us eternally in the palm of His hands.
 
Au revoir,
dear sister.
Your faithful testimony and example will cheer our path
until we join you at the feet of Jesus. 

**********
 
 
(Click on her name above to read the obituary and find out more about her life of faith.  
Please pray for those family members left behind.)
 

Friday, April 20, 2012

New Beginning for the Innocent Man

In the Scriptures,
8
is the number of new beginnings.


Eight people entered into the ark by faith.
I Peter 3:20
"while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is,
eight souls, were saved through water."


The firstborn was to be given to God on the 8th day (Exodus 22:29-30).


 In Genesis 17:12 instructions were given to circumcise on the 8th day.
Circumcision of the flesh foreshadowed the circumcision of the heart
through faith in Christ. (Colossians 2:11-13)

We have a new beginning in our lives, as well.

The Honorable Judge M. gave an 18 year sentence,
8 incarcerated,
10 on strict probation.

It is a harsh sentence,
especially for an Innocent Man.
Although the judge spent 45 minutes talking about the Innocent Man's
good character, based on his  his lack of ANY police record,
no drug or alcohol abuse, many letters written to the judge in his favor,
he had to stand on the jury's guilty verdict and give the time demanded the crime.

The Innocent Man called tonight.
He had some tears,
but mostly resolve to stand firm in the Lord.
He is determined to be a good testimony,
to continue to be faithful in prayer
for those he loves dearly outside the prison walls,
and not waste his
8 years.
He misses his loved ones so much and we know
how much his family will have changed in those years.
He will miss Graduations and weddings and babies.
He will miss picnics and vacations and family squabbles.


Eight years is a long, long, long time.

It's a very long time.

But it is the time the Lord chose;
the number
8
is the number of new beginnings.

We will continue to walk by faith,
trusting in the plan the Lord reveals little by little.

We choose to believe
 God is sovereign.

We choose to walk the next
8 long years
by faith.