On my list of blogs that I read is Beth Moore... yep, Beth Moore has a blog. On her latest blog she has posted a challenge. (If that link doesn't work then look for her blog here on mine (list bottom right of the page)... and find the blog that is titled, "Anyone Game?"
Basically the challenge is: Memorize 2 scriptures a month. On the first and the 15th of each month... you pick a scripture that is calling to you - and you meditate on that scripture for the next 15 days... yes, you choose the scripture (You'll most easily memorize what means most to you.) - I will post a blog and you type the scripture you are led to memorize in the comments...
This looks interesting. I have been saying for a really long time that I need to buckle down and get serious about this ... I *say* I want a relationship with Jesus but really how much effort am I willing to put into that relationship??? Not much lately.... :-(
So, I am calling you to join me... one because it would be more fun with others... and two because I need the help of my sisters to keep me accountable.... (never thought I would say that one)...
From her blog:
The whole purpose of the process is to take our minds captive to the knowledge of Christ and demolish strongholds or nip potential ones in the proverbial bud. As long as those Scriptures are rolling around in your head, your mind is being held captive to Christ-centered thoughts and led away from destructive or carnal thoughts whether or not you're getting the words in the exact right order. At least three huge things happen when we memorize: our brains are bathed. Our brains are sharpened. Our ammunition is loaded.
There are more tips on her blog about how to memorize... and about the challenge...
SO - who's with me???
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Dusting is dangerous...
My sister is coming to visit for Christmas!!! She will be here tomorrow morning!! I am so excited to be able to spend Christmas with her...
Until then I wasn't really in the Christmas mood and barely got the tree put up. I usually have all my regular stuff down and the living room filled with snowmen of all sorts... This year I just didn't feel like doing it. But when I heard of her coming - my mood changed and so out came the snowmen!!
Well, in the snowmen are candles and votive holders... As I was placing them around in strategic places - I saw that some of my regular votive holders are way overdue on dusting. In fact they were so bad they had to be washed. So, I took them to the sink and was washing one when it broke - and sliced into my finger. I finished washing it and saw that it could be repaired. I got out the superglue, pieced the broken glass back into place and proceeded to glue my fingers to the glass. After pulling my fingers apart and ripping off the skin - I put away the votive holders and decided to ignore any other dust bunnies that might (are) lurking in the living room.
I knew there was a reason I didn't dust....
Until then I wasn't really in the Christmas mood and barely got the tree put up. I usually have all my regular stuff down and the living room filled with snowmen of all sorts... This year I just didn't feel like doing it. But when I heard of her coming - my mood changed and so out came the snowmen!!
Well, in the snowmen are candles and votive holders... As I was placing them around in strategic places - I saw that some of my regular votive holders are way overdue on dusting. In fact they were so bad they had to be washed. So, I took them to the sink and was washing one when it broke - and sliced into my finger. I finished washing it and saw that it could be repaired. I got out the superglue, pieced the broken glass back into place and proceeded to glue my fingers to the glass. After pulling my fingers apart and ripping off the skin - I put away the votive holders and decided to ignore any other dust bunnies that might (are) lurking in the living room.
I knew there was a reason I didn't dust....
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Finally....
Well, the tree is finally up... and it has colored lights and a star on top....although I think we need a new topper... 
Like I said in the survey - it's a hodge podge of misc ornaments from over the years... Here's a sampling....
From the:
Like I said in the survey - it's a hodge podge of misc ornaments from over the years... Here's a sampling....
From the:
Friday, December 12, 2008
Guess it's my turn....
I was tagged by several friends on their blogs - with 25 Christmas Questions...
1) Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? I do like Egg Nog... but nothing beats a really good hot chocolate... like the one at the Parking Lot Party the other night - it was YUMMY!!!
2) Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Usually Santa bring in the BIG gift so it is either in a very large bag or maybe a sheet thrown over...
3) Colored lights or white? Ummm... I forget what I have on my tree... I think it's colored????
4) Do you hang mistletoe? nope
5) When do you get out your decorations? whenever I can get someone to muddle through the mess in the garage to get them out... (which is tomorrow morning - thanks to Danny!)... and whenever it fits into my schedule - which there hasn't been much room lately...
6) Favorite holiday dish, excluding dessert? Well, we don't do a "traditional" (yes, I did use quotation marks)dinner at Christmas time... but at Thanksgiving it's my mom's stuffing!!! white bread, apples, sausage.... yummy....
7) Favorite holiday memory as a child? hmmmm... can't seem to come up with one...not a particular one anyway ... but I always loved when we all went to my Grandmother's house for holidays.... I loved it there...
8) When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? what do you mean "the truth?"... what are you trying to say?
9) Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? yep - generally we open all our gifts on Christmas Eve (except for Santa) because that is the only day we have all 3 boys... Cole and Christopher are usually gone by Christmas morning....
10) How do you decorate your trees? Everyone in the house has ornaments that were put into their stocking when we took the tree down the previous year ... they are then responsible for hanging those ornaments on the tree this year... there is really no theme to the tree - if you can believe it about me - very little "matches".... just a hodgepodge of stuff I have collected over the years...
11) Snow, love it or hate it? Have never lived in the snow - but loved it when I visited it!
12) Can you ice skate? I have only tried once - when I took Christopher to Colorado on vacation... we did manage to make it around the rink a few times...
13) Do you remember your favorite gift? hmmm... another one I have to think about... John works really hard on gifts for me at Christmas and he really outdid himself last year.... I am still amazed at my Fossil purse and how he picked out just the right one!!!... also my horse blanket from several years ago that he went to 5 stores to find... EDIT: just read Hattie's blog and her favorite gift is her cello - which reminds me of the violin that John bought me - no, I don't play but desperately want to.... and then that reminded me of the year he got the flag from my dad's funeral put in a glass display box ... I really do have an awesome husband...
14) What is the most important thing about the holidays for you? Jesus and my boys
15) Favorite Holiday dessert? fudge
16) Favorite Christmas tradition? how we open the gifts... I don't put name tags on the gifts... everyone has their own wrapping paper... I put a swatch of that wrapping paper down in the toe of their stocking... so we then draw names and take a turn at opening the stockings - it's at that point the boys begin to realize which gifts are theirs under the tree... then we draw names again to see who opens a gift... putting all the names back in after one gift... we continue until all the gifts are open... this slows down the whole process and makes it all about watching each other and not a mad dash to just tear into your own stuff...
17) What tops your tree? wow - I am losing it - I don't remember that either...
18) What's better giving or receiving? should I be honest or do you want the good Christian answer?
19) Favorite Christmas song? Possibly O Holy Night...
20) Candy Canes, yummy or yucky? they can be good.
21) What do you want for Christmas? Disneyland passes... but since John has lost weekends (32 hours of OT on each paycheck) ... not sure if that is going to be possible...
22) Do you attend an annual Christmas Party? church banquet where we watch the annual slide show!!! - (which we are still working on - so if you have a great picture that just MUST get in there - send it to us!!)
23) Do you dress up for Christmas eve? I try to never dress up...
24) Do you own a Santa Hat? there is one around here somewhere - not sure if it is mine
25) Who do you normally spend Christmas with? John, the boys, and my brother Matt and Nancy.... sure wish my sister could be here!!!
Is there anyone who reads my blog that is not tagged??? If so - consider yourself tagged... yes, that means you Heather and Jen.... and if you are a reader that doesn't have a blog - you can do it in email!!!
1) Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? I do like Egg Nog... but nothing beats a really good hot chocolate... like the one at the Parking Lot Party the other night - it was YUMMY!!!
2) Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Usually Santa bring in the BIG gift so it is either in a very large bag or maybe a sheet thrown over...
3) Colored lights or white? Ummm... I forget what I have on my tree... I think it's colored????
4) Do you hang mistletoe? nope
5) When do you get out your decorations? whenever I can get someone to muddle through the mess in the garage to get them out... (which is tomorrow morning - thanks to Danny!)... and whenever it fits into my schedule - which there hasn't been much room lately...
6) Favorite holiday dish, excluding dessert? Well, we don't do a "traditional" (yes, I did use quotation marks)dinner at Christmas time... but at Thanksgiving it's my mom's stuffing!!! white bread, apples, sausage.... yummy....
7) Favorite holiday memory as a child? hmmmm... can't seem to come up with one...not a particular one anyway ... but I always loved when we all went to my Grandmother's house for holidays.... I loved it there...
8) When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? what do you mean "the truth?"... what are you trying to say?
9) Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? yep - generally we open all our gifts on Christmas Eve (except for Santa) because that is the only day we have all 3 boys... Cole and Christopher are usually gone by Christmas morning....
10) How do you decorate your trees? Everyone in the house has ornaments that were put into their stocking when we took the tree down the previous year ... they are then responsible for hanging those ornaments on the tree this year... there is really no theme to the tree - if you can believe it about me - very little "matches".... just a hodgepodge of stuff I have collected over the years...
11) Snow, love it or hate it? Have never lived in the snow - but loved it when I visited it!
12) Can you ice skate? I have only tried once - when I took Christopher to Colorado on vacation... we did manage to make it around the rink a few times...
13) Do you remember your favorite gift? hmmm... another one I have to think about... John works really hard on gifts for me at Christmas and he really outdid himself last year.... I am still amazed at my Fossil purse and how he picked out just the right one!!!... also my horse blanket from several years ago that he went to 5 stores to find... EDIT: just read Hattie's blog and her favorite gift is her cello - which reminds me of the violin that John bought me - no, I don't play but desperately want to.... and then that reminded me of the year he got the flag from my dad's funeral put in a glass display box ... I really do have an awesome husband...
14) What is the most important thing about the holidays for you? Jesus and my boys
15) Favorite Holiday dessert? fudge
16) Favorite Christmas tradition? how we open the gifts... I don't put name tags on the gifts... everyone has their own wrapping paper... I put a swatch of that wrapping paper down in the toe of their stocking... so we then draw names and take a turn at opening the stockings - it's at that point the boys begin to realize which gifts are theirs under the tree... then we draw names again to see who opens a gift... putting all the names back in after one gift... we continue until all the gifts are open... this slows down the whole process and makes it all about watching each other and not a mad dash to just tear into your own stuff...
17) What tops your tree? wow - I am losing it - I don't remember that either...
18) What's better giving or receiving? should I be honest or do you want the good Christian answer?
19) Favorite Christmas song? Possibly O Holy Night...
20) Candy Canes, yummy or yucky? they can be good.
21) What do you want for Christmas? Disneyland passes... but since John has lost weekends (32 hours of OT on each paycheck) ... not sure if that is going to be possible...
22) Do you attend an annual Christmas Party? church banquet where we watch the annual slide show!!! - (which we are still working on - so if you have a great picture that just MUST get in there - send it to us!!)
23) Do you dress up for Christmas eve? I try to never dress up...
24) Do you own a Santa Hat? there is one around here somewhere - not sure if it is mine
25) Who do you normally spend Christmas with? John, the boys, and my brother Matt and Nancy.... sure wish my sister could be here!!!
Is there anyone who reads my blog that is not tagged??? If so - consider yourself tagged... yes, that means you Heather and Jen.... and if you are a reader that doesn't have a blog - you can do it in email!!!
Monday, December 8, 2008
My Body Won....
well - sorta...
I have been sick since before Thanksgiving... maybe it was even the week before that - I don't remember... and I have been pushing my self to go and do... I did that for 2 reasons: 1. I had a lot to do. 2. I thought that if I keep up and going and don't give in then I will eventually feel better.
And I have had days where I did feel better - but mainly because I was on drugs that masked the symptoms and gave me energy. But, today I just had to give in. I don't work at the church today ... just had Taco Bell deliveries - so I called in. I hate to do that because I know that the area manager then has to do the deliveries and he has lots to do himself... but I just had to. Every inch of my body hurts...
I'm trying to hurry and get some housework done (I can't rest in a messy home) so I can go and rest....
Jake has been fed and schoolwork done... clean dishes put away... cleaned out the fridge and washed those containers... picked up here and there in the house.... gonna go now and fold a pile of towels...
But I think I will heat up my tea first....
I have been sick since before Thanksgiving... maybe it was even the week before that - I don't remember... and I have been pushing my self to go and do... I did that for 2 reasons: 1. I had a lot to do. 2. I thought that if I keep up and going and don't give in then I will eventually feel better.
And I have had days where I did feel better - but mainly because I was on drugs that masked the symptoms and gave me energy. But, today I just had to give in. I don't work at the church today ... just had Taco Bell deliveries - so I called in. I hate to do that because I know that the area manager then has to do the deliveries and he has lots to do himself... but I just had to. Every inch of my body hurts...
I'm trying to hurry and get some housework done (I can't rest in a messy home) so I can go and rest....
Jake has been fed and schoolwork done... clean dishes put away... cleaned out the fridge and washed those containers... picked up here and there in the house.... gonna go now and fold a pile of towels...
But I think I will heat up my tea first....
Monday, December 1, 2008
Thanksgiving Weekend
This Thanksgiving we made dinner, ate and headed out of town!!
None of that happened as fast as I would have liked... but it is par for course in the Hammond household.
Our Pastor owns a home outside of Tehachapi, CA in a small gated community called Bear Valley Springs. He keeps it as a vacation and one day retirement home... It just so happened that he ran into a small plumbing problem. Since John is a master plumber, that is great news for us!!!
We went up, he did the small plumbing job and we had 4 (well 3 by the time we got there on Thurs)... great days in the country... I got up in the morning, went to the kitchen to make coffee and look out the window to see the horses across the street grazing.... ahhh.... what a life.
We have been there twice (no, we didn't break the plumbing last time so we could go up again...) and both absolutely love the town. It's got a small town feel but not so small that one feels they are far removed from civilization...in fact, they have a KMart, a movie theatre, and a SONIC!
Last time we were there, John and I drove around and just looked at the countryside... On our way to the lake we found a house for sale.... sitting on almost 5 acres of horse property. The house is older (think Brady Bunch) but the kitchen has been updated, it has a huge dining room and a view of the lake.
So, this time - we HAD to go back and see if the house is still available. Yep - it is. Now, John and I know we are in no position to go off and buy a house ... but we can dream!!!!
I guess the only thing stopping us is work for John... but there is a prison not far from there...hmmm... I wonder if they have a program where they teach inmates trades??? And I could start the horse conservation that I dream of ... and John would be able to fish whenever he wanted!!!
As I type this - I realize that I didn't take one picture... sorry...
2 problems with this dream - Family (his and mine).... what would I do about my mom? It would be a little too far from her... and it would be alot too close to his!!!
Oh well...
None of that happened as fast as I would have liked... but it is par for course in the Hammond household.
Our Pastor owns a home outside of Tehachapi, CA in a small gated community called Bear Valley Springs. He keeps it as a vacation and one day retirement home... It just so happened that he ran into a small plumbing problem. Since John is a master plumber, that is great news for us!!!
We went up, he did the small plumbing job and we had 4 (well 3 by the time we got there on Thurs)... great days in the country... I got up in the morning, went to the kitchen to make coffee and look out the window to see the horses across the street grazing.... ahhh.... what a life.
We have been there twice (no, we didn't break the plumbing last time so we could go up again...) and both absolutely love the town. It's got a small town feel but not so small that one feels they are far removed from civilization...in fact, they have a KMart, a movie theatre, and a SONIC!
Last time we were there, John and I drove around and just looked at the countryside... On our way to the lake we found a house for sale.... sitting on almost 5 acres of horse property. The house is older (think Brady Bunch) but the kitchen has been updated, it has a huge dining room and a view of the lake.
So, this time - we HAD to go back and see if the house is still available. Yep - it is. Now, John and I know we are in no position to go off and buy a house ... but we can dream!!!!
I guess the only thing stopping us is work for John... but there is a prison not far from there...hmmm... I wonder if they have a program where they teach inmates trades??? And I could start the horse conservation that I dream of ... and John would be able to fish whenever he wanted!!!
As I type this - I realize that I didn't take one picture... sorry...
2 problems with this dream - Family (his and mine).... what would I do about my mom? It would be a little too far from her... and it would be alot too close to his!!!
Oh well...
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