Awake My Soul

11/15/2025

Looking forward to seeing you at the Perry Park Center Christmas Craft Fair!

10/07/2025

Reading Daniel this week, and this is such a powerful statement from Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego!

So what are the false gods and images of gold Christians need to refuse to worship today?

07/07/2025

The idols of the nation's are silver and gold,
made by human hands.
They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see.
They have ears, but cannot hear,
nor is there breath in their mouths. Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them. - Psalm 135:15-18

06/25/2025

From the Life Application Study Bible

06/11/2025

Training children is not a once-and-done thing. It’s not achieved with a chore chart. It’s not consequences for bad behavior. It’s not a list of rules. It’s not lofty expectations.

It’s all of these things combined, repeatedly. Yearly, daily, hourly training. It’s teaching and training, talking and modeling, reviewing and reminding.

Training is a long-term assignment. Just as with a fruit tree, the fruit is something you wait patiently for, but if you plant, fertilize, water, and prune consistently, the fruit will come. It will be worth the work and the wait.

Children are the same. We have to invest our time, lots of time, and wait on the Lord. We teach, train, talk, love, and do it all over again. Some kids soak it up and show fruit early, while others require more training over time. (Ask me how I know?!)

Don’t get discouraged when you say the same thing everyday for what seems like eternity. And don’t expect to “Have a New Kid by Friday,” as one book promises.

Teach and train with love and patience. It will be worth it.

04/01/2025

Today is the 92nd anniversary of the founding of the CCC! March 31, 1933. My children's book about my grandfather's time in the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) was in limbo for awhile, but now I am leaning to self-publishing and have a possible illustrator on board. This is one of my poorly done drawings for an example LOL

03/28/2025

This morning I heard Chris Tomlin's "How Great Is Our God" on the radio as my kids and I drove 45 minutes to our homeschool co-op day. It took me straight back to our time in Yokosuka, Japan, during the Covid shutdown, when our church was only allowed to meet in the base movie theaters because that allowed enough space between people. That was two steps above not being allowed to meet at all, and one step above only being allowed to meet outside in the middle of summer. It brought back all the turmoil of social distancing, being halfway around the world from family, and having a deployed husband while trying to maintain my sanity and take care of my kids.

Sometimes that feels like another lifetime and I wonder how we survived. Sometimes I know that without all of that, I wouldn't be able to appreciate where we are at now. Always, I know, how great is our God, truly. How thankful I am for all that He's brought me through, and how thankful I am for the music He puts into the soundtrack of my life. It lifts me up when I am going through trials, and it reminds me where I've been and Who was with me through it all. It helps keep my focus on Him and His big picture, rather than me and my small picture.

Official Live video for “How Great Is Our God" by Chris TomlinAvailable now on the Deluxe Edition of 'Burning Lights': http://smarturl.it/BurningLightsDeluxe...

02/08/2025

02/07/2025

CACTOPUS

My favorite mish-mashed toddler word of the week 🤣