Not What I Planned

Have you ever had a weekend that is good and tough all rolled into one? We sure did! Our trek to Arkansas to see Greg's family got off to a tough start. In our excitement to make the sixteen hour trip go as fast as possible, we woke up bright and early Wednesday morning at 4:30 a.m. We got on the road within an hour and were making great time. About 1:00 p.m. we stopped to grab some lunch and one of those yummy Sonic slushies. As I walked around the back of my car, I had to walk over some orange colored liquid. "I sure feel sorry for whoever is leaking that!" I thought. Upon returning to the car, I decided to take a peak underneath our car. The person I needed to be feeling sorry for was me! We headed to the nearest service station to find that we had blown out our water pump. All five of us got cozy in the waiting room for an afternoon of Jeopardy on the tv and lots of reading in Jackson, Tennessee. I was really proud of my kids. They didn't even complain!!!

Four hours later...we were back on the road. Our plan to drive straight through was canceled when we decided around 9:00 p.m. to call it a day at the Comfort Suites. As I laid in the bed in the dark of the night, my heart was thankful. I wasn't happy about my new $400 VISA charge. I wasn't happy that I was in a hotel instead of the comfort of the home of Mom and Dad #2. I wasn't happy that we were going to get there a day late. But I was grateful. Grateful that my kids didn't complain. Grateful that the Lord has given us the provision to pay that VISA bill and grateful that my family was safe. That heart of gratefulness made for a very pleasant night of rest.

I'm in Love With a Vampire - the Subtle Messages of Twlight

I found an article tonight on the internet about the teen smash-hit movie "Twilight". I encourage you read it at youthministry.com.

I was introduced to "Twilight" last year when my 16 year old son devoured all four 500+ page books in a matter of a couple of weeks. What could possibly be that interesting? Since my son is an avid reader, I didn't think too much about it. Then, my 14 year old daughter did the same thing. Now, I started paying attention. What were these books all about? With seventeen million copies of them sold and it being translated into twenty different languages, it is something that parents of teenagers need to be in the know on. I am now in line to borrow the first book from a gal I mentor, so I can be in on what they are in on.

Please note: just because a movie or book doesn't have sex in it, that doesn't make it ok for our kids. Join me in being aware of what they are absorbed in. Read the book. See the movie. Check out the reviews. Talk to our kids.