orphan sunday

i realized i had jotted the following down and never posted. maybe waiting for me to rearrange words or whatever. but reading now...one month later...i think it is beautiful in its own random, 'all-over-the-place' thoughts. celebrate....

i read this last week-http://debraparker.blogspot.com/2011/11/orphan-sunday.html

my thought after i read it and watched the video was 'how will we celebrate orphan sunday?'. we are in a season of thanking. and as i am writing my thankfuls, i become overwhelmed with all that i am thankful for and in turn just want to give out of our overflowing cup.

so last night we celebrated. celebrated all we have been given, by giving some away. we sponsored our first compassion child. marilu. sweet marilu. a part of our love story now.

and my kara michelle has been such an inspiration to me in all of this. ever since she saw me watching the video she has wanted to know more about orphan sunday. her heart is global love. i don't want to quench that. i want to grow that. she is passionate about this. maybe more than me. yes. more than me.

i know for sure...she is less scared than me. i read that marilu lived with her grandfather and grandmother...no mommy or daddy. i read marilu's chores included carrying water...how far does she have to walk for that? how clean is it? (kara knows a little about carrying water because we have supported advent conspiracy/living water international for the past few christmases). but my fear, as i hit the 'sponsor now' button was, i want to protect my little girl from seeing poverty. how sad poverty really looks. i. i am scared of seeing poverty. i am scared to see how sad it really is.

kara stood behind me waiting for me to hit the button and add marilu to our love story. without kara with me...im pretty sure i wouldve clicked out of compassions website and said i'll do it later. knowing. really knowing that my fear was keeping me from loving global.

she wants to give her $ to a compassion child. she wanted the girl to be 9 just like her. i wanted a child that has been waiting 6 months or longer. and a child that didn't have a mommy or daddy or both. we found her. kara, im pretty sure loved her in the first second. and has only grown more excited. 'i wonder how excited marilu will be when she finds out we are sponsoring her'. she prayed for marilu at bedtime and dinner again tonite.

one small step in our walk in the way of love.

how will you celebrate?

follow ann's (compassin blogger) ecuador story here:
http://www.aholyexperience.com/category/ecuador/
my favorite quote in this series:

'because of jesus.' translated word for word is...
'gratitude is born in the heart. and it leads you to action.'

sponsor a compassion child here:
http://www.compassion.com/

is your passion more local and hands on?:

big brothers big sisters:
http://www.bbbs.org/site/c.9iILI3NGKhK6F/b.5962335/k.BE16/Home.htm

foster a child:
through your local children's services.

living breathing example of service

do i let my circumstances justify my attitude?

i defend my importance in our hinton 5. i complain. im on edge. im easily angered.

reading this was my 2nd come to jesus meeting.
http://debraparker.blogspot.com/2011/11/ourselves.html

sunday nite, heath brought my 1st jesus' heart meeting. (yes i admit...he was right.)

i will be a living breathing example of service to my hinton 4 and to everyone i meet. i will live out and love others more than myself.

one thousand gifts

i was totally pumped to get this book in the mail this past saturday!

i have been reading ann voskamp's blog ( http://www.aholyexperience.com/ ) regularly for the past few weeks. on mondays, she has a running list of one thousand gifts that never end. things she is thankful for. reading her lists made me want to start my own. so i did.

i started a journal of His gifts that never end. doing this regularly, my eyes are opened, my heart is warm and i can't keep up with the overwhelming amount of things i am thankful for.

the change that it has made in me is refreshing. it was the answer to this tired momma's prayer of 'i want to love being a mommy'. it was the attitude change that i needed in circumstances that were beyond messy.

so im going to end with some yummys from my thankful ongoing list...one thousand gifts that never end...

#1 a sink full of dishes. this means a home full of love and full bellies.

#2 a messy, lived in, beautiful home.

#3 3 boxes of food my neighbor just gave me. overwhelmed. she will be getting scones. god pours it in.

#4 carved pumpkins with flickering candles and happy kiddos beside them

#5 a crackling fire

#6 sound of heaths car coming up the driveway

#7 the words....i am sorry. i love u.

#8 the heart tattoo my babe drew on my hand. he knows me well. i love him over and over.

#9 walking to school

#10 baking in kitchens with friends. so good for our souls.

#11 surprises!

#12 simple thinking. thank you lindsy.

#13 warm sun, rustling leaves, light warm breeze on a fall afternoon.

#14 lunch dates with my 2 year old little man.

#15 kissing warm, sleeping faces to wake them up. yummy.

#16 my kids forgive so freely and easily.

#17 words. life breathing words. real words. challenging words.

#18 pizza & wine with new friends on a football friday nite.

#19 hamburger inn with our hinton 5.

#20 being home. just being home.

#21 heath being thankful. for as long as i can remember, each day his question to our babies is, 'what are you thankful for today?'. he started this trend way before i caught on. he lives a life of gratitude and guides our children in the same.

#22 right now. this moment.

#23 grace that doesn't make sense.

#24 knowing at naptime what we are having for dinner.

#25 having ALL the ingredients already in our cupboards for said dinner.

#26 that we choose what we get to eat for dinner not WHETHER or not we eat dinner.

#27 my heath. my lover. my best friend. my jesus with skin on. he forgives easily. and loves deeply.

#28 second chances. to snuggle and to play with my kiddos when i was "too busy" the first time around.

#29 warm sun that i can feel. really feel. on a chilli fall day.

#30 a crowded counter of 3 little cookie baking helpers.

#31 time to play before school starts. my girls laughing and swinging together. i want to put that moment in my pocket and keep it forever.

#32 aviator sunglasses. yes. momma looks good.

#33 friends to share coffee and desserts with.

#34 storytime at home.

#35 new library books

#36 peace. in chaos and in calm.

happy friday friends!

sleepers

last night at leapin www.leapinoutreach.org, there was a lot of mommas and their babies. i just wanted to love on them. so i started asking... 'what do you gals need? what are you looking for?'. i help in the toddler area. some mommas needed pants for their little ones. but most mommas needed sleepers. warm sleepers. and one momma i will not forget.

'do you have any 3t sleepers for girls?'
'let me check.'
my friend rob checked. i checked. no 3t sleepers for little girls.
i went back to her and said 'no im sorry, we don't have any that size'. then i was on to helping the next momma.
i didn't like not giving her what she needed so i went back over to her and said 'i have a 24 month footless sleeper. do you think that would work?'. she said 'she is pretty little, that might work.' it did. and i went on to helping the next momma.
later on, she came up to me and said 'do you have any 3t sleepers for boys?'. boy! i was excited...i knew i could help her here! there was a lego star wars boys 4t sleeper. i rushed over to the bin and as i was digging, i was telling her 'i thought this would be so cute for my little boy, you're gonna love it!'. i found it. looked up at her and in that moment...

it hit me.
she wanted it for her little girl. and the words she said next i will be forever grateful for...

'i just want her to be warm.'

im crying as i type it. this sweet momma reminded me that the people that need leapin, help and teach me far more than i will ever be able to help them.

today i am thankful for warm pj's for my babies. no matter what they look like.

perspective

what do i do with it? do i let it change me for a moment until the next moment?

last night we loved on others at leapin. ...heart tug...
last night i saw on fb babies from haiti on a homemade ventilator. ...heart tug...
this morning reading forgotten god by francis chan...one 16 year old girls sponsors 14 kids on her own! my kara wants to sponsor one and i haven't done it yet. ... ... (no words for that one...just tears)
on fb again just now and this blog was posted:
http://www.aholyexperience.com/2011/10/what-is-radical-faith-video/

speechless right now.

random journal thots

saturday i wrote in my journal throughout the day. wanting to remember beautiful moments...

today.
moments of joy.
moments of chaos.

toyroom. robe. coffee. sitting, watching my babies laugh and play.

warms my heart: neighborhood kids sitting at my kitchen table eating graham cracker and icing cookies. seems so right.

watched carley drink hot cocoa with 2 hands. smile. taking it all in.

listened to kara comment on movie, 'o. she must be disappointed.'. such a caring little girl she is.

when heath sees me, i want him to see me light up when i'm with our kids...to smile and laugh, relaxed not angry, frustrated and tired.

'teach me to live well.' -psalm 90:12 the message
teach me to LIVE well, God.
to KISS well.
to LAUGH well.
to LISTEN well.
to SEE well.
to SIT well.
to LOVE well.

presence

i love this...

more and more, the desire grows in me simply to walk around, greet people, enter their homes, sit on their doorsteps, play ball, throw water, and be known as someone who wants to live with them. it is a privilege to have the time to practice this simple ministry of presence. still it is not as simple as it seems. my own desire to be useful, to do something significant, or to be part of some impressive project is so strong that soon my time is taken up by meetings, conferences, study groups, and workshops that prevent me from walking the streets. it is difficult not to have plans, not to organize people around an urgent cause, and not to feel that you are working directly for social progress. but i wonder more and more if the first thing shouldn't be to know people by name, to eat and drink with them, to listen to their stories and tell your own, and let them know with words, handshakes, and hugs that you do not simply like them, but truly love them. -henri nowen

marriage...sheet music chapter 1 (part 1)

i'm an overachiever in GIVING homework. but in reality, i am an under-achiever in actually DOING the homework i give. there is grace in this class. i'm a momma, i understand. one of my #1 rules in the groups i lead is: even if you don't get your homework done, still come! you will learn something and 9 times out of 10, i probably didn't get all of it done either.

another thing i learn often is this: no matter how much time and effort i put into planning a schedule of a class of how it's going to go...God has a different plan. which i love. and i must also say...is hard for me. i like order. but i am also falling in love with flexibility and fun. enjoy the ride, andrea. which brings me to one of the most important things discussed last wednesday...

we will be getting together weekly from now on. women kept kindly asking if this could be a weekly thing. this is such a need. how could i say no?! women are falling in love with their husbands! women are wanting to work on their marriage. work on their passion. women are full of love for their husbands when they leave. husbands are seeing a difference.

also, i'm finding there is so much to cover and we have such a large group that we will be meeting from 6:30-8 from now on.

the rule, however, does not change for the 'come when you can' policy. this is a summertime laid back study.

so the homework from the 1st get together was read the 1st 3 chapters. we only got thru the 1st one! so much good stuff!

ok so here's how it's going to go...i will give the location of dr. leman's words and i will bold his words. then i will add my comments.

p.2 1st paragraph- (but never verbalizing)
this is the key! in this chapter the key is COMMUNICATION!
p.3 3rd paragraph- One night she may be up for adventure or a rushed quickie....'take her'...slow, languid sex.
girls!! how is our man going to know if we don't communicate!
p.4 last sentence- Sexual fulfillment didn't come overnight for Jim and Karen.
do you hear this?! it takes TIME.
p.6-7 the story of Mark and Brenda starting with (in middle of the page) deciding to make a change...
*mark WANTED to tell brenda. let me tell you for your husbands my sweet girlfriends...he misses you. he longs for you to be the eager woman you used to be.
*over and over again in mark and brendas story are the words, 'wasn't able to read' and 'didn't understand'. can we change this about us, wives? i challenge us. we are up for it! to be women of understanding!
p.7 in middle of page- thankful that mark didn't pressure her for sex anymore.
thankful. this makes me sad. this puts a lump in my throat. my heart drops and aches. she is 'thankful' that he's getting filled with something else. this will be hard to hear girls...but...he is not just being a nice guy. he is filling that void with something else.
p.7 mid page- the kids noticed...
all i want to say here is...THEY. DO. they notice affection or lack thereof.
p.7 towards bottom- meet her emotional emptiness thru her children's affection.
this is a dangerous place friends. don't put that pressure on your kids. your LASTING, hear me, lasting relationship will be more healthy.

a few times i have been asked about the amazing change in heath and i's marriage. what study did i do? what prayers did i pray? what scripture? and i always want there to be this quick fix answer for my friends. but the truth is, my marriage has been a long journey of changing me. i am the only person i can change. God does the rest...and does a pretty good number on me at the same time.

so the morning before this get together, i was praying and jotting down all the goods God was throwing at me for us wives. (some thots are from matt's message at http://www.celebration247.com/podcasts/podcasts called 'dudes'. great message honoring men)

*what has God created in your man that you can build up? not tear down.

*what positive things can you breathe into your babe?

*what you see that might drive you crazy is a strength and how he was created to be used by God. for example, my 2 year old garrett is constant. it can drive me absolutely crazy that he is nonstop energy and binging from here to there OR! i can pray into him for this to be used for God and what God has for him in the future. and for me as his momma to direct him that way. girls, this is important for us to do for our sons and it is important for us to do for our husbands.

i want to breathe into us as wives...
*don't punish your man for being a man. masculinity is everything we've ever wanted.

*we undermine their leadership by talking bad about him to girlfriends and in front of our kids. if you want to lead. lead your family by building up your man.

*we need to build our men up. we should be their biggest advocate. we should be their #1 fan. breathe encouragement, love, forgiveness, respect, and admiration into him. this will strenthen him. you want to be the woman of your man's dreams? watch what comes out of your mouth. ron grubb (life church, lancaster, ohio) put it this way one time and it stuck with me...'when i speak, your name is safe in my mouth'.

*we want that leadership, we want our men to take care of us. and one thing that rang out in matt's message was this:
'when he leads, FOLLOW, even if you don't agree with where he's going.'
it hit me. it hit me with heath and i's relationship. it hit me with God and i's relationship. you want him to be the leader. Let him! this goes for directions is the car. for parenting (o yes that one has been coming up a lot at our house). for major decisions in your life. pray for him in all those areas. pray for him to be the spiritual leader of your household. AND THEN...make steps towards that. this means biting our tongue sometimes and following.

*or playing the comparison game. o! i have played this many times. you know the one...'i wish he was this or that'. 'i wish he would touch me like that'. 'i wish he would look at me like that'. girlfriends. let's make the first move! don't wait on him to touch you. don't get angry that he's not touching you OR jealous that someone else's husband is loving on their wife. touch your man gently. be the change you want to see. i love the proverb...a gentle answer turns away wrath. i have made another version...a gentle touch breaks down walls.

*know what makes your man happy and be a part of it. and you're saying 'but andrea, he doesn't care about my stuff'. my sweet girlfriends...then it isn't sacrifice. heath and i have had intense arguments about this. sacrifice hurts. sacrifice is something you hate to do but want to because you LOVE so much. this can be as simple as watching a tv show he likes to as intense and complicated as learning to love your mother in law. ron grubb said it this way: sacrifice is a give and release and not expect payment. quietly sacrifice for others.

*affirm his importance to you and the kids. tell him...even though you may want that for yourself. when people say good things about him, agree and then let your man know.

ok girlfriends...i am only halfway thru chapter 1 summary and this post is crazy long, so i will try to do the rest as part 2 tomorrow. ta ta for now!

other sheet music blogs:
http://andreahinton.blogspot.com/2011/06/marriagesheet-music-intro.html
http://http://andreahinton.blogspot.com/2011/05/bringing-sexy-back-this-summer.html

marriage...sheet music intro

ok wives, as we read and discuss the book 'sheet music', i'm going to try and blog a summary of what we discussed at our get togethers for the gals who miss or for anyone reading 'sheet music'. the summaries may be bullet points. thought out sentences. they may flow well OR not so well. so hang with me. grab the good stuff and 'grace' over the stuff that doesn't make sense. i have a quick secret...i do not like writing. it is not 'my thing'. i do however love teaching and seeing and hearing lives being transformed. so for the sake of the yumminess of all our marriages, i will not put off blogging because i can't formulate everything 'just so'.

soooo...down to business. or shall i say pleasure??? heehee.

this summary will be from a couple weeks ago of our first get together. so i hope my memory (ha!) serves me well or at least my notes will!

*read with your babe...if he wants to. when i started reading 'sheet music', heath said he didn't want to read it with me. so when he was watching tv one time, i sat next to him and when i came across something, i would say 'can i read this to you, it's something you are really good at.' OR 'i'm really good at this'. i now read the book to him. every single part.

*there will be things you will read in this book that maybe you don't agree with OR may make you GASP!! it's ok. you don't have to agree with everything, but for the sake of your best possible marriage, keep reading. there is so much other good stuff in there. we are each unique and different in how we view sex.

*tender. tender is the word that God keeps bringing up with me and this subject. i know this is a tender area for some. i also know when we open things up and communicate. things get healed. and we realize, we are not alone.
i promise this will not be a gigglefest. however, there will be maturity and laughter.
i also don't want this class to take away from the mystery in your bedroom. trust that i am cautious of this.

*i know a lot of wives came to the first get together nervous about what we will talk about. or. what i will make you share. sex is more about relationship than positions. we will be discussing communication. how guys think. how we think. our character. why we do what we do. why our men do what they do. how can we change for the better.

*the hard things were said during this meeting also:
gals, if we don't fill these areas of our men...they will look for it elsewhere. be it guy friends, porn, dirty magazines, other women, hobbies, etc. and when we aren't meeting their needs, they aren't filling ours and we then fill ours with other things: girlfriends, food, shopping, other men, etc. this can be dangerous and hurtful.

*i read to all the gals 'note to reader' in 'sheet music' and i read the back of the book. i also read from jen hatmaker's 'out of the spin cycle' book, bringing sexy back. you can see this book here, www.jenhatmaker.com

*i also read from God's Word. if you don't think God is all about us enjoying sex with our spouse to the fullest, then i suggest you hang out in Song of Songs for awhile. actually it won't take you long to see. 2 scriptures i read were:
song of songs 7:10...i belong to my lover, and his desire is for me. (your babe desires you gals. let him)
song of songs 5:16...this is my lover, this is my friend. (do we treat our men like our friends. if something is wrong, do we complain about it with our girlfriends? or do we talk to our men about it? also the next part of the verse is 'o daughters of jerusalem'. which to me means she was talking POSITIVE and LOVE about her babe to her girlfriends. which leads to a rule in 'sheet music' that i stole from MOPS...'no husband bashing'.)

*one of my favorite quotes i stole from my friend amy, who i'm sure stole it from someone else, is this:

marriage is the practice of becoming passionate friends.

i am a lover of words and each of these words in this quote has so much taste to it! practice. passionate. friends.

i was nervous our first get together because the lie in my head was that i needed to help everyone fix their marriage in one night. one summer. and that simply cannot be done. it's going to take work and effort and sacrifice. and this is the same lie that satan will try to feed you as we work on our marriages together...that nothing is changing so just give up. DON'T LISTEN TO THIS LIE. keep going. keep doing the right things. keep working. keep loving. this is a lifetime journey.

*the homework at our first get together was: read the 1st 3 chapters and our challenge was to 'initiate' sex with your husband.

other blogs on 'sheet music':
http://andreahinton.blogspot.com/2011/05/bringing-sexy-back-this-summer.html

lovers of God

i'm praying for church as a whole today and especially our church home www.celebration247.com when i read 2 timothy 3:4-7.

Lord...be the lover of our souls. my prayer this morning is that we would be lovers of God, lovers of You. that we would find ways and times to be more intimate with you. to find pleasure in time with You. Lord that we would not just have a form of godliness but be formed by godliness and use its power. allow us to always be learning and also allow us to always acknowledge the truth. and move in that truth. may our time with You not be out of duty or going thru the motions but with love and delight. with love. in love. amen.

bringing sexy back this summer!

all right WIVES!! i'm calling you out! it's time to put our marriages on the FRONT burners!


i'm doing a book club- 'bringing sexy back this summer!' (thanks jenny for the name!)- with this book:

it's 'Sheet Music...Uncovering the Secrets of Sexual Intimacy in Marriage' by Dr. Kevin Leman.
marriage is on my heart lately. i'm hearing about more hurting marriages than healthy marriages. i'm hearing women that are hurting...and i'm sure there are men hurting. i'm hearing 'we just exist in the same house'. i'm hearing men that are done and filing for divorce. i'm hearing women that are done and filing for divorce. sigh...

so when i'm hearing a lot of the same things...it's time for me to make a move. i told heath i'm not doing my part if i'm not sharing with as many wives as possible how stinky marriage can be sometimes and how wonderful it can be sometimes.

let's start a new trend! marriages that are fulfilling. marriages that are more health than hurt. doesn't that sound fresh?! don't you want some of that?!

SOOO...we are going to open up the communication on sex. that's right...i said it. S-E-X. i know this is a tender area for some. and it will be treated as such. but sex is also fun and beautiful in marriage. a quote from sheet music...'sex is about the quality of your entire love life, not just the alignment of your bodies.' (emphasis added)

ok. so here's what's happening. whether you are saying:

'my marriage is on the rocks'. or 'my marriage is "eh"..ho hum'. or 'my marriage rocks!'.

the girls are getting together!!!

here's the 4.1.1.

*we will be getting together every other wednesday starting june 8th. this is a laid back summer book club so sign up even if you can only come to a couple. the dates are: june 8th, june 22nd, july 6th, july 20th, august 3rd, august 17th.

*we will be chatting it up from 6:30-7:30

*we'll meet at my house, parks, or if there is anyone else that wants to offer their yard and firepit (wink).

*you must be a wife. that is the only requirement. doesn't matter how short or long you have been married. the more variety, the better.

*you must sign up via comment here, facebook, facebook message or text me. you must sign up by MAY 2Oth.

*i also need to know if you will be getting the book yourself (amazon.com and halfpricebooks.com are good prices) OR you want me to order it for you through our local bookstore-Hope Crossing.

i'm just going to end on a thought with how differently men and women are created.

*men want to have sex TO fix things. women want to fix things BEFORE they have sex.

o! how true this is! how different we are from our hubbies. BUT we, as husbands and wives, can make beautiful harmonized music together!

fa la la laaaaaaa!

a day-after-mother's-day TREAT

i love this devo book!!!

it is jen hatmaker's 'out of the spin cycle...devotions to lighten your motherload'.

i cannot say enough wonderful things about it or share it with enough mommas! it is serious good. i laugh. i cry. it hits home with so many of my own stories.

today i was reminded and wanted to share this one:

You want to be the mom of your kids' dreams? Want to give them security, health, stability, and happiness? Love your husband. Love him so much it's almost embarrassing. Kiss him, hug him, talk about him to your kids like your heart would expire without him. Refuse to let issues fester until you blow like Mount Vesuvius and char everyone. Have sex with him (this alone would solve most of his problems). Tell your children their daddy is a hero and they're the luckiest kids to belong to him. Be his fan. The best gift for your kids is parents who are crazy for each other. (Did I mention have sex with him?). Love each other well, and your house will stand, sweet friend.

i know mother's day is a day where we either love our husbands more because of special attention we got OR we want to wring their necks because we didn't get any special attention at all.

i say 'choose LOVE' today. maybe even....gasp!....have sex with him! (little sidenote...i have more blogs about this coming my fellow WIVES...stay tuned!)

whether you had a wonderful mother's day or a sucky one...treat yourself to this book. treat your husband to some love. and treat your kids to a happy mom and dad.

open

last week and still, i've been asking myself some hard questions in light of my relationship with God. so hold on to your shorts...this is going to be a heavy post. and for my friends who will ask 'are you ok?'...yes i am fine (*grin*). im just examining myself and feel impressed to share these questions... how far am i willing to go for God? how much am i willing to give up? how much of my comforts am i willing to give up? how far am i willing to say yes to Him? do i have a limit? am i truly OPEN to whatever He wants for my life? at whatever cost?

i watched the closing video from sun stand still by steven furtick for my activate group. amazing book. a definate 'must read'. maybe i'll write a review on it later...someday...heck. probably not. but it sounded good. *wink*. anyways... my encouragement was this... steven furtick said: "when the dream inside you looks nothing like the situation around you." and then he later prayed: "i pray you believe when you can't see Him. that you trust Him when you can't discern what He's doing."

what dreams do you have? a broken relationship restored? a fulfilling marriage? a healthy lifestyle...weight loss/gain? addictions released? job? impact?

what are you willing to give up? control? comfort?

for more info on sun stand still, check out http://www.sunstandstill.org/

power of my words

i read this... http://www.shaunaniequist.com/blog/2011/3/15/lent-part-two.html ...a couple weeks ago. and i can't quit thinking about it...especially this part: shauna writes: i didn't tell anyone (these things). because giving voice to those six things gives them power. what i'm finding is holding back the words takes their power away. i notice the passing flicker of annoyance, but then it's gone, because silence absorbs the power, reduces it. on a normal day, i'd tell aaron or a friend, and by telling someone, i'd give it power, igniting it like a fire. what words am i giving power to? for me, when i read this, it was confusion. trying to figure out 'what's next?' in my life. when i much rather prefer the andrea who just enjoys the ride God has her on. *smiles* but, how often do i give power to confusion? worry? negativity? do i breathe life. hope. and trust into conversations and situations??? just some thoughts. what words are you giving power to?

i don't want to go...

i first need to say...

i heart leapin ministries.

leapin is a free clothing shelter here in marion that me, heath and our kids get to go and volunteer each tuesday folding and putting away toddler clothes.

but today...

today...i don't want to go. its rainy and i just want to curl up in a blanket and hang at home. no real good excuse not to go. i just don't.

but this picture has been on my mind...

with this quote:

"we teach what we know. we reproduce who we are."

this is our 2 year old, garrett. also lovingly called destructor, g, bubbs. heehee.

anyways, when we first started volunteering, we just assumed garrett would play while we folded and put clothes away. we thought wrong! and i'm so glad i had the camera to capture how wrong we were!

i needed this reminder tonite. so its off to leapin we go!

what are some things you do, that you don't think your kids are watching you do? OR. what are some things you do, that you don't think your kids are old enough to help you do?

more info on leapin at www.leapinoutreach.org

family nights

i have a crush on them.

family nights, that is. they make me so happy!

the romance began last fall. i had put on my calendar to watch an online live conference on http://www.leadingandlovingit.com/. i remember before watching it, that i wanted to see someone on there that wasnt put together. preferably no makeup. maybe their house could be a wreck... (wink).

i was in the middle of being a momma. being mrs. coach. being a leader of 'real' in other areas in my community and church.

looking back i realize that in that moment its not that i wanted someone to be a mess. i desperately wanted to see what 'real' looked like for mommas in ministry. i am a lover of 'real'. i love when people are real with ya. ok, rambling....back to my crush.

so when laid back, fun heather whittaker http://www.whittakerwoman.typepad.com/ got on talking about 'being intentional with family time'...i was hooked!

its quite simple.

we spend time together. we laugh together. we relax together.

I. LOVE. IT.

thursday nights are our nights.

here's a peek a boo at last thursday...'snuggle night'.

after school i asked the girls what they wanted to do for family night. they pick most the themes and get creative which is half the fun. but that thursday i told them i just wanted to snuggle with them on the couch and do nothing. so we came up with make a tent, movie and popcorn daddy style...which means pourable butter. happy.

so after dinner we got on our tent making skills! fun fun!

family nights are health to us. they are the discipline i was missing. i was spending so much time with time outs, spankings, yelling and beating my head against a wall of what would work so they would just listen to their momma. and now...well i still have those times but they are fewer and farther between. spending time together is really the attention they were wanting. and i love it.

no matter what your family dynamic is...what do you do to spend time together? we're always looking for ideas!

oooo and one more pic! when we are plum out of ideas, we made this...

i got the idea from debra parker www.debraparker.blogspot.com who makes one for summertime...aaaahhhh summer...

Listen to andrea hintons Playlist

changes

i've been thinking a lot about changes lately.

how i react to them mostly.

when change comes at me do i react in...

sadness?
anger?
happiness?
fear?
confusion?
confidence?

there are changes that cause my heart to hurt and be heavy. there are changes that make me happy and want to dwell in that change. there are changes that cause me to retreat and hide. there are changes that make me say 'im not ready for this'. there are changes that i think...'this looks different than i thought'.

i like change for the most part.
i like changing my blog. i love the freshness of it.
i change my house around all the time. it makes me happy to repurpose and redecorate.
i like to change things up in our gals group to keep things fun, flexible and laid back.
i like to change things up at home so we can spend more time as a family.

but what about when the change is not my decision or a change that interrupts my comfort zone?

january is a time for new beginnings. everyone makes new years resolutions of what they want to change in the new year. our change was made for us. heath will not be coaching football for harding high school next year. the year ahead for the hinton family holds many changes. im not sure what at this point. but change is inevitable.

what we do with change...however...IS in our hands.

i have went thru all the emotions i've listed and probably some others...but what it boils down to today is this...

i will live as if there is no tomorrow.
i will embrace the people around me.
i will be a part of something bigger than me.
i will inspire others to be part of something beyond themselves.

no matter where we live or what we are doing.


im not really sure how i want to end this post.

i do know that my ministry is being real with others.

and on this blog the change that occured before christmas is a stepping stone to what's ahead for the hinton fam. and i just had to include it here before i could write or share anything else.

what change is before you? how are you reacting?