For My Husband... And My Sons... And ALL the Men in My World...

Yesterday was for my girls - today is for you, Dudes.  Because the guys in my life are special, and unique, and AWESOME as well... 

God created you for an amazing purpose... have you found it yet?  Are you living up to the MASTERPIECE that you are?

Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; 
      you formed me in my mother's womb. 
   I thank you, High God—you're breathtaking! 
      Body and soul, I am marvelously made! 
      I worship in adoration—what a creation! 
   You know me inside and out, 
      you know every bone in my body; 
   You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, 
      how I was sculpted from nothing into something. 
   Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; 
      all the stages of my life were spread out before you, 
   The days of my life all prepared 
      before I'd even lived one day.

Psalm 139:13-16, The Msg

Thank you for being you,
♥ Mags

I See You

You can find little life lessons everywhere... this one is brought to you by Dove, :)

What a difference between how each lady viewed herself... vs. how each were viewed by complete strangers!

We spend so much time worrying over and obsessing about and looking at and dissecting the things we find NOT QUITE right about ourselves, when in actually, we should be reveling in the awesomeness that is each of us.

In fact, I think we each need to find ourselves a THEME SONG.

Back in the 1990's I loved the TV show, Ally McBeal, and one of the episodes, called "Theme of Life," involved Ally coming up with a theme song to make her feel empowered (she chose "Tell Him" which was covered by Vonda Shepard on the show).  I like that idea of having your own theme song - or a bunch of them!!  

It's a running joke among my kids' friends (and my friends), that when I introduce myself, I tell them my name is "Maggie Is Awesome," "Darth Magius," or "Magius Malfoy."  The Star Wars and Harry Potter junkies crack up - and the littler kids just sit there pondering if "Is Awesome" is my true last name.  But it is pretty darn awesome when I show up to volunteer in my sons' classrooms, and a bunch of kids wave and say "HI, MAGGIE-IS-AWESOME!!"  What a feeling!

I have a playlist on iTunes called "AWESOME, I AM" (not specifically Yoda-speak, but I wanted it to be at the top of the list so I needed something that started with "A.").  These are the songs on the list:

• Titanium - David Guetta
• Just The Way You Are - Bruno Mars
• I'm Too Sexy - Right Said Fred
• SexyBack - Justin Timberlake
• Sexy And I Know It - LMFAO
• I Know You Want Me - Calle Ocho
• The Fighter - feat Ryan Tedder
• Survivor/I Will Survive - Glee Cast
• Because I'm Awesome - The Dollyrots (yes, that's an actual song!)
• This Is Your Life - Switchfoot
• U Can't Touch This - MC Hammer
• Good Life - OneRepublic
• The Champ - Nelly

My sixth grader would also tell me that no "Awesome Rock" mix would be complete without "Remember The Name" by The Rising Tied.  :)

Some songs are silly - some are serious - but all of them give me a little lift in my step and remind me that I AM awesome... just like you.

And if that doesn't help boost your self-esteem, consider that GOD looks at you and sees not your flaws, but an amazing masterpiece that He created:

Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; 
      you formed me in my mother's womb. 
   I thank you, High God—you're breathtaking! 
      Body and soul, I am marvelously made! 
      I worship in adoration—what a creation! 
   You know me inside and out, 
      you know every bone in my body; 
   You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, 
      how I was sculpted from nothing into something. 
   Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; 
      all the stages of my life were spread out before you, 
   The days of my life all prepared 
      before I'd even lived one day.

Psalm 139:13-16, The Msg

Like the video states at the end:  you are more beautiful than you think.
And, as GOD reminds us through His Word:  You are fearfully and WONDERFULLY made.  

Own it.

I Found God in Ingenuity...

This is a great little story that's making the rounds on Facebook...


The Tomato Garden

An old man lived alone in the country. He wanted to dig his tomato garden, but it was very hard work as the ground was hard. His only son, Vincent, who used to help him, was in prison. The old man wrote a letter to his son and described his predicament.

Dear Vincent,
I am feeling pretty badly because it looks like I won’t be able to plant my tomato garden this year. I’m just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot. I know if you were here my troubles would be over. I know you would be happy to dig the plot for me.
Love, Dad

A few days later he received a letter from his son.

Dear Dad,
Don’t dig up that garden!!! That’s where I buried the bodies.
Love, Vinnie

At 4 a.m. the next morning, FBI agents and local police arrived and dug up the entire area without finding any bodies. They apologized to the old man and left. That same day the old man received another letter from his son.

Dear Dad,
Go ahead and plant the tomatoes now. That’s the best I could do under the circumstances.
Love you, Vinnie

I love the creative thinking!  The son, trapped within the confines of his cell, knew he, himself, could not help with the garden.  But his letter, which he knew would be read by the authorities, ensured that his father's garden would get tilled.

Now I'm not advocating tricking the police... But I am encouraging you to tap into the creative side of your brain - because you have one!  You are fearfully & wonderfully made...

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; 
   your works are wonderful, 
   I know that full well.

Psalm 139:14 (NIV)

So think outside the box once in a while!

:) Mags

Email Inspirations: Finding God In A Label

My cyberfriend, Tricia, gets these amazing daily devotions delivered right to her inbox. Then she posts them in my Scrapbooking With Faith online group. I'm snagging a few of them and posting them here as well because they are just wonderful and inspiring. I may also use "Email Inspiration" Days to post some other great devotionals that I receive as well. These aren't my words, I'm just passing on a good bit of food-for-thought. Enjoy! :) Mags

Check the Label (by Mary Sutherland)

I love a good sale, don't you? In fact, a 75% off tag may very well be a sign from God. (I'm still trying to convince my husband.) I have also learned that you can save money in the long run if you check the label. Let me explain. We needed a new sofa -- desperately. It had to be a certain color and style and cost a certain amount. I headed for the nearest furniture outlet, where I narrowed my selection down to two sofas. Both were on sale and both would work in our home. I saw the salesman coming. Before he could say a word, I asked, "Which one of these sofas would you tell your wife to buy?" The man immediately pointed to one of the sofas and said, "Definitely that one." When I asked why he had chosen that particular sofa, he replied, "Check the label. The one I chose was made by a company known for its quality work. The other sofa is a cheap imitation.

We can judge a product's potential and value by looking at the one who created it and God does not make cheap imitations of anything. You are valuable simply because you were created by the hand of God. I am here to tell you that God is not mad at you! His design of you and plan for your life is second to none. He paid the highest price that could be paid -- for you. To cower or crawl in inferiority is to say to God, "You made a mistake when you made me." God doesn't make mistakes, friend. He never has to say, "Oops!" We were created in His likeness and are valuable to God. God knows my name and loves me. I am His masterpiece and have been validated by God Himself. Wow! That is quite a label, girlfriend!

Ephesians 2:10 "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

I Found God In the "Jack" of All Questions...

My 7-year old son, Jack, out of the clear-blue-nowhere, asked me this question last week:

Mom... how do we know that we are following the right God?

What if we are following the wrong God and when we die,

he is really mad at us and sends us to Hell?

Wha-at?!

My first thought... besides the gaping silence was "B-But, I haven't blogged about this topic yet?!"

Then there was some stuttering.

Then some 20-minute-ish discussion that involved me trying to explain our faith in three different parts:

1. We ARE correct. Jesus DID live, die, and rise again. And scholars and pastors like Pastor Tom (our pastor) have gone to school for a long time to learn about this and to feel fairly "scientific-ish" with facts about why they believe what they preach.

2. Even if we were wrong, by following the Bible we are doing good things - and I think that just about every other religion out there says that doing good works will get you into Heaven... so even if we are wrong, with a lifetime of "good things," we'd be a shoo-in for their Heaven anyway.

3. Faith is exactly that... FAITH. Believing with all your heart, mind, and soul that which cannot be seen. Seeing is not believing... but rather, believing allows you to "see."

Can you spell c-o-n-f-u-s-i-n-g ?!?!

I know my answers were choppy and convoluted at best... I was completely caught off guard, for sure! But the conversation pointed out to me (again!) that our children are totally paying attention to what's going on at church and what is modeled to them. My son is only 7 - yet he is craving answers to BIG questions... some questions to which others might spend a lifetime searching for answers.

It also was a lesson to me -that I needed to get an even firmer grasp on the how's and why's of my own faith. Of all the people in the world I need to be able to witness to successfully, my two sons are at the TOP of the list!! Their questions are only going to get harder... and I need to be ready with some serious answers.

First stop... the answer key.... a.k.a. The Bible. All of the things I need my children to know are probably in this book... and to be honest, I have not read it all. Sure, I've read bits and pieces - chapters here and there. I've looked up passages for Bible studies and, of course, for this blog. I've listened to certain verses expounded upon in Sunday sermons or in Sunday School. But I have never sat down with my Bible and read it - like all of the other books I've curled up to read, this one I've warily danced around - toting it to and from church, but not really getting "into" it.

Well that stops now. Today is the Genesis of my reading... and because I'm OCD, I'll start at the beginning. I'll keep you posted on what I find... *wink*

♥Mags

I Found God At The Edge Of The World...

Having just returned from a week at the beach for my brother's wedding, I'm eager to expound on some of the sights and sounds of God.... When you stand at the edge of the world watching the waves lapping at the coastline, it's almost too easy to picture God's hand as the creator of this nautical masterpiece. I've been reading a fabulous book (Looking for God in Harry Potter by John Granger... and yes, you can expect future posts on this topic!), and he says:

The ocean as it stretches to the distant horizon is a symbol for the infinite power and breadth of God....as a symbol of God, a way of seeing the unseeable, [the ocean] can take our breath away or bring tears to our eyes.

How true! The ocean stretches on... seemingly forever... spanning miles and miles... packed with LIFE beneath its aqua surface. What a metaphor for God's never-ending, all-encompassing love... love that goes on forever... love that hugs all living creatures... love that is fierce AND gentle.

And how sad that to an atheist, the ocean must just look like one big ol' bathtub for fish.

You don't have to travel all the way to the ocean to see evidence of God's handiwork... just open your back door and peer outside... trees and plants stretching their arms up to the Heavens... insects, literally, buzzing with life... God has a hand in all of creation. To paraphrase from Genesis Chapter 1:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

He created light.

He created the sky and the seas.

He created the plants and the trees.

He created the day and the night, the sun and the stars.

He created all of the creatues of the land, of the sea, and of the sky.

He created man and woman.

And when He was done, He rested... but God created it ALL.

If you want to see just a bathtub, look in your bathroom.

If you want to see a miracle, a small sign of God's power, visit the ocean.

Take care of you!

:) Mags

I Found God In Vegetables...

I received an email today entitled "God's Pharmacy." I thought you might find it interesting as well...

• A sliced CARROT looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye . . . and YES science now shows that carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.
• A TOMATO has four chambers and is red. The heart is red and has four chambers. All of the research shows tomatoes are indeed pure heart and blood food.
• GRAPES hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows that grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.
• A WALNUT looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds are on the nut just like the neo-cortex. We now know that walnuts help develop over 3 dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.
• KIDNEY BEANS actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.
• CELERY, BOK CHOY, RHUBARB and more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet the body pulls it from the bones, making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.
• EGGPLANT, AVOCODOS and PEARS target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats 1 avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? ..... It takes exactly 9 months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).
• FIGS are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the motility of male sperm and increase the numbers of sperm well to overcome male sterility.
• SWEET POTATOES look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.
• OLIVES assist the health and function of the ovaries.
• GRAPEFRUITS, ORANGES, and other CITRUS fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.
• ONIONS look like body cells. Today's research shows that onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes

Anyone still sitting around and thinking that people as well as all of nature arrived on this Earth by accident.....?!?!?!

Above Graphic from http://living4him2.blogspot.com/2007_07_01_archive.html. It's a great blog - you might want to check it out!

Creation: God vs. Satan

Going along with my previous post, I received this poem in an email once... I found it to be funny... and sadly, very true...! Being one who struggles with my weight on a daily basis, I can see how temptation has been a problem for me quite often! *sigh*

God vs Satan

And God populated the earth with broccoli and cauliflower and spinach and green and yellow vegetables of all kinds, so Man and Woman would live long and healthy lives.

And Satan created McDonald's. And McDonald's brought forth the 99-cent double-cheeseburger. And Satan said to Man, "You want fries with that?" And Man said, "Super size them." And Man gained pounds.

And God created the healthful yogurt, that woman might keep her figure that man found so fair.

And Satan froze the yogurt, and he brought forth chocolate, nuts and brightly colored sprinkle candy to put on the yogurt. And woman gained pounds.

And God said, "Try my crispy fresh salad."

And Satan brought forth creamy dressings, bacon bits, and shredded cheese.
And there was ice cream for dessert. And woman gained pounds.

And God said, "I have sent your heart healthy vegetables and olive oil with which to cook them."

And Satan brought forth chicken-fried steak from Cracker Barrel so big it needed its own platter.
And Man gained pounds, and his bad cholesterol went through the roof.

And God brought forth running shoes, and Man resolved to lose those extra pounds.
And Satan brought forth cable TV with remote control so Man would not have to toil to change channels between ESPN and ESPN2.
And Man gained pounds.

And God said, "You're running up the score, Devil."
And God brought forth the potato, a vegetable naturally low in fat and brimming with nutrition.

And Satan peeled off the healthful skin and sliced the starchy center into chips and deep-fat fried them. And he created sour cream dip also.
And Man clutched his remote control and ate the potato chips swaddled in cholesterol.
And Satan saw and said, "It is good."
And Man went into cardiac arrest.

And God sighed, and created quadruple bypass surgery, angioplasties, and stints . . . . .

And Satan created HMOs...



I don't have an author for this poem - if you know it, please post a comment so I can give credit! Thx! :)