Music & Beans

   Last night was the science fair at the local school. I had the opportunity to go and check it out. It was really neat to see what kinds of ideas these kids had. There was something of everything, and yes, even the classic volcano. I didn't have a chance to see everything but there are two that stand out for me.
   The first one is beans. The experiment was to grow beans in soil using 4 different types of liquids. There was water (of course), peach juice, 7-up and coke. They were testing to see what liquid would make the beans grow the fastest. The end result was: water makes the beans grow the fastest.
Then I got to thinking. We can very easily use this experiment in our own lives. We can all be the beans,our soil is the world in which we live, and our liquids are a variety of things. What do we fill our lives with to help us grow? God, Wealth, Relationships, Success? There can be many different scenarios depending on where you are in your own life. The truth is, that only with God will you grow the best. It really doesn't matter what you have, how much money you make, how important you are. All that matters is the God that you serve.

   The second experiment was mice and music. The students tested to see who was calmer, the mice who didn't have music or the mice who had music. The conclusion was that the mice who didn't have music were more antsy and restless, while the mice who had music were more calm and relaxed.
We could apply that to our own lives and how we praise and worship God. I find for myself, when I listen to Christian music I'm more in tune with God and I feel his presence stronger. I just want to sing my heart out just for him and dance around my kitchen like a rock star (it's a sight to behold!). My mood is also greatly improved when I do this. When there's no music, my mind comes up with some pretty crazy stuff. That doesn't always happen, but sometimes when there is something on my mind that's been bugging me, it really comes on full force when It's quiet. There are other times, that I can just sit and focus on God and all he has done for me and feel so blessed.

What about you, do you do better with or without music?



* Andrea *

Laundry. Fun?

   I never totally understood why my mom always had a table in the laundry room.
Like really, what is the point?
Your down there all by yourself folding laundry. How fun is that?

Very Very Fun!!

And SOOOOO Quiet!!!
   
     Growing up I did not enjoy folding laundry because it usually meant being in the cold, damp basement by yourself with just you and a table full of laundry. It was not exciting at all. I would have much rather brought the laundry upstairs and folded it in the living room instead of in the 'dungeon'. Our basement wasn't that bad, it was just very cold, and eerily quiet when you were down there alone and for a girl (with a very active imagination) that's a scary place to be. I mean who knows what goes on down there when nobody's around, right? Or so, I thought.
Now that I'm older however, I totally get it.
Yesterday, I put a table in my laundry room.

I...


                 LOVE...


                                             IT!

It's so quiet and peaceful down there I look forward to doing laundry! Would you believe I did 6 loads yesterday just because I have the table? I have another 2 on the go! I know how crazy this sounds! Especially from me cause I do NOT enjoy doing laundry. Just ask my husband. Almost every time I do laundry, I don't end up folding it all, or I don't hang it all. It rarely all gets done the same day. So, yesterday when he got home and I told him that I had done 6 loads and they were all folded and almost all put away, he was amazed to say the least.
So maybe, this was just what I needed to enjoy doing laundry.

Huh! Who knew?


Any Ideas on how I can enjoy washing dishes??



* Andrea *

Amazing Grace?

       What exactly is grace? That is something that I have struggled with for a while now. I hear a lot of talk about it: how God shows us grace, how we should show grace to others, how we should parent with grace, and on and on. So to understand more about grace, I've decided to read the book "The Grace Awakening" by Charles Swindoll. I've just started it but I wanted to share a bit with you.
    One of the definitions he gave about grace is: " To show grace is to extend favor or kindness to one who doesn't deserve it and can never earn it". That is very clear for me. That's exactly what God does for us. He freely gives us the gift of salvation and we don't deserve it and we can't do anything EVER to earn it. But yet, in his grace he just gives it to us because he loves us. That is so awesome to me. When you really think about it, none of us can or will, ever deserve to be with him in heaven. There is nothing that we can do that will get us there. It bothers me to think that some people believe that the only way they'll get there, is if they work hard enough or are nice enough to others.We can only go if we accept his grace and his Gift of salvation. That's all we need to do. It's a free gift. No strings attached.  Ephesians 2:8 "For it is by Grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God" Isn't that a wonderful gift? Have you chosen to receive it?

So yes, Grace is amazing, because of who extended grace to us first. 

* Andrea *

Friendships

    Friends are great! I really enjoy having women in my life that I can talk to and who really care about what I say. I like knowing that I can trust them with my secrets and my troubles. My favourite thing about my friends is "GIRL TIME"! You know what I'm talking about. The "Lets get together and be silly" times or the "I really need a shoulder to cry on" times or the times in between where you just want to hang out and not even talk that much. Girl time is so great cause It's time that you share with other "Girls" who deep down inside probably have the same insecurities and fears as you do. To some It's one of the few times in life where you can really be yourself. It's really awesome when you have a bunch of ladies who can all get together and who blend well together. Women who encourage you and who you can learn from and they from you. It's also really great when you have the same faith and you can grow together. It's very important that you have trusting relationships with people of the same gender. People that are there for you, to talk to, to pray for you, and who are just a phone call away if ever you need something.

Friendships are one of the special gifts in life.  


Have you talked to a friend lately?



  * Andrea *

Perspectives

   Last night when I was reading the bible verse in my day planner, it really made me think. Again? I know! This happens way too often!
The verse was 1 Peter 1:3 "All praise to God, the father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation."

The write up that went with the verse was: " Life is hard; then you die. That's one perspective. Here's another: Life is membership in a forever family." I don't know about you, but I prefer the second perspective. How often in our lives have we been told the first one though? Why do we focus on how hard life is when we could be focusing on how much fun and freedom we can have living for God? If we are doing it all for him, life has meaning. If were just doing it for ourselves, it's worthless. As long as I live for him, I can have great expectations for my life and my future.

My perspective from now on will be " Life is membership in a forever family."

Are you part of the family? If not, I would love for you to join.

If you have any questions feel free to email me at:  candle_andrea@hotmail.com

* Andrea *

Happy Birthday!

    Well, the birthday parties are over for my daughter for now. However, they are just beginning for my niece! She turned 1 today! Happy Birthday Sophia! We love you!

Isn't she sweet?

She had a great time playing with her cupcake! She made a nice mess too!!

 Psalm 139:13-14 " For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mothers womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."



Have a great day!

* Andrea *

It's Party Time!

    Wow, what a weekend! It was a really great one, but very busy! We had friends from B.C. come out so we were able to spend some time with them and we had a couple of birthday celebrations for my daughter. On Saturday, Tim and I took Arielle to Build-A-Bear Workshop for her birthday gift from us. She had a really good time and chose a very cute lamb. Afterward, we took her out for lunch and then we came home. On Sunday, I took her and 2 friends to the movie theatre to see the movie "Tangled" in 3D. That was a lot of fun! After the movie, we went to Mc Donald's for supper.

 The girls had a lot of fun and it was great for me because I didn't have to do it all in my house! Until now, all of her friend parties have been in my house, which is fine but last year we had 10 girls! That is a few too many to try to keep busy and to clean up after. So I thought this year we would do something different. We all really enjoyed it.

 The parties are not over yet! We have my family coming over tonite and my husbands over tomorrow nite. I really enjoy celebrating her birthday, but I am also glad when the parties are over.

I wonder how Alejandro will celebrate his birthday? What kinds of things do they do? I know he will have a party because Compassion has a birthday party for each sponsored child. That's a thought that brings me joy, because every child deserves a birthday party.

How does your sponsored child celebrate his/her birthday?

* Andrea *