You might need a kleenex

I have a friend who sent out a very convicting email about a conversation she had with her son. I asked her if she minds if I share it. Her response was..."share with whoever, I want God to use it"...so here it is:

Noah drew a picture of God controlling the weather and Jesus above it all in heaven. He said that God was going to take us up to see Jesus. So, later in the car I took the opportunity to talk some more about his drawing and make the point that Jesus was actually going to come down and get us and take us to live with him and God in Heaven and we will be able to see him and God for the first time. He agreed, and said, "Yeah, we are going to fly up over the earth with Jesus and be able to see everything!".

Then he asked, "Why is Jesus not coming back to get us now?".
I explained to him that Jesus is waiting for everyone to hear about how He loves them and they need to be saved from their sins. He simply replied, "well, lets go tell everyone so he can come back." My heart broke, realizing what a hypocrite I was and thankful that Noah might not be able to put that together quite yet. I then said, "that is what Sassy is doing in Africa. She went far far away to tell boys and girls about Jesus". He replied, simply again, "So I am suppose to tell people about Jesus in Birmingham and Trussville?". I said, "yes". He said, " I am going to tell my class". I said, " That is great", all the time thinking, what have I been doing with my life.

Then, Noah asked me if he could roll down his window in the car (a usual request). I said yes and rolled it down for him. He then proceeded to start yelling out the window, "Everybody! Jesus loves you and wants to save you so you can go home with him!". This is why Jesus said to come to him like a child. I have been convicted ever since, and yet still have not embraced the same freeness to share about Christ. It is only a matter of time before Noah will start asking me why I didn't tell someone about Jesus that we have a conversation with. I welcome that challenge and accountability. Raising the kids is hard and it leaves little room for times of reflection and study of God's Word. However, I am now realizing that training them up in the knowledge and admonition of the Word is going to be the biggest blessing to my spiritual staleness and laziness. Praise God for the words of my four year old.

And here is some scripture that complements this story well:

At that time the disciples came to Jesus saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea."

Matthew 18: 1-6

Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to him, saying "Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it."

Luke 18:25-17

Childlike trust, vulnerability...that's what we are called to be like. In the time these passages were written, children were regarded as a burden until they were strong enough to contribute to the family. Jesus' attitude toward children was very different. Is it so different in our culture today...many people see children as an inconvenience instead of a blessing.

I leave you with this...I have personally been very challenged from what my friend shared and hope that you are too. We are called to seek the Lord with a "childlike faith". Children can teach us many things about ourselves and about how we are commanded to be by our Father. I'm learning that even now with a two month old who can't even talk, but says so much without using words. It's so easy to fill our days up with meaningless nonsense or to care too much about what people will think and to not be intentional with our words, actions and interactions with others.

It's my prayer that Lord will use this post to speak to many hearts. Thank you Kate for sharing your conversation with Noah. Made me laugh and cry all at the same time and more than anything, it challenged me (and hopefully many others).

I LOVE PUBLIX!

I know not all our blog subscribers have access to Publix...but let me tell you why you are going to wish you did, if you don't...

1. Publix is cheaper than Walmart if you learn how to shop there with coupons and with their weekly sale items.

2. The checkout line is ALWAYS short.

3. The cashiers and bag/buggy boys/girls are the best!

4. I have never met a mean or rude employee at Publix...every single one of them are great and seem to love their job.

5. If you can't find something, if you ask an employee, they take you to the item instead of just tell you where it is (don't know if this is protocol, but they have always done it for me).

6. They help you to your car and load your groceries for you and won't accept a tip. Or, if you're like me, I had Briggs strapped to me in the carrier yesterday and was having trouble getting the items from my buggy onto the checkout counter. So what does the cashier do..he comes from behind the register and put my groceries up there for me. And then the little bag boy took them and loaded them all in my car for me!

7. You get to try the meat you're buying at the deli...they always ask if I want a piece when they are slicing it. I've also heard they offer your kids a cookie if you go to the deli, but my kid is too small...so that's just what I've heard.

8. They have awesome programs and magazines you can sign up for online that get mailed to your house with coupons in them.

9. Every three to four weeks they publish Advantage Buy Flyers with additional store coupons in them that you can combine with manufacturer coupons. (just ask for them at the customer service desk)

10. They have excellent, top of the notch, customer service! I LOVE PUBLIX!

It wasn't hard to come up with my top 10 reasons on why I love Publix, and they aren't necessarily in ranking order of my favorites. I also wanted to share what came in the mail for me yesterday. I had signed up for the Publix baby club online when I became pregnant. They sent me all kinds of goodies...well yesterday I received this sweet letter (see below) saying congrats on our new baby (b/c I had told them when my due date was), and they wanted to know what Briggs name is and what is actual birthday is. They are going to send us helpful info that coordinates with is age and more coupons.


And to top it off...they also included a "no postage necessary" envelope for me to return the little form with Briggs name and birthday on it. That's because Publix ROCKS and they care about their customers.


So, if you're wanting some free stuff and good reading info..go here and sign up for all the goodies (top of the page, under clubs and programs). It includes wine guides, family, greenwise, baby, pets, etc... Just sign up and they send magazines and coupons to your house for free that only add to your savings.

First time for...

Briggs has had a few first time experiences lately..thought I would share a few of them:

First Road Trip

We took our first road trip this weekend to Baton Rouge. Our 6 hour trip is officially 8 hours now. Briggs did so good though. He slept the entire time except when we would stop to feed him and let him stretch a little. On the way home, he did get fussy about an hour from the house, but thankfully our precious friends Breland and Beth live right around that point in our trip and were okay with us invading their night. We got to hang out with them for a while and even had dinner together. It was a great visit and ending to our trip.

First Dentist Visit

This is Briggs' babysitter while I was at the dentist. Debra felt like he needed her to come hold him. Even though he probably would have been fine and slept through the whole appt...thanks Ms. Debra for coming to love on Briggs :)

Oh and you can't see her, but there was an old lady sitting to the side of Debra...after the appt, Debra informed me that while they were sitting there chatting, the old lady said.."Aww, how sweet, is he here for a toothache?!?!?!" AND SHE WAS SERIOUS!...HAHAHA

Riding in his carrier

I had to include this precious picture. Briggs and I have been practicing riding in his carrier so he doesn't have a meltdown in the middle of Publix because he isn't used to it. He still doesn't know quite what to think of it, so this is what he does the whole time while we are walking around...looks up at me with these big eyes until his little head goes crashing down to sleep :) Pretty cute!

New Toys

If you have been keeping up with our blog then you know about the issues Briggs and I have had with grocery shopping...well yesterday that issue was solved

LOOK...NO HANDS!

We tested our new toy out around the house to see what Briggs would think about it...he fell strait asleep. Partly because he was tired and then he was being held which he loves. Don't worry...it's only for our shopping trips, so little man won't be getting too spoiled :)


We learned about this nifty little device from our friend Brook Taylor's blog. What a great invention! Now we have something besides mommy's tired brain to keep up with when Briggs ate last, what side I need to start nursing on next, how long he sleeps, diaper changes, and medication (if he has to take some). It's AWESOME!...and it even has a little light on it to help you see in the middle of the night. Very compact so fits in anything if you take it with ya.

Tasty Tuesday - Meat Pie

I realized after I had posted last week...my Tasty Tuesday was actually on Wednesday...oops. Maybe I get a pass since I have a newborn and my days run together sometimes :)
So here is another recipe to share...

Meat Pie

1 lb ground beef (cook then drain)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 bag shredded cheddar cheese
Pie crust

Combine all together and season with your choice of seasoning. I use a blend of garlic powder, salt and pepper to season the mixture. You can saute some onions and peppers to add into the meat if desired. Line a pie tin/dish with the pie crust. Add the meat mixture. Cover with the other pie crust. I trim the edges of any crust hanging over the edge and you can even cut out a design in the top of the pie. Your final product should look a little something like this:

Coupon success

I'm a little late with this post b/c this is a deal I got last week, but just wanted to share the possibilities out there with coupons.

If you went to Walmart to buy these same items, you would pay around $2.50 a piece. I got all of them for a total of $3.45 at CVS with coupons and ECB (extra care bucks). I thought that was pretty good!


A tip for shopping at CVS...at the checkout counter there are these green bag tags (see below). They cost .99 and you attach to a reusable bag. When you checkout, scan it and every fourth time it's scanned, you earn $1 ECB. Note: if you check out with multiple purchases, you can only scan it once in that visit and only one per customer.


Unfortunately, I don't have a picture from my Publix trip this week because when we got home, I had to feed Briggs and J unloaded and put away all the groceries before I could take one (which I'm not complaining b/c how many husbands would do that...and then, how many husbands know where all the stuff goes...MY HUBBY IS THE BEST!) Anyway, my grand total this week for Publix was...drum roll please...$70.76 AND I SAVED $55.43!

Tasty Tuesday - Nanny's Chicken

This is a recipe from my friend Debra's Nanny. It's an easy recipe to make.

2 lb cooked chicken, diced
1/4 C melted butter
1 C crumbled ritz crackers (1 sleeve)
1 C sour cream
1 C cream of chicken soup
1/4 C chicken broth

Combine butter/cracker. Spoon 1/2 in 2 qt dish. Top with chicken. Combine sour cream, soup and broth. Pour over chicken. Top with remaining crumbs. Bake 350 x 25 min

Note: I use rotisserie chickens from Walmart and pull the chicken off the bone then chop it up. Makes for good flavor.

Should look a little something like this