Friday Favorites: Oh BABY!

It's been a while since I've listed some favorites. I've actually been thinking about revamping my Friday Favorites concept, but until then there are a few things that I love right now that I thought were worth mentioning. My world is pretty focused around all things baby, so these are at the forefront of my favorites list:

Bumkins Starter Bib Elli is eating solids now and I was surprised to discover that it was hard to find a bib that worked well with her petite size and cleaned easily. This bib is PERFECT! It fits well and I really appreciate that it washes off under the faucet and dries withing minutes.

Sandra Boynton Books These are so fun to read. Elli loves the bright simple pictures and we love the fun rhythm that each story has.

Super Baby Food This book is PACKED with information, tips and recipes on giving your baby the healthiest start possible in the world of food and nutrition. Elli was having a lot of tummy trouble with her new foods until we switched over to this diet plan. The difference is amazing!

RaZbaby Raz-Berry Teether This teether is great for tiny hands and mouths. It's small and lightweight so it's easy for Elli to manipulate unlike a lot of the heavier and harder teethers on the market. The "raspberry" has a great bumpy texture for teething gums and is hollow so that it has a little bit of give to it when bitten.

It's Wednesday

Yep, it's Wednesday. Wednesday, the day that I thought I had a lot more done. The day that I thought I might finally feel awake and recovered from a few crazy weeks of life. The day I was determined to have been caught up by. Instead, I sit here strolling through the blogs on my google reader, sipping much needed coffee and wishing it was acceptable to lay down and sleep for the next three hours, but knowing that there is a to-do list longer than a care to measure waiting for me on the kitchen counter. Ah well, it's only Wednesday.

Wounds of a friend...

Do you ever just ache for a friend in trouble? You know, that friend who just seems to keep making choices that are either self destructive or just shockingly stupid? What do you do? How do you respond? I've been struggling with this for a while. What exactly are we as Christians supposed to do when our Christian friends are screwing up? What are we supposed to do when they're sinning on purpose? What are we supposed to do when their actions are so unbelievable that your guts hurt and your head refuses to wrap around the possibility that your friend has become THAT lost and THAT broken and THAT careless? I know the Bible says "Faithful are the wounds of a friend..." and that we aren't supposed to just sit by, but what exactly are we supposed to DO? What's the right way to "wound" a friend in order for them to be drawn back to Jesus and His ways? How do you love them in a way that shows them that Christ's love is all encompassing? I'm searching this out. I'm praying for wisdom. I want to speak words that the Holy Spirit wants spoken. I want to listen with ears that Jesus has opened. I want to love the way the Father loves me. I want my friends to be whole, to return to Truth. I want to see-no- I NEED to see God's miraculous rescue in the lives of my friends. If I'm to be part of that rescue, oh God, please help!

Home Sweet Home

Today marks my official day to be HOME for a while. Brian still has one more camp to go to, but I opted out due to work starting up and Elli's need to get back into our normal routine for longer than 3 days in a row. While I'm so thankful to be home and stay home, it has been an awesome experience to go to more than one camp this summer. We have met some incredible students, leaders, volunteers and pastors. As we left this weekend's camp I sat cuddled against my cold car window thinking, "God's people are truly wonderful, I love them." It's been such an encouragement and motivation to witness what God has done and is doing in so many others. It has also been a true gift to see Brian used to impact the lives of other ministries and students. He's has such a special message and voice. I was especially moved this weekend as he spoke some things that I know he holds very dear to his heart. I'm so thankful for the honest and humble man I married. God has given me far more than I deserve and I am so humbled by His grace and favor. Now that I'm home, it's time to conquer the giant pile of "to-do's" and get back into the swing of things. So if there's anyone out there that actually reads this blog, you can expect more entries more frequently!

I'm still alive...I swear

Wow. Summer is FLYING by! I can't believe I'm staring mid-August in the face! Our boiling hot summer days have been crammed with all sorts of great things. We went camping with a huge group from our church and then did laundry and repacked to head off to youth camp. It was a great (but HOT) week. I felt a little disconnected at camp because Elli had her first major fever and sickness (she was so sad, poor little red running eyes and nose) which consumed a lot of time the first three days, but God has provided us with fabulous leaders and wonderful students, so everything went really well (despite the sweltering heat). We witnessed a lot of deep digging and challenges by the Holy Spirit and I'm excited to see the results in our students and leaders over the next few weeks. We're home for a few days and then off to a small youth camp in Walla Walla where Brian will be speaking SEVEN TIMES over the weekend!!! Please pray for him. There's been so much going on that prep time has been quite limited and he needs God's grace and anointing throughout our time there. I'm so excited for the fall. Our schedule will be back to "normal" AND the heat will eventually go far far away. Did I mention it's been really really hot?