Crazy Easter Egg Party

Wow, time flies when your having fun...also when you're busy. I once again apologize for not posting in so long. I have so much to tell you, I couldn't possibly do it all in one post, so I will start with what I did this past Saturday.

For some crazy reason, I decided to host an Easter Egg hunt for the "Mom's Group" from my church, as well as some other church friends. I used the "Evite" website and did it all through the Internet. I have been a Southern Living at HOME party consultant for 4 years now, and the rule when inviting people to any function is to over invite, with the hopes that at least 50% of the people will show up. So, that's what I did when it came to my Easter Egg hunt. Much to my surprise (and delight), almost everyone responded "yes" to my invitation. Which meant, I had about 70 people, 40 of them kids, show up at my house on Saturday! No problem, we have a big yard, and I made sure I had plenty of eggs (458 to be exact).

Since I enjoy decorating & throwing parties, as well as spending quality time with my children, I decided to incorporate the two. I thought I would dye Easter eggs with my boys and use the decorated eggs as the centerpiece for my table at the party. I knew I wouldn't have time to decorate the eggs toward the end of the week, so I thought we'd decorate them on the Monday before the party. Of course, my oldest son wanted nothing to do with it, but my 7 yr. old & I decorated 24 eggs.

The day of the party arrived, I was cleaning the house, washing the outdoor lawn chairs, my husband was getting ready to mow the lawn...the party was supposed to start at 2:00 p.m. - it was 10:00 am. and the doorbell rang. Someone arrived 4 hours early! I hadn't had a shower, I had no makeup on, and I was wearing a pair of shorts with paint stains on them, with my white legs glaring! My husband talked to them, turns out they were told the party started at 10:00 a.m. They left to go run errands, vowing they would return at the proper time - crisis averted.

At 2 o'clock, the guests start to arrive, I now have had a shower, make-up & proper garments on. While some of us hid the eggs in my yard, a friend of mine agreed to take the kids to my in-law's backyard next door, and explain the Easter story using the "Resurrection Eggs". If you're not familiar with them, they have symbols in each egg that represent part of the Easter story. The kids were enthusiastically calling out the answers to each symbol and having a great time. A few days later, my friend Beth at I'm Heading Towards My Destiny called and said that her husband was so impressed with my friend Jason's "Resurrection Eggs". He didn't know about the eggs and apparently thought that Jason came up with the idea especially for my Easter Egg party! Yes, that's right, my friend Jason INVENTED Resurrection eggs! We got a good laugh at of that.

Then came the games - the egg on a spoon relay race, hoola-hoop contest, and guessing the # of jelly beans in the jar. The kids had fun.

Finally, all 458 eggs were hidden and the hunt began. I was almost trampled as the older kids took off running toward the yard. Then, as if they didn't get enough candy in the eggs, I had a Egg pinata to fully guarantee each child a visit to their dentist!

We even had a visit from the Easter Bunny (my friend Linda is kissing the Easter Bunny, who may be real, or may be her 12 yr. old son, ssshhhh, I'm not telling)

By the natural eye, all appeared to be a success...until, it happened. My husband comes to me and says, "people are eating the dyed eggs. I think we should take them off the table since they haven't been refrigerated. I'm afraid people will get sick!" (Note the day I said my son & I decorated the eggs!) I couldn't believe it! I've never heard of anyone eating dyed eggs, that I thought were clearly for decoration! I later talked to my friend Linda (that's right, the one kissing the bunny). She said she was standing at the food table and people kept asking her if it was okay to eat the boiled eggs, to which she replied, "sure".

Needless to say, I was doing a head count on Sunday morning to make sure everyone who attended the Egg hunt made it to church and wasn't at home sick.

Now I ask you, would you have seen this basket of decorated eggs and thought, centerpiece? or part of the refreshments?
It's okay, you can be honest. I've learned my lesson about edible decorations.

Need a laugh? Video on Group Prayer by Michael Jr.

I really needed a laugh today, so I found this video by Christian comedian, Michael Jr. about "Praying in a Group".

Let me first say that as an intercessor, I LOVE to pray with God's people. Having said that, I must also confess that over the years, I've been in my share of peculiar prayer groups. It's inevitable when you get people from all walks of life, culture, background, and experience, who are still growing in their maturity with Jesus, you will hear and see some strange things.

This is not to offend anyone, just a funny parody to remind us that we need our group prayers to focus on the One we're praying to, not those who are listening to us pray within the group. On a side note, I do not believe that God hears all prayers no matter how they come, but I understand the point that Michael Jr. is trying to make.



Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Spring Confessions

Today, I'd like to make some confessions about Spring...

I must confess that I like Spring, but I hate the allergies that come with it.

I must confess that I am not as far along with my "New Year's resolution" to lose weight, because I should be almost skinny by now. Because of this, I must confess that I AM NOT excited about the clothes that come with the warm weather season.

And finally, I must confess that now that the sun is shining in through my windows, I can see dust build-up that I have been ignoring for most of the winter!

There, I've confessed...please don't judge me!

I decided to take action. I took a
Zyrtec for my allergies. I am drinking water & trying to eat healthy and do a little exercise this morning.

I also got out the old
Swiffer Duster that was buried in the back of the pantry.

I started dusting the hallway table full of knick-knacks (top & bottom shelf!) When I got to the bottom shelf, I squatted down and was dusting back & forth.

Apparently my dog decided the Swifter Duster looked like a fun play toy and started trying to bite it. She totally thought I was playing with her the entire time I was trying to dust! It was really so adorable, I had to put down the Swifter Duster and
start playing with her. What would you do? She's too cute. Realizing the opportunity, she went to her basket of toys (yes, she's just like a child, with her own basket of doggie toys), found her favorite one and brought it to me to play with her.

Do you think I picked back up with my dusting? Of course not. I came to check my email, facebook, twitter & blog. I guess I will dust something else tomorrow. At this rate, I should have my house clean by the end of Summer.

Have a great day everyone.

"You Haven't Seen Anything Yet" by Mahesh & Bonnie Chavda

This was an email I received from The Elijah List with a teaching
from
Mahesh and Bonnie Chavda (Mahesh Chavda Ministries)

I thought it was good and wanted to share it with my blogging friends.

"You Haven't Seen Anything Yet"

"Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you." — Ephesians 5:14

We are in a fresh season of awakening. People are beginning to experience, hunger and thirst for God in new ways. People everywhere are finding God as they have not found Him before. We have witnessed in recent weeks that people are beginning to think differently than before, perhaps even beyond how they've thought before. God promised the outpouring of His Spirit on all flesh (see Joel 2:28-29).

The Holy Spirit is at the center of all of God's business. He is the One interacting with us and the world. We are waking up to recognize the importance of our personal relationship with the Holy Spirit more fully than in past seasons. Our spiritual eyes and ears are opening. We are beginning to see HIM more clearly and see Him by the Spirit. There is something supernatural going on. We are hearing what God wants and what He wants for us through His Spirit. This awakening is not just for individual benefit. This awakening is restoration of the presence of Christians in our world as "salt" and "light." We are destined to be vessels of the living word for others. We are His messengers.

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord—Isaiah 61:1-2, NKJV

The Spirit has anointed us with a message of Good News from the Father for people around us who may be presently sitting in spiritual darkness or suffering spiritual oppression. God is restoring the outstretched hand of His power to and through the Body of Christ. It's happening now. It's happening to you. We are anointed. It is His anointing. He has deposited in each of us the oil of His Presence for demonstration of the Gospel accompanied by miracles of healing and deliverance. Everyone who knows His Presence is a carrier of miracles.

"You Haven't Seen Anything Yet!"

I (Mahesh) like to hunt. One evening I was returning from a day of goose hunting. We had taken only a couple of geese, and the Lord said, "You haven't seen anything yet." Suddenly I was in a trance and I saw millions of geese and ducks flying toward me. I said, "What is this?" And the Lord said, "This is the harvest. You haven't seen anything yet!"

Up to now we may have seen one or two or three or four or 50 or 60 brought into the Kingdom at a time. But now the Lord is saying, "I am bringing the latter rain. Ask for the rain. The threshing floors will be full and the wine vats will overflow with rejoicing." We haven't seen anything thus far that can compare with what He is about to do.

God wants to give us His vision for worldwide harvest and of the part each of us has to fulfill in that vision. It's awakening. Lift your eyes. Let us look beyond ourselves, beyond our personal situation only. The fields of souls all around are ripe for harvest. The heart of God is turned toward all those He came and died for. People are His true treasure! We are His treasure hunters. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son" (John 3:16). He came Himself. He gave Himself. Jesus, personally, is the sacrifice given to create a new relationship, a direct bond with Almighty God!

This awakening is creating a fresh understanding of the value of a single human soul to God. It is changing our value system to His. Let us each make a fresh commitment today to be excited and available to share the Good News of Christ with others. Take a look and notice how hungry and thirsty for something more, something God, the people you meet everyday are. Take note of their brokenness. Don't pass by their hurts as though you do not have the word of healing they need. It's time to cast our nets "on the other side of the boat." There is a great harvest of souls swimming in circles right next to us, longing to come home to the Father.

Forget human power of persuasion or intellect. Don't let your own situation hem you in any longer. Look to the Father for His Spirit! Begin to share the Lord with your neighbors. As you share offer prayer for the sick. Expect salvation and look for His miracles to come along, too! As you seek His presence, pray for an increase of visitation in your family, church and nation. He says, "Ask for the rain in the time of the latter rain."

So today we are asking, "Send Your Spirit in a great downpour of supernatural intervention. Expand our hearts as You deal with our mindset and make us fresh carriers of Your glory as ministers to others in Your Name."

We haven't seen anything yet!

I am stirred in my spirit to pray for the latter rain in my life, my family, my church, and this nation! How about you?

Spring Forward

Is it just me, or is life getting CRAZY BUSY lately? I apologize for not blogging, or keeping up with other people's blogs. I will try to do better.


I can't find enough time in the day, and to make matters worse...we're losing an hour this Saturday. Yes, it's that time of year again - Spring forward! The dreaded time change. Which means:

1) Lose an hour of precious sleep,
2) Get your internal clock all out of whack for the next week or so
3) Have to change ALL the clocks in your house and TRY to remember once again how to change the clock in your car!
4) Looking haggled at church the next morning because you barely make it to church on time as it is, and now you have to be there an hour earlier!

Can you tell I'm not a big fan of Spring forward? I'll admit it. Fall back is my friend. Fall back gives me an hour. The worst thing Fall back does is I get tired earlier because my body thinks it's 11:00 p.m. when the clock says 10:00 p.m. So I go to bed earlier, no big deal. What does Spring forward ever give me?

More daylight hours you say? Oh...well, I guess I could use more daylight hours to get things done. It tricks you into thinking it's still early. You end up eating dinner around 8 p.m. and put the kids to bed around 10 p.m.! Still, think of all you'll get accomplished.

I will accept the inevitable and quit complaining. Just do me a favor - on Sunday morning when you hit your alarm clock an hour earlier...think of me and how I'm struggling...and say a prayer for me to get out of bed, get ready for church, and have a good attitude!

Embarrasing Moment

So sorry I've been away for a few days...I hope you all missed me, I sure have missed you! I've been wanting for life to slow down so I can catch up on all the blogging going on.

I don't have much time now, but I wanted to share a moment I had today before I forget.

The day started out innocent enough. We had about 2 inches of snow last night so school was delayed two hours. This was wonderful because I got to sleep in a little later before I had to get up, make breakfast, pack lunches and get the kids ready for school.

I decided to go ahead and get ready myself as well so I could go straight to the mall after I dropped the boys off at school. I was at the mall by 10:15 a.m., plenty of parking spaces, no lines...yes sirree, everything is going well. I dropped by the card shop to see a friend of mine who was working. She informed me that Chick-fil-A
was giving away FREE chicken sandwiches between 10:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. because they were celebrating their 8th anniversary of being at the mall. This day just keeps getting better & better! I call my husband to talk to him, and he says "I'll come meet you at the mall and we'll have lunch". I said, "great, we can have a FREE chicken sandwich". When hubby gets to the mall, we shop a little, then head on over to Chick-fil-A. He steps up to the counter and asks if they are still giving away FREE chicken sandwiches. The cashier said "that stopped at 11:30 a.m.". I look at my watch and it's 11:31 a.m., so my hubby says "we were in line at 11:30 a.m., does that count?" So the lady says "sure, I'll still honor it since you were in line", so we get our FREE sandwiches. Are you just loving this day of mine? I get to EAT, and TALK (kid free with no interruptions), enjoying FREE food.

Fast forward now to later in the day - I pick up the kids from school. They do their homework. We head to the grocery store so I can pick up something to make for dinner. And then, it happens...

I'm walking through the grocery store, pushing my cart, kids following behind me - my youngest says "Mommy, you have a big ole hole in your pants and I can see your underwear!" Then with a laugh, he sticks his finger in the hole and pokes me in the behind. You can imagine my horror, as my other son exclaims, "where? where's the hole in your pants Mom? Let me see!" as he tries to grab up the shirt that I'm frantically pulling down over my exposed behind.

We leave as QUICKLY as possible and it comes to my mind like a flood...all the places I've been today exposing myself.

Went I got home, I did what any women would do...I blamed my husband! Of course it's his fault for not noticing and telling me that I was showing people a side of me that no one should see (and I do mean, NO ONE!)

So, that was my almost perfect, then ended badly, but life goes on, kind of day. On the bright side...I get to go back to the mall for some NEW jeans.

Here is a song in honor of my ripped jeans. Enjoy