Unleashed - a book review

If you page through my copy of Unleashed by Erwin Raphael McManus, you will find underlined phrases, stars and even a handwritten exclamation mark or two. That will be your first hint that the message in this little book resonated with me. And, based on my graffitied pages you might make the educated guess that I wanted to remember and maybe even share parts of what I read.

Your guess would be correct.

In fact I’m going to share a little of what I read with you right now…

"All of us, it seems, are susceptible to choosing a life defined more by security and safety than faith and risk. I’m convinced that all of us struggle with the tension of wanting to live a life of unimaginable adventure and at the same time maintain a world that is fully under our control. The problem is that faith when fully ignited moves our lives entirely out of our control completely into the hands of God…You don’t need to go find faith; you need to unleash it."

If this quote moves you, then you should read Unleashed. And if it doesn’t… you should probably read it to.

Throughout the pages of this book, Mr. McManus calls Christians to leave the safe, domesticated “Christian” world that we have created and wholeheartedly follow and embrace the “barbarian” call Christ created. He reminds us that the call of Christ is not safe, "God would never choose for us safety at the cost of significance. God created you so that your life would count, not so that you could count the days of your life."

I found Unleashed to be well-written and thought provoking and would highly recommend it.

***DISCLOSURE NOTICE: A free copy of this book was supplied to me for the purpose of review by Thomas Nelson Publishing. No monetary exchange was given. All comments and wording in this review are purely my own.

Summer Eating

Peaches and plums have been disappearing around our house like they are going out of style.

I'm glad they are pounding the fruit rather than the

cookies and sweets which I keep meaning to make "tomorrow."

After all,

there is nothing like a juicy plum on a summer day.

Our First Gotcha Day!!!

One year ago today, we saw our daughter for the first time. It was a long-awaited, much anticipated moment that we will cherish forever.

And while the reality of the moment did not mirror our imagining of it, the reality was better and deeper than we could have hoped for. It is a moment seared into our hearts. A priceless memory, forever ours.

One year ago today we received a gift. One that we are still unwrapping, one year later. An amazing, smart, funny, cheerful, emotional, cuddly, loving, bright, lights up a room when she walks into it kind of gift. A year ago we only saw glimpses.
Today, she opens her sweet heart to us in a hundred different ways.

Using a Suhnism, the way she's melted into our family is "kinda awesome." She belongs with us and we belong with her.

She's a self-proclaimed princess who likes to boss "just a little bit." But she lets the rest of us be Kings, Queens, Princesses, Princes and Puppies so its okay.

She loves to quote movie lines, or her big brother, sister, dad or Grandpa's lines. She thinks they are all "so funny," and is quick to follow-up with a laugh.

Her speech is amazing. Instead of replying with a simple "yes," she will typically give a "yes, I can do that." She surprises me with new words like "nutritious" when I ask her if she wants a snack. She loves to talk. She loves to connect.

She may not be able to walk independently yet, but when she's in her walker you better look out. She will not hesitate to run you over if you are blocking something she wants.

Yep, our Suhn is one AMAZING kid (If you know her, you know what I mean!).

Today, June 28th, we remember once again our first meeting. We look back over the past year and remember tears and laughter. We remember special moments and milestones. We marvel at how fast the year went and how hard it is to imagine life without her.

And we give THANKS from the bottom of our hearts for the gift of our daughter Suhn.

Happy 1st Gotcha Day baby girl!

We love you so much!!

Post-it notes are Great for chore lists...

...because you can always keep them close at hand!

You never know where the chore-list will pop-up while the boys are working.

Summer Reading

Summer Days

Summer has arrived and with it an onslaught of seasonal activities. In the short time she's been with us we've already tackled VBS, family vacation, and the summer reading program. Soon to follow is family baseball, swim lessons and birthday week. In between is all the usual every-day stuff, chore lists, grocery shopping, OT and PT, dentist appts, eye dr. appts, breaking up fights, feeding, chasing after and keeping up with my little herd, etc. etc. etc.

It's been fun. I'm loving me some summer days, at least most of them.

(Let's face it, with five kids under the age of 8 we have had moments (ahem, looonnggg moments) where attitudes have been less than stellar (for ALL of us) and bedtime or quiet time can't arrive fast enough or last long enough.)

With all the summer hustle and bustle, this little piece of blog-land has been ignored.

I can't promise that will change a whole lot in the next few weeks, but here is what I'm thinking.

While the writing may be sparse, I am hoping to share bits of our summer with you through pictures. You know, to keep in touch.

So until next time, Happy Summer Everyone!!!

Wordless Wednesday - Whoo Hoo, Summer is Here!