While I couldn’t personally go on the vision day tour, Filipe did a great job of tweeting pictures from each of the stops along the way. In case you missed them, here they are.

Filipe testing a Google bike.

Many of our neighbors are Sikh’s- often mistaken for Muslim’s, but they aren’t. Filipe told our neighbor that he visited his temple and he was really confused and impressed. We pray for opportunities to share the Gospel with him and his family. Maybe this will open the door further.

Proverbs 29:18 in the King James Version says,
“Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.”

The Message says it like this,
“If people can’t see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves; But when they attend to what he reveals, they are most blessed.”

I love to stop and take notice of all God is doing around us, whenever I do, it’s pretty incredible.

Here’s a few pics of our Elmo & Cookie Monster themed party. Those are Efraim’s favorite characters. He walks around with the little figurines in his hand practically all day. The other night I let sleep with them, and when Filipe checked on him before going to bed, he had them laying on his pillow beside him.

Here’s a few pics from Saturday. (Sorry, we’ve had internet issues all week, so no time for editing.) 

When he saw the cupcakes & shouted, “Elwo!”, I was happy.

Some people I learn from:

A Writer: Jeff Goins
An Agent: Rachel Gardner
A Creative: Sarah Cunningham
A Thought Leader: Seth Godin
A Preacher Chick: Christine Caine

Even my daughter’s Kindergarten teacher (sorry she doesn’t have a link).

During our first parent-teacher conference last fall, I sat listening to her explain to Filipe and I the concepts she was implementing in her class- specifically how to tell a story. My first thought was, what great info. I need to apply that to my writing! I realized that day that I could grow in my writing even by applying basic kindergarten principles. It may seem silly, but how many of us remember the basics? (Those of us who aren’t teachers especially.)

Last week Rick Warren tweeted this:

Who are you learning from?

You get up when the alarm goes off.
You spend quality time connecting with God.
Your kids follow your every instruction.
You beat the traffic to work and get a jump-start on your day.

Then, there are others that are just stinkin hard. It feels like no matter what you do there is a fight to get anywhere or do anything.

I love James 1:2 in the Bible, “When trouble comes your way, consider it an opportunity for joy.” The last part isn’t the easiest to hear, but the first part is comforting because no matter who we are troubles will come our way. No one is exempt.

The variable is our response.

We can respond in one of two ways:

1. Defense
Like a good football, basketball, (insert favorite sporting event here), defense is necessary. But a team that spends an entire game in defense mode will never get a chance to score much less have a shot at winning the game.

2. Offense
In staying with the sports analogy, offense is the desirable position to be on. A team that stays on offense has a higher chance of scoring and a better chance of winning.

When life is hard or when difficulties come we can either respond defensively or offensively.

When life throws us a curve ball we can throw up our hands, protect ourselves, and get out of the situation as fast as possible.
OR
We can use the opportunity to learn something, look around and see how it might impact others, and let it drive us closer to God.

Defense may get us threw unscathed, but offense will bring us through victorious and with more confidence for the next trial that may be waiting around the corner.

Life is hard. Life hurts.
But I would much rather rise up and take it on than sit back and let it overtake me.

It may be harder. It may even be dangerous. It may mean I have to work- and work hard.
But my comfort doesn’t compare.

In Jesus we have everything we need to respond offensively and with great joy. When I think of it this way I get a little excited for the opportunity.

“Consider it an opportunity for joy.”

What difficulties are you facing today? How can you respond offensively?

Here’s a recap of the Code Orange Revival that took place at Elevation Church this month.

Code Orange Revival from Elevation Church on Vimeo.

Two years ago he came into our lives and made us a family of five.

At first we didn’t know what we would do with a boy.

But we quickly adjusted and didn’t know how we had gone so long without him.

As you can see fits right in.

He’s as silly as can be. And our lives are the better for it.

He’s the sweetest boy I know.

I love you Efraim.

Happy Birthday

]]> http://mandysantos.com/2012/01/25/my-2-year-old/feed/ 1 http://mandysantos.com/2012/01/24/witness-sf/ http://mandysantos.com/2012/01/24/witness-sf/#comments Tue, 24 Jan 2012 20:15:23 +0000 Mandy http://mandysantos.com/?p=3661 I’m so excited to partner with a ministry called Witness SF in spreading the Gospel throughout the Bay area. Witness SF is committed to sharing the love of Christ through the stories of real people. Their hope is that these stories will inspire and encourage both believers and non-believers and bring unity to the Body of Christ. They are not from a particular denomination; just a group of young people whose lives have been transformed by the Gospel and desire to see others experience the same.

You can check out my first post with them, and read about how God changed my life through the “F” word.

Mercy: Not getting what we deserve.
Grace: Getting what we don’t deserve.

Mercy is being pardoned for a crime, forgiven for a wrong, granted clemency.
Grace is doing something good for someone regardless of their behavior.

Mercy focuses on the act needing to be forgiven.
Grace focuses on the blessing given.

Most of us don’t expect grace, we don’t expect someone to pay for our meal, give us a large gift, or meet our need.

Mercy on the other-hand, is often expected. When we hurt someone, forget something, or act out in selfishness, we expect the one’s we wronged to overlook the offense and forgive us. We assume they will.

A Lesson in Mercy
Last week I used an opportunity with my girls to teach them (& myself) about mercy.

It started out of sheer exhaustion. Filipe had back-to-back meetings two nights in a row and by about five o’clock on night #2, I was done. Done. So when bedtime rolled around, I asked the girls to clean up their toys and get in the shower. About five minutes into it, they began fighting over who was going to clean what.

While they were arguing and yelling at each other, I was upstairs giving Efraim a bath and getting him ready for bed. Listening to the girls argue was making me crazy. After about the fifth time of them coming up to “tattle” on the other, I told them to sit in the hallway and wait for me.

I just needed a minute to figure out what I was going to do, and honestly, I was tired and just wanted to delay doing anything at all. As I thought for a minute I realized what upset me most was how they were treating each other, of course not following directions followed closely behind. So when I was finished with Efraim, I brought them over to me and told them they had 2 choices:

1. Punishment & consequences for disobeying and arguing.
OR
2. They could help one another in taking a shower and getting ready for bed. They weren’t allowed to ask me for any help, only the other. And they had to receive it.

They chose the latter, of course, and within five minutes their attitudes were back to normal. They were helping each other, and getting along again. When they finished, I talked to each of them individually about what they had done wrong that night, what they deserved, and what mercy was.

I wasn’t sure how they would respond or if they would understand, but as soon as I explained it, their faces lit up with excitement. Lily hugged me, gave me a big kiss, and told me she loved me. Cailyn got a big grin on her face and started giggling. It was pretty cute.

They understood, and went to bed at peace with one another (and me) and happy.

After they were in bed, I reflected on all that happened. In those moments I realized how hard it is to extend mercy. I would have been justified in punishing the girls, they had done something wrong.

Then I realized extending mercy to my two girls was a lesson for me. I didn’t do it because they asked for it, but because I simply chose to. It wasn’t easy; it was really hard. Humbling in fact.

I had a new understanding of what it means when the Bible speaks of mercy. I have a new understanding of what it means to not give someone what they deserve.

Who is someone you need to extend mercy to today?

Maybe a spouse, parent, or child?
Maybe a friend or neighbor?
Maybe a boss or coworker?
Maybe a pastor or politician?
Maybe a complete stranger?

“God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” Matt. 5:7 

I’m just as guilty.

So for today’s Family Friday post, instead of telling you about all the cute and fun things our family has done this week, I’m going to share with you the stuff that wasn’t all too fun- the ugly, but sometimes funny stuff. The stuff that makes reality TV so much fun to watch.

So, without further adieu:

PINK NAIL POLISH
Last Sunday evening Efraim (who will be 2 next week!) attempted to paint his finger nails with pink nail polish. In his attempt, bright, pink nail polish splattered all over the kitchen floor and chairs. Needless to say, I’m still scrubbing nail polish off of the chair legs.

YUCKY DINNERS
I was repulsed by two out of five meals I’ve cooked so far this week (maybe I should actually use the recipes I have). No one else seemed to really notice (they ate it at least), but I made myself a PB&J after the kids went to bed. Some days cooking is for enjoyment and yummy food, some days it’s out of nutritional necessity. This week felt like the latter.

FAILED WORK OUT ATTEMPTS
While I put my work-out clothes on twice this week (& wore them until bedtime), I never did get around to working out. Too bad good intentions don’t burn calories.

HOMEWORK
Lily completely forgot to tell me about a big assignment for school (it was more like a parent assignment considering this is kindergarten). I felt like we had fast-fwd to high school or something.

SPILLS & CRASHES
While getting dinner started one night, Cailyn & Efraim were talking behind me as I swirled some olive oil on a pan. When I went to set it back on the counter, the bottle slipped out of my hand hitting the edge of the counter and spilling all down the front of me before hitting the floor with a loud crash. An entire bottle of olive oil from chest to toes…what a feeling I tell ya! Cailyn, Efraim, and I just stared at the mess for a good minute before doing anything. After I started cleaning it all up, it took me another few minutes to realize Efraim was standing (behind the glass), but with the spout (now broken off) in his hand. (In case you’re wondering, no he didn’t cut himself.)

CHILD NUTRITION
I let Cailyn (my 4 yo) have a Target pretzel and smoothie for lunch one day. I’m sure that one really qualifies me for Mom of the Year award. What’s worse is that I drove across the street and got Chipotle for myself.

LAUNDRY
And laundry is my forever losing battle, and I’m okay with that.

That was my week. How was yours?
Any not-so-pretty moments you’d like to share?

It is what drives me. It helps me process. It’s how I learn. I’m at my best when I’m working through an idea. For me, it is a spiritual activity- like someone is whispering things into my ears and I’m just the notetaker. When I’m done (for a moment) I let out  a deep breath, and feel at peace knowing that for a a little while my heart and mind were connected with the Spirit of God.

It’s not about who reads it, but what it taught me through it. It’s not about the quantity of words written or erased, but what came to the surface, and sometimes more importantly, what settled below. Every detail matters. Every word has it’s place.

Last weekend I drove home from Starbucks after a three hour writing session with a pounding headache. The kind that you have to squint to see because it hurts so bad.

But while I was driving home that afternoon, I said a prayer to God, ”Lord, if writing means feeling like this, then it’s worth it.”

And I meant it with all my heart.

When you’re doing something you love doing, something like a migraine won’t affect your passion. It may be slightly annoying, but it’s not going to cause you to quit and throw in the towel.

Some days I feel like a complete weirdo. Some days I wish I could just think like a normal human being. But truth be told I feel like I’m most alive when my mind starts spinning and I’m putting words on paper.

What is it that makes you feel the most alive? What ignites passion inside of you? What’s the word you would put in the blank? For the Love of ______________