Happy First Day of School!

Hi there!

I know, you thought (hoped) I was never going to post again, right?

HA!

Gotcha!

It was a long and wonderful summer filled with lazy days and a lot of laughter!

But of course, 

time marches on and here we are-

Back 2 School!

For Team Hertogh, 

today is the first day of school for the 2013-2014 school year.

Here are my 3 Blessings!

Just yesterday they were like this...

well, more than one day- many years!

(wipe tear)

Most of the population begins the New Year on January 1st,

but for me,

after 11 years of teaching, 

(that does not include 2 years of being a Teacher's Aide, 1 year of Student Teaching

and 7 years of Substitute teaching)

MY year always begins NOW!

I set goals for the year,

think about what the kids are going to learn and accomplish this year,

and prayerfully consider what Jesus wants me to pursue,

focus on and walk towards.

It doesn't always turn out the way I planned-

in fact, it usually doesn't,

so I lay expectations down and surrender what I think so I can hear what He thinks.

ONE thing we can do for our children EVERYday is to pray for them, 

each child-specifically.

(their friendships, academics, self-talk, covering for protection of what they hear,

who they let into their lives, mental and spiritual protection)

If it sounds overwhelming- 

yet as a parent,

our children are our FIRST ministry from God.

And whether your children are babies or adults,

you can and should feel privileged to continue praying for them.

As I pray for them today, I am also praying for their futures-

their jobs, ministry, relationships 

and

thanking God in advance for all that He IS doing and WILL be doing.

My prayer for YOU today-

that you would spend MORE time with God this year-

in HIS word,

sitting with HIM,

chatting or going deep with HIM,

and listening to HIM,

and for Pete's sake,

SLOW the heck down!!

This devotional from HomeWord was really good about slowing down-

also,

Doug Fields, one of my favorite Teachers/Speakers

wrote another good one regarding families Here

called, "Busyness Doesn't Satisfy".

We move too fast and focus on so many things that will not be important in 

5, 10 or 20 years.

One thing I know for sure-

OUR children are out there-

and without prayer,

there is no protection or covering.

Can bad things still happen?

Absolutely,

but I know our prayers are heard by God.

Not sure where to start? Here are a few ideas:

1. Journal your prayers to God (as if writing Him a letter)

2. Go through one of the books of the Bible (Psalms, Proverbs)

*read a sentence or paragraph and ask yourself what God is trying to say to you*

3. Purchase a Devotional such as Jesus Calling- read and write out your reflection or pray,

Stormie Omartian also has many great books on praying for your family. 

4. With all this technology- you can Google "prayer" to find blogs discussing prayer

5.Ask someone in your church for some help in this area ( an older attender or friend)

6. Use the Acronym, "ACTS" to get started.

(A-Acknowledge God for who He is

C-Confession of our sin

T-Thanksgiving for all He is doing and has done and will do

S-Supplication- where we come humbly to HIm with all of our requests through prayer

6.You can also find a local prayer group like Moms In Prayer,

 (used to be called Moms In Touch)

or start your own!

7. Allocate time EVERY day to pray -priorities are put in the calendar!

(something is ALWAYS better than nothing! Start with 5-10 min)

8. Don't guilt yourself into doing it- this is precious time spent with Jesus,

I look forward to being filled and fed by His Spirit,

but it was not always like this, do it and you will see fruit!

Though we will go through difficult and challenging times,

knowing that there is a purpose and opportunity for growth during those times and knowing that

We have God covering us, Jesus beside us 

and the Holy Spirit within us,

gives us an assurance and a peace that we cannot explain.

Dear Lord,

THANK YOU for this beautiful day!

Thank you, 

that I can come to you with all of my concerns, wishes and worries

and ask that you carry them for me!

I ask Lord, 

that you would do the same for my friend reading this today-

that my friend would be filled by a peace that surpasses all understanding.

Phil 4:6-7

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

I pray that my friend would have a JOY that only YOU can give through your Spirit!

I pray that this school year would be incredible for our children,

knowing that YOU have their lives and futures under control!

I also pray that this year would be a year that we all grow closer to you-

that we would lean into you for ALL of our needs-

physical, emotional, relational and spiritual

because you, Father,

are the Provider of all.

I love you Lord, and the friend reading this.

Please bless my friend and bless all who pass through this post!

Remember,

it's NEVER TOO LATE to start praying for your children,

to start all over, 

or

to try something new!

Do you pray?

If so, how do you pray?

What is your process?

PLEASE share!!

HOW can I pray for you?

Love & Blessings-

The Life of Mom

Ok, I know it's been years since I've posted! 
(yes, I'm an exaggerator by nature)

Months?

No- actually weeks,

and only 4 that feel like 8!

My children had all that End-Of-The-Year stuff going on and because they are my priority,

I've put their activities on the top of the list,

consequently,

I've been a little Tired-Mama, and I haven't posted.

I like to keep things like this to remind me of my main life purpose:

But honestly,

with three active children,

I think that, believe that,

and 

sometimes feel like this!

I've used this pic before and it just makes me giggle- note one shoe is missing!

How are YOU holding up?

Just 3 days after school ended

we packed up and headed north to Yosemite.

To cut the trip in half, because of the kids,

we drove to Fresno for dinner,

spent the night in a hotel and headed for Yosemite the next day

  As much as I am a "City Girl",

I love, love the forest and the trees!

I just feel small there.

The trees and forest are SO big!

There is NOTHING like the smell of pine trees and the breeze that rushes through the forest!

I must admit there were moments when I was wondering if I would see a vampire!

(if you have a teen girl, you will get it)

It was so beautiful and the weather was perfect!

We went rafting...

actually, we went "floating".

Not too many rapids or rough water.

 We went fishing...

we went biking...

seriously has been years since I have ridden a bike!

We went hiking in my favorite Mizunos

  Of course, we took a hike to see the Giant Redwoods- so beautiful!

 t reminds me how very tiny I really am in the realm of this earth.

In MY head, I can be very BIG-

you know what I mean?

Being outside in the world gives me perspective. 

I tend to get very caught up in my little life,

I sometimes worry and spend energy on things and ideas that really,

at the end of my life will not matter. 

In fact, I don't really like hiking, mosquitoes, bears or vampires,

but I put aside "my" issues to make memories with my children,

my family.

I only have them for a very short time.

I am one, very small, yet important part of this world,

and so are you.

Enjoy your day today!

That "thing" that you may be worried about, serious as it may be,

is already taken care of -

we are fearful that it would not be taken care of the way WE may want it to be taken care of -

but that is NOT our job-

our purpose is to love others,

today,

in this very moment,

enjoy God's gifts

this very moment,

and be grateful,

this very moment for all that we have.

THIS DAY!!

THIS MOMENT!

       One last picture -

the tiny white dot to the left at about 9 o'clock is one of my children climbing the rocks- 

perspective!

Matthew 6:34

The Message (MSG)

³⁴ “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.

Psalm 118:24

New Living Translation (NLT)          

                                                   "This is the day the Lord has made

                                                     We will rejoice and be glad in it!"

What about you?

Doing anything fun?

How do you enjoy the lonnnnnnnng summer with your children?

Where is your favorite place to visit?

Fit, Fabulous 40's Friday!

HAPPY FRIDAY!!
(and my longest post ever-if you do just one thing, watch the video at the end)

I was going to title today's post, "Living La Vida Loca" because my life has been a little like that!

So, I am sorry to those of you who may have wondered what happened to me for the last few weeks!

I'll give you the "Cliff Notes" version-

about a month ago, I noticed a small jelly-bean shaped mass on the side of my right breast,
so I made an appointment to get it checked.

During that week before my check-up, I began thinking of the possibilities:
Cancer, being the first one, and of course, the worst.

Knowing that it could be one of two outcomes, I prayed.
Honestly, I was a little freaked out, thinking about my children, husband and all the things that I believe God has a plan for me to do, but you just never know what HIS plan is.
So I prayed some more and trusted.

Only a few people knew about it- I only shared it with a close group of women that I attend Bible Study with because we share some pretty intimate stuff and I didn't want anyone else to worry-
unless they had a reason to.
I didn't even tell my mom or sister- even though I know they both would have prayed for me.
Weird.

So I went for the Mammogram and because I had my "little Jelly-Bean Guy" there,
they also had me do an Ultrasound.

That was cool- I could actually SEE what was going on inside there.
The doctor came in and he pointed out my JBG and said he could see blood going through it and that it was part of my lymphnode.

With all the evidence,
 they believed that it was NON-cancerous.

EXHALE......whew.

So, as you can imagine,
I was and am SO grateful that everything was fine.

The next day when I woke up, I was just grateful to be home, in my bed, breathing.

I decided I would give my BEST effort every single day to do more of these things:

1. Make sure my children and husband know I love them,
through words, hugs, laughter, engagement.

2. Spend time daily thanking God for the wonderful, FULL, rich life I have!

3. Being grateful for every little thing

4. Show grace, love and forgiveness to everyone I came into contact with

5. Give compliments generously and genuinely

6. Be as engaged as possible, every moment of each day

7. Say prayers for my friends and family who don't believe in God

8. Be more flexible

9. Give people the benefit of the doubt

10.Love myself more and forgive myself more.

After that crazy week, I've been watching alot of baseball-
Go Cardinals!

Some track meets

Kiana has been sprinting and pole vaulting...

I've been substitute teaching a little here and there,

at Madison (my friend Jill's First Grade classroom)

so clean, right?

And in Kindergarten

this week for my friend Peter...

I "heart" Kindergarten,

and last week I had the opportunity to speak at Laguna Niguel Presbyterian Church

to speak on Friendship

and here yesterday to speak on Prayer

on the National Day of Prayer!

What an honor!

My mom came to watch and then she, my sister and I went out for some Japanese Food

at Fukada

SO, so good!

having some fun, 

as usual-

My sister and I-

Then, I got my baby washed, (my little red car)

picked up the boys,

picked up the girl after her practice,

took her to her voice lesson

here

and then made this for dinner:

Yes, I fry my taco shells, really, is there any other way to eat REAL tacos?

What I DID do is use EVOO, and drained the oil, see?

I also used lean, ground turkey,

non-fat Rosarita beans,

low-fat cheese,

non-fat lettuce and avocados!

I think Luke ate 5!

Then,

for a treat- gotta enjoy these kids while they are still at home,

we went here

Ok,

Luke made the one at 12 o'clock,

mochi, chocolate dips

John had the one at 2 o'clock,

strawberries, peanut-butter, 

5 o'clock is easy to guess w/all that candy- LOGAN (not me!)

mini m&m's, always a cherry,

mine was at 7 o'clock

nuts, granola and sprinkles, gotta always have sprinkles

and

Kiana's is at 10 o'clock

granola and I don't know what that big white thing is.

I have been starting my mornings off with 2 tablespoons of the nastiest tasting stuff;

because it is really good for you/me and

it helps get rid of some bloat.

No lie.

After dropping off Kiana to HS

I came home and had this:

 1/2 scoop of protein

1/2 cup of oatmeal

1/2 cup of blueberries

chia

1/2 banana

I have this every single morning

and I love it.

Life is short-

we must live each day to it's fullest 

and love like there's no tomorrow!!

There may not be one-

Have a blessed day!!

Keep on moving!