A Good Name for a Blog

On The Bright Side

thecoolmom@gmail.com (Terri) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 05:37:00 +0000

In spite of the fact, I blew the blog posting challenge, I did make some progress. I finished the Carrot Cake Murder and What to Do on the Worst Day of Your Life. Hooray! Now I just have 4 unfinished books to complete this month.

Not Epic, But A Fail None The Less

thecoolmom@gmail.com (Terri) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 04:56:00 +0000

Well, I've had my first (and hopefully last) fail of the month. About 12:30 yesterday I was getting ready to go to bed when I realized I never posted on my blog. NaBloPoMo is busted. Oh well. Maybe next year. I'm going to still challenge myself to get in 30 posts in 30 days, it just won't be one post in each 24 hour period as required by NaBloPoMo.

Update

thecoolmom@gmail.com (Terri) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:03:00 +0000

I've recently enjoyed a very satisfying bowl of leftover chicken and gnocchi soup.
I have exceeded my required daily word count for NaNoWriMo.
I have posted on my blog for yet another day.
I've read 5 chapters on one of the books I need to read. (Okay, true confession time. It's the one my daughter is waiting on. Yes, that means I started another book. It's a sickness.)
I got several boxes gone through and loaded up an entire batch of stuff to go to storage.
Had a good laugh at this.
Heading to church tonight followed by Frito Pie and more writing.
Life is good.

Unfinished Business

thecoolmom@gmail.com (Terri) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 02:44:00 +0000

I have a lot going on this month, but something has been bugging me. I seem to be accumulating partially read books. It's a terrible habit, but when I get a new book, Iwant to start it right away. Unfortunately, I often obtain another book before I've finished, and guess what...I start that one too. This is why I find myself with several partially read books. So, like adding insult to injury, I'm adding to my to-do list in this Month of Productivity, as I'm now calling it. Here's the list of what I plan to finish this month:

What To Do On The Worst Day of Your Life by Brian Zahnd
Overcoming Overload by Steve and Mary Farrar
A Call to the Secret Place by Michal Ann Goll
A Place of Quiet Rest by Nancy Leigh DeMoss
The Call to Brilliance by Resa Steindel Brown

The sad part is that this isn't even all of them. I'm just limiting myself to 5 because of all the other stuff I am doing. I also have a book I haven't stated yet that one of my daughters is waiting for me to read.

Carrot Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke

Whew! I better get busy reading. Do you have any unfinished business you can take care of this month?

So Far, So Good...

thecoolmom@gmail.com (Terri) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:19:00 +0000

Well, we're now two days into the month, and so far, so good. LOL I am ahead on my word count for NaNoWriMo, I have kept up with NaBloPoMo. The only thing I really haven't made huge progress on is the house, but I have plans for tomorrow. I'm also trying to keep up with the Home Sanctuary challenges throughout the month. Today's challenge was about goal setting. I have no problem with that one!

Sunday Reflections: My Other Family

thecoolmom@gmail.com (Terri) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 21:02:00 +0000

Last night I was at church looking around at the folks there. There are so many people that I have known for a long time and have seen me through so much. I honestly don't know how I would have made it without them. Whether it was an overt act like bringing food after my mom died, or a smaller quieter act like an encouraging word or friendly smile, these people have done so much to bless and enrich my life. When they have encountered hardship or disappointment, I've helped them too. We rejoice together and we weep together. We share good news and bad. This is what it is supposed to be like. Our church is our family, and while we may exhibit a bit of sibling rivalry here and there, most of the time we are all there for each other. Today, I'm thanking God for the blessing of my church family.

Coming Soon

thecoolmom@gmail.com (Terri) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 04:39:00 +0000

I posted earlier that there were details coming later and here they are. This month, I am embarking on several acts of what some would consider sheer insanity.

First of all, I am once again signed up for NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month. This means I attempting to write a novel of at least 50,000 words in the month of November. This averages out to approximately 1667 words per day.

I'm also signed up for NaBloPoMo, National Blog Posting Month, which means I have to post a message to this blog every day in November. Yikes! I don't think I've ever written 30 blog posts in a year, much less in a month, so this should be interesting.

In my spare time, I'll be homeschooling, taking care of the baby, getting the house clean and ready for the holidays, and later in the month, hosting Thanksgiving and starting Advent. Whew! Stay tuned. It's going to be a lot of work and a lot of fun!

It's been a long, long time...

thecoolmom@gmail.com (Terri) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:39:00 +0000

I can't believe it 's been so long since I last posted. Wow. It's been a pretty wild ride since my last post. In that span, I've given birth to baby #10, lost my mom unexpectedly, helped my grandmother move, married off dd#1, helped my step-dad move, packed up all my mom's stuff, sorted some of it, and found out my second grandchild is on the way. Whew! Never a dull moment!

Anyway, with all that going on, I haven't been writing anything. Nothing. Zip. Nada. The novel notes have been collecting dust. The blogs have languished without update or comment. I haven't even been keeping up with updating status on Facebook.

As the song says, "The times, they are a-changin'." I'm working my way back to the land of the living, slowly but surely. I have a lot planned for next month. Stay tuned for further details!

Homeschool Giveaway --Lyrical Earth Science

thecoolmom@gmail.com (Terri) — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 00:29:00 +0000

Homeschool Giveaway --Lyrical Earth Science

Mama Archer is giving away a set of Lyrical Earth Science materials on her blog. I haven't heard these yet, but the life science ones are awesome. I would love to have these!

Happy Groundhog Day!

thecoolmom@gmail.com (Terri) — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 14:15:00 +0000

First D.J.: Okay, campers, rise and shine, and don't forget your booties 'cause it's cooooold out there today.
Second D.J.: It's coooold out there every day. What is this, Miami Beach?
First D.J.: Not hardly. And you know, you can expect hazardous travel later today with that, you know, that, uh, that blizzard thing.
Second D.J.: [mockingly] That blizzard - thing. That blizzard - thing. Oh, well, here's the report! The National Weather Service is calling for a "big blizzard thing!"
First D.J.: Yessss, they are. But you know, there's another reason why today is especially exciting.
Second D.J.: Especially cold!
First D.J.: Especially cold, okay, but the big question on everybody's lips...
Second D.J.: - On their chapped lips...
First D.J.: - On their chapped lips, right: Do ya think Phil is gonna come out and see his shadow?
Second D.J.: Punxsutawney Phil!
First D.J.: Thats right, woodchuck-chuckers - it's
[in unison]
First D.J.: GROUNDHOG DAY!
Second D.J.: GROUNDHOG DAY!

--from the movie Groundhog Day

Quote to Ponder

thecoolmom@gmail.com (Terri) — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 05:32:00 +0000

One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries.
--A. A. Milne

Don't Know Why...

thecoolmom@gmail.com (Terri) — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 05:28:00 +0000

Why has it been a year and a half since I last posted here? I don't really know other than it's been a crazy last year and a half and I just didn't think about it. Oh well. I'm back, and while I won't be posting every day, it wouldn't be too challenging for me to be more regular than I have been.

Quote of the Week

thecoolmom@gmail.com (Terri) — Sun, 06 Aug 2006 14:27:00 +0000

"Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak.
We are half-hearted creatures,
fooling about with drink and sex and ambition
when infinite joy is offered us,
like an ignorant child
who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum
because he cannot imagine what is meant
by the offer of a holiday at the sea.
We are far too easily pleased."
-- C.S. Lewis"

Quote of the Week

thecoolmom@gmail.com (Terri) — Fri, 28 Jul 2006 19:28:00 +0000

"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who at best, knows the triumph of high achievement; and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."
-Theodore Roosevelt

Quote of the Week

thecoolmom@gmail.com (Terri) — Fri, 21 Jul 2006 20:15:00 +0000

War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.
--John Stuart Mill (1806 - 1873)

Quote of the Week

thecoolmom@gmail.com (Terri) — Fri, 14 Jul 2006 19:26:00 +0000

If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, "thank you," that would suffice.
--Meister Eckhart

Quote of the Week

thecoolmom@gmail.com (Terri) — Fri, 07 Jul 2006 18:41:00 +0000

We would do well to shed unnecessary things and develop deep spiritual roots if we are to survive our own wilderness experiences.
--Kim Thomas, Living in the Sacred Now

Quote of the Week

thecoolmom@gmail.com (Terri) — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 15:05:00 +0000

"The fact that I am a woman does not make me a different kind of Christian, but the fact that I am a Christian does make me a different kind of woman."
--Elisabeth Elliott

Busy Being Busy

thecoolmom@gmail.com (Terri) — Sat, 15 Apr 2006 00:07:00 +0000

The last two weeks I have been consumed with busyness. There have been crises arise that demanded my attention and issues that needed my personal handling. And yet I wonder... what could have been set aside for another time or another person? Could I have handled these things more efficiently? Could I have leaned more on the strength of He who is limitless rather than my own meager supply? Lord, help me to walk in Your wisdom, Your will and Your way.

Quote of the Week

thecoolmom@gmail.com (Terri) — Fri, 14 Apr 2006 23:52:00 +0000

"Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can."
--John Wesley

The Hunger for More

thecoolmom@gmail.com (Terri) — Mon, 10 Apr 2006 05:06:00 +0000

Have you ever had a serious craving? You know, when you get so hungry for something, that nothing else satisfies? When that happens, you can eat everything else, but that hunger will remain until you get that special something your body craves.

The same thing can happen spiritually. I sometimes get so hungry for more of the presence of God in my life, that I become restless, dissatisfied with the status quo, longing for something I’m missing. This most often occurs during those busy times when life seems to have spun temporarily out of control and events and activities have cut short or crowded out my time alone with God. I am poured out without being refilled. After a while, I yearn for quiet time, a time of communion, time to listen for that whisper of the Divine. I want to put everything else aside and just bask in His presence.

Unfortunately, I don’t have that luxury. I have a home and a family that need my care and attention. I have responsibilities and obligations. I don’t have the liberty of peaceful retreats or extended solitude, so I have to get creative. I look for moments here and there. I may send the kids to the library for a little while or ask my husband to go ahead and watch that movie without me. I put aside hobbies and recreational reading and computer time. Not forever. Not even for long. Just for now. Until those empty places are filled and the hunger is silenced. Until that needy, aching, ravenous part of me is soothed. Then the yearning will wane and life will continue on for a little while longer. But the hungry times will come again because beneath the surface there still lurks an insatiable, unquenchable place that will always be needing still more of God.

Quote of the Week

thecoolmom@gmail.com (Terri) — Thu, 06 Apr 2006 22:55:00 +0000

The greatest thing is to be found at one's post as a child of God, living each day as though it were our last, but planning as though our world might last a hundred years.
--C. S. Lewis

Searching for Silence

thecoolmom@gmail.com (Terri) — Fri, 31 Mar 2006 19:45:00 +0000

In my busy home, silence is a rare and precious commodity. In fact, I’m finding this to be the case in most places. We live in a noisy, hustle and bustle society. There’s traffic noise and TV and music and people. We fill our alone time with mp3’s and cell phones. It’s a real problem if you need quiet to think or create or dream.

A much, much larger problem, however, is when we cannot find a quiet place in our own souls. How will we hear that still small voice amidst the chaos of our own thoughts? How will we perceive the beckoning of the Holy Spirit in the clatter and clang of our own plans and projects? How will we lean toward the voice of our Shepherd if we can’t identify His call through the roar of our disappointments and despair?

If you are ready for a challenge, attempt right now to find a place of silence, a haven of quiet. Begin to seek that small, still voice. Tune your ear to the Divine. It’s not easy, but will, like almost anything else, become easier with practice. You may have to find a physical place of quiet first until you are better attuned to His presence. At first, too many things will distract you, but eventually you will be able to filter them out and listen for God even in the midst of the clamor, the crush of the crowd, or the frenzy of light-speed living.

He is still calling, drawing you, saying “Be still, and know that I am God” Psalms 46:10a

Quote of the Week

thecoolmom@gmail.com (Terri) — Fri, 31 Mar 2006 17:02:00 +0000

When you read God's Word, you must constantly be saying to yourself, "It is talking to me, and about me."
--Soren Kierkegaard

Quote of the Week

thecoolmom@gmail.com (Terri) — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 19:43:00 +0000

Many Christians have what we might call a "cultural holiness". They adapt to the character and behavior pattern of Christians around them. As the Christian culture around them is more or less holy, so these Christians are more or less holy. But God has not called us to be like those around us. He has called us to be like himself. Holiness is nothing less than conformity to the character of God. --Jerry Bridges