A Giveaway!

Alright, folks, this is it. I have dangled it in front of you long enough, but its time for a real giveaway. So this Friday, I will be giving away this awesome book.

This book is written by a missionary who lives and ministers in the largest Muslim nation in the world. I met him last fall and though I only had a chance to speak with him for a few minutes, that was all the time I needed to catch the vision. His ministry is big time. After hearing about all that God is doing in this closed country in SE Asia, I was ready to stow away in his suitcase!

That might not seem like much of a statement for someone who loves missions, but its been awhile since I have been this excited about a specific ministry. Quite a while.

"Jim Baton" (pen name) is truly living the dream. My dream anyway. For a few years now, members of his community have been meeting Jesus in their dreams and then coming to Jim and his wife and their team to ask questions and learn more about this Jesus. This is epic, people, this is the stuff that missionary dreams are made of! Shazam!!!

Truthfully, I only bought the book to support the ministry. Actually, I bought three even though I didn't even plan on reading it. But then I started to hear the reviews and my interest was piqued.

If you know me very well, you know I don't read anymore. Maybe an occasional magazine or the newspaper, but that's about it. I used to read a lot. But these days, that just never seems to make it into the top pick for my limited recreation time.

Even when I used to read, I was never a huge fan of fiction. I had a brief stint of leisurely reading which consisted of the Twilight books and the Hunger Games series, but that's about it. Don't judge me. Nothing else kept my interest and these days, if I read, I fall asleep.

That said, this book is fiction and I read it in 2 days. I even stayed up LATE to read it. Now that is saying something. The stories are taken from Jim's personal experiences and stories he's collected during their 15 years in-country.

I think you'll like it. Even if you don't, you will.   :)

Since everyone wants to be a winner, there are 3 ways to win:

1. Follow my blog (click "join this site" under the followers heading)
2. Like The Spicy Mustard Seed Facebook page
3. Share your favorite blogpost on FB

Then leave a comment telling me you did so.

You can enter your name up to 3 times. That's 3 chances to win this awesome book! Just be sure to leave a comment telling me which one(s) you did, so that I can enter your name the appropriate number of times.

Giveaway ends Friday June 28th at midnight CST.

Godspeed.

Favorite Quote Friday, A Father's Heart

On Father's Day, I had a few sweet moments to myself to remember my dad and to be thankful for the father I had for over 32 years. I did "torture" myself just a tiny bit by listening to our song, the one we danced to at my wedding, looking at some old family pictures, and flipping through one of Dad's old Bibles.

Maybe it was all a little too much, but sometimes I want to feel the hurt. I find myself wanting to be reminded of the ache of loss, particularly on a few special days throughout the year. It hurts so good, I guess... I would rather hurt than forget.

As I thumbed through his worn and much-loved Bible, I stumbled upon the very same page I had gazed at just moments after Dad passed.

Scrawled at the top of the page in his small, meticulous writing was this:

The mission of a father is to equip his sons and daughters to inherit the earth.

The heart of a father. 

My dad wasn't perfect. But this mission was etched into his life by his Father in the years leading up to his death and I believe the truth of that can be evidenced by my life and those close to him.  

So thankful that I had 32+ years. They weren't enough, but they were a gift.

The beauty is that you don't need to be a father to have a father's heart! You don't even need to have children. The world needs fathers and God wants to equip us to equip others. 

Be blessed and have a great weekend.    

Teach a Man to Fish

I have a lot of favorite things.

Missions is one of my very, very favorite things in all the world. I love missionaries. I appreciate the sacrifices they willingly make to live overseas. I am thankful for the comforts of their culture they forego in order to share the Gospel. I love to pray for them and I love to spend time with them.

When Tim and I were preparing to move overseas ourselves, we had the privilege of attending an amazing fundraising training put on by The Navigators. This week long training session left us feeling very prepared for the intense and rigorous process of raising funds to work overseas. Raising personal support for any type of ministry can be incredibly taxing. We've been there, we get it. So another of my favorite things is helping to equip missionaries, and those in local ministry, with this same type of skill set for raising money. Especially since one of the common reasons missionaries come off the field is a lack of funding.

We were thrilled to have some friends over last week to do this very thing. Our basement even flooded that afternoon and we didn't cancel, that's how excited we were! The show must go on! Plus, I think we're nerds when it comes to this stuff :)

Our friends, Tom and Cathy, have given themselves over to the ministry of the Gospel here in the Twin Cities through River of Hope Ministries. It was a thrill for us to brainstorm and dream with them as well as share practical advice and strategy for fundraising techniques. I know, we're such dorks, but we really love it!!!

While I strongly believe in and am always very willing to ask the Church for finances on behalf of missionaries and those in ministry, I also think its endlessly valuable for them to know how to and feel confident asking for funds for that which God has called them to. So when it comes to coaching someone through fundraising, its the whole "teach a man to fish idea."

It was nice to feel relevant and be helpful in a way that doesn't have anything to do with diapers, childcare or meals :)

Hug (or love on via the internet) a missionary today!

A Little Sweet for Your Salty

I don't know about you, but Mondays can be a little salty.

So here's a sweet little story for your Monday  :)

I love to rearrange our furniture. When you don't have interesting room designs, you have to be creative with where you put your furniture and I am always trying to find the best arrangement of our seating. I also really like comfortable seating, so rather than have the option of bringing in hard kitchen chairs to seat a crowd, I'm always looking for an inexpensive way to provide lots of comfy seats for my guests.

We always seem to have plethora of chairs. They are great chairs, in great colors, but you can only have so many chairs in 1 room before it feels awkward. Trust me.

So a few months ago, I was telling Tim that we need some loveseats. Loveseats is really what would make a huge difference in both our living room and family room. Loveseats. 2 seats in 1! What a deal!

He wasn't convinced.

Since I wasn't about to go out and buy 2 new loveseats, I filed away my bright idea.

I have trying to get better at taking my needs to the Lord before I try to finagle my own solution. He's so much better at providing for me. So I shared with God that it would really be nice to have a couple of loveseats. Then I forgot about it.

Well, in the past 2 months or so, for the grand total of $50, I have acquired 2 loveseats. And may I also say, 1 is red and 1 is blue, and they match perfectly with our other red (living room) and blue (family room) furniture.

love a good loveseat!

God is so good. He cuts my salty with the perfect amount of sweet. He knows what I need and He knows what I want, and sometimes they line up. And its sweet. Sweet like a daddy who goes out and buys you binoculars so that when you go to the N'Sync concert with your girls, you'll be able to see them dance. So sweet.

This is the God who loves us. And He loves us well. Even when our "needs" are silly and unnecessary. 

I think I need some pretzel M&Ms.....some sweet and some salty.

Happy Monday.

Fave Quote Friday

If you're new to the blog, Friday's are for a favorite quote of mine and I'm doing a series on awesome things my awesome friends have said. Although the last 2 weeks I did quote my son and my husband...I do call Jackson 'my little friend' and Tim is my best friend....so I guess it still counts.  :)

This week's quote:

"We have made a conscious decision

to not be upwardly mobile."

Downton Abby is my dream home, LOL

I love love love this! It has been a salve to my heart and has deeply challenged me.

Tim and I were chatting with some like-minded friends a couple years ago about their family members not understanding why they wouldn't want to be moving up the American food chain. You know the drill: bigger house, better neighborhood, nicer car, fancier schools, cabin, boat, etc. etc.

I love this ideal so, so very much b/c it forces me to think about what I value and what I want to teach my boys to value. This idea is counter-cultural and I think that's a good thing! I am raising my family in a super-sized society where everything just gets bigger and bigger, from the bag of baby carrots at Costco to our homes and the storage units where we keep our "extra" stuff.

I am so thankful to be an American and to be free to experience that privileges that come with my citizenship; they are many.

But bigger isn't always better.

There is nothing overtly wrong with a big house and I am all for God's blessings and sometimes that looks like a really big house. But keeping up with the Joneses is over-rated and really bad for our state of mind. I know that its always good for me to challenge the motives of my heart. Just b/c I can have something, does it mean I ought to? When does an indulgence become an over-indulgence?

I want to be able to ask myself these hard questions rather than asking myself what my "goal neighborhood" is.

I also want to get better at practicing the art of contentment. Especially in a world where it's really easy to be uncontent.

Since I do love a two-for-one, here's another quote from my Jackson: "I want what I want."  (usually said in a high-pitched whiney voice)

Isn't that the truth for all of us?!

We want what we want.

I want to want what God wants.

I want to get better at wanting what God wants.

Happy Friday, ya'll! 

Twin Survival Tips - this one takes the cake

I am going to give you my top survival tip for having twins, hands down.

No question about it, there's no competition, and it's not what you think.

flashing gang signs at breakfast, never a dull moment :)

Are you ready?

Become a runner.

That's it.

That's all I got.

Either get faster or get some serious endurance power. And don't worry, if you, like me, weren't already a runner before you discovered you were pregnant with twins, there's still plenty of time to get in appropriate shape before they are mobile. But I cannot overstress this enough.

Appropriate shape in my "twin world" qualifies as being able to sprint a city block and still have some steam left once you catch a twin at the end of that city block. Because as you carry that one back, jogging, you will need to re-catch the other twin and then carry both back to the safety of your yard while they kick and scream and put on a lovely show for the neighbors.

Not that this happened to me tonight. Purely hypothetical. Lord have mercy.

We've started taking the boys for regular walks and using that time to train them to listen quickly and learn a few things about street safety. This process takes a lot of attention and intentionality from both of us. It cannot be done with only 1 parent.

But Tim was working late and the boys were begging all day to go for a walk. It was almost time to go inside, but since I needed to return something to our neighbor anyway, I thought, what the hey? I think that should be fine, we're just gonna pop over to his house, drop it off, pop back home, sure thing. Besides, they've been getting better at listening.

I must have been experiencing an exhaustion high b/c I have no idea I was thinking.

"Popping over" went great. "Popping back," not so great. As we're teaching them to learn to listen, we want to give them a little freedom to experience what it feels like to know they have a choice to make. Well, sometimes freedom backfires.

So when a twin started running away, I called him back sternly and gave him a moment to respond. His response was to run faster.

So what do you do when the other twin then takes off in the opposite directions down the street. Well, you go for the slowest twin, stick him in the yard and foolishly think he'll stay there (since he has figured out how to open the gate latch). Then you thank God in Heaven that you've been running 4 times a week as you sprint after the other twin. In flip-flops. And no sports bra. (Just being real.)

Perhaps my next tip will be to always wear running shoes, although that's one tip I'll never follow. As practical as that would be, I just can't do it. Guess I'll be running in flips :)

5 Minute Favorite Quote Friday

This week I am taking a tip from my lovely friend Monica over at 

Elevate Ideas (LOVE her blog) and I am doing Favorite Quote Friday in 5 minutes.

Ready, go!

My quote for you this week is from my amazing husband, Tim.

"Thin does not equal beautiful."

My wise husband started saying this to me early on in our relationship and with good reason. It was something I didn't believe; I was always comparing myself to someone who I saw as skinnier than me. I still struggle with this. Only now, I compare myself  to the skinnier version of me. Because back then, I was skinny. I just didn't know it.

Sure wish I had enjoyed it more :)

In a world where babies, grief, and stress happen, and "bouncing back" doesn't always happen as fast as we want it to, our waistline and our self esteem can take a hit. Especially when we don't see ourselves properly.

there I was on my wedding day, just hanging with the ladies, being all skinny and not even knowing it 

Tim still says this to me sometimes, and by God's grace, I am still learning to believe it. I'm also practicing the art of being thankful for my body, dare I say, just the way it is.... With this healthy body that God has given me, I can run 4 miles and feel great. I can carry both of my twins at the same time, for extended periods. I can have giant, healthy babies with this body - 2 at a time! I can keep up with my boys at the park. I can live a full and active life. Even if I still have 10lbs+ to lose before I am back to my "pre-baby" weight. The twins are 2 now....I don't think its classified as baby weight anymore.

Do I wish this body were a little slimmer? Sure I do. So I'm making healthy decisions one day at a time, for me and my family. But I'm also trying to enjoy it (my life, my body) right now without feeling guilty about it. My boys don't care if my tummy is squishy and I don't fit into my old skinny jeans. I do  fit into my new skinny jeans.  :)  And my husband knows that thin doesn't equal beautiful. 

Do you?

(Ok, it took me more than 5 minutes to write this...don't know how you do it, Monica!:)

hello neighbor, do you like pie?

We've lived in our neighborhood over 2 years now and sadly, have never met our neighbors across the street. So, I went out and bought a pie. It was time to introduce ourselves. Especially under the circumstances.

Everybody likes pie, right?

Based on friendly, totally UN-stalker like neighborly observations, we were pretty sure that someone in their family had recently died. We figured the time had come to introduce ourselves and pay our respects. We found ourselves wondering if it had been their son, a child confined to a wheelchair, that they'd had to say goodbye to.

So I bought a huge pie from Costco and we were on the lookout to find a time when it looked like they were home.

It took 2 days, and quite a bit of self control with that pie, but the time had come, they were home. Let's go! Our children were dirty and barefooted and looked like urchins, but Tim needed to head out the door to church and if I had to wait another day or 2, I might need to buy a new pie.

So we traipsed over.

Only mom and 4 kids were home, but sure enough, the eldest son, their 13 yr. old, had passed away. It was an emotional introduction and a little awkward, given the language barrier, but I'm so thankful we went. And now we know their names.

I don't tell you this story as a way to pat myself on the back, but as an encouragement for all of us to be willing to appear awkward in order to love on someone we don't know, someone who we know is hurting. Beth Moore called this the "dignity of notice" in one of her Bible study videos and it has stuck with me. We all want to be noticed, especially when we're hurting.

4 morning glories, in honor of the 4 little ones who are dearly missed

That day when we met our nieghbors was a significant day as it was also the "angelversary" for 3 little ones that were members of dear families in our circle of friends. It was a day to remember, a day to grieve, and a day to give thanks for God's goodness in the midst of it all.

Again, this I know, God is enough.

He is always enough.

A Day in The Life: Grocery Shopping

A Day in The Life is a series on life with twins. Just a 

few glimpses of what its like to function as a family of

five when two of us are two. :)

these are not my twins. although, they do bear a striking resemblance!

I am often asked what its like to grocery shop with twins. For anyone who has 3 littles close in age, grocery shopping with all three can be a challenge. Just like swimming the English Channel could be a challenge for someone who only dog paddles. It takes forever and each and every time you emerge from that proverbial chamber of tortures you wipe the sweat off your brow and swear to yourself never.ever.again.

For all you historians out there, grocery shopping has always been something I have done without Tim. I've never worked full time since we've been married and so I always had the time to get it done while he was at work. That was still very true when I only had 1 little guy to take with me. Easy-peasy. We would run errands, hit garage sales, go thrifting, you name it, Jackson and I were heavy hitters when it came to a productive work day! 

Then came the twins. The first year with twins, I couldn't go to any "normal" stores like Cub or Rainbow unless we all went - no double carts. I mainly shopped at Costco b/c they were literally the only store that had a cart large enough for 2 baby seats, 1 toddler (who was still learning how NOT to run away) and oh, yeah, all my food diapers. 

A few times, I did find the nerve to venture out to a store without a suitable cart and then I would strap on one twin, put the other baby seat in the large part of the cart, and have the big one sit in the child part. Then I could only buy a few things and they had to fit in packed carefully around the sleeping twin. Gallon of milk? No way, not gonna fit.

Another coping mechanism I used a lot was the 1 mom, 2 carts, 3 kid parade. Only this parade don't give out no candy. We just move very slowly and get in everyone's way every chance we get. Awesome.

Oh and don't forget that now you have 2 (or maybe 3) pairs of tiny hands that are grabbing for things you don't plan to buy. Like that bag of marshmellows that tiny 2 is chewing on through the bag. You wrestle that away from him while breaking up the hair pulling fight in the other cart and put "gently used" marshmellows back on shelf...or maybe you just buy them b/c you are going to need them after this trip. You turn around only to discover that tiny 1 is also chewing on a bag of marshmellows. Needless to say, you buy both bags and start pushing/pulling your carts down center of aisle, which other customers love. Obviously.

At this point, you begin to ask yourself questions like who needs to eat? or are we sure we're out of milk? do you really think the kids have scurvy?

Being out of coffee always motivated me to bundle all three up, brush my teeth, load into the car...etc, etc.

A girl needs what a girl needs. Especially when that girl has twins and is exhausted all the time.

Eventually, #1 stopped running away and I also found more stores with bigger carts. Glory, glory! 

 

I have definitely my fair share of "war story" trips to the grocery store, it's just part of being a mom.  I've still never gone to the thrift store with all 3 by myself, I can't even bring myself to think about that. (Shutter.)

Giving up thrifting and the in-and-out quick grocery runs of my youth are a small price to pay for the double blessing of baby twins  :)  Cuteness always wins in the end. At least with this mama!