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From: Erica Senegal 12/19/2013 11:37:41 AM

When He Calls, You Must Go

Through the Fall and this Winter our family has been hard at work getting everything just right so we can officially list our house “For Sale.” Every weekend has been full of painting, organizing, carpet cleaning and of course throwing rubbish away and donating the items we don’t need. We have been focused on what God has planned for us.

Recently in the past couple of weeks, I have been studying the Real Estate market looking for comparable sold listings to support our list price for our home. This task has become, for a lack of a better word, “Impossible.” So because of this difficulty my first reaction was to suggest that we just wait to put the house on the market and wait for other houses to sell in the area. I came up with reasons why all of a sudden selling our house wasn’t the right thing to do. I had prepared a very compelling argument for anyone who might question my reason or judgment, I was ready to defend myself. I felt defensive because for the past 6 months or so, all I have been talking about was how I was going to list my house in February and I was “Down Sizing for Christ.” Well my reason hasn’t really changed, I am downsizing because I know that the Lord has called my family to use our resources to further His kingdom, I just don’t this the house is going to sell. After a few weeks of presenting my case and reciting my unbreakable argument, I fell flat on my butt. Really, God had to knock some sense into me and tell me to stop trying to help Him with His plan. Turns out God doesn’t need my help at all. He knows that the market doesn’t support our listing price, but the best thing is He is in control.  He has it all worked out and I don’t need to come up with an alternate ending. Everything that will happen to my family through this process was decided a long time ago and I need to let it happen. After all the worry and doubt I just feel plain old silly in thinking that I knew a better way than God. So today my home is officially for sale and I now have to sit back and let God’s plan happen.

It’s really hard to admit that I had worry and doubt because I wasn’t trusting in God. He is All Knowing, so I don’t know why my first reaction was to doubt him. What was I thinking? I ask all of you to please be in prayer for me and my family as we continue in our journey to follow and live by God’s word.

My Radical Yard Sale

This past Saturday was our Yard Sale and I must say it was a bit overwhelming to see all the "stuff" that has been crowding my home for the past six years out in the yard. We had a pretty good turnout of buyers, friends, family and neighbors; but best of all, complete strangers. I was energized and very motivated to make sure to share why I was having a yard sale to everyone who stepped foot on my driveway. I wanted to sell my "stuff" but mostly I wanted to let other people know that my family had made a choice for Christ. It was awesome. There were a few people who politely smiled and continued to shop but most of them started a dialogue about what we are planning for our family. We had a lot of laughs about some of the items for sale (like the late night QVC side sleeper pillows) but more importantly I was able to tell them that my love for Christ was way more important than the items they were looking at. We want to live a simple life so we can take our surplus and use it to spread the Gospel and that is our only motivation. The night before the sale I had butterflies in my stomach. Just thinking about how to approach shoppers and how to start a conversation made me nervous. When the morning came, God put every word in my mouth and without effort He used me to speak to every shopper.
I give Him all the glory in this journey we are taking as a family.

Radical For Christ

Our Radical Journey has begun. We have been called to live a simpler life and use our surplus
resources to spread the Gospel. God has been very clear to us about how we should
be living our lives and what we should be teaching our children. Worldly wealth
and material possessions have fogged our vision and sidetracked us into
believing we need “things” to be wealthy. Our relationship with our “things” have
taken too much of our time and energy, so we have made a choice to live
Radically. Actually it’s not radical at all, it’s how we feel God wants us to
live our lives and there’s nothing radical about that. We want to be dedicated
servants of the Lord and work for Him, serving Him and others in need. Every
item that fills my home God made and I need to use it for His glory. Every
penny in my bank account is a blessing from God and I need to use it to glorify
His name. We have started the process of
selling “things” we don’t need and working towards selling our current home to
move to a smaller one. With this move we will free up monies necessary to
support Local and International Missions. We want to share our wealth with
others and spread the Gospel while doing it.
Join us this Saturday at our home for our Yard Sale. We
would love to share our story with you.

Wow....Slow Down!

I love it when a school year comes to a close and the children are excited to start all their summer activities. I just enjoyed watching my middle son graduate from Kindergarten this morning. I was giddy and super proud of all his accomplishments but he seemed very indifferent, funny how that works out. All the parents including myself work hard to position ourselves right in front of our kid so we could stick the video camera in their face while they sang, and in my case while my son hid behind the little boy next to him. Each child waited patiently as names were called, then rushed up to the teacher, snatched the certificate, and plopped back into their chair. Moving too fast to get a good picture and so fast that the video makes you nauseous when you watch it. Squirms and giggles were all around but all the children seemed to be happy about moving on to the first grade.

Overall the ceremony was simple and quick but very important for our children to showcase their achievements.

Babies Have Superhuman Mind Control

I have spent the past two hours under freaky baby mind control. Yep my son has the ability to control my every move with just a threatening look in his eye. How does he do this? I rushed around getting him every baby friendly snack and he turned all of them down. First the strawberries were too cold, then the Chex were too crunchy, the gold fish crackers weren’t in a bowl….Are you kidding me! Finally he decided to settle for the strawberries that had time to warm up after crying over five other snacks that just weren’t right. But he couldn’t sit at the table and eat the berries. I had to sit next to him and rub the back of his neck while he ate the strawberries. And I couldn’t just sit and rub the back of his neck; I had to also look at him with a smile. The crazy part was that he wasn’t even looking at me, he was watching PBS. As soon as I thought I was in the clear he would reel me back in with his mind control. I would glance in the other direction and when my eyes started to shift he would scream. So I made sure not to look away, but my arm got tired and I had to take a break. Fearing he would flip out if I took my hand away, I slowly moved down his back and carefully stopped touching him all together. Well guess what? He noticed and the screaming started again. It was too crazy and I fell for it all. I succumbed to the Superhuman Baby Mind Control and now feel like a fool. How do babies get away with these things? I watched him for 15 minutes as he picked up each piece of strawberry with his thumb and pointer finger and slowly put it between his lips and finally in his mouth, all the while chewing super slowly. He had me under his control and wasn’t going to let go.

Thanks for listening, I just had to share.

Skulls and Crossbones

What's with this new fashion craze? As you all know I have three sons and when go shopping for clothes I encounter the same stuff. We have every color polo shirt and pair of cargo pants. It's the same each and every year just with updated colors. Well, I think the stores have run out of color groupings and have started to add Skulls and Crossbones for variety. Who came up with this? It is a horrible fashion statement. Why would I want my boys walking around sporting a symbol of wrong doing. The first thing I think about are pirates and what they stand for. Pirates are criminals and thieves if anyone has forgotten. The second thing I think about are biker gangs and their outlaw rebel side. These are types of people who walk on the wrong side of the track. I want my boys to walk hand in hand with Jesus and wear a badge of honor for the Lord. I don't know if anyone else agrees with me but I hope this fashion trend "dies" out soon.

Today's Word is....Resourceful

This story might not seem like a big deal to any of you, but it really made an impact on my day. When I returned home from exercising this morning, I jumped in the shower and started to get ready for a lunch date I had with a friend. As usual, when it was time to do something with my hair, I was at a loss. It is really humid today in Charlotte so I knew I had to tie my lion’s mane back and a headband had to be included in the styling. I have such a hard time controlling my hot frizzy mess called hair. So I opened my drawer that holds all my combs and brushes but of course I couldn’t find a black headband. An image of my boys using my bands to shoot each other with quickly filled my mind. I knew I did not have the energy to look behind the couches, in the laundry hamper, under the beds, in the toy box or in the back yard. So I had to be resourceful and find an alternative. I remembered that I have a bra that has detachable straps, so I took one strap and hooked it into a loop, Instant Headband!!! At that moment I felt so smart but then thought I must have seen it on TV or something because how could I be so cleaver. Anyway it worked and I averted a hair dilemma. But, as with all my life lessons I wondered how I could be resourceful in other areas of my life. I now have homework to do in this area, to seek out ways to minimize and simplify. I encourage all of you to do the same. If you can take one thing in your life and use it in another area, do it. Be Resourceful.

Grow Garden Grow

This weekend I planted my garden. I am a little behind schedule since I start all my plants from seed and the first set of seeds were duds. I started them over and now have them in the ground. I planted roma tomatoes, white potatoes, leeks, green peppers, walla walla onions, broccoli, cauliflower, long beans, butter crunch lettuce and all my herbs. I also have strawberries and garlic in hanging pots on the fence. I know it sounds like a lot but that is only half my garden. My darling husband built three new beds for me that we will fill with soil and compost in the fall for a whole crop of fall veggies. I’m actually thinking about doing grapes next year if I feel brave. I love my garden, it provides me with peace and tranquility. Love It!!! After all these years I finally found an outlet that provides me with an escape and it feels good. I sometimes daydream about living on my own small farm teaching my kids how appreciate what God has made.

I am currently shopping for a food mill so I can make my homemade tomato sauce and marinara sauces this summer. I seeded all the tomatoes by hand last year and I promised myself to never make that mistake again. If anyone has a food mill they love please recommend it to me. I want to buy one that is sturdy and heavy duty for the hundreds of tomatoes I will have to process for the jars of sauce. My goal is to use all my own onions, green peppers and tomatoes in my homemade sauce and can it for my pantry. I hope I can make enough to last me through the year. If anyone is interested in learning how to do this let me know I would love to have you over and teach a lesson, it really is an activity you and the kids will love. Happy Growing.

"It's Like Googling Something Broad"

A friend said this recently when describing that person we all know who always has an excuse. You know, the co-worker, the classmate, the neighbor, one of the girls….. the one who always has to explain themselves out of something. It’s like Googling something broad and getting thousands of results. You can ask a simple thing like, “would you like to go to lunch next Friday?” He or she stumbles on words and then starts in on their long list of reasons why they may or may not be able to go. It’s like work isn’t it? It gets so bad you just want to back away quietly and hope they don’t notice you left the room. I don’t get these types of people. You either want to go or not. Stop with all the nonsense and make up your mind. Maybe they don’t think much of themselves and have to make themselves feel important by sounding busy. Or maybe it’s a cry for attention or help. Well, I’m crying out for help, “HELP”!!! Stop the madness and just stop talking! I know that this doesn’t sound very kind and I’m sorry if you’re offended, but you know everyone is thinking it.

Boys Will Be Boys

As you all know I have three boys and they are all boy. They fight, bite, spit and fart. They do it all. So it isn’t surprising when they are together they wrestle and wrestle hard. It makes me nervous but I know it’s normal. When my boys greet their friends, there are no handshakes, it’s usually a high five or a body slam. Boys will and have always been physical, it’s just in their blood. As a mom it is my job to nourish their natural instincts and supply them with safe environments to be themselves. Boys will model their behaviors after their fathers and so my husband gets down and dirty with them. It really is cute to see the boys walk around without a shirt and act tough. I’m sure they are acting out being a “man” or at least what they think a man is. So mommies, give in a little and let your boys be boys, let them scrape up their knees and elbows and act wild. I think if we want our boys to be manly we need to allow them opportunities to tune into their masculinity and recognize that they will never be like us (women). So the crazy things they do will never make sense but will help develop masculine characteristics.

Cookies for Breakfast

I have been a parent for nine years now and I can honestly say that for the majority of those nine years I have been super stressed out. Mainly I just want to do everything right and not damage my kids too badly. This morning was the first time I can remember allowing myself to relax and just let it happen. My older boys were not ready on time for the bus, so I just took them to school. It was that simple, why yell and scream and get all worked up. I remember that I’m not on time every single day, so they can have a day or two when they are running a little late too. I had to go to the grocery store and my one year old was a little difficult and fussy, but instead of getting all frantic and rushing through the store, I ignored the cries for attention and continued my shopping. Today I became “That Mom” with the loud kid. So What! After my shopping was done I walked over to the free cookie bin and gave my baby a sugar cookie at 9:00 am. It felt good and I didn’t feel judged. Sugar cookies aren’t bad as a treat once in a while. I didn’t become a bad mommy just for giving a cookie for breakfast. I just need to relax a little more and rest assured that God has placed a hedge of protection around me and my family and that I should be spending my time enjoying my kids not worrying about things that really don’t matter.

Horses Don't Have Seat Belts

During my lovely vacation with my husband to Punta Cana Dominican Republic we had an opportunity to go on a horseback ride right on the beach. Sounds romantic right? Not really. We were in a group of twenty other people and three guides. They put us on the horses and forced them together to get the all-important picture. Let’s just say my horse wasn’t friends with the others. My husband’s horse instantly bucked up and tried to eat my horses face off. If you know anything about me I’m not the adventurous type so as soon as my horse moved on its own I wanted OFF! Now there is a huge language barrier between me and the guides and all I could say that they would understand was, “I Don’t Like!” This wasn’t effective what so ever. The reply was, “O, Lady, You OK.” And my reply, “No, Lady Not OK!!!!” The guide took my horse by the reigns and lead it closer to the water facing away from everyone else. This didn’t make the LADY feel better at all. Next thing I know I am begging to get off the horse with no result and tears rolling down my cheeks. When all the riders were ready to go, I refused to go. The guide ended up leading my horse the whole way and not letting me off. I have never been so miserable in my life and was surly glad when it was all over.

So the trip down the beach would have been great except for one little detail, or should I say big detail. Horses Poop a lot!!!! These horses had no bags on their butts to catch their urges of bowl movements and release. What? Gross. Right on the sand next to the people splashing in the waves. I didn’t understand how anyone could be ok with this but it seemed normal to the people in the water as well as the guides. So the other problem with horses freely pooping in the sand was, when you are in a group of 20 and all the horses are bunched up together you have to watch where your knees are in regards to the horses butt in front of you. That’s right kids, if you aren’t paying attention a horse can sh** on your leg. Sounds like fun right, oh and definitely romantic.

Punta Cana

Hello From the Dominican Republic

Today is yet another beautiful but humid day in the Dominican Republic. My husband and I are on vacation for our 10th wedding anniversary. Plenty of sunshine and strong breezes make for very relaxing days and nights. Last night we enjoyed a private dinner on the beach with musicians and waiter all to ourselves. It was pure romance to say the least. We also went on a tour yesterday of the rice plantations via dune buggie. Lets just say when I upload the pics most of you might not believe I actually had enough courage to get in one. I surrvived it and made it know that I only did it for my hubby. Well, just wanted to check in and say hi, I really wanted to write posts everyday but wifi is spotty here so more to come when I return to the states.

Making Good Choices

In my house my husband and I try to teach our boys to make their own decisions but to also make good choices. We both understand that kids will be kids and make mistakes, but we also believe that at any age a child should be held accountable for his actions. We set rules and limits in the house and we expect the children to follow these rules in and out our presence. Our two older boys are 9 and 6 years old and we try to impress on them that their behavior is their responsibility and they must take care of it. Every Saturday we do a family devotional and a few weeks ago we did a devotional about making good choices and I thought it was very impactful. Basically the story was teaching the children to conduct themselves in a way that would honor God. The story suggested that if you would be embarrassed to have Jesus next to you during your activities, then you probably should rethink what you are choosing to do. The devotional emphasized that God gives all of us free will; but it’s what we choose to do with it that is important. Most of the time I feel that I am constantly reminding my children of this, and time and time again they seem to instantly forget. This principle of making good choices carries me into my next point and that is, since our children spend so much time out of the home and at school; shouldn’t the school also reinforce these core principles? Today I toured the school associated with my Southern Baptist Church here in the Charlotte area and was pleased to know that each and every day the students are reminded of Godly principles and values. It is a requirement that each student take Bible Class in order to meet all graduation requirements. Now I don’t believe that all kids have to go to Christian Schools. I’m just making an observation on how I think it is a good idea if the place your child spends the most time at also reinforces the same basic principles as you do. Making good choices concerning your children are hard too.

Summer Calendar Coming Soon......

Last year I didn’t send my boys to camp instead I came up with my own camp activities. I put all the events on Google Calendar and shared it with family and friends. This year I will do it again. I have had several people request a copy already and I just wanted to let all of you know that I am currently working on my 2011 calendar. It should be done by the middle of April and I will post a link on Facebook for all my friends or you can request the link through my blog. This post is just a reminder that you should sign up for dscount passes in preparation for the summer events. Go to http://www.wsoctv.com/familyfocus/index.html and sign up for the Family Focus Fun Card. This card provides discounts on admission for several of my planned activities such as The Levine Museum of the New South and Discovery Place. I also recommend a membership to Discovery Place since it only cost around $100 for your entire family (two adults and all your kids) and it includes membership to the Charlotte Nature Museum as well for 12 months. Me and my boys really enjoyed waking up and knowing what we were already going to do that day. Each week consists of bowling (not sure if bowling will happen this year our local lanes are launching a new program), free movie at the theater, museum visit, water activity (swim or spray ground) and an outdoor adventure activity (free fishing or hiking). I have researched all the cool FREE activities in Charlotte and put them on my calendar and whoever can show up, shows up and who can’t, well we'll catch you next time. All my activities are scheduled in the morning before nap time and lunch to avoid cranky kids in public and only last a few hours long. I have found if we do too much every day by the end of the week I don’t have any energy left and neither to the children.

Can’t wait to see you this summer!!!

The Human Family Tree

After taking my boys to view the Race Exhibit at Discover Place last Friday we watched a Discovery Channel documentary through Netflix called, The Human Family Tree. This documentary explores how all humans are 99.9% the same and how we all originated from South East Africa. Wild! I love learning how an African American man has more genetic markers in common with his European ancestors than with his African ancestors or how a Thai couple don’t have many genetic markers in common at all. This project studied the DNA of hundreds of random people at a festival in Queens NY. The strangest thing was the most unlikely people had the most in common. We are all human and this fact alone should unite our species and keep us all bonded together. Society has used the many variations found in humans to build barriers and cause turmoil and war. As a world today we stand divided and I hope that more research and projects like this can open eyes and minds to create a more tolerant people.

Four Letter Words

This morning while pumping gas, a man approached me and asked if he could tell me about an idea he had for summer camp. He proposed an idea of teaching children about four letter words (no not the four letter words you are thinking of) positive four letter words. The man’s name was Thornton Howard III and he wrote a book called, Going Fourward – Using FOUR Letter Words in a Positive Way. He explains that he wants to teach children a more positive way of thinking and learning through four letter words. His book is divided into four sections.

· SELF – ESTEEM

· GOAL – ACHIEVEMENT

· PEER – POWER

· HELP – OTHERS

He spoke so passionately about his vision and is so motivated and dedicated to teaching, I just knew I had to share his story with you. How amazing is this idea of teaching our youth that they are ABLE to succeed, that they should give their BEST, show that they CARE and that they can get the job DONE. He has a super powerful message. His message is simple and easy for all children to understand.

I also learned not only is he a published author but Mecklenburg County, NC wrote a proclamation supporting that during the first four weeks of every school year teachers, community leaders, parents….focus on one word each week to inspire and encourage our children. I feel so blessed to have had an opportunity to meet this man and wish him all the best in his journey to educate our youth with positive four letter words.

Runaway

Last night I did something I thought I would never have to do. I called 911 to report a runaway child. I was on my way home from shopping and noticed a young boy, around 7 years old, walking along the curb in the dark all by himself. Now I don’t know about you but I found it to be a little odd considering it was night and he was all alone. To say the least I didn’t feel comfortable, so I call 911 to report it and then circled around to catch up with him. When I was circling I couldn’t believe how many cars were just passing him by and it didn’t seem like anyone was even interested. Well I caught up with the little boy, rolled down my window and asked him if he needed help. He told me “No, I’m fine” but he looked to be really upset. I asked him again and he told me that he had run away from home. I was crushed. A little boy all alone in the dark feeling lost and unwanted, he could have been one of my boys. I picked the phone up to call 911 again and while I was dialing a speeding ambulance came up with flashing lights and scared the kid, who then ran off into the woods. It was only a minute later when a cop pulled up and went into the woods after the boy. I went home not knowing if the police ever found him and was left very uneasy. So being who I am, I called the non-emergency police number to check on the little boy. Turns out he was found and returned home. Thank God, he was safe or was he? It got me thinking what he was running away from. How was his home life? Was he being abused? I will never know, but I can rest in knowing that I did something. I wasn’t like all the other people driving down the road last night. I didn’t just pass him up and ignore an obvious problem. Would you have stopped to help a little kid on the side of the road? Wouldn’t you want someone the help your child if he or she needed it? I believe that we live in a society that teaches us to do for ourselves and not to reach out and help others in need. We like our lives to be easy and that is accomplished as long as we keep blinders on and look straight ahead. I guess you can say that I don’t want my life to be easy.