Greetings for Mooland, ie. Wisconsin. An original CHEESEHEAD here! I grew up about 50 miles north of Green Bay. Married to wonderful man for almost 20 years. We have 5 children between us, some inlaws, and 7 awesome grands. Work in the pubic safety field, and retired a couple years ago from EMS field work. Enjoy doing fine arts ministry, including vocal performance, play guitar in worship band, drama, clowning, and anywhere else that God leads. Enjoy spending time with family and friends, camping, reading, listening to just about any kind of music, love to cook, hate to clean but house is lived in not dirty - just feel people are more important than that perfectly cleaned home. Enjoy watching sports...GOOOOO PACKERS! I come from a very large family with 5 older and 5 younger than me, and tons of nieces, nephews and cousins. I feel volunteerism is not an option but a necessity to be involved in. Was PraizeOP4 at Praize.com for a couple years. Still active there as main forums moderator. The rewards far exceed any energy and time expended, and is a blessing to those you may minister to. May God grant His blessings to all of you.
Love the Lord with all my heart and every fiber of my being, caring love for people, family very important to me, tend to say YES to too many things and have learned it is OK to say no. volunteerism is a necessity not a luxury!
University of Wisconsin, Berean School of the Bible
Major
studied horticulture, now taking some independent study courses through Berean
Special Training
numerous different areas of training both work related and other areas, firm believer in taking any training available.
Special Groups
NA-EMD,American Red Cross, ACCESS/post high school ministry,Broken Bread Clown Troupe,NAFTO,Beginning Experience
Blog Date: December 19, 2006
My Wish For You
My wish for you is far from being a simple request of hope and joy and peace and days filled with warmth and sunshine, for I know it is also through dark and trying times we are indeed blessed and when God chooses to grow us through its adversity. So I wish for you all that is needed to live your life to its fullest, growing in Him daily and sharing His news to all you meet.
I wish you love and friendship too but with that also comes much responsibility to nurture and grow that friendship and relationship, not only for your own self but to help grow the other person too. We are our brothers' (or sisters') keeper. Don't let anyone else tell you different. Throughout the days ahead I wish you to be able to share laughter and happiness, to fill your world with smiles, meaning you are sharing it with others, but to also hug each other and to bear each others' burdens, lifting and carrying each other as needed. May you share tears in joy and laughter, but also during loss and pain.
May you count your blessings, one by one, for you may very well find where you felt you were deficient and poor, indeed instead you are very rich. When totaled up may you find all you've been given to be more than what you sought. Find ways to give of your mores to those with their less. May your journeys be short, yet eventful enough to keep you on your toes, your burdens light, but enough to keep you mindful and thankful, and may your spirit never grow old and continually refreshed by God and His grace, keeping wisdom at hand to keep you on His path.
May all your clouds have silver linings and your rainbows pots of gold, for then you will be able to share your wealth with those who are less fortunate. I wish this all and so much more for you. May all your dreams come true including what you have not dared to dream but are holding in your heart and that which God already knows about.
May you have a Merry Christmas, my friends, and a Happy New Year
For in all these things He has already done them for each and every one of us!
Wishing you and yours a very Merry and Blessed Christmas. Shell
How often I have heard parents lament, "My kids won’t talk to me. I want to know what’s going on in their life and all I get is monosyllables!" Every bit as often I hear kids complain, "Even if I wanted to talk to my mom or dad, they’re always too busy. Or they just want to lecture me. They never really listen to me." The generation gap has always made conversation/communication a challenge between parents and kids. It seems that when they first learn to talk, they never shut up! A three year old can "why" you to death. Then somewhere in the middle of elementary school, they learn to clam up and it is like pulling teeth to find out what’s on your child’s mind. Of course kids differ in how comfortable they are in conversation. You may be one of those blessed parents whose child comes home every day and chats with you about her day. You may even have a child who is interested in your day! But after raising 5 children, I know that the day comes when talking to mom or dad -usually the teen years - is like talking to a robot.
Mom -"Hi! How was your day?"
Teen- "OK"
Mom - "Anything happen in school?"
Teen - "Nope"
Mom - "Where are you going?"
Teen - "Out."
Mom - "to do what?"
Teen - "Stuff."
It’s enough to make you want to shake them. Then later, when something happens to them, the parent is the last to know and the first person to get the blame for not listening to them. Well, take heart. There is something you can do about it. There is a way to stimulate conversation with your family. But be forewarned. The best conversation is not usually when it’s convenient for you. The best talks I had with my kids when they lived at home was often after midnight, sitting at the foot of my bed trying to stay awake! But here are nine tips for promoting conversation in your home.
1. Make conversation safe.
Set some rules in your home -sort of a code of conduct. If anybody wants to share an idea or opinion, anyone else has the right to disagree, but they need to listen to the whole thing first. And there is to be no name-calling, insulting intelligence, or shouting. That includes you, Mom. If you mock your child’s taste in clothes or music, soon he/she won’t want to tell you about it anymore.
2. Teach social graces.
Children will learn to use language whether you teach them etiquette or not, but teaching the niceties of social interaction falls within your responsibility. Children learn good manners by imitation and practice. If you want your children to learn comfortable, respectful conversation, you need to model it. If your child asks you, "How you doing, Mom?" and you answer, "Fine." (That monosyllabic standard) you’re practicing the same conversation -stopping behavior that you complain about in them. Be sure to give a more interesting response like, "I’m pretty pleased with myself today. I discovered the most unique book store when I was shopping and I found the perfect book for your father for Christmas!" Do that regularly and even young children will follow your example of expanding on one word responses.
3. Ask interesting questions.
I taught this little conversation trick to my MOPS group of wives who were desperate to get their husbands to talk to them at the end of the day. Ask these 3 questions at the end of each day (obviously if you ask them the same way every day, they’ll catch on and clam up, so be creative) A. "What was the best thing that happened to you today?" B. "What stretched you or was difficult for you today?" C. "Did you learn anything new today?" Most kids (and husbands) are bored by "How was your day?" Asking interesting questions like, "What made you laugh today?" draws them out. You can stimulate conversation, say at the dinner table, by asking things like, "If you could have anything for your birthday, what would you choose?" or "Tell me about the most boring class or meeting you’ve had lately." When they are intrigued and see that you are honestly interested in their thoughts and activities, they’re more likely to engage in real dialogue.
4. Take it easy on the bad grammar.
Poor grammar is a pet peeve of mine. It makes people think you are far less intelligent than you really are. Be that as it may, correcting your child’s grammar in the middle of their story is the best way I know to bring it to a screeching halt. It kills the enthusiasm and soon they decide that conversation means getting yelled at. Imagine the response of your best girlfriend when just as she’s pouring out her concerns about her prayer life, you correct her grammar! It has the same effect with your children. (However, teaching good grammar is very important at home so find other times to model correct speech.)
5. Don’t offer unsolicited advice.
Say your child is having a hard time with his teacher and he says, "I tried so hard to do it right today, but the teacher yelled at me anyway. It’s not fair!" If you jump in at that point and deliver a platitude, "Well son, life isn’t fair......", he’s not going to tell you another word. You may miss all the details of what happened because you cut him off. Ask questions that keep the conversation going like, "Why do you think the teacher said that?" After your child learns to trust you to listen to him, he will feel more comfortable in soliciting your help or advice.
6. Don’t be the FBI.
Nobody likes to be grilled about an experience. Maybe you are dying to know how the school dance went. It’s OK to ask, "How was the dance? Was it as fun (or as bad) as you thought it would be?" When they respond to that, then you can dig deeper by asking something like, "What was the most fun?" or "Was the music good?" or "Did a lot of your friends come?"
But grilling them for every detail makes them feel like you don’t care about the experience - only that you are nosey.
7. Let your kids express their feelings.
How many mothers have had their angry child burst out with, "I hate you! You are the meanest mother in the whole school!"? Or your 13- year- old tells you she has had it with her little brother and says she wishes he’d never been born? Fight the urge to say, "Now, you don’t mean that." At that moment they are so frustrated that they think they do mean it. While name-calling and hurtful derogatory words are not to be tolerated, right then is not the time to say so. Ask them questions to elicit what has made them so mad , like, "What’s going on? You sound like you’re really angry." or "Why are you so upset with your brother?" or "I know the house rules are pretty tough sometimes. What about this rule is making you so mad?"
8. Expand your family’s horizons with interesting conversation.
Bring up topics -favorite books or something you heard on the news, a dilemma a friend has had or just something you learned recently. Anything that prompts discussion is good. For example, I have never understood the rules and tactics of football. When my son began to play in junior high, I was lost to find something to talk to him about concerning his sport. So at dinner one night, I asked him to explain the game to me. Of course my husband chimed in, but soon all of us were commenting and asking questions about football. I still prefer soccer to this day, but for a couple of years I had a way to relate to my junior high aged son. It can be a challenge to get shy or tired kids to converse about the science of earthquakes or who’s running for President, but I have found that it is worth the effort. Children taught to be comfortable in conversation have a real advantage when they enter the adult social and working world.
9. Talk about spiritual themes.
Of course, most Christian parents would like to be able to talk about God and the Bible comfortably with their children. Let’s face it. Many of us are uncomfortable talking about our faith with other adults much less our kids. But kids read and hear a lot in the outside world about God. They are often confused about what they hear or see, but they are embarrassed to ask. They understand that it is a sensitive topic for most people. That’s why conversing about spiritual things comfortably and honestly in the family setting is so important. Start by talking in front of your children to other adults or their other parent about the sermon or something you learned in Bible study or a question you have about a moral decision. Perhaps your child is old enough to have an opinion on the topic. If so, ask him/her, "What do you think?’ or "What would you do?" Again, it is a matter of trust and comfort. As the kids get older, they won’t be afraid to bring up spiritual topics for discussion at home - especially if you refrain from judging them for their doubts, ignorance, or shortcomings.
There is power in the tongue, the Bible says. It can be used for good. It can be used to accept, encourage, stimulate thought, inform, comfort, and make someone laugh. There is power in the ear to listen, absorb, learn, and understand. God made us social creatures who thrive on interaction. Bring the two together with tongues and ears and we call it conversation. It’s a big part of our world. Today the frantic pace of our lives threatens conversation, especially in the home. Make it your goal to foster the art of conversation in your home and you will promote trust and respect at the same time.
Prayer: God you made us creatures with the gift of language. You converse with us through your word and we with you in prayer. Help us as parents to make the effort to converse with our kids, no matter how old they are or how poorly we’ve done with it in the past. Give us creative ideas to coax our kids to talk and help us not to squelch conversation with platitudes and judgments. Amen
8. Standing in the middle of the road is dangerous. You will get knocked down by the traffic from both ways.
9. Words are windows to the heart.
10. A skeptic is a person who, when he sees the handwriting on the wall, claims it's a forgery.
11. It isn't difficult to make a mountain out of a molehill just add a little dirt.
12. A successful marriage isn't finding the right person-it's being the right person.
13. The mighty oak tree was once a little nut that held its ground.
14. Too many people offer God prayers, with claw marks all over them.
15. The tongue must be heavy indeed, because so few people can hold it.
16. To forgive is to set the prisoner free, and then discover the prisoner was you.
17. You have to wonder about humans, they think God is dead and Elvis is alive!
18. It's all right to sit on your pity pot every now and again. Just be sure to flush when you are done.
19. You'll notice that a turtle only makes progress when it sticks out its neck...
20. If the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, you can bet the water bill is higher. And last but not least --
God gave the angels Wings, and He gave humans CHOCOLATE. "The shortest distance between a problem and a solution is the distance between your knees and the floor. The one who kneels to the Lord can stand up to anything." You are richer today if you have laughed, given or forgiven.
