This summer on a visit to the farm, we went to my in-laws small-town church. And I mean small.

In celebration of Father’s Day, they passed out pocket knives to the father and the kids, and basically every boy over the age of 0.

I gave my hubby a knowing look that meant OUR SON IS TOO  YOUNG FOR A POCKET KNIFE. He and his dad laughed and told me that the dull little knife couldn’t harm a fly.

[insert foreshadowing]

Once we got home, we (and I mean that loosely) let our son keep the little knife in his treasure box in his room. He occasionally asked permission to whittle soap and chunks of wood with his Dad.

Fast forward to two weeks ago: my son rediscovered his knife and woke with a healthy dose of testosterone and asked me if he could use his knife outside to carve on a bar of soap. I told him no, but to ask his dad when he got home from work. Now, my son is not a defiant kid, but he’s persistent and human (a lot like his mom). He waited awhile and caught me when I was busy and said, “I’m going to go poke at the tree” or something like that.

He and his little sister played while I was inside. I’ll never forget the ear-piercing scream from the backyard.

I ran to the door and threw it open to find my son, with sister following, holding out his hands, covered in blood.

Pocket knife long forgotten, I had no idea why he was bleeding and normally queasy at the site of blood, adrenaline kicked in. I grabbed the hand towel on the counter and applied pressure, barking out orders to my girls. All the while, my son is HYSTERICAL, screaming things like “Am I going to die? It’s hurts!!!! I’m so scared!”

It wasn’t until the girls were safely at my neighbor’s and we were on our way to the hospital that I asked him what happened. “I don’t want to tell you,” he sobbed.

I looked at the hand towel, not knowing how badly he was cut, soaked with my son’s blood and swallowed back fear and tears and said, “I just need to know, so I can help you. I’m pretty sure if it’s your fault, you’ve already gotten your punishment.”

He told me the whole story of using the dull little pocket knife to chip away at the tree bark when the knife closed in on his index finger. “I don’t think there are such things as dull knives,” he hiccuped. I didn’t need to do much lecturing. Some lessons are learned the hard way.

We got to the hospital and my hubby met me from work. While the four pain shots were numbing my son’s finger in preparation for the six stitches he would get, the doctor and my hubby swapped knife and stitches stories.

It was hilarious.

Only it wasn’t because my son was bleeding all over the table.

I looked at the nurse and I said, “How many stitches have you had from playing with knives?”

“None,” she smiled.

“Me either. Must be some rite of passage.”

The good doctor and my hubby agreed.

On the way home, my husband called his father “Dad, remember that dull pocket knife from this summer……?”

My little boy only wanted to say one thing to his Grandpa when the phone was handed to him,

“Papa? I’m a man now.”

My father -in-law responded, “Guess what I got you for Christmas?”

Today is the day after Thanksgiving, also known as the day after eating too much.

But it’s just the beginning of being thankful.

I’m talking about a life of return over at Christmas Change.

This December, I turn 38 years old. I was born in the middle of this hectic season and have celebrated with Christmas wrap substituted for birthday for as long as I can remember. My birthday is the day after my wedding anniversary and two days before my youngest child’s birthday and all of that just six short days before Christmas. We call it The Week We are Poor.

Click here to finish reading….

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Wanna get a deal and help a great cause at the same time? Of course  you do! Use this code BLACKFRI10 at the Mercy Shop (100% proceeds go to fund The Mercy House, a maternity home to help hopeless girls in Kenya, Africa) and get 10% off anything in the store…including this gorgeous piece of art created just for Mercy House-plus it has FREE SHIPPING!

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Thankful Heart

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I love Thanksgiving. I don’t like to rush through it to get to Christmas.

I’m going to savor it and try my best to live in gratitude for all that He has given me.

And I’m going to eat a lot of pecan pie.

I’m going to take a break for a few days…

and just pop in here later with some links to posts I’ve written elsewhere.

I’m so thankful for you: for joining me in this life’s journey, for loving mercy so well. Blessings to you.

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No Works For Me Wednesday this week….

Will be back Dec. 1 for a Themed Edition:

Share a Holiday Gift or Tip Idea w/a fabulous giveaway!

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Super Exciting News!

Our Love Mercy Jewelry that benefits The Mercy House

is finally at Dayspring and I have an awesome coupon:

Just when I think we’re moving past being THAT family…you know the ones, I discover a ringworm on one of my kids, experience a tantrum for the record books and spend two hours in the Emergency Room with my son getting six stitches in a nasty cut–all today.

Nope, we are *still* THAT family.

Quick! Tell me your last THAT family moment. Ya know, so I feel normal.

Pictures by the amazing Molly, of Lucky Horseshoe Photography

Our world is wireless. You can print from across the room, surf the Net from the backyard or Chick Fil A parking lot *ahem* and text someone across the globe instantly.

My children are growing up in a convenient, instant world.

It’s awesome.

And it’s also scary.

Take a look at these new alarming statistics just released:

71% of teens regard boyfriends/girlfriends spreading rumors about them on cell phones and social networking sites as a serious problem.

1 in 4 teens in a relationship (25%) say they have been called names, harassed, or put down by their partner through cell phones and texting.

68% of teens say boyfriends/girlfriends sharing private or embarrassing pictures/videos on cell phones and computers is a serious problem.

1 in 3 teens (30%) say they are text messaged 10, 20, 30 times an hour by a partner inquiring where they are, what they’re doing, or who they’re with.

82% of parents whose teens were emailed or texted 30 times per hour were unaware this was happening.

(Stats from Teenage Research Unlimited (TRU) studies)

My son is in the 3rd grade. Most of his friends have a cell phone or iTouch (ridiculous if you ask me!) and my 5th grade daughter is way behind the times, too, and I’m going to keep it that way as long as I can.

I don’t have a problem swimming upstream.

But, in reality, at some point, we will have texting teens (at college, of course!).

How do we keep them safe? Technology entraps kids younger and younger. My nearly 4 year old knows what an email is and recognizes the ping of my computer when Maureen Skypes.

How do you handle the wireless age and your children?

P.S. Our TV broke 3 weeks ago. We decided not to replace it. Best decision ever! We still have one we use for Netflix /Wii, but that’s occasional and it’s awesome. </two cents>

Today I’m wrapping up my series on Straight Talk with Quilted Northern.

As busy moms, wives, women, we know the importance of providing good products for our families. We also know:

“How long a minute is depends on what side of the bathroom door you’re on.”

I hope you feel more comfortable talking about the taboo with your girlfriends and sister chicks. Sometimes it’s just nice to know that you’re not alone.

I laughed and cringed at your bathroom confessionals! I’m pleased to announce the winner of the YEAR SUPPLY OF QUILTED NORTHERN & a $50 Visa gift card is……………………………………

Random comment #119 Traci Best! Congratulations!!

Don’t forget to:

o   Friend on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/QuiltedNorthern and get valuable coupons

You can still win a year’s supply of toilet paper by:

o   Follow @QuiltedNorthern on Twitter and take the Clean Quiz –  By using a fill-in-the-blank format, and by using humorous hypothetical situations to discuss the taboo, Twitter followers can respond using the #cleanquiz hashtag for a chance to win a year’s supply of toilet paper each week! And y’all, we need toilet paper.

This post is brought to you by Quilted Northern Soft and Strong®. Please join the conversation at www.facebook.com/QuiltedNorthern or on Twitter each week @QuiltedNorthern for opportunities to win free Quilted Northern Soft and Strong® and help make the taboo talkable. Proceeds generated from these sponsored posts are going to benefit The Mercy House. See? I’ll do anything for Jesus.

The story on my iPhone:

I interrupt this sibling lovefest to confess that I asked them to hold hands. But still.

I love these guys–even with fake smiles and scary eyes.

Even when they ring the doorbell and wake me from my Sunday afternoon nap with lots of screaming to tell me that

I won the fake lottery!

iLive.

Have a happy weekend and live a little. We have very little planned–Just the way I like it.

How about you?

** Maybe I did win the lottery after all.

*Final Update* Just heard the book as officially been pulled from Amazon!

*ANOTHER UPDATE* Okay, so apparently, all our clicking just crashed the page. Because it’s up and for sale. Let’s not give up. We’ve got their attention.

*UPDATED* Well. 90 seconds after I hit publish, Amazon pulled the book! (I don’t personally claim responsibility-although it is a convincing post! Ha! The power of the Internet, never ceases to amaze me.

I had another post planned for today. But it will have to wait. Ironically, it’s about an awesome family Advent book, complete with activities (I’m giving FIVE away) with Amazon links.

But I learned on Twitter that Amazon, a company I shop from often and link to regularly, is selling a book for pedophiles, an instruction book for people who molest children. When I verified it, I was shocked, disgusted and I knew that we had to do something about it.

I cannot implore you enough to let your voice be heard. Not only is this outrageous, Amazon has the nerve to suggest this is freedom of speech. It’s criminal, in my opinion, not censorship.

Once again, I watched the power of moms with laptops and wifi, LIGHT UP Twitter and get the attention of every news venue in the media. Let’s use social media to make a stand. I know that this might be an inconvenience for some of us. I’ve never made more than $25 a month through Amazon Affiliates, but I do have my new book available for pre-order there, and even some gift card credit. But “If we don’t stand for something, we will fall for anything.”-Alexander Hamilton.

What can we do?

• Boycott-don’t shop at Amazon
• Don’t link to their store
• Email Amazon’s CEO’s  Jeff Bezos   jeff@amazon.com
• Write a letter of complaint: Amazon.Com P.O. Box 81226 Seattle, Wa. 98108-1226.
• Call this number 1-866-321-8851  reference ASIN#B0049U4CF6
• Tweet about it using hashtag #Amazonfail
• Share it on Facebook, join the Boycott Amazon FB page
• Call local news, report it on Drudge report
• Write a post about it, link it up here

Oh, and I’ll have my regularly scheduled post up tomorrow, as soon as I find a bookstore to link it to!

P.S. Please don’t buy my book at Amazon. You can also pre-order it at Barnes & Noble, Lifeway Christian Stores, Cokesbury and Borders

(who will you be using now that Amazon isn’t an option?)

I try on clothes before the conference, sucking in tummy, turning to get a side view. “What do you think?” I ask him in a hesitant, unsure tone. He smiles. I let out a grumble and head back to my closet.

My 3 year old is trying on my shoes and my 10 year old is looking in the mirror, checking our her side view.

I struggle to esteem myself. I don’t think I’m ugly, but sometimes when I see myself in a photograph, I’m surprised that I look pretty.

But raising daughters is teaching me that if I esteem myself, my girls will too.

Look at these alarming facts:

92% of teen girls would like to change something about the way they look, with body weight ranking the highest.

75% of teenage girls felt ‘depressed, guilty and shameful’ after spending just three minutes leafing through a fashion magazine.

70% of girls ages 15 to 17 avoid normal daily activities such as attending school, going to the doctor, or even giving their opinion “due to feeling badly about one’s looks.”

61% of all women and 69 % of girls (15 to 17) feel that their mother has had a positive influence on their feelings about themselves and their beauty.

Nearly 1/4 would consider undergoing plastic surgery.

Only 2% of women describe themselves as “beautiful”

Not only do women agree that happiness is the primary element making a woman beautiful, but they strongly agree that they themselves feel most beautiful when they are happy and fulfilled in their lives (86%). Women want younger generations of girls and women to inherit this broader concept of beauty, with 82% strongly agreeing that, “If I had a daughter, I would want her to feel beautiful, even if she was not physically attractive.”

While only 19% of teenage girls are “overweight,” 67% think they “need to lose weight” (UK Teen Body Image Survey, January 2004)

National Association for Self-Esteem:
90% of eating disorders are found in girls

Tipping The Scales Of Justice:
A majority of 5-year-olds would rather lose an arm than be fat.

Girls Scouts:
On one hand girls are told to be happy the way they are, and on the other hand, they are given the message that being “overweight” is unhealthy and unattractive.

The more physically active girls are, the greater their self-esteem and the more satisfied they are with their weight, regardless of how much they weigh.

Yet 40% of girls ages 11-17 say they do not play sports because they do not feel skilled or competent and 23% do not think their bodies look good.

Girls’ view physical and emotional health as closely connected. For example, more than 1/3 of girls ages 11–17 reported eating more when they are “stressed out” and overweight girls are more than twice as likely as girls who are not overweight to report eating more in times of stress.

More than 60% of teenage girls skip breakfast at least once a week and nearly 20% skip it every day.

A mother’s weight, body image, attitude, and health habits are strong indicators of whether her daughter is overweight, satisfied with her body, and physically active. Girls look to their mothers for advice on healthy living. A daughter’s dissatisfaction with her weight is greater if her mother is also dissatisfied with her own weight, in spite of how much a daughter actually weighs.

(Statistics by Dove Campaign for Real Beauty (Unilever) “Beyond Stereotypes: Rebuilding the Foundation of Beauty Beliefs”) as found on Respect RX

Our daughters are watching us, taking their cues. We want to raise beautiful, healthy, happy, strong girls.

The next time you see your daughter standing at her closet door, fixing her hair for fifth time, lean in and whisper, “YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL.”

Then say it to yourself.

Believe it. And she will too.

On the last night of Relevant at dinner, I was sitting with new friends. The atmosphere was heavy with all that we had learned and experienced and were trying to prepare our hearts for what God would surely deliver thru His servant, Ann.

(Why yes, I do get a red splotchy neck when I speak in public. Thanks for asking).

We were eating large amounts of roast beef and everything was striking me as funny. (I call this being OVERLY EXHAUSTED).

It was about that time that Alyssa announced she didn’t love (or even like!) sweet tea.

I had a moment of silence for her.

The conversation turned to the habits of highly successful sweet tea drinkers and eventually the conversation ended up on exercise . My new friend, Meagan, was telling a woeful story about how she couldn’t run any longer. I told the table that I was ALLERGIC to RUNNING. They laughed, only I wasn’t being funny.

(My new friend Meagan, only I can’t find your email anywhere—would you email me?)

“My legs itch violently when I run,” I said convincingly (and by that, I mean, I WHINED).

“No way! Mine do too!!” Meagan confessed. Everyone just looked at us like we were oddballs.

They had a point.

(Turns out I’m a “hand talker.” Me trying to sound smart next to the lovely Angie Smith.)

I didn’t expect what happened next: one of the gals at the table turned to Google. (When you’re at a blogging conference with the Internet at your fingertips, what else are bloggers to do?)

“Wait!” She said. “There is a real medical condition for “itchy thighs while running!”

Meagan and I looked at each other in disbelief and I’m pretty sure embarrassment. (I just kept thinking, please don’t let it be a sweet tea allergy).

Well. It turns out, there is a diagnosis:

It turns out my diagnosis is called being unfit.

Who knew? Oh, wait, me. I knew.

We laughed hysterically. The girls at the table laughing at us, not so much with us.

I’m just thankful I can still drink sweet tea.

Scroll down for Works For me Wednesday

Today is the 3rd of the month. Your $3 contribution to the Mercy House to aid rape victims, along with hundreds of others, will be multiplied again and again.

On the news in Kenya daily, terrifying, heart-breaking stories of young girls being raped. This story of a young girl being raped by a gang , just aired this week (please read with caution).

Would you consider donating $3?

If you’d like to give on a recurring, automatic basis, you can subscribe to that option:

*This money will go to the huge financial undertaking of launching The Mercy House, which will counsel and minister to pregnant girls and rape victims.