Live Out Loud - Adventures of a mom

20  “You don’t have enough faith,”   Jesus told them.   “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible. [ a ] ” Matthew 17:20 (NLT) Two nights ago my 4 year old daughter had a nightmare.  She cried more than once at night over what seemed to be the same dream. In the morning I asked her and she confirmed that indeed she had a recurrent nightmare.  When I asked her she started crying so I stopped asking her. But by 11 AM she came to me sobbing saying "mommy, I can still remember my bad dream".  So I reminded her that Jesus can take away bad dreams and to ask Him to do so. By 1PM she came again and said the same thing - so I attempted carefully to ask her to recount her bad dream to me.  She told me that in her dream there was a witch with a potion...and then started crying again. By late afternoon it was apparent ...

Dear Diary (July 2011): I just had an interview with two Suzuki Piano teachers this week.  They were both very nice and I learned a lot more about this method to piano teaching.  I asked them a lot of questions and asked about  my concerns over Suzuki students not being able to read music properly.  Both told me they introduce music reading soon after we start though the focus is not on that.  All the questions I raised were answered satisfactorily so after chatting with hubby we decided to sign Samuel up for lessons with one of these teachers.  Since both were good I based my decision on whom I felt I clicked better with. I am a little apprehensive about this new phase for us, especially with this new method of learning to play piano...but excited.  My wish is that my children will not only learn to play piano because it's the thing to do - after all, we are Asians - but that they will discover a new way to express their feelings through music. ...

I am first to admit I am terrible when it comes to gardening.  But, alas, I live in suburbia Canada and have a back yard (albeit a yard with increasingly less and less green grass!) and so for the last 6 years I have been using my poor yard as a testing ground to what I already know -- that I do not have a green thumb! This spring, though, I noticed with excitement, some good changes, and I believe God is using these changes to remind me about things in life.  There is nothing extraordinary in these except that the entire exercise itself has reminded me that God is never done with us -- and so we should never pretend to limit the ways He can speak, work, and change us.  10 years ago I never thought I would be touching soil, watering grass or taking pictures of flowers (really!) and here I am, not only learning about gardening, but in the process, hearing God speak to me loving messages. 1)  WATER - I never understood the need plants have to be hydrated.  I...