it's official

we are going to Rwanda in early August 2011 with Azizi Life! We will be there for 4 to 6 months finishing up my school work through marketing and development work.

Check out the organization here + more details to come!

Much love,
Emily Elizabeth

Arkansas getaway

The hubbs and I had a wonderful time in Arkansas last week celebrating through weddings, anniversaries and some good 'ol family time.

Celebrating the marriage of Darron + London

Rae + JJ...if I knew 100% that our children would be as cute as JJ, there would be less stalling :)

Papa + Mama Newlin + The Newlin Weds = Classy 

After almost dying while climbing Pinnacle Mt.

More sweet Newlins: Whit + Drew

Pretty cute

We had a great time and can't wait to be back in July!

Much love,

Emily Elizabeth

if we could run away

we would

A Good Friday Lesson: Pancake Grace

{‎"But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins, He was beaten so we could be whole." -Isaiah 53:5}

This will be the first time that Jon and I will not be at church for Easter in our entire lives (that's a lot of Easter dresses and polo shirts!) You may ask, "Why don't you just take the boys with you?" and to that I would reply, "We have this new kid...that I'm pretty sure would walk up in the middle of the service and tell the pastor why the Christians are all liars and how they stole their religion from the Egyptians...and yeah, he's 12 and knows everything...so that is why we are not going.

So it was this little squirt through which God taught me a Good Friday lesson today. Have you ever been to a Good Friday service? The ones I've been to leave me feeling sad, dark and lonely...because Jesus died and left this world on that Friday...but all of that is ok, as long as you know that you are going to an Easter celebration service in three days...

But what about the disciples? Yeah, Jesus said He would rise from the dead in three days, but I don't think they actually trusted or understood what was going on. This is where Little Squirt makes me think of a disciple. No, he is not trying to follow Jesus...but sometimes I feel like God gives us glimpses of what it is like to be Him.

I got up this morning, and the boys are home from school due to the Easter holidays...and I had put out some pancake mix before I went to bed the night before...now, I knew that I would probably regret this, but I also knew that some boys in the house would enjoy making pancakes when they woke up. But when I woke up...the regret set in.

I found Little Squirt "making pankcakes"...which consisted of a mix bowl of 4 cups of water and 1 cup of pancake mix...poured into a baking pan. When I realized that he needed some direction, he informed me, "Good chefs learn from themselves," meaning that they don't watch or learn from others (which we all know is NOT true).

Then he went to put his baking sheet "pancake" into the oven...and then to turn it on, he turned the knobs for the stove top burners. So, it is totally obvious that he has never cooked anything before, much less pancakes. After taking some direction on how to turn on the oven verses stove, he placed the cooking sheet inside and proceeded to open the oven door every minute to see if it was done.

When I suggested that he let one of the other boys who is like the Pancake Wizard show him how to make them the right way, he said to me, "Can you make pancakes?" and I replied, "I mix them and then Jon cooks them because I have a tendency to burn them." "AAAAAAAHHHHHAAAAAAAA," he raised, "so if you don't know how to make pancakes then you can tell me how to do anything!" "Well, then you could watch the Pancake Wizard, because he knows exactly what he is doing," I persisted. "Just because everyone cooks pancakes one way does not mean it is right...just because everyone is doing something does not mean it is right," he shared. "Just because you say it doesn't mean it is true," he continued to say over and over again.

Much much more dialogue followed, but it was all pretty pointless...I think you get the idea. So you may still be wondering how I felt like God in anyway whatsoever...well, here is how:

If we believe that God is a part of our everyday lives through the Holy Spirit, then you have got to believe that He sees all and understands all we do. That means that He knows when we are doubting Him, thinking that our ideas and choices are better without Him and His guidance through His Holy Word. God has got to be frustrated with me more than He lets on. I mean, how many times have I said, "Just because people in the Bible did it that way doesn't mean it was right..." or "Just because You say it, doesn't mean it's true...I've never seen it...so it's can't be true!"

Furthermore, how many times has God looked at my life as I try to run around and make pancakes in the oven when they have to be made on the stove, and God is saying to me, "Hey, just take a sec and let someone else share with you how to make it all work." And I just run around flinging watery pancake batter everywhere.

There are times I read the Bible and see Jesus asking the disciples to do just that. And they continue to doubt, go back to their old ideals, sink in the water and whatnot. I wonder if Jesus ever felt hopeless? I would say no, because He was 100% God and trusted the Father enough to be tempted by the devil in the most miraculous ways...but if He was 100% human too, He had to get discouraged. And in The Bible, He definitely sounded frustrated with His closest followers at times.

Flashback to the kitchen this morning...I am sitting watching the Little Squirt in his tornado of ignorance and stubbornness and I think...'This is what I look like to God sometimes...this is how I must make Him feel." I want to say never again, I want to return His grace and love with devotion and passion. I want to get off of the cross the devil tries to keep me on, and allow God to resurrect me daily.

And that's my Good Friday lesson for today. What do you think?

Much love,
Emily Elizabeth

Oklahoma To Do List

check out my latest post at Say "lovely" and see what all I have planned for my trip to OKC at the end of April...SOOOOOO EXCITED!

http://tinyurl.com/6a72a78

Much love,

Emily Elizabeth

one more out the door

We had one of our "original boys" (one of the last two in the house that have been here since before we moved in) leave last Friday.  I know that this is the best for him, and definently Jon.  When this boy was in a good place (which he has not been in for more than a couple of days at a time since Christmas) he could be the biggest helper in the house and so fun to be around.  But when he didn't get what he wanted, everyone paid.  That was not okay...and since Jon and I, but mostly Jon, never backed down...it was rough most of the time.

But now he is gone...and one of the last memories he left with us is this:

The product of his refusal to do his kitchen chore...and here are the two troopers that helped clean up the ridiculous mess.

Needless to say, we have learned a whole lot from our time in this crazy house...but most of all, I feel like we have learned more about ourselves.

Here is what I have learned about Emily Elizabeth:


-I do not like confrontation as much as I thought I did...or at least I'm not as comfortable with it as I thought I was...but with some deeper digging I realize that I feel this way because I have not seen confrontation work well with these boys...it probably would work better if they had harsher consequences...but sadly, this is not the case. Hard shells around hearts make confrontation pointless.


-I need me some shalom...the second someone gets all huffy-puffy about a chore or being helped accountable, I feel my heart start racing and my teeth clinching...like I am preparing myself to be physically hit.  Emotional peace and people talking in respectful voices and words are things I never would have listed as a must for my living arrangement...but now, it is


-I could totally be an enabler...sick, right?  Just to have that shalom (even though it would be superficial) I would let things go that would potentially enable bad behaviors


-My husband can rule with a rod of iron.  I don't know if you know Jon, but he is kind of a goof (in the best way I could ever ask for).  So maybe you would agree with me that this is something to be learned. He has risen to the occasion of being the primary house-parent this year...which is mainly, being the disciplinarian and the one who is responsible for shopping, doctor's appointments, and telling them they are wrong.  


-I could never rule with a rod of iron in this house


-We are going to be solid parents :) That is if Jon will be the disciplinarian 

I'm looking forward to the day when Jon and I will look back on this experience and thank God for it...today is not that day.

Much love,
Emily Elizabeth

5 votes

can we get more?

Who wants to see Jon (pictured here with Rocky) blog more!