Jordyn's Prom

Jordyn went to her Homeschool Prom last night. Sniff, Sniff...I am still wiping tears from my eyes. They grow so fast.

Hello....my name is Becky.

Just in case anyone forgot my name while I have been m.i.a. the past six weeks, I'd like to re-introduce myself. So much has happened since I last blogged, I don't want to bore you with words. So, I'll share a picture re-cap with pictures in random order (captions are under pictures):

Visited Libert University (why? Jordy graduates in one year!!)

Jordyn and Beck acting like LUnatics! (ha ha....get it?)

Jordyn won first place in the Richard Bland Scholarship competition! She played Moonlight Sonata flawlessly!!

Had a babyshower for my buddy!

Baby Landis Richardson was born.

CCF women's fellowship. This was an ice breaker game...101 ways to wear a Bandana.

Tilli had a birthday -- she is now in the Terrible Two's!

Took Jordyn riding.

Lent ended! Me and Pop "toasting" our first taste of chocolate.

Easter Sunday...poor mom..she looks rather, um, vertically challanged.

Finished this amazaing study with my peeps at CCF! It's tough being a woman....ha ha

Getting ready to teach this class with my rockin' Hubby!!

Snow, glorious snow!!!!

Though this is a bit out of context, these words from 2 Samuel come to my mind as I praise The Lord for the beautiful blessing of a March snowfall in Central Virginia!!!

....I will celebrate before the LORD. I will become even more undignified than this....

Yes, I made a snow-angel. :) It was pure delight.....

Jordyn stepped outside for a quick photo shoot--poor gal has been sick so no snow ball fights this time.

Jim enjoying his coffee and the fact this is the first time since 1970 that we had a big snow and he did NOT have to go to work at a grocery store!

Tilli - not a fan of the snow!


Serenity now.....

Saw this video and quote on Vickie Courtney's blog and thought it was very inspiring.



"Preach the gospel at all times and when necessary use words." St. Francis of Assisi

The race and other “feeling” old ramblings

Someone asked me why I had not blogged in a while. Good question. I haven’t had anything to blog about. I am sure my desire for snow and my love of ice cream gets old after a while. I had an adventure tonight that is worth a good laugh or two.

I’ll start by saying today was interesting. You know those days where the body is just not what it use to be? It started with trying to press to the back of my brain and help Jordyn with the quadratic formula for school. Praise The Lord I have the Teacher Key. Brain in a fog, I hurried off to my appointment with my PCP --which led to some lab work. Fun. Fun.

Jordyn was hanging out at her friends house so we had to drive to Richmond to pick her up. My precious hubs went with me. Not enjoying driving at night these days. Guess I need to go see my eye doctor (*insert: feeling old). Jim needed to get his cell phone fixed so we decided to do the dreaded deed of going to the “cell phone place”. I don’t know about you, but my prior experiences have been rather L-O-N-G in these places. I have a feeling I am not the only people that experience long waits. Reason being --as I was getting out of the car, the nice older couple beside my car gave me a sweet smile. I returned the smile. Took a few steps and looked over their way to see them looking at me…and their smile was fading. In a split second, we both realized we were heading for the “Cell phone store” front door..…to which we both increased our speed as we walked across the parking lot. (You know the cute little “run-walk” waddle? Yep you got the picture). I am sure you know how this ends….OF COURSE, I didn’t plow them over or elbow them out of my way when I got to the door…to be very honest with you, they won. Fair and square. They flat out “waddled” their sweet selves faster than yours truly! (*insert: feeling REALLY old and out of shape!)

With pride hurt, I humbly stepped to the computer to register us for service. Thus started our wait. (*I must say this particular location had great customer service tonight*). Jim and I had fun going from one display phone to another while we waited. We cracked ourselves up as it took us several attempts to pry the silly little cell phones open to find a hidden treasure that resembled a keyboard inside most. (And not just any keyboard but a cute little “qwerty” keyboard. Are you impressed? wink, wink).

I did notice the marketing in this store is aimed toward the “young-uns generation.” Posters decorated the walls displaying kids with skinny jeans and converse shoes, lounging in their funky hip-red chairs . As I was patiently waiting with hubs looking at the posters, I realized there were no funky hip-red chairs to be found in the store. Shoot, there were no chairs at all in that place! I guess the “I can text standing up, sitting on the floor or with my eyes closed” young-uns don’t have feet and legs that ache like mine do. Maybe I’ll email my “cell phone place” and suggest some chairs. We older folks need to take a load off once in a while!

It is places like cell phone stores that make me realize that technology is moving way faster than I am (just ask Mr. and Mrs. “I waddle faster than you” that I met in the parking lot).

Our experience at the “cell phone place” ended with our under -25 year- old- technology expert telling us the problem with Jim’s cell phone was the battery. The battery was old. (Yes, he used the word OLD). How could the hip young expert know the battery was old? Simple. When the battery gets old, it starts to swell. That comment was par for the course. Isn’t that like humans? The older we get, the more we swell (packing on those pounds in the mid-section).

Jim and I had a great laugh tonight. We figured we’d celebrate our “I feel old tonight date” by having some ice cream. Now, I am just hopin’ we don’t get acid reflux.

Will You Join Me?

Without a shadow of a doubt, I know there is power in prayer!!!

Prayer brings about change.

Regardless of who we voted for, if we are Believers in Jesus Christ, we are commanded to pray for those in authority.

( 1 Timothy 2:1-2 I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— 2for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.)

Presidentialprayerteam.org is a great site dedicated to lead us to pray for our President, Leaders and our nation. PPT is encouraging Christians to pray daily for our nation and leaders. You can sign-up to receive (free) a daily email to challenge and guide us to "pray for the first 100 days". I just signed-up...will you join me??

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14

Blowing out some candles....

...Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 2 Corinthians 4:16

• I'm not 40, I'm simply eighteen with 22 years experience.
• Life begins at 40 -- but so do fallen arches, rheumatism, faulty eyesight, and the tendency to tell a story to the same person, three or four times. - William Feather
• Few women admit their age. Few men act theirs.
• Those who love deeply never grow old; they may die of old age, but they die young.
• The best years of a woman’s life - the ten years between 39 and 40.
• Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been.
• Women deserve to have more than twelve years between the ages of twenty eight and forty. - James Thurber.
• We don't understand life any better at forty than at twenty, but we know it and admit it. - Jules Renard
• At age 20, we worry about what others think of us. At 40, we don't care what they think of us. At 60, we discover they haven't been thinking of us at all. - Ann Landers
• Life begins at forty. ~ W.B. Pitkin
  

Ready or not...Merry CHRISTmas

Christmas Eve. Ahhh..Deep sigh of peace, excitement. It is here. Ready or not. Time to celebrate the birth of Jesus. My Lord and Savior. I love Christmas and I love celebrating his birth. This year, as one of my early Christmas presents, I was given something precious to my heart. I have wanted one for years and about a week ago someone dear to me insisted I open my Christmas present “early”. For the life of me I couldn’t figure out why I needed it early, unless of course, it was Maggie Moos ice cream and would melt. Much to my delight here is what I found in the beautiful package:

A menorah. Awesome, huh? I am not Jewish, as a matter of fact I am as Gentile as you can get. However, as a Christian I have always been very interested and fascinated in Jewish Culture and History. After all, I believe Jesus is the Messiah. The Anointed One who fulfilled the prophecies and is the promised son of David. Though I love the New Testament and read the Bible as a complete book, I have a tendency to favor the Old Testament (please no hate emails..thanks!). I love to study Jewish history and I have a great love for Jewish people as well as Israel. I guess if I had a bucket list (which I don’t) two things listed would be to get a degree in the study of the Old Testament and to learn Hebrew (of course Greek too). But for now, I am happy to study the OT as best as I can. Oh the joy to read the prophecies of the OT and see how Jesus fulfilled them.

One thing I recently did this past week was to re-study Hanukkah. The origins of this celebration and I even read some history from the book of the Macabees from the Apocrypha. Then I concluded with reading the passage where Jesus himself was at the Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah). In a nutshell, if Jesus celebrated it and it was part of his life then I want to know more!! Jesus Messiah!!

I thank the Lord for sending His Son to a lowly manger in order to die for our sins. Merry Christmas!

Isaiah 9:2-7 (Amplified Bible)
2The people who walked in darkness have seen a great Light; those who dwelt in the land of intense darkness and the shadow of death, upon them has the Light shined.(A)
3You [O Lord] have multiplied the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before You like the joy in harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil [of battle].
4For the yoke of [Israel's] burden, and the staff or rod for [goading] their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor, You have broken as in the day of [Gideon with] Midian.
5For every [tramping] warrior's war boots and all his armor in the battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood shall be burned as fuel for the fire.
6For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father [of Eternity], Prince of Peace.
7Of the increase of His government and of peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from the [latter] time forth, even forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

Lazy Girls

I love to bake. Yes! I love to bake. (side note: I hate to cook. HATE. To. Cook.) Though I have a four pound bag of chocolate chips chillin' around the house, I have not started my holiday baking. Time is ticking. Just call me a slug.

Last night I had a craving. You know the type that hits you about 10:30pm. Insatiable urge to stuff your face with chocolate anythings?

It was too late to bake but I knew Mr. four pound bag was calling my name. Hmm..what to do with the chips at 10:30pm. After staring blankly into my cabinet for about 5 minutes my eyes spotted a box of Ritz crackers. I had some salty and sweet right at my fingertips. Then suddenly out of no where, deep from within my baker's heart...a master piece creation was born. My creativity amused me (note sarcasm here) and thus another Beckums creation burst forth in my kitchen, "Lazy Girls"

Ritz crackers, sprinkled with chocolate chips. Pop into the microwave for about 30 seconds and top with a pecan. Voila! Instant gourmet "Lazy Girls".

Sweet 16

It is hard to believe but my baby is 16!! We celebrated the occasion last night with a Sweet 16 Costume Party. What a blast!! Here are a few pics from the party:

Jordyn dressed as Audrey Hepburn





Can you guess who we dressed up as??


What a Maverick. I think he is a hottie!! giggle

Fill in the blanks

It’s in the air….can you feel it? I’m not referring to the chilly temperatures this morning. I’m talking about the Christmas spirit! I confess, Jordyn and I have been listening to Christmas music for about 6 weeks now. I have put up my family Christmas tree. Decorated my blog with a Christmas theme.
Purchased my 4.5 pound bag of Chocolate chips (oddly enough, the bag of chocolate chips is a tad bit larger than my 4 pound Yorkie!!).




While I am eagerly awaiting Christmas and all the preciousness that surrounds the celebration of Jesus’ birth, I am also excited about Thanksgiving. This Sunday is our church’s annual Thanksgiving service. It is one of my favorite services at CCF. Certainly one service you don’t want to forget your Kleenex. Anyone who is willing to share, has an opportunity to take the mic. and give thanks to The Lord. If you had a chance to give thanks to The Lord, what would you say? Could you think of one thing? Would you be able to fill a minute, an hour?

Our friends and missionaries, The Fowlers sent me the neatest little Thanksgiving prayer card in the mail this week. (The card is produced by Family Life ministries. Click here to order your copy!)

I want to share a few things from the card in hopes that you will begin to give thanks to The Lord.

*I remember when we needed ________ and God provided _____.
(Read Philippians 4:12-13,19)

*I am thankful for _______that God gives us every day.
(Read. Deut. 8:3)

*Despite (and even because of)_________, I thank you for __________.
(Read James 1:2-4)

So, how would you fill in the blanks?

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; His love endures forever. Psalms 107:1