Releasing The Training Wheels...

While we were going through the motions of our bedtime ritual, I was helping my 4 YO brush his teeth, and my 7 YO (who had just finished brushing his teeth) was wiping his hands and mouth with his wash rag. He then just stopped and stared at me.  I noticed out of the corner of my eye his movement had ceased, but I was too caught up in making sure the toothpaste stayed on my youngest son's toothbrush while also holding steady his little step stool.

When I looked over at him and actually paid attention to what he was doing I caught his gaze.  He smiled at me, hugged me tightly, and said, "I don't want to grow up mommy."  I knew this was a "mommy love" moment by his gaze and embrace, so I said, "What made you say that?  What were you thinking about?" He said, I just want to stay little forever because I don't want to grow up and you grow old and die. 

I laughed and said, "Yes, you do!

Sometimes I wonder...

I know it's not biblical.  I know it's not true.

But, sometimes I wonder...

I wonder if God and the angels sit around with popcorn and get entertained by us much as we would a movie or even the Superbowl many will be watching today.

And, do they laugh at us?

Like when you're getting out of the shower and as you're drying off your feet, your towel gets wrapped around your foot, you lose your balance, and fall (with one foot up) head first into the bathroom door because it's either do that or fall.

You know. At stuff like that...

Yep! They said that...at church!

I have decided that I want my boys to experience children's church AND worshiping with me.  So, I flip-flop Sundays.  Every other Sunday they worship in the sanctuary with me.  This past Sunday was our Sunday to worship together.  Even worship is never a dull moment with my boys...

Jacob (whispering in my ear): Mommy, that man in front of us has earrings on.

Hudson (who has not yet mastered the art of whispering) whips his head around to see the man directly in front of us...then points...then yells loudly:  MOMMY!  LOOK! THAT'S WHO JACOB IS TALKING ABOUT! THAT MAN HAS EARRINGS ON!

Me: Hud, remember on the shuttle bus over here when you said, "That man is too tall because his head hits the top of the bus," and I told you to remember you should whisper what you notice to me in case it hurts someone's feelings? (Hud nods) Well, you're not whispering.

Hud (still loudly while our pastor has now begun to pray): But, Mommy! Why does he have on earrings like a girl! Why do men wear girl clothes?"

(At this point, I'm expecting the entire church to answer his question because he's the only who could be heard as we have begun to pray.)

Before I could tell him, wait a moment because we're praying, Hud shouts an observation he obviously missed the entire hour we've been sitting there about the woman with the bright red tuft of hair next to the man with the earrings...

Hud:  AND LOOK AT HER, MOMMY. WHY DOES SHE HAVE RED IN HER HAIR?  WHY DID SHE DO THAT?

sigh....

HAPPY MONDAY!

To Be Like...John

Was thinking about John the Baptist today. "The Baptist" was not his last name. But, what he stood for and how he served The Lord was so intertwined with who he was that it became his name.

Is your service like that? Has your skill, talent, or service for The Lord become so well know that when people say your name they say your skill, talent, or service too?

If not, it's never too late to begin your story. According to Ephesians 2:10, God already wrote it for you, He's just waiting on you to tell it. :)

How have you started making steps to walk in the direction you know God intended for your life? 

I'd love to hear about it. 

Yep! They said that!

I post on Facebook a lot of the funny, deep, thought-provoking things my 4 YO and my 7 YO say.

People message me all the time telling me how they enjoy my stories about my sons. So, in a shameless effort to encourage my blog following, and to lessen my FB postings, I  thought it a good idea to include those sayings here periodically with their own consistent title..."Yep! They said that!"

This is the first of that new and infinite series. Enjoy! :)

Jacob: Remember we have Christ in our hearts. He lives in us.

Hud: Well, you're not going to heaven because you tease me. Teasers go to hell with the devil, their father.

Jacob: Mommy!! Do teasers go to hell or heaven?

Me: Remeber the "helmet of salvation" we talked about with God's armor from Ephesians 6 last week? Salvation covers your thoughts. Once you accept Christ in your heart, you're going to heaven. However, think of heaven as an amusement park. There's so much to do, and what we do on earth determines where we'll be in heaven. If you tease others, Jacob, that's not very nice so, you'll get in , but you won't be able to ride the rides.

Hudson: Yeah, in heaven, I'll be riding the rides, and I'm gonna look over and wave at you at the door where all the teasers are!

LOL

A Quick Thursday Ditty: It's all about today!

Yesterday is gone!

It didn't last!

What happened matters not...

It's in the past!

So...

Let it stay there.

Today and tomorrow's all you've got.

Get up and get moving.  Get started on those goals.

Huh? What?

No, I don't know how!!!!  You'll figure it out along the way.

But, you have to get started NOW!!!!!

Happy Thursday!  :)

Having All You Need

What do you see in this picture? A stick and a few toys? Look closer...do you see it? Believe it or not this is a magnificent story of robots, daredevil planes, fighting ninjas, and a daring rescue.

But, it was laid to rest for a moment while my boys took their bath.

I took a picture of this because I heard the vivid story come to life while I was cleaning the kitchen after dinner.  And, once the boys had gone to take their bath, I was shocked by how few items they had used to create such a vivid, imaginative, and daring tale.

Five little items.

I then thought of my big goals for this year.  I mean they are HUGE!!! Only two goals, but each will stretch me to limits I never thought imaginable.

Staring at my sons' toys I thought about how ill-equipped I initially felt aiming for such high goals, but God showed me through His word how others (in faith) simply began with what they had, and He provided all they needed to accomplish His will.

Moses - all he had was his staff.  God showed him how his staff could be a tool of power, and even brought his brother to him to assist him.

Hannah - all she had was her promise.  God honored it, and her baby boy became the counselor to kings.

A Clean Sweep

This is just one section of the many leaves my sons and I raked up this past Sunday.  There were more beyond the fence in the driveway, in the front yard...basically EVERYWHERE!

I took a picture because this is what I encountered the DAY AFTER I had just gathered the same amount of leaves!  Now, initially, I thought raking/sweeping leaves is an effort in futility, but I'm one of those weird person's who loves the mundane (think washing dishes, vacuuming) because it is the perfect time for me to pray and commune with God. This was one of those times...

As I swept, and swept, and swept, God began to show me how my initial reaction to sweeping leaves the day after I had just raked and swept is much like how the Christian walk feels at times--an effort in futility. Let's say your being a Christian who's trying to follow God's precepts and live a life worthy of the faith you profess represents the broom.  And, let's say the continual mocking of your faith, wickedness you encounter, and the advancement of people around you who don't follow the Lord represents the leaves.  You are seemingly the continual lone frontrunner constantly working to clean up around you that which you know needs tidying.  Yes, it's hard work. Yes, there are many more of them than there is of you. Yes, you wonder if your efforts are futile and your energy is wasted.  Yes, the very thing you cleaned up yesterday may return ten-fold tomorrow....sweep anyway! Do it anyway!

Why? Because your presence, your efforts, swept away those leaves hanging around THAT day--no matter that they would return tomorrow.

Life Words: Day 4- "Clearly Seen"

Love

This is my final word...for now.  :)  It is so amazing to me how a small activity can stretch you and give you a greater outlook than what you had before.  Searching for words in their untouched, natural state started off as a fun game with my sons, but became a personal challenge to stretch myself and an opportunity to understand the Lord a little better.

Huh? How did looking for words stretch me and help me understand the Lord better?

Well, I'm glad you asked! :)  It was hard y'all!  Some of the letters took forever!  And, I at times became like the boys with, "We can't find 'E'!!! Mommy! WE DON'T SEE THE LETTERS!!!!!" Then something amazing happened...I prayed.

Life Words: Day 3

Faith

Can you see it?

Life Words: Day 2...

Hope (from the Science museum)

Can you see it? Okay, so my abstract "p" was a stretch, but it works! :)

I think I've found my new calling... :)

I recently read an article about finding words in nature with your children.  A while back, the boys and I read a picture book by a photographer (whose name I've forgotten :(  ) who found letters and numbers in random items.  It was amazing!  This project reminded me of that book, so I decided we could look for letters in a word on our various excursions.

This, our first one, was at a park. The word is "Thanks!"  Can you see it? I posted our findings to Facebook, and now it's just become a thing!  So fun!

The "T" shot is my favorite.  I just think that's an absolutely fabulous shot of the boys playing together. My second favorite is the "!". Some tweens were having cheerleading practice, and it was so awesome to see an exclamation point!

1 = 5; "Where, O death, is thy sting?"

I went to a funeral this past Friday of someone very special to me.  He was like a father to me, and he was just a great guy! As I stared at his body--like I have stared at the frame of many others I've buried--I couldn't help but have a flood of memories. There lay the frame of a man which was the antithesis of his character.  There lay a silent frame. Mr. T (as I affectionately called him) was always full of life and making me laugh.  There lay a cold frame. Mr. T was literally warm and figuratively warmed everyone who was blessed enough to be in his presence. He looked so much like his lively self I kept expecting him to sit up any moment and make me laugh!

I have a funeral ritual that I began almost twenty years ago when I lost my close cousin.  I take home one of the plants from the funeral just to keep and take care of in honor of the person I loved and lost (with the family's permission of course). When I brought Mr. T's plant home, I watered my other plants...one being a plant I brought home from Mrs. T's funeral, who preceded her husband in death a year ago.  As I watered the plants, I began to knead the soil and pray for the families connected to the love one of that particular plant. And I cried. But, then I glanced over at my smallest plant.

A Prayer Revolution

³ And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.

⁴ And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand.

⁵ And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.

⁶ And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.

⁷ The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up. [Revelation 8:3-7]

And there it hit me!  BOOM! The power of prayer.  Did you catch it?  Read the scripture again. 

The Courage of Faith

courage - M.E. corage, fr. OF cuer (heart), Latin cor -more at heart
 "mental or moral strength to resist opposition, danger, or hardship...implies firmness of mind and will in the face of danger or extreme difficulty."                          
                                                            -Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary

     The summer of my junior year in high school I determined that I would reinvent myself with each new school year.  I would have a new theme of fashion that I wanted to go with.  So, my senior year, I became (or so I thought) the cute prep.  I got rid of my glasses, began wearing contacts and more makeup, began working out fervently, and sporting the long preppy ponytail look.  Then, the next year I decided upon the cute collegiate look for my freshman year in college (a term and look only I could define)...and, so on and so on. 
     As I've matured and grown in my Christian faith, I still reinvent myself each year, but it no longer relates to fashion. I now focus on becoming more of a conduit for the truth of God's word.  And, God with his holy humor obliges me.  :)  However, this year is different.  This year God has modified my little personal game, heard my prayers of "going deeper" and given me his own version of reinvention.  He's given me a theme...and, that theme is COURAGE.

The End of Hope

Did the title of this week's blog throw you?  In reading the title, did you immediately expect a topic of gloom?  Good.  I did that on purpose.  I wanted to get your mind ready for the journey of words God took me on this week.  It's powerful!  And, God in His infinite wisdom knew I would need to be encouraged today.  So, He encouraged me as I was studying to encourage you!

You see, the blog this week was actually to be about forgiveness...or so I thought.