Archives

You Care, I Can Tell

Feb11

My kids know whether I really care about something they’re talking about, showing me or doing. If my attention is not completely on them, or if I’m not quite enthusiastic enough with my “I like it!” or “Way to go!” they accuse me of not liking it or not caring about whatever “it” may be.

I have a tendency toward laziness, so if I really don’t have a genuine concern or care for someone, then it’s easy for me not to do something about their need or pain. And I can tend toward grumbling about the things I have to do as a wife and mother to take care of my family: more laundry, another meal, more homework to correct.

But if I genuinely care, then all those things should flow out of that caring.

Our theme at school this year has been “Love in Action.” “And He has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother” (1 John 4:21 NIV84).

Helping a friend reroof his house.

Taking care of a friend’s kids when they are delayed getting to school to pick them up.

Taking another friend’s son back up to his high school campus to pick up his clarinet that he left there, because he has a competition the next day and your friend is at a hair appointment with her three other children.

Paying undivided attention to your child when she’s talking about something you might not really care about, but you care about her.

These aren’t huge things (well, reroofing a house is huge). But they are showing love. And those for whom you do it can tell.

13. Warm winters

14. Working with good friends so that an all-day Saturday work day isn’t torturous

15. Dinner cooking in the crockpot

Clinging to this World

Feb10

I’m not gonna lie, I love chocolate. Dove dark is probably my favorite, but dark chocolate M&Ms come in a close second just for the snack factor. And ham. I love ham, too. And artichokes. I won’t pay $2.50 for one here in Florida, but when they get closer to $1, I snatch them up.

And baseball, I love to watch baseball. And horses. Morgan is about to start riding lessons, and I really want to do it, too.

There’s so much that I love in this world. Beautiful sunsets (I’m not much of a sunrise person); cute, fluffy kittens; puppies that chew on everything; lasagna. The list could go on and on.

I remember hoping that Jesus wouldn’t come back before I got married and had children. I really wanted to experience that. How silly. No matter how much I enjoy the things God has given me here, Heaven is going to be so much better than this.

10. chocolate 🙂

11. my dog snoring in the corner

12. movies that make me cry

Sing, Sing, Sing!

Feb9

We’ve been battling incessant colds around here. One after another, family members have fallen victim to a lingering cold that produces a cough that just goes on and on and on.

Last night, I was awakened at 2:30 and could not get back to sleep until after 4:30. I used the time to pray some, but I was mostly just frustrated at my inability to sleep. I knew morning would still come, along with the responsibility of getting kids off to school, making a menu, going grocery shopping. All I really want to do when the kids get out the door is go back to sleep.

The last thing I feel like doing is singing.

But, as I posted several days ago, music is reviving, refreshing, rejuvenating. Maybe it’s just what I need. “Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord.”

I help lead worship at church this weekend and rehearsal is tonight. Practicing the songs is not only a necessity, but perhaps it is a prescription for revitalization that my body desperately needs this morning.

By faith, I will sing. Right after I take a little nap.

7. A comfortable bed
8. Cheez-Its
9. Flowers

Being a Blessing

Feb7

Ann Voskamp’s book 1,000 Gifts is very popular these days. I haven’t read it, but from what I’ve gathered, the premise is that you can find blessings in every single day. There are multitude tiny ways God shows us He loves us.

King Solomon had that idea long before this book came out. Ecclesiastes 11:7 says: “Oh, how sweet the light of day, And how wonderful to live in the sunshine! Even if you live a long time, don’t take a single day for granted. Take delight in each light-filled hour” (The Message).

In that same chapter, Solomon says, “Be generous: Invest in acts of charity. Charity yields high returns. Don’t hoard your goods; spread them around. Be a blessing to others. This could be your last night” (Ecc. 11:1,2 The Message).

Enjoy what you have and share it with others. Live generously and you will find that God is generous with you. Sow thankfulness and you will reap a thankful heart that is a blessing to others. It’s a people magnet: others will be drawn to you because of your heart.

I’m getting a little bit of a late start, but each day I am going to list three things for which I’m thankful, so that at the end of the year, I have 1000. Maybe I’ll even read Ann’s book.

I’ll start big:
1. My salvation
2. My husband
3. The way all my children still like to hug me (my boys are 15 and 13–in 8 days–and my daughter is 9).

Feel free to join me.

The Marriage Mystery

Feb6

In 25 days, David and I will celebrate 21 years of marriage. I can honestly say that, while not easy in the sense that we don’t have to work at it, it’s always been good.

Neither of us had great examples. My dad found it hard to give a compliment, though I think he would have done anything for my mom. And though they were both dedicated church goers, my siblings and I were not brought up to honor the Word of God. But they stayed married, for better or for worse.

David’s parents separated after 48 years of marriage,.

So, David and I are pretty determined to doing everything we can to make our marriage great. We’ve read multitudes of books. We’ve been to marriage conferences and, though I selfishly fought it for years, we saw a marriage counselor about 5 years ago. 

Best move we ever made. It wasn’t that we were in really bad shape, but there were some attitudes and barriers that we just couldn’t overcome without some professional advice. Reading today in Ephesians 5:33, I am reminded that I need to do whatever I can to make my marriage great not only because it’s the right thing to do, but because David and I are a reflection of Christ and the Church. How we live our married lives is a picture to the world of the mystery that is Christ and the Church. I want to be a master painter of that work of art.