Missing Mom

Mar26

Tomorrow, my mom would have turned 78. Hard to believe. Wish she could be around to celebrate. But we lost her to pancreatic cancer four and a half years ago.The last time I saw her was a couple of months before she died. We had planned a family trip out to Cali so the kids could see her, but she didn’t know whether she’d make it that long.

Neither did we. But we hoped.

Here she is with my three kids. She came to spend that first Thanksgiving after my dad died with us. That was the last time my kids would see her. She died the next August. Boy, did she love her grandchildren. It was hard to be far away. She sent gifts and came to see us whenever she could, but it’s not the same as being there.

Though my mom and I were never good at heart-to-heart talks, I miss her still. Mostly, I miss what my children will miss by not having her around.

Happy birthday, Mom. I love you.

Thankful today for:

137. Resolve stain remover

138. games with friends

139. playdates for my doggy

140. VeggieTales

141. fulfilled promises

142. my mom

Of Harry Potter and The Hunger Games

Mar25

What do Harry Potter and The Hunger Games have in common? This is what I notice:

–they both started out as books

–they were both written by women

–the central characters in both series are young

–they are both phenomenally successful

–they both have been denounced by members of the Christian community.

Let me say right now that I would not be one of those members.

On the website http://www.credenda.org, the writer, Douglas Wilson, in a review of “The Hunger Games,” states:

“In short, when you have the privilege of setting up all the circumstances artificially, in order to give your protagonist no real choice about whether to sin or not, it is a pretty safe bet that a whole lot of people in a relativistic country, including the Christians in it unfortunately, won’t notice.”

The gist of the article was that we shouldn’t let our kids watch this movie, or read the book. Wilson says, “But in terms of helping Christian young people set their minds and hearts on that which is noble and right, we can’t even give it one star.”

As a writer, and a follower of Jesus, I can see that I have an obligation to help my readers become better people. But if you are coming from a worldview that does not acknowledge God (and I’m not saying either Suzanne Collins or J.K. Rowling fall into that camp), then you can’t be held to that standard. What these stories do is give parents a chance to actually have meaningful conversations with their kids about what they’re reading.

I have read the Harry Potter series and loved it. I thought the character development was wonderful, the plot amazingly complex and the pace fast and exciting.

I have not yet read The Hunger Games, but I’m fixin’ to, as soon as Justin puts it down.

I talk to my kids about what they read and the worldview adhered to therein. We give them a solid foundation at home and make sure we keep our lines of communication open. I know what they’re reading, I know who their friends are, I have a relationship with my children. I filter the things they can read and watch, but I don’t prohibit all that does not follow the worldview we espouse. Our school calls this living in a wildlife refuge versus a hothouse. They’re exposed to some of the things out there in the world, but protected while they’re at it.

There’s a scene in the second Harry Potter book, The Chamber of Secrets, that holds a great truth. Harry is talking to Professor Dumbledore and is quite concerned about some things that Tom Riddle said to him. He’s afraid he might be like Tom, who is the epitome of evil. In the course of the conversation, the professor helps Harry think through the process that the Sorting Hat went through to put him into the house of Gryffindor. This is what the author said that I thought was so profound:

“‘It only put me in Gryffindor,’ said Harry in a defeated voice, ‘because I asked not to go in Slytherin. . . .’

“‘Exactly,’ said Dumbledore, beaming once more. ‘Which make you very different from Tom Riddle. It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.'”

Romans 7: 15-25 talks about this dilemma: “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good.  As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.  For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

“So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

Harry Potter and his friends do not acknowledge God. The powers they have simply come from within themselves. What a great opportunity to talk to our kids about sin and righteousness and God’s grace.

The Hunger Games  puts young people in an ethical dilemma: kill or be killed. What a great chance to talk to our kids about moral absolutes and where that comes from and how God is not just the giver of life, but Life Himself.

And then pray that those who write things our kids love would begin to see things from God’s perspective.

Thankful today for:

138. Homemade pizza

139. The end of a good book

140. A new book to read at the ready

Pruned

Mar24

February in Florida is the time of year when I give my rose bushes their annual pruning. I was a little late this year and didn’t get to it until March. But, regardless, in Florida, the roses are blooming when I prune them. It’s always a painful thing to cut away the new growth and buds and full blossoms, though I do usually get a vaseful to enjoy inside for awhile. But I know this pruning is necessary to keep the plants healthy.

In the Bible, John 15 talks about pruning: “He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful” (v. 2, NIV84).

Huh.

Pruned even though we’re bearing fruit.

We have a little orange tree in our backyard that bloomed beautifully this year, but now it is carrying way too many little pea-sized oranges for its tiny size. I’m going to have to go out when they get just a little bigger and pull most of them off. Why would I do such a thing? Because if I let them all grow to full size, the little tree couldn’t put its energy into growing because it would be putting all its energy into growing the fruit.

Huh.

Picking off fruit so the tree can grow stronger.

Is God amazing or what? There is order in the universe; there is a lesson in every aspect of nature. Lord, give us wisdom to see it.

Thankful today for:
135. good deals on things I’d like to have
136. gift cards to make those deals even better
137. Kohl’s cash to sweeten the deal

Legoland!

Mar23

Today, we went with nearly all our Trace Academy  families to Legoland. We’d never been there before, mostly because the cost is prohibitive. But this was an optional all-school field trip, and so the deal was unbeatable: four of us got in for less than it would normally cost for one child. I love deals like that. So today, instead of writing much, I’ll show you a part of our day.

First of all, we had to wait until all our families arrived before we could go in. Boy, nobody really wanted to be the last family to arrive. But somebody had to be–half an hour after they were supposed to be there. But by the time we entered, I don’t think anyone even cared that we had to wait that long.

My kids tolerated my taking their picture while we were waiting to enter the park.

I spent most of the day with Morgan, as she didn’t want to go on the rollercoasters her friends were riding.

                                                     Here’s my beautiful girl by a waterfall, not made of Legos.

There were all these mini cities, my favorite of which was San Francisco. It was fun to see my favorite sights, made out of Legos, in the  middle of Florida.

Lots of walking, lots of sweating, lots of standing in lines for a couple of minutes of fun. But, we do it for the kids, right? By the time the place closed down, we were tired but happy.

Thankful today for:
132. my daughter’s good attitude all day
133. people I can trust with my kids
134. laughter

Tempted

Mar22

I’ve sworn off sugar. For the next three weeks, I’m going to see if not indulging in those little (and sometimes not so little) sweet treats will help me begin to lose this stubborn weight that has creeped up on me these last, oh, 20 years.

I might as well admit it right now: I have no will power, nor do I have any self-discipline. The stuff simply must not come into my house, or I will consume it. I should buy myself a really nice dress that is one size too small. Maybe then the goal of fitting into that dress will motivate me.

ImageI’m not too tempted by anything else; I’m not a spender, so shopping doesn’t tempt me. I’m a cheapskate really, so eating out doesn’t tempt me badly enough that I give into it. But chocolate? Truly that is my downfall. And Easter is right around the corner! But if I see great progress in the next two weeks, the success will motivate me to be very careful.

I was reading a devotional by Joyce Meyer this morning. I’m going to borrow from her five steps we can take to be successful in resisting temptation:

First, be wise. It’s like what we always want to see in our children: the knowledge of natural consequences, cause and effect. Look before you leap.

Second, believe that you can resist temptation. In this case, a positive attitude goes a long way toward helping you actually overcome the temptation. If you think you can’t, you’re not even going to try.

Third, think of temptation as normal life. It will always be there, so be ready to fight.

Fourth, avoid areas of weakness. If you are tempted by sugar, don’t hang out in the candy store. It’s pretty simple.

Fifth, don’t give yourself too much credit. We will always, our entire life, face temptations. If we ever think we have it conquered, we’ve already started to lose.

First Corinthians 10:13 was the very first Bible verse I ever memorized: “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man. And God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able. And with that temptation, He provides a way of escape also, that you might be able to endure it.”

The Bible tells us that Jesus was tempted in every way we are, but was without sin. So, if being tempted were sinful, then Jesus never would have experienced it. It’s the giving in to the temptation that’s the problem.

So will I be able to endure the temptations that will come my way in the next few weeks?

I’ll get back to you on that.

Thankful today for:

129. salad

130. spring break

131. flocks of birds flitting by