Archive for June, 2009

Jesus Requires No Photo Copys

Reading a few friends blogs, talking to my family, talking to my husband… all are so important to me and all are so diverse in their Christianity. I was stressed today. Stressed that I haven’t been shining a light like theirs… or that is how I was seeing it…

My thoughts where jolting about like the following ‘ what do my friends want me to look like in Christ, and why am I not like that? what does my family expect of me in Christ and why am I not just like them, since we are related? what does my man expect of me, because aren’t we one?’

I have been feeling like a Spiritual failure. Does that make any sense? Sorry if it doesn’t… So I listened to my own thoughts long enough. I went to call my husband for some encouragement and guidance.

As soon as I picked up the phone I felt the Lord say ‘What about what I want you to look like, who I want to make you, how I see you and how I plan to do a work in you?’ It came so softly that I continued to dial Garnets work number and we chatted about it all.

I told him how I felt like I was letting everyone down. He pointed out it was a mistake to try to look like others. We aren’t all the hand or the eye in the body of Christ… I hadn’t even realised I was doing that till he mentioned it.

He then said something near the end that made me tear up… ‘What about what Jesus wants you to look like?’

Forget others spiritual expectations for me… truth is if I just focus on Christ’s view of me I will be the real me in Jesus and I will not be able to contain the shining LIGHT.

Today, this very minute, I am very excited to focus on what Christ wants me to be!

TTFN

The Crow

That advertisement in our province pains me… you know the one that encourages you not to give to PANHANDLERS… it makes me sad that such a label is used to encourage you not to see those men and women as our brothers and sisters and that you are encouraged to not interact with them personally…

This all came to mind as I read a story about a preacher last night. He rescued a crow, that his son found, trapped by thorns at a dump. He was greatly criticized by farmers who can only see crows as enemies who steal their corn. While explained he totally sees their point of view he explained the parable he saw in the situation…

“And as I saw the Crow from day to day, I considered how content he was not to rob cornfields when other food was furnished unto him, and I wondered how many darkened lives have been made predatory because there was no way found to feed them from that which would have cost others little. For it is not the fault of the Crow, as I suppose, that he hath no red breast like the Robin, or beautiful song like the Nightingale.”

“…but he who holdeth in his hand a living thing that the Thorns have cruelly wounded must not be chided from his Compassion.”

(Parables of a Country Parson, by William E. Barton, pg 188)

Later that day I watched a cheeze-y program I usually wouldn’t stop for but it was rainy and I was in the right mood. It surprisingly had an amazing message, ‘you are your brothers keeper’ and the poor and broken are our brothers. They aren’t ‘the panhandlers’ or ‘the mentally ill’ or so on and so forth but are PEOPLE! I cried and cried as I watched, and not because of the poor acting, but because it was a good message.

I have been wanting to read a very intense book about all this and want to recommend it to you to try out. ‘Under the Overpass” By Mike Yankoski (www.UnderTheOverpass.com) Two regular guys decided to live totally like our poor in a big city and they reveal very honestly how dehumanizing it is out there.

Oh Lord may I never be susceptible or part of dehumanizing rhetoric and labeling of my brothers and sisters.

TTFN

Officially Summer!

OUR FIRST SPRINKLER AFTERNOON!
The kids and I agree it is officially summer when it is hot enough to want to go through the sprinkler. Saturday we broke out the sprinkler and got wet! Big Boy was the most willing to get in there. He was so wet he couldn’t stop shaking and had to lay down in the sun to warm up. Big Girl ran through a couple times but she was worried her nail polish would come off (an excuse to avoid the shock of the cold water). Little woman just screamed when ever her older siblings managed to get her near the sprinkles of water. At one point she put her hands in and that was enough for her. She ran to me screaming ‘Swokenin wet mama! Hands swokenin wet!’
(Little Woman spent as much time as possible coloring the drive way with her chalk and hiding from her big brother and sister. She didn’t like them trying to carry her into the sprinkler fire!)

Baby Boy sat with me. We both got great pleasure out of turning down the water so the big kids would get closer and then turning it up quick to catch them in its sudden burst of ice water.

‘It’s summer time, and the liven in easy…’

TTFN

Painfully Beautiful

Change is painfully beautiful.
When we moved here I was sad at that change in life. Then these irises bloomed in the front bed and gave me hope of the beauty I would eventually find in this transition period of life.
Now I look at them, once again, for the last spring. They will no longer be mine.
They will stay and bless the next renters while our family moves on.
Change is painfully beautiful.
I adore these super fat legs and feet in the grass even though they mean my last new born is gone forever and my little Baby Boy keeps getting further and further from me as he grows bigger and bigger.
I will always lovingly see this chub chub baby in my son, whether he likes it or not.
Change is painfully beautiful.
Oh daughter STOP sitting there so at peace, so full of growing wisdom, so beautifully surprising! I am going to have to run over and squeeze you, a desperate attempt to stop you from growing older… I will then cry and sigh and be SO proud of all that you have become and will become!Change is painfully beautiful.
It makes a mama’s heart well up with great joy and thankfulness to her maker and at the same time her eyes well up with tears at the babies long gone!
It makes her heart burn with in her chest; ablaze with love, hope and sorrow all at once!
A mama’s heart is one big paradox.

TTFN

It’s New!

For now I am trying something new and having an open blog. Because it is open you can subscribe so you know when I put up a new post. If you would like to you can scroll to the very bottom and click on this:

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

and then follow the instructions.

You can also go to your blogger main page by clicking on the above left orange ‘B’ when signed in. Scrolling down you should see an area called READING LIST. Click the tab called BLOGS I’M FOLLOWING and below push the button ADD, you then want to add this blogs address. That way when you log in you should be able to see on that page whenever I have posted.

I honestly don’t know how long I will do the open blog thing. If I switch to private I will send you an invite and give you some notice.

Picked the name for the blog after the parable about picking a wise foundation to build your life on and based on a childhood song that I performed for years with my Dad.

TTFN

If You Give A Two Year Old A Cookie!

If you give a two year old a cookie,
or half a donut,
or a liquorish,
you hope she will wake up and follow you to school with out screaming.
You rub the treat under her nose to wake her up to go BEFORE YOU ARE LATE AGAIN and you coo to her about putting her shoes on then getting the treat BEFORE YOU ARE LATE AGAIN and you hand it to her and take her hand, whisking her out the door BEFORE YOU ARE LATE AGAIN…

If you give a two year old a cookie,
or half a donut,
or a liquorish,
you just might make it on time but don’t sweat it if she screams all the way home about being thirsty and wanting another said cookie, donut or liquorish.

With my head down in shame
I confess this is where I am at
in order to make it through another school day…

TTFN

Parables of a Country Parson

Found a recommendation for this little book of stories on another blog. I am enjoying it, relishing it, eating it up peacefully before bed each night. Such lovely stories, in such rich old English by such a stunningly wise preacher. William E. Barton had a gift for teaching in a wise and humble way.

Here is one story of his I enjoyed, last night, and wanted to bless you with:

Two Shadows

Now it came to pass in the Summer that I sojourned by the side of a Little Lake that lay to the westward of my habitation. And there was an evening when I watched the Sun as it was going down, and behold it was Glorious. And as I turned away from it and entered my dwelling, behold mine own Shadow went before me, and climbed up upon the inner wall of the Room as I entered. And as I went forward, lo, another Shadow rose upon the wall, and it was like unto the first, even mine own Shadow. And I marveled much that one man should cast Two Shadows. And the Thing Seemed Passing Strange.

But the reason was this, that the Sun as it was going down shone on the water and was like unto another Sun, and cast a Shadow even brighter and taller than the Sun in the heavens. For the Sun in the heavens was partly obscured by the trees; but the Sun in the lake cast its reflected rays under the branches and shone clearly. And so it was that in my sight the reflected Sun was brighter than the real Sun, and cast the greater and taller Shadow.

And I thought within my soul how to the men and women the vision of the Most Height God is often obscured; and how there be those who must see the exceeding brightness of His Person by reflected light. And I prayed to my God that such light of Him as I may reflect might reveal to such as behold it the true glory of the Sun of Righteousness.

(Written by William E. Barton, (c) 1998 Hendrickson Publishers, third printing -Jan. 2006, pages 177-178)

Have a beautiful day! May you be blessed to shine the Glory of God today!

TTFN

Heating Up!

Oh is it hot today!
We got out early this morning to draw on the drive way but got chased into the house in no time, thanks to a relentlessly hot sun.As much as I love to wear summer dresses and enjoy warmer weather I am always amazed at how cruel our provinces heat can be!
We have spent the day running a cloth under cold water and wearing them on our necks to keep cool in the house and it isn’t even noon!
I have a feeling we will be having salad for supper since by then it will be hot enough in the kitchen to cook eggs on the counter top!
I wish I handled heat better but I start feeling sick pretty quick… I have spent so many summer afternoons hiding in my basement till evening. So many summer nights blowing a fan out one window to suck in mildly cooler wind in the others…
Well I am going to drink a bunch more home-made ice tea and then chew on the ice… yes I am one of those ladies who eats ice… I just can’t help it!
TTFN

Mom and Tot Get Away Camp!

I think my husband was really surprise I actually went through with this plan! I don’t think I would be called a ‘go getter’ in the area of planning big things with the kids. I like to keep things small, simple and well planned out. Deciding to take my boys (one still nursing) off to a camp (that I had never been to before) for the weekend was out of character… It just felt right so I went for it.I felt lead to do this for my oldest boy, for his relationship with me and I know it was RIGHT! We had been having our struggles lately and he was so out of sorts with me. My little gentleman wasn’t happy around me and I knew he needed some direct attention and time.We all realise girls are emotionally connected but I realized this weekend my boy is really aware of my emotional state. He knew I had been stressed with all the changes in life lately and so he was acting out. By the end of the weekend the puzzle came together. Words like ‘I hate it when you are mad.’ and ‘I don’t want to be mad but you are.’ hit home. I started explaining if I was disciplining him I wasn’t angry, just doing my job. If he could accept the discipline we could both move on. He is a practical boy and normally good natured so he was able to accept that and in no time we where having a blast together.

We had time to talk about why I have been busy and stressed lately and I told him I was sorry for being grumpy. We discussed that when parents are grumpy it doesn’t always mean he has been bad. It isn’t his job to fix it every time I am sad or stressed. He liked my suggestion about praying for mom and dad when we are stressed. “I can do that.” he said… and he was already off playing. He doesn’t need much but he does need that little bit to make it right. My little man is quick to forgive and I love that about his bright little heart!I also realized how much ‘mom chatter’ I have in my head ALL THE TIME! This weekend, with meals and jobs done for us, I was actually present in what ever I was doing. I ate when we where eating, I sat when we where sitting… no thinking about what next, what to do, what didn’t I do, what should I do and so on and so forth. This experience was such a blessing! Just to BE for a while was so sweet!

TTFN

Nine For US!

Last night, well after midnight, MY MAN arrived home from working on our house. He wished me a happy anniversary, I smiled and mumbled a sleepy ‘back at yah honey’.

This morning we kissed and wished one another a lovely day then got back to reality. Packing and renovating leaves no time for romance… today… We have never been big on anniversary plans but we hope to celebrate in July once we are settled into our new house.

We hope to get some couple pictures taken; spend a day walking along the river and eating ice cream together… that is it… I can’t remember the last time we had a couple picture taken… This year is for us… to remember the us and then next year we plan to have a renewal of the vows ceremony for our kids and us.

Letting the memories of our special day come to mind is making me miss him… but he isn’t far away and he is very busy making our house beautiful for me… and I am going to get busy and pack up and clean this rental for him!

You know I love you HONEY!
(Most of the ceremony, nine years ago, I couldn’t stop smiling like a cat who got the canary, but in this picture I see a deeper feeling of not only joy but of the knowledge that he is RIGHT for me!)

TTFN