The Case of the Introverted Mom

     I'm the kind of person that thinks things through.  Actually, that's probably a pretty big understatement.  When I'm given a task, a project, or a problem, my mind immediately goes into overdrive thinking about all the details that need to happen to complete it.  I'm an ISTJ according to the Myers Briggs test, and if I'm honest, it's a bit obnoxious.  I'm certain my sweet, laid-back husband should get a prize for handling all the crazy with so much grace.  It's so bad (although I admit, I usually see it as good...insert evil laugh here...) that at any given time, in my van, you can find grocery bags, ziplock bags, emergency bottled water, emergency snack, a DVD, a DVD player, hand sanitizer, band-aids, and many other things that I'm going to accidentally forget to tell you so I can save some face.   The point is - I think about things.  A lot.

     So how did I miss this? How did I not realize that once kids entered my life, my introverted self would never be the same?  Pre-kids, I had figured out that although I enjoy being social, I needed sufficient down time, where there were no other voices around me so I could "recharge."  I just never realized that my sweet babies would count as people that I needed a break from.  I also failed to realize the implications that they never... ever... leave.  They are there.  Always.  When I'm making breakfast, they're there.  In the car, they are singing along in the back.  When I go to the bathroom, when I'm taking a shower, when I'm trying to sleep...they are always there.  And they are not quiet, contented onlookers.  No, usually their presence is accompanied by demands to be held, changed, fed, or entertained.  Don't get me wrong, I'd choose to have them all over again...it's not a matter of whether or not I love them, or whether or not I want  them.  I do!  Of course I do.

   I just failed to realize that this introverted girl would feel suffocated, drained, and exhausted after being with them.  It's emotional death to me to have to constantly be "on," and we moms know you are ALWAYS expected to be on.  Someone always needs something or is chattering away about something very important like Minecraft, Mickey Mouse, or minions.  (You like that alliteration, there?)  I failed to realize it, so I failed to make provision for it.     It has taken me seven years to finally get it.  Today, during an overwhelmed feeling that has too-often been my companion these seven years, a light bulb finally turned on.  I've always thought that maybe I had too many responsibilities or too many things I had committed too...and that can definitely present a problem.  BUT, I've failed to realize my main problem.  As my family has grown, and added more voices, I haven't met that with sufficient time to rest in the quiet.

     I need time to just be.  I need to just sit and think...or to create something with my hands while my mind processes life.  After the birth of both my second and third child, you could constantly hear me say, "I just can't think right now!"  And I really couldn't.  I found it intensely difficult to make simple decisions during my day.  Now I realize that those infant years were especially hard for me because that sweet little baby was with me 24 hours a day.  I believe that's the way it's supposed to be, but I failed to understand why it was so hard for me.  Truthfully, I thought there was something wrong with me because I was anxious to get through the baby years.  Now I realize that I was suffocating...in need of the fresh air that time alone gives.

    In our world, it can feel so difficult to create time for being alone, and doing absolutely nothing productive.  We often feel guilty asking our significant other to give us time by ourselves when they are usually also very busy people.  And truthfully, we usually marry extroverts (...so they can make the super awkward and stressful small talk in social situations -  can I get an amen??)  who look at us like we have two heads when we try to explain this phenoma of needing time to think and just be.  It's tempting to take the path of least resistance and not even ask for this time...but I'm here to tell you that you MUST fight for it!  It initially seems selfish, but I assure you it's not selfish anymore than taking air into your lungs is selfish.  Sure, you could go too far with it, but as long as you only ask for the amount time required for you to rest and recharge, it is a legitimate need.  When introverts take this time to care for themselves, they become better parents, spouses, friends, co-workers...and the list goes on and on.

      Not an introvert?  Look at the people you're close to, because chances are good that they are introverts.  Although you don't understand this need we have, they'll love you forever if you help them to create down time in their life.

     So do it.  Today!  Even if it's only 15 minutes, take some time to breathe.  You, and everyone around you, will be glad you did.
 
 

now confessing...

Hold the phone...two blog posts in one day?!!  So, I posted the last post as I was spending some time with God.  I've been listening to a study about spiritual gifts lately (anybody else a closet sermon listener?) and I've discovered that my primary spiritual gift is most likely prophecy.  Don't get the wrong idea, not prophecy like an old man with beard whose eyes roll back in his head and he speaks in an eerie voice...nope not like that.  (Whew! You can breathe easier now.)  No, prophecy in the sense that God has put a deep need in me to deliver the word of God to the people in a relevant way.

I'm writing a second post because I realized after posting the other one that it seems a lot like I've got my stuff all together and I'm telling all "you" people that you need to get yours together.  I thought I'd go ahead and clear that up :-)  Drum roll please....  I don't have it together.  Nope, sure don't.  And contrary to popular belief, the title of pastor's wife doesn't come with the added bonus of your stuff somehow getting itself together.  Wouldn't that be nice!  :-)

God softly spoke after that last post and reminded me that anyone can write a devotional.  It's not bad to write a devotion.  In fact, it's great, especially if it brings clarity to someone's relationship with God.  However, God's call for me in writing this blog is to bring his word to people with a big side helping of transparency.  That's hard.

So, I thought that while I thought through my sins, I'd list some out for you to look through and see if it rings a bell with you.  Keep in mind, I'm coming up with this list after praying and then listening.

• I like to do things my own way, thinking I know better than God.  This is wrong because it is worshipping myself instead of God.
• Once I do things my own way I get mad when things aren't how I hoped they'd be, then I turn and complain to God...earning me the title of being ungrateful.
• I tend to think that what I've got to do during a certain day is more important than spending time with God and re-aligning my heart to him through reading his word.  This is also worshipping myself and my to-do list rather than taking time to recognize and worship God daily.
• I let my priorities get out of whack too often.  I find myself throwing all of my effort into work and neglecting my family when I know God has called me to first care for my husband and family, and then work with what's leftover.  Once again I'm worshipping something other than God: a job...thinking it will give me worth instead of finding my worth in God.
• It's hard for me to rest.  I struggle deeply with taking a sabbath.  Upon reflection, I realize this is telling God once again that I know how to do things better than He does, and once again worshipping myself.
• Too often I find myself talking less than honorably about someone.  It pains me so much to admit it.  I've been the victim of slander and felt its stab, so it's incredulous that I'd do it to someone else.  God calls us to love each other, especially our brothers and sister in Christ.  I hate this one with a passion.  
• On average, I worry more about how I appear on the outside to other people, than how my heart is on the inside...which means I'm putting people's approval of me on the throne, which is where God should be.  
• I can be so selfish.  I can put my needs and desires above others so quickly.  This is definitely not how God wants me to be.  
• Too often instead of honoring and caring for my husband, I find myself nagging or talking to him in a less than honorable way. Ugh!  He is the biggest blessing in my life outside of what Christ did to me.  Why would I ever treat him as anything except that?  More importantly, I'm directly disobeying God's word which commands me to honor my husband.

I'm sure that as long as I could sit here, I could think of sins to list...and it pains me to realize what a sinful person I am, but it's also good.  It's good because I realize how much I miss the mark of being holy, and therefore my great need for a savior.  Does this list make you feel any better?  I hope it does.  We're all messed up.  But God loves us too much to let us stay that way if we'll only surrender to Him.  Aren't you glad God desires to make beautiful things out of us?

If any of this is something you wanna talk about, or just want someone else praying for you, email me at starbygrace@gmail.com.  I'd be honored to hear from you!  

Blue Lights

I'm grabbing my keys, my purse, and running out the door.  I throw my things into the passenger seat, and throw the car in reverse.  I tear out of the driveway and gun it to the stop sign at the end of my road.  Once on the main road I push the accelerator, knowing I'm late....and thinking that maybe I can make up some time.  I'm watching the clock and my speedometer creep up as my stomach drops because a blue light shines out of my mirror.  NO!!  I don't have the time...or money...for this!!

As I'm driving away from the police cruiser, I feel totally deflated.  My ticket, with it's heavy fine, is laying beside me and I dread bringing it through the door and admitting it happened.  Why?  Do a gut check with me.  If this has happened to you, do you hate it happened because you loathe the fact that you were speeding, which you clearly know is illegal....or do you hate it happened because you got caught and the repercussions of getting caught?  

If you're like me, it's most likely because I got caught...because it's going to make me uncomfortable.  It's not going to feel good having to pay that money and tell my spouse that I got a ticket.  It's not going to feel good if this ticket causes my insurance to go up, causing me to pay more money to the insurance company each month.  

So if you're like me, and the reason you hate it happened was because of the repercussions, then we're completely missing the point.

This is what happened to the Israelites.  If you read my last post you remember talking about the Israelites and how they were wondering around in the desert.  Now, in Numbers 14, they had actually made it to the promised land that God had told them about, they had sent spies into the land to scope it out, and then they had decided that it was to scary to do as God told them to do.  They decided they would NOT go into the Promised land.  At this point God is fed up with them and tells Moses he is done with these people and how they continually do their own thing and reject Him.  He tells them that there will now be consequences for their disobedience.  Once Moses relays this message, the people freak out and change their tune.  They now decide that they will go into the promised land and take it as God had told them to do earlier.  The only problem is that God is not with them in this expedition, and therefore they are defeated on a grand scale.

Summary:  
God said go take the promised land - People say, "No, too scary...we'll do things our way."              
God says don't go into the promised land - People say, "We will go conquer the promised land on our own!" 

(Does this sound familiar to any parents out there???)

What in the world made these people act this way?  (Maybe a few fries short of a Happy Meal??)  I want to grab these people out of the Old Testament, shake them and tell them to get a clue.  Then I get a clue.  They disobey because they are stubborn and think they know better than God.  So God says, "Ok...you wanna do things your way?  Then here are your consequences."  The people see the consequences and they change their tune.  Which brings us back to the question we asked earlier about our ticket - are the people sad enough to change their mind because they loathe their sin of being disobedient or because they don't want to deal with the consequences?  It would seem they only change because of the consequences that they hear are coming.  

This is what we do too often.  We do things our way, over and over and over...until we get ourselves into a crap ton of mess...and then we cry out to God.  We wonder why in the world He would let our life turn into this.  Sometimes we even get MAD at God.  Like it's his fault.  After all the anger, we usually eventually feel sorry.  We are sorry for the mess we've created.  Maybe we work to fix the mess or maybe God, in his infinite mercy, fixes it for us.  And then we're happy campers...because life is good again.  

But...where was the mourning over our sin?  Where in the process did we name our sin...the sin that caused the whole mess.  The sin that causes God so much sadness.  The sin that claimed the life of his son.  Where in the process did we apologize to God and ask him to help us change?  

If we skipped that step, then we missed it.  

But!  Take heart, because there is hope.  There is always hope with God, which is an amazing thing about being a Christ-follower.  If you're reading this, then it's not too late to go back and do that ever important step.  It may even be that you just don't feel remorse over your sin.  Ask God to help you understand what your sin is.  Name it.  Call it out.  Confess it to someone you trust, and take away its power over you.  Spend some time realizing the weight of sin's effect on you and those around you. (Because you know our sin never effects just us, right?)  

Then comes the best part...

Once you've truly understood the weight of that sin that God is going to help you overcome...you've truly mourned it having any place in your life...then comes joy.  And it's so sweet.  So refreshing.  

So do it right now.  Ask God to show you your sin.  Confess that you messed up and it hurt you, God, and those around you.  Realize the weight of it, but then throw it off.  Cast it onto the cross where it's dealt with once and for all and then be done with it.  Lay down the sin and pick up the joy.

Round and Round

Have you ever been there....walking in circles, your life stuck in the same cycle....over and over and over and over?  I have too, and it isn't a fun place to be.  I may think my situation is unique, but it's not.  People have been walking in circles since the book of Numbers was written, which was....well, a long time ago.

In Numbers, the Israelites were in one of those cycles.  I'll give you the short version of their story.  They were in slavery.  Bad, right?  God rescued them.  And he didn't just open up the gates of freedom and say, "You're free to go!"  But he pulled out all the stops.  He turned water to blood, he sent frogs, gnats, flies...  He covered the slave-owners in boils and finally, he killed the first born sons of the people who were enslaving the Israelites.  God was sending the message that He's no joke.  Then, on their way out, he parted the Red Sea for his people to cross through.  I mean, come on people - God. parted. a. sea.  A sea!  He made the water move out of the way for you.  If that's not miraculous, I'm not sure what is.  If that doesn't make you believe in the power and majesty of God, then you've got no hope.  Right?  So after that amazing rescue what follows is an endless flow of praise and thanks for their God.  I wish.  That would be the appropriate response, but it's not the Israelites' response.  Actually, it was just the opposite.  Out of their mouths came an incessant flow of complaining and whining.  They complain about the food.  They complain about their leaders.  They complain about the promised land that God wants to give them.  As a result of their doubting, their mistrust, their lack of gratitude, they wander in the dessert.  For 40 years!!  40 years of wandering because they choose to give themselves to fear and cravings instead of giving themselves to God and trusting.  Just trusting.

Every time I read this story I get so mad at these dumb people.  "Why can't you open your eyes?!  God showed you how amazing He is over and over!  He poured out his extravagant love on you in the form of a magnificent rescue.  He even manifested himself in the form of a CLOUD that stayed with you...you could actually SEE him.  On top of that, he provided supernatural food for you each day.  What's your problem??"

Then...I feel a tap on the shoulder.  It's God, and he's pointing to the story...the part where the people are ungrateful.  The part where God has shown up two chapters before in miraculous ways and yet this chapter the people don't believe.  The part where the people are walking in circles because they aren't trusting Him.  He says, "See that?  Right now, that's your story too."  And it is.

God has rescued me so many times.  He has provided innumerable things for me and my family.  When someone asks me why I believe in God my answer is I believe because I've seen him work in my life, in my family's life.  I've seen his hand and I hear his voice.  Just like the Israelites.  Yet, just like those dumb Israelites I am often a silly girl who forgets and I find myself complaining, doubting, and therefore walking in circles.

I've decided I'm tired of circles.  Aren't you?  They're so pointless.  They're demoralizing and frustrating.  Mainly, they get us nowhere fast.  I don't want to go nowhere.  I want to go somewhere.  Don't you?

So what's our exit strategy?   I think it's found in the same story.  See, if you're going in circles in your life, like I feel like I sometimes am, we can recognize the story we're in and we can choose to exit that story and step into the one God has written for us.  That's the great news.  God had planned great things for his people the Israelites.  He had planned for them to enter this beautiful land full of God's abundance...but they wouldn't go.   They were afraid.  They chose to trust their past experience, their desire for comfort, their craving for the tasty foods of Egypt (the land they were enslaved in)...they trusted those things but not God.  But there was one.  Caleb.  He chose to trust God.  He decided that although the odds looked like they were stacked against them, that God overcame all of those odds.  He decided that if God had told them to "Go," then God would make a way.  He proclaimed that God being on their side was the only thing they should take into account when deciding whether to follow God or not.  And Caleb was right.  The proof is that he was the only one (the only ONE) who got enter the promised land.

So, today we get to choose.  What is God asking you to do?  Has he told you a direction to go in?   Maybe....apologize to someone who is unforgivable?   Quit your job with all its comforts and go in a different direction?  Step up and lead in a new and unfamiliar area?  Whatever it is, you have a choice.  You can choose to follow God into the promised land or continue to walk in circles in the dessert.  You can choose abundant life in God's hands or a keep doubting in the dessert and walk in circles in your strength.  Doesn't seem like a hard decision does it?

You only have to choose.  God will do the rest.  You don't have to have a plan of how you're going to follow him.  He's got that for you.  You just have to follow.  You have to let him guide your steps instead of letting fear take you in circles.

I don't know about you, but I will choose God.  I'm tired of the circles.  They stink.

23The steps of a man are established by the Lord,

when he delights in his way;

24 though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,

for the Lord upholds his hand.

Psalm 37:23-24

Unplugged

Our family made the switch to online television a few years back.  It seemed like a great idea during a time when we needed to cut our bills as much as possible.  I think all of us (kids included) have enjoyed the switch...except when the Roku decides to quit working.  (For those of you not familiar with internet tv, a Roku is a device that allows the internet and your tv to talk so you see the picture on your tv.)  When it quits working usually the only thing that will fix it is to completely unplug it, wait a few minutes, and then plug it back up.  Then it works beautifully!

This is what I've been doing for the past 2+ weeks.  I've unplugged myself.  See, I was plugged into food.  Sounds weird, I know...but let me explain.  Maybe you can relate?  See food had me.  I may have gone to the grocery store and said  that I got some food, but the truth is that the food had gotten me.  It was like I couldn't resist as much as I might have wanted to.  (And honestly, sometimes I didn't even want to resist.)    I just thought it was a bad habit...nothing to be concerned about because most people I knew seemed to share the same opinion of food.  However God had a different idea.  He started letting me see that since food had me, that it was an idol.  It was taking the place of God in my life.  

I know!  I thought the same thing - that's ridiculous.  It's really not that serious.  It's just food.  The problem is...it wasn't just food.  It was my go-to.  It was my comfort when I was sad, tired, or angry.  It was my hope when I was bored or frustrated.  It was my god.  It was painful but God showed me this fact...slowly.  I don't think I could've or would've accepted the idea if he didn't gradually let me absorb this fact.  It just sounds ludicrous.  But one thing you can always count on with God is that he's always right.  Like it or not :-)  

So...he was right.  It was an idol.  Thankfully I say it was.  God showed me how to unplug myself...much like I have to do with our Roku when it stops working.  I unplugged and stopped eating my comfort foods cold turkey.  It was hard at first, but thanks to some support from my hubby who did this with me, it has been a huge success.  I'm still in the baby stages, because I've only been eating this way for 2.5 weeks, but there is hope.  God has given me the strength to do this when I KNOW I couldn't do it on my own strength.  The best part is that God has allowed me to see how much better things work when I follow his plan.  My body is much happier, and I'm finally starting to lose weight (although that wasn't my goal.)  

I'm writing about this and telling you my somewhat embarrassing confession to ask you what you've put in front of God.  Ask him if you don't know.  He'll tell you...and then he'll give you a plan and strength to carry out that plan.  He's pretty amazing you know.  He loves us and wants the best for us. He always has.  And always will.  

"...give us today our daily bread."

Embrace

Romans 8:31-39 

The Message (MSG)

^31-39 So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture:

They kill us in cold blood because they hate you.
We’re sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one.

None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.

(taken from biblegateway.com)

Dear God, I love your truths.  The truths like this, that you can really grasp and hang onto for dear life when the going gets rough.  There's nothing that can come between me and you.  Nothing.  Even if my kids are the ones screaming at the grocery store, pulling things off the shelf, you won't disown me.  Even if I am late.  Again.  For the 100th time.  You won't take your love from me.  Even if the ones I care about most on this Earth throw hateful, tearing insults at me, you won't join in.  No, you'll be there for me, to pick me up...and wrap me in your arms...and whisper that you'll never leave me.  

It brings me to tears...this kind of love.  I love my children more than anyone except my husband and even with them sometimes I hesitate.  I hate to admit it, but I do.  When they've made me so mad I can't see straight, I hesitate when I have to tell them it's ok, that I forgive them...because I just want to wrap myself in my anger and stay there for some weird reason.  I hesitate to give them that hug they are asking me for when they are covered from head to toe in dirt and something that's blue and sticky...because I don't want to get dirty.  Yet, the sin that covered me was so much worse to you than dirt, and you didn't hesitate.  You embraced me...even in my condition.  You embraced me and gave your most precious possession to us.  

Keep this at the front of my mind always.  Remind me what I was covered in before your embrace.  Remind me what I could do for myself (nothing) before you.  Remind me what you did for me.  I am so humbled by you and your love...and your faithfulness...and your mercy.  Remind me of these things when pride is rising up inside me.  Remind me of these things when I think I've got much to busy of a day to spend any time with you.  (What in the world??!)  Remind me of these things when I feel I'm better than someone else.  (We were both your dirty, sticky, nasty kids before your embrace covered us.)  

I love you so much Lord, but I have so much to learn.  Teach me.  Thank you that you won't give up on me.  I ask you for these things in your son's name.  Amen.

More Than We Can Handle

You've heard it before, I know you have...especially if you live in the south.  It's one of those things people say to each other that's supposed to make you feel better.  It's said with good intentions, but it's not true.  In fact it's absolute crap.

I've heard it from friends, from random people in the grocery store when they see the packages overflowing from my cart and my three children in tow, and most recently I even heard it from my doctor.  "God doesn't give you more than you can handle."

It's just not true people.  Don't believe the hype.  If it was true, then man...I'd feel like an absolute failure more days than not.  At this point in time I'm finishing up a season in my life where I have three children at home with me (5, 3, and 5 mos), I work 31 hrs a week (at home....somehow), and I'm still responsible for the household business (meals, grocery shopping, bills, cleaning, laundry...you get the idea).  Add onto that the most recent development of getting our house ready to sell and trying to keep it spotless for house showings.  I don't know if you are superman/woman...but I am most definitely not.  And if, at any point in time I might have thought I was...this present season of life that I described above would have convinced me otherwise. The truth is it's more than I can handle most days.

Don't get me wrong...I live a very blessed life with an amazing, godly husband, three healthy children, and caring friends and family to do life with.  So, i'm not saying that I'm miserable.  However, most days things are DEFINITELY more than I could handle. It's just the facts.

Forget my life and look at examples in the Bible...
Moses - He was given the task of leading God's people out of slavery in Egypt.  He was the one who led the people through the Red Sea.  More than he could handle?  I'd guess yes.  In fact...we don't have to guess.  Re-read the story and you'll see that when God first tells him his assignment, he tells God that the assignment is too much for him.

Daniel - Remember the scary sleepover with the lions?  Yep, Daniel was the one who did that.  Or was he?  I'm pretty sure Daniel wasn't the muscles behind that miracle...and I'm also certain it was more than he could handle.  (If I think three hungry kids are too much...what about three hungry lions...yeahhhhh, I'll pass!)

David - He killed the giant with the rock.  Or did he?  Again, I'm guessing the situation was a little more than kid-version David could handle.  Maybe David isn't the one who deserves the credit...

We could go on and on with examples from the Bible, and probably examples from your life and mine...or people we know.  Enter Jesus.  Before Jesus we were under the law, meaning we had to keep all of God's laws and commandments in order to spend eternity in heaven and not in hell.  Too much to handle?  Ummm, yes!  No one....let me repeat that...no one could keep the law.  God knew that and he had compassion on us because of his great mercy and love.  God is a rescuer.  He always has been and always will be.  So he sent Jesus.  Fully man and fully god - the only who could fulfill the law and save us from a situation that was too much for us to handle.

In the message version of Matthew 19:26, Jesus says this to a man who thinks he's got the situation under control:

"Jesus looked hard at them and said, 'No chance at all if you think you can pull it off yourself.  Every chance in the world if you trust God to do it.'"

There you have it folks.  Jesus has laid to rest this cultural lie that claims 'God doesn't give you more than you can handle'.  It's simply not true.  We DO end up with more than we can handle.  Sometimes we do it to ourselves, but other times it happens regardless of what we do.  (Side note - I think people get this mixed up with the verse that says God won't tempt us beyond what we can bear, in 1 Cor 10:13)  But the best news is...
                         ready for it?.....

God can handle it.

He's got it.

No problem or circumstance is too much for him.

He wants us to come to him.  He wants us to ask for help.  He's telling me and you to quit trying to be superwoman or superman and instead ask him to rescue us in the midst of our situation that is too much to handle...and then watch for God to do his thing.  Because he will.  He always does.  Because he loves us.

Word.

It's been a while since I posted....and I decided that was ok :o)  I want this blog to be an outlet, not an item on a to-do list, and I seriously want it to be something God uses.  SO, I'm trying to be ok with my super sporadic posting, and hope you will too!

I've been thinking about this for a while, but it seems like today is the day God prompted me to write about it.  (That and the fact that I can actually think because my kids are in Mother's Morning Out for a few hours ;o)  The question that's been plaguing me is a question for those of us who call ourselves Christ-followers.  If you're not a Christ-follower, I'd love for you to keep reading...but this question doesn't apply to you.

Christ-followers are supposed to be just that, right?  People who follow Christ.  Who is Christ?  We'd probably all give a slightly different answer to that question, but think on this:

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth John1:14

So...one answer to the question is that Christ was the Word.  Well, what is the Word??  The word is God's word...in other words the Bibles that most of us in this country have several copies of in our homes.  We may even have an app on our phone that holds multiple versions of the Bible.

We say we're Christ-followers, but Christ, or Jesus, is the Word...and from what I can tell we don't read the Word.  That means we don't know Jesus.  If we don't know Jesus...obviously we can't follow him very far, right?  What the heck??!

We will listen to our preacher, listen to Andy Stanley, Mark Driscoll, Perry Noble, Steven Furtick, Billy Graham...we'll even listen to some random person writing a blog, talking on tv, or posting on Facebook...before we'll open our Bibles.  I'm not saying these people are bad, in fact a lot of the preachers I mentioned above have some great revelations to share.  But - the fact is, they are NOT a substitute for the Word.  How many of them can put on their resume that they've been here since the beginning of time, that they are God, have always been with God, made the universe, and embody love itself?  Ummm...I'm guessing none of them have that rep.  (Not even that person on Facebook that seems to know everything and have THE perfect life.)

So the question is - WHY???  We have so many situations in our lives that we want advice for...we want to know what the right thing to do is...we want to know why everything is falling apart around us.  Yet, we don't go Jesus, we don't go to the Word, we don't crack open that Bible.  Let's save ourselves some time and heart ache and just realize the truth:  if you haven't opened the Bible then you're not following Christ...you cannot possibly know where Christ is going or where He wants you to go if you don't know where He's been, his character, and how he feels about you.  We learn all of this through the Bible, through Jesus...ever wondered why Hebrews 4:12 calls the Word of God "living and active?" Because it IS...it's Jesus.  It's a person...living and breathing...and who wants to be active in your life.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.2 He was in the beginning with God.3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.4 In him was life,t and the life was the light of men.5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John1:1-5

There's a promise in these verses above.  Did you catch it?  Here's the sequence:
Jesus (the Word) has always been
Jesus has always been with and a part of the God (this is that confusing, yet true fact that God is 3 in1)
Everything was made through God..through the Word
There is life in the Word
That life is a light that can be in us
If we allow that light in us, it will NOT be overcome...not even by the world.

There's not much you can count on in this world...in fact, there's nothing that we can be sure of.  Not government, not retirement, not even our friends and family because they could be gone tomorrow...BUT God and his Word will never be gone, and the light and life he promises will NEVER be overcome.  Pretty amazing.

Hold that up to advice from Facebook, that tv talk show host, that sermon you can listen to ...and see how it compares :o)  Fact is, it doesn't.  Do it today - open up the Bible, release yourself from any expectations you have about how it should be done (more on this in another post), and trust that God will do the work of showing you who He is because you are seeking him!  As you get to know Jesus, your life will change radically - and it'll be amazing.

the RIGHT way

I'm pretty good at coming up with the RIGHT way to do things...I mean, isn't it obvious to everyone that there is a right way and a wrong way?  For instance...

In the shower, do you have a routine?  I definitely do...because there is only one right way to take a shower.  (Didn't know if you knew that or not...but I'm giving you that tidbit for free)
Steps to CORRECTLY take a shower:

1. You should always shampoo your hair first, rinse, then put conditioner on your hair. 
2. Conditioner needs to sit for a little while, so you let it sit while you wash the rest of your body (except your back)
3. After washing, you can rinse out your conditioner...but that greasy conditioner is going to run down your back.
4. So...of course, you wash your back last to get the conditioner off of it.

And that, my friends, is how you correctly take a shower.  Man, don't you feel enlightened?

SADLY, I feel like this a lot...like I know exactly how things should be done and how they shouldn't.  Our culture says this is a great thing, especially if you're a woman...you know, Beyonce's "independent women" and all that jazz.  Turns out it's NOT a great thing - thinking you have all the answers.

I was reading in 1 Chronicles 13, and was shocked to see that in the early parts of David's reign as king, he got a man killed.  (Wasn't he supposed to be an awesome king?!?)  See, David got the idea to move the Ark of the Lord, and set about the task enthusiastically.  Unfortunately, in the process of carrying it, the ark looked a little shaky and a man named Uzzah tried to help out.  Uzzah thought he was doing the right thing - steadying the ark so it wouldn't fall or be hurt in any way.  Sadly that one move cost him his life.  So, you're probably asking how that's David's fault?  Well...David was the one in charge...he was the leader.  God put him in charge of the people, and when you're in charge (like it or not) people will usually do what you tell them to do and will act just like you act.  Before moving the ark, David talked to his officials and lots of other people, but he forgot to talk to God about it.  Since he didn't talk to God about it, he didn't give God the chance to tell him that there was a very specific way to move the Ark... that if these ways were neglected, lives could be at risk.

David learned though.  The next time he was going to do something big, he asked God about it first.  He was thinking of going into battle....but...he remembered his mistake last time, and did better this time.  He asked God whether this was something he should do or not.  God said he should do it, and gave him victory in the process.  In fact, most of the time after that, David remembered to consult God first.  (That's probably one of the greatest contributing factors to him being a great king.)

We get so puffed up on ourselves...and even get ticked when someone tells us the way we're doing something is wrong.  Truthfully, I know sometimes I don't want to ask God how to do it.  (...and in those times I'm being a stupid girl!)  God always wants us to talk to him about what we're doing.  He wants us to remember that we're human...that he's almighty, all-powerful God...that we can screw this thing up BIG time...but that he will graciously and lovingly guide us through the landmines of life.  I'm not talking of a prosperity gospel philosophy here - there will still be difficult times in life.  However, when you're doing things God's way, to say things go so much better is a pretty huge understatement.  The best thing about talking to him constantly is the relationship that develops between you and him.  You begin to know him, and realize how intimately he knows and loves you.

So, I'm challenging myself and you for the next 2 weeks to ask God....

....what to do with your day
....whether you should buy that new____ or not
....how you can bless someone today
....how to confront that person you're upset with
....what to do about the ever increasing problems in your marriage
...how you should vote (gasp!)
...what you should wear (really)
...what to do with your kids that are driving you nuts (God understands frustrating kids :)
and the list could go on and on....

Try it.  Take your decisions to God for the next 2 weeks.  Big or little issue...it doesn't matter.  Try it out and see how things change.  (Of course I'd love to hear your stories of what God does as a result!!)

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."  Phillipians 4:6

The return

It's the moment you've been waiting for....that moment when you see that I've returned to my blog writing to entertain and encourage you.  ............No?  Well, a girl can dream, right?  :)

Truthfully, it's actually the moment that I have been waiting for...for a while.  For about 4 weeks I've been MIA from the blogging world.  In fact I've been MIA from the real world too.  I found out I was pregnant with baby #3 in late April.  After I got over the shock of realizing I really was going to have another baby...then the pregnancy nausea set in.  Now, with the first two pregnancies, I had some nausea, but I now realize that was pansy nausea.  I'm not sure what's different about this child, but dang...something is.  (I'm trying to convince myself it has nothing to do with being the big 3-0 in this third pregnancy. Yikes!)  This nausea hit me like a wall when I woke up and was my constant buddy ALL....DAY...LONG.  And let me tell you I was one happy camper.  (you got that sarcasm, didn't you?)  Not only did I feel sick to my stomach, but I also felt like I had the flu (what the....??)  PLUS, (yes, there's more) I was starving all day long but my stomach didn't understand that.  Everything I tried to eat only lasted about 3 bites before my stomach realized I was trying to put something in it and quickly rejected it.  I was one miserable girl.  (Translation:  my poor family was miserable too.)

Now,  I realize that some of you have to endure so much worse during your pregnancy(s) and I am fully in support of petitioning the capitol to create a national holiday in honor of mothers that have to deal with this kind of insanity....wait.  Crud, I think there already is one of those.  Heck, we should have TWO days.  Anyone with me?

Seriously though, you're my heroes.

So in the 4 weeks that I've been gone, here's what I did:

• Went to the beach, felt sick most of the time, drank lots of Ginger Ale (can't look at Ginger Ale now)
• Came home, got worse
• Slept a lot...my kids watched a lot of tv
• Slept some more...my kids watched A LOT of tv
• Slept...(Well, you get the idea)
• In the midst of all this fun, Noah, my 2 yr old decided this would be a good time to potty train.  All I could do was laugh!  I was glad he found the motivation himself, but not so glad at his amazing timing.  (You know the only thing worse than feeling nauseous is feeling nauseous and having to clean out poop out of the little potty training potties.  Oh.  my.)  More to come on this later...
• Our neighbor mowed our grass (it was about 2 ft high - is that bad? :) because he figured our mower was broken.  In actuality, my sweet husband was working his tail off trying to stay afloat at work, while coming home to take care of me and the kids.  I love that man.  We were both grateful to our neighbor...even if it is somewhat embarrassing that your neighbor had to mow your grass.

But...I can say there was a rainbow at the end of this storm.  I came out of this with one nasty house...but my kids were alive and my husband still loved me.  My husband helped me resurrect the house this Saturday, and I can honestly say I feel so thankful for all that God gives.  In the midst of my complaining to God, or asking him for this or that...I too often forget to be thankful.  And oh, once you've lost a grateful attitude, it all goes down the crapper.  One of my sisters is going through a rough period with her health, and the other is WAY pregnant with no AC in the house she's staying at.  Even though they've had so much going on, they've called to see how I am.  Many of my friends that don't even know my sister with the health issues have sent food, prayers, and sweet emails.  If that's not enough to make you thankful, you might be dead.  So...I decided that although the past 4 weeks sucked, I'm thankful.  I'm thankful for the energy to write this, for a God who loves me no matter what I or my house looks like, for loving and understanding family and friends...and I could go on and on.  If we're honest with ourselves most of us should be able to go on and on (regardless of our circumstances)...if you can't, you may need to do a heart check.   

Thanks for being patient with me and my blogging - I'm returning to normalcy, (whatever that is) so you'll hear more soon...

'

Why Didn't You Tell Me?

You know, when I was pregnant with our first child, Ella, I thought I pretty much knew what to expect.  I was thinking along the lines of some crying, lots of changing diapers, discipline as she got older, making messes, etc.  However, there are just some things no one told me kids would do...and I have to say I've been pretty appalled to discover them along the way.  If your kids are older than mine (4 and 2) then this will come as no surprise to you!  BUT, if you aren't a parent or your children are still very little...then prepare yourself.

Things I didn't know kids would do:

1. Try to put things in my nose.  I was prepared for things going up their nose...but was pretty shocked when the first thing went up mine!  Take my word for it, this is NOT a pleasant experience.
2. WANT to touch every dirty thing imaginable.  I knew they would probably accidentally touch dirty stuff, because, hey...they're kids....but they STRIVE to touch dirty things.  Ugh!  This ranges from public potties, to the grocery store parking lot, to that chewed up, smashed gum stuck in the parking lot.  (I think I could throw up thinking about it...moving on...)
3. Not go to bed.  I'm not talking about when they're a baby.  I had that one pegged.  I'm talking about my 4 yr old who still wakes up some nights and wants some random thing like a stuffed animal before she'll go back to sleep...or my 2 yr old who will lay in his bed jabbering for HOURS on end, refusing to go to sleep.
4. Hurt me.  Repeatedly.  You'd think this was mainly my son's doing, but they actually share the blame for this one.  Noah frequently head butts me with that hard little noggin of his, while Ella (unlike her name, Ella Grace) hasn't yet mastered being graceful and frequently runs into me, drops things on me, steps on my toes. etc.  For a while I was convinced I must be invisible because of the amount of times they walked on me or into me.
5. Melt my heart.  Yeah, I had to throw a sappy one in there...I AM a hormonal pregnant woman, after all.  Truly though, I knew I'd love my children.  Of course.  But I had no idea how a hug or smile could make me melt.  Just tonight I was laying on the couch looking pretty green, and nursing the bloody nose Ella had just given me when Noah came up and said, "Poor mommy!"  Ella was standing nearby, looking at me intently, and told me how sorry she was.  I don't love getting hurt, but man...they know how to make it all worth it. :o)  

What about you?  What has shocked you about your kids?

What Happened Wednesday

There's always that question you get at the beginning of the week..."How was your weekend?"  ...and it's a good question as long you have a good answer for it.  BUT, if your true answer for that question is, "It was terrible, horrible, rotten, and pretty much no good, "  or some other answer that is just as socially awkward, then we usually give the standard answer, "Fine."  Three weekends ago my answer to the weekend question would've been "fine."  Translation - It was pretty shocking, but I really don't want to talk about it right now.  That shock has been the reason I've been MIA to the blog world for a few days...so I figured I'd let you in on that weekend.

You probably know what's coming....but I'm going to pretend you don't :)  So...the weekend started off normal, but this weekend I was supposed to get the dreaded period on Saturday.  Saturday came and went...no period.  My period is usually like clockwork, so I thought about it,... but chalked it up to the new eating  habits along with being super active the past couple of weeks.  Sunday morning I was spending some time with God, talking through some things with Him.  One of things that crossed my mind (obviously), was this period issue.  So, I told God that if I was pregnant, He was really going to have to help me through this...and I had one of those Holy Spirit moments.  Ever had one of those?  They're pretty crazy...but for me it's like I get this overwhelming feeling that I KNOW something is true...usually accompanied by goose bumps.  (I know, if you're not a Christ follower this may sound hokey, but I'm just telling it like it is.  If you check out some stories in the Bible you'll see God has actually been talking to His followers since He created us.  What's changed is our society - if we can't explain it with facts, figures, and research, then we deem it non-existent.)  Well, the thing that the Holy Spirit allowed me to KNOW was that I WAS in fact preggo.  Wow.  I just sat there.  For a while.

I went to church and tried to act like everything was normal.  It wasn't.  I went to buy a test after church, and tried to calmly take it.  I wasn't so calm.  Once it was positive, I tried to keep it to myself for a little bit to let the news sink in.  I didn't.  I told my husband through sobs. (Anybody else been there?)  It wasn't that I wasn't happy to have a new little addition to our family...it was ALL THE DETAILS.  Would we have to get a new car? (Which is always accompanied by another car payment)  Would we have the finances to pay for all of this? (We both LOVE our jobs, but we both work in ministry, remember? :)  And on and on and on....  I have to say my husband gets mad props.  He assured me, calmed me down, and reminded me God would provide.  God has been doing the same thing, continually reminding me that he provides.  (The passage he keeps telling me is included at the bottom.)

So...I'm feeling much better about things, I'm starting to trust God and feel the joy that comes with knowing a new life is growing.  Unfortunately, I'm also feeling much worse physically.  The nauseau has hit, and unlike my other two pregnancies, this nauseau likes to hang around aaaallllllll   ddddaaaaayyyyy.  Ugh!  In fact, as I talk to you I'm wearing my oh-so-fashionable sea bands and sipping on some Ginger Ale.  So I'll have to ask you to forgive me if my blogging suffers for the next few weeks...I'm sure you don't want to read about my puking :)

Slightly Green,
    Lindsey


Here's the passage that's been super encouraging to me:

"That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life-whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear.  Isn't life more than food, and your body more than clothing?  Look at the birds.  They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them.  And aren't you far more valuable to him than they are?  Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?  And why worry about your clothing?  Look at the lilies of the field and hot they grow.  They don't work or make their clothing yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are.  And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you.  Why do you have so little faith?"  Matthew 6:25-30

This is a page from my childrens' bible.  When I read this story to them
called, "The Singer," it hit home so much I cried.  This is an amazing
bible.  If you need one for your kids I highly recommend it.  It's called The
Jesus Storybook Bible and is available on Amazon.

(how lucky we are to have a God that loves us THAT much.  :)

Fast Fix Friday

Yeah...it's been a while, and it's been one crazy week.  You never have those though, do you?  Anywho - this Fast Fix Friday project was a great one for someone just starting to dip their toes into the DIY world.  It was really super quick, didn't require much technical skill, and (my favorite) was CHEAP!

The first thing I did was go thrifting at a local second-hand store.  My friend Allison, who has a magnificent blog at http://budgetmaven.wordpress.com, has been writing a lot about thrifting and I was totally inspired!  Check out this post (http://budgetmaven.wordpress.com/2012/04/02/adventures-in-thrifting/) she did on thrifting to catch some of the motivation.  I found several fabulous things on this adventure, but I'll just tell you my favorite two:  a super cute metal sign to put in my 4 yr old's room & this old chalkboard.

Pretty scraggly, huh?

You probably can't read the stickers on there, but they say $1.50.  Pretty amazing, huh?  That's another great thing about thrifting - you don't have much in the project, so if it doesn't turn out the way you want you don't feel too bad scrapping it.  Here's what I did to transform this little beauty:

• Wiped off the wooden frame, then cleaned the chalkboard part
• Lined my work space with newspaper - I'm a mommy...I have enough messes to clean up, I don't want to make another one, especially on my counter top!
• Using painter's tape, I put tape on the perimeter of the chalkboard so I didn't accidentally paint it.
• Painted on some "crackle" paint, and let it partially dry.  If you let it dry fully you won't get the crackly look...which, if you're using crackle paint, is probably what you're going for.  I know - I'm a genius.
• Painted white paint on top of the crackle.  You need to do this quickly because the crackle dries quickly.  Don't worry too much if the paint looks bad when you first paint it on - the crackle will fix that.  Just try to get an even coat on the frame.  Let dry.
• Using a staple gun, I stapled ribbon to the back of the frame in two places, then I tied a knot in the other end of the ribbon.  

....and, the resulting chalkboard was much cuter than the one I started out with.   As you can see, I'm going to use mine to write scripture on.  My hopes are that we can use it for the whole family (kids included) to begin to memorize some scripture - all for $1.50  (ok...plus crackle paint and ribbon...maybe $4.00)

  

I'd love to see your latest craft projects, DIY projects, or your fast fixes when you're in a bind...share away!  Happy Friday :)

the hardest ever

Unlike Will.i.am's song, "The Hardest Ever," doing the hard stuff of life isn't too pleasant.

The hard stuff is...

well, it's HARD.  of course.  I'm not talking about the chair you always stump your toe on or your childs head that must be hard because nothing ever makes in there.... no, I'm talking about that thing that you know you should do, but you just really, really...really, really don't want to.  I'd think some things that qualify as "hard stuff" would be:  standing up for your convictions no matter the results, sticking to your budget, getting healthy and therefore being thankful of the body God has given you, asking someone to forgive you, lovingly confronting someone, talking to your child about sex, disciplining your child ...and this list could probably go on and on.  I doubt it needs to though because if you're like me you probably thought of the thing(s) that is your "hard stuff" right away.  It's hard because of sin (aka stuff we do that isn't right according to God)...and sin pretty much sucks.  (Oh, it might be fun in the middle of it, but when those consequences from the sin roll around....and they always do...then it sucks.)  The sin usually drives us not wanting to tackle that hard thing....like laziness, selfishness, or even fear of failure.

but, the hard stuff is....

GOOD.  I know you're thinking..."what? SMH (I kinda don't know what SMH means, but all the cool people on FB use it, so I thought I'd be cool, even if just for a minute) Seriously Lindsey...I wouldn't call it good."  It really is.  This stuff is hard because it goes against our human nature, and requires to do things God's way.  God's way is always good.  God says lovingly telling the truth in any situation is always good.  God says he made your body, and if you're a Christ-follower, it's where he dwells...so you need to keep it in shape (this "hard thing" frequently kicks my tail)  God also says you need to discipline your kids (God disciplines us and he is the ultimate father) and you need to talk to your kids about sex by 5th grade.  (Ok, I made up the 5th grade part...but seriously, kids talk and kids surf the internet...wouldn't you rather be the one to tell them and they know you will tell them the truth about things even if you turn ten shades of red while you're doing it?)

I had to do a hard stuff ...er, thing, recently...and it was difficult.  It was uncomfortable and I'm pretty sure my pits turned into swimming pools by the time I was done, but I'm so thankful.  I'm thankful God doesn't tell us we have to be super humans.  All he asks us is to trust him (that he's got this) and to obey him (do what he says do) and he does the rest.  I'm also thankful God forgives...and man, does he forgive.  Can you imagine all the crap he has to forgive??? You think you have forgiven something big - yeeeaaaahhhh, it doesn't even touch the pile of crap God has, is having to, and will have to forgive until Jesus comes back.  He's that good.

What's your "hard stuff"?  What's holding you back?  Need some motivation to "just do it" (someone from Nike, feel free to send me a check for that), check these out:

"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous hand."  Isaiah 41:10

"Don't worry about anything; instead pray about everything.  Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.  Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.  his peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."  Phillipians 4:6-7

Happy Hard Stuff-ing :)

Fast Friday {in review}

Today was another Fast Friday...which means I've got a great fast fix to share with you lucky people.  Aren't you excited? I am!

I probably should've taken the day to clean my very messy house (my sisters and their kiddos came to play yesterday.  It was an awesome day...but my house took the brunt of the tornado of fun) but I decided it would be way more fun to give our front porch a makeover.  You can see why it needed one:

I hear the Debbie Downer sound when I look at this: "wah wah"

So...off me and the kids went to get the supplies we needed.  Luckily, we live close enough to the crafts store that we can just take a quick walk (stroller ride) to the store, so we got to take advantage of the beautiful weather. (score!)  We got a can of white spray paint and a can of red.  (I find Rustoleum brand works best for me.)  I also decided that you couldn't have a spring makeover without some flowers, so I sprung for those as well.  Total I think this makeover cost about $16 - not too shabby.  When we got back all three of us got busy....I got busy painting while the kids got busy being artists on the sidewalk.

It took less than an hour to get the table and chair painted and flowers potted.  Here is the finished product...

I was very happy with the results and love the pop of color the table now brings to the front porch.  Now if I can only find a teal/blueish pot for this flower the next time I go thrifting it would be ah-mazing!

I'd love to hear your creative ideas or see your fast fix products linked in the comments section.  

Tasty Tuesday (a review of)

Who else's children snack CONSTANTLY?  (Good, glad I'm not alone)  In fact, I have to tell them that lunch and dinner are "snacks" to get them to eat them.  Kind of silly, huh?  That's not the part that has given me some concern lately though.  The part I think about a lot is what kind of food they are eating for their snacks (about the nutrients, lack there of, or chemicals in the foods).  I've had the plan churning in my mind for a while that I really needed to come up with a healthy list of snacks they could enjoy...but with cooking, cleaning, bath time, mealtime, work, exercise, shopping...you get the picture.  It's just hard to find time to plan.  But, OH it is so necessary, and makes a huge impact.  So, today I'm celebrating the fact that I was able to come up with a healthy snack list for the kids (ok...so maybe me and the hubby might eat some too...) that I thought I'd share.  I even got brave and made some homemade protein bars for us that are oh-so-delicious!

Yummy and Healthy Snacks:

1. Yogurt
2. Fruit (of course)
3. Veggies (another no brainer...but I should add that these and fruit tend to get eaten a lot more in my house when they are already washed, cut up and ready for little (or big) hands to to grab and go.)
4. Peanut Butter Pinwheels (Spread pb on one side of a wheat torilla, sprinkle some granola and maybe some honey...fold it up and cut into sections)
5. Snack Mix: Kind of like Chex Mix but healthier.  I threw in whole grain cereal, raisins, granola, nuts, some Cheerios, and I added some Goldfish to break the kids in gently (their goldfish addiction is pretty strong - I don't know if they could handle stopping cold turkey, you know)
6. Low Fat String Cheese
7. Organic Fruit Chews
8. Homemade Protein Bars  (I'm including the picture and link to this below.)

These are super yummy and packed with great stuff.  Thanks
to Lindsay over at her blog, Passionate Homemaking, for
posting this recipe!  Here is the link back if you wanna
try it out:
http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/2009/11/nourishing-protein-bars-a-great-whole-foods-snack.html

Disclaimer - I would hate for this list to make any moms out there feel like they are less than because they don't have a healthy snack list.  Let me just tell you that up until this week I didn't either.  I can also assure you that it will be a challenge for me to make sure I keep these or more healthy snacks stocked in the house.  I'm also sure that there is some area of your life that you've got it together at this point in time and I don't!  Just don't tell me what it is right now...so I can ride the high of finally making my healthy snack list :o)

What you CAN tell me is your great healthy snack idea - I'd love to add to the list!

Happy Snacking!

Friday the 13th!

This is the day that most people (if you're honest) get a little nervous on.  Even if you say you're not superstitious, you can't help but freak out a little when you see that neighborhood black cat.  I thought that in honor of this day, when things are expected to go wrong, I'd share an awesome when-it-all-goes-wrong story from one of my sisters (with her permission, of course.)

Her name is Emily and she also has two children.  However, she has her hands even more full than I do at this point in her life because her kids are so young.  Chester is an adorable 2 yr old, and also Noah's best buddy.  Her daughter, Sophie, is almost 4 months old and is the cutest little chunk you've ever seen.  Here is Emily's when-it-all-goes-wrong story, which I'll tell from her perspective (it's so much easier that way):

I'd decided a trip to the grocery store was necessary that morning, so off we went.  The grocery store trip went pretty well, and it wasn't until on the way back that all the fun started.  On the way back, Chester started screaming for some grapes.  I was fresh out of grapes (moms should know to bring a variety of at least 10 snacks for their child to choose from, right??!) at that moment, driving in the van.  We finally made it home, and as I'm trying to feverishly unload the groceries from the car into the house, Sophie decides she'll join in the fun and start screaming too.  (At this point I'm sweating, as if I already didn't feel nasty enough from skipping a shower in an effort to get to the grocery store.)  So, I begin feeding Chester grapes while I'm finishing up the groceries.  It calms him down, but doesn't help Sophie.  Once the groceries are in, I pick up Sophie to calm her down and fix Chester some lunch (mother are experts at doing things one handed, you know.)  While Chester is eating, I sit down to nurse Sophie, who is also hungry.  Of course as she begins to nurse, Chester finishes his lunch.  As he begins to run around the house (in celebration of finishing his lunch, maybe?) I notice the tell tale signs that he has pooped in his diaper.  As soon as Sophie has finished nursing on one side, I lay her down so that I can change Chester (and rid the house of that less-than-pleasant poop smell.)  Well, Sophie does not appreciate the interruption in her meal, and picks back up screaming where she left off.  I quickly change Chester and get him down for a nap (of course we're on a tight schedule that day because we had plans to meet some family that afternoon, so Chester's nap couldn't be delayed until I finished nursing.)  Once I get back to Sophie, the poor thing has worked herself up pretty well.  She is still crying when I pick her up, and doesn't want to eat.  Then, the worst happened...she had cried so hard that all of the milk she had just eaten decided to come back up...all over her, me, and the couch.  (great...)  Now the house smelled like poop and vomit, magnificent!  


Thankfully this story had a happy ending.  After everyone and everything was cleaned up, both children fell asleep - at the same time! (you know the planets have to align for this to happen!)  I was able to eat my lunch in a quiet, clean-smelling house...and let me tell you, it was glorious!

Do you have an incredible when-it-all-goes-wrong story like this?  I bet you do...most of us do, especially if you're a parent.  When you're in the midst of one of these stories, it helps to remember two things:

1 - Later, this will make a hugely entertaining story that will bring laughter to all who hear it
2 - If you're a follower of Christ, nothing...not even the when-it-all-goes-wrong times, can separate you from the love of Christ.  So even though you feel like the biggest loser, idiot, (fill in your preferred word here), that you're not...God's got it under control :o)

"And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love.  Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow-not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love."  Romans 8:38

If you had a when-it-all-goes-wrong story that came to mind when you read this - please share in the comments section!  We all love to laugh :o)

Egg fighting Trum-phee

Do you have any quirky traditions with your family?  I'm hoping you just said "yes" because it would make me feel a lot better.  

I am beyond blessed to have the family I do, and this Easter all of my mom's extended family got together and one of those quirky traditions ensued.  I don't even know if other people do this, but my family has an egg fight with our dyed eggs instead of hiding them.  Yep, now you're thinking we're weird...and...you're probably also wondering what in the world an egg fight is.  Here's the OFFICIAL rules (as per my family) to egg fighting:

1.  Each egg has a little end and a big end, and you're only allowed to fight like ends.  (I'll pause while you go check the eggs in your frig since you don't believe me        .......................................................................see?  it's true!)
2. One person hits and the other receives the hit. The person receiving the hit can cover up most of the egg but you have to be able to make contact. (of course)
3. Whichever person's egg breaks is the loser.  When both ends of your eggs are smashed, you're out. 

I know this is a really complicated and highly intellectual game, so take a minute to re-read the directions if you need to ;o)

This year the egg fighting champion was my daughter, Ella.  I can't tell you how ecstatic she was to receive the coveted prize: an old (1975 to be exact...maybe we should call it vintage, it sounds better) cheer leading trophy that belonged to my aunt.  She put her "trum-phee" (her pretty cute pronunciation) on a special shelf that night, and even took it on a trip with us today so my sister could see it (because, as Ella informed me, she hadn't been able to see it yet.)  Since the egg fight that she rocked, she has asked me a gazillion times when we're going to have another egg fight.  

We all like recognition, and we all store up trophies either literal or figurative...like....

best-mom-ever trophy  

champion of pinterest creations

MVP at your work

1st place for most and/or coolest toys

My prayer for my kids (heck, for me too) is that while they enjoy things they're good at, that they won't store up treasures of this nature.  They only feed our ego, not our eternity.  Instead I hope they'll store up trophies in the areas of :

Most devoted follower of Christ

Champion lover of ALL people

MVP of humility and authenticity

1st place in servant hood

Matt. 6:20 & Hebrews 11:26, 

Lindsey

PS - Below is the picture version of the story:

Here the rules are being explained to rookie player, Ella.
Turns out the odds were in her favor...

My mom and mawmaw playing a round together.  Notice
the look of shock on my mom's face - the egg fighting got
pretty intense

Ella protecting her winning egg after the fight and looking
slightly confused about what just happened

The vintage "egg-fighting trum-phee"

Poor eggs...