Humility and Strength

A few weeks ago, I was upset with my husband. We really hadn't had some time to talk it out, and for me, that is really vital to resolving conflict. So, I was sitting on some anger and disappointment for a few days. At a meeting, a couple friends asked how I was. I said I was working through being mad at my husband. I didn't think much of the conversations; however, two of the people came back to me to say that they appreciated my honesty and transparency. My sharing gave them some confidence that they are normal and some hope that they can work through things as well. Once again, I didn't really think much about it at the time.

Then this past week, I've discovered a few friends have walked away from God, and the results have hurt my heart. In all the situations, deception and lack of transparency have significantly contributed to the problem. The maintenance of the appearance of normalcy has isolated each person from the love and support available to them; the consequences have been disastrous.

So, I've been thinking about those conversations, a lot. I've been thanking God for the gift of repentance. I've been thanking Him for the tenacity within me to be open with people. Thank you for the grace of Jesus in my life that is His gift. Kingdom thinking is an Opposite World. We think that we should appear as if we "have it all together”; Kingdom thinking is, "here are my weakness and my struggles". Our thinking produces isolation and dishonesty, because, no one has it all together, and we don't want to be around people who do. Kingdom thinking endears us to people who are attracted by humility, and are encouraged by feeling like they can identify and connect with someone else.

This is God's love for us—vulnerability can bring us protection; humility, strength.

Not me! Monday

These are all the 'unprofessional' mothering events I did not, under any circumstances, do this past week. Check out MckMama for more fun.

I did not spill an entire bucket of dirty mop water, just as I had finished mopping the house.

We did not sleep in until 9:30 on Saturday while the children roamed the house.

I did not pull off the interstate because my children were shouting in the car. I did not get lost in a neighborhood after not taking that exit. I did not burn meatloaf because of that excursion.

I did not show people at parties pictures of the children from my cell phone.

Lastly, I did not turn on PBS kids for Sabrina while I wrote this blog entry (a day late!)

Pictures of the week

Stuart was very helpful in the kitchen.



Sabrina came up with this outfit all on her own...can ya tell?


Chase & Sabrina with their glasses



Peeling potatoes, Chase and I found this one!

Oh a fork...

For those of you who know the game, "This is a fork. A what? A fork.", you'll see why I busted up laughing at my kids today.

At a birthday party this weekend, Stuart made a bird feeder out of peanut butter spread on a whole grain bagel smashed with birdseed. Today, I was finally to the point to help him find a place outside to hang it. When he came inside, he was so excited to tell Chase.

S: Chase! I hung up my bird doughnut!
C: What?
S: My bird bagel!
C: What?
S: My peanut butter bird bagel!
C: Oh, your bird doughnut.



Also just some cute picture of Ruth and Sabrina at the Zoo yesterday.

Not me! Monday

Ok, so I'm totally stealing this idea from Sara who, in turn, stole the idea from her friend. These are some of the things I "did not" do this past week. "Not me!" Never!

On Sunday afternoon, I did not east 1/3 of a large apple pie that I made for Chase's birthday dinner on Saturday.

I did not feed my children a slice of white bread and butter with 2 small slices of mozzarella cheese and grapes for dinner on Sunday evening. They did not eat this supper on the floor of the living room while watching Toy Story 2.

I did not not ensure my son put away the stool after helping me make pasta sauce. I did not stub my toe so hard on that stool that I may have broken my toe.

At Chase's 6 year doctor's visit today, I did not allow my 2 year old daughter to blatantly disobey to avoid a meltdown during Chase's examination. I also did not touch the buttons on the scale to allow the other children to weigh themselves while waiting for Chase. I also did not allow Stuart to go back and forth from the waiting room (where Toy Story was playing) to the exam room four times.

There are not 5 baskets of laundry sitting on my sofa waiting to be folded. Additionally, I'm not staring a huge pile of crayons that I did not allow my children to dump onto the table this morning. Like Sara, I always finish my chores before using the computer.

In the Wink of an Eye

Grandparents Day was Friday at CCS; Michael's mom and Grandma came for the morning at school. Grandma Jane was in Chase's classroom, and his teacher gave her a real place of honor—the rocking chair in the front of the room—when she discovered Jane was Chase's great-grandma. As Grandma Jane took the seat, Chase winked at her. She wasn't quite sure if he actually winked, so Jane winked back. And he winked again. Such a proud grandson!

Evening Concert

Last night we had a puppet show and a concert.
Here is what my cell phone captured.
"Good morning, God.
This is your day.
I am your child.
Show me your way."