When the Weather is Making you Grumpy

When I saw the rain coming down this morning, and felt the grumpiness rising up inside, I knew I needed to take action! I needed to do Something, Anything, to add a sparkle to the day. I searched around in my brain in desperation and pulled up an old, old idea. Do people still do Daffy Suppers these days??

After school the children went to work cleaning up the house with a will when they heard there were Big Plans for supper! When the house was set in order, I explained the event as smiles grew broader and eyes sparkled. We would each come up with a place setting for the table. Each place would then get a number and numbers would be placed in a cup. Come meal time whichever number you drew would show which spot was yours!

First of all, though, they helped with supper prep. Isaac stirred up the sauce for the meatballs and the girls peeled the cooked potatoes, then shredded them and mixed up scalloped potatoes. By the time Dad arrived, the suspense was nearly getting the best of some of us :) What fun to scoop up food with an ice cream scoop and glug water out of a jar, while someone else sipped daintily from a tiny cup and nibbled bites from a teaspoon!

It was fun, and it was worth it, and it did wonders for my case of the Grumps! But Lord, could we please have no rain tomorrow??

When My Mind Went Wandering......

My mind went wandering in church Sunday morning. Shocking, I know. Especially considering it was communion morning! It stayed within the four walls of the church and dwelled on things pleasing to God, forgive me? Good. Cause I'm gonna tell you about it :)

Our church does not have segregated seating. And, just so you know, I've never been able to see the logic in segregated seating. Completely baffles my mind, but I digress. So anyway, I'm sitting in church, and I find myself observing the couples in front of us. (I'm sorry if you were one of those. It was all good, promise!) Let me paint you the picture.......

Here was a mother, chuckling at the eyes her son is making and nudging daddy to share the sweetness. Here was a daddy, reaching over to make the sleeping laddie on mamma's lap more comfy. Here was a couple, seperated on the pew by children, but sharing unspoken messages when daddy's lapful misbehaves. Here was a mommy, hands full with an unhappy little Miss, and daddy takes the hand off for a trip down the aisle.

I don't know if you see what I saw, but what I saw was beauty. Wasn't God amazing when He created husband and wife? When He planned for them to produce little people and nurture those little lives together? There was something beautiful about observing the working together, the love, the commitment, the "two-become-one-ness". And I marveled at a Creator who would plan it this way as my mind wandered in church Sunday morning. My heart swelled at the beauty, and I .... I don't know. I think I worshiped, even though my mind wandered on Communion morning..............

The Best Organizing Tip of All

It came to me one day, as I thought on organizing households and tips for doing such, that there is one tip that trumps all the rest! As a mom I can use space savers, and have a place for everything, and use a planner, and straighten up the house to keep me sane, but unless the rest of the people in my house share in my mission, it's really a hopeless one! Therefore, I submit to you, that the Best Organizing Tip of All is to Train Our Children!!

I've often heard moms with large families or older children say, "Oh, I have a lot of help!" And as my children get older, I see the truth of that! But, I also realize the truth of the fact that they don't become "a lot of help" all on their own!! So, while the secret to an organized household lies in our children learning the skill and putting it to practice, ultimately the ball lands squarely back in mom's lap!

So how do you do it? I'm asking for your input again: How do you teach your children to "be a lot of help"? Summer is coming up and I've been thinking about things I should teach my 10 and 12 year olds, any good ideas? And how do you make sure the younger ones learn the same skills the older ones did, any good tips? Do you teach certain chores at certain ages? Go by the abilities of individual children? Let their interests be a cue? Not every family does it the same or has to do it the same, but what works for you?

If you have some input to my questions (or ideas for things I haven't even mentioned!) jot them down and send me an email at christopherbethany@juno.com I'll read them eagerly and share them with everyone sometime in May! I'll round up a few ideas we've used in this house too, and maybe we can all become a little better at putting to use this Best Organizing Tip of All!

It Is What It Is

Thoughts after hearing this Elizabeth Elliot quote along with my husband's favorite response to life: "It is what it is."
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"God is preparing you for what God is preparing you for." -Elizabeth Elliot
Life happens
We wonder,
question,
struggle,
guess, ponder, speculate.....
Why this? Why now? Why me? Why?
Maybe He wants to....
Maybe this will.......
Maybe now we'll.......
Life happens
"We trust our Father", so we say.
But we sure would like to understand His scheme....
Today.
Life happens
What if It Is What It Is? What if we
Don't Need To Know?
What if we sat still and let our hearts grow?
Grow in love,
In obedience,
In grace, in patience,
In time spent seeking His face......
Life happens
Maybe It Is What It Is.
Maybe doing what we know is all that God asks,
Mundane,
Meaningless,
Ordinary tasks.
Life happens
And while we obey,
While we follow, and do what we know.
Without grappling so
For answers,
And reasons,
And figuring out His Scheme.....
Suppose what He is preparing us for
Happens?


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Thoughts From A Sleep Deprived Mother

It's been one of those weeks, the kind you don't want to repeat. Sick children, particularly babies, can drain away all the reserves of a mother so quickly! Not only that, they tend to drain away the reserves of a marriage, too.

Last Friday, Chris took off work to do a few things that needed done, but mostly for he and I to have some us time. We did our errands and ate lunch and then, instead of the usual Thrift Stores, shopping, etc that would be our norm, he took me to an Arboretum. We wandered around there on the paths, dodging mud puddles and enjoying the beginnings of green showing up in the woods. Mostly, though, we just enjoyed each other. We held hands and talked and laughed and sat on the old log cabin's porch and kissed until the bees chased us away! It was lovely.

One week later, and I feel like I'm dying for some us time!! We haven't slept in the same bed for most of the week and waking hours have been spent on everyone but each other. And it's necessary; it's part of being parents. I wouldn't want anybody else to be comforting my sick child! It's beautiful in it's own way, really. Him sending me to bed at 4 a.m. to get a little sleep, me rubbing his back when all I want is to collapse and do nothing....

What I'm thinking though, is this: If it takes so little time to deplete that lovely day off of only a week ago with someone I can see and touch and hear and feel, why am I surprised when my prayers suddenly seem to be bouncing off the ceiling? Might my relationship with my Heavenly Bridegroom take just as many (or maybe even more) lovely moments at an Arboretum? I know we don't always have time for Arboretums, but I know I, for one, could put in a lot more effort to make sure my reserves with my Heavenly Bridegroom don't get depleted! .......or has lack of sleep messed with my mind and this comparison doesn't even make sense?? It seemed like it did, in those few minutes alone in the bathroom........

And, Somedays, THIS Is My Life

Some days the busyness and activity of life fades into a blur... There's little, hot bodies to be rocked and sung to. There's tylenol to be measured and soothing to be given. There's nights spent between couch, rocking chair and bed. There's mornings, when we stagger forth, wondering which way the truck went that hit us 3 times?? There's sitting and holding and rocking, while dishes and laundry and eating lunch waits. There's tip toeing to the bed to cautiously deposit little head onto pillow, only to replace little head on slobbered shoulder again minutes later. There's weariness and tears and pleading prayers to the Father for relief!

Yes, if these little people ARE my life, then days like this are also my life! Thankfully, there's husbands to lend helping hands and shoulders for tears. There's older children to take up the slack and help to keep things running smoothly. And, there are Doctors. Doctors to say, "Yes, he's starting with an ear and throat infection, I'll get you an abtibiotic!" Best of all, there is sweet, welcome relief in knowing that my smiling, busy baby should be back shortly!

On Doors Closed to the Past, and Doors Open to the Future

I was born and raised in Arkansas. Save for a short, 13 month stint at a children's home in VA, I've never lived anywhere else. We Southerners have always been a little too proud of our "southern-ness", and I was....am....no exception! As a child, we always had this special verse we added to the song "This Little Light of Mine" it went like this, "Shine all over Arkansas, I'm gonna let it shine..." I was always rather proud of that verse.

Almost 3 years ago, our little family packed up all our earthly belongings and moved North. After 10 years of submerging my long-suffering husband in the wonderfulness of my home state, the time had come for me to have the tables turned. The other week, my little girls were playing, and the song they were lustily singing suddenly caught my attention - "Shine all over Antrim, I'm gonna let it shine..." Something seemed to hit me in the pit of my stomach! Oh yeah. We really aren't from Arkansas. Most of my children won't even remember being from Arkansas! Ouch.

This morning, I'm feeling that same feeling again. This morning, I will become a member of the Antrim Mennonite Church. It's time, it's necessary, and I'm totally on board with it, but it feels final, like the last nail pounded into the door on the past.

I know in my heart that final nails pounded into doors of the past only means there's a new door open wide to the future, a door God is holding open just for me. So, I'll allow a few tears this morning. I'll allow some sadness for what was, and what might have been. And then I'll dry my tears, hang a pretty wreath on the closed door, and live in the present.