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.

More on Organizing

I love lists - to do lists, what I need to pack lists, don't forget lists, grocery lists... you name it! Last year my mom gave me a lovely planner by Dianna Overholt called Guiding the House. I loved it!

There were just a few problems with it. 1) It only lasted one year and, if you will recall, I don't like to spend money :) 2) I used less than half of it. There were about two or three sections that I really loved, the rest wasn't really that useful to me.

So, at the beginning of 2014, I took a $.15 notebook from our school supply stash and made it my "planner"! My favorite part of the boughten planner was the section marked Days. Each page had the date for the week at the top: April 7-13. Then the page was divided into 7 spaces with the day of the week and the date in each space. At the bottom was some extra space for misc things.

I decided I could take a notebook and make my own pages like that! I like to jot down things in the spaces on dates that I know ahead of time and need to remember. Every morning (or the evening before) I like to make a list of things I'd like to get done that day. I might jot down a note on the weather, just for interest, or something interesting that happened. At the bottom, in the misc space, I might list some things that should get done in the week.

I don't strictly abide by my lists, but it helps me to be motivated if I at least jot down a list! I'll be honest, sometimes I write things down after I do them just so I can cross them off :) Another reason I like it is because I write a weekly email to family and it's so much easier to write if I can glance back and see what we did each day! I also used tape to make tabs in the back of my notebook for 2 smaller sections for Things To Remember and Misc. These make great places to jot down ideas for birthday gifts, lists of who I sent Christmas cards to last year, recipes to try...you name it! It's nice to have one place to go to look for "that thing I wrote down the other day"!

My notebook is already looking raggedy, instead of sleek and clean like the boughten planner, and I didn't count to see if I'll have enough pages for the whole year, but I like it. If it falls apart or I run out of pages, what's another $.15 for another one? ;)

Amidst the interruptions of writing multiple blog posts and combing my hair and brushing my teeth and doing laundry and cleaning my grimy stove and microwave (Wait. I never finished that did I?!), we did this today! :) The girls were more then thrilled to fold and press and tape. They can't wait to see if Jasmine will notice them when she comes home from school :) Yes, they ARE my life!!

They ARE My Life

I've been remembering an incident lately, and been meaning to write about it but haven't gotten it done. This morning I read this:u www.emilywierenga.com/mother-feels-life-interrupted/ and couldn't believe how nearly she took the words out of my mouth!

It happened way back, when I was a mother of 2 (yeah, waaay back! :) ) I had been married maybe 3 1/2 years and my life was pretty much taken up with dishes and dirty laundry and diapers for two and naps and discipline and breastfeeding and reading "The Saggy Baggy Elephant" for the 23rd time! One day I was at my parents house and my dad was watching me be a mom. He suddenly asked me, "What in the world is it like to be a mom?" My mom looked at him strangely, like duh, you're a dad! And we were both like no, it's not the same to become a dad. Before you're a dad you go to work every day and after you're a dad you go to work every day. Before you're a mom you pretty much do what you want every day and after you're a mom you pretty much do what your children want every day! (Granted, it's not quite that simplistic, but you get the point.)

So, what in the world is it like? Well, I had just had this epiphany of sorts not long before my dad asked that question, so I told him: "One day recently I was feeling frustrated with all these "interruptions" that were "ruining my life". I couldn't do the things I used to enjoy anymore - no volleyball, no leisurely shopping, no late nights reading.... Then suddenly it hit me! They aren't ruining my life, they ARE my life!"

I've forgotten that fact many times in the years since, forget it daily, it seems! Most of the time I'm scurrying along with My life, My agenda, the things I want to get done, wish I could do. How would it look if I would really embrace the fact that the little voices interrupting my phone calls, my writing, my list of "to do's", are really My Life, and My Agenda is the interruption, instead of the other way around?

I have a feeling things would look a lot different around here. There would undoubtedly be a lot more patience and love and a lot less sighs and sharp words!