Dealing with the end of the to-do list and clutter...

So I took the day off. I have committed to help out in A & D's classrooms on Fridays. Today it was too much for me to handle. The clutter in my house and my never-ending to-do list has caught up with me and I am a bit of a stressed-out-not-very-patient mom. So, I took the day off.

I am happy to say that the house is now cleaner, and I finally finished a project I had begun in Decmber 2007... yes, 2007... that is not a typo!!! That project was sadly clinging to the end of my list... along with at least 10 other things... and I am working toward completing these things. Yet they are not crucial, and thus are moved to the "leave until tomorrow list".

As I turn my "wanting to finish things" energy to tackling the clutter in my home, I am struck with the thought... what about the clutter in my soul? Those things that I haven't wanted to think about, to deal with... that I have put off until I have time and space to think about. Maybe that is also what is really causing my lack of patience and my short fuse? I am convicted by the need to declutter my soul, to journal, to pray through different areas of my life, to once again surrender my will to the will of My Father. Maybe that will help restore peace, peace in me and peace in my home.

Take time with me today to create space, to declutter your soul. And if you see me, ask me if I did it. Ask me if I de-cluttered my soul.

Happy Halloween??

I guess now is as good a time as any to restart my poor neglected blog!! I really don't like Halloween, at least I don't like all the scary decorations, the glorification of evil, the trying to make dead things seems funny and entertaining. I do like the excuse for a party, to be creative in making costumes, and the dressing up part. So, here are the highlights!!

Anna wanted to be a fruit bat, thus the brown bat costume. Fitting for my girl who loves animals and loves fruit!!

Dillon's wish to have a chargers uniform was granted, so he was a charger. He was so excited, it was worth the over-priced costume... I guess all professional sports is always overpriced!! =) Dillon and Daddy get to go to a game in a few weeks, so we felt this was appropriate and will be worn more than once!! =) Happy Birthday Daddy!! Merry Christmas Dillon!!

We also enjoyed pumpkin carving, from two pumpkins grown in our own backyard!! =) Isn't that fun??? We are such good parents!!! =)



Of course, Dillon was a bit feverish and had to stay home. Anna was a good big sister and shared her loot with her brother. I am confident that my introvert son was not too disappointed to stay home while his sister did all the work!!

I am also thankful that his fever is not too serious... it has made him a bit grumpy at times... but he seems to be ok. He would have been fine... but we didn't want to contribute to the spread of germs!! =)

Well, I think of you all often, and hope that this will not be my only post in November!!!

Susan Boyle: Confidence and Joy

Have you listened to Susan Boyle sing? I guess I live under a rock, because I only heard about this remarkable woman on Tuesday night. The next morning I watched her video, and was mesmerized!! I watched several more videos (youtube is addicting!!) and read a few articles. As I got back to work my thoughts were continually drawn back to this woman, this frumpy British spinster, with the amazing voice, this woman who had captured the attention and imagination of millions.

What is so captivating about Susan Boyle? It has to be more than her voice… what is it? I am sure there are many answers, but what captured my attention was her confidence and joy. Watch her video again. See how she giggles right before she is going to sing?? She knows… this woman knows that she can sing, and that this judgmental audience of regular people and talented artists will be amazed. She may not have expected their reaction, but she confidently knew that their laughter would be silenced by her song. That giggle showed such confidence in the beautiful gift she was giving to the world, her beautiful song.

This confidence brought her joy. She wasn’t angry by their laughter, by their preconceived ideas. She was joyful in the expectation of what she knew they would hear, and of her secret that they would soon know; that her frumpy exterior concealed a beautiful voice she knew she possessed.

And so, almost defiantly and without apology, she shared her dream, as ridiculous as she knew it would seem to that audience, and sang. She silenced their jeering laughter.

In watching the amazed reaction of the crowd, of the judges, and of her response to theirs, I began to think about the beautiful gift I too often conceal, and I wonder at my own lack of confidence and joy.

The gospel, what Paul calls “of first importance”, is beautiful. The beauty of its message is often concealed by our own weakness and silenced by the preconceived ideas of others. Too often we let our fears of their opinion and judgment silence our song, to silence our joy.

Today, will you sing? Will you sing of the beauty of the Lord, of his desire to know us, and to build his kingdom through us? Will you defy the preconceived judgment of others and speak the truth, joyfully and confidently sharing your precious gift with the world?

1 Corinthians 15: 3-4,10a
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures…But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain.

2 Corinthians 12: 9-10
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Sin is Like a Balloon

“Mommy, can I show you what I learned?”
Busy and distracted with preparing to leave, I don’t even glance up at her.
“What, Anna?”
“See, sin is like this balloon.”
“And God is these scissors.”
What? I look up, suddenly tuning in to what she is saying.
She has a deflated balloon stretched over her fist, and is waving the scissors in the air.
“He finds this crevice, and cuts off our sin.”
I look at her hand, she has poked the scissors in the space where the balloon is stretched over her palm, and cuts off the balloon.
“So now we are free!!”
She triumphantly waves her hand in the air, the crumpled, deflated balloon lies on the floor.
She smiles and laughs as I give her a big hug, she knows she has said something special; she has made her mommy proud.

As I write this, I realize how insightful she really is. Sin is like a balloon, it first appears fun and exciting, but the next day, it lies deflated on the floor. If you cut off the pretty ribbon, it may float a little in the air, but by that afternoon, it is dead. It has lost all its appeal.

Sin is like a balloon stretched over her fist, it is confining, it restricts movement.

God does free us; He sets us free from the bondage of sin. It is only in Him that we are truly free.

21 But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:21-23

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
Galatians 5:1-3

What Every Dad Should Listen to!! =)

House of Memories
Ten Shekel Shirt

You're my hero little girl
You always save the day with your smile
You know I'm in love
With the one behind those pretty eyes

chorus
I will build for all time
A house of memories
Just for you and I
There you'll find
Rooms inside
Filled with laughter, joy
And your daddy's pride
Around the table
And down the hall
We'll chase each other
Till the laughter makes us fall
In the evening
We'll lay our heads down
And thank God for these memories

You're my angel
Sending messages of love
You're my future
A part of me that carries on

Hear the Birds Sing

I am choosing to hear the birds sing

Living in this not-quite-city/not-quite-suburb is a challenge for an outdoors girl like me.

I long to hear the sounds of nature; to hear the birds’ songs framed against the background of the roar of the ocean or the stillness of the mountains. Instead, I find myself straining to hear any sound other than the city noise of the cars and trucks and sirens that fill my world. Birds still sing, seemingly unaware of life rushing around them, but I can barely hear them, their music hides in the background of this noisy city/suburban life. Yet when I focus on their song, I hear the beauty of nature, and the noise of man-made life fades away into the background. Their beautiful music is what I choose to hear.

Life is like this too. Too often I let the noise of “doing” life drown out the joy of “living” life. I want to live my life “choosing to hear the birds sing”. Yes, “doing” life is important, the dishes must be washed and the laundry done. I can even find joy in “doing” life. Yet I want to “listen to the birds sing”, to take a moment to have a chat with my children, play a game with the family, go for a family bike ride, or read one more story at bedtime. Life must not only be done, but lived, joyfully aware of the beauty amongst the noise.

Choose to listen to the birds sing. The dishes can wait.

Running Uphill to Run Downhill

I like the challenge of running uphill, it feels good, to accomplish this hard thing of getting to the top. The reward is so worth it. I love the feeling of running downhill, the feeling of settling into the run, and being able to run fast with less effort.

My life is like that too. I try to get the majority of my housework done on Friday, to “Run uphill”, so I can relax and “run downhill” over the weekend. I feel free to simply enjoy life when my house is clean.

I get a sense of “running uphill to run downhill” in David’s words.

Psalm 63

1O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
2So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
beholding your power and glory.
3Because your steadfast love is better than life,
my lips will praise you.
4So I will bless you as long as I live;
in your name I will lift up my hands.

5My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,
and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,
6when I remember you upon my bed,
and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
7for you have been my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.
8My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.

9But those who seek to destroy my life
shall go down into the depths of the earth;
10they shall be given over to the power of the sword;
they shall be a portion for jackals.
11But the king shall rejoice in God;
all who swear by him shall exult,
for the mouths of liars will be stopped.

There is a sense of working hard to get to a place of finding refuge in God, of getting to that place where we are singing for joy in the shadow of God’s “wings”.

So I think of other times in my life where I have had to “run uphill”.

Wednesday would have been my brother’s 30^th birthday. 30… I think of all the missed milestones, the nieces and nephews he never saw, the wedding and children he never had. Missed memories…

My own memories, while precious and treasured, often bring pain. His excitement of finding out that I was pregnant, that he would be an uncle, his joy in loving and caring for his friends. His smile as he said goodbye after we celebrated my 27^th birthday, our precious conversation on Christmas day as we drove back to our house from my aunt’s house, where we spent such a special few days together as a family, Christmas of 2000.

Grieving is “running uphill”. Yet it is good to check in, to see how I am doing, and to do that hard work. It is worth it, to be reminded of the joy.

The “downhill part”, in a way, is thinking of where he is, and where we will be. That brings me joy, it brings new meaning to my life here on earth.

2 Corinthians 4: 17-18

For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Revelation 21:1-5

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away. And He who sits on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new… "