Friday, December 14, 2012

What's in a Name?

This year, as I have become more serious about walking, a whole new world of names has opened up to me.

I now have conversations that involve the words 'shoe last' and 'wicking fabric' and 'yoga head wrap and 'polar fleece'  I have brand knowledge of such brands as Reebok©, Adidas©, Champion©, Polartec©, New Balance©, and PrAna©, to name a few. 

It is a whole new world!

But...especially at this time of year...I cannot help but think of other names...names that are infinitely more important...

Names like Wonderful Counselor, Everlasting Father, Mighty God, Prince of Peace...

This year as we prepare to celebrate the birth of our Savior, the boys and I are working our way through Carol Garborg's The Family Book of Advent (http://www.christianbook.com/advent-stories-activities-celebrate-meaning-christmas/carol-garborg/9781609365417/pd/365417?product_redirect=1&Ntt=365417&item_code=&Ntk=keywords&event=ESRCP).  Each day, we read devotions, complete object lesson activities...and write the names of our Lord and Savior to hang on a wreath (we are doing a tree instead).

Each time we hit a "name alert" in the book, we are reminded of the richness, the completeness, the depth of love our Lord has for us.  He came to live and die so He would understand us...and so He could save us.  Mind blowing, when you think about it.

And much, much more important than walking gear.

I pray the whole world sees that!

For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. -Philippians 2:9-11

Thursday, December 13, 2012

In the Pink

This morning I got up extra early to work on getting our day together.  I knew we had a lot on our plate:
  • hair cuts
  • Christmas crafts for relatives
  • Christmas cards
  • Christmas baking
  • youth band practice
Not to mention:
  • house cleaning for our weekend company
  • homeschooling
  • the 5-6 loads of laundry (I have lost count) that are on my bed to fold
Too much for one day!  I hurriedly complete my Bible study (sorry, Beth) and start on the planning of this hairy day.  The Amy Grant song I Need A Silent Night ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRSSsNbF29I) is running through my mind.

I endeavor to persevere.  I plan the day down to the moments and get ready for the boys to get up so we can hit the ground running.

Then...

Jackson gets up and comes down...he's got pink eye.

Ugh.

Now, this was not entirely unexpected.  I had started my day Tuesday with a run to the doc-in-the-box around the corner from the house with Tanner..  Since then, we have been washing hands furiously and peeking at everyone's eyelids.

I thought we had dodged the bullet this time, and that Tanner was going to be the only one down with it.  Nope.

Next, checked Alex's eyelids...pink eye starting there, too.  Matthew...same scenario.

Obviously my carefully planned schedule is out the window.  Regroup, regroup...

And someone (Someone?) has just turned up the volume of Amy Grant in my ear...

I've done it again, haven't I, Lord?

Single parenthood is never easy, but especially not if you try to be Supermom, creating the best. Christmas. ever.

I know better than this!  Really, I do!

Yet it happens again and again that I get myself too deeply planned, too tightly stretched...

Not good for anyone.

And that is when God steps in...and gives me a time out...this time in the form of pink eye.

Instead of the crazy rushing around, my day now involves movies and jammies and an afternoon nap...and maybe some of those Christmas crafts and that laundry to fold.

Sorry, Lord, for doing it again...and again...and again.

Thanks, Lord, for loving me enough to get me out of my stress-mess via a time out.

Now I have to check my own eyelids...praying that other shoe does not fall.

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.  “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts." - Isaiah 55:8-9

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Up In Flames

Last week, while visiting my folks, my dad and I took a ride in the golf cart.

First, we smelled a funny, plastic-y kind of smell.  "What's that smell, Dad?"

"Not sure."  He keeps driving the golf cart, telling me about the houses we are passing.

"The smell is not going away, Dad..."

He keeps driving.

"Daddy, there's smoke!"

Now he stops the golf cart and we get out.

Dad pulls up the seat...and flames come out!

We send a passer-by to the gate house a few hundred feet away for the fire extinguisher.

By the time this gentleman returns, the cart is fully engulfed in flames, and we run to the gatehouse to have them call the fire department.

The fire department comes to put out the blaze, leaving only a charred pile of plastic and a bit of metal that has to be scraped from the road.

Five minutes...just five minutes...and the golf cart lay in ruins.

How equally quickly my attitude can go up in flames!

I can be sailing along, leaving the future to God, not feeling pressure and stress, holding firmly to God's hand...when out of the blue...

Flames!  Smoke!  Meltdown!

I have to ask myself...why?

My dad's fire was caused by a battery issue.  Could the cause of mine be the same?

Did I recharge with my daily dose of Godly encouragement through Bible reading and study?  Have I spent enough time on maintenance, seeking from the Lord what about me needs to change? 

In those instances of "fire," the answer is...probably not.

While I am not sure whether my dad's golf cart fire could be prevented, I am pretty sure my "fire" could have been.

I resolve to work harder at the PM (preventative maintenance) to avoid the fires...and their consequences of burning me and others.

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. - 2 Timothy 2:15



Saturday, December 1, 2012

Unpacking Christmas

It is the beginning of December and that means the annual frenzy to get the house ready for the season.

Right now, it looks like Christmas threw up.  Not a pretty sight.  Boxes are strewn everywhere.  There is foam and fake pine needles all over the floor, and half-done shopping lists and baking lists cover the counter.  You can barely move without having to shift something else first.  I rush around, doing one thing, until I spy another that needs to be done just as much, and stop and tackle that.  The boys try to be helpful where they can, but they don't think like me (imagine that).  (Actually, that is a great blessing.)

Currently I am unpacking the boxes of ornaments for the "family" tree.

And in this activity, I get my first Christmas miracle.

This is the tree of memories.  I have the pretty tree in the living room, but this tree holds my heart.

I unpack ornaments that graced my tree as a child:  a knitted stocking Mom made, needlepoint I did, wooden Santas as old as the hills that may have even come from Mom's tree growing up, my grandmother's Hallmark carousel ornaments.  I praise God that I grew up in the family that I did, with love and joy all around, and with Christmas memories that still bring me to tears.

I unpack the first Christmas ornaments that my mom so lovingly picked out for me and Keith, and Christmas ornaments that we got for our wedding from the Huffs and the Fontaines.  I praise God for a loving husband.  Even though he went home to Glory early, I would not have traded one moment with him.

I unpack the ornaments made by the boys over the years.  Some are crude and falling apart, but they make me smile.  I praise God for loving children, who love God, and who love me, despite my cranky days.

I unpack ornaments that Shari and Julie helped my boys to make a year after Keith died, the presents they gave me that year.  I praise God for friends who care enough to make my Christmas special.

I unpack a bell from Becky's wedding, and bluebirds from Courtney's, favors that have graced my tree since those blessed events.  I think back to the beautiful brides they were and praise God for their marriages and their children.

And then I find it.  It doesn't look like much, but to me, it is priceless.  Aunt Hilda gave my sister and me each one...can't even remember when.  It is about 1" x 1/2" x 2"...Mary, Joseph, and Jesus in a little glass box.  From the time I was little, I just knew looking at this ornament that it was real...He had been here as a baby, and a man, for me.

And that is the greatest miracle of all.

I pray that this moment can stay fresh in my mind through this entire Christmas season.

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.  - John 3:16