Offspring Malfunction

Disclaimer - this post is a major suck-up attempt yet it is true and full of sincerity.

Yesterday was my mother's birthday. I forgot. Well, I didn't so much forget the day as I did forget to call and acknowledge the day. Thankfully my mother is gracious and loving, willing to over-look my shortcomings. She rests peacefully in the knowledge that when her children and husband forget her birthday we apologize profusely and try to make it up to her in exaggerated ways. (Yes, you read the last sentence correctly. We all forgot. I forgot. My brother forgot. My father forgot.)

Here are some things I love about my mom...

She loves and gives sacrificially

She finds delight and joy in really knowing her granddaughters

When I was young, she believed in me even when I gave her no earthly good reason to do so

Although more health-conscious ways have prevailed in our lives as of late, she and I can polish off a pan of rice-krispy treats before the end of a 1/2 hour sitcom.

She can beat us all at Tetris

She makes a mean from-scratch-cinnamon-bun and the best-I've-ever-had peach pies

She is a constant, faithful friend...one of my very best

Oh...and she forgives me when I forget her birthday

I love you, Mom...so very much. Happy be-lated Birthday!

Home again, home again...

We've been home from vacation 4 1/2 days and I was just about getting my 'reality legs' under me again until...my 7 year old woke up with a stomach bug. I had hoped to have some time to share a little more about our time away. That may have to wait. The most I've been able to do is add a reply comment under my last post.

So, I'll be back soon...

We had a great vacation. A great time with family. As hard as it was to come home I'm glad to be back now. We're looking forward to more summer fun like visits from far-away friends (and maybe some not too far away!), another week of camp for my oldest, and other celebratory gatherings with family and friends.

Thanks for visiting...I'll be back when I can put The Bucket away!

It's more than a salad dressing

We are in the beautiful Thousand Islands, NY. We'll be away for a while so I may not be posting much. Thanks to my brilliant techie husband, I do have access to the internet...but there are loads of other things to keep us busy while we are here with my folks, brother, sister-in-law, and niece.

But...while I have just a few minutes...there is something that has been turning in my mind since the women's Sunday school class this past week. Here's a bit of what we were discussing:

I Corinthians 5:9-13a (from The Message)
9-13I wrote you in my earlier letter that you shouldn't make yourselves at home among the sexually promiscuous. I didn't mean that you should have nothing at all to do with outsiders of that sort. Or with crooks, whether blue or white-collar. Or with spiritual phonies, for that matter. You'd have to leave the world entirely to do that! But I am saying that you shouldn't act as if everything is just fine when a friend who claims to be a Christian is promiscuous or crooked, is flip with God or rude to friends, gets drunk or becomes greedy and predatory. You can't just go along with this, treating it as acceptable behavior. I'm not responsible for what the outsiders do, but don't we have some responsibility for those within our community of believers? God decides on the outsiders, but we need to decide when our brothers and sisters are out of line and, if necessary, clean house.

Following discussion question: What is the difference between belonging to the world and being in the world and associating with the world?

Matthew 5:13-16 (also from The Message)
13"Let me tell you why you are here. You're here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You've lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.

14-16"Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.

With this discussion question: If we are to be salt and light to an unbelieving world, we clearly cannot accomplish this task if we only minister within our "Christian bubble." How can we be salt and light without being of the world?"

The following, which I read in Messy Spirituality by Michael Yaconelli, kept coming to mind. So, here is yet another quote...a great story that illustrates some of what we discussed.

"In his book The Easy Yoke, Doug Webster tells a story about an idealistic college student who ended up on a mission trip to one of the more dangerous housing projects in Philadelphia. A brand-new Christian, this wide-eyed urban missionary didn't have a clue how to evangelize the inner city. Frightened and anxious to share his new faith, the young man approached a very large tenement house. Cautiously making his way through the dark, cluttered hallways, he gingerly climbed up one flight of stairs to an apartment. He knocked on the door, and a woman holding a naked, howling baby opened it. She was smoking and not in any mood to hear some white, idealistic college boy tell her about Jesus. She started cursing him and slammed the door in his face. The young man was devastated.

He walked out to the street, sat on the curb, and wept. Look at me. How in the world could someone like me think I could tell anyone about Jesus? Then he remembered that the baby was naked and the woman was smoking. The plan forming in his head didn't seem terribly spiritual but...

He ran down the street to the local market and bought a box of diapers and a pack of cigarettes. When he knocked on the door again, he showed the woman his purchases. She hesitated and then invited him in. For the rest of the day, he played with the baby and changed its diapers (even though he had never changed diapers before). When the woman offered him a cigarette, even though he didn't smoke, he smoked. He spent the entire day smoking and changing diapers. Never said a word about Jesus. Late in the afternoon, the woman asked him why he was doing all this, and finally he got to tell her everything he knew about Jesus. Took about five minutes. When he stopped talking, the woman looked at him and said softly, "Pray for me and my baby that we can make it out of here alive," so he did.

...In one frustrating afternoon, he learned about the power of sensitivity, the meaning of evangelism, the hopelessness of those who live in urban areas. He also learned that sometimes the Holy Spirit asks us to violate our convictions for a season in order to live the faith, not just talk about it. When this young man returned to college he didn't start smoking, but he did start listening to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

This sentence is so key: "He also learned that sometimes the Holy Spirit asks us to violate our convictions for a season in order to live the faith, not just talk about it." Notice he doesn't say violate God's Word - scripture...but our own convictions and "for a season."

This post has gotten quite long...much longer than I first intended so I'll just shut up about all that for now. :)

And for those of you who are not from the Northeast and/or have never heard of the Thousand Islands...it is a region of NY and Canada in and along the St. Lawrence Seaway...some cool pictures and info. can be found here. If you are really bored curious, you can read all about the origin of Thousand Island dressing here.

More from Messy...

From Chapter 7: Little Graces - The Triumph of Tiny Living

"The power of goodness is found in the tiny. Since the beginning, God has chosen the tiny over the large: David over Goliath, Gideon and his three hundred soldiers over thousands of Midianites, Elijah over the prophets of Baal, one sheep over the ninety-nine sheep. Spirituality is about doing the tiny work of God, little acts, small responses to God's presence in our lives.
....

Think what Jesus could have accomplished if he'd stayed on earth for twenty, thirty, or fifty more years. Wow, think what he could have done with all the technology available today!

Nope. Jesus showed up for a little while, did a few tiny miracles, said a few amazing words, and left.

But his few tiny acts changed the world forever. Tiny becomes huge when Jesus is involved." (emphasis added)

That was encouraging to read because I often get sucked into that "big = success = important = making a difference" thinking especially if I use the world and culture around me to measure value. As he goes on to say,

"...it is very easy to conclude that unless God is doing really big things through our lives, we're not spiritual. - Spiritual people are about tiny things, which is the fruit of their spirituality. The spiritual life is not a life of success; it is a life of faithfulness, and it's not easy."

So much of my frustration comes when I stop seeing the tiny things I do as acts of obedience and service to Him first. The dishes, the laundry, the diapers, the meals, the cleaning, the explaining, the teaching, the discipline, the appointments...in and of themselves feel small and mundane and often difficult. However they are viewed, collectively or individually, they are what He has put in front of me to do - gifted me with.

He accomplishes so much through this tiny living. When I follow His lead and trust Him, I am humbled, sharpened, pruned, strengthened, nourished, and set apart for Him. And He is lifted up - before my husband, before my kids, my friends and relations - He can show Himself faithful and loving, holy and true. If I can remember this - keep this perspective - live what I believe - He will give me great joy...no matter how tiny my living. He alone can take my tiny living and make it ripple into eternity.

Still at home

Fever status: low-grade. Home from church. I'm so thankful for our porch. Otherwise, I'd feel like a shut-in.

Some of this down-time with Abigail has allowed me to catch up on some reading...just a little. My nearly stagnated "Currently Reading" list on the side-bar finally got stirred. Last night I finished Messy Spirituality. So good. I began reading it back in March and shared my first thoughts in this post, In Good Company.

Here's some more good stuff.

"According to his critics, Jesus 'did God' all wrong. He went to the wrong places, said the wrong things, and worst of all, let just anyone into the kingdom. Jesus scandalized an intimidating, elitist, country-club religion by opening membership in the spiritual life to those who had been denied it. What made people furious was Jesus' 'irresponsible' habit of throwing open the doors of his love to the whosoevers, the just-anyones, and the not-a-chancers like you and me." - p. 47

Sounds like irrational love to me.

more tomorrow...

Not that I'm glad she's been sick...

...but, I have had a good two days with my little sicky. When she's been feverish she says things like, "Can I haf you?" with her little arms out wanting me to hold her. It hasn't all been rosy. Her fever has gotten scary-high a couple times. Then when that isn't an issue there is a LOT of whining. But, for the most part, once her fever comes down she's back to her happy-little-self. We've been reading lots...and lots. I'm all brushed up on my Frog and Toad. I'd almost forgotten about those books!

We've been singing. Rather, I've been singing - she lip-syncs. Hilarious. She has started giving me requests. Although they aren't titles. They are simply words that she wishes to be in the song. "Sing love. Sing love, Momma" So, I think of as many songs as I can that have the word love in them. And it has to come up quick in the first verse or she starts yelling over my singing, "NO, sing LOVE!"

The one that really threw me was, "Sing cwose to you." "Close to you?" Where did that come from? "Yeah, cwose to you." "But I don't think I know any songs that say 'close to you.'" Knowing perfectly well that I do know one...the Carpenters...(They long to be) Close to you. I sang it. She smiled and giggled with delight every time I sang the words 'close to you.' And, if you do all the la la la parts...that's a lot. It was worth it. This isn't, by far, the silliest thing I've done for my kids but it has me wondering what others have done in the name of pacifying a little person.

And, did you know that when you smoosh a raisin between two cheerios it looks like an itty bitty cheeseburger? Hmf....well, now you do. Who knew something so simple could make her so happy. And she's the one who said, "itz yike a cheesebooger"

Some contact with the outside world has been my only ticket to sanity. Our great neighbor, "Miss Lisa" has gone to the store for me...twice! And I've held her hostage she's stopped in to give me some adult conversation. Clinton and my mom have also thrown me some life-lines via cell service. And dumping stuff out here on my blog has helped too.

Ok...I've been posting lots more than I thought I would be so far this summer. I did say that my posts were going to be more summerish didn't I? I can't decide if I feel good, bad or indifferent about most of these posts being so...fluffy. :) Opinions?

1st week at camp a success

Abigail, 2 1/2, is sick. So, she and I missed out on the mini road-trip planned for today and tomorrow. Clinton and the other two set out this afternoon in time to make it to camp for the Friday night closing festivities. I talked with him a little while ago...Anna had a great week. So good in fact she was quite content to joyfully greet them then, aside from a few nods and toothless grins, go about the rest of the night as if they weren't there.

We are actually thrilled about this. She was so comfortable. No need to cling. There was no talk of when she would be going home. Yet, she is our biggest home-body. She appeared to be enjoying everything - soaking up every wonderful moment of her first camp experience.

Not to worry. The trio of seemingly distant relatives had plenty to occupy them. Anna's cabin-mates treated Lily (5) like a little celebrity and told Virginia "we've heard all about you." Not sure what that may have meant. Clinton was a fixture there, first as a camper then as a counselor. He knows all the directors, and Anna's counselor was in his 4th grade class during his first couple years of teaching. (Now if that doesn't make ya feel old!) Then there were friends of ours who also counseled there and their son attended this week. So, he had plenty of visiting to do!

And by now you may be wondering why I'm blogging about all of this. Well, I'm wondering too. I guess I'm just really wishing I was there and tellin' ya'll about it somehow makes me feel better.