Treasure Chest

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."  Matthew 6:19-21

 The Boy just recently finished a book on the Holocaust in his Language Arts class. They had to come up with a PowerPoint what they would put in a "treasure chest" that would create change in the world.  They needed graphic images and a description on each point. Then they had to write an essay taking what they had on their PowerPoint and making some connections to the story they had just read. I have the privilege of being his editor. Other than some minor technical errors, I have to say, this mama's heart was so proud of the work he did that I don't think I would have minded   what grade he got. 

My treasure chest for change has five items they are a twenty sided die (d20), a lantern, salt, hands, and a compass.

My first item is a d20. I would have a d20 because there are so many ways it could land. You never know where life is going to take you. In the Holocaust, the Jews were treated unfairly. Their die did not roll in their favor.

My second item is a lantern. When times are bad and dark you need to be the light of the world for others and show them the right path to follow. The Jews in the Holocaust definitely needed a light for there world and many didn’t survive.

My third item is salt. If salt has lost its flavor it becomes useless. Salt is to remind me to not live life just going through the motions. Life can become boring and loose flavor. If you change it up and step out of the crowd, you can be different. For the sufferers of the Holocaust when their family member died or got sent to a work or concentration camp they would morn and lose there taste and they just went through the motions of life.

The next item in my treasure chest is a pair of hands. We can use our hands for many things such as serving others and helping other people in need. We as humans have the capability to do greatness. The sad thing is we don’t. We sit at home and play video games and text our friends all day. We need to get active and give a helping hand to those in need. In the time of World War II people suffered all across the world but were in better shape than the Jews. The United States needed t o help with the war sooner than we did.

Finally I have a compass. We need to follow a compass. Not the one everyone else follows, but the one that less and less people follow each day. You might think the benefits of the crowd are good and rewarding, but they aren’t. It will lead you to a place you don’t want to be. So that’s why you need to follow the compass I follow. Some people were not following the right compass such as the Nazis who killed innocent people who supposedly were to blame for Germany losing WII.

What I learned is how others don’t do as they should. They feel they are better than others because of hair color, eye color, how tall you are, and religion. We should follow the golden rule first spoken over two thousand years ago, “Do to others as you would have them do to you” Luke 6:31.

In case you were wondering, he got a 100% and a nice compliment from his teacher.

Lost

I can't believe that I forgot about Valentines Day!!!!!

The pictures have been living in my camera.  OOPS!

We celebrated on Sunday the 13th because the 14th The Boy had High School orientation and I didn't want to be rushed. 

 

We had our traditional candle light dinner of chocolate fondue with lots of yummy dippers.

Little Dude had been sleeping.  We didn't want him to miss out so we woke him up.  Sort of.

I think this is one of their favorite meals of the entire year.  

It's a sweet way to celebrate with the loves of my life. 

Photo Op

It melts my heart when I walk into the living room and see BuhBuh snuggled up on the couch reading a story to Little Dude. 

It was a really sweet moment that I wanted to capture.

But I just wasn't sneaky enough.....

Lots O Mommies!!!

While in the check out lane at Target, Little Dude was sitting in the cart shaking his head back and forth really fast.....

Little Dude:  WHOA!!!!!  I SEE LOTS O MOMMIES!!!!!!!!!!

Who Loves You???

Little Dude:  God loves me.

Me:  You're right!  God does love you.  Who else loves you?

Little Dude:  You.

Me:  You're right!  Who else loves you?

Little Dude:  UNDERWEAR!!!!!!!!  ***an eruption of 3-year old giggles***

Bedtime Stories

The boys listened intently to a story I had read to them several times before.  The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper.

You know the one.

A train filled with toys and good food for the children at the other end of the mountain breaks down.  A Shiny New Engine comes by and is asked to help pull the train to the other side of the mountain but the Shiny New Engine is a passenger engine and says, "I pull the likes of you?  Indeed not!" and leaves.

A Big Strong Engine comes by and the dolls and toys ask if he can pull them to the other side of the mountain.  The Big Strong Engine is a Freight Engine that pulls trains of big machines over the mountains and is too important to pull the train of toys and food for the children over the mountain.

A third engine approaches; Rusty Old Engine also says he can not pull the train because he is just too tired.

The the Little Blue Engine comes by and is asked to pull the train to the other side of the mountain.  Even though the Little Blue Engine is much smaller than the other engines, agrees to pull the them over the mountain and believes in herself so much that she is able to do just that.

As I read, BuhBuh interrupted about half way through the story.  "Mom.  This story reminds me of that story from the Bible.  The one where people keep on passing by the guy laying on the road."

"The story of the Good Samaritan?"  I asked.

"YEAH!!  That one!!!" 

I paused a moment to soak in what he said then continued reading.  When I closed the book we compared it to the familiar parable.

The first three engines to pass by the broken train were all bigger and much more capable of pulling the load over the mountain but refused.  They felt like they were too good or too important to do such a job.

In the parable of the Good Samaritan the the priest and the Levite that passed by the injured man were the two who should have stopped to help but refused and ignored the man laying on the road.  I wonder if they felt like they were too good or too important to care for the injured many?

The Little Blue Engine was much smaller and not as capable as the other engines but thought about the boys and girls on the other side of the mountain who would be so happy when the train arrived and did the right thing.

The Samaritan was not the likely choice to stop and help the injured man.  The Jewish people and the Samaritans typically despised one another.  Yet this Samaritan knew what the right thing to do was.

BuhBuh struggles a with reading and comprehension at times.  But the fact that he was able to recognize and compare The Little Engine that Could with the parable of the Good Samaritan warmed this mama heart on so many levels.

He pointed something out to me that I hadn't ever thought about before. 

He does understand and comprehend what is being read and I was assured that reading won't always be as much of a struggle.

The word of God is on his heart.

Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”   Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”  Luke 10:36-37

Intentionally Growing Part Two: Marriage

16 years ago My Sweetie and I started dating.  Our 15 year anniversary is coming up in June.



What a milestone!!  Our relationship has not been without bumps and hurdles and at times mountains to climb.  But I wouldn't chose anyone else to partner with on this journey.

 Even though I think we have a good marriage, I still want it to grow into something more.  I don't ever want us to be strangers to one another because we didn't intentionally take the time to grow our relationship.  My children, ministry work and care of the home usually take up most of my time.  I have to work every day to give my husband the best of my time because if I don't things just don't work.  There are plenty of days when I don't and I can feel the distance that builds between us when I'm not intentionally making him a priority.

While reading the blog of Jill Savage, CEO and Founder of a wonderful organization called, Hearts at Home, I was once again reminded of the importance of being in a constant state of  intentionally growing in your marriage.  Every Monday she partners with her husband to write about marriage.  The title of the blog was, "What is it like to be married to me?"  (EEK!!!  Do I really want to know??)  There is a book by the same title written by Linda Dillow which they based this blog post on. Jill and her husband Mark write,

Jill: Becoming better requires us to more often look at ourselves than pointing the finger at our spouse.  That’s usually not our default way of handling frustration.  Most of us are quick to blame and pray under our breath, “God, change him…quick!” or “God, change her….now!”

Mark: But maturity responds to frustration with, “God, please change me.”  It’s a much harder prayer to pray…but a much more effective one.  Why?  Because the only person you I can change in my marriage is me.

 Did you see that last part??

"Maturity responds to frustration with 'God, please change me.'

No matter how hard we try.  No matter how long and passionate our prayers are.  The ONLY person we can change in a marriage is us.

Asking God to change us rather than our spouses is a very intentional prayer and a good boost in the right direction of intentionally growing a marriage.

For the first 5 years of our marriage I wasted a lot of time of hoping that My Sweetie was different or treated me differently, or would just accept me for who I was.  And when those changes in him didn't happen I gave up on our marriage.  I called it quits without even really trying to work things out but rather telling him our marriage was over.  

In my rock bottom moment of that situation, I realized that I was the one who needed to make a change.  I am such a different person now that I barely recognize the wife I was early on in our marriage.  Thank God for grace, right?!?!

There have still been moments of peeks and valley's in our marriage since then and I am still having to pray for God to change me, but we've come a long way. 

It is a daily, intentional, choice for me to put aside anything that didn't get finished at the end of the day and spend time with My Sweetie.  Kids are to be in bed or in their rooms before 8:30.  The rest of the evening is set aside for just the two of us.

The other night My Sweetie called and asked if I would meet him around 5 p.m. to meet up with one of his clients.

It was a Thursday night.  I needed to do spelling with the kids.  Little Dude needed a bath.  They needed dinner.  I had spent the morning scrubbing floors and the afternoon grocery shopping.  I was tired and not looking the role of "corporate wife" at all.  This just wasn't work.

No was really the easy answer.

I could tell that he really wanted me to join him. I knew that this would really make him happy and I knew I was really just making excuses for not wanting to make an intentional effort to make My Sweetie happy.

So I made it work.  Homework was completed, dinner was healthy, yet simple and our 14-year old would be fine for a few hours watching a movie with his brothers while we were gone.

I met My Sweetie in one of the nearby downtown areas that sits along the Mississippi River and we walked together to meet his client.  We visited for a while then left, strolling hand in hand on a beautiful, warm February evening with the sounds of the city surrounding us.  We checked in at home and decided to stay out a little longer and had a fantastic dinner together before heading home just in time to put our three-little monkey's to bed.

We both curled up on the couch after they were all tucked in talking of what a great night it was.  It was somewhat a spontaneous date night, yet it did require me to get a little uncomfortable about leaving on a school night.  But the extra effort it took so that we could spend some time together was well worth it. 

Intentionally Growing Part One

The weekend had come and gone.  Again.  It was Monday.  I usually like Mondays.  They are my recover-from-the-weekend-get-ready-for-the-week day.  I was swapping laundry around while mentally scrolling through my to-do list and became very overwhelmed.  

Aren't the months of January-March suppose to be my "hibernation" months, I wondered. 

Wasn't I going to do some much needed scrapbooking and unpack the last few boxes?? 

Is it REALLY February???

Why does time go so fast???

Why am I so tired?!?!?!!???

I knew I needed a mental break even though it wasn't even 10 a.m. yet.

I logged onto My One Word to see if there were any new blog posts.  And there it was.  Starting at me.  My feelings in the written word.  

Rather than living life intentionally, most people end up responding to whatever comes their way just hoping to survive. Our lives are filled with what amounts to be distractions simply because everything else is allowed priority in our lives. We raise our kids, run our businesses and go through our lives holding our breath, crossing our fingers and hoping that somehow in the busyness of it all we will grow into reflecting Christ’s heart. This simply will not happen by chance.

My One Word is Grow.  I realized that I can't GROW unless I'm intentional about it.  So that's what I'm trying to do.   I spend so much of my time "responding to whatever comes my way" always hoping "to survive."  That's why life goes too fast.  I was out of balance and I don't function well when I live in survival mode.

The next morning I intentionally woke up early and tip toed quietly down to the kitchen before waking up the kids and opened my Bible.  

The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.  Zephaniah 3:17

Quiet you with his love.

Quiet me with his love.

Much like I swoop up Little Dude when he gets hurt and hug him and kiss him and apply the "orange bumpy" ice to his boo-boo to quiet him, my Heavenly Father is here to swoop in and quiet me, comfort me with his love too. 

Not only that but I need to remember that my Heavenly Father is with me; delighting in me; loving me; rejoicing in what I do.  Always.  But especially in those moments when I am feeling overwhelmed and tired. 

I don't always want to be intentional about opening my Bible.  But the day is always better when I do. 

Conversations in his Heart & Allergies

Little Dude:  Do you want another baby?

Me:  Well, if God wants us to have another baby, I would love it!

Little Dude:  God does want you to!

Me:  He does?!  Have you been in conversation with God?

Little Dude:  Yeah.  God in our hearts.

Me:  So you'd like to be a big brother, huh?

Little Dude: Yeah.  I want another brother.

Me:  Well sometimes God gives us little girls though.  What would you think of a sister?

Little Dude:  No.  I don't want a gurl.

Me:  Why not?

Little Dude:  Girls make me sneeze.

Did you know.....

...that the year is almost 1/12th of the way over???  Can you believe it???  I haven't written one post all year!!!  So, HAPPY BELATED NEW YEAR!!!!

...that I have decided not to make a list of goals and resolutions for this year???  Instead I've decided to focus on One Word for the entire year.  My word is GROW.  I don't want to grow in height (or weight for that matter!!!)  But I want to GROW deeper in my relationships, GROW more intentional in the time I give to my family, GROW in wisdom and understanding of God, GROW in how I am able to be a servant leader. 

...that I have a new job???  Our church has been part of a 7-charge Cooperative Parish for 12 years.  Last year I was on staff with that Parish as the Youth Coordinator.  After much praying and deliberating our Church decided to step away from the Parish, hire a full-time pastor, a secretary and a Children/Youth Leader.  My position with the Parish dissolved at the end of the year and I am now on staff and serving my home church as the Children/Youth Leader. 

...that we don't have TV hooked up in our house???  When we moved, there was not option for switching our cable to the new house.  So we could either go with Dish or get a converter box which would allow us to get the main local stations.  We decided not to do either.  The television is hooked up for movies and video games on the weekend.  It has been so freeing to not be owned by a Prime Time line up!!!!  We have been spending more intentional time together as a family and as a couple. When we do watch a movie it is usually together. 

...that we have been playing a lot of board games lately???  Little Dude really likes Memory and Sorry!

"I WIN!  I WIN!!!"

....that it is a lot of fun to put on your swim trunks and "swim" in mommy and daddy's bath tub on a day off from school with your brother??

Christmas Blessings

What a great first Christmas we had here in the Yellow House on the Prairie. 

So many sweet blessings from the past several weeks. 

Decorating our new home.

Baking and spending time with friends.

Sharing our goodies with our new neighbors.

A Cow

Watching The Boy perform his last middle school winter concert.

A Shepard

A Wise Man

And one really excited Joseph

Lighting the Christ candle on our Advent wreath

Having a quiet, relaxing Christmas day at home with our boys

Looking for the Pickle!

LOTS of Good food

Visiting with my brothers and their family

Sharing the reason for the season with my boys.  

Listening to Little Dude retell it. 

Reflecting on the Hope, Peace, Joy and Love that came into the world in that manger

Celebrating the manger because of the cross.

Oh, Christmas Tree....

Our tree was up with lights strung.   The decorations weren't up yet.  There just hadn't seemed to be enough time.

We spent time visiting with friends in their homes one weekend.  The first evening I took notice of the tree in the living room.  Decorated to match the room in a crisp apple red.  The gifts under the tree wrapped perfectly to match.  We spent the rest of the evening in their beautifully, newly remodeled basement family room.  In that room sat a tree decorated in blue; the perfect accent color to the brown hues in the rest of the room.  The gifts also wrapped to match the tree they sat under.   They also had a beautifully decorated tree in the master bedroom.

The second evening we spent in the new home of our very good friends.  The previous owners of the home could not take the their Christmas tree with them so our friends were able to purchase it and use.  I think it was like 13 feet high!!!  I really don't know how tall it was but my friend needed a ladder to decorate it!!!  The towering, giant evergreen adorned in red was breathtaking!   

As I lay in bed that night thinking back on the trees we had seen I realized I was having tree envy.  The trees that I had seen over the weekend all could have been in Christmas magazines.  Mine sat in our living room, undecorated, with lights falling off from curious cats.  I knew it would be decorated eventually but my tree would not be fit for a magazine.  

I sighed.  "Everyone has such pretty Christmas trees."

"I think your tree says a lot about who you are."  My Sweetie commented.

I had decided that today was the day that the tree would be decorated.  I carried up the containers that held our decorations from our basement and gently pulled them out one by one holding them for just a second before placing them on the table.  

There were several "Babies First Christmas" ornaments.  Ornaments my mom bought for our boys every year with their names and dates on them.  Ornaments that My Sweeties mom either bought or made our boys every year.  Ornaments that were My Sweeties when he was a child.  Ornaments that we brought home with us from Disney world.  Ornaments with younger, sweet faces of our boys sprinkled with glitter. Ornaments that were made by our boys and given to us as gifts.

It was like opening a box of memories.  Everyone of these ornaments had either been given or made with love.  Everyone of these ornaments had a story behind them.  

At the end of the night, after the precious hands of anxious boys had carefully placed all of those memories on the tree so lovingly...

 I stepped back and took a look.

 It was just as breathtaking as the ones I had seen just a week ago.    It was sitting exactly where I had envisioned it to sit for our first Christmas in our yellow house on the prairie.  It was full of love, full of memories and looked so much more beautiful and more perfect than I had envisioned.

 

The Christma Story *cubed*

Here are 3 different videos that I've seen posted on Facebook recently.  All tell the Christmas Story in a different way.   I couldn't decide which one to post so I chose all three.  Enjoy. 

This one made me chuckle a couple of times....



               
What if....Mary and Joesph had a facebook???  I thought this one was pretty powerful. 




And THIS is really what it's all about....

Reminders from God

"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel"  Isaiah 7:14

Immanuel:  God with us.

I was rolling this concept around in my head this evening as I drove through the dark night across the Mississippi bridge on my way home from running errands trying to "get done" with Christmas. 

The hustle and bustle of this busy time of year frustrates me more and more every year.  I'm trying to teach my children the true meaning of Christmas.  I'm trying to create memories that they will cherish when they are older.  I do want to give them that warm and fuzzy happy Christmas morning feeling that every parent wants their child to have.  I want to be a blessing to others so I mail Christmas Cards, bake goodies to give to friends and neighbors, buy gifts for the children on the angel tree.  There are Christmas programs and concerts that the kids are in.  Sometimes I find myself longing for the peace and quiet of January.

Through all of that, I need to keep reminding myself what is really important and that God is with us.  

Maybe I should restate that.

I need to BE reminded of what is important and that God is with me.

Today I was looking out the kitchen window and off in the distance I saw some sort of a hawk or eagle soaring in the air.  As it came closer to my home I could clearly see the majestic bald head of the eagle just before it flew over my house.

Almost instantly Isaiah 40:31 popped into my head.

"But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.  They will soar high on wings like eagles.  They will run and not grow weary.  They will walk and not faint"

God is with me in this season of busy and will keep me going.

This evening BuhBuh asked if he could wrap up one of his old toys and put it under the tree for Little Dude.  I really wanted to say no because it is a similar thing that Little Dude is getting on Christmas.  But I couldn't crush his gift-giving heart.  He later told me that Little Dude would really enjoy it much more then him.  He also whispered something in my ear that he'd like to give The Boy.  

God is with me and I can see Him in the heart and actions of my precious 8 year old.

As I hurried into town trying to keep all of the things of my to-do list straight I head the lyrics of a song playing on the radio, 

"Father, let the world just fade away
Let me feel your presence in this place
Lord, I've never been so weary
How I need to know you're near me
Father, let the world just fade away" (He Is by Mark Schultz)

God is with me, calming me and centering me back on what is really important.

On my way home the song that is the inspiration for a sermon that I'm working on came on.

God is with me as I remember this one-more-thing-on-my-plate thing, reminding me that it will be Him speaking through me on that Sunday morning.

And as I crossed the bridge on the last leg of my journey home I saw off in the distance a shooting star.  It took my breath away.  I was amazed.  A bald eagle and a shooting star in one day!!! WOW!

As if on cue, just after the shooting star vanished from sight another song on the radio.

Light light light up the sky
You light up the sky
To show me You are with me
I I I can't deny
No I can't deny that You are right here with me
You've opened my eyes
So I can see You all around me
Light light light up the sky
You light up the sky to show me
That You are with me (Light Up the Sky The Afters)

Apparently today I needed a lot of reminders that God is with me.

But I am so thankful for a God who is ever-present in my life; thankful for a God who loves me so much to keep reminding me until I get it; thankful for a God who is with me even when life is busy and I can't keep anything straight in my head; thankful for the baby who came in the manger to live among us, and die for us and still be with us. 

Car Talk

The following car talk is all from one ride, all within a few minutes of each other and all completely random.

BuhBuh:  Who anointed me?

Me:  Um, you mean baptized??

BuhBuh:  YEAH!!!!  Baptized!!!

*******************************************************

Do you recall this recent Car Talk??  Apparently some things have changed. 

BuhBuh:  Yeah, I don't wanna be a cop anymore because all 'dey really do is eat doughnuts.  ***lip smacking sound***


 ********************************************************
Me:  Hey!!  Did you use your giant pencil at school today??

BuhBuh:  Yup! 

Me:  Did anyone laugh??

BuhBuh:  Nope, but they were jealous!!!!

Ready to Learn

 "I'm ready for school,"  BuhBuh announced as he pulled out a larger than life pencil.  

He had gotten it as a Christmas gift from his Grandma and Grandpa.

I was attempting to get some breakfast ideas out of him as he pretended to do "homework" with this enormous pencil.  

"BuhBuh, are you listening,"  I asked.

"I'm doin' my homework," he let me know. 

**sigh**  He's a nut.  It's really hard not to laugh. 

Different

Me:  BuhBuh!  Were you suppose to be dressed up for the field trip to see the play today.

BuhBuh:  Yeah

Me:  Why didn't you tell me?

BuhBuh:  I like to be different!!!  **pause**  Just the way God made me. 

Me:  ***grin***

Lead Me

We had a MOPS speaker talk to us about marriage; one of my top three things to read about or hear a speaker present on being that I am constantly trying to be more of the wife that God had intended me to be to my husband.  I fall short.  Daily.  So when I heard our speaker was presenting on marriage I hunkered down with my pen and paper ready to take notes and be inspired.

She gave us word pictures.  

Mirror/Selfishness:   We often times point out the flaws we see in our husband.  But instead of pointing the mirror at us, we needd to turn that mirror around and look at ourselves and see what it is revealing about us.  She gave us a quote from an author which said, "One of the best wedding gifts God gave you was a full-length mirror called your spouse.  Had there been a card attached it would have said, "here's to helping you discover what you're REALLY like." (Gary and Betsy Ricucci)

Chairs:  What chair would our marriage sit in?  Chair #1 Exciting!  Love is new-hot, passionate, all consuming, giving, thoughtful.  Chari #2 Satissfying, Fullfilling-Love is not so new, but really good.  It's sometimes hot and passionate; it's been tested, good communication, best friends.  Chair #3 Routine-Love has grown stale, mediocre-not much attnetion has been paid to it so it's getting pretty mediocre, mundane.  Chair #4 Dead-Love is pretty dead.  You may still be together, but it's on the rocks as far as real fun, satisfaction, joy, friendship.  You're in the chair that no only you think you're in, but in the one your spouse thinks you're in.  (EEK!)

Love Bank:  We can't be writing checks on an account where no deposits are being made.  Eventually the bank will be dry.

Leftovers:  Our spouses often get the leftovers of our life when everything else is taken care of.  While children and our jobs/volunteer work may take a lot of time, our spouses need to be our top priority after Jesus.  Our spouses deserve our best, not our leftovers.

I didn't leave MOPS that Tuesday with the same warm and fuzzy, refreshed and filled up feeling I usually have. I left feeling very convicted. Which is good because I KNOW I needed it!  

So I went on my way with my day with this feeling of conviction in my heart and I was ready to be the wife God intended me to be for my husband. 

Unfortunately Satan was ready to pounce. 

And around 5 o'clock Satan struck and arrived as an unwanted dinner guest.  

I was frustrated with My Sweetie and grouchy with the kids and my mind was whirling with all kinds of not so nice things and my heart was hurting.

Then those word pictures stared to flash in my mind;chairs, love bank, leftovers!  

Ok God, yeah,I get it but, but, but what about me?  What happens when I feel like I'm getting the leftovers????

Another word picture flashed....selfishness and mirror!  

Ugh!  

I was feeling defeated and hopeless and I just wanted to go to bed and start again the next day. 

Then God reminded me of a song,one I thought my husband "just needed to hear".

So I pulled it up and listened. As I listened God convicted me again and that mirror I had been pointing towards my husband was now pointing at me; I was the one who needed to listen all along.

So I wanted to share with all of you....maybe its another God thing, maybe one of you need it too. There is a lyric which refers to "my wife" but if YOU are the wife, you can easily change it to "my husband" and it still applies.  

The end of the song is my favorite, its a prayer; one that I repeated over and over that evening in my kitchen.  It's a call out to God that we can't be the wives and mothers, husbands and fathers that God has created us and called us to be without HIM leading us. 

Doors

We walked through the doors of that little blue house on Walnut Street in May of 1997.  I was 20, My Sweetie was 22.  He had just graduated from college, we had been married for just under a year and we had a 6 month old baby boy.  

I remember walking in those doors and feeling like I was finally able to breath for the first time in about a year.   It had been a whirlwind.  

 Just a year prior I was finishing up my sophomore year at college and planning a wedding.  We had gotten married in June; I had moved from my parents’ home into a small home of My Sweetie’s parents just after we were married which we lived in for about 2 months.  We then moved about an hour away to college where My Sweetie finished his senior year and worked.  Every weekend we packed up and came home to be with family so I could work.  In November we had a baby.  I had gotten a job back home so I moved in with my parents about 6 weeks before My Sweeties graduation going back to our apartment on my days off.  My Sweetie finished college in May and then we packed up and moved again into the little blue house on Walnut Street when he graduated.     

As we walked through the door I instantly felt at ease; I finally felt like I could start to get settled into our life.  Even though we would share the space with his family for a few more months until their house was finished being built, it didn’t matter because I knew I was home.  

Just inside the doors of that little blue house a lot of growing took place over those 13 ½ years; much like a baby growing in a mother’s womb; warm and safe, growing until it was time to leave the safety and warmth of the only thing that baby knew into something else warm and safe-a mother’s arms.  

Our maturity and wisdom grew;  our marriage grew into something more beautiful than any young, scared, 19 year old bride could have ever dreamt; our family grew to 3 boys; our boys grew more quickly than anyone ever told me they would; our faith grew into something I never could have even wrapped my mind around all those year ago.  

Then at just the right time we walked out of the doors of the safety and warmth of the only house our children had known, the house where we had spent most of our marriage, the house that had been cozy and comfortable (literally and financially) through the doors of another house that was warm and safe; The yellow house on the prairie. 

On a beautiful Friday afternoon in October our family pulled into the drive way of this yellow house on the prairie.  I unloaded the kids, their exciting squeals as I set them free made me smile.  I filled my arms with the first things to be carried into our new home and began to walk into the garage (Grin!!). 

   

“WAIT! WAIT! WAIT!!”  My Sweetie exclaimed, “Put your coffee down.  Put your stuff down.”  He said as he practically took it all out of my hands and put it down on the ground.  

My handsome groom led me to the front of the house, scooped me up into his arms and carried me over the threshold of the door to yellow house on the prairie.

“Welcome home,” he said and he bent down to kiss me.  

Home indeed is where we were and it felt good!!! 

Although that little blue house on Walnut Street was the place we called home for so many years and the place where all of our babies took their first steps and celebrated their first birthdays it’s really only a house.  All of those memories belong to me and my family, not the house.

The house is not what makes a home a home.  A home is created in the living, loving, growing and creating of memories by the family that lives just through the door of a house. 

Happy 14th

Dear (sweet, God-Loving, smart,) Boy of mine,

Happy 14th Birthday.  

We were driving and discussing how you don't have a cell phone a few weeks back and I said, "I will consider allowing you to have a cell phone next year when you turn 15."  

I stopped. 

I gasped.  

I couldn't believe that i had said those words!!!  

"Next year when you turn 15!!!??"  

You were only 13, but only weeks away from a birthday.  

Wow.  

This fall you entered another school season of being the "big man on campus"  LITERALLY!!!  Not only are you a top dog 8th grader at school, but BOY oh BOY you have GROWN.  Last year at your birthday you were about caught up to your ole' mom in height.  This year there is no need to squint.  You have surpassed me in height.  Even when I'm in heels you are taller than me.  I know, I know, one of these days I will find myself looking up at your brothers too, but let me get use to looking up to you first, ok?  :)  

Not only have you grown physically this past year, you have really matured from a kid into a teenager.  You continue to make me proud in all that you do.  You chose to spend your spring break volunteering for a lunch program for kids who may not otherwise receive lunch on days when they aren't in school.  You ran the powerpoint for VBS at our church and run it every Sunday for service.  You chose to spend most of your summer growing in your faith by attending a leadership camp, going to Green Pastures for a Martial Arts camp focused on Defending your Faith and serving in St. Paul, MN on a mission trip.  We actually had conversations about you wanting to be away for another week of camp this summer but I selfishly wanted you home instead and wanted you to have some down time.  You are truly your happiest when you are in those settings among other peers who are strong in their faith and Loving the Lord.  I have been blessed to be with you a few times, watching from the back, seeing the different person you are there compared to the person who deals with the world within his school walls.  It's hard to be a teenager trying to fit in.  You are choosing to store up your treasures in heaven, not here.  You will look different to your peers who have made and will continue to make different choices.  I will continue to pray for you so that you can find the perfect balance between continuing to glorify God in your choices and feeling like you fit in among your peers.  God has great plans for you, I just know it.  I'm excited to to watch and be your support and encourager.   

You gave football a try again this year.  

You remained in one piece!!  You played hard and really began to understand the game.  Last year when I'd pick you up from practice you were beat.  This year when I'd pick you up from practice you were pumped up!!!  I had the best time watching and cheering for you from the sidelines.  This was the first time a fall sport ended that I was a little sad to see it end.  I had so much fun watching you play football and I thank God you didn't get hurt.  It's rough out there!  

Even though you are a cool teenager now, I did enjoy seeing you "play" this summer while we were on vacation.  You and your brother just loved digging in the sand along Lake Michigan.  Don't forget to be a kid.  I often tell you to "Just enjoy where you are now at the age you are now" because I don't want you to miss out on the blessings of today.   Life is short and you will be grown up before you know it and needing to make adult decisions.  So keep on digging.    

By the time I sit down to write you next birthday letter you will be in high school.  It seems like I was just freighting over you beginning middle school.  SEE!  Life does go fast.   

You aren't a big fan of mom's hugs anymore.  I thought that maybe I should just stop if you didn't like them and figure out a different way to let you know I love you.   But God placed in my life the wisdom of another mom who had raised boys as well.  She saw me hugging Little Dude as he ran into preschool one morning and she told me, "Don't ever stop hugging your boys.  I had boys and even if they don't like it, keep hugging them because one day they may want you to hug them again and if you have stopped hugging them you'll never know."  

So curl up in the fetal position all you want, I will never stop hugging you.  I don't care how tall you get, I don't care how old you get, I will never stop hugging you.  

Never forget how special you are to me...YOU made me a mom and I LOVE being a mom;  I LOVE being YOUR mom.  I love our good conversations, I love shopping with you, I love watching you play football, I love watching you play nicely with your brothers, I love watching you grow in your faith, I love your humor.  I will never stop cheering for you.  

Lots of Love and Happy Birthday!!!

Mom