Tell Me The Story Of Jesus...

This fall, I've had the remarkable privilege of hanging out with a great bunch of kids every Sunday morning. The teach me every week - and every so often, I get to teach too!!


This December, I had the privilege of sharing the christmas story with them. It's a story they've heard over and over, and after sharing the story we had a "birthday party for Baby Jesus," complete with party games, music and snacks. WHAT FUN!


I remember when this story first began to change my heart. I was 18 1/2. It was January 2, 1998. I was moving through life, not with the greatest of ease. In fact, life felt very very complicated. It was on this particular morning that I was driving to work in a nearby community. I was running late (some things never change!!) and in attempt to make up for lost time,  I decided to take a "short cut" through the country. I misjudged a snow pile on the road and ended up very very very stuck. Like all-4-wheels-are-off-the-ground, I'm-not-getting-out-of-this-by-myself, gotta-go-get-dad STUCK!


Sigh. So much for making up for lost time!!


As I sat behind the steering wheel (SERIOUSLY NOT AT ALL DRESSED FOR THE -30 TEMPS EITHER!!), I remember "praying." Venting. Demanding. Hoping that God would get me out of this scrape. I didn't want the inconvenience. Not at all pretty!! And for the first time ever, I experienced the silence of heaven. This is less about not getting the "prayer answer" I was hoping for, and more about the fact that I was using communication with God as a means to an end (an easy life) rather than a means to a relationship. And He was not about to be manipulated.


If you've ever had an argument with someone, and did all of the yelling, screaming, swearing :), venting, complaining, pouting, demanding, manipulating --- and then that person was completely silent in return --- you'll have an idea of how this felt. Completely unnerving. I did not have the capacity to process the beginning of this awareness at this time, nor did I have any idea what changes had begun in my heart. I just knew that something had happened and a change had begun. Grace was a glimmer on the horizon and that would begin to alter the course of my life forever.

As I was preparing my Sunday School lesson at the beginning of December, the words from this hymn kept running through my mind...

Tell me the story of Jesus,
Write on my heart every word.
Tell me the story most precious,
Sweetest that ever was heard.
Tell how the angels in chorus,
Sang as they welcomed His birth.
“Glory to God in the highest!
Peace and good tidings to earth.”

Refrain

Tell me the story of Jesus,
Write on my heart every word.
Tell me the story most precious,
Sweetest that ever was heard.

The story of extravagant grace. 

Of limitless love. 

Of truth and justice and a God who loves us enough to say what needs to be said ...

... or let silence speak for itself.

As I finish this post, the kids are now awake and zooming around the house! Wee one is getting a ride in a walker, Sweet K is rubbing the sleepies out of her eyes and Little M is keeping us all entertained! We're getting ready to celebrate christmas as a family, opening gifts, eating snacks and in our own way, having a "baby Jesus birthday party." The snow is falling outside and I've already received the gift of quiet, uninterrupted time to "just be" this morning before anyone else was up (a very RARE treat!!). 

It is good.

Today, as you move about your own festivities, may you too be singing the words, "tell me the story of Jesus...."

Merry Christmas!

Annnnnd she's FIVE!

On December 21, it was 5 years since the morning (early, 3:38am) that Little M came into this world.

Those 5 years have been filled with much adventure, laughter, discipline :), and quiet and not-so-quiet moments together.

That first week that I was home alone with this tiny baby, I decided to make a trek out to the post office. It was BITTERLY cold, so I was going to take the car. It was my first "outing" alone. It felt like it took forever just to get out the door. Everything still felt awkward and was I forgetting something... blah blah blah. I backed the car out of the garage and down the driveway. All clear. HOWEVER, there was a patch of ice lurking beneath a small pile of snow. The snow was not an issue, but the stupid ice patch was. And there, in my driveway, 1/2 onto the road, I was totally and completely stuck.

Did I mention I'd brought the dog along, just for fun!?

Hmmmm. What to do. Baby is in the car. Dog is now very anxious. I am more than a touch nervous myself. Quite a quandary. A friend neighbor stops by. So thankful for her familiar face, I open my door - and the pooch ESCAPES! It takes me a while to catch him, and when I do, my friend says that her husband clears driveways and would be more than willing to help me out. A simple tug later, and my car is free.... except that in the process, he drives straight off the culvert in ANOTHER neighbors driveway and now his truck was totally and completely stuck. And sitting at an angle that didn't look....good. Five hours later, all the vehicles are back in their respective garages. I never did make it to the mail!

Almost every time we head out together, I ask Little M -- HEY, wanna go off on an ADVENTURE together!? 

One time, when we were headed off to the city for some fun, she calls out from the back seat, "we're off on the greatest adventure EVER!!"

Life is always an adventure.

You just never know what might happen :).

 

She's worn her birthday girl ribbon every day since she got it :). 

Year ONE

 Year TWO

 Jammin' it up on Year THREE

 Cheesin' it up for Year FOUR

 

Year FIVE.

Wow. This pic doesn't show it, but we've probably lit the birthday candle 

about five times. Sung Happy Birthday every time :).

Such a hoot!!!

We've started letting Sweet K blow it out too, 

just to practice for her birthday in June :)!

Happy birthday, my sweet little girl.

You're a one-of-a-kind and we love you very much!

You make us laugh and laugh and laugh.

We are thankful for you.

Living again

As with most folks around here, we contended with the flu this past week.
I can't complain. Though we each always get our seasonal colds, our kids have not had the flu very often. It was our turn, and it hit with a vengeance!

It's tough being a grown up :) - caring for little ones while you are not well yourself. Energy runs desperately short, discouragement creeps up and all you want to do is crawl under the covers until it all goes away!

Each kiddo got a cozy corner of a couch, and slept off their illnesses by the light of the christmas tree. We listened to A LOT of Adventures in Odyssey :) and watched a lot of home videos. At nighttime, Jon moved a mattress into the living room to listen for them if they got sick, while I tended to the littlest one in our room. She wasn't sick, but she wasn't sleeping well at night either! Somehow 5 days have passed and I think we're seeing the light at the end of the tunnel!

This morning, however, I felt better. The first thought that came to mind when I realized my body no longer ached (like even underneath-your-fingernails type aching!!) and that I no longer groaned every time I moved :) --- this is what it feels to LIVE again. It takes going down for the count, even something as simple as the flu, to remind me how good it feels just to breathe and move without so much effort and think more clearly and all the other essentials of life that I so quickly take for granted.

This morning, I felt joy as we moved through our morning routine. Deep gratitude. I longed to throw open the windows for fresh air. (However I figured that Jon would assure me that with the cold temps and snow falling outside it would likely be a waste of heat energy!!) I have settled, instead for washing every blanket, towel, set of pjs, pillows and cases and couch cover that I could find. Everything goes through the laundry and hopefully that fresh-home smell will soon re-emerge. (Maybe plugging in the glade air freshener would help too!)

In some ways, it reminds me of when I discovered grace for the first time. Not just knowledge of God, but life WITH God. Ah, my heart said, this is what it feels like to LIVE. I felt joy. I longed to throw open the windows of my heart and soul and let His fresh Spirit clean house. It took a while to get all the messes cleaned up (we're still working on several!!), but it felt so ... good. Still does.

For all of you who find yourself contending with the flues of the season, we pray for a speedy recovery. May you find His grace, and a breath of fresh air, in the midst of the battle.

Because sometimes you need to laugh

Admittedly, yesterday was a rather crap-tacular kinda day.
Maybe that's too harsh. There were some truly spectacular moments - Little M's christmas concert, sharing a few unexpected gifts, visiting with parents.
However, it was a day, too, where you wondered why you crawled out from under the covers.
Oh yeah.
Baby was up at 5:45am and ready to play.
Then the other littles were up and needing breakfast.
And then, there was the sneaky flu that was influencing attitudes and behaviors, only we didn't know about it until bedtime.
Lunch bombed because the pancakes didn't cook properly (who screws up pancakes - yours truly, apparently!!) and supper was wonky because the meatballs kept falling apart (mushy meatballs, YUCK!).
And then we were up every 20 minutes at night with buckets and towels, wet wash clothes and soothing words.
Some days are rough.

And yet, there was this glimmer of humor.


Enjoy.
May you find opportunities to do the happy dance today!

The Work We Do...

These days, there are plenty of moments absorbed by the simple, mundane household chores of life. There's always a stack of dishes to wash, an extra load of laundry to do or a basket of toys to put away. I've had much opportunity to reflect on the value, and definition, of the work we do.


The writer of Ecclesiastes reminds us, "A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? .... That everyone may eat and drink and find satisfaction in all his toil - this is the gift of God." 2:24, 25, 3:13.


I've had the privilege of enjoying almost every job I've ever had, as well as each employer I have worked for. In high school I worked at the typical diner, but at least I worked with friends and that made the time fly by. I've worked as a travel agent, live-in nanny, camp counselor, education assistant, maintenance gal (some day I will share about the battle of identity over "Paint Girl"!), head custodian, housing director, conference coordinator and an assistant for students. As I grew in awareness and understanding, God provided the sense of "this is where I need to be" - even if I didn't always like the tasks (and there were DEFINITELY tasks I didn't like). Even if the days sometimes felt long. And unproductive. Even then, work held meaning for me, and therefore a sense of satisfaction at the end of the day.


I've been a SAHM for 5 years now. This past year was the best yet (maybe they'll just keep getting better and better :P?). I feel like I've found my groove around here and I'm really enjoying it. I don't always enjoy the endless chores, but even that provides an outlet for energy, a sense of rhythm to the week. And it's definitely not because things are always easy. They aren't. It's a struggle to grow and learn and love sometimes.


I am beginning to view work in a much broader sense. Waiting can be very hard work. Battling with impatience, anxiety, confusion, despair - these are only a few of the things we need to contend with when we find ourselves waiting. Listening is very important work - for how can we truly know and hear and understand if we aren't practicing the discipline of paying attention? Loving can be very challenging. Sometimes people (and our selves) are "easy" to love, but when relational friction enters the scene and we're having to choose care-filled words when we want to yell, apologies even when we don't feel like we were "all wrong", or a servant attitude when we want to be bossy :), loving can be very much work indeed.


In fact, I'm starting to wonder if the only important work we can do is love. All other tasks and actions, whether they are mundane or notable, stem from our commitment to love. Sometimes it is easy to love. Other times it requires far more intentionality. But isn't that what scripture talks about? 

²⁶ “What is written in the Law?” he [Jesus] replied. “How do you read it?”

 ²⁷ He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’^[a]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^[b]”

   ²⁸ “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

Luke 10:26-28

The more I see the routine chores as an act of love, the more I am willing to do them. The more I view talking with my neighbor, opening my home to guests, ministering my family, connecting with my friends as an act of loving hospitality, the more joyfully I will serve. The more I smile at the store clerk, thank the people that work for services that I enjoy, acknowledge those on the fringe, the more gratefully I will live. The more I love, the more I experience God's precious gift, and the more satisfaction I will find in my work. Even the dishes, laundry and tough stuff of life.

A splash of summer in the midst of winter :)

One thing I've discovered about gardening...
"Million Bells" cherry tomatoes pretty much live up to their name. There are SCADS of 'em! And since we (for some reason I am not exactly sure of, mind you I was about to give birth -- well, not literally RIGHT AWAY but within a short period of time and my mind was a little fuzzy :)...) purchased four of these delightful plants for our garden - or was it six, now I really can't remember that either! - we had A LOT of cherry tomatoes.


And note -- eating too many cherry tomatoes in one day is BAD for the system ;).
We've figured that out two years in a row!


So, what to do? Freeze 'em. Wash em up and freeze 'em whole. I found two recipes online that allows you to make homemade tomato soup from these delicious little morsels - and the best part is, no peeling of skins. Just cook 'em up, puree the whole lot and strain it if you don't like the seeds ;).

Garden Fresh Tomato Soup

Ingredients

• 4 cups chopped fresh tomatoes
• 1 slice onion
• 4 whole cloves
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons white sugar, or to taste

Directions

1. In a stockpot, over medium heat, combine the tomatoes, onion, cloves and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, and gently boil for about 20 minutes to blend all of the flavors. Remove from heat and run the mixture through a food mill into a large bowl, or pan. Discard any stuff left over in the food mill.
2. In the now empty stockpot, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the flour to make a roux, cooking until the roux is a medium brown. Gradually whisk in a bit of the tomato mixture, so that no lumps form, then stir in the rest. Season with sugar and salt, and adjust to taste.

Fresh Tomato Zucchini Soup

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium zucchini, cubed
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 8 large tomatoes, cored
• 1 small sweet onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh red chile pepper
• 1 (14 ounce) can vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoon dried tarragon
• 2 teaspoons dried dill weed
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir the zucchini and garlic in the skillet until lightly browned. Remove from heat, and set aside.
2. In a blender or food processor, puree the tomatoes, onion, and chile pepper, leaving a few small chunks.
3. In a large pot, mix the tomato puree and vegetable broth. Season with tarragon, dill, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and mix in the zucchini and garlic. Cover, and cook 45 minutes.

YUMMY! With fresh baked biscuits, these were fun recipes to try. 
A little reminder of summer and warm days to come :).

Of course I still have some carrots and beets that never made it into the house and are now a frozen lump in the garage, but there's always next year!