Monthly Archives: February 2010

Critter Watching

What a large number of things You have made, O Lord! You made them all by wisdom. The earth is filled with Your creatures. The sea is so big and wide with countless creatures, living things both large and small. All of them look to You to give them their food at the right time. You give it to them and they gather it up. You open Your hand, and they are filled with blessings. Psalm 104:24-25, 27-28.

We love the location of our home. Although it is nestled in the middle of a large development, each home backs to wooded common grounds.

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Baptism

“En nombre de Padre, de Hijo, y de espiritu santo.”

The waters stirred as the dark haired gentleman followed the pastor into the baptismal pool. The pastor introduced himself and this gentleman to the congregation. Hundreds of eyes rested on these two as they readied to represent Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. “This man comes to us tonight to be baptized.” Those were the last words I understood.

The pastor then spoke beautiful Spanish as fluid as the water in which he stood. The words were engaging but made no sense to me. I followed as closely as possible listening for chunks of words I understood comparing them to the words I knew and expected at a baptism.

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Long after the gifts…

My son had his ninth birthday a couple weeks ago.

After he left for school that day, I went to the store, got him a balloon as a surprise and a couple dozen donuts to share with his class.

When I showed up in his classroom, he beamed. His teacher helped him to clip the balloon to his desk and his classmates oohed and aahed at the donuts. I could tell he was surprised and happy.

About two hours later, as I was out running errands, I got an email on my phone from his teacher…

“Your son can’t stop smiling.

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Library Visit

We arrive at the library…ah, my place of refuge—my safe haven. I scan the rows of books, smiling. Quickly my three young girls remind me of their presence. They tug on my jacket until I lead them beyond the heavenly realm into the not so heavenly children’s section. I agree they all can pick out five books. I help the littlest one with her books. So far—a good visit. If all goes well I might get a chance to browse the new fiction books.

We head directly there. I’m on a mission. I breathe in the new titles, opening some to read first lines.

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Do Not Fret

Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong . . . Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:1,3-4

I decided to look up the definition of the word fret: 1. worry: to be worried, irritated, or agitated about something; wear away: to wear away or corrode the surface of something, or become worn away or corroded make hole by constant rubbing:

Are you a fretter? Can you turn thoughts over and over in your mind looking at them from every imaginable angle?

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Open Doors

For a number of years I experienced the same dream again and again. It was never frightening; I just never understood its importance. Several nights each week I would find myself dwelling in a very large home. There were many beautiful rooms and friends and family often came to visit. The confusing part for me was that each time I had this dream, no matter what the house looked like, there were always rooms with locked doors and no one was allowed to enter them.

After many repetitions of this dream, I began praying about its meaing. Finally the Lord revealed to me that this large home was like my heart.

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Don’t Just Eat the Marshmallows!

“DON’T JUST EAT THE MARSHMALLOWS!” I print this on a banner and wave it madly over the breakfast table. Every time I buy Lucky Charms, it’s the same. The kids beg to eat it and then pick out the fluffy sugary sweetness and leave the cute oat shapes floating aimlessly in the bowl. You would think that I’d wise up and quit buying it. But as I decidedly march down the cereal aisle looking for healthy, low-sugar, proves-I’m-a-good-mom cereal, there he is. His cute little leprechaun face luring me in – promising gold at the end of the rainbow and before I know it I’m in the check out line with yet another box of Lucky Charms.

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Cleaning the Mess

Saturday night was rough. I held hair back. I washed sheets. I listened as my daughter told me she hopes she gives me the flu. Yes, she said those words.

“I hope I give this to you.”

I laughed at the time, but wasn’t laughing so hard the next day when I doubled over with stomach pains. The whole experience reminds me of what I once heard a pastor share. He explained how Jesus coming to earth was in some ways the equivalent of a parent caring for a sick child. *Excuse the graphic example, but trust me I have a point.

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