Monday, July 27, 2015
Saturday, July 25, 2015
#20 Blessing Adorable Kitten
Meet Abe (named after President Lincoln), our newest addition.
The best thing about him is that he stretches out on his back and lets you rub his belly. Plus he is curious, clumsy, crazy and super cuddly when he is worn out.
The best thing about him is that he stretches out on his back and lets you rub his belly. Plus he is curious, clumsy, crazy and super cuddly when he is worn out.
#19 Blessing Facing Fears
This was the goal... to ride the swings. She even made sure to wear her tennis shoes so that she could ride it this year. Last year she wore her flip flops, to which made this momma very happy! Seriously, it is a traveling carnival ride...I mean how safe is it? Can you not hear your own mothers voice in the back of your head telling you "No, you cannot ride the fair rides! They are not safe!" When really maybe your mother just didn't want to ride the swings either.
This was her face of fear...
As we waiting in line she lost her nerve when she got to the gate. She literally shook with fear. Then she got frustrated! "I am mad at myself!" she had exclaimed! "I am going to do this! I can do this! I will stay here until I do do this!"
My kids inspire me all the time!
So proud of herself for being brave enough to ride the swings. Would you ride the swings again, I had asked her on our way home. "Oh, yes!" then there was a pause, "Well maybe not, but if I did it again I would ride on the outside!"
This was her face of fear...
As we waiting in line she lost her nerve when she got to the gate. She literally shook with fear. Then she got frustrated! "I am mad at myself!" she had exclaimed! "I am going to do this! I can do this! I will stay here until I do do this!"
My kids inspire me all the time!
So proud of herself for being brave enough to ride the swings. Would you ride the swings again, I had asked her on our way home. "Oh, yes!" then there was a pause, "Well maybe not, but if I did it again I would ride on the outside!"
Friday, July 24, 2015
#18 Blessing Prayers for a Waffle House
It was several years ago that some man professed to know the exact day, hour, minute that the 2nd coming would take place. The media ran with it, counting down the weeks and days. I remember how it was joked about…what will you be doing when the world is ending? Well the day arrived. Dinner was cooking on the grill. The sun was shining. Gavin was making 2nd coming jokes. And Macey was singing and jumping on the trampoline in the backyard. As the moment drew near I noticed that both Paul and I had gravitated to our singing angle. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one…. Nothing. No planes fell from the sky, no nuclear blast, and Gavin was still laughing at his 2nd coming jokes. Now mind you, Paul and I never bought this was going to happen, but we live in a post 9/11 world. If there is even an inkling that something is in the making that might bring harm to our kids we go into protective mode. We laughed and both admitted that if some event of that nature would occur that our Macey would be a guaranteed guest, and if we had any chance of making it ourselves we would have to grab on to her in hopes that we could go with her.
Innately good, compassionate, with an earnest belief that all people are worthy, she hopes for the best, prays with belief, and has the desire to just do the right things. At ten years old this girl has all the RIGHT answers, and more importantly I see her starting to live as a light to others. Everyone needs a person like Macey in their lives as a reminder of whom we are each called to be.
This last year I really started to see the seeds of her faith blossom into answered prayers. And to be honest when my child opens her mouth to pray, or I offer up a pray on her behalf I am starting to get a little nervous. There is a saying “If you pray for rain, better pack an umbrella” … but if Macey prays for rain pack your umbrella, a rain coat, put on your ugly wellies and maybe consider friending someone who owns a boat.
In January the two of us crafted a prayer-box and came up with a plan to pray. Each day we would write our pray on a slip of paper and give it to the other one. Macey would take mine to bed and sleep with the prayer under her pillow, and I would carry her pray request around in my pocket. We made a promise that we would take the time to read and pray about each other’s pray for the day and then place them in the box; a record of answered prayers, a tracking of blessings. Many of our prayers were for a specific person and peace to everyone involved in a specific situation. Her petitions to God tugged at my heart and not only did I pray as I promised her I would, but I found myself changing my approach and attitude regarding her requests. We talked about the box in front of this beloved person of which many of our prayers were for. We were on our way to the grocery store and happen to be driving past a new building in construction. Jokingly this person said to Macey “Why don’t you just pray for that building to be a Waffle House!” Later this person laughed at me and said “I bet she prays for a Waffle House.” I agreed, she probably would, even though it was never a prayer that she wrote out on paper and handed to me.
That building ended up being a stupid Verizon store, and hash browns in all kinds of ways sounded like a much better option, but it was a funny conversation that sparked an inside joke to “Pray for a Waffle House!” We all know that God is not a vending machine in the sky. However, sometimes I so wish that he was, especially when the recent prayers of Macey have been for a little boy her same age who recently found out he has a terminal, untreatable ailment. Faith in prayer is a challenge especially when the healing of someone is a resounding NO. Still we will continue to pray. Our list of prayers continues to grow and grow.
Last week it was my turn to help out in the elementary room at our church. Towards the end of the service they ask that the leaders to come up and pray with any of the kids that have a prayer request. Macey had said to me weeks earlier, “The next time you are helping my row, I am going to come up with you and we can pray about this thing together.” “Okay,” I had agreed, but when the time came she didn’t want to. I admit, this act can be intimidating as it is not something that we do together often. We didn’t go up front, but we sat together and I took her hands and I prayed for her like I would any other kid, only with the advantage of privy information because she is mine. Still I didn’t pray for what I wanted but what Macey wanted… and there is no doubt in my mind that this prayer was heard and answered. Before the day ended a chain of events brought about changes for this one person, for this one specific situation. No, it wasn’t what I wanted. No, it didn’t come about as I imagined. We prayed for rain and we got a storm. And honestly Macey doesn’t even know the specifics of what her pray shook loose for this person, for this situation, for the present and future of all involved. I just told her that I thought our prayer together actually brought about a change, and that maybe now this person will find happiness, peace and healing. Maybe now this situation can resolve.
About a month ago, there was news that Terre Haute is getting a Waffle House next year. We all laughed. This special person asked Macey, did you pray for a Waffle House? Well of course she had! I will never be able to look at a Waffle House again without thinking of Macey’s prayers for a Waffle House. I knew God had a sense of humor and probably likes hash browns with all the toppings too! And when this person we love sees a Waffle House I hope they remember her earnest prayers for them right down to a Waffle House because she knew it would make this person happy, and she loves this person that much that absolutely nothing is too impossible with a little prayer, a little hope and a waffle with a side of bacon.
“Every child is a message that everything is possible again; your past, your story, this world it all has another chance.” – Ann Voskamp
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
#17 Blessing Good Grief
Grief has the power to make you or break you...it asks you what you are made of.
"If you hold back on the emotions - if you don't allow yourself to go all the way through them - you can never get to being detached, you're too busy being afraid. You're afraid of the pain, you're afraid of the grief. You're afraid of the vulnerability that loving entails. But by throwing yourself into these emotions, by allowing yourself to dive in, all the way, over your head even, you experience them fully and completely."
-Mitch Albom, Tuesday's with Morrie
"I give myself a good cry if I need it, but then I concentrate on all the good things still in my life."
-Mitch Albom, Tuesday's with Morrie
"Turn that pain into power!"
- The Script
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
-Psalm 34:18
But above all, I wish you happiness, even though I am aware you require my absence to find it.
-Beau Taplin
How many times have I said to my own children "suck it up cupcake," there is no time to be sad! I try to follow my own instructions. I run from my grief, try to keep busy, ignore its nagging existence, push it back down, swallow it hard.
As if there is shame in answering honestly when someone ask you "What is wrong?" As if there is weakness in the shedding of tears. In fact it is just the opposite. Being real, authentic, and honest is the bravest and most healing thing we can do.
Still I fight to avoid this one emotion...but it grows and builds, this emotion reaching such voracity that it can no longer be denied. I get away to a hidden place; the quiet of my car, a lone road, a bike ride, the shower, a bathroom stall.
I no longer grieve alone, I grieve with God. Cast all your anxiety on the Lord, because He cares for you." 1Peter 5:7. Quiet, or bitter, or loud...it doesn't matter, the Lord takes it all.
Waves of grief, once I succumb to them my jagged edges are a little smoother. Red swollen eyes, and stuff nose the pressure released just a little more. And it is here that I can breath a little deeper. It is here that I find a small sliver of peace, a little resolve, a knowing that everything will be okay.
Everything will be okay in the end. If it is not okay it is not the end. -Fernado Sabino
Grief is a process, be brave enough to face it and the obstacles connected to it. Great love and beauty are birthed from it. No matter how tear blurred your vision may be clarity can be seen through it. If you just hang on, grief can be a blessing because it has the power to connect you to others, even strangers and the true you you were created to be.
I look forward to the day when I get to the other side of this sadness, but I do know one thing for certain that this grief has pushed me to be a better person, and that is a priceless and sacred blessing.
"If you hold back on the emotions - if you don't allow yourself to go all the way through them - you can never get to being detached, you're too busy being afraid. You're afraid of the pain, you're afraid of the grief. You're afraid of the vulnerability that loving entails. But by throwing yourself into these emotions, by allowing yourself to dive in, all the way, over your head even, you experience them fully and completely."
-Mitch Albom, Tuesday's with Morrie
"I give myself a good cry if I need it, but then I concentrate on all the good things still in my life."
-Mitch Albom, Tuesday's with Morrie
"Turn that pain into power!"
- The Script
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
-Psalm 34:18
But above all, I wish you happiness, even though I am aware you require my absence to find it.
-Beau Taplin
How many times have I said to my own children "suck it up cupcake," there is no time to be sad! I try to follow my own instructions. I run from my grief, try to keep busy, ignore its nagging existence, push it back down, swallow it hard.
As if there is shame in answering honestly when someone ask you "What is wrong?" As if there is weakness in the shedding of tears. In fact it is just the opposite. Being real, authentic, and honest is the bravest and most healing thing we can do.
Still I fight to avoid this one emotion...but it grows and builds, this emotion reaching such voracity that it can no longer be denied. I get away to a hidden place; the quiet of my car, a lone road, a bike ride, the shower, a bathroom stall.
I no longer grieve alone, I grieve with God. Cast all your anxiety on the Lord, because He cares for you." 1Peter 5:7. Quiet, or bitter, or loud...it doesn't matter, the Lord takes it all.
Waves of grief, once I succumb to them my jagged edges are a little smoother. Red swollen eyes, and stuff nose the pressure released just a little more. And it is here that I can breath a little deeper. It is here that I find a small sliver of peace, a little resolve, a knowing that everything will be okay.
Everything will be okay in the end. If it is not okay it is not the end. -Fernado Sabino
Grief is a process, be brave enough to face it and the obstacles connected to it. Great love and beauty are birthed from it. No matter how tear blurred your vision may be clarity can be seen through it. If you just hang on, grief can be a blessing because it has the power to connect you to others, even strangers and the true you you were created to be.
I look forward to the day when I get to the other side of this sadness, but I do know one thing for certain that this grief has pushed me to be a better person, and that is a priceless and sacred blessing.
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