Okay, OKay, I'll go back to answering phones.

Working today... (can't you tell?)

Terry came in a few minutes ago and said that Phillip Yancy sent him a new book called something like 'Does God Answer Prayer?'.

I asked him if he called him back and told him no.

I have to publicize it when I'm funny. As Terry said, it was the ONE time.

Jason and I went to McDonalds for lunch -and in front of us was a car that said CSI - Christ saves individuals.
I went on and on ( just joking of course) about cutsie-secular logos that we have to make into something spiritual and in the end don't come out looking all that 'cool'. When I got done I asked Jason if he didn't agree, and he said :

"Well, I usually just try and shut you out when you go off the deep end like that."

It's a rough crowd around here. :-)

Mondays

So this morning, for us... was a beautiful morning. Sometimes Monday's are hectic... but not today.
Last night, Jason read a storybook on Joshua and the fall of Jericho. He ruined it... but it was funny. At one point in the book there is an illustration from the last day when all the women, children, animals, etc come out to circle the wall, and it is a close up of a few people obviously yelling, as they were commanded to.
Jason thought Julia was getting bored. So he changed up the story a bit, and commented on what he imagined each person in the picture was yelling.
The old man, he imagined was yelling to his wife "Get me some supper woman! "
The child yelled: "This is NOT my safe-side adult." * *(Had to be at Memorial.)
Julia then joined in - assigning the goat as saying "I taste like chicken!!" ( that cracked US up.) and about a donkey in the picture, "I wish I was a horse...."
I don't know if the silliness will even translate in the telling... but the laughter of the kids was priceless. Didn't do much for their theology, but honestly they knew that story pretty well.

So this morning, no book was needed, it just began all over again as a repeating chorus of :

"Get me some supper woman!"
"This is NOT my safe-side adult!"
"I taste like chicken!"
"I wish I was a horse...."

And the kids just played off each other. Cracked me up.

On another note, as we were driving to school, we prayed (early)... to stop the repeating chorus above:-) , and after that began singing with the radio. Some contemp. christian songs were on, and as we turned onto the street towards his school Eli asked me if we could hurry and turn the radio off and sing one of his songs. So I did, and he began:

"Powerful, so powerful,
Your Glory fills the skies
Your mighty works displayed for all to see
The Beauty of your majesty
Awakes my heart to see
How marvelous, how wonderful You are!

Beautiful One I love
Beautiful One I adore
Beautiful One my soul must sing..."

He was clapping, repeating the song, and singing, all of us, at the top of our lungs -and it was awesome, for just our three little voices.

As we ended the song, rounded the corned and pulled up in front of the school, Eli sat back, laid his head up against the seat and looked out the window with a content smile on his face, and said quietly:

'I can't wait for next Sunday!'

Me either. :-)

Jumping up and down in my own living room IS a nice feeling......

WOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

WOOO HOO WOOO HOOO WOOO HOOO!

I don't know that I have ever watched ANY sports game from beginning to end. It's sad.
So I'm a bit of a latecomer... checking in for the World Series.... I know. No comparison here to all the real fans....
BUT..... the THRILL of tonight has just turned around my 32 year run streak of non-sports interest!!!! AWESOME!

WOOO HOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

indignant

"When Jesus saw this, He was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kindfom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not recieve the kingdom of God like a little child will not enter it. " And he took the child in His arms, put His hands on them and blessed them. Mark 10:14-16

I wish I knew how many times Jesus was indignant. It would be an interesting study... to compare my "indignants" with His. Maybe embarassing.

Maybe it was being with children all weekend... but it made me wonder. How do little children recieve the kingdom of heaven? What are some of the differences in the way they accept it in contrast to how adults accept it? I watch my own children, and have pondered just a couple thoughts, .... but I am really interested to learn from thoughts you may have.

No more aspirin for our family!

In the van, on the way home today.

Eli : "Mom, I'm not going to May's Drug store anymore...and I hope noone else will either."

Me: "Why, Eli?" ( Thinking... it is a little early for anyone to be setting him up to boycott something?)

Eli: " BECAUSE...... (hear it said in a "duh" condescending voice) .. well, you know what the counselor said about it! "

I turned to look at him, confused, until I saw the "Partnership for a Drug free America" ribbon pinned to his shirt.

Oh.

Catching up

Okay - Theresa...how would I have a life without you? For us never getting to actually talk much --I don't know of a person who has more influence or control over my life. At least you wield your power over me for good. Thanks for my new hair do! Your lady is awesome! ( Even if I didn't have hairspray this mornign! )
My son is addictied to Lego Star Wars. You'd be proud.

Spent the weekend with the Kendall kids... it was great, an apparently I'm not so tired I couldn't check blogs and take this * OH SO TRUE OF ME* test inspired by T. Love you!

You Are Jan Brady

Brainy and a little introverted, you tend to think life is a lot worse than it actually is.And while you may think you're a little goofy looking, most people consider you to be a major babe.

What Brady Are You?

'Beautiful 'Timing

I slept in late today. (9:45.)
I love sleeping in... with the tiny exception of feeling like your day is half gone.

I left the house at 10:30 for a quick run to pick up a shower gift before I started on all I had to do today.
I returned at 4:30 this afternoon......

I happened to run into my mom... which never just happens. We live in the same town, but seriously can manage to not see each other except for a quick hello at church on Sundays every week. We still know we love each other... we're just not big communicators.
So, today, we ran into each other at the $1 store which was having a "Everything's .40 sale". Of course that would draw both of us like magnets from anywhere. So we had lunch... caught up.... and just enjoyed the time. It was really nice. And meaningful. Sometimes I am just way too busy...

What I love about God is that He knows that about us.
I was reading in Acts 3 tonight... Peter and John are headed to the temple for the 'hour of prayer'. At the same time, a man is being carried there to beg. Crippled from birth... this has been his daily tradition too... begging at the temple gate called "Beautiful."

Peter, John, and this man just 'happen' to cross paths at the same time. You may know the story... they look at him, he looks at them expecting a handout, and they give him way more than that. He rises to his feet for the first time... and the picture given is of a man so overwhelmed with joy he can't let go of them.. jumping up and down, praising God, and drawing so much attention... for this crowd now watching the commotion also knows this man as the one who "used to sit begging at the temple gate called 'Beautiful'." Enough attention is drawn, that Peter and John respond to the crowd and direct the credit to God...and spend a night in jail.
They had just started out towards the temple to pray.
He was just being carried to the gate to beg.

The temple gate was called 'Beautiful'.

Do you know what I discovered the word for "Beautiful" here means?
HOORAIN ( from horaios) "belonging to the right hour or season (timely) i.e. (by implication) beautous.

That gate was indeed timely... the right season... and Beautiful. God's timing may not always be our own, but when you see His working in it...the schedule you had laid out for yourself that day pales in comparison to His divine working.

Quiet time

Two kiddos at home with Scarlet fever afforded a slow quiet day today. I am especially thankful that antibiotics make what used to be a serious threat now just simple recovery time. We are blessed people.

Eli and I sat and watched Extreme Home Makeover tonight. A headache sobered his normally talkative self, and I think made him extra emotional too.... he teared up multiple times during the show. But one moment was especially insightful.

This episode covered the building of a home for a mom who lost the use of her legs after protecting her young children during a tornado in Tennessee. While in the hospital following the storm, neighbors tried to salvage whatever was left of the family's belongings while dad tended to their young boys and mom in the hospital. Not much was left, but a cherished China set of her grandmother's, though shattered and broken into pieces, was preciously collected and guarded among their belongings.

One of the endeavors of the team was to take these pieces, and make with them a mosaic table top that became the focus on the front porch of the new home. Eli loved it. I loved even more his heart in the thoughts he expressed;

'Mom- look! It's just like Jesus! Sometimes he takes broken things and makes them more beautiful than they even were the first time!'

Praise God-- this is just so true.

Our own little dog show....

In our house we have some little dog figurines. I love them, since we cant have a dog and there are quite a few of them that remind me of pets I have had in the past.
They sit on a shelf right at Julia's eye level. She loves them too. It has begun to crack us up - no matter how many times I display them in a nice and orderly fashion, I will come out only to find they are living a completely different life in her little world.
I have decided to start taking pictures of the "rearrangements" I find after she's been in the room . I'll leave the interpretation of what's going on in her imagination up to you. And I'll post more as we find them. :-)

Catching up on pictures from Branson

This is an amazing rainbow outside our room in Branson. This was a weekend of many storms: most formed over us and moved out east.



I love weather!

Chicken Noodle soup for the soul....

Jules came home sick yesterday. Last night, she asked me to sing "that song you used to sing when I was a baby". Goodness. The girl is 4. Yet somehow, already, there seems to be a lifetime in those 4 years.So, I sang to her, and she drifted off to sleep. I love when the fluttering of the eyes gently stops, and rest takes over. I lay close enough to feel her whole little body move to the rhythm of her stronger than usual pulse as it fights off infection with fever. Peace in the midst of a battle..some how miraculous and more than I can comprehend. It's hard, to be so close, and know you are so limited in what you can do. I sit back and trust that God made her body to fight this off. Despite the fact that she is mine, and so little, ..and dependent on me day to day to feed her, clothe her (well, some days) etc. - yet in this, it's all in her. I can't make her little body inside work better or worse... It's a reminder of my small position in the world, and my ultimate reliance on Him.
This is just a little virus for Julia, but it made me think of the battles we watch others go through... we can offer measure of comfort, and some measure of healing, but ultimately, we cannot remove the battle just because we love them.
Ever had an experience with that? How did you feel and what what did you learn from it?