Badge of Honor

This morning, as is typical of at least 4 out of the 5 weekdays lately, was filled with the sounds of disobedience, fits, and crying. Then James left for work. Aaahahaha! Ok, I kid! I kid!
Seriously, though, our mornings have been starting off on some pretty sour notes, which is really wearing me out. I don't want to throw anyone under the bus, so I'll just refer to the main culprit as Deran. This individual absolutely insists on having his own way, however painful that might be for himself or the rest of us, and I'm working on sticking to a form of discipline and being consistent with it (per the wise words of my hubby) to send the message that the way he's behaving is not acceptable and, hopefully, to see some changes around here. We may be on our way, folks, because this morning I was bestowed with what I consider to be a great honor. The phrase: "I DON'T LIKE YOU MOM!!!" A certain level of pride and satisfaction welled up in me as these words were flung down the hall, combined with a measure of sadness and weakening of resolve. But mostly it was pride and satisfaction. You know, I love my kid, and I want what's best for him. And what's best for him is to realize that the world doesn't revolve around him and hurtful behavior usually has hurtful consequences. To be out of my child's good graces is simply a sign to me that I'm doing something right. Because when we're disciplined we don't like it and generally harbor some ill-will, at least for a short time, toward the person responsible for our discomfort.
In a few minutes I'll be walking into my son's room to discuss his offenses and the ensuing consequences. There will be sniffles and then hugs and kisses. And, no doubt, "I love you"s will be exchanged. But probably what I'll relish today is that for a few minutes this morning my son didn't like me because I was doing the right thing for him.

Lots of fall fun to be had with these rascals.!

My Own Little World

Yesterday totally got away from me, as you can clearly see by the absence of a Nov. 7th blog post. It really wasn't a day of rest which kind of irks me, but sometimes, what can you do? And a lot of that was just due to the choices I made with my time. Anyhoo...

Another awesome time of worship at church yesterday (you can read a little more about where we are now and how we got there here ). So challenged, so encouraged to feel God moving in me, so desperate to tap into that ALL the time. By God's grace. We were challenged by PF to take a good, hard look at what we consider to be the best life we can possibly live. According to Scripture, it's not the safe life; it's the life lived out of faith. Which pretty much means looking outside myself, my life, my little world, and following where GOD leads, not ME. Which is hard and uncomfortable and so challenging. We've had some pretty powerful visual images accompanying our time of learning and there's another to get you thinking below. Along with some of the obvious trains of thought that accompanied this video, I also pondered the recent elections and how jaded I am about politics, government, etc. While I voted, I wasn't really enthusiastic about the outcome (even though it pretty much went along with how I voted), and the reason for this lack of enthusiasm was because I don't really have any hope that who we have in office is going to make any major positive change in the way this ol' world is going. Where the real change will take place is in the day-to-day interactions among the people in this country and looking outside of ourselves to the good of others. It can only begin with me. And you.

"The King will reply, 'Truly, whatever you did for the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'" Matthew 25:40

What does this look like for me even today? Stopping to talk with someone and really listen, patiently guiding my children, staying tuned in to God and His leading, giving priority to His Word, watching out for needs that I can meet, and putting an end to living in fear: fear of rejection, of what people think of me, of where faith will take me that I might not want to go. But I'm tired of living in fear. I'm tired of being so self-absorbed. I want my heart to be broken with the things that break God's. And with that...

Turn back the clocks! Turn back the clocks!

And start placing your bets now about how early my children will awaken tomorrow.

Just squeakin' in my Nov. 5 blog. Phew! First of all, I have to express my EXTREEEEEEEME displeasure that my Food Network has been yanked because some money-grubbing network is trying to rape AT&T and therefore, us customers, on the price we pay. Food Network is basically why we decided to even get cable, so you can understand my ire. HOW WILL I SURVIVE WITHOUT FINDING OUT WHO THE NEXT IRON CHEF IS????!!!! (Side note: It may be time to consider losing the cable and getting a life.)

Because I could not watch my previously recorded Iron Chef episode (Ming Tsai vs. Bobby Flay - sniff) I perused the movie channels and fell upon Good Morning, Vietnam. And on a more serious note here, is there anything more horrific, dehumanizing, and gut-wrenching than war? Really, I don't want to make light of this now. I know it's a fictional movie, but it depicts some of the very real horrors of war, and I'm left feeling a little bit ill. I know families who currently have loved ones overseas and in some very volatile areas. I recall not that long ago when my own brother was serving in Iraq and all of the fear and uncertainty that went along with not knowing exactly where he was or how he was doing. Yes, we trust the Lord that He will work ALL things together for the good of those who love Him. But, forgive me, God, there is still fear. Tonight I am praying specifically for Jeremy and Andrew and in general for all of those who are fighting to preserve our freedom and bring that same freedom I so recklessly take for granted to those who are oppressed. And in light of all that's going on in the world, being denied the ability to watch cooking shows is really not such a tragedy.

NaBloPoMo

Generally I devote my Thursday afternoons to restoring some order to this living space we sometimes refer to as "The Sty". It makes me feel better, however futile it might be, to get things spic and span and back under control. Today I just can't seem to muster the motivation. It's been one of those weeks. Instead I have devoted my Thursday afternoon to eating caramel apples, uploading pictures (sloooooooowly) onto Facebook, and catching up on blogs (others' as well as my own). A blogger I regularly enjoy has participated previously in National Blog Posting Month (or NaBloPoMo, as the website cleverly dubs itself) and is doing so again this month. This is a site devoted, quite simply, to challenging bloggers to post something every day of the month. I blog. Therefore I am a blogger. And as such I have decided to take on this challenge. I realize I have missed the first 3 days of the month of November. But I posted twice today, so I figure then I'm only down 2 posts, and no one is going to make a federal case out of two little posts. Right? RIGHT?! Ahem.
Since I've given you such food for thought as pee in a cup, I'll just count these as my first posts and leave it at that.

Take Care Clinic

Is there anything more humiliating than walking the aisles of Walgreens with a cup of your own pee? Probably, but that's GOTTA be at the top of the list.