The Hard Stuff

Yesterday my 18-yr-old son pointed out to me that a certain NBA player had been in town and several of his friends met him and got pics with him.  He was obviously miffed and I shared his disappointment in the fact that, had he not had a back injury, he may have made the local high school's basketball team again and gotten to meet the player.  Who knows, the player might have even been down here to scout for colleges and he could've gotten a scholarship to the school he so badly wants to attend and play for U of A.

I went in my room and cried for a minute or two but couldn't for very long as I was on my way out the door for church.  Just did my makeup.  Didn't wanna redo it or explain why my eyes were red. I tried not to give into the pity I felt for him because that could cripple his and my walks with God.

 Desperately groping for a way to give thanks in the disappointment, I remembered something I heard recently: "Sometimes God says 'yes', sometimes He says 'no' and sometimes He says 'I have something better in mind'."  That made me feel a little better.  Even though he's missing his Senior year of sports, God has something better for him in the future.  I'm believing the best because God has proven Himself over and over in our lives.  Why doubt him and sin so deeply?

I just finished a book this morning: "1,000 gifts-A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are"-Ann Voskamp.  It changed my way of viewing daily, mundane life.  Now I see blessings in soap suds, mounds of laundry and the people who wear it, and the joy of scrubbing pots for my family.  I also can bring myself to recognize the blessings and grace in the hurts of life.  I couldn't do that before.  And for that, I'm truly thankful.

Kristen

I FEEL SO RELIEVED!!!

I was reading Morning and Evening this morning and decided to go back a day and read yesterday's morning devotional that I had missed.  I found a sweet treasure...

Spurgeon was talking about how we tend to see the apostles and other figures from the Bible as super saints and not subject to the same temptations and weaknesses we are.

"Yet in doing so, we forget this truth, that the nearer a man lives to God, the more intensely he has to mourn over his own evil heart; and the more his Master honors him in his service, the more the evil of the flesh vexes and teases him, day by day."

I. FEEL. SOOOOO. RELIEVED!

There are days I feel like I wish I could operate in "Ignorance is Bliss" mode because I hate seeing my failures and shortcomings.  The more I want to be a saint worthy of her calling, the farther I seem to be from it!  

I'm so excited to know that the closer I walk to the Light, the more obvious the problems in my heart are going to appear...they have no choice but to show up!

And...the enemy of my soul and my own wicked flesh is going to vex and tease me the more I want to be like Jesus.  

This is apparently how it should be.  As long as I am walking on this earth, it's how it will be.  

So, when I'm feeling like a failure, let's hope it's just because I'm walking close with Jesus, and everything shows up better in the "Light"...and He loves me too much to let me remain in darkness...

ahh...

Alphabet Soup and End Times

Last night I had a dream.

I had a few dreams.

Actually, I dreamt a lot which is unusual for me when I take that much magnesium, I usually sleep really hard.

Anyway-

This dream left me with a wonderful sense of peace.

I dreamt that Bryan and I were walking along on a date night and looking up at the stars.  Slowly numbers and letters began to emerge along with the twinkly lights.  We were puzzled but enjoyed the display.  I mentioned it looked like alphabet soup.  Then we noticed a red scorpion in the sky.  It became animated lashing it's a tail around a few times.  Other scorpions came to fight with it.  Every time one of them stung him, he would get more and more powerful. ( I think that has something to do with a constellation called Scorpio?)  I need to mention I hold no beliefs in the sign of the zodiac!

(Please don't be waiting with baited breath for something significant to come out of this...)

I share all the goofiness of my dream because...well, it's funny...but really I'm left with such a sweet sense of peace today reminded that Jesus WILL return and we DO need to be watching and anxious for our Bridegroom.  It will happen nothing like the dream but if I have my theology right, believers will be raptured first in the "twinkling of an eye" like it says in the Bible.  Then the end time events will unfold like it says in Revelation.  It may not happen the way we envision or interpret Revelation but it WILL happen.

Are you excited??

Are you ready?


Kristen

Macaroni Hair Gel?

She went to Sunday School with macaroni in her hair.

I didn't mean for her to.

   It all started with me leaving too late to go to Walmart in time to be home for the Broncos playoff game saturday night.  Caleb was going to the store with me and wanted to watch the game with his dad.  I wanted to watch the game with his dad, too (my hubby).

   But by the time I got home at 6:45, ate a wonderful dinner some friends made for us to thank us for sharing Cardinal's tickets with them, unloaded the car, bathed the first two of the youngest three, it was 9:41pm.  The kids should've been in bed by 9 at the latest.

   I thought I would bath the youngest and hardest (like wrestling a crocodile in her 3/4 body cast-but don't let that fool you, she's a ninja!) the next morning somehow.  I could've stayed up and gotten at least my clothes ready but didn't...I just wanted to be done with all the little voices for the night.  I wanted to read my book and unwind before bed.  I could've just slept.  Unwound by going to bed, but I didn't want to.
   The next morning found me frazzled as Bryan had to call to wake me up so I could get ready in time because I went to bed so late the night before.  Sometimes I wonder why I take on extra things, like goats, chickens, foster children, etc, when I know I can't handle what I do have to be responsible for already...
   Bryan also informed me that he would be skipping church service to come home and help us get ready for church because we had to head to Phoenix directly after to watch Trevor's concert.  For a while I was excited.  He'll be able to hold Destiny while I wash her hair or vice versa.  Instead, he came home, told the kids to brush their teeth and fed all my previous wild hairs (goats, chickens, dogs) and got the car ready and brought portable breakfast for the kids on the way to church. I didn't have the kids all the way ready when he started buckling them in.  I still needed to do the 4-yr-old girl's hair!  I still need to wash the 2-yr old girls hair!

   It didn't go like I planned.  We were late so we had to go.  Ready or not.  Bryan teaches Sunday School and couldn't be late.  We arrived in time, I told him to go ahead and check Ben in.  I did the 4-yr-old girl's hair.  I walked her in and left the 2-yr-old locked in for the 5 minutes it took to hand the 4-yr-old to my friend, Joy and run back out to get 2-yr-old.  I tried to brush her hair.  I sprayed "no more tangles" on the macaroni, it didn't budge.  I brushed around it and took her in anyway.
   I handed her to the supervisor and she said "Oh, she has gummies in her hair" and I replied, "No, it's macaroni"...and she went in like that.  I gave a basic explanation and wondered to myself what kind of mom doesn't give herself enough time to brush the kid's hair before taking them to church of all places?! I answered myself that this will be funny someday and today it kinda is...

That is all...