For more WFW posts please visit “The Hundred Acre Woods.”

Something has to give. This is the result.

 

Young man had been busily packing, and cleaning his room (again or still or whatever) as he has been for weeks in preparation for leaving for college. Each morning I would say, “You need to pack and clean your room out.” And each day he would work on it, but as time wore on you could see he was getting BORED with the same two jobs day after day. On the last fews days of packing I would hear Wee One go back, then I would hear giggles coming out. I wanted to yell, “Get back to work!” but I knew how much they were going to miss each other, being best buddies and all, and so I would let it go on for a while. Monday I heard the giggles coming closer and when I looked up this is what I saw…

I guess he had been packing Q-tips at the time. What you don’t get on the blog are the noises accompanying this. I guess he was trying to be scary and powerful as there were gutteral grunts and nonsense noises, I on the other hand about slipped disc I was laughing so hard.

And, what I really can’t believe is that when I asked if I could publish this on my blog he said, “Yes.” So, enjoy my crazy kid… I’m missing him already.

(Yes, I know it is now Tuesday, but I started planning this on Monday. Just forgot to post it in all the hustle and bustle.)

 

This summer has brought many changes, not the least of which was the fact that first I changed to a new blog, and then I really slowed down on my blogging. I also neglected my meal plans. While this allowed for some creativity it also allowed for wasted food, extra money on meals out and lots of late meals after a last minute scramble.

 

Well, the school year’s starting back up and I think my planning is as well. This is a guide, and I can change it if need be, but in the end I believe this will prevent wasted food, lost money, late meals and frantic digs through the pantry shelves!

 

Breakfast:

Monday… cereal

Tuesday…Fried Eggs

Wednesday… waffles

Thursday…banana bread

Friday… yogurt/toast

Saturday… whatever you want

Sunday… on the run… waffle, yogurt, toast, etc.

 

Lunch:

Monday… clean out the fridge

Tuesday…fried rice and leftovers

Wednesday…chinese food leftovers

Thursday… soup, bread and fruit

Friday…bacon and cheese sandwiches, salad

Saturday…

Sunday…

 

Dinner:

Monday… Young Man’s “last meal request” before heading off to college: hamburger helper (I’m not kidding), salad, homemade applesauce, hot milk cake

Tuesday… sirloin steaks on the grill, salad, baked potatoes

Wednesday… spaghetti, peas, bread

Thursday…

Friday…macaroni and cheese, carrot sticks, oranges

Saturday… ??

Sunday… small group

 

This is the beginning of a new time for us. The boys are both going to be gone this year, so it is just the four of us and due to Dear’s schedule often dinners are going to be just the girls. I have no idea how this will change planning, but we will see.

Each Sunday I also prepare for Dear’s work week (with the girls’ help):

Fresh bananas

Bread/lunch meat

HUGE salad from which to eat all week

These beautiful “floating onions”, as we called them, are actually glass artwork created by Chihuly and were on display at the Missouri Botanical Gardens a few years ago.

For more Photo Hunt ~ Colorful finds please visit Tn.chick

I was recently reading an article in “WORLD” magazine by Andree Seu. (Is that spelled properly? One should always have things handy for reference…)  Within this article she discusses our lassitude about seeking and enjoying pleasure as Christians when searching for, planning for and preparing for our careers. What she states, and I am roughly condensing an entire article here into one run-on sentence, is that God created us for His pleasure, and when we feel HIS pleasure, we are also experiencing pleasure and that is an admirable goal, rather than seeking to fulfill a “dream” or a “perfect career” that may have nothing at all to do with what God has truly gifted you and called you to do/be.

Wow, school needs to start up again so my grammar might tighten up. Just a bit.

Anyway, her example, one which I love to quote, is from “Chariots of Fire” when Eric Liddle is explaining to his sister why he runs. (Eric Liddle, missionary to China, Scottish gold medal Olympian) “When I run I feel God’s pleasure.” Wouldn’t you love to feel God’s pleasure in how you spend your days?

Even the catechism recognizes this when it asks the question, “What is man’s chief end?” The answer, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.”

That is our purpose my friends. It is not to have the perfect house, to always make homemade bread, to only homeschool, to attend a church with strictly reformed doctrine, to attend college and always be better than: non-Christians, public-schoolers, democrats, “fill-in-the-blanks.” No, it is simply to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

So, how does one give glory and how does one enjoy someone? The glory is actually both incredibly simple and simply difficult. All of ones life should be spent glorifying God. Whether or not you believe you have an audience, God is omnipresent, so every thought, action, word, etc. is known by Him. Each moment of my life should be spent in obedience to His word, and verbally, physically, emotionally, prayerfully, worshipfully, loudly, JOYFULLY spent obeying Him and telling others of His goodness. Even in my silliest or saddest moments I can choose to give God my glory.

I think of a birth I attended as a doula. We had finally hit that moment where the laboring mother reached the end of herself and said, “I can’t do this.” That’s the BEST moment to glorify God, that’s when I can reply, “No, you’re right. You CAN’T do this, but God can, so let’s lean on Him for this work.” After that things can change and the birth itself becomes a way of glorying God. Have you ever sat in a room with a woman in labor and sung hymns and praise songs? This is when you know that this person understands that each moment of our life can be glorifying to God. This can happen in any circumstance… weeding the garden, learning a new skill, loving the unlovable. If God gifts us, and we depend on Him, we can find joy AND pleasure in these things and in the process give him the glory.

Sometimes we hit that “I can’t do this any longer” moment in our lives and it is because He DOES NOT WANT US TO DO THIS ANYMORE! One of the things I have thought about frequently in the past years is college and career. Has anyone actually looked at the cost of college? It has gone WAY UP and it is not rising proportionally to the rest of our economy. Why is that? Well, I might offer that the reason is that there are so many more kids going to college, and truly, not everyone should go to college. College doesn’t always equal a better career, or more importantly, it doesn’t always lead us to the calling that God is holding out to us.

A number of years ago Dear went back to school to see if he was being called out of his current profession and into teaching. He took some education classes at the university nearby and was surprised by the content of these classes. He came home amazed at the indoctrination they were attempting. There was a young Christian lady in one of his classes. When asked her future plans and why she chose this class she told everyone that she hoped to be a wife and mother and wanted to know how best to teach her children at home. Needless to say the professor and the majority of the students scoffed at her supposed naivety. In the end though, I am guessing she was glorifying God and honoring Him because she chose the road that God had called her to and was looking forward to the pleasure of serving Him.

Then there are those who are in college because they simply don’t know what else to do. They don’t know what they want, or enjoy, or are called to do/be/become. In the end they end up taking mindless classes to earn a paper that says, “You made it.” (And, it might also say, “Now pay off the thousands of dollars of debt you have accrued.”) What does that paper do for them? Has it given them pleasure? Has it glorified God? Well, if the student has been disciplined in their studies it might be glorifying to God, but if in the midst of that discipline they have been harsh, hard-hearted and neglectful of their personal relationship with God, fellowship with believers and neglectful of opportunities to reach out and witness then in the end they have lost. They might have been better off working at  a fast food joint for a year, taking some short term mission trips, helping at a nursing home or the like.

In the end it is a personal relationship with the Lord (read TIME spent with Him), that will show us what, where and how we are to serve Him.

This of course leaves us with “and enjoy him forever,” you know, the ”pleasure” aspect spoken of in the title. I think it is sad to note that in this country where we have so very very much we also have such sad sad people. We are so conditioned to the “microwave mentality” (now, fast, quick, easy) that we no longer understand the joy of dreaming, waiting, planning and working for what we want… and that may not even be something monetary. Anyone who is a victim of a crime or “act of God” (hurricane, earthquake, flood… although truly, it’s all an “act of God” if we truly believe God is omnipresent and omnipotent) can understand the feeling of “why me” and “what did I do to deserve this?” However, that doesn’t matter.

I recall sitting in my living room speaking with several pastors. We had just been given some hard news and were meeting with these pastors to discuss this. I recall saying, “I just want to know why?” And one of the pastors said, “That’s not for you to ask.”  I was so very very mad. Here I was ready to take this from the hand of God, but ONLY if He told me why. I don’t think it’s necessarily wrong to ask why, but it’s wrong to demand why and to have our faith or actions depend upon the answer. If I spent my life waiting for the whys to be answered I would have no time to enjoy God. Rather, in the end, I had to choose to accept what God had given us and to go forward, seeking joy from His hand, rather than my own, depending on Him rather than myself, realizing that if HE was the giver of pleasure then I was turning down His gifts to me when I chose instead to be miserable and search out my own pleasures.

Does that make sense to you all? It doesn’t mean that we can’t be sad or that there aren’t truly some medical cases where God has created someone who is actually medically depressed and medication is a good option; however, that’s not despite God’s providence, it is 100% in His will. It is often these “severe mercies” (C. S. Lewis, “Shadowlands”) that allow us to become more attuned to God and more able to enjoy him even in the midst of, or perhaps actually because of, the hardest times of our life. I recently told our pastor that I had finally come to the point where I could thank God for what had happened because my faith had grown so much, and my children’s faith changed and became stronger, more mature and more joyful. Now, mind you, I wouldn’t choose this to happen, but I am happy that God chose to use it in our lives to grow us. I am now able to enjoy Him more fully than ever, perhaps because of the very depth of my hurt.

Being a down in dumps Christian is not being Holy, it’s being wasteful of His precious gift of Joy. God is the giver of all good things… ALL good things, this means pleasure. And, this does not mean seeking momentary pleasure to the exclusion of all else (drinking, drugs, s_x outside of marriage, etc.); rather this means seeking to find what God has gifted us to do, that gives us pleasure because it pleases Him. Don’t think yourself holy because you plod day by day serving Him like a robot, rather seek to serve Him and take pleasure in it.

Yesterday I took pleasure in yanking weeds from my garden. Now, mind you, I DON’T like to weed, and part of that is due to my allergies to the weeds, however, as I pulled the weeds I saw the beauty that they had been covering, and although I was sweaty, being eaten by mosquitoes, and having to practically do some Olympian feats to miss standing in, on or under the poison ivy, in the end I took great pleasure in the beauty that was released. Kind of like our lives… God uses the hard, sweaty, nasty, unpleasant stuff to uncover the beauty. It’s in that very facet of my life that I find pleasure and enjoy giving God the glory! May you also find pleasure in what you do for Him and through Him!

While perusing some of my favorite sites this evening (DH, Young Man and Senior Son are watching “The 3:10 to Yuma” and between the language gore and other not so great stuff I bailed… ) I stopped to visit tnchick.com where I found this meme.

Now, the funny thing is that one of her items matches me, so when I read that I thought it would be fun to do my own version. You are to tell six unspectacular quirks about yourself.

1. I too, like tn.chick, have to put my groceries on the conveyor belt in the order I need them bagged. Freezer items together, fridge items together, pantry shelve items, you get the picture.
2. Another odd grocery quirk is that I tend to buy things in pairs. I never realized this till about 3 years ago when I realized as I loaded things on the conveyor belt that I had two of everything. I guess it’s my own “Noah’s Ark” of groceries…
3. I have had birds in the house for 23 straight years. Before that I had birds from age 6-11.
4. I LOVE playing with frogs. and snakes. and lizards.
5. I like ice cream for breakfast. (not all the time)
6. I think that being a wife and mother are GREAT, and being an “almost doula” is almost as great.

Well, if you decide to do this meme just let me know. I’d love to see your answers.

Random Integer Generator

Comment #32 is the winner:

Sweetpeas

I’ll be emailing you shortly. If I don’t hear back from you by Wed. I will generate a new winner.
Thanks everyone for stopping by. I hope you can come back and join me.

And, FYI, this is the random integer generator I used:

Here are your random numbers:

32

Timestamp: 2008-08-01 23:27:28 UTC

 

      

 

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For more Thursday challenges please visit “Spun With Tears.”

Psalm 127: 1-3

 Unless the LORD builds the house,
       its builders labor in vain.
       Unless the LORD watches over the city,
       the watchmen stand guard in vain.In vain you rise early
 and stay up late, toiling for food to eat—
     for he grants sleep to those he loves.
 Sons are a heritage from the LORD,
                   children a reward from him.

Those around me for the past few weeks realize that I am tired. I am physically tired from many tasks this summer. We have done a lot of rushing, planning and attending various activities. Things like Young Man’s graduation which took months of planning, hours of prep and then all had to be changed at the last minute as floods moved in. In essence, nothing bad, but lots of emotional and physical strength was spent as we prepared and then hosted or attended the various functions.

We have also been blessed with a sweet new puppy named “Buddy.” Now, mind you, I am not a dog lover, but this is a sweet little guy. Truly, I don’t hate dogs, I just prefer birds. But, we have this dog and somehow, despite our first explanations, the care of the dog fell upon me rather than the girls. (That changed about 36 hours ago!) It was me up late at night, rocking, walking, bathing, repeat… night after night. You know, when you’re in your youth and have your first babies it doesn’t seem quite as hard to get up night after night, especially for a sweet little baby. But when you pass the 45 mark and this is not a baby… well, I’m just saying. I’m tired!

Then comes the spiritual issues. The battle with food, with allergies, with changes in my life or my friends’ lives. How am I accepting these changes? Often, sad to say I am not taking these as from God’s hands. I need to remind myself that NOTHING is outside the realm of His care.

And then a day like today rolls along and I find myself with rest… physical, emotional and spiritual. It is just beautiful and I am so thankful!

• I am thankful for an incredible husband who decided to take the kids to a water park for the day and give me some time to work, think, rest and enjoy time with friends.
• I am thankful that Buddy has a grooming appointment today giving me a few hours rest from the demands of our new puppy.
• I am thankful for time in the Word giving me a rest from the demands the world places upon me so that I can then look back and say, “Oh, that’s NOT important after all.”
• I am thankful for a puppy who is FINALLY sleeping ALL NIGHT in his crate, and NOT making a mess in it. What a rest from laundry that is!
• I am thankful for friends who invite me to dinner, pedicures and lunch and give me a rest where I can let go for an hour or two.
• I am thankful for Thankful Thursday where I can find rest in God’s Word and through reading your lists and seeing how gracious and loving God truly is.
• I am thankful that I need not labor in vain, but will rest upon God’s solid foundation, giving my spirit rest in a weary world.

Praying you all find your rest in Him as well!
For more Thankful Thursday lists please visit “Sting My Heart.”

 

NO!!!!!!!!!

But, sad to say, yes, it was a tick,YUCK!

Now, I can’t begin to tell you how bug-a-phobic I am. Not sure of the true term but whatever it is, I have it in spades! SPADES!

I was just in the midst of a nap after a LONG night of puppy and visiting baby being awakened by phone calls and just generally being young and not easy to get to sleep when  MMH says, “MOM! HE HAS A TICK!”

Being awakened from my nap for chocolate would have been hard enough and I LOVE chocolate! But, a tick?

I lost it. BIG time.

My language? I am sad to say it was not God honoring. I need to apologize to my kids. And to God.

I called the pet store, the neighbor and the vet begging for assistance. I am CHEAP I tell you, but I was willing to pay for a vet visit if someone, ANYONE, would take the tick out of my puppy. My girls weren’t doing it and Young Man was not interested. That is till I totally freaked out and started crying and headed to the basement. Yep, I bailed.

He took over and accomplished it.

Of course, it seemed as if I was being tested and as I folded laundry a bit later a largish sort of spider appeared. It was dead, but that didn’t matter. It was huge, by my standards. I have tried picking up “dead spiders” before only to find out they play possum better than opossums! I didn’t lose it, but I did vacate the premises rapidly. As in, I ran, to the basement. Because you know that spiders can eat you, right? Well, I KNOW they can’t, but I can’t convince myself of that fact.

Blessedly Senior Son had dropped by at this point and is NOT freaked out by bugs of any sort and he took care of it. And then Wee One removed the dead June bug from the window sill. You know what? Winter is looking better and better.

NO BUGS! I’m just saying…

Tomorrow puppy gets a hair cut AND tick medicine. Then I’ll feel MUCH better!