Flabby

I have been finding such joy in the time I have spent recently with my friend Susan and my mother-in-law as we try to get together to walk several times each week.  However, this is not a dieting, or fitness, or, go me I'm on the move sort of post.  This post is about the culture I find myself in.
 
On average I have about 10 different kiddos that come and go from my home each week.  I also have one who lives with me all of the time. On Wednesday evenings I have the privilege to brush shoulders with 30-45 kiddos at Kids Club.  This gives me a front row seat to some of the troubled situations young people are facing today.  I would be hard pressed to come up with a list of 5 of these kids who are with their complete biological families. If you work with children at all, I am sure that you have experienced these sorts of numbers yourself.

This particular post may seem a bit preachy or rant-y however, the flabbiness reared it's ugly head in my home just last night so, I thought I'd process a little by writing out my thoughts.  I would love any feed back or ideas about how I can respond rather then react to "flabbiness" in the children who I come in contact with on a daily basis...    

I sense a flabbiness in our culture.  It seems to me that people are watching TV, playing video games, and entertaining themselves to the extent that not only are they suffering; so are their kiddos!  This breaks my heart!  I see it in the glazed over eyes of the kids that I come in contact with, in their unkempt appearance, and in their "slouchy" mannerisms.  When did it become ok for children to continually make bodily noises, refer to any and every body part, and not return pleasantries when spoken to?

The reason I think of this as flabbiness is because it seems like all of the afore mentioned items stem from the same activities that cause flabbiness of the body.  However, our world is dealing with a flabbiness of the mind and heart.  I fear that our culture is headed swiftly to the "non-talking beasts" that C.S. Lewis refers to in his Chronicles of Narnia series. 

The Bible talks about how the word is sharper than a two sided sword.  It seems to me, that all the world can wiled is a butter knife, if they feel like it.  I want to be on the Bible side.  I want to fight against this flabbiness at every turn!    





         

Spring

I finally got my picture today. The one that I hope to get every spring. It was a picture of the bright yellow daffodils with a slight dusting of snow. I love this sight . It shows hope to me. It shows that even when the circumstances of the weather don’t match the beautiful blossoms that they can still live to see another day. I’m glad that our Heavenly Father see us as well. He knows our circumstances. And yet He helps us to see beauty in the midst of rough spots. Thank you Father for beauty in the midst of unusual times!

Just 10 This Time

I love my husband because...

 

1. He is a godly man!
2. He is a great parent to Felix!
3. He cares about me! 
4. He is very humorous!
5. He is well respected at his job!
6. The kids at kids club adore him!
7. He provides well for Felix and I!
8. He is calm cool and collected!
9. He is very smart!
10. He is also very wise too!

He Cares

Chilly blast of wind.  Words spoken that strike like flint across the corridors of my heart.  "Can we go and make an appointment?" Ok. What would Zane think? A call.  An answer.  Blocks driven, to that cold tan building down the street.  So many lives go in and out.  So many unchanged by the consequences they must face.  Crime...time...what?
My child of my heart the boy whom we let in just two weeks after our "I dos" wants to see his mom.  What does that mean? Mom.  My heart is winter today.  I can not keep him from her.  I can shield and protect and guard him but, not keep him.  But, me oh me what shall I do.  I shake. I tremble.  Is it to much?  Is this the bite that can not be chewed nor swallowed?  A jail visited.  A happy boy upon the idea of seeing his mom.  Me a newlywed, a fill in mom.  How can I make sense of it?  It does not make sense...and it may never.  So, as sad as it sounds today I am winter.  It seems safer somehow to be thus.  An excuse to stay in and sheltered from I guess my sadness-es.  Yet, not all of winter is cold and drear.  There are pleasantries such as kindness, laughter and friendship that give me a glimpse of Spring times bliss.  I must learn to treasure these glimpses. 

Jesus knows.  Jesus cares. 

Winter can be survived and Spring will come....

sometime soon...

I hope, I pray.

 

My Jesus is beside me.

He holds and guides me.

Through Winters grey;

Now and alway!

 

 

 

Nothing but trust is needed here He has already proven Himself over and over!

 

 

 

 



        

The Can

THE CAN 

Ok, ok if you are a lady I am sure you have experienced this, and if you are a man you might have too.  Have you ever had an aerosol can of hair spray or something like that, and you have it poised to spray when...all you hear is pffft?  What you expected to be there was missing!  Growl moment, true? True.  You "press the button" just like you are supposed to...and pffft?  You may question yourself... Did I press the button correctly?  Is the depressor broken or stuck?  And further more if I have to replace this how much will it cost?  As you are standing there with the can poised in the air you may realize that what you thought would work for you,  just as it should, now left you disillusioned and distraught. 
This may seem a bit dramatic for hair care products or spray cheese or whatever, but, have you ever experienced this with people?  In an effort to reach out and touch a life you "press the buttons".  Kindnesses are dealt, acts of service are demonstrated, and simple words of greeting and love are proclaimed; the response pffft.  How many times can the pfft occur before one is allowed to become discouraged? 
The Bible has plenty to say about love toward, first God and secondly those around us.  We are told to love as we've been loved.  How much pouring out of ourselves is required?  I think I know the answer...all.  Right it is all?  We must expect to receive nothing (from others) in exchange for giving love.  That is it.  All is required of us, and nothing is required of the "others".  We need to hold onto the good; "that love will conquer, that eventually the pfft will be replaced by warm fuzzes".    :)
I want to raise the bar for me (so far to go here), and lower the bar for others (an equally long distance)!  I want to fall into Jesus' arms and depend only on His love and care.  He is the one who loves me deeply and best.  I want to learn to rest in Him for my all (oh my wow)!

A note:
Lest any of you think that my husband does not provide love and affection for me, that is not the case!  I am overjoyed by how much he loves me everyday.  We were just talking over lunch today about how our relationship is growing and love is abounding.  So, this post is an out pouring of my thoughts of late and not at all directed toward him. :) I am blessed in so many ways.  Jesus is close by my side.  His smile warms my heart in these extra dreary days of winter.            

Stacks

This is a post about sandwiches, 340 of them to be exact.  This is the approximate number of sandwiches that I will have made for Felix by the end of the school year.  I am also thankful for the fact that Felix likes bologna sandwiches no cheese! :) This is amazing because he is a bit of a picky eater; he also doesn't seems to weary of this culinary situation.  We can get a loaf of bread for .88, a package of bologna for .99, a big bag of chips for 1.00, and granola bars 3.50 for 18.  This makes very cheap, urrr...inexpensive lunches for a growing teenage boy!  So, today I am glad for these stacks of sandwiches!  It is a blessing.  And now you know this nugget of information about our lives!  Tee hee tra la*! :)      

 

 

 

 

 

*I grumble about this extra chore sometimes!  However, even though I am not always jolly about creating these sandwiches, I am thankful that they are inexpensive and that our boy is content to eat them :)  There are blessings in the routine of life! I want to learn to focus on the blessings more and not the monotony.   

Ducks

Ducks!

           Today Zane and I were able to extract some pictures from my digital camera.  So, I wanted to post about some pictures that were taken at the end of May.  As you know we got married at the end of June.  So, in May I packed up my house (with the help of friends), and ended my career as a school teacher.  With wedding planning, and trying to prepare mentally for our union, and also for the prospects of becoming a mother to a teenager, I was overwhelmed.  Not only was I doing all of these things but I was also preparing to leave some very precious friends I had made. In the midst of this the ducks appeared!  They will always be a fond memory of mine. 

See, at the end of the drive way to my home in Independence there was a giant nasty mud hole.  Ew!  Every time it rained the hole filled up and left me with a nasty mess; not only at the end of the drive way but, also all over my vehicle.  In some aspects the mud hole represented the stress in my life at that time.  One day I was pondering with a friend the prospects of making the mud hole look better.  We flippantly spoke of floating rubber duckies in the puddle.  We laughed off this idea and went on about our busy schedules.   

The evening of graduation my friend and next door neighbor offered me a ride to the graduation.  We took some trash from my house to the dumpster.  We drove by my house to drop off the trash can and lo and behold here is what I see...      

     These ducks were just what I needed that day!  They provided a good laugh, and a warm memory was created.  Each duck included several notes of thanks and encouragement from the teachers and students that I had worked with over the past two years.  I still think of the ducks often.  They represent something to me.  Sometimes in the midst of lives yucky mud-ness something wonderful happens.  It does not have to be costly or time consuming even.  But, it must be heart felt and meaningful! 

Today was like that as well.  We had a wonderful time just being together.  We did share some coffee (thanks to a gift card), and we "window shopped" at the mall (yes, Zane tried on a $500 coat)! It was a blast!  I am thankful for these *sigh* sort of moments! :)

I am extra thankful for the moments of pleasantness along lives path! I am thankful to God for always knowing just what and who I need!