Category: God

monster house.

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as parents we are called to love, protect, teach, nurture, guide and correct our children.
this week as parents, we loved our wee babs with tickles, cuddles and affirming words…
we nurtured their hurts, clarified their questions, and helped guide their decisions…  
we corrected unruly behavior and taught them to make wise choices…  
and this week as parents, we protected. we protested. we were proud. and we prayed.
we protected our kids from a black hairy googly-eyed spider. sure, it was only a quarter of an inch long. but it was a spider. *hooray* exclaimed our kids ~ mom and dad saved the day! 
we protested after our 3rd grader saw the movie monster house at school.
{what? you protested a silly little kids cartoon movie?}
why yes. we did. 

today the whole school watched monster house after returning from their fall field trip.  
p.a. called the school and talked to the principal, who was apologetic. he asked why this movie was shown without parental consent?  it’s rated pg {ahem. that stands for ‘parental guidance’}.
call us overprotective. call us prudes. call us crazy. we don’t care. 
while some might think this is an overreaction, we are taking action.
nope. we’re not going to file a lawsuit. that would be *ridiculous*.
however, we do hope that next time a movie with no educational purpose is shown during school hours, paid for with our tax dollars, we will know ahead of time and have a right to keep our child out of school for the ‘movie time’ without being counted as an absence if we do not approve of said movie.
yes that was meant to be a run-on sentence. thank you for reading.
the point is:
we are not trying to be holier-than-thou-pastor-parents.
we are called to protect our kids.
the school is not going to do that for us. culture is not going to do that for us.
it is our parental job to protect.
so. we choose to use our parental right to protect our kids from certain media.
and we expect to get a note ahead of time the next time said media is going to be shown at school.
this week as parents, we were proud.
when the movie began, soleil was immediately uncomfortable. she also noticed another classmate who seemed to be shaking and physically scared by the movie.  she went to her teacher and explained her feelings. she was given the option to turn her chair around and read. 
i wish we could’ve just come to the school and picked her up.
we were so proud soleil spoke up.
and this week as parents, we prayed. 
we know we can’t control everything every second of the day about our kids. especially while they are in school or any other time they are away from us. 
so we pray. 
we pray over them everyday.
we know we can’t make decisions for them, 
but we can influence.
our home is our training ground for life. 
it’s our base camp for tackling situations that arise.
it’s our headquarters for problem-solving.
home is where we teach, train and take-to-heart the truth.
…
we choose to follow Jesus as the Way, the Truth and the Life.
The living Word of God.
The Bible is our root, our foundation, of truth.
…
when we teach our kids to think about ‘whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable…’ as in Philippians 4:8, there are very few movies that fall into that category.  there is so much media [even media deemed *kid friendly* that is contrary to those things].
we are humbled to love, protect, teach, nurture, guide and correct our wee babs.
this is our calling as parents. 
we are honored to have this job.
and this week we are *proud* of a job well done.

love your neighbor. or not.

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we live in a nice suburban neighborhood. in the middle of nowhere Ohio. 
well… to the people who grew up here it is somewhere. 
but to us. we liken it to the middle of nowhere. no offense.
we moved here from new york city. and once you’ve lived there…everywhere else seems like the middle of nowhere.
but now we live here. and we love it. 

in new york city we had neighbors but not for real neighbors.
we had next door apartment dwellers. 
we rubbed shoulders with fellow subway riders.
we scurried past hurried walkers. 
we barely made eye contact with other elevator riders.
in new york city, we “learned” how to avoid our neighbors.
and here in our lovely suburban neighborhood in the middle of nowhere we’ve kinda done the same thing. unintentionally.
we’ve lived in our house for nearly seven years. 
and only recently have we begun to know our neighbors.
it’s a shame. really.
sure. we love our church. we love our friends. we love the random strangers we meet and pray for at the grocery story, kohls and target.
but our neighbors? 
hmmm. not doing such a good job.
home sweet home. we close our garage door. a house. a job. 3 kids. a tv. we’re good. 
yet our hearts have been tugged time and time again…
meet your neighbors.
and we know how to be kind. we do have manners.
i grew up in oklahoma where everyone waves and says “howdy”.
p.a. grew up in california where everyone is smiley and everyone calls everyone “dude”.
and we didn’t ignore *all* of our new york city neighbors. 
we exchanged waves and hellos with our doormen. i mean c’mon. we at least owed them that courtesy for opening the door for us, right.
we exchanged bad breathy smiles with fellow subway riders as our bodies were pressed together crammed into this small transportation tube.
i shared fake laughs over laundry as i patiently waited for my turn to use the communal washing machine.
p.a. turned the other cheek while answering the church door to many a homeless friend who would refuse food offered if money was not in the negotiation.
i mean. we were sometimes neighborly.
so p.a. lands a job in a new church. we move to a cute little house in the middle of nowhere Ohio.
technically, we only have *ONE* neighbor because our house is on the corner.
we spend lots of time outside watching cars go by and exchanging neighborly waves.
we have a block party one summer and meet about 3 neighbors from that shindig.
we have dinner with one neighbor down the street.
we meet another few neighbors from a g-sale one saturday morning when we spread out all of our crap on our driveway to sell.
isn’t that enough neighborly interaction?
still our ears heard the whisper…
know your neighbors.

sure we are a family made up of a pastor, his wife and three kids.
yet obviously we still have a lot to learn.
and God is a God of redemption and grace.
He orchestrates who our neighbors will be and gives us opportunity to know them.
this past summer, p.a. had the chance to talk with one of our neighbors about Jesus.
i’ve chatted with a few neighbors during morning walks and quick visits when dropping off our kids at school.
some of our neighbors attend our church.
some of them have joined our worship team.
God is throwing opportunity to know our neighbors into our lap.

still the words of Jesus echo to be obeyed…
love your neighbors.

Jesus calls us to love our neighbors as ourselves. Leviticus 19:18.
and to not be so freakin’ selfish. duh.
our home is a sanctuary. we treasure our time together as a family. to get renewed, refreshed and refilled for the daily grind of life and ministry.
outside our home is a mission field.
just the other day, p.a. had the awesome opportunity to talk with one of our neighbors.
they just recently moved in next door to us. so yes.
they are technically our only neighbors. 
we’ve seen them sitting outside on their front porch and given the neighborly wave as we back up out of our driveway.
we’ve assumed they’re as busy as we are and avoided further contact.
but our hearts tugged and our ears heard the whisper echo…
meet. know. love. your neighbors. 
after his run the other day, p.a. went up to meet them and in a matter of minutes he learned part of their story…and invited them to church.
the husband is a pastors kid, the wife had a load of questions – she asked if it was okay that she smoked while p.a. was talking with them? yes. she asked it is okay to wear casual clothes to our church? heck yes. she asked is it okay that she cuss? hell yes. and btw so does the pastors wife. occasionally. 
*and the best part*
p.a. asked them where they moved from…
the apartments right across the street from our church.
the same apartments we’ve given groceries to.
this family received groceries from our church 2 years ago.
coincidence? i think not.

so… Jesus calls us to love our neighbors as ourselves. 
and He’s not kidding around. 
…
do you have any neighborly stories to share? please. do tell.

The Chicken vs. Sexuality War

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Unless you are worm living in the dirt under a rock or you are too enthralled with The Olympics to pay attention to anything else, you’ve probably heard of or read about the recent “support that chicken place vs. the rights to our sexuality” debate.

As much as I’d love to list my own wonderful opinions on either side of the matter…
I’m going to engage in the story by sharing my own hearts cry…

My love for Jesus, for chicken and for all people.

Jesus wants all of us. He desires a relationship with every person on this earth.

Jesus wants every part of us.  He wants every part of our whole being ~ body, mind and soul ~ from our sexuality to the food we put in our mouths, whether it be chicken from a certain restaurant or not.

Jesus wants every part of us fully surrendered unto Him. Any part that we don’t fully surrender to Jesus – whether it be what we eat, our sexuality or anything else – can become an idol. Idols are anything we Worship, or have excessive devotion to, within a society or culture. Our golden calf. Our cross to bear. Our favorite American Idol. Our modus operandi. Our ______ (you fill in the blank).

Culture wars and cultural norms can easily become idols.

It used to be a cultural norm to own slaves. It used to be a cultural norm for only men to vote. It used to be a cultural norm to smoke anywhere. It used to be a cultural norm for everyone to wear bell bottoms. It used to be a cultural norm for everyone to use an entire can of hairspray on their bangs in one day… or at least that’s what I was doing in the 7th grade…

The chicken vs. sexuality war raging now is a Culture War fighting for New Cultural Norms. Jesus is not surprised by any of this. Idols have been around since day #1. To America and beyond: we have a lot of idols, that are of a sexual nature and beyond.  And throughout the years of history, some of our idols have changed and some have stayed the same. Humor me and read 2 Timothy 3:1-7.  Sound familiar?

Jesus calls us into the Worship of Himself more than anything. He is more important than our sexuality or what/where we eat.  Worship of Jesus moves us from places of brokenness and bondage and brings us into Freedom. True freedom, for every part of us ~ body, mind and soul ~ can only be found by abiding in Jesus (John 8:31-36).

We shouldn’t get our panties in a wad to defend our sexual rights or what and where we eat… Culture wars are typically dripping with offense, unforgiveness, hurt, bitterness and hate. If we are drowning ourselves and our focus on the culture wars, we won’t be prepared for the spiritual battle that is raging. Ephesians 6:10-20. We must speak in truth and in love, without compromise.  The war we should be fighting is for what and for whom we Worship.


The Worship of Jesus will change, transform, justify and renew us. Titus 3:1-11.  

Let us fully surrender every part of our lives ~ body, mind and soul ~ to Him and keep our focus on Him.  Let us not boast in our sexuality or where we eat chicken.  Let us boast in the Worship of Jesus, knowing His Love and His Glory!

i didn’t mean to break the law…

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Today I broke the law…
I didn’t mean to, but it happened.  

Even as I write, my stomach is turning, and I. feel. sick.

I hate breaking the law!  

Now wait a minute, Leslie… Let’s just stop the story right there. Rewind.

law the breaking hate I!

Okay, what I really mean is that I hate getting into trouble with the law.  This is true. I’ve never been in “trouble” with the law. My first and only speeding ticket was at the age of 16.  I had only been driving for a few weeks and was speeding thru a neighborhood to get to my high school musical rehearsal.  Really important stuff worth speeding for.  I got a ticket.  I had the same sick-to-my-stomach feeling. Lesson Learned.

When we lived in New York City, we were pulled over once with no idea why… Sure, during our years of driving in NYC, we paid our fair share in parking tickets. But that was by choice. To avoid parking garage fees of $450 a month, we took chances, drove around for hours, sat in our car during street cleaning and paid an average of $100 a month in parking tickets instead.  Brilliant.  But on this particular day, the Officer approached our car so that he could test the window tint on our awesome 2001 Ford Focus.  He had some gadget that tested the tint, to ensure it was not over 25%. Ours was at 19%.  Whew!  We passed.  Can we go now?  Not. So. fast.  The Officer still kept us pulled over while he took his sweet time “testing” all of our windows, reminding us the tint could not be over 25% – which it wasn’t – while we both grew extremely agitated as we waited in the car knowing we were well under the limit, until finally he came over to my window.  I rolled it down and… BOOM!  All of sudden the Officers perspective changed.  He could see that I was 9 months pregnant and in no mood to mess around, so he “quickly tested” my window and let us go on our merry way.

I have never been in any accidents where I was at fault.  In 19 years of driving, I’ve done a 360 when my wheels slipped in the pouring rain, crossing 4 lanes of traffic and miraculously landing in the median, without hurting myself or causing a wreck for anyone else. I’ve been sideswiped by a truck which was being chased by the police for robbery. I’ve been crashed into at a stop sign and rear ended at a stop light by negligent drivers. And once… I was pulled over on Long Rd. after coming to Adam’s rescue when his truck ran out of gas.  The first Officer who arrived at the “scene” was someone we know from our church.  Leaving Adam in his capable care, I pulled out from behind his truck.  After I pulled in front of Adam’s truck to head home, the second officer approaching the scene passes me, and then whips around to pull me over. As I was driving away, I realized Adam had possibly left his wallet in my car, which he needed for the tow truck.  So, I pulled into the entrance of a neighborhood up the road from Adam’s stranded truck, began to rummage thru his bag looking for his wallet, and look up to see the 2nd Officers lights blaring in my rear view mirror. He then approached my car and asked me for my license and registration. I’m thinking – What the…?!? Your pulling me over???

“Sir I just left my husband, he’s just a few hundred yards behind us. He was stranded without gas and now I’m heading back home.”
“I just need your license and registration.”

He didn’t “care” about my story, or the fact that our wee Babs were sleeping in the back seat, even though I had woken them up to come and “rescue daddy” at 11pm on a Tuesday night.

In the meantime, as he is checking my pristine license and registration record, he must’ve also communicated with the first Officer at the scene – who we know – who must’ve talked him into “letting me go”.

But first, He came back to my car and listed the reasons he had pulled me over:
1. I pulled out into oncoming traffic (which was his car, btw) and there was PLENTY of space for me to pull out from behind Adam’s truck, and get in front of his truck before the Officer passed me. Apparently, it was supposed to be at least 500 feet… well, I didn’t have my measuring tape handy, but from the distance of his headlights, I had plenty of space… maybe it was 450 feet?
2. I pulled into a neighborhood entrance with the intention to complete an illegal u-turn. What the…???  At this point, I was becoming extremely angry. But I held my tongue. Nope, Officer. I pulled over to check and see if my husband left his wallet in my car.

At this point, he didn’t have any further evidence, so he “let me go”.  How Nice.

For the most part, I’ve been a law abider. 

But today was different.  I didn’t mean to.  I didn’t set out to.  But today I broke the law.

I pulled into a handicapped parking spot to wait with the wee Babs in the van, while Adam ran into a store “real quick”.  I knew it was wrong when I did it.  There’s no excuse.

After waiting for a few minutes, perusing the latest news on Facebook and handing out snacks to the kids, a police car drives up and slows down as it passes the spot where I was parked.

I quickly jumped into gear, put the car in reverse and start backing up – just in time for the policeman to complete his circle around the parking lot and catch me trying to flee the scene.

Too late. I was caught.  Illegally parked. 


“Miss, do you have a Handicapped sticker for your vehicle?”
“No sir. I was just getting ready to leave.” (mmm hmm, he’s thinking – yea right lady, likely story)
“Are you aware there is a $287 fine for parking here illegally?”
“Yes sir, I know. I was giving my kids some snacks (and I conveniently left out the waiting on my hubby part) and was getting ready to leave.” (yes, I was sticking by that story)
“Okay, you could’ve done that over there.”
“Yes sir, I know. I’m sorry.”

At this point he nodded and “let me go” with a warning. Whew!  

Here’s the point when I start to freak out. I reverse out of the illegal spot and drive down the lot into another – legal – spot, and immediately text Adam “Come On!!!”

A few moments later, Adam emerges from the store and begins walking toward our van.  I start driving toward him to pick him up.  At the same time, I notice the Policeman circling around our way again (he totally wasn’t letting this go).  As we start driving again, he stops in the parking lot next to us and rolls down his window;  I stop driving and roll down mine.

Officer: “So you weren’t really giving your kids snacks, you were waiting on him to get out of a store.”
Me: “No, I really was giving them snacks and was getting ready to move my car (as soon as I saw you coming), while we were waiting on him.”
“We’ve had a lot of problems with people parking illegally in these spots and the Sheriff has us cracking down on this.”
“I understand. I know it was wrong.”
“If it was the Sheriff, he would’ve given you a ticket for sure.”
“Yes, I understand. I know it was wrong to park there. I understand.”
“Okay, I will let you go with a warning. You folks have a nice day.”
“Thank you.”

I rolled up my window and started breathing again. As soon as I caught my breath, I was able to explain the whole story to Adam.  I felt sick to my stomach for the next half hour.  As I was getting over my nausea, Adam chimed in, “Doesn’t that Officer have anything better to do?”

The Truth Is – I broke the law. No excuses. I was caught in the act. I was Guilty.

But I wasn’t charged. 
Sure, there have been times in the past 35 years, when I have experienced that “Life is not Fair”.

But as I walk with Jesus, even when I am in the wrong ~ I am not charged. Everyday, I experience His extension of Grace and Mercy, the Holy Spirit’s sweet conviction in my sin, and the Lord as my Shepherd ~ forever leading me back to walk His path ~ not my own.

I broke the law today… And, I learned about more of God’s unfailing love for me in the process.  It was totally worth it.

Bedtime Battles

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This is Selah.

Sure. She’s cute enough…

This is Selah on drugs no sleep.

This is Selah sleeping. the ONE night she fell asleep without mommy holding her (or screaming/crying herself to sleep) in the last two months.

This is Selah sleeping with her sibs for a sleep over. in her own room. we were hoping the other two wee babs sleeping beside her would minimize the screaming.  it helped a little.
This is Selah sleeping at nap time. this is after she would not stay in her bed and go to sleep. so i put her in the pack-n-play. she screamed for over 30 minutes and finally passed out. she now knows how to climb out of the pack-n-play.  

This is Selah sleeping at bedtime. on the floor. in her room. in the living room. in the hallway. 
anywhere but her bed.

She is a stubborn child. 
so… the last two months have been slightly very difficult with Selah…
there have been many tears, screaming, yelling, and not sleeping… from me.
It all began when we got rid of her plug.

Nope. she doesn’t ask for her binky anymore.  She screams for me instead.

A few weeks ago, we had an exceptionally eventful day…  it all went down at nap time. she would not go to sleep. then she and her brother started playing together. i knew she had a stinky diaper and i was getting ready to change it when she took out all of the crayons and started dumping them all. over. the. kitchen. floor. so we mostly mommy began picking them up and in the meantime, she and her brother start play fighting. she is now lying on the floor of the kitchen. and so is her poop.

ugh. clean up on the kitchen floor. 

Before bedtime, I called Grammy (my mom) to chat while the kids were watching a cartoon. don’t worry. i’m not one of “those” moms who let their kids watch t.v. all day long. well, maybe somedays.  as soon as i got on the phone, Selah decided to begin “potty training”. she went into the bathroom, sat on the “big one” and said “pee pee”, got off the toilet, flushed the toilet and washed her hands. she did this four times in a row.  before she could waste water flushing the toilet for a fifth time, i locked the bathroom door to keep her out.  she screamed and cried.

I said, “Hold on, Mom” about 50 times to deal with selah’s potty antics during our conversation. then i had a bright idea. “Selah, do you want to put on underwear?”  She was so excited and ran into the living room to show her sibs her undies.

this was the result…

“Mom, Selah just took a sh*t on the floor, I gotta go.”  
Ugh. clean up on living room rug.
At bedtime, I nanny 911-d her.  i put her back in bed 20 times in a matter of 20 minutes, then P.A. came home from his meeting. it was impecable timing, let. me. tell. ya.
She heard the garage door go up, and became a ball of energy.  I sat at the edge of her bed and cried, until finally ~ she fell asleep.
Selah is stubborn. but Mom is creative. I will resort to lulling her to sleep with jogs in the stroller and “nap drives” – when we drive around – usually for about 10 minutes, until she falls asleep then I transfer her to her bed and she takes her nap. sound complicated? it is. but it’s worth it.
So, when the bedtime battles begin… I remind myself that in the end, Mom will Win.

Sure, there are days when i feel like i’m going to lose my mind… again. there are days i wish P.A. and I didn’t produce such stubborn children who fight sleep and poop on the floor. but we are not poop snobs.

There is peace amidst the poop.

When I am weak ~ like every single day of my life ~ God is strong.

I can’t do this anymore crossed my mind several times that day a few weeks ago, and still crosses my mind when the bedtime battles begin. some might think it’s no big deal, you’re just a mom. can’t you just take a nap the next day? your not the CEO of a large company, the head chef of a posh NYC restaurant or a General fighting in a war.

Nope. I’m not. But I AM the CEO of our household. The head CHEF of our kitchen. And a General in the spiritual war that wages around our family. 

As mom, often I set the spiritual temperature in our home.  Much of the time, the peace in our home depends on me.  I must be connected to the Peace-Giver, or the stress levels at home can sky rocket.

Stress levels and the stress triggers for human beings depends on who you are and your circumstances.  These past few months I have come to the end of myself several times. my “handling things well”. my “having it all together” went out the window.  but that’s okay. Regardless of our circumstances or who we are. Peace is Possible.


My job is to stay close to Him. Matthew 11:28-30.


How is the Spiritual Temperature in your home? What can you do to change it?