Growing Prayers

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Lately, I have been even more overwhelmed by how much I love our 3 wee Babs.

they make me laugh.  they make me cry.  they teach me.  they stretch me.  they amaze me.

i am freaking out that very soon i will have an eight year old...

i am still telling them everyday that they are not allowed to grow anymore…

but they don’t listen… 😉 they have to grow.  we all do.  it’s impossible to go on living without growing.

but how are we growing?  that is the important question…

without growth, we die…

and without death, we can’t truly… fully… completely… wholly… live. John 12:24-26

dying… growing… means we are truly living… Philippians 1:21

we are filled with such joy ~ the joy of our wee Babs growing… In Him.
In Prayer…  


Soleil has had answered prayers…

Most of the time Soleil prays silently… last week, her friend was having some pain at school and told her about it.  Later that day, her friend told her, “Soleil I don’t have any pain anymore!”  Soleil responded, “That’s because I prayed for you”.  

Last weekend, we were spending some family time at a friends cabin.  I was searching thru the drawers to find the matches, so we could make a campfire.  Right after I found them, Soleil said, “I just prayed that you would find them.”  

Salem has grown more in his gift of praying for others and for himself... 

“Dear God, please be with me.  Help me to have a great day.  Put your angels above me.  In Jesus Name, Amen.”  

When I was sick with an on-going sore throat last month, I asked Salem to pray for me.  He put his hand on my throat and said, “Dear God, please heal mommy and make her throat all better.  In Jesus Name, Amen.” The next day my sore throat was completely gone.

Selah has started praying out loud… and reminding us to pray if we forget… She’ll say, “Pray, Pray!”

She bows her head, folds her hands and says, “Dear Gawd, mommy go night-night.  daddy go night-night.  sissy go night-night.  bubba go night-night.  amen.”

At meal time she says, “Dear Gawd, sissy eat, bubba eat, mommy eat, daddy eat.  amen.” 

I am so grateful that our wee Babs teach us.  Lord, continue to teach us all how to pray…

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.  Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”          Matthew 6:9-13 

flying saucers

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This week as “Mom”…

i have been a teacher, a mediator, a jungle gym, a protector against flying saucers, and a rebel who got in trouble with the school principle…
and I did it all with out a major “Mommy” meltdown.  Go Me.
…
this week i protected our wee babs from a flying saucer.

we were at the park after school with some friends.  we were having fun, doing the normal thing we do at the park… play.  when all of a sudden i see a flying saucer heading right toward us!

actually, it was a trash can lid.  but this wasn’t just your normal household sized trash can lid.  this was a huge industrial sized trash can lid.  which is usually attached the to the trash can by a metal wire.  but it had broken off and this day was extremely windy.

so i saw it coming our way.  i didn’t freak out.  i remained calm.  i assessed where all three wee babs were and made sure they were out of harms way.  i briefly thought about jumping in front of the lid to stop it, but changed my mind when i briefly panicked about it knocking me over.  it ended up flying right past me, into the jungle gym equipment, thankfully avoiding any human contact.  when the lid finally came to a hault, i proceeded to pick it up and put it back on the trash can, hoping no more wind gusts would cause a repeat of the crazy experience we just had.  Whew.  Go Me.
…

this week i spent time as a mommy jungle gym.  we love to wrestle and cuddle with our wee babs.  tickle me, tickle me is a favorite request.  hugs are constantly being dished out.  big squeezes and lots of kisses are the norm.  i love this part of my job. 
we are always telling them they can’t grow anymore.    
but. they. are.  
we take every opportunity to hold our wee babs… because one day… 
Go Us.
…

this week i have been a teacher.  well, every moment i am a teacher.  but this week has had even more teaching moments.  i treasure these times to teach our wee babs.  they are sponges, soaking up information faster than my coffee is brewed.  i have to be a quick thinker as a mommy teacher.  they are learning so much about the world; and in this global internet age, there is so much to “learn”. but….

we don’t want them to just be “informed”…

we pray, hope and teach them to be transformed.  in Christ likeness.  at home. at school. with their friends. everywhere they go and with everyone they meet. these are my absolute favorite teaching moments.  Go Us + God.
…
this week i have been a mediator.  this is nothing new.  sometimes the wee babs fight with one another and i have to break it up.  sometimes i make things worse and can’t control my own temper, end up having a “mommy meltdown”, and cause additional stress to the situation.

friday morning i slept in.  until 8:30am.  i consider this a miracle.  the wee babs were watching their favorite cartoons “Martha” & “George” and i never heard a peep out of them.  after i woke up, things changed.

as i was busy preparing breakfast, prepping school clothes, packing lunch and perusing facebook… the peace crumbled.  the storm brewed.  and all hell broke loose.

Soleil’s shirt wasn’t clean.  the shirt she had planned all week to wear.  the shirt her bff was also going to wear, so they could be twins on this last day of school before spring break.  the shirt i knew about but which was at the bottom of the laundry bin, so it was too stinky to “air out” and had to be washed.  meanwhile, Salem melted down when Selah started playing with his playmobile toys.  both of them proceeded to go back and forth fighting and crying for the next hour about i’m not sure what, and i remained calm.

i mediated their fights and tears in between doing a quick load of laundry, finishing making breakfast (homemade waffles-btw), lunch prep, changing a diaper, sending a few texts and quick facebook check.  and i remained calm. another miracle.

Soleil went to school wearing a slightly damp shirt and a great attitude about it.  i mediated successfully with the other two wee babs and avoided a “mommy meltdown”.  Go Me.
…
this week i was a rebel…

because of the miracle i experienced friday morning, the one when i slept in until 8:30a.m., i was running super late to get Soleil to school on time.  shocker.

so i took her to the back of the school building to drop her off.  it’s closer to her classroom.  and we were running super late.

i know i’m not supposed to drop her off back there.  i know it’s considered a safety issue.  i know it’s for buses only. blah blah blah.  i’ve been told this information before. and 99.9% of the time, i drop her off in the proper place at the front of the school where all the other parents drop off their kids.  but somedays i don’t follow rules very well.  and friday i was a rebel.

about an hour later i got a phone call.  from the school principle.  i got called out on my rebellion.  the principle said, “it has been brought to my attention that Soleil is being dropped off in the back. this is the area for buses only.” i listened respectfully, meanwhile thinking “you recognize my van? my awesome 1997 taupe honda odyssey with the sun roof?  wait… am i going to get a detention for this?”

i continued listening and responded “i understand”.  but this wasn’t the first time i dropped her off in the back, and if i’m a rebel again, it won’t be the last…

either way the principle was doing her job.  and i appreciate that.  at the same time, i was doing my job as Mom.  Go Me.
…
as Moms, we never know what “flying saucers” will come our way each week.  we have to be quick thinking teachers, patient mediators, flexible jungle gyms, brave protectors and yes… sometimes even rebels.
Go Moms.

March Madness

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The month of March can be a maddening month for us.  and it has absolutely nothing to do with the NCAA.  or basketball of any kind.  basketball bores me to tears.  I was randomly switching channels the other night, which is rare because if I have the remote it is because I am turning on PBS for the wee babs to watch cartoons.  but on this rare evening I was switching channels and stumbled upon a basketball game.  i watched it.  for a few seconds.  i started to tear up and cringe. i couldn’t take the squeak of the shoes.  sorry to offend any basketball lovers who read our blog.

So, back to our Babs March Madness…

There are several reasons the month of March can be maddening for our family – here are the top 5:

1. the weather
2. it seems like an extra long month because February is short, so we find ourselves pleading to just get it over with
3. extra hectic schedules
4. our taxes are due in a few weeks and i am not organized and my ducks are rarely in a row, so i am usually stressing to get our crap together at the last minute, and because PA is a Pastor, we always owe
5. i typically have a “I can’t take winter anymore!” meltdown in March

But this March has been strangely different…


1. we have had amazing weather.  we think this is happening due to global warming.  a few years ago we watched the Al Gore global warming movie “An Inconvenient Truth”. we were convinced global warming was the worst. thing. ever.  but since the weather in central Ohio has been so unseasonably amazing this March, we are cool with global warming.
2. February had an extra day this year, so… so far, March seems like it’s flying by
3. even though our schedules are just as hectic as they typically are, this March is also filled with a lot of fun stuff, like conferences and friends coming into town to visit and good weather. and since the weather has been so amazing we’ve been outside a lot, which puts our whole family in a way. better. mood.
4. i’ve spent so many months of March stressing about our taxes that i’ve finally learned i will never be organized enough to not stress at all, even if it’s just a little. and i’m okay with that. we always save to pay, so the owing money part is no longer a surprise to us, making March tax prep season a little easier to get thru each year.
5. it’s now March 19th.  we are over half way thru the month and i have not a had a March meltdown.  in previous March months, the meltdowns have been triggered by stress and winter dragging on and on.  one March, we had a huge winter storm and i didn’t leave my house for 5 days.  i almost went insane.  this year, thanks to global warming, the time outside has helped prevent any major meltdowns.

And so has God.  really, i can only give Him all the glory for protecting me from madness and insanity happening this March. Yes, He is ultimately in control of the weather and all that jazz, but it’s more than just a surface warm weather phenomena.  it’s not about global warming.  or hectic schedules.  or taxes that are due. this March has been strangely different.  God has changed my heart and i can see how He has been teaching me all along.  i am so thankful this March.  i am fully enjoying the present moments.    

i am because He Is.
God is greater than any March madness or meltdowns or hectic schedules or taxes we have to pay or global warming.

He transcends time and turns March madness into fully enjoying all of the March Moments.

These are the days…

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Ugh.  I’ve had writers block.

I didn’t think it could happen to me.  I always have something to say… or in this case… write.

but i got distracted – which is nothing new — but more on that later.

and then I got it – the writers block.

So… I’m back

with a whole new blogging purpose, I might add 😉

and I’m reflective… about smells… like bacon.  As I smelled the bacon I was cooking last Saturday morning, I had this whole blog planned out in my mind to write.  So I sat down for some time with God. and to eat my waffles and bacon.  I wrote a little in my journal.  I read my Bible.  But I never wrote the blog.

This week followed suite.  the half written ideas came, but no writing happened.

Then the song “These are the Days” by Natalie Merchant / 10000 Maniacs came to mind.  Remember that song?  It takes me back… to my college years. And the Soap Operas “Days of our Lives”…. and “One Life to Live”… in junior high, I used to watch”Days” avidly.  and so did my Grandma (the one who’s been married 65 years – the one I wrote about here). She and I would catch up on our “soaps” together after school sometimes… oh yes, we did.

So, these song and soap opera titles scanned across my mind and reminded me…  just do it.  


Just write…

—

what are you gonna do with the days you have?

the moments you have to love, grow, share, give… blog?

God is challenging me to Love more.  Grow more.  Share more.  Give more.

To love the one(s) in front of me.  P.A., the wee Babs, family, friends, peeps in our church… strangers God leads me to… 


So, I’m gonna continue writing about it… in this blog.


these are the days… day by day here’s what we do… here is our half written story…

Tonight we were playing guitar with the wee babs… it was such a blessing.


Soleil really wants to learn and so we’ve started teaching her a few chords.



They bless us constantly…day by day.  We are overwhelmed with love for them, and then we get overwhelmed by God’s great love for us.


So… the writers block is over… and our half written story continues.

the truth is…

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i have rather large feet for someone of my stature… i wear a size 10 shoe, weigh 100 + pounds, and i’m only 5’3″… i know, it’s so bizarre.  and that’s on a good day.  those days when i’m really focused on my posture, sucking in (my jello) and standing up straight.  on the rest of the days of my life, which are the majority of days, i’m probably slouched over, closer to 5’2″.  these are the days i typically feel out of proportion.  and with size 10 feet, no wonder i’m always tripping over my self… hmmm.


the truth is… i used to be embarrassed by my big feet, and now i see it as another way God has made me unique.


when i was in high school and college choir, i always sang as a soprano (the melody part, for those of you who don’t know).  i would audition and sing the soprano parts because i thought that was the “cool” thing to do.  because being in choir is. really. cool. (for those of you who don’t know).  i also have a low speaking voice.  i don’t sound like a guy or anything, but my voice is low.  so, although i was good at singing soprano, i was really in denial.  I am an alto.


the truth is… i used to want to be a soprano, but i am glad God made me an alto. God gave me the ability to sing harmony and He gave me a voice that is unique.


one day, P.A. and i really want to go on the Amazing Race.  we keep saying “when the kids get older”… but we don’t want to procrastinate our dreams. and what if the show is off air by that point? what fun it would be to experience running around the world together, competing against other teams.  it would be so. much. fun.  and we would be hilarious.  it is a dream of ours to be on that show.  all the contestants have a story.  our story would be great for the Amazing Race.  we love to travel, love to compete, we are parents, we are married and best friends, we are employed by God.  would our relationship be able to survive the stress? would the Babs have what it takes to win the Amazing Race?  what drama.


the truth is… we would love to experience the fullness of the Amazing Race.  and sure, it would also be nice to win a million dollars.  to be the first team employed by God to win the Amazing Race would be unique.  


i know i have big feet, a low voice, and a dream of experiencing the Amazing Race for a reason.  unique reasons.


the truth is… i don’t look like anyone else.  i don’t sound like anyone else.  i am unique.  i want to embrace the unique characteristics i have and the desires God has put inside my heart.  the truth is i never want to be anything but unique.
and who knows…?  watch out because next season, you might just see the Babs running the Amazing Race…