Soccer Mom for a Day

I usually don't complain about have an UNinteresting life. I think my subconscious may be cured due to having a Mom that always fixed complaints like that. I think maybe Mondays like today are humorous reminders from my God that things could always be worse...even when I hadn't thought they were bad in the first place. :-)

Today was the kids' first day of VBS at a friend's church in town. Note: I take them about everywhere I go--alot of the time I spoil them for lunch or treat them, so this was not the first time.
I packed up all four little ones in the car and left this morning at 8:30. They were all really nervous, since it was a strange church and they didn't know a soul. I'd volunteered to help in anyway I could (Phelisha and I previously worked there, so we knew the leaders), since I knew Jaelyn (3) and Caleb (6) wouldn't let me leave their side. It was a little chaotic to begin with since we were trying to find proper age groups, and I felt bad just sending Jacklyn (10) and Josh (9) off alone with a bunch of strangers in a 6th grade class since no one could find their 4/5th grade group. Jaelyn refused to go with the preschoolers, so she came with Caleb and I in the 1/2nd grade group. Surprisingly, she had a good time and listened, and did the projects well. Caleb, however, was not engaging and had an upset stomach throughout the morning. It ended up I had to leave Jaelyn to take him to the bathroom, and turned out he'd had an accident.
The worst kind.
I got him cleaned up, we get back to the group, and thankfully his clothes were rescued sufficiently and he was good for the rest of the day (what I didn't know was that on the other side of the church, Josh's stomach was doing the same thing).

After three hours of projects, games, movie, snacks, etc, I load up my four little ones and head into town to get water and dishwashing soap, and fill up a gas tank for the mower. In the middle of town, Josh says nervously from the back, "Jen, I feel like I need to throw up." I told him to hold on so I could stop at the coming gas station, but it was for naught. I didn't get the window rolled down soon enough to save the inside of the door, but good enough that I didn't have a too-terrible mess to clean up--amazingly, I've still got a good attitude about it all at this point! I bought Josh a 7up at the gas station, cleaned up the inside of the car door best I could with limited resources: 7up is sticky, but it sure kills the smell that would encourage three other kids to follow in the throwing up.
Off we go again. We went to Walmart, I bought the kids some Cheetos and Gatorade for on the way home since it was past lunch, but it wouldn't spoil supper. We were uneventul...until the next gas station where I was to fill up the mower tank. I filled both tank and car, left Jacklyn in charge, locked the doors and told her to unlock them for me when I came back. Uhem. Upon my return, I look into the back windows to see Jaelyn and Caleb fighting over a full 7up bottle, and envision it everywhere. About to react, I went for the door to find it's locked. I bang on the window and signal Jacklyn to unlock, but she's buckled in and trying to get them to stop fighting (from the front seat, mind you). She unbuckles herself, and this is when it went slow motion for me...she reaches back to get Jaelyn to stop and knocks the full Gatorade out of Josh's hands (who is also buckled in). So I'm standing outside a locked Chrysler at the pump of Shell, watching 7up at the point of combustion in the hands of a 6 and 3 year old, and a Gatorade bottle glug-glugging it's every drop onto the floor of the car.
The bystanders probably thought I was a nut. I cracked up laughing. Laughing, laughing, laughing! At the hilarious audacity of what just happened, as I stood to merely watch, helpless to stop any further catastrophe.

When I thought nothing else could happen, they actually did end up spilling half the bag of Cheetos. I hardly said anything. Considering I survived the day as if it was perfectly natural for all such things to happen, and we'd be home soon to clean it up, there wasn't anything more to say.

We're going again in the morning. The stomach bug is gone. I promised them cheeseburgers tomorrow...thankfully this hardly ever happens, and never so many things at once. I suppose we'll survive anything now, even without the football helmets. :-)

Dwelling on Good Things

Yay for a Saturday off. My boss thought I'd be upset. And I laugh. :-) Yes, I'm SO thankful for my job...but I laughed indeed. It happened that they weren't busy and were sufficiently staffed. So I get to stay home, clean house and cook food for 30+ people that will be here tonight. Why? To mention a prayer request first: my great uncle (my Grandpa's--Dad's dad--brother) has recently been diagnosed with cancer of glands, but I can't remember which. He's had some health problems for awhile, currently with a clogged artery in his leg. He's smoked all his life, but has lately given that up. His wife has gone to church for years, but only in the past couple has he gone with her and has truly enjoyed it. You can see the glory and the change in his heart (though he's always had a teddy bear one!), and it's humbling to see. But this is a hard time for his wife, kids, grandkids, etc. Please pray for him, and for them all--he's been in such wonderful spirits, and giving the Lord the faith and glory in each step. You can't help but find the joy when you see him, instead of feeling sorry. He's ready for whatever his God leads him through.
He's somewhat the main reason we're getting together tonight--we rarely do this on this side of the family altogether. We get along and such, but the getting-together is really hard to motivate and make happen. So we're praying for a good time with everyone, since it may be a long time before we do it again. Thank you for any prayers!

If RanchWife calls herself a slacker, I don't know what I am! Non-existent? :-)
But lately as I sit down in front of a text box, it seems the words don't come--and if they're negative, I can't bring myself to post them. Please don't become self-conscious now my much-loved bloggers, it's just an issue with me! I want a good, light-hearted, spiritually joyous post everytime--despite the fact that it doesn't need to be the case. There's the ups and downs. Period. No getting around them, and on a positive note: even the downs are for the GOOD. :-)
But it's not that there hasn't been anything going on...perhaps that's why, cause I'm ready for the craziness of life to settle down. We've had graduation, visiting family, a live-in Grandma (which has been wonderful!), work, church, and random/spontaneous/groove-thrower-offers to just make your hair fall out. But the Lord is good, and the river has to come to a still brook sometime we know.

Speaking of dwelling on good things (thanks LeAnna & Jen for listening and sparking the thoughts!), I'll share something that came to mind while reading about Jacob this week; a story I learn from each time I go through it. In the midst of getting frusterated with sisters Leah (who was unloved) and Rachel (who was loved by her husband), I saw something of Leah to think about. In that day in time, the people named their children/land/property after where they were in life. And here is what Leah named her first four sons: "When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. Leah become pregnant and gave birth to..."

Reuben: "Is is because the lord has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now."
Simeon: "Because the Lord heard that I am not loved, he gave me this one too."
Levi: "Now at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons."
Judah: "This time I will praise the Lord."

The repetative nature of the names show that Jacob still didn't favor Leah even after his sons were born (or at least, Leah doesn't feel it). But reading it, I could feel her agony and suffering as it seemed to consume her. Being unloved by the man she was bound to probably consumed her thoughts, consumed her lifestyle, etc, therefore made her miserable. But here, at the birth of Judah (that happens to be the line of David, therefore the line of Christ), she simply praises the Lord. Not because her husband loves her now, because reading further she becomes desperate again as both women offer their servants to produce offspring for them. But she stops--no more dwelling on what she doesn't have, but praising the Lord. It made me wonder about the things we want, wish were different, or any current battles: spiritually speaking, what would we name things if they was based on where our hearts lie? Would it be consumed in what we want, or praising the Lord regardless? It stepped on my toes for one, but it's an encouraging thought still. My God is Sovereign. He's God--and I am not. So our call to higher hope, a hope of glory (Colossians 1:26-27), is to praise Him for the goodness He's ALWAYS working in us.

May that higher hope in your Jesus produce the strengthening joy we're to give account for. :-)
Love and prayers for your weekend,
Jen

Graduation Madness...and Rest.

No telling what this post will be by the time I get to the end of it--but dear friend, this is simply a quick note of news since I can't condure up a worthy post. I've actually written three in the past two weeks, but I wasn't able to finish them or I wasn't satisfied with them. I'd like to be bushy-tailed EVERY time I post, but alas, you have a scattered Jen this evening.

I can't wait til they can brew coffee/tea via internet...so making do, pretend we're sitting on a sunny little window seat, with a cup of creamy chai (or your preference), and we can chat. :-)

If you could see my brain/spirit/functionality, it would be quite hairless thanks to this crazy week. Tomorrow is my sister's graduation party, and we have 112 people on the RSVP list thus far. So we've been cleaning, rearranging, cooking, cleaning some more, decorating, ordering, shopping, cleaning some more...until we just get our next decade's worth of all of it. But...she be worth it, indeed. :-)

My Grandma from San Antonio is visiting and will be with us until the 25th--she and I were able to have a girl day and we went to do some last-minute shopping, and had a good time. I talked myself out of a pair of adorable shoes, but I got lovely bargains on a bunch of books (thank you Lord for thrift store and Christian bookstore!), yay!

Where is your heart my friend?

Unless you would, no need to really say, or comment on that question. :-) I ask to draw you with me to my reflective state (though hazy it is), and share where mine is. Lately, I've prayed to find joy in my journey; not pray for a different journey altogether. I long to be soully beautified by fire--to be refined--and to count it joy when the Lord answers that prayer (regardless of the burn). But I've come to a place where I really pray for rest. Just rest. Just spiritually solitary, quiet, reflective, and...rest. HIS rest. Just to breathe Him in, and sigh Him out. So I pray after this party--and any crack in the time during--to breathe Him in. Breathe His Word, breathe His solitude, breathe in His quiet love. Sound good to you too? Let's do that.

May the God who rejoices over you, be with you. And if His presence is with you, may the peace of it guard your heart and mind against: the enemy, against yourself, and against distraction. Guarding in Christ Jesus--Lover, Quieter, and Rejoicer over your soul. "He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17

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I'm just a couple chapters away from finishing Foxe's Book of Martyrs. The past three unpublished posts were potentially my thoughts from reading this, and I pray to share them early next week. But referring to the above thoughts, Elisabeth Elliot noted Lady Jane Grey's (who is mentioned in Foxe's) prayer in Keep a Quiet Heart that she wrote in her prison cell before she was beheaded in 1554. She was only seventeen; it blessed and humbled me very much:

O merciful God, be Thou unto me

A strong tower of defence,

I humbly entreat Thee.

Give me grace to await Thy leisure,

And patiently to bear what Thou doest unto me;

Nothing doubting or mistrusting

Thy goodness towards me,

For Thou knowest what is good for me

Better than I do.

Therefore do with me in all things

What Thou wilt;

Only arm me, I beseech Thee,

With Thine armor

That I may stand fast;

Above all things taking to me

The shield of faith;

Praying always that I may

Refer myself wholly to Thy will,

Abiding Thy pleasure, and comforting myself

In those troubles which it shall please Thee

To send me, seeing such troubles are

Profitable for me; and I am

Assuredly persuaded that all Thou doest

Cannot be but well; and unto Thee

Be all honor and glory. Amen.

For everything, there is a season...

There's a time for guests...
And a time to clean the house anyway!
There's a time for sleeping in...
And a time for getting up at the crack of 7:00 EVEN IF we are homeschooled.
There's a time for doing chores...
And a time for doing chores.

There's a time for juvenilely letting our emotions loose...

And always time for loving thine older sister as thyself.

I think Solomon would've been proud. Can ya tell I've been big sister for the morning/afternoon? :-) That was completely sarcastic, in light of the things we've undertaken as a crew of eight this past week. From guests, emotions, and work; to play, fellowship, and the hilarity of living with so much personality and drama...Maybe it's part of getting older, but lately I've appreciated things about my siblings I hadn't appreciated before--that disappoints me, as much as it encourages me. :-) Lately they've come up with the most randomly funny--and even the most enlighteningly wise things. I'll have to start writing them down for post material, cause only they can come up with this stuff!

They are comedians and philosophers. Artists and preachers. Critics and copycats. Hair-grayers and mess-makers. Adorable and Imperishable. And such is the kingdom of heaven. There is such a broad spectrum of blessed and cursed circumstances a person could be raised in. I wander if the Lord offers "treasures" to every person--even those living in broken homes, and broken lifestyles. Maybe it's all a matter of perspective--and a matter of what we do, or do not take the time to appreciate (it doesn't mean the appreciatable isn't there!).

Because no, I do not wake up every morning remember ALL the rich "treasures" I've been blessed with either. Truthfully I hardly take the time to think of them at all, and I tend to make time to remember the things I have not been blessed with. So today, after the past few weeks of the Lord checking the reality box of Jen's existence...I'm gonna post about a revelation of seven things I should be soooo thankful for. THESE are my treasures...as onery, irritating and deaf as they are, I really, really, truly love them. Wouldn't and couldn't replace them, and pray that everyday, I'm worthy of the calling my Father HAS written on the wall for me: to be their sister. And not only are they gonna...how's Josh say it?...pound me for posting pictures of them, but serve a hard time for saying such mushy stuff in a blog post all about them. :-) But I'm a sibling...it's what I do.

And how many 20-year-old sisters do stuff like this? :-)

May your week be blessed with similar brick walls of thankfulness, cause the embrace of them is worth the plunge into them.

Day Five

Friday tends to mark the end of the week...but it's only day five. :-) This has been so much harder than I thought, but I'm glad I did it. And I won't say I'll never do it again, cause I've learned an awful lot in simply the everyday.

"With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you..."

2 Peter 3:8-9

I wonder what a whole day is to the Lord in detail. It's amazing what a whole day is to me...critical in the course of my life, but here and gone and forgotten by the next one. I was thinking today....I don't remember what I did last Friday. Don't remember a single solitary thing.

But it was important, I know. :-)

Following the lovely M. Blackwell's lead (by the way, I totally claim Gertie!), I'm going to post something I'm thankful for. I'm thankful for everyday. This week has shown me how the days are so unpredictable...when your feet hit the floor when you climb out of bed, you don't know what "mood" this day is going to have. Yet, I tend to see the woe before the gracious.

I'm thankful for the everyday. The mundane. The things I cannot change. I'm thankful for them. Because I'm here in their midst for a reason, and pray with all my heart that I grow in them for the better.

So I'm thanking my Father for them, and it's like a walk against the grain. Like spitting in the face of what is tearing you down, and finding the courage to pick yourself up again. Thank Him for what you're overcoming. :-) It's there, and He's here with me...that makes the everyday so much more bearable.

(Thank you, Mary for a better word!)

Aren't they just adorable? Mary is staying the weekend with us, and she and Jaelyn are just so photogenic. :-) I pray your Friday revealed so much to be thankful for--and in everything you find a reason to say thanks for, it's just more proof of His love for you.

Day Four

I came downstairs early this morning and went into the bathroom to put my contacts in. Standing on top of the toilet to see in the mirror, Jacklyn was brushing her hair, and she gave me this funny look.

I smiled at her, getting another funny look.

"Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning, dear?" I asked.

"Actually," she began, "I meant to wake up on the wrong side, but ended up waking up on the right side instead!" :-)

I did something absolutely terrible--oh the guilt. You see, there's something about Pillsbury brownies. There are things you just buy generic brands of because of the good deal and the little (if any) difference in taste/quality/function. However, when you discover the difference between generic brownies and Pillsbury brownies...you've gone beyond saving (on more levels than one! $$$)! And ever since then, my brother Justin--who doesn't really like to cook all that much outside of Ramen noodles and microwavable things--has been the brownie-bakin' King.

So Justin made this wonderful batch of brownies that sit innocently on the stove for the random plucking. Who cares if it's near suppertime...Jen wonders to herself, what would these taste like with a little peanut butter spread on the bottom???

Okay, lt's skip the crime of peanut butter and chocolate in the same sentence and get to the fact that I ate three of them. Yes. Three. Swing the gavel, diet is doomed. You should try this, for it was delighful in heavenly proportions...and guilt loves company. :-)

Today you shall have two pictures, because I had something happy to share.

I couldn't find a place in the house for a little bit of solitude, so I decided to brave the yucky day and go out! I walked down the road a ways, and lo and behold...an easter lily bloom. :-) A little bunch of them! So I pull the handy-dandy camera from my hoodie pocket and take a picture of the little thing ready to burst from it's bonds. As I walked back to the house, I took the long way around, noticing my forgotten and neglected flowerbed. Poor thing...I'd pretty well left it to the weeds last fall and didn't even get them covered before it snowed. But still, the irises have popped a good 6 inches from the soil and the gladiolas are poking their heads out--all as if to look at their little-failure-me and say, "Hi. We'll give you another chance." :-)

Look at that bloom. Around the beautiful blossom itself is layer after layer of hard, green, shell. If you feel the outside, it doesn't feel like the velvety softness of a lily petal...it feels more like beetle armor! But before the beauty and sweetness of this little life can be witnessed in awe, it's has to break forth through layers....one layer to the next layer, until it's a soft, glorifying, refined little life. Though nothing...nothing but the strength the Lord places in that blossom, can peel the layers back for her. :-) She just has to accept the very strength her Maker has offered her by nature.

I shake my head, my friend. Life has so many layers. What layer are you facing right now? I'm encased in the beetle shell, working on this particular layer of my heart. And when I feel the most hopeless, pressing in my own strength against my circumstances, it's when I fall back weary and oh-so-ready for Him to take over that I begin to see the sunshine between the folds. Notice it's after the surrender?

May your day, and the rest of your week, be enveloped in this beautiful fact: We need Him. All of Him. Like that bloom, by nature we need His strength. We were formed with that need, so that nothing in the world could fill it but Himself. :-) "When we find ourselves most hopeless, the road most taxing, we may also find that it is then that the Risen Christ catches up to us on the way...for it is He--not His gifts, not His power, not what He can do for us, but He Himself--who comes and makes Himself known to us. And this is the one pure joy for those who sorrow." (Elisabeth Elliot)

Thankful for He, Himself...

Jen