Ladies, Ladies…All the Ladies!!

At some point in my life I WILL blog again.  This week has been nuts!  First week of school for the boys, Chris is thrown into a new “month Schedule”..and so on.  Last night was Palin’s speech.  Tonight is the Gamecocks.  Tomorrow I leave for Nashville to visit sweet friends.  SOOOOO… as I said one day I will blog again.  Right now, life is keeping me busy.  Just wanted to give shout outs to all of my peeps in blogland.  I will be reading YOUR blogs as I search for something blogworthy of my own to write about.  Right now I’ll just leave you with my top 10 highlights of the week:

1.  After we all made it back home from the first day of school Will looked at Josh and said, “Josh, will you be my friend forever?”  (I think he actually missed his brother.)

2.  I did a “Boston butt” in my crock-pot for Labor Day… poured a little vinegar sauce on top…pulled it apart…just like home in the Carolinas… SOOO GOOD!

3.  Walked in to get Emma Faye one morning and she had undressed herself down to her diaper.  (How in the world!!)

4.  Playing soccer with Will one afternoon.  (He’s actually really good and stole the ball from me.  And I was really trying to keep it away from him!)

5.  Watching Josh walk into his classroom and realizing the Miracle that Jesus has done in his heart.  Exactly one year ago he would BAWL when we would drop him off for Sunday School.  I NEVER IMAGINED that Josh would be ready for a preschool.

6.  Hanging out with my neighbor Gina and seeing the work Christ is doing in her life.

7.  Getting to workout everyday this week!

8.  Getting in the car after school on Wednesday and hearing Will tell Josh, “Josh, did you know that God is the biggest.  He’s bigger than EVERYTHING.. even really, really tall buildings!!!”  Josh’s response, “Oh, yeah, I knowed that.”

9.  Watching Josh carrying his little Lightening McQueen lunch-bag in his hand saying “Oh mommy, I’m so excited about my lunch.”

And last but never least….

10.  Watching Emma Faye INHALE her Chicken Bog one night at dinner.  Chicken..sausage and all….Hilarious!

Oops… sorry I forgot to add this on Sunday… with Emma being a little sick and the boys starting their preschool this week, I’ve been a little rattled.  Anyhoo… hope soon to get to write and process it all.

Question 5: What do the Scriptures principally teach?

Answer: The Scriptures principally teach: What man is to believe concerning God, and: What duty God requires of man.

“Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have words of eternal life.”  John 6:68

Man, oh man have I been struggling today.  We are all sort of under the weather here…just little colds, sore throats…but it’s just enough  discomfort to make everyone a little “on edge.”  I say that in quotes because it’s amazing the meltdowns that occurred in this house today.  HUGE ordeals over VERY minor circumstances.  I’ve just been discouraged.  Mainly, because my children got to me today and I lost my temper with them.  I HATE doing that!!

I kept asking myself… “What!!”  “What is it!!”  “What am I doing wrong?”  “Then, what do I need?”  “What is going to make me happy?”  “What is it!!”  I practically tossed everyone in their rooms this afternoon.  I made EVERYONE take a nap!  I just needed an hour…or even thirty minutes..”Yea, that’s what I need.”  An hour passed…children out of rooms…we are ALL still grumpy.  We blow bubbles.  We play soccer.  We have a snack.  We play trains.  We watch a T.V show.  I just keep watching the clock….three more hours ’til Chris comes home…..two more hours ’til Chris comes home…..thirty more minutes ’til Chris gets home.  I must tell you, I feel like such a WASTE when I am living my life just to pass the time away.  What a waste.  And sadly, that was my day today.  Yuck!  However, as I was reaching for an ice cream sandwich (hey, it was a skinny cow…not that bad) because that was something I thought I needed…the Lord dropped this John 6:68 verse in my head.  And I just paused.  See, I had been searching everywhere for something that would get me through the day… I was turning to anything… even an ice cream sandwich… 

Now, I’m not saying that I wasn’t praying all throughout my day.  But I was angry.  I was frustrated with God.  Why does He make my husband work so much?  I feel so lonely sometimes.  Is it His Will for me some months to literally raise our children as a single mother?  It’s just really frustrating.  But as hard as I try to run from the one with whom I’m frustrated and try to satisfy my needs with other measures… I am reminded that Christ is my answer.  He has “words of eternal life.”  He has words to speak truth to me…. to encourage me that I’m not just passing time.  Oh how Satan loves for us to feel like there is no purpose.  Because with no purpose… really there could be no God… because God created EVERYTHING…why?  Because everything has a purpose and there was a reason…. and somehow under his sovereign umbrella…my three hours in the afternoon playing with my children served a purpose unto Him.  Lord, to whom shall I go?  I praise my maker for turning my “fleeing” into a “chasing” after Him.

I am a sinful mother.  I want to be a perfect mother.  I tend to give myself more grace in my other roles, but not so much in my “mother” roles.  It’s as if those mistakes are unforgivable in Christ’s eyes.  That is where I’m most humbled.  Christ sees those very much the same and very much desires for me to repent and move on.  So this evening has been a process of me moving forward.  I know I need to be in prayer more.  I know I need to be in His word more.   Tomorrow is a new day and His mercies are new every morning.

As I was flipping through my bible–grazing a little–as I was preparing dinner I came across a verse in 2nd Chronicles.  It will be my prayer for my home tomorrow.  Perhaps it may be one for yours.  We need to pray, people.  God wants us to pray.  He wants that devotion.  I don’t know for sure, but I am thinking Quality Time may be one of His love languages.  Give Him that time…Go to Him…He has the words of eternal life.

“Now, O my God, I pray, let Your eyes be open and Your ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place.” 2 Chronicles 6:40

I pray everyone is having a blessed Sunday.  Chris has been working 10 hour shifts every day since our vacation.  Therefore, things have been a little busy around here.  I haven’t had much time to write, but there will be more to come soon.  This is the last day in this stretch.  I hope all of you are well.  We are presently drying off from the effects of Hurricane Fay.  Everyone is asleep in my house and I believe I’m going to join them.  Happy Sunday!

Question 4: How does it appear that the Scriptures are the Word of God?

Answer: The Scriptures manifest themselves to be the Word of God, by their majesty and purity; by the consent of all the parts, and the scope of the whole, which is to give all glory to God; by their light and power to convince and convert sinners, to comfort and build up believers unto salvation: but the Spirit of God bearing witness by and with the Scriptures in the heart of man, is alone able fully to persuade it that they are the very Word of God.

There are certain gross things that I expected when God enlisted me in the “Mommy Program”.  I knew that eventually I would be spit-up on, vomited on, and pee-peed on.  I eventually would encounter some nasty poos or worse…..poo on my hands.  There are just those things that I knew I would experience sooner or later from my precious little gift from God.  However, this morning as I was cleaning the bathroom I noticed something on the door…a LOT of something on the back of the door.  It was sort of crusty; very hard to scrape off. 

“Josh, what’s this stuff on the back of the door?”  I asked.

“Umm..Will’s boogahs,” he matter-of-factly states. As if this is something he’s been watching his older brother doing for all of his life…something very often and NORMAL!

I hunt down the criminal.

“Will, what’s this stuff on the back of the door?”

“Umm…my boogers.”

And there you have it.  You know, maybe..perhaps part of me would have accepted that response had it been on any door in the house other than THE BATHROOM where there are thousands of little squares of tissue ready for easy access..several tissues thick for ultimate comfort..positioned not TWO FEET from the door!!!!

Yes, they certainly got a lesson that day in “Where do boogers go when they leave your nose.”  And yes it started with a “That’s it!!  This is gross!” And I’d love to tell you that I somehow found a shining light of biblical principle here, but no…that “shinning light” glowed only but a dull green.  As green as the green and yellow “boogahs” I spent 10 minutes scrubbing off of the bathroom door.  And I really wish that I could now, after having time to process the whole thing, have gained some insight or wisdom I may pass on to you.  But I regret to inform you, I could not be so fortunate. If anything, let me just make a suggestion to all you mommies out there:  check behind your bathroom doors.