Thursday, March 26, 2009

Indulge me in a little humor will you?

I am sitting in the blue chair still in my robe and yes it is past 1 in the afternoon. I am doing this because I am sore and cranky from having a tooth pulled yesterday. Now I know that many have gone through similar things, WORSE things....yes I am fully aware of it, and aware of the fact that the Lord knew all this was going to happen when I mockingly smiled at a woman at church who had her appendix removed with that, "Um I had mine explode and have weathered 5 C-sections.....this is nothing compared to MY strength" smile. So now as I am sore and sorely displeased that I even had to have the silly tooth removed I am realizing once again in my brief existence that the Lord DOES have a wonderful sense of humor.

When I got to the dentist's office I was feelin kinda pert. Had my nice maternity skirt on, my lip liner AND matching lip gloss.......Oh yeah I was the bomb. Then the dentist dropped Hiroshima right in my lap....................The tooth needed pulled?????? I then proceeded to give him that "What you talkin about Willis?" look. See I had just saved enough to get my down payment on my crown for the tooth that was overhauled with a root canal only months earlier. I would get the crown, be fine, life is good. But here I was hearing that the tooth had already cracked and could not be saved. And this whole scenario was some how attached to a large bag of Jalapeno crunchers that I enjoyed in these months leading up to this......see my life is so connected with food.

So I calmly and rationally acted as any 31 year old pregnant woman would. I shriveled up in my chair and put my hands over my mouth shrieking. (Ahem, well that is the truth funny as it is) I then regained composure and asked this sweet Indian dentist if he was SURE it was cracked way many more times than were embarrassing for a man in his profession of some Oh, 15 years of practice. I asked if I could call my husband, with a sheepish look as if it was my last phone call in jail or something. I called him partly because I wanted to make sure he was okay with the kids a little longer and mostly because I was pet-tri-fied. C'mon when was the last time you had a TOOTH.TAKEN.OUT.OF.YOUR.JAWBONE? Yeah I can see you all shaking.

I mean a root canal was ONE thing.....ripping the tooth out was quite another. I pictured myself smiling for future family pictures as the one relative from the Western Hemisphere if ya get my drift. Sooooo in they came and there I sat in the chair, stalwart, smiling and shaking as if I had Parkinson's. The nurse, er, I mean dental assistant, who is my new BFF, looked at me and told me she had better take my blood pressure! WHOA this is getting way too medical. Blood pressure........you gonna take the tooth or dissect my brain???? Of course I calmly gave her my arm, she noted my blood pressure was fine, though high for me, but I was NOT tellin her that! Then came the numbing jell, the Novocaine and me reciting Psalm 23 in my head. Now we are in the midst of Scripture memory at our church, and I mention that because do you think that I could remember ANY of those verses at the time???? NOPE. Only Psalm 23 sticks with me in really stressful times. And I quickly mumble through the "yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of DEATH part....." to the end.

Quicker than you can say "Methuselah" it was over. Seriously. And I was on my way half listening to my instructions because the voices in my head were cheering loudly, "We is alive!" "We is alive!!!" I think they said something about when to take the gauze out of my mouth....

I left feeling like a total red-neck, hole in my head and a wad in my cheek that made me look like I had lost my "Chew" container. Thus is life. So now I am half studying for a speaking engagement on Sat, and half trying to figure out how to eat a rice crispy square. All in all, life is humorous if you let it be. And you KNOW I will be smiling at that woman on Sunday. I will probably even help her open her hymnbook......


Laugh. It's good for your health.

Pr 17:22 A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.

Monday, March 23, 2009

Ode to FIL

The mightiest deeds in word or pen,
have come from those most humble men,
who carry on from day to day,
with faithful work and little sway.

They fill the books with pages stout,
by humble acts they carry out.
No pen can master every deed,
or word, or thought, or humble creed,

But those who know them know their guild,
And imagine the books their lives have filled.

DIL 3/23/09

We gave a book to my Father in law (FIL) for his birthday for him to fill with God's working in his life. He is a good man, a gracious man, and a humble man. He is invaluable to us and we celebrate his birthday!

Prov. 13:22~ "A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children...."

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

A Quick Word

I am packed and ready to take my almost 2 year old cutie on a plane to go to a funeral, have dinner with a wonderful friend, spend the night and then fly back to good ole O-H-I-O. And NO it is not a family member...per say....

Almost 14 years ago one woman was all that I had to look after me when I left my home, and home church for parts unknown. As a freshman I was dumb, bull-headed, and very tom-boyish. My dorm Mom almost seemed to not notice. She loved me, prayed for me, and even put almost all of my earthly possessions into "lost and found" when I left them out in the dorm......because she wanted to help me be better......she invested in my life, as insignificant as it may have seemed to the zillions of girls who have crossed her path.


But for me, any investment in my life is worth far more to me than a pricey plane ticket bought last minute due to her unknown meeting with the Lord. That investment is why I am flying to see her family and to just look them in the eye and thank them for sharing her life with mine, making mine more worthwhile.

The Summer before my Sophomore year I ended up in the hospital with an emergency appendectomy. My appendix had burst leaving me with an almost fatal infection to deal with. I was far from home, and when I awoke from the surgery, she was there at my bedside. She stayed with me all through the night as I begged for ice chips which were the only thing I could have for several days. She answered me sweetly all through that long night when I asked if my parents were coming......"Yes," she would answer me...."They are on their way, and will be here soon." That is why I leave my kiddos with a sitter and spend a brief service thanking the Lord for her kindness to me.

Has someone invested in you? Have they wept over you, prayed for you, sent you words of encouragement when everyone else had given up on your soul?


Thank them while they are still in the land of the living.


Thank you Mrs. Leslie. Thank you for making my life better.

Monday, March 16, 2009

Keep it under your hat!

Spring is in the air, and with it the promise of my favorite holiday, Easter! But, it is not Easter bonnets that are on my mind.

I am typing while glancing at a Mary Engelbreit picture from a calendar that my sweet secret sister gave me for Christmas. It is the picture that is on March 11th and it is of a cute little girl bending over hiding something beneath a wide brimmed hat with all it's trimmings. I tear each day off to reveal the next, only to keep the old "days" in a stack on the microwave because I cannot bear to throw them away. Did I ever mention I am a HUGE Mary Engelbreit fan? Well for me and a select few friendies, she is the Illustrious Mary "E." Back to March 11th........I knew I kept this particular day for a reason, and here it is......it's the quote. It reads in cute font:

"KEEP IT UNDER YOUR HAT..."


Yep, totally life transforming. Well for this stay-at-home Mom who is just about frayed at the edges it is.

Remember what I said about "noise" a while back? How this and that and all of the in between things weigh on you and create noise in the soul? Well I was having one of those days. There is war on this front, discouragement behind door number two, and for fear of more burdens I even turned down all calls. My mind is going a mile a minute and guess what I want to do? (BESIDES eat.......! People........c'mon there IS more to me than food you know!) I want to call someone! I want to say, "Blah blah blah blah" to her, and then some more "Blah blah blah blah" to someone who is unlucky enough to be on facebook and available for chatting, and THEN I want to almost steam roller my husband when he comes home with not only my OWN "Blah blah blah's," but of COURSE the "blah blah blah's" of the others whom I have shared some "blah's" with!!! Whew! do NOT make me repeat that!

And after realizing the pickle I had gotten myself in AGAIN, and after bringing out a peace offering of roasted marshmallows on the stove to my now frazzled hubby sitting on the back porch, AND after listening to him tell me WHY I did not need to run to and fro for this reason and for that, AND after eating not one helping but two generous helpings of humble pie, which oddly enough resembles shoo-fly pie.......aka NASTY.......... I am back to my March 11th, staring at it and wishing it had somehow fallen off the microwave while I was in mid-blah to someone and spared me all of this horrendous mess.

I should have kept all my feelings under my hat. And I would just have to imagine one with am enormous brim to hide them all. Yes yes I know.......our favorite verse right? Mt 11:28 "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Well at least I serve as a good example of their being no perfect people in the world??

Let me spare you some hard dealings friend. You do not have to fight every one's battles for them. If it does not involve you you do not have to involve yourself, and for goodness sake God will take care of it. Yes that should just about cover anything you are about to get full-headlong into in the next week or so! Did I sound like your Mother? ;-) I would have liked to carry the world's burdens this afternoon, only to make my day filled with other people's noise! When in reality I needed to stop, pray for them, for God to undertake for them, and then left it with Him.

Try this one on for size: Pr 29:11 " A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards." I tell you when I am feelin somethin' I am feelin it and want YOU to feel it too! But Hubby reminded me that feelings come and go, and for me they are movin 60 MPH, but feelings are just that....feelings. That is why we rest in the fact, yes FACT of Heb 13:8...."Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever." I just read that and breathe deeply. Am I the same? No way Jose, but HE is. And wonderfully hubby is a close relation.

Got a new Spring hat yet? I do. I won't be wearing it tho, it is housing a million thoughts!

Have a great night!
Deena

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

I Caught You!

Good afternoon from the blue chair where I am sporting some maternity clothes since I have for SURE grown out of my others. Feelin kinda pert. BUT I have to admit that I was, for even a moment, wanting to switch lives with someone else just a moment ago....

Why do we do that? Or compare ourselves??? We KNOW that 2Co 10:12 tells us, " For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise." Yet we do it anywhoo..

And funny thing is, we actually think that the grass IS greener on the other side......er I mean the "carpet is cleaner" in the other house. And friends, it is not.

Today I saw someone in a picture looking to have the perfect family of few children and perfect hair. I am suffering with hair envy lately, forgive me. I am thinking that she made Cornish hens with cranberry stuffing last night for her family with homemade wheat rolls and OF COURSE served them with honey butter that, you guessed it, came from her own hives in the backyard.....last years harvest obviously. Her children, few they were, were dressed to the Nine's with nary a spot on them and each hair in place. I am picturing them going to bed without a struggle, singing their Mother's praises as she kisses them "Goodnight." OF COURSE they spent the rest of the evening sitting on the couch after they both did the dishes and she rested comfortably on her Hubby's shoulder as he read "Pride and Prejudice" aloud to her.

SEE WHAT I MEAN?

And funny thing is....I never even got this junk out of romance novels......never could stomach them, and had enough imagination growing up to write my own in my head if I chose to do so. This is my own spirit, thinking that I am not "good enough" or my family is not "perfect enough." I was caught looking for "Martha Stewart Christianity." And it does not exist. We have mistakenly grabbed the yard stick and begun to see how we "measure up" with someone here in the flesh when the only person we are to compare ourselves with is the sweet Lord Himself. And when we look into the mirror of God's Word we see how short we fall to God's holiness, and we pray, pick up the house and keep going, endeavoring to become more like Him each day that passes.

This nasty world has so much glitter and shine that we find ourselves, like a kid in a candy store, nose pressed to the window trying to see what we are supposedly "missing." And the more time we spend "looking," "searching," the less time we devote to "nurturing" our little "home sweet home," and making it indeed just that. What a sad place this would be if we were all alike, had perfect hair everyday, and had no defining characteristics that make us, well....us.

Sometimes I joke with people that I was always the "cute," "funny" one. I was never the Captain of the Cheerleaders, the Top Runner, record breaker in track or cross-country, never the straight "A" student or prize artist. And in 7th grade, though I was the shortest soprano, had to be moved to the very back row because my lungs were much bigger than my outward height. Did I ever WANT to be all those wonderful things that made people take notice??? You bet! Did wanting to be the best in everything ever get me farther than I am now? Nope. Truth is, I AM the funny one. Naturally I like to set people at ease and humor has always been a strong point for me. AND it never landed me with the most popular people. I was usually a "last resort" friend for those who never had any use for me unless they REALLY needed a good laugh. Which is why those few, and you know who you are, whom have stuck with me through bangs and no bangs, failing chemistry, and many demerits are my friends whom I will love forever.

At the end of the day, we all have the same pile of dishes that must be cleaned, the same amount of dust bunnies reproducing at record speed under the beds, the same amount of missing cups and spoons, and the same moments of wanting to be someone else, just for a millisecond.

That picture perfect family I mentioned earlier........ why would I think that she never gets sick, has crying fits from her toddler, arguments with her husband, bills she has no idea how she will pay, spends way too much at Wal-mart and cannot find a way to tell her husband, and the lot??

And why would I want another person's troubles, when mine are fitted for me by a loving Father's hand? And of course not that we should think higher of ourselves than we ought, (2 Co 3:5 " Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;") but when we see our worth in God's eyes, and the enormous price He paid ....... FOR US. Yes the "funny" one, we hold our heads higher and realize that we are here with a purpose.

For some it seems like it is getting raisins out of your children's noses. For some it is encouraging that neighbor. We ALL have a purpose, and have been redeemed for something much bigger than judging our hair with that of an old college friend. (that was for me) Because while YOU are thinking about so-and-so, the Lord is thinking of YOU. Ps 40:17 "But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God."


By placing too many requirements on ourselves, we become disgruntled, desperate housewives. What does God require of us? Mic 6:8 " He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?"

Be yourself, and seek to be more like the Lord, not like "Susie homemaker."

Much love,
The "Funny" One

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

If I were a Sunbeam

Abby is reading "If I were a Sunbeam," from McGuffey's Second Eclectic Reader out loud to me. She is curled up on the couch, I in the blue chair, and I am so enjoying just watching her. I usually will sit and listen all attentive, but this is so cute and I am so reflective that I just had to blog it as it is happening.

I love homeschooling. I didn't until this year. Actually I didn't until I "unschooled" myself. There is a difference you know, between "learning" and "schooling." You who are homeschooling or are thinking of doing so, the quicker you delete the mental picture of rows of desks, a teacher's desk, and alphabet cards lining the ceiling of the "school room," the happier you will be. Home is a school house, and learning happens all day, not only from 9-3:15. After I came out of my ABEKA depression I have enjoyed our days of school at home. No family will work well being run the same as another, so with home educating. This one is hands-on, this one is a book learner....do what works for you and for goodness sake get your Hubby's approval so you are a team working together. (More on this later, I am going to get to me enjoying Abbs..)

(Yes I totally need new lampshades.....pretend not to notice!)

So back to the sunbeam...... the words are flowing out of her delicate mouth whistling as they reach the whole where her bottom middle tooth used to be. It.is.precious. She is telling me the sunbeam is going here and there, and I begin the reading thinking that if I were a sunbeam I would get into Dunkin' Donuts asap. Then half way through the poem she wins me over. The frustrations over lunch are gone, the extra cleaning due to clumsiness on my part this morning are all but forgotten, and I am watching her and telling her how to pronounce, "hovels." Her hair is extra curly this afternoon since we gave it a trim after breakfast and I am just loving her in her sweetness and white socks and jean jumper. And from her neck hangs a sparkly locket which holds a picture of her Dad and I which you would think was the earth's most prized possession. "As God has blessed you, scatter light divine, for there is no sunbeam, but must die or shine." She finishes looking at me for the okay to go on to the next page, smiling half-mischievously,



But I ask her to read it to me again, and I enjoy her. This afternoon SHE is a sunbeam to me.


Tuesday, March 3, 2009

O Ship of State

I heard this poem today and it actually made me cry. (but at this present time it really does not take much......a lack of chocolate is sure to do it..) I heard how the first four lines were penned on a piece of paper in Franklin Roosevelt's hand, and given to Winston Churchill on one of the darkest days of the beginning of WWII. No one thought that Britain would survive... no one except Winston Churchill. Read it as a Mother of young children and realize that Motherhood as we know it, will not survive if we do not nurture our calling and serve the Lord to our fullest ability in our homes. Even if no one else believes in Motherhood, in staying home and raising children, and looking at even the menial tasks of running a productive home as service to the Lord............. I will be like Winston Churchill. I will believe it will survive.

O Ship of State

Thou, too, sail on, O Ship of State!
Sail on, O Union, Strong and great!
Humanity with all it's fears,
With all it's hope of future years,
Is hanging breathless on thy fate!
We know what Master laid thy keel,
What Workmen wrought thy ribs of steel,
Who made each mast, and sail, and rope,
What anvils rang, what hammers beat,
In what a forge and what a heat
Were shaped the anchors of thy hope!
Fear not each sudden sound and shock,
'Tis of the wave and not the rock;
'Tis but the flapping of the sail,
And not a rent made by the gale!
In spite of rock and tempest's roar,
In spite of false lights on the shore,
Sail on, nor fear to breast the sea!
Our hearts, our hopes, are all with thee.
Our hearts, our hopes, our prayers, our tears,
Our faith triumphant o'er our fears,
Are all with thee,- are all with thee!

~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow


Okay, now go BACK and read it all again, and make some spiritual applications. The world will beat on you and say that you are "free" when you are serving an employer and a "slave" to serve your husband. That's okay, it's just a wave, a flapping of your sail. We know WHO created Motherhood, and we know that he framed it to outlast all that the world can throw against it. Oh, and those "false lights on the shore," are exactly that......false. There is no more noble calling than to guide the home and teach your children, than serving your husband. Look if you will, if you must.....but you will find that in years that you have wasted, what you were looking for was right at home, and you will seek the soft light of home once again. I can hear Mothers of years gone by repeating slowly the last few lines:

"Our hearts, our hopes, are all with thee.
Our hearts, our hopes, our prayers, our tears,
Our faith triumphant o'er our fears,
Are all with thee, - are all with thee!"

Just a thought........Keep on keepin' on Mothers.


Royalty House Rules

Hello all! We just buzzed through the Couple's Retreat, and apart from trying to pry Traci off of our hot tub, I think it all went off without a "hitch." (Ha ha, sorry Traci, couldn't resist!) We were delighted to have our friends from PA visiting us! We had a great time, the girls doing our girl things, including Clinique make-overs, and the men doing men things. (We don't have an example of what that included......:) So much fun, that Joel teasingly said as we approached the Inn where we were staying, "Ok I am NOT walking in there with HIM!" So....we got into "Couples" formation and went in! :) Ok so us younger couples did not win the last game, proving that we do not know our Hubby's like we thought we did, (wink wink again Traci!!) but we DID have a blast.......a real blast! Thanks for makin the drive, guys!!!!!

Thought I would give you yet another hilarious glimpse into our home this morning. I was thinking of just how funny our family was when I watched Caleb try desperately to put on a sweater vest a minute ago......3 holes and had no clue what went in which hole!! THAT was a good laugh! Not to mention yesterday when he asked me if I could cut his eyelashes because they get in his eyes! Yes I love my family!

Royalty House Rules

1. When Mom naps, we play the "we are petrified pieces of wood" game. 600 square feet leaves no room for noise when Mom is trying to take a nap.

2. One person talks at the dinner table at a time. We do not believe in speaking in tongues, nor interpreting them.

3. Saying "I don't like this" gets you an extra helping of whatever does not catch your fancy.

4. Telling the truth will get you out of many a pickle, and might get you elected to Congress.

5. What Dad says, Mom says, and vice versa. If we catch you tryin the ole' switch-er-oo, your name is mud man, mud.

6. We do not describe Mom using any animal characteristics.

7. We read "Mom's are Marvelous" every time we find it. Finding it is as follows: We find the book, gather and sit no matter where we are or WHAT we are doing, and read it completely through with no interruptions. So what if Mother's Day is months away.

8. Fun comes after chores. I tried the Mary Poppins adage, "In every element of fun there is a job that must be done.." and yeah that didn't work. So chores aren't fun. Do them then have fun.

9. We do not explain what kind of bugs the pitcher plant eats to help our existence at any time of the day.......nausea is instantaneous.

10. By 3 1/2 you are on your own in the restroom. Toilet paper is cheap. Find it and do whatever works for ya.

11. The questions, "Are we there yet?" "What are we having for dinner?" and "Why do I have to do this?" are tolerable the first 3 times...... after that we take 5 cents from your inheritance each repetition. AND when Mom is getting dressed and putting make-up on after noon, the question "Where are we going, Mom?" can make you disinherited all together.

12. When you hear "So-and-so-is-here!" assume emergency stations. Mom will be tripping on her robe as she flies to her room to dress, while you are left to shove as many things as you can under the couch.....dishes included.

13. You are allowed one or two good hearty laughs at an unexpected bodily function, whether yours or not. After that it is just poor manners.

14. You can hide wherever you like so long as you can unwedge yourself when you need to exit.

15. Every outfit without visible food on it is wearable for a two day stretch, then washed.

16. Laugh often, love much and munch much. Wonderful motto.