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Way Off Base

Listen and hear my voice; pay attention and hear what I say.     Isaiah 32:9
2 16 15 039     I volunteered to chaperon Mason’s third grade field trip last week.  All the other chaperoning parents for his class rode the bus with the students.  Having to get home for Jocelyn right after, I took my own car.
     I have been to the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center a few times over the years.  But having a tendency to get lost just going across town, I quickly googled the address that morning and wrote it on the palm of my hand in pen.  However, several hand washings later, the street address wasn’t all that clear.  I inputted what I thought was written on my hand into my GPS before pulling out of the school parking lot behind the buses.
     Always in a hurry and driving fast, I quickly got bored following behind the extremely slow school buses.  Consequently, once on the highway, I pulled into the fast lane and zoomed off, confident that my GPS would lead me to where I needed to go.
     I exited the highway where my Garmin told me to.  Although things didn’t look at all familiar, I had more confidence in my GPS than I did in my own recollections.  But when I arrived at my destination, 2 Industrial Drive in Concord, NH, with no Discovery Center in sight, it became very evident that I was lost.  I pulled up to a man in a pick-up truck and asked him where the Discovery Center was.  He shook his head and answered, “Oh… WOW!… You’re way off base…  That’s on the whole other side of the city… Hmmm… Let me think for a minute how to direct you there…”  

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Clear Vision

As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus Himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing Him… Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him, and He disappeared from their sight.  They asked each other, “Weren’t our hearts burning within us while He talked to us?”  Luke 24: 15,16,31, 32
2 16 15 043     I was sick last week, nothing major, just a common cold.  But it drained me, leaving me cranky and short-tempered (It’s so humiliating that this is such a common theme for me.). I tried to take it easy, get lots of sleep, and keep my patience with my kids, but I wasn’t completely successful.
     For the life of me, I can’t remember what my kids did, or what my reaction was, but I have this hazy head-cold recollection of yelling at them, and creating a heavy atmosphere in my house.  Where the pictures gets clear is when Jocelyn came up from behind me, wrapped her little arms around my leg, looked up at me, and simply said, “Mommy, I love you.”  It was the exact thing, at the exact time, that I needed to make our world right again.

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“Peace Be With You”

Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you!”   John 20:21
4 8 156 041     Saturday mornings are awesome in my house!  My kids love it because they get complete control of the remote control, taking turns choosing cartoons to watch while they chill out on the couch.  My husband loves it because he can have a slow start to his morning, and then roll into “Rock ‘n Roll Pancake Breakfast” with our kids.  I love it because it’s my day to sleep in a bit, then retreat to my bedroom with hot coffee and oatmeal, to relax, write, and pray.  Everyone gets to recharge from the chaos of the week; everyone is happy.
     But then you get those crazy Saturdays that throw a monkey wrench into the equation.  This past Saturday was a perfect example.  Zack had his first karate tournament ever, and my husband’s track club had a “fun run,” followed by a big breakfast and Easter egg hunt.  So by 7:30 a.m., he was pulling out of his garage bay with Mason and Jocelyn in his mini-van, heading east; I was pulling out of my garage bay with Zack in my mini-van, heading west.
     We met back at home in the afternoon.  Despite the fun things we got to do that morning, everyone was burnt and cranky.  A minute after we got in the door, my kids started bickering.  Despite the threats and punishments, they continued to do so for the remainder of the day.  As I was finally about to eat my lunch, hours after I should have, Mason accidentally knocked my lunch plate over, sending french fries and ketchup radiating across the kitchen floor.  My tank was so low, I didn’t even have the energy to flip out.  I literally just stood there while my husband cleaned up the mess.

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We Too Can Be Resurrected

Into your hands I commend my spirit; You will redeem me, O Lord, O faithful God.  
Psalm 31:5
4 2 15 015     Lent is a time to reflect on, and look forward to, The Resurrection.  It is the cornerstone of our faith – the turning point in the story of our redemption.  Although The Passion of Christ has always moved me to tears, and deep gratitude, it has always been Jesus’ story, not mine.  Lately, all of that has been changing…
     I thought that as my kids gained more independence, I would gain more free time: that the pace of my life would calm down.  Oh how wrong I was!  Now my kids are more involved in extra curricular activities that I have to coordinate, keep track of, and provide taxi service for.  I too have added extra curricular activities of my own.  Some days are a complete blur as I fly by the seat of my pants, hoping and praying that I haven’t left a child stranded at karate or Tech Club in the chaos of it all.  

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The Power of “Just Being There”

Near the cross of Jesus stood His mother…      John 19:25
3 19 15 028     Mason was in Destination Imagination (DI) this year.  DI is an international program that puts kids into teams that use creativity, drama, team-work, and ingenuity to solve problems that are presented to them each week throughout the year, and finally in a competitive environment in the spring.  The key component is that neither coaches, parents, nor any other adult can help them.  They even have a term for this, and we all had to sign a contract at the beginning of the year saying that we would not “interfere.”  It’s for the kids themselves to figure everything out on their own.
     Last Saturday was the Regional Competition at Sanborn High School.  This was where they showcased their Team Challenge: the problem they had worked on all year.  They were also presented with an Instant Challenge: a new problem/scenario that they had to solve in the moment, and present on, in eight minutes or less.
     Having been down this path before with Zack, I knew it would be a whole day affair: we’d leave the house at 7:30 a.m., and wouldn’t return until 6:30 p.m.  However, I was so excited to have a whole day with just Mason, I didn’t care.  As a mom of three kids, it isn’t often that I get to devote a whole day to just one of them.  So I packed food, drinks, and lots of card and travel games to occupy us during the down time.

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Making This World A Better Place

“And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”  Luke 2:35
3 19 15 079     For Lent each year, my three kids make their own crown of thorns out of play-doh and toothpicks.  Then, over the course of the next 40 days, they focus on trying to do kind things for others.  Each time they do, they take a thorn out of their crowns.  The idea is: if they are helping someone else, they are helping Jesus.  Their kind actions remove the thorns that caused Him so much pain.
     The other day Zack came home from school and asked if he could take two thorns out of his crown.  I asked him what he had done to help others.  He explained that during recess that week, he had retrieved Brock’s tennis ball twice from the huge snowbanks when it went out of play.
     I am calling this boy “Brock” to protect the “not so innocent.”  The “backstory” is: Zack has been friends with Noah and Sean for years (their names have also been changed to protect the innocent).  Last August, Zack and I were thrilled to find out that Noah and Sean were placed in Zack’s fifth grade class this year.  Consequently, it has been a great school year since… up until a few months ago.

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The Secret of Being Content

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.  I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation… I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.     Philippians 4:12-13
3 12 15 049

Just a small example of how “stocked” the old mini-van is!

     When my husband’s car wouldn’t pass inspection, we got a new mini-van.  My husband was kind enough to say he’d drive the old beat up van, and let me have the shiny new one.  Although I was grateful, I was also resisting driving the new one.  It took me a while to figure out why.  Eventually, I realized it’s because the new one is bare bones and outside of my comfort zone.
     The old mini-van is completely stocked with wipes, tissues, paper towels, snacks, backup clothes, plastic utensils, toys and books for distraction, you name it.  I started this system back when my kids were babies.  Babies and toddlers aren’t very good at waiting.  So not only was my van stocked to the hilt, most of it was within arms reach.  In a split second, I could pass my kids whatever they needed with one hand, while still driving with the other.  I can’t tell you how many melt downs I avoided because of this system.  Since it worked so well in the early years, I’ve kept the same system ever since.  As they say, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!”
     But getting a new vehicle that I didn’t have time to stock, changed the playing field.  Suddenly I had three kids in a van with no snacks to access when they were hungry.  Then I found myself lost, driving up and down back roads, looking for Mason’s DI coach’s house because the new van doesn’t have a GPS system.  Worst of all, my kids were bickering because they had no toys, books or magazines to occupy them.  I try to teach my kids to be grateful not greedy, but here I was being so dissatisfied with a brand new car!  What was wrong with me?  

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Let Your Light Shine

“You are the light of the world.  A city on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl… let your light shine before me…”   Matthew 5:14-16
3 5 2015 006   Zack’s fifth grade class has been acting out The Phantom of The Opera during music class each Friday for a while now.  The students had to audition for the different roles.  I was shocked when Zack won the part of The Phantom.  I didn’t really think drama was his thing, his little brother, most certainly, but not my math-minded Zack.  He explained that he got it because he was the only one “who took it seriously.”
     A few weeks into it, I downloaded “Music of The Night” onto my ipod and blasted it in the kitchen after dinner.  My husband, kids, and I asked Zack to give us a preview of what he does in class.  I was baffled when he flat out refused, saying he was embarrassed to perform in front of us.  How could he possibly perform in front of his own peers, but not in front of his own family, who love and accept him no matter what?

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A Child-Proofed Life

Guard what has been entrusted to your care.    1 Timothy 6:20
2 28 15 070     My youngest is four-and-a-half years old.  Now that she’s old enough to know that she shouldn’t put screwdrivers in the electrical outlets and swallow marbles, I’ve spent the past few weeks de-child-proofing the house.  It’s wonderful to open drawers and cabinets and not have them catch on the latches.  The pizza delivery kid is relieved that he can actually open the front door on his way out, rather than turning eight shades of red admitting that he can’t figure out the child-proof knob on the handle.  Although I’m sad that our baby is growing up, I love that I can trust Jocelyn to be safe in the confines of our house.
     Sometimes I step back and look at what God has entrusted to me.  In these moments, not only am I humbled and awed, I am also scared senseless.  It is overwhelming to think that I am responsible for these three little lives: shaping them, guiding them, and keeping them safe.  I know that there’s a big bad world out there.  That knowledge just increases the pressure for me to build a strong foundation for my kids that they can build upon later.  Bu if that foundation is cracked, not aligned, or made of shoddy material, it will crumble under the weight of the storms and challenges they will face in the future.  This line of thinking makes me want to bury my head in the sand, leave it all up to my husband, and pray that he gets it right on his own.

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A Mere Forty Days

Calling His disciples to Him, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.  They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything – all she had to live on.”         Mark 12:42
2 20 15 007     In the beginning of the week, I asked my kids to start thinking about Lent.  I explained that not only do we give up something in order to share in Jesus’ sacrifice, but it’s also important to add something to our forty days that will bring us closer to God.
     I too have been doing my own thinking.  Having already given up sugar in January, I felt I had the “giving up” base covered.  So I turned my focus to what I could add to my Lent to bring me closer to God.
     On Ash Wednesday I asked my kids what they had concluded: what were they giving up, and what were they going to add.  I was so humbled and impressed by their responses.

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