How will you savor the moment?

Quick: Pick one of your fondest memories from your childhood. Got it? Good. What is it? When is it?

For me, there are many. But the one that always springs to mind is my dad, my mom and me on vacation in Yellowstone National Park. I was in sixth grade (I think). I’m basing this on the fact that I still had glasses, and they were totally rockin’ – for the 80s, anyway. But I digress.

My mom snapped a picture of my dad and me. I’m sitting on the railing of the front porch of the log cabin my mom booked us into at a dude ranch. (Yes, a real-life dude ranch.) My dad is behind me with a funky hat on he always wore. That’s it. Nothing special about the picture itself.

It’s what it represents.

Watch for Falling Rock!

Every time I see it, I’m transported back in time. I’m 12 again, riding in the backseat of my parents’ car. We’d bought this rabbit puppet that was really cute. Somewhere along the way, Dad decided to have the rabbit “drive.” He’d put the rabbit on his hand and place his hand on the steering wheel. Then, each time a car passed us, he’d have that rabbit wave to the driver. I’m telling you, we got some pretty weird looks, as you can imagine – and we laughed hysterically.

And then there’s Falling Rock. Have you seen him? We’re constantly reminded to “Watch for Falling Rock.” Who is this Falling Rock, Dad wonders? We never did “find” him even though he was supposed to be everywhere we went. It’s still a joke in our family when driving through mountainous/rocky areas. Silliness, but it stuck with me.

We created a moment.

I can smell the crisp, clean air. See the cabin. Smell the smoke from the chuck wagon trip we took on horseback up the mountain a ways. I’m there. And yet, I’m here. And all it took was that one memory – even though the moment was fleeting.

Those moments will always mean so much to me. Laughter. Joy. Relaxation. Carefree fun. A sense of belonging. All being right with the world. Happiness. Love. Family.

Savor the Moment

And yet it’s gone in an instant. The time goes by way too quickly. Here I am more than two decades later, a wife, a mother and creating my own moments. I mean, it seems like last week that I brought my son home from the hospital, rocked him and held him.

He’s six. Where has the time gone? One of the best pieces of advice (so far, anyway) that I received from my mother was this: Live in the moment because the moment is fleeting and once gone cannot be reclaimed.

That’s why it’s so important to cherish each moment. To love each other fully, deeply – faults and all. 1 Peter 4:8-9 tells us:

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.

How will you live in the moment? How will you savor it? How will you create your own memories? How will you show hospitality? Love? What will your children remember from their time with you?

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Friday Funny: Soooooo

While taking part in our nightly ritual of reading, the munchkin picked out his new favorite book, Rhyming Dust Bunnies, climbed onto my lap, settled in and began to read. Part way through the book, he came to a two-letter word and promptly stopped reading, focusing so hard on the word, I’m surprised a hole didn’t spring through the book from his laser-vision.

“Sound it out,” I gently encouraged him.

“Sss-ah. Sah,” he says, frowning. He tries again. “Sss-ah. Sah?” He says again even less convinced this time.

“Make it a long ‘o’ instead,” I instruct, thinking this will promptly result in the proper pronunciation of the word, “so.” After all, they’ve been learning about long vowel sounds and short vowel sounds at school.

Nope. Instead, I get: “Sss-aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.” I think he carried the “long” vowel out for nearly 3 seconds, at which point I burst out laughing. “Not that kind of long vowel,” I get out through hiccuped laughter. “‘Oh,’ not ‘ah.”

“Ohhhh. I get it. Sss-oh. So.”

Bingo! What a nutball! Gotta love him.

On a separate, but related note, if you have young kids learning to read and have not been privileged enough to stumble across the Rhyming Dust Bunnies by Jan Thomas, I highly recommend it. It’s hilarious and up for an award.

Discovering Our Common Grounds

What funny stories do you have to tell? Let’s hear ’em! Drop me a comment below. 😉

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Why wouldn’t they just send an e-mail?

My parents recently returned from a 10-day cruise along the East coast beginning in Maine. During the course of their trip, they sent two postcards to my six-year-old.

When the first one arrived, he looked at it questioningly. “That’s their boat,” I explained. (It has only 25 cabins; so I’m classifying it a boat vs. a ship.) “And, on the back, they wrote you a note.”

I read the note, and he listened.

“This is a postcard,” I explained. “People send them to their family and friends while on vacation.”

This is met with a look of complete and utter puzzlement. Eyebrows raised, eyeballs rolling and head shaking, he says, “Why wouldn’t they just send an e-mail?”

Yep. And that’s the mind of a six-year-old. He just didn’t get it. But, when the second postcard arrived, he understood its purpose, was impressed that “mooses” could swim and that he could read most of the words written on the back of the card.

Generation gap. Personally, I love postcards. It’s something special that symbolizes vacation, fun and family. Maybe I’ll win him over…eventually. 😉

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You Can Have My Piggy Bank, Mommy

Image: Daniel Y. Go

So this morning as we were driving to school, my five-year-old asked me why he wasn’t going to be a “walker” tomorrow and Friday. *Explanation: The one day I don’t work, I can take him to school; these days he’s considered a “walker.” All the other days of the week he’s considered a “busser.”*

His class is hosting a Mother’s Day Tea this Friday; so I’ve switched my work schedule to work Wednesday so I don’t have to work on Friday. He thought he’d get to be a walker Wednesday and Friday. *Heart. Sad.*

“Sorry, kiddo, nope. Just on Friday,” I explain.

Pause. “Oh.” Another pause. “Why does Sam get to be a walker everyday, then?” (Names changed to protect the innocent.)

“Well, Sam’s mom doesn’t work in an office. She stays at home and works there,” I say.

“Why do you work, then?” he asks.

“Mommy would love to stay home with you, but both Mommy and Daddy have to work so we can afford to live where we live, give you food and clothes and pay bills.”

“Well, then how can Sam’s mom stay home?”

“I’m not sure. They must be able to afford it,” I answer.

Long pause. “I’ll give you all the money in my piggy bank, Mommy. Then you can afford to stay home,” he says.

*Heart. Breaking.*

“Awww, that is so sweet, honey. Unfortunately, that probably wouldn’t be enough money to pay for all we have to pay for. But I wish it were.”

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Pass the Salt

Image: mcfarlandmo

On Saturday, the munchkin, my husband and I headed to one of our favorite lunchtime restaurants, The Chancery. As we were waiting for our food, I caught a flash of movement from the munchkin out of the corner of my eye. Luckily, I glanced up just in time to catch a priceless expression: brows furrowed, mouth agape, complete puzzlement and shock written all over his features.

He quickly turns to me and asks completely dumbfounded, “Why in the world did that girl just throw salt at us?”

It’s a good thing I’d just swallowed my Diet Coke, or the table would have had a nice sticky bath. So, right. How do you explain the concept of an old wives’ tale to a five-year-old?

“Did she throw it over her left shoulder?” I asked.

His eyes get bigger, “Yes. How did you know that?”

I proceeded to explain, “There’s something called an old wives’ tale. It’s a kind of a story that’s been passed down from generation to generation: mother to daughter, father to son, etc.” So far so good. “One of these stories tells us that if we spill salt on accident, we must throw it over our left shoulder to avoid bad luck.”

Blank stare. “Why?”

Good question. “I have no idea. That’s just what they say. So, she probably spilled salt on the table by accident, and so she threw salt over her left shoulder to avoid the bad luck that would follow.”

“Huh.” Pursed lips. “Well, if she didn’t want to throw salt over her shoulder, she shouldn’t have spilled any to begin with!”

Why didn’t I think of that?

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Bubbles

Image: Reini68

As I walk into the living room to check on the munchkin, I spy what looks suspiciously like spilled liquid on the sofa cushion. “Ah, munchkin? What’s this? Did you spill your water or something?” I ask calmly.

“Nope,” he says, eyes averted.

Okay…now I know something’s going on. “Okay…did your juice box spill, then?”

“Nope,” he says, eyes flick to me and then away again.

Right. Okay, time for a stronger approach. “Look, honey. I can see something spilled on the couch, I just need to know what it is so I can figure out how to clean it up. So…what is it? Water? Juice box? What?”

“Nothing, okay! Nothing,” he says frantically.

“I’m not going to be upset, hon–”

“Yes you will!” he interrupts. “You’ll be mad at me!”

Okay, now I know something’s going on. Accidents happen. Nothing to flip out over – especially something as simple as spilled food or drink. Come on. Get real. But he’s worried that I’ll be mad. Why?

“I promise I won’t be mad, honey. Please just tell me so I can clean it up,” I plead, again, calmly.

“BUBBLES!” he shouts, the word practically bursting from his mouth.

I stare, dumbfounded. “What? Um, bubbles?”

He nods, eyes downcast. “I took the bubbles out, and I knew I wasn’t supposed to. But I did it anyway. And they spilled. *Long pause.* I’m sorry.”

Lesson Learned

Aha. Well, connection made. He was upset because he knew he’d done something he was specifically told not to do – no opening/playing with the gigantic jar of bubbles in the house because the opening for the liquid is too big. Case in point.

Lesson learned.

“Oh. Um, I think some of it might have gotten on the pillows, too,” he says, smiling shyly and picking up two of the throw pillows that clearly show a lovely splash pattern on them. “I’ll help you, Mommy.”

Crazy munchkin.

The bubbles are gone, the couch is clean, and all is right in munchkinland again. Thank goodness.

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Are you a worrier? Let it go. | Daily inspiration

Image: Leonard John Matthews

Are you a worrier? Do you have a worrier in your life? I have a few. 😉 It’s easy to get caught up in the anxiety of our troubles, isn’t it? What if this happens? What if that happens? What will we do? How will we get through it?

Giving Up Control

Here’s the thing, though. How often are the things we worry about within our control? Not all that often. So, where does the worry get us? No where.

Of course, understanding this and actually letting go are two different things. Intellectually, we get that we shouldn’t worry about something that’s out of our control. Emotionally, how do we let go of something that makes us anxious, nervous, worried?

We turn it over to God.

The Weight is Lifted

I don’t know about you, but for me, it sometimes takes awhile to understand why I’m so stressed out. Why I feel like there’s a weight on my shoulders that won’t leave. And then I clue in: Aha. It’s not up to me. Why am I worrying about it?

Pray

And that’s when I pray. I simply ask God to take this burden. I give it to him. And I visualize it, too. I ‘see’ myself handing over that worrisome bundle of angst to God. I place it at his feet and ask him to deal with it.

You know what happens? What happens each and every time I’ve ever done this? The weight disappears. Almost instantly. It’s gone. He has it now; not me. And every time I’m amazed. Every single time.

Why is that? You’d think after all these years, I’d clue in. But, no. It takes me awhile. Does that mean the anxiety and worry never threaten to resurface? Absolutely not. Does it mean that the situation causing all the worry immediately vanishes? Unfortunately, no. But it does mean that someone else is trying to work it out for me. I’m not on my own, anymore.

Of course, I never really was.

What worries are you holding on to today? Isn’t it time to let them go? Turn them over to God. See what happens, you just might be surprised.

Today’s Reflection

One-year reading track: For those of you joining me on the one-year track reading, today’s post is a bit different. I skipped ahead a bit and read a few at a time. Here they are: Genesis 42-43; 44-46; 47-50

Focused reading: Today’s post was inspired by the story of Joseph and his brothers when they reconnect. Check out: Genesis 50:15-21

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Losing control | Daily inspiration

Image by: winterdove

I was just having a conversation yesterday about how challenging it is not to have control over things that hurt our loved ones. It’s one thing to manage the issues in our own lives, but what happens when something disappoints, causes anxiety or hurts – whether physically, emotionally or spiritually – our child, our spouse, our parent, our friend?

What then?

One-year track reading: Genesis 36-38

Focused reading: Genesis 34:1-31

This is exactly what happened to Dinah, her brothers and her father. She was taken advantage of by Shechem, the son of a local ruler. Because she was defiled, she would never be able to marry, according to Hebraic law of the time.

But there’s more to the story.

Dinah’s victimization not only caused her pain and suffering, but spurred her brothers to take violent action against Shechem and all his men.

See, sin affects everyone – not just the person who’s been hurt or who’s sinned. In this case, Shechem paid a big price: his life. And, because of his sin, all of his men also lost their lives. Because Dinah’s brothers felt they needed to avenge her defilement, they acted violently, killing men.

No one wins where sin is concerned.

Heal, Restore & Thrive

So how do we heal from pain, from hurt, from sin? How do we take back the control we feel we’ve lost? We turn to God.

God can work through any situation. He cannot change the past, but he can work through your present to help you cope, change, grow and ultimately thrive. God was victorious over sin at the cross. No matter what happened to you, God knows. Turn to him for comfort. Turn to him with your pain. Ask him to heal your hurting heart and restore you. He is the only one who can restore your soul.

~Women’s Devotional Bible, Zondervan

Today’s Reflection

1. Describe a time when someone hurt you, either physically, emotionally or spiritually.
2. How did it impact not just you, but those around you?
3. What are God’s promises to you that he will forgive you and restore you? Write an exchange prayer, trading in your feelings of pain, sorrow or loss for the victory of being a believer (e.g., “I trade in my loss of innocence for the truth that I can regain purity through Christ’s blood.”).

Related readings: Genesis 49:1, 5-7; Psalm 147:3-6; Isaiah 43:18-19; Romans 12:19-21

Next one-year reading: Genesis 39-41

The next time you feel like you’re losing control when it comes to your own life or the life of a loved one, turn to God. Ask him for guidance, for support, for healing.

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Under Cover | Daily inspiration

Image: minifig

What springs to mind when you hear the words, “under cover”? Tales of espionage, danger and deception? Or, the Bible?

Right. And yet, they’re in there.

One-year track reading: Genesis 29-31

Focused reading: Genesis 29:16-30

What’s Hiding Behind the Veils?

After seven years of hard labor, Jacob enters joyfully into his marriage with Rachel, the woman he loves. But unbeknownst to him, Rachel’s father Laban tricks him. He sends Leah, hidden behind veils and veils of cloth, to marry Jacob instead. And he did — not discovering the deception until the morning.

And the manipulation doesn’t end there. Laban makes Jacob work for him for another seven years for taking Rachel as a wife as well. After all that, there are still struggles. Laban and his people are jealous of Jacob and his success. Rachel is jealous of Leah’s fertility. Leah feels unloved, unwanted and believes the more children she bears Jacob, the more he’ll grow to love her. God keeps Rachel barren for many years, which fuels her jealousy for Leah.

Chatty Cathy or Shy Sherry?

As I thought about today’s story, it occurred to me that while we think we know people, we can’t possibly know everything about them. What are their motives? Their intentions? Are they hiding behind a veil? How can we be sure?

We all have friends and family who are the friendly, chatty, boisterous, walk-up-and-hug-you-shake-your-hand-til-you’re-bouncing-up-and-down-like-a-bobble-head kinda person. Right? And then there’s the shy, quiet type who silently observes from the sidelines, speaking only when spoken to and rarely offering personal information in a social setting.

So which one do we really know?

It’s easy to assume it’s the Chatty Cathy friend. That there’s no way we couldn’t know this person, right? But, is that the case? What about the quiet Shy Sherry?

I find I want to draw them out. I want to know what’s going on behind the silence, behind the reluctance to share, behind the veil, behind the twinkle in the eye that sometimes appears. I want to uncover the mystery.

Dig Down Deep

But you have to dig deep to get there. You have to build up trust, share some personal stories of your own to begin that connection. And to do that, you have to be willing to be up-front and honest about your life — faults, weaknesses and all.

We often struggle to let down our guard from time to time for fear that others will think we’re weird, stupid, silly, ugly, uneducated or some other similar negative connotation.

And yet, it’s not until we turn our insecurities over to God — and our friends and family — that we truly let Him, and them, in. That we show the real ‘us.’ The ‘us’ who’s sometimes scared, who sometimes stumbles, who is sometimes uncertain, ugly, silly and weird. The ‘us’ God loves unconditionally. Yeah, that ‘us.’

What are you waiting for? Remove the veils. Drop the act. The under-cover assignment is over.

Today’s Reflection

1. Look in the mirror, and describe the things you like about yourself.
2. What don’t you like about yourself? Describe some of the things you’d change if you could.
3. What aspects of yourself have you been afraid to show your loved ones (spiritually, emotionally or physically), and why? Ask God for the strength to share one aspect you’ve hidden behind the mask. And ask God to surprise you with how much your loved ones accept the real you.

Related readings: Psalm 139:23-24; 1 John 1:5-7

Next one-year track reading: Genesis 32-35

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The Narrow Lens

Image: Spiralz

Today, I read a post at Faith Filled Mom entitled, All the Dandelions. It went something like this:

If you really consider how much our children can give to us the thoughts are boundless; their love, affection, wisdom, innocence, beauty, friendship, hugs, kisses and the list goes on. But to a child he does not have much to give to a mom maybe a hug, a kiss and a picture from time to time. So to give a flower is a special gift from our children. To us we look out in the yard and think here comes spring how will I ever get rid of all those dandelion weeds in my lawn? But to a child the thought of picking and giving those flowers to his mom is priceless.

So next time your little one gives you a dandelion truly stop and think of how priceless that flower is to him. Stop and consider that your child is not just giving you a weed but his heart because he wants to show you how much he cares!

I really needed to read this today. Yesterday was a challenging day with my five-year-old. As we all know, there are days like that. Nothing was really going right. He was crabby and talking back, which was making me crabby and talking back. Not a good combo.

Yet, there were times throughout the day I could have latched on to, cherished and possibly turned around the negativity that seemed to permeate the air. Instead, rather than viewing all the continuing “interruptions” from his perspective, which might have gone something like this: “Mom, I just want to converse, to offer ‘help,’ to provide a comment, to share a thought with you, to spend time with you,” I was viewing it only through my own lens.

And what a narrow lens that was.

I needed this reminder/reinforcement that time is precious with our children. I know this. I believe this. I strive to keep this in the forefront of each and every day. Yet, sometimes my lens gets clouded, narrowed, skewed. I know we should be grateful for the interruptions and ‘gifts’ we receive each and every day. Dandelions or no.

What are you thankful for? Do you ever have days like these? Drop me a comment. If you’re an old friend, a new friend or a yet-to-be friend, I’d love to converse with you here and hear your thoughts.

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