(The next few posts will be those I began last year and are just now finishing.  Any similarities between the stories depicted here and those of real life are totally intentional.)

If you’ve read my first few entries, you know I have a few hermit crabs.

Make that, “had”.

Over the course of the last year almost all of the crabs have died of natural causes-old age, whatever.  We had one remaining, and honestly, literally, I hardly thought of it.  A few times a week I would check on him and make sure he had food and water, and then move on with my day.

Well, a few days ago I went to look at our one remaining crab and, well, he didn’t look back.  He just sat there.  Still.  Very still.  I noticed there was no water in his container so I put some in really quick and picked up the crab to put him in it (hermit crabs have to have water and humidity to stay healthy).  There was no response.  This particular crab is a little shy so he hides in his shell when you pick him up.  He wasn’t doing anything.  Hmmm.  I checked the humidity gauge.  Yep, exactly what I was afraid of- ‘Desert’.  It should have read ‘Tropical’.  I grabbed my spray bottle (think paddles for a heart patient) and doused him with water.  No response.  He’d flat-lined.  He just sat there with his dried-up eyes looking at me, asking, “Why?  Why didn’t you water me?!  Why did you buy me when you know you aren’t responsible?  Now I’m dead, and I’m really sad about it.”

I almost cried.  Almost.

When I told the kids that “Peanut” had left the building, only my oldest daughter stopped watching TV to respond.  She said, “What?!  Why?  Why didn’t we pay more attention to him?!  Why did we ignore him?!  Now he’s dead, and I’m really sad about it.”   This conversation sounded eerily familiar.  If I’ve passed anything on to my daughter, it’s my guilty conscience.  That, and my love of simple carbohydrates, but that’s another post…

Okay, so I tell my dear husband the bad news, complete with the crusty crab eyes, and he says, half giggling, “Wow, you make that sound really sad”.  Well of course it’s sad!!  A crab died because of my negligence!  I had to face the  music:  I just don’t have the time or desire (maybe that is the more determining factor?) to have a pet.  My kids would love to have a dog or a cat someday but I just can’t (won’t) add that to what I’m already managing.

Well, maybe a beta fish wouldn’t be so bad..at least I don’t have to water them!

I tried so hard to think about blogging. I did. Unfortunately, I didn’t actually write about thinking about blogging, and another year has passed without a post. Sad but true, I know.
Luckily, I have many drafts of blogs I started, well, a year or more ago, and I’ll post those while I continue thinking about blogging.

I just got back from the first of three events of my 20-year high school reunion taking place this weekend.  What a fun time!!  The group was small but sweet.  Our main event is tomorrow night at TJ’s in Roswell, but tonight was for those already in town or who were coming in town early and wanted to grab a bite to eat.   We met at Smokejack in Alpharetta and had some good food (delicious fried pickles!) and great conversation.

I look forward to tomorrow’s events! :0)

to be continued..

I’m encouraging all of my fellow ‘89 grads from Milton High School in Alpharetta, Ga, to meet for our reunion at TJ’s in Roswell this Saturday night, June 27th, at 6pm. It will be lots of casual fun!! No need to RSVP, just show up!!

I’ve been somewhat moody lately. I have great days and low days. Even though I know the root of it, and know I have nothing to do with it and can do nothing about it, I somehow still get trapped into a vicious thought-circle and sometimes have a hard time getting out.

Today was one of those low days. The low-day mood comes in waves and generally manifests itself in a sour-attitude more than sadness. I had made it through the whole day and was just about to lose it with my kids (my DH is out of town, which apparently in kid-language means “We have no bedtime!”), when one of them asked if we were still going to read the Bible (we go through a book on the shorter catechism at bedtime). I cannot not read them the Bible! It may have been a stall-tactic (no-question at this time of night), but I did it anyway. One of the children wanted to read Psalms 34:18 because of a song they have been learning, so we decided to read the whole chapter. To save time, here it is for your reading pleasure: (NIV) (For the sake of space I consolidated each verse to one line instead of two.)

1 I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.

2 My soul will boast in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and rejoice.

3 Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt his name together.

4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.

5 Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.

6 This poor man called, and the LORD heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles.

7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.

8 Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

9 Fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing.

10 The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

11 Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

12 Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days,

13 keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies.

14 Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.

15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry;

16 the face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth.

17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.

18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

19 A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all;

20 he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken.

21 Evil will slay the wicked; the foes of the righteous will be condemned.

22 The LORD redeems his servants; no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him.

I took such refreshment from God’s words. I had to confess immediately to giving another day to this seemingly-irreconcilable matter. My childrens’ ploy to avert a bedtime turned out to be the best part of the day.

Going forward, I must choose joy over sadness. Just like loving someone is a choice, I have to choose to have joy in the LORD; not based on my circumstances, but on who I am in Christ.

Tomorrow will be a great day- I’ve already decided.

This is the day the Lord has made! Let us rejoice and be glad in it!

Have you ever had one of those days when every time you look at your husband your heart just skips a beat? You just want to give him a big hug and not let go. I’m having one of those days and just have to share the love for my man! Maybe it’s the pollen in the air or the Alevert-high I have because of it, but either way, I’m as giddy as a school girl.

The mad-crush I have on my husband is not new. It’s been reemerging itself for months now. I have always loved him, of course, and on most days-adored him, too. But something about my DH exerting his Biblical authority and standing firm against my wimpy attempts to manipulate him into doing what I want just makes my heart pitter-patter (eventually-not right away!). I have so much more respect for the man because he can stand up to his woman!

So thank you, sweetie, for “telling me like it is” in love and gentleness. Thank you for listening but not succumbing to my whining and complaining. Thank you for not letting me bully you or lead you. Thank you for protecting me. Thank you for being a man of your word. Thank you for being the husband and father God has called you to be to me and our children. Thank you for loving an imperfect me.  Thank you for not allowing my selfishness to direct our family and throw us into unplanned, unnecessary debt (i.e., a house addition)!  I could go on and on…

I thank God for you!

Loving only you..

The last few days have been really bizarre for me. After starting and stopping a few blog entries, I wasn’t really happy with anything. My husband called me in the other room a few minutes ago to watch a performance of Aaron Shust doing his song “Give me Words to Speak”. I’ve never heard the words to the song (I’m lyrically challenged) and when I looked them up I decided to post them. I offer you an excerpt of Aaron’s words to you today:

Give me Words to Speak

Calloused and bruised
dazed and confused
My Spirit is left wanting something more
Than my selfish hopes
and my selfish dreams
I’m lying with my face down to the floor
I’m crying out for more

Give me Words to speak
Don’t let my Spirit sleep
Cause I can’t think of anything worth saying
But I know that I owe You my life
So give me Words to speak
Don’t let my Spirit sleep

Every night, every day
I find that I have nothing left to say
So I stand here in silence awaiting Your guidance
I’m wanting only Your voice to be heard
Let them be Your Words
Let them be Your words

For me, the take-away from this song is to want more than just selfish desires, to remember that I owe God my life (!), and to let God’s voice to be heard over my own. As “calloused and bruised, dazed and confused” as I am at times, this life is still all and only about God and Him receiving glory in and from it.

By His mercy, may I not waste another moment on me .

May tomorrow be an others-focused day for all of us. And may God’s voice be heard over my own.

Blessings to you and yours.

HT: Aaron Shust

All this time I thought my four year old was behind in pre-reading skills. It turns out, he can already read a lot of words. For instance:

Play

Chapter Selection

Bonus Features

Games

sigh….:-)

My children and I recently had the opportunity to travel to Chattanooga, TN, for a few days to visit with a friend who had moved to Nashville. She was meeting another friend in Chattanooga and was going to stay for a few extra days to enjoy the sights. Knowing that my daughter would love to see one of her dearest little friends, I jumped at the chance to meet up and surprise the kids with a trip to the Aquarium there. This would be trip without my husband- something that both excites and frightens me. There’s just something about traveling with only my children that makes me feel independent and strong-and yet irresponsible and stupid at the same time. Had we not arranged to meet others there I would have made it a day trip and not an overnighter!

Anyway, we loaded the car and set off on our drive. This was about a two hour drive, give or take, and it was relatively easy considering all our potty stops. We find the hotel, meet up with our friends, go to dinner, and start planning the next 48 hours. After waiting what seems like an unreasonable amount of time for our food, we head back to my friend’s hotel and let the kids swim. We are all exhausted and grumpy by about 11:00pm (totally reasonable, considering) so the kids and I head back to our hotel.

Now I don’t know whether any of my readers are parents that regularly allow their children to sleep in their bed with them. I am not one of those parents, and knowing (or figuring) I would be sharing my bed with at least one of my dear children, was not really expecting much rest to be had. I couldn’t have been more accurate. To summarize in one long run on sentence-clock set wrong(it was really 2am, not 3am), kicks, giggles, wiggles, VOMIT (her first ever), middle-of-the-night bath, VOMIT, another change of clothes, more VOMIT, crying, out of clothes, alarm goes off. Yawn.

So off we go to the Aquarium. Apparently everyone else in Tennessee is SANE because the place was deserted. It was seriously cold outside. We get our (not cheap!) tickets and head to the newest part, the Ocean Journey. This section has a hands-on tank where visitors can reach in and touch Horseshoe crabs, Manta rays and Dog sharks. Little clown fish were swimming in there, too. It’s quite lovely, from a safe distance. And the employees are very good about warning you that the water is deeper than it looks (maybe 2.5 feet?) and that kids fall in all the time because they reach for the fish and don’t realize how far down they have to reach to touch them, and lose their balance. It did make me more aware of where my kids were at all times, but I wasn’t that worried about it.

This level of the center also has a butterfly sanctuary which the kids also wanted to visit. My group (3 moms and 9 kids) was soon ready to move on to the butterfly area. Since I couldn’t take the stroller in that area I had set it off to the side to unload my 2yr old and try to balance the thing with all the coats, etc on it. I told my little one to stay right next to me as I rearranged the stroller (again) and when I turned back around to take her to the butterfly area, she was gone. I didn’t flip out because I figured she had probably followed her brothers to the butterfly room. I made a quick glance in my immediate area and didn’t see her so I shuffled on toward the butterflies. I could see my group ahead and didn’t see her there and started to get a little more worried. Again, the place was not crowded, but there were enough natural hiding places and employee doors here and there to easily sneak away with a two year old. I saw nothing that caught my eye as suspicious behavior from anyone as I’m trying to figure where she has gone. I remember that she was assaulting a clown fish earlier, so I book it over to the hands-on area hoping, that she hasn’t gotten to the water. I can’t find her anywhere in the growing crowd. Her black turtleneck and jeans could completely blend in with both the water and the rock-backdrop. Just as I’m calling her name again and do a more detailed scan from afar, I see her standing on a booster ledge reaching, r-e-a-c-h-i-n-g into the tank to get that clown fish one more time, and PLOP, in she goes! Because she is short, she hasn’t fallen in completely; she has suspended herself at the waist on the plexi-glass enclosing the tank and has swung like a pendulum into the water with her face and upper body completely under. Her legs are kicking but she can’t reach anything on which to get a grip. I’m am sprinting to try and grab her, when a teenage boy facing the opposite direction from her sees me coming and, knowing he’s closer, grabs her out of the tank and hands her to me. She is choking and coughing and crying but alive! Oh, thank you, God! She was dripping wet, of course, and shivering to get out the words “Me fah in!”. As I dried her off, I told her everything would be alright and she would be fine, in part to reassure myself. I also used the opportunity to gently reminded her of how important it is to obey Mommy. If she would have obeyed and stayed right with me like I told her to, she may not have fallen in. I know she’s only two, but it’s extremely important to take obedience seriously. She received a (very!) natural consequence for disobeying (she even had algae in her teeth) so I let it go at that.

As I said, my girl was dripping wet, head to toe. It’s freezing outside. She had thrown up on every piece of clothing I brought to Tennessee. I couldn’t take her through the rest of the Aquarium in those wet clothes, much less all the way home. There may have been some pride issues, too, as I was the mom with the child with dripping wet hair as they announce “Keep an eye on those kiddos, we just had one go in!” (I’m still standing at the tank). And then I remember that my friend had just given me a bag of clothes for my little one for the spring. I look through it, knowing that she said it was only shorts and shirts-Summer stuff, but really praying that there is something that will keep my baby warm enough to get through the Aquarium and to the car. Please, something, God, anything! There, in the bottom of the bag was long sleeved jammies and a long sleeved dress! Thank you, Jesus, for being in control of all things! I get her changed and meet my friends in the Butterfly Room (they have no clue any of this has happened) and when they see her wet hair they both gasp and exclaim, “No!”. I nod and say “Yes!” and try to fight back tears of embarrassment and relief and exhaustion all at once. I’m not successful, but as I recount the events of the last few minutes, I get a peace that God had His hand on this whole experience:

That young man was right there to rescue my little girl!

My baby was alive and well!

My friend did not even recall putting those clothes in the bag!

God had brought me to the end of myself the night before and that eventful morning. To everyone who gave me a funny look or a critical eye I could joyfully smile and tell how God had kept her safe. He had even dressed her (did I mention that they matched?). And even more important, he had taught us both about challenging authority and acting in the flesh.

My baby girl stood right with me for the rest of the day.

And it was a great rest of the day.

It’s snowing! In Georgia! I’ll say it together: It’s snowing in Georgia! Our Christmas tree (still on our back deck) looks like it belongs with the trees on the top of my blog page. At least it’s not a fire hazard now. :0)

Ahhh, there is nothing like falling snow to remind me of how amazingly creative God is. Think of it: each snowflake is different from the others, made uniquely that way by our Creator. Each one eventually melts into liquid form-water-something human hands cannot manufacture. It then evaporates by the warmth of the Sun, (another indescribable gift God made for Himself that we receive benefit from) ultimately returning to the clouds to repeat their destiny as rain, or maybe dew, or even snow again. God is sovereign over all nature! Even the delicate design of a snowflake gives Him glory.

Lord of all Creation-

Of water, earth, and sky.

The heavens are your tabernacle-

Glory to the Lord on High!

I hope there is snow on the ground where you are today. I hope you can take the opportunity to catch a few frozen crystals in your hand and study them- quickly, before they melt away. And while you’re looking down at your hand, take a peek at your fingers-specifically, your fingerprints. They are also each uniquely made-not even one exactly like that of anyone else in the whole of creation. From the simplest of crystal formation to the most complex epidermal systems, God’s magnificent authorship is evident!

As we clean up melted snow and wipe the fingerprints from door frames, walls, and a host of other things , may we take the time to thank the One who designed them both- the snowflake and the fingerprint- to bring Himself glory. May we pray for the owner of that fingerprint to know God in a rich and life-changing way. May we pray for those little ones outside building snowmen to one day use those hands to do the work of the Lord-whatever that may be. May we use our own hands to literally and figuratively embrace the roles set before us by God with a grateful heart and spirit of humility.

…and we can also be thankful for the guys who thought of mudrooms and washable latex paint…:0)

Enjoy the snow, everyone!