We were having eggs.

One morning this summer, the boys and I were having breakfast and talking about eternity. Jackson had asked Christ into his heart at church camp in 2007, so he and I were doing much of the talking. Parker was mostly silent, but I could tell that he was deeply listening and weighing our words. J and I talked about what it is to be a Christian, and I explained how it is that a person would go about becoming a Christian, all while P thoughtfully picked at his eggs. Then P looked up and said, “I haven’t decided that yet.” And the way he said it, I thought that it might be a long time before he would.

Fast forward to bedtime last night. With a heavy heart, I told Parker that one of the teachers from his school, Kathy Albert, had passed away. We know that Mrs. Albert was a Christian. I reminded him that she had been very sick for a long time. Her body could not get better. God wanted Mrs. Albert to come to heaven. So, she did.

Thus began a discussion of heaven and hell. Parker told me about someone he knows who doesn’t choose the best behavior, and told me that he thinks this person is going to hell.

“Whether you go to heaven or hell is not decided by how many good behavior days you have at school,” I said.

“I know,” he said, and left the proverbial door wide open.

“Thank goodness for that, right? Because every person on earth messes up and sins. Every person EVER, except for one. Do you know which one?”

“Jesus,” he nods. Hooray! Children’s Church is working. Good job, guys.

“That’s right. Jesus lived a perfect life, without any sin at all. And sin is not just bad behavior. Our words and even thoughts can be sinful. We all sin. But Jesus didn’t have any sin at all. He lived completely without sin so that he could be the sacrifice for our sin. God knows that we can’t pay the price for our sin, so Jesus paid it for us. And because He paid our price, and rose from the dead and went to heaven, we can go to heaven too! Anyone who believes this can go to heaven.”

“Well, I believe that,” he shrugs.

“You do? That’s awesome, buddy! Have you prayed to tell God that you believe it?”

“Yeah, I did that a long time ago when I was six or something,” says Mr. Nonchalant. “At breakfast. We were having eggs. I prayed in my head and just didn’t tell you.”

And I knew the very breakfast he was talking about. It was this summer.

I’m glad that Parker finally revealed to us his decision to follow Christ. Now we can rejoice, along with all the angels of heaven and Mrs. Albert and all the others who have gone before us.

“…there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Luke 15:10

Hallelujah!

It's just easier to SHOW you.

I have so many words buzzing around in my brain right now. So many, in fact, that I can’t form a coherent post to describe what I’ve been doing lately. Instead of lengthy descriptions, I shall give you pictures with captions. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I'm sure you'll be quite glad that I went with pictures.



This is what our hallway bathroom looked like a week ago. I forgot to take a picture before we took the big mirror down, but you get the idea. Notice the mauve stripes and frilly border. For once I am thankful that my boys are colorblind. They had no idea that they should have been embarrassed by this feminine wallpaper.



And this is what it looks like now! This is the best project that Andy and I have worked on together. Well, other than our children. But we’ll have to wait a while to see how they turn out.



This family tree originated in my mind several years ago, even before we had our own home, inspired by Owl’s house in Winnie the Pooh. We come from a long line of good-looking individuals! No wonder my little boys are so handsome.



Our tree went up a bit early this year. We had so much going on during the Thanksgiving holiday that I wanted to have this done ahead of time. Truly, the tree and the holiday music seemed a bit out of place until I watched the snow fall this morning. Now it all feels just right.



And this is my favorite little project of all. My Liberty Belle and her ten beautiful puppies! I’ve been planning, preparing, and praying for them for months now. I’m so glad they are finally here!



Somewhere in the midst of all of this, my little oak turned bright red. I love it!

So that’s my last three weeks in a nutshell. I hope you had a wonderfully blessed Thanksgiving!

The Folds of the Flag

I had planned on talking about something else today, but then I read this post from Melanie at the Big Mama Blog, and decided to change my tack.

I, like Melanie, had never heard of the meanings that have been ascribed to each fold of the American Flag. I find this to be so moving, and wanted to share it with anyone who might read it here.

The first fold of our flag is a symbol of life.

The second fold is a symbol of our belief in the eternal life.

The third fold is made in honor and remembrance of the veteran departing our ranks who gave a portion of life for the defense of our country to attain a peace throughout the world.

The fourth fold represents our weaker nature, for as American citizens trusting in God, it is to Him we turn in times of peace as well as in times of war for His divine guidance.

The fifth fold is a tribute to our country, for in the words of Stephen Decatur, “Our country, in dealing with other countries, may she always be right; but it is still our country, right or wrong.”

The sixth fold is for where our hearts lie. It is with our heart that we pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

The seventh fold is a tribute to our Armed Forces, for it is through the Armed Forces that we protect our country and our flag against all her enemies, whether they be found within or without the boundaries of our republic.

The eighth fold is a tribute to the one who entered in to the valley of the shadow of death, that we might see the light of day, and to honor mother, for whom it flies on mother’s day.

The ninth fold is a tribute to womanhood; for it has been through their faith, love, loyalty and devotion that the character of the men and women who have made this country great have been molded.

The tenth fold is a tribute to father, for he, too, has given his sons and daughters for the defense of our country since they were first born.

The eleventh fold, in the eyes of a Hebrew citizen, represents the lower portion of the seal of King David and King Solomon, and glorifies, in their eyes, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

The twelfth fold, in the eyes of a Christian citizen, represents an emblem of eternity and glorifies, in their eyes, God the Father, the Son, and Holy Ghost.

The thirteenth fold is the last. The stars are uppermost, reminding us of our national motto, “In God we Trust.”

Yesterday was Veteran’s Day, when we celebrate and thank those who offer their lives in service to our country and her citizens. But I don’t feel like I’m a day late with this post. We don’t have the holiday so that everyone can limit their gratitude to one date on the calendar. I hope our nation’s servicemen and women are touched by our prayers and know what their sacrifice means to our country each and every day.

And I’d like to give a shout-out to my very own personal veteran and daily hero, my husband, Andy. I love you!

Garbage in? Garbage OUT.

Garbage is out, people. These days, there are so many recyclable products and packages… why would you throw them away? And the reusable products? Wow. Now, I’m all for using disposable diapers, because PLEASE. But Swiffer Sweeper? Don’t get me started.

So, in addition to using a Rubbermaid Dust'N Mop, here’s what I’ve been doing to minimize my family’s garbage output.

This spring, our city newsletter included a long list of acceptable items to include in our weekly recycling. I was floored! I had previously operated under the assumption that only plain paper, glass, and plastics labeled with a 1 or 2 would be recycled. Not so in the North Richland Hills community! I was thrilled (because I’m a huge nerd) to read about all the things that I could recycle that I had previously just thrown away. Junk mail. Phone books. Those glossy strips of coupons that are rubber-banded to our door every other weekend. And the best: Plastic types 1 through 7.

Around the same time, I started a backyard compost can. A friend warned me that compost bins stink but I have found that, if you are careful about what you put in, there isn’t a smell at all! I’m a fan of fresh flowers which I always buy at Kroger from the half-price clearance floral section. Sure, sometimes the selection is really sad, but it also raises the bar with my creativity. This week I have a vase of red peppers! How different is that?! But these peppers are looking pretty spent. Instead of throwing them in the trash, I’ll toss them in the compost. Along with all of our banana peels and the dead leaves from the houseplants that I’ve neglected.

I love the idea of producing less waste. And because we are putting less into our trash can, we are putting less out on the curb. I just feel good knowing that I am doing something to lessen my family’s contribution to local landfills. Our garbage is collected twice a week, but we only put trash out on one day. So the trash collectors only have to stop outside our house once a week. What if everyone could do this? How much would that help the environment?

As I type this, I am thinking of a really dear friend who lives out in the boonies and doesn’t have a recycling service. It pains me that you have to throw all your stuff in the trash. That would make me crazy! But I understand that, when you don’t have curbside recycling service, there isn’t much choice. I’m a realist. If I didn’t have a nice big truck to come to my curb and take away my cardboard and glass, I would throw it away too. Hopefully you’ll have the luxury (did I just say luxury?) of having recycling service someday! And if you are person who has recycling service, I’d like to encourage you to maximize this benefit. Find out exactly what items your service will accept, and do your best to recycle everything that you can. Rinse your containers and discard the non-recyclable lids.

I feel like a giant dork, on a crusade to save the planet. But seriously, I guess I kind of am!

FYI

I've been meaning to write, but didn't really have anything to talk about. Now my home internet is down. So I'm at the public Library with only 2 minutes remaining of my allotted computer usage.

I just wanted to say that once my internet is repaired, Look Out! I've been saving up the words.

Hope all is well out there. See you soon!

Potty Mouth, Jr.

When I was in third grade, I got in trouble for saying “crap”. Well, I got in trouble for a lot of things. Saying crap was just one of the many.

I still like the word. I’m a crapsayer. I just am. Perhaps it’s because I’ve been saying it since the third grade. Yeah, that’s probably it.

Anyway. I got in trouble. My mom said that I wasn’t allowed to say crap until I was 10 or something like that. I don’t remember how long she said I was supposed to wait, because I went right on saying it. Just not around the house. Classy, right?

You know how, when you’re young and misbehaving, parents like to tell you that they hope your kids will be JUST LIKE YOU? I think you see where this is going.

Yesterday, Parker got in trouble at school. For using inappropriate language. Only he didn’t just say it. He wrote it down.



Yuck.

I was glad that he told me about this in the car, because I am infinitely immature, and laugh at inappropriate times. (Particularly when disciplining my children.) I think maybe I hid my smile and stifled my laughter pretty well. Maybe. It just shocked me to hear my sweet baby, in his little Mickey Mouse voice, say “You suck.”

Like I said, at least we were in the car and I was facing the road and not the backseat. Had we been face to face, the weight of the situation would have been completely lost because of my inability to hold myself together.

I laugh, because that’s my reaction to things. I can’t help it. It just comes out. But seriously, people. It hurt my soul to know that my sweet little Parker would say something so nasty to another little person. Bleh.

Now here’s where I got just plain mad. Kids learn the words that are spoken to them or that they have heard spoken to others. The domino effect on this is devastating. You may be asking, “Where does a seven year old learn such a phrase?” At least, that’s what I was asking. Who out there is telling my little baby that he sucks? I’m sorry to say that he picked it up from Jackson. And where does a nine year old learn such a phrase? From jerks at school. And now, my kids are the jerks at school, spouting foul language.

Great.

But I have hope. Because of the role of Christ in their lives, my kids are far better people than I was in elementary school. Hopefully the talk we had about this yesterday will take hold in their hearts, and they won’t say stuff like this anymore. Not at home or at school or anywhere.

At least not until they’re 10 or whatever.

Loaves, Fish, Paint, and Paper

I just read this post from Andy, about our sorry attempts to put God in a box. And that got me thinking… Do I do that? Do I try to put God in a box? And I decided that No, I Don’t. I have a different problem. I see God AS the Box, and I put limits on what He would allow inside. Health, Relationships, Education = IN. Bugs, Laundry, Fantasy Football = OUT.

For example:

The last couple of weeks of my life have been wild with activity. Among other things, I’ve been working with a team of fellow parents to build a homecoming parade float. A fantastic parade float, bearing the name of our children’s elementary school. It was pretty awesome. And if I do say so, it was the best float in the parade.

Anyway.

On one of our workdays, when we were trying to figure out if we had what we needed to do all that we wanted to do, my friend Christy just stopped and prayed. “Please, Lord, let us have enough. Multiply our supplies like the loaves and the fishes.” And I just kind of smirked and shook my head. I had been praying for other aspects of this project, but supplies? That’s sweet, Christy, but I’m not sure God really cares about whether or not we have enough paper, paint, and salvaged scraps of wood.

But He Does.

We did the math. There shouldn’t have been enough paper to cover everything we wanted to cover. And I know how much paint was in that bucket. It wasn’t enough. But when our team put it all together, it worked out. There were mere inches of paper left over, and just a smidge of paint left in the can. There was enough, and just a tiny bit more. When the ladies told me that they were done painting, I turned to Christy and with great surprise (and yet, none at all) I said, “You were right. He cares about our little parade float. Here are your loaves and fishes.”

God cares about the silly little things in my life. Maybe because He cares about me. Or maybe He really likes a good parade float. Either way, God blessed me through this experience.

For me this was a revelation but, as I write this, I can't help but think that it all sounds kind of stupid. I’m sure it doesn’t mean much to anyone who wasn’t involved, and maybe not even them.

Then again, who am I to decide what others do or don’t care about?

And just in case you want to see it, here's the float:



See? I told you it was awesome.