All Wiped Up

The other day my three and a half year old yells to me from the bathroom to come and wipe her bottom.  We have a deal, she wipes for number 1 and I wipe for number 2.  I called back that I would be there in one minute.  Upon arriving I immediately realize that she has attempted to take care of things herself.

"It was an accident," she says.

"No it was NOT.  You deliberately tried to wipe your own butt and it was not an accident," I tell her.

"But mommy, it was a deliberate accident!" She cries.

I had to bite my tongue and try not laugh out loud!

However, is there such a thing as a deliberate accident?  And do I justify my own deliberate accidents time and time again, knowing that my God will repeatedly wipe the slate clean (...no pun intended) no matter what?  How thankful I am for that unmerited favor that he bestows upon me.   And I know that my righteous acts are like "filthy rags" (Isiah 64:6).  Yet, how often do I just shake, what I know I shouldn't do or say or behave like, off and deliberately disobey my God and His Word and then chalk it up in my mind as "an accident"?   A deliberate accident!

Little Miss Sassafras really drove home a hard point with her mama today!  I sit here and am amazed at how God speaks through my children to me...even in the bathroom when I'm wiping a little bottom!!  

  

Figuring Life Out - One Thousand Gifts

 1000 Gifts: A DARE TO Live Fully RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE

When I watched this video I felt as thought I had stepped into a "Country Time Lemonade" commercial.  My packaged book arrived the other day in the mailbox and I haven't been able to put it down!  Those warm summertime feelings are deepening as I take in each remarkably written word by author Ann Voskamp.  Gratitude and grace fill each page as she humbly shares her journey of a new connection to God.  As I read through this book my outlook at the mundane is changing and my eyes are opening to the beauty hidden in the monotonousness of daily living!

(Click on the Bloom button on the right of the page if you are interested in the book!)

Fresh Starts

Giant snowflakes are fluttering outside of my window. There is nothing like freshly fallen snow. I am reminded of new beginnings as each delicate flake dips and twirls down upon the clean white-blanketed ground. The blackened, dirtied-up mounds previously surrounding the edges of the street and driveway melted last week with temperatures warming up around here so this snow is pure and brilliant. Today I have been reminded of how grateful I am for brand new starts with no left-over mud.

"Jesus paid it all
All to Him I owe
Sin had left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow!"

New Year's Wishes

2011!! Can't believe it!

Here are a few of my goals for the new year:

-specifically praying for each one of my children-

-respecting others (especially my hubby)-

-exhibiting self-control in more than one particular area of my life-

-thinking before I speak (which requires divine intervention)-

James 1:26
If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.

On another note:

Ayla climbs into bed with me this morning, curling her tiny body up into a ball on my pillow and whispers into my ear,

"I wish that I had wings like Tinkerbell."

I replied back to her that I wish I had wings like Tinkerbell too!

(last Christmas 2009...Great Papa Wally who passed away this summer and Great Gram Adeline with all of the great grandchildren)

Merry Christmas 2010!

Falling on my knees and so grateful that "...His law is love and his gospel is peace...and in His name all oppression shall cease..."

Jonah was up from 3 til 5 am. He couldn't sleep because he was so excited. I remember those days just like it was yesterday!!

Today I am thanking God for my precious blessings! How very grateful I am to have such a full life.

One day I am going to miss all of the chaos I'm sure!

Tickled Pink

I have the most wonderful next door neighbors. They are so giving and gracious. "Mr. Nice Neighbor" has been blowing our leaves in the front yard since they started to fall a few weeks ago on a regular basis. Tonight as I was walking through the family room I glanced out the window and noticed him in the back, mowing the lawn and piling up the leaves. Immediately I was filled with embarrassment and humility. Embarrassed because we haven't made time to take care of our property and humbled just because he told me that he was-and I quote- "tickled pink to do it"

I wish that I could be just as "tickled pink" myself and happy to have such an amazing neighbor. Instead I am wracking my brain trying to figure out what I can do to make up for his sacrificed time and hard work.

In the same way I constantly try to "make it up" spiritually speaking. I have the hardest time accepting the grace that God has bestowed upon me. I feel as though I constantly need to pay Christ back for what He did on the cross for me. Whether it be through worship, obedience, sacrifice, etc. I really do believe that it becomes a vicious cycle like a hamster spinning in his little wheel that just leads nowhere but wastes a lot of time.

I will never ever be able to pay our God back for the ultimate sacrifice ever made. My pride, my humanity yearns to even up the score. Jesus assures me that the game has already been won and He has already done all of the work. The whole game has been played out and He has lead us, all of us who believe, into a triumphant victory.

So tonight I'm chewing on that in silence. I'm trying to swallow my competitive nature a bit and enjoy the freedom that He has granted me. And maybe, just maybe I'll become a little "tickled pink"!

Messy

Yesterday morning I woke up a few minutes early and took some time to pray and put the day in God's hands. I really felt a calming peace throughout my testing day. My mom and I along with Ayla hit the highway to a mall about 45 minutes away. Ayla was abnormally quiet and has had a little cold so I figured she was sleepy. About 10 minutes from our destination, she threw up all over her coat that was on her lap. This isn't the first time she has gotten car sick, poor baby. She was totally fine after that and thankfully the mess was only on her jean jacket and not on her. After our quick trip to the mall we had a nice lunch but it was filled with garlic. On our way home, my stomach started gurgling. Ayla fell asleep and by the time we pulled up in my driveway I really had to go! Jonah likes to call what happened next in my pants a "Hershey squirt". Needless to say I had a pretty crappy, pukey day! Yet throughout it all I felt God's hand holding mine and reassuring me that He was in control of all of the messes not only in my day but also in my life.