Hmmm...well truth be told, I am a little disappointed in the Black Friday deals this year. I am not sure exactly what I was looking for, but whatever it was, I didn't find it.
The thrill of the hunt, I think, is what I was seeking. Typically, Allen and I will get up before the sun dawns to find many a treasure. Walmart price matches, so we start there. Then Target. Then to Northtown or Rosedale before the sun is even up. But this year was different.
I have decided to pare down what I purchase--and with that came the let down of not buying every little thing advertised in each store circular. I have learned to not do when your kids are young that which you cannot continue as they become teenagers. Now it is Transformers and Elmo--in ten years--it will be cars and jet skis. Hmm...food for thought. I have learned that the $50 toy that looks so amazing now looks pretty dismal and sad a week after Christmas is over. My kids literally want for nothing(although they may speak differently)
Diego's Rescue Center $49(two weeks playtime)
Tinkerbell Costume $29(one week playtime)
Entire Disney Movie Collection $1105(once or twice each)
Playing with the wrapping paper and boxes=Priceless
So what if there is less under the tree. We need to be thankful that we have a tree at all. Let alone the roof that is over it. Or the meal cooking in the next room. Or the family sitting beside it. Or the little red-headed preschooler crawling up it.
I am ashamed of my past behavior and nods to exceptional consumerism.
This year is different. I will cut back. And donate the rest to those who don't have.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Thanksgiving Conviction
I cannot sit on my laurels
I cannot cover my ears
I cannot close my eyes
I cannot pretend that I am unchanged
I cannot go on living the way that society thinks that I should
I can take action
I can listen
I can see
I can be changed and accept that it is okay
I can break the mold--when haven't I??
I can invite
I can hear and take heart
I can try to see the other point of view
I can find people who want to live like I do
I can be Jesus in the flesh
I could look in the rearview
I could listen like I used to
I could ignore like I used to
I could judge like I used to
I could be who I used to
But for now, I'll try to be Jesus in the flesh
I cannot cover my ears
I cannot close my eyes
I cannot pretend that I am unchanged
I cannot go on living the way that society thinks that I should
I can take action
I can listen
I can see
I can be changed and accept that it is okay
I can break the mold--when haven't I??
I can invite
I can hear and take heart
I can try to see the other point of view
I can find people who want to live like I do
I can be Jesus in the flesh
I could look in the rearview
I could listen like I used to
I could ignore like I used to
I could judge like I used to
I could be who I used to
But for now, I'll try to be Jesus in the flesh
Friday, November 20, 2009
Glitter and Spray Glue
Have you ever used 3M Brand Spray adhesive? If not, you are one step behind my daughter. Today, after looking around, I decided that I needed a cleaning day--nope, not the kind where I clean and 2 tornadoes rip up the ground behind me, but the kind where I actually sigh with satisfaction when I am done.
I decided I need reinforcements...so I called Allen's grandma. Bless her heart. She is 84--and behaves like 64. She lets the kids ride piggy back--much to my dismay--not that I am afraid she will get hurt--but then they expect me to do the same!
After said phone call, I scrambled to get the kids dressed, brushed, combed and out the door--as you know, socks come before shoes. Well, in order to follow that rule, I had to go down to the basement to get the socks. Thing #1 and Thing#2 followed. I handed over the socks and they ran up the stairs. I turned the dryer on and followed them...15 second delay--tops.
As I approached the bottom of my stairs, Kjirsten was making the final sprays on her adhesive masterpiece. (stupidly, I broke the cover for the glue, and tried to "hide" the bottle under a stack of spray paint cans for a church project).
I am fully convinced the "masterpiece" would have made it into the Met. We had a delicate spray on the floor in the foyer...a medium coating on Daddy's one and only pair of black dress shoes...and the globs and drips running down the oak banister. It was divine!
Thinking swiftly, I wiped the banister down with baby wipes. (works amazingly by the way--for your reference) I then waited for the floor and shoes to dry--which required a rub down...this glue dries like rubber cement. If you give it a rub, it balls up and can be rubbed away. Praise Jesus! See even amongst trial, we can praise the Lord!
And on the upside--she didn't get into the bag where the glitter was stored.
Plus, after this whole incident, I got 5 childfree hours, where I was able to chuckle about 3M!
Thanks Grandma!
I decided I need reinforcements...so I called Allen's grandma. Bless her heart. She is 84--and behaves like 64. She lets the kids ride piggy back--much to my dismay--not that I am afraid she will get hurt--but then they expect me to do the same!
After said phone call, I scrambled to get the kids dressed, brushed, combed and out the door--as you know, socks come before shoes. Well, in order to follow that rule, I had to go down to the basement to get the socks. Thing #1 and Thing#2 followed. I handed over the socks and they ran up the stairs. I turned the dryer on and followed them...15 second delay--tops.
As I approached the bottom of my stairs, Kjirsten was making the final sprays on her adhesive masterpiece. (stupidly, I broke the cover for the glue, and tried to "hide" the bottle under a stack of spray paint cans for a church project).
I am fully convinced the "masterpiece" would have made it into the Met. We had a delicate spray on the floor in the foyer...a medium coating on Daddy's one and only pair of black dress shoes...and the globs and drips running down the oak banister. It was divine!
Thinking swiftly, I wiped the banister down with baby wipes. (works amazingly by the way--for your reference) I then waited for the floor and shoes to dry--which required a rub down...this glue dries like rubber cement. If you give it a rub, it balls up and can be rubbed away. Praise Jesus! See even amongst trial, we can praise the Lord!
And on the upside--she didn't get into the bag where the glitter was stored.
Plus, after this whole incident, I got 5 childfree hours, where I was able to chuckle about 3M!
Thanks Grandma!
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Thankful
With homeschooling comes great adventures...like today's lesson in "thankfulness". Very simply, when asked what they were thankful for, my Logan responded, "lions, tigers and dinosaurs", Kjirsten followed that with, "lions and tigers". Hmm...not the response a mommy would hope for (i.e. God who loves me, mommy, daddy, baby brother, food for tummy), but nonetheless, the first thing that came to their minds and a huge improvement over last years' response "cookies".
With the holiday season quickly approaching, I can think of a list of things NOT to be thankful for: stress, scheduling, 3,000,000 calories, pants that won't fit by January 1, traveling, and working over the holidays...
However, with all of the items, comes it's counterpoint. Where the "thankful" comes from!
Stress: Family and friends who love us and want a piece of our time, no matter how difficult that may be to juggle or how crazy it looks to onlookers. A million gifts to buy and wrap--and who has the budget?--scale it back--remember the reason for the season. The true gift won't fit in any box. Meals to prep, cookies to bake, house to clean--eek! Make a list-cross half of it off. Just consider it done. If anyone dumped me as a friend because I only made 6 kinds of cookies instead of 12, they weren't really my friend to begin with. We all live in glass houses. Ask your kids what they remember about Christmas--I guarantee your list and theirs are completely different. We should be rejoicing in Him--not stressing with a therapist.
Scheduling: 5 celebrations in under 48 hours, with 10-12 holiday gatherings in a 45 day period of time. Naps and bottles and diaper changes scheduled into specific windows throughout the day, so that one can consume as much family time as possible. Again family who loves us and we them. Yes, it is a juggle--but when you lose a close family member, like we did last year--you learn to appreciate any time spent with those you love.
3,000,000 Calories/Pants that won't fit by January 1:I think this is a "duh" from "scheduling". With 10-12 celebrations, of course there are that many calories. And of course, if you over do--your pants are going to be snug. But for heaven's sake--be grateful that there is food in front of you. We live in the top 2% of the world for food provision. Perhaps, invite someone(s) less fortunate to share all those calories with you. Get out of your "box" and do what Jesus would. Party with the messy, dirty, broken, poor and wonderful! They will love it, if you love them.
Traveling: This goes without saying--3 kids in a mini-van with gifts and crockpots at risk of being tipped over at any moment. On the flip side--man alive, we have the choice to travel, to share with people, to break bread with one another. My favorite?? I love my husband dearly, and we are busy--one of the only times we get to really talk to each other is when we are driving with coffee mugs and kids screaming along to "Blessed Be Your Name" for the 1000th time. (did I mention it's the Veggies Tales version??)
Working over the Holidays: Did I mention that I work for Jesus? Yep, sweet boss, by the way. I am the Sunday Producer at New Hope Community Church in Cambridge. I get to help plan services to make them impactful and real. Help to relate to people that haven't walked with Christ their whole life--but for the second half, are going to try. Or people who have walked miles with him--and are still wrestling with the grey areas. I muddle my way through technical fires--with sound, lighting, media presentation, set-up, tear down, etc. It is awesome. Yep, I work on the holidays--who wouldn't love that?? I get to bear witness to transformation almost every day. Sometimes myself, sometimes other people. I have laughed and cried with people, hugged and high-fived. When I took this job--I thought it was just that--a job. We have all had those--you know, where you go in and check items off a list?? Finish what the list says and then you get to go home. There is no list when working for Jesus. I mean sure there are tasks that have to be completed in order for us to put Glory to His name each week. But I am talking about the people here. This amazing, messy group of people has become my family--and who doesn't want to get together with family over the holidays??
With everything ,comes it's environmental counterpoint: Allen is mine. Loud and quiet. Dark and light. Emotional and business. We are proverbial opposites. And that is what makes us great.
God's Counterpoint:
I believe He gave us trials to appreciate the true joys in life. I know many of you reading this are struggling financially or emotionally--and now maybe both. Remembering when there wasn't a struggle makes us frustrated. But looking to when the struggle is behind us--that is where we fix our gaze. Remember this is just a season...God will give us our daily bread. Funny how what I think I need, and what He thinks I need are often times two different things. Remember in all things "Give Thanks". Remember you are not alone. He is with you.
With the holiday season quickly approaching, I can think of a list of things NOT to be thankful for: stress, scheduling, 3,000,000 calories, pants that won't fit by January 1, traveling, and working over the holidays...
However, with all of the items, comes it's counterpoint. Where the "thankful" comes from!
Stress: Family and friends who love us and want a piece of our time, no matter how difficult that may be to juggle or how crazy it looks to onlookers. A million gifts to buy and wrap--and who has the budget?--scale it back--remember the reason for the season. The true gift won't fit in any box. Meals to prep, cookies to bake, house to clean--eek! Make a list-cross half of it off. Just consider it done. If anyone dumped me as a friend because I only made 6 kinds of cookies instead of 12, they weren't really my friend to begin with. We all live in glass houses. Ask your kids what they remember about Christmas--I guarantee your list and theirs are completely different. We should be rejoicing in Him--not stressing with a therapist.
Scheduling: 5 celebrations in under 48 hours, with 10-12 holiday gatherings in a 45 day period of time. Naps and bottles and diaper changes scheduled into specific windows throughout the day, so that one can consume as much family time as possible. Again family who loves us and we them. Yes, it is a juggle--but when you lose a close family member, like we did last year--you learn to appreciate any time spent with those you love.
3,000,000 Calories/Pants that won't fit by January 1:I think this is a "duh" from "scheduling". With 10-12 celebrations, of course there are that many calories. And of course, if you over do--your pants are going to be snug. But for heaven's sake--be grateful that there is food in front of you. We live in the top 2% of the world for food provision. Perhaps, invite someone(s) less fortunate to share all those calories with you. Get out of your "box" and do what Jesus would. Party with the messy, dirty, broken, poor and wonderful! They will love it, if you love them.
Traveling: This goes without saying--3 kids in a mini-van with gifts and crockpots at risk of being tipped over at any moment. On the flip side--man alive, we have the choice to travel, to share with people, to break bread with one another. My favorite?? I love my husband dearly, and we are busy--one of the only times we get to really talk to each other is when we are driving with coffee mugs and kids screaming along to "Blessed Be Your Name" for the 1000th time. (did I mention it's the Veggies Tales version??)
Working over the Holidays: Did I mention that I work for Jesus? Yep, sweet boss, by the way. I am the Sunday Producer at New Hope Community Church in Cambridge. I get to help plan services to make them impactful and real. Help to relate to people that haven't walked with Christ their whole life--but for the second half, are going to try. Or people who have walked miles with him--and are still wrestling with the grey areas. I muddle my way through technical fires--with sound, lighting, media presentation, set-up, tear down, etc. It is awesome. Yep, I work on the holidays--who wouldn't love that?? I get to bear witness to transformation almost every day. Sometimes myself, sometimes other people. I have laughed and cried with people, hugged and high-fived. When I took this job--I thought it was just that--a job. We have all had those--you know, where you go in and check items off a list?? Finish what the list says and then you get to go home. There is no list when working for Jesus. I mean sure there are tasks that have to be completed in order for us to put Glory to His name each week. But I am talking about the people here. This amazing, messy group of people has become my family--and who doesn't want to get together with family over the holidays??
With everything ,comes it's environmental counterpoint: Allen is mine. Loud and quiet. Dark and light. Emotional and business. We are proverbial opposites. And that is what makes us great.
God's Counterpoint:
I believe He gave us trials to appreciate the true joys in life. I know many of you reading this are struggling financially or emotionally--and now maybe both. Remembering when there wasn't a struggle makes us frustrated. But looking to when the struggle is behind us--that is where we fix our gaze. Remember this is just a season...God will give us our daily bread. Funny how what I think I need, and what He thinks I need are often times two different things. Remember in all things "Give Thanks". Remember you are not alone. He is with you.
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