hustle

Squirrels love these trees. Acorns galore. No need to hurry, collect, and bury. There are plenty to last all winter long. Have you ever watched these nutty little creatures? They dart here and there, gathering, collecting, eating, tails twitching, not trusting the border collie who watches them. Squirrels are so busy-busy.

I've thought myself to be busy lately. I'm a list person. When I was young, Mom made us lists of jobs to do before swimming in the summer. We hated them, but it was such an accomplishment to make a fat check mark beside the completed task. So, looking at my lists these past few weeks, I've found myself running around like a squirrel. But if you would see my list this week, you'd have to wonder why I'm running around like a crazy-tailed animal. Seriously, it's not that long.

You see, I lost sight of God's priorities. I look at my list and wonder, Which of these tasks are God-given tasks? Jesus didn't finish all the jobs His disciples wanted him to do, like overthrow the Roman government or heal the rest of the sick and dying people. He prays in John 17:4, "I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do." God gives us plenty of time to finish His tasks. If there wasn't enough time for something, He wouldn't give it to us.

My biggest problem these past couple weeks was setting my mind and heart on the petty things of this world. I quote Colossians 3:1-2 often, and I'm going to quote it again. "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." It's when I stray from this mindset that my attitude turns more selfish, more proud. And I end up looking like a crazy squirrel, except with loud vocal chords.

By the way, do you want to know what happened to one of those squirrels the other day? We found one dead stiff by the tree with flies eating its inards. I'm sure I could write 5 more blog posts on that, relating it to all sorts of topics including this one, but I'll stop the analogy here. I won't even include a dead-squirrel picture, although it's entirely possible. He's still there.

still

Still, my soul be still

And do not fear
Though winds of change may rage tomorrow
God is at your side
No longer dread
The fires of unexpected sorrow

God, You are my God
And I will trust in You and not be shaken
Lord of peace renew
A steadfast spirit within me
To rest in You alone

Still, my soul be still
Do not be moved
By lesser lights and fleeting shadows
Hold onto His ways
With shield of faith
Against temptations flaming arrows

Still, my soul be still
Do not forsake
The Truth you learned in the beginning
Wait upon the Lord
And hope will rise As stars appear when day is dimming

by Keith and Kristyn Getty

summer begins

He's really not kicking, just protecting himself from the inevitable lick if he used his hands.

They picked them, snapped the tops off, and washed them...all by themselves.

new learnings

I thought, "There's no way he can do it" as I took off the hardware. "He can't do it on his own."

We left the training wheels lay, figuring we'd have to run alongside him the whole time.

He took off, leaving us in the dust.

We're so proud of our little boy...who's not so little anymore.

"Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6

my problem

Another lie I didn't realize I believed...

"The Truth is that only by accepting full responsibility for our actions and attitudes can we ever be fully free from guilt. As one writer said:

Sin is the best news there is, the best news there could be in our predicament. Because with sin, there's a way out. There's the possibility of repentance. You can't repent of confusion or psychological flaws inflicted by {your parents--you're stuck with them}*. But you can repent of sin. Sin and repentance are the only grounds for hope and joy**."

*Myra's note: I'd rather use the word "others" here. How could I ever blame my parents for inflicting flaws? That's unfair. They're human, just like everybody else.

**Myra's second note: This is only through God's grace, through the shed blood of Jesus.

the Holy One

Like a prize at the end of a race, this song "Glory to the Holy One" is at the end of R.C. Sproul's The Holiness of God. This is the next book I want to read and own. Here are Sproul's lyrics:

~~~

Seated on the ether throne,

Above all mortal view;

The King supreme in glory sat,

Bathed in refulgent hue;

Holy, holy, holy,

cried the seraph throng;

Glory to the Holy One,

Is the angel's song.

All around the mercy seat

The winged creatures sang;

Glory to our God on high,

Their poignant anthem rang;

Holy, holy, holy,

cried the seraph throng;

Glory to the Holy One

Is the angel's song.

With shielded eyes and covered feet,

The angels hovered high,

While glory shook the portal walls,

And smoke rose to the sky.

Holy, holy, holy,

cried the seraph throng;

Glory to the Holy One

Is the angel's song.

Woe is me, the creature wailed,

His face upon the floor,

dirty lips and loathsome tongue

His heart could stand no more.

Holy, holy, holy,

cried the seraph throng;

Glory to the Holy One

Is the angel's song.

Come, angel quick and purge my lips,

Make pure my soul anew;

And I shall rise and stand again,

And I will go for You.

Holy, holy, holy,

cried the seraph throng;

Glory to the Holy One

Is the angel's song.

~~~

Every knee will bow.

our rights

Controversial Topic: Rights.

I am reading a book called Lies Women Believe by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. Lie #10 is "I have my rights." I found the following blog post to be a good summary of what DeMoss has to say about Rights.

LIE NO. 10: I HAVE MY RIGHTS

"The fact is, successful relationships and healthy cultures are not built on the claiming of rights but on the yielding of rights." DeMoss

molding hearts

I don't want to tattle on our kids or reveal my mistakes as a mother. But I'm going to.

It was a perfect 75 degrees outside, as still and peaceful as a Beauty Rest pillow. I was hoeing the garden. The kids were playing on the swing set and came up with an absurd idea. "We want to watch a Blues Clues video!" Now, our TV is not hooked up to cable or satellite, so we get zero TV besides children's videos from the library. I answered the kids' request with, "It's too nice outside to watch videos inside. No videos today." They've heard this answer before, so they didn't whine or complain.

Minutes later, I saw them tiptoe inside (as if I couldn't plainly see them) as they whispered their plans to each other. I finished hoeing a few rows and went inside to check on them. The house was silent. I didn't see a light from under the basement door, so I checked their bedrooms. Silence. I re-checked the basement, this time opening the door. A light burned bright at the bottom of the stairs. Isaac was sitting in the video rocker; Carly had quickly unplugged the TV. The awful evidence of an empty DVD case lying open on the floor. Caught red-handed. I said in a very slow and quiet voice, "Go. to. your. rooms." I needed a minute to think of what to do with this situation. Blues Clues is a pretty innocent program, but disobedience and deception is not.

On one hand, it simply amazed me that a five-year-old could/would attempt to trick me into thinking they were not downstairs by turning off the stairway light and shutting the door, making it look like nothing was out of place. And to further cover up the wrong by unplugging the TV to hide their disobedience reminded me of Eve. On the other hand, it upset me to see obvious sin in my babies' hearts.

We learned about obedience and being truthful that day by discussing and reading from parts of Exodus 20... of course followed by a spankin' for each kid and a decree of no videos for two weeks. I gave the kids hugs afterwards and told them I loved them. We pray daily that their hearts would be molded to follow Christ. Next book on my list to read is Shepherding a Child's Heart. And it probably wouldn't hurt if you gave me parenting tips too.

images

Tromping...

It's wienie-roasting time again!

Isaac is sad. We warned him that he would get hurt going barefoot by the woodpile. Sure enough, we were right.

I love my man!

As Jared takes a break from his work, he shares profound wisdom. "You can look at [these dandelions] in one of two ways: 'Man, I need to spray!' or 'Wow, this is beautiful!'"