Signs of Spring

Perched

Saturday night is popcorn night at our house. It's becoming tradition.
Apparently, this is now the preferred seating arrangement for popcorn eating.

Looks comfy.

Good To Know

 

 

 

We just purchased a new pizza pan.

I don't usually read the instructions that come with cookware but for some reason I did this time.

Sooooo glad I did.

If I hadn't, I would never have known about the harm making a pizza could cause a poor little bird.

 

I think this goes right up there with most random instruction guide info I've seen.

And I have to admit it made me laugh that someone cared enough about bird life to feel the need to address this issue in the product care section but I learned something- so now I know.

I have been warned.

 

Who would have thought.

 

Huh.



Lost And Found

Today I lost my brain.

Not the one that rattles around in my head. You can't lose that which you do not possess.
That one doesn't always work very accurately so I don't rely on that one too much. Some would suggest that I lost at least the memory section of that brain long ago so I have learned it cannot be trusted. Others would agree.
Today, however, I lost my other brain. The one I do rely on.

I have a blue notebook with a big sticker on the front that says "My Brain".
I have it labeled so that no one accidently throws it away or places it somewhere where it can't be quickly found and utilized. It is my external memory. The contents of my brain on paper.
Scary!

Inside are the scribbles and scratches, mental notes and lists and other random markings that have had their beginnings inside Brain One and were quickly transferred to Brain Two so as not to be lost forever in the cobwebby recesses of unreliable Brain One.
There is no rhyme or reason to the contents of the book.
No organization of any kind.
On one page there may be 3 or 4 different parts with thoughts, notes or lists and none of them connect in any way. No connecting of the dots on these pages!

If anyone were to pick "My Brain" up and start reading, I'm sure they'd be confused and wonder at all the randomness.
But it is the very randomness and scattered-ness that makes it so hard for Brain One to keep up, thus making it necessary to have Brain Two.
Without Brain Two some days would be so scattered, I would be hard pressed to figure out what my next step should be.
Without the aid of Brain Two, I wouldn't remember the things that need to be remembered. Lists. I need lists. Brain Two is great at lists!

But today something went wrong.
I put my trustworthy brain down somewhere, walked away and went on about my day.
Then I needed my brain and it was no where to be found.
Brain One, being it's unreliable self, let me down. It didn't remember where Brain Two was.
It was scary being without a brain. I didn't know what to do next!

Thankfully, I did find my brain. It was in a safe place just waiting for me.
I picked it up, looked inside, found what I was supposed to be doing and went happily back to my work. Glad my reliable brain was close at hand again.

I wonder if I should take note in "My Brain" about safe and unsafe places to lay it down so I will remember where it is at all times.

Some people carry their brain in their head. I carry mine in my hand. It's handy that way, really! ;)


Some random samplings from "My Brain"-

• Blog Post Ideas
• Things To Research
• Menu For Next Week
• Prayer Lists
• Lessons From The Day and Biblical Application
• Plans For A Garage Sale
• Quotes I've heard
• Funny Things Lydia Says
• Thoughts In My Head
• Chore Lists
• Things I Absolutely Cannot Forget
• Things I've Forgotten That Really Need To Be Taken Care of Now
• Shopping Lists
• To Do's
• Ideas For Things To Do With Lydia
• Redecorating Ideas
• Random Creative Ideas

And on and on

The Birdies In The Tree Tops

Dear Birds-
Thank you for your song.
It is beautiful.
Sweet songs of praise to the One who created you.
I needed the reminder that I am to sing praises to the One who created me every day.

Let's sing!

 

Praise the Lord!
For it is good to sing praises to our God;
For it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful.
Psalm 147:1
 

 

A Pleasing Aroma

My bedroom smells like toasted (burnt?) flax.
Seems like a funny thing for a bedroom to smell like, right?
I blame my mother in law.
She got me totally and completely addicted (in a good way) to the wonderful invention of homemade flax seed stuffed heating pads. I use them every night. I have to have them now.
I put them in the microwave and nuke the life out of them every night before bed.
They give off a lovely aroma and I know it's ready.
I reach in, grab my warm and toasty bundle and wrap around it.
Ahhhhhhh.
I go upstairs, crawl into bed and sigh a great big happy sigh.
It. is. the. best!
But the smell, although wonderful, is getting strong in my room. When you walk in, you immediately think....FLAX!
Well, okay, not everybody would think that.
Okay, probably no one but me.
But it's better than air fresheners!
See, one more added benefit of the ever so wonderful, comforting, amazing flax seed bag.
If I could, I'd give every one of my friends one.
It would be a great sign of love.
My mother in law gave me mine. She most really love me!

With all the happiness that this little bag gives, there really is no downside.
Well, maybe just one. But it's very minor.
It heats the whole bed and not just me.
Apparently, or so I'm told by a certain someone, IT HALF COOKS the other person in bed.
MAKES THEM SWEAT IN WINTER!
*shake head in sympathy*
Oh well, a half cooked other person is worth it for my comfort and joy. :)
Wouldn't you agree?

Dancing in the Raindrops

It's wet and cold outside my window today.
Gloomy and soggy.
I cradle my steaming cup of coffee, look out and try not to outwardly sigh.
Rainy weather seems altogether more dreary when the trees are still barren and the ground is still void of color.
It's just not a very pretty sight.

Spring sure is taking awhile to get here.
It seems we are in a holding pattern. A nasty, tiring, waiting time.
Will Spring come?
Or will the cold, wet, lifeless world stay?

The cold rain splatters against the window and mocks the part of me that is screaming to be outside.
"It's Spring!" I think. "We should be outside." I should be in flip flops!

But then, once again, God convicts my attitude.
He whispers to me. "Be still. Be content with what I choose to bring. Find the blessing in the moment."
In other words, don't spend time waiting for what you think is the ideal, take what you are given and go with it-use it.

And so I pause and mentally switch gears.
I take a breath, look outside again and begin to pray.

"Lord, thank you for this window. It is showing me the world You created, I can stand inside my warm home, sheltered from the cold and rain, but still see it. Seeing what you create is a way to see Your hand, to see Your creativity and Your majesty. To see Your power and goodness displayed.
Help me, Lord, to see Your goodness in this rain and cold.
Help me to understand that it is only in rain, in the dreariness that the flowers grow.
And we love flowers! We love the vibrant colors. We love the new life it represents as each blossom grows and pushes it's way up through the cold, hard ground.
Help me to be like the flowers, Lord! To bloom and flourish and display your vibrant color- even when it's cold and rainy.
Thank you for today. Thank you for the rain. Thank you for the beauty that comes after the rain. In the world outside my window and in my soul."

It is the result of rain that makes the cold and gloomy sky, not just bearable, but pleasing.
Rain produces beauty. Rainbows, flowers, a green and lively world.
Without it, our world would look barren indeed. Certainly not a very pretty sight.

Thank you for the rain, Lord! It is providing what is needed for growth and sustained life.
Thank you for the times of rain in my life! It is providing what I need for growth and sustained life.
It is the only way for me to break from the cold, dead complacency of life and bloom into the beauty God desires of my soul. Without it, I too would stay tucked away in the ground and never grow to my potential in Christ.

The choice is mine. Do I sit idle and wait for the sun? Or do I lift my hands like shaky petals to the sky, ready to receive what is needful from the Father who knows what I need more than I do?
If I sit around and complain because the moment isn't what I prefer, I miss out on what God wants from me in that moment. I miss out on learning what He wants me to learn and I miss out on giving glory to Him. If I wait to live and enjoy life at a better time I miss a blessing now and not only now, but I might miss out on the glorious result that God intended the imperfect moments to produce, if I'm not willing to use the moment as it was designed for in my life.

Lord, help me to see beyond-
the raindrops to the rainbow
the bleak to the beautiful
the gloomy to the glorious

To see it all as from your hand. And that it is all good.

Doesn't that make you want to go dance in the rain?

So True

Someone made a cartoon out of my life!

Sadly, this is me.

This is about as me as it gets, really.

My life story.

 

Poor Vincent.

 

 

 

 

Conversations About Jesus

Jesus is a very real part of our home and family.
As much as we know how, our home is ordered around the belief that not only is He real, but He is very present with us.
We try to do things that please Him.
We stay away from things that wouldn't please Him.
We teach about Him.
We sing to Him.
We pray to Him.
We thank Him for everything.
We read about Him.
We talk about Him.

Because He is so central in our home, because we talk about Him so much,
because we try to point everything back to Him and make application of Biblical truths from life situations-
Because He is in our work, in our play, in our day, in our night- Lydia knows Him.
She believes in Him. She loves Him.
She sings about Him. She knows stories about Him. She talks about Him. She talks TO Him.

Seeing and hearing the faith of a little girl, watching it develop, grow and blossom, is priceless.
Sharing in conversation with her about Him, hearing her words as she learns more about Him, it is truly a great joy.
Her faith is so real. Her love for Him is so real.
It is a beautiful thing to behold. It's something to treasure. Something to protect.
It is a responsibility to Vincent and I, that we would hold that fragile (yet strong) faith, nurture it, and help her along as it grows with her as she moves through her life experiences.

I have started recording the conversations she has with me about Jesus and the talks she has with Him.
They are so precious and I don't want to forget them.
They show her tender heart toward Him and the things of God and I want to not only keep them for myself but maybe one day give them to her so she can remember the first little sprouts of faith that started to spring up in her heart from the seeds we are planting.

Here is sampling of some of my favorite conversations.
Some that have made me smile. Some that have made me cry. Some that have made my heart turn to gooey mush in response to the tenderness and faith her words convey.
Precious Girl, your faith teaches me about my faith. Your faith touches not just my heart, but the very heart of Jesus.
Every word you say about Jesus must be a sweet sound in His ears, as well as mine.


L: Mommy, will Jesus never leave me?
Me: No, Jesus will never leave you.
L: Kinda like you will never leave me?
Me: Even more than that! Sometimes you aren't near me, but Jesus is always near you.
When you are older, you can ask Jesus into your heart and He will live in your heart forever and then you can go to Heaven someday.
(Pause)
L: Jesus, can I come into your heart so you will always be with me?
I love you, Jesus. Thank you for always being with me.
(Mommy trying not to cry from the pure sweetness of it!)

This one she says a lot-
I love you, Daddy.
I love you, Mommy.
(Looks up and whispers) But most of all, I love Jesus.

During devotion time Lydia didn't know what to say one day so I told her to tell Him what she was feeling.
She bowed her head and said- "Dear Jesus, I'm sooooo tired. In Jesus name, Amen."
Good enough. In fact, there have been times that's about all I've said, too. :)

She says this about once a day-
She pauses from play and randomly says "Jesus, I love you so much!" and then she goes back to her play. I'd love to know what she is thinking about when she does that.

Mommy, what is my soul? Where is it? Is it like my heart? What does it mean to have my soul saved?

Mommy, what is the difference between God and Jesus? Are they the same?

Mommy, what does it mean to hide God's word in our heart? How do we do that?

L: Look at all those hearts, Mommy! (Valentine's decorations)
Me: Those are really pretty.
L: Jesus lives in my heart, doesn't He? But He lives in Heaven too.
Jesus is everywhere!
Me: Yes He is. He's with us right now.
L: Hi, Jesus!
(pause) Mommy, if Jesus lives in my heart, I'm going to Heaven someday to be with Him there, right?
Me: Yes
L: Are we getting ready to go there now?

Jesus healed Daddy's ouchy. It's a miracle!
Jesus does miracles. Like the 5 loaves and 2 fishes. He did that! I like that story.

Can I play with Jesus today, Mommy? I really want to play with Him. Can I share my toys with Him?

Most times, after doing something really good- being helpful, being really obedient, etc.- she will say,  "Do you think God just smiled at that?"

Jesus, please help me to obey, I don't really want to right now so help me.
(a lesson for us?)

How come Jesus never says "I love you" back to me when I say I love you to Him? How come I can't see Him or hear Him but He's real like you and Daddy?

Jesus makes me so happy!

Looking out the window- "God made us such a beautiful world! Look at it, isn't it so pretty?"

L: God made me.
Me: Yes He did! I'm so glad He did.
L: He made my belly button! (busts out laughing) That's so funny!

Vincent: Lydia, why did Jesus die on the cross?
L: Jesus died on a cross because of sin.
Sin is when I don't obey.
He died because He forgave me.
Now I can go to Heaven because He went on a cross.

L: Mommy, today is a happy day.
Me: I'm glad you are having a happy day. Why is it extra happy?
L: Because Jesus is with me and loves me. That's all I need to be happy.

Me: What do you want to do when you grow up?
L: I want to learn about Jesus and be baptized. (We had just had a baptism at church.)
Me: What do you have to do to be baptized?
L: Love Jesus.
Me: What do you want to be when you grow up? What do you want to do for work?
L: Learn about Jesus and go tell others about Him.

And the one that gets me every.time.-
(and she says it a lot, yippie!)
"Mommy, I'm glad God gave me to you!"
"Oh, Dear Girl, Mommy is so glad God gave you to me!"
That has become our nighttime routine but she says it to me at random times during the day.
 Love. it.

Who You Listenin' To?

A Big Blessing

 

When I was a kid there was a collection of music and stories on cassette tape that I LOVED. They were all packaged up neatly in a cheap plastic red case and just happened to be one of my prized possessions. I received them as a Christmas gift one year and I very nearly wore them out. I listened to them so often that to this day, I remember the stories, the sound of the voices and the songs.

Oh the songs! I loved them so.

They weren't flashy.

They weren't loud.

They weren't contemporary.

 

They were just songs.

But more than songs.

They were songs about Jesus. Songs about the Bible.

Sung by kids in simple harmony accompanied by soft music and a gentle beat.

 

They taught me to not just appreciate that kind of music but to love it.

To not just enjoy it, but to let it touch my soul.

And it did. Even as a child.

 

This collection was such a big deal to me that I began to search for it for Lydia.

I really wanted to share it with her.

To teach her early to enjoy music like this. To expose her to music besides the contemporary music of today. To train her ear and her heart to love music that goes deeper than the loud and steady beat music that "makes you want to move" (I'm not judging it, I listen to that too!)

But I want her to really see the pleasure in soft and simple harmony- just music about Jesus with nothing to distract from the message. It's peaceful. It's real. It's truth. It reaches the heart and calms the soul.

It also makes the home a relaxing place to be as the notes float softly in the air.

 

With that in mind, I was determined to find it. The search was on.

It didn't take me long to find it actually.

I was thrilled!

But.... to get what I wanted was gonna cost me.

I talked it over with the hubs and he agreed that music like that was rare and important to the training we wanted to give Lydia, so he was going to let me get it. Just the music collection.

That's really all I wanted for the time being so I was okay with that.

It was a lot of money but we both considered it an investment.

 

So, I clicked online.

There it was- for $100.

I knew I wanted it. I knew it was good. But $100?

Well, I was gonna do it. But I was gonna wait. I just didn't know if it was time.

A few days later I looked again.

I clicked on the music section and........

A little note "You can now get the WHOLE COLLECTION- 10 Cd's- for $30."

I gasped. I giggled. I didn't quite believe it.

So I called them.

The lady on the phone was so surprised she checked the website herself. Then spent 10 minutes hunting down someone who could explain why there was a note on the website that would offer the whole thing for 30 bucks. She came back on the phone and with surprise in her voice, said I could have it for that price but she wasn't sure where that note came from.

I gladly took them up on their ever so nice offer and paid my money.

I couldn't have been happier. I may have even danced around a bit (shhh, don't tell anyone.)

And I'm pretty sure I thanked God about 50 times.

Just for fun, I checked back not long after that, I believe it was the same day....note gone.

That note was just for me!

I considered it a blessing straight from God. Really I do.

 

I received the CD's in the mail a few days later and they are everything I remember.

They still bless my soul. I may even appreciate them more now than I did then.

The message in the songs- Real. True. Deep. Powerful.

The music- Beautiful. Peaceful. Worshipful. But somehow managing to appeal to a child.

So much better than some of the flimsy stuff that passes for music now. Especially children's music. Seriously, have you heard some it? Gag! How are kids supposed to learn what good music is and how to sing well with some of that ear-offending junk as examples? Sorry. Was that harsh?

 

Now our home is filled with soothing music, beautiful harmony and sweet voices- blending together in a soft rhythm- creating a calm and worshipful backdrop to the moments in our day- even when the toddler is "lifting her voice" in other ways.

Thankfully, however, she is already learning the songs, has her favorites, and takes time out throughout her play to lift her voice to sing along. I sing along too.

 

 

Here's the link to the CD's- CBH ministries.

TOTALLY worth even the $100.

Next, I'd like to get some of their story books and the whole collection of stories on CD. 

(Which apparently they don't have all 10 CD's right now.) They would equally be a blessing because they are entertaining, have a good message and I really like the idea of LISTENING to stories sometimes as opposed to WATCHING them all the time.

Does the creative brain good, methinks. Worth the investment, I say.

However, we may wait on that a bit.

Soon though.

Prayer Closet

 

 

Found Lydia in our downstairs closet reading her Bible.

 

Guess she's found her prayer closet.

 

:)