Monthly Archives: February 2010

Most moms assume a call from the school means they have a sick child that needs to come home. I assume one of my kids has said or done something that the teachers found too hilarious to wait until pick-up line to tell me. They almost always start the conversation the same way: “You’ll never guess what ______ said/did today.”

“Nope. I probably won’t. So why don’t you go ahead and tell me.”

After B’s kindergarten teacher told me of his latest zinger, I decided to interrogate ask him about the incident on the way home from school.

“Mrs. D said you did a good job in reading today. What word did she ask you to read?”

“‘Mother.’”

“Did you get to use it in a sentence?”

(Pause)

“Yes.”

“Yes, MA’AM. Do you remember what your sentence was?”

(Knowing grin) “Yes, MA’AM.”

“Well, I’d love to hear it.”

“‘My mother screamed at me.’”

“Your mother screamed at you.”

“Yeah.”

“Yes, MA’AM.”

“Yes, MA’AM.”

“B. Does your mother scream at you?”

“No, but it makes a very funny sentence.”

(Sigh.)

Meanwhile, A told her class that she LOVES peanut butter and pina colada sandwiches. In fact, she said, her mother just loves pina colada. Her mom has pina colada almost every day. A told me she told her class that pina colada is one of our family’s very favorite things. What in the world did I put in her lunch box that day, you ask? A peanut butter and NUTELLA sandwich. Sometimes she confuses words. For the record and before you call CPS and just in case anyone from our incredible school is reading, this is the only pina colada I allow the children to drink:

I’m expecting a visit from a member or two of the school board just any day to discuss my tendency to get drunk on coconutty island beverages and yell at my kids. I’ll let you know how everything turns out.

I won’t be seeing you tomorrow, but I didn’t want to leave this week without being sure that you had heard about my big plans for Saturday night. I’m going to a concert! It’s at THE Ryman Auditorium in Nashville and just wait until you hear who’s going to be there: Jon Foreman (from Switchfoot), Alison Krauss and Union Station, Big Kenny, Mat Kearney, Jars of Clay, Brandon Heath, NEEDTOBREATHE, Dave Barnes (oh, how I love him!), and Matt Wertz. Want to come? You can! Want to know what I love about this concert, besides the incredible line-up? I get to wear my pajamas. I don’t even have to leave my house! It’s all happening online at www.helphaitilive.com.  All the ticket proceeds from the Nashville show are going towards Compassion International’s efforts to help Haiti. The nightly news may have moved on to other stories, but people in Haiti are still struggling to have their daily basic needs met. We can’t forget and move on to the next story.

UPDATE: I think I made it sound like I’m actually going to be at the concert in Nashville. I am not. I wish I were. But Compassion is broadcasting it live and I can watch it for free from the comforts of my own home! The concert starts at 7:30 p.m. CST and all you have to do is click over to http://www.helphaitilive.com and you can watch it with me…from the comforts of YOUR home.

In other news, I’ll be hopefully broadcasting live from Alabama next week. K and I have to attend a special training course in preparation for his upcoming job change this summer. I went to a junior version of this course a couple of years ago for one of his previous positions. They nicknamed that school “Charm School,” so I guess this is “Charm School 2.0.” I’m not sure the first course took anyway. (Ask my kids’ teachers if you doubt that.) From what I can ascertain, my schedule looks pretty full, but maybe I’ll have some time in the evenings to check in with my friends who live in my computer. Or maybe I’ll see you at the concert tomorrow night.  I’m sure our paths will cross somewhere along the way. Until then, have a peanut butter and pina colada sandwich in my honor….and while you’re at it, scream at a kid. (I am SO just joking!)

For the next several Fridays, I’m taking a break from the computer.  Thanks, Becca, for the great idea and for the techni-cool button.

I’ve started three different posts on three different subjects but my thoughts are just in big knots tonight and I can’t untangle the mess. A sweet friend sent me a one-sentence email Monday that said “Let’s take a few days and go hide somewhere and read, write, talk, cry . . .” And I’d add “laugh until we can’t breathe and eat fun food.” She and I had a chance to eat lunch yesterday and on the way home I realized that during our time together I’d said a lot of things that were just raw, unprocessed, incomplete thoughts. Some of them probably should have baked a little longer before I’d offered them for public consumption. Thankfully, I think/hope/pray she’s a friend who takes what I say with a heavy helping of salt.

I’m not in the dumps. I’m not in a bad place at all. Just a little thinky, I guess. I just think somehow I’ve let life get away from me and I haven’t had taken time to just be still and think a thought all the way through to its completion. I need to take some time. Time to wrestle with some questions that keep surfacing in my thoughts. To look up some verses in the Bible and study them word by word. To be still and listen. To daydream. To do inventory. To set goals. To be still and think of nothing at all. To take all the time we need to deeply communicate heart stuff with a friend. To laugh so much and so loud and so hard that we forget why we started laughing in the first place. To cry the kind of cry that makes my heart and soul feel freshly washed and clean when I’m finished, like a deep, cleansing breath. To write down some of the thoughts that keep floating in my brain and that bump into other thoughts. To intercede in prayer for and with a friend. To have an uninterrupted conversation with my Father. To think about my earthly dad. To read wise things much wiser people have written.

Is it just me or do you ever feel like that, too? If or when you do, what do you do about it? Have you ever had a time like the one I’m describing?  If you’ve found a home for your thinky place, tell us how you did it. Do you plan regular times away? Do you have an agenda for those times or do you just let the time arrange itself? Do you get away by yourself or with others? How do you negotiate time away from your kids? Do you feel guilty for taking time-for-me retreats? Talk to me, friends.

I know I posted a book review earlier today, but I was catching up on my Google Reader and saw a blog post that I want to share with you.

My friend HisGirl Amber (who I am going to see LIVE AND IN PERSON NEXT MONTH!!!!) posted a review this weekend of a brand new DVD from Phil Vischer called What’s in the Bible?  I’m reviewing the DVD for Tyndale House and they assigned me the week of March 15 to post my blog. WHY DO I HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL MARCH FOR ALL THE FUN STUFF TO HAPPEN???

I’ll do as I was asked because I tend to be a rule follower (most of the time), but you really need to go read Amber’s post and then I’ll tell you what I thought next month. SPOILER ALERT: I LOVED IT!!! However, I’m biased because I’m a big fan of Mr. Vischer’s. So I’ll be including reviews from my children, who aren’t afraid to not like anything. Just ask my meatloaf.  ANOTHER SPOILER ALERT: THEY LOVED IT!!! Come back in March to read my review. I’ll also be giving away a gift certificate for each of the two DVDs that will be available on March 1st at your local Christian bookstore. You won’t want to wait until I get to post my review to buy a copy. Go ahead and buy a copy for your house and then maybe you’ll win a certificate for one to give to a friend.

Go to http://www.whatsinthebible.com to join the What’s in the Bible newsletter, subscribe to their blog (an excerpt from HisGirl’s post is on there!), and watch videos. But first go read HisGirl Amber’s review. Now!

I love books. I love free. I love to talk. Some publishing companies need people to read  and review their books. They send me free books, I read them, and then tell you what I thought on my blog. It’s a win-win situation for everyone!

When WaterBrook Multnomah offered me the chance to read Love & War by John and Stasi Eldredge, I couldn’t reply fast enough. Some of you who have been here awhile may remember that their book Captivating is on my list of Books You Should Read If We’re Going to Be Friends:  The Nonfiction Version. More  than any other book I’ve read, Captivating helped me to understand who I am as a woman.

Love & War is like Captivating for marriage. I read nonfiction books, but it’s usually fiction books that I’m unable to put down. The things that I loved about Captivating kept me turning the pages of Love & War way past my bedtime. The book is honest, passionate, frank, and the authors are transparent. They say the things most of us think but are too afraid or embarrassed to say to others and sometimes even admit to ourselves.

But that’s not all. Instead of just giving validation that it’s not abnormal to feel the way we feel, John & Stasi (I know about their sex life, so it feels like we should be o a first-name basis) help us understand why we feel that way and then point us to God as the only way to feel the holes we feel inside ourselves. This is probably the most romantic book about marriage that I’ve ever read. But I love that the romance they describe isn’t just the picture of the relationship between a husband and a wife, it’s ultimately about the love of  a passionate God for us.

This book isn’t flowery prose from a married couple waxing poetically about love and marriage. This is a love story, but it’s also a war story. (HEY! I just now realized why that title works so well!) Certainly, John and Stasi are masterful word artists, but this book gets down to the brass tacks of what marriage is really like in the trenches. Marriage is tough. A broken man and a broken woman join their messy lives and hope their partner will be able to fix their pieces. It’s an impossible proposition. But it becomes a thing of unmatched beauty when both people allow God to be who their partner can not. Then they are free to live this adventure called life together and make a difference in the world they live.

John and Stasi spend a lot of time discussing spiritual warfare, “making agreements” in yourself about things that may not be true, and “speaking against” evil that satan brings into your marriage. I’m not discounting or making light of anything that they say. I’m not wise enough to say that any of their thoughts on spiritual warfare are entirely correct or off-base. However, I wasn’t sure about their emphasis on these ideas. Could it be my Baptist upbringing? Maybe. Is it because of a past experience with these ideas at a very emotional time in my life? Very possibly. I believe most assuredly that we are in a fierce battle against satan in this world. But I don’t want to give him any extra credit. Sometimes I think we attribute things to satan that are merely the results of our bad choices because we have a sinful nature that we have to fight alongside our battle with satan.

I happen to be reading this book during a time when my marriage is in a strong and healthy place. But I’m not naive. This year K and I will have been married fourteen years. We’ve weathered marriage storms that make Hurricane Katrina look like a spring shower. We’re in a good place now, but I know that tough times will come again. If we do nothing, we won’t survive the next crisis. Marriages don’t work on cruise control. This book is going in my library for future reference, but I plan to put into practice some of their advice now while we’re doing well so that we can have an even better marriage, one that is an even better representation of the love God has for us.

If you would like to read the first chapter of the book, go to http://www.loveandwar.net. There, you can also find more information about John and Stasi and details about a small group DVD that accompanies the book.

Thank you, WaterBrook Multnomah, for the opportunity to review this book.

Every month my friend Meredith hosts 10 on the 10th. On the 10th of each month she invites us to make a list of ten of anything. This month I’ve made of list of Ten Reasons I Haven’t Had Much Time to Spend on the Computer This Month.

1. I’ve been cleaning. K’s sister is coming for a visit. I don’t want her to mistake our dust bunnies for carpet.

2.I’ve been de-cluttering. My office looks like my life exploded in there.  We’re probably less than six months out from another move and I’m ready to get rid of accumulated stuff that serves no purpose except to take up valuable living space. I can’t believe I’m posting a picture of part of my mess on the internet, but maybe it will embarrass me enough to do something about it. Or scare people from ever entering my office.

3. I’ve been decorating. Mom and I made a trip to Hobby Lobby today and I’ve pulled some decor from the attic and we’ve been adding a little bit of this and a little bit of that here and there. It was time. I don’t feel like I’ve really had the chance to enjoy this house as much as I’ve wanted. It may not be my house forever but I’ll enjoy it while it’s mine.

4.I’ve been watching that dog. Don’t let the sweet face fool you. This dog is high maintenance. He had a very expensive stomach bug this weekend and has had to be closely monitored. Next week he’s having surgery to have his “special purpose” altered. We’re making progress on teaching him that the living room is not his bathroom, but it hasn’t been easy. I’m beginning to think it would have been less effort just to have another baby.  Speaking of which….

5.I’ve  been on the phone. I’ve had to make calls to get..ahem…prescriptions refilled, make appointments for children’s checkups, and cancel appointments that were no longer needed. Somehow in the midst of the calls I accidentally ended up talking to a Scientologist for 45 minutes. I don’t think either of us are the better for that conversation. I’ve had some fun phone calls, too, with friends who don’t live close enough and friends who live close but that I don’t get to see enough.

6.I’ve been cooking. We were eating out too much for awhile. Mostly it was due to poor planning on my part. I really enjoy cooking but you can’t wander into the kitchen at 5:15 and expect magical dinners to happen. I’ve been gathering recipes, making better grocery lists, and trying to make home-cooked meals the norm rather than the rare occurrence. Yes, this is the jambalaya from Super Bowl Sunday that you’ve already seen. It may seem unconventional, but I don’t usually photograph our meals.

7. I’ve been reading. That top book Love & War is for a book blog tour this week. I’ll be telling you more about it in the next couple of days. The bottom book is a fiction book that is keeping up me awake later than I’d planned to be reading.

8.I’ve been hanging out with this sweet face. His mom is one of my best friends. His regular sitter was sick today and I always have dibs when he needs a backup plan. Look at that smile. Would you be sitting at the computer if you had that waiting in your living room?

9.I’ve been loving on these people. We’ve been reading books, doing homework, playing games, doing projects together, watching TV. Sometimes I forget when I push them off for “one more minute” so I can finish something on the computer that I’m not guaranteed any more minutes with any of those beautiful faces. My mom’s not in that picture but we’ve enjoyed each other’s company whenever we’ve had the chance. I am so blessed to be a part of this family.

10.Although my Google Reader “to be read” list and my email inboxes are a mess, it’s hard to justify catching up here when I’m not caught up with my Bible reading plan or the Bible studies I’ve committed to do.

So that’s why I haven’t visited as much here this week. I’ve missed you and I certainly hope you’re not having fun with Alice!

As always, thanks, Meredith for being our hostess!

I think most of you know that I live in Louisiana, which is, as of last night, the home of the Super Bowl 44 champion team, the New Orleans Saints.

WOO HOOO!!!!  WHO DAT, INDEED!!

I didn’t grow up a Saints fan. I didn’t even grow up in Louisiana, but I’ve lived here longer than I’ve lived anywhere else and this state has come to feel like home to me and my family. We always make it a point to root for the home team wherever we live, and this Super Bowl season, we were more than happy to support the Saints.

Last night Mom came over to watch the game with us. She was not pulling for New Orleans because she’s a fan of Peyton Manning’s. We let her in anyway.

We ate jambalaya and birthday pralines-and-cream king cake (K’s birthday was Friday.):

We even had signs for both sides. The other team:

And the WINNERS:

We ate, laughed at commercials, screamed and cheered, and enjoyed being together. Even though Grammy’s team lost, I think she had a good time, too. We even enjoyed the half-time show! I think I had lower expectations so I was pleasantly surprised. I like The Who and was glad that they did all of their most familiar songs. Honestly, I was just glad they were able to stand upright. They’re not as young as they used to be. And the fact that Pete Townshend still has a rotator cuff after all that arm winding he does is nothing short of a medical miracle. Also, I’m easily impressed by bright lights and laser shows. When they announced that The Who would be doing the half-time show I knew the Saints would win. It was a sign. The WHO…WHO DAT? The Who sings “WHO Are You?” It was just meant to be.

We couldn’t decide on which commercial was our favorite. We liked the earth police. We always like the talking babies. And now I’ve completely forgotten the other commercials we liked. I’m one step away from being a member of The Who.

So WHO did you want to win last night? Did you do anything special? Did you have a favorite commercial? What did you eat? Impressed or distressed by the half-time show?

There’s a very good reason children’s Bible story books leave out some stuff. If they included everything, they’d have to come with a warning label.

I think when our kids start reading for the Bible for themselves, I’m going to suggest they start with John and not Genesis….at least until they’re a little older.

I finished reading Genesis last week as part of the “Read with Me” challenge that I’m doing with some friends. Because I’ve started Read-the-Bible-Through programs many, many times, I’ve read Genesis so many times I should have it memorized. Although the stories are very familiar, every time I read Genesis, I find something new that I didn’t see before. This time I’ve been focused on God’s plan and how people and circumstances can not thwart it.

The characters in the Bible are, well, they’re really characters. But they’re not merely one-dimensional fictional beings in a book, they’re flesh and blood people who really lived and were far from perfect. Several times as I was reading I wondered, “Really, God? He was the best you had to work with there? I’m not sure I would have gone with that choice.” Remembering that these were real people like me instead of supersized cartoon characters helps me see life from their perspectives. This time around I hurt for Leah and Rachel, imagining how painful it would be to compete with your own sister for the affections of the man you love. It’s changed my perspective on some of the more familiar stories.

Several months ago, I started an amazing online study of the Old Testament. It’s part of an incredible series that my friend Jim’s church does a couple of times a year called Secret Church. In the study, David Platt reminded me that the characters in the Bible were not given to us so that we would necessarily emulate them, but they all point to one character.  He said that the insufficiency of man points to the sufficiency of God. He continued to say that the purposes and plans of God continue despite man’s flaws. God works in spite of our weaknesses and He will accomplish His purpose.

I saw this to be true throughout all of Genesis. Sometimes His people made dumb choices. For example, Judah slept with his daughter-in-law. But he didn’t know she was his daughter-in-law at the time. No, he thought she was a prostitute, so cut him some slack. Seriously? Tamar became pregnant and consequently became part of Matthew 1 as part of the genealogy of Jesus. Sometimes, bad things happened to good people. Joseph’s brothers threw him a pit and sold him as a slave. Joseph caught a break and found a good job working for Potiphar. But then Potiphar’s wife made a move on Joseph and when he refused, she accused him of attacking her and had him thrown in jail. I think maybe the “hell hath no fury like a woman scorned” quote originated with Mrs. Potiphar. You know the rest of the story. Joseph ended up with power and money and fame, but it was a long, treacherous road.

The whole book of Genesis is full of stories just like that. Sometimes God used flawed people to accomplish His purposes. Sometimes even their mistakes became the very way God continued His plan. Other times, by no fault of their own, bad things happened to good people but God’s will still triumphed. And every now and then, God’s people would do what He asked them to do the first time without question and they were blessed for their obedience. It’s easy to get caught up in their stories but then we can forget that Genesis isn’t about those characters, it’s God’s story.

Just like the people in the Bible, we have been chosen to be part of God’s story. We are the Bible’s sequel, if you will. We are a continuation of what He started in Genesis. And just like those characters, sometimes we choose wisely, sometimes we don’t, and sometimes bad things happen that we didn’t cause. But God will accomplish His purposes.

So then why does it matter what we do or don’t do? I mean, if God’s going to do whatever He wants why don’t we just do whatever we want? Well, I think that’s a very good question, because I’ve asked it myself. One of the things that I’ve learned since I turned 40 is that the more I think I know, the more I need to know. I’m wrestling through quite a few questions these days. At this point in my journey I would say that it certainly matters what we do or don’t do. Yes, this is God’s story, not ours. But He wants to include us. He wants us to play specific roles in His story. I think I sometimes forget what an amazing privilege that is. And as I play my role, I am becoming the person He created me to be. His plan is bigger than me, but because He loves me, He will use His plan to build character in me. I want to be a character of great character.

I always wanted to be an actress. Well, I have the opportunity to play myself in the greatest story ever written. Unlike any other acting gig, in this movie, I don’t have to pretend to be someone else. Instead of winning an Oscar, I want to live my life so that one day I’ll win beautiful crowns that I can lay at the feet of my Director, Screenwriter, Producer, and Leading Man. It’s the role of  a lifetime.

I want to teach my children that from Genesis to Revelation, the Bible is God’s story. One of the best tools I’ve found to help me in that goal is The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones.

Meredith recommended it and it quickly became my favorite Bible story book of all time. The writing is excellent, the illustrations are beautiful.

What I love most about this book is that every story is about God’s plan to redeem His people. Children are taught to look for God’s plan. Jesus is just as big a part of the Old Testament stories in this book as He is in the New Testament ones.  Even if you don’t have kids, I think you’d love this book.

I hope you have a great weekend. Read With Me buddies? I’m actually already behind for February so I’m hoping to play catch-up this weekend. If you’ve fallen behind schedule, don’t give up! Just jump back in where you stopped! Keep reading and I’ll see you next week!