just in case you were wondering

Update: this is not the exact title of a great book by Max Lucado. I was mistaken. I think the bread mold got to me. The actual name of the book is Just in Case You Ever Wonder.
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Original:
(This is the title of a great book by Max Lucado, which is a total side note. So adoption friendly!)

Anyhoo, just in case you were wondering:
**the science fair projects are DONE.

**this is a miracle.

**they are now in the back seat of my friend's car, about to be driven to the location of the science fair, to be put up. Wasn't that sweet of her to take our projects, too? The church is 40 minutes away!

**we had a lovely dinner last night that was actually COOKED, by me, in celebration of my husband and his unbelievably difficult schedule lately. It even included dessert. A major bonus. And decaf coffee, courtesy of Marie Joy, who loves any excuse to make coffee for us. Telling you about our cooked dinner is not to brag, only to show you how much of a novelty this has become that I have to blog about it.

**now, it is time for some SERIOUS cleaning.

Mommy Guilt Gets Me Into Some Interesting Situations

Last month we got an invitation to our local home school Science Fair. I have never entered or even attended a science fair in my life. I really, truly dislike science. It brings back really bad memories. So I teach it as infrequently as I can. Which is sad, because my kids love science experiments, which is basically just a good excuse to make a mess, in my opinion.

But I felt so guilty that my kids don't get to do fun things (like Science Fairs, if you think that's fun, which I don't) just because I am lame.

So I entered them into the fair.

Please tell me what I was thinking.

The Science Fair is tomorrow. We are hosting missionaries that we don't know this weekend for our church Missions Conference. Which means that I should be in major cleaning mode, but instead, I am trying to figure out why does bread get moldy?

I have no idea.

Also, I am determined to actually MAKE DINNER tonight since I've really been thinking about the whole sowing and reaping thing. Which means I need to stop blogging and go do SOMETHING. Anything.




I am still here.


Where do I begin? Science Fair? Dinner? General mess? Laundry? This desk? Going to Costco to pick up the pictures for the Science Fair to put on the display board (and buy milk since we are totally out?)?

I mean, does anyone get excited about this? Other than my children, of course?

Walking The Walk Today

Sometimes I can feel good about myself and the way I have walked the walk. The way I don't just say the Gospel is important to me, I actually live it.

Other days, I am convicted that my walk couldn't be further from my talk. I am convicted of being a phony.

Beth Moore gave this talk on LifeToday years ago about the Law of the Harvest. Reaping what we sow... "that now actions have profound later results."

She said, "Every single one of us, spending our life's energy on planet earth at this hour, are sowing some kind of seed. And our now sowing will have later reaping, that's what the Word of God says."




Ouch.

I am so grateful for this teaching, this reminder, this pointing out what the word of God actually says. Because, somewhere along the way, I somehow began to believe that no matter what I sow, I will reap something beautiful and godly.

For instance, in my life,
I find myself sowing time away from my kids, but wanting to reap closeness to them, an intimate relationship.

I am sowing lots of time in front of the computer reading blogs (and loving them), but wanting to reap a clean house and beautifully planned meals.

I am sowing staying up late watching the Olympics (or whatever!) but wanting to reap a readiness to spend time with God in the wee morning hours when my blessings are still asleep.

I am sowing a really weak prayer life, but wanting to reap dramatic stories of God's intervention.

My kind of sowing doesn't produce the kind of reaping that I want so much. It's like planting cabbage and expecting roses. How foolish would that be? To really think that you are going to reap something different than you sow?

God, thank You for opening my eyes to that today, and give me the courage and discipline to change even ONE thing that I am sowing. Help me sow kindness in my words to my children, unselfishness in the afternoon when I need to be getting dinner ready and I really want to be doing something else, discipline when I make choices for the moment instead of for my ultimate good.

Three Things that Make Me Very Happy

1. A full trash can. The one that has pleased me most lately is the one in our study, which is currently chock full of receipts! Old ones! New ones! Stained ones! Ripped ones! They are gone. I am almost all caught up!

2. A date with my fabulous husband. We had TWO dates this week, actually. One was out to dinner at a REAL restaurant with another couple we love, and then Friday night it was our church's postponed-due-to-snow Valentine's Babysitting Night. I love being with him more than anybody in the world.

3. Very strong coffee.

4. (I know, I know, I only said 3, but I can't stop) Very good books. Right now my nightstand is overflowing. I am reading two that I can't put down: Terrify No More and The Hole in Our Gospel. So good.

5. Let's put #3 and #4 together AND #2: very strong coffee with very good books and a date with my husband! Does life get any better?

quick change

I was going to update my pictures of the kids on the side bar since they are old. I picked the new ones, uploaded them, and went to delete the old ones. Couldn't do it. Not yet. Now you'll just have to look at two pictures of each of them!

August 31

First I thought it was November 17.
Then I thought it was November 12, then the original title of this post was November 7.

But no.

In the search for the oldest receipt that lives on our desk, there is a receipt dated August 31. From Target. For $8.05. Something Star Wars. A birthday party gift? A treat for sweet Caleb? Who knows. Who cares.

What in the world? How did we get so behind on life? I am usually a little behind on entering our receipts (all you Quicken lovers will know what this means). We love to keep up with our spending, know where our money is going. But August?! What in the world.

The bulk of the receipts really start at the beginning of November, where I guess life started to really get crazy and we couldn't keep up with normal things like entering receipts.

I am showing you this picture of my desk taken a few minutes ago. It is not to show you a before/after. It is not a project for me to do and then show you my progress. It is The Way Things Are.

As Joel and I continue to grow in our marriage, we have realized that you can take one look at our desk, and you will instantly know how we are doing...you know, emotionally, spiritually, foundationally. It is one of those indicators that really speaks volumes.

This is the way things are: M.E.S.S.Y.

Praying that we will be able to move on and deal with life that somehow started to stop on August 31...dealing with one receipt at a time, one day at a time, trusting that "in Christ all things hold together."