Musings

A Midnight Hour

2012-01-27T05:30:00.000-05:00

Found in When People are Big, and God is Small:

“Do you not know that there comes a midnight hour when every one has to throw off his mask? Do you believe that life will always let itself be mocked? Do you think you can slip away a little before midnight in order to avoid this? Or are you not terrified by it? I have seen men in real life who so long deceived others that at last their true nature could not reveal itself;... In every man there is something which to a certain degree prevents him from becoming perfectly transparent to himself; and this may be the case in so high a degree, he may be so inexplicably woven into relationships of life which extend far beyond himself that he almost cannot reveal himself. But he who cannot reveal himself cannot love, and he who cannot love is the most unhappy man of all.”

-Soren Kierkegaard

Opening Pandora's Roach Box

2012-01-26T05:30:00.000-05:00

Last week I innocently posted on facebook the following update:

"Just called a CVS store to ask them to save me boxes. She said that (A) they have none; and (B) do NOT get them from the grocery store because "you'll end up with roaches." Should I believe her on either count?"

I anticipated a few replies, maybe 5-10. THIRTY-EIGHT comments later, I had the following information.

The thought of roaches at the place where we get our food is gross.
This is shocking, new information to some.

However, that means that the grocery store DOES have boxes.

Seems like roaches in a box would be obvious.

Maybe the clerk was blowing you off.
Paper shops have nice boxes.
***veiled comment about somebody who might know something about roaches in boxes***
Many grocery stores do not have roaches.
Grocery store boxes are often cut in inconvenient ways; liquor store boxes are good.
Liquor store boxes are sturdy.
Roaches lay eggs in the glue of boxes.
Liquor stores have sturdy boxes.
Liquor stores have sturdy boxes.
Maybe CVS gets their stuff delivered by storks since they don't have boxes.
CVS uses reusable totes to get their stuff delivered.
Reusable totes are a better option than storks.
Furniture stores have huge boxes, but maybe they're not good for packing in.
Liquor stores have good boxes.
***racial stereotype made by person of said race so it's OK, maybe the clerk was Mexican***
Home improvement stores sell moving boxes inexpensively.
Craigslist has boxes.
Craigslist has boxes.
Walmart has boxes if you go at midnight. (we all know what happens when Kelly goes to Walmart late at night)
Bookstores have boxes.
The pharmacy at CVS has boxes.
***person from earlier veiled comment emerges from anonymity and says yes, it is possible to get roaches from the glue in boxes ***
Hobby Lobby has boxes.
Some grocery stores are just gross enough to have roaches.
Maybe it's just the ones from the produce department.
Maybe it's just the ones from the produce department.
School cafeterias have boxes.
I should write a book called Where to Get Boxes for Your Next Move, and Some Problems Associated with Each Option.

See? I don't even need to write this blog. My funny friends can do it for me. Nicely done, everyone. That made for an entertaining day.

Overheard

2012-01-25T06:51:00.003-05:00

Scene: Day before field trip. Mom is rallying all the children to get them good and excited.

Mom: So tomorrow, we have our field trip to the FIRESTATION!
(Boys agreeably cheer)
Maddie, louder than everyone: OOOOOHHHH! I HATE THAT PLACE!

As if she goes there all the time.

She's three. Definitely three.

Staying Power

2012-01-24T05:30:00.000-05:00

An excerpt from an interview from 2008 between C.J. Mahaney and Mark Dever:

CJM: As a member of the pulpit committee [interviewing Dever], Matt Schmucker remembers a particular statement you made in that regard. You said to Connie, “The next place we go, we’re buying...

MD: …cemetery plots.” Because we had been moving around and wherever we lived my heart got entangled with the people. I just hated moving and it was just horrendous for me. I had been studying the Puritans and realized that the basic model was to just stay someplace—like a marriage to a congregation. It is not exactly the same, it is not sin to leave it necessarily, but you don’t assume churches are a career ladder you are climbing. You are at one church for two years to work on some skills and when you run out of your bag of tricks you move to another church for three years, they hear all six of your sermons and then you move someplace else. No, I would like to know their children and their grandchildren. So I made clear when we were talking to the pulpit search committee that if I came I was intending, Lord willing, to stay. I had no further plans and actually planned to have no further plans.

I've been thinking about this mentality a great deal lately. It is a powerful thing nowadays to say you're staying somewhere. Our early married life included four moves in six years -- two were moves from one coast to the other. Now we've been in Charlotte for seven years, at the same address. We'll be moving soon, but just to a house down the road "a piece," about ten minutes from here if you drive slowly. Lord willing, the next house will be where we settle for a good long time. We bought it with teenagers in mind.

Even as we ready ourselves to move, I think about our street now with some sadness. It has always felt like a temporary address to me, and I feel a little guilty about it. I wonder what our ministry to our neighbors would have been if we had known we'd be here for seven years. Truth be told, though, not many of them have stayed, either. Our street, once full of families with young children, has seen three divorces and a lot of moves. The landscape is different now than it once was. Every year we have to get to know a new family or two, many of them just stopping through on their way to somewhere else.

There are so many options now to live different places, seek different jobs, attend different churches, and the like, that saying "no thank you, I am content," seems counter-cultural. There is power in it. Like Dever says above, when we stop "keeping our options open," we make a significant statement. (I highly recommend reading the rest of the interview for a funny story about the older lady who told Dever she'd outlast him.)

This morning I spoke to a married friend who had a conversation over the weekend with some single women. These women were all committed girlfriends, linked to their current boyfriends for years. They tried to argue that they are essentially the same as her -- they live together, they've been together for years, etc. She argued no, they are not the same. "My husband stood up before God and hundreds of family members and friends and declared that he was forsaking all other women for me," she said. "If he walks away from me, he has that on his head. Your boyfriends can walk away with nothing lost."

In marriage, in geography, in church membership, in employment -- staying is counter-cultural. Sometimes "keeping our options open" is a fancy way of avoiding the harder road of faithfulness.

Many a man proclaims his own steadfast love,

but a faithful man who can find?

(Proverbs 20:6 ESV)

You can read the rest of this interview, entitled, "The God of Options," at the Sovereign Grace site.

One Thousand Gifts 1.23.12

2012-01-23T06:04:00.002-05:00

198. kids laughing at me always making the same mistake on our Bible memory work
199. Ben starting his piano practices with the hardest song first
200. another birthday
201. returning to our co-op, rested and ready for another semester
202. mapping with the older boys. I love when I can slow down and really relish school with them.
203. field trips
204. putting names and faces with our local fire station
205. reading boys

There's a Bathroom on the Right

2012-01-20T06:00:00.000-05:00

Have you seen this commercial?

I LOVE that commercial.

During the first year of our marriage, David and I owned a daily tear-off calendar that was jam-packed with misheard song lyrics. Every day was a different song; on one side, you'd read what people thought the lyric was. On the other side was the correct lyric, and you'd see how far-off our understanding of popular music lyrics can be. It was hilarious. The calendar was called "Excuse me while I kiss this guy," in homage to the oft-misheard lyric in Jimi Hendrix' "Purple Haze." It's supposed to be "Excuse me while I kiss the sky."

I think my favorite was CCR's "Bad Moon Rising," in which the line "there's a bad moon on the rise" was misheard as "there's a bathroom on the right." There was also a rendition of "Tiny Dancer" where people thought it said "Hold me closer, Tony Danza...."

What song do you always get wrong?

Matt Chandler at Elevation

2012-01-19T07:00:00.000-05:00

This is on my radar because:
(a) Elevation is huge, huge, huge and is a force to be reckoned with here in Charlotte;
(b) Matt Chandler's preaching is doctrinally sound and loving.

Watch for how loving teaching and rebuke is done. Call it what it is, for their joy.

There is some controversy surrounding this sermon since it was not re-aired the following day, as all the other messages were. My intention in posting this is not to feed the controversy, but to remind myself, and all of you, what "winsome" and "truthful" looks like.

To be fair, I give Furtick (the pastor of Elevation) credit for inviting Matt. The two got into a heated exchange in The Elephant Room last year and he had to know that Matt might bring the Word in this way.

HT: Laura

Eleven

2012-01-17T06:36:00.000-05:00

Today our oldest son turns eleven years old. Over the last year he has demonstrated a tremendous amount of personal growth. He argues less, submits to Mom and Dad more, and is learning that rewards come with responsibility.

It's a bit of a challenge sometimes for our kids, as it is for any kids, to grasp the way that Mom and Dad spend their money. As the world gets faster and more people have more gadgets, living simply becomes more and more of an oddity. We are struggling to raise the kids simply, and we fall into materialism just like the rest of the American church.

It's not that I feel bad that, due to our lifestyle, Cameron doesn't feel wealthy. It's that I want him to grasp how wealthy he already is. How many kids around the world would do anything to have his life. And a good bit of our money each year goes to help those kids out.

Since he turned seven, Cameron has maintained a penpal relationship with a little boy in Kenya who shares his birthday. When he turns twelve, he will be old enough to travel to meet this boy. We would like to see that happen. One of the gifts we want to give our kids is an understanding of the fact that the rest of the world isn't like the U.S.

So that's why I started running ads on my blog this year. I'm trying to put some money together for Cameron (and either his dad or me) to go to Kenya in the next year or two. After that, it will be Ben's turn, and then the rest. We pray that this will be a rite of passage for our kids, to help them navigate the materialism that so often besets childhood in the U.S.

If you'd like to help fund his trip, you can click on the "donate" button in the right sidebar, and give securely through PayPal. Thank you!

“Is not this the fast that I choose:

to loose the bonds of wickedness,

to undo the straps of the yoke,

to let the oppressed go free,

and to break every yoke?

Is it not to share your bread with the hungry

and bring the homeless poor into your house;

when you see the naked, to cover him,

and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,

and your healing shall spring up speedily;

your righteousness shall go before you;

the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.

Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer;

you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’

(Isaiah 58:6-9a ESV)

One Thousand Gifts 1.16.12

2012-01-16T08:12:00.000-05:00

188. husband up early, reading

189. Maddie got herself dressed head-to-toe for the first time this week. So far she is demonstrating good understanding of the importance of matching your clothes.

190. Bible arcing Colossians

191. Ben constantly playing around on the piano

192. our small group

193. women who speak honestly and give me their advice

194. snow for my New England friends and family. They waited so long for it that the feedback was positive and not complaining.

195. another marital discord weekend survived, with greater insight into our hearts (more on this later)

196. laughing 'til I cried over a silly book my husband bought me

197. a new library card for Jonathan

Nerds on Parade

2012-01-13T08:41:00.002-05:00

Last weekend my husband and I had a date. It was quite possibly the nerdiest date in history. Or maybe just in our own personal history.

NERD DATE, SEGMENT ONE:

First, we started off with a dinner at Chipotle. It was my first time there. Eating at Chipotle is not nerdy, unless you count the clean conscience you get when you know that the company designed its menu to allow for sustainable farming practices and clean food.

So, maybe a little nerdy. But also yummy.

NERD DATE, SEGMENT TWO:

Let's start with the fact that this portion of the date began a few months ago when I heard an ad for ticket sales on National Public Radio.

So, there's that.

Follow this with the fact that the tickets were to a WORDPLAY game show.

Yes.

Words. Wit. Whimsy.

We've been listening to "Says You" since the dark ages of our marriage. It originally taped in Boston year-round, and it was the show that followed A Prairie Home Companion on our NPR station when we lived outside of Boston.

Longtime readers will remember me lamenting the loss of Says You a few years ago. But since then, Charlotte's WFAE started airing the show on Saturday afternoons, which everyone knows are my favorite times to listen to NPR.

So there we were Saturday night, seeing the panel LIVE! And IN PERSON!

My favorite quiz within the game is a segment called "Definitions and Derivations," where the panelists have to define an idiom and theorize on the origins of it. You may know what "beating around the bush" means, but do you know from whence the phrase comes?

(Please note my use of "from whence" in this nerdy, wordy post. Go me.)

We sat amongst the NPR faithful, including Guy Who Hadn't Showered in a While, Man in Black Turtleneck With Navy Sportsjacket, and Woman With Shock of White Hair With Hemp Accessories and Organic Fabric Scarf.

The musical segments were provided by The Farewell Drifters, who were GREAT. We're considering going to see them at the Evening Muse next week. They played "The Only Living Boy in New York," amongst other, original songs. The fact that they did justice to a Simon and Garfunkel piece placed me firmly in their corner.

The producers taped two shows, which will air sometime at the end of January or beginning of February. Maybe if you listen, you'll hear us clap! That is, if you can stand the wordy nerdiness.

A Dead Horse Worth Beating

2012-01-12T07:01:00.000-05:00

Everywhere I turn on the internet this week, people are talking about the series Downton Abbey. It has not prevented me from adding my two cents, of course.

If you are at all a fan of Jane Austen, the Brontes, British people, pretty clothes, interesting architecture, history, or just plain old good television, you should watch this series. I happened across it on Netflix a month ago, and watched the first season in time to catch up with season two, which started last Sunday.

The series explores the ups and downs of Lord Grantham and his family, as well as the trials and tribulations of their servants. Dame Maggie Smith (above) does not disappoint as the sharp-tongued, witty matriarch of the family, Violet. One of my friends recently confessed that she has a personal goal of "doing old like Maggie Smith." An excellent goal, in my opinion!

You can catch season one streaming on Netflix* --and on PBS online until 1/17! -- and season two is at the PBS Masterpiece website. Locally, it airs on PBS on Sunday nights at 9.

*It will suck you in. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Beauty and Gold, Balm and Bread

2012-01-11T06:57:00.000-05:00

Christ is beauty to adorn, gold to enrich, balm to heal, bread to strengthen, wine to comfort, salvation to crown. If we are in danger, Christ is a shield; and if we are disconsolate, he is a sun; for he hath enough in his wardrobe abundantly to furnish the soul. – Thomas Watson

Tim Tebow, the Patriots, and Me

2012-01-10T07:47:00.000-05:00

This upcoming weekend is referred to in our house as "Marital Discord Weekend, the Sequel." David is a lifelong Denver Broncos fan, and I am a lifelong New England Patriots fan. In case you don't follow the NFL, those two teams are playing this weekend, for the second time in two months. In case you've been living under a rock, Tim Tebow, the most talked-about quarterback in the NFL in some time, plays for the Broncos.

After this past weekend's overtime heroics, I had so many thoughts swirling around in my head that I decided to write you a list. A list is the only way I can get out the randomness that currently exists in my brain about this topic. Even if you don't follow sports, keep reading, because I think you might enjoy my mental unloading.

First I want to go on record as saying that I posted about Tim Tebow way back in January of 2007. Here is your evidence (the link is now broken, and I can't find the article). Make sure you come here to keep your finger on the pulse of sports heroes. Or not.
Tim Tebow is a hero in our house because he conducts himself well on the field. Not because he "Tebows". Not because he wins. Because he obeys the rules and doesn't act like a jerk. More "Christian" athletes should take note. (*coughcoughRODNEYHARRISONcoughcough*)
That being said, sometimes -- not every time -- when Tebow throws the ball, I flinch. It's not pretty. David tells me that footballs aren't meant to be thrown left-handed. I don't get it. Maybe it has something to with the rotation of the Earth.
Now that I have said something negative about him, I will be branded by some as a "Tebow hater." Dear Tebow lovers, it's OK to like somebody and still remain objective about their performance. Some of the footballs this guy throws look like wounded ducks. I still would love to see him succeed.
Now let's talk about the game this past weekend. The new overtime rules are in place: first team to score a touchdown wins.
It is always the right decision to root against the Pittsburgh Steelers. They are second only to the Oakland Raiders in Teams Kelly Likes to See Lose.
John Elway, my husband's childhood (and young adult-hood) hero, is on the sidelines. Elway has a nice history of fourth-quarter heroics. David impulsively yells out, "GRAB A HELMET, JOHN!!!".
This is the difference between a Tebow fan and a Broncos fan. Elway is a known quantity. Tebow, not so much.
Kelly doesn't yell at John Elway, but instead opens up TweetDeck, her preferred Twitter application, and innocently types in the search term, "#TebowTime." This will be the last action she performs on said computer for about ten minutes.
Tebow connects with Demaryius Thomas and everyone in our living room starts screaming. This is the loudest it's been since SuperBowl XLII when this happened:

(by the way, did you catch Rodney Harrison's exemplary behavior there?!)

Maddie, having never seen her family behave in this way over a football game, screams right along with us and starts laughing so hard that she can't stop.
David yells, "I DON'T BELIEVE WHAT I JUST SAW."
Kelly madly tries to get the computer to unlock. Tebow and the Broncos victory set a new tweeting record for sports: 9,420 a second.
Silence descends over the house as the realization dawns: Broncos vs. Patriots. Again. Next weekend.
The history of Marital Discord Weekend is a long and storied one: perhaps the most awkward rendition was in 2006 when Champ Bailey picked off Tom Brady in the end zone and returned it 100 yards. That entire game was spent in silence, except at that play, when a bizarre squawking sound emerged from my throat.
I think David and I are more in unison going into this game than any other time. We grasp the reality that the Patriots are the favored team. Given a fourth-quarter deficit, you definitely want Brady over Tebow. But we'd like to see Tebow perform well and not get humiliated. And truth be told, I wouldn't mind seeing the Broncos win. I don't think they will, though ;-)
My favorite tweets last time the Broncos played the Patriots were the ones about the quarterback matchup. Sample some with me:

"Things are about to get real handsome, real quick."
"Jesus vs. Captain America"
"David vs. Goliath."
"The two most aesthetically pleasing quarterbacks in the NFL."

Yes, they are both handsome but they spend most of the time with giant round orbs on their heads so I don't know what the fuss is about. Just throw the ball.

In closing, I would like to say thanks for listening to my brain dump on this topic. Enjoy the game.

One Thousand Gifts 1.9.12

2012-01-09T07:03:00.000-05:00

181. A pediatrician who knows my kids really well, well enough to know just by looking at Ben this past week that someone was up. He has an ear infection, but the doctor knew because Ben wasn't his usual happy self that he must have been unwell. This is the same man who sent Jonathan back to the hospital with a hunch that something wasn't right with our first diagnosis. Twenty-four hours later, Jonathan was having an appendectomy.
182. signs of growth in grace in myself and in others: patience and quiet endurance
183. real winter weather (for a day or two)
184. twitter and facebook, which bring faraway friends closer
185. my husband telling it like it is
186. fun with the kids
187. a great date night with my first-ever Chipotle experience (I KNOW! I have been living under a rock.)

And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

(Colossians 1:21-23 ESV)

Over the Holidays...

2012-01-06T08:20:00.000-05:00

We puzzled...

The advanced group (David and his parents) in the back, intermediate up front

and grinned.

My pretty sister-in-law and newest nephew, Xavier

We trimmed...

I love Maddie in this picture

Maddie admiring her ornament from Gramma

one of my favorites

and decorated.

My mom helps the kids make gingerbread houses every Christmas.

We wrapped....

This is what happens when you hand wrapping paper, scissors, and tape to a six year old and tell him to wrap something. In case you were wondering.

and kept secrets.

We baked...

Jonathan mixing up the puppy chow.

and ate.

We smiled our best...

and then didn't.

And everyone got something they wanted.

Thank you Grandma K for my polar bear, who is now named Jaime.

We shocked Ben by getting an Xbox, which he has been requesting for over a year.

How were your holidays?

On Controversy

2012-01-05T07:28:00.000-05:00

A Selection from "On Controversy" by John Newton (emphasis mine):

It seems a laudable service to defend the faith once delivered to the saints; we are commanded to contend earnestly for it, and to convince gainsayers. If ever such defenses were seasonable and expedient, they appear to be so in our day, when errors abound on all sides, and every truth of the Gospel is either directly denied, or grossly misrepresented. And yet we find but very few writers of controversy, who have not been manifestly hurt by it. Either they grow in a sense of their own importance, or imbibe an angry contentious spirit, or they insensibly withdraw their attention from those things which are the food and immediate support of the life of faith, and spend their time and strength upon matters which at most are but of a secondary value. This shows, that, if the service is honorable, it is dangerous. What will it profit a man if he gains his cause, and silences his adversary, if at the same time he loses that humble, tender frame of spirit in which the Lord delights, and to which the promise of his presence is made! Your aim, I doubt not, is good; but you have need to watch and pray, for you will find Satan at your right hand to resist you: he will try to debase your views; and though you set out in defense of the cause of God, if you are not continually looking to the Lord to keep you, it may become your own cause, and awaken in you those tempers which are inconsistent with true peace of mind, and will surely obstruct communion with God.

Read the whole thing here.

Crazy Home Remedies For the Win

2012-01-04T07:42:00.000-05:00

Back in the dark ages of this blog, I wrote about using Vicks' vaporub on kids' feet to cure a cough. Yesterday I happened to be at our pediatrician and he brought up this bizarre home remedy and asked me if I'd tried it. I asked him why it works, and he replied that he's heard a hundred explanations and doesn't believe any of them. He still suggests it for nighttime coughing, though.

We recently had another victory for crazy home remedies. Within the past year or two, Cameron broke out all over his hands with warts, and both David and I wanted to avoid the embarrassment that we both suffered as teenagers. I had over thirty warts on my hands when I was in high school. David's affliction was not nearly that bad, but really who cares. They're gross.

After a few costly visits to the dermatologist, Cam had no fewer warts, and the ones he had were getting bigger and more stubborn. He had one on his palm the size of a penny. Having recently taken up the piano, he was humiliated each time he put his hands out in plain view of others. So we started looking for alternatives.

On the same website where I found that Vicks' remedy, I found the suggestion of using duct tape as a cure for hand and foot warts. It had to be conventional Duck brand, silver duct tape (no leopard print or camo allowed, sorry). Being the frugal people that we are, we decided that six bucks on a roll of duct tape would be a better option than another failed dermatologist visit. What did we have to lose?

Within two months, most of the warts were gone. The last one hung on a bit longer but eventually it went away as well. Cameron was so relieved; there was a marked change in his personality.

And we still have most of a roll of duct tape left. It fixes everything!

One Thousand Gifts 1.3.12

2012-01-03T07:38:00.000-05:00

175. early morning quiet
176. fireplace on a cold day
177. chance meetings at the grocery store (thanks for chatting, Stacey)
178. lunch with three of my favorite ladies after being cooped up in my house for ten days
179. returning home to a home mostly un-decorated. I love to decorate for Christmas. My husband loves to put it away. Or maybe he just loves me that much. Anyway, he always leads the charge in getting stuff put away and I love it.
180. reading aloud: him to me, me to him

Christmas pictures to come. :-)

Every One

2011-12-25T06:00:00.002-05:00

"...and it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well,

if any man alive possessed the knowledge.

May that be truly said of us, and all of us!

And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God Bless Us, Every One!"

Merry Christmas to you and yours

from our family.

The Incarnation

2011-12-24T06:00:00.006-05:00

Man’s maker was made man,

that He, Ruler of the stars, might nurse at His mother’s breast;

that the Bread might hunger,

the Fountain thirst,

the Light sleep,

the Way be tired on its journey;

that the Truth might be accused of false witness,

the Teacher be beaten with whips,

the Foundation be suspended on wood;

that Strength might grow weak;

that the Healer might be wounded;

that Life might die.

- Augustine of Hippo (Sermons 191.1)

Lucky Thirteen

2011-12-23T06:00:00.002-05:00

Thirteen years ago tonight, my boyfriend took me out for a night on the town in Boston. We went to dinner in the theater district and saw the Nutcracker performed by the Boston Ballet at the Wang Center. Afterwards, he proposed to me in an office high above the harbor.

It was one of the coldest nights of the year that night, and I remember clutching my hand tightly in my coat pocket to be sure I wouldn't lose my shiny new diamond ring.

I'm so glad he asked, and even more glad I said yes.

It's Just Another Day

2011-12-22T10:10:00.000-05:00

Here we are, three days from the most hyped day of the year. Our home -- like many homes across America I'm sure -- is crammed with wrapped packages and sweets. The tree is decorated, the nativity scene set up, and the outside of our home glows each night with white lights. The anticipation is palpable as each morning we rehearse how many days, and this morning, how many hours, until Christmas.

As one of my friends properly observed, this week is like finals week for moms. I've been up until midnight every night this week so far, wrapping gifts, addressing cards, and cleaning up from yet another baking adventure. The laundry still has to be done. The house seems to get dirty faster because the kids are idle, not confined to their schoolwork.

As a result, a lot of expectations rest on the Christmas day payoff. The culmination of all this effort is confined to a few blissful hours. So it is easy, as a mom of littles, to be disappointed. I found myself frustrated a few years ago when I was exhausted and the kids started fighting on Christmas morning. Somebody didn't like the special breakfast I made. A diaper needed to be changed right in the middle of opening gifts.

I realized that year that it's best to keep the expectations low. Yes, it's Christmas and yes, it's special to celebrate with little kids. But goodness knows we are all still sinful human beings. Someone is going to cry. One of the kids will make some sort of ungrateful comment about a gift you thought they'd really like. We're all still learning. It's Jesus' coming to Earth, the very reason we celebrate, that redeems all the ugliness.

So breathe through it, moms. Your high expectations will only make you and your family miserable. Enjoy and be grateful. Even though it comes just once a year, it's just another day.

Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.

Hebrews 13:15

Simple Advent Calendar Idea

2011-12-21T10:16:00.000-05:00

Today my friend Stacey described one of our Advent calendars on her blog. The calendar was a going-away gift from our church family in Southern California when we moved to Charlotte. We love it -- it's a great coverage of redemption history to the birth of Christ. We were able to put quite a few more together with friends in Charlotte by splitting up the work involved.

Another Advent calendar that we're enjoying for the second year in a row is related to the Jesus Storybook Bible, a favorite in our house. Quite simply, you begin on December 1st by reading the introduction ("The Story and The Song"), and proceed each day thereafter with one chapter. There are twenty-four chapters to bring you to the nativity stories in the book. Perfect timing!

On the 22nd, you'll read this chapter, entitled "He's Here!"

The JSS is explicit in its mission to teach children how all of Scripture speaks of Christ, so that the great culmination is Jesus' arrival. It's wonderful!

Now, some people think the Bible is a book of rules, telling you what you should and shouldn't do. The Bible certainly does have some rules in it. They show you how life works best. But the Bible isn't mainly about you and what you should be doing. It's about God and what he has done.

Other people think the Bible is a book of heroes, showing you people you should copy. The Bible does have some heroes in it, but (as you'll soon find out) most of the people in the Bible aren't heroes at all. They make some big mistakes (sometimes on purpose), they get afraid and run away. At times, they're downright mean.

No, the Bible isn't a book of rules, or a book of heroes. The Bible is most of all a Story. It's an adventure story about a young Hero who comes from a far country to win back his lost treasure. It's a love story about a brave Prince who leaves his palace, his throne-everything-to rescues the ones he loves. It's like the most wonderful of fairy tales that has come true in real life!

You see, the best thing about this Story is-it's true.

There are lots of stories in the Bible, but all the stories are telling on Big Story. The Story of how God loves his children and comes to rescue them.

It takes the whole Bible to tell this Story. And at the center of the Story, there is a baby. Every story in the Bible whispers his name. He is like the missing piece in the puzzle-the piece that makes all the other pieces fit together, and suddenly you can see a beautiful picture.

-From the introduction

Christ and the Church

2011-12-07T10:24:00.000-05:00

Some news was made about three months ago when Pat Robertson suggested a man divorce his wife with Alzheimer's disease and remarry. Here is one of my favorite responses to that suggestion: Christ, the Church, and Pat Robertson.

As an alternative, today I share with you this precious video of Robert Mounce and his wife. Mounce is president emeritus of Whitworth College, and his son is the primary resource for many Greek students (including my husband, and I hope someday our sons).

HT: Buzzard Blog, JT

Romantic Comedies for Cynics

2011-11-19T22:48:00.001-05:00

This past weekend David was away with one of the boys for a scout camping trip. While the rest of us carried on here at home, one of my guys went down with a virus, which means we were cooped up for most of the weekend.

So naturally, after the kids were in bed, I used the opportunity to catch up on a few of the romantic comedies on Netflix that I hadn't seen. But I'm sort of alarmed at my level of cynicism as regards the genre now...have I outgrown RomComs?

Example One: Never Been Kissed. Drew Barrymore plays a plucky young reporter who goes undercover as a seventeen year old student at a local high school. She falls for her English teacher (naturally, because English teachers are awesome and can do things like discuss Shakespeare). He also falls for her, and I think the audience is supposed to sense romantic tension. I guess this is OK because the audience knows that she's really 25?

I can't say for sure, because all I could think was "PEDOPHILE! WHAT IF SHE REALLY WAS 17?! WARNING! WARNING! BADBADBAD CREEPYCREEPYCREEPY". Yes, the final scene was cute and I got a little warm fuzzy feeling when he dashed down onto the baseball field to kiss her on the pitcher's mound. Still...the previous weirdness pretty much spoiled it for me. Blech.

Example Two: The Accidental Husband. Here I'll just post the remnants of my gChat with my sister as the movie was wrapping up:

me: wow, this movie just gets worse and worse
her: haahah
me: no woman would break up with Colin Firth on the wedding day after she's all dressed and he's standing there in a tuxedo*
her: this is true
me: oh, and look...he's doing the stand up thing and saying he'll break up with her because he knows she's in love with the other guy
her: of course he is
me: who is a secondary actor from Grey's Anatomy**
her: maybe they'll leave and get on a bus
me: duuuuhhhh
her: like in The Graduate
me: nope, but close. she started a fire in the church because the other guy is a firefighter
her: THERE you go! of course!

*I'm pretty sure you could prove this scientifically.
** who is admittedly quite handsome but is not Mr. Darcy.