Who's In Charge Here?

Sometimes I wonder who is in charge around here. Like when I was getting in the shower and Abby came and handed me the phone. I asked who it was and she said, "I made a mistake." When I said Hello? the voice on the other end was annoyed. She said, "So, would you like to order Smooth Magic Makeup?" I started laughing and said no. It's hard to give your kid a strict talking to about proper phone usage when you are laughing. In her defense, they do repeatedly say on the commercial to "Call Now!"

After a long, busy week filled with carnival planning and shopping, company, Mike's football game and sleepovers, today was fall fest: ECFE carnival and cupcakes baked for the baseball fundraiser. We have a birthday party to go to tonight and I still have to figure out what on earth I'm going to do with my Sunday school class in the morning. I'm tired. There are lots of things weighing heavily on my heart like marriages breaking up and people with cancer. I'm too fried to write about the things I want to.

Remember I was going to slow down? I was going to choose my family? So, who's in charge here? I let my schedule get out of control this week and weekend by letting other people set the pace for my life and not saying no. There will always be those times when a lot of things land on the same week but I can't just want things to be slow, I have to choose it.

When I'm tired and fried, I let the kids run around, eat brownies for lunch and watch movies or infomercials. That may or may not be what they are doing right now. I don't have the energy to clean or do laundry. I get crabby.

I think it's going to take discipline to change things. Discipline seems to be an area that is severely lacking in my life. I'm going to have to practice the discipline of saying no to activities, food, laziness so I can say yes to God, my husband and my family.

2 Timothy 1:6-7
For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.


Proverbs 5:21-23
For a man's ways are in full view of the LORD ,
and he examines all his paths.
The evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him;
the cords of his sin hold him fast.
He will die for lack of discipline,
led astray by his own great folly.

What Was Learned in Preschool Sunday School

There was a powerful lesson in Preschool Sunday School last Sunday. Even though it was chaotic and disorganized I know at least one person in the class got it.

The lesson was on Acts 16:16-40 when Paul and Silas cast a spirit out of a slave girl that had been following them around. Her owners got mad because she could no longer tell the future and make them big bucks. So they hauled Paul and Silas to court where they were beaten and jailed.

Acts 16:25-28
"About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody's chains came loose. The jailer woke up and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, "Don't harm yourself! We are all here!"

Lesson: When in trouble, pray and praise. When beaten down, pray and praise. When treated unfairly and unjustly, pray and praise.

Lesson: God is in control of everything.

Lesson: When given the opportunity to escape, do the right thing and stay.

Lesson: Don't be ashamed of your faith. Don't hide it. Just go ahead and pray in a crowded restaurant or within earshot of someone else.

Lesson: Care more about others than yourself.

Lesson: Speak up when you can help someone out.

Lesson: Continue to pray and praise always, whether an earthquake comes to save you or not.

Acts 16:29-34
The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, "Men, what must I do to be saved?"
They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved - you and your household." Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were baptized. The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them, and the whole family was filled with joy, because they had come to believe in God."

Lesson: Tell others about Jesus.

Lesson: Know the word of the Lord so you can speak it to others even if you are in prison at midnight and just had an earthquake.

Lesson: When the Spirit moves, go along! Go to the jailers house to baptize him and his family. Don't wait until morning.

Lesson: Let others serve you. Allow them the joy of washing your wounds.

Lesson: God loves everyone and wants them to come to him.

I'm not sure the kids got all that out of pretending to be in jail and singing "My God is so Great". They might not have gotten it from making a jail out of marshmallows and toothpicks. Their teacher is not very crafty.

But someone got it. It seems some people learn things better when the content is aimed at 3-4 year olds.

Pillow Talk

Mike and I do not see eye to eye on everything. When we got married he announced that he wouldn't stand for a bed covered in pillows. I was offended. My cute, decorative, perfectly match my bedding pillows were banished. It was just as well that I learned practicality always wins out with him right away in our marriage.

When I was pregnant I had a long obsessions with my body pillow. He felt like there was someone else in bed with us.

I love my pillows. Now, we are lucky to have two pillows on our bed. Through our years of parenting many, many good pillows have succumbed to sickness and body fluid. Yesterday the girls made a pillow fort out of all the pillows they could find in the house. The fort would have been soo much better had we still had our cute pillows but I'm sure they appreciated that this way it was a lot more practical.

We have what I consider a "good" pillow and a "bad" pillow. Sometimes in my selfishness I keep the good pillow for myself when I change the sheets. Last night I told him how lucky he was that I was being selfless and keeping the "good" pillow on his side. He replied that he was being selfless and letting me have the good one. Finally, we seem to see eye to eye on pillows. He likes the bad one and I can have the good one.

In the middle of the night last night I heard him in the bathroom. It's pretty unusual because it takes a hurricane type sound to wake him up. When I got in there he was angrily washing his neck muttering that there was gum on the pillow. A little leftover present from the girls and their pillow fort that I honestly knew nothing about when I generously gave it back to him.

As I trotted back to bed smiling, I resisted the urge to say, "See, I told you, that IS the bad pillow!"

Sunday School Lessons

I'm back to preparing a Sunday School lesson for a group of preschoolers every week. It was hard to get back to but I think I'm ready. I have coloring pages, games, songs and an edible craft.

We are around church a lot. At the beach and in the bathtub there are often impromptu "baptisms". We sing church songs. On the rare occasion we have grape juice they think about communion.

The other day we had an unusual and exciting event: I washed the kitchen floor. I had all the dining room chairs in the living room. Abby, Annie and Maren were playing some type of "church boat". They were busy beavers but I guess it is time for Sunday school to start up again.

They prayed for their baby that had surgery. Maren sang "Happy Birthday" from the bible. We do sing that in Sunday school. Then began the preaching by Abby and Annie.

"Whenever you have trouble always ask someone or Jesus."

"Always panic - oh that's the wrong page."

"Whatever you say, don't panic, don't worry, it's always ok."

"Now I'll hold your baby so you can read or I'll just put him in that box."

"Don't be mean, be nice, never selfish or your eyes will pop out!"

Maybe we need to clear a few things up in their theology.

Mundanely Monotonous

I had a hard time getting out of bed this morning. I'm not a morning person so I don't normally leap out of bed but today I was really dragging. Some days I have a hard time getting ready to get up and face another 18 hours of screaming, cleaning up messes, laundry, attitude problems and fighting. The same thing, day after day, month after month. Reading the same books, putting away the same toys.

Mike stayed home a little longer so I could go jogging and he told me to "come back happy". It's not that I'm not happy, I'm just bored (but busy) and tired of the mundane job of motherhood. I was reading about someone going back to work and how nice it was for them to read emails in peace. I was jealous. Until I talked to my friend who is sick of always having to go to work.

Maybe it's not just motherhood, it might just be life. There are times in life that are trying. I feel guilty whenever I feel this way because I am totally blessed to have a beautiful, healthy family. But I really didn't think a 20 minute run would make me happy.

While I was running a part of a verse came to my mind about "the joy set before Him." I looked it up when I got home and it's Hebrews 12:1-3.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

There are certainly a lot more difficult and painful trials I could go through. But to get through this, I can't just look forward to the joy of naptime, bedtime or time alone. I have to focus on the joy I have in Christ. Jesus died and rose again to bring glory to God and salvation to all.

I was encouraged through this verse to continue to press ahead with my eyes fixed on Jesus, whether the days are happy and fun or boring and mundane I can't lose heart. May you also be encouraged to run with perseverance in the days and jobs that are in your life.