making mundane beautiful

Recently I was doing the things I normally do on any given weekday morning. Suddenly joy overwhelmed me and stopped me in my tracks. I was having a "moment." I was in the midst of a daily occurrence, experiencing a fulfilling joy at that very snapshot. I realized that though the days can be long, there are things that happen on a consistent basis and when I finally stopped to pay attention, I saw they were moments I treasured. Here are a few of them:

We don't need an alarm clock. The kids wake us up and my little morning glory is usually the one to do it. I love when I am groggy, get out of bed and the first thing I see is my daughter standing up in her bed waving at me with a beautiful, bright smile.

I love the way the light hits our bedroom in the morning when I open the curtains for the day. I consequently love walking by the room all day long.

I love that first cup of coffee in the morning.

I love when we are done with breakfast and I get on the floor with my kids and we all play together. I love how they always manage to make me and each other laugh.

I love the conversations I have with my son when its just the two of us, one-on-one.

I love the time of day when Jenna is down for her afternoon nap and Ben is in his room for "downtime" and I get to sit down, (many times for the first time all day) pick up a book, get caught up on email, or just stare out the window and daydream.

I love the anticipation of daddy coming home from work and how excited both kids (and I) are when he walks through the door.

I love when I am in the kitchen cooking dinner and can hear the kids laughing and playing with their daddy.

I love when after dinner I get to join them.

I love when we put the kiddos down for bed and my husband and I get to sit down and connect, talking about our days and anything else that strikes our fancy. Just the two of us.

Somehow my head gets all screwed up thinking certain things are going to make me happy that never do. I get so tired of the influx of bigger, better, more messages. I'm just thankful for that "moment." Otherwise I might not have stopped, looked around, and savored the beauty that is right before me every single day.

pensive

I will probably refer to this post a lot in the future because of God's continued work in the hearts of my husband and I and beyond. Our hearts feel things but our eyes are still veiled. I routinely try to wrap my mind around what exactly is going on but I cannot do so with the entirety that I desire. What I can say is this, I've found myself deep in thought a lot lately over what life would look like if everything as we now know it were different. What if, for the cause of Christ and living out the Gospel, we have to give up the daily comforts of our current lives? What about our community? What about our families? Our home?

Today I was reading to my son out of his children's Bible. I read the stories in order so I never know from day to day what story will be next. The reading for today had this to say:

"Jesus said, 'Coming home to God is as wonderful as finding a treasure! You might have to dig before you find it. You might have to look before you see it. You might even have to give up everything you have to get it. But being where God is - being in his kingdom - that's more important than anything else in all the world. It's worth anything you have to give up!'"

50 is the new 75

This weekend was wonderful. I know I seem obsessed with weather, but everyone around these parts would agree its been a very long, cold, dark winter. Sunday afternoon we packed up the family, went out to lunch and then for a long drive through some Ozark foothills. Even though everything was still pretty brown and... well... dead, the sky was a rich baby blue with cottony clouds enveloping the sun from time to time. It was great. It was still kinda cold - but lest you think it kept people inside, the walking/riding trails were packed full. Our neighbors were outside talking and laughing with each other, and I saw a couple kite fliers and ball players. However, it has always struck me as funny, and Sunday was no different, that in the spring when it hits about 50ish outside as Sunday was, people break out the bikes, baseballs and gloves, shorts, and walk, run, or ride outside like its 75 degrees. But when its about 50ish in the fall, people are breaking out their sweaters and jackets or just stay inside while the friendly neighborhood chatter dulls to a murmur.

But here we are, in the 50-somethings pretty consistently now and I can turn down the heater, open the front door, inhale the fresh air without forming ice crystals in my nostrils, and enjoy longer hours of daylight. I think we can safely say we made it over the hurdle of winter. YAY!

ch ch ch ch changes

There is something around the corner, I can just feel it. I have butterflies in my stomach when I think about it. The page is getting ready to turn and I have no idea what new plot line will emerge in the next chapter. And so I sit. And watch. And wait.

It feels like God is fixing our footsteps in a direction but everything is so cloudy still that I can't really see what is going on. It feels like the spiritual realm is hard at work around us and our hearts are stirring within us. It feels like God is going to make a move in our lives, I just don't know where, how, what or when. I want it to happen quickly, but these things take time.

"The steps of a man are established by the Lord when he delights in his way."
Psalm 37:23

Lord, help this family to delight in your way and give us ears to hear.

more to come...