Mixing it Up

As I sit at my desk working on charts and graphs and formulas and even more formulas, I'm pondering my snack food of choice today. Which begs the question:

Have I mentioned that I really don't like those little toasty things in Chex Mix? LOVE the rest of the stuff, really I do. But I can't stand those round toasty things-white or rye! *sigh* I mean, who thought of those things in the first place??? Have you EVER seen loaves of bread that size that just needed to be sliced?? Are they rejects from the crouton factory? Refugees from the salad bar? What is the real name for them? Chex, I get. Pretzels I get. Cracker bar bits, I get. Weird mini-toasts...from where?? Suggestions for a better name?

And WHY do I feel compelled, as a full-grown adult, to eat them rather than picking them out of my handful? Isn't semi-picky eating a perk of adulthood? But NO...rules oriented mommy that I am, I can't bring myself to just toss 'em. I'd save them and give 'em to someone who likes them, but I've never met such a person. Apparently their sole purpose in life is being the snack food alarm in Chex Mix. Chew one of those babies and EVERY one knows you're snacking. Three cubbies away, they can hear me chomping on my mid-afternoon snack. Have you ever tried chewing them quietly? And I'm sure my dentist has a love-hate relationship with this particular snack food! ;-)

I feel better now that I have that off my chest.

A gaggle of us girlies hit the road last night to see Chonda Pierce in concert. WOW! I haven’t laughed that hard for a LONG time. Too long a time, really. My cheeks and back STILL ache from the belly deep giggles. There is just something special about the commonality of humor that unites us as Christian women…no matter where we are in our walk, our talk or our lives, we share more than we don’t.

I had been looking forward to this outing for a LONG time, a chance to spend some time with some ladies I am only just beginning to get to know. Ladies I already appreciate and care for. We had some terrific talks last night, but have only just begun to scratch the surface of where we can go as friends and sisters in Christ…I’m excited about building those relationships.

In the midst of all that laughter and fun, it hit me—just how much I had missed that kind of fellowship, that sense of so many kindred spirits in the room.

I was (and still am today) sad that I’ve put finding a church home on the back burner for so long. How what was once such an integral part of my life is no more—at least of late. I can explain it away with any number of reasons, but there is no excuse that can even remotely justify me robbing my children of the same opportunity I had to grow up within the wonderful warmth of a church family. Time to get off my butt, light a fire under the hubby and GET TO CHURCH!!

So…getting back to Chonda…she had some great stuff to say. Tough stuff, too. Not getting too far into the whole depression thing, let’s just say that I was strongly reminded last night that God loves me. Has always loved me. Will always love me. That HE is the light at the end of the tunnel. I think Michael W. Smith said it WAAAAY better that I ever could, in his song “Never Been Unloved”:

I have been unfaithful
I have been unworthy
I have been unrighteous
And I have been unmerciful

I have been unreachable
I have been unteachable
I have been unwilling
And I have been undesirable

And sometimes I have unwise
I've been undone by what I'm unsure of
But because of You
And all that You went through
I know that I have never been unloved

I have been unbroken
I have been unmended
I have been uneasy
And I've been unapproachable

I've been unemotional
I've been unexceptional
I've been undecided
And I have been unqualified

UnawareI have been unfair
I've been unfit for blessings from above
But even I can see
The sacrifice You made for me
To show that I have never been unloved
It's because of You
And all that You went through
I know that I have never been unloved

This has always been one of my favorites and one I’ve clung to. Been listening to it all morning here at work, realizing that God loved me enough to remind me of it…and to remind me to take the help that He has made available to me… Time to get off my butt, call the doctor and get back on the program.

On the Calendar

So...I was putting things on my calendar (*the book*) today and came across this quote pre-printed there during the week of Abbey's birthday:

"life consists not in holding good cards, but in playing those you hold well" Josh Billings

Got me to thinkin' 'bout my growing up years and playing card games with my mom, dad, and brothers. My dad used to call this "run what you brung" during family games of Hearts. After I learned the game, I loved that round! Guess I'm just Type A enough to prefer the *knowingness* of building a strategy with a known quantity. I hated those previous hands...you know, where you swap 3 cards across or around the table? Well, OK, it's probably more to the point to say that I hated the part where I didn't know which 3 cards I was going to get--didn't mind getting rid of the 3 that were going to cause me problems! But my baby bro was a PRO at managing to give me almost EXACTLY what I thought I'd rid myself of. And the other brother, well, he was just good at messing you up no matter what. Dad and Mom are card sharks and always handed over a pile of whatever that made you scratch your head...UNTIL you figured out what they were doing. (tee hee hee)

I mean, think about it...who couldn't find three things in their lives they'd love to trade away?

Me.

No, really. I think I'd still rather work with what I've got, thanks.

Thank you, God for giving me the chance to "run what I've brung" in this life...and the opportunity to see Your plan revealed as those cards are played.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28 NIV

UN-Resolutions ??

Okay, so now it’s 2008. A few days in, actually. And I am STILL wondering how this happened. “WHAT happened?” you ask.

2008.

Yes, how on earth did 2008 happen? I mean it seems like it was mere days ago that I was figuring out how old I’d be in the year 2000. (Yes, it was a dorky thing to do, but--for you youngsters out there who don’t remember--before the millennium hit, everyone was wondering random stuff like that about the year 2000.) Here I am, 8 years into the new era and scratching my head, agreeing with pithy statements like “gee, time flies.” GACK.

But I’ve decided to take a different tack. New Year’s Resolutions are great…everyone could stand to find SOMEthing to improve upon in their lives. Reflection is a wonderful thing—and societal acceptance and encouragement of said reflection is even more wonderful. And yes, there are things I hope to change this year—the usual lose weight, exercise more, spend less, yada, yada, yada.

But, I’m kinda tired of the negativity innate in the process of making those little personal improvement plans.

SO…I’m also thinking about things I DO NOT want to change this year…things that I like about who I am, where I’m going and how I’m getting there.

I know I’m a work in progress…but I LIKE that! I hope we all are…and I pray that I will continue to grow and change right up ‘til I meet Jesus. I like that I am (mostly) able to embrace the ‘in progress’ nature of myself and those around me. (Admittedly, not so much on the commute. *sigh*)

I like that my kids have learned to make creative messes. That we like to dabble with all sorts of art forms and expression. That they like to look beyond the basics of a task and think about more interesting approaches and are willing to explore.

I like using 50 cent words. I like that my kids are learning to use big words, too, and don’t back down from a pronunciation or spelling challenge!

Asking questions is a good thing. Asking thoughtful questions is even better…I like that the kiddles are good at asking about anything and everything. (except sometimes forgetting to ask for that cookie…)

It has taken me this long to acknowledge that I’m fine looking like I look. So I’m not a supermodel; statuesque ladies like me will never find positive images in the media. I’ve never been a petite flower and never will be. And guess what???! IT’S OK!!

I like that I still like to dance and enjoy “young music’…Heaven forbid I should start thinking Paul Sedaka is cool.

I like that this parenting thing is teaching me something new each day…and that we are a family open to learning from each other.

A challenge for you…what do you resolve NOT to change this year?

If you’re like me, that question is harder to answer, if only because we are sooooo conditioned to look for the flaws in our lives.

Holiday Preparations ??

So, here I am, caught in the insanity of "getting ready for Christmas." I do this every year. Yup. Don't know why, really, except that all this getting ready-ness is just what I do.

I *think* we'll have the Christmas cards off tomorrow. And the packages, too. Then it's time to get the Zoo Crew ready with baking, more decorating and prepping for our houseguests (my mom & dad!).

And yet, in the midst of the hustle and bustle and shopping and carding and mailing and wrapping...I can't help but think that it's my HEART that needs to get ready for Christmas. To get ready for the coming Christ, whose birth we celebrate each year. To prepare for the awesomeness of God made man, a gift generously given that I might one day see His face in Heaven. WOW.

Without Christmas, there could be no Easter...and without Easter, well...the unimaginable, a life without a resurrected Savior. Or worse. An eternity outside His presence.

None of this is new, (or even original) thought, but sometimes, just sometimes, I lose the wonder of it in the shuffle and then, when it comes rushing back to me, His utter care for me takes my breath away. What about you?

Kinda makes the whole mall-crawl seem more than a wee bit short-sighted. Maybe next year a homemade holiday...