Random musings

I wish bringing up kids came with this disclaimer, "Do as I say, don't do as I do"! Unfortunately, just the opposite of it is true. I find myself lecturing Daniel on how not to bite his nails. His poor nails are bitten and there's hardly anything left on it. But, why would he stop? He sees his mommy biting her nails all the time, and she just can't stop either. I tell him to smile and say 'Good Morning' to people he meets. I expect him to play with kids his age, make friends. He doesn't want to do that, and I'm somewhat upset that he won't be polite. But, his mommy does much the same. I would rather dig  a hole and sit in it the whole day, rather than socializing and smiling at random strangers. If my children find me ignoring phone calls, and putting my phone on mute, they are going to find people a nuisance, and learn to do the same. If I choose to splatter my face with makeup or wear inappropriate clothes, my child is going to want...

Life, as I know it, is often defined by busyness. Running from one activity to the next. If it's not household chores, it is errands, or taking care of the kids, or entertaining or cooking. Sometimes, I go from day to day, exhausted, weary, and grumpy.  It was as if God was speaking to me, when I find this article by Mary DeMuth in my inbox today about rest. We’re on a sickening treadmill of accomplishments, tasks, busyness, and joylessness. Every year we increase the speed of our lives, all the while wanting to slow down. But society says we can’t, and we blindly follow its speedy advice. We don’t grow when we hurry. We grow when we dare to stop. Michael Yaconelli writes, “Spiritual growth is not running faster, as in more meetings, more Bible studies, and more prayer meetings. Spiritual growth happens when we slow our activity down. If we want to meet Jesus, we can’t do it on the run. If we want to stay on the road of faith, we have to hit the brakes, pull over...

With the coming of a New Year, we wish things for ourselves and others. Primarily, success, prosperity, love, joy, peace and blessings.  Found this article by Mary DeMuth in my inbox today and couldn't help thinking, SO true. Failure is a product of this fallen world. It’s part of your story, I’m sure. I know it’s part of mine. Oddly, Jesus seems to LOVE to take our seeming failures and make a feast from them. He takes our brokenness and brings wholeness, if we let Him. And yet, so many of us let failure dictate who we are, let it seep way down deep and taint our joy in today. It doesn’t have to. It doesn’t have that power. Looking back, I can now attest that most of my recent growth was birthed from the time in my life where every day felt like a crushing blow. Have you experienced that? Are you experiencing that right now? Take courage. Failure can bring wisdom. “Failure is the crucible God uses to increase Jesus and decrease us. It’s the venue God uses to increa...

We celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary today. Thank you, God for bringing us this far. We know that we couldn't have done it without you. We pray for your strength and grace to grow in love for each other, wisdom in bringing up our children and the desire to know more about you. It amazes me to be surrounded by children who care. I don't remember celebrating anniversaries. Usually, Christmas takes priority. Most years, we don't remember when our anniversary comes and goes.  But, this year, we had a bunch of church boys who found out, bring us flowers and breakfast from chic - fil - A. And then, we have this sweet and thoughtful girl from church write us this touching poem. Pray God continues to bless these children with a heart to reach out and be thoughtful to others. The Perfect Balance His intense gaze, her delicate eyes. His deep voice, her soft words. His heavy steps, her light feet. His jolly laugh, her cheerful giggle. His quick tem...

Change is a strange thing. We almost always have things we want to change in someone. We, most likely also have things we want to change in ourselves.  But, rarely is the change we want in ourselves of the same intensity, like we want in others. The intense dislike with which we view other's shortcomings or habits is not how we view our own.  We set out trying to change people. We put our foot down. We demand that the person change his/her habits. Sometimes, we stomp, we pout, we sulk , we cry, we complain, we ridicule. And, if we feel we are being wronged and when nothing else works, we have a pity party for ourselves. However, we are accomodating about our own habits - our personality traits. We justify it, have our reasons for why it is the way it is. We know it's bad, but really, it's not THAT bad. Even, if it's that's bad, we are not really inclined to change anything. Or, even know how to change it. I spent  a good first few years of our marr...

Most of us think of old age with a sense of fear. We associate old age with the rapid decline of physical health. We entertain thoughts of nursing homes. It could mean dependence on younger people to get our day to day tasks done. It could mean loss of youth, good looks, our bodies, vibrant lives.  There is nothing attractive about old age. And no one wants to grow old. And then, we have the mad rush to reverse the effects of aging- from breast implants to tummy tucks to botox and what not. Media certainly doesn't portray old age with any dignity. On a more subtle level, masking age by coloring hair, dressing young, lying about age, hanging out with young and hip people. I find myself increasingly getting uncomfortable about my grey hair and wanting to not reveal my age and so on. All of which, ultimately cannot take away from the fact that we all grow old. We may choose to not accept it. We may choose to stay young using all we can, for as long as possible. The choic...

Naomi has a new found hobby. And, we are soon finding out that this little one has a mind of her own. She will fling open the cabinet drawers and throw stuff out, and stuff some of it in her mouth. If you catch her in the middle of the act, she will throw back her head, fall to the ground and cry. While she is doing this, she usually opens one eye, as if to check if we are paying attention. If we don't pay attention, she will follow us around, and re-enact the whole thing. I find myself having to hold back a smile, because she is funny and cute at the same time. But, reminds me that we start this act early. The subtle art of manipulation. Taken to an extreme, manipulation means using someone for devious intent. But, at a more subtle level, we indulge in it in our day to day lives. I found myself telling Daniel, "Please sleep in your room on your Thomas bed, and don't go to Daddy's bedroom in the middle of the night. Thomas will be sad, if you do that. Do yo...