an amazing sight

This afternoon, while LB and I were stuck in the house working on an assignment for her co-op class tomorrow, JW and the Hurricane were playing in the yard. LB was trying, unsuccessfully, to convince me that the meager 4 sentences she had already written were the best she could do for the story she was supposed to be writing when JW comes bursting into the room telling us that he saw a squirrel in our tree.

A little bit of explanation might be appropriate here. We live in one of those subdivisions where every tree was cut before the first foundation was poured. We have one real tree in our yard and a few shrubs. There are trees in the neighborhood next to ours, which joins yards to the house across the street, and there are woods fairly close, but birds and lizards are the only wildlife we've seen in our yard until now.

Okay, back to the story.

LB and I both follow JW outside to see this curious sight, but we weren't prepared for what we actually saw. Sitting on the tree trunk was a baby squirrel. The poor thing looked like it was about to fall and I was afraid that the kids were about to see a dead squirrel. As we watched, the little thing started making the squeaky barking noises that squirrels make and we could hear what sounded like another squirrel answering it.

At this point, I was wondering if there was any way we could help what I figured was a baby that had lost its mother somehow. That was until I saw the mama squirrel, and let me tell you, she was a mama on a mission. I am not a squirrel expert, so I am only assuming that this was a mama squirrel, and since it is my story, we are going to keep calling her mama. She came down the tree and quickly took the baby in her mouth and dashed across the street, through our neighbor's yard, up their fence and into the huge oak tree in the yard behind them.

Pretty cool, huh? But that isn't the end of our little squirrel story.

LB and I came back into the house to again work on the dreaded story, but we had only been at it a minute or two when JW comes back into the house to tell us that the mama squirrel is back in the yard across the street. So, again, we all head out into the yard to watch the show. This time, I realized what was happening. There is a cluster of dead leaves about 2/3 of the way up our tree that is apparently a nest. The mama squirrel disappeared into the leaves and came out carrying another baby. Again, she sprints down the tree and across the street and back up the oak tree. In all, we saw the mama squirrel make three trips back and forth across the road, though we only saw two babies, we are assuming that she was moving one the other time too.

I grew up living in the woods and the only interesting thing I ever saw concerning a squirrel was one falling out of a huge oak tree and hitting the ground, bouncing and landing back on the tree. Today's squirrel story is much better, don't you agree.

There are two really great outcomes of our adventure this afternoon. One, the kids (and their Mama) got to see nature at work. And two, LB got a new and more exciting topic for her story. Now, instead of meeting a duck, Paddle witnesses a squirrel mama moving her babies from one nest to another. Maybe I'll let her write her story as a guest post. She would probably like that.

the words I hate the most

There are two words that bring more trouble to the life of our little school than any other. These are the words that instantly stop any progress and can within seconds cause my anger to rise. They are so easy to say and so hard to overcome. As far as I can tell, there is no positive application for these words (though I am sure that there is something redeeming about the words, but for now, I don't even want to hear it).

You may have guessed by now that I am talking about the words I can't.

I can't work this math page.

I can't read that word.

I can't write an interesting story.

I can't be nice to my brother/sister.

Some days I just want to scream: YES YOU CAN! And if you tell me that you can't one more time I am going to come unglued!!!!!!

Rather than totally losing it with my kids (which I will confess to having done, but I am working on that) I have found myself quoting to them the equation: I can't = I won't try = I will fail. I am not sure where I heard this and I don't know if it is sinking in with them, but my goal for this year is to banish that evil idea from my kids' minds and replace it with Philippians 4:13 (which is the verse we have chosen for our school). I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

I would love to hear your ideas about how to accomplish this goal. How would you suggest getting rid of this attitude?

prayer walking

1st Sundays in our church mean one thing ... prayer breakfast. The concept is simple, you eat, you pray; except somehow, it got to be more about eating and less about praying. So, as the time for the 1st, 1st Sunday of the new church year rolled around, the wonderful lady who organizes our time together decided that we needed to change the focus. Let me just say, well done, my friend!

Today, instead of taking my kids off to hang out in the nursery while the adults prayed in the fellowship hall, we prayer walked our church while the adults spent a few minutes in corporate prayer before they also dispersed to pray throughout the building. We started in the sanctuary with the list my friend had prepared especially for the kids. During our whole walk, I only prayed one time. My children amazed me with their understanding as they prayed for the staff of our church, our instrumentalists and the choir. We walked down the hall and my 3 year old son prayed for his Sunday School class. Upstairs, the older kids did the same thing for their classes, as well as for the other classes that meet in those rooms.

I hope that this doesn't sound like I am feeling prideful about how "spiritual" my kids are. Just the opposite. I am truly humbled by what I experienced with my children today. This morning, through a 15 minute prayer time, God opened my eyes to what it means when in Matthew 19:14

Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.

I am thankful for new insight into who my children are and how open they are to taking the needs that they see around them to the Throne of God.

irony

It is not unusual for my daughter to tell me, in great detail, how she will do things differently when she is the Mama. She will let her children watch ANYTHING on television especially any cartoons and anything that comes on the Disney channel. She will allow her children to participate in Halloween activities. She probably won't homeschool, though she does waver on this one. The list goes on and varies depending on what I am NOT allowing her to do at any given moment.

I suppose I could be offended by these statements, but instead I find them amusing, mostly because I remember having those same kinds of thoughts when I was a kid. I do think that I was older and my plans mostly included NOT treating my daughter any different than my sons when it came to dating and such. Ha! Now, I think arranged marriages and/or courting are looking better and better!

But, that isn't really the irony that this post is about.

Honestly, the big thing about what I would do differently has more to do with making my own decisions rather than just accepting what my parents decided for me. Now, in my mid 30's, having been married for 12 years and having 3 kids, you would think that I would be thrilled to be able to make ALL of the decisions (together with my husband, of course).

So, why is that now I wish that someone would tell me what to do? No questions, just straight answers. Lay the plan out in front of me and I'll follow!

Somehow, it just isn't that easy. As grown-ups, when faced with a big decision, (like we are right now!) we know that nothing is done in a vacuum. Any decision we make will most definitely affect our kids and could affect other people we care about.

I am thankful for life lessons though. When faced with similar decisions early in our marriage, Ronnie and I only gave lip service to "seeking God's will." Not that we didn't have a desire to follow God then, we just had a much higher view of our own ability to make decisions back then.

We've learned a little bit since then. A song that our pastor loves to quote comes to mind ... I can't even walk without You holding my hand. That may not be an exact quote, but you get the picture. At this point in our lives, we are much more aware of just how needy we are.

And that is what makes LB's attitude about doing things her way so amusing. Because I know that one of these days she'll be sitting where I am. And my prayer is that we will have taught her where to find the help she needs.

A Song of degrees.

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.
He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.
The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
The LORD shall preserve thy going out
and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

Psalm 121

anticipation

I am one of those people who truly enjoys family reunions. I love getting to see my cousins and catch up. Each year we promise each other that we will stay in touch through the year, but we never do. That is one of the reasons the reunions are so important. Besides that, it gives me an opportunity to see my parents re-connecting with the people they grew up with. I love hearing the stories from their childhood years and just watching them interact with each other.

Tomorrow, my family will be gathering at a nearby state park to hang out with my mother's mother's family. There aren't a lot of us, but that just makes it easier to really catch up with more of the family. I can hardly wait to see every one's kids and how they have grown since last year. There are some who aren't with us any more and even though we will miss them, we will also enjoy sharing memories of them and keeping their memory alive.

Of course, no reunion would be complete without the food. As a child, I could tell you pretty much what each family member would fix for the various reunions. For my Granddaddy's family, my Granny would always make chicken and dumplings. Aunt Mog would always bring her chicken and dressing and my mother never went to a reunion without her chocolate cake. I am a southern girl and I cannot deny the importance of the meal. So, in preparation, my hubby is, at this moment, grating potatoes for a casserole I am making and my cookies are already cooling on the platter. My Daddy just came to borrow an onion for the cornbread dressing that my mom is making. And next door to her, my sister-in-law will be making sweet potato casserole (which makes my daughter extremely happy!) and an apple cake. And on and on it goes.

So, tonight I feel the anticipation of enjoying a tradition in my family ... that is, celebrating family.

Sorting it out ...

I have been sitting, praying and staring at my computer screen for several minutes now as I try to find the words to express the heaviness in my heart. This week I have been following events that could possibly lead to a split in the church where I grew up. Even if the church manages to remain intact, the ministry of the church will be seriously wounded by the anger and hurt that has been unleashed on those who serve there. I have no doubt that this attack was masterminded by satan himself, but it has been carried out by men and women. People I have known for most of my life. People who would defend to the death that they are doing "what is best for the church." I have been away from this church for a number of years and don't pretend to know what is best, but I can't deny the heaviness that has gripped my heart as I wonder where this will all lead. I will be praying for the body of Christ in this church and I pray that they will be honestly seeking God's will for the church. I don't believe that this problem will be solved by human wisdom, only by divine intervention.

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. John 13:34 & 35

no words to describe

Words fail me as I try to describe watching my husband baptize our son yesterday.

You'll just have to trust me when I tell you that I have only experienced that emotion once before ... when he stood in the same place with our daughter.

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. 1 John 1:4

I know that I am taking this verse out of context, but it comes closer to capturing how thankful I am for the blessing of my children's salvation than any thing else I could think of. I hope you'll understand.