No pictures to prove it

I realized once all the Christmas morning mayhem slowed down that I did not take one single picture. That's right...not one! Yes, I have officially been nominated for Most Pathetic Mom of the Year, or MPMY for short.

I'm hoping since our decorations are roughly the same each year maybe I can get away with using last year's pictures. Maybe when the kids are older they won't miss one year in the album. Of course that is assuming I ever get all the photo albums caught up. Who am I kidding?

Sigh...I think I just may have that 2010 MPMY in the bag.

Update: My kids just walked into the office and exclaimed, "Oh look! Pictures from last Christmas!" Darn it! Why do they have to be so smart?

The prayer that never fails

Reorganized our bedroom today. The kids know when I start these projects that momma's got a bee in her bonnet. There's something about the beginning of a new year that gives me the urge to organize, rearrange...I guess what I'm getting at is change. Yes, I could certainly organize my closet in the middle of July, but there's something about a brand new year, day one that sends me nesting.

The beginning of a new year is a great time to reflect. Sort of like nesting in the intellectual and spiritual sense. Out of such reflections are sure to come areas that need attention. Some may be glaring, others more subtle. More daily time with the Lord, organizing our time and our stuff, eating right, exercising regularly, saying "no", making our marriage a priority...these are all great goals and have all, at one time or another, been on my list. But what I've found to be the most meaningful goal of all is that I will know Christ more intimately by the end of new year than I do right now. That I will have a better grasp on who I am in Him than I do today. That by His Holy Spirit He will reveal to me what I do not understand.

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better. Ephesians 1:17

Looking back on 2009 I can say without hesitation that prayer was answered. At times the answers came through painful situations, others through sweet time with my Lord and some while I folded laundry. No matter what 2010 has in store, my prayer remains the same and I know, without a doubt, it's one He will surely answer.

Chew on this - Godly parenting

Our job as parents is not to create perfect behavior in our kids, but to teach them how to hear the voice of God.

Purposeful parenting - whistle optional

We're a competitive family. Actually, that's a slight understatement. Football smack talk, Wii challenges...heck, even Go Fish can turn into something just shy of a brawl. I won't say exactly where the kids get their competitiveness, except to say that Dad's the one upstairs playing Wii right now. I usually just wear the black and white striped shirt and carry a whistle...you think I'm joking.

In the midst of it all are some great opportunities to teach life lessons - being a gracious winner and loser, encouraging one another, not taking it so seriously. Every day poses opportunities to show our kids what it means to live life, with all its ups and downs, in a way that honors the Lord. I think the problems happen when we expect our kids to learn the lessons on their own. Parenting must be intentional. I have to purpose to show them how to be competitive without being hurtful. How to work through a conflict rather than becoming angry and bitter. How to put others before themselves when our selfishness says, "me first!".

Being competitive is OK, it's the attitude behind it that needs to be guarded. Why do you think I wear a whistle?

Urgent prayer needed

Please pray for my precious friend. Her baby girl went to be with the Lord on Christmas Eve. Pray for them as they grieve and struggle to praise Him through this storm.

Lord, there is so much we don't understand, so much that is beyond our finite comprehension. The loss of a baby who was so dearly loved tops that list. We don't understand your plan. In fact, there are times like this when we can't even catch a glimpse of your plan anywhere. We are faced with a choice. The choice to trust and believe you will indeed work all things together for good for those that love you. Or the choice to become angry and bitter at this awful turn of events. Faith is most certainly the substance of things hoped for. We trust by faith that we will see little Ruthie again, worshipping around your throne one day..that is what we hope for. We trust that you will work out your perfect plan for this precious family, even through their grief...that is what we hope for. Strengthen our faith as we see you at work here Lord. Comfort a grieving family, a mommy who yearns to hold her baby girl again, a daddy who cannot protect her anymore, brothers and sisters who miss her smile. Please God, turn their ashes to beauty and their mourning into dancing again.

A baby changes everything

A baby changes everything. If you've had a child of your own, you know the incredible truth of that statement first hand.

Mary, no more than a girl herself and yet chosen by God to give birth to His own Son. To suffer humiliation and rumors in order to carry out a plan she was chosen to bear is an amazing thing. From conception through his agonizing death on the cross, he touched her at the deepest level a mom can feel. She changed and fed him, snuggled him when he was afraid, dried his tears when he skinned his knee and watched him grow to be a man. She taught him all she could and then she learned from him. He was her son and he was her Savior. He was in every way human and in every way God.

From his first cry in the stable to his last cry on the cross, he changed each life he touched. Some, as in the case of Mary and Joseph, were altered by a direct connection. Others who came to hear him teach were changed by his life giving words. And each of us, 2,000 years later, are still being changed by his amazing sacrifice.

This baby really did change everything.