Maybe not so fast...

I was rereading the older posts in this blog and realized that I never corrected a mistake via this venue. I corrected it via Facebook, but I must make amends in every direction. I did not run a 6:50 mile. It was some time around the 4th or 5th time that I went to this particular track that I noticed, in very large letters (much to my chagrin), a sign that said, "1 mile = 5 laps." I had been running the standard 4 lap mile. I was so heart-sick, heart-broken, and discouraged! Here I had been working so hard to get my "mile" under 7 minutes and it turns out that I wasn't even running a full mile! I know, I know. I did get my 4 lap time down considerably. The first time I ran 4 laps, it was around 9 minutes, so I did knock off an amazing 2:10. So, I timed myself running an actual 5 lap mile and my average is somewhere around 8 1/2 minutes. I'll be running again this spring and summer and my goal is to get the ACTUAL mile under 7 minutes just so I can check that off of my life's list of things to do, my "Bucket List." I also want to learn how to surf, in Hawaii. God gave us this earth to enjoy, and I'm doing my best!

Christmas 2009

I don't know about anyone else, but this year has just flown by for me. My kids have grown, literally, a foot or more between the three of them. Joe's job has kept him so busy, so topsy-turvy in schedule, that I rarely know which end is up. I have more piano students here in Germany than I've ever had anywhere in my life...26 to be exact...if you count my own 3. The problem with busy-ness is that it is time consuming. When I get super busy, I get super quiet, and that includes my "talk" time with God. I talk to Him throughout the day, so it's not a one-time "mandatory Quiet Time" that most churches teach. I try to "get quiet" with Him a few times a day so I can remain in His Spirit. Busy-ness does not help, but I know that He is there through all of it and I am at peace. When everything else goes wrong, I am at peace in Him. My children are at peace because their mother is at peace. Joe is at peace because his wife is at peace. I'm not saying that I'm the focal point of their peaceful existence, but what I am saying that being a wife and mother is much more than being a woman in a home, raising kids. I have seen my children's moods swing drastically, all because I have a good attitude...or a bad one. I have seen my husband grin from ear to ear because I'm exhibiting a small part of Christ through my attitude, and I have seen him completely deflated because I've ignored the prompting of the Spirit. No matter how busy you get, God is still there. He's still wanting that relationship with you. Believing in His Son is more than a religious "experience." It's more than believing and accepting that His Son did die on the cross and rise again in 3 days. It's about having a continual relationship with the tri-fold Spirit of God, listening to Him in everything that you do, and letting Him urge you to stop your sinful ways.

Several years ago, I asked Caylea, "What is one thing you like about Mommy?" She said, "I like how you always play with me." I said, "What is one thing you would change about Mommy?" She said, "I don't like it when you yell." She was 6 when she said that. I can't say that I've never yelled again, but I can say that I have, by the grace of God, stopped myself from doing it pretty frequently. That's because of my relationship with my Creator. He speaks, and when I ignore Him, everyone around me suffers. When I listen, everyone around me is blessed.

This Christmas we gave in a way that we've never given before and all 5 of us feel so blessed. We sang "Happy Birthday to Jesus," and not "Baby Jesus," but the grown Man who still lives! When you can sing to Him and know that He hears you, and FEEL that He hears you, that is when you are in a relationship with Him! No one can describe your relationship. No one experiences the exact same thing, which is also why you can't base your Christianity on experience alone. If mine doesn't match yours, that doesn't make mine right or yours right or either one of us wrong. What you experience with God is what He wants you to have through Him, and you can only find that by living IN Him. It goes so far beyond talking. Actions speak so much louder than words. If I can profess Christ with my mouth and then turn around and yell at my husband or children, it's like the Scripture that says, "Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be!" James 3:10

I'm not a "resolution" kind of girl, at least not one time a year. When Caylea told me she didn't like it when I yelled, I resolved to listen to God more and stop. When He revealed other sinful habits of mine to me through prayer and reading His Word, I listened and I have done my best to stop those things. I am walking WITH a perfect God. I am talking WITH Him as I go. I am laughing WITH Him and teaching my children to do the same. There is so much joy in this short life He has given us, so much to find, so much hidden and it is our glory to search it out!

So, I'm writing to myself. I'm writing to encourage myself to listen harder, be quiet more often, and walk in truth and not hypocrisy. I am going to surround myself with people of like minds, people who don't put walls up, people who are open, honest, and enjoying their walk with God, no matter how many times they stumble. I stumble, but I don't fall, because I walk WITH Him. Psalm 27:34 This is going to be the best walk of my life. :)

Fall

It's officially fall in Germany, which means it feels like winter when you're from the south. I had forgotten how cold and wet it can be during certain months. It's kind of like child-birth....you forget the bad parts because there is so much good that comes out of it! I'm wearing my "Jesus Loves Housewives" shirt today, which people find offensive. I wonder why. It doesn't say that Jesus DOESN'T love other wives, and it has Proverbs 31 as the Scripture reference, which covers just about any job a woman could have. To be easily offended is one of the worst ways to live. I tell my kids constantly, "Treat it like water rolling off a duck's back." They've seen that in person, so they get it. If it won't matter next week, it doesn't matter right now. This weather does make a person tired, though. The sun is coming up around 730 and going down around 530. Soon enough it'll only be "up" around 7 hours a day, but even when the sun is "shining," it is often hidden by clouds. I think life is like that. The SON is always shining, but we let the clouds make us forget Him. Often times we create our own clouds when all we really need is a good nap. Or ice cream. Ice cream makes almost anything better, according to my kids. Last night we were driving with friends who wanted to go look at a particular vehicle. Josh said, "I want to go look at ice cream." I think we may go do that today...

Air Force Ball

We went to the Air Force Ball last night. For those of you who don't know, it's the annual birthday party (62 this year) for the Air Force. It's only the 2nd one we've been to because Caylea just became certified last year to babysit. :) We had a great time. I had never seen Tops in Blue before. They are very showy, like a Six Flags show. Some of them had truly great voices, and a friend and I were musing....they are only in TiB for 1 year and then they return to their "regular" Air Force job, which could be packing parachutes, or it could be pushing the button that bombs somebody. "Hey did you hear me sing last week? Yeah, watch me push this button." haha It was very enjoyable, but because it was in a hangar, it was really loud. We saw lots of friends there and Joe bought me a gorgeous dress with jewelry to match. He always looks so handsome in his mess dress. I just love it! I helped him straighten his tie of course. :) I'm so grateful we're able to do these kinds of things together. Caylea babysat Chloe and Josh, which doesn't really count because they're so old, and she also watched an 18 month old for friends that also went to the ball. They had a good time here at home, watching a movie, eating popcorn, and letting Caylea cook dinner. She's turning into quite the young lady. We're still working on that mouth. I know where she gets it, which makes it even harder to help her get control of it. If I, the adult, can't control mine, how can I expect her to control hers? So, I've been practicing what I preach. I'm surprised I have any tongue left at all with all the biting of it that I do. I am always reminded by the Spirit of Proverbs 30:32 "If you have played the fool or exalted yourself, or if you have planned evil, clamp your hand over your mouth." I play the fool a lot and that's no good. If God Himself says to put your hand over your mouth, you have to do it. It's not easy. With that, I'm signing off. Every day is an opportunity to listen to the Spirit, thereby being a better example for my kids.

Labor Day Musings

Labor Day always makes me laugh. Why do we take the day OFF to celebrate WORK? Well, I worked. I trimmed all of the trees and hedges that I could reach, weeded the front garden area that was completely overgrown, and got rid of the poor cucumber plants that died due to lack of warmth this summer. I refuse to admit that we did anything wrong. It's the sun's fault, I say! I also broke a lawnmower. I didn't realize that you had to check the oil. This summer, while my husband has been gone, I have been mowing/weeding diligently to bless him. Wow, what a blessing! He gets a new lawnmower! :)

September always makes me smile. School starts, colors start changing, apples are in bloom (great apple pies), and the smell of fall is in the air. It's a great time of the year! Caylea was baptized September 1, 2002. She waited a very long time. She began asking for baptism around 4 years old because, as she said, "Jesus has always been in my heart and I love Him. I want to show everyone that I love Him. That's what baptism is....showing everyone." We waited until we thought she truly understood, and then waited some more for her Daddy to get home from a 3 1/2 month school so that he could see her baptism too.

Chloe, too, asked for almost 2 years before we let her get baptized. We have waited with all 3 kids until we see the "fruits of the Spirit" abundantly in their lives. It's one thing to change behavior...it's another thing to change it because you want to walk in obedience to God. We were at my parent's church and they were baptizing someone. Chloe started very quietly crying (6 1/2 years old) in the middle of their church and when Joe asked her what was wrong she said, "I just want to show everyone that I love Jesus too." For the first and only time I can remember, my husband stood up in the MIDDLE OF A CHURCH SERVICE and said, "Pastor, do you have room for one more?" They took her and within 10 minutes she was getting baptized. It's the sweetest picture, too. Someone caught her just as she stood up out of the water. I'll have to scan that one later. We got home to our "Denominational" Church and they said, basically, that her baptism didn't count because it wasn't at "Denominational" Church. So, we let her get baptized again, in front of "them." She didn't mind. She wanted to show everyone she knew that she loves Jesus!

Joshua started asking at 5. He's my slower to speak, slower to anger, slower to everything kid, so I was a little surprised. He's also VERY shy around groups of people. When he asked what baptism was, I explained it as telling everyone that Jesus lives in your heart and that you serve Him...that you go before the church and get "dunked," and that's what Jesus did to show everyone that He was obedient to God. (Of course I explained it much better at the time...this is just my paraphrased version.) Anyway, Josh said, much to my utter surprise, "I need to do that." We waited a while, again, to see the fruits of God's Spirit manifesting in Josh's heart. The funny thing is that I say that, but God has blessed me with fruitful children. They have always been kind, loving, considerate people....so watching for evidence that GOD was the root of their behavior and not the paddle that I consistently applied, was a little tricky. I don't want children who want to please Mommy and Daddy for fear of discipline. The goal is to raise children who want to please God because sin is detestable to Him. On September 6th, 2007, Joshua was baptized in "Denominational" Church.

I guess the point of this entire email is this: "Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain." Psalm 127:1

Don't labor in vain. Don't do anything that you do for you or for anyone else...do it for God. Colossians 3:23-24 “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the LORD CHRIST whom you serve!”

Setting an example in this is a daily undertaking that requires a constant crying out to God for His wisdom, His strength, and a lot less of Tori, but that's okay. The more of her I can get rid of and replace with Him, the better for everyone around!

Well, I got out on the track yesterday (ran a 6:50 mile, thank you, thank you very much) and tried to show Josh (and by proxy the rest of the kids) how to do a penny drop.

[I realized after sending the original email that I should explain what a penny drop is. You hang upside down with your knees, hands free, from a bar. You swing back and forth and, at just the right moment in your back swing, you let go with your knees (legs), tucking them in, and as your head goes up, your feet go down, landing in the perfect position. It looks really cool. You can even finish with the traditional gymnastics pose, or just say "ta-da!"]

Back to my story:

First problem, I can't do one myself. My back just isn't flexible enough at this point. I'll work on that. Second problem, I spotted Josh by holding his hands, thank goodness, because when I said, "Drop," he dropped without tucking his knees. I should've told him that part. Bad teacher! Fortunately, I had his hands, so he didn't land belly first on the ground. Unfortunately, it took his bravado away. :-) I couldn't even get Caylea to try it with a spot (thank goodness she didn't continue in gymnastics, huh?) Chloe wouldn't even hang upside down on the bar. She was chasing bugs.

So, as I ran my incredibly fast mile, I let them play on the bars. There are 3 of varying heights. The first one is like the one we had in Rocky Branch, about 6 feet high, just over my head. The second is probably 6 1/2 feet high and the third might be 7 feet high. By the end of my run, he was hanging upside down, hands free, off of the tallest one. That's a good sign. I figure I'll let him get comfortable playing on it, and then try to teach him again. Maybe, in the meantime, I can work on my back and see if I can get to where I can do one again. Did I ever do that as a kid? I just can't remember.

I gotta run...school, school, school. It's going well. Can't wait until Joey gets home.

Dusting, Part 2

It has been brought to my attention (thanks Mom) that I was a dust artist. I would often draw Michaelangelo-quality pictures in dust when I was 3. So, in my own defense, I was NOT a finger-swiper. Had the culprit drawn a smiley face over the face of the people in the picture, I would've giggled and left it there for weeks on end. Honestly. I'm easily amused, and once amused, I won't let the amusing thing go, much like a bull dog. However, the person in question...we'll just call him "Nobody" for now, did NOT draw dust art! Nobody FINGER SWIPED. There's a big difference. Dust art says, "Hey, your picture frame has a cool surface on which I can draw a masterpiece and leave my mark." Finger-swiping simply says, "I noticed your dust and I don't like it." Well, Nobody, I don't like your finger-swipe!

The picture frame is clean. My son is snoring on the couch behind me, so I better take him to bed. On the way, I may draw a nice picture on my windows...