Just another day on the home front

Last summer our son fell on the railroad tie in the driveway and cracked his head open on an acorn.  He opens the front door whimpering, and there was blood all over his head, hair and body.  The mom in me springs into action ~ I rush him into the kitchen and start flushing the area with water to try to assess exactly how bad it is.  I realize the wound is terribly close to the temple and whisper a word of praise that he had not been injured worse.  I sit him down with a cold compress and tell him to hold it.  Where’s the baby? Get her in the car.  Where’s Scott?  Up by the road trimming the lawn.  “SCOTT” I scream.  No response.  I run back into the house for the dazed and still bleeding little boy.  I carry him to the car “SCOTT” I scream again ~ twice this time.  No response from him. 

However, my screams had not elicited a complete lack of response from the neighborhood.  Our neighbors from across the street came running lickety-split; cell phones in hand to dial 911.  Still Scott is working away on the lawn.  Little did I know another of our neighbors who is a state patrolman was headed to the house to “save me from whoever was attacking me”.  I did not realize the lungs I have on me!  I still feel embarrassed when I think about how much trouble I caused because I was in such a panic.  But I am more grateful for the kindness and selflessness of our friends and neighbors who live around us. 

Poor kid couldn’t have stitches because the acorn had made a little puncture wound, but in the end all is well.  It’s the little ways God shows His hand of protection.  You just never know what a day will bring!

What is Love?

About a month ago we realized that the Buick wasn’t going to make it much longer.  Scott would be diving along, and with no warning whatsoever it would shut itself off.  This is a dangerous thing – this could cause an accident easily.  We made the decision this week to become a one car family.  Can we do this in the 21st century?  Can a family only own one car??  We are about to find out.

I’ve been thinking about planning ahead and sharing a vehicle.  I’ve been thinking about being subject to someone else’s schedule and getting the children to and from school.  I noticed something ~ There are people, our friends, who are accommodating their schedules, who are planning ahead and sharing their vehicles, who are going out of their way to get our children to and from school and my husband to and from work.  Jesus said “greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”  This is exactly what my family is experiencing right now!  These friends who sacrifice themselves for us.  I can only praise our Lord for making a way for us.

Passing us by . . .

I can't believe all the stories that are passing us by! I'm going to jot a few down that can think of off the top of my head and then come back later to think on 'em.
1. the birds are back
2. the car was towed
3. trip down the stairs
4. Memorial Day
5. the photo board
6. rice crispy treats

That's just to name a few! So we've got bunnies eating our hostas and sedum. I'm wondering if they'll ever recover. One things for sure, they'll never look the same. And they won't look as good this year as they may next. Funny how tough it is when life comes at us - we are beat down / our edges can get eaten away, if you will. But God is faithful. It takes some time, but we'll be up again. We may look a little different than before, but praise Him for the grace to succeed once again.

Galatians

So we've been studying Galatians on Tuesdays. This coming week is our final week for the study - Galatians 6. It's bittersweet. I am so excited to cover it! Last week we talked about what it is to walk in the Spirit. I had previously written in the margin "Realize how actively our sinful nature resists peace. When we are filled with ourselves we are explosive." I can't remember if it was from a previous study or from a Sunday morning, but I was moved with how true the statement is. Compare it to the fruit of the Spirit. I had written from a Beth Moore study that patience is the quality of a person able to avenge oneself and yet refrains from doing so. Wow!
This week I've been reminded what Galatians 6 says. If you read verse 2 "Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ." Now compare it to verse 5 "For each one shall bear his own load." Wait a sec! These are opposite. But if God is perfectly consistent, what does this mean? It's so exciting - the Greek word for "burdens" in verse 2 is like a wheelbarrow type burden. So we can share the load. However the verb in verse 5 for "load" is like a backpack type burden. So we would have to bear it on our own. Wow!

Where we find Jesus

We have been saving for 2 years for a trip to Disney World. It has been a fun time - every birthday, Christmas or any other time we received a gift of money, it went into the talking bank. The voice was always so encouraging "you almost have enough for that beach vacation," she would say. Well, we are going this summer. Yippee!!!! Unfortunately, I have an issue with my son. He has decided to get back on the "potty training" roller coaster. Now what?! We are talking about being clean - "we can't see Mickey Mouse with a dirty derriere" So while cleaning him the other day we started talking about who we would see at Disney World - he named about 20 characters he wanted to see, from Lightening McQueen to Peter Pan. I said "how about Winne the Pooh?" to which my son replied "oh yeah! and Jesus!"

Now we have to have a discussion about Heaven - way better than Disney World!

Going to the birds!

We noticed on Tuesday that there were some birds making a nest on the ladder in the garage. We shooed them out, cleaned out the ladder and closed the garage door. The entire day every time we opened the door those birds dove in to get back to their nest making. It was heart breaking for me - I even said at one point: birds! this place is a death trap for you. You can't stay here! Wednesday I came home from picking up one of my kids and there they were again. One of the birds was franticly trying to get out of the garage through the window. It is so frustrating! We keep mouse poison in the garage along with other hazardous "garage" items. How on earth could those birds think they'd be safe in our garage.
I thought about how stubbornly we can persist at something - If at first you don't succeed, try, try again! - right?! While our Heavenly Father watches from above gently guiding us away and yet we are too focused on what we are trying to complete. What other things are in store for us? What better plan does God have? We might just miss something if we don't listen.

God is for us

We managed, quite creatively I might add, to get by without water until Tuesday evening. It was an interesting 24 hours - we had to get creative with everything from brushing our teeth to keeping the dishes out of the sink. I now have a new appreciation for the little things we take for granted.
I must also give props to my neighbors who came over with 2 gallons of water for us to drink. Also our very good friend Heather brought us dinner - the best we've had in a long time!!

Wednesday morning as Scott was preparing to leave for Vancouver and I was leaving to take our son to the doctor's office, we realized Zoey was missing! By the time we made the discovery, it had been almost 2 hours since we knew we'd seen her. She could have gotten quite far in that time. So - we looked in all the usual places to no avail. Scott could not be late to the airport -
I am starting to panic! My friend Lisa stopped by as she was heading to a meeting and stayed to allow me to look down by the ravine. We are now going on 4 hours missing. Just as I had run out of options, I sat down in front of the window feeling utterly useless. I was crying - hard. I thanked God that he could see our dog and asked Him to bring her home safely. As I finished speaking, a car pulled up and a neighbor of ours says "Here's your pooch!" I thanked him profusely! Wow! How God cares for us! Once again, the good Lord took care of even the littlest of requests.