Thursday, December 24, 2015

Did the weather not get the memo??

In case you're not in Houston this Christmas Eve, it's 80 degrees today.  The news bulletin on TV this morning said that today might be the "warmest Christmas ever" with people all over the country experiencing historically high temperatures for this time of year (somewhere Al Gore's head is exploding).  Did the weather not get the memo that it's Christmastime?  Maybe not, but Christmas is here anyway.  Fortunately for us, God's providence does not depend on the weather.

Maybe the weather isn't your issue this season.  Maybe your mood didn't get the Christmastime memo either.  Maybe your checkbook missed it as well.  Maybe your children aren't old enough to understand "peace on earth" and are currently in the other room taking turns shoving each other off the couch until someone cries.  (No??  Just mine?  Huh.)

But Christmas has come anyway.  "It came without ribbons, it came without tags!  It came without packages, boxes or bags!"  Despite our circumstances Christmas comes anyway.  CHRIST comes anyway.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."  John 3:16-17

And saved we are!  Saved from the darkness, the evil murmurs in the shadows that tell us we aren't good enough, don't have enough and aren't doing it right.  Saved from the burden of having to produce a perfect holiday and instead just rejoicing that we have perfect Savior.  For the fullness of God's love comes to us anyway, wherever we are, in whatever state our hearts might be in. 

Warm Christmas wishes to you, sweet family and friends....literally! 

XOXO....Kelly

 
 

Saturday, December 12, 2015

Donald, the Large Inflatable Dachshund

Joy is a 6.5' inflatable dachshund left anonymously in your front yard by a wonderful friend.  I mean, seriously, whose spirits could not immediately be lifted when driving by our house?!  Flamingos, a pink moose, a manger silhouette and now this.

You're welcome, next door neighbor, whose house is currently on the market.  Just a little something extra to offer prospective buyers....us as neighbors.  I really should charge you some commission, but I won't.  It's the holidays after all.  It is in giving we truly receive....

A few years ago, the evening following the Sandy Hook shooting in CT, someone knocked on our front door.  It had been a horrible long and sad day, every news story on the TV, radio and internet related to the unspeakable tragedy.  The sorrow was unshakeable.  When I opened the door I found a note card that simply read, "Thank you for being such a blessing by displaying your nativity scene!"  We have a family in the neighborhood that distributes these notes each year.  I don't know if they had planned to do it this evening or if the events of the day caused them to make a last minute decision. Either way, that knock on the door, that note, that message....they will forever remind me of the importance of hope. 

I've said it before....YOUR FAITH DOES MATTER.  And that others see it matters even more. 

"THE PEOPLE WALKING IN DARKNESS HAVE SEEN A GREAT LIGHT;
On those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned....
For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.
He will reign on David's throne over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this."  Isaiah 9:2, 6-7


The whole great light part kind of reminds you of my front yard, right?  Ha!  No, seriously.  Maybe a little.  I won't get to talk to every single person that drives by my house, so something's got to carry the message for me.  Why not my yard display?  Why not the way I greet people when I walk into a store or order food at a restaurant?  Why not the message on my Christmas cards?  Why not hope, hope, undeniable, unshakeable, unending hope in Jesus Christ everywhere I go, in everything I do every day of my life!

Don't let a single moment go by today that wastes the hope of Christmas.  Don't miss the chance to show others that in this dark, dark world a Light is still shining.  From a manger in Bethlehem so long ago to the streets and homes in your neighborhood today, hope is still alive and well and it is catching.

And if Donald the Large Inflatable Dachshund has anything to do with it, that's exactly how it shall be.

XOXO....Kelly



Monday, November 30, 2015

Steps

Kevin and I got Fitbits a few weeks ago.  (In case you haven't heard of them, they're all the rage in the health and fitness world.)  We've been carefully watching our steps, trying each day to reach our personal goals.  The day after Thanksgiving we went on a long family walk (no pun intended) together.  About 20 minutes into the walk I noticed that Kevin had twice the steps I did.  This made no sense!  We'd walked the same distance together.  It should have been more equal.  Kevin asked if I'd been swinging my arms at all, that sometimes it doesn't read a step without your arm movement.  Well, no, I had not been swinging my arms....I was pushing the stroller!  You mean to tell me that all of the times I'm pushing a stroller or carrying something my steps don't get counted because my arms aren't swinging??!!  Do you know how many times I'm pushing a stroller or carrying something?  Good Lord!!!

As you can imagine, I was pretty frustrated.  All that walking for nothing!  How many other steps have I taken that haven't been recorded?  Why even walk?!  What's the point if it isn't going to show up on your fancy little wristband doohickie?

Well, of course I know there's a point.  All that walking is just as good whether it shows up on my Fitbit or not.  It's just nice to have a little feedback, a little affirmation that you're doing the right thing.  (Feel free to fill in the blank with your own personal struggle here...raising children, changing jobs, buying a house, helping a friend, etc., etc., etc.)

And yet, sometimes the feedback we crave most dearly is the very thing we've got to let go of.  Those challenges met in God's name are also going to succeed in God's time, which we all know is not our own.  Sometimes we get to see the fruits of our labor.  Sometimes we don't.  But each step is just as important, whether the world counts it or not.

"....He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:6 

Hang in there all you exercisers, parents, teachers, friends, spouses and the like.  Your steps count. 

XOXO....Kelly




Thursday, November 12, 2015

Today I threw a fit.

I'm a big fan of a well-timed fit, the kind that only comes after you've exercised a considerable amount of self-control and blessing-counting, but, despite your greatest efforts, all you can do is scream.  I had such a fit earlier today.  I have become decreasingly discouraged about the way something in my life is going lately and finally I lost it.  Fortunately only Parker was home to witness it and he was pretty much outside the entire time. 

No, I don't want a hug.  Please don't tell me to take a deep breath.  And I don't care if you have a mixture of essential oils that will help calm me down.  All I want to do is scream.  And this is why....

Because being grateful is good.  Having self-control is good.  Choosing joy is good.  But none of those things can I do on my own.  None of those things can I do without the grace of God.  And, for me, throwing a fit is realizing that I need that grace.  That I'm human.  That I have selfish, human feelings.  That I do not have it together all the time. 

So I cry and I yell and then I pray.  I pray for forgiveness for the ways my heart and my emotions betray His will for me.  I pray for the things I try to take into my own hands instead of trusting Him.  I pray for the blessings I overlook that come from adversity.  I pray for my gratefulness to be rooted in Him because that's the only way it's going to last.  I pray until my sorrow and anger has subsided and His spirit has filled me once again.

I am grateful, not for what I have, but because of what God is able to do with what I have...  "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

I have self-control because He is in control...  "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8

I know joy because I find it in Him...  "For the joy of the Lord is your strength." Nehemiah 8:10

Fit-throwing isn't pretty.  It's not admirable.  It's one of those things we usually reserve for toddlers in the middle of the Target toy aisle.  But I guess that's the point.  No matter how old we get or mature in our faith, God is still our Father.  We will always be His children.  And we need to be pulled back to His side from time to time, when we've strayed too far or tried to do too much on our own.  I'm thankful God is more merciful to me than I am to my own fit-throwing toddler.  I guess a little grace in that department wouldn't hurt either.  But with the grace of God I will pull myself back together and regain a little composure.  After all, Elf on the Shelf season is just around the corner and I'm gonna need a whole lot of patience for that.... 

XOXO....Kelly


Thursday, November 5, 2015

The Gap.

So this is how my life goes sometimes.  I'm at point A.  I want/need/expect to be at point B.  In between is a big ol' gap. 

Here's an awesome diagram to help you visualize what I'm trying to say. 

 

You're welcome.  Now continuing on....

I don't know what's going to happen during that gap, how I'm really going to get from A to B, so I fill the gap. 

I fill the gap with worry.
I fill the gap with doubt.
I fill the gap with anxiety.
I fill the gap with impatience.

You know who knows what's going to happen during my gap?  God does.  He has my gap covered. 

A man's heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.  Proverbs 16:9

Fill your gap with faith.  (I've now used the word "gap" 8 times so far.)  Wherever you are, God is with you, and wherever you might be headed, He is already there.  Lean in close.  Pray specifically.  Those footprints in the sand are not just your own.

Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.  Psalm 119:105
 
Both your present and your future are in His hands.  He might give you more than you can handle, but never more than He can.  So what is your unknown today?  Can you let it go?  Can you trust God with your gap?   

Oh God, You are my God
And I will ever praise you
And I will seek You in the morning
And I will learn to walk in Your ways
And step by step You'll lead me
And I will follow You all of my days*

XOXO....Kelly

*"Step By Step" by Rich Mullins

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Life-changing news in the Long household!

Something life-changing has happened in our household.  Some friends of ours told us about grout paint.  That's right.  Grout paint.  When you've scrubbed, pleaded and prayed, but the grout still looks stained you can just paint over it!  It's brilliant!  I haven't been this excited about a DIY project since Kevin installed a dog door last summer.  And I can not stop talking about it.  Last week I told everyone in the teachers' workroom at my sons' school about it.  You'd think I invented it!

I wonder what would happen if I shared my faith in the same way???

It's certainly no less life changing to know Jesus.  It IS life, in fact!  Can I not share Him with the same fervor as I regard my newly cleaned grout?

What about the TV shows we love?  The restaurants where we like to eat.  Our opinions on every sporting team known to man.  Is God not greater than all of these?  And yet...

It's not always easy to talk about your faith.  You're pinned as a religious zealot and suddenly people are leaving you off their happy hour invites (Jesus did drink wine, by the way).  Or frankly you're not sure what to say!  What if someone asks you a question about the Bible and you don't have an answer?  Then there's my personal favorite, "My faith is personal."  Well of course it is.  But it's not you people need to hear about.  It's Christ.

Our pastor made an interesting point in his sermon this weekend.  Evangelism, he says, seems intimidating.  But evangelism isn't about sharing your religious beliefs.  It's about sharing the love of Christ with others.  Building a relationship.  The rest flows from there.  And when you think of it that way, how can you not share it?

People need to know about Jesus, y'all.  So in the interest of full disclosure, I love grout paint.  I also love Jesus.  I learn something new every time I go to church, but I still have to use the table of contents to find Nehemiah in the Bible.  There were more than three wise-men.  I can't remember the exact date I accepted Jesus into my heart, but I know He's there.  I don't do chanting and I hate the smell of incense and I'm not sure I love organ music.  But I don't think God cares anyway.  I KNOW He loves you, though, and so I'm happy and humbled to do the same.  I'll let God take it from there...

XOXO...Kelly
 


Saturday, September 26, 2015

Like building a castle on a swamp....

I'm going to be honest.  I want my kids to be good at everything they try.  Not because I think you have to be good at everything to be worth something, but because, selfishly, it would make my life a lot easier.  And if not naturally good at everything then at least instantly good when they are corrected.  I would take that.  Only having to say something one time.  

Michael, focus on your math homework.
Blake, pick up your shoes.
Zachary, rinse your dishes.
Parker, quit yelling.

And bam!  It would be so!  Instead, a lot of the life lessons we go over at home sound more like the swamp castle scene from Monty Python...



"When I first came here, this was all swamp. Everyone said I was daft to build a castle on a swamp, but I built in all the same, just to show them. It sank into the swamp. So I built a second one. And that one sank into the swamp. So I built a third. That burned down, fell over, and then sank into the swamp. But the fourth one stayed up. And that’s what you’re going to get, Son, the strongest castle in all of England!"

They have to do everything at least three times the wrong way before we can do it the right way.  It's like an unspoken rule of childhood.  And, to be fair, adulthood, too.

Don't eat the chocolate...you don't want the extra calories.
You do not need new throw pillows at Target...you're trying to stick to a budget.
Staying up late to watch this television show will make tomorrow morning very rough.

And yet here I sit on the couch, in front of the TV, with a carton of ice cream resting on a throw pillow on my lap.  I guess I'm not any better at being instantly good than my kids are.  

Why doesn't obedience come easier to most of us?  Is that the other side of being created with a spirit of power and not fear?  That we don't fear enough what is not good for us?  Even the most timid, the most reserved person manages in some way to rebel against His word.  

"How often they rebelled against Him in the wilderness and grieved Him in the desert!"  Psalm 78:40

I am like Israel in every way.  I turn my head from what is good over and over and over again.  I choose my way instead of His.  His path is straight and narrow.  Mine looks like the intestinal system of a cow.

But God is God, of course, in every way.  Full of power and might and mercy.  And He has not forsaken me.  

"I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered from all my fears"  Psalm 34:4
 
Oh, to be answered!  He waits patiently, as I do with my own children, as we wade through bad decisions and the consequences thereof.  Until we are finally ready for obedience, finally ready to do it the right way.  

Yes, sometimes life is like building a castle on a swamp indeed.  Mucky, murky and unstable.  But we have a God who waits for us, supports us and turns our swamp into dry, solid land when we trust Him the way we should.  Amen to that, brother.  

XOXO...Kelly 

  




Monday, September 14, 2015

I still love you, Julia Sugarbaker.

When I was younger, I very badly wanted to be like Julia Sugarbaker of the TV show Designing Women.  She was stylish and intelligent and articulate and could tell ANYONE off.  What power, I imagined, could come of knowing exactly what smart and witty and righteousness thing to say at the exact right moment, to put someone in their place.  I was in junior high and high school at the time and it's not that I wanted to be mean.  I just didn't want to feel walked-on.  Does that make sense?

I remember casually sharing this desire with a pastor one day who instead encouraged me to embrace a softer tongue and work on tact instead of pride.  Her counsel was one of those turning points in your life that happens almost without you knowing it, and very much changed my perception of communication.  What I began to see was this....words have power enough of their own.  You don't need shoulder pads and glossy lipstick to wield that power.  You need grace.

"Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.  The tongue is also a fire..."  James 3:5-6

James was very clear in his warnings...our words have power, the kind of power that once out of control is like a deadly poison that no man can tame (verse 8).  Just think about the impact of one negative word, how it spreads not only to its target but can change the whole mood of the person who said it in the first place.  

But what if that power was used for good?  What kind of fire might spread if the spark was rooted in goodness and God's glory?  What if we put God's grace first in everything we say?

Forgive me, I belong to a generation of adults that grew up alongside the rise of social media and email.  Not only did we know everything as newly graduated 20-somethings, we now had the means to express all of our well established wisdom!  Facebook, texting, emails, blogs.  We can say whatever we want and you get the privilege of basking in the radiance of our insight and opinion!

But so fixated on the freedom of our expression, we sometimes forget about grace.
Tenderness.
Intelligence.
Tact.

I still talk a lot, sometimes inappropriately when silence would be just fine but I feel like I have to ramble on with a story anyway to fill in a lull in the conversation.  Like the time I told the story of a man with a severe speech impediment at the vet's office.  He was there for his fewwet'sh yeawly check up and vakshinations.  I told this story to a room full of parents waiting on their children to get out of speech class. (I don't even know what happened.  I just started talking and couldn't stop.....)

But by and large I try to remember the weight of my words, the power behind them.  And when I am tempted to use them in a way that might be less than God-honoring, I remember how much further a soft tongue and a little tact can get you.

And don't worry.  I still love you, Julia Sugarbaker.  More than all the shoulder pads in Georgia.



XOXO....Kelly

Saturday, August 29, 2015

The hate stops here.

You have a choice. 

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them and answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?"  "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these.

Sometimes we forget that to love someone is a choice.  I'm not talking, of course, about marriage and dating and all that.  I'm talking about real, sometimes difficult, though always worth it, Christ-like love.  The verb, not the emotion.  We get very caught up in our opinions, our feelings.  I think this, and I believe that.  Social media has turned into a town hall for soapboxes.  So eager are we that everyone knows what our position is, that we forget entirely about our posture. 

As Pastor Thad Norvel writes, "Orthodox Christian belief insists the Gospel is necessary because of God’s position on our broken ways of living (sin). But the heart of the good news is God’s posture toward us as we continue to break things, including ourselves....Right position without the posture of God revealed in Jesus is not the Gospel." 

And what does the posture of God look like, of course?  It looks like this...


Jesus' words are called commandments for good reason.  They don't come easily to us all the time, they are not as innate as we would like them to be.  But if we don't start working on better posture, collectively, as a society, your position isn't going to matter.

Neighbors are everywhere.  They come in all shapes and sizes and colors.  For those as broken-hearted as I am about the murder of Deputy Darren Goforth this weekend--a murder that occurred in our neighborhood, that was cowardly and hateful and too close for comfort--you have a choice.

My choice is to love.

The hate stops here.

XOXO.....Kelly

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

My body isn't the point.

It all started when I found a picture of myself from our honeymoon in Cancun.  Well, no.  Let's be honest.  It all started several trips ago to Sonic/Menchies/Bahama Bucks/McDonald's after which I came to realize that the ol' waistline ain't what she used to be.  Finding the photo of me in a bikini was really just the stamp on the envelope. 

Beauty is fleeting.  And in case your mirror hasn't proved it yet, it also says so in the Bible.   "Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised" Proverbs 31:30.  I fear the Lord all right.  And the cosmetics section at Ulta....

On the radio the other morning the announcer talked about God's love, how it is unchanging. Where do we find God's love?  In our wallets?  No, our finances change.  In our appearance?  No, our bodies change.  The evidence of God's love for us is in the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ, who died on a cross for our salvation.

And there it was.  For the first time I made a connection between Christ's body and my own.  For the first time I saw the significance of God in human form.  Jesus' body failed him.  It bled and tore just like any other, his lungs no longer capable of air, his heart no longer able to beat.  But the power of God's love for us overcame that broken body.  His Son, made whole, rose again.  The message for us is this....

Our bodies are not the point. 

When God is working inside of you, what you look like doesn't matter.  I know that the world says it does.  The world is what put Jesus on the cross in the first place.  What makes you human is not what makes you Loved.  What makes God divine is

Maybe you need to hear this message, like I did, because it's the end of a long summer and the last time you went to an exercise class was June 10.  Or maybe because your kids are getting ready to start school and need a little reminder of their own self worth.  Whichever the case...

"....The Lord does not look at the things man looks at.  Man looks at outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."  1 Samuel 16:7

Amen.

Mexico 2003

XOXO....Kelly

Monday, August 3, 2015

The Roof

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."  John 14:27

This is the story of our roof, a story of God's glory once again saving me from the wreck I so easily make myself into....

About two and a half years ago, Kevin became increasingly troubled by the condition of our roof.  Though we were not having any problems with it, no leaking, it did look pretty worn and several shingles were missing.  Wanting to stay ahead of any sort of catastrophe, Kevin asked that I get some estimates for replacing the roof.  Parker was a baby at the time, my grandmother has just moved away from us, my sister was pregnant....there was a lot going on.  But he was insistent (and I'm a very patient and obedient wife) so call for estimates I did.  All. Over. Town.  Do you have any idea how many roofing companies there are in Houston?  Of the 9 people I called, only 3 companies actually responded and/or showed up with an estimate.  Of the 3 estimates, all 3 companies used the same products and yet their costs were $2000 apart.

By this point I'd had it.  I was tired, overwhelmed, resenting the expense.  We were arguing.  I had no idea what to do.  So I did the best thing I know to do when I find myself in the middle of such a situation....I prayed the situation away.  I have faith that God cares about the big and small in my life, so I prayed that we would know (1) when to replace the roof, (2) that the money we needed would be there and (3) that I would know which company to use.  When Kevin got home from work the next day and asked how the roof stuff was going I said, "Oh, I prayed about it."

"That's your plan?" He asked.

"Yes," I replied.

He said, "Okay." 

I said, "Okay." 

We moved on.

This spring we finally replaced the roof.  I walked out the backdoor one morning and a gutter was hanging off the house and a little voice inside me said, "Now."  I called a roofer that a friend of ours used a few months prior.  He lives in the neighborhood, came over that afternoon with an estimate and the roof was replaced by the end of the week.  As roof replacements go, it was about as easy as they come.

What I've learned from our roof....there are things we must endure and search for peace in later.  The loss of a job, the passing of a loved one, a broken relationship.  And then there are the things we need to find peace with first, before we can move on.  When this whole thing started my attitude was in worse shape than our roof.  All I could think of was how much money it would cost and how much trouble home maintenance is.  My prayer was as much a prayer for peace as it was for a sign.  But God transformed my heart, changed my attitude and made me ready.  I felt thankful for our home and His providence instead of stressed over repairs and finances.   

As the hymn goes...."Oh, what peace we often forfeit; Oh, what needless pain we bear; All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer."

The Lord is not a genie, a magical wish granter.  But He does care about the big and the small in your life.  Each answer is different, but His desire the same....peace.  Not as you might expect it.  Not as the world says you should have it.  But as He knows you need it.

Pray boldly, friends.  Pray specifically.  And pray for peace.

XOXO....Kelly

 




Saturday, July 11, 2015

Happy Summer!!

It's summer!  Our total lack of routine and my newly-adopted mentality to NOT plan ahead so much has put me a little behind in my blogging this season.  I've actually enjoyed the summer immensely so far, but am sure by mid-August I will be ready for the kind of comfort that only regular bedtimes and a laundry schedule can bring.  Until then....who wants cereal for lunch???

In the midst of all of our summer fun, Kevin and I managed to escape for a delicious kids-free dinner together.  The evening was magical.....we had a gift card and a free babysitter. (A huge thanks to my sister, Christi, who is currently in 1st place as our favorite sibling.  No offense to the rest of you, but you know, free babysitting.  Hard to beat.)  We don't get a lot of nights out alone together, so we try to make the most of those we have.  We had a delicious dinner at Pappas Steakhouse.  If you've never been to a really nice restaurant with Kevin Long, you should try to do so some time.  He asks the waiters questions like, "Is this bread free?", eavesdrops on the conversations of the people sitting around us, and insists that the valets "treat her right" when he hands over his car keys. 

Another highlight from our summer so far...Parker pooped on the potty.  It has only happened twice, but that's enough to restore my hope that he will indeed move out of my house one day and become a contributing member of society.  He still licks EVERYTHING and writes all over himself with marker, but frankly that doesn't put him too far off from a lot of adults I know.  So again, we're making progress.


We have swam, played Monopoly, watched movies, read books, built forts.  I feel like we have truly enjoyed each other in a way we sometimes forget to when schedules, homework and discipline get in the way.  I know we can not live in this world of cereal and sunshine forever...that schedules, homework and discipline are good for us...so I am especially grateful of this season of rest.  It does feel like that, too.  Rest.  Which is kind of funny because most people wouldn't consider the amount of time I've spent with four young boys the past month and a half as restful.  The Lord does work in mysterious ways.....

But, yes.  Rest.

Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him for God is our refuge.
Psalm 62:5-8

I don't know what rest might look like for you these days.  I know rest can come in all forms, from vacation to mourning, celebration to grief.  The purest form of rest depends not on our present circumstances, but on our ability to take refuge in God amidst everything that may (or may not) be going on.  I mean, ideally we'd all be sitting at the beach looking out over the beauty of an endless ocean.  Or waking up to take a deep breath of fresh mountain air.  But in case you happen to be in Houston and your deep breath includes some sand from Africa that's blown across the ocean and into your backyard....

Don't let even that hold you back from God's perfect rest.  Your thoughts, fears, wishes, concerns, joy and sadness....let them rest upon His shoulders not matter where you are and what you're doing.  His refuge is a gift to you, His hope our greatest treasure. 

Happy Summer!

XOXO....Kelly




Monday, June 22, 2015

Offer them Christ

"Offer them Christ."  Said to be John Wesley's last words to Thomas Coke before he sent Coke to America to spread the Methodist Church.  Our pastor shared the story with us during his sermon one Sunday and the painting by Kenneth Wyatt that depicts the scene. 

 
Offer them Christ. 

Something in these words has resonated with me ever since.  If I was to declare one philosophy on making a youth ministry successful after my own service as a youth director, it would very much echo this sentiment.  Anyone can race go-karts, go to a water park, play basketball or compete to drink an entire gallon of milk.  You don't need church for that.  If you want youth to come and keep coming you've got to offer them something they might not get anywhere else.  You've got to offer them Christ.

Isn't that what always makes the difference?

My dad was (and still is) an amazing father.  He invaded our Barbie get-togethers with his remote controlled tank.  He took us on vacation and coached us in softball.  He attended concerts and plays and art shows.  His list of fatherly credentials goes on and on and on.  But not a one of these things would have had the impact on me that it did had he not offered me Christ alongside it. 

"If I speak in the tongues of men and angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal."  (1Cor 13:1) For where would I be if the Father's Love had not come to me through my own father's love?  All the fun and time and memories are just noise when there is no echo of God in them. 

For my sisters and I, there was no doubt growing up what God looked like.  He looked like my dad.  Thank you, Dad, for all you offered me growing up, for all that you were and still are as a father.  But most of all, thank you for offering me Christ.  Happy Father's Day.




XOXO....Kelly



Friday, June 12, 2015

Jupiter

On Wednesday night we discovered that Michael's pet gecko, Jupiter, had passed away.  We have buried dogs and flushed fish, but this death was significant.  As Michael's first pet of his own, he was understandably very upset to lose him.  And, of course, nothing brings out the tough life questions like the death of a pet.  As I struggled to explain many things I finally landed on this....that we don't know how long we'll have with the people or dogs or lizards or anything else in our lives.  None of us can know how or when the end will come for anyone.  So the best we can do is to take care of each other, the best we can, while we have the chance.

It isn't a complicated truth, to love one another.  We like to muddle it up pretty good, though.  Taking a position on this, having an opinion on that.  Time, energy, finances.  And believe me, I'm at the top of the excuse-making pyramid.  But several times in the last week or two I've heard someone talk about when you've been nudged to do something--like reach out with a phone call, deliver flowers, provide a meal--and put it off until you've talked yourself out of it.  I think perhaps God is whispering to me about this.  Take care of each other, He says. 

To love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your mind and with all your soul and with all your strength...and your neighbor as yourself.  There is no commandment greater than these.   

In the love and example of Christ, take care of each other indeed.  Those times we feel nudged to reach out to someone, but don't....that's all on us, putting the other commandments first.  Before and above all else, love God, love one another.  Only this, very simply, in whatever capacity you can manage.    

Michael did a great job taking care of Jupiter.  I believe he's in heaven now, the best of him alive and well with God.  And until we can see him again, may we do the best in love that we can, in His image here on earth. 


XOXO....Kelly

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Last week.

Good riddance to last week!  It started with a tornado warning, kids up at 6:15 sitting in a closet with flashlights.  It ended with me shutting Parker's fingers in a door.  Somewhere in the middle there was storming, flooding, school canceled, the last day of Pre-K for Zachary and Kevin's appendectomy.  It's a new week now and a new month, so we shall have no more of that.  I have declared it.

Here's the thing about a week like last week.  No one thing is insurmountable, but all together it's just a big hot mess.  You've barely had time to process the first event before the next one is upon you.  You are pushed to the edge emotionally and physically.  It is at moments like these that the only recourse is to throw your arms in the air and declare, I give!

"When I said, 'My foot is slipping,' your love, oh Lord, supported me.  When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy."  Psalm 94:18-19

These are the days the Lord has made for me, days to rejoice and be glad in.  Though my circumstances are not always ideal, not a moment goes by where I am not held in the perfect strength of Jesus Christ and His love for me.  My feet may be slipping, but my spirit is steady, resting in an exact me-shaped niche in His hands.  I am not forsaken.  I am loved.  The Lord does not roll his eyes at my anxiety and worry, but expects it, soothes it, turns it into peace.  And so, I give. 

..........Still--seriously, though--I've had enough.  Here's to June.  :)

Blake. 
Taking out the trash, moving on. 
Now who's ready to party? :)

XOXO.....Kelly

Thursday, May 21, 2015

Don't limit God.

"How much Greater is the God we have than the one we think we have."  --Gregory Boyle, Tattoos on the Heart

Do you limit God? 

I never thought much about it until a Bible study lesson a few years ago with a group of high school students.  We were talking about God as our Abba Father, where we seek an intimate relationship with Him instead of just regarding Him as one in a position of authority over us.  Those students in the room that had good relationships with their parents had no trouble with this view of God.  But those that had experienced a degree of familial strain could not make the connection between the God of authority and the God of love.  I had never considered how much impact the role of a father figure might have on someone's relationship with God, the Ultimate Father Figure.  I wondered, what else do we do to limit who God is, either in our own perspectives or for others because of our actions?     

I suppose it's hard for us as the very human beings that we are.  We approach the Gospel with a black and white outline of who God is and what He does and use our life experiences to fill it in with color, add detail subject to our own perspective.  But surely God is not confined to the outline on the page. 

Our church's confirmation class a few years back attended mass at a nearby Catholic church.  During a meeting with the priest ahead of time, one student asked about who would go to heaven and who would go to hell.  Father Lockey's reply.....To judge a person in any capacity is to presume that we can understand the depth of God's mercy and we simply can not

Yes, I think God's outline is far, far beyond the page indeed.

It's easy to try to limit God.  We do it without even thinking we're doing it.  But, oh how much greater, deeper and wider is His love for us.  We can get there.  We can serve instead of judge, worship instead of complain.  We can forget the lines all together and instead be open to what He reveals to us, when we're not so busy trying to figure out what it's going to look like. 

"I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your innermost being, so that Christ may dwell in your heart through faith.  And I pray that you, being rooted in faith and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure with the fullness of God."  Ephesians 3:16-19

May God be limitless to you today, friends.  Limitless.

XOXO....Kelly


 

Saturday, May 9, 2015

"There isn't a thing you don't have to teach them."

"There isn't anything you don't have to teach them," says my friend, Cathy, of raising boys.  And this is good advice.  Like, why do I have to tell them they can't pee in the trash can?  Or make a zip line out of bungee chords in the back yard.  Or lick things.  When you become a mother you are well aware of all the big things ahead of you--potty training, reading, driving, tying shoes.  It's all the little things that you don't see coming. 

My mom taught me how to sing.  Not the do's and the re's and the mi's or how to stand up and breathe from your diaphragm.  But how to pick a song you love and work on it and sing it for someone.  How to make the words sound like real words and the notes sound like your own.  I got to sing alongside her for many years in our church choir, not to mention my aunt and my sisters, until she and Dad moved to Pittsburgh four years ago.  Singing a duet with my mom is still one of my greatest joys, her the alto, me the soprano.  It's as if God knew exactly what He was doing when He placed me in her womb.  :)

When Kevin and I joined a new church a couple of years ago, I was hesitant to join the choir.  Despite all that music has meant to me for so long, I couldn't imagine singing without my mom next to me.  It had always been such a family thing.  But it would have been a disservice to all that has taught me not to try, so I showed up one Wednesday night to give it a shot.  In a room full of strangers, I was placed next to a lady that reminds me so much of my aunt it's spooky sometimes (a little nod from God that I am not alone, I like to think) and I began to sing.  And before long, I realized that all my mother had taught me about singing during all those duets wasn't so much about the two of us, her and me, but the One above.

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb...your eyes saw my unformed body.  All the days were written in your book before one of them came to be."  Psalm 139:13, 16

This is what God does through a mother.  He sees the plans laid out for us and carefully places in just the right hands.  The hands that know the lessons we need to learn.  Did my mom know all that she was teaching me as she was doing it?  I don't know.  But God did.         

This Mother's Day I get to sing a little song with Michael in church.  I will sing and he'll play the piano along with me.  I hope he has a good time doing it.  I hope he's not too nervous and has a great experience.  I hope he likes it so much he'll want to do it again.  And I hope, twenty years later, he'll look up and have learned something from it, not just because we did it together, but because it brought him closer to the One above. 

Happy Mother's Day.
XOXO....Kelly

Thursday, April 30, 2015

"Mom, what happened to your face?"

That's what Michael said when he happened upon this picture of me the other day. 



Well, 40 and a half weeks of pregnancy, 16 hours of labor and C-section.  The miracle of childbirth.  That's what happened to my face.  I don't begrudge him the question at all actually.  If there was any maternal glow about me following the birth of my first child it came much later, after I'd had a sandwich and something to drink.  I can admit that.

Here's what I looked like shortly after Blake was born (#2), 13 months later.

 
 
My face may have fared a little better, but I have no idea what day it is and by the time they took this photo I'd already called both boys in this picture the names of both dogs in this picture.  We were tired.
 
Here's post-Zachary (#3).  I had my stuff together by this one.
 

Look at that....I even blow-dried my hair.  Let's be honest.  By this point I'd caught on to the whole two nurses thing and the fact that the baby can sleep all night in the nursery there if you so choose.  It's like a vacation!

And Parker (#4).


We realized how much much time we had before this one would start to talk back.  Someone get me a margarita!

Oh, how a little time and perspective can just change your whole world, can't it?  I'm not sure that I'm any more equipped as a mother than I was in that first photo, but I sure have learned a lot since then. 

I've learned that God loves me.  I mean really loves me.  He loved me just as much before I had kids, but I didn't understand in the way that I do now, with four little pieces of my heart walking around outside me.

I've learned that God has a purpose for me.  I'm not always perfect and I don't always hit the mark, but that's what grace is for.  I've learned to lean on grace.

I've learned that my kids don't complete me and I don't complete my kids.  They can be cute and wonderful and magical and sweet.  But I can't be their everything and they can't be mine.  There's far too much in the world for all of us, though what we have in each other is certainly a nice bonus.

I've learned compassion, though I've still got a ways to go with patience.  I've learned to pray instead of criticize, praise instead of moan, coach instead of push, ask instead of demand.

I've learned to be joyful always, pray continually and give thanks in all circumstances. 

I've learned that life changes you, kids change you, marriage changes you, but God is surprised by none of this.  He is ready when I am not, giving though I am not deserving.

So, I guess that's what happened to my face, Michael.  And you're totally worth it.  :)

XOXO...Kelly  

  







 
 
 
 
 


Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Change.

A question came up in my book club a couple of weeks ago....do you think it's really possible for people to change?  I mean really change, like from the core.  Or are we just who we were meant to be and will always be?  I once dated a guy who was very philosophic.  And by very philosophic I mean he studied intently the lyrics of Radiohead and drank a lot of Starbucks.  He once said he didn't think people ever really changed, they just continued to undo layers of themselves, like onion skin, until they got to the core of who they were supposed to be.  (Can you hear my eyes rolling???)

As a Christian, I think the idea deserves a little thought.  I know people who don't change or won't change.  The people we've forgiven but seem to keep right on wronging us.  And that's aggravating and difficult and unfair and maybe Jesus didn't know about those people when he mentioned forgiving 77 times???  But He did know about them, of course, which reminds us that forgiveness has nothing to do with deservedness or we'd all be toast. 

And what about myself?  I'm certainly not the same gal I was back with Mr. Radiohead.  So is that just age or maturity or circumstances and not real change? 

What I think I've come to is this.  Change is just a word.  Call it aging, maturing, circumstance, unlayering.  Whatever.  But to abandon the idea that our lives and circumstances, our emotions, our spirit aren't capable of becoming more than they are or have ever been, is to deny ourselves and others hope, to deny God's love for us.

To reject the concept of change for anyone is to doubt the power of God in everyone. 

"Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold....the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect God's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."  2 Corinthians 3:12,17-18

Be bold in your hope, friends, for yourself and for those around you.  God's spirit is at work everywhere, in ways we see and ways we do not.  You are loved, you are held, you are His.  Be changed in Christ today.

XOXO....Kelly

 
 

Saturday, April 4, 2015

Happy Easter.

"It was the Saturday before Easter, and Mom and I were headed to Lowes to buy flowers...." 

When I want to hear my family groan I simply start with that sentence.  It's the tale of how the precious and wonderful Oscar Mayer Long came into our lives, what I jokingly refer to as the true miracle of Easter.  Wasn't he a doll!!!!!????


I love Holy Week.  It is undeniably my favorite week of the whole year.  I don't love it because it marks the time in my life when I would, at long last, get a dachshund puppy of my own.  I love it because no matter what is going on in my life--loss or gain, happiness or sadness--I am reminded of my own worth. 

From Christ's triumphant entry into Jerusalem, to His betrayal in the garden.

From the injustice of His trial, to the cruel magnitude of His suffering.

From His death on the cross, to the miracle of His resurrection. 

He did it for me.  And for you.  And for the person next to you!  He did it for all of us.  Do you know the worth of that?  Can you feel the love of God, designed to reach everyone of us no matter where we are, where we've been or what we are to become? 

Dang.

My pride is brought low, my humility raised up, so that in everything His glory would shine through me.  Christ came to bring healing to a hurting world, to redeem us by His mercy in ways we do not always understand, with a love we can not fathom.  He died to save us and in God's power, was raised again. 

"For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God.  I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ who lives within me.  The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who love me and gave himself for me.  I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"  Galatians 2:19-21

Christ is Risen, friends. 

Because I am worth it.  And so are you.

Happy Easter. 

XOXO.....Kelly

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

I fell off the ball.

I fell off the exercise ball yesterday during Jazzercise. 

See, I've been in a little bit of a funk since before Christmas.  Maybe because my parents were far away for the holidays.  Maybe because it's been raining for 471 days (or something like that).  Maybe because Kevin's been working a lot.  But for whatever reason, the funk settled in.  I have been diligently trying to pray my funk away, begging God to give me some relief from my bad mood or at the very least, please help me stop snapping at my kids.  I woke up yesterday morning determined to be gentle, but by 8:30 I was shouting, "Get out of the dog kennel and put your shoes on for the love of Pete!!!"

Maybe I need a good work out, I thought, so I went to the high impact class at Jazzercise.  I am not a high impact kind of gal, but I was desperate.  Somewhere around the last 3/4 of the class she asked us to grab an exercise ball.  You're probably all familiar with exercise balls.  They look like a great load of fun until you have to use them and then it becomes painfully obvious that the devil probably invented them and sells them at outrageous prices from the gates of hell. 

And that's when it happened.....at the height of my emotional and physical frustration, I fell off the ball.

I don't even know what I did to fall off.  One minute I was on top of it trying to make my chest and abdominals "look like a table top" and the next minute my booty was on the ground.  The ball had flown out from underneath me and the person exercising behind me caught it. 

There's nothing like a little humility to remind you who is God and who is not. 

Okay, God, I give.  Show me.

Because I can't even stay on top of the stupid exercise ball these days and I need some help.  I've literally hit my the bottom.  Show me the way out of this mood.

Later that afternoon I walked in on Michael (8) fussing at Parker (2 1/2) for scattering a deck of cards all over the room.  It was like someone had recorded my voice and was playing it back through my son.  Aaaaahhh, I thought.  There it is.  When your children fussing at one another becomes the blessing you need to snap you out of it.  The Lord does work in mysterious ways.  Mysterious, but mighty.

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord.
"As the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are my ways higher than your ways,
And my thoughts than your thoughts.
As the rain and snow come down from heaven
And do not return to it without watering the earth
And making it bud and flourish,
So that it yields seed for the sower
And bread for the eater,
So is my word that goes out from my mouth.
It will not return to me empty,
But will accomplish what I desire
And achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
You will go out with joy
and be led forth in peace...." Isaiah 55:8-12

Will today be better?  Yes, I think so.  The turtles were back in the creek when we walked to school this morning.  That's got to be a sign.  But in case you're running short of your own signs, remember His word.  That His way is high and mighty and good.  That His will for you is joy and peace.  That His plan has a purpose, and His purpose will succeed. 

XOXO....Kelly





Tuesday, March 17, 2015

I want it all.

I just read the most freeing, amazing thing in the world the other day.  From Sarah Young's (author of Jesus Calling40 Days with Jesus.....

"I am calling you to a life of constant communion with Me.  Basic training includes learning to live above your circumstances, even while interacting on that cluttered plane of life.  You yearn for a simplified lifestyle, so that your communication with Me can be uninterrupted.  But I challenge you to relinquish the fantasy of an uncluttered world.  Accept each day just as it comes, and find Me in the midst of it all."

Oh, Hallelujah!  It's like all the crazies in my head flew away and exploded in the sunlight!  To be affirmed that my day, my life as a busy mother of four is not hopeless, not void of a relationship with God just because my laundry room is full of clothes, my floor is filthy and all the dishes need put away.  It turns out chaos is not an absolute deterrent for a faith-filled life, which is excellent news around here.....

(yes, there is also a dog playing the piano in this picture)

Because here is the ugly, honest truth about me.

I want it all.

I want to know God and walk with Jesus and feel His Spirit, and I want the bathrooms clean at the same time.  Is that too much to ask?

I want to cook dinner for my family, and teach my kids about following Christ.

I want to volunteer and serve my husband, and hear God's voice.

And I can!  I can have it all!  I do not have to choose.  I certainly don't see all these things as equal.  I understand the need for balance, the danger in thinking my ways are higher than His.  But I can enjoy (or sometimes not enjoy!) a day so busy and full of action and still go to sleep feeling His peace at night. 

Can you??

Quit making God's peace seem so unattainable.  Quit thinking you need a spiritual retreat and a trip up the mountain to know He is there.  God is here, now, in the midst of it all.  He meets us where we are.  In the middle of the night, He whispers to the mother rocking her child back to sleep.  In rush hour traffic He lends us a glimpse of the sunrise.  At the grocery store, a kind smile from a stranger. 

Do you know what the problem with the Tower of Babel was?   Our terms.  Our attempt to meet God in our own way, by our own means.  We don't need a tower to reach God.  We just need to invite Him into the everything of our day.  Our meetings, our meals, our to-do list.  Look at Mary and Martha.  Martha's problem was not her to-do list.  It was her lack of joy, her lack of Him.   

So lighten up.  Chances are life isn't going to start slowing down any time soon.  And if it does it won't be that way for long.  Do your laundry.  Feed your family.  Go to work.  Take the downtime when you can get it.  But in the meantime...He is there.  Find Him.

XOXO....Kelly



Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Starting over....

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me...Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation.  Psalm 51:10, 12

Starting over used to be easier.  If I wanted a change, I simply made one.  My hair, the quilt on my bed, the color on my walls.  Spontaneity could happen everyday!

And then some other stuff happened, as is the way of life.  Jobs, a husband, a house, kids, dogs, etc.  People start expecting you to be places...like work and school...on a regular basis.  Getting a hair cut means finding time for an appointment and finding someone to watch the kids while you go.  Do you know how many opinions Kevin has on bedding?  And don't even get me started on paint colors....

But then it turns out those aren't the kind of changes that fulfill me anymore anyway. 

I've started reciting this verse when I wake up in the mornings.  It helps me to remember the kind of change I should be working for.  As I say it I try to imagine that my body is full of sand, sand made up of pride, anger, resentment, envy, criticism.  I picture God's spirit pouring into me, light as air but strong as wind, and pushing the sand out until I can stand up again, free and unburdened.  Some days I move on feeling light and simple all day.  Some days I am full of sand again before breakfast is finished. 

What peace there is to know I can start over again the next day.  All it takes is one deep breath and the willingness to let all that weight go.

Create in me a clean heart, O God.
Renew my spirit.
Restore my joy.
For You alone are my salvation.
Amen.

XOXO.....Kelly




Friday, February 20, 2015

Fruits and vegetables

One day over lunch, a wonderful friend of ours engaged the boys in a discussion on fruits and vegetables.  And as I'm not aware of many fruit and vegetable discussions that don't end up in this direction, we were all trying to remember the difference....what makes a fruit and what makes a vegetable?  Fruits grow on trees, vegetables in the ground?  I don't know, something like that.  I am aware that there is probably a very specific scientific answer to this question, but even as I ponder it I can't help but wonder if the person who started classifying the differences between the two isn't beating his head against a wall somewhere right now.  You know, like every time someone starts an argument over avocado (which is a fruit) and a banana (which is not) he just wants to scream out, "Who cares?!!!  Just eat it!"

Or maybe John Calvin when he broke off from the Roman Catholic Church in the 1500's.  Did he have any idea that his idea of reform would develop into over 40,000 different denominations, sects, movements and organizations of the Christian church worldwide?

Who should take communion? 

Can I get married here? 

That's a sacrament! 

What's a sacrament? 

I thought it was an avocado.
 
An avacado's a fruit!   

It boggles the mind, doesn't it?  When did it get so hard to follow Christ?  Does anyone else have a picture of Him up in heaven beating his head against a wall as we argue about what color the altar cloth should be during the season of Epiphany? 

Don't get me wrong.  I know it's not as easy as that.  I know that even with the most open-hearted, open-minded intentions we will still open God's word and, human as we are, each read something slightly different.  Some of us don't read it at all.  We just go by what we are told.  Or by what clever little poster someone puts together for their Facebook page.  But there is a difference between religion and faith.  There is a difference between going to church and following Christ.  And while I think both are necessary and important, the first doesn't mean anything if we don't make the latter our priority.

I personally love all types of fruits and vegetables.  Except jalapenos.  Don't even get me started on jalapenos.  And hominy...that stuff is disgusting.  And red delicious apples.  They may be red, but they are not delicious. 

But I'll praise their maker while I've breath, and follow Christ with them any day. 

XOXO.....Kelly

Michael, Blake and I in a pumpkin patch fall 2008.  A pumpkin is a fruit!



Tuesday, February 10, 2015

IKEA People

I made my semi-annual trek to IKEA last week.  It's about 30 minutes from our house, so I don't go often.  But I see something online or get their catalogue in the mail and I eventually convince myself to go check out whatever it is I saw. 

I took Parker and Zachary with me.  I learned really quick that you can't take 4 boys with you to IKEA because even though they have a "family plan" or whatever that is, by family they mean leave your kids in the play area because we don't want them to touch our stuff.  We wound our way through the maze of couches and dressers and kitchen stuff, etc.  If you've never been in an IKEA, you have to follow these blue arrows through almost the entire store until you can get out.  They have these little short-cuts every now and then, but they're a little hard to get to and, again, you have to risk touching the merchandise to get there.  Best to just stick to the path.

We probably made it about 20 minutes this trip before someone ticked me off (that's actually pretty good), so, as per usual, I found myself sitting in the café halfway through the store glaring at everyone around me.

IKEA people. 

IKEA people, despite the fact that they're looking at very inexpensive furniture, are a little snooty.  It's like you have to check your southern hospitality at the door when you go in there.  And they're always dressed a little nicer than I am and know how to use things like Instagram and Twitter and they don't eat gluten or sugar.  IKEA people.  Sitting there all smug with their bergdorfs and ilkentops, trying to decide where to put their shurgenburgens at home after they've plugged their electric cars in. 

And then it occurs to me.

I'm in IKEA. 

I'm enjoying lunch and a beverage in the café.  I'm carrying around a carefully designed Swedish product with instructions that I'll never be able to understand.  Am I an IKEA person, too??!!!

And there it is.  The great human equalizer.  The realization that you are no better and no worse than the people around you (despite my inability to use Instagram or Twitter and being totally accepting of both sugar and gluten).  Did I not just drive myself 30 minutes to get here?  Our van may not be electric, but I use the eco-boost for fuel efficiency!  I kind of don't even mind that they don't give you a plastic bag to carry your stuff home in.  Sweet mother of Lionel Richie....I have become an IKEA person.

So my message for today....cut the world some slack.  We all need forgiveness and we all get grace.  No matter how far up or down your nose you're looking at someone....you aren't really all the different from them in the end. 

God loves us each the same.  REALLY.  He does.  No exceptions.  Even the IKEA people.

Especially the IKEA people.

 

XOXO....Kelly      

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

New vans and old bladders....

We got a new(er) van just before Christmas.  For those of you that know of our old van, you know it was dearly loved, but pretty much just what you would expect for a family riding around with four little boys.  Rough.  We resolved to give up on prideful vehicles a long time ago, but when the door locks stopped working Kevin put his foot down.  So we upgraded and our new(er) van has all sorts of fancy bells and whistles.....a DVD player, heated seats, a heated steering wheel, automatic doors and door locks that work.  As I often like to say, there is sooooo much on this van for us to break.  It's going to be great.

Earlier this week, Parker and I headed out of Jazzercise for a quick trip to Target.  I should have used the restroom before we left Jazzercise, but I still like to believe I have the bladder of a 20-year old.  Everything else is aging, so I try to cling on to what I can.  It, of course, is nowhere near the bladder of a 20-year old and so I was in a pretty desperate condition by the time I got to Target.

Parker has just recently learned to use the automatic door lock buttons and insists on opening and closing the door by himself every time we go somewhere.  While he understands the basic principle behind the button, the particulars trip him up sometimes.  Like, don't hit it more than once or don't hit the button when someone is standing in front of the door.  And so there I stood, in the Target parking lot, trying to get my 2 1/2 year old out of the van--who is managing to pin my arm in the car door because he won't stop hitting the automatic door button--and all the while ready to pee everywhere.

When I finally freed us, I noticed a young 20-something young man staring as he passed by.  Wonder what he was thinking.  After all, there's not much more attractive than a 35-year old mother of four wetting her Jazzercise pants in the Target parking lot while shouting at her son to quit slamming the door shut on her arm. 

Fortunately I made it into the store before any real damage was done and managed to get the few groceries I came for as well.  We'll call that one a success.  Next time, who knows.

Some days the sun shines, the sky is blue and Target has everything you need in stock.  Other days you pee all over yourself in the parking lot before you even get inside.  Can there be peace on such as day as this?  You betcha.

"We are hard-pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed....Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day."  2 Cor 4:8,9,16

God's work in you continues, my friend, every day--rain or shine, good or bad--no matter what.  His peace renews us, providing light where darkness threatens to take over.  Father, help me to rely on that.  When my patience is tested and my circumstances seem desperate, let your peace take over.  When my body fails and technology backfires, it is the only way.  Amen.

XOXO......Kelly



Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Mama Jan

A long time friend of mine lost her mother this weekend.  "Mama Jan" struggled for so many years bravely and gracefully, and is at peace at last.  I think about the many ups and downs her family went through alongside her, the spirit of hope that kept them all together. 

We've all been there in one capacity or another...staring into the face of fear and uncertainty.  Illness, job loss, a broken relationship.  Mistakes abound.  Circumstances fail us.

But there is always hope.

I lift my eyes unto the hills--where does my help come from?
My help is in the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.
Psalm 121:1-2

Let what brings us to our knees, be what brings us to Christ.  Let our heads not bow in defeat, but in fervent prayer.  Let hope replace your sorrow, your fear, your uncertainty.  There is always hope.

To my friend, I know your pain is great and your loss immeasurable.  What an inspiration you and your family are, how you've lived for so long in hope and joy and faithfulness.  This road has been a long one, the road ahead longer still.  May God's peace surround you in the coming days.  May His hope continue to live and grow in each one of you.  You are in our thoughts and prayers always. 

XOXO....Kelly



Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Greater

I learned recently that in the first 100 years after the Great Wall of China was built, it was breached only three times.  And none of those times included any damage to the wall itself.  All the enemy had to do was bribe the gatekeeper.

A week ago I ripped the sinks and countertop out of our 2nd upstairs bathroom and began a little remodeling up there.  I enjoy a good home project and more than once Kevin has come home to find a countertop taken off or a giant hole in the ceiling because I got inspired by something I saw on Pinterest.  On a good day, I regard home improvement as a hobby.  Something that keeps my hands and mind busy, my creativity fed.  On a bad day I am obsessed with it.  As if a new set of sinks and a countertop is the answer to whatever anxiety or frustration I am feeling at the moment. 

All too often I find myself paying more attention to what's going on around me than focusing on what's going on within me.  Like a gatekeeper at the Great Wall, it matters not the magnitude of what I've built, tended and painted.  If I am not willing to tend to what's inside me first, all the enemy has to do is walk right through.

"You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world."  1 John 4:4

There's a great song from MercyMe called Greater and it is based on this verse.  I take great comfort in knowing that no matter what is going on around me, that none of it is greater than the God whose spirit lives inside me.

Are there circumstances you are trying to control in order to make you feel better about something that's going on inside of you?  Or maybe it's your circumstances that are the problem.  Your clothes, your house, your job, your friends....they just never seem to measure up.  Take comfort--there is still peace to be had.  Peace when in plenty, and peace when in want. 

For the One that is in you will ALWAYS be greater than what's going on around you.

XOXO....Kelly

"Greater" by MercyMe
 
Bring your tired
And bring your shame
Bring your guilt
And bring your pain
Don't you know that's not you're name
You will always be much more to me
 
Every day I wrestle with the voices
That keep telling me I'm not right
But that's alright
 
'Cause I hear a voice and He calls me redeemed
When others say I'll never be enough
And greater is the One living inside of me
Than he who is living in the world
In the world
In the world
And greater is the One living inside of me
Than he who is living in the world
 
Bring your doubts
And bring your fears
Bring your hurt
And bring your tears
There'll be no condemnation here
You are holy, righteous and redeemed
 
Every time I fall
There'll be those who will call me
A mistake
Well that's OK
 
'Cause I hear a voice and He calls me redeemed
When others say I'll never be enough
And greater is the One living inside of me
Than he who is living in the world
In the world
In the world
And greater is the One living inside of me
Than he who is living in the world
 
(He's Greater, He's Greater)
 
There'll be days I lose the battle
Grace says that it doesn't matter
'Cause the cross already won the war

 (He's Greater, He's Greater)
 
I am learning to run freely
 Understanding just how He sees me
And it makes me love Him more and more

 (He's Greater, He's Greater)
 
There'll be days I lose the battle
Grace says that it doesn't matter
'Cause the cross already won the war

 (He's Greater, He's Greater)
 
I am learning to run freely
Understanding just how He sees me
And it makes me love Him more and more

(He's Greater, He's Greater)
 
'Cause I hear a voice and He calls me redeemed
When others say I'll never be enough
And greater is the One living inside of me
Than he who is living in the world
In the world
In the world
And greater is the One living inside of me
Than he who is living in the world
 
There'll be days I lose the battle
Grace says that it doesn't matter
'Cause the cross already won the war
He's Greater, He's Greater
 
I am learning to run freely
Understanding just how He sees me
And it makes me love Him more and more
My God is greater (He's Greater, He's Greater)
Than he who is living in the world