This is Christmas

I had a really, really, great week recently.  One of those weeks where you look back and see God's hands all over each day.  The three biggest highlights....

1.  I heard the testimony of some new friends' marriage, how God met them, redeemed them and turned their lives around.  It was amazing!

2.  I watched a sweet little friend ring the bell at Texas Children's Hospital, a symbol of the end of her cancer treatments.  She is officially "no evidence of disease"!!

3.  I celebrated with friends who finalized the adoption of their precious baby daughter.

I share these joys with you for good reason.  For in celebrating in these ways with these families, you can not overlook the struggle it took to get them there.  These people--all so dear and precious--have fought, and fought mightily.  They have fought temptation and pride.  Illness and disease.  Doubt and unrest.  Their roads have been long and bumpy and dark.  And yet.....

"The people walking in darkness have seen a great light.  On those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned."  Isaiah 9:2

Advent is a season to prepare our hearts to celebrate the coming of Christ.  It's a season to embrace traditions and have (the best we can muster!) a bright and merry spirit.  But it is also a time to understand what Christ's coming means.  To look around on the roads we're traveling.  To see the bumps and the deep darkness and to feel those struggles AND YET! ....to know a light is coming.  To know the hope of Christ.  

Because Christ does come to us.  From the manger to the cross, and from the grave to life again, Christ comes again and again and again to us, with hope, with salvation, with victory.  This is Christmas, friends.  This is hope.  This is Jesus.  May we know it in the deepest way.

XOXO....Kelly

The Long Family Christmas Letter 2017

Ah, the holidays!  The season for making things pretty and bright and shiny and lovely.  Especially the Christmas cards.  As you might recall from last year, I took a stab at writing something no less touching but slightly more authentic to update family and friends on happenings in the Long family.  In the continued spirit of authenticity--and because you're not fooling anyone anyway--I give you The Long Family Christmas Letter, 2017 Edition...
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Dearest Family and Friends....

What an incredible year it has been for our family.  The Lord has indeed blessed us in so many ways!  Kevin still has his beard.  It disappeared briefly for a few days, but the kids kept telling him he looked weird without it so he grew it back.  Whew!  Kevin's managed to stay just this side of skinny jeans on the hipster scale.  He looks mature and rugged, yet just the right touch of relevant.  We feel very blessed.

Michael is in 5th grade this year and wants a phone.  I tried to explain how cell phones are actually the work of the devil himself.  Is it any coincidence that both the fall of man in Genesis and the leader in personal technology involves an apple??  I think not.  There was much eye-rolling about this and he has not been deterred.  Michael also enjoys soccer, swimming and playing the piano.  We feel very blessed.

Blake is in 4th grade and if you ask him what's new he'll tell you he shot his first deer!  I thought it was gross, but he was so pleased so I didn't tell him how gross I thought it was.  I'm working on an apology for his future wife because I think there are going to be a lot of hides and heads and deer guts in her future.  I want her to know he is a wonderful young man even though he is so gross.  He loves being outdoors and playing football and swimming.  We feel very blessed.

Zachary just turned 8 and is never wrong.  Never.  I don't know what else to say about that.  We feel very blessed.

Parker is in kindergarten this year and, despite all odds, is managing just fine without his mother in "all day, everyday school".  His teacher taught him how to count to 100 so now he counts everything, including the minutes until he can see his mom again.  He loves to buy his lunch from the cafeteria (everything comes wrapped in its own plastic bag) and marvels at the other students that fall out of their chairs and forget to raise their hands when talking.  He played a bit of YMCA team soccer this fall when he was in the mood to.  Did you know you don't have to run during soccer?  Really...you can just sort of walk up and down the field and look at the ball from a distance.  This was the strategy for many members of the team.  We did not win a game.  Still, we feel very blessed.  

I continue to do as much online grocery shopping as I can and am thinking about learning the guitar and Spanish.  Thinking about it.  I am current on all of the episodes of British Baking Show on Netflix and sometimes exercise.  I'm still the president of our elementary school PTO.  I feel very convicted about volunteering and being a part of our community.  This also allows me to see the kids during the middle of the day.  Do you know what teachers LOVE? When you pop into their classrooms and give your kids a hug in the middle of instruction.  To be a part of my kids' day at school.....I feel very blessed.  

Most of all, we have God who loves us despite ourselves!  We're looking forward to celebrating this season of His coming and we pray daily for the grace that will allow us to get through it!  May His love fill your hearts and homes this season....and all seasons!

With love....the Long Family 

Front Row, Pictured from Left to Right:  

Zachary Long (counting the minutes until he can take his "church shirt" off)

Kelly & Kevin Long (still recovering from the previous day's argument over sandwich condiments)

Parker Long (about to be pinched by his big brother)

Back Row, Pictured from Right to Left:

Michael Long (about to be grounded for pinching his little brother)

Blake Long (just farted)  

  

Preparing room....

I just finished putting the front yard decorations out.  After all, the best way to spread Christmas cheer to is sing aloud for all to hear!

Is it too early to start talking about taking it all down?  You know, when the Christmas season is over.  Like a modern day Isaiah, Hobby Lobby has been foretelling of its coming for months now.  But what happens when it's all said and done?

One of my favorite Christmas lines is in the first verse of Joy to the World...."let every heart prepare Him room".  The longer I walk with God, the more I see the truth of what God does to a heart when one allows Him space inside it, and keeps Him there close by.  Anyone can know who God is.  Scripture reminds us that even Satan knows He exists.  We can't stop at salvation either.  I accept Jesus as my Savior.  But what about the Lord part?  Does He rule in your heart?  In your life beyond the season?      

The truth about Christmas for me is that it doesn't really matter much what you do at this time of year, if you're not living up to it the rest of the year.  What holiday magic really creates a relationship among family members that only see each other for the sake of the season?  That angel tree gift is a wonderful gesture, but the poor are still in need the rest of the year, too.  We love to say, "Keep Christ in Christmas" but what about the rest of the year?  Where are you keeping Him then?  Does He go back into storage with the nativity scene until next December?

Let every heart prepare Him room....

The gift of God's son is a life changing gift, from the inside out....not just a seasonal one.  We can celebrate Christmastime all we want with a lighted Christmas tree and ornaments, decorated cookies and packages.  Or we can do none of it at all!  Christ isn't just interested in being a part of your holiday celebration.  He wants you all the time.  

Heavenly Father, this time of year it is easy to be swept up with celebrating and decorating, gift-buying and preparations.  All of these traditions can indeed be so much fun.  But, Father, when the season is over and everything is packed away let me remember that You are still on the throne!  You are my Savior AND my Lord.  Let my actions this holiday season be a continuation of the good works You have accomplished through me so far, and lead me further in Your name into the new year ahead.  Amen.

Love them anyway...

Have you seen this video yet, of Paul Rugg and his Chihuahua?  Paul explains how he unwinds after a long day with his furry companion. (Follow the link to watch the video on YouTube.  It kills me!!  Every. Single. Time.)  Of course you learn that the dog isn't in quite the same place as Paul is on this.
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLu2CFDBJk0

I think loving on people is sometimes like the situation in this video.  It's supposed to make you feel good and fill you up inside.  It's supposed to be life changing and heart changing.  But some people just gnaw on your hand.  Repeatedly. 

Some people are hard to love.

But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. 

If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full.

But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful." Luke 6:27-36

This isn't the message the world gives us.  It requires a strength and grace the world can't provide.  But then again, my friends, we're not in this for the world.

Whoever might be challenging you today, keep up the good work.  The world isn't always going to respond the way you want it to, but if we stop trying the enemy wins.  Not by our own strength or for our own glory do we love on others, but because Christ loved us first. 

So hang in there, friends.  You're making a difference.

XOXO....Kelly

Captain Phillip, Fisher of Men

Earlier this month the boys and I treated Kevin to a guided fishing trip on Lake Conroe, our birthday gift to him.  Our captain for the morning was a man named Phillip.  We had just boarded the boat and strapped on the life jackets when Phillip shared that his daughter, Ashley, had passed away the day before.  Kevin and I looked at each other, not quite sure what to say or think.  Here we sat with a grieving father, expecting him to spend the next five hours with us, teaching us and guiding us in the ways of catfish.  And, oh, by the way, please be in a good mood with us and super patient because our boys ask A LOT of questions.

So I said, "Captain Phillip, what are you doing here??  Are you sure you're up for this today?"  And his response, "I've got to pay for the funeral.  And I know where she is."

Phillip, it turns out, is much more than a fishing guide.  Phillip and his wife have 7 children and 16 grandchildren between the two of them.  And Phillip is a missionary.  A modern day Peter, James or John, he laid down his competitive fishing net many years ago to begin his ministry.  He's traveled to Africa, Fiji, Russia, Honduras, slept on the dirt and dined with peasants. 

"Phillip," I said, "You are LITERALLY a fisher of men."

As the morning went on, Phillip talked about his family, his daughter and his life experiences.  He quoted scripture and shared some of the many times he's seen God actively moving in his life.  He talked about burying his parents, both of his brothers and now the task ahead of him...burying his daughter.  When we loaded the car and left the marina Michael turned to me and said, "That man is a CHRISTIAN!"

Captain Phillip has traveled all over the world to spread the Gospel, but I'm willing to bet his biggest mission field is right there on Lake Conroe.  Can you imagine your workplace in the same way?  We think mission work has to require a suitcase and months of fundraising, but what if God's biggest job for you is where you are right now?  Who is God putting in your path today that needs to know, even on your hardest day, about the truth of Christ's love? 

"For He has not given us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline." 2 Timothy 1:7 

Be bold!!  Be courageous.  Be a fisherman, wherever you are. 

XOXO...Kelly

I don't like noise.

It might come to surprise you that I, having been blessed with 4 wonderful boys, don't handle noise well.  Truly.  I turn the radio off when we get in the car.  I don't like loud restaurants or clubs.  I think surround-sound speakers were made by the devil.  God has given me the heart and patience to miraculously ignore the constant pounding, banging and shouting that often comes from our upstairs game room (they are, after all, making memories up there....) but that's about it.

And I'm not much good with the other type of noise in life either.  The kind of noise that comes from monogrammed YMCA team shirts (you all know how I feel about that), birthday parties for adults, most smart phone apps, preschool graduation ceremonies, 5th grade graduation ceremonies, professional football players (excluding, obviously, JJ Watt who is rumored to be taking over Lakewood Church from Joel Osteen), gender reveal parties, competitive cheerleading and wedding reception party favors.

On a daily basis I struggle with walking the ever-thinning line of living--in the example of Christ--in this world but not of it.  How do you do it...cut out or stand against the things that don't matter, that you don't believe in, without being a total social pariah??  And I'm not even talking about BIG things here.  Martin Luther King Jr. stood against segregation.  I'm only talking about cupcakes on the last day of school and yet it is so difficult!

One thing I've found in the wake of the mess Harvey left behind is that it's becoming a lot easier to say no to what doesn't matter.  I don't believe God intends bad things for his people, but I do believe He uses tragedy to refine us in ways that abundance can not.  Sometimes the most desperate times for a community are the times of most clarity.  We see need in a different way, give no second thought to filling it, and walk closer to God in the way we love others.

I want recovery for those affected by these storms.  I want it so badly.  But I am not eager to return to life complicated by the things that do not matter.  I don't want schedules that are so over-booked that the thought of dropping things to help a neighbor goes unentertained.  I don't want pressure to spend money on what will be dust and ashes instead of life-giving bread for others.  I don't want the WHAT to be more important that the WHO in our lives.  I want a new normal, as our pastor puts it.

I want the Kingdom of Christ.  At any cost.

Lord Jesus, heal our wounds and repair the brokenness in our lives.  Restore our homes and our community, but not to the way things used to be.  Use this time of hardship to bring us closer to you, God, and to the kind of world you'd have us live in.  Let us cling to the lessons you are teaching us right now, the goodness you are making of this mess.  And let it change from the inside out.  Amen.

XOXO...Kelly

Home

Well, friends, it's been quite a few weeks.  If you're keeping track, Hurricane Harvey blew into the gulf and onto land in Southeast Texas about 10 days ago and then, like a great big a*hole, stuck around the Houston area for 5 days only to go back out into the gulf, re-fuel and then come back onto land devastating more areas east of here.  Record rainfall has caused monumental flooding in homes and businesses and displaced thousands upon thousands of people. 

And as we in Houston band together to try to clean up all this mess (there are now about 5,000 different Houston strong t-shirts and car decals that can be purchased to benefit flood victims and Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale and JJ Watt have been asked to take over as pastors of Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church), Hurricane Irma--Harvey's sister who apparently got even less love than he did growing up--has morphed into the biggest a*hole of them all, setting its sights on destroying Florida. 

I'm now up to three cups of coffee in the morning and 4 glasses of wine at night and my new parenting strategy sounds something like this...."Do not hit your brother!  There are children without homes and schools!" 

About mid-way through the storm I read an excerpt from AW Tozer on being at home with Christ.  Tozer talks about a Christian brother from Thailand who, in describing the godly life of one of the missionaries he worked with says, "He is in the Father's house now."  Tozer wrote...

What a vision for a humble Christian who only a generation before had been a pagan, worshiping idols and spirits—and now because of grace and mercy he talks about the Father's house as though it were just a step away, across the street.  This is the gospel of Christ—the kind of Christianity I believe in. What joy to discover that God is not mad at us and that we are His children....

Home will have a different meaning for many people now.  Some will return to just a shell of the former house they occupied--the walls and floors eventually restored, but emptied of most of its contents.  Some will not return at all. 

My Father's house has many rooms...And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.—John 14:2, 3

I do not know what to say to comfort those that are displaced right now, who have thrown away photo albums and furniture and family heirlooms.  I don't know what to say to someone sleeping in a shelter that might make them feel secure.  But I do know that there is a vast difference in the kind of shelter afforded by this world, built by our own human hands, and the of the kind of shelter provided by Christ.  As I look around my own home, filled and decorated with things I like and maybe even love (as much as you can love a chair and silver plated dachshund statue), I MUST remind myself that when the flood waters rise this is not my shelter.  My shelter is now and forever will be in Jesus Christ. 

Lord, there is much to pray for, so much to ask.  Be with those in recovery right now and with those that might be facing it in the days and storm ahead.  Let me remember that You are on your throne as much now as you have ever been.  Build a shelter around me, God, made of love and mercy and grace, one that will not fail.  And when I see someone in need, help me to proclaim your gospel in word and in deed, that this shelter would be theirs as well.  To the glory of Your name.  AMEN.

XOXO...Kelly

In the beginning...

How's your summer going so far?  I'm having a hard time believing it's already July!  I feel like I crammed a lot of activity into the month of June and there's still a lot more to be crammed in before school starts. 

Recently we returned home from a trip to a house that smelled like skunk and a car that wouldn't start.  One of our dachshunds, Cordie, was sprayed just before we left for our road trip--as in at 5am, 30 minutes before our car was to hit the road.  We cleaned her and the house the best we could before we left.  God bless our dog sitter because I don't know what you know about skunk smell but it does not go down without a fight.  We're now two weeks out from the incident and I still catch faint whiffs of it throughout the house.

So there was that.  And then the car that wouldn't start and the cracked windshield on another vehicle that had to be replaced and a bunch of home projects I'm trying to catch up on and finish plus jobs and July 4 holidays and birthdays to plan, etc., etc., etc.  It's not that I'm complaining about all of this--these are the busy things that make up life right now and they each have their place, challenges or not.  (Well, maybe the skunk.  I'm definitely complaining about the skunk.)  I believe God meets us where we are.  I believe He's as much a part of the laundry in my house as He is worship on Sunday morning. 

But darned if I've not completely lost sight of that.

Do you ever have those moments, when you feel so very far away from God and so very close to chaos?  Sometimes I write the word "peace" on my hand when I'm feeling like I need a little extra help remembering it.  I did that the other day.  Then I mopped and wiped up skunk smell for 10 hours and it got washed off. 
 
So this morning I tried a different approach.  I began at the beginning. 

I took my Bible outside and read Genesis 1.  In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  The earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep.  And in that darkness, over that formless, deep, empty space the Spirit of God hovered, and His voice spoke, and light appeared. 

Can you imagine that?  God's voice?  In the dark, in the deep, in the emptiness comes the spirit of something so powerful that the only response to such an instrument is creation??

The light is separated from darkness creating day and night.  The heavens make way from the waters and the waters make way for land.  The seas and skies and earth are filled with creatures and plants and trees.  The sun and moon and stars are set upon the heavens so that seasons may come and time set in motion.  And man.  Created in His image, set apart and above, male and female, to multiply and govern and tend. 

Back to the beginning.  To the assurance that I am His.  That this world around me, the wind moving through the trees, the heat radiating off the ground, the day that turns to night and back into morning...it belongs to Him.  At the beginning of each day there will always be this, and always this when I lay my head down to rest at night. 

So that's my challenge to you.  In case you're having one of those days/weeks/months/years :) ...take your Bible outside and start at the beginning.  Where all that's required is God's voice and the rest just falls into place.

XOXO...Kelly

All the Details

So it's been summer vacation now for seven days.  Seven days...and I've already begun to forget what silence is like.  I catch fleeting glimpses of it every now and then, like when I'm using the restroom.  But then someone knocks on the door to ask me for some Doritos and it's gone again.

When you have four children, the question-asking can get a little out of control.  In any given circumstance there's the potential for four times the amount of questions.  And NO ONE listens when someone else asks a question, so it's very likely I'll get the same question at least twice. 

For example, we are currently in the middle of the summer swim team season, which involves three different practices spread across two and a half hours and two different pools.  What I'd really love to do is just tell the boys when to be ready, have them actually be ready to go at that time, and drive them to practice in perfect obedience.  What actually happens is seven reminders to get ready, two trips back inside for forgotten goggles and someone getting grounded from video games for the rest of the day.  And then when we finally do get into the car it's, "What time does my practice start? How many minutes is it today? Why doesn't so-and-so have to practice as long? Do we have to go tomorrow, too? What time will you pick me up? Can I play at the playground afterwards? Are we going the right way??" 

Oh for the love of all Doritos....why don't they just do what I say and trust me??!!! 

As I drove to swim practice this morning I heard the Lord whisper to me, Ditto. 

For it is the truth that I badger Him the same way.  I am happy to follow in the direction He's sent me, but not without a full rundown of all the details first. 

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways.
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,
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."
Isaiah 55:8-11

Ditto, indeed. 

I do not drive my children aimlessly to swim practice, but with a plan and a purpose.  My God treats me no differently.  I long for the same trust of my children that God longs for from me.  My boys don't realize yet what a gift that kind of trust is, but surely I do.  Surely I can accept it, live into it and through it.

They'll figure it out some day, my kids.  They'll be sitting in the restroom somewhere when a tiny hand knocks on the door and asks them for a snack.  And then they'll know.  And maybe it will occur to them to call and thank me that day, knowing then what it's like to raise kids into trust and faith.  It's my hope for them, after all.  That they might know the same sort of blessings one day that they give to me, however loud and difficult they might be along the way. 

I'll think of them, of course, but I might not be available to take the call.  Because, Lord willing, Kevin and I will be on a beach somewhere, enjoying the silence.  With a big bag of Doritos.

XOXO.....Kelly

Sweet

Last week marked the end of our family's 9 year career in preschool.  Michael started in 2008, going one day a week for four hours.  I remember the morning before school his first day feeling so aware that we were entering a new era, where I would not be privy to every moment of my child's day, not overhear every conversation, be aware of every emotion and nuance.  I worked at the church where he attended preschool at that time and spent a good portion of the day peeking in at him, marveling that his life was going on just fine without me right there. 

The fact is I could not have made that transition into school life without the teachers and faculty taking care of my son.  Their capable hands, overwhelming patience and steady commitment to Michael at such a young age was not just a thing that made it easier.  It was THE thing.  And last week, as I walked Parker to the car on his final day, I felt overwhelmed with appreciation of their care. 

It's the end of an era for sure, and I've heard many describe such a milestone as bittersweet.  But for me it's just sweet. 

Sweet because my kids have enjoyed their time in preschool and loved their teachers.

Sweet because each person there who guided my children was, and will continue to be, a gift from God. 

Sweet because they are better people for their time spent there. 

And sweet because I know new adventures lie ahead.  They may not always be grand, good or easy adventures, but look at the foundation they've been given.

How can there possibly be room for bitter in all this??

Praise, Father, I have nothing but praise today.  For the people you've put in my babies' paths.  For the ways you've provided for them and the ways I know you always will.  Thank you for this piece of the greater puzzle.  In Your Name.....Amen.

XOXO....Kelly

Then (Michael's first day)...

....and now (Parker's last).  ❤

Cupcakes.

It was around this time last year that I was in the middle of one of the stupidest disagreements of perhaps my entire life.  Over cupcakes.  Yes.  Cupcakes.  And whether their presence was really all that necessary at the last day of school party at our elementary school.  I won't hash out the details for you here except to say that I don't care about cupcakes, and I really don't care about them on the last day of school when all I want to do is take my kids home and start summer. 

Since then a whole slew of other things have popped up that I don't have much patience for either.  Like Leprechaun Traps....decorated shoe boxes left out on St. Patrick's Day.  Y'all...what the heck???  Have you not seen what happened with the Elf on the Shelf??  Have we learned nothing?!  Next there will be bait and treasure left behind (that's not free, you know....you're going have to buy that crap....) and a lively little stuffed doll wearing all green.  You'll have to have a naming ceremony and find creative ways to dye things green all over your house.  You know what doesn't require that much work?  Wearing green on March 17.  Most of us aren't even Irish!!  Think this one through, people.  Think this one through.

Also letters to the Easter Bunny.  The Easter Bunny does not grant wishes.  He fills eggs with candy, maybe leaves one other present as long as it fits in the basket.  Easter is about Jesus.  It's enough of a stretch already that we have a large adult-sized bunny leaving treats on Sunday morning.  Let's not even call it a stretch.  Let's just call it silly.  What's next?  The Easter Bunny saddles up a team of magical flying chicks and hops aboard his carrot wagon?  They stop at the tomb first--to thank Jesus for the chocolate--and then off to fill Easter baskets!! My point is, you and I both know our budgets can't handle two Christmases, so simmer down and put those lists away.

My opinions aside, the fact that you like cupcakes or not--or any of these other things--doesn't make you a good or bad person.  When I reflect back on that disagreement a year ago I am confident no child was affected by the decision because in the end a cupcake is eaten and then it is gone.  A leprechaun box will fall apart.  A letter will fade.  But was Jesus there??  In my heart or anyone else's?  Was I able to see how insignificant the decision really was and treat the person on the other side of the argument with love, mercy and grace?  Or did I let a cupcake stand in the way of God's will?  I think I know the answer...

If I speak with the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love I am only a resounding gong or clanging symbol.  1 Corinthians 13:1

Such noise we allow in!  The things that do not matter that we make matter, the lines we draw between one another just because we want to feel right.  It's everywhere, and it is not Christ.  It's not the will the of God or the goodness He has promised us in His name.  These details will not save us in the end nor do they bring anyone else any closer to knowing Him. 

It's May now, and that means a lot is going on, especially if you have kids in school.  May there be Jesus in your busy-ness.  Amidst the bustle of all that needs to be done may there be the silence of God's peace.

XOXO....Kelly

 

When your 9 year olds be trippin'....

It all started around September as my oldest began to settle into being 9 (if you've ever had a 9 year old you know what I mean) and sort of came to a head this morning when my youngest announced that he no longer needs a stool to reach the light switches.  I sat in the kitchen and cried. 

Just when you think you've mastered one phase, you enter another. 

Jesus and I had a heart to heart this morning about the challenges of parenting and letting go, and I felt compelled to share these words He put on my heart with you. 

You know, just in case 9 is tripping you up a little as well..... 

XOXO...Kelly


Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
   Holy Father, you sit as the ultimate parent over all of us.

Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
   Help me to do Your will in my role as a parent, to guide my children toward You.

Give us this day our daily bread...
   Work through me, that my children would have what You know they need today, not what the world thinks they need. 

And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
   Forgive me for the ways I have fallen short.  Help me to show grace when my kids aren't perfect either.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
   Keep me true to your path, not tempted to take an easy way out--short of temper and prone to   anger--but resting in the goodness of your promises and grace.

For thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
   For these lives you have entrusted to my care are Yours and Your alone, God.  Help me to raise them to Your will and to Your glory, putting my trust in you and enduring the difficult seasons as you endure them with me. 

Amen.

When your husband has no love language...

I missed a mention of Valentine's Day (or rather I was too busy shoving my face full of chocolate to be inspirational about it), but since it was not so long ago and Lent is just around the corner.....please allow me to talk about love for a moment or two.

(How do Lent and Valentine's at all relate to one another, you ask?? How do they not!!  I'll explain.) 

Prompted by a group I'm involved in at church, I recently took the 5 Love Languages quiz.  The 5 Love Languages, authored by Gary Chapman, is a personal assessment that helps you understand by what manner you feel most loved--gifts, time, acts of service, words of affirmation or physical touch.  The idea is that by understanding what moves you as an individual, you and your partner can better understand each other and respond to one another in more loving ways.  Kevin was absent the night we took the quiz, so I asked him to just guess which one he thought he was most inline with.

"Sound logic and indisputable facts" was his reply.

Right. 

You're starting to feel a little sorry for me, aren't you?? 

We have long-joked in our family that Kevin, like the tin man, was born without a heart.  This is, of course, a huge exaggeration and my husband is one of the most amazing people I know (I write all of this with his permission!!) and he is far better at loving me than I am at him some days.  Because, as fate would have it, this man of logic and reason is closer to the truth of love than many people I know!  That is, love does not feel and then act.  Love simply acts.

"And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us." 1 John 4:13-19

We waste a lot of time waiting to be in the mood to do things.  Like signing up to help at school or deliver a meal to someone recovering.  Or extending grace and forgiveness.  Or apologizing.  Love does not require a mood of us at all.  Love is in action word!  And when it is aligned with the will of God and the grace of Christ, the pressure of our own worthiness--or anyone else's for that matter--is taken off and we can simply move in it.

After all, what sacrifice could you possibly make that Christ has not made for you already??

(See, Lent.  I told you.)

My love language is words of affirmation, by the way.  I like a nice note every once in a while.  Kevin's not super great at flowery words, but then again, I'm not great at sound logic and indisputable facts.  May God have mercy on both of us!! 

XOXO....Kelly

Nothing cuter than a mouse...

This summer we welcomed two sweet, adorable mice into our family....Daisy and Twinkle.  Twinkle took to life in our home right away and thrived in only the way a mouse can thrive.  Daisy on the other hand stayed quite small and from time to time we noticed marks on her face and ears.  Just after Thanksgiving we made the difficult decision to separate the two mice for fear that the marks on Daisy were caused by Twinkle.

(Yes, I'm still talking about mice.  I use the word "difficult" lightly.)

After two days of separation the marks became worse.  Clearly there was no mouse abuse going on here so I turned to Google.  After several minutes (it seemed like hours) of intensive research we determined that Daisy must have a food allergy.  It was recommended we cut out wheat products from her diet.  Daisy, it seems, is gluten free.

(Yes, I'm still talking about mice.)

I also learned that once a mouse starts scratching a spot they can develop almost compulsive behavior and continue to scratch, making the area worse.  It was recommended we rub some hydrocortisone cream onto Daisy's skin and provide her with some therapeutic chewing options, so as to displace the compulsive behavior elsewhere.

(Yes, I'm still talking about mice.)

At some point while I was gently massaging hydrocortisone cream onto Daisy's ears--careful to avoid her mouth, of course, because ingesting it could be deadly--Zachary suggested we take her to the vet.  I looked down at the tiny mouse in my hands and around the room at the Legos, video games and nerf guns strewn about.  I looked at the laundry baskets full of laundry and the bathroom with surfaces to clean.  I looked at my sweet son's face, into his precious green eyes and said, "Zachary....this mouse cost $3.98.  We're not taking it to the vet."

We all have those moments in life, when in the throws of triumph or failure, we are forced to take inventory and readjust our perspective.  The message at church this weekend was taken from Philippians 4. 

"¹⁰ I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. ¹¹ I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. ¹² I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. ¹³ I can do all this through him who gives me strength."

Whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  Our desires may change.  Our needs may vary.  The solution never does.  We can learn to be content whatever the circumstances.  We can shift our perspective.  We can trust Christ for our strength.

Now does this take some effort?  Oh most certainly it does.  Our lives don't change because we get up one day and tell them to.  But little by little and faithful bit by bit we retrain ourselves to look upward.  We learn to let go of our own ways a bit more and seek His first.  And He patiently, like a mother putting cortisone cream on her son's pet mouse, waits for us to come around.  Because, after all, we can do all things....

We expect Daisy will make a full recovery.  The upside to this time of trial is that now we own two mouse cages.  We connected them with a tunnel and it's like a mouse mansion.  A gluten-free, therapy mansion complete with wheels for running and sticks for chewing.  Living in plenty, I'd say.  Wouldn't you??

XOXO....Kelly