Finally I can take a breath!!!

SO, in case you haven't heard,  May is the new December! My friends who are at home everyday with small kids do not understand this, but when you have three school-aged children AND have relationships with tons of high school seniors graduating, May gets a little crazy!

But after a month of awards ceremonies, graduations, graduation parties, soccer parties, tennis tournaments, teacher luncheons, Mother's Day luncheons, field days, field trips, talent shows, guitar recitals, piano recitals, end-of-the-year parties, Young Life cookouts, Young Life yard sales, and Awana celebrations, we are DONE! Whew!

I have had so many thoughts rumbling through my head about blog posts I wanted to write, but haven't had the time to sit down and write them. So this post is kind of random, as I try to reflect on May Madness.

1. I have experienced so much emotion over my oldest "graduating" from elementary school, that I didn't realize my youngest is now officially out of preschool. It hit me one day in the preschool pick up line that for the past eleven years, I have had a child home with me for lunch. Next year will be the first time ever that I will not share a lunch table with one of my littles. Kinda sad.

2. Honors Day! I love it and I hate it. I need some serious grace from the Lord to not despair when one child is not recognized; also to not grow prideful when the other wins. uggggghhh.

3. Kindergarten. Jim took a screening "test" and I have been tickled over his answers!

Screener: Jim, what is your full name?
Jim: Jim.
Screener: No, your FULL name?
Jim: JimBO.

-------

Screener: Jack and Jill went....
Jim: To the bathroom!

Oh, dear! I'm afraid the principal may put our number on speed dial!

4. Summer Reading. On my list is 1000 Gifts by Anne Voscamp, Walk On which I am re-reading with Slate Jr., the rest of The Hunger Games with Mat, and trying to read daily to Jim. His affection for Star Wars books is not my favorite. I also may re-read Kisses from Katie. It was THAT good. Would love suggestions-- fiction or non fiction for myself or the kids!

Love that summer is here!

Disclaimer

I have recently removed a blogger from my recommended blog list on the side panel. While I have enjoyed reading many of her writings, I do not feel comfortable recommending her views on God, and would not want anyone to think I am in agreement with them. If you happened to have seen the title of her post today on my page, I apologize if that offended you and have taken the necessary measures to remove her. Thanks for understanding.

"Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore, do not be partners with them." Eph. 5:6-7

This week in photos

Here are some photos from the past week. We've had a USTA tennis tournament (4th place!),

a field trip,

final soccer game,

field day,

and a front page news appearance.

Good week!

Misunderstood

This past week, I could hardly look at my facebook news feed. After North Carolina's approval of Ammendment 1, friends from all opinions and beliefs began the cyber wars, and it has continued all week. What has been most disturbing, however, has been the assumption that being Christian means you hate gay people and think they are condemned to hell. It's as if they assume our statement of faith is follow Jesus = hate gays. I do not feel the need to defend God, but I want to address this here (and not on facebook, lest a cyber war break out.)

Having worked in theatre, I have many gay friends whom I adore. I also love God's word and claim its ultimate authority in my life. I believe Christians are to live in this balance.... loving our neighbors (even those different from us) and loving God's word and lordship. As Dr. Tim Keller states in this interview above, many churches have a high view of loving their neighbor, but they disregard what God's word says about homosexuality.  Other churches, who rightly insist on the lordship of Christ, fail miserably when it comes to loving their homosexual neighbors, and many go so far as to even hate them.

How do I show my gay friends I love them, when my convictions cause me to disagree with their lifestyle?

Especially when many interpret "disagreement" as hate.

This is hard. I feel misunderstood.

Here is the wise Tim Keller on the subject. Worth the watch!

Hungry birthday games

Eleven. That precious age. Often the last year of childhood before 

hormones and attitudes and coolness intervenes. 

Slate's birthday fell on Spring Break, but that didn't stop us from celebrating big time.

 First, breakfast in bed, at his request. 

Later, a full-scale birthday bash with a Hunger Games theme. We called it the "Hungry Birthday Games" because  1. Every 11 year old boy is perpetually hungry, and 2. We didn't want parents to think their child might actually die at this party.

The kids arrived, wearing white t-shirts, and entered their full names into a "reaping."

We greeted them looking like this. Capitol people. 

And Slate thought that was awesome. Not the least bit embarrassed that we looked like this.

 See what I mean about 11?

After the reaping, we formed the districts (teams). Red, yellow, green and blue would all compete in various games. A couple high school kids volunteered to help organize it all.

Even Jim got into it.

The day ended with an all-out war with water balloons, paint, silly string, water guns, toilet paper, and flour bombs. Our yard was a mess!

Slate has the sweetest friends! (Maybe I shouldn't call boys sweet....)

If that wasn't enough, Dad surprised him with tickets to the Hawks game vs. the Knicks! 

At the end of the day, Slate gave us a big hug and said,"This was the best birthday ever."

For him, perhaps.

 But for us, the best birthday, was 4-22-01, when he came into our world as our firstborn child. What an amazing 11 years it has been!

Frozen moments

I want to freeze the ages and stages of my children right now. Our older boys still think we are fun to be around, and our youngest is mostly out of the terrible two's (I know, he is 5...it's taken awhile!)

Recently, a mother of a teenage girl told me to enjoy it, reminding me how hard parenting becomes in the teen years.

I know. I was a teenager, and I volunteer with teenagers. I am fully aware of what awaits us.

But as I watch my three boys still reveling in the magical years of childhood, I want to just stop here and freeze the moments.

Moments like yesterday, when Jim decided to jump off the curb as a spectator and into the last 40 yards of a one-mile road race, rushing across the finish line "in first place".  Everybody was amazed at the 5 year old who won the race. By the time I figured out what happened, he was beaming and wearing a 1st place medal! He was so proud of himself that he ran those 40 yards so fast I didn't have the heart to tell him he was not a registered runner, therefore technically, not the winner. (And a cheater at that.)

Gosh, I love that kid.

I want to freeze moments like we had last weekend, watching Slate in his first USTA tennis tournament. Our hearts were filled with sheer joy and thankfulness as we watched him hang with older, more experienced players (and almost win his match.. down to the tiebreaker!)

I want to freeze moments like Easter, when Mat dressed up like the Easter Bunny and visited the younger cousins. (I mean, have you ever seen a 4 1/2 foot tall Easter bunny?!) The way he spoke to the little ones in a British accent has kept me giggling for weeks.

I am trying not to dread this Fall, when Slate enters middle school and Jim begins kindergarten. New phases of life mean changes are coming.... and I don't like change.

We are currently memorizing Psalm 112 as a family, and my favorite verse is "He will have no fear of bad news. His heart is secure, trusting in the Lord."

No fear, I'm telling myself. It's going to be great. Really. Teen years and all.

But for today, can we just slow time down a little?

Standing in the Gap

Did you know that there are more Christians in the average American Sunday School class than there are in all of Northern Yemen?

Astounding.

Last week, I watched this video from David Platt about the need for churches to send people to dangerous, hostile places so that the Gospel can be spread. It was powerful and uncomfortable, and I encourage you to grab a cup of tea and watch it. It may change your perspective on global missions forever.

However, my own insecurities prompted a sinking feeling that our little ministry in our little town was somehow "not big enough" for the kingdom. Like I'm some sort of JV Christian because I am not living among the Yemenites, or risking my life daily for Jesus. I wondered if we should go. Are we so comfortable in our secure American Christianity that we will avoid suffering at all costs? Slate and I have been throwing out this question and wondering, "Is it really best to be so secure as to not truly 'need' God?"

Then God showed me something. I remembered a comment a high school kid made a few years back. "You and Slate are the only real Christian adults I know." Her broken family occasionally attended church but she considered them "fake Christians" because there was no evidence in their life that they loved and followed Jesus. To her knowledge, she had never been prayed for by her parents. Never taught a single Bible truth. Never heard the name Jesus uttered in her house, except as a swear word.

I thought of how many kids we know-- in our neighborhood, at the high school, at our sons' elementary school-- who come from families just like this. The kids who nobody in the world is praying for. The kids who seem to have it all together on the outside but are dying on the inside from lack of spiritual nourishment.

We get to stand in that gap. Suddenly I have a new sense of urgency to pray for them...because I may be the only one doing it!


God calls us each to different places. For some, it is to go overseas into the dangerous regions. For others, it's to be faithful right where you are. The question is-- Am I open to what he has for me? No matter what?



(Breathe deeply, family.. there are no plans in the works for us to move to Yemen!)