Versatility

I absolutely love that my girl can go from playing with this.....

to easily playing army fort and soldiers with her brothers. Quite a girl!

PS-I don't know why, but every time I look at how Mae has Rupunzel hanging, I absolutely crack up!

The Magic of a Third Grade Craft

Today, I watched a really cool 3rd grade craft demonstration. They fastened a white handkerchief over a solo cup with a rubberband; they then drew dots of different color sharpie markers all over the top making a pretty ugly mess; after that they dropped a couple of drops of clear rubbing alcohol over the marks, and the ugly mess transformed into a beautiful kaliedoscope of colors. All the harsh sharp edges and dark colors of the markers morphed into a beautiful, undulating tie-dyed creation where soft shades and hues seemlessly ebbed and flowed into and out of one another.

Since Bruce has been born, I have had to really lean in, cling to, and trust Romans 8:28. You see (and, I say this very gratefully) I am not the same parent for Bruce's babyhood that I was for Mae and Whitt's. I am more confident in my walk with Him. I have learned to turn more and more over to him, believing in/clinging to his promises, and through this continued process, my parenting has been reshaped with more of His grace flowing out. But, as I praise Him for his work in me, there is the sneaking regret that finds its way through the back door of my heart.

Then today I started thinking about how much I have loved watching Whitt over the past week and half. In one Saturday I watched as our little man joined us for a breakfast with the Youth Leadership boys at 7:00 am helping us with his baby brother, talking with the older boys, and only needing us a couple of times as we fixed breakfast and visited. An hour later, he was helping his brother fill his basket with eggs at a hunt, and he finished the day by working the yards with his daddy and the boys from noon until 5:30 (he even got to use the leaf blower). The next night his baby brother moved into the room with him and into a big boy bed, and Whitt eagerly taught him the ropes, leading the way through two stormy nights with no power. He really is turning into a little man.

Suddenly, the image was so clear to me of how God with His love and grace is the element that bleeds through all those ugly marks/ mistakes I have made and uses them to shape my boy into His kaliedoscope for His light to shine through, and although I know I have plenty of "I'm sorrys" in my future, right now as I look at the beautiful character growing in Whitt, all my regret is flushed out by overflowing thanksgiving, relief, and an even deeper longing to grow closer to my God.

PS-Growing into a little man can be some tiring work! Check out the video-I found our little guy passed out in the dining room floor, snoring away with his "transperformer". I guess a little man who says he no longer needs a nap, just might every once in awhile : )

Postcards from the Edge

I have felt an increased "edginess" this past week. Over the past few years, I have come to realize that when this feeling starts creeping into my soul God is trying to teach me, mold me, and expand my heart. He was using a certain situation in my life recently to spew out the "vinegar" that was sitting in me so that more of the Spirit's annointed "oil"/love could fill me up (ok, I am a visual learner). It was a stronghold I thought I had defeated and was keeping in check. I described my "edginess" as being brought to the brink of former sin by way of temptation and the emotional uneasiness that results from that temptation. I had "labelled" it, I had journaled about it, I had dissected it, I had prayed to see my sin more clearly, I had meditated on scripture, on and on and on.

Then, this morning as I asked Mae and Whitt to come brush their teeth for the fifth time (feeling like I was in the movie Groundhog Day) I was quick to remind them that I should only have to ask once, and as the words slipped out of my mouth, God whispered to my heart I remind you all the time, I never get tired or frustrated and I never stop, come to me.

You see really what I thought was being taken to the "edge" of an old sin pattern was my recurring sin cropping up again (thanks to a friend who lovingly made this apparent to me), and as I was getting caught up in all the "I"s of being self-aware, trying to dig so deep, essentially trying to be my own healer, I was missing the sweet simplicity of God's grace. As my mind spiraled out of control going back to the situation over and over again, Jesus was moving further and further from my focus to my peripheral vision. Simply, I wasn't taking my sin to the cross, laying it down, letting Jesus do his beautiful work of intercession, and this morning when I did the "edginess" very gratefully disappeared.

It amazes me how that crushing weight on your soul and that separation affects you both emotionally and physically. The past few days I have been more tired and weary than I have been in a long time, and to make His victory this morning that much sweeter, I was given the opportunity to take a nice long run in the bright sunshine. I praise Him that I am not the person I was yesterday, and I praise Him that I am not the person today that I will be tomorrow. I praise Him that for the moment this time has passed, and I praise Him that it will most certainly come again as He continues what he started. I praise Him for the people in my life who love me through my "edginess." With hope in my heart, I am very thankful to be His work in progress.

****"If we claim that we're free of sin, we're only fooling ourselves. A claim like that is errant nonsence. On the other hand, if we admit our sins-make a clean breast of them-he won't let us down; he'll be true to himself" 1 John 1:8, The Message ****"My dear children, let's not just talk about love; let's practice real love. This is the only way we'll know we're living truly, living in God's reality. It's also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it." 1 John 3:18, 19, The Message Ok, a little sidenote: as I was typing this, I hit something accidently that made the font for "the sweet simplicity of God's grace" different from the rest of the words, and I couldn't figure out how to correct it. You think God's trying to make a point to me, he is even using highlighting!?!

0.01%

Love these people! I think it says alot that after seven full days together I still could have used more time with them (hopefully the feeling was mutual). Notice: I am in a daydreaming Ginger Lemongrass Margarita haze which is why I am the ONLY one not looking at the camera. Yes, I said Ginger Lemongrass Margarita. It even had a little piece of candied ginger on a stick in it-AMAZING!

Love me some Maui!

I got a quick soulful look, then

back to a hundred miles per hour!

View from the pool to the beach, not to shabby!

Sweet little back and fingertips

At the top of the volcano, Michael put this picture on facebook with 10,063 feet above sea level underneath. He totally made it look like I had hiked up the side of this sucker. The reality is we drove the sixteen miles up the side, and hiked the last thirty feet. I got a good man, always trying to make me look impressive.

Sunsets like this every night, and just to make my running friends jealous, there was a beautiful three mile beach front run in front of all the hotels. It undulated over all the little cliffs and looked out over the ocean. It was amazing at sunrise! I am kind of schizophrenic when it comes to the music I listen to while running, everything from rap (I even have an Eminem song on there), to country like Wagon Wheel, to bluegrass, to 80's, to Rock, and of course, my praise music. Right now, I am really into Matt Maher's song, "Come Awake," and I can't imagine a more perfect way to listen to it than running along the ocean at sunrise during the beginning of lenten season.

"Wake up, O sleeper,

rise from the dead,

and Christ will shine on you."

Ephesions 5:14

Oh, and just to rub the salt in the wound a little more. It was whale season, and you could catch a glimpse of them every so often.

B, in only the way B can, OWNED the baby pool!

Mae taking photography lessons from Grandaddy.

Doesn't this picture look a little bit like the Housewives of Orange Beach, with the fountain in the background and the wind blowing our hair!?!

There is no way a blog or photos could capture how incredible, amazing, awesome, beautiful, stupendous, outrageous, lovely, happy, peaceful, and energetic this trip was. I was only able to capture about 0.01% of how special it was to me in this little entry.

Thank you GaGa and Grandaddy for making it all possible and more importantly for just being exactly who you are. You mean the world to us, Happy 60th!