Eight years in.....

and, it is back to the dating scene once again. Last thursday, I told Mae that when I picked her up from school on Friday we would go to the grocery, and she would get to make dinner for her Daddy. They were going to have a special date night at home. As you can imagine, screams of elation echoed from her...a date night with her hero!! But, if you looked to the right just two feet, you would have seen a very disgruntled sourpuss face on the verge of eruption...that is until I announced that Whitt would be picking me up for a dinner date out. An open mouth smile with added fist pumping turned way to a contemplative look from my boy with this question, "Mommy, where would you like to eat Friday night?" With those few words, my heart swooned at my little man's thoughtful heart, and the anticipation began..... Of course, before any big date comes both the humbling and forth-telling process of "getting-ready" with girlfriends....except this time my "girlfriend" was my beautiful brown-eyed girl. As she brushed, blow-dryed, and styled my hair with great care, Bruce walked past me pointing to the top of my head yelling, "It's a bug, It's a bug!!!" (Ok, I cannot believe I am about to divulge this, but I feel certain you will laugh so hard you might possibly wet your pants...so here you go! My complete embarassment for your entertainment...I have a small bump on my head that appeared during my pregnancy with Mae, and it grew just a bit with each consecutive pregnancy...yes, hormones cause some crazy things, and if you ask me, hormones are a sanctifying process in and of themselves), Now that the explanation is over...Continue.... Bruce: "It's a bug, It's a bug!!!" Mae, brushing my hair and with complete authority in her voice: "No, Bruce! That is mommy's brain." Bruce curiously comes to inspect Mae protectively yelling: "Don't touch it, Bruce!!!! That is where Mommy does ALL her thinking!!!" Next, I asked Whitt if he would like me to wear a dress or jeans. He very quickly picked jeans, then moments later very politely requested that I wear a WIG..... After all the eye-opening hoopla of getting ready, I listened as my big man whispered instructions to my little man in the back hall. Then as little feet scurried out the back door, ran around front, and the doorbell rang, those old, familiar butterflies flew out...as I opened the door to bright blue eyes with a crooked, wide smile, my knees buckled just a bit, and with a refreshingly beautiful open, loving, and eager heart, my little man looked at me and said, "Are you ready to go out with me?" My heart melted...it was one of those moments with the best kind of joy...the kind that is so full and big it physically hurts...where you wish it could last forever, but if it did, you are not sure you could take the sweet pain of it that long! It was some kind of night.... The next night I had a date with the original to celebrate eight years of marriage together, and as the butterflies fluttered and my knees buckled fully, I realized the two dates gave me a beautiful picture of a before and after, a past and present....that is, a fuller view of Michael...the qualities I most treasure in Whitt are pieces, the begotten parts of Michael in him....God's gift to me on our anniversary...a much deeper, sweeter, and wholistic appreciation for the man I had the privilege of marrying.... Eight years in, and with His blessings and mercies, the "dating" just keeps getting better and better. "O, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together." Psalm 34:3

Our little Turkey's divine assignment

Whitt's Class Assignment: With the help of your family, make a disguise for your turkey so that it won't be eaten Thanksgiving Day!

Last week, Whitt and I raided the craft cabinet, scattering everything out on the dining room table. I then looked at those blue eyes full of eager anticipation, and said, "Go for it, buddy! I will be right here."

As I sat by his side handing him paper, glue, stickers, etc., I watched this turkey morph from Joseph with his coat of many colors, to an astronaut, then to a clown, and in the process, I realized that this assignment so clearly showed the true beauty/ giftedness of our boy.

To say he is energetic minimalizes who he is...minimalizes the intricacy of the gifts he has been given...minimalizes God's workmanship in him. Whitt's energy has passion, enthusiasm, creativity, perseverence, inventiveness....it has character....of course, his turkey has three different disguises that work together...it makes perfect sense if you know our boy...But, without consistency, this energy loses focus, turning inward instead of flowing outward and can easily implode in a meltdown.

As I was given a glimpse of my boy's beauty, there was that familiar whisper to my heart, the reminder of the divine assignment given to me....the turkey would never have come to its full "disguised potential" if I had not been sitting there quietly providing the assistance.

You see, in these younger years, the Lord has given ME the great blessing of being the consistency of love and discipline that allows this force to create and imagine fully....embracing and running with the gifts His Father has lovingly placed in him....

I recently heard our God raises up a platform when you are faithful in the small things. Never doubt the magnitude of the small things, and the beauty in the details. I am called to be faithful in these "small things," gently, yet strongly following the orders of this divine assignment, bringing consistency... and, amazingly getting to be a spectator as I watch the Great I Am raise the launching pad for this "force" He created.

Catherine Booth (she and her husband, William, founded the Salvation Army) used to whisper to her children before she tucked them in at night, "We do not exist for ourselves, we exist for others. The world is waiting for us.".....As mothers, I pray we never forget our eternal perspective, how this world will be reached through these unique, divinely-inspired blessings given to us, and how we teach them to be faithful with their gifts when we are faithful in our assignment of loving them. May we cling to One who made us in His details.

And to my dear boy, remember the gifts given to you, your divine and intricate design, this energy with character, and remember to lean into our God and seek Him with all that you were created to be.....never forget the One who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life brings the direction, focus, intentionality, and vision needed to change this world, and He wants to use you!

To the Joseph in you, I pray you seek to always serve the Lord faithfully and persevere with His strength. With His grace, may you bloom wherever you are planted just like the boy with the coat of many colors.

To the astronaut in you, I love you to the moon and back.

And, to the little clown in you, you are truly a son of laughter to us.

His sky is the limit for you my son when you soar on eagle's wings with Him!

And, to the this world, watch out for this little man of ours! Judging from his turkey, our God is going to be coming after you from multiple directions when our boy seeks to serve his Creator faithfully.