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Welcome to our blog. Life is busy, but it is fun to share the stories of our craziness and it is kind of like therapy to have a place write it all down. Enjoy.
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If, as you read, you wonder whether I'm laughing or complaining--just assume I'm laughing...and chuckle along.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Quotable

The Wild One, was being particularly W.I.L.D.

I'm not sure if he was wanting attention (he is generally troublesome when he feels he'd like some) or if he was overly tired and therefore going COO-COO at our expense.

Whatever his underlying reason, he decided that the Tbone was the target that was least likely to do damage in return. As a result, he'd been doing his level best to annoy and hurt him at every chance all through dinner, and clean up, and getting ready to go out the door.

I opened the door to head out to the van to find the Tbone hunched over trying to put on his shoes, perched on the back stoop, sobbing about how the Wild One had hit him -- on purpose.

After comforting him and helping him to the van I informed the Wild One that if he was going to have some very regrettable consequences if there was one more incident...the consequence that bothered him the most was that he wouldn't be allowed to play with his new friend in the nursery at church...the other was a meeting in the bathroom (which my kids all know is reserved for the most serious offenses).

We pulled into the store where I needed to grab a gallon of milk and I knew that in his current frame of mind it wouldn't be safe to leave him in the van with his siblings, so I informed him that he was going in with me.

I was surprised to hear his contrite little voice informing me, "I won't be mean to [the Tbone] any more OK Momma!"

I replied, "OK, it is very sad when a nice big boy like you is mean to your brother. I want you to be a good boy, not a mean boy."

"OK Momma!" (His inner monster suddenly tamed, he was all sweet and agreeable now--almost unrecognizable from 15 minutes before.)

I reminded him, "You know, you need to say your sorry."

"OK Momma, I will!"

As we climbed back in the van 3 minutes later he was quick to offer his apology to his still disgruntled and obviously annoyed (and similarly very tired twin).

I heard the Tbone mumble a reply.

As I settled in my own seat I turned and caught his eye.

"What was that you said Buddy when he said 'Sorry!' "

The Tbone replied, "I said NO THANK YOU!"

How often I see in them the miniature of the great problems that I regret to recognize as my own.
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How I can Laugh

Sometimes I’m surprised when someone tells me they’ve been reading our blog. I tease the dad~ster that there must not be much on TV these days.

For awhile now I’ve been wishing there was some way I could share the reason I can laugh on even the craziest days. I suppose it is in part because I’m a little weird, but most of all it is because of GRACE. God’s grace has transformed me from what I could be (a perfectionist who is not perfect and is driven mad by her own imperfections, an idealist who lacks patience with the “short people” in my life who always seem to have a different agenda than me, an insecure chubby lady who often forgets that I am loved) into one who realizes that I have a big God who patiently loves me. It is God’s grace that is transforming me from what I could be (a suicidal alcoholic) to what He’d have me to be…and in the process He gives me the ability to look at life and LAUGH.

So when I read the following from Grace Based Parenting by Tim Kimmel I decided to take some time and share it with you…because if all I ever did was make ya laugh without telling you about the One whose care makes the laughing possible…well…all the laughs would be wasted.

From page 167-171 in Grace Base Parenting
“The Bible says, “Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (I Peter 5:7). It’s amazing how inclusive the word all is. It doesn’t say that we are to cast only our legitimate cares on Him. Frankly, I wouldn’t begrudge God if He had said that. Although He’s a busy God with a lot on His plate, He’s also on omnipotent God, so He’s never too busy….He knows we often lack perspective, but that doesn’t stop Him from inviting us closer to His heart.

A good example of God’s grace is not only the gigantic act of grace that Jesus showed by dying on the cross for our sins, but also the little acts of grace he demonstrated in the midst of His crucifixion. I think most people—including the most ardent critic of Christianity—would agree that if there was any time in Jesus’ earthly life when He actually had the right to be a bit self-absorbed, it would be when He was hanging on the cross. Man hasn’t come up with a more horrific way to torture someone than nailing him to a cross and standing back while he endures a slow, agonizing, and lonely death. In the midst of that agony, the utter focus of pain in human’s mind would make it hard to think of anything else.

But He did. There were some people at Calvary who needed a personal touch of His grace. For most of them, they needed it because of the His crucifixion was costing them personally.
There were soldiers at Calvary who were simply following orders. They didn’t realize that they were driving nails into the hands of the One who had created them. They had no idea that the man they were executing was actually taking a divine dive for them. Because they were so used to crucifying the underbelly of the criminal community, it was standard for them to show such low regard for their victims.

A fickle crowd hovered around the foot of the cross. Some came out simply to see someone being put to death. It was the Roman equivalent of a “reality” show that few wanted to miss. There were also the duped sheep—those who didn’t know much, read much, or think much. They were part of the mob who would chant whatever you told them to.

Then there were the men who wanted Him there, who needed Him there, and who helped put Him there. These were the professional-theologians-turned-powerbrokers who had seen Jesus as bad for business around the temple. They couldn’t see the crossbars that hovered above each of their heads. They couldn’t see the thin strings that came from those crossbars that moved their arms, made them jump, and manipulated their mouths. They couldn’t see the evil hand of Satan, using them like marionettes to do his bidding.

But Jesus could. He could see the religious leaders being used, he could see the crowd being manipulated, and He could see the soldiers doing what they were ordered to do. The fact the He even bothered to notice these things tells us so much about his grace. He did notice them, and in the process He did something to give all these people a gift they desperately needed. Jesus said, “Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). …Jesus gave grace to the vulnerable surrounding Him, even when He had bigger issues on His mind.

And what about the thieves who were crucified on either side of Him? You would think, what with the sins of the entire world on His shoulders, that He’d ignore these men. When you add to the equation that both men joined the crowd in hurling insults at Him, you would think He would have been justified to view these two condemned men as mere footnotes of history—little more than simple props hanging on either side of Him to strike a greater contrast to the magnificence of His sacrifice. But that’s not how Jesus’ heart works.

Apparently, one of the thieves figured this out. His theology was crude, and his understanding was limited, but he figured out enough in his debilitated state. He figured out that Jesus was King, just like the sign above His head read. He figured out that His kingdom wasn’t of this world. And he believed that Jesus had the power to transport him to that kingdom after they both died. It was a primitive grasp of the salvation message. He called on Jesus by name, saying, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom” (Luke 23:42).

This thief couldn’t have known that when they were being laid down side by side to be crucified Jesus already knew his name. Jesus could have told him how many hairs were on his head—not that he would have cared much at the moment. But Jesus already knew him that well. He could have told this thief things that no one else knew about him; things that would have demonstrated just how precious he already was to God. In the midst of His pain, His personal focus, His preoccupation with taking on the sins of the world, Jesus responded to this man’s faith: “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43)

Soldiers, leaders, followers and criminals got Jesus individual attention when He had bigger tasks on His “to do” list. That’s because God’s grace notices vulnerable people. It’s in constant tune with their hearts….

…None of these people could see what Jesus could see. None of them had any grasp on the bigger picture. Their needs were the result of their myopic condition, or their naiveté, or their lack of sophistication. Jesus could have dismissed their needs because of how small t hey appeared next to the bigger task before Him. But his grace kicked in, and it will kick in for us whenever we’re feeling vulnerable. It also kicks in when we don’t even realize just how vulnerable we actually are…."