You can sort-of see her blonde messy bun in the front row :)
Thursday, December 3, 2015
Wizards Of Winter
We got to enjoy the Western High School Band concert tonight....Savannah is playing Oboe again this year. She had to jump right back into that for concert band now that marching band is over. It was a fun concert! I am going to attempt to add a link to a video :P
All Our Ducks In A Row
Karly climbed into bed with us this morning about an hour before our alarm was supposed to go off. She said she had had a bad dream and proceeded to tell us she dreamed she was in a gymnastic competition and came in last place. She has been stressing about putting her routines together....it is a lot of repetition.
We talked about it.....this is a commitment to something that takes time, think about how far you have come in only a few months at the same time you think about what you still are working on, if your coach thinks you are ready to compete it will be great just to experience what a competition is like no matter what you score, you can see how the other girls perform and learn some new things and WE LOVE YOU!
I guess no matter what age we are we can have a tendency to stress over "having all our ducks in a row" and avoiding the feeling of failure.
We talked about it.....this is a commitment to something that takes time, think about how far you have come in only a few months at the same time you think about what you still are working on, if your coach thinks you are ready to compete it will be great just to experience what a competition is like no matter what you score, you can see how the other girls perform and learn some new things and WE LOVE YOU!
I guess no matter what age we are we can have a tendency to stress over "having all our ducks in a row" and avoiding the feeling of failure.
(Love this picture....wonder what they are in line for?
Don't you wish you knew what he was thinking...so cute! :)
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."
~ 2 Corinthians 12:9 ~
I am glad that though we should pursue excellence in all we do,
we are measured by grace and not perfection by our Heavenly Father
WHO REALLY, REALLY, REALLY (and a lot more reallys in a row) LOVES US!
If I had all my ducks in a row I'd be starting to work on Christmas cards right now...not sure how that will work out, so here's a beautiful one for you... :)
Christmas Card
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTHE9c9qXV0
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
"You Might Wanna Sing It Note For Note"
I'm prone to a higher level of anxiety around holidays. Part of it, I have learned over time, is to do with my personality. I want things to go well, I want people to be happy, I don't want anyone to be disappointed, I want to have enough time to make people know they are special to me and enough creativity to show them I thought about them in a special or unique way....but around the holidays I start feeling that I cannot be enough to meet these expectations, you know?
Today, I went with Brad to a visitation for a woman who passed away. I think I mentioned the situation because her daughter attends our church and she just lost her husband as well. Anyway, I kind-of braced myself for a lot of sadness as we were headed to the funeral home. But I was shocked when we entered the room to hear the song "Don't Worry, Be Happy" playing and "Happy" following that one.....and there was a little old lady sitting on a couch by some pictures that looked at me and said, "OH, She would be dancin' to that one!"....and gave a little wiggle :) There were little signs all around the room that said, "Don't worry, be happy" on them.....and I asked our friend about them. She said that was her mom's favorite motto and that is why she had a bunch of signs....even wanted to be buried with one of them in her casket. She said her mom was the most non-judgmental person she knew and she always appreciated that about her because she and her sisters were like.....and then she proceeded to make a sound like a cat hissing...:P
It is funny that you never know where you will be when God talks to you. That was a good reminder to me....especially during busy holiday times....to be anxious about nothing.
Today, I went with Brad to a visitation for a woman who passed away. I think I mentioned the situation because her daughter attends our church and she just lost her husband as well. Anyway, I kind-of braced myself for a lot of sadness as we were headed to the funeral home. But I was shocked when we entered the room to hear the song "Don't Worry, Be Happy" playing and "Happy" following that one.....and there was a little old lady sitting on a couch by some pictures that looked at me and said, "OH, She would be dancin' to that one!"....and gave a little wiggle :) There were little signs all around the room that said, "Don't worry, be happy" on them.....and I asked our friend about them. She said that was her mom's favorite motto and that is why she had a bunch of signs....even wanted to be buried with one of them in her casket. She said her mom was the most non-judgmental person she knew and she always appreciated that about her because she and her sisters were like.....and then she proceeded to make a sound like a cat hissing...:P
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1nQpoAvTSg
If There Are Strings Attached....Loose Them.
True virtues need practicing.
McKenna's tumbling coach for cheerleading told her something the other day that I thought was pretty profound. He said about mastering skills, "There are three levels of mastering something, Getting it, perfecting it, then making it look easy."
When she was first relaying it to me, I thought.... "what could come after perfection....this is weird?". BUT, I thought about it some more and there is a freeing that comes when you decide this new concept is now just a part of you....it's like when you learn to love the thing...you learn it, sure, but then you embrace it. It looks easy from the outside because you are enjoying it so.....but, that doesn't mean it was an easy skill to gain.
We should be this diligent about gaining virtues....virtues are not about how others respond to us, they are who we are and we should practice them until they are a part of us.
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
Sometimes I start to feel ALMOST trendy. Savannah, McKenna and I are similar sizes now and can share some clothes, so sometimes we pass around shirts, scarves, shoes and borrow from each other. Last night, Savannah came to the door of my room and said, "I wondered if I could borrow something from you." I know I probably even smirked a little bit...ha...because I was thinking, "oh, YOU want to borrow some of MY clothes, eh?".....then she said, "yeah, I'm looking for an ugly sweater."
It is SOOOO tempting to start buying clothes that say SAVANNAH'S MOM on them....hehe!
Leave it to my kids to....
DASH AWAY, DASH AWAY, DASH AWAY ALL
my previous notions of being cool :P
My heart has been aching for a lady at my church. She lost her husband about two months ago and her mom passed away over the holiday weekend. She has been through a lot of pain, heartache, and grief. As I was thinking through it, I realized that even though her mother had been sick, God had allowed her strength enough to support her daughter through the death of her husband. That is a beautiful thing.
I mentioned pain a little bit in a previous blog....how it can empty us of things that don't really matter and make us more aware of what we are really longing for......what we can only experience in Heaven, really. A place with no pain, evil, disease, saddness.....honestly, I know I don't LONG for that place as I should and sometimes I catch myself wondering why. Even though it hurts, pain is a great reminder for me that we are not home yet.....that we have so much more than this to look forward to. I mean a CRAZY amount of more is in store :) Think of the best you can think of and it's better!
C.S. Lewis is quoted as saying, "Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again."
I mentioned pain a little bit in a previous blog....how it can empty us of things that don't really matter and make us more aware of what we are really longing for......what we can only experience in Heaven, really. A place with no pain, evil, disease, saddness.....honestly, I know I don't LONG for that place as I should and sometimes I catch myself wondering why. Even though it hurts, pain is a great reminder for me that we are not home yet.....that we have so much more than this to look forward to. I mean a CRAZY amount of more is in store :) Think of the best you can think of and it's better!
C.S. Lewis is quoted as saying, "Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again."
Most fairy tales END with....
That's why we love them, right?...,because everything wrong is made right in the end....and love wins and LIVES ON in goodness and peace.
....sounds kind-of like....
"No more tears, no more pain, and no more sorrow"
~Revelations 21:4~
I'm thankful God is giving us our very own fairy tale ending....well, He put an end to the ending, so I guess He's giving us our own fairy tale.
Everything Sad Is Coming Untrue
Part 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKGptnviL2w
Part 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7Uz1Ka1c_8
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