privacy

I remember the day I learned what the word "privacy" meant (which means I was too old to be learning it for the first time.)

An older twelve-year-old girl from church was at our house for the afternoon when I was about seven. She wanted to go to the bathroom without me. Shutting the door in my face, she told me she needed some privacy. I pictured some type of electronic device she was going to pull out of her pocket behind the closed door.

With 3 kids running around, the word was not in our household vocabulary. When I asked my mother what it meant, she said she had forgotten because she hadn't had any for years. I think I understand her now.

We no longer close doors in our home either. Using the toilet without my one-year-old launching a toy behind me into the bowl is as relaxing as it gets. My daughter will let me take showers if the glass door is wide open and she can splash in the water that makes it outside the tub. She much prefers getting wet to a closed door.

I wonder, how old she will be when she first learns the meaning of this coveted 3-syllable word? I wonder, how old I will be when I rediscover what it means?

my story

Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by the monotony of life. There is a prideful desire in me for my life to be something "important" or "great". It is often difficult to see greatness in the mundane tasks of day to day life... waking up at night with a baby, doing the dishes, picking up after the others that live in the house with me for the umpteenth time today.

I want to have a story to tell at the end of my life... not just a story about me, but a story about God and how I participated with Him in the work He does here on Earth. It doesn't all seem to fit.

It has impacted me recently that the Bible is full of ordinary people and ordinary events. They all piece together to tell God's story - the Great Story about who He is. God used women who did their own laundry and men who plowed fields to tell us about Himself. He used humble hearts. He used people that found joy in their humble day to day tasks.

God is writing His great story in the ordinary events of my life. It is tempting to try to write my own story of importance... maybe get my Master's degree, or fill my day up with social events and a job I can call my own (as opposed to the job of being a mom and a wife, which never quite sounds like a "real" job coming out of my mouth).

Ultimately, I know that God wants to tell His story through THIS life that I have now. He wants to tell His story through me finding joy in ordinary events.


"Be very careful, then, how you live-not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity..."
Ephesians 5:15-16

halloween

Halloween came and went. We live in a town that takes Halloween very seriously. Witches and magic aren't the same friendly versions found in a Harry Potter novel.

As an adult, I now see the danger that is present for my child in growing up in a culture that celebrates the dark side of the Spiritual world. How do we remain in the world without succumbing to it?

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God,..." Eph 6:12-13

I found myself thankful for the friends we have who created an appropriate venue for my child to celebrate via family costume party. It is fun to dress up, but we have to remember what we are celebrating. In our home, we do not give power to demons by honoring them; we celebrate deliverance from them.

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Rom 8:38-39

Here is a picture of our little American Indian



I thought it would be cute if she went dressed in the "full armor of God", but the truth is that we get to wear that costume every day.