investment

As I promised at the start of the New Year, we have been purging around here. Unfortunately, dropping giant boxes full of clothes and toys and bedding off at the donation center isn't the only form of de-cluttering that needs to happen in this house. There is a purging of the heart that is taking place too. Some bad attitudes have been cluttering up this home. They start small at first, with a mere thought of annoyance at something, or someone. Before I know it the entire attitude closet needs to be cleaned out. And I really know we are in trouble when I can no longer close the door to that closet as the junk comes pouring forth. Time to purge.

All three kids had RSV over the last few weeks, also known as a horrid respiratory virus that left the kids coughing all night and cranky all day. I was sneezed on and coughed on and used as a tissue. It is rather miraculous that I didn't get start getting sick until twelve days into it. Twelve long days of caring for fussy sick children, then I succumbed myself.

The head cold was the final item in that closet that prevented me from closing the door. There is nothing like a head cold to bring forth a deluge of self-pity. Poor me. Sometimes I just want to know that my life is about more than wiping noses and bottoms and faces. Is that too much to ask?!

Apparently, it is a lot to ask. Apparently I think pretty highly of myself to believe I should be doing "more important" things with my days.

The most important characters in the Bible were the ones who spent years investing in the insignificant. They were shepherds and fishermen and characters of humble beginnings. They spent the majority of their lives not being recognized or thanked or noticed particularly. They didn't visit exciting places and they lived a rather mundane daily routine. In the end, they were chosen for the condition of their hearts. Because investing in the insignificant is the best way to transform the condition of the heart.

Mothering young children feels a lot like investment in the insignificant. No one puts a stay-at-home mom on a list of the most accomplished or successful or wealthy people. No one is watching when she has a stellar moment to offer praise for her supreme patience with the obnoxious habits of her children. No one is around to notice if she doesn't do her job right either.

Motherhood is a training ground for the kind of humility that would make God want to choose someone like me for something in His kingdom. A nasty virus that sweeps the household is like the wolf that comes lurking through the shepherd's pasture. No one sees how the wolf is handled. But the outcome is crucial to the fate of the flock and the shepherd.

So now we are working on purging the attitudes that have begun to clutter our halls... attitudes of self-pity, and self-importance, and down right selfishness. Some of those attitudes belong to little people in my house. And some of them belong to me. But all of them need to go, no matter how insignificant it feels to invest in this way. In this case, an investment in the insignificant is an investment in eternity, an investment truly worth making.

God was shouting at me from the pages of Romans this week. I love it when He does that - as if He made sure it was written down 2000 years ago just so I could read it and be encouraged today.

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, 

to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true 

and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, 

in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you." 

Romans 12:1-3

And... some pictures of all the sickies. What else do you do when all 3 kids are home all day long for over a week? Dress up like animals and get a lot of snuggling in...

new year

New Year's Eve is sure different with 3 kids. We didn't even consider staying up until midnight this year. But thanks to the closest neighbors who keep the industry of importing illegal fireworks in business, every year at midnight we awaken, roll over in bed for our new year kiss, then promptly go back to sleep. It's becoming tradition!

We did make the evening special with family movie night, pizza and popcorn, sparklers, and glow sticks in the bathtub. All ending promptly at 7:30pm. It was midnight somewhere, right?

Happy New Year!  NEW. I like the sound of that.

Just under one year ago I discovered I was pregnant with little Karsten. They say that pregnancy is only 9 months long, but as a woman who has had three kids, I can safely say that it is really a full year commitment to carry this child. Between the morning sickness stage (so dreadful... don't even make me think about it), the I-am-too-big-to-walk stage, the exhaustion stage (wait - that was the whole thing), and then the 24 hour care through the newborn stage, it is fair to say that my body was devoted to growing Karsten for the whole of 2013. A woman gives up her body for a full year to bring a baby into the world (and that number does not account for the weight she will be trying to lose for the rest of her life because of that baby).

I love my baby, and he was entirely worth it. But I am ready to move on, to move forward, to emerge from the pregnancy stage into a stage of life where I have the energy to actually enjoy my children. And a stage when sleep is a little more abundant. Well... here's to hoping anyway!

God has given me a word for the year 2014: PURGE. Okay, I may not have heard Him audibly, but it was close enough for me. This year is going to be about purging, starting with the inexcusable amount of junk that has somehow collected in my house. We are getting rid of the excess so that we can make room for the things that matter.

We added a new person to the family this year, and he is one of those things that matters a lot. We need to make room for him.

There is a mentality that comes with hanging on to a lot of "stuff" that we don't need, and it carries over into who we are. I don't want to be bogged down by the things I won't let go of.

Literally, I am bogged down by the extra junk we have accumulated. Mentally, I am also bogged down by things I can't seem to let go of.

This year will be a year of purging the undesirable to create space for something better. You will be hearing more from me on this theme in the months to come.

With great joy and hope, I wish you a happy 2014!