Fears

Funny how our fears change and grow as we age. Yeah, I know, they grow and change because we learn more and more but we don't know enough to keep all the fears at bay. Our pastor did a sermon series on fears recently. I sat there thinking, I really don't have these fears. I don't fear the economy. I don't fear loss. I don't fear disease. Not that I'm covering myself in a bubble and pretending the problems aren't there, but I just know that I am not in control of these things and that I just have to rely on the One who is in control and let Him take care of it, right?

But it is interesting to see fears that manifest in our wee ones. Hunter asks his Daddy every night to feel his heart. Hunter is concerned that his heart will stop beating because he heard something at church about the "ticker" runs the body and if the ticker stops, so does the body. So when he can't feel a big strong heartbeat - you know, like when you are relaxed and laying in bed and it is kind of soft feeling - he has fear of his ticker stopping.

Hadyn is tough. She is strong. She is Princess Warrior. God's warrior. But even the Princess Warrior's armour can be breached if the right fear finds it's way in. Last night, fear appeared in her bath water: the dreaded....the evil.....the despised....FLOATING POOPY!!! She screamed forever and shook like she was in shock over it. It took both mom and dad to calm her down and clean everything up.

Yuk. Come to think of it, maybe I do have fears....cleaning up after my children! Arrrrghhhhhh!!

Nerves

This post may better belong on my HES2 Motorsports blog, but I think I'll put it here.

I am nervous. My baby boy is kart racing today. Daddy is nervous. His son is racing today. Of course, this is the first race of his life and I'm sure our nerves will be somewhat better for the races to come, but for this one, I think we are both basket cases.

But it is interesting to see how we both handle it. Last night I was busily scurrying around making lists and getting thing pre-prepared to pack and go this morning. The kids were bathed and in bed and I was ready to relax. Dad, however, seems agitated about something. He looked like he was about to puke. I looked over to see Scott putting on his shoes to go somewhere - at night - with the kids in bed. "Where are you going?" I ask curiously. "I have to get some air."

After a little while of tring to calm down, Scott finally just went to bed and was up a 4am this morning with nerves still getting him. Bless his heart. I slept like a rock. But this morning is when the nerves are hitting me. Do I have everything we'll need? Can I eat something without hurling it? Are we ready to go? Will it be therepeutic to type this all up on a blog for everyone else to see? Am I just asking too many questions?

Sigh. I am ready. But we could all sure use some prayers today!!

Captivating

One of my favorite books - back in the day when I actually had the focus to sit down and read - is Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge. They discuss the woman's heart, from God's point of view. Basically, women, until we know better, base our relationship with our Heavenly Father on the relationship we had/have with our earthly father. And every little girl just wants her daddy to tell her how captivating she is.

Hadyn will hang out in the bathroom with me watching me put on my makeup. Of course, she has to have everything done that mommy is doing. So, we have our little routine of putting on "mate-up". I will dust a little very light colored eyeshadow on her little bitty lids. She closes her big blue eyes and lets me "beautify" her. Of course, I am very careful to tell her that we (yes, mommy, too) are very beautiful without the makeup, but that it just brightens our beauty a little bit.

Then she will run straight out to her daddy and close her eyes so he can see her beautiful "mate-up". Scott, being a wonderful daddy, will oooh and ahhh over her and tell her how beautiful she is. I swear I see that little bitty float four inches off the ground as she runs into the next room to get back to playtime. And all it took was a "wow" from her daddy.

I pray that this relationship grows and continues with the two of them. It is so sweet to watch now.

What Kind of Boat Do You Have?

In thinking about discussions I have had with different people regarding different religious/spiritual beliefs, I had a visual metaphor pop into my head. I’d like to share.

Imagine yourself on a lake with nice smooth waters and just warm enough to really enjoy being in. Then you decide to go water-skiing. Most people would be on their skis in the water with a rope connected to a boat ready to be pulled up to their feet and go skiing. However, you are in the water with skis on, but no boat.

The people behind all sorts of boats are pulled to their feet and are being towed off into different directions…all of who seem to be willing participants in this activity. Now, some of these people could be speeding in directions that will lead them into danger, but they are going anyway. Some are willingly heading another direction toward rough waters even though they have been told repeatedly and shown evidence that is not the direction they need to go in. And then some are going into waters that are even better than what they are currently in and will enjoy skiing in the best environment they could ever imagine. Then of course there are some people who don’t believe in boats and so they just don’t even get into the water.

Yet here you are in the water. You are just sitting in the water trying to ski on your own. You have nothing to pull you up; no support. You look at all the types of boats going in different directions but are worried about which brand of boat is best for you. But instead of listening to the words and advice of other trusted people and reading the research for yourself about which boat is best for you, you just sit and try to do it on your own. And go nowhere.

So you have a choice to make, sit in the water going nowhere or picking a boat.

What kind of boat would you choose?

We Heart Household Products - My Fav Product

Gotta love Facebook. I saw a friend's profile status that offered a chance to win a Flip Video Camera and I was all over that. The link led me to a blog called [Alice] We Heart Household Products. This blog will be one on my regular reading list...not only for the giveaway, but for the topic!! Anything I can learn to make using the products in my house work more efficiently is for me.

So, the product I chose to blog about for this giveaway is my Mr. Clean Magic Erasers. I luuuvvvv my magic erasers. I leave one in my shower to clean before I get in and voila! My shower is squeaky clean. With two small children, wall marks, floor scuffs, cabinet uh-ohs, and what not are all the more reason to keep something with "magic" in it's name. I've used it to clean up paint, too.

Yup. Gotta have my Magic in my house!

With Great Power....

"With great power comes great responsibility." These words were uttered by Peter Parker's Uncle shortly before his own demise. For those who are comic book challenged, Peter Parker is Spider-Man.

But these are true words.

I have to give them to Hunter on a regular basis. Not because he has secret super hero powers, but because he is a big brother...and big brothers might as well have super hero powers in the eyes of their little sisters. I know I certainly thought my big brother could do no wrong.

Hadyn will intently watch her brother's actions and then sure enough, mimic them. And not all of her brother's actions are worth repeating. Apparently when 7 year old boys play "kitchen/diner", there tends to be a certain amount of plastic food debauchery - stuff that 7 year old little girls may find repulsive, but a 2 year old baby sister thinks is the BOMB!! And so creates a bigger mess that does not need to happen.

When mom breaks out into song and dance, a 2 year old little girl will giggle with glee and join right in having a grand old time. However, a 7 year old boy will scream at the top of his little lungs for mom to STOP THAT and will tackle mom with a force reserved for collegiate football try-outs. Again, little eyes see and follow suit.

Sigh.

I don't want to squash the boy out of my boy, but I really don't want to find the girl gone from my girl, either. So, we resort to Spider-Man tactics. Be a super hero to her.

And to mom.

Opinions -Again.

Opinions. Yup, we all have them. Some you take with the proverbial grain of salt, some you let go in one ear and out the other, some you refute, and some you agree with. But everyone has one. Case in point, I have one today. Take it as you will.

At my bible study this morning at a church I visit (but is not my home church), our discussion was making all sorts of circles around our topic at hand. One woman offered up her opinion on the topic using last night's Presidential address as reference. This woman appeared to me, based on her viewpoint, to be a more conservative citizen of our country. Later on another woman again used the address as reference, but looking at it from another angle, seemed to be much less conservative, but not entirely liberal in her beliefs. So here were two different women, two different viewpoints of the same thing, but neither making remarks that would turn away someone who was seeking an answer.

Then enters woman #3. This woman offered up not a political reference to our topic, but a "religious" one. She proceeded to slam a very well known minister to which she had only seen on television and in an interview. She has never been to his church, nor obviously ever listened to him discuss how and why he was called into ministry. If so, I don't know if the slam would have been there. She did not like what she referred to as "feel-good-ministry". Even when I brought up that there is more to his ministry than what she is seeing on tv, she argued her point even deeper. My thinking was that he was called to do just what he is doing. He is leading people to know Jesus Christ as their personal savior and if the Lord wants him to do more, he will do more. If someone does not like this teaching, then there are thousands upon thousands of other ministries that will give a person what they are seeking.

Which made me wonder, why as "Christians" do we feel so comfortable slamming other "Christians" for doing what they are called to do? And how does that look to someone who is not a Christ follower? No one at our table was slamming President Obama or former President Bush. No, that was all very polite conversation.

My opinion is that is doesn't shed a very good light on us as a whole. Wonder what we could do about that?