Cute Kid Quote

Tonight's dinner conversation with my 4-year-old daughter:

Daughter: "I can't eat, my heart hurts."

Me: "Why does your heart hurt?"

Daughter: "Because I asked God into my heart, but now he's sitting on it."

Chuckles from me and my husband.

Daughter, pouting, "Maybe God's jumping on my heart."

About 20 minutes later as she sits on the couch with her hands clasped in front of her:

Me: "What are you doing, Sweetheart."

Daughter: "Praying that God will get off my heart."

Freedom to Fly

As some of you know, our family has become novice bird watchers (see here and here). It all started with visits to my parents when they lived in Salt Lake City. At that time, their back deck was right at the level of the fruit apple trees in their back yard. My dad set out some feeders and a heated birdbath and they had a host of feathered friends join them. When we’d take the kids to visit, a favorite activity in the morning was placing peanuts around the ledge on the deck and going back inside with faces glued to the sliding glass door as they watched the Blue Jays come to eat.

A couple years ago, Robins made a nest on the brick ledge of our house right outside the front door. Later on, Mourning Doves came to use that same nest. The boys had a bird’s eye view, literally, into the bird’s nest and got to see eggs and the development of the babies. So, this summer, for Mother’s Day, I bought myself a couple bird feeders and set them up outside. We’ve had House Finches, Chipping Sparrows, Mourning Doves, Black Headed Grosbeaks and a couple of Chikadees visiting ever since. One of our favorite things to do is sit on the little couch in our front room and watch the birds.

Just the other day, my oldest son told me that he wants to capture the birds and keep them inside with us. I had to laugh. Doesn’t it seem like human nature to want to capture those things that exhibit beauty and mystery and put it in cage? I tried to explain to him that we would loose the wonder if we bottled them up inside, besides the fact that we’d have a lot of mess to clean up on a consistent basis. I don’t think he’s convinced, though. ☺

I can’t help but wonder how many things in life we choose to put in captivity that would function so much better if given the freedom nature, and God, intended.

First Day of School

Well, we made it through the first day of school...and it was good.

Nate has been making me nervous all summer, telling me that he was willing to go to Kindgergarten, but after all the hard work he did last year, he decided he wasn't planning to work on hard stuff this year. And let me tell you, if Nate doesn't want to work, life gets hard. Fortunately, he likes his teacher and his first day of Kindergarten was so much better than his first day of preschool. When I picked him up, he was talking a mile a minute!

Aaron seems to like his new teacher as well. She gives out pennies for good behavior that the kids can use in a penny candy dispenser...what more could 2nd graders want? Except for my son who decided he'd bring the penny home to save for Legos.

I received my class syllabus for my first seminary course. I need to have the Hebrew alphabet memorized by the first week of class. Can I just say that panic has set in for this year?! I'm so excited, but I also know that with my work schedule, the kids school schedule, my school schedule and other day-to-day stuff, it's going to be very busy. I'm sure once the routine is down, it will be manageable. I sure hope so!

By the way, are the boys cute in their uniforms?

Life as a Quest

I've been reading the book Spiritual Direction by Henri Nouwen. This is the second book of Nouwen's I've read and I really enjoy his approach and the way he writes.

Toward the beginning of this book, he states that spiritual direction is the process of asking life's big questions within a supportive community (pg. 5). He goes on to say that often it's difficult for us to answer the big questions on our own because our fears and pain mask the questions in the first place. He goes on to say;

"Once pain or confusion is framed or articulated by a question, it must be lived rather than answered. The first task of guidance then is to touch your own struggles, doubts and insecurities - in short, to affirm your life as a quest. Your life, my life, is given graciously by God. Our lives are not problems to be solved but journeys to be taken with Jesus as our friend and finest guide." (page 6, emphasis mine)

I tend to enjoy making lists. And, when I make my lists, I always make little squares to the left of each item. That way, when I complete a particular task, I can mark it with a nice check mark. The last couple of years have been a period of learning for me. Lists work great for getting stuff done in the office, at the house or when preparing for a trip. But as far as real life goes their use is quite limited. That's what I appreciate so much about Nouwen's quote. Our lives, rather than being a checklist of issues to solve, is a series of questions best answered when journeying within a supportive community, following close to our God.

Pet Peeve of the Day

I continue to receive e-mails that totally blast Barack Obama. They've gone anywhere from saying he wants to turn the US into a Muslim nation to the most recent claiming he snubbed soldiers while visiting Iraq in July.

I think e-mail is a great way to disseminate information. Truth-full information, that is. And, speaking of that, as Christ-followers we claim to follow the way, the truth and the life, and yet we send on e-mails defaming someone's compassion and character without once checking to see if we got our facts straight, plenty willing to believe the worst about "those liberals". Come on folks! Do a little research before entering more e-mail addresses and pressing "send".

Caveat - I know not all Christians vote conservative and those that don't are less like to send these on...so I do realize that I'm not speaking about all Christians

If you don't know where to start your research, try the Snopes website.