Abiding in Grace

It continues to amaze me as God reveals Himself to me in my daily life...

It's been a rocky week in our house (my heart). Not for any particular reason, mind you. I think it's a seasonal thing with me. In the winter we spend weeks in a row house-ridden with illness or staying in avoiding the latest "disease-du-jour". It's too cold to be outside. We're all tired of playing with only each other. The house is a mess and everything seems dirty to me. I yearn to open the windows. My skin is just screaming to bask in the sun (I totally get people who go to the Caribbean in February!) I just feel "blah" from it all, which fuels the mommy guilt of "why can't I be thankful and just enjoy my time with the kids?", which then makes me more irritable, then more impatient, then more guilt- it's a vicious cycle! We all get a little moody and stir-crazy!

When I feel this way I try to spend more quiet time seeking God's Word, which is not always easy (especially when being chased) and as if to say "I understand." I read...
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: "Everyone is looking for you!" (Mark 1:35-37)
Even Jesus couldn't get a break! And he felt the same pressures of constant needs and nurturing and speaking and just "being" that wear out young moms so often. He knew He needed to get away- on a boat, to a hilltop, wherever He could. If He'd had it, He too would probably have gone to WalMart at midnight for some alone time with His thoughts :) If even Jesus needed to prioritize time with the Father and renewal of His spirit, mind, and body- how much more do we?
They cried out to the Lord in their trouble and he brought them out of their distress. (Psalm 107:28) Turn to God, so that...times of refreshing may come from the Lord (Acts 3:19)
And don't let guilt keep you away- that's exactly how Satan works on moms of young children- because those feelings are not from Him. (If you have children, read that last sentence one more time. It something we need to hear over and over.) I need to be reminded...
Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:16) Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience. (Hebrews 10:22)

And as I pondered this and prayed for guidance, it's as if God himself sent me an email, I received the following from Aunt Alice...

Christians by Maya Angelou

"A woman's heart should be so hidden in Christ that a man should have to seek Him first to find her." When I say... "I am a Christian" I'm not shouting "I'm clean livin'" I'm whispering "I was lost, Now I'm found and forgiven." When I say... "I am a Christian" I don't speak of this with pride. I'm confessing that I stumble and need Christ to be my guide. When I say... "I am a Christian" I'm not trying to be strong. I'm professing that I'm weak and need His strength to carry on. When I say... "I am a Christian" I'm not bragging of success. I'm admitting I have failed and need God to clean my mess. When I say... "I am a Christian" I'm not claiming to be perfect, My flaws are far too visible but, God believes I am worth it.
When I say... "I am a Christian" I still feel the sting of pain.. I have my share of heartaches, so I call upon His name. When I say... "I am a Christian" I'm not holier than thou, I'm just a simple sinner Who received God's good grace, somehow! Pretty is as Pretty does.... but beautiful is just plain beautiful!

We are all human and will stumble (especially when shut in a house with young children for long periods of time). But God's grace truly covers all and the greatest gift we can give our children is to live out our walk for them to see and learn from- to admit our sins and struggles, to actively seek Him, to praise His goodness, to serve Him joyfully, and to extend and receive grace.

God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times,
having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. (2Cor 9:8)

Wordless Wednesday

Are they trying to tell me something?

the nicknames

I realized I never explained the title of this blog and where the nicknames came from, so just in case you're wondering...

Carter has loved baseball most of his life. I'm not making this up, I promise! From the time he was a baby he would be captivated by MLB on TV. He used to whine himself to sleep up until about 7 months. If I would swaddle him and lay him in front of baseball...absolute silence. We posed him with the predictable hats, gloves, and balls as a new- born, like many parents of little boys do with their favorite sports/ teams. Our family loves baseball and it's a fairly good guess he'll like it in some form. Little did we know...
We took him to his first game when he was 16 months old. We are so fortunate to have a brand new minor league stadium in Greensboro. Go Hoppers! It is a beautiful place, like something out of a movie. He was captivated for a full 9 innings. He watched like it was the greatest thing he'd ever seen. He couldn't get enough. We continued to go all summer long. We were all sad when fall rolled around. We played a lot of baseball in the living room that winter. He's actually a natural at catching and hitting. He was thrilled to get a t-ball set for Christmas and was whacking those balls in no time. We used to laugh because his throwing accuracy was so good we often got pegged in the head with balls because he'd initiate a game without warning.
Fast forward to 3 yrs old. We've enjoyed several more summers with the Grasshoppers. (We are such devoted fans, we took Julia to her first game at only 4 days old!!) Highlights for Carter- getting a foul ball caught by the man sitting behind us, getting Hoppers souvenir "bases" to add to our living room games (this was the beginning of learning "the rules"), the addition of Babe the precious black lab who retrieves the bats, and the pinnacle...getting to run the bases after the game. He was one of the first kids in line to do it and ran around, little legs chugging like the Energizer bunny. He was lapped many times, but made it- running the whole way and slid into home. He was bursting with excitement and wanted to do it again. He was able to get at the end of the line and be the last kid around. Timmy "the Y turtle" ran with him, and Hopper and Gigi cheered him on the whole way. He smiled for days- he was actually glowing afterwards :) My heart bursts just remembering it. I can still see those tan little legs, shoes covered in red dirt, dusty brown hair lost in his cap- so proud of himself!
We discovered, almost by accident that the YMCA in High Point starts tee ball at 3 yrs old. We signed him up and he was the big man on campus. He couldn't wait to start. The coaches and parents thought he was the cutest thing. The smallest kid on the field by a long shot, yet he knew all the rules, "coached" the other kids, lined up all the bats and helmets behind the plate, and took the whole thing very seriously. It was a great first season (except those last few games when it was 104 degrees!) and he was so sad when it was over. "What do you mean no more baseball- no Hoppers, no tee-ball?!" It was sad day..... then came the Boston Red Sox and the day Carter "met" Big Papi. We were at an out of town wedding with the fam and Carter had headed down to Mimi and Grandpa's hotel room for a visit. Grandpa was watching ESPN- I know big shocker for those of you that know him :) Maybe it's better to say Grandpa was watching only one game at the time and Carter climbed up to find out more and began to ask questions. Grandpa happily obliged with lots of answers and mentioned Big Papi was up to bat next and he hits home runs. And what do you know- he did. Next at bat, same thing. Carter was sold! The kid that remembers everything was never forgetting his baseball lesson that day. He continued to bring up The Red Sox and Big Papi on a daily basis, so we started watching the games. And what do you know, the Red Sox kept winning. He was hooked. It doesn't get any better when you're 3 years old to have your hero do such a great job. Our backyard games took on a new tune as Carter would announce he was "Big Papi" up to bat. he probably weighs about as much as Big Papi's bat!! His imitation and confidence made us laugh every time. We started calling him Little Papi. It was a big day for him when the Stone's (some purebred Bostonian friends :) , brought him an Ortiz jersey from their trip) He was elated. The admiration continued and in history-shattering fashion, the Red Sox won the World Series. There's nothing better to a 3 yr old (if you know one, you know how hooked they are on being the best and being the winner)- we couldn't have scripted it any better. Around the same time, Daddy got a Wii for his birthday and the game MLB Power Pros. It has all of this year's teams (in animation) for you to control and play with. Carter knows the Boston lineup like they're the kids down the street. And he clobbers team after team- usually scoring around 22 or so runs- in baseball!! And so the nickname. We have a deep love for Boston around here, don't worry Dad we cheer for the Phillies, too. But this little guy loves Boston through and through and always will :)

And as for Miss Julia. It just happens with little girls, I guess. Especially when they're your second. You look at your firstborn, your "baby" and this new child is just so tiny. It's so natural to call them "punkin". It's a nickname close to my heart, too. When I was a nanny for the years before kids. Sweet little Ally was such a tiny thing. Six pounds from the start, 12lbs at a year and still wearing some of her newborn-sized clothes when she was walking! We had a very special bond and will always be close. She was my first "punkin" in all her "tinyness" and I just had to share the name with little Julia. So it is for Julia, though most often everyone in the house calls her JuJu Punkin (her full name, I guess).

...just in case you were wondering...

Help AutismSpeaks

I'm sure you all know at least one person affected by this baffling condition. We now have 5 dear friends and family living with autism. This cause is near and dear to our hearts and always in our prayers...

The band, Five for Fighting, is generously donating $0.96 to AutismSpeaks for *EACH TIME* this video is viewed. The funding goes toward research studies to help find a cure for autism. When you have a moment, please visit the link below to watch the video and pass it along to your loved ones. They are aiming for 10,000 hits, but hopefully we can help them to surpass this goal.

http://www.whatkindofworlddoyouwant.com/videos/view/id/408214

Wordless Wednesday

(My favorite picture of my sister and her cutie pie!)

Out of the mouths of babes...

Today at gymnastics, Carter was listening with his class while the teacher gave instructions for the next circuit of skills...

Teacher: "Next you jump on the spring board with how many feet?"
Class: "Two!"
Teacher: "Why do we jump with two feet?"
Carter: "Because we don't have three!"

Sweet dreams...

They say kids benefit from daily routines- I agree. But some kids (like mine) become obsessed with it. When Carter was young and stopped nursing at bedtime, we started singing to him and saying his prayers before putting him in his crib. This quickly turned into a sequence of 5 songs, in a particular order, ending with Wheels on the Bus (his choice). It started with us singing it to him, then he wanted us to sit on the footstool while he sat in the rocking chair and sang to us. This should have been our clue as to what was to come. We were just happy he went to bed so easily and slept so well. A few months later I was putting him down one night and I noticed his water cup had leaked on his pillow, so I told him to wait while I got a new pillow and fixed his water. Little did I know I would relive that for years. Every night after prayers and kisses we would lay him in his bed and he would say "new pillow, new water". We would take both, walk in the hall, walk back and he'd go to sleep- ridiculous- but to him, oddly comforting. If we didn't do it he would scream and cry, devastated, but if we did- no problems. Fortunately it stopped sometime when he was 3, though on a rare occasion he still tries.

At four he had teeth brushed, chose 2 books, we read the next 2 Bible stories, sing "Jesus Loves Me", say his prayers, and put on his little blue baby blanket (wrapped like a "bataco", he says). When you close the door, we both had to say.....

"I'll see you when the sun comes up and the moon goes down, God bless, Sweet dreams, Love you!" (unless it's naptime, then... "I'll see you when the sun's still up and the moon's not out, God bless, Sweet dreams, Love you!")

And we both have to say it, but he always gets the last word.

Then there's poor Julia. In my hesitancy about another child with a long routine, hers is much simpler. We brush teeth, get her pasey, sing "Jesus Loves Me", say prayers, and she's off to dreamland. Once she's out of the crib, we plan to do them both at the same time, so she can listen to books, too. Hopefully Carter won't give her any ideas......