Extraordinary Faith for Everyday Life
Belated Merry Christmas to me! My mom had my curtains made for my Christmas presents but we had so many issues with the fabric they didn’t get done quite in time. They were well worth the wait though! My bedroom is really feeling like a bedroom!
Lots more to do in the room to make it all come together…pillows, bedding, pictures, furniture but I’m loving it so far!
Some days in the office are exhausting. By the time I get home almost 11 hours after I leave the house, I feel much like a ragdoll ready to be set on a shelf and left alone. Thank goodness I had spaghetti leftovers for us to eat tonight. One less thing to think about. I had promised the girls this morning I’d take them to the Dollar Store tonight. Emma had a dollar from her chore chart and Lexi had one for trying her baked beans the other night. What? Don’t pretend like you don’t bribe your kids. And of course they couldn’t save their money. It’s been a whole 10 days since hitting the motherload at Christmas. So I took them and they bought fairy wings and a play cash register, which I admit was quite fun. I don’t get to throw around $100 bills often.
On the way home, Emma asked what forbidden love was. Seeing that our conversation to The Dollar Store was
sparked with the question, “Is there really a medicine you can take so you don’t have babies?”, this new question didn’t startle me in the least. Immediately, Romeo and Juliet popped in my mind. I explained they were from two families that were sworn enemies and they weren’t supposed to love each other. Lexi piped in that she had seen a movie where Juliet was a dog and Romeo was a cat and that was forbidden love because cats and dogs aren’t supposed to love each other. All I have to say about that is whoever cast that movie got it all wrong because we all know cats are girls and dogs are boys. The girls seem to catch on to the idea and finally Lexi said, “Who started this anyway?” Which is what they always say when we’ve found ourselves knee deep down rabbit holes.
All that to say the whole conversation got me thinking about God’s love for me and how it’s a forbidden love. He has no right to love me. Him, being perfectly perfect and patience and joyful and loving. And not just having those qualities but BEING those qualities. He has no right to love me in my pride and stubbornness and impatience and jealousy and all those things I wish I could rid myself of. It ought to be forbidden for Him to love me as much as He does.
When Romeo found Juliet sleeping, assuming she was dead, he drinks poison, killing himself so he could have eternity with his star-crossed lover. Much like Romeo, God found me in my death, before the earth had its foundation and because He loved me so much, He chose to come and die so I could join Him in eternity one day. The best part about our love is it’s not a tragedy. It’s a beautiful story that’s been written long before Romeo and Juliet and has an ending that all forbidden love’s only wish they had.
I put together a listing of all the ways He loves us for my eBook Entangled. Maybe you need a reminder of His forbidden love today. I know I did.
I’m going to show my age here a little but I’m old enough that when I was little, rotary phones were still pretty popular. In particular, the only phone my great-grandmother had was a black rotary phone that was mounted on the wall surrounded by a cabinet such that I remember it being like a pay phone.
Her phone was in a central area of the house where a door to the kitchen, living room, 2 bedrooms, bathroom and cellar all met. Rarely did anyone stand in this area to talk. The cord was at least 20 feet and was more often than not stretched into one of the bedrooms while someone had a conversation. When I was little and was visiting at her house for summer or Christmas, I would always call my cousin and the town was so small you’d only have to dial 4 numbers. For whatever reason, that phone feels like a link to my childhood. I wish it was still around and I’d mount it in my house.
I was at my aunt’s house over the holidays and noticed she had a rotary phone in her granddaughter’s play area. It was donut shaped, brown and reeked of the 70s. It reminded me of my great-grandmother’s rotary phone simply because it was a rotary phone and the brown matches my very brown house. Also, I had a hunch that vintage phone would be worth something.
When I got home I immediately did some searches on eBay and etsy and found they were going anywhere from $25-75 so I emailed my aunt to tell her. She replied that my uncle, who had been at her house when I noticed the phone, mentioned to her that I had commented on it. She said if I wanted it, she’d save it for me. It turns out she was given the phone back ‘85 when she didn’t have a phone at home and a coworker at McDonald’s gave it to her.
Lo and behold, the phone showed up in my mail today.
The great fun in all this is when I plugged it up, it worked! And then Lexi decided she wanted to call their Daddy. But she had no idea what to do. I was quick enough to grab my current phone, which by the way, records video too. And has apps, And….well, you know. Nothing that phone did.
That’s going to be my new line when I can’t figure something out. “This is boring!”
Also? I’m very tempted to make this my first listing on etsy to fulfill a wish from yesterday but we all know how I handle letting go of things with a story.
I’m not a new year resolver. But there is an ongoing list of skills that I wish I could learn to do. Some skills need to come naturally and they just don’t. Others I don’t have time to tackle and still others I have absolutely no reason not to tackle but I just haven’t yet. And here they are:
OK, so that felt a little whiny. Sorry for the whine. If you do any of these well, I would love to hear it! And list a few tips on how I might actually add one of these to a real task list!
This post was linked to ohAmanda’s Top Ten Tuesday.
Moments of parenting exist when you realize you’re turning into your parents. And more than that, your children are growing into little people.
Last weekend, Scott and I were making our bed and the girls were flipping cartwheels in the wide expanse where we still have yet to decorate. Mid sheet-changing, Scott decided he needed to flip the mattress. I agreed as the night before I rolled on his side and suddenly felt like I’d been dropped into a hammock.
We bought our king size bed a few years ago but we still don’t have a frame. Our headboard is only held against the wall by the box spring and mattress. So when he went to flip the mattress, he asked me to hold the headboard against the wall so it wouldn’t fall forward. I propped my right hand on the headboard and my left one on my hip and waited. Scott flipped the mattress and started spreading out the sheets. “You can let go of the headboard now.” Scott said with quite a bit of sarcasm. “Oh,” I said trying to think of what had distracted me. Behind me, Emma propped her hand up on the wall and mocked, “I’m still holding the headboard.” She was making fun of me. Scott and I both fell on the half-made bed in fits of giggles, repeating her, “I’m still holding the headboard.” I laughed so hard I couldn’t breathe. Scott and I exchanged glances, with that same look of admiration we got when she learned to walk or wave bye-bye. All I could think about is the multitude of times we had (in fun) made fun of my own mother. She was always such a good sport, or always seemed like it. Maybe I’m wrong but I think I see why. It’s way too much fun watching your daughter turn into a little woman than be offended by her attempts at humor, even if it is at your expense.
I’ve kept this post open in my browser for days. Daye posted the top ten things she’s learned about blogging this year. Something about her first point has stuck with me.
Know why you do what you do- It is okay to not have a well thought out vision for the next 20 years of your life. But it’s important to have a reason for what you do. For me this means that I write because when I do, I feel God’s pleasure (One of my favorite quotes is from Eric Liddell of Chariots of Fire fame- "I believe God made me for a purpose, but He also made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure.").
I didn’t blog for much of December. Time and inspiration were not lacking. But I didn’t feel like it would please Him. Not because of their content because many of them would have been tucked away in the spiritual category. I don’t know why it was but I didn’t feel freedom to blog. The day after Christmas I finally felt His permission to write but He needed to ask me that question: why do I do what I do?
I don’t know how the content will change in 2012, if at all, but my goal is to work on this thing called writing and to do that for as long as I feel His pleasure. I hope you’ll join me.
Happy New Year!
Or, Mad Woman. Well, not a Mad Woman. Oh golly, Buy a Dress Like the Ones They Wear on Mad Men. Hmph! Have I mentioned my love of the show Mad Men? At least the first 3 seasons. I was not fond of Season 4’s storylines one bit. But the first three are dramatic gold. Sure it’s dark and twisty and there’s not a redeemable character to be found but the writing! the acting! the sets! the clothes! If nothing else, Season 1 is worth the look (all 4 seasons are on Netflix).
I bumped into this store on etsy where you can have CUSTOM dresses made that will make you look like Joan Harris. Well, in my case, without the perfect curves. But custom made! A pencil dress that actually fits like a glove! Just look at these:
*swoon*
If the pictures and price didn’t sell me, the feedback did:
I never had such a great fit ! Excellent workmanship,beautifull fabric and great communication made this a very positive experience.
The dress is absolutely amazing and rich in color! I got it in purple with gray trim and in swing skirt. The fabric is high quality. It fits me beautifully. I can’t wait to wear it.
…thank you so much for the fast work, the dress arrived today, it’s very beautiful and fits perfect (as always ;-)).
i could not be happier with this purchase. the dress fits amazingly well and the design works really nicely with plus-size measurements.
I love that they’re modest and most are modern enough that people won’t realize your nod to the 50s and 60s. She’s got many, many more styles, most of which I could not pull off but I would gladly walk around in one every day if I could!
The best part is I contacted the store owner Cynthia and she graciously gave me a 10% discount for YOU: HEART10. If you like it, how about pinning it?
OK, so go visit the store and tell me which you would (or will) order! I’m having a hard time deciding!
This post was linked up to Musings of a Housewife for Fashion Friday.
I mentioned it in passing in a blog post but I’m in the midst of reading through the Bible again. I’ve done it 2 other times but this time, this section stuck out to me from 2 Chronicles 6. Solomon had just built the temple and was dedicating it:
“When they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you become angry with them and give them over to the enemy, who takes them captive to a land far away or near; 37 and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captivity and say, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong and acted wickedly’; 38 and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul in the land of their captivity where they were taken, and pray toward the land you gave their ancestors, toward the city you have chosen and toward the temple I have built for your Name; 39 then from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their pleas, and uphold their cause. And forgive your people, who have sinned against you.”
A light bulb moment this time. That entire paragraph is the story of Entangled. No, I didn’t have soldiers in another land the God gave me over to but I was my own worst enemy. Satan was right with me when I sinned and God let me dwell in captivity in an emotional affair. My body was not held captive but my mind was. But when I had a change of heart and turned back to Him, He forgave me. I give Israel a hard time for continually turning to their wicked ways but I’m no different. Not at all.