Lent - Day 4

Easy Taco Soup

1 pound ground beef
1 onion
1 package ranch dressing dip
1 package taco seasoning
2 cans ranch style beans (don't drain)
1 can corn (drain)
2 - 3 cans water

Brown ground beef with onion
In a large pot mix meat with all other ingredients
Bring to boil

We serve with Fritos, cheese, and sour cream


By: Rhysa Walker

Lent - Day 3

Remy’s Rambunctious Ramblings
His Trip to Heaven

When Remy got to heaven
The gates were opened wide
He could walk and he could run
And he could jump and he could slide

His halo wasn’t sitting straight
His wings were crooked too
He was a little rumpled angel
Wearing just one shoe

He was always into mischief
And he never seemed to stop
Everywhere he went in Heaven
You could always see him hop

Had he stayed on earth we know
His mischievousness he’d show
But God had other plans, you see
So that’s how Remy came to be
God’s very rambunctious angel

By: Sydnee Jaynes

Lent - Day 2

As we enter the season of Lent, there are three things that we can be reminded of to help us focus on and strengthen our relationships with our Lord Jesus.

The first is Trust - Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us to, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths.”

The second is Pray. - We are living in a world plagued with confusion, illness, poverty, fear, and terror - but Paul tells us in Philippians 4:6-7; “Don’t be anxious about things; instead, pray. Pray about everything. He longs to hear your requests, so talk to God about your need and be thankful for what has come. And know that the peace of God (a peace beyond any and all of our human understanding) will stand watch over your hearts and minds in Jesus the Liberating King.” (The Voice, New Testament)

Finally, Expect. - Some of us are going through some very tough things right now, but we are told in Hebrews 13:5-6, “...God has said, Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you. So we can say with confidence. The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid What can man do to me?”

With these three simple points in mind and not knowing what lies ahead of us, we can look to Hebrews 12:1-2, “...let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith…” (NIV Study Bible).

Submitted by: Kathy Parish

Lent - Day 1

Ash Wednesday is a day of penitence and remembrance of our sins of the past and our ultimate mortality. The Ash Wednesday Service marks the beginning of the season of Lent, the forty days (not including Sundays) before Easter. Lent is a time of repentance, fasting and preparation for the coming of Easter. It is a time of self-examination and reflection. The forty days represents the time Jesus spent in the wilderness, enduring the temptation of Satan. Sundays in Lent are not counted in the forty days because each Sunday represents a "mini-Easter" celebration of the Jesus' victory over sin and death. In the early church, Lent was a time to prepare new converts for baptism. Today, Christians focus on their relationship with God, often choosing to give up something or volunteering and giving of themselves for others.

The Season of Lent is an opportunity for each of us to prepare our hearts and minds to be truly open to embrace the magnitude of Good Friday, and the wonder of Easter morning. This Devotion Guide, made by and with and for our membership at Deer Park United Methodist Church is a wonderful way for us to journey through the Season of Lent together. Inside you will find memories, scripture, pictures, recipes, prayers, devotions, hopes and dreams.

Pray in these devotions, pray with these devotions, pray thru these devotions, and pray for those who have offered these devotions.

May God open our hearts and minds as we walk together toward Easter morn, and the memory of God’s ultimate gift of love.

Melody

THE INVISIBLE MOTHER

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store.

Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?'

Obviously, not.

No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all.

I'm invisible. The invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this?
Can you tie this? Can you open this?

Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is t he Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.'

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated sum a cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going; she's going; she is gone!

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England.

Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in.

I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself.

I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.'

It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe .

I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription:

'To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'

In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work:

No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names.

These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished.

They made great sacrifices and expected no credit.

The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything .

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.' And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.'

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place.

It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked,
is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.'

At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disase that is erasing my life.

It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride.

I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on.

The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving,
'My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, 'you're gonna love it there.'

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

Unknown Author

Say What?

Hear, Adhere, Revere

I heard a speaker a few weeks ago, who used this process as how we are to live as Children of God. We hear the word of God, adhere to it, and then respond in reverie to the Almighty. Today - I'm hung up on the first part - Hear. With two little kids, a busy household, a busy congregation...I have a busy mind! I can't hear myself think, much less hear God's desires for my life. My prayer today is to tune in to God - to focus in on what God would say to me in this day. I pray that God would help me in this seemingly insurmountable obstacle by helping to turn down all my internal noise - or just speaking a little louder!

Time, Time, Time

Have you ever taught a child to tell time? We are just beginning this with Claire, and it is a crazy process! 60 seconds make a minute, 60 minutes make an hour, 24 hours make a day. You and I both know this, but apparently 4 year olds do not experience time the same way I do. The period of time when the shirt is over the head until I can pull it down apparently lasts for hours. The ‘10 more minutes’ before bed time apparently passes in just an eye blink.

As adults, we have a bit better sense of the flow of time, but we’ve all experienced moments in our life when time did not progress in the accustomed way: Those moments when the world stands still, and seconds fall like hours. Unfortunately these are often moments of overwhelming grief, where our pain washed over us, burning every minute detail into our memories forever, stretching fleeting seconds into agonizing hours. Logically, I know that it only took my grandmother about four minutes to silently slip away after the doctors disconnected her from the ventilator. Emotionally, those four minutes have written hours worth of memories onto my heart.

We’ve also all experienced those moments when time seems to accelerate with no warning, dancing away from us no matter how hard we grasp. Time can fly away from us, running through our fingers like the rays of a setting sun. When I watch my girls revel in a new found joy, I cling to the moment, willing it to last forever in my heart of hearts. But somehow, in those perfect, pristine moments of joy, minutes float away like seconds, always leaving us hungry and yearning for more.

My prayer today, is that God would me have and use and be in this day to my fullest. I want to give this day to God. May my time be God's time.

Hungry

This morning I woke up hungry - and not just hungry but HONGRY! The kind of hunger when the household cat better start looking less tasty quick! After shoveling in most of the contents of my refrigerator, I am now good.
Multiple times in scripture, we are asked to hunger for God. Not just the snacky kind of hunger, or the bored 'I could eat' kind, but the HONGRY kind - a desperate need for God.

Are you hungry this morning? Do you desperately need God? My prayer is that I would always search for God as desperately as I searched my pantry this morning!

Choosin'

In one of my former lives, I was an adjunct professor for the San Jacinto Junior College system, teaching two speech classes on their South Campus. I taught Public Speaking on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, and Interpersonal Communications on Wednesday evenings. You know - Network Television should create a reality t.v. show set in a night class in a Junior College - they’d make millions. I’m not saying it would be quality programming - its kinda like an accident on the highway: You tell yourself you don’t want to watch, but you can’t help but tune in!

Interpersonal Communications is technically a Speech class, but in reality it’s about 25% public speaking, and 75% psychology. Though I don’t remember most of the curriculum (thank God for small favors!), one of the primary teaching points has stuck with me: No one makes us mad, or happy, or sad. Situations happen - life happens, and we choose how we will react.

When my daughter Claire turned 3, I decided to bestow upon her this grain of wisdom...honestly, I was just growing weary of hearing my little angelic monster spit out “Mommy - you’re makin’ me mad!”. Every time I heard this phrase, I would respond with “No, honey, you are choosing to be mad.”

Claire is now a wise and worldly 4 year old. A few days ago, I watched her stomp around the house, huffing and puffing and reeking pure havoc on her toys, potted plants and the family cat alike. “What’s up kiddo?”, I asked. She turned towards me, placed both hands on her hips, tossed her blonde hair out of her face and rolling her eyes said, “Mommy - I’m just choosin’ to be mad.”

Why would my darling little girl choose to be mad? For that matter, why do I choose to be mad - or sad or hurt or spiteful or embarrassed. As a child of God, I’ve been offered the Light of the World - so why do so often I choose to live in my own darkness?

Today I choose Grace.

Thoughtful

Last week I went to a great conference featuring a speaker from the Alban Institute. He was a systems theory guy, which means that he has a construct of understanding the way people interact that can be applied to most groups; families, businesses, friendships, churches etc. He proposed that in any system, you find a similar range of people. About 2% are 'yes' people, and 2% are 'no' people. This means that no matter what they are asked, "Do you want a million dollars? Do you want to eat a kitten?" They will always answer the same thing - always yes, or always no. Then you have 12% that are thoughtfully 'yes' and 12% that are thoughtfully 'no'. This means that they will consider the question or idea or opportunity at hand, but will probably still answer as their standard yes or no. Everyone else, the other 72% really just don't care that much. They might have an opinion if asked, but overall they don't have an avid interest in the process.
At first I thought this was an odd way of looking at the world around me, but as I have been mulling it over, I see some definite validity in this view of the systems I am apart of.
My prayer for today is to be one of the thoughtful percentage. I don't want to answer God without any thought or consideration, and I certainly don't want to be disinterested enough not to care. So my prayer is to fall into the thoughtful group - and that God would help me get to where I am supposed to be!

Peace

Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake.

- Victor Hugo (1802-1885)

Just another Manic Monday

Monday yet again. I normally feel great comfort in routine - but not when it comes around to another Monday morning. Mondays are odd for me. On the one hand, Mondays are my favorite day of the week, because of my awesome Monday Morning Bible Study. But I can't help but cringe at getting back into the weekday routine with the girls; making lunches, packing diaper bags, checking backpacks, doing homework. I guess I have a love/hate relationship with Monday.
My prayer for this manic Monday is that I will see God in this day. In the midst of the routines, the mania, the groaning and fellowshipping, I pray that God will be present in a way my busy mind can't miss. Praise be to our God who is bigger than Mondays!

I am a Promise

I have had a song from my childhood that has been pervading my thoughts day and night for the last several months. Have you ever had this happen - had a song or chorus or hymn rambling around in your brain, and you can’t seem to get rid of it? It is a source of torment!

The song in my head recently, is “I am a Promise”, by the Gaithers. It says,

“I am a promise, I am a possibility, I am a promise, with a capital “P”, I am a great big bundle of potentiality. And I am learnin’ to hear God’s voice and I am trying to make the right choices, I’m a promise to be anything God wants me to be.”

Our Bible is a book of the promises of God; The promises of God, for God’s people through out the ages, and for us today. God has promised us unconditional love, and the ultimate relationship. There is no where we can go where God's love cannot find us, and there is nothing we can do that would ever make God stop loving us. That is a pretty awesome promise!

Happy Valentines Day!

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son that whoever would believe in him would not perish, but have eternal life."
As we celebrate the gift of love today, don't forget he who is love - our savior Jesus Christ.

Prayer for Rest

Oh Lord of the Sabbath, teach us how to truly rest from our labors. Help me to cease striving. I find myself doing nothing, not because I have nothing to do, but because there are too many things to do and i am overwhelmed. There are too many choices, but one thing is needful. This weekend, let me rest at your feet and worship you in my stillness.

In you Father, there is peace and there is quietness for my soul. I long to be still enough to hear the quiet Spirit as he whispers to me of gentleness. Restore my soul, made weary from the week. Refresh my spirit with the kindness of your Word. Help me to be a refuge for others from their struggles.

I surrender to you all of my worries and work. I sacrifice to you my need for control and ask you to take over this day and lead me beside still waters. I praise you, and I love you, God of Rest, for in you alone I am justified and not by the works of my own hand.

I lift up those who even now are working to keep me safe and secure and free of harm. Bring your peace to the world, and come soon to restore you kingdom forever.

Amen
(from Lazarus Resources)

Forgetful Faith

I got a new hair dryer for Christmas that uses ionic power. I don't really know what that means, but it apparently has a ceramic heater much like straightening irons use. Earlier in December, I had noticed that Brenda C's hair was looking especially shiny and healthy and asked her about it. She told me of this new hairdryer she'd gotten for her birthday, and sent me an email with the information. I then forwarded the email to my brother (who was thrilled to not have to think of a present on his own) and viola - new hair dryer under the tree. I started using the ionic dream machine immediately, and was quite impressed with the results. My hair was definitely shinier, and had a better texture. A little over a week ago, I started to become disappointed in my hair again: Dull and life less to say the least. I had started thinking that maybe I needed to get the color redone (and was trying to figure out how to pawn one of my kids for the seed money) when I ran into Brenda again. She was fingering her hair, and said, "My hair feels just awful today. I forgot to push the ion button when I dried it, and the texture is just off."
"I thought you pushed the button to turn OFF the ionic power." I said.
"Nope", said Brenda, "you push it to turn it on."
So, I went home and investigated my hair dryer. Sure enough, Brenda was right (this is no surprise for anyone who knows her!). Though I had been using this dryer for over a month, I somehow forgot how to use it in the last week and a half, and the result was dull, lifeless hair.
Okay - so here is where I quite sounding like a commercial for hair dryers and get profound:
It seems crazy to think that we could forget something as simple and mundane has how to appropriately run a hair dryer - but it happens. It seems crazy that we could forget to trust in God, to rely on God, to turn to God with all that we have - but it happens. When I use my hair dryer wrong - I just get dull, lifeless hair. When I don't rely on God - I get a dull and lifeless life. So - when you walk by the mirror today, check out more than your luscious locks. Take a good look at your soul. How is it with your soul today? Are you shiny and full of good body? If you find things a little lacking, then take a moment for prayer, read the instruction manual for faith (AKA the bible), talk to a good friend (I'm sure I could hook you up with Brenda!), and restart your journey with God!

this world has nothing for me...

One of my favorite Christian songs is from Caedmon's Call. The main chorus says, "This world has nothing for me, and this world has everything - all that I could want and nothing that I need." As children of God, we know that this world is temporary, and that a kingdom far beyond our wildest imagination is waiting for us when we die. Still - death is not a friend. We are afraid of death, afraid of losing those whom we love. Kathy Parish, one of our witty and wise members says, "Heaven might be my home - but I am NOT homesick!" Today, our congregation gives a send off as we honor the life of a saint of the congregation. We will miss her, as we miss all those who we love, and who we lose. But what a joy that comes with knowing all of our dear saints are in heaven! I cannot imagine the awesome reunion that I'll get to enjoy one day! What a party that will be.

I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Last night, Claire and I made Valentine's Day cookies. We had a few extra left over that we had fun with, and made faces on. You can be awed by 2 of our creations pictured above. Claire told me that the cookie on the left was her, and the cookie on the right was me. Nice. As though I don't already have enough self image problems - now I have to worry how I look in sugar and flour! I trust that God made me the way I am for some sort of God-like reason - at least I pray for this, especially today when no one on earth could possibly be having a good hair day. Psalms139:14 says:

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

Today I trust in God, and I praise God, because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

a wittle bit stinky

Last night was a long day - a good day - but long and very busy. We finally got home around 7:30, and Drew and Claire were enjoying a bowl of icecream at the kitchen table while Ely and I looked on wistfully. "Time to get into the bathtub", I told Claire, "I think someone is a little bit stinky!" After running in the FLC for an hour, Claire was more than a little bit stinky! "It's okay mommy", Claire assured me, "We can just do this - and then we'll be good!" Claire proceeded to pinch her nose, and continued to eat her icecream.
I wish that pinching your nose made bad smells go away! I wish that ignoring the mess in my house made it go away. I wish that not acknowledging the ways I fall short of who God would have me be would make it go away. Unfortunately, this is not true. Today I vow to quite pinching my nose, and give all that I have to glorifying God.

Peace be with you

The feeling of peace can be so illusive. In a world that seems to demand busyness, to find a moment to even look for peace is a struggle. I am sure that you have heard the saying, 'there is nothing more peaceful than a sleeping baby.' I think I have to disagree with this statement. Yes - a sleeping baby looks peaceful. But when I gaze upon a sleeping child I feel a myriad of things - panic, that she will awake to soon, pressure to race and do all the things I need to get done and was unable to do while the child was awake, frustration, because I want to take a nap too! I'm not sure that peace ever flits across my mind in those moments! Peace is a slippery emotion.
Every time we gather to celebrate the sacrament of Holy Communion, we begin the service with the same words, "Peace be with you," and the congregation responds, "and also with you." I'm an adult now, so I know that wishing and getting are two different things. But when it comes to peace, I pray that I will never stop wishing to find it, to revel in it, and to share it with others. So - peace be with you today, may peace be with me. May together we find the peace that comes with knowing that God is God.

the answer my friend...

The wind is blowing with a vengeance today. As I clean up the game room, I've been watching the palm trees blow almost violently, and the normally calm tinkling of our wind chimes has become a harried clanging. I am reminded of the familiar analogy of likening the work of the holy spirit to the wind. You can't see the wind itself, but you can see and feel its work. You can't see the holy spirit, but you can see and feel its work. I pray that today the holy spirit would move within me as firm and strong as the winds are blowing my trees. And just like the palms, I pray that I would allow myself to be moved.

as a child

Leave 2 cute, vivacious girls alone with a spool of curling ribbon for 2 minutes while you brush your teeth, and this is what you get! What simple joy there is in children. Jesus tells us in his teachings, that unless we become as children, we will not inherit the Kingdom of God. My prayer today is that I will reach for God just as excitedly as Ely reached for that ribbon. I pray that God will surround me with God's loving kindness, like an amazing big sister delighting in the joy of her sissy.

Amen.

Meager Offerings

It has been a long day - a long week. This prayer by Rabbi Sheldon Zimmerman forced itself into my thoughts and memories yesterday, stirring at my soul. Today I bring forth meager offerings. I offer this prayer for you, and for myself. Praise be to God.

A Prayer for Prayer

My God

My soul’s companion

My heart’s precious friend

I turn to you

I need to close out the noise

to rise above the noise

the noise that interrupts

the noise that seperates

the noise that isolates.

I need to hear You again.

In the silance of my inermost being,

In the fragments of my yearned-for wholeness,

I hear whispers of Your presence-

Echoes of the past when You were with me

When I felt Your nearness

When together we walked

When you held me close,embraced me in Your love,

laughed with me in joy.

I yearn to hear you again.

In your oneness I find healing.

In the promise of Your love, I am soothed.

In Your wholeness, I too can become whole again.

Please listen to my call-

help me find the strength within

help me shape my mouth,my voice,my heart

so that I can direct my spirit and find You in prayer

In words only my heart can speak

in songs only my soul can sing

Lifting my eyes and heart to You.

Adnoai S’fatai Tiftach-open my lips, precious God,

so that I can speak with you again.

You're not a person...

This morning, as the girls and I were trying to get out the door, and I was still working on all that laundry, Claire was talking non-stop. I think overall the subject was about school, but with my head going in and out of the washer and dryer, I was only catching every 3rd word or so. At the tale end of one of her sentences Claire says, "...so that's not you mommy, you don't do that, 'cause only the people have to do that." "Oh," I said absently, "so I don't have to huh?"
"No!" Claire laughs, "'cause you're not a person!"
"I'm not a person?" I ask.
"No silly - you're a mommy!" Claire says, as she laughs at me indulgently.

So apparently, my fears are realized - I am truly not a person any longer, but rather a mom, which I suspect would be defined in a quite interesting way by Claire...I'll have to work up to that one.
Though this is the first time I have heard Claire express this, I know it's not a new idea. When I was a kid I thought my teachers lived at the school, the pastors lived at the church, and my parents lived to serve me! Heck - I thought the people on television only existed when I wanted to be entertained.
I think it is human nature to understand people in light of their function in life, and forget that they are people, just like we are, with hopes and dreams and joys and hurts.
I think we do this with Jesus as well. We only remember the God part - the Divine, all Knowing, ever existing part, and forget that Jesus was also COMPLETELY human. He lived, and breathed, and rejoiced and suffered - just like we do. Praise to our God who knows exactly what it means to be a person...and what it feels like to be treated as though you are not!

on the 7th day...

Last night, as I was playing with Claire, she snuggled up with me on the floor, curled up and fell asleep. Staring at a sleeping child is the best form of sleeping aid I have ever come across, and within a few minutes I was out. After awhile, Drew scooped Claire up and tucked her in, and roused me. I too went on to bed for the night. This morning, I awoke before my alarm went off, at 6 a.m. - after (can you believe it) 10 full hours of sleep! I feel like a new person today. Yes, I ran my standard morning-mom-marathon managing to get everyone out the door, and to their correct destinations with all of their necessary supplies, yes I had a full day driving out to the west side of town for a conference, yes I still need to do at least 3 loads of laundry this evening, but I feel as if I could take on the world. It's amazing what a little sleep will do for a person. God, the ever knowing, ever planning Creator knew we would need time to recharge, to recenter, to refocus our lives on what is important. God modeled this in the creation of the world, when on the 7th day, God rested. And yet how often do I, do many of us, deny ourselves the time we need to be still. Why would we ever not take time to rest. Am I better than God? Do I need less time to rest than God does? Taking time to rest, and recenter ourselves in Christ doesn't make our to-do list any shorter, but it does refocus our hearts and minds on what is eternally important. And, in Christ anything is possible - even all the laundry that still awaits! :)

Feeding Faith

As I settled into my office this morning, already feeling as though I have run a marathon and yet it is only 9:40 a.m., I glanced down to see dried applesauce on my pants. Naively, I thought I had made it out this morning clear of gunk, but apparently the adorable 6th month old bundle of baby has struck again! I think that trying to feed a baby breakfast, or any meal for that matter, has to be one of the most frustrating parts of being a mom. (I know - just wait til they are teenagers, all of you wizened parents say.) You pop in a spoon full of mashed something, which my baby readily sucks in, only to mull it around in her mouth for a while, and then out comes about 3/4ths of the original bite. I then spoon around on her bottom lip, chin, bib, (and apparently even my pants) to scoop back up some of the food and try again. This process continues until finally, 6 or 7 or so scoops and bites later, the original mouthful has disappeared (or been hidden in cute fluffy folds of baby neck!).
It strikes me that feeding my baby, and my faith journey in Christ are quite similar in their efficiency. I readily accept Christ, only to spit part of the Christian life back out, when it isn't quite what I had expected it to be. Praise God for a Creator who is ultimately patient! My prayer this morning, is that I would accept all that Christ has in store for me in this day with open arms (and a wide open mouth!), and that maybe, just maybe I won't spit anything out.

I love you Jesus

Last night, as I tucked Claire into bed, she once again began bargaining to keep me in the room with her until she fell asleep. "Wanta read me a book?" - we'd already read together. "Wanta snuggle?" - I have to admit this one does get me sometimes. "I'm thirsty." - it's amazing how 4 year olds can suck down more than a thirsty camel if it is getting dark outside. Resolute, I tucked the covers in around Claire, kissed her on the cheek and told her good night. As I was leaving, I stopped at the doorway, and said, "I love you honey, sleep well. If you get lonely or scared, you can always talk to Jesus." "Okay mommy," she said, and as I pulled the door closed behind me, I heard her whisper, "Hey Jesus, I love you."
I pray every day, multiple times in a day in fact, and yet I cannot remember the last time I told Jesus that I loved him. I pray for guidance, I am faithful about counting my blessings and saying thank you, I do my best to live my life for Jesus, but I guess I've just been forgetful in telling the most important being in my life that I love him. Once again, my four old has taught her old mom a new lesson!

I love you Jesus.