Observations From the Couch

Since I have been down with Strep since Tuesday and haven't moved off the couch, I had plenty of time to see things I may have missed if I hadn't had this "opportunity" of a couple days off.

1. My kids are growing up...fast. The house didn't get too out of order this time around. Dishes and laundry even were kept up. And there were even times that I didn't have to ask for them to do it!

2. Another evidence of my kids growing up is that my phone rings more for my kids than it does for me. My guess is that this will only get worse.

3. Video games are mind-numbingly boring. I had plenty of time to try to get past that stupid castle on Zelda (original) and I can't make it. But I can't force myself to play it for hours either. I tried Zelda, Super Mario Bros., and stratagy games. All of them don't entertain enough when you are tired of sitting on the couch.

4. My body can't take lying/sitting around for 2 days. I ache all over. Makes me wonder if those who are wheelchair-bound/bedridden live with aches from inactivity. I think of little Micah and wonder if he deals with this, and if he thinks that everyone is always in pain like he is, that it's normal. Mine may be slight, and very temporary, but it still gives me a new compassion for others.

In other news I sorta got paid for taking some senior pictures. The payment came in the form of a gift card with a nice thank you attached. Exciting for me. Imagine, if I actually keep it up, I may be able to make money at this!

Thursday Thirteen

Here are thirteen things my kids learn

1. Be kind to everyone. Everyone is struggling as bad...or worse than you are.

2. Live your faith. Don't compromise. Don't get in a position where you have to make the tough choices. But live your faith with love for others.

3. You have a choice on how you handle things. It is so much better to smile, but it is ok to cry also.

4. You always have time to be kind. Nothing you do is so important that you become nasty towards others.

5. You are blessed. You have a family that loves you, food on your table, blankets and sheets on your own bed.

6. Enjoy your family. You have siblings, parents, grandparents, great grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. And that's just the start of them. They are all really great people. Take time to let them know you care.

7. It is never to late (or early) to admit your mistake. Ask for forgiveness. Sincerely

8. Is is never to late (or early) to forgive. You don't need to wait for someone to ask. Just do it. Include yourself in that.

9. You can hold a lot more with an open hand than a closed fist. Be giving. Share. You will be blessed beyond anything you could ever do otherwise.

10. Resentment and bitterness only hurts you. Most of the time the other person doesn't even know you are upset. Let it go.

11. Your way is not the only way. Lots of other people live a different way, think a different thought, dream a different dream. That doesn't mean they are bad. It means there is diversity on earth. Enjoy it.

12. Joy is not the same as happiness. Happiness is dependent on the moment and circumstances. Joy is dependent on nothing but having true peace in Him despite your surroundings. Desire joy in your life.

13. Nobody is around forever. Enjoy them now, while they are here. And let them know how you feel.

I'm not saying I live all of this everyday. But I do hope that somehow they can learn, even through my mistakes.

I got a phone call today. My mom's husband is in the hospital. They don't know what is wrong. Test results are coming back good and therefore they can't find what is wrong either.

The best and only thing I know to do is to turn to the Great Physician. He knows what is wrong and he also knows the outcome of all of this. Hopefully, next week this will be a distant memory and he will be in perfect health again.

Knight called the kids in to pray with us. We explained a little and said a prayer asking for wisdom for the doctors, peace and healing for Phil.

When it was done J-Bird was crying. It surprised me. I didn't see him cry the times my mom was in the hospital but now he was crying. I love to see my childrens hearts tender. When I asked him if he's sad his reply was, "I just love Grampa Phil so much!" It wasn't until after he prayed with his own words was he better. A reminder that life is precious and we need to let those in our lives know that we love them.

This article is my submission to the blog challenge sponsored by Darlene Schacht, author of The Mom Complex

Like every mother I have certain things that I feel the need to instill in my kids. Compassion, understanding, love for others. As I try to lead by example I will pray that my efforts are not in vain. After all, we are in a small town in Wisconsin. That doesn't naturally lend itself to diversity.

I did not grow up in a small town, but I did grow up with diversity. In fact, my parents tried to explain prejudicism to me, but I honestly thought that in today's world it didn't exist anymore. I was not aware of any honest prejudicism until I was 15 and moved to Wisconsin. Then someone said something around me about "those people" and used a term. I was SHOCKED! Not only was this person serious, but I was also related to them. A true wake up call.

When new people would come into their lives they would accept them, no matter what they looked like. The interaction has been limited but I have not seen fear, judgement, or shyness. Just an attitude of there is someone new.

Until Micah.

Micah was three or four when he first came to the church and into our lives. Micah is a sweet boy that has cerebral palsy. Here was this kid in a wheelchair that didn't talk. His parents accompanied him to every class. And he cried, a lot. To be honest, my kids were nervous. This was new.

We did our best to explain that even though Micah may not be able to run, play, and talk like everyone else, we know that Jesus loves him and we know that we need to show the love of Jesus to him. I noticed for the most part the kids, all the kids at church, just ignored him. They didn't know how to include him, but they really didn't want to leave him out so they silently accepted him into the group but rarely actively made him a part.

There is a group of us mom's who now help Micah during children's church so that his parents can be in the adult worship. When I first started helping I couldn't help but to hold his hand, rub his arm, and even take him out and sit him on my lap during class. This made my son curious and sat there holding his hand. My heart swelled. He knew then that Micah was just another kid.

Soon, J-Birds Sunday school teacher, Micah's mom told me how cute J-Bird was in class. He would purposefully sit by Micah, trying to hold his hand. To be his friend. A lesson I am glad my son was able to pick up on early in life.

I grew up in a military family. My dad was enlisted when he first started his career and then he became an officer. I remember him going to Officers Training School but honestly I did not know what that meant. My parents didn't make it a big deal to us. Maybe my older sisters knew the significance of it, but I never did.

Because we moved around so much, I have only one friend that I am still in contact with from my childhood days. A couple of years ago, after we were grown and married, we were talking and she said something about the social divide between officers and enlisted men and their families. She told me she could always tell who were the officers wives when they went to the store on base. After asking some questions she let me know that her parents were always nervous about her coming to my house because my dad was an officer and her dad was enlisted. This was the first time I had ever heard that there was this social divide, and honestly this was the first time that I knew her dad was enlisted.

My parents just had taught us to be kind to everyone. They never really did teach us about status or social class. I had learned about the cast system in school but I never could get my mind around the fact that people didn't interact between different social classes. Maybe I grew up naive, but I never did believe someone was better than me because of what they had or who they were, and I never thought someone was worse than me because of a different lifestyle than I was used to.

It is a lesson that I hope to pass on to my children. I hope that they can respect everyone as a creature of God. Since He is not a respecter of persons, I know that we shouldn't be either. And I also hope that they know that there will always be someone who has more than them, and someone who has less than them. It is great to work hard to achieve goals and dreams but if you do it at the expense of another or you should never look down on another for having different goals and values than you are pressing for.

For my parents instilling this in me, I am so thankful. What a blessing to have that lesson taught to me so thoroughly.