Tis the Season of Sharing

The kids are bickering again. For real, come on. Again? Just get along!!
"MO-OM, she won't share! She has both the cars and is making my guys walk!" The joys of siblinghood. One has two toys and the other has nuthin'.
"I am sorry, sweetie, just smack her and take the toy you want. Take both of the toys and show her how it feels to be playing with someone so selfish."
Ok, no. I didn't really say that. But I really wanted to.
Ping! Then the light came on. We have a storage unit out back with toys that they have grown out of... I run outside, tailed by our little dog, who's favorite place other than in my lap is sniffing around inside our shed. Ah, the container full of outgrown toys...where are they...the trucks... Ta-da! Victory! Now he can have two trucks and she can have two doll house cars! Problem solved.
"Ok, Josh, here you go!" Fully expecting a shout of joy and and nanny-nanny-boo-boo type remark to his selfish sister.

But that is not what happened.

"Hey! Abby! Look, You can have one and I can have one! Which one do you want?!"

He got it. It's just more fun when you share.

Frosted windowpanes, not likely...

This is such a great time of year. I love Christmas lights, music, the anticipation of snow (ok, it's 82 degrees outside, I can still wish, right?). Christmas carrolers, new toys, shiney wrapping paper and presents under the tree. This is with out a doubt, my favorite time of year.
Thanks to fabulous parents, who put effort into making a celebration out of every possible situation, I live a life steeped in tradition. To continue what my parents started, my husband or I read the Christmas story out of Luke 2 nearly every morning to our children. His version takes longer than mine. He stops every few lines to explain things like taxes, espoused-wifes, and where Galilee, Nazareth, Judea, and Bethlehem are. I am not sure the kids completely have a grasp on the importance of what "the house and lineage of David" means, but if hubby has anything to say about it, they will be able to eplain it to you by the end of the year!

When I read Luke 2, no matter what version, or translation is infront of me, what comes out of me, is The King James Version. Not that I see that as the only viable translation of the Bible, it is just the version that was read to me in some formative years. By the time I was in early elementary school, I had heard Luke 2:1-20 hundreds of times and even had most of it memorized. My sisters and I would sit around the table with our mostly finished pancakes and occasionally crunchy waffles and listen to, read, or recite these beloved passages. I guess this is what it means to hide God's word in your heart. There have been so many times where I would be awake at night and lay there thinking and praying, and find myself searching my heart for verses to speak back to the Lord. What always comes up, is Luke 2. Whether in June, February, or the middle of December, the words come as easily as breathing.

" And it came to pass, in those days, there went out a decree from Cesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed...."

Thak you Lord for sending your son. Thank you that he was born in a stable and that his first visitors were stinky shepherds. Thank you for telling us in your Word how He came to be born in Bethlehem.

One plus one...

Ok, here we go. Like I said before, I am new to the blog scene but am excited to be sharing my life, and my family’s, with whoever is interested.

So…one plus one equals…what? Around our breakfast table sits myself, my wonderful hottie husband, my karate-choppin’ six year old son, and my delightful, always-talking, three year old daughter. Breakfast is a must in our home. The menu usually consists of oatmeal, or cereal, scrambled eggs, or whole wheat pancakes, and laughter. While the food nourishes our bodies, Matthew, my leading man, nourishes our minds and souls with God’s Word. He reads a little and explains a lot. The kids ask questions, add comments and give their own explanations and understanding of that morning’s Word.

 In the middle of one such conversation, Joshua, our son pipes up, “1 plus ‘O’ equals ‘P!’ ”  Huh? It took a second for Matthew to catch on. Ok, we get it. The shape of a “1” plus the shape of an “o”…stick them together and you get a “P”…mostly. Although what he was saying didn’t quite “add” up, and it had nothing to do with the scriptures, it showed he was processing and thinking and being creative. Problem solving on a six year old level.

That morning our dive into the Word was interrupted by life. Josh’s math didn’t add up, but I look around me and neither does my life, really. My failure, plus God’s grace. Those two things are as different as letters and numbers. God’s all-powerful goodness and love. Pure. Holy. Righteous. AWESOME. My failure, disgrace, pride, getting ahead of myself. STUBBORN. These are not just opposites. They cannot co-exist. But they do. They come together at the cross. “But God demonstrates his love for us in this, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) 

God intervenes on our behalf. He makes letters and numbers co-exist. He makes what doesn’t make sense, perfect. Justice and Mercy.  I cannot understand God. His wisdom is far beyond me. I know he has called me to be an excellent wife (still in progress) a wise mother (still in progress) and a good neighbor (still in progress). So let’s see right? My letter’s, plus Gods numbers…

Hello World!

I'm a new blogger to the scene and hope to be posting very soon. Please check back with me in the next day or so and I will have some thoughts on here. Thanks for visiting my blog! I'll talk to you soon!