Let the Earth Sing, It's Spring!

Why do we "Spit Shine" Jesus?

Why do we "Spit Shine" Jesus?

His birth was in a cave, draped in the odor of animals..
Not in a mansion with polished floors and servants...


His ministry played out in the hills and valleys of the region...
Not in a tabernacle with fine adornments and polished programs...


His message of life abundant & life eternal, was simple, and simply spoken...
Not dressed up or pushed on those who came to hear Him...


His last moments were watched as His mother grieved...
Her Son, a King, hanging....between two thieves...


His death was ugly, humiliating and cruel...
Yet it brought Life to every generation...



So I wonder, why, do we, "Spit Shine" Jesus?
The beauty in knowing Him...
Is found in the truth of His life...
And in the story of the Cross...
The emblem of suffering, and shame...
In the blood trail and in the pain..


This question has played over and over in my mind. By putting on layer after layer of polish, and trying so hard to get that perfect Christian "look"...we "Spit Shine" away the beauty of being a Christian. What's attractive to our eyes, in most cases is not at all the view from Heaven's eyes. Something inside is crying out to take it all back to the simplicity of just knowing Him and spending time with Him, resulting in hopefully becoming more like Him, drawing others to Him...

Lock Down, Lock In, Lock Out...

Unraveling, like a blanket, when a string is pulled, and pulled, and pulled. This person wants this. That person wants that, and I'm needed for this and then needed for that. I feel like I've been pulled until there might be nothing but a shred left. Finally, together, Keith and I said, "Enough." It seems like lately it has been one event after another. Every weekday is spoken for, of course. But the calendar is showing every weekend being gobbled up like some hungry bear fresh out of hibernation seeking his first spring meal. So, we decided to pull things back a little. After all, where does the family fall, when schedules are so go, go, go and there is no downtime?

Yesterday, was, in my mind, "Stolen Family Moments Day". It was lock down, lock in and lock out. It was nice, really nice. Keith and I started out the day just the two of us. In this house, that is a rarity. By afternoon, hunger ruled the day and the ribs we had marinating were destined to find their way to the grill. That in itself became a memory haha. I got the bright idea to heat the charcoal the hard way, and took the pioneer woman route. I spent the next hour and a half feeding kindling to the charcoal warmer...it was slow go and not my best of moves lol, but finally it was hot enough to grill on. Wouldn't you know it? Just as soon as the charcoal was finally ready, the skies turned loose and raindrops as big as quarters began pounding on our heads. Keith was yelling "Close the grill! We'll cook after it's over!" I, on the other hand, had nursed that charcoal and wasn't giving up. No sir, no way. So, in the middle of the rain, the lightening and the hail(Keith declared it was hailing), I pretty much refused to budge until those ribs were all inside Smokey Joe and on their way to becoming a meal! Now, how's that for romance? Aha...grilling together in the rain..with one spouse convinced the other had a death wish...In my defense, those ribs were the best we've ever grilled, hands down!

The day was a good one, each idea of fun lead to another. We went fishing down at the creek, walked in the woods, and decided on next weekend's project. That project is a result of male ego gone awry...It seems my Dad's creek bank looks better than ours...so Keith has to compete and play catch up lol. I'm sorry but if you'd been there, you'd be laughing too :) In his defense...we do have to get it done or the snakes will lurk and chomp on our ankles come summer!

I'm not sure how exactly but I fell asleep and woke up to the smell of chocolate cake baking. Taylor and her daddy pulled that one off...and even the mess they left was worth it, because that cake was like, the ultimate in chocolate! That of course, was to prep Mom for the whooping I was fixing to take in Monopoly. I spent a good long while, rotting in jail, unable to purchase anything and continually forfeiting passing "GO" and earning my much needed 2 mil. But oh well, it was for a good cause :) The day finally ended with an onslaught of xBox wars..."Guitar Hero". You'd have to know us to know that is what we sometimes call fun around here...

It's not often the family pulls it all back and just spends that good ole quality time together. For yesterday, I am thankful! And I'm very thankful our kids didn't even buck at the idea. Yes, they are great kids indeed! Now, for next Saturday? I'll be getting the Icy Hot ready because Keith has plans for us to be up early and cleaning out the woods most of the day. Hard work, necessary, but fun too! Hopefully we'll end it with a HUGE bonfire and weenie roast to reward our efforts! And if I'm lucky, maybe somebody will go canoeing with me!

Only a Mom Knows :)

It amazes me how a mother knows her children. Over the weekend, we went to Smokey Mountain Winterfest in Knoxville, Tn. I was riding in a separate van with some of the other staff, and one youth. The rest of our group were on a tour bus of around 45 or so other people. We weren't on the road very long when the young person in our van got a text saying "Somebody sliced their hand open on a Monster can." I immediately said, "That'll be Cody" A couple of texts later that was verified.

Okay...lucky guess! Hmmmmm, or was it?? Someone in the van asked, "How do you cut yourself on a Monster can?" I said, "He probably tore the can in half, if I know him."

Last night sitting on the couch Cody was talking about his cut and I asked him, "How'd you cut your hand on that can?" He just looked at me and said, "I tore it in half"...Go figure...Lol

So, how much more does our Father, know our thoughts, and our ways?

There's Mud in My Mud Boots!

Yesterday was sunny, 70 degrees, and the irresistable urge to be outdoors won over everything else. The kids had found this "cool" place over the weekend, just north of the house. You know, it's one of those, go thru the woods, cross the neighbors yard, follow the creek, treks that I wasn't going to stop hearing about until I let them show me for themselves. So, here we go...And laugh if you want to...t-shirt, hiking shorts, and mud boots up to my knees. You know the ones, the black rubber ones. I had no idea we were going to end up on the side of Martha Berry Hwy or I would have re-thunk that look hahaha. I'm thinking, "I'm ready for this, outdoors, bring it on!" Of course, I'm never as ready as I think I am. There were inclines, and mixed with boots that had no grip, I spent too much time trying to figure out how to get up this and get down that without riding it out on my behind. And the shorts were a really dumb idea because the briars left me looking like I danced with a mountain lion. But, I'm not one to give up, or let my kids out-do me so I find myself tromping across streams, up hills, over mounds of brush, and into a tunnel, full of mud and water, and of a height that even my ridiculously short stature had to bend over to go thru. It wasn't long before I felt it. The mud boots had cracks in them. In comes the cold water, and the mud. Of course I was raising a rucous. I've never grasped the concept of being quiet, and the tunnel made for a pretty good magnified echo affect of my discomfort lol...
The fun though, outweighed the uncomfortableness, and before long, I didn't really notice the water and the mud squishing around my feet. Back through the tunnel, wack!!...nearly busted my head off a drop down, and up the hill to the top of an old train trussel. The kids and I were having a blast. It was a good day for sure! We backtrack to the creek and decide to see who can get to the rocks out in the water without overflowing the top of their boots. Water over the top meant "epic fail" and a definite loser. Taylor and Cody make it and of course began to taunt me. They know how clumsy I am so they were hoping, I'm sure, for some show of mom falling off the log and into the water like a turtle on it's back or something. But ha! I made it. Although when I stepped into the creek water, the cold once again, rushed into the boots, and this water was much colder than the water before. Oh well, it was all for the sake of a great afternoon, so I let it go and kept on playing, and I'm glad that I did. It seems like the days blend into each other too often, and sometimes I feel like I don't make as many memories with my kids as I should. From there, we went on to explore the rocks that jut out into the creek. It's an awesome place of huge rocks full of little caves that so many different critters could be hiding in. It brought back memories from my own childhood of exploring those very same rocks with my dad and my aunt. I was thankful for a day of sun and a day of fun, I wouldn't trade that spot in time for anything, really.

I was just thinking back over yesterday, and it hit me, that lives can be kind of like those mud boots. They "looked" functional. When I put them on, they "felt" functional, but when I stepped into the muck, and the water, there were cracks in them that let in what I would have preferred, had stayed out. Kind of like things that I may not realize can creep into my life, that need to stay out. And just like I got used to the feeling of the mud and the water, and didn't notice it after a few minutes; the same goes for those other things that creep in. I didn't notice the water in the boots after a while, until I stepped in "colder" water. That's almost like what happens to us when we allow for things, that we shouldn't, and get de-sensitized, and eventually don't pay attention to the Holy Spirit's nudging, until we step in a little deeper and feel Him again, and the process repeats itself. I got used to the colder water, just like I got used to the mud and water the first time.

I think the wisest choice would be to do two things. Number one: Keep the boots or "life" maintained and the cracks and holes in good repair so that the things that shouldn't be in, stay out. And, number two: when I find myself stepping into something that I shouldn't, at the first nudging of the Holy Spirit, pull back and repair the cracks in my life before moving forward.

So many times, life requires us to walk throught the muck. There may be no way around it, over it or under it. We just need to make certain that we are prepared, protected and covered while we go through it.