Category Archives: encouragement

Pinterestic Life?

I woke up this morning like most mornings- morose, fighting depressing, fatalistic thoughts. Not hopeful. Not joyful. Not positive.

I don’t say this because I’m looking for pity or to be a downer. I say it because I’m a mom who writes a blog in a world full of mom-blogs with pretty pictures and chic designs and humorous and/or wise posts. And I’ve been there and done that so I’m not judging my fellow mom bloggers either. I like pretty blog templates, and flawless pictures of homemade things and happy children. I enjoy a well-rounded devotional and even poetic meditations. But as much as we all enjoy those things, most of us don’t have a life that’s really like that.

Most of us wake up fighting discouraging thoughts or stress or anxieties of some kind in a house with piles of laundry unfinished, beds unmade, dried toothpaste and discarded pocket contents on the counter. Most of us walk out of our rooms to wake up kids who manage to argue with each other and create tears and yelling before 5 minutes of their day has passed. Most of us walk away from such scenes seeking refuge in a cup of coffee in a kitchen where the dishes aren’t done from yesterday… or the day before that. Most of us see clutter as we turn 360 from any position in our house and fight the lie that if things were just clean and organized and a nice candle was burning and the kids were laughing and… we’d be so much happier.

I’m learning I can either be real about my life and receive with thankfulness the grace that is creating a new, glorious reality for me everyday, looking for every evidence of the gifts of such grace even in this fallen place, or I can sink down into a pit of depression and “give up”.  Even worse, I can stick my head in the sand mom-blog world and pretend my life is pretty and organized and godly and smells like a Yankee candle, and spin my wheels trying to convince myself and others that I actually live such a Pinterestic life.

I don’t live a Pinterestic life.  But I do live a life alive in Christ’s blood-bought grace.  It’s a messy life.  It’s a life full of weakness and evidences of fallenness.  It’s a life of fighting giants and exposing lies.  It’s a life in the process of being transformed by a scandalous love.

As the holiday season is upon us, and so are all things picture-perfect and aromatic, let us make the ravishing beauty of Christ our boast and humbly receive with thanks every grace, every hint of his beauty and his order and his goodness we get to see and experience here in the midst of all our mess.  And let us be real with each other, and help each other fight giants and bear burdens and look up and be eternally-minded.

 Quieted,
Sheila

Book report day

What a day. A Husband out of town day. A 3rd grader book report day.  A PERFECT Phoenix-area fall weather day!  Its a tease though.  I wish it would stay that way.  Next week it supposed to be in the mid 90’s again.  I’m ready for sweaters, and spice candles, and pumpkin spice lattes. 

I googled pumpkin spice latte recipes this morning and found this.  I modified it to this:

1 c. whole milk
1 T. canned pumpkin
1 T. honey
1 t. vanilla extract
1/2 c. strong brewed coffee
a dash of ground cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon

Heat milk, pumpkin, honey, vanilla and spices in a saucepan over med. high heat until steamy.  Wisking constantly.  Pour into mug.  Add coffee to mug.  Top with whip cream if you want to.  I didn’t have any but it was still delicious!

I like book reports.  When my kids have to do them I always have to try really hard not to take over and do it for them.  Ryland’s doing a really good job considering this is not his forte.  If only he could do a math report instead.  As much as I don’t comprehend his affinity for math, even more I don’t comprehend his disdain of retelling a story.  How can you not love retelling a story?  At least this book report, he gets to make a mobile with the characters he drew from the book.  The actual “report” part is only writing a brief description of each character.  So far he’s got, “So and so was a boy.”  And ” So and so was the science teacher.”  We’ll have to work on details later.  He’s got the skeleton. 

When you have to sit down and write out or talk out a retelling of what you read or learned it really makes it come alive!  At least it does for me.

This is why I write, or blog, or email, or talk.  I live it in the second-living.  The writing.  Today, I second-lived via talking it out with a dear friend I haven’t seen in  year.  I am witness to the amazing grace and work of God in my friend and her husband!  And she was such an encouragement to me as she listened to me and could really say she knew exactly what I was talking about.  Apparently I’ve  been a hose through which water has poured.  A spout where blessings have flowed out.  A Living Water fountain.  Oh amazing grace how can it be?!  Today she was the spout and the hose and the fountain!  Thank you Lord!  Let me be a blessing. 

I got a good portion of my Rahab study done while the boy worked on his book report.   The way of God is amazing!

And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”- Matthew 9:11-13

Try to retell the One True Story.  Try to retell God’s mercy and grace.  I’m dumbfounded.


“He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”- John 7:38

Quieted,
Sheila