A High Calling

The role of wife and mother.
It is a high calling.
Many people can do it.
Many can do a good job at it.
But how many will really do it well?
How many will hear "well done my good and faithful servant?"

Those words are my goal, my prize.
I run the race with perseverance. I run the race to the finish.
Just to hear those words.

But what does that really mean...
These are the thoughts that I have been pondering.
How do I embrace these roles and more importantly how do I do them WELL.
This question brings me to my knees.
Asking God for WISDOM - wisdom to anticipate my husband's needs, wisdom to anticipate my sons'  needs, wisdom to know the right responses and GRACE - grace have the right attitude, grace for patience, grace to respond correctly to every situation, and grace to forgive myself when I fail.

One thing I have learned, though, is that part of this is to do every task wholeheartedly and unto the Lord. EVERY TASK. with energy and enthusiasm that springs from the joy of serving those you love.

So today I will pick up tupperware containers off the kitchen floor at least five times, but each time I will try to focus not on WHAT I am doing, but on FOR WHOM I am doing it. Same with laundry and cleaning and the multitude of other tasks that call my name.

But maybe today will be different from yesterday, because today I will have a new attitude and a new energy to my work.

And maybe today, I will do more than just doing my job -
today, I will do it WELL and with my whole heart unto the Lord.

That is my prayer for today and every day.

The Tulip and the Blade of Grass

The deeper I get into this parenting thing, the more complex I realize it is.  The more I need God every step of the way.



I have one child who I call my tulip.  He is beautiful inside and out.  When the sun shines on him, his petals open up and the most amazing and tender things come out his heart. He is the first to give me a hug and smile in the morning.  He is the first to feel remorse for misbehavior and always to first to forgive others, including his mama.  His heart is so pure, so tender, yet so exposed even as a tulip opens up its petals and exposes itself to the warm sun.  The tulip's delicate beauty and trust in the warmth of the sun also opens it up to the other elements.  A little rain or wind and the tulip is the first to lose its petals.  And so I live, every breath a prayer that winds of my human weakness and frustration don't cause my delicate, tender tulip to drop his petals.  He opens himself up to me every day, exposing himself and trusting. And I pray that God give me the grace and wisdom to nurture his gentle spirit into a bright, beautiful bloom.


On the opposite end of the spectrum is my second son...the blade of grass.  He is colorful in his own way.  Fun-loving, bursting forth with all the energy of spring.  Delicate and tender is not how I would describe him, though.  You can step on him, roll on him...no matter what you do, he will bounce right back up.  The loving care that he needs is called mowing.  If you give him the the care of tulip, he will grow wild and unruly - but give him some good, strong direction and he will thrive.  However, if the sun is scorching hot and there is no gently rain to soothe the pain, the grass to will whither.  And so I pray that God give me the wisdom and strength to love and nurture my grass in the way that he needs - to not treat like my tulip but give him the strong love he needs without scorching his soul.


Both the tulip and the grass are beautiful in their own ways.  Both are needed to encompass the beauty of spring. 

Two separate plants. Both growing in the same garden under the care of the same gardener.  And this gardener remains on her knees, every breath a prayer, asking for wisdom from the Master Gardener Himself.  The One who knows their needs better than I ever could.

They are Mine

The other day I was at a church for a praise and worship night.  The focus on the night was on how God never fails us, how His love is all we need.  I was so thankful, so humbled, but also suddenly overcome with grief.  Literally, sitting in my chair sobbing.

I kept saying to God, "Thank you for being there for me.  Thank you for your sovereign hand upon my life. Thank you! But what about them...what about these two beautiful blessings you have given me? What about the many times a day I fail them! What about my boys, God?!?

As I sat there crying, I heard this whisper in my ear. "What about YOUR children? No, they are still MINE - as you are MINE.  And as I will not/cannot fail you, I will not and cannot fail them.  Because they are mine!"

The peace that came over me was unspeakable.  As all parents do, I give my all to my kids-yet I am human, and they get the brunt of my weakness and frustrations.  It gives my soul rest to know that their lives and their future are in His sovereign hands.  The same hands that promise to work all things together for good.

Thank you, dear Jesus, for loving the ones I love deeper, fuller, and more perfectly than I ever could.

This is a picture from my favorite Bible as a child.  I think I got it when I was 5 years old.  I love it mostly for this picture.  It has always reminded me of how Jesus holds His children and I found comfort in it.  Now I find comfort in it knowing that this is how he holds not only me but my children as well.

Brokenness

"The territory may be unknown to you, but not to Him who calls you."  Brokenness by Lon Solomon

Sweet and Sour Chicken

This recipe is a family favorite and sure fire hit when we have guests over.  I only make it on special occasions or when we have guests simply because it is a little time consuming.

First you will need to cut up your chicken into chunks and sprinkle it with garlic salt and some pepper.  Then set up your dipping stations.  I have these wonderful frying bowls from pampered chef but any bowls would work.  One bowl has the chicken chunks.  The next bowl has a couple beaten eggs.  And the last bowl as some flour in it.

Then begin the frying process by dipping the chicken pieces in the egg and then in the flour.  Get the oil heating in the frying pan while you are coating your chicken.  Place your coated chicken in hot oil.  A couple minutes on each side should do it.  The chicken doesn't have to be fully cooked since it will cooked more in the oven.

Move the fried chicken to a baking dish and repeat until all the chicken pieces are fried. (That is the time consuming part)

In a medium saucepan mix together all ingredients for the sauce and bring to a boil.  I usually double the sauce recipe because my crew loves sauce.

Lastly dump the sauce on the fried chicken pieces.  Bake for an hour.  Serve over rice and enjoy.  Yum!

 

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Chicken

3 lbs Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (2-3 chicken breast)

1 tsp Garlic Salt

½ tsp Black Pepper

1 Beaten Egg

4-6 Tbsp Corn Starch or Flour

Sauce

¾ Cup Sugar

½ Cup Vinegar

1 chicken bouillon cube in 1 cup water

3 ½ Tbsp Ketchup

1 Tbsp Soy Sauce

Sprinkle chicken with garlic salt and pepper. Let stand for one hour or more. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. 

 Dip chicken in beaten egg and then in corn starch or flour. Heat oil (can tell if the oil is hot enough by flicking water at it and if it splatters it is ready) and brown chicken. Put in baking dish and cover with the following sauce:

Sauce:

Mix sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, chicken stock, and ketchup. Heat in sauce pan and then pour over chicken in baking dish. Bake uncovered one hour. Turn chicken once or twice. Makes six servings.

The Plan

Everyone knows about the plan.  People ask about the plan.  Sometimes it is simple.  Sometimes it is super busy, but everyone as the a plan.  The plan for their day.

My plan usually looks something like this...
get up before the kids to spend some time alone
feed the kids breakfast
exercise
some sort of morning activity (school, errands, playdates, etc)
lunch
nap/quiet time (the highlight of every mom's day)
prepare dinner

This is the plan that is in my head at the start of the day.  The reality of my day often looks a lot different than this plan.  My quiet time in the morning is often interrupted by one or both kids getting up early.  Exercise is interrupted by mediating fights or just other requirements of the day.  Morning activities are often up in the air due to weather and mood of the kids.

Even if nothing in the morning goes according to plan in my head at least I have the afternoon nap to look forward to, right. My solace in the day.  Time to recharge. Spend time refocusing.  Time just for me.  Yet even that is not a guarantee.

So usually I spend my day desperately trying to get myself back to the plan in my head, to redeem some part of the day.  All that comes of that is frustration.

Yesterday, though, I tried a new approach.  Instead of holding on to my plan, I let go of it.  Literally, in the middle of what was supposed to be my alone time, I whispered these words, "Well, God, it's not happening today.  Anytime me and You, You need to meet me here in the middle of dishes and tired kids.  In the middle of this chaos because this is my day now."  I wish I could say that the kids turned out and went to bed or atleast gave me a moment of silence. They didn't.  But what did happen when I let go of my plan is that I missed the frustration of trying to get back on track.  I accepted my day and moved on.

Years ago, a friend told me, "Even though it isn't the day that you had planned, it is the day God had planned for you."  Those words have stuck with me.  He was not surprised by any part of my day and actually He orchestrated it all. Having a plan isn't a bad thing, fighting tooth and nail to keep that plan alive is where we go wrong.

Let go of your plan and grab onto His.
"Many are the plans of a mans heart, but the Lord directs His steps." Proverbs 19:21

Food for thought

Listen earnestly to anything your children want to tell you, no matter what. If you don't listen eagerly to the little stuff when they are little, they won't tell you the big stuff when they are big, because to them all of it has always been big stuff. 

~Catherine M. Wallace~