The Big Cover-Up

Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs. - Proverbs 10:12

You ever have one of those weeks...the kind where the love of your life can do nothing right? Where a series of innocent mistakes becomes an avalanche that's out of control? Is the world really going to stop spinning because he used the vegetable cutting board instead of the meat one? Or buying chicken tenders instead of chicken breasts? Or how about leaving for work with the carseat still in his car? You know...they're little, innocent things. Why then, did I let myself get so bent out of shape (in front of our daughter, no less)?

I could blame it on hormones, or being tired...but the fact of the matter is, I was sinning...knew I was sinning...and continued to wallow in my little pity-party while throwing hissy-fits all week.

Then this verse jumps out at me. Wow! I was seriously hating my husband. My job isn't to get my way...it's to help, honor and support him. And so...it's time to start the cover-up. Teach my daughter that mom and dad both make mistakes, but our job is to cover them up so the other person can shine.

So, thank you, Dan, for going to the grocery store and getting chicken. Thanks for cutting it up for me. Thanks for taking Dayna to the zoo on Thursday so I could get some stuff done around the house...even if it meant I didn't have a carseat on Friday.

Another year gone

The bell has rung, the lockers are empty, and the last echo of children's voices has left the building. I don't know why I'm so exhausted at the end of this school year, as it really was one of my best years yet. Maybe I'm just getting older.

Off to enjoy the next 81 days before school starts again :)

Remember Maria

Stole this link from a friend's blog (thanks, Tonni!) Continuing to keep the Chapmans in our prayers.

http://chapmanchannel.typepad.com/marybeth/

Gotcha!

How quickly time flies! Three years ago today, a precious girl was placed in our arms for the first time.


Don't know who was more unsure...her or us?


Still, we figured it out as we went along, relying on God to direct each step of the way.

Today, she is a happy, healthy (talkative) child of ours, and more importantly, child of God.

Happy Gotcha Day, Dayna!

You are the sweet spot in our life!

Stuff

God's economy is a funny thing. The more you give, the more He gives back. David's heart desire was to build a permanent temple for God, but God had other plans. David was told his son Solomon would build the temple. One of David's last acts in life was to donate his riches for the building of the temple. David had it figured out...it wasn't his stuff. All the gold and silver in his possession was God's anyway. I was reminded last weekend at church that there is no such thing as a self-made man...it all comes from God. So, I ask myself, what keeps me from giving as generously? Is it fear? Selfishness? Greed? Do I view giving as an opportunity for great joy or deep regret?

We have short lives, but eternity is long. David's heart was transformed...what will it take for mine?

David's Prayer

David praised the LORD in the presence of the whole assembly, saying,

"Praise be to you, O LORD,

God of our father Israel,

from everlasting to everlasting.
Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power

and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,

for everything in heaven and earth is yours.

Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom;

you are exalted as head over all.
Wealth and honor come from you;

you are the ruler of all things.

In your hands are strength and power

to exalt and give strength to all.
Now, our God, we give you thanks,

and praise your glorious name.

"But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand."

(1 Chronicles 29:10-14)

Not Very Smart

I've been schooled by a four-year-old:

D~Do spiders have faces

A~Well, yeah

D~Do they have blood

A~*pause* I'm not sure

D~*looking dejected* Oh...I thought you were smarter than me

(The answer is here: http://www.explorit.org/science/spider.html)

A Quiet Day

It seems that the craziness of Spring is finally cutting me some slack. I'm enjoying a day off with nothing to do! By 10:00, I had walked to the grocery store, made Rice Krispie treats with Dayna and cleaned the living room (including boxes of unsorted things from the bathroom pre-remodel...you know...stuff that sits in drawers, but you never do anything with it!)

Dayna has been so much fun lately while playing pretend. She had a blast at the grocery store this morning with her own pencil and "list." She was humming through the aisles, crossing things off...On the way home, she told me how much fun grocery shopping was. It must be because we weren't in a hurry, the store wasn't crowded, and we could just enjoy the outing. So...after the house was clean (enough), we pulled out her shopping cart and play food. I printed some play money, and off we went. What a fun morning. If only we had quiet days like this more often.

Ego Boost

I was told by a sixth grade girl this morning, "Oh my gosh!!! Mrs. Wilson, you're SO skinny!!!!" Gotta love that girl :)

Unsung Mothers

I can think of few holidays that bring about silent pain as much as Mother's Day. I speak from experience. How many years did I yearn to be a mother, sitting in church watching all the moms get carnations with silent tears coursing down my cheeks? Being wished a "Happy Mother's Day" from well-meaning greeters, just because I'm a woman of child-bearing age. Finally, we stopped going to church altogether on Mother's Day weekend.

But it's not just women struggling with infertility who experience pain every Mother's Day. I think of those who have lost children...through miscarriage or stillbirth, tragic accidents in youth or even adulthood. I think of mothers of prodigal children...or those who have lost their mothers. What about mothers who haven't met their children yet? Moms who wait week after week for elusive papers to be issued by our own or other governments allowing them to travel and unite. Or moms here in America who are raising children, but aren't allowed to be recognized as "mom" until the foster care system has run its course...there are just so many silent pains that accompany Mother's Day.

Today I think of the unsung mothers...those who tearfully chose to release their children into the arms of another. Today is Birth Mother's Day.

There is one birth mother in particular with whom I feel a deep connection. She is a woman I will probably never meet in this life, though I pray I will in the next. I wonder everytime I look into the eyes of my daughter if I'm seeing the eyes of her other mom. I wonder if she knows how much her daughter is loved...I try to fathom the love this woman must have for a child she relinquished only two days after giving birth. Does she know how healthy and joyful our daughter is? I pray that God brings her comfort and peace everytime she remembers our beautiful girl, and I pray that God makes Himself abundantly real in her life, that she would choose to follow Jesus and we can meet in heaven.

We choose to honor this day with a bouquet of carnations, significant in China for the density of the petals and the many layers of a mother's love.

To the unsung mothers, thank you. To my sister somewhere in China, words can never begin to express to you how much I love you and thank you for our daughter.

Thy Will

So, when the cloud starts to move, nobody told me it would be this scary. The uncertainties with Dan's job are growing, which exponentially reflects the uneasiness growing in our hearts. Part of us thinks this could be God's way of moving us out to Oregon. But then the fears kick in...could we sell our house? Can Dan even find a job in Oregon? (We have a friend out there who's been out of work since October...can't even get interviews anymore.) How can we afford to fix the house we've got so we can sell it? Fear, fear, fear.

As I kept waking up through the night, all I could pray was "Thy will be done."

Have I ever mentioned how much I HATE anxiety?