Pictures from our weekend
Little Visitors – Big Hearts
One of the children from our church is staying with us for a few days on her Spring Break, and we’ve been playing all kinds of games, cooking, and not doing much sleeping 
We had our little friend Eva, who comes on Mondays, to visit this morning also, and I realized how totally worn out I can get trying to take care of three little ones and a fifth-grader (and Eric has even been here today)! I collapsed on the couch this afternoon for a little nap, and later Kayli and I made pizza from scratch to cook tomorrow night. I’ve never made my own pizza from scratch, so making the dough and customizing the toppings (to make Eric soooo happy – he loves lots of toppings) was so much fun. We put sauce, cheese, peppers, onions, pepperoni, and sausage on one and made the other one plain with cheese. Kayli is awesome at chopping veggies — much better than I am! She kept saying, “Mrs. Kristi, you can do it a lot faster if you hold it like this,” (ha ha), so I said, “Here, why don’t you just chop them up, and I’ll grate the cheese?” (I hate chopping onions anyway!)
I feel like I’m not very good at “entertaining” other kids sometimes. I told Eric I feel so boring because I just want to stay at home and play there . . . I’m too tired right now to pile them all in the van and tote them all over town . . . oh well, I hope my own kids won’t think I’m a boring mom! Kayli said, “pregnant people sure do want to go to sleep a lot.” Ha! I guess I’ve been pretty obvious, huh?!! The last few days have altered my perspective somewhat, and I am so thankful that one day we will have three older children close together in case we need helping hands with any more little ones. It’s way too much to have a bunch of wee little ones and feel outnumbered trying to make sure they are all fed, clean, and happy!!! Kayli is also very eager to help (not surprising – I don’t think I know any 10 year-old girls who don’t love little kids)! That also reminds me that it’s so important to teach kids that helping can be fun and not a drudgery, so they will want to enjoy being with others and being involved with their lives. I am so encouraged by all those mothers who have gone before me and proven God’s love and faithfulness by raising children who love to help others….. what a blessing.
(I keep trying to post more pictures for this, but blogger is having problems. I’ll try to put them up later. I have to go so we can play “clue!” I can’t keep my eyes awake – ha ha!)
A Smile is a Like a Dream
If you’re a humbug, you can click off this page. If not, stay here as I share some thoughts about the power of a smile. First, here are some quotes about wearing a SMILE:
Before you put on a frown, make absolutely sure there are no smiles available. ~Jim Beggs
All the statistics in the world can’t measure the warmth of a smile. ~Chris Hart
Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been. ~Mark Twain
A smile is an inexpensive way to change your looks. ~Charles Gordy
You’re never fully dressed without a smile. ~Martin Charnin
If you smile when no one else is around, you really mean it. ~Andy Rooney
No matter how grouchy you’re feeling,You’ll find the smile more or less healing.It grows in a wreathAll around the front teeth -Thus preserving the face from congealing.~Anthony Euwer
Keep smiling – it makes people wonder what you’ve been up to. ~Author Unknown
Everytime you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a be
autiful thing. ~Mother Teresa
Beauty is power; a smile is its sword. ~Charles Reade
. . . And two from my pen:
A smile without Jesus is like skim milk. ~Kristi
Second to the gospel of Jesus Christ, a smile is the most free and abundant source of the energy of true love we can deliver to others in this world of power outages. ~Kristi
I know each of us has our growing mountain of problems, and thinking that smiling will make all of our problems go away would be naive. Smiling won’t repair the transmission in our car, replace that valuable item or person we have lost, pay that overdue medical bill, finish the last 4 pages of that horrible term paper for our hardest class, or cure our closest loved one of a chronic disease of pain. But it does help. Even when I’m irritated with my children or tired and don’t feel like “dealing” with the urgent needs that come with little toddlers, if I simply stop and smile at them, it’s amazing to see the calming effect it has on both of them (and me)! Smiling won’t replace prayer, and smiling doesn’t fix my problems. But it’s as if I’m saying to them, “I’m going to have joy anyway because I know there is only one life to live, and I want to live it happily!”
It amazes me how the smile is one of the first things a baby learns to do. It seems to come as naturally as the sucking reflex. That should remind us that there is a reason for the effortlessness of smiling, and we can learn a lot from children about how to live simply and be happy.
This makes me think of a dream I had one time about a smile. Maybe it’s bad to admit this, but I’ve only had one dream in my whole life about Jesus. I guess I should have had more, being a Christian and all, but I’ve only had one that I can remember. It’s also ironic that it took me going out of the U.S. to have this dream. I won’t go into the details of the evening before I had the dream, but basically I lived in a house right between two mosques. At the time there was a lot of quarreling going on, and a few of the younger girls had shared “rumors” with us that we were not wanted there and not liked at all. We had two security guards that took shifts standing in front of our front gate supposedly to “protect” us (I say that because I could have probably run circles around one of them, and the other one seemed always drunk or sleeping) . . . Anyway, that night there was some horrible, loud feud going on among many families in our neighborhood. It was around 10 pm when the shouting started (on several loudspeakers), and around 3 am I just couldn’t keep listening to it because I was exhausted. I remember being terrified and wondering if I’d ever see Eric and my family again (and this was before 9/11 and before we were engaged, but you know, you always initially think the worst when you are scared like that). My friends and I couldn’t understand what they were saying, so we just had to pray and go to sleep, knowing that God would take care of us. That night I had the best dream of my life. Of course I can’t remember what happened before and after this “scene” in my dream, but like other dreams people have had that were amazing, it felt extremely real . . .
. . . I was standing in a clearing of a beautiful, bright, green field with mountains and flowers as far as I could see. There was light all around me, like sunlight dancing around in millions of dashing beams. I
wasn’t alone. I could see in front of me, like I was looking straight out of my own eyes, but it was also like I could see a panoramic of everyone around me (like a movie camera). I was playing some kind of hand game with Peter from scripture. We were laughing so hard and getting really competitive (don’t know what that all means, but anyway, it’s not time to analyze my dream)! A few moments later Jesus was in the distance and walked up to us as we were finishing the game and laughing. I don’t know how or why, but I just knew right away that it was Jesus. (My heart still races, and my eyes tear up every time I think of this dream because it was so real and wonderful!) All of a sudden Jesus was RIGHT THERE in front of my face, like he had walked a half a mile’s distance in two seconds. That’s where my dream seemed “long” and lasting, and it seemed to “stay” on Jesus’ face for hours. He paused, and he SMILED the most amazing, huge smile that just overwhelmed me with solemn awe and zapped me with oblivious delight at the same time. I wish I could show you what it was like. I was paralyzed by the expression of perfect joy in his face. His brown hair was waving slowly in the sunlight, and I could see every wrinkle in his beautiful, tan face as his blazing, white teeth glistened in the sun. Then, he just let out this deep, musical (but not threatening) laugh and reached out his arms wide to give me a hug, like he was sharing in the joy of my game with Peter. As he reached out his arms to me, I remember feeling so close to him that I could burst with joy, and then my dream seemed to peacefully “fade;” I slept hard until the next morning.
I don’t know if you’ve ever “felt” in your dreams, but I remember distinctly feeling so safe and happy after seeing Jesus in my dream. It was fascinating. At breakfast the next day I was bubbling excitedly to share my dream with my friends and our muslim language tutor. I’m almost positive she became a Christian soon after I returned to the U.S., and I wonder if that dream was partly for my peace and partly for hers . . .
. . . I didn’t intend on writing about my dream at all for this post, but as I wrote it just happened. That dream was a gift, and I know from Who it came. I’ll never forget that smile, and I am sure one day I will see it again in full color. Have a wonderful day full of joy, and share an extra smile with someone because of what God has done for you.
(Clip art licensed from the Clip Art Gallery on DiscoverySchool.com)
Dangerously Happy
This is so sweet. She actually curtseyed for the camera a few times. I am trying to put dresses on Lydia more often since she really does enjoy being all dressed up in a dress.
Okay. Bathtime has gotten a little more high maintenance as of late. Steven no longer waits for us to put him into the tub, and Lydia thinks it’s fun to try to beat him to it every time. Don’t worry, I’m not neglecting my kids.
But their dad is. hahahaha just kidding
Once they’re in the bath tub, Lydia thinks she can handle tackling Steven and bathe him all by herself. What does he do except try to get away, of course?
“We’re pretending like we never heard you say the kitchen floor is off limits, Mommy, so we thought we’d hide under my high chair.”
Their new favorite game outside on the porch is for Lydia to ride on the back of Steven’s walker as he tries to comprehend why it’s so hard to pull the weight. Steven loves it for about 5 minutes before realizing he’s not really going anywhere anymore. Being the pragmatic mom that I am, I just let them do it so I can get dinner finished . . . until, like yesterday, I hear screaming and look out there to see Lydia crushing herself down INSIDE the walker trying to take over. Oh, dear.
Can you believe I got BOTH of them singing “Achy, Breaky Heart?” Just kidding. But you can’t tell us our kids ‘aint got soul . . .
“What? I get to eat a whole meal and don’t have to eat a single vegetable?” We went to Chuck ‘e Cheese’s tonight to treat Lydia (and ourselves to pizza), and both of the kids loved it. Lydia was unwaveringly wide-eyed, and Steven just danced up and down the entire time.
I think they were a little overstimulated at Chuck ‘e Cheese’s. “Ahhh, safe in Daddy’s arms.”
More Love to Thee, O Christ
Have you ever read Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Prentiss? It is to be one of my favorite books. If you are male, however, you probably wouldn’t enjoy it quite as much as the women would. Elizabeth Prentiss is one of my heroines of the Christian faith. I feel as though my heart and mind beats in a similar fashion as hers, and my soul expresses itself in several of the same ways. She was very honest about her sin and struggles to love God, but she always seemed to try to be encouraging others and not depress them when she spoke of her depravity. She seemed to be a hopeful person cheered by the nearness of Jesus Christ. One of my favorite hymns which she wrote is “More Love to Thee, O Christ.” I took a picture of a flower one time and pasted the lyrics above it, planning to print it out as an 8 x 10 for our bedroom wall – hmmm, I haven’t seemed to get around to it yet. Regardless the words will be imprinted in my heart forever. I thought of this hymn today because I woke up with a red, raw, sore throat and headache. Elizabeth wrote about a commonality of her day — illness. The “sickbed” was no stranger to her or her family, and she likely intertwined stories about the sickbed and deathbed in Stepping Heavenward because she knew what those circumstances were like from personal experience. Every time I am under the weather I think of this hymn and how she had so many harsher trials than I did with sickness, yet she gripped her soul tightly around the promises that God had not left her and would heal her in His time. I would probably be in the bed for weeks, if not months, if I were living in her time, so it’s the least I can do to think of her words and sing this song to Jesus with my measly sore throat! (One of the extras of being married to a worship leader is that he knows I love this hymn and will include it often in our services!)
Here are the words to this great song:
More love to Thee, O Christ, more love to Thee!
Hear Thou the prayer I make on bended knee.
This is my earnest plea: More love, O Christ, to Thee;
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!
Once earthly joy I craved, sought peace and rest;
Now Thee alone I seek, give what is best.
This all my prayer shall be: More love, O Christ to Thee;
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!
Let sorrow do its work, come grief or pain;
Sweet are Thy messengers, sweet their refrain,
When they can sing with me: More love, O Christ, to Thee;
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!
Then shall my latest breath whisper Thy praise;
This be the parting cry my heart shall raise;
This still its prayer shall be: More love, O Christ to Thee;
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!
E. Prentiss photo from Cyberhymnal.org
“He is precious.�–1 Peter 2:7
“As all the rivers run into the sea, so all delights centre in our Beloved. The glances of His eyes outshine the sun: the beauties of His face are fairer than the choicest flowers: no fragrance is like the breath of His mouth. Gems of the mine, and pearls from the sea, are worthless things when measured by His preciousness. Peter tells us that Jesus is precious, but he did not and could not tell us how precious, nor could any of us compute the value of God’s unspeakable gift. Words cannot set forth the preciousness of the Lord Jesus to His people, nor fully tell how essential He is to their satisfaction and happiness. Believer, have you not found in the midst of plenty a sore famine if your Lord has been absent? The sun was shining, but Christ had hidden Himself, and all the world was black to you; or it was night, and since the bright and morning star was gone, no other star could yield you so much as a ray of light. What a howling wilderness is this world without our Lord! If once He hideth Himself from us, withered are the flowers of our garden; our pleasant fruits decay; the birds suspend their songs, and a tempest overturns our hopes. All earth’s candles cannot make daylight if the Sun of Righteousness be eclipsed. He is the soul of our soul, the light of our light, the life of our life. Dear reader, what wouldst thou do in the world without Him, when thou wakest up and lookest forward to the day’s battle? What wouldst thou do at night, when thou comest home jaded and weary, if there were no door of fellowship between thee and Christ? Blessed be His name, He will not suffer us to try our lot without Him, for Jesus never forsakes His own. Yet, let the thought of what life would be without Him enhance His preciousness.” — from C.S. Spurgeon’s “Morning and Evening”
I don’t think I can add much to this marvelous declaration of the supremacy of Christ here, but for me in the month of March, year 2006, it rings ever true. The confession of my heart today is that sometimes I get so easily distracted that I forget there are actually people around me who know not of this Beautiful Savior. I absolutely cannot fathom my life without Jesus. Yes, I am completely worthless without Him. I totally lean on this “crutch” of religion, only this religion is not just that, it is the very air in my lungs and the greatest Man I have ever met.
Until you know Him, until you drink His sweet healing water of life, taste the bread of his power and faithfulness, learn the riches of his love, and get a glimpse of his magnificent beauty, your soul is not living, but is barren, hardened, cold. I can’t tell you how He will come to you. I don’t know when or where, but if you lay eyes upon these words, pray your eyes do not shut tonight without knowing Him.
I think sometimes that is the ultimate struggle in my job as a mother: not being able to have two-way conversations with my children, these beautiful creatures whom I hold so dear in my heart, about how we know Jesus Christ…. my prayer is it will come – one day!
You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever. (Psalm 16:11)
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