We're going to see the movie tonight!! I'm so excited!! I can't remember where I even heard about the books first, but I guess I heard about them a couple of months ago. I didn't know much, but I could kind of guess what they were about so in the beginning I was hesitant. I started reading them about a week and a half ago. I finished the third book Wednesday night/Thursday morning at 2:30am. I was glad to finish so that now I can actually do something besides sit, engrossed in my iphone (reading it off of Kindle) for those few precious moments of absorbing all I could of the books. Oh my goodness they were so good. I really don't know that I've ever read anything that I was so taken in by.
When I first started reading The Hunger Games, I was a little disconcerted. I liked the book and felt like it was very well written, but something about it made me question whether I should like it or not!! I mean, the fact that children are killing children in these games is not usually the Christian topic of choice! I texted my friend Shelby, knowing she had probably read them. She said she had and that she liked them. We discussed a little but not too much. I kept hearing from all these Christians how they just loved the book. So I kept going.
I'm not going to give any sort of book commentary here. I'm not that smart!! But I did get to the point by about the middle of the second book where I realized why it was okay to like these books and why I liked them so much!! They are speaking directly to us--to our nation--about what the future might hold for those who will inherit our war hungry, blood thirsty culture along with our big government who has too much power over it's citizens. This book is written basically for teenagers--for those kids who don't really remember a time when America wasn't at war. They've grown up on violent video games for their entertainment and with the assumption that we just blindly follow what the government tells us to do.
Those of us who do question our leadership and the power they have over us find a hero in Katniss Everdeen. She thinks what we think. She says what we want to say. And she does what we wish we could do. She looks at the powers that be, and sees that they are not to be questioned. She questions anyway. Somewhere down in her 16 year old self she knows that this system is bigger and much more powerful than she is, but she doesn't care. She is willing to sacrifice it all to give others a hope for change. And she's not perfect at it. This makes us like her all the more!! She's us!! She's sometimes selfish. She sometimes has the wrong motive. She is sometimes driven by hate and revenge. She is always questioning whether she can do it, why she's doing it and if it's worth it. But when faced with adversity, when faced with the power of the capital, when faced with insurmountable odds, she doesn't give in. She finds the courage to keep going through physical and emotional pain and torment. She is propelled forward by her love for her family and very few close friends. And she is driven by an underlying desire to see her world changed--for the betterment of all society. She is our hero!
But if the world was only made of Katnisses, we would be in big trouble!! She acts first, thinks later. She has no ability to compromise or sometimes see a bigger picture. This is why we love her, but it's also why we need Peeta!! He is that peacemaker that we are looking for. He sees the goodness down deep. He sees through the imperfections of our heroine and loves her with a love from the depths of his soul--a love that draws us to him and captures our entire being. Only he can calm her. Only he can make her see things. Sometimes even he can't do it, but we love him for trying! He shows us that through all of the warring, all of the chaos, all of the power, all of the evil, there is a way to triumph. He is willing to sacrifice it all for Katniss. She is his ultimate goal. He sees that she is the fighter. She is the answer to bring down the government, and he will do whatever it takes to get her to that spot. And that makes him our hero as well.
These are not Christian books. They never claim to be, but we see the gospel in so many places. I think the reason we see it is because through common grace, God has shown us all what true peace should be. He gives us all a glimpse of what true goodness is. We see self sacrifice and the desire for freedom. It keeps us all riveted up to the final pages.
I read the movie review on pluggedinonline.com. It's from Focus on the Family. It said that the movie follows the book almost page by page so I'm thrilled to go see it tonight!! I have a feeling that when it's over, just like the books, I'm going to be completely spent and left waiting for the sequel with great anticipation!
Friday, March 23, 2012
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
The Perfect Mom
.....She lives across the street now. Yes, she does. I've had these moms in my life before but never in my face everyday! She would not be writing on her blog right now. No, her kids are home on spring break so she's spending every second with them. This is what she does. She one of those moms who is ALWAYS playing with her children. As soon as they get home from school, she's out playing soccer, baseball, playing legos inside, having them help in her garden....and the worst part is--she's got my kids over there wanting to do it too. They love her! She's perfect.
She never seems to think her kids are annoying. She seriously wants to spend every moment with them. She was telling me the other day that they are going to Disney in July and she has a scavenger hunt all planned out as a fun, creative way to tell them. As if going to Disney wasn't enough! She loves (at least that what she tells me) having my kids over--ALL THE TIME! And says, "Don't worry. I'll keep them out of your hair." REALLY? So you want to be with your kids all the time, but you think I'm such a bad mom that I don't? I really don't at all want you to feel like you need to keep my kids out of my hair! I chose this!!
And like I said, her children are constantly helping her plants flowers, weed her garden, etc. And my kids are right over there doing it with them. I've seen Liza-Hill over there plenty of times sitting right beside her, planting away, chatting it up. And that mom is perfectly happy with the company of a ten year old (who, honestly, sometimes can drive me a little batty with her incessant chatter!!)
It came to a head in my mind on Saturday. Jon and I were at Lowe's getting a new outdoor push broom. We left most of the kids home with Trand. When we drove up, all of them were helping across the street in the yard. I was going to do some planting as well so I went in to change my clothes. When I came out, she had all the kids in the back making water balloons and having the best time. I walked over to see if anyone wanted to help me with the flowers in our yard--no takers. I planted and cried. I did tell them that when it came time to weed the vegetable garden in the back (getting it ready for planting in a couple of weeks) that they all needed to come. They did--grudgingly. One of the boys across the street came too. His mom made him since my kids helped weed her garden so well.
I keep thinking, how does she have all this time to do these things? I mean, when my kids are playing outside, I need to be doing things inside--cleaning the house, laundry, preparing meals, planning lessons. The list is never ending and never seems to get accomplished! I've never been in her house. Maybe it's a wreck. Or maybe she's just as perfect at getting her kids to help with that in the few spare moments that they are inside. And you would think, "Oh, she can do those things when her kids are at school." That's what I used to think too. Then I found out that she works at her youngest son's preschool while he's there. So she's not home alone working on the house.
I tell myself other things to make myself feel better. She's only got two kids....she doesn't have a baby....she doesn't have to worry about their education....I'm with mine 24/7 so it's okay that I need a break when they go outside to play....None of these really makes me feel better though when I see them with her--the fun, perfect mom always ready to *keep my kids out of my hair.*
So yes, having a bit of a pity party today I guess. And trying to figure out what fun thing I can do that can still help me have the house in at least the same amount of disarray it was in before Jon left for work this morning--and not worse!
She never seems to think her kids are annoying. She seriously wants to spend every moment with them. She was telling me the other day that they are going to Disney in July and she has a scavenger hunt all planned out as a fun, creative way to tell them. As if going to Disney wasn't enough! She loves (at least that what she tells me) having my kids over--ALL THE TIME! And says, "Don't worry. I'll keep them out of your hair." REALLY? So you want to be with your kids all the time, but you think I'm such a bad mom that I don't? I really don't at all want you to feel like you need to keep my kids out of my hair! I chose this!!
And like I said, her children are constantly helping her plants flowers, weed her garden, etc. And my kids are right over there doing it with them. I've seen Liza-Hill over there plenty of times sitting right beside her, planting away, chatting it up. And that mom is perfectly happy with the company of a ten year old (who, honestly, sometimes can drive me a little batty with her incessant chatter!!)
It came to a head in my mind on Saturday. Jon and I were at Lowe's getting a new outdoor push broom. We left most of the kids home with Trand. When we drove up, all of them were helping across the street in the yard. I was going to do some planting as well so I went in to change my clothes. When I came out, she had all the kids in the back making water balloons and having the best time. I walked over to see if anyone wanted to help me with the flowers in our yard--no takers. I planted and cried. I did tell them that when it came time to weed the vegetable garden in the back (getting it ready for planting in a couple of weeks) that they all needed to come. They did--grudgingly. One of the boys across the street came too. His mom made him since my kids helped weed her garden so well.
I keep thinking, how does she have all this time to do these things? I mean, when my kids are playing outside, I need to be doing things inside--cleaning the house, laundry, preparing meals, planning lessons. The list is never ending and never seems to get accomplished! I've never been in her house. Maybe it's a wreck. Or maybe she's just as perfect at getting her kids to help with that in the few spare moments that they are inside. And you would think, "Oh, she can do those things when her kids are at school." That's what I used to think too. Then I found out that she works at her youngest son's preschool while he's there. So she's not home alone working on the house.
I tell myself other things to make myself feel better. She's only got two kids....she doesn't have a baby....she doesn't have to worry about their education....I'm with mine 24/7 so it's okay that I need a break when they go outside to play....None of these really makes me feel better though when I see them with her--the fun, perfect mom always ready to *keep my kids out of my hair.*
So yes, having a bit of a pity party today I guess. And trying to figure out what fun thing I can do that can still help me have the house in at least the same amount of disarray it was in before Jon left for work this morning--and not worse!
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Thankful for messy rooms
As I walked down the hallway and glanced in my youngest daughters' room, I noticed that it was littered with toys--AGAIN! This room that had already been messy and cleaned up once today (and by my inspection it was a very good job) was now once again messy and it's not even noon!! Frustration began to rise. I'm going out of town this afternoon. I'm leaving for three days, and my mother in law is coming in tonight to help Jon out with the kids. Even though I know she doesn't expect it to be perfect (or even close to it!) I want it to be. In my pride I want it to be.
Admit it. You feel the same way. Why is it that we clean up when other people are coming over?? Why do we feel the need to have rooms cleaned, dishes put away, floor vacuumed, swept and mopped, all the dust cleared (well, that part hardly ever happens at my house)? I know I feel much better when I go to someone's house and it looks like mine--or worse!! Right? It lets me know that I'm not the only one who struggles with keeping a clean house. It lets me know that it's okay sometimes to have other priorities. But still we feel that we have to house clean houses when others come. Why? Is it because we want to look like we live differently than what we really do? We don't want the real us to show through?
But that's not really what this post was about. As I let my frustration simmer and listened to the conversation that was taking place, I began to realize that I'm thankful for those messy rooms--those rooms that hold so much imagination. I love listening to my girls play. I love that they can get lost for hours in a different world of their own make believe. I love that while they are doing this, they are building the strongest of relationships with one another. They never fight when they are together in their rooms playing, imagining, making their world a better place.
And so I'm thankful for messy rooms today. Yes, I'll have them clean it up again before Omi comes. I'll do everything I can to have the rest of the house ready as well. And we probably won't get much schoolwork done today because of it!! But I'll try to remember what's really important and what will matter years down the road.
I think they'll always remember those play times. They'll remember that they always had their best friends there as playmates whenever they wanted them. I never had a sister, and my brother never had a brother. I certainly don't fault my parents for this. It's just the way it was. I loved my brother. We had fun together and still do. But I'm so glad my girls have sisters and my boys have brothers!! They each bring such an important and vastly different perspective to our family life. I know God doesn't always give boys brothers or girls sisters--even in families that have more than two kids. But I'm so thankful he chose to in ours.
And even though our rooms are messy and our yard is messy as well (much to Jon's dismay everyday when he drives in from work) I know it's building relationships. It's building memories that will never be forgotten......
.......and I'm sure the neighbors will never forget either!!
Admit it. You feel the same way. Why is it that we clean up when other people are coming over?? Why do we feel the need to have rooms cleaned, dishes put away, floor vacuumed, swept and mopped, all the dust cleared (well, that part hardly ever happens at my house)? I know I feel much better when I go to someone's house and it looks like mine--or worse!! Right? It lets me know that I'm not the only one who struggles with keeping a clean house. It lets me know that it's okay sometimes to have other priorities. But still we feel that we have to house clean houses when others come. Why? Is it because we want to look like we live differently than what we really do? We don't want the real us to show through?
But that's not really what this post was about. As I let my frustration simmer and listened to the conversation that was taking place, I began to realize that I'm thankful for those messy rooms--those rooms that hold so much imagination. I love listening to my girls play. I love that they can get lost for hours in a different world of their own make believe. I love that while they are doing this, they are building the strongest of relationships with one another. They never fight when they are together in their rooms playing, imagining, making their world a better place.
And so I'm thankful for messy rooms today. Yes, I'll have them clean it up again before Omi comes. I'll do everything I can to have the rest of the house ready as well. And we probably won't get much schoolwork done today because of it!! But I'll try to remember what's really important and what will matter years down the road.
I think they'll always remember those play times. They'll remember that they always had their best friends there as playmates whenever they wanted them. I never had a sister, and my brother never had a brother. I certainly don't fault my parents for this. It's just the way it was. I loved my brother. We had fun together and still do. But I'm so glad my girls have sisters and my boys have brothers!! They each bring such an important and vastly different perspective to our family life. I know God doesn't always give boys brothers or girls sisters--even in families that have more than two kids. But I'm so thankful he chose to in ours.
And even though our rooms are messy and our yard is messy as well (much to Jon's dismay everyday when he drives in from work) I know it's building relationships. It's building memories that will never be forgotten......
.......and I'm sure the neighbors will never forget either!!
Monday, March 5, 2012
Digging for Grace
I don't know who's reading.....I don't have a big audience like some blogs do, and since I'm not on facebook right now, I'm not posting these. But I'll write for myself because I need to. I'll do it this morning amongst the chaos of kids running and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse singing to me. I'll do it even though I really should be getting school stuff together or at least taking a shower!!
But I feel like I need to write this morning because I need to share my heart. Compared to about 99% of the world, most of my life has been easy. If I've taken the time to look, I've been able to see God's grace stamped all over it. He was gracious to give me a wonderful husband, provider for our family, hard worker, loving father. He was gracious to give me six precious blessings from heaven. He was gracious to give me wonderful parents and then to plan for me to marry into a wonderful family as well. All these things are things that are very easily taken for granted and forgotten that they are all because of God's grace--it didn't have to be so.
These things haven't changed. I'm still benefitting from the graciousness of God through all these things. But I'm beginning to understand that God's grace doesn't always come in the nice, beautiful things that we see in our lives. I'm digging for grace these days. God's grace isn't always easy to see or recognize.
You know that wonderful husband that God was so gracious to give me....well, he has some faults to. :) I won't go into in detail here because of my respect and honor for him. But sometimes it's hard to see how those faults are "gracious" for me. But they are. There's another little thing that God does throughout our lives that shows his grace. It's a little word called sanctification. He is gracious enough to use those around us that we love (and sometimes those that we don't even know) to do this.
He is gracious when I get to the DMV to take my son to get his learner's license on his 15th birthday only to be told that I had to have a "school enrollment" form. (The kids are still enrolled in FL right now.) After my initial *government stay out of my business* rant, I realized that here I was right in the middle of God's grace as well. With my laid back attitude, I might have missed out on getting him into the umbrella school that we wanted.
He is gracious when I have to be creative to figure out how to make the grocery budget stretch enough to make it through the week. I haven't figured out all the grace in that one yet. :) But I know it's there. I really can figure out how, somewhere in my mind, I just don't want to have to think about it because it seems to be too much work. Once again....lots of sanctification!
So grace is overflowing. It's overflowing when I don't have the money for a cleaning lady (which, in my opinion, I really could use) because it gives me a chance to serve my family and teach my children how to care for our home and be in service as well. It's overflowing when I can't go to church and worship (and fellowship) for the 3rd or 4th week in a row because I get to sit at home with one or two children and focus on them--being together in some quality time alone for a couple of hours. It's overflowing when I'm woken up over and over in the night because I get to practice my own grace giving (and obviously I still need practice on that one because this continues to happen every night!)
I'm digging for grace in the everyday--in the mundane and sometimes the "pain in the butt" stuff that happens.
But I feel like I need to write this morning because I need to share my heart. Compared to about 99% of the world, most of my life has been easy. If I've taken the time to look, I've been able to see God's grace stamped all over it. He was gracious to give me a wonderful husband, provider for our family, hard worker, loving father. He was gracious to give me six precious blessings from heaven. He was gracious to give me wonderful parents and then to plan for me to marry into a wonderful family as well. All these things are things that are very easily taken for granted and forgotten that they are all because of God's grace--it didn't have to be so.
These things haven't changed. I'm still benefitting from the graciousness of God through all these things. But I'm beginning to understand that God's grace doesn't always come in the nice, beautiful things that we see in our lives. I'm digging for grace these days. God's grace isn't always easy to see or recognize.
You know that wonderful husband that God was so gracious to give me....well, he has some faults to. :) I won't go into in detail here because of my respect and honor for him. But sometimes it's hard to see how those faults are "gracious" for me. But they are. There's another little thing that God does throughout our lives that shows his grace. It's a little word called sanctification. He is gracious enough to use those around us that we love (and sometimes those that we don't even know) to do this.
"And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." ~Phil 1:6Right now he's using a lot of things in my life to show me his grace and "bring me to completion." I'm digging for those things, believe me. I'm claiming his grace in the middle of the night when my precious little 4 and 7 year old blessings have woken me up for the 3rd, 4th, 5th time--in my bed, out of my bed, back in my bed, crying and waking the baby.....yes, sometimes it's hard to find the grace in these situations--so I'm digging!
He is gracious when I get to the DMV to take my son to get his learner's license on his 15th birthday only to be told that I had to have a "school enrollment" form. (The kids are still enrolled in FL right now.) After my initial *government stay out of my business* rant, I realized that here I was right in the middle of God's grace as well. With my laid back attitude, I might have missed out on getting him into the umbrella school that we wanted.
He is gracious when I have to be creative to figure out how to make the grocery budget stretch enough to make it through the week. I haven't figured out all the grace in that one yet. :) But I know it's there. I really can figure out how, somewhere in my mind, I just don't want to have to think about it because it seems to be too much work. Once again....lots of sanctification!
So grace is overflowing. It's overflowing when I don't have the money for a cleaning lady (which, in my opinion, I really could use) because it gives me a chance to serve my family and teach my children how to care for our home and be in service as well. It's overflowing when I can't go to church and worship (and fellowship) for the 3rd or 4th week in a row because I get to sit at home with one or two children and focus on them--being together in some quality time alone for a couple of hours. It's overflowing when I'm woken up over and over in the night because I get to practice my own grace giving (and obviously I still need practice on that one because this continues to happen every night!)
I'm digging for grace in the everyday--in the mundane and sometimes the "pain in the butt" stuff that happens.
Lord, help me to see you and your grace in everything. Thank you for working in the everyday stuff to sanctify me and show yourself to me.
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