Things for Which I am Thankful Today

Today, I am thankful for:

* Blue skies, warm sunshine and a cool breeze... all on the same day!

* Looking out my driver's side review mirror and seeing little hands waving in the wind

* Boys who are big enough to buckle themselves in, but still young enough to need their Momma when they're sick

* Friendships that endure long distances, emotional selfishness, and miscommunications... and somehow manage to deepen in spite of it all

* A thoughtful husband who lets me sleep with the fan off

* Mission Waco... a place where my life-long habits, assumptions and beliefs are challenged and I'm afforded the opportunity to change

* Preemptive Love Coalition - a group of friends who amaze and inspire me to believe that God is mighty enough and loving enough to demonstrate His power DAILY in the lives of ordinary, obedient people

* Pictures, songs and sweet memories that remind me of the 6 years, 5 months and 26 days that Paul spent on this earth

* Forgiveness, grace and the promise of eternity.

Trust and Grace

Monday night my eldest son went to his first rock concert. He is only eleven. However, he went with his dad and several other men from our church. And it was U2. It's hard to go wrong with U2.

So, as you can imagine, he was up late. As in he didn't get to bed until 2:30, which meant he got 4 hours of sleep that night.

So, as you can also imagine, last night we wanted him in bed early. This didn't go over well with Jack who assured us - by whining and sulking - that he wasn't tired and didn't need to go to bed early. In the Saxon house, whining and sulking are the absolute fastest ways to an early bedtime, so things weren't looking good for Jack.

I was really getting annoyed that he continued to ask and beg to stay up after I had repeatedly told him to go to bed. Since he's getting older, I decided to take the approach of reasoning with him. Our conversation went like this:

Me: Jack, let me ask you a few questions. First, do I love you?
Jack: Yes.
Me: Do I always want what's best for you?
Jack: Yes.
Me: Now here's the tricky one.... think before you answer: Do I know what's best for you MORE than you do?
Jack: [slumping and barely audible] Yes.
Me: Ok then. Please go to bed without arguing with me. I want you to always remember that I love you and I will ALWAYS look out for your best interest. I need you to trust my decisions, even when you don't agree with me or like what I have to say.

Hmmmm... could this be a lesson that MOM needs to learn as well? I couldn't help but think of how many times the Lord has had this conversation with me. It's amazing how perfectly clear it is when I'm NOT the one on the receiving end.

So, hopefully I have a little more TRUST in my Lord and a little more GRACE for my son.