A Jack Funny

Today, on the way home from school, I asked Jack if he'd had a good day at school. He replied with his ritual answer: "Yes."

"But you missed your mother terribly, didn't you?" I asked him.

He replied, "Yeah, let's go with that."

The Chicken Or The Egg

A while back, I journaled this one morning:

Lord...
give me understanding so that I may give you back obedience.
give me strength so that I may give you back endurance.
give me wisdom so that I may give you back blamelessness.
give me peace so that I may give you back a content heart.
give me patience so that I may give you my trust.

I have to admit, I thought that was pretty good stuff. Sure, I was asking for a lot, but I was doing it for the right reason... the right motivation.

Lately, I've been hanging around in Psalm 119. Recently, I read these verses:
"I have more insight than all my teachers, For Your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, Because I have observed Your precepts.... From Your precepts I get understanding..."

Clearly, the writer of this Psalm didn't first gain understanding and then become obedient (like my journaled prayer). Opposite to that, it was his obedience that resulted in understanding. I have been blaming my lack of obedience on my lack of understanding. I've been waiting on God to reveal some great thing to me so that I can then burst forth in unwavering obedience and devotion.

As usual, I think I've had the whole thing backward. The excercise and discipline of obedience is what will bring about wisdom and understanding. I step out in obedience without understanding (something called FAITH), and the understanding will follow as a result of my action.

I'm considering re-writing my journal:

Lord...
may my obedience result in understanding.
may I endure so that You will give me strength.
may I be blameless and, therefore, find wisdom.
may the discipline of contentment result in Your peace.
may I trust in You while being patient.

We finally got Paul's permanent marker placed a couple of weeks ago. There was nothing satisfying in it.




"It's a beautiful marker."
Yes, it's beautiful

"I love the color of the stone."
It is a great color

"It's perfect."
Thank you

"It turned out so well."
Yes, it did

"You did a great job."
I hated every minute of it

Bragging on Jack

I have to take this opportunity to brag on my eldest....

Last night, we were going through the stacks and stacks of the boys' artwork, picking out pictures to keep and to allow for bidding. Jack showed me a simple drawing that Paul had done of a flashlight. It had a button on it that he had labeled "ON" and "FOO"!! Well, I cracked up. I was laughing out loud and suddenly, in the middle of my laughing, I started crying. It surprised me, so I know it surprised Jack.

I haven't cried in front of him in a while. Don't get me wrong, I've definitely cried, but - for some reason - Jack hasn't seen it. I wondered what he would do.

And then, he amazed me...

He stood up, walked over to me, and hugged me. He didn't try to say anything to make me feel better, he didn't say, "Don't cry," or try to make me laugh. He just hugged me for a long time and let me cry. And that made me cry more.

For that amazing moment, I had the most unusual emotion. I was crying out of the deepest hurt that I will ever know... out of loss for one son, and I was crying out of the pure joy of an amazing moment shared with another son.

Lord, I don't understand your incredible ways, but thank you for Jack. Thank you for who he is and the man he will be...

His 11th birthday is tomorrow... so check out his blog and bid on his art. It's a wise investment!

The Remedy

And if you give yourself to the hungry,
And satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
Then your light will rise in darkness,
And your gloom will become like midday.
-Isaiah 58:10

Wow. There it is in scripture, plain and simple: the remedy for feeling sorry for myself is in helping others.

Now I just have to get to a point where I want to stop feeling sorry for myself. Because wallowing in my misery is, somehow, very appealing.

I'll let you know how it goes...

Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever,
For wisdom and power belong to Him.
And it is He who changes the times and the epochs;
He removes kings and establishes kings;
He gives wisdom to the wise men,
And knowledge to men of understanding.
It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things;
He knows what is in the darkness,
And the light dwells with Him.
Daniel 2:20-22
Go vote today with the joy and assurance that God is in control!!

Jack's Blog

Hey, all...

Check out Jack's blog for his latest post.

What a great kid :-)

Jack's Blog