He is Greater.....John 3:30 says He must become greater, I must become less"

 It's the last day of February.  Day 28.  How can such a short month take so long to pass through?  I swear it always seems like February is the longest!  Some years we took a weekend in the middle to go to a dance competition and that helped.  This year was the longest February ever.....I want to offer a benediction to February on this last day because February...you mattered.   February was cold, cold, cold.  Beautiful snow fell over and over and over.  Isaac and his buddy came and cleared our driveway many nights, even though he doesn't live here anymore.  We burned lots of wood in the fireplace....I fed the birds amd Josiah and I made some homeade bird feeders one Sunday.  I enjoyed moving my house plants around to try keep them warm and alive and in the sunny spaces that fall around the house as the light comes in and moves around.....the days are getting longer.  Thank you, solar system and Creator God.....for giving...

 Today I took XK to a child health specialty appointment.  The roads were snowy and the wind was blowing and it was rather treacherous for this middle age mama who hates to drive in bad weather....but I was determined to make this appointment.  We have had some persistent issues that I have been unable to resolve so I was eager to get some advice and suggestion from the specialists.  They did not disappoint.  It was a very satisfying and empowering experience for me and I highly recommend it if you are parenting a child and struggling.  Let me know if you want info.   XK didn't want to go.  He was scared and it was out of the regular routine and he has been pretty dysregulated overall....so I was relieved when he was able to pull it together and sit well in the car for the hour car ride in the yucky weather.  Wanna know the secret weapon?  Music.  Not just any music, but some vetted tunes that we flushed out as the ones that ma...

 Just one more January day left for 2021.  Have you ever paused just long enough over a day to think through that?  Today is a day I will never see again, never repeat and never skip.  It is 24 hours long, no more and no less.  Tomorrow is the last January day for year 2021.  It will probably look like other Sundays for us, meaning church, then lunch, then napping/playing/take dogs for a walk/watching sports on tv.....and a good meal with my parents and kids in the evening, using all the dishes and most of the silverware so that it can all run through the dishwasher overnight and I can start Monday with clean dishes.  It is my expectation that tomorrow will look that way, but not necessarily what will happen....and that's ok.   Precious and I have chosen to consider the idea of confidence for 2021.  Martin Luther once said, "Faith is a living, daring confidence in God's grace, so sure and certain that a man could stake his life on it a t...

 Parenting.  Wow it's hard work.  Some people get by with easier kids for less years and don't get what I'm handing out...but for the rest of us.....it's so hard.  It's every day hard and enjoy the moments when its not hard....It's what am I doing hard and Oh please, Lord, help me hard.  Much of the time I mess up and get it wrong and have to apologize....once in awhile I get it right.  It's just hard work. There are very few thank-yous....and so many demands....and it is really hard to measure if the work of the day is making things better or worse.   I had joined a group online to try to read through the bible in a year because, well, why not, right?  So I read on Jan 1 and then not on Jan 2 because of the wedding and I have basically been behind ever since.  Today I spent some time in Genesis and Psalms and Matthew and my take away is that the Lord is my shield that protects me....and is calling me to bear good fruit.  It oc...

 Last week saturday was the big day!  It's hard to believe it has been a week already!  I am beginning to wonder if it was all a dream, or if it really happened.....but I have been to the newlywed's apartment a few times to watch them open gifts, drop off some food staples, etc. and it definitely happened on January 2.  Wow.  Wow, wow, wow!  I was so proud of us.  We did a good job marrying them off and I am beyond grateful for my tribe.   Josiah was so handsome and proud and capable.  He was mad at me that I didn't seat him at the head table with the rest of the bridal party.  I assumed he would want to sit with us so we could help him with food but after hanging with the big guys all day in their suits he was mortified that I wanted him back at the table with mama at the end of the night.  He decided to sit at the aunt/uncle table right behind us just to prove his point and not sit with me.  (suited me just fine because ...

 A week ago we began the process of uniting our oldest daughter with her new husband.   A week ago we sat at the church for dress rehearsal and I cried.  A lot.  Then we went and had a lovely meal and I looked around the room and saw all of their people, gathered together, breaking bread and laughing and smiling and preparing to bear witness to a wedding.   On the way home from the wonderful rehearsal meal, our extra-kredit began a meltdown that indicated he would be unable to participate in all the wedding day stuff.  Because God is my helper and friend and interceder I was able to hear what he was saying.....please, mom, just find somewhere else for me to go tomorrow.  He didn't want Claire to "move away" and he didn't want to go to a friend while we did family photos and he was definitely done with all the extended family and noise and lack of routine....not to mention all his own stuff around holidays and trauma and being separated from h...

 I have a personal challenge going and I feel compelled to expand on it a bit since I am just over halfway through it.  It involved 14 days straight of being purposeful and intentional and doing something fun with my 3 younger kiddos. That may seem whimsical and carefree, if not a bit crazy, but let me explain.  In the weeks leading up to Christmas break, I was in a state of fear and dread.  How would I keep them happy and entertained?  No one was available to provide child care.   I needed to get at least the minimum amount of work done for my job, so I needed distraction and contentment here at home since I am still working from home due to Covid.  None of the 3 of them are good at finding creative ways to play like my older 3 kids could do at the same age.....and at some point in the fear and dread I came up with an idea.  Rather than survive and tolerate the 14 days of Christmas break, why not celebrate it? The 3 older kids are all workin...