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

 Recently I had a conversation with a  mother about self care .  She has a newborn and 2 older kids and a partner and a job.  When I asked her about her self care she looked at me like I was crazy...She had no idea of how to come up with list of things she can do that will give her peace, rest and fill her emotional cup.  I'm guessing this is not uncommon because if someone doesn't practice self care, they would not have much of a list.  I have practiced.  I have a list and I know how to use it.   This weekend I was able to stay home and Roger and Precious went on to the volleyball tournament together.  JOsiah was sad because he wanted to go to Kentucky...it sounded glamorous...but I knew it would be 2 days in the car, 2 days in the volleyball arena and 2 days driving home.  I was already tired and feeling wiped out....I needed to clean my house and sit in my rocking chair and sleep in my bed with the window open and the fan blowing...

 We just returned from a volleyball competition in Kansas City.  These weekends of club volleyball are exciting and stressful, expensive and also costly in social and emotional currency.  Some moments gain and some moments lose in the account.  The recent article that circulated locally about why someone pulled his kids out of club volleyball was interesting to say the least.  What he didn't describe was the social and interpersonal and spiritual gain that are available by leaving town and spending time with people who don't look like you, think like you or care about the same things.....and how some of those moments are rich teaching moments between parents and children that would not be available if all we ever did was live, work and play with our local circle of peers.  I'm going to discipline myself to say no more on that topic.  I was fearful to even bring it up but I'm just tired enough tonight to feel a bit courageous as well.   My kid...

 Love.   It's almost Valentine's Day so I am thinking a lot about love.   One thing love does, is it plans a date to go watch a broadway show on a tuesday night because it means he and I get to steal away for a few hours and just be us.  He had the idea.  I had the yes.  Tomorrow night we get to go do a fun thing together on a date and all the other moving parts can work around it.   Love does things like worrying about a young girl we love, making calls, saying prayers and hoping God will do what He can to rescue and redeem.   It does things like praying for families who are hurting, and helping when we can. Love wants adult children who are married or dating to grow in capacity to love bigger and better, to put the other first, to yield and to submit and to honor and to extravagantly bless one another....and love hopes that their significant other does the same for them.  Put God first, then put others, then put self....

 Last week I walked dogs in unexpectedly warm late winter afternoons.  I realized that when I don't walk regularly it matters.  This week I wanted to walk again but I am such a wimp and if it is cold or windy or rainy or all of those things put together, I don't want to walk outside.  I spend my work days in and out and in and out and cold and warm and cold and warm.....but today I needed to walk.  It was cold and windy and rainy.   I started my walking app that tells me when to walk slow, speed up, slow down, speed up and eventually cool down.  In my home office space in front of a cooking competition.  I looked ridiculous walking in place, dancing and prancing, moving foward and backward and working up a sweat but I got it done.  I sure did.   I got groceries because we were out of milk and I got food for "superbowl Sunday" which is not that different from any other Sunday evening.  My parents come over and we have snack...

 I picked the word Glory for 2024 and I'm so glad I did.  It may seem silly to settle on a word but for me, because I chose it, I am watching and listening and feeling for Glory all the time, wondering where God will choose to show me glory.   About 30 years ago, when Roger and I were first dating, I dreamed of one day living on water, by a lake maybe.  Because we live in northwest Iowa it was a "for later" dream but it never left.  It evolved into a desire to live by water and somewhere that I can see the sun rise and sun set.  Some people already live by water and have a view of sunrise and sunset but I do not.  Perhaps the longing for it makes the satisfaction sweeter when I get to witness an amazing sunrise (driving somewhere early in the morning) or sunset (also driving somewhere at dusk).....but perhaps it is also because where I live presently, my view is imperfect and blended with other things like trees.  Perhaps the glory can be fou...

 It's December 31.  Tomorrow starts a new year, new month, new week On A Monday!!!!!  Is this epic for anyone else?  The entire holiday season from the week before Christmas until now has been me wondering what day it is, where do we need to go and who will be around.....I am so dysregulated.  Tomorrow it all makes sense again.  Tomorrow is Monday and even though I won't start my work week until Tuesday, the Mondayness of Monday, January 1, 2024 is glorious to me.  Fresh starts, fresh dates, fresh awareness....except I will retire my 2023 word for the year and replace it with a new word that I am pretty excited about.  I quietly asked the Lord if He had a word for me for 2024....something to train my thoughts upon, a word to be my lighthouse when I find myself feeling lost, worried, defenseless.  I know He will never leave me or forsake me but this world is stinkin hard and sometimes it feels like I'm not sure what to do next.  If I have...

 On the 11th day of Christmas my true love gave to me, 11 drummers drumming....representing the 11 disciples who went on to tell the world about Jesus.  Judas betrayed him and the other 11 went on to spread the gospel and share the salvation story...the first missionaries.  If it were not for these 11 drummers drumming I would not have known about Jesus.  I would not be saved and have my future secured in Heaven.   On the 12th day of Christmas my true love gave to me 12 Lords a Leaping....it is said this represents the 12 points of the Apostles Creed.  I was required to memorize this creed in my church growing up....and later when I found myself lost and confused and broken and a long, long way from home, God used this creed to help me stay sane and not lose my mind.  I recited it over and over and I wrote it in journals and I repeated it on dark and scary nights.  The 12 Lords a Leaping likely saved my sanity as well as my soul.   ...