A Night Out

Where can you see Michael W. Smith, visit with a favorite relative, meet Frank Peretti, catch up with a pastor friend and your worship minister, and find a new home group all at once? Apparently at a Michael W. Smith concert.

On Monday, Bill and I had the privelege of going to the Michael W. Smith Holiday Concert in Spokane. Some of you may remember that Bill's nephew married Christa Black, who is a part of Michael's crew. She plays the violin and guitar, but for this tour is mainly a backup singer.

We got to spend a few precious minutes with Christa before the concert and give her a little care package. The time was way too short. She seemed so tired. I just wanted to take her home and make her soup and put her to bed.

The concert was wonderful. Melinda Doolittle was there, too. I didn't know who she was until Monday (not an American Idol fan), but I will remember her now! Smitty mentioned releasing his first Christmas album 20 years ago! Could we really be that old? Sigh.

When the concert was over, Bill helped a clueless teenager change his tire. He didn't know where to put the jack, and didn't have any gloves. Did I mention it was a cool 7 degrees? When he finished with that, there was another vehicle in the parking lot whose Diesel had frozen (congealed?). So we gave two couples a ride to Hauser Lake.

We were starving! We had grabbed Starbucks and a snack before the concert and told ourselves we would eat after. But with all the running around, we ended up at good old 24 hour Denney's about 11:00 to eat.

It was fun, though, and we are enjoying filling our home with the sounds of "A New Hallelujah!"

Of Floods And....

You guessed it - Poop!

After a week of stomache flu and on the verge of the busiest weekend of the year, we thought it might be fun to flood the basement - so we did!

Just kidding. Well, it did flood, but not because we planned it. This home we rent is on a very old cesspool system that needs to be replaced. The joy of cesspools is that they drain right out into the ground. So when the ground is saturated, there is nowhere for the black or grey water to go. So you guessed it! It just backs up into the house.

This afternoon I was busy finishing work on my computer, when water begin quickly flooding the basement from the laundry room. We were able to stop the surge by turning off the washer. But were faced with lots of water, wet walls, wet carpet, you get the picture. Thankfully, this was mostly soapy water that had tried to drain from the washer. Several hours later, the cesspool is pumped with temporary relief until the whole system is replaced. You can guess what that involved - yeah, lots of poop! I shouldn't really complain. I'm in here blogging about it, while Bill is out in the freezing rain, helping cut through concrete. So we are on water restriction. We can only use enough water to fill the remainder of the tank and it will back up again.

If that isn't motivation to clean the basement, I don't know what is. Course that was NOT on the agenda for the night. The agenda for tonight? Plan A: Clayton's school musical play Plan B: (due to Clayton having the stomache flu), Bill taking Riley and Ian to their award's night at church for their discipleship program (that Bill also helps lead) Plan C: Mop up water, set up fans, pump out poop, serve hot chocolate to workers, occupy kids with movies, and add 6 more loads of laundry (ie. wet towels, blankets, gloves, clothes, and shoes) to the list. But oh, well!

Last night I was doing my 10 minute routine...ten minutes to make cookie dough (and let others make the oookies), 10 minutes for dishes, 10 minutes to decorate the tree, 10 minutes to clean out a file....How do you decorate a tree in 10 minutes? Well, you should see the tree. Hayden got to pick it out this year. It has about 10 branches!

I usually do an annual purging of the file cabinet in January. This year, as piles of paper begin to overflow on every available surface, I decided it was time to do it early. I also decided that there wasn't much use for all but the top drawer. I've had a file cabinet since I was 18. Yeah, what does an OCD 18 year old do with their graduation money? Go on a trip? Upgrade their car? No! Invest in a file cabinet to keep organized? For years, I clipped articles and saved sermon notes, and all manner of things that were full of good information and would be useful for years to come.

I realized yesterday.........I NEVER look for anything in my file cabinet! I have a new form of information searching now, it is called GOOGLE! I can find anything I want in seconds. Why store an entire tree in my corner!?

So, I began viscously weeding 1/2 a drawer in 10 minutes. I found a very interesting file. It was labeled "Passions". I expected to find it full of articles on Passions, but it was not as I thought. I don't even remember starting this file. I don't remember putting any of the contents in it. It must have been started during darker days of motherhood, based on its contents. It contained an article about a crisis nursery, the first children's story I ever wrote, and a pamphlet for Wycliffe. I found it very interesting that somehow, sometime, I had started filing away my dreams. It was a file of the things I would do, if I could do anything: write, minister to moms in crisis, and Scripture translation. Very interesting.

So, you guessed it! I left that file alone.

I've come to that place where I have to accept I am once again in survival mode. No longer am I nursing a baby, with three other little ones hanging on my legs. Now, I'm managing three kid's homework assignments, soccer club, basketball games, doctor's appointments, Christmas programs, special choir, drama rehearsal, and discipleship groups. I'm trying to keep the house at a point where the clutter isn't a safety hazard and the dirt isn't a health hazard. I'm trying to get at least six hours of sleep a night, and I'm working full time. This will be the year that I buy the pre-packaged cookie dough with candy canes stamped on it.

A friend and I were reflecting tonight (over a salted caramel hot chocolate at Starbucks) about some of the things God has taken me through this year. He has been refining and refining and refining. He has removed me from position and leadership and sent me to another desert place. He has caused me to prove that the truth I've known in my heart and written out on paper is really liveable. That God really is the initiator of our relationship with Him - that the relationship really is more important than spiritual activity - that a mom really can thrive in her relationship with God when everyone else is speaking for her time.

Life now happens in 10 minute increments: 10 minutes in the Word, 10 minute lunch breaks, 10 minute exercise sessions, 10 minutes to drill spelling words, 10 minutes to throw dinner in the crockpot. I'm learning that if something is going to take more than 10 minutes, I better not even try to take it on.

Which brings me to my new exercise routine. Bill has started P90X. Yes, he plans to be buff. He wanted me to do it with him, but I just couldn't imagine where I'd find an hour a day to do ANYTHING else! Instead of going on without me, though, he surprised me with the 10 Minute Trainer!! It is just my kind of thing! So now, I will work out 20 minutes a day - yes, 10 minutes at a time! It is only 20 minutes, but 20 minutes I wasn't doing before.

I can't tell you how much more energized I feel with just a little exercise. I sleep better, don't wake up hurting everyday (which was getting really annoying), and am overall more motivated to make healthy choices just because I know I'm working at something. So last night Bill and I did our before photos. No, I won't be posting them. Talk about embarrassing. I am currently at the heaviest I have ever been (not pregnant). Something about new medication combined with sitting 40 hours a week while my boys are in school as opposed to constantly having someone to chase, has been a bad combination for this girl. What is even worse is when you measure as big or bigger than your big strong man at almost every measurement point. Yikes!

So, yeah, I'm ready to start some better habits. I've been much more consciensious about my eating and the meals I'm preparing. I guess it is a good year to not have time for Christmas baking!

In other news, I took the boys to a Living Nativity last Sunday night while Bill was working. It was so cool! The boys got to have a real experience of walking through Bethlehem, petting goats, seeing the market, etc. Riley about got kissed by a camel. It was a great way to start the season with the kids.

Riley and Ian have both done their Christmas performance at school. It was SO good. I wish I knew how to post video to You tube, because Riley was quite the little dancer. :D Clayton's drama/choir program is Friday, and Hayden's program is next Tuesday. We have three free nights before Christmas!

I was looking over some verses in my 3x5 spiral last night while waiting for an appointment and ran across this one: "I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfills his purpose for me." Psalm 57:2 This verse has become a favorite. When I'm tempted to be frustrated over a book with no more publishing proposals ready or a half started web-site with no time to work on, I keep reminding myself Who is responsible to fulfill the purposes God laid out for me. "God, it is Your book." "God it is Your Glory. It is Your Kingdom. It is Your purpose."

The other interesting part of that verse is the meaing of "fulfills." The Hebrew word there means: to bring to an end, fail, fulfill. It is interesting that there is quite a bit of negative conotation to those words: fail, bring to an end. So often God has to bring us to our end, to allow us to fail, to end what we know in order to bring His purposes to fulfillment. It has given me a bit to chew on today.