A Writers Block

“That dumbass driver just….” I know many of us could finish that sentence rather colorfully. Or how about this one: “Bob makes my life so miserable at work. Why should I have to do his job and mine just so things get done right?” Or maybe you didn’t have your coffee yet and someone was just too perky, thereby causing gleefully vicious daydreams of putting their head in the toilet bowl and flushing it. I confess I am the overly joyous morning person so I would appreciate any patience you could muster. Everybody has experienced feelings like these, emotions that are projected outward from yourself toward someone or something else, but what about empathy? What about taking the feelings of another inward? According to Wikipedia, “empathy is often characterized as the ability to "put oneself into another's shoes", or to in some way experience the outlook or emotions of another being within oneself, a sort of emotional resonance.” Have you ever experienced someone else’s emotio...

What is it about our lives that makes us crazy? Kids? Family? Obligations? Friends? Work? Expectations? Money… or the lack there of… or mismanagement of? Love? I wonder about this often and I can find only one answer… ME. If I would just chill out once in a while and let God take control or even give myself permission to relax I could enjoy a little more of my life, I think. Like writing this blog. I don’t write much because there are so many other things that demand my time, whether it’s supposed to by my free time or not. I should realize that most of my stress is self-induced by what I feel a good mom and wife and friend should be. A wonderful quote came the other day: “The barrier between the women who appear to have it all together and the rest of us who often feel like we are floundering does not exist.” What?! My house isn’t supposed to be immaculate 24/7? I’m not supposed to wear make-up and jewelry each day? My kids aren’t supposed to be the perfect little angels that I see e...

My son has inspired me. I’m sure that’s an astounding thought for some of you who know him but he has. He came down the stairs last night asking, “Mommy, do you like my stamps?” It took a minute for me to realize what he had done but only a split second to know that there would be quite a mess waiting for me upstairs. While Kayla had been playing on the computer, my son had taken my “PAID” stamp and posted it all over himself. “PAID September 04, 2007” it read. I was holding Sierra and immediately looked to Scott and said, “This one’s yours.” Then I turned around so I could burst into hysterical laughter, as quietly as possible, of course. Scott turned around, glanced at Colton, looked at me and then back again. I ran down the hallway for the camera and listened for what Scott would do. By now, Colton was wondering if it was such a good idea to show us his artwork. Scott and I, very coolly asked him to show us his stamps and took a picture. Neither of us were very composed by the time...

It's been a while since I've written and with good reason... pregnancy is not an easy thing for some of us. I look back on the last 9 months and wonder how I did it. I can only say that God was definitely a part of it!! This pregnancy was an emotional battle, right down to the delivery. Each day was a new hurdle, each night a new leg of the race. The words "one day at a time" took on new meaning. Even knowing the joy that I would feel once this child was here was not enough to get me to the finish line. God and his gifts to me, my husband and kids, kept me running. When we showed up at the hospital and I was too close to delivering to get pain relief I wanted to bail on the whole race. Obviously, that was not an option. God was good and gave me some wonderful coaches and an amazingly quick delivery (oh my...). Running the race (whatever that may be for you) may not be a choice. Actually running may take everything in you and then some to do. The finish line may seem ...

“If it seems a childish thing to do, do it in remembrance that you are a child.” Frederick Buechner I once thought this a fabulous quote until my son tested us on this the other day. Kayla and Colton share an upstairs bathroom which is rarely visited by my pregnant self. Drudging up the stairs is not one of my favorite things, especially when it means I have to confront the pigsty that is my children's domain. Needless to say, much can go on without being noticed for a while. Which was the case this past week. Kayla came in to find the cardboard TP tube in the toilet. "Dad, there's something in the toilet and I have to go really bad!" My first thought was... where is the toilet paper holder... ya know, the springy thing you put the roll on? Scott went up, fished out the cardboard, and we were back to normal... or so we thought. Three or four clogs later we were wondering what else our son had put into the toilet (there could be no other suspect or explanation). Plung...

Has God ever offended you? Has he ever caused you to question why he would choose to do something a certain way? Have you struggled to hold on to your faith because of what God did or did not do in your life? In order to be offended by someone I think you first have to have expectations of them or the situation. God asks us to believe in faith that what we ask will happen but there are those times when the answer is still no, not yet, or just a general negative. No explanation. Just a “no” the size of Texas in the face of cancer, bankruptcy, loss, pain, death, or your greatest fear. I was reading (in my Beth Moore study) about John the Baptist in Matthew 11. It is when he is in prison awaiting his execution and he sends some of his disciples to ask Jesus a question. John wanted to know if Jesus really was the one God sent for him to precede. I think John’s real question might have been, “Is there a chance that I misunderstood that you were the Messiah? Cuz, if I did then I know I won’t...

Today was one of those days... Friends came over and brightened my morning, the sun shined bright, and I was having fun. Then they went home and my son started the whining that we all love so much. It was Mommy this and Mommy that, my feet swelled up the size of watermelons, my lips are so chapped they cracked, the whining continues (mine now added to it), I didn't have one crucial item for the dinner I really wanted to make, and Sierra feels like she weighs 50 pounds. And now my office chair won't stay up. No, it's not because I'm the size of a walrus! It just won't stay up. I'm typing with my knees up to my boobs, which is very interesting when your pregnant, I must say! So the day seems kind of dim but I sat down resolved to see the bright spots in my day through all of the gloom I feel. I reflect and I can see that in the midst of it all my husband keeps checking on me to make sure I'm okay, he put up a door for my laundry room, and my daughter has been ...