Speechless

I've been reading in Ezekiel for awhile, and up until the end of Chapter 16, God is basically telling Israel of all the destruction that will come upon them for turning their backs on him, worshipping idols, and their lack of "moral" behavior. 

Suddenly, at the end of Chapter 16, he says, "All the same, I'll remember the covenant I made with you when you were young and I'll make a new covenant with you that will last forever ... You'll remember your past life and face the shame of it, but when I make atonement for you, make everything right after all you've done, it will leave you speechless.

Indeed.  This Old Testament, pre-Jesus writing tells of the atonement to come, to right my wrongs, and it truly does leave me speechless.  He is just, and he is jealous, yet he loved me so much he had a perfect plan to solve my problem - he sent Jesus to pay for my sin.  A Savior is born!

Merry Christmas.

Hot water

Mason:  Do you have a hot water heater?

Me:  Huh?  (Distracted but also thinking he doesn't have any idea what he's asking me, really.)

Mason:  Do you have hot water in this house?

Me:  Yes.

Mason:  Well, then you MUST have a hot water heater somewhere!!

And we do.  It's in that closet he's not supposed to play in!  Huh.

I can see clearly now ...

After 4 1/2 years of perfect vision, due to the amazing and wonderful Lasik surgery, I now have a pair of glasses on my face.  Getting old is a bummer.  I'm a little disappointed, but shouldn't I just be thankful for the years without them?  Yes.  I must say it is rather surprising to see things I didn't realize I was missing.  Maybe they make me LOOK smart?  Hey maybe they'll MAKE me smarter!

The Reindeer Pokey

One of the highlight's of Mason's preschool program today ... so much fun!  With rare exceptions he was almost mute, which I didn't expect AT ALL!

Yummmmmmmmmmm

Hot chocolate and a game of Parcheesi on a cold winter's day!

Mason-isms

Life according to Mason:

1) He wants to marry Brenda.  He doesn't think Kirk will mind.
2) When asked what a baby cow is called, he thought for a moment and said, "George.  I'm pretty sure it's George."
3) He told Papa he needed to go to bed, or he'd be "super cwanky."
4) When leaving to go get Lexi from school, he said, "Mommy hurry up!  You've got nothing to lose!" (This might speak to Mommy's speeding tendencies partly due to her no-consequences relationship with the Olathe PD!)
5) He's got a Christmas program coming up at school - according to my unnamed source, he is usually a verse ahead of everyone else and singing the loudest of all.  Can't WAIT!!  Hopefully will get video to post.
6) While playing the game "Trouble" he is only interested in pounding the plastic bubble as hard as humanly possible.  Since he has no concept of how the game is played, he cocks his throwing arm, slams it down on the bubble, then looks around and says, "What am I doing?"  Every time.
7) Brenda was driving him home from school one day, and passed a policeman.  She said, "Oh look Mason, a policeman!  He might be one of Mommy's friends!"  Mason:  "I dunno - is he ugly?"

Gotta wonder how kindergarten will go for this comedian!

It's all in the little things ...

I love this verse:  "Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious - the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse."  (Philippians 4:8, The Message.)

Isn't it so easy to focus on the hard/bad/ugly things?  In this season of sickness, holiday weird-ness, dark-comes-too-early (darn that daylight savings time), and helping dear friends to carry enormous burdens that frankly seem impossible to bear, I've found myself "litanizing" (thanks Lisa for the new word - I love it) the negatives.  And in the process, failing to even notice the positives, let alone fill my mind with them. 

I've often recommended to others that they keep a "joy journal" - some sort of written record of the beautiful, good, life-giving things that happen on any given day.  So here's a few of the things that gave me joy in the past few days.

Finding the perfect Christmas gift for Lexi, online, for a great price and without having to leave my recliner!

Pumpkin spice candle - the next best thing to baking something yummy.

Rotel for dinner.  One of many pleasures of an empty nest.

Walking upstairs and finding my bed made.

Discovering an old and beautiful treasure in my Christmas boxes.

Hearing the garage door go up unexpectedly in the middle of the day and having my husband walk in just to hang out with me for a few minutes.

OK no laughing at this one ... but this is the recycling bin that was delivered this week.  My left brain is working overtime as I'm sorting what can go in, what has to go into the regular trash bin, and how much our actual trash output will be decreased by the addition of this beauty to our garage.  I'll let you know when I figure it out.

Probably none of these things are "compelling," noble" or "gracious."  But it feels good to fill my mind with the happy little things instead of the big unhappy ones - what brought you joy today?