Running the Race

Today marks 2 weeks since Ramiro ran his first half-marathon. Even though I was looking forward to that proud moment when Ramiro crossed the finish line, I wasn't too excited about waiting 2 hours in the rain for it to happen. (Especially since I forgot my umbrella!) What a pleasant surprise it was for me to find that the 2 hours were going to be filled with joy and celebration! I was able to see all of the 5K runners, some of the half-marathoners, and a few of the marathoners finish the race. It was so much fun to see all of the different kinds of people with different physical abilities and different personalities come together with their common goal of finishing the race.

The 5k run had a variety of runners and wheelers (athletes in wheelchairs). There were kindergarteners, tweens, teens, college kids, middle-agers, senior adults, and older senior adults. Some walked, some stayed at a comfortable jogging pace, and some sprinted to the finish. There were those who walked or ran just for fun, those who were there for a great cause, and those that walked or ran to show they had not been beaten by infirmity. Some wanted to be first (or close to it) and some just wanted to make it over the finish line. For some it was an achievement to just be there.

While watching the difference in how everyone approached the finish line, I couldn't help thinking about the way Paul talks about the way we are to live our life in 1 Corinthians 9:24:

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win.

It made me think about how I'm running the race. Am I running like I want to win, or like I am barely going to make it over the finish line?

Watching the runners was fun, but it was also fun being surrounded by all the great spectators. We were all there standing in the cold rain to cheer on and encourage our loved ones. Everybody was for someone, not against anyone. We didn't just cheer on those we knew, we cheered on all the participants. It was such a great feeling!

I am NOT a runner, but now I am sold on running. I want to be in the middle of all of the excitement! I am so glad that Ramiro started this hobby. Even if I can only walk/run a 5k, I want to be part of this running fun! Like Ramiro says, I don't want to be a sipper from the cup of life, but a gulper!

I Want to be Beautiful

I admit it. I really want to be beautiful. Unfortunately, I sometimes let this desire torment me as I compare myself to others. My sinful nature takes this desire and turns it into insecurity that puts a shadow on God's love for me and my love for others.

Why did God give me this desire? Maybe it was the best incentive for me to strive for the gentle and quiet spirit he wants for me. For the past several weeks, my prayer each morning has been for God to give me a gentle and quiet spirit as talked about in 1 Peter 3: 3-6.

"Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear."

A few weeks ago in Sunday school, our teacher asked what God was teaching us right now. He called on me and I said with a smile, "to be quiet." Ramiro chimed in a cute remark (I don't remember exactly what it was) but something that showed his great surprise to that revelation. Of course it gave everyone a good laugh. It was probably such a surprise, because although I start out with good intentions and a sincere heart, my sinful nature comes out way too often. As everyone who knows me can attest, especially those closest to me, I do not have a gentle and quiet spirit. I am passionate - I have robust thoughts and feelings that want to come out, sometimes at the most inopportune times. So those that I want to be the most beautiful for, see me at my ugliest.

Yesterday I visited Julie Goolsby, a friend who has that beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit. I went to her for tips on organizing my day with my kids. She had no idea that God was working on making me gentle and quiet. When going through her books to find ones that she wanted to loan me, she gave me one that had "meek and quiet spirit" in the title. I know this was not a coincidence. This was God saying, "you're praying the right thing every morning, now let's work on it." Julie reminded me of another one of my favorite passages in Phillipians 4: 4-9.

"Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."

Fear seems to be the poison here. 1 Peter references fear as a contrast to beauty. Phillipians 4 gives the remedy to that ugly fear and anxiety. This medicine is the daily dose I need to become beautiful.

How I want to cultivate this Godly beauty so that it can be seen by others! How I want to teach this to my sweet Hannah!

I'm so thankful to my Lord who put the desire to be beautiful in my heart and for his Spirit living in me that will give me the power to do so. And I will continue to pray each morning for that gentle and quiet spirit.

Good Night Baby, Good Night Mommy!

Last night was the first good night Aaron and I have had in almost 2 weeks! He's had a lot of changes in these past 2 weeks. First, the doctor said we should go ahead and start feeding him solids. Although he has put away his rice cereal, applesauce, and sweet potatoes like I put away a good, thick chocolate shake (as though it may be taken away from me forever if I don't eat it as fast as possible), his tummy has not adjusted as well as his taste buds. So, he's had a little tummy trouble. Then, it seems, that overnight he grew too big for his cradle that he's slept in next to our bed since the night he came home from the hospital, so we moved him into his baby bed in his big brother's room. Not only did he outgrow the cradle, he also outgrew his receiving blankets that we've swaddled him in since day one. No wonder he hasn't been able to get a good night's sleep! But last night, that all changed thanks to a miracle product called "Swaddle Me" that comes in a large size and promises to fit babies up to 9 months! :) We put him in the swaddling clothes (which he resisted at first) and voilà! He slept through the night and so did I! Now that the baby is sleeping in his own room, we can get back to working on Hannah and Luke sleeping a whole night in their own rooms. Too bad they don't make swaddling clothes for ages 3 to 6!

Loving God and Your Neighbor

Thanks to Project Gutenberg, which produces free ebooks, and to my husband who gave me an iphone, I have recently been able to re-read Agnes Grey, by Anne Bronte. The last time I read this book I think I was in high school, so I had forgotten the entire thing.

I love Christian romance novels (I know that sounds funny to lots of people!) This is a good one, even though it's probably never been classified as such. The hero in the story is a clergyman who at one point encourages a distressed older woman by reminding her about who God really is and describes how she can love her neighbor. I loved how it was written and thought others may like it as well. Here you go!

You say you cannot love God; but it strikes me that if you rightly consider who and what He is, you cannot help it. He is your father, your best friend: every blessing, everything good, pleasant, or useful, comes from Him; and everything evil, everything you have reason to hate, to shun, or to fear, comes from Satan—His enemy as well as ours. And for this cause was God manifest in the flesh, that He might destroy the works of the Devil: in one word, God is love; and the more of love we have within us, the nearer we are to Him and the more of His spirit we possess.”

‘“Well, sir,” I said, “if I can always think on these things, I think I might well love God: but how can I love my neighbours, when they vex me, and be so contrary and sinful as some on ’em is?”

‘“It may seem a hard matter,” says he, “to love our neighbours, who have so much of what is evil about them, and whose faults so often awaken the evil that lingers within ourselves; but remember that He made them, and He loves them; and whosoever loveth him that begat, loveth him that is begotten also. And if God so loveth us, that He gave His only begotten Son to die for us, we ought also to love one another. But if you cannot feel positive affection for those who do not care for you, you can at least try to do to them as you would they should do unto you: you can endeavour to pity their failings and excuse their offences, and to do all the good you can to those about you. And if you accustom yourself to this, Nancy, the very effort itself will make you love them in some degree—to say nothing of the goodwill your kindness would beget in them, though they might have little else that is good about them. If we love God and wish to serve Him, let us try to be like Him, to do His work, to labour for His glory—which is the good of man—to hasten the coming of His kingdom, which is the peace and happiness of all the world: however powerless we may seem to be, in doing all the good we can through life, the humblest of us may do much towards it: and let us dwell in love, that He may dwell in us and we in Him. The more happiness we bestow, the more we shall receive, even here; and the greater will be our reward in heaven when we rest from our labours.”

10 Day Forecast: Tornadoes

Every day, without checking the weather, I can know for sure that we will have a tornado in the house that day! It is unbelievable! Even when Ramiro and I work together very hard to get the house in ship shape condition, in less than 5 minutes, 2 little tornadoes run through and we have a mess on our hands again.

Having a clean, picked up house can feel so relaxing, but having a home in which toys are played with enthusiastically, new ideas are played out, discoveries are made, and life is enjoyed can be so much fun!

It's so fun to watch how these tornadoes work, too. Hannah plays with toys, especially educational ones, exactly in the way they were intended to be played with. She favors reading, arts, and crafts. We always receive the most creative and thoughtful gifts and notes from her that show us how much she loves us. Luke is very imaginative in his play, creating his own worlds, with his own characters and stories. I always wanted to be able to play like that! And little Aaron? We look so forward to seeing what kind of tornado he will be!

Now please don't think that we are allowing these tornadoes to take over the house (even though it feels like it sometimes)! We are working on them putting things up after they use them, cleaning their rooms, and taking initiative to clean even if they weren't the ones to make the mess. But these are hard lessons, and ones I'm still learning myself! That's right - I'm a tornado, too!

High Tech? Not Really.

A few days before Christmas, Ramiro gave me a smart phone. And you know what, it IS smart! It might even make me feel smarter! I had big reservations about this phone, but I LOVE IT!

Then after Christmas I began my blog! A good friend of mine e-mailed me saying, "Wow! A smart phone and blog in the same time frame! You really are high-tech!" That gave me a laugh!

This weekend I asked Ramiro to help me improve the looks of my blog - and of course, I chose a kind of old-fashioned look - quilts! I love quilts - they remind me of my grandmother (Gommy) and snuggling and love. I wanted to spiff up the blog even more, adding a beautiful header and fancy bells and whistles. Ramiro was VERY supportive, trying to help me do everything I wanted to do, but to no avail. Neither of us could figure it out. Turns out, even my husband who has become a master at litigation technology, internet tv, facebook, and YouTube, isn't as high-tech as I thought. So, as far as blogs go, we're staying old-fashioned! And maybe we can keep the rest of our lives a little old-fashioned, too!

I Got the Blues, Baby

When Hannah was a baby just learning to talk, her first name for me was "Mimi." Of course I thought it was really cute and thought that it wasn't such a bad name to live with if she chose to call me "Mimi" instead of "Mommy." But then, she didn't stick with "Mimi." She moved on to calling me by my first name, "Amy!" Although I still thought it cute, I didn't really want to be the kind of mother whose daughter calls her by her first name. I began singing a bluesy, yet silly, tune:

I got the blues, baby,

Cause my baby won't call me Mommy,

Oh no she won't

She won't call me Mommy

Eventually she did start calling me "Mommy;" however, I don't know if I can give credit to my singing, although it did make her laugh!

Then Luke came along. He began calling me "MommyGirl," but the name evolved into "MyGirl." I loved that I was his girl, but I also really enjoy singing silly songs to make my kids laugh, so again I had the opportunity to sing my bluesy song.

Now, I'm singing again. Luke has decided he wants to shorten my name to "Mom." I knew this day was coming, but had no idea so soon. That's okay, at least I have a song to cheer me up! (And I'll still hear Mommy from his sweet voice when he needs me to rescue him from a crisis and when he calls me in the middle of the night!)