Mercy

When I was eight years old I took a road trip with my grandparents to Missouri. With us came my cousin Zack, he's almost exactly a year older than me and at the time we were buds. There's not a whole lot to do in the back of a minivan on a road trip from Southern California to Missouri so when the boredom would become too unbearable he would challenge me to a game of "mercy". Ever heard of it?

Each player must squeeze and twist the other's arm as hard as they can and get the other person to cry mercy. If your opponent calls mercy you win. I never won. Not once.

Currently in our home we have an infestation of gnats. Samantha has been running a fever for two days now. Juliana came home from school with a stomach ache. I sweep and sweep and sweep and crumbs are always present. Come dusk it is 80 degrees inside our home. Mercy!! Mercy!!

I feel pathetic. I'm calling mercy for my own comfort. There are people in this world, in this country, calling mercy for their lives and their truly unbearable circumstances.

Still today in my 80 degree home I had a feverish baby that wanted to be held, the school calling asking me to pick up Juliana and a relentless three year old asking me if it was 4 o'clock yet so that he could play kpbskids.org, oh and vomit on the couch that I hadn't cleaned yet...MERCY!!!

My wonderful mother-in-law picked up Juliana from school. Mercy.

We have great health insurance and an appointment with our favorite doctor tomorrow. Mercy.

My Honey headed home early so that I could work out with my sister-in-law and good friend. Mercy.

Sometimes I whine like a spoiled child. Yes, the Lord provided me mercy today but what he taught me was grace. He relieved me from some unpleasant circumstances, but more importantly he showed me that I don't need to cry mercy I need to cry grace. He's with me every step of the way. I don't need the relief of mercy, I need the grace to endure.

He has already equipped me with His Spirit and His Word. Precious precious tools that will give the grace I need to not just endure, but find joy and thankfulness regardless of the situation.

I am thankful we can afford to buy the fruit that the gnats come in on.

I am thankful that I get to be home holding my baby when she's sick.

I am thankful for family who will drop what they are doing to help me.

I am thankful for our hot house. It's our home. Full of life, full of love, full of joy.

I guess the life lesson today is this. Christ showed us mercy by dying on the cross, how we live that out is grace.

Oh yeah, and the crumbs. They represent that our home is being lived in and that is a gift.

{baby loves her babies and that makes my heart smile}

Up to Speed

I have hit the delete button about twenty times now. I'm unsure of how to make sense of all the thoughts that are swirling around in my head. These thoughts keep crossing paths with my to-do list for tomorrow and I'm half distracted because I'm watching The Voice and wishing I could belt out a decent tune (very wishful thinking). However, I'm committed to completing a blog post.

I have a child in first grade, one still in diapers and one that sleeps with a bucket of cars that have to properly be put to sleep and prayed for.

My spirited first grader always has a brilliant idea that she wants to put into action. She has a best friend. They are not friends because I was first friends with the mama, she made this friend on her own. She now takes two dance classes a week, is involved in AWANA and it's looking like she might be the newest member of the first grade Daisy Troop and Junior Lancer Dancers. I'm exhausted just typing it all.

Despite all these spurts of weekly activities her presence in our home captivates. She remains the leader of the pack for her little siblings.

And while she's a very sanguine personality, thriving on people, she is self-entertained and very creative.

This sweet girl is adored and we are so blessed to know her.

Oh my diapered little babe. She's twenty months now and her personality blossoms more every minute. Though she doesn't talk very much, she understands everything and misses nothing. I literally kiss her every chance I get because I still can and her babyhood is slipping through my fingers.

My boy. My boy...he will be four next month. In many ways he is so far beyond his years and in other ways he is still very much three. He continues to astound us with his reading and his understanding of concepts. His memory is impressive and his vocabulary extensive. He is literal, sensitive and is over the top crazy about safety. Yet, he still struggles with a spoon and loves to snuggle. His cars are his prized possession, they come everywhere with us right alongside his Lightening McQueen thermos.

{bee sting :( }

They are all so different. So different. Uniquely woven together and placed in our family. God in his unfailing sovereignty designed them specifically for Drake and I. We love them, we glean from them and we are refined by them.

I'm all out of words. It's taken me too long to get this all out and nothing very profound came from it except maybe this, character trumps temperament. They all three have different temperaments, but that doesn't excuse expectations for their character. You can be shy, but still polite. Talkative and outgoing, but still a good listener. Literal and structured, but still flexible. It's a journey for me and them. Lord I praise you for your mercy.