Just To Keep Myself Accountable

Posted on January 7, 2012 by kimberly

It is relatively easy to be thankful since I’ve decided to practice thankfulness in the small things of daily life. It’s not so easy to take time to write them down. But I think it’s important to write them down because it really makes me pause for more than a moment to acknowledge God’s blessings.

So today I’ll share a few more of my 1000 gifts… it will help me stay accountable to writing them down if I know I’m going to share them:

180. sunlight streaming through the curtains in winter

181. the beattitudes

182. the soft hum of traffic

183. a chocolatey kiss

184. sugar sprinkled on shortcake…glimmering in the light

185. feeling like I made a difference for someone

186. frost on rooftops across the way

187. lungs filling with cold, fresh air

188. a surprise from Nathan…a clean bathtub!

189. Elias helping me vacuum

190. a swig of cool water

191. a cacophony of bird calls

192. family walks

193. switchfoot songs

194. This bird, which kept calling while Elias was nearby. He looked and looked for it until he saw it high up in the tree.

 

 

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Matthew 4

Posted on January 4, 2012 by kimberly

I’ve never been that big on New Year’s resolutions….I always figured that I needed to find it in myself to change something….not depend on a “new year.” But as I was thinking about my hopes and dreams for myself and for our family on new years eve, I decided that I want to read the Bible every day. There are parts that I have read a gazillion times, but also parts that I have not read at all. And I do already read the Bible…but not every day. So I resolved to read one chapter a day and see where that takes me. I plan to read the whole new testament…but not in order.

Anyway, my chapter for today was Matthew 4. Jesus gets tempted by the devil, then begins His ministry. What I found particularly interesting was Jesus’ actions directly after he comes out of the desert and resists temptation: first he enlists help(recruits disciples), then he helps people.

I guess what was more novel to me was what Jesus did not do. He did not set up a structured church. He did not really minister to believers. He didn’t set up small groups or large services. He didn’t start a carpentry club for Christians. There was no singles group. He went and found the poor. And he helped them.

What does that mean for us?

The American church (I mean church as a whole…any denomination that claims to follow Christ) is largely concerned with itself. I’m not saying that Christians don’t need help too sometimes…and I’m not saying that we don’t deserve special programs and beautiful churches.

But where should our priorities lie? Funding for a new coat of paint in our halls? Or a well for a town in Africa? Money for a youth group? Or food for famine victims? Candles and food and other important items? Or clothing for a freezing child in Armenia?

I’m not saying we should send all of our money overseas…but how about a much larger chunk? Jesus made it pretty clear what was important to him. I’m trying to make that what is important to me as well.

These are just things I am thinking about right now…..thanks for reading.

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Some Wise Words

Posted on January 3, 2012 by kimberly

Christ has no body on earth but yours,

no hands but yours,

no feet but yours,

Yours are the eyes through which

Christ’s compassion for the world is to look out;

yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good;

and yours are the hands with which He is to bless us now.

-Saint Teresa of Avila

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Readings For 2011

Posted on December 31, 2011 by kimberly

I started keeping a reading log in June of 2008. I think it is fun to have a record of what I read, and to keep a page count each year. Reading is one of my favorite things to do in my spare time. This year, being the first full year of parenthood, I read a lot less than before. But I still think I did pretty well. Here are the stats, and some of my favorite reads:

In 2011:

I read 20,900 pages.

I read 43 books.

I read 14 magazines.

My favorite accomplishment:

I spent a lot of time reading the Masters of Rome series by Colleen McCullough. My brother introduced me to the series at the beginning of the year. It is seven novels, thousands of pages, and the author won many awards for her detailed research. The series is set just before the fall of the Roman republic, so I got to learn a lot about Rome and the surrounding world at that time. It was particularly interesting to see how Caesar Augustus came to power considering what a wimp he was as a youth. McCullough really brings the characters to life…and even though I already knew what happened to most of them, I really ended up caring about them and being moved by their plight. I learned about Roman culture, military, slavery, government, and much more. The series is very exciting and well written as well as educational. I definitely want to read it again some day.

Another Fiction Favorite:

I also read Fall of Giants by Ken Follett. This is another historical fiction novel set during World War I. I learned a lot from this book as well. I am looking forward to the next book in the series, whenever it may come out.

Nonfiction:

My favorite nonfiction book read was probably Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. I also really enjoyed Zeitoun by Dave Eggers.

 

Of course this reading log does not include any reading I do online, or from the Bible…but I still enjoy keeping the log. 2011 was a good year for reading!

 

 

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Practicing Thankfulness

Posted on December 29, 2011 by kimberly

It’s hard to believe that the last time I wrote for this blog was almost a month ago! Time moves so quickly…especially with a little one walking. I’ve now been practicing thankfulness for almost a month. I was inspired by the book One Thousand Gifts, as I wrote in the last post. I’ve been writing down things I am thankful for each day…and I’ve been especially looking for joy in the small things. I’d say practicing thankfulness has definitely made me more joyful. Not that I wasn’t happy or filled with joy before…it is like extra joy.

Before, I would have just let so many moments pass by unnoticed. For example, #17: the sound of dinner sizzling in the pan, or #31: Candle flames dancing in the sanctuary at church, or #118: sunlight so bright it hurts my eyes. Stopping to be thankful for the joy these things bring really does make a difference. Sometimes it makes me feel almost giddy.

Then there’s the hard thankfulness. I’ve found that practicing thankfulness has helped my overall attitude as well. One night I was woken in the middle of the night be my son crying. I was grumbling to myself and feeling sorry for myself. Who really wants to get out of bed in the middle of the night? But as I was holding and rocking my son, and felt his breathing slow, and the soft wispy curls of his hair against my neck, I reminded myself to practice being thankful. I started with being thankful for the curly wisps and the steady heartbeat and the soft skin. But then #132 came along: Comforting my son in the middle of the night. My whole perspective changed when I became thankful for the hard, unpleasant middle of the night moment. I had a stolen hug. A stolen moment to be with my son. How many of those will I get? Pretty soon I’ll be thinking that there are far too few. I truly felt thankful and joyful at being able to comfort my son. It helped me turn a negative moment into a positive one.

I’m far from 1000 gifts, and I slowed down at writing them in my notebook over the week surrounding Christmas, but now I’m back at it. Here are a few of my favorites so far:

#53: The sting of fresh air on my cheek

#78: Singing “Old McDonald”

#96: Toes touching under the covers

#127: Tears of gratitude in an old man’s eyes

#133: Bright colors

 

 

 

 

 

 

#137: The softness of flower petals

 

 

 

 

 

 

#142: His smile

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One Thousand Gifts

Posted on December 3, 2011 by kimberly

As I was researching family traditions and activities for advent, I ran across the blog of Ann Voskamp (http://www.aholyexperience.com/). I was interested in her Jesse Tree Devotional, but decided to wait until Elias is a bit older. As I was looking at her blog, I noticed that she recently authored a book called One Thousand Gifts. Since I love reading, I put it on hold at the library. After picking it up after story time, I began reading.

I’m not finished with the book, but I’ve decided to begin a new practice based on the book anyway. The author is challenged to write 1000 gifts, and she does. The book is mostly about finding joy in every day life. That is something I’d like to do. I like lists. I want to be thankful and joyful. I want to live life to the fullest. So I’m going to write 1000 gifts. I don’t know how long it will take. I probably won’t share them all. But I’ve got paper and a pen ready, and I’m going to open my eyes and see the bounty around me.

So here goes. Here are the first few I’ve written for this morning. I took pictures to share (which I probably won’t do all the time).

1. Messy hair in the morning.

2. My son playing in pajamas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Frost on evergreen needles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Uncles singing to their nephews.

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. Jesus. The shepherd of all. Especially the lone and lost sheep.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. Cows nuzzling their calves.

 

 

 

 

 

7. Mothers feeding their young.

 

 

 

 

 

8. New life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

9. A look of determination.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10. Quiet breaths on my shoulder.

11. Clicking of keys on the keyboard.

12. Wind rustling leaves.

 

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In Which I Pray For Patience

Posted on November 28, 2011 by kimberly

What do you do when you’re running out of patience? When you’re at the end of your rope…pulling out your hair…when you feel like screaming or punching a pillow?

I felt like that earlier. It was lunch time and Elias and I were at the table eating. Meal times have been tricky lately for many reasons (that is a long story for another post) but for some reason today my patience was just wearing so thin. Yogurt can get very messy…and it is so sticky that it is not fun to have all over your hands and arms. Unfortunately, this was the case at lunch. There was yogurt everywhere. At one point a spoonful of yogurt flew to the floor and I almost reached my boiling point.

What do you do when you’re running out of patience?

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I felt the air entering my nostrils, and expanding my chest. Exhaling, I said, “Jesus, please give me patience.”

I opened my eyes and saw my son looking at me. I felt the tension leave my body, stood up to get some napkins, and wiped up (most of) the mess.

As lunch proceeded I started wondering…what was Jesus like as a baby? We don’t know much about his infancy other than the time in the stable. Did Jesus throw food? Did he have tantrums? I wondered and wondered about Jesus, and smiled to myself as I thought of him as a child. I wondered about him as a toddler taking his first steps. What was his first word? What were his favorite songs? Oh, what a joy he must have been. What a miracle. Jesus’ birth was a miracle just as every birth is a miracle.

Thinking about the miracle of Jesus then made me think of Elias again. What a miracle and a gift to me my son is. Rather than being frustrated with lunch time I was filled with flashes of memories from just this morning. I remembered when he woke up this morning and saw me looking at him. He smiled so big and said, “hi.” I remembered when we were playing on the floor, my hands occupied with the toys. He deliberately took the toys out of my hands and spread my arms wide so he could crawl into them for a hug. I remembered the way he danced to “Manheim Steamroller” Christmas music, and the proud look on his face when he stacked his blocks four high. I remembered what a blessing it is that he is healthy and that he has food to eat. I remembered that this is just a phase and two months from now there will be something new to worry about, but this lunch time will be old news.

“Thank you, Jesus, for giving me perspective. For helping me to remember how precious each moment is…even these tough ones.”

 

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Advent is Approaching

Posted on November 25, 2011 by kimberly

For a few weeks now I’ve been thinking a lot about advent and how I’d like to observe it with my family. I know Elias is too young now to really understand what is going on, and he certainly won’t understand the abstract. But now is the time to start. Now is the time to start traditions which my children will remember when they are grown. Now is the time to start celebrating what is most important. Now is the time to get my ducks in a row…so to speak…so that I won’t have to make up lost ground later.

What do I want my children to know and love about Christmas? The things that I emphasize now will help create their experiences and their memories. Our family time will shape who they become. Right now we are living the life they will remember. What do I want them to remember?

I’ve done a lot of research about advent and about family traditions surrounding advent. I’m really intrigued by the Jesse Tree. I’d never heard of it before, and neither had my husband. I’m definitely doing that…but not this year. Elias needs to be able to participate so I think I will start that tradition in 2013 when he is three. What can I do now?

I’ve decided to start relatively simple this year. We will continue our advent wreath tradition, and I’ve also made an advent chain. There is one link in the chain for each day in advent. Each link has three scripture verses written on it (an old testament, a psalm, and a gospel reading) Each night at dinner we will read the verses together. This will help us prepare our hearts for Christmas. It will help us remember what is important in the midst of holiday madness. It will start us on the road toward teaching our children why we celebrate Christmas, even if this year Elias just sees us reading a book and lighting candles. It is a foundation.

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Tree of Thanks

Posted on November 2, 2011 by kimberly

I’ve been trying to preserve some beautiful fall leaves for a couple of weeks now. Normally I’m pretty skilled at arts and crafts kinds of things. I read online about three different methods, and chose the easiest sounding one: ironing them between two sheets of wax paper. Well, for some reason, I cannot successfully do this. Everyone makes it sound so easy. Even girl scouts can do it! But I never was able to after trying many different ironing techniques, wax paper brands, and types of leaves. I finally gave up on the method, and decided to try another. Since I didn’t want to risk a fire in my microwave, that method was out of the question. Well that left glycerin. Unfortunately, pretty much every craft store and grocery store I went to either didn’t carry it or was out.

I decided that this year maybe I’m just not supposed to be preserving leaves.

My art project.

On a somewhat related note, yesterday I had a not-so-good day. Who knows why. Sometimes things just don’t go my way. Anyway, as I was stewing a little bit in the afternoon, and watching Elias play (he decided not to nap yesterday with the exception of a 20 minute car ride), I realized how stupid I was being. I realized that I have so much to be thankful for, and maybe I just needed to remind myself that.

So I switched art project ideas and decided to make a tree of thanks as a centerpiece for our table. I got the idea from another blog I read, and changed it a little to make it my own. Instead of preserving leaves, I’d remind myself of all the blessings in my life. The pictures don’t really do it justice, but you can see how it turned out. I could have come up with a lot more, but I got a little tired of tying strings onto the twigs. Maye I can add more later. I am quite pleased, and now every time I have a negative thought, I’ll just look at my tree of thanks and remember that I am blessed.

A close up of some of my blessings.

Some of the things I'm thankful for.

 

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Slowing Down

Posted on October 26, 2011 by kimberly

I close the front door and reach for the keys. I am balancing a baby on one hip, and carrying about three bags and a water bottle with the other arm. I am running late. There’s a lot to think about, and a lot to get done. I’ve got places to be.

I head down the stairs as quick as I can safely. I’m already thinking ten minutes in the future when, wham! I get to the bottom stair and the sun hits me in the eyes. I take a big breath and feel the cool, crisp, fall air enter my body. I feel the sun’s bit of warmth on my forehead. I stop, turn to my son, and smile. He gazes back at me and his face lights up.

When was the last time I even looked at his face? Not while we went down the stairs, not while I locked up. Not as I put on his jacket, or changed his diaper. I was too rushed, too “busy”, too worried about things that don’t matter.

I look back at my son and soak in the beauty of the moment. “I love you, bud.” I tell him. Then I plant about five of the juiciest kisses I can on his plump cheeks. “Isn’t it beautiful out here? A little cold…yes…but beautiful.” He looks at me again and says, “ba.”

I am finally living in the present. From the moment that I looked into my son’s eyes I had no choice. I slowed down and realized what mattered. I stood there in the sun interacting with my boy, still holding myriad bags and still running late, but not caring at all. This is how I want to live me life. Here. Now. People say to enjoy every moment…but does anyone actually do that? Well I did this morning. And I’m going to try to live that way more.

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