Month: December 2018

Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:13-14

As Thanksgiving made way for the Christmas holiday, I pulled out the festive decorations tucked away in the attic.  As the boys voted to do away with the mistletoe, I vetoed their decision. Up went the mistletoe! I can’t help it they haven’t figured out how to avoid standing under it. I admit it is becoming more difficult to reach the oldest when he doesn’t want a smooch since he needs to bend down, but I manage even if it’s out of pity that he allows the big smack on his cheek.

I knew that when I read number 25 of Things You Didn’t Know About Christmas posted by David Pegg, I had to share with my boys. It went against my best interest, but there are some things that are too good to keep to myself. When I could work it into a lesson, I couldn’t resist, even if it meant the possible demise of my mistletoe.

Here’s what I read about number 25: Mistletoe…Literally meaning “dung twig”, mistletoe is named after the fact that it tends to spring out of bird droppings on trees after the seeds have passed through the bird’s digestive tract. Not only this but it can also be very parasitic, often requiring a host tree in order to sustain itself. So, next time you kiss your significant other beneath the mistletoe, remember, you’re standing beneath a parasitic poop twig.

I admit that this information wasn’t so bad if I thought about it.  Now that they’re teenagers, I certainly don’t want them smooching under the mistletoe just because it’s tradition!  Mainly, I thought this was cool enough information that I’d get their attention long enough to get a lesson across. It started as I suspected with my wonderful darlings saying, “See Mom, this is what you insist on hanging in our house.”

After we got over the interruptions to my brilliant speech, I found a way to bring about the main idea. What are we keeping in our lives that are out of habits or tradition? Do we even know where they came from? Really, can mistletoe be considered romantic or even a fun holiday tradition after getting the facts? I think that its time for us to look at some of the facts about what we’re keeping in our lives.

Also, don’t we all have some host trees that we attach ourselves to that aren’t so healthy? It’s not their fault because they were never meant to sustain us; we only have One that could do that. Too often we attach to someone who doesn’t have a limitless supply of wisdom, strength, and love.

Let’s look at this one more way. Are we being the parasitic poop twig (PPT as I like to call it) in someone else’s life? Are we draining those around us with our attitudes, words, or actions? We don’t want to be sucking their life out of them!

I challenge you to think about these things. Do you have any PPTs in your life that you’re still standing beneath because it’s tradition? Are those habits or people draining you? Here’s an even bigger question…are you being the PPT that’s draining a host not meant to give you your water and nutrients?

Try plugging into the source and drink the water given by Jesus! The Holy Spirit is a gift that can be accepted this holiday season.

Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” John 5:8

It was a week before Thanksgiving when an ice storm took down trees and power lines all around us. What a beautiful mess it created! The electricity went out in the middle of the night, so it was a bit chilly crawling out of bed. I let the boys use the power as an excuse not to have school and used the time to get a whole lot accomplished around the house. Keeping moving kept me warm! I must tell you, I LOVED the silence. No humming from appliances, no radios or televisions, no noise but the wind could be heard!

Once the temperature started dropping, my dad put his Superman cape on and came rushing to save the day with his generator. The only problem was that he didn’t have electricity either. He made his house go dark in order to heat up ours. He got that heavy thing into the back of his truck and drove the thirty minutes to our house to hooked it up for us. The electric company was estimating it being back on that night, so after it was warm inside again, we thought we were all good.

The fridge and freezer were cold again, and we wouldn’t open them. Dad went back to his house and we got ready to go for an early Thanksgiving dinner at my aunt’s that night. My oldest was planning on having friends over later, and I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea, but they thought it would just be another adventure. They were warned, plus the electricity was supposed to be coming back on that night anyhow.

My aunt kept her power and the roads were clear (besides some branches left), so we enjoyed a wonderful evening out. We didn’t give the cold and dark much thought while there. We picked up some brave kids after dinner and headed to the grocery store. We realized shortly after that we weren’t getting power anytime soon. It was going to be at least a couple more days. Meanwhile, if we traveled a half hour from home, life was moving as normal.

Superman came back and insisted we keep the generator because of the gathering happening at our house. He didn’t want them to get cold. Heat was never an issue for my parents due to a wood burner that keeps them toasty warm. As he did the whole process of bringing over the generator late at night and planning to come back again in the morning, it was time to call it. Land lines were down, and we weren’t getting much cell service. Plus, we didn’t want my dad running back and forth between our houses worrying about us when we could get a hotel room. If we kept the fridge and freezer closed, everything would be fine.

It amazes me how much a change in scenery can change perspective. We could’ve wallowed in self-pity while sitting in the dark freezing or we could’ve gotten out of the house and gone to somewhere that was opened or visited a relative. I understand that isn’t always possible for everyone, but what about the people it is possible that choose to be miserable? Does that happen? It sure does! “It’s so bad. I’m stuck in the cold and dark.” No, you aren’t! You have a car and the roads are clear!

What about you? Is there a situation you don’t like but are choosing to stay in? What’s keeping you there? Are you complaining just to complain? Even us…what were we going to eat each day if we couldn’t open the fridge or freezer? We could’ve gone to the grocery store, got some meat, and fired up the grill! Yum! Would we have, or would we have complained?

We had fun during our impromptu outing! The food was good, the time together was nice, and I even did some shopping. Why be miserable when we can be creative?

I challenge you to change your position to change your perspective! You won’t get a medal for staying miserable, and I guarantee you that people won’t feel near as sorry for you as you think they will. When God gives you a better way, snatch it up and move forward. You might be uncomfortable leaving what you know, but you’ll sure be glad you did after you get in that better position. Pick up your mat and walk!

Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky   Philippians 2:14-15

My boys and I decided to go on an adventure while my hubby was working last week. I was going searching for emeralds, and my boys were just going searching! I wasn’t sure how this was going to turn out since we had only been to this area one other time. I figured why not give it a try since my boys are older and I have a GPS system in the vehicle. What could go wrong?

We sent my hubby off with a wave and loaded into the vehicle for our grand adventure. Did we have bug spray? Check! Did we have warm clothes? Check! Did we have money? Check! Did we have the address? Check! Did we have boots or waders? Check! Did we have food and bags for our finds? No, that would be our first stop.

Off we went to the grocery store to complete our checklist. Our lunches looked pretty promising, and since the temperature finally climbed out of the twenties, it was time to go wade in a creek. Yes, I said a creek…in the cold. Again, what could go wrong? We typed in the address, and with the help of two teenage navigators, we were ready. I have to say that we did great getting there. We only missed a couple turns!

When we arrived, we patted ourselves on the back…just for arriving. What can I say, we must celebrate the little wins too! Reason number two for celebrating was because there was hardly anyone there. Certainly not one person in the creek, giving us the whole thing to ourselves. We were brilliant going when we did! We paid and shuffled our way to the water in all our gear because we had some gems to find.

What a fun time searching the creek we had! I was thinking that I was so silly ever considering not taking the boys without my hubby. When what to my wandering eyes should appear? A son in the water sitting on his rear! Well, that wasn’t planned. Why were the extra clothes missing from our checklist? We were just starting, and I couldn’t let him be cold. It looked like we were cutting this trip a bit short.

There were several things that shocked me. My oldest didn’t outwardly roll his eyes and complain that he wasn’t near ready to go. My youngest insisted that he was fine and wanted to keep going for a bit more. I even came up with a game plan! We would make our way back to the beginning just doing a little looking here and there. We’d be hungry by then anyway. We considered going back to the hotel to get a change of clothes, but it was too far away. Everyone kept a good attitude and it wasn’t a big deal.

We started heading to the vehicle when one of the workers asked what we found. The excitement was great as we looked at our bags, but we had no idea what we were looking at. Since he wasn’t busy with other people, he was willing to go through everything we found while we labeled each thing. He was so kind and amazing! He loved us being interested and we wouldn’t have had this chance if the creek mishap hadn’t occurred.

Something that seemed like a disappointment turned out to be a blessing, even if my youngest might have disagreed at the time when he was pouring water out of his waders. We thought his rear was wet but didn’t realize water actually went inside!

My boys were amazing our whole adventure but when they were coming up with plans to get my youngest dry, I had to intervene. No, he couldn’t walk into the hotel in long underwear! No, he couldn’t ride back in his underwear! And, no, he couldn’t strip down in the parking lot! I ran into a store right down the road (should’ve done it as soon as it happened) and got him a new pair of pants. Time to head back.

As we were laughing like crazy about our adventure, our GPS stopped working. We don’t know why, but it was on strike. After all we went through, do you really think we were going to let that spoil our day? No way! I’m thankful for cell phones that will give directions. The boys did pretty well helping me navigate home. We only missed a couple turns!

What made that day special? Was it finding gems? Nope! Was it having everything perfect? No way! It was the memories I made with my boys and the amazing attitudes of everyone involved. It was one of the best days ever!

I don’t understand why we can’t be kind instead of being miserable. I don’t understand why complaining has taken over gratitude. I don’t understand why we can’t search for the good. I don’t understand why we choose to be miserable when we can laugh. I don’t understand why we can’t find something good during challenges. I might not understand why I act how I don’t want to, but I’m determined to change.

I know our adventure could’ve turned out much different with a flip in attitudes. It’s not always our actions that change the outcome. Sometimes it’s simply our reactions to situations. The shining gems were secondary that day. My boys and their attitudes are what sparkled brighter than the gems.

I challenge you to be the one to meet everything without grumbling or complaining. Even when you don’t understand why you’d be kind when everyone is being miserable, try it. Then try it again. Then again. Don’t give up and keep trying!  Start helping those around you laugh instead of being miserable. Start shining among those around you like stars in the sky. 

Remember, it’s not the plan, it’s the attitude for the adventure that determines the outcome!