Month: March 2020

Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.” The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy. Psalm 126:2-3

If there was anyone who taught me to live in the moment and find humor, I would say that was my grandma. She can’t seem to hold in a good laugh when it’s determined to escape. She has one of those personalities that allows herself to see the humor in situations even if they are at her own expense.

I remember sitting in church one day when she decided she needed a mint. It seemed imperative that she get it immediately instead of waiting until it was a bit less quiet. As if she were undercover on a mission, she reached down and pulled her purse up beside her. I admit that she did that quite sneakily, but that stealth went out the window when she started unzipping it.

I was trying to sneak peaks at her without turning my head, and she knew I was if the grin on her face had anything to say. Instead of getting it over with, it was a drawn-out purse opening. It took about fifteen long seconds for the zipper to go from one end to the other. That was making it worse Grandma, not helping!

I realized the mints were in a container that rattled a bit as she pulled it out of her purse. When she tipped that container over, I’m sure everyone in our small church could here them tumbling around as she got one out. She couldn’t hold it any longer, the laughter floated out, even if she tried to muffle it. Of course, those around her couldn’t quite stifle their chuckles either.

Frankly, I don’t think a trip is worth going on if you can’t find some laughter along the way. My first trip to the ocean was with her. When I was about fourteen, I traveled to Florida with several people, including my grandma. We went to Walt Disney World first, and then we went to the ocean, staying in a hotel right on the beach. We had such grand ideas of getting up early in the morning before there were any crowds and having a beautiful, peaceful walk while feeling the sand between our toes.

It was wonderful listening to the waves rolling in. How amazing it felt to have that salty water wash over our feet while we were walking. This was vacation! Then it happened. Grandma is a wee bit short. The next wave that rolled in came to above her knees and hit her with a little more force than she expected. Down she went onto the sand. We found out quickly that she was just fine as her laughter rang out. It was contagious and soon we were all laughing so hard we could barely catch our breath. Nobody was helping her up because everyone was laughing too much, including her!

Once we finally got ourselves under control, we headed back to the hotel with Grandma sopping wet. She changed clothes and got the brilliant idea to let them dry outside on the balcony. Do you know where I’m going with this? Yes, a wind came in and picked up her unmentionables. They did a dance in the air to the balcony below us. They were still in the process of being dried, but not where they belonged! We had to try to figure out what room it was to retrieve them.

I’m not even sure if she got them back, but I am sure someone got quite a surprise. Do you know that I don’t remember much about actually being at that beach besides the vivid picture of our excitement that morning? That tells me what’s important in life. It’s those memories of laughter and adventures that are what vacations are all about. Not just vacations though, it’s our day-to-day life experiences.

What does it mean to find good humor in a situation? One answer would be to live in the moment, not take yourself too seriously, and to let your laughter ring out, sharing your exuberance with those around you. What it isn’t is laughing at the expense of others.

My grandma learned how precious life is early on. She experienced heartache, loss, and trials, but she still finds humor in situations and doesn’t stifle her laughter. That can brighten any home, visit, or adventure. It isn’t good for us to be stuck in serious situations without finding some humor within them.

I’m sure that after her son died and my grandpa suffered a massive heart attack right before I was born (to just name a couple), there were many reasons why she could’ve been surrounded by a cloud of gloom.  My grandpa was given only a short while to live. He showed them! He doubled the time and saw me grow up. Could laughter have helped with that?

I can’t imagine what we would’ve missed out on if she lost her laugh because of her circumstances. No, Grandma and Grandpa embraced the fact it was going to happen to all of us one day and lived their lives to the fullest while still with us.

Would their granddaughter have those releases of laughter during hard times if they didn’t show her the example of giving God glory in the midst of it? Would I have learned how necessary to my health that is? It shows that I can take a break from the hard times because I trust God to hand my cares over to Him. I believe God designed us for laughter. Might I even say that he provides comic relief at times?

I challenge you to find a praise of laughter within you. Let your face light up and joy burst forth! Explode with light as you let go of your worries and live in the moment.  If you’re having trouble, put on some music and start dancing.  As you “float” by a mirror, that’ll do it!

They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?” He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.” Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. Mark 8:22-25

I just opened a new document to type, but I’m having some trouble concentrating. There’s sneezing going on in the background that isn’t stopping. This is getting ridiculous! I think the count is up to twenty. With all the sickness in the world right now, nobody wants to think about it being in their home. I’ve never heard such a thing before as what’s going on; he’s still sneezing! I have to ask, “Are you alright?”

Let me stop right there. It’s so easy for the imagination to start working. He went out yesterday after staying in for almost a week. He kept his distance, but was it enough? This line of thinking can get out of hand pretty quickly. I have to say that we’re careful here and do what we can to stay healthy, but we try not to stress about what’s out of our hands. When I take a step back, I can recognize he hasn’t been sick all day, and who sneezes now thirty times in a row even if they are sick?

Finally, I’m getting my answer. He got cayenne pepper up his nose. Interesting…I’m not even asking how. We’ll just go with it because these are my weird happenings today. This is the second time dealing directly with my hubby. The third indirectly involved him. Two things are the same in all my scenarios…my hubby and me. Which one could the craziness be coming from?

My head is still spinning from our conversation we had an hour ago. You need to understand that we used to have a huge lawn to mow but since we moved, it’s tiny. I mean miniscule! We’ve had quite a few problems with the lawn mowers we’ve previously owned, but we won’t get into how they gave us trouble. I don’t think it was user error, but I won’t swear to that. Anyhow, he was telling me how his new lawn mower came today.

It was exciting to see him so enthusiastic about this new mower. However, it just seemed weird to me that all my questions about it were met with it being a real mower. I know we’ve all been hanging out together a whole lot, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I understand him all the time. What does he believe I’m picturing…a fake one? Then, he told me how quiet this real one was. I had to stop him right then. Frustrated, I exclaimed, “Of course it’s real!”

At this point I might have mumbled, “I would hope you wouldn’t have gotten one that bubbles come out of when you push it!” That would be the only fake ones I know about. After tilting his head to the side while studying me, he bursts out laughing. Apparently, there was some confusion going on here. I quickly learned that he wasn’t meaning real, he was saying reel. English can be so weird. He got a manual push reel rotary lawn mower. I still think he could’ve explained that a bit better.

The other situation that happened today was totally on me. I was walking towards the bed when I saw something on my nightstand. Yes, I talked about being cold that one time today, but what was my hubby thinking? Did he really bring in his boot dryer with the glove attachment to put on my nightstand? I suppose it was thoughtful to give me warm gloves, but it was completely strange. Not only was that just a bizarre thing to do, it’s spring now. I told myself how I needed to appreciate his thoughtfulness.

When I got closer, I lost it! My first thought was to never mention it to anybody, but I eventually had to admit it to my hubby. I simply couldn’t see. There wasn’t anything he put on the nightstand; it was what I put there. When he made that trip out yesterday, I gave him a list of a few things we needed. He was so sweet that he brought me flowers from the grocery store too! That’s what had me fooled. I wasn’t used to seeing it there and didn’t have my glasses on because I’d been reading. I obviously can’t see much of anything but outlines without them!

Are your communication wires getting crossed recently? Is it possible that you aren’t seeing as clearly as you think you are? Is there some blurriness happening to you? When we spend many hours closely together, we need to allow one another the benefit of the doubt. If you’re alone, that can be difficult too. Stay in contact with people and remember when you do, the same rules apply.

Just like the blind man in Mark 8, we may need to give things a second chance to see clearer. This is also needed to understand better and gain more wisdom in the confusion of life. Instead of frustration, I challenge everyone to extend grace. Take that time to give the benefit of the doubt. This isn’t just for those in your house either. Many times, this shows Jesus better than preaching does.

Be kind to one another and do something to brighten someone’s day! Don’t jump to conclusions, give second chances to understand, assume the best, or even if you do have to run into the grocery store, grab a bouquet of flowers like my hubby did yesterday. It made me smile, and no, he didn’t do anything wrong!

I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. Philippians 1:20

“Say what?” my hubby questioned. Even though it was early in our marriage, I’d been with my high school sweetheart long enough that what came out of my mouth and the situations I found myself in rarely surprised him anymore. My announcement created a perplexed expression without full understanding. Trying again, since I was quite clear the first time, I simply repeated what I was about to do so he could wrap his mind around my new adventure.

This wasn’t a complex issue. The phone call was for me to ride to a veterinarian in a nearby town. I was going along with my cousin’s teenage son because it was a bad time due to milking for anyone else to make the trip. They wanted someone who would listen to what the vet had to say after x-rays were taken and report back to them. He would drive and I’d sit in the back of the van making sure everything was under control. Why was this so hard for my hubby to comprehend? Usually the vet would go to the barn, but we were going to the vet…simple.

Oh, I think I forgot to mention to you that the patient was a calf. That apparently was what muddled my hubby’s mind. We loaded the little Guernsey calf with the big eyes into the back of the van and off we went. While monitoring the temperature in the van, we had an enjoyable ride. It was quite unlike some of the drives I experienced with my children as babies! It was quiet and there weren’t any accidents in the vehicle. Could you imagine if we were pulled over by the police?

After getting to our destination, I stayed outside while he ran in to let them know we arrived. I didn’t realize how exciting it would be for them in the office! Apparently, they didn’t get many calves coming into the practice. We went straight to the back while the employees took turns getting a look at the patient. Calves are extremely cute! The x-rays were taken, and we waited for the results. They weren’t what we hoped for, but it was necessary to do what we could for that little one.

I know some farms don’t do everything possible for their animals, but this one did. Each one had an identity, a name. That dairy family knew who each one was as they entered the barn. They knew every personality and quirk. The happiness in being there for births, and the sadness at the end of life is still felt deeply. There may be many animals there, but each one is important.

Thinking about what’s happening in the world today had me reminiscing about my adventure in the past. There are difficult and sad times, but it’s the adventures in life that we’ll miss out on if we’re always focused on the what-ifs or the problems we face. We celebrate, we mourn, but we don’t stop living. We do what we can do because every life is so very important. Then, we live. Each and every day, we truly live.

Why do things happen as they do? We just got finished studying Job. It wasn’t a book of the Bible that I wanted to refer to before our study, but I learned something. It was a book about trust when we don’t understand why. God isn’t fickle about his love. Each one of us has an identity, a name. Each one of us is important. Sometimes, situations aren’t exactly what we would’ve hoped for or planned. I’m truly sorry when life doesn’t seem fair. In Job, God showed the amazing things that we can’t imitate or understand. When we can’t understand, surely, we can trust.

I’m going to issue what might be the biggest challenge yet. Trust in God. Trust in his promises and work of salvation. Stay grounded in His glory. When you don’t understand the why, keep trusting. Be sure of where you’re going and truly live every day of your life. Allow the situations you find yourself in to be your next adventure. Find the lighthearted through the difficult…I did call it a challenge. I didn’t say it would be easy, but it is possible! You got this. “Yes, officer; it’s a farm animal…in a mini van…trust me, we got this.”

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:14-16

Fear is running rampant right now. It’s understandable that people are facing anxiety as dire warnings are being broadcasted, schools are being closed, and activities are being cancelled. Nobody wants to see people sick or worry about their jobs and what all the closures mean. The more we find ourselves immersed in the focus of the unknown to come, the more out of control and scared we feel.

My family is trying to keep informed but carry on, and I’m trying to see the positive or humor in these situations. For example, we’ve only recently moved from several acres of woods to an area where we have no oak trees. People, pine needles will not do if we run out of toilet paper! It’s sad because when the boys have a few minutes during school to work independently, they automatically tell me that I have time for a quick potty break. Road trips are fun with me…I can’t help it! This lack could breed creativity.

Also, I figure we can go a while without running to the grocery store. We have fish and crabs right outside our door. Well, kind of. I’m sure they’re out there but they’ve yet to land on my table. That doesn’t mean it’s an impossibility. We were laughing the other night because my youngest got excited and bought a kayak before the rest of us did. We figure there’s that to help us get out and fish better. The funny part, we don’t have a paddle yet! Also, realized today that I don’t have very much hard butter left, but fear not, we have plenty of popcorn. Better for our health I suppose.

We’re still receiving deliveries, and I was trying to be considerate of the driver today. I heard the truck pull up, and my son headed out the door to meet him like normal. Oops, that was something we probably should’ve talked about earlier because it got a little interesting. I tore off running through the house as I heard them make their greetings. I love when we connect with people, but social distancing y’all! He was still by his truck, and I gave a yell for my son to come back in the house. He thought I lost my mind. The driver came to the bottom of the steps with a knowing look while I sheepishly shrug my shoulders as I explain how we want to keep it safe for them by not making them get too close to us. The driver grins and asks if I want him to just put it on the step. Yep, works for me! Interesting times.

As you can see, we aren’t dealing with some of the struggles that so many are going through. Our perspective on the situation might be unique because this isn’t all that different than what’s normal for us. My hubby works from home already; he just isn’t travelling. We homeschool so nothing changes with that, right? Maybe it does a little.

My boys are much older and hear their friends talking about being off school, and some of them aren’t continuing to learn at home. If they can get out of not having school, why would you choose to be in school? Simply because it’s a privilege to receive an education boys. You’ll be better prepared when you do what others are unwilling to. When you have every opportunity to learn, do it! This might not be a popular belief with teenagers, but as parents, it’s our duty to help them understand. If not understand, we need to be the enforcers! Can I get a cape…a badge?

I want to encourage parents who homeschool to keep on keeping on. Sure, if your spouse isn’t normally home, get creative while having some good quality time as a family to forward your children’s education. This encouragement doesn’t stop for those who’ve always homeschooled. If your children are now home, but have never homeschooled, don’t allow them to fall behind. I urge you to do what you can.

If teachers are now online, make this time a positive learning experience. If not, become the teacher. Make it clear they’re still going to get an education. Try to establish a schedule, take advantage of websites like Khan Academy (they can study for SAT tests there too), read, take the opportunity to teach life skills. Let those teenagers help with taxes and balance the checkbook. Have fun by planning trips! They can figure out budgets, food, lodging, directions, gas mileage. Also, be sure to look into the places you could visit that are historic. Those websites have many educational tools on them. Jamestown Settlement in Virginia is even having learning opportunities on top of their normal information.

What I want to make clear is, sometimes it’s necessary to be a lighthouse during the storm. Stand strong even when you don’t seem appreciated! When the complaining starts or the bad attitudes overwhelm, which is a good likelihood sometime along the way, stand firm while it blows all around you. That isn’t as easy as it sounds! We can’t get all dramatic on our end when they have their issues. We simply need to be stable even when we don’t feel appreciated or they don’t see things our way. I was just watching a movie that said, “Lighthouses aren’t there to draw attention to themselves, they’re just here to shine.” Start shining!

Shine through the storms. This isn’t just for parents either. Nope, I don’t care if you’re in third grade or a senior in high school. You might need to be the one standing like a lighthouse among your family, friends, or community.

How can you stand strong? Do your part to be better, rise higher, and shine like a lighthouse no matter your age. Be the difference. Be the calm in the storm. Stand tall! Find humor in difficult situations…find your oak tree or paddle. Give others six feet while sending out your light with a calm, confident, genuine smile. Don’t hide your light, even if you’re staying at home!