1 Corinthians 13 A Mother's Day Version!

1 Corinthians 13, A Mother's Version

I can read bedtime stories till the cow jumps over the moon and sing"TenLittle Monkeys" until I want to call the doctor -- but if I don't have love, I'm as annoying as a ringing phone at dinner time.

I can chase a naked toddler through the house while cooking dinner and listening to voice mail. I can fix the best cookies and Kool-Aid in theneighborhood, and I can tell a sick child's temperature with one touch of my finger, but if I don't have love, I am nothing.

Love is patient while watching and praying by the front window when it's30 minutes past curfew.
Love is kind when my teen says, "I hate you!"

It does not envy the neighbors' swimming pool or their brand-new minivan, but trusts the Lord to provide every need.

Love does not brag when other parents share their disappointments andinsecurities, and love rejoices when other families succeed.

It doesn't boast, even when I've multitasked all day long and my husband can't do more than one thing at a time.

Love is not rude when my spouse innocently asks, "What have you donetoday?"

It does not immediately seek after glory when we see talent in ourchildren, but encourages them to get training and make wise choices.

It is not easily angered, even when my 15-year-old acts like the worldrevolves around him.

It does not delight in evil (is not self-righteous) when I remind my17-year-old that he's going 83 in a 55-mph zone, but rejoices in thetruth.

Love does not give up hope.It always protects our children's self-esteem and spirit, even while doling out discipline.

It always trusts God to protect our children when we cannot.

It always perseveres, through black nail polish, burps and other bodily functions, rolled eyes and crossed arms, messy rooms and sleep-overs.

Love never fails.

But where there are memories of thousands of diaper changes and painfullabor(s), they will fade away.

Where there is talking back, it will (eventually) cease. (Please, Lord?)

Where there is a teenager who thinks he knows everything, there will one day be an adult who knows you did your best.

For we know we fail our children, and we pray they don't end up in therapy, but when we get to heaven, our imperfect parenting will disappear.(Thank you, God!)

When we were children, we needed a parent to love and protect us. Now that we're parents ourselves, we have a heavenly Father who adores,shelters us and holds us when we need to cry.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

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Wish I could take credit... but I received this in an email... LOL-- Happy Mother's Day to all of us who have mothers, are mothers or stepmothers, or provide nurturing to children not your own...

Be Blessed!

A Miraculously Wonderful Day!

15 years ago, almost exactly to the moment (give or take 15 minutes!) that I started writing this post, an amazing fantastic astounding and profoundly life altering event happened. It actually began quite some time beforehand, but like most worthwhile things, it took some time for the final product to be complete. It's alright though... because when things this good take place, well, you don't mind waiting too much.

Happy Birthday to the very best Mother's Day gift I ever received!

My son continues to amaze me. His first steps were awe inspiring, but more so the care and concern he shows for his fellow people on the planet. His passionate devotion to causes, and loyalty to friends, and people he believes in are amazing.

He is intelligent, articulate, and athletic. If I had asked God specifically for all the character traits I wanted in a son... He couldn't have picked better.

Alex, I love you... and I'm so proud of you-- for all your accomplishments, but also for the times when you learn from mistakes, take coaching and go back to accomplish even more.

Happy 15th!

Be blessed!

Donuts are yummy...

and I love Jesus!

Ah... to have the faith of a child! My darling daughter was helping out with the last day of Wednesday school yesterday. The little ones she works with are 3 and 4. They had donuts and were to come up with a saying about donuts that brought God into things.

The teacher suggested... "Sprinkle some God into your life", and dd suggested "Jesus is better than cream filling". But little Ella, age 3, won the votes of the class with her saying... "Donuts are yummy and I love Jesus!"

LOL... and yet... how clearly the little ones hear His voice. He tells us... in John 10: 2-4 that His sheep will hear His voice and follow because they know His voice. I got to thinking after Ella's statement... do I really make enough time to hear Him so that I recognize His voice??

After all, in today's world... there are a lot of competing voices. There's the media! There's the false teachers! There's the demands of life!

Lord... give me ears to hear and to know you... give me faith like Ella.

Be Blessed!

Media Influences

Last night while watching my local news they did a segment on saving money. Now, I understand that with gas prices rising, food prices rising due to higher gas prices, and no one's wages rising... we're all feeling a bit of a squeeze. That is undeniable.

However, we cannot say that this is a recession. The economy GREW last quarter... slow growth, small growth... but still growth. A recession is defined as two quarters of stagnant or shrinking growth. Read any economics textbook you like... that friends, is the definition.

Personally... the fact that there was any growth makes me feel optimistic about the economy. I think we're likely to turn this thing on it's heels. But... that's not the point of this post...

The point is that in that special on saving money... they discussed clipping coupons, going to the store with a list, trying store brand items, looking at eating out less. And I thought... does that mean that most people are not already doing these things? I mean, most of the people that I know already do this.

Or... how about instead of buying $350.00 shoes for a boost you buy a $25.00 designer lipstick? Good advice for some, but if, like me, you buy Burt's Bees Lip Shimmer--umm, that's not a savings. It's an additional expense.

So... how out of touch am I? And, I know, chances are good if you read this... you're just as out of touch as I am...

Be Blessed!

Grace

He Moves in Mysterious Ways...

Well, as it turns out, no MRI for Mom. My brothers who were there tell me that as they were going through the preparation for it, the nurse at the desk got a phone call and turned as white as a sheet.

As it turns out in 1983 when they did Mom's aneurism surgery, they used metal brain clips to close the bleeding off. This means that in an MRI tube, those could have loosened. It would have meant Mom not being with us any longer. Thank God, her doctor reviewed the information in time!

This means that the lesion hasn't been verified yet... but they'll look into that some more on Monday. What a blessing that the MRI was scheduled late enough that her doctor had time to review the information! What a blessing that the timing was right on the phone call!

Miracles happen, folks! The word coincidence is not in His vocabulary... and this was a miracle!

Be Blessed!

My Mom...

If you know me well, you know that my Mom and I are not close. We live a great distance apart, and it is hard to schedule visits. Add in that Mom had an aneurism when I was 16 and is brain damaged... not able to fully care for herself, or to carry on a conversation without fading into the past... well, it makes for a unique relationship.

I am also struggling right now because Mom is ill. She has a UTI and a lesion they discovered during her head CT scan. Given her history with aneurisms-- this makes us all nervous. My father passed away when I was 28 and my dd had just turned 2. After this... all that is left is my siblings.

Mom was born in NY. She was the daughter of a father who left her and an alcoholic mother. To say the least, her childhood memories are the stuff of tell all books. However, Mom's never been one to dwell on that. The stories I remember her telling are the ones about her Grandfather Peter James McNally-- he worked as a stage director in NY theatre and met all the greats of that day.

I love her... and I'll be both relieved and grieved when she passes on. Relieved because I think sometimes she knows she is not able to be all she once was... and I think it hurts her at those times to be so dependent. Grieved because the hope of a miraculous recovery and a true mother daughter relationship will be over.

See... my Mom doesn't remember my birthday, or other events... and she doesn't send cards or gifts. She doesn't remember the kids on their days either. Now, I say this not because I blame her or her caregivers... I say it because this is the hope that passes on when she goes. The hope of a "normal" relationship will be gone.

On the other hand... that hope is only gone here... who knows but what when we meet in heaven, the relationship may be all I wanted for and more. Yes, I am certain Mom will go to heaven. She is now as a child... and Jesus told us that is what we must become to enter the kingdom. So I have no worries there.

Sorry for the down post...

Be Blessed... and if you can... give your Mom (or the most Momlike person you know) a call!

Grace

Happy Ascension Day!

I know... it doesn't have all the panache of Easter, or the hoop-la of Christmas or even the thrill that comes with Pentecost when we get our promised advocate. Yet, I think, Ascension day is worth remembering.

Oh, we talk about it in our Apostles' Creed... He was buried and descended into hell, on the third day He arose, He ascended into heaven... and we give it no more thought than that. The Bible speaks about it. Sometimes, I think we assume that this event isn't as important to us as the others.

I'm not so sure. He had been talking and eating with His disciples after His resurrection. He was still human at that point. They knew HIM. He wasn't a ghost, or a metaphysical presence. He was in the flesh.

After He ascended into heaven, the apostles were met by two men Acts 1: 9-11 and were told that He would return the way He had left. Jesus ascended into heaven as only He could... both human and divine, and entirely glorified. It extends His victory over death. It gives us hope that we are not orphans, that He will bring us to Himself... in a way that the resurrection doesn't. He has gone on before us to prepare a place.

Christ has died. Christ is Risen. Christ will come again!

Be blessed.