I give my scared to Jesus.

In His Hands



It was a dark and stormy night.
No, really. With all respect to both Madeline L'Engle and Snoopy, it was truly windy and ominous that night and my five-year-old didn't welcome his bedtime. He was afraid the stormy sounds would be too scary to allow him to sleep.
I remembered something our pastor once said. First he reminded us about how big God is. Creator of all. Everything in His hands. Everything,including time. He created time and holds it in His hands. So that thing that's bothering you? The problem that's hanging over your head? You can put it in His hands. "Put it there in His hand," he told us, "set it right next to time."
I reminded my son that we, his family, were there. His brother was there in the room and Daddy and I just across the hall. Jesus right there with him. I told my little boy to imagine his "scared" like a stone in his hand. He could take that stone and put it right into God's hand. The same with his mad and his jealous and his embarrassed. Put it like a stone into His hand and He'll hold it for you.
Later that night my husband overheard him telling his brother,"I give my scared to Jesus."
What freedom.
You know what I love most about that? Jesus wants those things. He isn't put off by our weaknesses. He died for our sin and conquered our shortcomings with His resurrection and He wants us to give them to Him. And once surrendered they are entirely manageable in His hand.
My anxiety: spiky, corrosive, and clinging becomes a tiny pebble, cool and innocuous in His hand. My discouragement? My confusion? All of it completely manageable and un-intimidating when He is in control of it.

It's not about me. What a relief to say so. One of the many, many benefits of being His child is that my burdens are not mine to carry. He promised we would have trouble and He promised He was master of it. 

John 16:33  “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

 I can give my scared to Jesus. You can give your worry, your hurt your resentment to Him. When you do feel His peace wash over you as see your trouble grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.

Before and After

My Week in the Library


You probably have one of those places in your house, too. A messy catch-all where you throw stuff when you don't know where else to put it.
I won't tell you the whole long story, but last week I finally tunneled into "the cold room" and turned it into a tiny library. My boys will probably still call it the cold room, though.
Anyway, as you can probably guess, it was a lot of work. The boys helped a little, carrying books and throwing things away when I asked. I did the painting, though I'm not very good at it.
It took me over a week, I was exhausted at the end of every day, there are still a few things to do, and it was worth it all. Every sore muscle, every scraped knuckle, every wobble of the stepladder that momentarily convinced this very afraid-of-heights girl that she was going to fall to her death was worth the end result.
I bought "oops paint" at the hardware store and I love the colors. I got a set of chairs and matching ottoman at Karen's Treasures, and we have been enjoying our little reading room.
Last night my boys and I snuggled into our new-to-us chairs and I introduced them to Junie B. Jones.
The pictures don't really do it justice. Probably because I took them on my little pink, digital Sanyo. When my photographer friend comes to visit, maybe she'll take some better ones and I'll update you.

before

during

after

 Isn't it lovely? Last night after the boys went to bed, Keith and I sat in our little library and we decided it's the coziest room in the  house.

I'm planning on moving the clock to a different spot because I think it looks weird there, We still need to sort through the desk you can't really see here and we could use a little table to set a cup of tea, but it's mostly done. There is for sure room for more books!

But this is all for now. I will likely have more to say about it later. For now let's just enjoy the fun of before and after. 

Pretty Pie Plans

Yesterday I told you about the peach cream pies I made and the plans I made about them.
Sunday is a big day for planning, isn't it? I always seem to have so many things to remember. We were going to have lunch at Grandma's after church. I was in charge of bringing the pie.
But one of my boys woke up not feeling very well. He laid on the couch all pale and droopy.So we stayed home.
He's much better now, running around outside enjoying the out-of-season winter sunshine.
I'm glad he's feeling better. I'm also sorry we missed church today, but I was reminded that our plans are not the ultimate authority. Not even good plans.
Today my boys stayed home and painted a wooden truck that Keith made for them. I had word fun with my Wreck this Journal (you can see some of the finished pages here) while Keith watched someone on TV install a beautiful hardwood floor.
I'm okay with our plans not working about because I know I'm not the One in charge.
And in case you were wondering, the pie is delicious.

Just Breathe

  There's so much to do each and every day. So many things tugging on us, wanting our attention and our precious time. I did a lot of things today. I got a haircut, ran errands, prepared meals, helped with homework, made phone calls, filled out forms, read bedtime stories and more. I didn't have a lot of time to think about what I wanted to say here, so this one will be a little short. 

   A couple of days ago I sent out a tweet that said "I want to be productive today. Even if I am I know I'll feel bad about the stuff I DIDN'T do". 

   I'm pretty sure you can relate. 

   So even though I accomplished a lot today, I still felt like I was lagging behind when I finally sat down to think of something to share here. I was scrolling along when I came across this quote.

link

   I did a lot more today than breathe, but I was reminded of something we all already know. That life is more than our to-do lists. That it's more important to do what's important than to do a lot of ...whatever. In fact not only did I read a really excellent blog post about "being still" today, the sermon at church on Sunday morning was about this very thing I'm writing about now, so shame on me anyway for not seeing it sooner. (I wish there was a way to share that message, too, because it was really good)
    But if you're a little stressed out too, take a deep breath. Just breathe. Don't let busyness get in the way of what Jesus might have on your to-do list today.