REJECTING THE TEMPTATION

Yesterday was a "re-do" day for me. A rededicating of sorts to regroup and refocus. On my weight loss goals. On my CONSISTENT quite time IN THE MORNING. On housekeeping. On working. On taming our finances, a...g...a...i...n. On the kids. On HH. I had felt things spiraling a bit out of control and had become lackadaisical with school winding down. I don't function well in lackadaisical land. My house does not function well there either. I was off to a good start. My main goal - be honest with myself about what was going on. Whether is was about what I ate, when I exercised, why I spent, or why I did not clean the kitchen, just be honest. No excuses. No justifications. Honesty. Between the Lord and I.


I was off to a great start. I was honest in my food choices. Honest in my quiet time. I felt like I was making progress. Then I got home and hit a HUGE road bump. Pretty sure in the literal sense we would have been airborne and spiraled right down to the ground if we had really hit it. You want to know my first thought?


Of course you did. Of course this happened today. Why wouldn't it? You are fooling yourself.


Do you know what that is? That is a repeat of the very stuff I was trying to break away from.
I will say it is tempting to go back. Easier to wallow than stand some days. But that just gets me dirty and does not move me forward.
So today, with a frustrated heart that has been poured out to God before any of this was even typed, I am rejecting the temptation to wallow. I am rejecting the temptation to blame. I am rejecting the temptation to distrust.

I asked God today to let His light shine through the broken pieces of my very frustrated heart.
I will reject the temptation to snuff out that light.

HE MAKES MY HEAD HURT...

and it is not HH. Even though listening to him brag about how he has "great teeth" according to our dentist and his hygienist is getting on my nerves since it is coupled with his constant bragging about effortlessly losing weight....but he is not the one.
Bonhoeffer.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

I have been reading Christ the Center over the last few days. It is a collection of notes from his lectures at the University of Berlin in 1933. I just need to tell you the geek student in me is absolutely fascinated to be reading lectures from 1933. Total coolness to me, which probably means I just lost all cool points with you. I have had to reread portions several times. In complete quiet. He uses big words. Sometimes I agree with him, other times I think I might agree if I knew what he was talking about. Seriously over my head on some pages. But beautiful still.

The topic is chirstology. I had to google it...you can too. Unless you already know, in which case you are way smarter than me and should be reading this with me so you could explain as we went along. I am about halfway through the book. Sadly, it is only two parts of what was to be a three part lecture series. Bonhoeffer did not finish the third lecture. I need to find the book so I can buy it because I am certain the library does not want me highlighting their version. So I am taking notes. Lots of notes. The first notes I took were just a sentence or two. Then I was done reading the Introduction. Once I got into the actual lectures, it was entire paragraphs and pages. The language is wonderful. As my sister said, nobody talks this way anymore.

When I finish up I am sure I will more to say, but today I will just leave you with one of my favorite quotes so far-

If Jesus is the idealistic founder of a religion, I can be elevated by his work and stimulated to follow his example. But my sins are not forgiven, God still remains angry and I remain in the power of death. Jesus' work leads to despair in myself because I cannot imitate his pattern. But if Jesus is the Christ, the Word of God, then I am not primarily called to emulate him; I am encountered in his work as one who could not possibly do this work myself. Through his work, I recognize the gracious God. My sins are forgiven, I am no longer in death but in life.
(P.38-39)

SHOWING SOME LOVE....

Finally wrote on Deliberately Delivered.

It was feeling neglected.

CHEMICAL WARFARE

The MCs have declared chemical warfare on the opposite sex.
And their daddy.
They have discovered HH's cologne stash we got him for Christmas. Last night they decided to try ALL OF THEM! They walked past us and we nearly fell out. It was so strong I could smell it on my hands, after I had a shower, and in their room this morning when I woke them up.
I am thinking this might be a good thing though.
I am pretty sure the "ladies" won't becoming within 20 feet of them.
I know it was only a mother's love that drove me to tuck them in last night.

Side note....I caught a glimpse of MC 1 standing on a stool, brushing his teeth, and trying different hairdo's. He so gets that from his daddy:)

I DO ACTUALLY WRITE STUFF

Click on over to A Martha Heart to read a book review of Fearless by Max Lucado and a good housecleaning:)

BETH MOORE SHOULD ADOPT HIM

If you have ever heard Beth Moore talk, she often makes mention how her family name is a fitting one. How she can be prone to excess. If one is good....ten is better kinda thing.
HH is the same way.
If one deer head mounted in our living room is enough, then clearly six is better.
If one dog was enough, obviously nine is taking it just one notch higher.
He is a man who needs more to do. He needs projects. Which is why we have these....
(Imagine a picture of our dogs water bucket. No camera, remember, and my phone was being difficult)
Can't see? Let's zoom in......
(Visualize little tadpoles swimming all around. Probably about ten of them).
Now, being a science teacher, and considering that MC 2 is all about frogs right now, I do not object to these. These however........
(Now picture a large glass mixing bowl, filled with about twenty tadpoles, sitting on our kitchen table).
I am not to crazy about. Mainly because I have visions of coming home one day and finding myself smack in the middle of Pharaoh's plague.
He has grand plans of cooking these bad boys up if they are that sort of frogs.
Yeah....I am not crazy about that either. MC 1 will be brought to tears at the mere thought.
But clearly I will be spending my summer trying to keep the cat out of them and MC 2 from "feeding" them and wondering what will happen if he does "this", whatever "this" may be.

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME...

Would like to know when Rodney Dangerfield moved into my house?
Because yesterday I listened to MC 1 go on for 20 minutes about how he gets no respect.
Seriously?
Tomorrow is another day.....