Like trying to herd cats...

Many miscellaneous meanderings of a musing mother...

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Questions and thinking and jumping and trusting...

Do you trust me?
Then jump!

As I stood in the (bewilderingly cold) pool, my Katie was on the ledge, so badly wanting to jump to me but so terribly scared to make the leap.

Would you come closer?

No, I did that the jump before. You can do this.

(*pause*) - I'm still in the shivering cold water - she is in the warm, hot sun...

Do you trust me?

Yes.

Then jump! (...*pause*...)

But I'm afraid.

Do you think I would let you get hurt?

No.

Do you know that I love you?

Yes.

Do you know that I am paying attention?

Yes.

Then, jump!

(*pause*) - I have almost forgotten my name, the water is so cold. And yet I wait with outstretched arms at the ready for her courage to kick in... She starts to jump, bends her knees, and then just as quickly, the fear kicks in and we are back to square one...

And as I am shivering in the pool, I am hearing the quiet whispers of my Encourager. This coversation sounds extremely familiar to the ones I have with Him.

I want you to do ___.

But I am afraid.

Do you know that I know the outcome?

Yes.

Do you know that I love you?

Yes... I think.

Then jump!

But what if I find I can't swim in this water? What if I sink?

Do you know that you don't have to - that I will catch you if you find you can't swim?

Yes... I think.

Do you think I would neglect you and let you get hurt?

No.

Do you know that I am paying attention?

Yes.

Then jump!

The next time God asks me to jump, I hope I remember how absolutely sure I was that Katie would not get hurt, that there was no way I would allow her to get in any kind of trouble. I just wanted her to stretch a bit, to flex her trust muscles, to trust me, to trust herself, to face her fear and move past it. I had the utmost confidence in her ability - for pete's sake, she had just jumped from the ledge moments before! I knew the outcome would be success, I knew she had the skills. She just had to see that in herself.

That must be how God feels about me. Totally knowing the outcome, knowing my ability matches the challenge - just needing me to trust Him.

Do you trust Him?

Then jump!

Saturday, May 12, 2007

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

In honor of all who have mothered, are mothering, and who have been mothered, I quote Stasi Eldredge in her book-let, You Are Captivating:

"I briefly want to speak to all women here - not just mothers in the traditional sense of the word. As powerful as the role of mother is, the word mother is much more powerful when used as a verb instead of a noun. Now, not all women are mothers, but as image bearers of God, all women are uniquely called to mother.

As daughters of Eve, all women are gifted to help others in our lives become more of who they truely are - to encourage, nurture, and mother them toward their true selves. In doing this, women partner with Christ in the vital mission of bringing forth life. And all women are life-givers.

The impact on a life that has been seen and called out is dramatic and eternal. The nurturing of life is a high and holy calling and as a woman, it is yours. Yes, it has many shapes and myriad faces. Yes, men are called to this as well. But this calling makes up part of the very fiber of a woman's soul.

You can mother other people's children. In truth, our world needs you to. My friend Lori's house was the center of activity while her girls were still in school. Their friends loved to hang out at her house. She offered them life. She counseled them. She encouraged them. She mothered them with love and strength. She also baked them fabulous treats. She has played and continues to play a major role in many young women's lives, impacting them for good; calling them forth to become who they are meant to be.

We mother each other when we offer our concern, our care, our comfort. We mother each other when we see a need and rise to meet it, whether the need is a sweater for a friend who is chilly, a meal to a struggling family, or a listening ear to a friend who is hurting.

All women are called to mother. And all women are called to give birth. Women give birth to all kinds of things: to books, to churches, or to ministries. To ideas, to creative expressions, to movements. We birth life in others by inviting them into deeper realms of healing, to deeper walks with God, to deeper intimacy with Jesus. A woman is not less of a woman because she is not a wife or has not physically borne a child. The heart and life of a woman is much more vast than that. All women are made in the image of God in that we bring forth life. When we offer our tender and strong feminine hearts to the world and to those we love, we cannot help but mother them."

Happy Mother's Day to all women. May we continue to rise up and answer the call to bring God's healing to this world. Enjoy the day!

~Jen

Wednesday, May 9, 2007

random thoughts....

Good morning!

I've been tossing around some random thoughts in my brain for the past couple of days (I'm actually amazed, and slightly embarassed, frankly, at the spacious area in which the tossing took place! Hmmm....)

Anywho. Where was I?

Right. Random thoughts. Here we go...

1. I'm pretty much convinced that my heavenly job, for the rest of days, will include changing toilet paper rolls. I will walk through heaven's pearly gates, fall on my face in worship of the Great I AM and hug the neck of my precious Jesus. I am then assuming the next thing I will do is go to the washroom (I wonder how long the trip to heaven will have been? You might as well try - you don't know when you'll get another chance to go...) Anyway. I am assuming that I will walk into the heavenly stalls... and have to change the toilet paper roll. Why, you ask? Because no matter where I go, including but not limited to exotic tropical islands and random public bathrooms, I ALWAYS encounter the empty roll. Not only do I encounter the empty roll, I also encounter the full one.
Sitting.
right.
next.
to.
the empty one.

Why? Why? Whyyyyyyyyy? Why the hate? Where's the justice??

I mean, really. How hard can it be?? You are already just sitting - you don't have anything extremely urgent and difficult to do (ok, unless you happened to partake of my husband's chili, and that's just another post altogether...) How difficult to take the old one off the holder, and put the new one on? I had just raged discussed this with a friend of mine before going on a road trip over the weekend. Sure enough, stopping at a Rite Aid in Elmer, NJ (I know - where's Elmer, NJ??), I acquire the 2 ft. long "this is meant to embarass you" keyholder from the pharmacist to unlock the washroom and step inside to face....the empty roll. And the full one.
Sitting.
right.
next.
to.
the empty one.
This is how I know I'll be changing tp rolls for the rest of eternity.

2. My husband and I make and sell soap and other lovely assundries as a side business. In the shower this morning, I noticed that we have no less than 13 assorted bars of soap in our little shower stall, 15 if you're counting the loofahs.

Having just re-read that, I am now weirded out. Hold on.....

........waiting.....

... Ok, I'm back. Had to add another bar of soap. I mean, how disturbing to have an odd number of soaps. Weird. I mean, that would make me a freak.

Or something.

3. I love Tulip Poplar trees. They defiantly bloom these beautiful flowers that look like they should have grown on a stalk. Kind of like they are rebelling against the tree code and florists all at the same time. Those rebels. And they're all over my back yard.

4. I went to the store yesterday to buy some strappy tanks. Because I brutally burned my chest and arms by sitting outside for .... oh, I don't know.... 3 hours. That's insane. I remember back in the day when I would coat myself in baby oil and lay out. all. day. and not get burned. Maybe whatshisname Al Gore is right. Anyway. Off I go to Kohls to find shirts that will not peel the nerves right off of my skin. Guess what lovlieness I discovered?? I am finally back down to a size large t-shirt. In a strappy tank. Does it not get any better?? I celebrated by buying two of them. And then I got all full of myself and went to try on bathing suits. And then I realized I had done a very bad thing to my newly minted self-confidence and went back the strappy tanks. One day at a time, girlfriend. One day at a time.

5. I am becoming addicted to this blog thing. I LOVE reading about other women's lives, how they parent, how they love the Lord, what new things they are learning. And I realized that, as I read of other's healing and growing, I gather bits of healing and wisdom for myself.
That being said, it is now 12:45 and I now have little time to do the things that should be getting done while I'm blogging. Off to the world of responsibility, dishes, laundry, groceries and ..... strappy tanks!

Have a lovely day, ya'll!

Monday, May 7, 2007

Mother's Day Giveaway!

Wow - I might have a chance to enter the new technological age.
I might be the only one left who still relies on CD's (at least I'm not still with the 8-tracks!) 5 Minutes for Moms is having a Mother's Day giveaway - check it out and see if you can beat me out of the ipod they're giving away.... :0)

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