Wordless Wednesday

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Gentleness

I've not been very patient with the kids lately, as you know. I'd love to say that after I wrote that post that everything righted itself, but it did not. That fix was a temporary one. I'm still hormonal and grumpy. And tired. And short-tempered. And tired. And hormonal. And tired. LOL

But as I was having my time with the Lord this morning (a challenge for me, but I can't keep my evening routine of studying because with dh here at night now, it isn't working out), my attention was caught by this phrase in Psalm 18:35 - "thy gentleness hath made me great." David was speaking of God's gentleness. That's a rather unique phrase in scripture, isn't it? And it caught my attention. I mulled over it awhile, thinking how did God's gentleness make David great?

Hmmm, well, David (and I, for that matter) did not deserve God's gentleness. What we all deserve is God's immediate judgment for the sins we commit, right? But He is gentle with us. Long suffering. Patient.

God was gentle with David, instead of harsh, and through time and patience on God's part, David slowly became what he was.

Hmmm. This is what my children need of me. Gentleness. Not snapping at them when I've told them 100 times... or on my snippy days, told them twice and now have no tolerance. They need from me a lifetime of gentleness, mercy, discipline, and love to mold them into what God would have them be.

That brings up a question: how is discipline gentle? What is the alternative? With God, discipline is the gentle option. Loving guidance that, yes, sometimes is SO upleasant and painful. Is it fun when He brings us through difficult trials to bring us back to Him? Nope. Unpleasant and painful. But what is the alternative? Do you know where I'd be without Him? Do you know how horrible my life would be without Him? And my ETERNITY without Him? *shudder* Oh, His discipline IS the gentle option.

So it is with us as parents. Our discipline is the gentle option, or else our children will grow to be unruly, disrespectful, disobedient... and unhappy adults. But also, practically speaking... if I'm being harsh, I'm getting in the way of my children actually seeing where they were wrong. If their eyes are HUGE because I'm wigging out over their 300th argument of the day, how can they see anything but my hissy fit and frustration? How can I ever get them to focus on their part in it all if they are just intimidated by Mom and thinking they don't want to cross me again?

I do think it is ok for our children to see us angry over their sin. God gets angry with us. But my discipline and my treatment of them should never be in the heat of my irritation or anger.

Sigh. I've failed miserably lately. Yeah, I know, the hormones aren't my fault and make things harder. I know you've all been there. But it doesn't excuse being a shrew. My hormones aren't their problem. It is mine.

Military Mommy has a great post that is along these lines, too. Her prayer at the end is so right on. It is wonderfully convicting and encouraging, all at the same time. Take the time to check it out.

Ahhh, the power of love and chocolate

For the past 2 or 3 days, I've not quite been myself. I've been really on edge with the kids, been having to force myself to talk, and very, very restless.

Hubby has commented several times about how "odd" I've been, and am I depressed? Nope, just in some kind of weird funk. A funk that I'd really like to get out of.

So tonight, after a few days of this, he was giving little affectionate touches as he'd walk past - a squeeze on the shoulder, a quick rub of the back, etc. Then he later put the kids in front of a Veggie Tales video and gave me some real 1:1 quality time as only a hubby can do. And then - he bought me some chocolate chip cookies.

And I tell you, after our quality time, I did feel a bit better. The funk started to lift, but would hit in waves. Very odd. I'm so weird! But then - about a half hour after the chocolate, wow, was the funk GONE.

I told dh that it is amazing what a little lovin' from the hubs and chocolate will do for a girl! And a little thought occurred to me... I'm due for my period in the next few days. So THAT'S what's wrong with me and why those things helped!

Sometimes, being a girl is just so... (what would you put in this blank?)

A little exercise in counting

As we were sitting at the table today over lunch, Sweetheart began picking up his pieces of food and counting them. Then we played a counting game that went like this:

Sweetheart: One!

Mommy: Two

Sweetheart: Three!

Mommy: Four

Sweetheart: Five!

Mommy: Six

Sweetheart: (paused, looked up at the ceiling in thought...) APPLE!!

Wordless Wednesday

This is my first entry, as I join the ranks of "Wordless Wednesday" participants...



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Shortcake's busy week!

The biggest news is that she is now ONE YEAR OLD!!! She had her birthday July 5th. Poor girl was too tired to enjoy her cake. So I forsee a reinactment one of these days. I want some good pics of her digging in!

She also experienced her first fireworks display. She sat on Grandpa's lap and STARED. She occasionally clapped and shrieked in delight. Very.cute. Boy, did it bring back memories of last year's experience at the fireworks show. I was doing my best impression of a hippo. I'm short - between 5'3" and 5'4", carrying my babies straight out front. People stared at me as I'd work my way up and down the concrete steps. The next day she was born, weighing 10 pounds, 10 ounces. See what I mean when I say hippo impression?

As if a birthday and your first fireworks weren't enough, she also started giving us kisses, saying "uh oh" and cut her 6th tooth. Oh yeah, and walking more and more. The week before, her walking to crawling ratio was probably 50:50. This week, we're looking at 75:25.

Dad affectionately calls her "Sookie," which you Gilmore Girl fans will recognize instantly. He says it in this special tone of voice that makes her grin. And although we hadn't seen my parents in about two weeks which made her look at him like... "I think I know you," she instantly threw herself at him when he did the "Sookie" thing. You could just see her little light bulb turn on.

And here I will leave you with a picture of Grandpa (my dad) and his "Sookie."

Friendly customer relations

Don't you just love it when a company goes the extra mile to be friendly and personable? It makes you feel so much less like just another number or another dollar sign, doesn't it? Takes you back to the good ol' days when people not only did business together, but also took care of each other. Ahhhh, the good ol' days.

But sometimes, you can try too hard. Like when I received this in the mail today...

"Welcome to your monthly mortgage statement."

Hmmm, if that were in a list of top ten least-likely-events-to-welcome-someone-to (this being number 10), what else would be in there?

9 Welcome to going to the prom with your first cousin.
8. Welcome to your first eye-gouging.
7. Welcome to totalling your car.
6. Welcome to stretch marks.
5. Welcome to identity theft.
4. Welcome to losing the superbowl. (Not a sports fan, but I hear that's awful.)
3. Welcome to bankruptcy.
2. Welcome to gray hair.
1. Welcome to root canals.