Double Digits

My baby turned 10. 

I need a minute...

My parents came for this momentous event. It took them 3 days to get here instead of the usual 2 since they ran into a blizzard in the UP of Michigan and the highway was closed down. But they still managed to arrive smiling and ready to party! 

And since I do a party every other year, this was the year. The theme she picked was "Board Games". 

We have a games night at church once a month that she lives for! I'm not a super board game lover - I just never really grew up with it. I was more of a Solitaire player myself (this was before iPhones, people). Anyway, a friend and fellow mom and I from church concocted this idea so that once a month our kids could get their healthy dose of board game playing and unhealthy snack food and so she and I could chat it up without getting interrupted.  

So this was the inspiration for the party and I was just fine with it. Set up a few tables with games, a table with snack foods, have some balloons to birthday it up a bit and we've got ourselves a party! 

She had been asking the last few years for a piñata at her party. I was doubtful we could manage this indoors, but after consulting with Wayne and being assured that he'd come up with something we went ahead with the idea. The old Little Tikes plastic baseball bat was brought in from the cold and found frozen and broken. Again I was doubtful it could provide the needed swing and whack to open the piñata up, but I was assured by Wayne that all it needed was some thawing and duct tape. Finally all that was left was to find a place to safely hang it and I was assured that the Martin Luther College lanyard would be perfect for it to dangle from. Let the party begin! 

The girls had a few games going and also made time for an impromptu round or two of musical chairs which was confusing to me but what the birthday girl wants, the birthday girl gets. Then it was finally piñata time! 

A line was formed and each girl was allowed two whacks at the thing before going to the back of the line. Those little, sweet looking girls were getting aggressive! As holes began showing in the cute cupcake cardboard, the excitement rose as we waited for the final hit that would pour forth treats. I had the bags ready and waiting for the girls to collect there treats in. 

How was I supposed to know that it was up to me to fill up?

Oops.

It was definitely a surprise! Not the kind I was going for, but hey! There sat the empty shell of what was a cardboard cupcake and it's bright coloured tissue paper strewn across the floor. No treats. Rats. 

So this will go down as "the birthday Mom forgot to fill the piñata". That may be so but how about those ice cream sundaes?! 

So what else is going on ... hhhhhhmmmmm... how about the snow? 

I couldn't even get to the mail box one day because of it all.  And it seems a little fishy that we keep getting bad weather on Wednesdays now that we have Lenten services that evening. Which proves my point that snow is from the devil. 

This is the time of year I daydream that someone gifts us a tropical vacation.

This is Zanna's first year in synchronized swimming. She's having a blast and recently participated in a competition. They had individual rounds along with their group performance. She placed silver in them all! Yay, Zanna!!! 

Now if only the temperature would hit double digits, maybe we'd celebrate with a piñata;)

VaLENTine's Day

 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends. John 15:13

I love how the secular holiday of Valentine's Day has overlapped with the sacred days of Lent. While card companies may use the excuse of cupid to shamelessly sucker people into buying sweet sentiments on expensive card stock, the focus of love on this day of paper hearts can be an opportunity to ponder the Greatest Love.

Our culture tells us that Valentine's Day - of all days - is a day to be wined and dined by the one who claims to love you. Restaurants are packed and cater to lovebirds that are looking for romantic in a  space of cutlery clinking on dishes and the hum of surrounding conversations. Christmas's sweets are barely finished when the heart-shaped boxes of chocolates enter the stores. And if you are really in a committed relationship, a trip to the jewelry store is a must. 

The stakes are high and the last thing we want is to be disappointed. I recall the early days of dating my hubby and the first years of marriage when we still tried to live up to these expectations of me expecting things and him obliging. And while giving gifts out of love is not wrong, our expectations and demands of love can be. 

My daughter's love language is gifts. This means she has spent hours on hand making Valentines for us and her grandparents. She has debated in her mind over and over what gifts she would buy or make for each of us. We can say continuously how she doesn't have to buy us anything but that is simply how she expresses her love. She gives. Which is where Lent comes in ...

Our Greatest Love gave too. He set aside His rightful position as Lord of Lords and King of Kings to come to earth in humble, human form to spend his time among humble, human sinners. He lived a perfect life that God demands but that we could never fulfil and gives us His robe of righteousness through the gift of faith.  He gave Himself up on the cross and took the punishment for our sins! He endured separation from God that we rightly earned from our fallen, sinful nature and called it ... finished. He continually gives us Himself through the Word that's preached, heard, read, and spoken. The giving continues in the Sacraments where faith is given in Baptism and He gives us His body and blood in the Lord's Supper to sustain our faith. 

All this He gives! 

God is LOVE.

What a different message than what we hear in this world! Our sinful flesh likes to be served. Our natural condition screams what about me? The culture's motto is you have to be happy first and love yourself before you can love others. 

God's message contrasts what the world claims. The message is big and bold and takes a leap of faith. We put our wants and desires aside just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many. Matthew 20:28
Out of faith and out of our thankfulness to Jesus, we keep giving of ourselves and trust God to provide for our wants and desires. 

We love because He first loved us. 1 John 4:18-20

 Instead of expectations and demands, what if we seek to meet the needs of those closest to us? Instead of looking out for me, we give what we have to them? This is a love that can never be disappointed. 

For the Love of Reading

I have this weird quirky thing about my calendar. I don't peek at the next month until it actually starts. I like the little surprise of how cute the picture is and what recipe is showcased for the month - not that I'll necessarily make it. But it's one of my little thrills in life so just let me have it, OK;)

So now it is February and I've been working hard on keeping my resolutions and reading my tail off! I was definitely feeling as though I needed to look at a screen less and concentrate on written words I could feel in my hands, appreciate in my soul and consider in my head. 

The Complete Stories of Flannery O'Conner - 

I had listened to a podcast that discussed the author and her life, writings and influences. Ironically, I had already ordered the book from the library after having seen it on another book list so this made my anticipation for it even greater! In the course of the podcast, the men discussing her work said something to the effect - you won't find her books at your local Christian book store. You won't see it filed under Christianity or even Spirituality in the local book store, but every Christian must read her. The themes that subtlety lie there amongst the words - some words that are very distracting to the reader in their connotations and bigoted characters - had the power to effect my emotions. I got to know these characters and instead of the writer winning me over with tales of "can't help but love them" personas, I was in fact disgusted by them. Until I realized ... I am no better. 

Essentialism  -

So I have this problem. I think everything is important. How can I say no? I see the value in almost every opportunity I have. I've no doubt they all have worth - whether it's filed under my role as wife, mother, homeschooler, pastor's wife, church member, homemaker, hairstylist/business owner, friend, neighbour, daughter, god-mother, blogger .... starting to get my drift? My life becomes chaotic and at the end of the day I've covered a mile wide but an inch deep. Not a good feeling. It's my desire to have the wisdom to know what's essential to spend my time and energy on and likewise, not to feel guilty about what I feel is nonessential and no longer zaps my time and energy. This book was picked in an effort to help me figure that out. I should probably read it again ...

Emma  - by Jane Austen

A classic. And yes, I own this edition with the hardback, fabric cover. It's all about the experience for me! I may read this one in my head with a British accent for effect. The trouble is, I've been working on this book for awhile. If I put it down and wait too long to pick it back up, I run the risk of forgetting the characters and who's who. I want to finish this book! Does Emma doom herself to a life of spinsterhood? What's up with Jane Fairfax? What are Frank's true intentions? These are all questions I am determined to find the answers to ... if I can just finish the book.

A Lifelong Love: How to Have Lasting Intimacy, Friendship, and Purpose in Your Marriage

February is all about the love! I haven't read a book on marriage for a long time because mine is so perfect. crickets chirping. OK, so it may not be because of that. I have a really good one though, and I still got a lot out of this book. It helped me recognize that we're doing a lot of things right - but that there's always room for improvement and weak spots to be aware of. It also helped me better see my own misunderstandings of marriage expectations and how I've been influenced by my culture. Of course, I would have preferred to "Lutheran" it up a bit with a whole section on the value of confession and absolution within the intimacy of marriage and what that looks like but I'm just going to have to add that in myself. 

Grace Abounds - the Splendor of Christian Doctrine

This is another book I've been reading forever. But it's not my fault. There's, like, a million pages. Ok, maybe not a million but there's a lot. And it's not brainless reading. I have to use my brain and it's hard! In order to get the most out of my reading, I usually have to take it in small chunks to stew on for awhile. But if you've ever had the pleasure of sitting at the feet of Professor Deutschlander, you know that it's totally worth it! This book is written for the common layperson who's ready to dig their heals into a greater understanding of truth as revealed in God's Word. 

Food for the soul.

As for the other part of my New Year's resolution, I am not doing as grand - that would be the cinnamon roll part. I have, however baked other things in my defence. I just haven't gotten to the cinnamon roll part. 

Food for the love handles.