It's All Doug's Fault

When it comes to check-out lane reading material, I am not a Time magazine type of gal; give me InStyle or Real Simple and I'm good. But the July 10th issue really caught my eye and I had to take a copy home with me - the cover said,

HOW YOUR SIBLINGS MAKE YOU WHO YOU ARE

Hm. So, here's some interesting quotes from the article...

"From the time they are born, our brothers and sisters are our collaborators and co-conspirators, our role models and cautionary tales. They are our scolds, protectors, goads, tormentors, playmates, counselors, sources of envy, objects of pride. They teach us how to resolve conflicts and how not to; how to conduct friendships and when to walk away from them. Sisters teach brothers about the mysteries of girls; brothers teach sisters about the puzzle of boys. Our spouses arrive comparatively late in our lives; our parents eventually leave us. Our siblings may be the only people we'll ever know who truly qualify as partners for life. 'Siblings', says family sociologist Katherine Conger of the University of California, 'are with us for the whole journey.'"

I was also comforted to read that childhood fights between siblings can be a good thing. I worry about Greg and Daniel because they seem to rarely have a peaceful moment. Doug and I barely fought at all - but then again, we were four years apart. So this quote cooled me down a little:

"...sibs between 3 and 7 years old engage in some kind of conflict 3.5 times an hour. Kids in the 2-4 age group top out at 6.3 - or more than one clash every 10 minutes..."

Don't I know it?!?!

"But as much as all the fighting can set parents' hair on end, there's a lot of learning going on too, specifically about how conflicts, once begun, can be settled."

Yeah, my kids haven't gotten that far yet. They can't settle a conflict without resorting to physical violence. (Our friend, Monty King, created this appropriate photo of my boys when we lived in Houston. )

I also want to mention at this point that their research showed that children with no siblings do just fine. There's no conclusive evidence that they struggle with social skills, or anything else for that matter!

There were other theories in the article that I won't go into here, especially one about men and homosexuality that was a big load of crap-ola. But the article in general made me thankful for my brother and for the little men in my house. No one knows you like your siblings. No one understands you like they do. Doug saw me through all my stages, all my highs and lows. He knows where I've been, where I've come from, because he was there.

I wonder what I'd be like today if we'd had a sister. Sometimes with groups of women I feel like I am just not "getting it" or I get bored with the "girlieness" of it all. Maybe that's because I didn't have a sister, I don't know. But I do think our siblings have a lot more to do with who we are than we ever realized.

Getting to Jesus, Part Two

"The Lord is my strength, my shield from every danger.
I trust in him with all my heart.
He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy.
I burst out in songs of thanksgiving."
Psalm 28: 7

The comments from my last post were so encouraging to me. I would open each comment a little cautiously, hoping not to be judged or given a list of more "rules" or religious activity (is that the clanging gong from 1 Corinthians 13 I hear??)

Thankfully, after writing that post last Sunday, everyone was pretty low-key in the house (I so love Sunday afternoons...) so I slipped outside and sat under a shady tree overlooking the lake with just my Bible and a journal. I tried so hard not to hurry myself or wonder if Aaron was needing my help. I just dove in and started writing to the Lord and let Him take me wherever.

It felt so good to be quiet for once. My life has a lot of noise. He does not shout, so I have to have this kind of moment to HEAR. I walked back into the house feeling full, feeling filled to the top.

Last night, I joined a friend at her church's Bible study for women and left, again, with a heart that felt like it'd had a long, cool drink. The leader gave us a couple minutes at the end to look up several verses and find one that "hit" right where we were. Mine was Psalm 27:9 (New Living Translation) -

"Do not hide yourself from me.
Do not reject your servant in anger.
You have always been my helpler.
Don't leave me now; don't abandon me,
O God of my salvation!"

That was where I was living at the time and David had captured exactly the way I was feeling. Thankfully, my heart was quiet enough to hear. Thank you, Lord.

Getting to Jesus

I was recently reading to Daniel from his little toddler Bible and a couple thoughts hit me...

In my own spiritual life, I've felt lately like Jesus is somehow just beyond my grasp. I feel there's obstruction between us and I can't communicate with Him like I used to. I check my heart in prayer to see if there is unconfessed sin lingering, or I blame it on the fact that I haven't really had "church" in months. I'm so tired of my excuses, tired of my laziness. Then I read these little Bible stories...

The story of Zaccheus and the story of the four friends who lowered their buddy down to Jesus through the roof were particularly meaningful to me. These guys did whatever it took to see the Savior, to see this man everyone was raving about. I felt like God was challenging me to do whatever it takes to have an intimate relationship with Him. I don't exactly know what that looks like, but I know it's about more than a set number of chapters read in His Word, or an hour of uninterrupted prayer at 6am.

It's being unconventional, like climbing trees or ripping off roof tiles. It's being bold and crazy like Peter to step out of a boat onto water - whatever it takes to be close to Him, to get to Jesus.
I'll keep you posted on my journey...

Jonathan is One Year Old!!

Jonathan wasn't a big fan of the cupcakes, but we all had a great time celebrating this past weekend. My parents, Doug and Kelli, and her parents were here visiting (more pics about that later!) and all the cousins came over, too.
Ohio State Buckeye paper....wonder who that's from??