Simple Truths

Homemade chocolate chip cookies can heal a broken heart, a boo-boo, or make a house a home.

There are 2 girls named Mary Lou in this picture and they could both rule the world.

(Hint:  one has red hair, the other, white)

Sometimes, when I witness an amazing sunset, I want to start applauding and yell, "Way to go, God!!"

Children are a good reminder of what pleases God. 

Not the selfish temper tantrums, but the ability to be so unassuming and take each day at a time...the way they find joy in the simplicity of life and believe in the unseen so easily...

Time.  Goes.  So.  Fast.  

When this lovely niece of mine was the age of that baby girl above, I had no idea I would blink and she'd be a senior in high school, ready to take on the world. 

Places I Love

 Kemah Boardwalk in Texas, near Galveston -- so many great memories with kids and our friends, the McBrides -- nice bangs, girl!

 

 This pool in Arizona -- it makes me happy -- and makes me miss Beth W!

this house we rented with extended family in Panama City Beach, FL

Mexico Beach, FL

 this family cabin in northern Wisconsin

 fireworks over Green Lake

 my boys on Green Lake

 Mexico

 my parents' living room

 my classroom!  

cabin in Wisconsin

Haiku!! (Poetry Thursday)

Okay, my students are reaallly looking forward to the end of April.  It's hard to find those as enthusiastic as I am about poetry.  Ah, well. 

But haiku?  That was a hit this week.  A short form of poetry anyone can do!  YES! 

Quick lesson:  A haiku is 3 lines of unrhymed poetry, with 5 syllables in the first line, 7 in the second, and 5 in the last line.  Also, it is written in present tense -- gives it a good punch.

Here are two of mine:

April

Dirty skies above
Squishy mud under my feet
Oh spring, where are you?

Aaron

Tall man in the woods
Looking for a deer to kill
So cute in camo   :)

Stuff I Love - April

I love those editorial letters where the writer shares her favorite three things for the month. 

So allow me to be a bit of a copycat here....

Let's get the girly beauty product out of the way first. 

I have thick, unruly hair and this heat protectanct spray rocks my world.  I spray it in especially before using a flat iron.  It's light, but conditioning.  Others I've tried have either been too stinky, or feel heavy on my hair.

Adventures in Odyssey!  Have you started your own collection yet?  I think they are as necessary in my house as Pepperidge Farm Goldfish.  I mean, my kids LOVE these stories.  We listen to them everyday in the car on the way to school and a couple boys in my house have been known to play with Legos in their rooms while listening to Odyssey for looooong periods of time.  Divine.

This Adventure Bible is so amazing.  I looked at it in the library at school today and fell in love.  It's written in a comic book format so each page has brilliant illustrations.  You can find it here with a great promo video about it at the bottom.  Again, a must-have if you have boys in your house!

Singing Tonight

I've really honored tonight to sing with Brady Toops - the dude in this video. He grew up in this area and recently released an album called "A Little More Love." (The first single "Can't Stop Lovin" is on itunes!) He makes his home in Nashville and Kansas City, writing songs and heading out to sing/speak wherever the Lord calls him.

I teach with his Dad, George, and we've led worship together for chapels every now and then. George asked me to help Brady with background vocals tonight at a free concert at the Evangelical Free Church in Willmar. I pray it's a great night of worship!

Speed-Reading over the Weekend

Yes, I succumbed to the hype of this book.  I've seen it in Wal-Mart, Target, everywhere for weeks now.  It's hit #1 on the non-fiction bestseller list.  And still.  I wasn't sure.

Do you ever wonder if people write books just to make money? 

Do you ever wonder if people use their own God-given children to make money?

When did I become so cynical?  Sorry. 

But once I read a short exerpt of this book, I was too curious to put it down.  Little Colton goes into surgery for a ruptured appendix and ends up having a spiritual experience no one can explain away.

He talks about meeting his sister -- not the one on earth, Cassie, but his sister who "died in Mommy's tummy" and told Colton it was okay because she was "adopted by God." Colton had never been told about his Mom's miscarriage, and yet here was this preschooler describing how she lived forever with Jesus. 

There are so many stories like this that I just can't shake as "made-up" and slick. 

Could it be possible that God is using children -- honest, unassuming children -- to help our generation wake up to the fact that Jesus is real and Heaven is a real place?  And could it be possible that the enemy of our souls is also hard at work, trying to make us believe Hell is only a figment of our imaginations?

the power of Easter in two minutes

This is Amena Brown. She is a poet, performing in churches and youth conventions across the country.

"In the Beginning" sounds like all scripture at first, but then blends beautifully into a poem about our Savior.

Hallelujah! Death defeated forever!

Gethsemane by Mary Oliver - Poetry Thursday

Gethsemane

The grass never sleeps.
Or the roses.
Nor does the lily have a secret eye that shuts until morning.

Jesus said, wait with me.  But the disciples slept.

The cricket has such splendid fringe on its feet,
and it sings, have you noticed, with its whole body,
and heaven knows if it ever sleeps.

Jesus said, wait with me.  And maybe the stars did, maybe
the wind wound itself into a silver tree, and didn't move,
 maybe
the lake far away, where once he walked as on a
blue pavement,
lay still and waited, wild awake.

Oh the dear bodies, slumped and eye-shut, that could not
keep that vigil, how they must have wept,
so utterly human, knowing this too
must be part of the story.

Clothes for "In-Between"

I frequently find myself lamenting to friends about the lack of great clothes for "our age."

What is "our age?"

• No longer in college, but not collecting social security....
• Unable to convince strangers we are "29 and holding" but not wearing support hose...
• Loving the current trends and styles, but too old to pull them ALL off, ALL of the time....

What's a girl to do?  A girl without a $1,000 monthly clothing budget?

I don't have a lot of answers.  I will tell you some places I love and please tell me yours.  We will be cool and we will be our age.  That is our creed, my friends.

 First, I must start this conversation with Ann Taylor Loft.  I know, I know, PRICEY. 

 I agree whole-heartedly.  But I have found they usually have some great sales in-store and online.  

 Right now, they are having a 40% sale on your entire purchase!  That's a sweet deal! What I love about Loft are the classic quality pieces that work together so well.  I also love the "Julie" fit, which helps girls with birthing hips like myself. :)

Did you know Loft gives discounts to teachers?!  I can print off my 15% coupon online, bring it in with my school ID, and BAM!  It's Christmas in July!

  I wish I'd known about this before my recent shopping trip...sigh...

And how about role models?  Who in your life (or in Hollywood) do you feel dresses her age, while looking groovy at the same time?  For me, Reese Witherspoon (age 35, thankyouverymuch) always looks polished and trendy, not dressing like she's 15 or showing too much skin.

Okay, one last question.  Where do you shop?  Have you found some fun things at Target?  Old Navy?  Or are you a Gap girl?  A Maurices maven?  

I'll be the first to admit it's hard to buy clothes for yourself when your kids are growing faster than you can say "CHILDREN'S PLACE!" but we can't put ourselves at the very bottom of the pile.  

You go, girl!  We're all in this together.

Sunday Funnies

My First Love

Can I get a witness?

My 8th grade students are presenting reports on favorite authors and today one girl brought in the complete set of Little House on the Prairie books.  It had once belonged to her mother, and it was the exact same set I used to love as a child.  Anyone else remember those pale yellow covers?  The Harper Collins editions of the 80s?  I know, I'm old.

What is it about those books? 

They even had the same SMELL. 

(Yes, I stick my nose in books literally sometimes.) 

 It was thrilling. 

 

How Poetry Comes to Me by Gary Snyder

How Poetry Comes to Me

It comes blundering over the
Boulders at night, it stays
Frightened outside the
Range of my campfire
I go to meet it at the
Edge of the light

Roses are Red, Violets are Blue, I'm Excited about National Poetry Month, Aren't YOU!?!

You are all so kind to keep reading this blog, even when I turn all Mrs. Reid on you. 

So, here is what makes me happy right now:

I think enthusiasm is MANDATORY for teachers, and you can bet I've been a bit "enthused" about National Poetry Month.  Thursday the kids get to pick a poem from this cool book and keep it in their pocket like a secret treasure for the day. 

The point of this day (started in NYC in 2004) was to share poetry with friends and family throughout the day.  Sounds good to me.  What poem will you choose?

If you need ideas, hop on over to http://www.poets.org/ for pocket-size poems to print out.  How cool is that?





Holding on to Strawberry Shortcake...

Why?  Because I know we will probably have "princess" parties for the next couple of years!  Here's a glimpse of our celebration of Baby Girl's 3rd birthday when we were in the great state of Ohio for Spring Break -  

Ah, the joy of a store-bought cake...

No one told me girls grow faster than boys.  What's up with that?  I plan on taking her 3rd year verrry slowly.  

Talking to Kids about Death

This is not a conversation I ever wanted to have with my kids.  I was hoping they'd all be 8 or 9 or older when death became real to them -- and we'd be able to communicate truth in a way they could understand.

But the hard reality is that death is just as much a part of our world as the sunrise and the sunset.  We are living in a creation that is broken and needs redemption.  Death and separation will one day be a distant memory, but for now, we have to make sense of it as best we can with our children.

Spring and Easter are great times to talk about life and death -- seasons and changes.  As they see the snow melt and the grass appear once more, you can use these visual, tangible elements to make connections.

But it's never easy, that's for sure.  Just this morning, on the way to school, I check out my baby boy Jonny in the mirror and he's blinking too fast, lips pouting in a way I'm all too familiar with.

"Jon Michael, what's wrong?"

(sniffing) "I'm really gonna miss you when you die, Mom."

(me falling apart inside) "Aw, buddy, you don't have to worry about that!  Mommy's not gonna die for a very long time!"  (please please please Jesus please please Jesus)


"But I'm gonna miss you and Daddy when you die..." (Oh help us all, he's wiping his eyes now....)

"Buddy, you listen now.  When someone dies, it just means you don't see them for awhile.  But since we both have Jesus in our hearts and we love Him so much, it means we'll be together FOREVER someday!!"

Sometimes being a mother is just impossible, isn't it?  You don't have the answers that make the tears stop; you don't have the magic words that make everything okay.

What matters is that Christ at the center, always the center.  He's writing my kids' life stories.  Not me.  When (not if) they go through dark tunnels of pain or confusion, He's there.  He will glorify Himself and He will redeem all that the enemy has meant for evil.  Amen and Amen!

Poetry Thursday

First Lesson
by Philip Booth

Lie back, daughter, let your head
be tipped back in the cup of my hand.
Gently, and I will hold you.  Spread
your arms wide, lie out on the stream
and look high at the gulls.  A dead-
man's-float is face down.  You will dive
and swim soon enough where this tidewater
ebbs to the sea.  Daughter, believe
me, when you tire on the long thrash
to your island, lie up, and survive.
As you float now, where I held you
and let go, remember when fear
cramps your heart what I told you:
lie gently and wide to the light-year
stars, lie back, and the sea will hold you.

Tim Hawkins - GPS

Good Pages

I don't normally have much luck with "Christian" fiction (or films for that matter....see yesterday's post :)

Either I just don't get drawn into the story enough to stick with it, or I don't get into the genre, or frankly, the writing stinks.  But something about this book pulled me in.  

Travis Thrasher.  Where have you been?  This is a love story/mystery that also dealt with the world of publishing.  English geek that I am, it really intrigued me.

I don't know why I've never heard of him.  He's written over a dozen books.  Well, you can bet I'll be spreading the word!

If you have kids, go get this little gem right now.  Now!  It's a book of poetry with a CD of most of the poems (over 50!) read by the authors.  I can't tell you how jazzed I was to find this.

Some of the highlights:

Langston Hughes reading "The Negro Speaks of Rivers"

Rita Dove's voice

Billy Collins reading "On Turning Ten"

Roald Dahl's voice

And it's really not just for little kids.  These are fantastic poems for K-12 kids, seriously. In my classes,  I'm sharing each Friday one of my favorite tracks from the CD.  WooHoo!  (I know, I'm weird.)

Who Moved My Cheese?

Tonight we watched a movie after dinner - The Secret of Jonathan Sperry.  It was a Christian film, which I usually dread because of ....how do I put this?

Cheese, folks.  Mozzarella.  Gorgonzola.  You get the picture.  I just can't handle it.  Taking the sacred and holy and mixing it with Colby, Swiss, and Cheddar....ok, enough.

But because I have children under the age of 10 (for a few weeks, anyway) and entertainment choices are limited, we put it in.  I was cringing to myself during certain scenes, but the beautiful thing is that my children are still innocent and young enough to be cheese-proof!  They were listening.  And I was feeling guilty for my snobbish ways.

In the film, a young boy becomes quite bold in telling others about Jesus and the importance of reading the Bible.  When the boys went to bed, A. read the Bible with them and they talked about the movie some more.

A few minutes after they were tucked and in bed, D. came up the stairs.

"I don't feel good," he said.  This reminded me of when I was little and whenever the Holy Spirit spoke to me, I felt like I was going to puke.  Weird, but true.  Do you need a bucket or do you need to obey God??

We encouraged him to go in our room and ask God what He might be saying to him tonight.  He came back after about 30 seconds :)

"God wants me to tell people about Him when I am older," he said.  We talked through that some more ("You don't have to wait until you're older!") and prayed with him.  And then after he went to bed, G. comes up and we go through the whole thing again.  He didn't share the same things as D., but he was definitely feeling some emotions.

Do I think God just called D. into the ministry?  I don't know.  Perhaps.

What I DO know is that God is writing the story of my children's lives.  I would like to write it myself, but I know that's not best.  Can God use a so-called cheesy Christian movie to move the hearts of my children?

Absolutely.

I really have to start getting out of God's way sometimes.