GUEST POST: The Wisdom of Wisdom Teeth

You may remember earlier this year, Alison Bogue bestowed upon us one of her fabulous stories. She has again agreed to share one with us. And, let me tell you, this one will make you smile...or laugh out loud. Let's see which...

The Wisdom of Wisdom Teeth
Guest Post from Alison Bogue

The Dad had his wisdom teeth removed. As a good wife, I went with him. It was the first “operation” in our marriage. I was all prepared to be a wonderful wife and care for my sweet husband when he needed me the most. In my mind, I would be The Dad’s Florence Nightingale. 
I was not a nurse or any form of medical professional. I don’t know what drugs they gave people for this “surgery”, but it was good stuff. They brought The Dad to me in a wheelchair and helped me get him in the car.
“Here’s his prescription. Have a good day,” The nurse told me as she waved good-bye.
I thought it would be easy. We’d go to the pharmacy, get his medicine, and go home. He would rest and I would sit by his bedside. The perfect caring wife. I thought everything would be fine.
“You stay here and I’ll be right back,” I told The Dad as I got out of the car at the pharmacy. You must remember, I was young and didn’t know the things I know now. I should have locked The Dad in the car for my sanity...I mean his safety. But, The Dad got out of the car, too. So, we walked into the store. I wasn’t paying a lot of attention as we walked to the pharmacy in the back. The Dad was a toucher, still is actually. He is also very long-limbed. Because of our height difference, his hand is level with my backside.
There was an elderly man waiting at the pharmacy. I noticed he kept staring at The Dad and I. Why?
“I love you, Baby,” The Dad said drunkenly as he kissed the side of my head. That was when I realized where his hand was sitting. That might not be so bad, except I was heavily pregnant with Girl 1. No wonder the older man was staring.
Because God has a sense of humor, the medicine took about 15 minutes. I told The Dad to sit down while we waited, but he refused. “Let’s look around.” The Dad insisted as he walked beside me. His hand never once left my backside. He would randomly stop and repeat his acclimations of love and bestow kisses on my head.
Obviously interested, the elderly man followed us through the store. I was sure I would die of embarrassment. But I didn’t. Eventually, The Dad’s medicine was ready and we finally left.

Moral: Never shop with your husband when he’s on pain medication.

Grace to you...

by Lindsay Marlow

I just started reading this devotional in YouVersion (21 Days of Grace for the Pace). A friend invited me to read it with her, and WOW! God has really been using it to speak to me! It’s amazing how he works! Today this verse was high lighted:

"Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." 
 Ephesians 1:2

This is how every epistle (apostolic letter) in the New Testament starts off, or something to this effect. We sort of skip over this part when we’re reading, because it’s just sort of seen as a greeting.

The past few days, I have let anger, fear, and bitterness creep up in my heart. I couldn’t really hear from God because of my anger. Sometimes it’s hard to ignore our feelings, but we do have to choose to open ourselves up to Him. Forgive me, Father! I am BEYOND grateful that He does love me as His child, and He forgives me and has grace. Loves me NO matter what.

Just convicted about my own daughter while writing this. She can be so angry with me over something that I know is ridiculous, like not getting the toy she wanted at the mall, even though she just got a new dress, necklace, and shoes for the Daddy/Daughter dance.

I’m sure God sees us the same way, but has so much love, grace, and understanding.

When we close ourselves off to Him, He knows it’s to our own detriment, because we will not have that peace that only He can give. I bet he sees us and is saddened. Father, help me extend this same wisdom and understanding toward my child and stop acting like a child myself!

Grace and peace to you, my sister in the faith!

MARY: From Comfort to Courage

We have been having a great time on Wednesday nights in the MOMS TO MOMS Bible Study. If you find you are needing connection (fellowship) and some Jesus (without homework), come join us! Childcare provided.

But I am off-topic. We are working our way through this study - "Twelve Women of the Bible: Life-Changing Stories For Women Today". This last week, we watched our video speaker talk on Mary, the Mother of Jesus. And some of the things she said continued to resonate with me throughout the week.

First of all, Mary is perhaps the most notable woman in history. But she was a simple teenager in a culture that did not value women as equals. She was ordinary, but she was called to an extraordinary task. The Bible is filled with examples of people who are strikingly plain, or even, like Moses with his simple speech or even perhaps speech impediment, challenged in some way...but it is not our ability God is after, it is truly our availability.

How could Mary have fathomed what God was asking of her? Maybe her youth was a blessing. But what she did know, would ask her to walk an impossibly difficult road. A young unmarried woman in first-century Palestine...asking her parents, her fiance, her small town to believe she carried the Messiah. Yeah. That's gonna fly.

But she didn't concern herself with that. She replied "I am the Lord's servant. May it be to me as you have said."

She gave herself over to God's plan for her life, trusting Him for the outcome. Trusting His goodness in the midst of what she would face. What courage!

This is the kind of courage that acts despite consequences, pain, hurt, anger, or fear.

How often do we let life happen to us instead of walking into courage? Because courage is hard. Courage is not truly the absence of fear. It is acting in spite of fear.

And when God calls us to great things, He may very well call us to step out of comfort, to leave those places we feel safe, and step into a courageous faith. This kind of "may it be" courage may cause you to doubt your God-given abilities, maybe look for an easy way out, or even doubt the author of the call.

We may very well be misunderstood, but God is our truth and freedom. And He walks with us every step of the way. When it comes to saying "yes" or turning away from that "may it be" courage, may we remember that He goes before us and hems us in behind. Scripture promises us this.

Have you had such a time when you told God "may it be" and yielded a new part of your heart, future, or life to His will? What was the outcome?

The Family Watering Hole

Hey, mommas! I have a treat for you today. Our very own Alison Bogue is a bit of a writer. Well, more than a bit. She is gifted with both word and humor. And I know many, probably all, of us can relate with her stories. She has graciously offered to share a few of her writings with us here on the blog. This is the first. So, I will get out of the way and let you all enjoy the talent of Mrs. Alison Bogue...

The Family Watering Hole
by Alison Bogue

I was pregnant with Girl 3. When you stay home all day with four small children, you start to hallucinate. You sometimes forget that those little beings need constant supervision. You live in chaos and noise. Sounds begin to blur and so does your vision. Then you suddenly realize, things are quiet and two are not in the room with you.
I walked into the hallway with Boy 2 on my hip. He was one of those babies that had to be constantly attached or they scream. I looked at the various doors. One was closed. It was the bathroom, of course. I heard noises behind the door.
I slowly opened the door and saw Girl 2, who was three, giving a cup of water to Boy 1, who was two.  He drank some and she went to refill it for him…from the potty.
“What are you doing?” I asked in utter disbelief. What on Earth had possessed the child?!
“Don’t worry, Mama. I’m not drinking it. I’m just giving it to him.” Girl 2 made this statement so matter-of-factly. Sometimes she says things that just make me stare at her. She’s truly amazing…and unpredictable.
“You shouldn’t be giving it to him either!” I explained. I took both of them out of the bathroom. After I deposited Boy 2 in a playpen, I washed Boy 1’s mouth with soap. I then spent the next twelve hours trying not to think of septic poisoning and staring at Boy 1 constantly for signs of it.

Moral: Never leave a bathroom door unlocked with unpotty-trained children in the house.

In the midst of the mess

Don't you just love reading the genealogy of Jesus? I mean every year when mom or dad would read the Christmas story, I begged them to read that long list of strange names over again...said no child EVER!

It wasn't until in my adulthood that I was bold enough to...skip it. Then my attitude began to change a little bit. I mean, if it's in Scripture, it's there for a reason. Certainly, I've heard sermons about how it was significant for the people of the day. But it's got to have some significance for me, too, right? I mean, Scripture says:

For the Word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between bone and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.  (Hebrews 4:12)

So, what exactly is God trying to say to me in this list of hard-to-pronounce names? Only a few of which I even recognize?

Well, I looked at it with fresh eyes. See, I'm challenging myself to read through the Chronological Bible this year, but with a twist. I am starting in December, and reading through the New Testament first. So, I'm starting right here with Christ's birth and ministry.

And as I take this fresh approach to the genealogy and try not to glaze over as I look over these verses, the names of the women pop out. Now, I've heard sermons on these verses that point out that the women included were significant to the Jewish people of this time. For their sins or for their faithfulness. First, because it shocked them that women would be named at all, and second that sinful women would be given such an honor.

And it goes farther than that as I look over these names (which are blurring together at this point...I'll be honest)...one name seems to jump off the page - Tamar.

Her story is not like Ruth's. I didn't hear it in Sunday School growing up. I've actually never heard a sermon preached about the woman either. But I have read her story. And it is not pretty to be sure.

This accounting is found in Genesis 38. I'll go ahead and give you to real quick Inter-local Sara Version:

There was Judah and his wife. They had three sons: Er, Onan, and Shelah. 

Er married Tamar, but he was not a nice man, in fact the Bible says he was "a wicked man in the LORD's sight" so the Lord took his life. 

Now in this culture, if a woman doesn't have a child by her husband, the brother takes the widow as his wife and the firstborn of their union is considered the brother's child/heir so that the dearly departed's name will continue.

Well, Onan wasn't such a nice guy either. He made sure he didn't get Tamar pregnant. God did not like that. So he took Onan's life.

Now Judah is watching all of this from the outside. Must've been a little bit of a helicopter parent in him...a little "can't be my boy's fault" attitude (Sara's thought intrusion here). But, the Bible says that he (Judah) told Tamar to go back to her father's house until Shelah was old enough to marry her. But he had no intention of letting his little boy marry the husband-killer.

Now, Tamar waited. And she was no dummy. When Shelah had reached a proper age and Judah wasn't calling her on the ram-horn phone, she got the picture pretty quick. So, she disguised herself and sat by the road and waited for Judah by the side of the road. This gets a little weird...

Judah came by and something about the way she covered her face made her appear like a "lady of the night" if you get my drift. So, Judah propositioned her. They agreed her payment would be a goat.

"How do I know you will send me the goat?"

"Well, I'm all out of IOUs at the moment."

"How about you give me your driver's license? I know you'll come back for that."

"Seems fair to me."

So...afterward, he goes and gets the goat and can't find her. He decides to just let her have the driver's license. He'll just brave the line at the DMV and get another one.

Fast-forward three months, Tamar is pregnant. And Judah hits the roof. "Bring her out and burn her!"

But she said, "The man who made me pregnant gave me his ID."

"Oh yeah?"

She showed him and he was overcome with shame. "She is more righteous than I because I would not marry her to my son which was right."

What a story, huh? But the point I am making is that while it is a wild story, God used Tamar ultimately to bring about His will on earth. He took her mess and blessed it. He took what little she had and used it to glorify Himself.

God SEES you. He SEES your mess. And your tiredness. And those days you are at the end of your rope.

He longs to embrace you and assure you that He is working out a beautiful story in the midst of your mess. And it will be glorious!

Sometimes when you feel like you have been buried by laundry, and diapers, and dishes, and car lines all the other things that come with being mom - your heavenly Father sees you...and He is working in you...you haven't been buried at all - you've been planted.

So, this Christmas season, let's take the time the look at that list of Christ's ancestors and celebrate the fact that God is in the business of redeeming stories and using lives despite our hang ups.

And for that, I am so thankful.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like...CRAZINESS!!!

I don't know if this is you...but I tend to be an extremely organized person. Now, don't click the exit button! And, please, don't be hating. It's come from years of being frantic and chaotic with littles and just a desperate need to, well, get things in order. Maybe to my own detriment sometimes.

But we are entering the Christmas Season...a time to slow down and reflect, a time to sit and just be still with our families...right? Maybe. Sounds nice. Wish it were that easy for the mamma who has five loads of laundry, packing, baking, shopping, wrapping, nursing the infant, feeding the toddler, and keeping them alive basically.

Where am I going? Even my little organized space and calendar are cluttered with "go here's" and "do that's". And I'm desperately trying to keep some "white space" in my calendar so I can have a silent night at least once this season.

"I need a Silent Night..." Do you know this song by Amy Grant? It has felt so true the past couple of Christmas seasons for me. All the hustle and bustle of the season is easy to get lost in. Going here, running there, making sure the traditions happen on time and in camera range, not to mention the daily grind of home and hearth.

There is a part of the song that goes "Did my own mother keep this pace, or was the world a different place?" And I gotta say...I don't think my mom did. I think she had some of it. But I believe that as time has gone by, more and more is expected of us moms. There are more programs, more TV channels, Pinterest...the bar has been raised. The word is a different place. Times seemed much simpler when I was a kid with three channels to watch and we spent most of our time playing in the snow.

There's another song that gets to me every year this season - "Welcome to Our World". There are several versions of this song, but my favorite is probably by Michael W. Smith. "Hope that You don't mind our manger...how I wish we could have known..."

How do I not only catch the Christmas spirit and find time to keep my family in the joy of the season, buy also teach them about the reason for the season? That is of utmost importance to me and my husband. Even  more so as this world continues on it's current trajectory.

The song goes "Bring your peace into our violence, bid our hungry souls be filled. World now breaking Heaven's silence...welcome to our world..." Is anything more true than this? His peace into our violence. Look around you...what could we need more than peace? Love? Joy? All the things that God promises will come as a wellspring of His presence in us.

"So, wrap our injured flesh around You, breathe our air and walk our sod, rob our sins and make us holy, perfect Son of God...welcome to our world..."

So, ask Him...Lord, give me the space to BE STILL with You this season. To slow down with my family. There's no way I can make this happen on my own. But I believe He can. And I know He wants to.

What's that word again?

Hey, sweet mommas! Y'all out there? I have been soooo delayed getting blog posts out, but things are slowing down (right before the holidays speed them up again, I'm sure). And I am determined that I will be more consistent with the blog (twice a month is my goal).

There is something I have been mulling over today...DISCIPLINE.

Now I know some of you are looking for somewhere hide and maybe some of you are reaching for the exit button. But this will not be a drawn out post about how to discipline your children. There are so many ideas out there, so many voices trying to tell you what is best, what's right, and what is what, right?

On that topic, I always fall back on this truth: you know your children best and God gave them to you on purpose...and, as you seek His wisdom, trust that, while you may make mistakes (we all do), His grace is sufficient, and He is walking with you...so, don't be afraid to do the best you can with the information you have.

But the thing I've been thinking over and over about discipline is not about my kiddos, it's about me. And my relationship with God.

We all have seasons in our walk with Him that He, as a good Father, knows we need correction. For the sake of our character, our growth. And He will do it. For our best interest.

"No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. later on, however, it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." ~ Hebrews 12:11

Now, I'm not saying all things that are painful in your life are the Hand of God. But not all pain is a bad thing. Pain lets us know that something is amiss...something is wrong. That a part of us needs attention, needs healing - be that physical, emotional, or spiritual.

But, take heart - "The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." ~ Psalm 34:18 and "Just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ." ~ 2 Corinthians 1:5

"Our comfort is abundant"...I like that. His Spirit is the Great Comforter, able to minister to us in times of pain, grief, and, yes, even discipline, when we need Him the most.

And, I have been known to say that "God doesn't waste a hurt." I know He doesn't. Even these momma struggles with our littles. Piles of laundry, loads of dishes, the monotony of meals and bedtimes, and the lack of sleep. God will bless it. God is blessing it...producing and growing you in ways you cannot imagine. Blessing your littles (and bigs) in ways you cannot fathom.

Trust Him. Trust His plan. It is for good.