Thankfulness

It has recently occurred to me that I have fallen out of the habit of being thankful for the blessings in my life. When we fail to acknowledge what we have been blessed with, we miss a key element in our relationship with our creator. And, after all, what else is thankfulness about but truly giving thanks to God? I'm sure just being randomly grateful to some cosmic force has some sort of therapeutic effect, but God designed us to have a relationship with Him. He is the one that brings blessings into our lives and He is the one who deserves our thanks. Giving Him the thanks He deserves brings us into a closer relationship with Him, and nothing can be more therapeutic than that! It also causes us to look beyond ourselves and our trials and realize that, no matter how bad we may feel about our circumstances, there is always something to be grateful for. Corrie ten Boom shared a story in The Hiding Place about her sister encouraging her to give thanks to God in all things, even when life seems at its darkest. Corrie's sister was encouraging her to be thankful, even for the fleas that infested the barracks where they were imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp during the Holocaust. At the time, Corrie couldn't see past the discomfort caused by the fleas or imagine any possible good in them to be thankful for, but she heeded her sisters' wise counsel and gave thanks to God, even for the fleas in a concentration camp barracks. It wasn't until sometime later that they discovered how repulsed their guards were by those same fleas, refusing to enter the barracks because of them. The guards' refusal to enter the barracks allowed Corrie and her sister the freedom to hold prayer meetings and study the Bible with their fellow prisoners. Even in the midst of seemingly insurmountable trials, we can always find a reason to give thanks to God. All we have to do is look. And when we choose this mindset over the mindset of defeat, we can find the strength to keep moving forward. With that in mind, I intend to spend the next week or two sharing my thoughts on some of the people in my life for whom I am thankful. When considering people that we are grateful for, I think most of us would find it quite natural to begin with family, which is exactly what I plan on doing. Starting tomorrow, a celebration of the family that molded me into the person I am today! Psalm 106:1  "Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord , for he is good; his love endures forever. "

"Put Prayer Back In Our Schools!"

For years I have been troubled by e-mail forwards that call Christian parents to fight to have prayer "put back in our schools". These e-mails often perpetuate the claim that Christian children in public schools are not permitted to pray before they eat their lunch or take a test, that it’s not okay for a group of Christian students to gather before school or during recess for a prayer time and that a Christian student choosing to read their Bible or share their faith with a fellow student during non-instructional time will land in some serious hot water. While it most certainly is true that many school administrators and district officials have misinterpreted the law and have claimed that these activities are forbidden, our children, in fact, have every right to engage in these activities! When prevailed upon by an e-mail forward to help to petition our government to put prayer back in our schools, my response is generally this, “I will not petition our government to put prayer back in our schools because prayer has never been removed from our schools!” Is it not bad enough that we have secular officials working against us, trying to deny our children their religious freedom? Christian parents should not help to perpetuate this misconception! We must be informed and help our children to be bold in standing up for their faith, and their constitutional right to practice and profess that faith. In fact, what leads parents and school officials alike to the false conclusion that prayer has been entirely removed from our schools is a series of Supreme Court decisions forbidding devotional prayer and Bible reading led by teachers or school officials. According to an article on the Answers in Genesis website, “The First Amendment to the United States Constitution, contained in the Bill of Rights, says that there may be no establishment of religion by the Government. ‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.’ The government may not favor one religion over another, or as now interpreted by the courts, may not favor religion over non-religion. This provision of the Constitution is applied to states as well as to the federal Government.” Why am I okay with this? I have no desire to have any school employee leading my children in a prayer or Bible reading which that person may have no understanding of themselves. If a teacher, required to share a Bible reading or a morning prayer, has no interest in or understanding of the God of which they are reading or to whom they are praying, the reading or prayer will be entirely devoid of meaning and is more likely to cause harm and confusion to impressionable young listeners. If, rather, the school allows for a moment of silence at the start of the school day and my child chooses to spend that moment in prayer, that time will have real meaning to my child. My other primary reason for being glad that public schools are not permitted to endorse any religion is that they are not permitted to endorse any religion. If we petition our government to allow, or even require, faculty led religious teaching in the schools, we have to be prepared for them to include the teaching of religious beliefs that we do not want to have taught to our children. The religious education of my children is my husband’s and my own responsibility and I, for one, have no desire to have the public school system mucking around in that arena. They delve too far into that territory as it is with their determination to teach our children their own interpretation of the origin of the universe.
Having spoken my peace on the subject of what sort of prayer has, in fact, been removed from our schools, let me now emphasize what sort of prayer has not been removed. As stated in the AiG article, “The First Amendment not only bars the establishment of religion by the state, it also guarantees that individual Americans have the right to the free exercise of their religion (or non-religion). ‘Congress shall make no law prohibiting the free exercise (of religion].’ Public school children, being citizens of America, also have a right to the free exercise of their religion--even in the public schools.” We began emphasizing to our oldest daughter when she was in kindergarten that no one at school may tell her that she cannot take a moment to pray while at school, as long as it is not disruptive, after she came home upset that a teacher had not allowed her to pray. If anyone tried to tell her that again, we said, we would be requesting a conference. Now in her first year of high school, that same daughter is bold in professing her faith at school and is preparing to initiate meetings (with school approval and a staff sponsor) of a student Bible study. Christian parents, we must be aware of our student’s rights when it comes to the free exercise of their faith at school. Instead of cowering before those who would have us believe that any expression of faith is forbidden, we must empower our children with the knowledge that they can and should be bold in expressing that faith! Our daughter has certainly encountered her share of persecution from other students. My heart aches for her at times, when she feels like an outcast because of her faith. She even considered hiding that faith when she entered high school, but quickly realized that, above all else, she wanted to be true to her Savior. Her father and I are so proud of her bold determination to let everyone see what role God plays in her life, in spite of how some may react. We know that her most difficult battles may still be ahead, but we are prepared to stand and fight with her, if necessary, for her constitutional right to openly profess her faith at school.

Mr. Fix-It

The other day, when my 13-year-old tried to run our garbage disposer, it quit working. Just died for no apparent reason. Although I consider myself fairly handy, I have no experience with garbage disposers, whatsoever. So I pulled the ol' "We'll let Daddy deal with it when he gets home" line. Accordingly, when our hero arrived home that evening, we heaved our garbage disposer woes onto his capable shoulders.

DH: "Have you checked the electrical panel?"

Me: "No, I hadn't even though of that." So I ran out to the panel while he waited in the kitchen. No breakers were tripped, but I reset the appropriate one anyway, just in case. Back in the kitchen, no result.

DH: "There should be a reset button on the disposer itself somewhere, feel around and see if you can find one"

So I got down on my hands and knees under the sink and felt around for a reset button. Sure enough, there is a button at the bottom of the unit, and when I pushed on it, it clicked in. We tried the disposer again...it worked!

My darling daughter responded with a great cheer, "YAY, Daddy!"

Yes, he truly is amazing. He never touched the disposer or anything and STILL he managed to fix it! Are you not impressed? Join with me now...

For he's a jolly good fellow....

Heeeeeere's Heidi...

The time has come to confess to my secret life. Yes, I am a stand up comedian. I performed this evening to an incredibly receptive and appreciative audience. I did about a ten minute routine on the golden "Millard Fillmore" dollar coin that had my audience nearly falling out of her seat. Yes, I said "her", singular. Does it matter that my venue was my car and my audience consisted solely of my 13 year-old daughter?

I love to make people laugh and I wish I could do it more often. It would be such a rush to have a whole roomful of people gasping for breath and drying their eyes over the hilarity of some clever thing that I had said. Never mind that I would rather die than get on a stage in front of any more than two people. We can all dream, can't we?

The Millard Fillmore routine will never be performed again, I can't remember most of it now. But it had it's moment in the spotlight. Just like most of my comedy routines. They are off-the-cuff, never written down or otherwise recorded for future enjoyment, often elicit side-splitting laughter and are most often performed in the car. But they are incredibly valuable to me. They represent some wonderful times spent with my girls. We may never remember most of the content of my brilliant routines, but we'll remember laughing together. And I'll go to sleep tonight with the comfortable reassurance that, at least for now, my kids think I'm one of the funniest people on the face of the earth.

Math, my way

Fireplace + Hot tea + Walker's shortbread, all shared with hubby = a very nice evening

This Is Freedom

While running lights at church this weekend I watched, at the end of each of the four services, as hundreds of people departed the auditorium drying their eyes and chattering excitedly about what they had just witnessed. What drove them to such levels of excitement and emotion? It was the closing song of the service. Written and performed by our own Justin Unger, though he is more inclined to tell you that God wrote it, this song was completed less than a week before it's debut and is already causing a sensation in our community. According to an e-mail from lead pastor Lee Wiggins, the church has been flooded with inquiries about the song, it is in the hands of a Nashville producer and they are receiving requests for radio play for this Wednesday, Veteran's Day. Justin and Heights Church have graciously provided a link to a live recording of the song from this weekend and encouraged us to share with others. If this song touches you, feel free to share the link with others you feel may be blessed by it. A video was also made, and I will share that as soon as it becomes available. The song was performed with uniformed military men carrying an American flag and then a cross through the auditorium to the stage. It was amazing, and if you like the song, you will want to see the video. The voice you'll hear praying at the end of the song is Pastor Lee.

Without further ado, please enjoy... This Is Freedom

This Is Freedom
Justin Unger

The red is for the blood that flows
in places we've forgotten
The white resembles innocence
in some ways we've been lost in
The blue it stands for vigilance
and holding fast to righteousness
but have we lost our way?
The stars are for remembering
the Glory in the victory
Where proudly we can say
THIS IS FREEDOM!

Where strength and confidence collide
along the straight and narrow
When peace is found in sacrifice
by patriots and heroes
Where faith abounds and evil dies
truth resounds above the lies
It's only found one way
and here we are today
THIS IS FREEDOM!

A home that speaks of liberty
beyond our institutions
If this is a reality
then where are the solutions?
A place where we can stand and sing
the worship of our risen King
without regret or shame
The hope for life eternally
we hold a light for all to see
without a guilt or blame
it's what we claim...
THIS IS FREEDOM!

Even though the fight is long
the enemy may wound us
The stripes are for the rays of hope
that never cease to lead us
Guide us home
THIS IS FREEDOM!!

24 Hours With a Stranger In The House

Tuesday morning, 3 a.m. found me sitting on the sofa in the family room reading. I had been there since about 11:30 p.m. and was FINALLY beginning to get sleepy. I was just considering putting my book down and dragging myself into the bedroom when a movement to my left caught my eye. The dog was asleep by my feet, so I knew it wasn't him. I looked all around the room, moving furniture around, and found nothing. I had just about convinced myself that my sleep deprived brain had imagined the movement and was moving back toward the sofa to pick my book back up and attempt to reclaim the sleepiness that had been snatched from me...when a little field mouse ran right past me and headed into my kitchen. Of course, I did the only logical thing I could think of at the moment...I screamed bloody murder and leaped up onto the sofa. Steve burst out of the bedroom about two seconds later to find me standing on the sofa, hopping from one foot to the other and shouting "There's a mouse in here! It went in the kitchen!"

Now, I'm not, as a rule, afraid of rodents. We have had pet mice and there is, currently, a pet rat in the family. I don't just tolerate these little critters, I really like them. But there's a difference between the fancy mice and rats that we buy at PetSmart and a wild one that was not invited into my home. My guess is the little squatter now hiding somewhere in my kitchen snuck in through the back door to escape the same monsoon that we had left the door open to enjoy Monday evening. But as far as I was concerned, the rain had passed and he had outstayed his welcome the moment he set foot in my house. I wanted him gone, NOW. But we couldn't determine where he had hidden himself and we had no way to trap him. So Steve declared that he would buy a mouse trap and bring it home after work that day...then he went back to bed. I returned to the sofa and picked the book up again, one eye on the page and one toward the kitchen.

About thirty minutes later, the little trouble maker showed himself again, but as soon as he saw me move he bolted...right under my bedroom door. Naturally, I started shouting again. By the time I got into the bedroom, Steve already had the lights on and was searching the room. The kids poured down the stairs and joined the nocturnal excitement, spotting the mouse in our bathroom. It jumped into a little space under the sink and we cornered it there. We spent the next three hours trying to coax it out into an empty peanut butter jar that still had bits of peanut butter in it. It would come out and go into the jar, but the instant we tried to trap it, it would bolt back under the sink. At 4:30, Steve gave up and got ready for work. He left the kids and I to take turns watching the sink from the safety of our bathtub. In the midst of all this, daughter A went out to the garage to get something and came back in saying she heard something out there. Daughter K and I went out to investigate and confirmed there was something alive out there. Were we being overrun by mice? We stepped in and scooted the paper bag from which the noise was coming and out jumped a frog the size of my fist. I about jumped out of my skin. My nerves had had enough by that time. The frog was quickly shown the exit and we returned to our other uninvited guest.

By 6:30 we gave up on the peanut butter jar and duct taped the openings under the sink, but knowing that the mouse could chew through the tape, we continued to take turns watching the sink while the others tried to get a little sleep. We watched that sink ALL DAY Tuesday until Steve came home with a live trap. Daughter K cleverly taped the opening of the trap over the opening to the sink and we finally left the bathroom. Twenty-four hours after it made it's first appearence, I awoke to the sound of the mouse scraping around in the trap.

The whole family headed out toward a nearby field this morning to release our unwelcome visitor, who was incredibly tiny and scared and probably not worth me being quite so dramatic about. Being carried in a plastic box in 90+ degree weather, it got way too hot and was nearly dead before we reached the field. Steve dropped it out of the box and got it into the shade of a bush where we poured cold water on it. Sure, I didn't want it in my house but I didn't really want to hurt it either...especially in front of the kids. I can't imagine what the little thing must have thought about us. We chased it around the house, offered it peanut butter, taped it into it's hiding place, trapped it in a plastic box, nearly baked it to death and then poured water all over it.

After a few moments out of the box and being soaked down with the water, it struggled to it's feet and staggered a couple of feet away from us. We decided it would be okay and left it there. I sit at my computer now in the comfortable conviction that the only rodent in my house is the pleasant, clean little rat that is snuggled up and dozing on my shoulder and I can't help but wonder what sort of stories the little field mouse is telling his mouse friends today.