{ "version": "https://jsonfeed.org/version/1", "title": "children on People of Wonder", "icon": "https://avatars.micro.blog/avatars/2026/17/1906137.jpg", "home_page_url": "https://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/", "feed_url": "https://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/feed.json", "items": [ { "id": "http://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2017/04/05/sleep-sweet-babies-sleep.html", "title": "Sleep, Sweet Babies, Sleep", "content_html": "

\"\" It’s nearly proverbial, you know. That resistance to sleep that is wholly ingrained in the youngest of people, the ones who always need that nap the most. My gentle reminders for a short restful nap are met with shrieks, and tears, and running, and bargaining, and just about any other tactic or obstacle that my busy toddlers can create to delay the inevitable nap. A little rest. Just rest. It must be ingrained in the mind of a toddler to fend off sleep with the fury of an angry rooster. Some days it seems easier to skip the afternoon siesta, but in reality, it isn’t. Rest, naps, and sweet slumber are critical to the emotional well-being of my toddlers. And of course, to their mom.

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But in all honesty, I am no better. At 10:30 pm my fitbit reminds me that it is time to unwind for bed. And yet, at 10:30 pm I am still going strong. Finishing a load of laundry, folding a few towels, setting out the outfits for the following day. Clearing the days clutter so that I can start fresh in the morning. Jotting down thoughts for one more blog, one more article, another piece of music, then scrambling to pay a bill, tuck in the baby chicks for the night, and turning off all the lights. It’s more than an hour later that I finally crash, and yet my mind keeps racing as I try to get my body to sleep. When we are too busy to rest, we are simply too busy.

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\"\"There is a hush that falls across the homestead in the middle of the day. Funny how it coincides with my own wee ones nap times. The activity in the chicken yard comes to a halt, and I see little groups of hens, snuggled up beneath the goat shed, or huddled under the belly of the van. The goats cease their playful antics, and cuddle up in a mash of straw and bits of left over hay. The silkie chicks pile up in the corner where the sunlight plays across their pen, a heap of fuzz and feathers being warmed in the sun.  My elderly kitty leaves her post on the bed, only to find just the right spot where she can snooze away the afternoon, relaxed in the sun. How is it that these animals know better than I? I, who try to cram every last bit of work and hustle into the hour and a half that my little ones are tucked away in their rooms, racing to accomplish just one more task, while the rest of the world that is my little homestead peacefully rests? The soft chirping of the brand new buff orpingtons tucked beneath their Ecoglow is soothing as I struggle to finish up one more thing before my gaggle of toddlers is jumping for joy to climb out of their beds again.

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\"\"We are all in dire need of rest. We are all in desperate need of a break from the busy lives of parenthood, where the chauffering of children to their activities is draining on parent and child alike. We are in need of a break from the hectic rhythms of the work day, to slow our pace, and spend time together. We are in need of a break from the onslaught of information that we constantly crave, the status updates, the tweets, and the wealth of Google’s knowledge at our fingertips. We need to let our bodies, our minds, and our souls, find their rest.

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I know what it is I need.

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\"\"I need to still my body from the work, close my eyes, and allow my body it’s sweet slumber so I have the strength to face another task, another day.

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I need to still my mind, to shut down the tech, to breathe in the fresh air of the country and breathe out all the cares of my day, and just be, alive, and refreshed, in the sunshine of the day or the stillness of the evening.

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And I need to still my soul, to place it’s care into the hands of the ever-loving Jesus, to accept His rest, and allow myself to receive His peace. But I won’t find it if I’m running, I won’t hear the quiet of His voice if I am scrolling and surfing and tuning the world out with my iPad or my phone. If I truly want to find His rest, I need to make some time to be at rest.\"\"

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It’s hard to shut it down. It’s hard to disconnect from the technology that I enjoy. It’s hard to refrain from googling the answer to every question my children pose. It’s hard to cut myself off form the workload, and lay my weary body down to sleep. But I am no longer a toddler who does not understand the things his little body needs.

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I know my little ones need their slumber, so I’ll do the work of calming their little bodies down for sleep, no matter \"\"what antics they throw my way in order to thwart their own rest. And if I am going to care for myself so that I can be strong, and kind, and joyful, and accomplished, I need to stop the antics, and cease thwarting my own desperately needed rest.

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Turn if off and shut it down. Close it up and pull the plug. Turn off the lights. It’s time to sleep. Sleep, sweet babies. Sleep, sweet mama. Just sleep.

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Do you need more rest in your life? Do you need to increase your energy? Get a jump start on a fresh perspective when you sign up for my newsletter and get your Five Day Fast Fix absolutely free.

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[wysija_form id=“1”]

\n", "date_published": "2017-04-05T14:20:18-04:00", "url": "https://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2017/04/05/sleep-sweet-babies-sleep.html", "tags": ["children","parenting","Jesus","sleep","busy"] }, { "id": "http://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2017/03/14/two-of-the-most-dreaded.html", "title": "Two of the most dreaded words in parenting vocabulary.", "content_html": "

\"\"Parent pickup. Two of the most dreaded words in the parenting vocabulary. The angst multiples with each additional child in the vehicle. So do the number of earned timeouts, the level of odiferousness, and the depth of the scum in the bottom of the van. We won’t discuss the backpacks, water bottles, and dirty shoes. Oh the dirty shoes.

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It’s not my fault; I happen to have a fairly large family with 6 children. All under the age of 10. In order to accommodate the massive number of car seats and boosters as required by law, and as necessitated by my insanely-high level of passion for the safety and security of my gaggle of mini-me’s, I’ve had to give up all hope of driving a remotely cool car. Scratch that. I can’t even drive a cool mini-van. Nope. Not even a Honda Odyssey can accommodate this level of crazy large fam. I practically drive a bus.

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It’s hard enough to maneuver my bumbling 12 passenger van through the serpentine of school safeties, orange cones, and actual school busses without running over dropped backpacks and forgotten hockey equipment. But my sense of repose is instantly repressed by those parents that presume my oversized family wagon is a dusty work van awaiting its occupant. It isn’t that dirty, is it? They zip by me in their pretty little Mustangs and Blue-tooth connected Honda Accords, and yeah, even that cool mom with the Odyssey manages to whip her way around my bus-like self as she rushes in to swoop up her singleton. Singleton. One. One child. I can barely even remember what that was like. Seems like a relaxed and easy life-time ago, as I sit exhausted from convincing 3 strong-willed toddlers to get in the van for parent pickup.

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The three screaming banshees - I mean, the bored and rather vocal toddlers in their rear facing car seats complete with cups and snacks have already pushed my patience beyond it’s limitless nature when another precious parent swoops around for their duo. Clearly, there is no rush to get in position as school is not out for another 15 or 20 minutes. Clearly, my giant van is invisible. Hello…. I am parent pickup here. Don’t you see me? As I cautiously maneuver into position behind the Odysseys and the Mustangs, a pungent shoe whizzes by my head, courtesy of the adorable cutie-pie who dropped their sippy and ran out of granola bar snack. I cower from the angry shrieks and wait for the other shoe to fly.

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Wincing, I wait for it….. andddddd there it is. At least that one is predictable. Finally, there is a lull in the triple threat toddler storm as I begin to ponder….. what is that smell? No, I don’t mean the diaper odor coming from the second row. The other smell. That smell that’s like rotten bananas that have been coated in sauerkraut and sautéed in pork livers. It’s hard to tell where it’s coming from, considering the left-behind, dirty clothes, extra sweatshirts, and at least 20 socks coating the floor amidst lollipop sticks and stale Chik-fil-a waffle fries that have been there since, oh at least last week. It was last week that we took the epic trip to Chik-fil-a, right?

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I begin to pray. I close my eyes, head in my hands, dear God please don’t let anyone look in this disgusting filthy bio-hazard of a van. I think I’m having a vision, some kind of thundering, pounding in the cloudy sky. I must have fallen asleep and I am clearly and awkwardly confused as I realize the thundering is really the principal knocking on the window. I secretly wipe away the drool, hoping I didn’t smear my mascara while I was deep in ‘prayer.’

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I roll down the passenger window, and as the well-dressed principal leans in I die a little bit on the inside. Maybe a lot a bit. He is, of course, dressed to the nines, complete with suit jacket and bow tie. I panic, wondering if I missed parent-teacher conferences, again. I secretly pray he has the worst cold of his life so he cannot smell that UFO - that unidentified freakish odor. “Your son was in my office today,” he states flatly, leaning in further. I die a little more, hoping he forgot his contacts, too, so he can’t see the filth on the carpet. “We had to discuss his behavior in gym.” Did I mention I have a phobia about school authorities? The quesadilla I had for lunch threatens to join the UFO and the plethora of trash that I hope is hidden on the floor. Swallowing hard, I eke out a faint “Oh?” “We worked it out. He went back to class.”

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The quesadilla breathes a sigh of relief as he starts to turn away. The banshees start to yell again and I think I am out of the woods and off of the administrator’s radar. Until he spies my 3 trying to escape their teachers watchful eyes. Their ninja skills have reached expert level, I think proudly. Everyone needs to have a skill, right? Always the gentleman, Mr. Principal opens the passenger door and beckons for the little ninjas to come ahead. Quesadilla rising. Anxiety escaping. UFO intensifying. I am mortified as some of our rubbish spills out and into the car line. Inwardly, I beg Jesus to return. The rapture would really help me out right now, God. The three climb in the van and instantly fight with toddlers over snacks and seats and spilled sippies. Mr. Principal calmly shuts the door, closing the kids - and the smell - inside. I can feel the stares of the parents stuck behind me in the car line as I wrangle kids into car seats, kicking rogue sippies out from under me as I go. A shiny blue sedan zips around, and a perfectly coiffed little girl gingerly steps inside and buckles herself in her unbelievably clean seat while I give a few hairy eyeballs to my crew, muttering about the smell, and desperately trying to fade into the upholstery of my bus-van. Hiding is pointless, no one else here drives this bus. After what feels like an eternity of warding off stinky kicking feet, admiring sticky art projects and passing out wipes for smudgy faces, we are buckled and ready to drive the grand 4 minutes home.

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I never realized that relief is spelled “driveway” and “home” cools the raging heartburn of principal-induced anxiety. The kids begin to shout “MOM! What’s wrong?” When they hear my giant sigh of relief. Perhaps I am a little too happy to be home.

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But wait. 47 minutes of torturous parent pickup is not quite complete. I still have to unload….

\n", "date_published": "2017-03-14T14:39:06-04:00", "url": "https://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2017/03/14/two-of-the-most-dreaded.html", "tags": ["children","parenting"] }, { "id": "http://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2017/03/08/feeling-dried-up-worn-out.html", "title": "Feeling dried up, worn out, deadened? We have hope.", "content_html": "

Feeling dried up, worn out, deadened? We have hope.\n“Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’”\nEzekiel 37:12-14, NIV

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\"IMG_0107\"

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The Rose of Jericho, the Resurrection Fern, has an amazing capacity for survival. In times of drought, it dries out and shrivels up, looking dead, but hides a surprising secret. When given a long slow drink, that dead-looking fern resurrects and becomes lush and green and full of life again. If you’re a special needs parent, I bet you’ve got that same capacity for survival. We go through periods that are so hard, so exhausting, physically and emotionally taxing, that we feel pretty dead and dried up inside. I have days when I feel that way, don’t you? Worn out until there really isn’t much left. Just like that fern can live again, there is hope for you, and there is hope for me, too!

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There is a pretty special prophet named Ezekiel who we read about in the Old Testament. I love the story of Ezekiel because he never intended to become a prophet. Ezekiel trained his entire life to be a priest. A priest had social standing, was respected, and admired. It was an honor to be a priest! But just as he was about to step into his role as priest and fulfill his duties, God called him to something entirely different – to be a prophet. Nobody really likes a prophet. They were looked down upon, disliked, and viewed with suspicion. But God used prophets to bring his stubborn people back to Him, so a prophet’s job was just as important as a priest’s. Few people desire to be a special needs parent, it’s something that often is thrust upon us, and leaves us feeling kind of isolated and at odds with the world, but it’s just as important and rewarding, isn’t it?

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Well, God’s people seemed a lot like that dried up old fern – they were hurting, feeling alone, abandoned because they had rejected God. Have you ever felt alone and hurting? Isolated? It was Ezekiel’s job to bring them back to God. And God gave him an incredible vision, the Valley of the Dry Bones in Ezekiel 37:1-14.

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In the passage, God takes Ezekiel to this valley of bones, old, dead bones. Because that’s how Israel felt, like wasted old bones. And Ezekiel was probably pretty horrified by those bones – because a priest would never touch a dead body! But God told Ezekiel to speak to the bones, and he obeyed. And the bones grew flesh, and became bodies. And God told Ezekiel to speak to those bones again, and he obeyed. And those bones were given the breath of life and became a vast army of living breathing people. This vision sounds more like something from the Walking Dead rather than a Bible story, so what does that mean for us?

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It means that God sees us and hears us when we feel like we are dried up, wasting away, cut off, and abandoned. And it means that God wants to breathe new life in us! He wants to restore our weary souls, energize our lifeless bodies, and help us stand to our feet, ready to face another day. Just like that Resurrection Fern comes back to life with just a bit of water, God wants to breathe new life into our hurting, dead places.

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Maybe you never planned on being a special needs parent, but now, somehow, you are. And it’s hard, and it can be isolating. It’s exhausting. And just as you are breathing life and love into your special needs child or children, God wants to breathe life and love into you. Breathe in, my friend, breathe in God’s Spirit and let God give you new life.

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Dear God,

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We cry out to You with our hurts, our loneliness, our isolation.\nWe cry out to You in our deadness, our dryness, our weariness.

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We give you the dry places,\nthe hidden places,\nthe hurting places\nso You can resurrect them.

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Fill us, Lord, with Your Breath,\nfill us with Your Spirit,\nand give us strength to stand,\nstrength to fight, and\nstrength to thrive.

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Give us Your infinite love\nso we have love to give to those around us.

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In the name of Jesus,

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Amen

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-Amanda Furbeck

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This post originally published at Comfort in the Midst of Chaos on August 4, 2016.

\n", "date_published": "2017-03-08T09:39:57-04:00", "url": "https://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2017/03/08/feeling-dried-up-worn-out.html", "tags": ["Uncategorized","children","parenting","prayer"] }, { "id": "http://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/06/14/i-am-plan-b.html", "title": "I am Plan B.", "content_html": "

\"\"They are my Plan A.

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I always wanted them. Never for a second did I have to hesitate, to wonder if they were the wrong ones for me.

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In that moment, I chose to give them my love and never ever take it back. When I received that call from the social worker requesting a placement, I chose yes. I chose them. In that moment, I had the privilege of choice and I am so glad I could choose to make them my Plan A. In that moment, I would do it all over again.

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In that moment, they were never given that choice. They didn’t get to choose the house they live in. They didn’t get to choose who would fill that role as mom and dad. In that moment, they didn’t get to choose what their future would be like. And in that moment, they would never have chosen me. I was their Plan B. And I’m ok with that because they didn’t have the chance to chose, didn’t have the wisdom to choose, didn’t have the years to know if they even needed to choose. They didn’t get to choose at all.

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They didn’t get to choose to leave the only home they ever knew.  They didn’t get to choose to leave the only people they ever though of as Mom and Dad. They didn’t get to choose to stay with sights and sounds and smells that were familiar. They didn’t get to keep their bed or their sofa or their favorite chair. They weren’t given choice at all. But they wouldn’t have chosen me, a stranger, unfamiliar, different. They didn’t choose Plan B. They would have chosen their Plan A, but they didn’t get to choose.

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And so they grieve. In that moment, their grief is strong and hard and they do not have the words to tell it. They grieve the things they cannot understand, they grieve for missing lovies, and lost dollies, and left-behind toys and they grieve the world they left behind. They grieve for familiarity and family and foods and friends; they grieve their pets and their people, they grieve for things that maybe weren’t so good for them but they were the only things they may have had. Their grief is real and there really is no way to get around it. You cannot placate grief with lollipops or lessen pain with popsicles. You cannot make it ever go away, as each new stage and each new age brings new understanding of loss and gain and grief. And so they grieve on and on, in different ways on different days.

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But time goes on, and we practice sharing the light and love and grace of Jesus and we practice giving hope and help and most of all we practice Love. And unfamiliarity gives way to comfortable and comfortable unfolds gently, softly, sweetly, into love. And Plan A and Plan B come together, somehow, someway, sometime, and make something so new and beautiful and shared and I am so grateful for it all. And every bit of laughter, every lasting hug, or late night talk; every meal and moment shared, every booboo kissed and every homework assignment completed together, and every holiday and every bit of help and hope lead to healing and healing leads to joy that is immeasurable. And the heavy weight of grief begins to lighten as we learn how to carry that load, together.

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\n", "date_published": "2016-06-14T15:48:58-04:00", "url": "https://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/06/14/i-am-plan-b.html", "tags": ["children","foster care","God's love"] }, { "id": "http://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/05/16/grace-for-the-grind.html", "title": "Grace for the grind", "content_html": "

\"IMG_6513\"We are creatures of habit, are we not? Easily falling into the routines and rhythms that make up out lives, yet as the wonder in the rhythmic repetition wears thin, we fill with disdain, or boredom, or scrolling smart phones, lost in the humdrum of the daily grind. I felt that way, that Saturday when I loaded 170 pounds of chicken feed into the back of the beatup minivan, with 2 kiddos chattering along beside. Just another chore, to feed the hens. But happy hens make tasty eggs, I think, so feed them well and feed them often.

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We bantered our way up the drive, and the children dashed off to join the others in a rousing game of whatever it was they were playing in that moment. And I might have missed that moment, thinking about the humdrum of the day and the chores to be done, the cooking and the cleaning and the digging and the mowing, as I dragged and hoisted and fumbled with 50 pound feed bags. Moments are so easily missed amidst the rhythm of life.

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But something caught my eye, and it made the moment sparkle, just a bit of gleaming in that sun. It seems the flock had their eyes on that van, and their eyes on that food, and they think with their tummies, and their little legs came running just as fast as tiny chicken legs can go. And suddenly, the sound of laughter coming from m\"IMG_6501\"yself as I watched the stampede of chickens coming down that hill at the very sight of a simple yellow bag of feed. Around the coop, and down the hill, and over the driveway and around the van, with a cockadoodledooing and squawking and bawking and with those little legs just scurrying as fast as can be. The flock knows my voice. Their little legs run and they come for the treats and they come for the feed. They’re just chickens, but they know what they want and they know what they need and they know they should run to good food and get fed and I laughed all the way from the deepest part of my guts as I watched all those chickens run and run fast.  And as I laughed with my chickens who run so intentionally straight, I woke up to the day and I smelled the sweet scent of the wild honeysuckle in the wind, and I felt the warm sun, and heard the laughter of kids. And this was a moment that I could so easily have missed. \"breathe\"

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But there, right there, in that 50 pound bag was a grace from our God who made each moment for us to breathe in and breathe out and enjoy and not miss. But we stare at our phones and we stare at our screens and we stare at the things that are inside of our heads and we forget to look up, and we forget to look out, and we forget to breathe in the scents and breathe out. And we forget to watch for the giggling kids and the flitting of birds, and all those scurrying hens and we forget what the sound of our own laughter is like when we trade in the giggle and scurrying hens for the scrolling of stuff in the sweaty palms of our hands.

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But what do we do? Can you picture the church, like a stampede of hens? Ru\"IMG_6509\"nning straight, fast, and strong to the food of the Word and the arms of the Lord?  Can you take in this moment, with the fresh air and the squawks and the playing of children and just praise the Lord for the gifts that He gave and the moment He made and the Word and the love and the so many things? Things that we’ll miss in the humdrum of chores and the rhythm of life if we don’t look around and we don’t let ourselves laugh from the deepest part of guts. Breathe it in, breathe it out, and look for the gleam of this life, of this moment, God’s in it, God made it, you can’t get it back, don’t waste even a second.

\n", "date_published": "2016-05-16T13:44:14-04:00", "url": "https://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/05/16/grace-for-the-grind.html", "tags": ["children","chicken","busy"] }, { "id": "http://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/05/13/you-might-have-multiple-toddlers.html", "title": "You might have multiple toddlers if...", "content_html": "

Your fish tank is decorated in little stickers that come off of bananas, oranges, \"image\"and apples.

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Your ability to hurdle baby gates has reached Olympic Gold Status.

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You can’t find your refrigerator under all those handmade pictures.

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You find unidentifiable science experiments growing under your sofa. You’re not sure, but one might be an old hotdog.

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You are keenly aware that epic destruction can occur in less than a minute, about the time it takes to change the baby’s diaper or take your own bathroom break.

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You live for naptime, bedtime, and gynecological appointments because you finally get a break from the screeching, screaming, and Barney songs.

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You’re thinking about buying a coffee farm in Brazil. Because that much coffee is critical to your - and your toddlers'- survival.

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\"image\"Your backyard looks like a combination parking lot- playground- junk yard.

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You can’t remember the last time their wasn’t a pile of laundry the size of Mt. Vesuvius with a stench like something you’ve never smelled before and hope to never smell again.

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Your windows have a pretty, stained glass effect. At least that’s what you tell yourself when you don’t have time to wash off the ketchup, chocolate, and pudding smears that have been accumulating for weeks.

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Your poor kitty is always running out of food and water because her bowls are easily accessible and most frequently used for dumping, pouring, and scattering.

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Your essential oil diffuser lives on the kitchen counter to counteract that diaper smell.

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You have as many sippy cups as coffee mugs.

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You have a secret stash of chocolate.

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You have a backup supply of coffee.\"IMG_1785\"

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You keep a special, secret stash of wine for those days which are extra hard - you know, all of the ones that end with the letters d.a.y.

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You buy baby wipes by the case.

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You change clothes more frequently than a toddler because, well, there is ketchup. And spit-up. And fingerpainting. And, well, diapers. And that’s all before 9am.

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You decide that keeping them in diapers a little longer is much easier and better for your sanity than attempting potty training. It’s ok, the kindergarten teacher can handle it.

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Your mini-van has a special smell all its own.

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You’re not sure if there is a floor under all those toys in the playroom.

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Your bathroom only gets cleaned on bath night, and only with the shampoo and water that was supposed to stay in the tub.

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\"image1Your idea of date night is to get in bed with a glass of wine and play dice on your cell phone while your other half watches ridiculously dumb Youtube videos but you don’t really care because you just want everyone to stop touching your body parts.

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You can’t remember the last time you read a book with more than 35 words.

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You daydream about what it’s like to go to the bathroom all by yourself.

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You’re completely relieved when the tamper tantrum happening at the grocery store isn’t from one of yours.

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You wouldn’t change it for the world.

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\n", "date_published": "2016-05-13T10:58:43-04:00", "url": "https://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/05/13/you-might-have-multiple-toddlers.html", "tags": ["children","parenting","coffee"] }, { "id": "http://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/05/11/iso-new-mercy-wore-out.html", "title": "ISO: New Mercy. Wore out the old one", "content_html": "

\"IMG_1083\"Some days. There are just some days, some weeks, some months.   You know the ones. Where everything is just hard and even the simple stuff doesn’t come out so easy any more you’re just plain tired of the hardness of it all. When you need a little bit of slack but there isn’t any slack to be had and you thank your lucky stars that you don’t actually believe in karma because you think you must have done something pretty terrible to deserve all of this frustration and all of this hardness and all of this stuff.

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And maybe it’s nothing really terrible but lots of little things that add up to one great big thing, like when the cat throws up on your freshly cleaned bed and the crumbs get spilled and stomped and spread in the freshly cleaned carpet. And maybe you step on a Lego and you drop the eggs that were going to be dinner and you’re just too tired to think of something else and now your patience is gone and the kids are in need of quite a bit of it and you just want the day to be done but there’s a long way to go and it’s just hard and you’re just that tired of it all.

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And Facebook tells you you’re not good enough and you just don’t have enough and\"mercies\" you don’t do enough. You didn’t do the things with your kids or buy them that toy or go to that place that a good parent would and your house isn’t fancy it’s just a home with a roof and the yard isn’t mowed because the mower is old and the garden’s not done and the weeds are growing strong and fast and big where the vegetables should be and you feel like you’re less because you just didn’t and can’t and sometimes, you just won’t. And the worst is the guilt because you snapped at your kids and you snapped over the bills and you just know you’re supposed to be thankful and grateful for this blessed life that you have but none of it feels so blessed in this moment. And you want to crawl in your bed and pull the covers up high but you can’t because of the cat and the throw-up and so you just want to throw in the towel on this day and it’s not even noon and you’re already done.

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And it’s ok.

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\"IMG_0926\"It’s ok if you feel like the mercy ran out and the patience ran out and the peace ran out and the everything else that you’re supposed to do and supposed to be is gone for the moment. It’s just a moment. And you don’t need to feel guilt and you don’t need to feel bad and you don’t need to worry about not being enough. And Facebook is wrong, flat dead wrong because God is enough and His love is enough and everyday there is mercy, new mercy, and it’s all just enough. God’s love is enough and that means you’re enough and you’ve done enough and you will be enough. So just hit the pause for a sec and take one big deep breath and let it all out and remember that mercy, God’s mercy is enough and it never runs out and it’s new every day and you don’t have to fight to get it or have it. He gives it to you with all of His love and that makes you enough for today. He’s enough.

\n

Lamentations 3:22-23 New Living Translation (NLT)

\n
\n

The faithful love of the Lord never ends!\n    His mercies never cease.

\n

 Great is his faithfulness;\n    his mercies begin afresh each morning.

\n
\n", "date_published": "2016-05-11T13:14:42-04:00", "url": "https://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/05/11/iso-new-mercy-wore-out.html", "tags": ["gratitude","children","busy","God's love"] }, { "id": "http://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/05/06/tips-for-surviving-sleepless-nights.html", "title": "10 Tips for surviving sleepless nights and tired days", "content_html": "

\"IMG_1655\"Sleep. I love sleep. And I know I need more, consistent nights of sleep. Even my dear sweet Dad lectured me the other day on the amount of sleep I get, but I’m pretty sure I learned my sleep habits from him! I guess you’re never too old to hear the wisdom of your parents, and he is right - we all need to sleep. Studies have shown how poorly people perform on tests, decision making, and driving when they are sleep deprived. In fact, driving on little sleep can be just as dangerous as drunk driving because sleep helps us make the right choices, think quickly, and react appropriately. But if you’re a parent, a student, or you work nights, you are probably going to suffer more than a couple of sleepless nights. Worries, busyness, and sick and teething babies, toddler nightmares, and thirsty little throats are great interruptions to our sleep. And it happens… so how do we function on little sleep? Here’s a few tricks I’ve learned from 6 kids, 3 years of seminary, and far too many sleepless nights…

\n
    \n
  1. \n

    Drink a little extra coffee.  I mean, a little. It’s ok to indulge in a little extra caffeine to keep you going, but too much coffee will give you the jitters and upset your stomach. Plus, it’ll keep you awake that night.

    \n
    2. \n
  2. \n

    Drink water. Our body functions slow down while we are sleeping, so we need less water and calories. However, when we don’t sleep enough, we’ll be using up those resources more quickly without giving our bodies a chance to recharge. Add that to the diuretic effects of coffee, and we are quickly dehydrated. Make sure you keep a glass of water handy and drink up!

    \n
    3. \n
  3. \n

    Eat well. Sleep helps us regulate the hormones that tell us we’re hungry. When we don’t sleep enough, our bodies get confused and we think we are REALLY hungry, when we’re probably just thirsty and tired. But when we’re tired, we are more likely to make poor food choices, and this is a time when we need extra nutrition to help us cope with too little sleep. So eat healthy - and if you’re extra hungry, it’s ok, just make sure you’re noshing on the good stuff - apples, carrots, lean protein, and any kind of fruit and vegetable will give you vitamins and minerals without destroying your diet.

    \n
    4. \n
  4. \n

    Watch out for your emotions. When we’re tired, we’re much more emotional. When you feel yourself getting agitated or weepy, take a big breath and relax before you react. If you feel like you’re flying off the handle, it’s probably just the tiredness talking. Make an extra effort to let it go! And give yourself some grace for a bad mood. This day will pass and you will be ok!

    \n
    5. \n
  5. \n

    Turn the lights on. When you start feeling sleepy, turn up the lights. Brighter lights will help you stay more alert.

    \n
    6. \n
  6. \n

    Take a quick walk. If you have to get some work done and feel yourself dozing off, take a brisk walk to the water cooler, bathroom, or jog around your living room to get your heart rate up and rejuvenate quickly.

    \n
    7. \n
  7. \n

    Get a little sun. Fresh air and sunshine helps your mood and your energy level. A quick burst of sunlight will give you a little extra Vitamin D and it will help you sleep better that night.

    \n
    8. \n
  8. \n

    Skip the workout if you’re really exhausted. If you’re just a little tired, that workout might help you have more energy for your day. But if you are exhausted to the point that your muscles ache, you might want to give it a break and spend that time taking a snooze.

    \n
    9. \n
  9. \n

    Reward yourself. Give yourself something good to look forward to at the end of the day. Maybe a small delicious treat, take out so you don’t have to cook, a little time to relax by the fire, or a favorite tv show you’ve been wanting to watch. Giving yourself a nice reward will make your day go faster and better.

    \n
    10. \n
\n

1.Take a nap! Never underestimate the power of a cat nap to help you feel refreshed. I like to drink a cup of coffee and set a 20 minute alarm right before I lay down. If I’m really tired, I’ll be fast asleep before the coffee kicks in. The alarm will wake me up just as the caffeine starts to work and I can better face the rest of my day.

\n

What are your tricks for surviving too short nights?

\n", "date_published": "2016-05-06T10:07:23-04:00", "url": "https://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/05/06/tips-for-surviving-sleepless-nights.html", "tags": ["children","parenting","coffee","sleep","busy"] }, { "id": "http://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/05/02/excuses-we-tell-god.html", "title": "20 excuses we tell God", "content_html": "

\"IMG_7380\"God called Moses to a very special task. A grand adventure, the moment of a lifetime, an incredible opportunity, to leadership, to the desert, to the Promised Land. God called Moses to lead His people out of Egypt, where they were being mistreated, to the Promised Land, where they could grow and thrive. I can only wonder what it would have been like, to stand there, in front of that burning bush, feeling the heat of the flame and the heat of his own shame as Moses gave God reasons excuses as to why he couldn’t do the task that was set before him. Moses, who came to be known as God’s friend, who broke the tablet containing the 10 commandments, whose face shone with the glory of God, who did incredible miracles, that Moses was called by God and then argued with God when he said:

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I can’t do it because I am a nobody.

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I can’t do it, because I don’t know what to say.

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I can’t do it, because I don’t think they’ll believe me.

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I can’t do it, because I’m not a good speaker.

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Do you know what happened next? God got mad! Because Moses asked God to send someone else to complete the work that was set out for him. How many times have we argue, not me, God, send someone else? Clearly, God was not surprised by all these reasons excuses and met each one with a plan of action (You can read it for yourself in Exodus chapters 3 and 4). God even had Aaron, his brother, already on the road to meet him in the desert and be the spokesperson for Moses. Seems to me that Moses, one of my favorite Bible heroes, ran out of reasons excuses for why he couldn’t do the work God told him to do. So off he went, on the grandest adventure of his life, side by side with his brother, and doing miraculous works all along the way.

\n

And then there’s me. And then there’s you. And there is a grand adventure waiting for us, too. So think about it for a \"IMG_1528\"moment, just what exactly is it that you are called to do? I bet you already know exactly what that is.

\n

Did God give you a dream? A passion? Or a purpose? What are you doing with that dream? Are you going all in and following what God has asked of you or are you just letting it all simmer on the inside, leaving you feeling empty, unfulfilled, annoyed, bored, and wasted?  You want to make a difference, you want to be the hands and feet of Jesus, you want to change the world, or just do something anything to make this dull heartache stop, but you can’t seem to move it along. You are stuck. Stuck in the pain, stuck in the misery, stuck feeling like you’ll never do anything worthwhile or anything will ever change and you just don’t like yourself or your life because you are not where you think should be. It doesn’t feel good to be so stuck in our spaces and stuck in our selves and stuck on our selves and you can feel the heat of your own shame hotter than that burning bush, can’t you? It doesn’t feel good when we aren’t pursuing the path that God has set us on.

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Life has a way of never going like we think it should.

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Life has a way of making us end up where we never thought we would.

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But life can be fulfilling or you can leave your calling unfilled.  I can let those giant reasons excuses that get in my way stop me, stall me, hit the pause button on my life and stand by while life unfolds however it goes and limp along life with a vague dissatisfaction or I can hurdle those obstacles, slay those misery-inducing giants, and power ahead, fueled by purpose and God’s power no matter what circumstances come my way. Which will it be? I’m sure that I, and I’m sure that you, have used those very same reasons excuses Moses used. Who am I to do this? I’m a nobody. Who am I to tell people about You, God? I don’t know what to say. Who am I to tell anyone anything? They’re not going to believe me. Who am I? I’m not good at this, God, send someone else…..

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Here, 20 more reasons excuses that stall us and stop us from being everything we should or could or would or even want and hope to be. 20 more reasons excuses that stop us from taking off on that grand adventure that God has called us to. Which one of these giants will you slay today? Which one are you letting define you or defeat you? What plan of action will God give you for each one, until there are no more to get in your way?

\n
    \n \t
  1. \n\"IMG_1523\"I don't feel like it. We sabotage our efforts when we let feelings control our actions. Most of the time we won't 'feel like' doing the hard stuff, the dirty stuff, the boring stuff... but if we put it off until we feel like it, it won't get done. So just do it.
    2. \n \t
  2. \nI'll do it later. Procrastination puts it off until later - but if it needs done, it needs done so get it out of the way. The longer you wait, the harder it is, the worse it gets, and the less likely you are to get it done. Just do it.
    3. \n \t
  3. \nI'm too tired. Tired, or bored, or just lazy? Take a nap and get to work.
    4. \n \t
  4. \nI'm too busy. Maybe it's time to say no to lesser (but still good) things and focus on the better things. There are so many many things I love to do, but I just don't have time for all of it. We get to and we have to choose or the things will choose us, keep us busy, and keep us from the best things.
    5. \n \t
  5. \nI have to check my email. Sure, but please, only once or twice a day. Any more than that is just obsessing.
    6. \n \t
  6. \nI have to see what's happening on Facebook. Really? You do? Facebook is known to cause depression and polarization. Just close it and move on. Yup, close it. And Twitter, and Snapchat, and Instagram, and....
    7. \n \t
  7. \nI forgot. You really actually forgot, or you didn't plan to remember?
    8. \n \t
  8. I didn't know. 
    9. \n \t
  9. \nIt's not my problem. Make it your problem and take care of it so it doesn't trip you up. Or find someone who will take care of that problem.
    10. \n \t
  10. \nI don't care. Apathy is the hardest to cure... what is the thing you are most passionate about?
    11. \n \t
  11. \nI can't afford it. You really can't afford? Or you need to restructure your budget so you can afford the things that are most important?
    12. \n \t
  12. \nI'm too afraid. Don't let fear be the defining factor in your life. Do it anyway.... because God tells us over and over and over, Do not be afraid.
    13. \n \t
  13. \nIt's not my choice. Sometimes, we have to work withing circumstances we didn't create. It stinks, but are you going to let someone else's choice define your life?
    14. \n \t
  14. \nIt's not my style. So? Trends change and quickly. Besides, anything out of style today will be back in 20 years... \n
    15. \n \t
  15. \nI don't like who is in charge. It's hard when you don't respect or like the person in authority.... but God puts people in positions of authority, so it's our job to just roll with it.
    16. \n \t
  16. \nI'm better than that. Maybe, but everyone has to start somewhere. And we are always called to serve others before ourselves, even if it isn't pretty or glamours.
    17. \n \t
  17. \nIt's not a priority right now. Does it need to be?
    18. \n \t
  18. \nI need to pray. Yes, you do. We always need to pray, all the time. But using prayer as an excuse not to act on what we know we need to do? How is that helpful?
    19. \n \t
  19. \nI'm waiting on God. Yes, you do need to wait on God and so do I. But waiting can never replace obedience to what God has called us to do.
    20. \n \t
  20. \nI have kids. Don't use your kids as your excuse, but as a reason to make this world better. Of course we need good boundaries and balance, so our children don't suffer as a result of our passion, but if God has set you on a path, and you have kids, He'll give you a way to make it work.
    21. \n
\n\"IMG_2507\"Don't let reasons excuses keep you from the Promised Land. Don't let reasons excuses keep you from the path that God has set before you. God is not surprised, He's already got a plan to help you soar over these hurdles. Maybe He'll send you an Aaron, or a staff that turns into a snake, or who knows? Give all those reasons excuses to God and pack your bags for the grandest adventure of your life.\n

 

\n", "date_published": "2016-05-02T13:28:21-04:00", "url": "https://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/05/02/excuses-we-tell-god.html", "tags": ["children","hope","Faith","busy","God's love"] }, { "id": "http://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/04/27/do-you-want-to-be.html", "title": "Do you want to be rich?", "content_html": "

“Mommy, are we rich?"\"IMG_0762\"“Yes, honey, we are."

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“But we’re not REALLY rich, are we? I mean, not REALLY ACTUALLY rich?”

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“Actually, we are rich honey, really actually rich.”

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The children looked at me, bewildered. The pile of bills that I stuffed in a drawer, the dated paneling on the walls, the broken lawnmower, the nearly dead laptop, and the ugly mauve carpeting on the living room floor disagree wholeheartedly as they beg for my attention and dollars, taunting me, how can we be rich?  How can we be rich when we don’t take annual vacays to Disney or drive new cars or remodel our house or have our yard professionally landscaped or pay for karate or tuba lessons or mani/pedis or shop at the mall? How can we be rich when our budget is small and we have to be creative and inventive and not waste food and not waste clothes and not waste anything at all? How can we be rich?

\n

What a brilliant moment of teaching gratitude, an opportunity to instill thankfulness, to help our small ones understand the gifts that God has given us, to count the blessings we overlook and take for granted each and every day and realize how very, very rich we are. In my county alone, there are over 46,000 who don’t always have enough healthy, nutritious food to eat. 46,000 who sometimes go to bed hungry,  who don’t have all the groceries they need to feed their families and fill their bellies so they can learn and grow and be healthy and strong. My family has a lot of little tummies to fill, but I don’t have to send them to bed hungry. We are rich.

\n

And my church, it collects underwear for the children in the school district because too many little children just don’t have enough, or any, \"IMG_0754\"to wear to keep them clean and safe and comfortable at school. And my children have more clothes than can fit in their dresser drawers and stuff in their laundry bins and my laundry is always overflowing and I can’t seem to get it put away because yes, honey, we are rich and we have more than enough.

\n

And my husband and I discuss the bedroom situation, because how can a house with 5 bedrooms not have enough rooms for everyone to sleep and have space and room for all their clothes and their things and a special space for them just to be themselves? And how can such a big family live in a house that is smaller than the average house in the state where we live?  And most of the world lives in just one room, or maybe two, and how can we complain when our bedrooms might be bigger than so many people’s entire house and not because they want a tiny house because all they have and all they afford and all they can muster is just a tiny little house that is as big as just one room? Because, yes, honey, we are rich and this house is big enough.

\n

And maybe we have stacks of bills that need our checkbook’s attention and maybe our budget is tight and that’s not very fun at all and maybe we don’t have every toy or pair of jeans or the newest gadget or the prettiest color carpet but we have a house and a yard and more than enough toys and food that fills our bellies and clothes to keep us clean and comfortable and space for everything and everyone and chickens, and a cat, and we are blessed and yes, we are very, very rich.   And we have enough and more than enough, and often more than we really really want so let’s just pause and say thank you, God, that You have given us so much and made us so very very rich.

\n

And better than clothes and food and toys and space and chickens we are blessed in love and we are blessed in laughter and we are blessed with education and we are blessed with choices and we are blessed with clean air and we are blessed with peace in the hard times and hope in the dark times and lots of children and giggles and joy and best of all we are blessed with Jesus and there is none richer than the one who knows Him as Lord and Savior.

\n

So, honey, we are rich in so very many ways and let’s learn together how we can be thankful for just how rich we are.

\n

 

\n", "date_published": "2016-04-27T10:26:37-04:00", "url": "https://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/04/27/do-you-want-to-be.html", "tags": ["gratitude","children","Jesus"] }, { "id": "http://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/04/25/monday.html", "title": "Monday", "content_html": "

\"100_8863\"When it’s Monday, and the alarm clock is yelling to get you out of your bed and the coffee maker is clogged up yet again and you can’t remember if the kids did their homework or if the field trip is today or last week.

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God is faithful.

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When it’s Monday and all you want to do is sleep, glorious sleep, because it’s your only refuge from the hardness of the weekend but you have to get up because there are tiny hungry tummies and carpools to drive and noses to wipe and work to get done and gardens to plant and music to rehearse and lessons to plan.

\n

God is faithful.

\n

When it’s Monday, and you never did get caught up on those bills that need paid and the laundry that’s mounded up in the laundry room and the hallway and the sun’s not even risen but you’re up and you’re taming tantrums and kissing away booboos and you just don’t want to think.

\n

God is faithful.

\n

When it’s Monday and you’re still tired from the weekend and you’re exhausted and it hurts to move and the morning feels raw and you have regrets for the things you did and regrets for the things you didn’t do and you think you really just messed up.

\n

God is faithful.

\n

\"IMG_2922\"When it’s Monday and the lawnmower is broken and the laptop is barely working and the toilet won’t flush and there are bugs where there aren’t supposed to be bugs and you’re pretty much in the worst mood ever.

\n

God is faithful.

\n

When it’s Monday and your week is already falling apart and your life is already falling apart and nothing was supposed to happen this way.

\n

God is faithful.

\n

And when it’s Monday and the sun is shining and the birds are singing and you love your work and your children are happy and everything is right in the world.

\n

God is faithful.

\n

When the kids are singing “King of kings and Lord  of lords” at the top of their lungs all the way to school just because.

\n

God is faithful.

\n

And when the kids are fighting because they were singing “Kind of kings and Lord of lords” at the top of their lungs all the way school and it got to be too loud for their own little ears.

\n

God is faithful.

\n

When your son holds up the entire car line of children trying to get in to school because he just wants you to meet his little friend and they come to the car and run off into school holding hands.

\n

God is faithful.

\n

And when news from work and news from school and news from your friends is nothing but bad news.\n

\n

God is faithful.

\n

And when you just want life to go back to the way it was and you know that it just can’t ever go back.

\n

God is faithful.

\n

\"IMG_0906And when it’s good and it’s bad and it’s both all at the same time and you cannot take it all in so you just don’t even try.

\n

God is faithful.

\n

And when it’s Monday or it’s Tuesday or it’s Friday or it’s Saturday God is faithful.

\n

And when things are going right and things are going wrong and things are completely out of our control all we can do is trust in the one who has always been who always will be faithful.

\n

And when you need to remember that He has pulled you through before and He will overcome again take a big breath and let it out and turn it over to Him.

\n

God is faithful.

\n", "date_published": "2016-04-25T10:19:10-04:00", "url": "https://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/04/25/monday.html", "tags": ["children","hope","coffee","sleep","Faith","God's love"] }, { "id": "http://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/04/19/things-no-matter-the-busy.html", "title": "6 things no matter the busy", "content_html": "

\"IMG_0895Don’t we seem to lose sight of what’s the most important when we’re too busy?  It’s just one day…. it’s just a few minutes… just, just a moment here or there… and in those few busy minutes we seem to lose track of precious years of the things that mean the most to us, the things that are the most critical to us, and the things that should be defining us. I don’t like myself when I am too busy; I don’t like what too busy and too tired and too stressed does to the person that is supposed to be me. Too busy means that I am not kind or creative or contemplative; I am not giving nor seeking to give. Too busy means I am too caught up in my own concerns to see how I can help someone else’s too busy, too. Too busy means that I am just getting by and not enjoying a single moment of the too busy so why bother with all of those things that make it what it is? What is the point of too busy if it isn’t positive and helpful and most importantly, focused on what is most important?

\n

No matter how busy we are, there are things we cannot afford to skimp on; things we just must not let go of; things that need our attention and our affection and our absolute best self. No matter how busy we are we cannot afford to skimp on these 6 things. We cannot afford to lose sight of the most important; we cannot give up on, let go of, or let fall by the wayside the 6 things that we need the most when we are at our busiest.

\n

Exercise. It helps keep you healthy. It creates mood boosting endorphins that counteract stress. It helps you stay younger, alert, and strong. It doesn’t have to be much, or fancy. Just a walk in the park or the yard or if necessary, at the mall.

\n

Eating well. It keeps you healthier, it keeps bad food from weighing you down, making you sluggish, and tired, and sick, and miserable. It makes your body function the best that it can, and the busier we are the better we need our bodies to work.\"600817_4103356262744_1911529201_n\"

\n

Sleep. I need my beauty sleep, and even more so, I need my attitude sleep. I need sleep to stay calm and I need sleep to stay strong and I need sleep to work harder, faster, and be more creative. I need sleep so my body can rest, recoup, and recover from stress and sickness. I need sleep to cope with the busy but somehow sleep is always the first to go when busy sets in.

\n

Family. No one needs you more than your family, no one loves you more than your family, no one is probably more willing to let you get by than your family because no one is quite so forgiving as your family. No matter how busy busy gets, you can’t afford to skimp on cherubic faces and toothy grins and muddy hugs with holes in the knees. Nor can you skip on an aging parent’s wisdom or your crazy brother’s shot in the arm. They need you; they need you to need them; and need them, you do and if not today, you’ll need them tomorrow when the busy is hopefully gone.

\n

God’s Word. More than bread. More than air. More than water. We need the Word of God to feed our souls so our souls can thrive under any pressure. We need God’s Word so we can draw close to God even when He seems far away because of the busy. We need God’s Word for its perspective, its strength, its soothing balm, its faith inducing, miracle inspiring, soul healing, life changing words that come straight from the heart and mouth of God and aimed directly at us.

\n

\"IMG_0926\"Prayer. Prayer isn’t just a list of demands for a supernatural genie. Prayer is conversation with the Creator, the Maker, the Holy One, the Savior, our Friend. Prayer is when we unload our burdens, share our cares, solidify our hopes, discover our dreams, and become more like the Savior who gave up everything for us.

\n

Six things. Just six. That you cannot forgo no matter how busy. 6 things that will control the busy. 6 things that will fulfill you like the busy never will. 6 things. I need these 6 things. I need these 6 things no matter how busy. I’m working on the six things and I’m working to get rid of the busy.  If you help me with the 6 things, I’ll help you with your 6 things.

\n", "date_published": "2016-04-19T13:17:10-04:00", "url": "https://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/04/19/things-no-matter-the-busy.html", "tags": ["children","Food","busy"] }, { "id": "http://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/04/18/things-you-and-i-need.html", "title": "10 things you (and I) need to quit doing so we can stop the busy", "content_html": "

Oh, yeah. We want to stop the busy. We all want to stop the busy. We have quite the love-hate relationship with the \"IMG_4025\"busy. But there’s so much to do to stop the busy, we just don’t know where to start. So here it is - the list - the starter list- of things that you and I need to quit doing so we can stop the busy. Are you ready to stop the busy? Then just stop:

\n

10. Stuff hoarding. Oh, yeah, we need to cut the clutter. And if you have battery powered toys you know exactly how this happens. The most favorite Buzz Lightyear toy needs a new battery immediately before eternal, heart wrenching, small child despair sets in. Of course, since it’s a child’s toy, you have to use a screwdriver to open the battery compartment in order to change the batteries. No big deal, right? Well, the screw driver you keep handy in the house for just such a purpose is not where it’s supposed to be. So you start looking. You dig through the junk drawer, looking for that pesky screwdriver. You find some legos, those are easy to put away. You dig through rubber bands, and old stamps, and I don’t know what the heck that thing is to save my life, and some half-chewed book marks, a stick of gum, and a pile of other things that you’re not really sure what to do with. All you know is that there is no screwdriver to be found. So you pile the stuff back in so that you can spend 20 minutes digging through it the next time you need something, and head to the garage. Same scenario, this time, with bigger stuff. Finally, you find the aforementioned screwdriver in the bottom of a box of really old recycling and head back to the house to open up Buzz’s battery compartment. Oh, it needs C batteries. Where are those pesky C batteries? And the search begins again. What should have been a 5 minute chore took an hour because, well, there was just too much stuff in the way. Stuff wastes time. Cut the clutter. Have less stuff. Have more time. Be ruthless. It will stop the busy.

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\"IMG_0656\"9. Washing stuff twice. This. This is the thing that kills me. You know, when the kids rifle through their drawers, only to wear something for 5 minutes and then throw it in the laundry. Perfectly clean practically unworn clothes tossed haphazardly into the dirty hamper. And then it’s heaped in with sweaty sweatshirts and smelly pants and that comforter that is, for some ridiculous and unknown reason, smeared with an entire jar full of peanut butter and jelly. And so we wash the same clothes again, And again. And again. I suppose less choices would lead to less dirty clothes…. whatever the solution, one must be found because we must stop the busy.

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8. Wasting food. Toddlers are the ultimate food wasters. Take a bite, run away from the table. Take a bite, dump the food on the floor. Take a bite, pour water in it. Finally, take a bit off of the floor. Spit it out. Because food on the floor is yucky. Then there are the grownup variety of food wasters, too - how many science experiments are growing in your refrigerator at any given time? I’d say there are about 7 in mine. Why? Because the fridge is stuffed full to the brim and I can’t find what I want so I don’t serve the leftovers that I planned to have for dinner today. Instead, I cook something new, or worse, hit the drive through -  losing time and money and everything else that’s still in the fridge turns green and I’m afraid to look at it so I let it be. That was food?

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7. Paying bills late. Because late fees cost us money! See number 6.

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6. Wasting money. Because, like it or not, sometimes time is money. If you waste your money, you’ll need to make more money. The more time you have to spend on making more money, the busier you are. But I thought you really wanted to stop the busy?

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5. Multi-tasking. When you try to do too many things at once, you don’t do them well. Slow down and just take one\"IMG_5692\" thing at a time. Because otherwise, I burn the toast, wrinkle the clothes, trip on the cat, spill the coffee, slip on the floor and bruise my pride and my backside, so of course then I forget the errand I was supposed to run, and somehow feel like I am soooo busy and not really getting anything done.

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4. Dealing with stuff twice. As soon as you get the mail, throw the junk away. When you get a receipt, ditch or file it, don’t save it for later. Don’t go through the kids backpacks until your ready to do the backpacks. Otherwise, papers just float around the house, get lost, or chewed on by the dog. Or a small child. Wait until you’re ready to manage it all, start to finish. If you use something, put it away. If you spill, clean it up. If you start it, complete it. Then you can have it be finished and forget it, rather than meandering around with it in your brain where other, much more important stuff should be residing. Like stuff that will help you pay your bills on time so you can be less busy.

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3. Complaining. Don’t complain! It will make difficult stuff even worse when you ruminate on it. Instead, face it head on, as cheerfully as possible. Wasting time being miserable is just wasting time.

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2. Living on Facebook. Facebook is a great tool, but somehow this tool creeps in and starts to run our lives for us. Turn it off. Delete it from your phone. Log out. Do whatever you have to do to keep yourself from constantly checking it. Set aside a few minutes specifically for enjoying Facebook, but only if that’s true - if you don’t enjoy it, don’t do it. Facebook is known to cause depression, and if it’s hurting you in this way, or its sucking up too much of your precious time, just put it away.

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1. Checking your phone. How many precious seconds do we waste checking our phones? Some studies say that the average American adult checks their smart phone over 200 times per day. If that only happens during the 16 hours you’re supposed to be awake, that’s about 12 or so times per hour. That’s once every 5 minutes. Your phone is a more frequent interruption than your kids! Turn off the notifications and limit the time you spend checking them. Chances are, you’re doing it out of habit and not because you really need or want to. You’ll feel less scattered and more able to concentrate and you’ll be far more productive by limiting yourself. Better productivity means you’re wasting less time and you’re accomplishing more - which adds up to less busy!\"IMG_0827

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Do you really want to stop the busy? Stop doing these things! And stop doing other things that cause us to be busy for no good reason. Just stop the busy.

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Which one will you start stopping today?

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\n", "date_published": "2016-04-18T13:57:49-04:00", "url": "https://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/04/18/things-you-and-i-need.html", "tags": ["gratitude","children","busy"] }, { "id": "http://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/04/16/when-life-gets-too-busy.html", "title": "When life gets too busy", "content_html": "

We are all so so busy. Can’t eat right, can’t think straight, have to make a list just to go to the gas station kind of busy. Can’t remember if I’m coming, or going, or which day it is, or what appointments I need to schedule, or cancel, or rearrange, and what homework needs done and then there’s always that pile of laundry to do before the busy week begins all over again. And just when I think I’m getting a handle on the busy, something happens. Doesn’t something always happen? Like the flu. Or a little one needing breathing treatments so he can breathe easy at night. Or a car that needs repaired and a dozen or so bills that are still lying on the counter, waiting to be paid. Yeah, something always happens and I lose control of the busy and everything gets derailed and suddenly there are goldfish crumbs smashed in the carpet and the vacuum is broken because the kids tried to help and the laundry’s not done and the dishes have piled up and I know you’ve been in that place where there is nothing but busy. I know you’re busy, too, and you’re probably sitting here reading and drinking your coffee and trying not to think about being busy because you just can’t stand one more minute of the busy.

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So make it stop.\"woman-hand-smartphone-desk-(1)\"

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You heard me. We have control over most of this. So just make it stop. If you don’t want to be so busy, make it stop. I want to stop the busy.

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Sitting here, on the sofa, during naps for 4 children with my 10 year old laptop that is barely keeping up with the words I am typing and the thoughts I am thinking, this is my respite from the busy. And I get a few moments of peace so that I can clear my head from the busy and straighten my thoughts out on this little computer screen until it’s time for the naps to be over and some of that busy begins again.

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Why should I waste my life on the busy? Busy just makes for stress, and stomach aches, and weariness, and aching bones, and tired all the time because I am up so late at night finishing up the stuff that makes me busy that I don’t get to sleep. And then the next day’s busy is so much harder to complete because I am still worn out from the busy the day before and I just need to make all the busy stop.

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I need to stop the busy. Everyone is busy.

\n

There are so many good things in my life, happy things, right things, positive things, hopeful things, great things, good things, but they are all things that make me busy so what I need to is figure out which ones are the most important things and let the rest go.

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You heard me. You have to let go of good things so you can enjoy better things more. You have to stop the busy.

\n

We didn’t get in this place overnight. Busy happens gradually, it sneaks up on you in little bits and moments, a little today, and yes, you can \"coffee-cup-apple-iphone\"help out tomorrow, and ok, you’ll add those projects to your work deadline, and oh, alright, you can help make a few extra dioramas for reading class, and wait, there ’s a science project, too…. and next thing you know, the schedule is overflowing with things that make you feel busy and you just can’t get anything done because you are just plain too busy and the things you really want the most are getting lost in the shuffle of the busy.

\n

So let’s make it stop.

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Problem is, when I get too busy, and I’m tired, and I’m not sleeping, and I’m not getting enough done, the thing that is most important to me is the thing that really suffer and get lost in the busy. My time to spend with God, it just gets gypped because yes, I can pray in the van while I’m waiting in the pick up line, it’s not bad. And I can listen to Christian music on my phone when I need a devotional moment, and I can talk to God later when the kids are in bed, but oh wait, I still have to finish that laundry and do that thing for work and pay some bills that I forgot and I’m just too tired so God will have to wait to hear from me until tomorrow. And then I don’t get to visit with God and my soul suffers and my heart withers and resentment creeps in where love used to be and it isn’t pretty at all. And that is the number one reason I need to stop the busy.

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Let’s make a plan. Let’s stop the busy. Let’s let something go. Pick a thing, any thing, it might be a good thing, and let it go so you can be one thing closer to stopping the busy. Together, let’s do it. Let’s stop the busy.

\n

 

\n", "date_published": "2016-04-16T13:29:42-04:00", "url": "https://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/04/16/when-life-gets-too-busy.html", "tags": ["children","prayer","sleep","Faith"] }, { "id": "http://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/04/12/leap-of-faith.html", "title": "Leap of Faith", "content_html": "

 

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[embed]youtu.be/xFntFdEGg…[/embed]

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Instant death. Game over. End of movie. End of my hero. End of my world.

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I sat there, completely transfixed, eyes unblinking, frozen, sweating, shaking, knot in my stomach worried for my favorite hero as he deciphered the scribbles in his little notebook. No wonder it’s called the last crusade - he’s going to be dead. He’s going to jump from the head of the lion and fall down and be dead. And that would be it. There’s no other way, no hope for survival, he’s just going to be dead and how am I going to get out of bed tomorrow when my hero didn’t survive his own movie? Life cannot possibly go on without Indiana Jones. It just can’t.

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At a sheltered age of 13, what did I know about taking a leap of faith?

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I followed the rules. I did my chores. I was pleasant and polite at all times (or so I thought, at least). I played it safe. I did everything that was expected of me. And as an adult, for the most part, I still play it safe. I make my bed. I do my chores. I’m pretty sure that I don’t break any laws. I try to to meet other people’s expectations of me. I even get my taxes done on time. I’m pleasant and polite (or so I think, anyway). I’m on time, even with 6 kids in tow. And yet, I am not wholly satisfied with life as it is. I have played it safe. I have played it too safe, I think.  I will not cannot and am not even designed to be content until I am exactly in that spot where God would have me to be. The best choice, the right choice, the choice that God has designed for me to make, may not be the one that seems safe to my finite mind. Sometimes, God would have us take a leap of faith.

\n

A couple of friends reminded me of that recently (one of which habitually jumps out of airplanes for fun and is quite familiar with that terrifying leap of faith). They reminded me that God does His most amazing work when we trust Him. And sometimes, that trust requires a leap of faith. I am more like Jonah, who ran from God’s plan than I am like Daniel, who had stories to tell his grandkids after he had to face a den full of hungry lions for his faith. I dot my i’s and cross my t’s.  I play it safe. I count heads, I double check car seats. I eliminate choking hazards, mini blinds, and electrical cords. A dear sweet relative thinks I over-cook all of our foods in order to stay safe from food poisoning, but I am determined to keep things safe. Maybe I can keep my kids protected from random Legos and salmonella, and rightly so, but not everything in this world needs to be so “safe.”

\n

I’m going to screw this up, aren’t I? When I finally convince myself that it’s ok to take that leap of faith, when I get my courage and my stuff together and I am finally ready to jump, I’m going to mess up and fall on my face and it’s going to be the end of the world because how am I supposed to get out of bed in the morning when I fall down and there’s no hope to get back up? I’m pretty sure Abraham screwed things up a bit, too. He lied about his wife, not just once, but twice, by telling a wealthy, lusty man that his wife was his sister. But he also took that leap of faith, and listened to God, time and time again, and now we know him not because he played it safe but because he had faith.  Faith in God to stand up and make the right choice even when he was afraid.  (See Hewbrews 11 for how to please God by having faith).

\n

I’m not quite sure how God is going to amend my safety first ways. Oh, I’m sure He’s not going to ask me to give up my habitual child-proofing or ask me to go jump off of a cliff or two. But I’m pretty sure He doesn’t want me to sit around and play it safe, either, living life with a dull sense of dissatisfaction and incompletion, mildly bored and annoyed and boring and safe.

\n

I love that Indiana Jones movie, and surely it wasn’t his last crusade because another movie is finally in the works. And it wasn’t that my hero didn’t have fear - it was that in the face of fear, and unknown, and the unsafe, that he had courage. He had faith. He leapt. And lived to tell about it. Sometimes, we just need to make that leap of faith.

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What leap of faith is God calling you to make?

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\n \n", "date_published": "2016-04-12T11:21:50-04:00", "url": "https://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/04/12/leap-of-faith.html", "tags": ["children","parenting","hope","Faith"] }, { "id": "http://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/04/11/satan-loves-saturday-night.html", "title": "Satan loves Saturday night", "content_html": "

\"IMG_4036\"\nI think that I am not alone in this.

\n

I think a good night’s sleep is important, kind of critical, in fact desperately needed. For my sanity. And everyone else’s. Beauty sleep, they call it. Attitude sleep is what I think it really is. And I need it. Especially for Sunday, when I lead worship. When I want have myself together, be at my best, so I can help others to worship their Savior. Sleep is as critical as breathing.

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But I think that Satan must love Saturday night.

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\n

It’s 11:30 pm. Lights off, my head sinks into the pillow, my body gives a  big sigh of relief. I love my bed.

\n

Sadly, Sleep doesn’t come, so I pray a bit, and rest.\nIt must be just about midnight, when I finally doze off. It is bliss.

\n

Oh no! At 12:10 I am awakened by a mini heart attack as the sound of elephants stampeding through the house quickens my heart to a jolting pace. What’s going on? Is the house falling down? An earth quake? Are there really elephants above me? What?\nOh wait it’s just the cat.

\n

The really old cat who barely, rarely, gets out of bed is running around the house like a stampede of elephants.\"IMG_4033\"

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Ok, I can go back to sleep.  Just as soon as my heat rate gets back to normal.

\n

12:20 Once, again, dozing off and returning to sleep. Ahhhh, bliss.

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12:29. A giant thump in the foyer gives me another mini heart attack. Did someone fall down the steps? Is the house caving in again?

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Really cat? That was you? You sleep 92% of your life away, why can’t some of it be now?

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12:45 Return to bliss after mini heart attack subsides.

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1:10 Jolted awake by the sound of a small child’s coughing fit. It quickly subsides.

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1:12 Is that more coughing? Do I need to get up and do something?

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No, this time it’s the cat. Hacking up a hair ball

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On the bed.\nJump up and move cat to the floor to save the comforter.\"IMG_4028\"\nClean up the yuck.\nCrawl in bed. Sink into the pillow. Relax. I really really love my bed.

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1:17 The baby begins to fuss. She’s hungry. Or maybe needs changed.  Both, probably.\nTap the hubby. It’s your turn.\nNo response from hubby.\nTap the hubby harder.

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Still no response.\nShake hubby. Get up get up I want to sleep. And my attitude clearly reflects it.\nDoze, but not quiet sleep, as hubby feeds baby for the next hour.

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2:20 Everyone gets settled.\nHead sinks into pillow. Eyes closed. Sleep comes quickly. Bliss. Oh, how I love my bed. Maybe someday, I will marry my bed.

\n

\"\"3:20. More coughing.  It’s the cat again.\nHacking up a hair ball. In the freaking bed. This cannot possibly be happening.\nMove cat to floor to save the comforter. Forget the yuck.\nClimb in bed. Head sinks into pillow. Eyes close.

\n

4:07 Eyes pop open. Breath catches. Gulp. Someone’s staring at me. Two someones, actually. Preschoolers. “Mommy. Mommy wake up. We need tucked in.”  Ok. Ok. I’ll tuck you in.

\n

4:12 Bliss is tainted by crazy dreams about Target and shopping and houses and elephants and hairballs.\nAnd then the phone rings and rings. Somebody answer the phone. Please. Please because I love my bed and I want to sleep. I need bliss.\nOh wait.\n4:45 am. It isn’t the phone. It’s not someone calling me in the middle of the night.

\n

It’s the alarm and it’s time to get up.\nIt is Sunday. And I will do my best with what I have to praise our Savior, and create the opportunity for others to do the same.

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But first, coffee. I love my coffee. Coffee is bliss.

\n", "date_published": "2016-04-11T10:25:36-04:00", "url": "https://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/04/11/satan-loves-saturday-night.html", "tags": ["Savior","children","Jesus","prayer","coffee","sleep"] }, { "id": "http://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/04/08/ways-to-have-more-joy.html", "title": "100 Ways to Have More Joy Today", "content_html": "

\"image\"

\n
    \n\t
  1. Get some sun!
    2. \n\t
  2. Take a brisk walk.
    3. \n\t
  3. Go for the gabfest.
    4. \n\t
  4. Be kind to someone else.
    5. \n\t
  5. Make music.
    6. \n\t
  6. Preferably with children. Especially your own.
    7. \n\t
  7. Clean out a cabinet.
    8. \n\t
  8. Donate clothes you don’t need.
    9. \n\t
  9. Take dog food to an animal shelter.
    10. \n\t
  10. Read a book.
    11. \n\t
  11. Meditate on your favorite Bible verse.
    12. \n\t
  12. Take dog food to an animal shelter.
    13. \n\t
  13. Sing a song to God.\"image\"\n
    14. \n\t
  14. Make a list of blessings. All of them. Hang it up.
    15. \n\t
  15. Offer to clean house, make meals, or babysit for a new mom.
    16. \n\t
  16. Bring puzzles to a nursing home. Stay long enough to put one together.
    17. \n\t
  17. Eat chocolate alone.
    18. \n\t
  18. Eat kale with a friend.
    19. \n\t
  19. Take slow, deep breaths and let go of all the tension.
    20. \n\t
  20. Exercise! Even for 5 minutes.
    21. \n\t
  21. Create a sacred space in your house – a cozy spot for prayer, Bible reading, or whatever.
    22. \n\t
  22. Craft.
    23. \n\t
  23. Sail paper airplanes with kids in the neighborhood.
    24. \n\t
  24. Take flowers to a lonely widow.
    25. \n\t
  25. \nDiffuse frankincense essential oil.\"12718245_10209123865354261_6862987505419495670_n\"\n
    26. \n\t
  26. Sit by the fire and listen to it crackle, breathe in the scent of smoke, and relax.
    27. \n\t
  27. Plant flowers.
    28. \n\t
  28. Set up a bird feeder.
    29. \n\t
  29. Talk to chickens. Or guinea pigs. Or puppy dogs.
    30. \n\t
  30. Take a nap!
    31. \n\t
  31. Drive with the windows down.
    32. \n\t
  32. Have relay races with your kids.
    33. \n\t
  33. Handwrite a letter to a friend or family member.
    34. \n\t
  34. Tell knock knock jokes to elementary students.
    35. \n\t
  35. Create a dance party for your family.
    36. \n\t
  36. Paint your nails a crazy color.
    37. \n\t
  37. Tell God all the things you love about Him.
    38. \n\t
  38. Tell your spouse all the things you love about them.
    39. \n\t
  39. Tell your children you’re proud of them.
    40. \n\t
  40. Learn a yoga pose.
    41. \n\t
  41. Try something new – art, music, archery – no matter how old you are.\"IMG_0255\"\n
    42. \n\t
  42. Write a love letter to your significant other.
    43. \n\t
  43. Write a love letter to God.
    44. \n\t
  44. Write a love letter to yourself, detailing all the great parts that make up you.
    45. \n\t
  45. Spend some time reading your Bible, and ask God to speak to you.
    46. \n\t
  46. Drink a great cup of coffee.
    47. \n\t
  47. Read some awesome blogs (see the blogroll for ideas).
    48. \n\t
  48. Send a digital gift card to a friend for no reason.
    49. \n\t
  49. Buy your groceries at a farmer’s market.
    50. \n\t
  50. Plan a vegetable garden, or at least a vegetable plant.
    51. \n\t
  51. Write a song, even if you’re not a musician.
    52. \n\t
  52. Turn your phone off and enjoy the peace and quiet.\"12274560_10208341969687358_974294269506600596_n\"\n
    53. \n\t
  53. Research a Bible character or story. Ask God to help you apply it to your life.
    54. \n\t
  54. Take funny selfies and text them to unsuspecting friends.
    55. \n\t
  55. Throw your kids a tea party with tea sandwiches and tiny cups of juice.
    56. \n\t
  56. Watch ridiculous facebook or youtube videos.
    57. \n\t
  57. \nTry a new recipe.
    58. \n\t
  58. Start a blog and write about your favorite things.
    59. \n\t
  59. Hold a mock photo shoot with your children or pets. Order the prints from Snapfish.
    60. \n\t
  60. Ride a bike.
    61. \n\t
  61. Forgive someone who has hurt you.
    62. \n\t
  62. Forgive yourself.
    63. \n\t
  63. Pray for people you don’t like. Pray for people who do.
    64. \n\t
  64. Ask Siri to show you how to beat box.\"IMG_0166\"\n
    65. \n\t
  65. Sit in silence and listen to God.
    66. \n\t
  66. Sponsor a child from World Vision.\n
    67. \n\t
  67. Mow your neighbor’s lawn.
    68. \n\t
  68. Make a list of things that make you happy. Pick one and do it.
    69. \n\t
  69. Set a timer and then clean something.
    70. \n\t
  70. Buy a box of Joe for the teacher’s at your kids’ school.
    71. \n\t
  71. Make fried bananas.
    72. \n\t
  72. Ask God to give you joy.
    73. \n\t
  73. Scroll up and sign up for the newsletter on this blog.
    74. \n\t
  74. Plan your dream vacation, even if it’s 5 or 10 years down the road.
    75. \n\t
  75. Start saving for it. Every penny counts.
    76. \n\t
  76. Buy pizza for a foster family.
    77. \n\t
  77. Adopt a dog. Or a gold fish.\"image\"\n
    78. \n\t
  78. Go to a foster care informational meeting and find out how you can help children in care.
    79. \n\t
  79. Make a list of things that bring you joy. Do at least one a day.
    80. \n\t
  80. Set up your living room like a movie theater. Eat popcorn and watch a favorite movies.
    81. \n\t
  81. Find a Bible reading plan at biblegateway.com. Then use it.
    82. \n\t
  82. Look for God’s hand in nature.
    83. \n\t
  83. Look for God’s hand in your life.
    84. \n\t
  84. Do someone else’s chores without them knowing.
    85. \n\t
  85. Make your kids beds while they are at school.
    86. \n\t
  86. Sneak little notes into your loved ones’ lunch boxes.
    87. \n\t
  87. Sell something and use the money to help someone else.\"10402817_10209321482294561_5875413210361805778_n\"\n
    88. \n\t
  88. Eat a nutritious breakfast – even if it’s dinner time.
    89. \n\t
  89. Make fresh salsa.
    90. \n\t
  90. Eat off of the good china.
    91. \n\t
  91. Daydream.
    92. \n\t
  92. Plan your garden.
    93. \n\t
  93. Doodle.
    94. \n\t
  94. Facetime someone.
    95. \n\t
  95. Listen to the bird’s sing.
    96. \n\t
  96. Ask your family questions about their likes and dislikes.
    97. \n\t
  97. Start a new hobby.
    98. \n\t
  98. Go outside and gaze at the stars after dark.
    99. \n\t
  99. Plant a tree.
    100. \n\t
  100. Share this blog post!
    101. \n
\n", "date_published": "2016-04-08T23:36:45-04:00", "url": "https://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/04/08/ways-to-have-more-joy.html", "tags": ["gratitude","children","joy","chicken","God's love","Featured"] }, { "id": "http://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/04/07/i-am-a-body-shamer.html", "title": "I am a body shamer.", "content_html": "

How can I be beautiful?\"299151_2631227900455_1240598665_n\"

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Peering, squinting, staring, turning, looking and sucking it in all at once and holding up my head, and pushing out my chest and tightening up those abs and turning in my tailbone doesn’t help me, cannot make me see that beauty in my reflection or let me look at me with satisfaction and or gaze happily, with joy, at the amazing body God has given to do good works for Him when my ridiculous, sticky fingerprinted mirror cannot airbrush out my blemishes, or photoshop more thinness to my thighs? Why can’t it just adjust the the ruddy in my cheeks or smooth away the dimply skin that comprises my back side? How can I walk with head held high, and skipping steps, and lightness in my soul when I cannot come close to the beauty I think that I should be? How can I be beautiful at all?

\n

When am I beautiful?

\n

Can I truly leave the house and gain respect only if and when my face has been painted and colored and smoothed, with just the right amount of sparkle and shimmer in just the right places and all the right shades?  Am I only beautiful with highlighter dusted on the bones of my cheeks and bronzer squaring up the lines of my jaw? When I’ve waxed and washed away the things that don’t belong? Do I only look good when the clothes that I wear slim my shape, and boost my curves, and hide the hideousness of imperfections? When can I be beautiful at all?

\n

I am tangled up and caught in a growing, looming battle for perfection in my looks, a vanity that runs too deep to quell with just a tube of lipstick or highlights in my hair. I am a body shamer.

\n

I am conflicted in my inner me as I look at you and feel ashamed. I will never measure the size of your thighs, or the width of your calves or the span of your backside when you walk by and I cannot bear to calculate the angles on your face or imagine the number on the inside of your skinny jeans or crane my neck to look for muffin tops or dumpling rolls or little bits of fluff poking out from under your shirt.  I’ll never say that you’re too fat, that you’re too thin, or something’s just not right about how your glorious perfect body appears before me. And I won’t call out a Hollywood celeb if they’ve got a dimple of cellulite on their left butt cheek or an outfit that belonged to yesterday’s style or a top that isn’t cut low enough to show off all the goods.

\n

But still, I am a body shamer.

\n

[caption id=“attachment_285” align=“alignleft” width=“300”]\"Gratuitous Gratuitous workout selfie.[/caption]

\n

I shame my veiny legs from a pregnancy that wasn’t long enough and I had to lie too still for too long and left me with scars I hide and streaks I loathe and weakened abs that could never be the same and a sweet perfect little boy who is nearly 9, and I shame my crooked hip that makes a funny lump of fat stick out on just one side, and I shame my uneven skin, and too-big ribs, and I shame my lack of a pretty waist and without wearing all the right clothes and all the right makeup and just the right hair all of the time to hide what I think is imperfect when you see me, I am ashamed.

\n

But until I learn and live and know that I measure up just exactly how I am; until I learn that I am beautiful in the now and the then, and until I love myself for every part of me that is good, that works hard, that carries small children and cooks nutritious food, and that works  to mend breaking hearts and share Jesus and kiss booboos and feed chickens… until I love myself enough to stop hiding behind long pants and thick shirts and black eyeliner and cute shoes and trendy things, until I am happy with the me that makes up myself than I am a self-righteous contributor to all that is body shaming. If cannot let myself be less than perfect than I, yes I, am a contributor to all that demands perfection and thinness and thick hair and great skin and high heels and great gams and tight bottoms and anti-aging in glorious amazing women.

\n

God doesn’t ask us to be perfect on the outsides, He rejoices over us because we are His; He loves us.

\n

I am a body shamer. And the body shaming must stop.

\n
\n

\n For the Lord your God is living among you.\n He is a mighty savior.\nHe will take delight in you with gladness.\nWith his love, he will calm all your fears.\nHe will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”\n

\n

Zephaniah 3:17 (NLT)

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\n \n

 

\n", "date_published": "2016-04-07T13:15:13-04:00", "url": "https://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/04/07/i-am-a-body-shamer.html", "tags": ["children","joy","weight loss"] }, { "id": "http://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/03/30/reasons-you-need-chickens-of.html", "title": "10 Reasons you need chickens of your very own", "content_html": "

[caption id=“attachment_931” align=“aligncenter” width=“512”]\"\" 10. Because chicken snuggling is a thing.[/caption]

\n

 

\n

[caption id=“attachment_930” align=“aligncenter” width=“512”]\"12512320_10208723495505265_5688338393889311260_n\" 9. You can feed them your leftover pumpkins from Halloween.[/caption]

\n

 

\n

[caption id=“attachment_866” align=“aligncenter” width=“512”]\"image\" 8. You can drink out of really cool mugs like this one.[/caption]

\n

 

\n

[caption id=“attachment_186” align=“aligncenter” width=“512”]\"IMG_4236\" 7. They will entertain small children for hours.[/caption]

\n

 

\n

[caption id=“attachment_941” align=“aligncenter” width=“512”]\"\" 6. They will gladly till and fertilize the garden for you.[/caption]

\n

 

\n

[caption id=“attachment_950” align=“aligncenter” width=“512”]\"\" 5. They look quite glamorous in photos.[/caption]

\n

 

\n

[caption id=“attachment_383” align=“aligncenter” width=“512”]\"cropped-12801178_10209167293959949_6299193178686684027_n-e1458150744826.jpg\" 4. It’s fun to watch them dance.[/caption]

\n

 

\n

 

\n

[caption id=“attachment_927” align=“aligncenter” width=“512”]\"12719127_10209033355851580_6956951479260031617_o\" 3. They are great watchdogs. I mean, watch chickens.[/caption]

\n

 

\n

 

\n

[caption id=“attachment_935” align=“aligncenter” width=“512”]\"12803108_10209321543096081_1708144317155543161_n\" 2. Because cuteness.[/caption]

\n

 

\n

[caption id=“attachment_940” align=“aligncenter” width=“512”]\"IMG_0255\" And because love.[/caption]

\n

 

\n

[caption id=“attachment_933” align=“aligncenter” width=“512”]\"1554554_10209215604087672_4235636108647970049_n\" And because cuteness.[/caption]

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[caption id=“attachment_936” align=“aligncenter” width=“512”]\"10402817_10209321482294561_5875413210361805778_n\" 1. And because eggs.[/caption]

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\"10403260_10209057725140797_484966086091654887_n\"

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\"12783623_10209096009017870_1865072485172936503_o\"

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\n", "date_published": "2016-03-30T10:30:44-04:00", "url": "https://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/03/30/reasons-you-need-chickens-of.html", "tags": ["children","chicken"] }, { "id": "http://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/03/28/life-lessons-as-a-foster.html", "title": "11 Life lessons as a foster parent", "content_html": "

\"image\"

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11 things I’ve learned as a foster parent…

\n

Don’t worry about the things that are out of your control. Like hair cuts. Because those are still controlled by birth parents. And if anything can possibly go wrong, it will happen in the five minutes before the social worker knocks on your door.

\n

Don’t worry about what other people think. As a foster mom, I’ve been accused of a lot. Like that time when the perfect stranger  was convinced I had an affair and asked me. In front of my husband. Or the random church member who called me a bad parent for reasons I am totally unaware of. Or the acquaintance who was pretty sure I was getting a substantial and undeserved payload for these children. And I had to learn to let it go, let it go, and stop worrying about what others think. Except your social worker. You should probably always worry about what she thinks.

\n

Ride the rails.  It didn’t take long to learn what an emotional roller coaster the foster care journey is. And while training helps you prepare for the worst and the best, there really is nothing quite like going through it for real. So you learn to ride the rails, hang on tight, scream a little bit here and there when you get scared, and laugh when it’s fun, and dig your very fingernails into the arms of the person next to you as you cling to them for your ever loving life, but just know that no matter what happens in the ups and downs, it’s not over until it’s over and anything can happen at anytime.

\n

Take it one day at a time.  As a foster parent, you become acutely aware that you don’t know what tomorrow will bring. So you take it just one day at a time, one hour at a time, or a minute at a time if need be. Enjoy each moment while you can because you just don’t know what’s coming next. And sometimes, that’s a good thing.

\n

Get help when you need it. It’s not always all roses, all the time being a foster parent, and sometimes, you just need help. Maybe you need to hire someone to help with the laundry or the cleaning. Or maybe your child needs some help from a therapist. You social worker is always there to assist and will point you in the right direction (and will make sure you get the court’s permission when you need it).

\n

Laugh. “They” say that laughter is the best medicine. I don’t know who ‘they’ are, but experts do agree that laughter increases feel good endorphins and other hormones that help your children feel better, cope better, grow better. So get out those corny jokes, ridiculous charades, and pillow fights and tickle fests and just laugh long and hard.

\n

Rest. When my oldest was born, everyone told me to sleep when the baby slept. The joke was on me because he barely slept! Take it from me, if you get an opportunity for a nap, take it! While you’re at it, eat right, exercise, spend time with your spouse, and do something fun for you. Go ahead. You’ll thank me.

\n

Give grace. And give it freely. To your biological children. To your adopted children. To your children in care. To the birth parents. To your spouse. And especially, to yourself.

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Let it go. Make it your mantra. When the potted plant gets dumped for the 3rd time in the last five minutes, let it go. When the window gets broken, let it go. When your child writes his name for the very first time on your favorite Bible in sharpie, just let it go. You’ll be happier for it. And if you need help remembering to let it go, just watch, “Frozen.” It doesn’t disappoint and you’ll never forget to Let it go again.

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Pray hard. Prayer works. Prayer is powerful. Stop reading this and go do it.

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Love hard. ‘Nough said.

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\n", "date_published": "2016-03-28T23:29:00-04:00", "url": "https://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/03/28/life-lessons-as-a-foster.html", "tags": ["children","parenting","prayer","foster care"] }, { "id": "http://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/03/23/never-a-false-hope.html", "title": "Never a false hope", "content_html": "
\n

\"\"\nThere was that hard time,  when my son was tiny, and frail, and his \"IMG_0201\"premature 2 1/2 pounds of life didn't come with any sort of a lifetime guarantee, and I didn't know how his desperate lungs could fill themselves with air even just one more time. It was hard to find my hope because I thought my hope was lost. And I needed that nurse who offered me her hope that he was going to be just fine.  She propped me up with all of the hope that was her own so I could be every bit of mommy that his tiny body, heart, lungs, and soul could need to get him through that one very hard day in a series of hard, hard days. Her hope was never false - it was everything I needed to hang on to in that moment, on that one very hard day. And today he is just fine and 8 years strong and smart and full of love and life and a beacon of hope beyond anything we could have ever even hoped for.

\n
\n\"IMG_0180\"And I want to be a hope bearer, too. I want to bring hope to someone else because I've been in that place and I know that feeling, that one singular desperate ache, the emptiness, the lonely need, to find someone else who can possibly ever hope on my behalf when I've just plum ran out of every bit of hope that I ever thought I had. I know what it is when you try to muster up all the hope that you can find and come up with none to get you through that really hard day in a series of hard, hard days.\n
\n

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 5:13, NIV 

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\n

Sometimes, its easy to see hope in every little place; sometimes, hope is elusive. We know it’s out there, somewhere, but we can’t quite get a grasp of it. And if we catch it by the tailfeathers, maybe we’re afraid to hang on to it for dear life, because, what if that thing we caught is not really a hope at all, but a forgery of falseness that leads us daringly away from our tenuous reality only to dash us on the rocks below.

\n

But I say hope is hope, and if it gives you something to cling to tightly, something to grasp even if it is no more than a handle to pull yourself out of the deepening water, then it cannot possibly be false hope because it is real and it is tangible and it is giving you what you need to make it through that hard moment on that hard day. And I say Jesus doesn’t want you not to hope because the Bible says that our God is the God of hope and He wants you to overflow with hope so that you have enough for you and enough to prop up the person next to you, too. And I want to be that hope-bearer, too.

\n

\"IMG_0242\"

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And sometimes, sometimes, I hear a tiny chirp of hope in the peeping of the baby chicks nestled safely in my library. And some moments, some days, I watch it grow before my eyes as tiny shoots of kale and broccoli break out of plump little dollops of dirt. And some days, some weeks, I smell a hint of hope in the air as winter’s gasping fades away into the sweet sweet baby breath of spring. My burgeoning homestead shows me there is hope, reminds me when I lose my hope, that Jesus is all of the hope.

\n

It is the possibility of a better, healthier future. It is the summer harvest coming soon, with an unending supply of sun-warmed tomatoes, and delicious zucchinis, and melons snuggled in the dirt. It is the gleam in the eyes of my aging house kitty, invigorated by the joys of spring air seeping in through opened windows. It is the sound of laughter as my children roll haphazardly down the clovered hill, landing willy nilly, belly up, and head over feet trying to find the bottom fastest.

\n

My sweet little baby homestead shows me my hope because it is the footprint of a Creator who came to give us all Hope in the form of a baby, born to suffer, and die, and raise again so He can be our everlasting hope, our one true hope, our greatest, our only Hope. And I have precious little to offer you, friend, but I can walk alongside you on my little patch of dirt and offer you what hope I have. And I can hand you baby chicks to cuddle in your empty arms or playful children needing to be tagged in the warmth of the sun. And I can pass you the freshest eggs, and maybe they will be help you find your hope and show you there is hope so you can remember all of the baby miracles and great big miracles that the God of Hope can do.

\n

But I can do a little better, I can help you plant some seeds in a pot, or a mug, or an old egg carton filled with dirt. And I can introduce you to the One who really is our Hope, and \"IMG_0209\"together we can water those teeny tiny seeds of hope and place them in just so, so that as the sun shines on those little seeds and creates a miracle that makes them grow, His love can shine bright right on that broken heart you carry and make a miracle of hope to grow, right there, right here, right when you need it most on this day, this hard day in a series of hard, hard days.

\n

I want to be a hope-bearer, too.

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\n

“Hope” is the thing with feathers\"image\"

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BY EMILY DICKINSON

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\n
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“Hope” is the thing with feathers -
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That perches in the soul -
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And sings the tune without the words -
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And never stops - at all -
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And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard -
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And sore must be the storm -
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That could abash the little Bird
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That kept so many warm -
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I’ve heard it in the chillest land -
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And on the strangest Sea -
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Yet - never - in Extremity,
\n
It asked a crumb - of me.
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Source: The Poems of Emily Dickinson Edited by R. W. Franklin (Harvard University Press, 1999)

\n
\n \n", "date_published": "2016-03-23T14:20:04-04:00", "url": "https://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/03/23/never-a-false-hope.html", "tags": ["Savior","children","joy","God's love","hope"] }, { "id": "http://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/03/21/things-ive-heard-as-a.html", "title": "16 things I've heard as a foster mom.", "content_html": "

Most folks are well-intentioned, merely curious, really good , kind people who simply don’t know all of the foster care lingo that we, on the parenting side, have become quite comfortable with. And after being a foster mom for several years, I think I’ve heard it all from complete strangers, from very sweet, kind comments about my darling babies, to funny, witty, and sometimes even dirty looks and down-right rude remarks that secretly make my blood boil. Usually, though, I’m too busy tending to my bustling brood to actually care what other people think, but sometimes, just sometimes, I wish I had a snappy comeback to pass along with an impish grin and a sticky hug from a quite thoughtful child. So here’s a quick list of some of the funny things I’ve heard - and what I wish I had said in the moment. Enjoy!

\n
    \n\t
  1. \nYou're a saint for taking in those children.  ME? A saint? You must have me confused with someone else, because I'm just a normal, boring, \"image\"regular, non-perfect, plain old, run-of-mill human being with normal, boring, regular, non-perfect, plain, old, run-of-the-mill problems who happens to be a mom. I'm taking life one day at a time just like everybody else. I make messy mistakes, sneak chocolates when the kids aren't looking, beg God to let me sleep a little longer each morning, and I long for the peace and quiet of bed time every night. I'd say those children are saints for not complaining when all of the yummy dark chocolate has completely disappeared from their Easter baskets after I accidentally ate it all.  Shhhh don't tell them I told you...
    2. \n
\n2. Are you a daycare? Not since the last time I checked.\"IMG_3428\"\n

3. Which one is yours? All of them. They are all mine. Every single one. Some people collect shot glasses, I collect children. Hoard them, as a matter of fact. And no, I won’t trade, sell, or barter any of my precious collection, they are worth far too much, but I’ll gladly help you start your own collection of highly adorable, completely priceless miniature human beings.

\n

4. Is the mom in jail?  Well, I’m the mom and I am definitely NOT in jail. But thanks for asking about how I’m doing… as a matter of fact, I do feel a little trapped by the all the laundry I have to do each week…. How about I bring over a couple of loads of wash for you to fold?

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5. What’s wrong with that one? What’s wrong with you?\"IMG_1655\"

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6. I could never love another person’s child. Wrong. Just wrong. If you’re saying that (out loud even), you’re just trying to convince yourself not to get involved. Here’s how I see it. Any child under my roof is MY CHILD. And I will love him or her for the rest of my life and well into the next. Because that child is lovable and worthy of love. Love is a choice, an action, and I double dog dare you to choose it. You haven’t learned what love can be until you hear that child call you “Mommy” and I promise it will make your little heart burst with joy.

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7. They’re lucky to have you.  I don’t believe in luck. I believe in Jesus.\"IMG_1628\"

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8. Don’t you have enough kids? Nah. There’s always room for one more.

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9. Are you going to adopt that one? Which one?

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10. Doesn’t the mom want them?  Of course I want them!

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11. Did the real mom do drugs? I’m the real mom.

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12. You look great for just having a baby, I didn’t even know you were pregnant. Gee, thanks, at least someone thinks I look good!

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13. Is the kid safe? Does he ‘have something?"  Well, the last time I checked, \"IMG_1528\"there were a couple of rocks in his pocket and he had just picked up a frog, but I’m pretty sure they don’t bite because frogs don’t have any teeth.

\n

14. You must be in it for the money.  Hahahahahahaha.

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15. Your husband must make a lot of money. Again. Hahahahahahaha.

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16. Is that a drug baby? Nope. “That” is a child. A tiny soul, created by God, \"\"to grow and love and live and spend eternity worshipping Him. Why do you ask?

\n", "date_published": "2016-03-21T23:56:25-04:00", "url": "https://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/03/21/things-ive-heard-as-a.html", "tags": ["Uncategorized","children","parenting","foster care"] }, { "id": "http://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/03/14/dont-bash-the-babydaddy.html", "title": "Don't bash the baby-daddy.", "content_html": "

Nobody wants to be a birth parent.

\n

Nobody wants to have their child taken out of their arms and handed over to complete strangers. No one wants to go to court and face the judge and face the assigned lawyer and pay the fees for those alleged charges. No one wants to own up to the mistakes they can’t believe they made that may have hurt their children for the rest of their lives. Nobody wants to have a mental health issue, or a physical health issue, or any other kind of issue, that gets in the way of motherhood or fatherhood. Nobody wants to be seen as the worst of people in society. Nobody doesn’t love their baby. And I promise, nobody meant for this to happen.

\n

But it did happen.

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And, for lack of a better word, it sucks.

\n

And somehow, normally kind, humble, God-loving, people-helping, puppy-rescuing, charity-giving, underdog-championing, cheer for the little leagues and peewee football kind of church-goers suddenly are overcome with a self-righteousness that knots up in my stomach and makes me wretch silently on the inside when they think it’s ok to judge viciously the very people that gave my babies life. Please, for all that is the love of God, don’t bash the baby-daddy.

\n

No one wants to be a drug addict. But it happens.

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No one wants to neglect their child. But it happens.

\n

No one wants to get in legal trouble. But it happens.

\n

No one wants to screw their life up this bad. But it happens.

\n

It happens to normal, ordinary people who make 1 bad choice; 1 mistake, just 1 time, and they become forever addicted to something so heinous as heroin. Probably before their tender teenager years have even crossed the tiny line into a shaky adulthood their own hurt and pain drove them to one weak moment, one bad choice.

\n

Or maybe it isn’t even heroin. Maybe it’s a prescription pain killer to help them overcome a bad back, or a work injury, or a broken heart. And somehow, that pain killer just isn’t strong enough to deaden the pain that came from the lost job or the lost spouse or the loss of dignity when they are suffering the devastation of a freak car accident. And maybe they just don’t know Jesus or they don’t have a family or a friend that they can count on to pull them up when they hit rock bottom or when they just need a shoulder to cry on. And suddenly, everything is spiraling out of control until they’ve lost everything they have ever loved and hoped for and worked at, including their precious, perfect, beautiful babies. I’m pretty sure, given 1 wrong choice, 1 bad situation, that could have been me. And I’m pretty sure, given 1 wrong choice, and just 1 bad situation, that could have been you, too.

\n

Yes, the tummy mommies of this world have made bad choices. But I’m pretty sure that I’m not a perfect parent, because I’ve made a few bad choices too. And I’m pretty sure that you, you who look like you have it all together, you aren’t the perfect parent and you’ve made a few bad choices here and there, too.

\n

So don’t you dare bash my baby’s bio-daddy for making 1 wrong choice that led to another wrong choice, and another. Because Jesus didn’t just die for you, with your nice job and your nice car and your nice house and your nice family and your nice church. Nope, sorry. You cannot corner the market on Jesus. (Jonah tried that and it didn’t work out so well for him or the vomitous whale). Oh, I felt that way, too, a little self-righteous, a little bit better than those other people, that is, until I met my babies. And then I became a little bit unglued.

\n

I unraveled just a little bit at first, and then a lot, and then a whole lot more until I couldn’t stop the tears from coming all at once when Jesus tapped me on the shoulder, and said, “Don’t you see? I died for him, too.”

\n

And then my eyes were opened to the grace that Jesus is, and the grace that Jesus gave, and the grace that Jesus gives us, and the grace that we need to give to those who made 1 single bad choice in a bad situation that led to a life shattering series of events.

\n

And then I see those little eyes, wide open to things that they never should have seen, and now hearing things that they should never have to hear about the people who gave them life. No matter what mistakes a baby-daddy made, no matter what wrong choices a tummy mommy chose (and I won’t tell you the details of my family’s stories so don’t bother to ask), there are a set of listening ears who still cling to the hope that those broken people that gave them life have a love for them. Those tiny humans, born into a situation that was out of their control, had to leave behind the only home they ever lived in, the only love they ever knew, and the only parents that ever held them tight. And maybe it wasn’t a home or a love or a set of arms that we could possibly understand, but it was all they ever knew and they are fiercely dedicated to the hope that there is still love and goodness and kindness there. And each and every day these tiny humans try to reconcile their past life with their current life and try to come up with some kind of future life and they just cannot comprehend how any of this ever could have happened to them in the first place.

\n

And oh, how it sucks.

\n

And some day, they are going to have to face the choices that their birth parents made and they are going to have to choose for themselves a path that is hopefully better than what any of us have thus far chosen. But for now, for today, they deserve the dignity that any other child is born with. They deserve to cling to a hope that there was goodness, that there was love, and that the people who gave birth to them are better than the choices that they made.

\n

Please, please, please, for all that is good and for all the love that is God, don’t bash the baby-daddy. Don’t barter for information that doesn’t belong to you, don’t insult the people who gave me my family whom I love with all of myself. Don’t despise the ones that Jesus loves. You don’t need to know the hows or the whys or the what happened. You don’t need to put on a show of condescension as a form of solidarity. You just need to know that Jesus died for them, too. Forget the brokenness of how this happened in the first place; just give grace.

\n", "date_published": "2016-03-14T23:16:09-04:00", "url": "https://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/03/14/dont-bash-the-babydaddy.html", "tags": ["children","foster care"] }, { "id": "http://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/03/10/hope-for-the-weary-parent.html", "title": "Hope for the weary parent: 10 tips to make sure naptime is your time", "content_html": "

In my little world, with a homestead to build and music to schedule and blogs to write and an overwhelming amount of laundry to wash and fold shove into dressers that are way too small, nap time is seriously critical. I’m talking my life revolves around nap time, critical. I mean, I’m pretty sure I might actually expire from the overwhelming level of insanity if my children don’t take their naps level of critical. And with 6 kids under the age of 9, it feels like an assault on my personhood when they decide they would rather eat, play, yell, scream, jump on my head, make a mess, or be silly instead of taking their nap. If I don’t get a little break in the action so that I can eat, sleep, read, write, plan, have a coffee, schedule, think, drink a glass of water or take pictures of my chickens, then I’m probably not going to make it to parent pickup with my pleasant mama attitude intact. In fact, it could get downright ugly in that oversized van of mine if I haven’t had a little bit of quiet time to get recharged. I love my children more than life itself, but I honestly NEED to catch a breather from the ADHD of it all. Really.

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Since no one wants to see me when my babies haven’t had their slumber, and begging, pleading, scolding, and sobbing doesn’t really at all, help I’ve learned to be very creative and consistent in dealing with naptime struggles. Here are just 10 of my favorite ways to deal with nap time when it’s not going well.

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10. Know the signs. Once my kiddos get wound up, there is no hope of a nap. The more tired they are, the more hyper they become. So the instant I sense a spike in hyperactivity, no matter how slight, it’s off to bed. Even before lunch. Ok, I can’t usually make it to lunch. It’s now.  Nap time is now.

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9. Initiate quiet time. We don’t really have a television, so if they kids won’t nap, I can’t just plunk them down in front of a tv show while I get some work done (although it’s not a bad option if your littles will sit still for an episode or two of Blue’s Clues or Barney). So I tell them if they can’t sleep then they must relax in their beds with a book, a stuffed animal, a cozy blanket, and, when absolutely necessary, a sippy cup of milk (please don’t yell at me for ruining their teeth, thank you very much, not napping is an emergency in this house). Once in a while, forced quiet time has the desired effect and these always-on-the-go busy kids slow down and somehow fall asleep. To which I silently shout, “HALLELUJAH!”

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8. Get them outside. Nothing tires kids out better than playing outside. Whenever possible, out they go. See kids. See kids run. See kids run some more. See kids take a nice, long nap! See mommy turn into a normal human being again.\n\n \n \"image\"

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7. Go with the flow. If the little minions have slept later than usual (And by the way, sleeping in is 6:00 in this house), I know they won’t be ready for a nap at noon so I can push it off a little bit, schedule permitting. But whenever possible, I like to keep them busy until the baby falls asleep. As soon as she is blissfully snoozing away, I race (on the inside anyway) to get them all in their beds so I can enjoy them all sleeping at the same time. The peace is indescribable. [Insert fist bump here for the awesomeness of 4 simultaneous nappers].

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6. Behold the sugar rush. Nothing destroys nap time quicker than a cat nap on the way home from preschool pickup. So I’ve recently resorted to passing out lollipops for the 12 minute ride home in order to keep their eyelids wide open until I can tuck them in their little beds.  I guess desperate times call for desperate measures. Does it make the van sticky? Yes. Do I care? Not if it means I get to eat my chocolate chip cookie at the kitchen table all by myself instead of hiding in my bathroom with the lights off…

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5. Give them carbs. Yes carbs, the dreaded substance that stays on a mamas hips forever creates sleepiness in little tykes. I like to give them a nice carbohydrate type snack right before their nap- a banana, some pretzels, even some goldfish crackers - to help their little tummies feel full and happy for a nice long snooze. If that’s not ‘clean eating’ enough for you, oatmeal has the same effect, it just causes a lot more mess.

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4. Try alternate activities. If the nap just doesn’t happen, and quiet time is a total bust, you might have to try some other plan.  Just remember the rule: the messier it is, the more enraptured they will be. But hey, I’m not at all confessing or admitting to the time I  let the bambinos play in a bin full of whole wheat flour, brown sugar, and miniature diggers, or have play dough at the coffee table, or spend 3 hours in a bathtub just so that I could sit down with an actual hot cup of coffee (I was pretty convinced they were extinct.)

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3. Make it routine. I don’t stick to a strict time schedule unless a particular day demands it, but I do try to stick to a routine. Free play, then snack, then nap, so the tiny tykes know just what to expect next and their little bodies follow suit.

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2. Take a long drive. When I’m totally desperate? This is the way to go. I buckle them in, give them a some water in a sippy cup, and we’re motoring. Just remember to hit the bathroom first, and bring snacks. Lots of snacks. Snacks for you. Because you might be parked in that van with those sleepers for a very, very long time. Do not forget. There is a direct, causal relationship between how hungry you are and how badly you have to pee with how much longer they will sleep while you are doing the potty dance in the driver’s seat of your vehicle. Take my word for it.

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1. Sleep it off. I’m not usually one for napping myself, but for everyone who says “sleep when the baby sleeps,” this one’s for you! Snuggle up with a wayward napper and catch up on your zzzzz’s. Your sleepiness will probably rub off on them, and you’ll get a good nap in as well. It’ll make you prettier inside and out!

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Ok, maybe not you, you don’t need to be prettier. But I need that nap to happen.

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My attitude needs that nap to happen.

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Parent pickup depends on it.

\n", "date_published": "2016-03-10T13:41:49-04:00", "url": "https://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/03/10/hope-for-the-weary-parent.html", "tags": ["children","parenting"] }, { "id": "http://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/03/09/top-reasons-to-turn-your.html", "title": "Top 10 Reasons to turn your home into a homestead", "content_html": "\nAt the mention of a homestead, I always pictured Laura Ingalls Wilder running free through the idyllic fields in the tv show, Little House on the Prairie. Are you with me? That tiny cottage where the girls are snuggled together in one bed, the naughty cows that got loose through the fence, the frightening barn fire, the endearing Papa mending the fences and the occasional broken heart of a small child. I totally wanted to live there. Be her. Learn to write on a chalkboard slate. Have a pet chicken.\n

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I don’t know if that beloved show was an accurate depiction of the time period or not, but it did point to the difficulties and struggles of homesteading. Having a homestead was risky business, for sure, overflowing with danger, hunger, and hard work. Modern homesteading is really nothing like that (well, it’s still hard work, I suppose). Oh sure, if you REALLY wanted, you could buy a plot of land and live off-the-grid in your vegetable oil powered camper. Oh, come on, why not? Well, maybe because I like health care, and hot showers, and, air conditioning, and gulp, the Internet. But that’s no reason not to have a modern homestead of your own. In fact, here are my Top 10 reasons that we want to turn our home into a little modern homestead.

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10.Food. I like food. Ok, I really really really like food. I mean, I like a lot of food. And what I really like is good, healthy, really fresh food with no additives, no fillers, and no chemicals or pesticides. When you grow it, you get to know what you put on it, in it, and around it, and how long it’s been there. As a closet control freak, I resonate with that. And with food.

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  1. \n

    Homesteading tastes good. Really, it does (and we already established just how much I like food). There is nothing like the taste of a warm fresh tomato straight out of the garden (they’re so good, my favorite five year old eats them like apples). Or an egg you gathered from the coop that morning. And those strawberries that you’ve been watching ripen for days? Freaking amazing, especially when they are still warm from the summer sun. You will be amazed by how good homesteading tastes.

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    2. \n
  2. \n

    Chickens. Do you know how much I love chickens? Me, the worship leading, hair styling, preaching, seminary graduate, bookworm, coffee junkie who doesn’t leave the house without makeup totally loves chickens. If you have a ‘homestead’ you get to have chickens (well, OK, depending on the laws in your neighborhood, anyway).  Chickens rock, but that’s fodder for another post.

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    3. \n
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  1. \n

    Fresher air. No matter where you live, plants clean up the air and give you nice fresh oxygen to breathe (You do remember science class, right?).  Urban homesteaders actually improve the air quality in the city. The more plants, the more oxygen. Grow them in your house. Grow them outside of your house. Grow them inside, outside, up sidedown… right side up, around and around and all year round. Your lungs will love you for it.

    \n
    2. \n
  2. \n

    Grass is so yesterday. Vegetables are much trendier. They look nice, taste great, and you don’t even have to mow them (and if you use the right techniques, weeding is pretty minimal, too). (But I digress, because it’s all about the food).

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    3. \n
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  1. \n

    You’ll save money on that really fancy gym membership. If you’re homesteading, you’ll get plenty of exercise from weeding, raking, carrying, building, stacking, plucking, harvesting, and whatever other kind of activity you employ to build and upkeep your homestead. Muscles are cool. But muscles you earned from physical labor? Much cooler (and cheaper) than the kind you get at the gym.

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    2. \n
  2. \n

    You can homestead right where you are. Homesteading doesn’t have to mean off the grid living… You can grow a small garden patch or an acre or twenty. Raise chickens and goats, or not. Whatever your space, whatever your situation, you can implement homesteading techniques that positively affect your food, your family, your finances, or even your fun. You can try canning and herb growing right in your apartment kitchen. Or turn  your yard into a gorgeous garden. Homesteading is about making the most of what you have.

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    3. \n
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  1. \n

    It’s great for the kids. They’ll learn the value of hard work, and the reward! They’ll eat healthier food. They’ll learn how to care for animals. They’ll get fresh air. (And they’ll get tired, too!) They’ll learn science, biology, math, nutrition, exercise, and a gazillion other things like self-suffiency. They’ll have a blast checking on a ripening pumpkin or seeking out cucumbers hidden beneath their leafy vines. They’ll learn the joys of chasing chickens and playing in the mud…. Oh, the mud… I guess they’ll learn about taking baths, too.

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    2. \n
  2. \n

    Money. You can save money homesteading. You can even make money homesteading. Because homesteaders aren’t the only ones that love farm fresh food - you might make a few extra dollars selling off your extra eggs, earn a little dough by selling your goods at a farmer’s market as a part time job, or even homestead full time and make it your living. Or maybe, like most of us, you’ll just save a few bucks on your grocery bill and be happy with that.

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    3. \n
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5 tomato plants served my rather large family with more than enough tomatoes to make a summer’s worth of spaghetti, salsa, salads, and more. We figured out that the amount of money we saved by eating our own tomatoes, rather than store bought, more than covered the cost of the garden fence, tiller rental, and seeds and plants for the rest of the garden. Did I mention that I love to save money almost as much as I love food? (Yeah, I know, it’s still about the food, isn’t it?).

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    \n
  1. Homesteading brings joy.  There is something amazing about planting a seed, and with a little water, and some good dirt and sunshine, it grows, thrives, and provides food. Every little plant is a little miracle from God. Every egg a gift, every tomato, every zucchini, or squash, or onion, is a reflection of the nurture and care that God has for each one of us. Every connection to our food gives us a sense of well-being and well, gratitude. Each baby chick is a little  glimpse of God’s tender mercy. Every ray of sun, His warmth, His love. Growing, nurturing, tending, sharing - these things feel so good and are so fulfilling that you can’t help but let a little joy sneak in even on those hard and tired days. Perhaps it’s inexplicable, but somehow, someway, homesteading brings joy…
    2. \n
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And…

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Ok, food.

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Homesteading brings food. I’m really about the food.

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\n", "date_published": "2016-03-09T14:46:57-04:00", "url": "https://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/03/09/top-reasons-to-turn-your.html", "tags": ["gratitude","children","chicken","exercise","Food","God's love","Vegetables"] }, { "id": "http://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/03/08/foster-care-its-not-what.html", "title": "Foster care: it's not what you think", "content_html": "

I didn’t set out to become a foster mom. It simply wasn’t on my radar for a very long time. It was only after our Chinese adoption agency closed mid-adoption and our biological son was born extremely premature that we considered Foster to adopt for our family. And we’ve never looked back. It was - and is- the right choice.

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But Foster care is not what you think.

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I’ve heard a lot of difficult comments and been asked a plethora of personal, uncomfortable questions, which tells me that most people don’t really understand what Foster care is all about. I’ve been stigmatized and judged. And so have my children and other children who were unlucky enough to find themselves in ‘the system.’ My children and others who are completely innocent of what their biological parents have or haven’t done. Children who deserve the same respect and love and fair chances that any other child receives. Children who deserve to have privacy about their situation because some day they will be an adult who has no option but to grapple with the choices that their birth parents made or didn’t make. Children whose health and hurts and abilities are not for public inspection, just like your own children. Children who are not bad because of where they come from. Children who are definitely not unwanted or unloved.

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Foster care is NOT loving someone else’s child. Foster care is welcoming a child into your family and making them your own, for as little or as long as they are a part of your household. Foster care is not all runaways and shoplifting and lost kids and police reports and bad news from teachers. Foster care is offering a safe place to grow and learn through the day to day workings of a family who isn’t perfect. Foster care is being to willing to love no matter what the cost. It is being willing to accept the grief of a child who has lost their home, their belongings, their family, their parents, their everything they have ever known or loved. It is advocating for someone who can’t do it themselves, filling out a few papers, following a few rules, and giving a few reports. But that’s not all.

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Foster care is joy and triumph over a tiny human learning how to love and trust and become everything they were meant to be. It is picking up the broken pieces and putting them back together again. It is offering grace and hope and kindness to birth parents who perhaps made bad choices and mistakes and who still love their child very very much. It is offering grace and hope and kindness to children who didn’t have everything they needed and don’t know any other way to act.

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Foster care is being the hands and feet of Jesus in a very broken world. Foster care is showing the world just how much Jesus loves children, even the children that the world might see as less than, because God sees them as worth dying for.

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Foster care is your responsibility and it is mine.

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Foster care is changing the world. One child at a time.

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\n \n", "date_published": "2016-03-08T10:50:35-04:00", "url": "https://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/03/08/foster-care-its-not-what.html", "tags": ["children","parenting","Christmas","joy","foster care","God's love"] }, { "id": "http://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/03/07/what-to-do-when-ive.html", "title": "What to do when I've lost my happy", "content_html": "

My ‘normal’ state of being is a happy contendedness. How I feel when all is well, life is normal, and I am simply feeling pleasant.  It is where I feel most like myself, with an inner calm and a sense of excitement about what life will bring. It is my happy. It’s usually accompanied by coffee.

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Only most people would probably agree, my life is far from normal. My family size is definitely not normal - an almost 20 year marriage and 6 kids (a combination of biological, adopted, and fostered) under the age of 9. My dream  profession, also not normal. My deepest desire and calling is to be a pastor. My lifestyle - not typical - trying to build a miniature farm on a suburban 3 acre lot. My preferred food plan - clean/Paleo with an occasional cupcake - is not for everyone. My love of chickens, and cats, and baby everything. My passion for foster care and special needs. My love of fitness and essential oils. My excessive furniture rearranging. My penchant for dreaming up possiblities. My collection of books, both physical and electronic. And my need for creative expression through music and writing, well, OK, that might be the most normal thing about me. These are all of the things that are a part of who I am, whether they are normal or not. And they are the things that bring me to my happy.\"image\"

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But sometimes, I simply lose my happy. I’m not talking about clinical depression here. Not grief, not chemical imbalances. Sometimes, I simply cease to be happy. Maybe it’s when I feel stuck and the possiblities for moving forward have been exhausted. Maybe it’s when I’m taking on too much at once, when I allow the mommy guilt to build up and set in. If you have a child, you know all about that mommy/daddy guilt. Maybe it’s the state of my budget (red), or when I feel like I’m not accomplished enough for a person of my age (kind of old), when I’m overtired, or when I think everyone else has it better. There - I said it. Comparison.

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Comparison. It kills my joy. It steals my happy. It makes me cease to be me because I’m looking outward, wanting to be someone else. I’m pretty sure that this part is normal because a lovely friend - who happens to share a lot of the things of life that I love -reminded me that research studies have shown that Facebook causes depression. Facebook. A freaking website, where we all - in college dorm style - share our breakfasts, heartbreaks, triumphs, vacation pictures, job changes, children, and dirty laundry. All in the same place. All at the same time. It is a caucaphony of life’s stuff. And then we look to see if each other’s best moments are better than our own. Facebook is fun, but Facebook sometimes steals my happy.

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But if facebook steals the happy, did you know that exercise restores it? Somehow, exercise brings out some feel good endorphins, causing us to feel happy. Today, I did Pilates from Daily Burn. And it was tough, not because this intermediate level, 19 minute, core strength workout was so hard, but because I was simultaneously managing 2 toddlers who were climbing, throwing, shouting, hiding, singing, playing, dumping, and crashing all around me while I was trying to get 19 minutes to do something to make myself happy. And in that moment, I didn’t feel very happy. It tested the limits of my inner sanctum, but I did it anyway because I know that even though it was difficult in the moment, over the course of the day that little workout would help me to restore my happy, as well as burn fat, get stronger, and seriously stand up straight like my mother used to say. (Guess what - standing up straight can help you feel more… happy).

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Other things that help me restore my happy - sleep! Oh how I need sleep, and I also crave alone time with God (but I am never ever alone), taking pictures of my 31 (yes, 31, you have a problem with 31?) chickens, dreaming about the next step in building my homestead (hoop house, goat house, or just a plain old bird house), rearranging the furniture, playing with my 6 children, and blogging during their nap. At least, I pray-plead daily that they really really take a nap.

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So if you’ve lost your happy - (not a depression or grief type of lost your happy), but more of a daily grind got you down kind of lost your happy - consider this. Shut off the phone. Close the computer screen. Grab the kids. Go for a walk. And then move the sofa. It will get you moving forward towards your happy.

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\n", "date_published": "2016-03-07T14:56:58-04:00", "url": "https://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/03/07/what-to-do-when-ive.html", "tags": ["Uncategorized","children","joy","chicken"] }, { "id": "http://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/03/03/finding-the-awe-and-wonder.html", "title": "Finding the awe and wonder.... in myself", "content_html": "

At 14 years of age, I mastered squats, wall sits, pull-ups, bear plank leg lifts, and dieting. Because I didn’t  like the way my body looked.

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In high school, I biked, I lifted, I did calisthenics for 5 hours a day and I secretly followed my parent’s Weight Watcher’s plan. Because I still didn’t like the way my body looked.

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I thought that once I achieved the right degree of thinness I would like myself more. By age 20, I was 20 pounds underweight. I was skinny! But I was tired, I was very weak, and I felt sick.  And I still didn’t like the way my body looked.

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Loving your body has nothing to do with how skinny you are. No doctor \never told me to lose weight. No doctor ever told me to change my diet and get skinnier. In my twenties, Weight Watchers turned me away because I didn’t weigh enough to participate in their program. My BMI was probably never too high. But still, I thought loving myself and having a positive body image would come when I was the right weight, the perfect degree of skinniness. But it never did.

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It took something else entirely. It took learning to see myself as God sees me - as fearfully and wonderfully made - to start to get my body image under control. And I’m not there yet; I sometimes still have to remind myself to be healthy, not skinny. To be strong more than slim. To love the body I have and not compare it to someone else’s. For too many of us, we see ourselves as ‘fat’ no matter how thin we are, because we try to compare ourselves to models in fashion magazines, to our thinner friends, or to young teenagers who haven’t even hit puberty. But God doesn’t compare you and me to someone else. He designed us, He loves us just as we are.  I love - and I need-  that verse in Psalm 139 that shows us that God’s works are wonderful - and we, yes you, yes me - are one of those works:

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Psalm 139:13-14

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New International Version (NIV)

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13 For you created my inmost being;\n    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.\n14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;\n    your works are wonderful,\n    I know that full well.

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I need to let those verses sink in to my head, my heart, my soul. I need to see myself with the awe and the wonder that God created in me and recognize all of the amazing things my body can do (birth a tiny human, for instance). I admit, I still want to shed a few pounds that somehow appeared as I worked my way through seminary to earn my MDIV. But I'm working on healthier, happier ways to go about it because I don't want my daughters or my sons to equate thinness with self-love. I want them to learn to love their bodies and show love to their bodies by eating mostly healthy meals, by being strong and fit, by seeing themselves as I see them, and most importantly, as God sees them. I wouldn't love my children any less if they were short or tall or obese or thin - so why would I put the same pressure on myself? God's love means I can love myself no matter what my outsides look like.

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I've done Weight Watchers, Pilates, the Daniel Plan, biking, low fat, low carb, It Works!, Zyng, I've juiced, given up sugar, flour, and attempted just about every other diet plan you can imagine. And none of them ever filled up my soul and made me happy because my soul simply doesn't need to be skinny. My soul needs Jesus. My identity is in Him, not in the shape of my outsides.

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I don't have all the answers, and I'm not totally sure what the right fit and healthy me looks like yet, but that's ok. I'm just taking a little step at a time, finding the right balance between Paleo and clean eating alongside an occasional donut, staying active every day and exercising sometimes, and trusting that God loves me enough to have made me wonderfully. And that feels better than skinny ever did.

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\n \n", "date_published": "2016-03-03T13:37:41-04:00", "url": "https://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/03/03/finding-the-awe-and-wonder.html", "tags": ["Uncategorized","children","Daniel Plan","exercise","God's love","juicing","Paleo","weight loss"] }, { "id": "http://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/01/04/the-return-of-reality-and.html", "title": "The Return of Reality and Where Do I Go from Here?", "content_html": "

The marathon has ended and the surreal inverse reality of the holiday season has finally come to a close. I’m not talking sci-fi, I’m talking Christmas. Oh, I love Christmas - I love to celebrate the birth of my Savior, I love to spend time with family and friends, and I love to delight my small children with Christmas goodies wrapped up in pretty paper. I love Christmas music and I love Christmas cookies a little bit too much… But I feel like I spend every Christmas season in a sleep-deprived haze, rushing too much only to accomplish too little. Each year, I aim to cut it down to the basics and simplify the season as much as I possibly can. But even still, it’s a crazy-filled race to the end and by the time the New Year arrives, I basically feel like a fruit cake. A pudgy, tired, maxed-out fruitcake with a head cold. And it is in this state that reality returns on Monday morning.

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Every year, it is almost inevitable that I  play a funeral or celebration of life service in between Christmas and New Year’s, often for a family that I don’t know.  As I listen to the family share about their missing loved one’s character, accomplishments, dreams, and goals, I wonder - how much do we really matter outside of our smallest circle of influence? It is the family and very close friends who are broken and grieving, the business associates and other friends who are saddened, and strangers who are mostly reflective. It is a hard time to lose someone you love. It is always a hard time to lose someone you love.

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And as 2015 has rolled over into 2016, I don’t want any New Years resolutions, fad diets, or pep talks. I don’t want anything to add to my already lengthy to do list. I don’t want to get up at 4:30 and exercise, either. What do I want is to think about my circle of influence. The 6 small wonders that greet me each morning (and much too early, I might add), my husband,  along with the others that I interact with throughout my day.  During the funeral, the deceased’s daughter shared her favorite memories of her dad - and revealed a poignant truth for this year. The memories she cherished most had no technology, no presents, no personal gain. They weren’t great moments of inspiration, discipline, or idealized events. They were simply regular time spent in the loving presence of her dad, doing life together. And isn’t that the point?

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Perhaps it reflects my age that I am so moved by a funeral, but I hope that it reflects that God is still working on my attitude and my personal goals, shaping me into a more Christ-like version of myself. While I am working on some new goals and dreams, I want to keep this in the forefront of it all:

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Enjoying this life to the most, and planning for what we will leave behind, means doing life together in the presence of our Heavenly Father.  It means being present in my circle of influence, so that I can reflect the presence of Jesus in my life. So how does this thought reshape my plans for today, tomorrow, this year, and beyond?

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Happy New Year and  may you know God’s presence in your life each day.

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\n", "date_published": "2016-01-04T14:31:56-04:00", "url": "https://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2016/01/04/the-return-of-reality-and.html", "tags": ["children","Christmas","Jesus"] }, { "id": "http://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2015/12/08/why.html", "title": "Why?", "content_html": "

Such a tiny term, that little word why, but the very sound of it is like the screech of nails on the world’s largest chalkboard. Each and every utterance of that one word invokes a desire in me to head for the hills… or at least disappear mentally into my happy place. Why why why must they ask why?

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Being the mom of a rather large lot of rather small children, I hear the word

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[caption id=“attachment_53” align=“alignright” width=“225”]\"Why?\" Why?[/caption]

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“why” incessantly. Why won’t they stop asking me why? I wish I had a dollar for every time I heard the word “why.” I think I could fully fund my children’s college educations. Every. Single. One of them.  My children love the word why.

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For the most part, I can put each “why” into one of 2 categories. There’s the quest for more information - the curious why. When my children really want to know why there are chickens living in our garage or why the cat left a 4-footed present at the foot of the bed. Why does the sun come up every morning? Why do I go to school today? Why do we have Christmas?

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This kind of why, I love. I love that my children are curious about their world. I love that they want to know more. I love being given opportunites to share with them the things that are important to me. And I love those precious moments of everyday conversation that build our relationship.

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Why did God make rainbows? Why did Jesus die? Why don’t you give me a hug right now?

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Those kinds of why’s make my heart happy.

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And there’s that other “why?.”  It’s the why that gets under my skin, every time. It’s full of attitude. Selfishness. Stubbornness. It’s not a question, it’s a complaint. Not spoken with curiousity, but the kind of defiance that toddlers are known for.

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“Honey, please put your shoes on.” “Why.”

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It’s a statement of rebelliousness.

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“Sweetie, it’s time to pick your toys up.” “Why!”

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A rejection of authority.

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“It’s time to go now.” “WHY.”

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It’s a demand for independance. Just like Frank Sinatra once crooned, “I’ll do it my way.” This kind of a why is more like “Oh heck no.” “I don’t” “I won’t” “Huh-uh” “Nada” “Never” “Not” “Nope” and “No way.” And I hear this why the most.

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How often do we say that to God?

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When God says, sell your posessions and give to the poor and we say, “Why. I like my stuff.”\nWhen God says care for the orphan and the widow, and we say “But I’m too busy…”

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When God says follow me and we say “I can’t right now. I won’t”

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When God said, this is the path I have for you, and I say “But, really God, why.”

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Why must I do this? Why must my life be this way? Why?

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When God says love me above all else, and we say, “Why God?” We are showing Him our rebellion, not love. Our selfishness, not giving. When we endure hardship, and we ask God, “WHY.” When we don’t get our own way, and we ask God “why?” When we don’t have all of the money or the stuff that we want and we say “Why why why?”  And we ask when we’re not really curious, we’re just complaining because we don’t have our way.

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But God is far more patient than I am. He handles my “why” far better than I can handle my children’s. I have a lot to learn about patience, but God the Father never runs out of patience for His children.

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I try to hide my rolling eyes and my grimaced face when my kids proclaim their displeasured: “WHY.” I stuff down my own bad attitude for the 437th time in a day that “why” crosses the threshhold to my ears. “Because I’m your Mom and I make rules to keep you safe,” I respond with all the kindness and gentleness and sweetness I can muster (which, all too often, isn’t really all that much). God’s patience never runs out. God’s love for us is never quelled by our rebellious, stubborn, independent selves. God can handle our ungrateful “why” because of who He is.

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“Because I AM.”

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I hate to admit it. It bothers me terribly when my kids say it, because, sadly, I say it, too.

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“Why?”

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\n", "date_published": "2015-12-08T14:54:19-04:00", "url": "https://peopleofwonder.micro.blog/2015/12/08/why.html", "tags": ["children","parenting"] } ] }