Fifteen Minute Marriage Work

I missed him at lunch.

I got home late and he was already back at work. I'd missed him the day before too and as silly as it sounds, something about not seeing him all day two days in a row made me sad. So I found myself in the Dairy Queen drive thru, ordering him a root beer freeze, looking for any excuse to pop in on him at work.

The small gesture was totally worth it when I peeked into his office and he beamed. As a worship pastor his time is a high commodity during Holy Week, yet still he shut his laptop and asked me to sit down a little bit. He wanted to know how my morning went, flashing me that look of value, his eyes sparkling, his face lit up, his laugh falling in all the right places.

I didn't stay long, but our few moments in his office refreshed my droopy spirit. His smile and warm goodbye told me he liked it too. He tells me often it takes so very little to make women happy. All they need to know, he says, is that they've been thought of. I've always agreed and thanked God for a husband who recognizes that. Our brief encounter last week tells me men are not all that different.

It takes so very little to say I love you.

See how other couples keep the love alive by visiting other Marriage Monday contributors at Chrysalis.

7 Quick Takes (Volume 76)

1) Miss Innocent One survived "the film." She didn't have to learn about any guy "junk" and came away thinking it was pretty silly to get worked up. Kevin looked through the materials she brought home and found this: "Puberty: It's not summer vacation, but it is a great journey."

I don't know why that makes both of us laugh.

2) Drama Queen attended Prom on Saturday and when her friends came over for pictures, I swear the girl acted like she was on crack, flitting about, talking loud, being generally spastic. I think these pictures pretty much tell the story.


I'm not sure what she's doing here. HELP!




Finally a REAL picture. Love you, babe! You keep our lives entertaining!


3) In the middle of an ordinary Tuesday, my cell phone beeped indicating I had a text from my son. It ended up being my favorite text exchange of the week.

Drummer Boy: For some reason I just thought I saw you on campus. Turns out it was Asian haha.

Me: IT?! Thanks a lot!

Drummer Boy: Oh sorry. SHE was an Asian.

Me: Too funny. Tell me she was at least a little attractive.

Drummer Boy: Haha uh idk. That's weird lol.

Me: OK. U have a point. Have a good one!

4) My poor girls. It's a hardship having me for a mother. Thank the Lord they overlook my handicaps.

Miss Innocent One: I'm going to take a shower. Mom, when I'm done, can you help me put my hair in braids?

Now you must know I am just terrible at doing girly hair. I've told my girls from infancy that their mother was hair challenged.

Me: I can try. I can't promise anything.

Miss Innocent One (with a knowing grin): We'll just experiment.

Does she get me or what?!

5) Drama Queen came into our bedroom to turn in her cell phone for the night and realized her brother and sister were gone.

Drama Queen: Am I the only kid in the house tonight?

Me: Yep.

Kevin: We'll try to keep it down.

Drama Queen: Ew. Sick. That's disgusting.

Kevin (to me, laughing): It's too easy.

6) We're sitting at dinner when Ladies Man asks if I went to Walmart that day (the presence of Little Debbie cakes which never last long in our house clued him in).

Kevin: You went to Walmart? I should have had you get me some more body spray.

Drama Queen and Ladies Man blew a gasket laughing.

Me: What?

Drama Queen: Body spray?

Kevin: So? You use it too.

Drama Queen: Okay, Nancy.

She and Ladies Man yucked it up for a few minutes and went on their way. The next day I found an addition to a new shopping list I started.


I laughed out loud, wishing Drama Queen hadn't already left for school. Later at lunch I told Kevin about it.

Kevin: I was wondering when you'd find it.

Me: Did you see it?

Kevin: See it? I WROTE it.

And to think I gave Drama Queen credit for it! Who says the guy doesn't have a sense of humor?

7) I pray this weekend, friends, you take time to remember, to be thankful and to worship our Lord and Savior.

For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.

Romans 11:36

Happy Easter!

Stroll through some other Quick Takes posts at Conversion Diary.

Remember

See, my servant will prosper; he will be highly exalted. But many were amazed when they saw him. His face was so disfigured he seemed hardly human, and from his appearance, one would scarcely know he was a man. And he will startle many nations. Kings will stand speechless in his presence. For they will see what they had not been told; they will understand what they had not heard about.

Who has believed our message? To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm? My servant grew up in the Lord's presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground. There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him. He was despised and rejected--a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.

Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God's paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.

He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. Unjustly condemned, he was led away. No one cared that he died without descendants, that his life was cut short in midstream. But he was struck down for the rebellion of my people. He had done no wrong and had never deceived any one. But he was buried like a criminal; he was put in a rich man's grave.

But it was the Lords' good plan to crush him and cause him grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have many descendants. He will enjoy a long life, and the Lord's good plan will prosper in his hands. When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of his experience, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins. I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier, because he exposed himself to death. He was counted among the rebels. He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.

Isaiah 52:13-53:12 (New Living Translation)




Photo Credit: Remara Photography

A Computer Fast

Remember last week when I talked about taking a fast?

God and I have nailed down the particulars.

Though many of you will not find your computer a daily necessity, I spend a LOT of time on mine and have decided to take a computer fast. I'm talking no blogging, no blog reading, no Facebook, no checking the weather or my kids' lunch accounts and grades, no e-mails, no communication via a computer whatsoever. Any work I normally do on my computer will conclude Wednesday evening.

Starting April 1 at midnight, my fingers will not touch this keyboard until Easter Sunday morning. I have written blog posts for Thursday and Friday and scheduled them to post automatically, so don't think I'm cheating when they appear. Don't take it personally if you e-mail me and do not receive a response. I will not see them and won't answer any messages until at least Sunday and probably not until Monday.

Some of you are wondering why. What possible benefit is there in shutting off your computer for a few days?

Sadly, I recognize my computer as something which binds me to the world of material things, as Ole Hallesby put it. I need to learn how to use the tool, not let the tool use me. My computer has too much importance in my life. I must remove the obstacle which tempts me to kill my morning moments reading blogs instead of reading my Bible. It's time to find my computer's rightful place in my day to day living. And I need to focus on Holy Week. I need to remember and be grateful, clearing away any distractions from Christ's tremendous sacrifice.

Is it possible to achieve this in a few short days? Maybe not, but should that exclude me from trying?

All to Jesus I surrender
all to Him I freely give.
I will ever love and trust Him.
In His presence daily live.

I surrender all.
I surrender all.
All to Jesus, I surrender.
I surrender all.

Catch you on Monday, friends.



Photo Credit: Lawrence OP

All the Time God is Good

As I walked in the door, I noticed my answering machine blinking. I pushed the button, expecting the standard "Call me back" kind of message. Instead I heard my dad's voice.

"The doctor called and said there were cancer cells in the fluid they drained off my lungs. I've got an appointment with the oncologist. Do you want to go along so we make sure we hear everything right?"

My breath stuck in my throat. What would we be facing?

“Faith saith not ‘It is good for me, so God must have sent it’,
but ‘God sent it, so it must be good for me.’”

Phillips Brooks

As tears filled my eyes, I exhaled.

Okay, God, I thought, one day at a time. Get us through.

The journey was difficult and ended in the worst way possible in my father's death, but I have to believe it was for my good. Those short months gave me much time with my dad, cultivating discussions we'd never had before, helping us come to an understanding we'd never had of each other. It forced us to say things we were to chicken to say before.

And Dad. . .he got to go to a better place--definitely for his good!

We don't have to like it. We don't have to understand. We only have to trust. If God is not good, how do we survive life on earth?

Join Kathryn at Expectant Hearts to see more ideas on this quote.

Eliminating the Obstacle

When I walk into a crowded room, I see are people who are stronger than me, people who know more, speak articulately and look better, people who laugh freely with others, whose kids seem perfect, people who appear to have mastered the art of adulthood with style and grace. I take in the scene and feel like a little girl. How can a woman of my age still feel so small?

I read in God's Word I am to be a light. I am to go out into the world. I am to be His witness, His ambassador. I'm supposed to represent Christ to the masses. How am I supposed to do that when I feel so inadequate? What is my problem?!

I'm an introvert. Introverts possess many strengths including humility, thoughtfulness, good listening skills, an ability to access a situation accurately, but it is also easy as an introvert to step back, to guard myself. It's tempting to disengage from others and say nothing, making myself stoic and unapproachable.

If I let those weaknesses have their way with me, I am ineffective. My introverted ways are an obstacle to being what God has called me to be.

I can't be a writer if I'm afraid to say anything.

I can't lead Bible study by sitting in the corner soaking in the words of others.

I don't pass along the lessons God teaches by smiling politely and offering nothing.

I have to eliminate the obstacles, those things which cause me to cower from my responsibilities to God. I have to throw off that which hinders.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

Hebrews 12:1

Victory doesn't happen overnight. It's a process. Over the years God has gently nudged me out of my comfort zone, teaching me to put aside my introverted tendencies. I keep the good that comes from them--the listening skills, the intuition, the empathy--and push aside the fear of sticking my neck out, the fear of exposing too much.

When I throw off my hindrances, Satan can't steal my confidence. He tries. He whispers in my ear all the time, "Why did you say that? You should have kept your big mouth shut. Who do you think you are? People aren't responding to you. You're better off letting someone else handle that."

But greater is He that is in me, than he that is in the world. I must fight Satan. My weaknesses have accompanying strengths God expects me to use for His glory. How can I say no?

God's given us exactly what we need to accomplish His plans, yet Satan convinces us we are not capable. He either tempts us to ignore our gifts or leads us into sin, distracting us from the task at hand. We remain ineffective, carrying around guilt and a nagging sense we don't measure up. But it doesn't have to be this way.

We can fight. We can throw off that which hinders.

What is your obstacle? What's keeping you from running the race marked out for you?

I challenge you to identify it. Fight the fear. Use the power of the Holy Spirit within you to throw it off, to eliminate the obstacle. Be bold enough to be what God intended you to be. Just say no to that aggravating sinful habit. Step out of your comfort zone. Push yourself, trusting God to take you where He's called you. Ignore the flutters in your stomach, your pounding heart and do what God asks.

Throw off everything that hinders.

Eliminate the obstacle.

See what He makes in you.

7 Quick Takes (Volume 75)

1) Kevin played for a wedding out of town last weekend. We didn't know the couple at all, only the bride's family, but we decided to make the most of it and turn it into a little weekend getaway for us. WOOT! WOOT! Hallelujah and Praise the Lord! Too bad we couldn't have taken a couple MORE days. I knew we were long over due for some time alone when Kevin said BEFORE we left, "I just know it's not going to be long enough."

This week we received a thank you from the bride's grandmother, praising Kevin's playing and thanking him for his part in making the wedding nice. And then she added this little ditty at the end.

"Tami, I'm so glad you could be there. You added to the beauty of the day."

Now isn't that a perfectly lovely thing to say?! I hope I can be that gracious with my words some day.

2) Drama Queen and I were having a pretty stupid discussion in my bathroom one night, comparing our bodies in completely inappropriate ways while Kevin laid in bed.

Kevin: What are you doing?

We ignored him and continued our pointless banter.

Me: I'm losing my boobs.

Drama Queen: Hey, my boobs may be as big as yours.

Kevin: Oh brother.

Me: I don't know. Let me see. . .No, I'm still ahead of you.

Drama Queen: Only because you've had kids.

Kevin: I wish you guys could hear yourselves.

Drama Queen: What's that, Peacock?

Kevin: Peacock?

Drama Queen: What are you squawking about in there?

She found herself quite hysterical and has continued calling him Peacock all week. As you can imagine, sound effects come along with the name. I don't think it's going to last long though. When she tried to use it on him last night, he got ticked.

3) Kevin and I are attending an opera tonight to see one of our former college kids strut her stuff. I'm VERY excited. Dinner, the opera, a little culture, a cute guy to share it with. . .what's not to like?

4) Today I'm going to Miss Innocent One's school where they're showing "the film." My poor daughter has heard for years about "the film" from her siblings and has it built up in her mind as the most embarrassing thing she'll have to face thus far in her young life. I keep telling her it's not a big deal (after all, we've already had the sex talk), but her brother shoots my assurances to smithereens with his offhand comments.

Ladies Man: Miss Innocent One, you know you're going to learn about guys too.

Miss Innocent One: Ew.

Ladies Man: I had to learn about girls.

Miss Innocent One: Yeah. . .

Ladies Man: It's important to know about guys' junk.

Don't ask me where he got this impression, but it was so significant he wouldn't let it go.

Miss Innocent One (looking nauseated): Yeah. . .

Ladies Man: You have to know about vaginas AND penises.

Miss Innocent One: Maybe, but I'd rather not learn it from you!

5) I hope I haven't upset anyone's delicate sensibilities using the big "V" and "P" words. Obviously, we've always just called things like they are in our house. It seems more sensible to use correct terminology than something as inane as pee pee. Of course that has backfired on us a few times, like when our three-year-old racked himself on some playground equipment during a Bible study outing and yelled across a crowded park, "I hurt my penis!!!"

Now I've said the "P" word twice. If some of you are hyperventilating, forgive me.

6) I watched a friend's baby for a short time this week. I wouldn't call myself a baby person. I don't have the urge to hold every infant I encounter like my mother-in-law does, but I really enjoyed my time with this little guy. There's something about interacting with a baby that reminds me of all that is pure in life. It's hard to worry about how to pay for new tires when you're holding a perfect, tiny little person in your arms. It's like touching a real life miracle. Spending time with this tyke soothed my spirit, reminding me how incredible God's work is.

7) You should know I always clear what I post here with my kids. When I hollered at Ladies Man to get his approval on number 4, Drama Queen was reading over my shoulder.

Me: Ladies Man, come here. I want to make sure I won't embarrass you on the blog.

Ladies Man: What is it?

Drama Queen: It's about your penis!

Okay, so now I've totally alienated you by using the big "P" three times. So sorry. I just couldn't help it. Give me a break. It's the weekend.

I hope you enjoy your weekend as much as I obviously need mine. Take a little time to peruse some other Quick Takes posts at Conversion Diary.