Today's Sneak Preview...

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition , with thanksgiving, present your requests to God" (Philippians 4:6)

This is one of my favorite verses, and yes, you've read it here before. Remember those eagle's wings from yesterday? Well, add them to the prayer I will undoubtedly need to get me through today and I guess that's what is meant by getting through on a wing and a prayer. Today, I have a feeling, is going to be one of those "flying through life by the seat of my pants" kind of days...

It's only 8:21 in the morning and already I have had a lesson in patience and hopefully Nicole has had a preview of natural consequences. We got all the way to school, early and on track for the mega day ahead that doesn't have nearly enough margins in it between things...and she realized she had forgotten to put her homework agenda back in her backpack after I signed it. I had time to drive back home (which is way out of the way and backed up with insane traffic for our little town because of the bridge being out between here and there...) but then had to make sure I gathered everything I needed for the day because I won't get home till after 4, maybe later...But we had a little conversation about whose job it was to pack the agenda in the backpack. Final warning, final answer. Hers. And the next time I won't go back to get it.

Other things that I will be skidding through today, hopefully without getting brush burns...

• Dropping off a friend's son at the high school, which is why I have time to post now. I had just enough time to sit here for fifteen minutes, but not enough time to run home (again).
• A meeting in the next town for service projects we will be doing for our upcoming Faith in Action campaign at church. Of course, we never got confirmation of where the meeting is for sure, so there could be extra steps involved there too...
• That meeting is followed by a meeting with our ministry director to get back into leadership mode in the Outreach initiatives we are involved with.
• Matt is coming home today for a die contrast MRI of his wrist; the injection is at 1:30 the MRI at 2:45. We are running a special on MRI's in my family...I will try to get to some of that.
• School pick up is also at 2:45 and 3:15, then Tianna has a doctor appointment at 3:30.
• In the meantime my mom is withdrawing into a shell and it is hard to see.
• Cheering practice tonight at 6 for Nicole for two hours.
• A discussion with Matt somewhere along the line about how much we will be able to support him this fall.

I'll let you know how it all works out.

Of Peaches and Patience...

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23)

So what do patience and peaches have in common? Well, for starters they are both fruits...and both start with "P" at that. They also can both rot; take it from me, I know. My peaches here in my bowl aren't the only fruit that can rot, my fruit of the spirit can also at times become maggot infested and rotten.

Kara's comment on a previous post got me thinking about patience this morning. And I know all about praying for patience...she is absolutely right on...pray for patience and it will all break loose. So basically, if you aren't looking for refinement in the area of trials and tribulations, perseverance and becoming ultimately more Christlike, don't pray for patience. I know. I wrote about this in my first book, Winning the Drug War at Home...Come up with another request...like joy, or gentleness or one of the other fruits. Patience equals long-suffering; that is what it is called another Bible translation.

But we could all use an extra dose of patience, couldn't we? I am chuckling to myself as I think about the lesson I had in patience just this morning. It had to do with driving my younger daughter to school this morning. It is normally just a quick ride down the hill, to the right, and voila, there we are at school. But there is a bridge out between here and there, that requires making a large U to a parallel road and back again, through a busy intersection that is prone to getting backed up. I know I don't live in a metro area where I need to deal with traffic every day, now that would really be a lesson in patience (or insanity). So on my way back home the turn lane off the busy road was way backed up...so I continued straight to make the turn from a bit further down and then back tracked. I was at the traffic light waiting to proceed, enjoying the quiet of the car ruminating about these things when the light changed and when I didn't immediately gun it the guy in his little hot rod Mitsubishi behind me honked. I waved to him out my rear view mirror and gave him a huge smile, knowing that in other areas of the country he may have received other gestures and looks. He wasn't patient, but I guess neither was I because I chose to go around rather than sit in the pretty long left turn lane (and the green left arrow is pretty quick...)

So how am I learning to become more patient?

• By bringing the island way of life home with me as much as possible.
• By being less demanding of myself and others.
• I am not wearing my watch as much here either.
• By not multi-tasking.
• By purging stuff (so I will not have as much to take care of, necessitating less multi-tasking because I can't seem to find enough time to maintain order).
• By focusing on relationships more than other things and allowing myself to be interrupted to allow for relationships to take precedence.
• And yes, by praying, although not necessarily for patience...

And those beautiful peaches? You didn't know Howie was an organic farmer, did you? Freshly picked from our backyard tree.

Peace (and Patience :)

Like Brother, Like SIster...My Two Redheads...

My two redheads, Nicole and Matt. I wish I could get my hands on pictures I have of both of them when they were each about two. They are interchangeable. You really couldn't tell them apart. Scary.
They both have incredibly strong personalities (must be the red hair) and unending energy. When it is channelled in creative, nurturing ways it is a beautiful thing. When the persistence approaches whining, I pull out my new favorite phrase, "I expect...(named behavior), you decide (whether to carry out said behavior or suffer the consequences) the entire time affirming how bright and smart she/they are. Granted, this technique is most appropriately practiced with Nicole (she hates it and I appreciate your prayers for patience and perseverance) but I think was happy to learn that it could be applied equally well to her brother.
My angst with Matt has revolved around him setting up his internship this fall at Ithaca College. In case you didn't know, I perfected the role of wooosie, enabling mother a few years back when we were going through some struggles (you can read about them in my first book...)and boy was I good at it! A performance worthy of an Oscar nomination, for sure...
Well, anyway, all that is standing between him and his college degree is a six credit internship. Let's just say filling out the appropriate paper work within the correct time frame has posed some, uh, problems, for me, anyway. I think he did just fine. Well, who wouldn't getting paid to snowboard in Vail during the winter and living in Boone, NC (albeit in a pop up camper) this summer working as a river guide. But everyone agrees this fall would be a great time to wrap it up.
So I have found every possible annoying mom way of asking if he has made the necessary phone call yet. I even used the "I expect/You decide" routine. Well, part of it is, I expect you do to blah, blah blah, and if you do, it will go well for you, if you don't, then...Well, guess what? I was the one it didn't really go that well for.
But then lo and behold, he made the phone call, on the day I didn't ask, no less, My Birthday! and it was the best gift.
So tomorrow he meets with the folks at Primitive Pursuits a Wilderness Organization in Ithaca and hopefully will get all his T's crossed and I's dotted. And it will go well for both of us.
In the meantime I will keep practicing my "I expects" with Nicole. I expect courtesy, respect, not to be interrupted and I have to say, slowly we are getting there.
I love their strong spirits although some days it really does wear me out.

We had an amazing, amazing message at church today about excellence in ministry. It could just as well be excellence in life...and that's a preview of tomorrow.
Shalom.