“Mom, Caleb won’t take my hand!” complained my older son Nathan. The other night we were gathered for dinner and about to pray. My husband and I placed the last few items on the table for our meal. Nathan laid his hand out flat and Caleb refused to place his hand on top. Nathan felt rejected and frustrated. Jonathan reminded Nathan that even though Caleb wouldn’t take his hand, Nathan was still okay. Jonathan asked Caleb to take Nathan’s hand. Caleb pouted about it but finally took Nathan’s hand. After thanking God for our meal, we enjoyed being together.

I can do it myself. This is a phrase I have used too many times. The other day, I was at Aldi. There was a father there who displayed this attitude. God used it to teach me about pride. Here is my story... In and Out. That’s what I needed to do the other day when I went grocery shopping at Aldi. I had an appointment and needed to be focused. With my list in hand, I charged forward. I had Caleb and 2 friends with me but the little boys were strapped in, so I knew I could move fast. Corn Chips, Ketchup, Yogurt, Kidney beans into the cart as I breezed through my list. I pulled frozen chicken breasts from the freezer and in the process noticed a Dad with his adorable little girls. He was holding one and trying to keep the other close by but she preferred wandering. I sighed as I remembered those early days. I felt the feelings with the Dad as he kept track of his young girls. The goal was always to get done and get out of the grocery store as quick as possible. Oh yes, I remember those days.

Are you familiar with these worship songs below? My husband and I have them mostly memorized especially the chorus of each. Why is that? Because they are our children’s life songs. What is a life song?

Every scar tells a story. I am sure you can remember the story of how you received the scar. Many of you could even tell every detail of what happened that day. We all have physical scars that are visible from the outside. But, what about the scars that are on the inside? The ones that maybe only you know about and hurt more than the outside scars did. The beautiful thing about the inside scars is that Jesus can bring healing to them. He wants to take away the pain from any experience that has scared you. Jesus wants to help us remove the bitterness, the unforgiveness and sadness we may still experience. Jesus is able. But, we need to let Him. Why is it that we don’t?

Baby ducks, an eggshell in cookie dough, missing books and movie, a clay flower in the freezer. These are all very random and little things. You may wonder why I am even making this list. This list reminds me that God cares about the little things. Over the past several months I have taken note of the way God has provided and answered prayers. It has been so fun to be on the lookout.

Do you find yourself in a hurry often? Do you find yourself saying to your kids, “Hurry up! We have to go!” Me too! All too often in fact. As I reflected on this more, I realized that I am the problem. It’s not my kids. Yes, they are slow to move sometimes but they aren’t the reason we are running late so much. I am the problem. Ouch! There are several conclusions I have come to.

Llamas, horses, pigs, and bunnies. Can you guess where we went this summer? The kids love going to the 4H fair. They each get to pick an animal they would like to see. We spend the morning going to each animal’s barn or area.

When is the last time you took a trip to the moon? For our family, it was this afternoon. We really enjoyed our adventure on the moon. The weather was perfect. The kids LOVE going to the moon! What started as a random idea has turned into something very special for our kids.

"Look at those waves!! They are huge!!” exclaimed our four kids as they jumped up and down. The waves quickly washed up any creation in the sand. As they thundered in, it looked like mountains compared to some of my kids. This summer, we spent time on Lake Michigan for our family vacation. On this particular morning, we stood amazed at the power of the waves. The younger two kids put their feet in the water and that was enough for them. They quickly busied themselves with playing in the sand. The older two kids ventured out a little further but not much. I soaked it all in and enjoyed my spot on the sand.

Are you one of those people that love a clean kitchen? Does it energize and empower you? Me too.  When my house is out of order, I feel like I am out of order.  The other day my kitchen counters were cluttered with papers that needing to be filed, thrown away, and mail that still needed to be read.  The pile of dirty dishes had grown out of the sink and invaded the remaining counter space.  The dried on food mocked me from between the plates.  Once again it was out of control…I felt defeated even before I had begun to fight back. Sometimes I wonder why I even bother to clean because it’s only going to get messy again. Oh well, here I go. It has to be done. I rolled up my sleeves, dug in and whipped that kitchen into shape.  The counters sparkled from the wash down, the dishwasher hummed quietly and no papers cluttered my counters. Yes! I had achieved a sense of calm once again.