Monthly Archives: March 2010

Sweetly Broken.

Pregnancy means waking up to pee every hour on the hour.  When I woke up at 4:00 am, I just couldn’t drift back off into sleepy town.  It happens often these days.  It’s usually because of my athlete in training or my mind running ramped of things I need to accomplish.  Then, there are times I just wake up and pray.  I pray for my children.  I pray for Kris.  I pray for people in need of healing.  I just pray.

It’s easy, especially in this stage of my journey carrying a child, to become self-focused.  I still read scriptures.  I’m still very aware of God’s presence in my life.  But, I can still focus much too much on wanting this baby-carrying journey to end.  So, when God centers me again, I want to fall down at the cross and thank Him for it.  He does it for me often.  He did it again at 4:00 am.

I made a little delivery room playlist on my iPod.  The first song on that playlist is Jeremy Riddle’s “Sweetly Broken.”  I haven’t been able to get these lyrics out of my head since my little wake-up call:

At the cross You beckon me
You draw me gently to my knees, and I am
Lost for words, so lost in love,
I’m sweetly broken, wholly surrendered

I’m so thankful for a Father who continues to beckon me, even when I become self-consumed.  I’m so thankful that He allows me to surrender my stuff to Him – sometimes the same stuff more than once or ten times.  I’m so thankful I’m in love with Him. 

And, that He first loved me.

Sweetly broken.  That’s me today.

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Filed under prayer, pregnancy, Spiritual Journey

Three Things.

I ran across this scripture yesterday.  It’s a popular one.  You probably know it.

The Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.  Micah 6:8

Three things, huh?

Do what’s right.

Love mercy.

Walk humbly with God. 

To always do what’s right?  To love mercy?  Even when we think that person doesn’t deserve it?  Be kind anyway.  To walk humbly with God?  Total submission.  Where He is everything, and we are nothing. 

Where He increases, and we decrease.

What if we were all intentional to do those three things daily? 

Would my day look any different? 

Would yours?

I think we’d find ourselves much better off, and our lives bringing God much more glory.

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Filed under God Stuff, Spiritual Journey, Virtue

Aunt Kate Talks With Unknown Teeth.

I know alla y’all know Big Mama by now.  Do you remember her 94 year old sister, Kate?  Here she is.

Well, Aunt Kate fell and broke her sweet, little hip.  She is having surgery this morning.  According to my momma, she has not lost her ability to “talk up a storm.”  As a matter of fact, when the good doctor asked her if her teeth belonged to her, she cleverly pointed to a couple that did.  Then, added while pointing to other various teeth, “Now, I don’t know who that one belongs to, or that one, or that one….”

There is only one Aunt Kate.  And, one Big Mama.  I love them both.

Say a prayer for Aunt Kate today.  And, pray for Big Mama who will endure her endless gabbing.  Because, she will not leave her side.

Love y’all.  Mean it.

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Filed under Big Mama, prayer

Laugh Out Loud.

I laugh a lot.  I laugh out loud a lot.  And, I laugh loudly. 

It’s true.  You can ask anyone who knows me well.  I really can’t help it.  I’ve asked Kris if my loud laugh embarrasses him.  He kindly tells me it’s one of the things he loves about me. 

That’s a good thing.  Because, he makes me laugh every day we are together. 

We can even laugh about things that most married couples wouldn’t laugh about.  Like his past relationships….and sometimes, even my divorce. 

I’ll tease about things I lost in the divorce.  Like a CD or some other random item.  “Yep,” I’ll say, “Lost that in the divorce.” 

Last night, he made me laugh again.

Me: (folding laundry) “Ya know, I used to iron Bryan’s golf shirts, even some of his t-shirts.”

Kris:  “Did you lose that in the divorce?”

We should really take our act on the road.  Like Sonny and Cher. 

Or, I guess, not.

Life is much too short to not truly enjoy even the smallest of moments.  To laugh out loud. To laugh at oneself.   It can be easy to let the stresses of daily life overtake these moments.

Don’t let them.  Scripture tells us that a merry heart does us good like medicine. (Proverbs 17:22) What does medicine do?  It comforts.  It heals.  It prevents our hurts from getting worse. 

Don’t let worry, fear, stress, or anger plague your life.  Let your heart be merry.  We can’t control everything that happens to us, but we can control how we react to them.  If we choose to laugh, we’ll find life much more enjoyable (and more enjoyable to be around.) 

We can also find in Proverbs 15:13 that “a happy heart makes the face cheerful.”  And, that is something you’ll never find in those expensive facial creams.  So, laugh more.  And, save yourself some money with Oil of Olay.  My momma swears by that stuff….and by the laughs my dad has consistently provided her the past thirty-seven years.

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Filed under divorce, health, life, Marriage, Motherhood