The Special Plate

"Mom, who's gonna get the special plate?!" my kids eagerly ask me when they see it on the dinner table.
"Well, you decide..." I usually say.
And that begins an earnest conversation between the three of them as they try to remember who had it last time and who should get it this time...

It's a tradition that we started four or five years ago. Once a month or so someone in the family gets the "special plate"- a plate that is different from our regular dinnerware. Then during dinner time we all share with that person what we appreciate about him/her. We go around the table and tell that person one or two things that we are thankful for. Sometimes it is the kids telling daddy that they appreciate him playing their favorite game with them that week. Or that they appreciate him telling them a story the night before. Other times it's Roland and I telling the kids that we are thankful to the Lord for their heart-of service toward a sibling or hospitality toward a visitor or kindness to an elderly woman at church.

It's been a sweet time for us as a family to regularly verbalize our appreciation for one another- for little things that often go unnoticed or "unthanked".
It has been good for the kids to practice speaking heart-felt and tender words to one another. It's been good for mom and dad to recognize and articulate how other's actions have been a blessing to us.

Remember When...?

Recently my brother and I shared some laughs together as we reminisced about some childhood memories...
-Remember when we were in elementary school and mom and dad let us ride the bus from Nebraska to California?!
-Remember when mom sewed lace on the hem of my pants to give them a few more months of wear?
-Remember when mom cut my hair as short as yours and people thought we were twin--boys!?

Often events from the past just seem to pop into my mind, seemingly out of nowhere. Other times things around me jar my memory-a smell reminds me of my grandma or a song from the '80s reminds me of a high school friend. Although it's fun to reminisce about the past, the Lord has been showing me lately how He wants me to actively use my memory-to honor Him.

All throughout the Old Testament Israel is reminded of how God brought them out of slavery. Over and over they are reminded of how God provided manna and quail for them in the desert. They are reminded of how God gave them the Promised Land. The Lord knew that Israel needed to remember His faithfulness in the past because in doing so they would trust Him more completely in the present. And the Lord knows that the same is true for me.

What is going to give me hope in the midst of trials? What is going to help me rest in God as I wait on Him? What is going to cause me to trust Him to provide? What is going to free me from worry? Remembering! Remembering what? Remembering how God has faithfully cared for our family-how He has guided us, provided for us, and blessed us in more ways than we could have imagined.

Specifically, for me, that means calling to mind God's goodness to us these past couple years in seminary... Remembering how God provided an apartment for us, how he provided financially for us month after month, how He brought us wonderful renters for our house in Spokane, how He sustained us when we were ready to quit and how He used trials to help us grow more dependent on Him.

When I'm tempted to worry about the future...When will our house sell? Will we be able to afford a larger home? Will we even be in Spokane long-term? Is an out-of-state move inevitable someday? I need to stop and remember...

What about you?
What do you need to remember?

The Birds and the Bees...literally!

Life would be much simpler (in at least one way) if we just lived on a farm. When kids grow up on a farm (so I've heard) they learn about the facts of life in a, well, rather "matter of fact" kind of way.

"Hey, mom, what are those two cows doing?" Johnny asks.
"Oh honey, they're mating. They're making a baby cow." Mom responds.
Then Junior replies, "Oh. Hmm... Mom, can I have a snack?"
"Sure, honey," mom answers as she quietly utters a prayer of thanks for Johnny's ADD. And that's the end of that conversation.

However, the reality is....we don't live on a farm. We live on 37th street. So, consequently the explanations are far more cumbersome, lengthy and awkward as I search for the right euphemisms and coded language. Often my poor kids end up more confused than before they asked.

Just recently, I had a perfect example of this delicate balance as I tried yet again to give my son enough information to satisfactorily answer his question, yet not give him too much information for his age. We were studying bats in science. And we were talking about how bats do not mate for life. I could see the wheels turning in Cade's head and finally he said,

"But mom, if they don't stay together for life- like a husband and wife, then how can they have babies?"
"Well," I said, trying to buy some time, "they, uh, come together and, uh, mate and then the male bat leaves..."
Cade looked rather puzzled. He thought about it for a minute, shook his head, put his head in his hands and under his breath said, "Ugh! I just don't get this whole mating thing!"

After four days of being cooped up in the house, the kids had had enough. They decided to get bundled up, head outside and build a snowman. This was the first snowman they have made by themselves. I thought it was pretty cute!
It was a long week with schools being closed all week. It's melting now, but ever so slowly.