I just received a little story via email that really hit me.
A woman and her husband were invited to spend the weekend at the husband’s boss’ home. The man was very wealthy and took them to an exclusive restaurant one evening. As they were about to enter the restaurant, the boss stopped suddenly, looking down at the pavement.
The woman wondered if she was supposed to pass him. There was nothing on the ground except a single darkened penny that someone had dropped, and a few cigarette butts. Still silent, the man reached down and picked up the penny.
He held it up and smiled, then put it in his pocket as if he had found a great treasure. How absurd! What need did this man have for a single penny? Why would he even take the time to stop and pick it up?
Throughout dinner, the entire scene nagged at her. Finally, she could stand it no longer. She causally mentioned that her daughter once had a coin collection, and asked if the penny he had found had been of some value.
A smile crept across the man’s face as he reached into his pocket for the penny and held it out for her to see. She had seen many pennies before! What was the point of this?
“Look at it.” He said. “Read what it says” She read the words “United States of America.”
“No, not that; read further.”
“One cent?” “No, keep reading.”
“In God we Trust?” “Yes!” “And?”
“And if I trust in God, the name of God is holy, even on a coin. Whenever I find a coin I see that inscription. It is written on every single United States coin, but we never seem to notice it! God drops a message right in front of me telling me to trust Him? Who am I to pass it by? When I see a coin, I pray, I stop to see if my trust IS in God at that moment. I pick the coin up as a response to God; that I do trust in Him. For a short time, at least, I cherish it as if it were gold. I think it is God’s way of starting a conversation with me. Lucky for me, God is patient and pennies are plentiful!
I got to wondering how many times I’ve simply passed up on a penny, thinking it wasn’t worth much or that it was probably filthy. I’ve never bothered to look at it as a reminder from God to trust Him, no matter what.
Could I honestly read the words and say to myself, “In God I trust?” Do I trust Him completely, totally and with everything? Good times and bad times?
If I were to see a penny, and stop to pick it up, perhaps I would then realize that the things I have been worrying or fretting about are things that most likely I cannot change.
If God is trying to start a conversation with me, it is a good thing then that pennies are plentiful and that He is patient.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
life hurts sometimes
It's funny what can touch you - right smack in the middle of a "normal" day and then suddenly, it's not so normal anymore.
Hearing the news of the death of a little three-year-old boy who I have never met was still enough to bring tears to my eyes and pain in my heart. Little boys were not created for cancer or for death at three. I don't know what God's purposes or plans are in tragedies like this, but I do know that they still hurt. My heart aches for this family. This little boy was a normal, active three-year-old two months ago and now he's in the arms of Jesus.
That alone is comfort, but it still doesn't remove the pain of loss, the questions of why and the searing heart ache.
Life just really hurts sometimes. What we do with that hurt, I suppose, is really the point.
Please say a prayer for the family of Cole Ruotsala, who died this morning after battling with adrenal cancer. They will need prayer and support in the coming days, weeks and months.
Hearing the news of the death of a little three-year-old boy who I have never met was still enough to bring tears to my eyes and pain in my heart. Little boys were not created for cancer or for death at three. I don't know what God's purposes or plans are in tragedies like this, but I do know that they still hurt. My heart aches for this family. This little boy was a normal, active three-year-old two months ago and now he's in the arms of Jesus.
That alone is comfort, but it still doesn't remove the pain of loss, the questions of why and the searing heart ache.
Life just really hurts sometimes. What we do with that hurt, I suppose, is really the point.
Please say a prayer for the family of Cole Ruotsala, who died this morning after battling with adrenal cancer. They will need prayer and support in the coming days, weeks and months.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
boys say the funniest things...
On the way to church today, the boys were asking hubby what kind of fish were in the local lake. After questions about walleye, trout and dogfish, Number Four piped in, "Are there cat poop fish, Dad?"
(That's why we don't eat them!)
(That's why we don't eat them!)
Saturday, September 6, 2008
mealtime prayers
Number Four:
Dear God, thank you for the great night. Thank you for the great supper and thank you for lunch.
Number Three:
Dear God, thank y ou for the good food. I love Jeff Gordon! And I hope we can go to Grandma and Grandpa's tomorrow. And I hope all our countrizens are safe.
Number Two:
Dear God, I pray everyone does well in the race tomorrow and there are no injuries. I hope all our cousins are safe and so is Uncle Mike.
(Think we've got NASCAR on the mind around here?)
Dear God, thank you for the great night. Thank you for the great supper and thank you for lunch.
Number Three:
Dear God, thank y ou for the good food. I love Jeff Gordon! And I hope we can go to Grandma and Grandpa's tomorrow. And I hope all our countrizens are safe.
Number Two:
Dear God, I pray everyone does well in the race tomorrow and there are no injuries. I hope all our cousins are safe and so is Uncle Mike.
(Think we've got NASCAR on the mind around here?)
Thursday, September 4, 2008
clueless
Sometimes I love my job. Or at least the humor that it often brings.
Yesterday, son #1 (age 10) innocently mentioned that some girls in his class were mean to him. At first, mama bear got a bit riled up, but knowing the girls I couldn't quite imagine them doing anything mean. So instead of grrring I asked him what he meant.
"Well, they would keep taking my hat. And they wouldn't give it back," he said.
Um, yeah... (Dare you to keep a straight face on that one!)
Well, considering the girls are all two years older than him and he IS the most handsome boy in his class (Mom isn't at all biased on that one), I can't say I'm too surprised. I might know a thing or two about girls.
"Well, gosh you're right they really are just plain mean. Those girls should be ashamed of themselves. You should stay away from girls. They're all like that..."
Ha ha. All the things I could have said, but I couldn't because I was trying so hard not to laugh. I hope he stays clueless for awhile.
Yesterday, son #1 (age 10) innocently mentioned that some girls in his class were mean to him. At first, mama bear got a bit riled up, but knowing the girls I couldn't quite imagine them doing anything mean. So instead of grrring I asked him what he meant.
"Well, they would keep taking my hat. And they wouldn't give it back," he said.
Um, yeah... (Dare you to keep a straight face on that one!)
Well, considering the girls are all two years older than him and he IS the most handsome boy in his class (Mom isn't at all biased on that one), I can't say I'm too surprised. I might know a thing or two about girls.
"Well, gosh you're right they really are just plain mean. Those girls should be ashamed of themselves. You should stay away from girls. They're all like that..."
Ha ha. All the things I could have said, but I couldn't because I was trying so hard not to laugh. I hope he stays clueless for awhile.
Monday, September 1, 2008
the science of life
September is one of the most stressful months of the year for me. I am usually elbow deep in tomatoes, pickles, whatever fruit I can find and possibly even sauerkraut, all while dancing in time to the rumbles from the boiling water in the canner. In between batches of salsa and stewed tomatoes, I’m also trying desperately to mentally prepare for the start of another home-school year - this time with three boys.
Doesn’t that all sound fun?
A friend of mine convinced her husband to take the kids away so she could have a “teacher-prep” weekend. I figure I’ll be lucky to get prep in between meals, snacks and squeezing cucumbers into jars.
To date, I’ve processed 65 quarts of pickles. Yes, you read that right and yes that’s a lot of pickles. But, considering boys 1-4 can and will eat an entire quart in one lunch, that will probably only get us through the middle of February. After that, they’ll have to start munching on carrot sticks.
Today I’ll finish the last batch of salsa and then will have to switch gears into science. (Although canning is a bit of a science, isn’t it?)
Boys 1 and 2 will both be studying biology this year and I need to figure out one science experiment per week for them. My goal this year is to have school be fun - for them. During the annual homeschooling conference last spring, I felt very convicted that I was making school too much about workbooks and not enough hands-on things like science experiments or history projects, or even art for that matter.
So, this year, we’re going to have fun. Or rather they’re going to have fun. I’m going to fret about teaching children how to draw, how to raise fruit flies and how to build a Babylonian mountain garden. And I’m going to stress about the mess all those projects will create.
But, this isn’t about me. I’ll have to get over it and get on with the “fun” of homeschooling. Another homeschooling mom told me she would be calling me weekly to see if I was having fun - I told her that wasn’t the kind of help I needed.
Feel free to ask the kids if they’re having fun - I’ll need the accountability. (If they say “no,” they’re lying.) And, you’re more than welcome to come over and teach them why they need to wash their hands, chew their food 20 times before swallowing and go to bed at 8 p.m. (That can all fall under biology, can’t it? And if it doesn’t, we’ll just call it family life science and everyone wins.)
Practicality trumps fruit flies any day.
Doesn’t that all sound fun?
A friend of mine convinced her husband to take the kids away so she could have a “teacher-prep” weekend. I figure I’ll be lucky to get prep in between meals, snacks and squeezing cucumbers into jars.
To date, I’ve processed 65 quarts of pickles. Yes, you read that right and yes that’s a lot of pickles. But, considering boys 1-4 can and will eat an entire quart in one lunch, that will probably only get us through the middle of February. After that, they’ll have to start munching on carrot sticks.
Today I’ll finish the last batch of salsa and then will have to switch gears into science. (Although canning is a bit of a science, isn’t it?)
Boys 1 and 2 will both be studying biology this year and I need to figure out one science experiment per week for them. My goal this year is to have school be fun - for them. During the annual homeschooling conference last spring, I felt very convicted that I was making school too much about workbooks and not enough hands-on things like science experiments or history projects, or even art for that matter.
So, this year, we’re going to have fun. Or rather they’re going to have fun. I’m going to fret about teaching children how to draw, how to raise fruit flies and how to build a Babylonian mountain garden. And I’m going to stress about the mess all those projects will create.
But, this isn’t about me. I’ll have to get over it and get on with the “fun” of homeschooling. Another homeschooling mom told me she would be calling me weekly to see if I was having fun - I told her that wasn’t the kind of help I needed.
Feel free to ask the kids if they’re having fun - I’ll need the accountability. (If they say “no,” they’re lying.) And, you’re more than welcome to come over and teach them why they need to wash their hands, chew their food 20 times before swallowing and go to bed at 8 p.m. (That can all fall under biology, can’t it? And if it doesn’t, we’ll just call it family life science and everyone wins.)
Practicality trumps fruit flies any day.
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