Wednesday, December 17, 2008

seeing,savoring

I am, for many years now, hungry for words of hope in scripture. More specifically, I am hungry for any words about God our Heavenly Father or Jesus Christ, God in the flesh.I am inexplicably drawn and comforted at my most wounded and vulnerable level by the very description of His holiness or the greatness of His glory . My failings, smallness, trivial thoughts are carried away and disappear as my heart basks in Him.This is hard to put into words. When I find authors who describe things that my heart feels or thoughts I have known, it is gratifying like a "yes" at the spiritual level. John Piper's Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ and The Passion of Jesus Christ and Oswald Chambers My Utmost For His Highest often speak what I know in my heart. John Piper says ,"We were made to know and treasure the glory of God above all things; and when we trade the treasure for images, everything is disordered. The sun of God's glory was made to shine at the center of the solar system of our soul. And when it does, all the planets of our life are held in their proper orbit. But when the sun is displaced, everything flies apart.The healing of the soul begins by restoring the glory of God to its flaming, all-attracting place at the center...To see it, to savor it, and to show it- that is why we exist ...The physical eye is meant to say to the spiritual eye, " not this, but the Maker of this, is the Desire of your soul."

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

sayings

What are these sayings called that are maybe unique to a certain region or period in time? Like, "jumpy as a cow at milking time", Grandpa Bebe inMisty of Chincoteague often used them.
I am charmed by them and am compelled to make up some of my own. His also include, "safe as a rabbit in a briar patch", and " the sky is ..as black as the inside of a cow".I'd like to start a list , can you think of more?

haircuts

I've always cut my family's hair. I've nicked a couple ears, got lost in thought and totally buzzed some locks that were supposed to be trimmed just a little. I remember dropping some running clippers during Mick's haircut once, in order to get a package from the FedEx guy. The fall broke them. The package happened to be holding a horse order with the horse clippers I had sent away for. Mick's haircut was completed with these.Today's cuts included a teens long layered cut for Sam, a military buzz for Micah, and a trim for Laura where the ends form a smile curve and layers around her face to frame it. I love the snip , snip sound, and the time to visit with my kids. They make me laugh. Micah was admiring his own chest hair. Then he brushed it off his chest, neck and shoulders and said "thanks for the haircut , Mom." I sweep the locks into a downey pile and fling them out the back door for the birds.

see ya back home

Grandpa Baatz thought of a hike at the park in the snow. While the cousins bombarded uncle Jeff with snow ammo ( he may have started it) Hannah took my arm and we got our walk and talk in,sweet time with my little girl before heading to Connecticut and England. Late packing til 3, fell into bed fully dressed and the next thing I know beep...beep...beep...beep...Mom, it's 6, gotta leave at 6:15. I reply ,"remind me again where we're going?" You're taking me and Steph to Grndma's and Grndpa's". Now, when I'm awakened in the middle of the night by a child crying I know where I'm going, totally and completely oriented. By 7:30 we're saying goodbye, " Ilove you so much.. see you back home." She has always known this means house/home and heaven/home.I know this may sound morbid , but it is a comforting thought to me that should the Lord choose to take one of us, those were our parting words, full of hope really.