i left my Bible at church this week, so i've been depending on an old devotional bible for my morning quiet time. this morning, as i read, i came to 1 Thessalonians 5:16, and noticed a side-bar devotion about giving thanks in all things. the author discussed the feelings of the single who desires to be married, or the jobless who desperately wants to work - how are they supposed to be thankful? she lead her reader to the understanding that truly believing scripture - which shows us that God cares deeply about our circumstances - means being able to simply trust that whatever you're going through now is worth being thankful for now.
i pondered this briefly, but went about my day. flash forward - a friend approached me after kids church and said "did you hear what happened?" ... "uh, no?" he continued to tell me that a kid - let's call him "johnny" - snuck into the upper hallway during church, grabbed a roll of toilet paper, and sent it sailing down the balcony (while holding the loose end, of course).
my immediate reaction, besides restraining myself from repeatedly slamming my head into the cinder-block wall, was "wait a minute, one of MY kids did this!?" of course, knowing this kid's background, it wasn't impossible - i just was surprised that he'd go to such lengths.
humiliated, i swiftly dealt with the problem, but as i put the pieces together - including, his very late arrival to kids church (which i'd assumed had something to do with the DST time-change last night) - i realized that he hadn't even been in our care when this happened... which means he probably got to church on time, but was fooling around for 45 minutes before coming in.
so on the way home, i was reminded: give thanks in ALL circumstances. ok, Lord - how am i supposed to give thanks in THIS circumstance? ... well, i suppose i can be thankful that i'm not the kind of pastor that would expell a kid from my program, so he will get another chance to come to kids church - because i believe that's what Jesus would do. and i can be thankful that i have a good rapport with his guardians, so i know i can talk to them about this. and i can be thankful that ultimately, i have a chance to make this seemingly unlovable kid feel loved, and maybe - just maybe - i can make an impact on his life.
Sunday, March 08, 2009
Monday, March 02, 2009
even more house stuff
so much has happened in the last three weeks, and i haven't really taken time to document it. we worked hard the week between closing and move-in - cleaning, scrubbing, painting, etc - not to mention, removing the sub-floor in our bedroom, replacing it, pulling carpet and staples, scraping adhesive from the wood floors... in fact, we worked so hard we didn't have much time for packing, which left packing day especially hectic... not that we hadn't packed at all, just that we hadn't packed as much as i had wanted.
and so our move help arrived saturday morning, 10am, and i had already had two mini-breakdowns. but we got it all, and in one trip... nevermind the boxes of smorgasbord varieties of possessions.
but we made it. happy valentine's day honey.
monday after was a holiday, spent together, with my sister-in-law and mother-in-law, cleaning the old place. man, am i glad that's behind me, and that's all i have to say.
so for the last two weeks, we've been living in the "office" (read: craft room) while we waited to find the best price on carpeting for the tv/guest room and the master bedroom. finally, carpet was installed mid-last week, and though it took us a few days to get our "stuff" together, we've now moved into our rightful bedroom, and the guestroom is together as well.
but we're far from done. faaar from done. there's still trim to be painted - not to mention my red walls which did not paint as easily as all the other colors (wish the home depot guy had warned me - i would've picked a different color). the office is still in boxes, with furniture strewn haphazardly around. i've purchased most of our curtains, but need to hem them as well, so bedsheets suffice in the rooms where exhibitionism would not be tolerated among neighbors.
and of course, there are lots of little things to accomplish. sometimes it feels like we'll be living in boxes forever. who am i kidding... it always feels that way. we know we got ourselves into a "project" house, and there are plenty of things involved in making this house what we want it to be, so i really need to lower my expectations... but i sure wish we could get these boxes outta here.
and so our move help arrived saturday morning, 10am, and i had already had two mini-breakdowns. but we got it all, and in one trip... nevermind the boxes of smorgasbord varieties of possessions.
but we made it. happy valentine's day honey.
monday after was a holiday, spent together, with my sister-in-law and mother-in-law, cleaning the old place. man, am i glad that's behind me, and that's all i have to say.
so for the last two weeks, we've been living in the "office" (read: craft room) while we waited to find the best price on carpeting for the tv/guest room and the master bedroom. finally, carpet was installed mid-last week, and though it took us a few days to get our "stuff" together, we've now moved into our rightful bedroom, and the guestroom is together as well.
but we're far from done. faaar from done. there's still trim to be painted - not to mention my red walls which did not paint as easily as all the other colors (wish the home depot guy had warned me - i would've picked a different color). the office is still in boxes, with furniture strewn haphazardly around. i've purchased most of our curtains, but need to hem them as well, so bedsheets suffice in the rooms where exhibitionism would not be tolerated among neighbors.
and of course, there are lots of little things to accomplish. sometimes it feels like we'll be living in boxes forever. who am i kidding... it always feels that way. we know we got ourselves into a "project" house, and there are plenty of things involved in making this house what we want it to be, so i really need to lower my expectations... but i sure wish we could get these boxes outta here.
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