Fly

They said they would fly by.

The years with my children young I mean.

They were right, but I didn’t believe them.

I was too busy worrying about

meals to plan

laundry to fold

toys to pick up

a house to keep clean

mothering “perfectly”

and, I didn’t really believe them.

I didn’t let it sink in fully.

I let guilt get the best of me at times for not sitting down to play legos.

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The years have flown by, just like they said and my children are now the young adults that I thought they’d never be. 

Really.

During those years when they were young, I was busy.

We were busy. 

We were busy just living. 

And the days flew by.

I can’t go back and have a do over in the real sense, but I can always have a do over in my attitude about the years flying by.

My body says: slow down

My soul says: be still

My spirit says: look up

My heart says: hold fast

My mind says: it will all be okay.

My will says, yes Lord.

Yes, to my children as wonderful adults.

Yes, to no guilt.

Yes to I am enough.

Yes to His grace mercy peace and love.

Yes, most of all yes

to the people who were the little ones once and

now yes, to who they are and are becoming as adults.

My children always.

My friends always, too.

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This post is for Five Minute Friday where a community of encouraging writers write for the sheer joy of it for five minutes straight. No edits. Just writing. Today's prompt is "fly". Come on over to Lisa Jo Baker's blog to read more.

Seven things I learned in June

Emily at Chattingatthesky started something really fun. She was doing end of the month posts of the things she learned. Then she invited her readers to do the same and link up. So, I am! Check out her post for this month and link up or join in next month!

Here are my seven things I learned in June.

1. Watching Knight and Day with my hubby never gets old.  Yeah, we are funny. We watch movies over and over again. We both love Knight and Day and watched it for the umpteenth time in June. We love the action (that doesn't take itself too seriously), the chemistry between Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz, and the humor. All the elements we love rolled into one movie. (Never mind that hubby would take Star Trek over any other movie we watch.)


2. A sub-woofer and speakers makes ANY movie better. We moved our college graduate son home in mid-May. What didn't dawn on us right away, dawned on us a few days into his stay at home. That his gargantuan sub-woofer and  speakers would be moving home with him. We came home one night to find he and his 19 year old sister watching a movie on our TV, but with all the extra sound accouterments added. I didn't tell my adult kids, but at that very moment I did a little happy dance inside. See, they both left for the summer at the first of June and hubby and I have been crankin' tunes and watching movies with enhanced sound. Ever since. Did I say it is a big sub-woofer? He might not get them back.



3. My husband loves baby bunnies. So one day, my hubby is out mowing. He comes in and says, with a big grin on his face, "There's a nest of baby bunnies in our back yard! There are six babies!" He practically dragged me out there to see them. Then he carefully uncovered the nest that was hidden underneath in grass clippings and showed me the ball of bunnies nestled inside. Next thing we know, pop! pop!, those bunnies hopped right out of the hole! They were pretty tiny still, so I was worried that they would get hurt and now WE would be responsible! So, my husband put on a pair of gloves and chased these bunnies down, crawling on his hands and knees in the bushes and under the deck. Bunnies rescued! And, my heart warmed.

4. My fear of cooking vegan food has all but disappeared! This is really a bonus. A few years ago, after my son met his future wife, they both decided to become vegan. That's right, no meat, no dairy, no eggs. I think that is great for them, but I'm gonna admit, it kind of freaked me out to think about cooking for them. ANYTIME. Like, I would literally start shaking in my boots. Or shoes.  But, then I found a cookbook at the library that had simple explanations and the way she wrote it didn't make me feel stupid for not knowing how to soak beans, or what hummus was actually made of. Wah, lah. I can now cook vegan. Quite well. And, I'm starting to cut some meat out of my diet in the mean time which isn't all bad. :)



5. People who cook vegan REALLY like to take pictures of their food. I'm on Instagram {annebritty} and one day I made a really good vegan dinner for my hubby and me. I thought, why not take a pic and put it on Instagram? I'm feeling like bragging just a little bit. So, I put that pic on there and within seconds I had ten likes. I know that's not much, but it is for me. So, I click into some of the clickers pics (does that make sense) and I see tons of food pics!! Who knew? I'm now a foodie! (if that's what you call people that take pics of the food they cook)



6. I don't like to be the only shopper. What I mean is that if I'm at a garage sale or a small gift shop where it's obvious that I'm the ONLY one shopping, I feel pressure. I feel a lot of pressure to buy something. I'm not sure where this comes from because I don't think the sellers are necessarily putting that on me. I think I put that on me. So, if I'm at your garage sale as a lone shopper, and I don't buy anything, just know that I still like you.





7. I heart mud love. This could be a long story but I'll try to make it short. In December my engineer husband was asked by two strangers on a flight to help them design deep well water pumps in Africa. (insert breath) It was a divine appointment if I've ever seen one. This last weekend, I went with him to Winona Lake, IN to meet the founders of Design Outreach. Turns out the brother of one of these guys also has a local non-profit. Called Mud Love. Don't you just love that name? Anyway, for every five dollar bracelet they sell, someone in Africa gets clean water for a year. Isn't that just awesome? Anyway, I wanted to tell you all about them because the bracelets (or necklaces) are made out of clay (mud) and they are so cool you are just going to want to buy a truckload. And, they will even custom make one for you. 

So there you have it. Seven things I learned in June and this was so fun I wish I could do it every week. Well, for sure I'll come back and do one at the end of July. Won't you join me?

A Prayer for Marriage

Yesterday marked our twenty eighth year of marriage. July 28, 2012. As I was spending time with God and my journal in the morning, this prayer came out of my heart and onto my journal's pages. By recording it here, it's my hope that maybe some of you might be encouraged to seek God's strength and will for your marriage. Our marriage has entered a new season. Empty nest. Our purpose of raising our children is now finished and we look forward to a new season of growing friendships with our adult children. If it weren't for God's help, guidance and love, our marriage would not be what it is today. It is only by His grace that we have life, have love and can have hope for a future of fruitfulness for Him.

Lord, you have brought us through fire and water to the place we are now. (Psalm 66:12) Thank you for the healing you have brought us individually and as a couple. Thanks that you've given us so many blessings we don't deserve. Wonderful young adult children, and a family that is expanding to add now a daughter-in-law. You've given us good health, sound minds, and a vision for our future. We both want to live lives of significance and purpose, Lord. I know that because of what you did for us on the cross, we already have that. (John 14:6)

I ask in Jesus' Name and by His blood that You would release us into the next season in our lives. I believe Your plans for us are very great. Plans for welfare, and not for calamity. A plan to give us hope. (Jeremiah 29:11) Thank you that you are in ultimate control, even though we long to be. Thanks that you see all things from beginning to end. You are outside our space and time continuum. I ask you, Lord, from your vantage point, to fulfill Your will in our lives. Cause us to be fruitful and content wherever we are, Father!


Help us to use our gifts and talents for you. Help us not to judge others for what they have, and what we think we don't have. Help us to have an eternal impact on our children, future grand children, friends, family and the world around us. That's what we both want. Lord, only what we do for you will last.

Unify us, Lord, for it is only in unity that we have strength, power and influence for your Kingdom.  Make us quick to forgive each other and others. Give us understanding of each other and patience in our weaknesses and faults.(Colossians 3:14)

Protect our marriage from ungodly and evil influences, Lord. Protect us from Satan's schemes and keep us both on the narrow path, Lord. It is only by keeping to the narrow path of your ways and your will that we find life. Life in all of it's fullness. (Matthew 7:13-14)

Help us to remember what is truly and really important, Lord. Not the externals, but the internals of humility, integrity, love, honor and holiness. Give us both a hunger and thirst for righteousness. And, as we seek righteousness in you, lead us into your peace and joy. Lord, you promise us joy in following you and your ways. I receive that joy, Lord! I receive your peace on behalf of both of us and our family!(Romans 14:17)

Bless us today, Father, and every day. Bring us into even greater areas of influence for you, Lord. Fulfill your plans and your vision for our marriage. May your kingdom come and your will be done in us, and in our family. In Jesus' precious Name and by His Blood. Amen.

A scripture verse that I've leaned on so much through the years is Psalm 37:4-7a. It says,

"Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord [roll and repose each care of your load on Him]; trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) also in Him and He will bring it to pass. Be still and rest in the Lord; wait for Him and patiently lean yourself upon Him."

The Storage Room

So, what do 27 year old Aerospace Engineering textbooks and a dozen or more unfinished cross stitch projects have in common you might ask. Well, today they were exhumed from our storage room. Those books have been dragged around in a box to every house we've lived in for the past 27 years. That's two apartments, a rental house, our first purchased home, plus four more! And, I had a box of random cross stitch projects that I had started at one time and never had the motivation to finish. They were tossed into a box with assorted half used ribbon spools, a bunch of antique spools of thread, needles, some remnants from one of our now grown boys' Pokemon games and just well, junk. 


After putting a good one and a half hours into the cleaning process, we were just chillin' in the family room and my hubby asked me, "Why do we hang on so tightly to all this stuff that just doesn't mean anything?" I couldn't think of one good reason except for the fact that we somehow attach an emotion to each thing that we own. Then, when we decide that we no longer want or need that item, the emotion attached to the thing (like the original Star Trek posters my husband had hanging in his room growing up) keeps us hanging on for just a little bit longer.


See, being new empty nesters as of last fall, we're wanting to move half way across the country to start something new. New job (hopefully, and yes needed) for my husband, and grad school for me (yes at 48!). I am applying for next fall, er I mean this coming fall (yikes!) 2012, and my husband is currently scanning job websites to hopefully find that job that's gonna make up the 1.5 times higher living costs on the west coast. And, yes, this does mean a very small living space is going to be waiting for us there. Good thing we still like each other!


Somehow, we're gonna have to get past that emotion that we have attached to a lot of "stuff" in our house that is, well, just stuff. We know that in our heads. Will we have the guts to do the down sizing that is needed for a move of this magnitude? Will we remember as we are taking stuff to the curb, Goodwill, or posting on Craigs List that it is just stuff and can be replaced if we decide later that we can't live without it? 


My wheels are turning. I'm wondering what item  it will be that is the most difficult to let go of to lighten my load. The Good Lord knows it needs lightening in so many ways.