Memorial Day Mud Wrestling

Here are some pics from Memorial Day. Molly got so filthy! As you can see, Jack had fun smearing mud all over her. Some spas in Dallas and Southlake would charge lots of money for this. At our household, it comes with an overnight stay for free!

I went to my first class tonight, and I met a teacher from Keller High who is also taking the class. It seems like it will be interesting. I just hope I don't fail, because then I'll have to publish it in the blog!
 

Wise Children

One of the greatest things for me about taking classes at UTA is getting time to read and think alone. This last semester, I sat out because Molly, Jack and Mike needed me. Molly needed to be older, and Jack needed mommy time, and Mike needed me to be here to help him with the kiddos, so I sat out. And, I have been not myself, a little uninspired, a little lonely for books and thought. So, in preparation for my first class, I am attempting to read Hermeneutics Ancient and Modern. I have learned that Hermeneutics is the study of textual approaches and thought to the Bible, as well as all texts (think The Odyssey, Plato, ect). (Mike Cope on his blog preachermike.com is studying Hermeneutics. My hubbie calls it Dyanetics, and asks me frequently if I am studying L. Ron Hubbard. Insert Scientology joke here!) Anyway, I am always amazed at how the spirit of God works in me while I am reading these texts. I usually pray before I begin, because frequently literary theorist and philosophers of the modern age refuse to recognize God as a supreme being. They argue that there is no truth. This, to me, is entering a spiritual war zone. Still, even in these temptestous waters, God reveals himself to me. Today, while I was reading, the author, Mr. Bruns, cites the Odyssey where Telemechus, Odysseus's son, recognizes Odysseus after his father has been away for twenty years. The exact quote for the Odyssey goes, "It is a wise child that knows his father." Bruns continues by saying, "This is how ones self-knowledge takes shape." How cool! By recognizing our heavenly father, we become wise children who begin to know ourselves better. I am sure Gerald L. Bruns would hate this interpretation of his interpretation of text. (If this sounds wordy, welcome to my world!) But I don't care! My prayer for all of us is that we would be wise children, like God's son, Jesus, who recognized his heavenly father. It is only through this recognition that true self-knowledge can occur!

Camping at Dinosaur Valley State Park

Here are a couple of pictures from Dinosaur Valley State Park. The water in the Paluxy River is very shallow, and it is perfect for small children to play in. It was a little warm while we were there, but what do you expect in Texas in the summer?

 

Laugh out loud funny

okay. I know I only have a few readers, but to those of you who do read, please check out mcsweeneys.com. they have a funny piece that actually made me laugh out loud.

And, on my last post, I didn't put a shout out to k.f., who announced her pregnancy in church on sunday! YEAH k.f. and s.f.; heck, yeah to the whole k.f. and s.f. clan. how exciting!

Stop Singing!

Taking my almost three year old, jack and his almost one year old sister, Molly, to church, always feels like a battle. At the end of three hours, Mike and I are usually exhausted. We are trying to train them how to behave in God's presence, and how to worship, but it is an uphill battle. I know God understands, and I hope he has a great sense of humor. Jack is the typical three year old, and his favorite games to play are pushing boundaries. One game he plays is when he asks me to sing a song, then yells to stop singing, then asks me to sing a song, and then yells, stop singing! He is just learning his limits, and when you add this with burdgoning communication skills, havoc can ensue! This morning, jack told me, I no go to church, momma. I said, we'll get pink doughnuts. (I am definitely not above bribing my kids. Whatever works! As you can see in this case, bribery didn't work.) He said, yes, I get pink doughnuts, but no church! We finally got out the door, and he went to class and after a little while had to come into my class where I teach cradle roll. We sat down, and he began asking for the ladder to come down from the ceiling, where his favorite super hero, sporticus, lives in his airplane. I promptly explained that while anyone was talking to God at the podium, we do not talk to show respect. No talking while others are talking up front. Seems simple enough, right? WRONG. Nothing in life is simple. The couple who were visiting behind me whispered something to each other. Jack looked at them and said, SHHH! no talking! Wow, he is a quick learner. I was totally embarrassed. I quickly told him that we don't correct people we don't know. That is a little bit of a difficult concept if you're not quite three. Then, a young girl with a beautiful voice got up to sing. Jack yelled,
STOP!
I tried to shh, him, but not before he got another STOP out. All of this while trying to wrangle Molly and keep her occupied and quiet. If God has a sense of humor, I know he was laughing at that one!

Summer School

Yeah!!! Today, I went to buy my books for my next class on my way to an MA in English. I am taking the Rhetoric of Reading. I am excited. It felt so good to go back to campus. I met a girlfriend there who just has a new baby, Sophia, and a little boy jack's age, Dom. We had so much fun letting them run around campus. My friend, B.A., is getting a Ph.D. in American Literature. She has inspired me to stick with it. Anyway, this will be a short post! Back to school for me!

Friend of God and Greys Anatomy!

One church song I have a long history with is 'I will change your name.' In the song, it says that God will change our name from wounded to friend of God. In our church, Lake Cities Church of Christ, we have been learning about hopeful friendships. Last night, while I was trying to ignore my thoughts on the issue because Grey's Anatomy was on (my fav. show, will Meredith ever get over McDreamy? Will McDreamy and Addison stick it out?), friend of God kept going through my mind. I wondered, what does it mean to be a friend of God, beside the obvious benefit that we are saved through this friendship thanks to the Lord Jesus Christ. Through Jesus, we can have a friendship with God! But, what the heck does that look like? What does this mean? So, I grabbed my Bible, hit record on the dvr, so i could watch Grey's Anatony later, and I looked in the concordence for Friend of God. I found a reference to James 4, so I read it, and it was an awesome scripture. The scripture said, if you are a friend of God, you cannot be a friend of the world. Again, I wondered, what does that mean? I asked myself if I am a friend of this world. Sometimes, I think I am. It is hard to shun worldly views on wealth and beauty. The world's definition of success and God's definition is so different. I wondered how this applied to me. I love getting highlights, shopping online, and getting pedicures. Sometimes, I put these things in front of my love of God. YIKES! I don't think it means I can't indulge in these luxuries (if you can call highlights a luxury when they are covering up my newly graying hairs...But, that's a whole other blog!) I think it just means I need to start placing my friendship with God first. Anyway, then, the scripture in James 4 said that friends of God will inherit a wisdom, and in this wisdom, they will begin to develop these characteristics: pure-heart, peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and impartial and sincere. Okay, whenever I hear submissive, it makes me feel a little sick, because this characteristic is not one of the characteristics that has manifested in me yet. But, please note, this scripture is not gender specific. We are all called to be submissive to God and each other, with no note here about gender. Yeah!! Good, because I have issues with gender roles. Again, a whole other blog...One last thought that hit home from James 4. A friend of God shows no favoritism based on wealth. I wondered if I would treat a celebrity (like my favorites, Reese Witherspoon or Gwenny) differently than I would treat an innercity mom. I am afraid I would. Again, I am moved by the spirit of God, that he notices the poor and lowly in spirit more than the wealthy rulers and famous in our country, as well as others. Wealth means nothing to God. I love that the God I worship sees the poor, and drug addicted, and he loves them. He cares for their struggles. He wants me to care, too. What a great scripture about how we can be friends with God, and what is expected of our friendship.

And, just for the record, I did get to watch Grey's Anatomy! What a bummer. All about death. Although it was good, come on cast writers. If I wanted to immerse myself in death, I'd read Phillip Roth's new novel, Everyman, or I'd pick any Shakespeare tragedy and watch the bodies pile up! Note to the writers, more romance, less moms, wives and boyfriends dying! (Just in the last five minutes of the show, I counted 3 dead females, two moms and one wife). Can't that freaking staff save someone for crying out loud. As a mother of two young kiddos, that is the last hospital I'd check into!

Oh, Those Troublesome Trucks

Those Troublesome Trucks give us all lots of trouble. They turn on their breaks so Salty cannot go forward. They laugh at Diesel instead of working. They never do what Toby asks. And, they make noise while I am trying to coax Jackson back to sleep at 6 a.m. For those of you familar with Thomas the Train, you know the stories. We read them frequently to Jackson, and then he acts them out with his Thomas the Train trains and on his train table. They are a great tool for imagination, to inspire an interest in books, to create occasions for Jack and I to build and play together, and the Troublesome Trucks actually are good for sorting. Not so good, though, when they are clanking and bumping into each other just when Jackson who awakened at 6 a.m. with a death grip on them, is trying to drift back off the dreamland. Or at 10 p.m. when he has managed to hold on to them and his wakeful state whispering quietly to himself, "Those Troublesome Trucks have their brakes on!". Or, when they break their connection and Jackson screams, "What happened what happened mommy. Fix the Troublesome Trucks!" Today, I actually thought of Toby and Diesel, and felt like comiserating with them. So, I've decided that I am lodging an official complaint with Alec Baldwin and Sir Topam Hat about their disobedient charges, Those Troublesome Trucks!