Quiet Time

It's that magical time in the morning*
when the sleeping baby begins to grunt
and snort
and squawk
and scream.
When a mother tries to pray,
and all the children outside her bedroom door quote movie lines.
When she opens her Bible
and hears a loud crash, and someone cries out in agony.
When the sound of small feet running slams into her bedroom door,
knocking it open,
and a smiling toddler appears saying,
"Me watch Baby Beluga?!"
When, even though she is trying to read in Genesis,
her mind sticks on this:
There is a difference also between a wife and a virgin. 
(You think?)
The unmarried woman is anxious for the things of the Lord, 
that she may be holy, both in body and in spirit: 
but she that is married, is anxious for the things of the world...
Talk about serving the Lord with distraction. 
Foiled again.
I guess I'll take a shower.


*Morning, to most people, signifies the early part of the day. Here, please take it to mean any point within the twenty-four hour span of a day in which a moment of silence might tempt a woman to try again.

And That's Because It Is

Sometimes
it feels like life is throwing containers of cold moldy oatmeal at you
when you open the fridge,
while you are trying to fix a meal for someone else,
and there's a baby crying in the background.
And that's because it is.

Hear No Evil

There was a commotion upstairs, and then I heard, "I'M TELLING MOM!"
I sat captive in my chair, nursing the baby as I often am.
I looked up at my husband, "Please... no. Go stop them from telling me."

Before Leaving Them to Sleep

I laid down on my nephew's sleeping bag with him last night to visit before leaving them to sleep.  He was trying to tell me about an event, and referenced the timing of it by mentioning an event in the life of a woman we both know.

"What is the thing when we worship when someone dies?" he asked with his five-year-old pronunciation.
"Um... a funeral?" I said.
"Yes. A funeral."
I like that.
Yes, a funeral.
Where we worship the One who is Resurrection and Life
even in the face of death.

Questions And Answers

 "What did God the Father do while Jesus was being baptized, Silas?" I asked.
"He opened up heaven and talked," he replied.
"And what did God the Holy Spirit do while Jesus was being baptized?"
"He sat on Jesus's head." 

And Jesus came to them and spake unto them, saying,  
All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth. 
Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, 
baptizing them into the name of the Father 
and of the Son 
and of the Holy Spirit: 
teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: 
and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. 
Matthew 28:18-20

The Word of The Lord

"Can I read you a Bible verse?" Talia asked.
"Yes."
She turned to Judges: "'Here is what you must do,' they said. 'Kill every male. Also kill every woman who is not a virgin.'"
"Thank you."
Another good reason not to play Bible roulette.

Thank You

The other night as I put my children to bed, I was so blessed to hear their prayers.
Each one had a fairly long list of things they thanked the Lord for.
The naturally sour one had the longest list of all.
I love to hear her pray.

"Dear Jesus, tank You for our new 'ouse, and we don't have to wait anymore... But we have to wait for it to be painted," Silas prayed.

He's pretty anxious to get green walls.

Oh, The Things That Trouble Us

"Mama, why was I the last in the bamily?" Silas asked.
"Because that is where God placed you in the family," I said.
His chin quivered. "But I didn't want to be last," he said.
"Why were they first?" he asked me of his siblings.

Oh, the things that trouble us.

To Get Better

"Dear Jesus, please help the economy to get better,
even though I don't even know what the economy is,"
Talia prayed.

Awaiting the Eagles

"Where is heaven?" Silas asked at breakfast today.
"Heaven is where God is," I answered. "I don't know how to tell you where it is. But it is where God is."
"Is Jesus in heaven?"
"Yes, He is."
"How can I get to heaven?" he asked.
"It is Jesus's job to take us there."
"I think Jesus will send His eagles to come and get us, and they will take us to heaven," he assured me.
"Um, Jeff -- we've got a little Lord of the Rings theology going on here."

Do You Know Why?

"Mama, do you know why God made eggs and toast fo' us?" my three-year-old asked me.

"Why?"

"Betause He loves us!"

"Do you know why Jesus made sour cream fo' us?" he asked me in between licks of the sour cream spoon.

"Why?"

His eyes twinkling, and his face covered in it, he said, "Betause He loves us!"