Busy Worker at Home emailed me a month or so ago to ask me if I still blog. I suppose that I should answer that I don't since it's been so long. Life got very busy when Jack-Jack (aka The Young Prince) began sleeping less, crawling, etc... Then came summer with everything it held-including the computer takeover by my children. Then school started and Jack-Jack came back too. So, rather than try to do a catch-up post, I've decided to post some random highlights. Here goes:
My kids are both driving now on permits. When Miss B drives, I keep one eye on how she's doing and the other on my iphone or book. When Charlie drives, I buckle up tight and bite my nails.
Dr. Love got me an iphone for my birthday. I LOVE it! If you play Words With Friends, reply to this post with your user name and we'll start up a game!
Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN is a wonderful place. Even though it took so long to get an appointment, it was well worth it. And, God knew what was going on with Miss B all along and He timed the appointment right.
Charlie now has a stuffed marlin hanging on the wall above his bed. A dear friend from college had it for almost 20 years and gave it to him when she redecorated. This led to many fun "Marlin" moments while we were on vacation.
The Shenendoah Mountains near Harrisburg, VA are hot the last week of June. Very hot. Can't go outside hot.
Miss B joined Charlie at Faith Christian School this year. She adores it!
Do you remember my dear life-long friend Connie? The one who made me this quilt? She's going to be a grandma before the year is out. A grandma to identical twin boys! You can see Connie & her daughter pre-marriage at the end of this post.
Autumn is back...my favorite time of year. I love apples, pumpkins, cider, falling leaves, bonfires and the like. I like the word "autumn." I love the colors and the crisp air. I like burrowing under the blankets next to Dr. Love with the bedroom windows open all night. I like the sound of the coyotes howling somewhere in the fields around us. I like Autumn decorating better than any other!
Jack-Jack toddles around like a drunken sailor. He likes to play ball & is pretty good about delivering it right to me. He also likes to hand things over one at a time & then have them handed back the same way. He's a lot of fun!
I finally painted over the ginormous harlequin wall in my bedroom. That wall is now pink. Before I'm done, it will be a soft red. But since it took me 3+ years to paint over the harlequin, don't count on me being done any time soon.
The picture at the head of my blog was taken just a couple of weeks ago. It's my front entrance and Miss B. She's prettier than any of those flowers!
I think the biggest reason that I've not blogged is because of Facebook. I do like Facebook; I don't think I waste too much time there as others claim to be doing. I've been able to reconnect with friends from childhood and my teen years and also keep up with friends who've moved away and those I left behind in NorthWest Indiana.
So, no promises about when I'll blog again but if you know me personally, don't be afraid to call!
Leslie
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
Thinking You're Naked
I just read a post on this blog. I've only skimmed it but it brought tears to my eyes and as soon as I've got this post done I'm going to print it out (yes, I'm old-school-can't read anything of value on a computer screen) and read it word-for-word. Probably several times today and then over the next few weeks I'll come back to it. That's all the introduction I'm writing.
Easter is about grace. And when I think about grace, one of the things that stops me short of believing in it is shame. This post, written last year, is about shame and grace and the reason we’re not naked.
I don’t want to brag, but I’m pretty awesome at applying band-aids. And make no mistake, there is an art. Because if you go too quickly and peel them the wrong way, they stick to themselves and you end up with a wadded up useless mess instead of the Little Mermaid festooned bandage your daughter so desperately wants to apply to a boo boo that may in fact be 100% fictional.
Half of the injuries I treat at the Acuff house are invisible or simply wounds of sympathy. My oldest daughter will scrape her knee and my 3-year old, realizing the band aid box is open will say, “Yo dad, I’d like to get in on that too. What do you say we put one on, I don’t know, my ankle. Yeah, my ankle, let’s pretend that’s hurt.”
But sometimes the cuts are real, like the day my 5-year old got a scrape on her face playing in the front yard. I rushed in the house and returned with a princess bandage. As I bent down to apply it to her forehead, her eyes filled up with tears and she shrunk back from me.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“I don’t want to wear that band-aid.” She replied.
“Why? You have a cut, you need a band-aid.” I said.
“I’ll look silly.” She answered.
Other than her sister and her mom, there was no one else in the yard. None of her friends were over, cars were not streaming passed our house and watching us play, the world was pretty empty at that moment. But for the first time I can remember, she felt shame. She had discovered shame. Somewhere, some how, this little 5 year old had learned to be afraid of looking silly. If I was smarter, if I had been better prepared for the transition from little toddler to little girl, I might have asked her this:
“Who told you that you were silly?”
I didn’t though. That question didn’t bloom in my head until much later and I didn’t understand it until I saw God ask a similar question in Genesis 3:11. To me, this is one of the saddest and most profoundly beautiful verses in the entire Bible. Adam and Eve have fallen. The apple is a core. The snake has spoken. The dream appears crushed. As they hide from God under clothes they’ve hastily sewn together, He appears and asks them a simple question:
“Who told you that you were naked?”
There is hurt in God’s voice as He asks this question, but there is also a deep sadness, the sense of a father holding a daughter that has for the first time ever, wrapped herself in shame.
Who told you that you were not enough?
Who told you that I didn’t love you?
Who told you that there was something outside of me you needed?
Who told you that you were ugly?
Who told you that your dream was foolish?
Who told you that you would never have a child?
Who told you that you would never be a father?
Who told you that you weren’t a good mother?
Who told you that without a job you aren’t worth anything?
Who told you that you’ll never know love again?
Who told you that this was all there is?
Who told you that you were naked?
I don’t know when you discovered shame. I don’t know when you discovered that there were
people that might think you are silly or dumb or not a good writer or a husband or a friend. I don’t know what lies you’ve been told by other people or maybe even by yourself.
But in response to what you are hearing from everyone else, God is still asking the question, “Who told you that you were naked?”
And He’s still asking us that question because we are not.
In Christ we are not worthless.
In Christ we are not hopeless.
In Christ we are not dumb or ugly or forgotten.
In Christ we are not naked.
Isaiah 61:10 it says:
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness.
The world may try to tell you a thousand different things today. You might close this post and hear a million declarations of what you are or who you’ll always be, but know this.
As unbelievable as it sounds and as much as I never expected to type this sentence on this blog:
You are not naked.
Easter is about grace. And when I think about grace, one of the things that stops me short of believing in it is shame. This post, written last year, is about shame and grace and the reason we’re not naked.
I don’t want to brag, but I’m pretty awesome at applying band-aids. And make no mistake, there is an art. Because if you go too quickly and peel them the wrong way, they stick to themselves and you end up with a wadded up useless mess instead of the Little Mermaid festooned bandage your daughter so desperately wants to apply to a boo boo that may in fact be 100% fictional.
Half of the injuries I treat at the Acuff house are invisible or simply wounds of sympathy. My oldest daughter will scrape her knee and my 3-year old, realizing the band aid box is open will say, “Yo dad, I’d like to get in on that too. What do you say we put one on, I don’t know, my ankle. Yeah, my ankle, let’s pretend that’s hurt.”
But sometimes the cuts are real, like the day my 5-year old got a scrape on her face playing in the front yard. I rushed in the house and returned with a princess bandage. As I bent down to apply it to her forehead, her eyes filled up with tears and she shrunk back from me.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“I don’t want to wear that band-aid.” She replied.
“Why? You have a cut, you need a band-aid.” I said.
“I’ll look silly.” She answered.
Other than her sister and her mom, there was no one else in the yard. None of her friends were over, cars were not streaming passed our house and watching us play, the world was pretty empty at that moment. But for the first time I can remember, she felt shame. She had discovered shame. Somewhere, some how, this little 5 year old had learned to be afraid of looking silly. If I was smarter, if I had been better prepared for the transition from little toddler to little girl, I might have asked her this:
“Who told you that you were silly?”
I didn’t though. That question didn’t bloom in my head until much later and I didn’t understand it until I saw God ask a similar question in Genesis 3:11. To me, this is one of the saddest and most profoundly beautiful verses in the entire Bible. Adam and Eve have fallen. The apple is a core. The snake has spoken. The dream appears crushed. As they hide from God under clothes they’ve hastily sewn together, He appears and asks them a simple question:
“Who told you that you were naked?”
There is hurt in God’s voice as He asks this question, but there is also a deep sadness, the sense of a father holding a daughter that has for the first time ever, wrapped herself in shame.
Who told you that you were not enough?
Who told you that I didn’t love you?
Who told you that there was something outside of me you needed?
Who told you that you were ugly?
Who told you that your dream was foolish?
Who told you that you would never have a child?
Who told you that you would never be a father?
Who told you that you weren’t a good mother?
Who told you that without a job you aren’t worth anything?
Who told you that you’ll never know love again?
Who told you that this was all there is?
Who told you that you were naked?
I don’t know when you discovered shame. I don’t know when you discovered that there were
people that might think you are silly or dumb or not a good writer or a husband or a friend. I don’t know what lies you’ve been told by other people or maybe even by yourself.
But in response to what you are hearing from everyone else, God is still asking the question, “Who told you that you were naked?”
And He’s still asking us that question because we are not.
In Christ we are not worthless.
In Christ we are not hopeless.
In Christ we are not dumb or ugly or forgotten.
In Christ we are not naked.
Isaiah 61:10 it says:
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness.
The world may try to tell you a thousand different things today. You might close this post and hear a million declarations of what you are or who you’ll always be, but know this.
As unbelievable as it sounds and as much as I never expected to type this sentence on this blog:
You are not naked.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Score!
Have you checked out http://www.swaptree.com/? Yesterday I received "The Best of Cooking Light," a 416 page, 9x11", hardback, full-color book in exchange!
Also, at my local Goodwill, I found an American Girl Addie (naked with semi-bad hair) for $3! I'll be working on her hair and I'll make a dress for her. I did a little research and if I can't get her hair to my satisfaction, I can send her to the American Girl Hospital for $24 and still come out way ahead of the $100 that the doll costs new. I'm very excited about Addie since my little Kiki D. loves African-American dolls, little people & books!
Poor little Young Prince M. has a cold....his nose is runny and so, so red and his eyes are red & watery too. I feel so bad for him AND I'm keeping the makers of Airborne in business!
Hoping everyone at YOUR house is well,
Leslie
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Good Morning~
We're on the 2nd of two snow days in a row so I find myself with a little blogging time and some bragging to share.
This past Sunday I was visited by Jayme of Tales From The Coop Keeper and her sidekick Glenco! I've mentioned before that I simply adore her blog for her honesty and humor. She is even more wonderful in living color.....sweet and kind (see the pictures below of the eggs from her very own hens and the coffee beans that she roasted herself especially for me!) and funny and beautiful and easy-peasy to talk with. You know Miss Introverted Me, I had started to worry that I wouldn't know what to talk about but the conversation flowed!
This past Sunday I was visited by Jayme of Tales From The Coop Keeper and her sidekick Glenco! I've mentioned before that I simply adore her blog for her honesty and humor. She is even more wonderful in living color.....sweet and kind (see the pictures below of the eggs from her very own hens and the coffee beans that she roasted herself especially for me!) and funny and beautiful and easy-peasy to talk with. You know Miss Introverted Me, I had started to worry that I wouldn't know what to talk about but the conversation flowed!
Thank you Jayme for the great visit, the goodies, and your friendship!
Grace & Peace, Leslie
Friday, January 1, 2010
A New Year
Happy 2010!
Or 2k10 as the National PGA Tour is calling it in their commercials.
The remnant of Christmas 2009 still resides in my kitchen and living room in the form of a tree and various other decorations. I hope to have them all put away before I go to bed Sunday evening.
Do you make resolutions at the beginning of each year? I usually don't. I may determine to try to do this or that but I never firmly resolve.
Prior to the holidays, I was pretty good about getting my devotions done each morning; this year I'm going to try to follow a 1-year Bible reading plan. I started yesterday just to get a jump on it and I'm keeping notes as I go. I also need to get back to healthier food choices as the cookies and candies and sodas are showing again on my hips and-since I'm getting older-on my tummy too.
And I need to return to planning and implementing at least a week's worth of meals at a time. There are just too many nights that we're not sitting down for dinner until 7:00 pm and I don't like that.
And now for something totally different: the dishwasher repair man is scheduled for Wednesday morning.
Grace & Peace,
Leslie
Or 2k10 as the National PGA Tour is calling it in their commercials.
The remnant of Christmas 2009 still resides in my kitchen and living room in the form of a tree and various other decorations. I hope to have them all put away before I go to bed Sunday evening.
Do you make resolutions at the beginning of each year? I usually don't. I may determine to try to do this or that but I never firmly resolve.
Prior to the holidays, I was pretty good about getting my devotions done each morning; this year I'm going to try to follow a 1-year Bible reading plan. I started yesterday just to get a jump on it and I'm keeping notes as I go. I also need to get back to healthier food choices as the cookies and candies and sodas are showing again on my hips and-since I'm getting older-on my tummy too.
And I need to return to planning and implementing at least a week's worth of meals at a time. There are just too many nights that we're not sitting down for dinner until 7:00 pm and I don't like that.
And now for something totally different: the dishwasher repair man is scheduled for Wednesday morning.
Grace & Peace,
Leslie
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