funeral shoes

Some people have clothing specifically designed for running. Some have one single mug that always holds their coffee. Some have a spot where they always vacation, or their very own chair in the living room.

My husband has funeral shoes.

He bought them several years ago when he was honored to be a pall bearer for the funeral of a fellow teacher. And just like you would never drink lemonade out of that coffee mug, or let the dog steal your chair, he doesn’t wear his funeral shoes to regular services.

They are set apart.

They are his funeral shoes.

They are his gardening shoes.

They are the shoes he wears when he plants his people in the ground, knowing that when Christ returns and the heavenly harvest comes he will see them all again.

For the funeral today he had to dust them off. Blessedly, there had been no other planting since we arrived.

In our first congregation the funeral shoes and dresses and jackets will be dusted off Thursday as they do a little planting of their own.

And such will be the case in every Christian congregation until Easter 2.

Yes my husband has funeral shoes, but more importantly, he has wedding attire. You do too.

And while we gladly let those funeral shoes get dusty, we keep our wedding attire freshly pressed because He’s coming soon.

Like, today would be good.

Come, Lord Jesus.

a reason for the hope that we have

There’s a reason we sit down each evening, well most evenings, and have devotion time as a family.

There’s a reason we read His word together.

There’s a reason we teach our children to pray.

There’s a reason that three years ago we started learning hymns together too.

It’s so we can give a reason for the hope that we have.

It’s so we can say words to one another like hope and triumph and open graves and resurrection.

It’s so when he gets that call to say that a member of his flock has died and he starts to sing, we can sing too.

sabbath rest

After posting every day for three months, I missed yesterday.
Guess what? Nothing happened. The Earth still spins, the sun still rises, my children still argue and then squeeze the life right out of me with hugs.
I am a bit of a control freak when it comes to stuff like this. That might be putting it nicely. I’m an all or nothing kind of gal. So when I went to bed on Friday without posting anything, this entire project’s success lie in the balance.
Guess what? Nothing happened, except everything that was supposed to happen in my real life, actual, in my face, tactile world.
So, here’s the new plan…
For the next three months, I will post only when I actually do have something to say. It might not be anything stellar, but this will be a time when I post because I want to, not just because it is part of the project, and I feel like I have to. Hopefully that will still be about three or four times a week, with time set aside for rest.

For today, enjoy your sabbath rest.

i choose sleep

After eight hours in the car and an evening at church, tonight I choose sleep over writing.

Where Two or Three are Gathered friends, this is my day to remind you to come back on the 20th to sign up for month three. I’ll get caught up on reading all of your loveliness tomorrow.

This is the day the Lord has made. Rejoice. Be glad!

fido, potions, and pregnant cats

So apparently laughter is the theme this week.

Finish that bite of cake and your milk too, lest it come out your nose.

There are a whole host of these.

Hilarious!

completely random…but, dessert first

It’s not just for grandmothers and grandchildren anymore. Truly. My family will never do this, but I have to say, if you eat your dessert first, then you won’t be filled with the other goodness that lines your table only to stuff yourself to the gills after dinner because who in their right mind would pass up dessert. Just sayin’

We shopped today with just the two youngest girls. We went to five stores and were home by noon. It was bliss. Strange, but bliss.

At one of the stores we noticed something familiar in the produce section. Attention Kansas friends, you are sitting on a gold mine! They are selling hedge apples up here for 78 cents each! Crazy! I won’t tell them that they really don’t work for keeping spiders and crickets at bay if you won’t…

Oldest Middle is in Colorado with her grandparents and spent the day watching the likes of Phil Mickelson and other masters of the links. She even got a ball from Ernie Els’ caddie. She is having a lovely time and being sufficiently spoiled.

I use Google as my spell check way more than anyone should…ever.

I’m on day…eighty something of this posting every day thing and am completely stuck. The well has (quite obviously) run dry. Thoughts? Suggestions? I’m considering whether or not it would be prudent for me to take a week or so off to try to come up with something that might actually be worth reading. I’m also just considering dragging you all through the drivel of what might be my next few weeks’ posts and see what happens when we come out the other side. Again…Thoughts?

Before you comment though, go get some dessert.

anywhere with Jesus

When Oldest Daughter was four years old, I remember well taking her to her preschool class in a neighboring town, about thirty minutes away, twice a week. I had a couple of Christian CDs in my car at that time that I would play over and over and over again. So much so that my children knew them by heart.
I remember one day in particular when Oldest Middle, who was at that time the youngest of our children and only two years old, was not especially enjoying the ride.
This song came up on the CD and with enthusiasm such as cannot possibly be accurately described here, Oldest Daughter, turned to her sister and said, “It’s Anywhere with Jesus!”
Well, that was the end of all crankiness and tears because the two of them rocked it out pretty much the rest of the way to preschool. Even when they are driving me crazy, they will often find ways to make me smile or just simply crack me up.

Now, it’s your turn. Rock it out and then share a song that holds a specific memory for you or your family.

no words

Sometimes there are just no words.

Like when you spend time grieving for a friend, knowing that anything you post that day would be superficial at best, trivial, unworthy.

And then you receive this.

An answer to a request, beautifully done.

This is the song.

There are only these words…thank you.

singers wanted…i just need one

I should just have my husband record it. I searched youtube last night to no avail. The words were there, but the tune was all wrong.

“I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say” is the hymn we’re currently working on as a family. Yep, we’re those people. I often wonder what the neighbors think when it’s dark outside and we can’t see out, but they can see in, or when the windows are open to let in those few and far between summer chills.

On Wednesdays they can see us waiving our arms to “Father Abraham” or tumbling down at the end of “Only a Boy Named David” or even standing up and sitting down alternately to “Praise Ye the Lord.” That one is especially fun when one of the boys in our family is holding Youngest Daughter.

That’s all good stuff and my children especially enjoy those Wednesday evening devotions. I like the other nights. The ones that have us singing a hymn chosen by Seth. This one I love, but for the life of me I cannot find it for you to hear.

If anyone would want to record themselves singing hymn #699 out of the Lutheran Service Book and then post it online, so I could put it here, well, that would be great.

Until then, I’ll just be singing it in my head.

what i’m working on…

A big reveal in tomorrow’s blog post…

A closet makeover for my girls who thought it would be a good idea to combine all their clothes thereby making it next to impossible for Oldest Daughter to find clothes in a dark room in the mornings…

Fervent prayers for a friend… (You could join me with this one. I have no details for you, but God will know who you’re talking about.)

I might even get a few steps in…

What are you working on today?

*By the way…I still need 11 Party Packs! (See yesterday’s post) 🙂