It’s funny the things that you don’t remember. I don’t remember my parents getting up with me multiple times in the middle of the night when I was a baby/toddler. I don’t remember drawing on the walls, wetting my bed, or refusing to eat perfectly good food. I’m pretty sure all of those things happened though because now I’m in the spot my parents were in not too long ago.

Thanks to the time change Jude has been waking up at 5 AM (he woke up at 4:30 AM Sunday) saying he’s hungry and Jess has been trying to convince our voracious 7 month old that he doesn’t need to constantly eat through the night. All this equates to utter exhaustion. But like all things in life it’s your perspective that ultimately influences how you process things.

Sure, in the moment when sleep deprivation is at it’s worse and all communication comes out with emotional overtones or incoherent sentences - I can’t help but feel a bit overwhelmed. But if I’m able to step back and consider how quickly these moments will pass and in the story of my life be just a blip, it’s all worth it. When I take a step back and shift my perspective from the here and now to be implicational and long term instead - what seems so big, isn’t anymore. Faster than I care to think about my boys will be Men and the foundation of their life that is being established today will have far reaching impact. With this perspective in place my actions become less selfish and more purposeful.

For Jess and I the way that we live and love is rooted in an eternal perspective not just for our lives but for the generations of children, grandchidren, and great grandchildren after us. While every day brings with it a new obstacle that has the potential to make us focus back on ourselves, it’s our desire to live in a way that is selfless. We constantly fail, but we are confident that grace is there to cushion our fall, prop us back up and give us the vision to live. If this grace wasn’t present than our failings would have power over us. Power to make us give up and quit or to make us live selfish and purposeless lives.

Just as it was established in our lives, it’s our prayer that our children will grow up with an eternal perspective rooted in life giving grace!

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

Here’s what you’d find on our coffee table these days…

Irresistible Revolution: Living Life as an Ordinary Radical by Shane Claiborne
I’m over half way through and challenged to take the overwhelming feeling of wanting to sell everything and move to the slums of India and apply it to our life here in Otis Orchards, where we feel called to live and love. For now:).

Treasuring God in Our Traditions by Noel Piper
(If you click on the title you’ll find a link to read it for FREE online!) I’m only in the 2nd chapter but intrigued to find out how the author has wrapped her faith and beliefs into meaningful family traditions. I long to throw off the weight of meaningless holiday clutter and celebrate the every day and the special day alike with purpose, beauty, and meaning- all while reflecting Who we live for.

The Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack
A childhood classic- the tale of a little duck on the Yangtze River, with his mother and father and sisters and brothers and 42 cousins!

Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel
Funny little stories and great illustrations.

Jude has also been getting into Dr. Seuss books and listening to them on tape (from the library) during mealtimes, or before naps. He listens while staring off into space and when it’s over tries to make up his own rhymes. We’ve also been enjoying lots of books about fall: apples, pumpkins, leaves, etc.

What are you reading or listening to?

We’ve all heard the phrase ‘bite your tongue’ in relation to not saying something that really won’t help the situation anyways. Well, I’ve got a new one for you all…bite your hand. Here’s the scenario:

Wife, 2 year old, and 6 month old are feeling out of sorts - sick, having nightmares, and teething in that order. Wife is already run down having spent the day sick and taking care of two little dudes and goes to bed early. 6 month old wakes every 90 minutes crying and can’t be consoled. 2 year old has nightmares about an apparently very scary owl. At 4 AM for the sake of his wife’s sanity, Husband takes 6 month old downstairs to the guest bedroom to sleep. An hour of crying later, Husband - not blaming the 6 month old for crying, because there’s certain to be a legitimate, although unspoken reason for it - bites down on the palm of his hand instead of (your answer here).

The amazing thing about this story is - like some sort of weird horror movie - as soon as the sun comes up, both Wife and Husband awake to the two cutest, most amazing little boys the Lord God has ever created. Albeit one is still a little wary of owls.

To all you parents who have ever bit your own hand I salute you! To my own parents who probably did it many, many times, I value you now more than ever.

What if we ladies that felt called to ’stay at home’ (although I don’t like that term so much- I don’t always stay at home, and it hardly defines what it is I do all day!) looked at our role of wife, mom, home maker, and all the other titles you could give us as a profession. Not just an alternative to working at a ‘real job’ all day, but as a real job in and of itself? How would we carry out our role differently even though we are not hoping for a raise or trying to impress a boss? What if we let ourselves look at all the roles we take on while being a full time home maker and mum as a complete package and challenged ourselves to do things in the most excellent way we possibly could? What if we could find more fulfillment and joy in our role ‘at home’ than we ever thought possible? I am excited to find it entirely possible and am on a journey to be the best keeper of our home that I possibly can, serving my family as unto the Lord, and in love and joy looking outward to how we as a family can serve a hurting world. I’ve found that getting my priorities straight, understanding the season of life I’m in, and trusting in God’s timing for my life brings so much freedom to embrace the every day and the ordinary and strive toward a meaningful life that counts for eternity.

“For I have accepted God’s idea of me, and my whole life is an offering back to Him of all that I am and all that He wants me to be.” Elizabeth Eliott

“I have found the paradox that if I love until it hurts, then there is no hurt, but only more love.” Mother Teresa

Need inspiration?

*The Mission of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson

*Let Me Be a Woman by Elizabeth Eliott

There are so many more but my hubby is waiting with home made peach ice cream and a movie and who can resist that?! So have a great week and do share your inspiration with all of us!

Honey for a Child’s Heart- ‘The imaginative use of books in family life’, this book helps weed through the many, many books available to find the ones that will enrich, inspire, and engage young readers.

Mission of Motherhood- I’m half way through this book but already so inspired.

The Little Engine That Could- original edition. I’ve notice Jude talking about this book as he plays with his Thomas the trains set- saying as his trains go up the hill, ‘I think I can, I think I can!’

We’ve also been into borrowing books on tape for Jude- recently in the car he likes to chant ‘caps, caps for sale!’ but his favorite so far is Babar, which he often requests to listen to when he’s going to sleep. I’m planning on recording Andrew and I reading other stories or ones we make up to let him listen to as he’s falling asleep, which takes what seems like forever most nights. Why not use that time to let him listen to our voices reading books that will inspire and encourage his little heart and growing curiosity about the world?

(Grandparents and family~ this would be a most wonderful birthday or Christmas gift idea, as we are trying to control the toy clutter and love to foster the long distance relationships!! For those of you musically inclined- you know who you are- songs and music would be so fun as well!!!)

The other day I was cutting up some melon for Jude and I remembered one of my trips to Nepal where we were working with a small orphanage. Our team had the opportunity to have a party for the kids after teaching them English for a few weeks and wanted to bless them with some kind of treat. Our American minds dreamed up some yummy things and ran them by our host who was an American living in Nepal and had adopted a beautiful Nepali girl with his wife. He told us the ideas were fine but what would really be special to the kids was a bunch of different kinds of fresh cut up fruit. (A limited orphanage budget only allowed for small amounts of fresh fruits.) That seemed so simple and not special enough to us Westerners, who were so use to an overabundance of sugary sweets. There are particular scenes that stick out in my mind from my travels around the globe and shape my life today. This is one of them, leaving me with a few questions to check the attitude of my life and the condition of my heart.

Am I thankful for what I have, or do I always think of the next thing to buy? Do I constantly need the ‘bigger and better’ or am I content with what I have, the gifts I can afford to give, the meals I can prepare for our family, etc.? Am I living simply so that I can give generously? Do I find joy in the simple things and teach my children to be content with what we have by example, limited amounts of TV and thus advertising, and involving them in giving generously to others who have need?