i was fired by merry maids

dear emily,

i know.   embarrassing, but, please hear my side.

i was a young woman with five active kids and a loving husband
who had built me a house that was too big for me to handle.

the meals and laundry weren't too bad.  i tried to consider running
the kids to all their basketball practices, ballet recitals, and piano
lessons as special time with each one (or at least as a good excuse
for mcdonald's french fries.)   i was only homeschooling two of
them by then . . . but the house.

after a while, too long really, in desperation, i called merry maids,
who made my kitchen and bathrooms sparkle.  as the angels ladies
were limping out the door,  spraying some amazing scent out of  a
squirt bottle, i threw myself at the last one and grabbed her ankle,
crying, "please don't leave me here by myself!"

the next morning i had a notification in my mailbox saying the
merry maids would no longer be able to help me.

sheesh.   i felt like a desperate housewife.

love,
lea

"do not forget to entertain strangers, for by doing so some people
have entertained angels . . . "  hebrews 13:2

i don't like to cook

my middle daughter and i are completely hooked on the show
'breaking bad.'  i know i should be ashamed because of the bad
language and adult situations, but the characters and plot are
just so good.

in the drama, walter, the high school chemistry teacher, discovers
he has a gift for 'cooking' which is a gift i do not have.  i'm a
terrible cook.  the aforementioned daughter thinks it's because i
just don't like to do it.

something else i don't like is to answer this question, "did you
cook this?"  it feels like a loaded one.   the implication being "did
you buy this and try to trick us into thinking you actually made it?"
or "if you cooked it, i would rather have a peanut butter sandwich,
please."

i would prefer to be asked for the recipe.  if i didn't make it, i will
happily refer my guest to the caterer.  if i did make it,  it would
thrill the socks off me.

"you want my recipe?"

love,
lea

"i have food to eat that you know nothing about."  john 4:32

january 12th, 2012

today is my beloved father in law's 89th birthday.   he is probably
soaring around the Throne with the heavenly angels who escorted
him there early tuesday morning.   i don't know if he will have a
birthday cake but suspect there will be a banquet.

a dear friend told me that his ferocious eyebrows always scared
her.  he could be terrifying, but beneath those brows was a sweet
gentleness for those of us 'meeces' like pixie and dixie.   in the 36
years that i knew and loved him, he was completely encouraging
and loving.

my husband worked beside him for 30 of those years and enjoyed
the most companionable of relationships.  i pray that the Lord will
fill that office space with His own presence now.

my wise daughter exhorted her four uncles to fill those empty
shoes and be the protection and love she had cherished from her
grandfather.   big shoes.  

they will do it.

love,
lea

did you feel the mountains tremble?

dear emily,

in this advent season i pray that my heart will be expectant for His
coming and prepared to stand before Him.   i worry that when i
remember Him as a baby, i forget that those who have seen Him
since His resurrection could not stand before Him.   He was a baby
who we cherish and sing songs about, but He is not now One.

 

"it is very remarkable that we face the thought that God is coming,
so calmly, whereas previously peoples trembled at the day of God."
(dietrich bonhoeffer)

since our earthquake a few weeks ago, i feel the trembling of after
shocks throughout the day.  it is quite unsettling, and i have begun
keeping a glass of water beside my bed to see if my imagination is
acting up or the earth shaking.   they are a new reality for me, and i
realize i have taken the past stillness of my foundation for granted.

"only when we have felt the terror of the matter, can we recognize
the incomparable kindness.   God comes into the very midst of evil
and death, and judges the evil in us and in the world. . . God cleanses
and sanctifies us, comes to us with grace and love."
(bonhoeffer)

the sweet little Jesus boy is deeply rooted in my heart, and i adore
Him,  but how do i rightly worship Him as King of Kings at the same
time?  it takes a miracle, and i believe in them.

love,
lea

saved by the carol (repost) dear emily, hans and the boys have teased me a lot through the years, because i don't really understand sports.  all i have ever known is music and literature.  imagine my delight at receiving this clandestine phone call. "mom?" one of my sons was on the other line and i could barely hear him. "honey, are you ok?" "mom, i don't have much time and may have to hang up on you." " are you in trouble?" "how do you finish this line, 'angels we have heard...'?" whispered my son. " 'on high'...but" "awesome!  now how about, 'o little town of bethlehem...'?" " 'how still we see thee lie! ' what is going on?" i was beginning to get a little frustrated. "sweet!  what comes after this?   'angels from the realms of glory'?" "'wing your flight o'er all the earth'...  do you need me to call the police?" "oh no, i gotta hang up!  stay by the phone!"  now i had visions of kidnappers with my precious son wrapped up in duct tape. thankfully the phone rang again. "mom?" "oh honey, are you hurt?  where are you?" "no worries, mom.   mr. mccoy was just walking by and i didn't want him to see me on the phone." "what????" "just fill in this line:  'what child is this?...' " "'who laid to rest on mary's lap is sleeping'  will you please tell me what is going on?" "thanks, mom!  you're a life saver!  i told my buddies that no one knew more Christmas songs than you!" dial tone... turns out his physics teacher gave the class a bonus pre-Christmas test, that i helped them cheat their way through.  a better mom would have made them 'fess up, but i was just so proud... ...that my superior knowledge of Chrismas carols won the game! love, lea "in those days caesar augustus issued a decree that a census  should be taken of the entire roman world.  this was the first census that took place while quirinius was the governor of syria. and everyone went to his own town to register.  so joseph, also,  went up from the town of nazareth to bethlehem, the town of david, because he belonged to the house and the line of david. he went there with mary who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child."  luke 2: 1-5)

bullies

once a week i have lunch with a precious third grader in one of
our city's at risk neighborhoods.   i used to say that i was her
mentor, but it's really the other way around.

i have learned so much from her eagerness to learn and express
herself artistically.  she recently won a poster contest to protest
bullying.  her sunny disposition shone all over it with "love",
"peace," and "kindness" in big letters.   it reminded me of the
fruit of the Spirit.

bullies have been my nemesis, as i seem to attract them like bees
to honey.    people, thankfully not my husband,  just want to boss
me around.   recently i have wondered whether a bully knows he
is a bully.   is it possible that some obscure their boldness with
good intentions?

some may think they need to exert pressure on me, because i am too
wishy-washy.  if they didn't push me,  i might never accomplish
anything.   i just need someone to help me pull my head out of the
sand and 'take a stand.'

when these well meaning 'pushers' apply force to me, i either dig in
my heels or cave in.   the next time it happens, i resolve to say, "you
are pressuring me, or it feels like you are bullying me."  i think they
will be shocked, because they don't realize what they are doing.

i know i will be shocked, if i really have the courage to stand up
for myself.

love,
lea

"but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control."
galatians 5:22, 23

expectations

do you remember laboring through dickens' great expectations in
the ninth grade?  honestly, the title threw me off.   after all, i had
heard great things about the author and had pretty big expectations.
i was terribly disappointed.  i think  i enjoyed laboring through my
childrens' births more.

"barkis is willing," is one of my favorite lines, but few know to
what i am referring when i quote it.   i sympathized with him, as
we both had such great expectations.  i can't remember if clara ever
married him, but it would make me feel better to know that one of
us had a happy moment in the story.

google image

on the other hand, i was completely mesmerized by a tale of two
cities.   was it my low expectations or a fine book that brought
me such pleasure?  since "occupy wall street" has taken over so
many of our city parks, i have wondered if guillotines will be
added to the venue.  the guillotine was a huge character in the
tale, but i digress.

back to expectations:    if i expect my husband to "clean" the
kitchen after dinner, i will certainly be disappointed, as  there
will be a sinkful of dishes and crumbs all over the counters.  have
you noticed that "sinkful"and "sinful" are practically the same
word?

if, however,  i do not expect my husband to clean the kitchen, i
will be happily surprised to enjoy his company pattering along
while i clean.  he will bring me dishes from the table and put them
in the sink, saving me many steps.

not expecting,
lea

"for i have learned to be content whatever the circumstances."
philippians 4:11