snow!

dear emily,

i'm sitting at my cozy kitchen table sipping a yummy home
made chai latte, trying not to let the ingredients spoil the
pleasure.  you can't imagine how much sugar and frothy
milk make your starbucks' latte taste so delicious.

the lovely soft snow falling outside my kitchen windows
completes the setting.  oh my gosh, i sound like barbara
stanwyck from "christmas in connecticut!"



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because we have had such a big winter storm, my friend
d. is bringing me a rick of firewood.  you probably know
her, she is that spiritual tornado, who forces you to 'walk
the walk'.  she and her husband have recently taken in an
alcoholic father and son.  they now attend three celebrate
recovery meetings a week and help his thirteen year old
with homework at all other times!

she makes the father chop wood for his keep, hence my
rick of wood.  rebecca dunning wrote a moving piece
in today's "24/7" journal, entitled 'think global/act local!'
they have camps of people without jobs in colorado,
holding up signs saying, "we need jobs, propane, food,
and water." her husband just delivered a rick of wood to
them.

sounds like d.!

this is making me feel a little guilty about my latte.
"wash me and i will be whiter than snow."  isaiah 51:7

love,
lea

principles in peril?

dear emily,

hans and i had a disagreement about whether we would lay
down our principles in order to save our children. he is a man
of such integrity and honor that he could not fathom doing it.

i, on the other hand, said that i feared what i might be able to
do in protecting my children.  i promptly went through the ten
commandments in my mind and thought, "yep, i am capable
of breaking everyone, even making little idols of my little ones."

something transpired in my meek heart, once i had that first
baby;  a lioness replaced the lamb who had always ruled there.
i need the Lord to continually draw me near to keep her claws
under His rule.

when two women were fighting over a baby, king solomon
wisely said, "let's just cut it in half, and you can share him."
the authentic mother cried out at the thought and was willing
to give him up rather than injure him.

i cringe to think of giving up any of my precious ones, but i
need to be willing to do that, too, if it would save them from
harm.

so, here's a question:  what is the most extreme thing YOU would
be willing to do in order to save or feed your children?

love,
lea

a living hero of the faith

dear emily,

hebrews 11 lists many of the heroes who have gone before us.
my family has one walk in our front door three days a week.
miss edna came to us ten years ago, and i do not know what
we ever did without her.

the Lord's Spirit goes before, after her, and all throughout the
house.  His Name is continually lifted up in the kitchen, living
room, hallways, and stairs.  heated arguments dissolve when
they hear, "Jesus" sung from the rafters.

fifteen years ago, miss edna adopted her niece's ten day old
baby.  the mommy was in prison, and the baby had been
shifted from foster parent to foster parent.  now he is a big,
strapping young man who plays in the band.  my dad helped
him learn to read by the strangest coincidence.

since then, miss edna has adopted three of his little brothers
from the same crack addicted mother.  all suffered from
some degree of withdrawal, but the latest baby the most.
it was just heartbreaking to see a week old baby, shivering
and arching his back from his mother's addiction.

sometimes she brings them here to our delight.  loston (ten)
consistently beats me at chess.  the last time the babies came,
my girls were just in stitches to hear little isaiah (two) saying
to his baby brother willis (one), "hush, willis...hush, willis."

whenever i ask miss edna if she's ready to stop working here,
she says, "oh no, i need a quiet place to come and rest!"  :)

she turned 64 today.

i bet paul mccartney never envisioned a sacrifice of love
so great as hers.

love,
lea

to spank or not to spank, comments

for some reason, people were not able to leave comments
on the spanking post.  i really want to hear what you think
about this, since it is could be very helpful to young moms.

so,  please just comment here.  thank you!

she takes the prize

dear emily,

if you can imagine a dark haired 'lucy' who sings as well as
ricky, then you know my friend b.  i walk with her every week,
and always say the same thing to hans that evening, "b. is like
good medicine to my soul."  she makes me laugh, cry, and want
to do...well, MORE!

we knew each other in high school but were very different from
each other.  she was so zealous for the Lord that she fasted 'make
up' on friday, while i was  more concerned about whether i had
a date on friday.  she never  held that against me, though, which
is one of  the things i love about her.

when everyone else went to college, she headed for an israeli
kibbutz and fell in love with m.  after he asked her to marry
him, she said, and i quote, "i bear witness to that."

how romantic.  :)

they promptly had six kids, all at home in a party-like atmosphere.
mine were born in a hospital in an anesthetic laced atmosphere.

she recently tested out of college without ever having taken a
single class and is now getting her masters in biblical studies.
have you ever heard of such a thing?

what an inspiration "to press on toward the goal to win the
prize..." philippians 3:14

love,
lea

bedtime stories

dear emily,

do you ever have a difficult time putting your kiddos to bed?
we had some pretty funny trials.

hans always wanted to tuck the kids in, because he missed
them all day.  the loose schedule was for everyone to brush
their teeth, go to the bathroom, get a drink, and dive into bed.

he would then tell them a story, usually one he made up about
larry lizard lips, who he drew on their chubby little tummies.
they would giggle hilariously at the silly escapades and travails
of poor larry and beg for 'just one more story!'

the boys were pretty good about falling right  to sleep after
prayers, the girls were another story.

after they were safely tucked in, heartaches expressed and
prayers said, there would be the inevitable, "daddy, i need
another drink...from the kitchen...NOT the bathroom!"

"daddy, i need to go to the bathroom, again!"

"daddy, you tucked shelby in longer than me!"

"nuh, uh! sunday got tucked in way longer!"

but, the best ever was from hailey,  "daddy, there's a bug on
me."

seriously, a bug?

yep,
lea

ps.  "the Lord gives to His beloved in their sleep."  Psalm 127:2

a sound of music birthday

dear emily,

i just received a 'brown paper package all tied up with string', and
stickers, and pretty tape from shelby for my birthday (51!).  she has
always been incredibly thoughtful and artistic with gifts and their
wrapping.

the brown paper package gathered me right to maria from "the
sound of music."  she made the most profound impact on my young
life, and my children will tell you that they have nightmares about
all the songs from that musical.  'how do you solve a problem like
my mother?'

their mother would spontaneously rapture about 'confidence in
sunshine' on a beautiful day and they would want to go back
inside.  at the end of the day, she just couldn't keep herself from
singing, 'there's a sad sort of clanging from the clock in the
hall' and they would run madly to their rooms to escape her.

she ruined their hikes by exploding, 'high on a hill was a lonely
goatherd' and 'climb every mountain.'

the sad truth for my children is that there is a song for every
aspect of life.  i wonder if any other children have called
DHS for being 'sound of musiced' to death...

'i must have had a wicked childhood',
lea