the year in review

dear emily,

it made my heart sing to hear (wow, i just saw that 'hear' is the
root of 'heart') that matt called hans to talk about our 'year in
review.'  my children have the wisest father, who is more given
to them than any father i have ever known.

the year in review is a great example of that.  every january, he
spends time with each of the kids talking about the milestones of
the year before.  they all groan about it, but once the memories
start flowing, it becomes a valuable way to say, "look what the
Lord has done."  the groans yield to tears and laughter.

it is also a time to show how He has knit our hearts together
through the difficult and happy moments.  even though each of
our children has unique gifts and dreams and live miles away
from us and each other, we want their hearts to remain linked.

we have seen how time and miles have unraveled families, and
we want to oppose that.  when i am a great-grandmother, and i
plan to be a GREAT grandmother, i hope to hear my children
and their children laughing and roughhousing in the background
as their father takes them one by one to remember the goodness
of the Lord in the previous year.

love,
lea

"the Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with
joy!"  psalm 126:3

a united front

dear emily,

i know very little about the art of war but, having seen some great
war movies, understand that a united front is essential to victory.
my experience in battle was for the lives of my teenagers, and a 
reason for our success was hans' and my arms linked side by side
as a kryptonite shield.

one of my favorite sayings during those 14 years was, "it's a great
thing that hans and i still love each other, because sometimes, we
are the only ones in our house who do!"

those adolescents were slippery and stealthy.  they could turn our
words back on us with greater skill than the wiliest  defense
attorney.  they had the ability to slip through windows, leap tall
buildings, hear through walls,  and exert superhuman control
over facial muscles.  they also exhibited enhanced speed (only
in automobiles), endurance, and stamina to stay up all night.

google image

AND they discovered our greatest weakness.  we cared.  we
actually cared for those teenage earthlings.

which, of course, was one of our secret weapons.

love,
lea

"there is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear . . ."
1 john 4:18

raising teenagers

dear emily,

i have touched briefly, because NO one wants to spend much
time here, on the teenage years.   when my crew were little,
people used to say, "oh, enjoy them while they're so precious.
when they turn 13, you won't like them anymore."

how terrifying is that?  and untrue . . . mostly.

if you have established a foundation of respect and love with
your youngsters, you will survive their rough patches at 15.   if,
however, you allow disrespectful, selfish behavior when they are
young and compliant, they will most likely turn into two-headed
monsters.  at this point, you will be forced to hire an exorcist.

google images

just kidding . . . mostly.  

so, the moral of the story is to plan for the future.  you cannot
control the unfolding events , but your relationship with your
future teenager begins right now.

1.  from the age of two, your child should be able to look you
     in the eye when you speak to him.

2.  there is no need to yell at him.  speak as respectfully to him,
     as you would your husband.   (ahem, are you speaking
     respectfully to your husband?)

3.  do NOT ask your toddler to do anything, unless you are
     willing to back up the request.   if you let these requests
      slip by without response,  your darling will quickly tune
      you out.

4.  spend more time snuggling, reading, and playing, than
      bossing and disciplining.  "all work and no play, makes
      mom a big BORE."

5.  keep pappy, happy.

this is just the beginning, and after much prayer and reflection,
i have lots more to share.

love,
lea

"so in everything, do to others what you would have them do
to you, for this sums up the law and the prophets."  mt. 7:12

lower case letters

dear emily,

after re-reading the grammar rules for capitalization, i realized
that i  have never explained my reason for breaking them.

it's childlike, and i have been chastised for it but will continue to
use only lower case letters for my simple thoughts.  i like the idea
of saving the upper case ones for the One who deserves them,
because this allows me to show Him honor in a 'big' and 'small'
way.

one of my favorite lines is  from harry wormwood to his young
daughter, matilda. "listen you little wise acre, i'm smart; you're
dumb.  i'm big; you're little.  i'm right; you're wrong, and there's
nothing you can do about it."

 google image

it's hilarious, because he is actually the dumb, little, and wrong
one.   i want to be the polar opposite of harry wormwood and
by writing in lower case letters, i have an opportunity to show
what i think about myself.

the Lord is omniscient;  i'm not very smart.  He's BIG;  i'm little.
He's just and true in all His ways; i'm frequently wrong, but there
are many things i can do about that.

love,
lea

"praise our God, all you servants, you who fear Him, both small
and great."  revelation 19:5

paths to take

dear emily,

as i was strolling in the soft, deep sand by the ocean, my calves
began to shout in protest.  it was much easier to turn around and
step into my footprints than to forge on.

unfortunately, attempting to match my own steps took a surprising
amount of concentration.  i was no longer waving at the adorable
babies along the shore or counting the boats on the horizon.  so  i
let my feet resume their aimless wandering,  once again enjoying
the blissful breezes and lapping waves but ignoring my calves.

life is a bit like that.  we decide which path to take, who to
notice, and what to ignore.

i want my children to venture down many enriching and exciting
shores.  some will take the road less traveled, which might be
lonely or dangerous.  others will choose more conventional paths,
that will, at times, be monotonous, but each will have the thrill of
deciding for himself.

my choice will be to love them, pray for them, and welcome them
home.  my comfort will be that "He leads them beside still waters."
psalm 23:2

love,
lea

home for Christmas

dear emily,

i'm not certain barrett jones will be home for Christmas, but am
happy to say that he has contacted his family and seems to be ok.
thank you for your continued prayers for his family as they sort it
all out.

life is complicated, messy, and painful . . . but so much better than
the alternative, as mark twain used to say.

my favorite early Christmas present is the photo you sent of your
precious #2 and tiny baby bird.  i could hold her for  the rest of
my life and never get my fill.

i'm signing off until after the holidays, because i want to be fully
invested in all the happy moments.   merry Christmas and may
your new year be full of peace and plenty.  (i stole that from
father tim.)

love,
lea

"the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.
we have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who
came from the Father, full of grace and truth."  john 1:14

dear emily

i have the family's permission to release a picture and the name
of the precious young man who has been missing for over a
week now.

barrett jones

i could always count on barrett to speak to me very respectfully
and look straight into my eyes.   he traveled with my son on
mission trips and played basketball with him for four years.  the
faculty from his high school selected barrett to be their favorite
student of the year.

this is a special young man, and his lovely parents' hearts are
breaking.

yesterday, a missing baylor student called his family from a
church in arizona.   my prayer is that today, barrett will call
his family, too.

"to this i will appeal:

the years of the right hand of the Most High.
i will remember the deeds of the Lord;

yes, i will remember Your miracles of long ago.

i will meditate on all Your works and consider
all Your mighty deeds."  psalm 77: 11, 12

your prayers and your generous kindness are such a gift,
lea