dreams

dear emily,

there is significance to our dreams.   my mother dreamed that she would
someday marry a prince, but i dreamed of becoming the next julie andrews.  
we both married princes, but there is only one julie andrews.

the truth is that i'm not really much of an intentional dreamer.    the dreams
i love are the ones that come to me during the night, the ones over which i
have little control.    i have a theory that when i don't pay attention to what
the Lord is saying during the day, He speaks to me at night.   that is not an
excuse, however, to ignore Him during the day.

"for God does speak - now one way, now another - though man may not
perceive it.  in a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on
men as they slumber in their beds . . . " job 33:14,15

i pay close attention to those messages, because i think they're important.
many of them have led me away from a dangerous path and toward an
answered prayer.   some have comforted my heart that worried for a loved
one.   other dreams have simply warned, "don't eat spicy food before bed."
the trick is to decipher one from the other;  giant helpings of the bible help
with that.

recently, i heard that a great author (of course, i can't remember his name)
would write half a chapter before he went to sleep, and many nights he
would dream the next sequence in his story.

it's a great excuse to get to bed early.

love,
lea

the 'empties'

dear emily,

i have the 'empties' today.   you know that feeling . . .  well it's more a lack
of feeling that makes the simplest of chores seem daunting?    don't want
breakfast, don't want to take a walk or unpack my suitcase, don't want to
read me bible or even a book (i left the 'me', because it turned up the corners
of my mouth.)

this is what children feel like when we make them eat their vegetables but
they only want oreos.    when we grow up, we have to make ourselves do
things, too.    we need light but crave darkness and stillness and oreos.   the
smallest breeze could upset my apple cart.    if there were only some clouds,
i might go outside.

"but whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen
plainly that what He has done has been done through God."  john 3:21

i don't really get the last part, but the first part is my vegetable for today.

love,
lea

teenagers

dear emily,

teenagers . . . did everybody get a little jolt at that word?  or at least a
tiny shiver?   oh, the power of a terrifying image.   forget "the walking
dead," how much scarier would "the multiplying teenager" be?

i remember watching disrespectful, mouthy teenagers in movies when
my angels were under ten and saying, "my children will never talk like
that."  i also thought that i would never be 'that' mom.    you know, the
one who morphs from june cleaver to joan crawford.

and the oscar for the most horrifying mom on the planet goes to . . .

if i could do it all over, which i can't, i would train up those bandits just
the way i did BUT not have a conniption fit when they strayed outside
the lines.    i would mete out a just consequence and say, "you're
smarter than this, but i still love you.   now go make me a martini."

love,
lea

"when the Lord brought back the captives to zion . . . our mouths were
filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy."   psalm 126:1, 2





 

squirrely stuff

my dog, jack, was barking his fool head off.
"squirrel! squirrel!!  squirrel!!!"

i'm not sure if it's the same squirrel who torments
him morning, noon, and night, but i would like
to thump him.  

yesterday, the pesky varmint frittered across our
swimming pool on top of the net.  i think he was
daring jack to come get him.   had jack not been
such a wise dog, he would have bounded out, and
sunk through the net.

i'll be danged if i let a squirrel kill my dog.

love,
lea

ps.   "it's the little foxes who kill the vines."  song of solomon 2:15

extensions

dear emily,

i have done many foolish things but right at the top of that list is getting
eyelash extensions.   just saying it makes me feel stupid . . . but they
looked SO beautiful.   instead of waking up to look like the palm of my
hand, i glided out of bed as princess kate.

unfortunately, those silly lashes had to be repaired every TWO weeks
which took about TWO hours.    as punishment for the sin of vanity,
my real-life puny lashes all fell out.

the princess turned into a frog.

it only took TWO months for my lashes to grow back, just long enough
to teach me a lesson.    if God had wanted me to have gorgeous, long
eyelashes, He could have made me be a cow. . . which is still better
than a frog.

love,
lea

ps.   "vanity, vanity, all is vanity!"   ecclesiastes 1:2

stay!

dear emily,

somehow, i misplaced our big, black family NIV bible (christmas, i guess.)    in
its place, my mother in law's big, black king james stepped up.   how in the
world did i get that, i wonder?   no matter, i love it.   the beautifully
expressive language has won my heart.

"for they call themselves of the holy city and STAY themselves upon the God of
israel."   isaiah 48:2

this 'calling' and 'staying' puts me in the mind of my westie, jack.   even
though he doesn't always come when i call,  he only feels safe when in my
home (city.)   he stays at my feet, eyes and ears tuned to me, whether i am
at the kitchen table, piano, or stove.

stay:  continue, remain, wait, endure, keep up (as in a race), stand one's
         ground, cinch (as in a girdle), root into

oh, to be a dogkeeper in the house of the Lord . . .

love,
lea

An Ode to John Fogerty

dear emily,

some day when your crew grows older and comes home for happy weeks
at a time, this is what your kitchen will enjoy.    max is on the right, hidden
beneath a baseball cap.   they saved the best part for the last.

he's my huckleberry!

love,
lea