And that's why we clean..

I've never really been able to figure out why I have this pressing need to clean my dungeon.  I mean, really.    It's just this empty storage area where everything else goes that doesn't go anywhere else specifically.  You know.. the 25 gallon roaster pan, dead mice and supplies for making them dead, and miscellaneous large ticket items like a water softener, turpentine and enough magnets to throw the earth's gravitational pull out of balance.

So, I am rather O.C.D. about getting it up to speed every January. I have crazy labels everywhere.  Who cares if 99% of it has no earthly value whatsoever?  If we have it, we're going use it and know where it is.  And I'm very protective of my dungeon.    I'm not even sure why until this past weekend.

So, there we were.

The entire Webber family (5 kids and 2 adults), and..  a house full of overnight guests and friends.  Without going into details about who was here and what, if you don't count the baby in the womb of one of our guests, we had 18 people total.

And with very little warning, that siren that means "get into your basement dungeon" went off.  I think we've been here for almost 12 years, and I've never had to take tornado shelter cover until this. very. moment.

And then we piled all of us in a small space in the center of the dungeon.  No one was more proud of my OCD  than me (at that moment).  Not that the place was perfect or anything, but we could all fit on folding chairs in a circle in the safest part of the house.  All the little ones were on the floor, hugging on to their parents' legs.

And just at that moment, I had an idea.

"Let's pretend we are the persecuted church!" I blurted out.. "We can sing and pray with our hands up and our eyes closed, in the dark, all crowded.. like.. they do in those countries.."

 I'm not sure why everyone did not jump that this awesome opportunity.

I was really to pour my heart out in worship, just like they do.  They worship for real.  We worship for polite.

I should say this.  All three families are of the same belief system, if you will.  We really do worship.  But putting your hands up and all?  I might as well suggested that we all get nude.

It's no wonder that when I threw my hands up in the air to demonstrate and someone snapped a picture, the only thing visible is me looking like a lunatic and everyone else looking on with furrowed brows.

  So much for that fun game.
No wonder the kids were scared.  Not only is there a tornado out there, but now we are being persecuted!


So, the game of "Quirkle" was played instead.  While we were down there, we realized it was the birthday of one of our guests.  We'll just call him "Dan".  And let's just make up a random age of "41".

Now, if you were a random guy named "Dan" who had managed to hide it from the world that you were turning "41"--wouldn't you just love being serenaded by a mariachi birthday solo?  Yes, we really did make him wear the large sombrero and hold the "Barney Banjo" while our talented and esteemed guest sang to him.

At this point, Dan was already realizing that the game of "persecuted church" was going to be more palatable than this experience.  Hey dude.  You made your choice.

So, now I know why I clean.  It has nothing to do with finding stuff or getting a high from blitzing and being organized.  It's just that just about anybody will go anywhere in your home.  And they often do.

I live!

Yes, I really am writing.  And I live.  But that's not even the best part.  I got my passport renewed today.

I gathered up my girls and decided it was going to be a fun day in Chicago cuz I needed to go there, and that's the bottom line.  So, we drove in, battling construction and speed restrictions.  I don't know what the office is called but it appears on the GPS as "230 Dearborn Avenue".  It's official name is something  like "the very slow and inefficient government security office  of passports and other slow documents".

So, we got there.

I got dropped off while the girls found parking.  I was only 20 minutes late for the appointment, which isn't so bad, considering that I went in the wrong door and up the wrong elevator before landing on the 18th floor with all of the other passport recipient wannabes.  It was a sorry lot of people.  Almost as bad as the "very slow and inefficient bureau of hard to receive drivers licenses".  And you have to admit that the passport office is far more interesting than the driver's license place because ALL the people in there are GOING SOMEWHERE.  And you hear all of these foreign accents and arguing and babies crying in foreign languages and all.

To someone like me, a room full of people I don't know (yet) is like going into a garage sale.  It's just filled with possible friends and experiences and information.  So, in my mind, the wait was.. well... not long enough.  I mean..really.  I only got to meet 7 people or so and that doesn't include the two I met in the elevator on the way down.  So one guy was going to Egypt.  An entire family was going to Jordan. A young man was going on a school trip to France.  A Chinese man was going to Taiwan on business. And then when I got through phase one, which was standing there.  I said "What? Is that it?  That was so fast and easy!"  Which made everyone in the line burst into laughter.

So, as I was leaving, a smiley older man met me in the elevator on the way down and made a nice comment. Actually, I think it was nice.  He told me I was "gregarious".    I told him that I loved the Lord Jesus.  And then we quickly both discovered that we both had the Lord.  Now a demure, classy woman got in the elevator  with us and listened while we were still chatting and said something like, "It sounds like I'm in the company of the blessed"  and I knew instantly she was a believer also.

Here I am in a secular institution in the middle of Chicago and in the length of time it takes to go from the 18th floor to the ground, I've drummed up a worship meeting with two perfect strangers.  Talk about fun!  And it was hardly past noon.  I could tell this was just the beginning of an adventure.

When we got to the bottom, I asked the nice woman if she was a believer in the Lord Jesus.  She not only confirmed it, but she flung open her jacket and showed me her "Moody Bible Institute" T-shirt.  I instantly reached over and gave her hug and told her my husband was at Moody also.

So, while I was hugging my new best friend, I learned that her husband was pursuing the same program as Will and that he was going to be at the June modular.  So, we sat down on the bench and talked.

Meanwhile, I made plans to catch up with Joanna and Emily who found their way to the much acclaimed American Girl doll store at the Water Tower.  So, while I was trying to figure out how to get there, I asked her if she wanted to have lunch with us.

I was actually surprised when she said she would.  I know I seem sincere, but I know I can be a tad overwhelming in real life.  For some reason, she wanted to hang with me.  We found a bus and met up with the girls.  And somehow the experience of meeting the girls somehow put her at ease, and I could tell that she really was starting to enjoy herself.  Maybe I wasn't such a kook after all?  The kids seem pretty normal. LOL.

And who can not feel at ease around Joanna?   In fact, the first thing that my new friend said to Joanna when she met her is this, "I bet things are very fun at your home!"

And Joanna, not the least bit perplexed or taken aback by her mother showing up with a perfect stranger, answered with great aplomb, "Oh yes!"    Thanks Jo for not saying "And it's a disaster.." or "did you know we have no milk in the fridge?"  or "my mother doesn't do our laundry" or anything else overly incriminating.

And then my friend said this, "You know.  God has put us together today for a reason.  I was supposed to meet with a friend.  She is a prophet.  She's a very serious person. God had other plans for me."

And I put down my fork and said, "wow.  I must be a sorry substitute, then."

And she said, "Not at all!  This is exactly what I needed.  I needed to laugh.  I am having so much fun!"

I wiped my brow. Whew!  Cuz I couldn't think of a prophecy to save my life--other than the book of Revelation, which, incidentally, I do not have memorized.

She walked with us to the parking garage and waiting until she knew we were safe and sound in our car.  I offered to bring her to her hotel, but she wanted to take the bus.  She prayed over me and wrapped my whole car in the blood of Jesus.  I said Amen, and Joanna took a picture of us together.  And we went home.  Was she an angel?  Perhaps.  Either way, God gave me a friend and I thank him for it.

turning their hearts part 3

In my last two posts about turning their hearts, I introduced the subject of turning the heart of our husbands toward the children and then  what to do in less than ideal circumstances.

Let's say you have a husband and kids.  Things are basically good, but you know that distraction lurks at every corner.

I think the Lord has given us moms an inner sense of what is going on with our children and husbands, and it is up to us not to ignore those signals.  We can "connect" them, if we choose to.

Moms are, by definition, peace-makers.

It's up to us to create a peace-filled home.  We have the capacity to be that "oil" of smoothness in the home.  But it takes work.  a lot of work.

In yesterday's post, I referred to the struggle that we all face on a daily basis.  We have to choose whether or not to live in the light.  We have to choose to be women of beauty and let the Holy Spirit have control of our minds, souls and bodies.

We have to choose to be kind, thoughtful, selfless, disciplined creatures.

And we have to know, understand and communicate love to our husbands and then to our children.

I, as a selfish creature, find this to be:  hard work.

Hard. hard. hard. work.

And then, after that hard work, we have to choose to leave the results with the Lord.

Not necessarily producing results is no excuse for giving up.

Here is what is going to happen.

We start loving on our husband and kids.  They sense that "Mom is happy" and finally they can go and do what they want to do.

In other words, we have trained our husbands and children to do what we want them to do as a result of our getting upset.  We cry, whine, manipulate, control and stomp around until we get results.

Here's the challenge for the day.  Are you ready?

Don't do it for them.  Don't change your methods of dealing with your family for their sakes.  Do it for you.  And do it for the Lord.

Give up the need for results, and just make changes because it is good for you.
yeah.  That's right.  It is just plain good for you to not be one of "those" moms who succumbs to all of the nonsense just for the temporary pleasure of getting instant results.

Be content to let them be confused.  And just enjoy being a better you.