In which I sit back and breath deep

Right now, at 10:06 a.m., I am still in my pajamas, playing on my computer. Half of my children (Marcus, Ethan and Wes) are still in bed, while Papa and Myles shoot a puck around on our rink out back. The house is messy. The washing machine is silent. I am drinking coffee and enjoying the scent of a mistletoe candle. I am on vacation...frozen pizza anyone?

In which we learn to be thankful

Yesterday I grocery shopped and brought home a carload of groceries. My sons graciously carried it all in for me, and then they helped me figure out where to store all that food. My cupboards are full, my pantry is full, my basement is stocked with food. We will never, ever, ever have one hungry day.

Today my two youngest sons and I volunteered at the Neighborhood Center delivering Christmas boxes of food to people in our town who know nothing about carloads of food. They were thankful for a box of food. They live in places we never imagined people to live in. Some of them don't even have a house to live in. They live in a room. A room! We went to places with smells we had never wanted to smell and saw people we never knew lived in our town. We were saddened and humbled.

Tonight, as I lay my head on my pillow, in my bed with the heated mattress pad, I will do so with gratitude. I will pray for the people we met. I will also pray that my sons will never forget what they saw and smelled today. I know I won't.

Reaching out a bit

I am a very independent person by nature. I do not feel a great need to be with people all the time or even to talk to people all the time. Most of the time this works for me. I will admit to times of feeling lonely and wishing I had someone to hang with, but usually that feeling is fleeting. I am pretty content to mainly share myself with just my husband and my family.

Don't get me wrong. I value the Body. I value it greatly. I understand our need for one another. I just struggle with being the one in need.

So, will you please grant me grace and not ask too many questions when I reach out just a little bit and tell you that my family is going through something hard and that I need you to pray for us? We are facing a battle with darkness, and we need the body to pray for God's hand to move in our home. I know it isn't much to go on, but if you read this, will you please pray for us?

Thank you.