A funny little thing about Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday is a big day around this house. One of the 2 biggest holidays for our family. Church was awesome, as I noted in my last post. But, I thought I would share some "insider" info about the prep for a church "holiday".

Saturday was unofficially a shopping day for a "special" Easter outfit. At first guess you may think that would seem logical for the woman of this house to look good but, this trip was not for me. In fact, I bought NOTHING. I tried on something cute but, knew I had something at home. (small victory for me) This was a shopping day for Jer.

The day goes like this:

a) Jeremy seriously has no focus when he shops

b) Once, I had to honestly coerce him into trying on more than one pair of jeans in an attempt to update his hand-me-down denim collection

c) If you abandon him...he will run

d) But, he really does want something new; therefore I focus

I am a practical woman. I honestly trust the people who dress the mannequins. I figure, in this economy, they better want to sell what they are selling. So, I point to 2 displays, request the size I want and send Jer to the dressing room. And, I stand like a sentry at the entrance to the dressing room. Although there were prints and colors and fashions galore, suprisingly I did not waver.

Fairly painlessly later, we decided on an "outfit". Oh, how mortified he would be if he knew I was calling it an outfit. Needless to say, it was a mission accomplished.

Now, I am sure you would expect a post of how incredibly handsome my husband looked on Sunday morning. (yes, I know it is not about the show but, looking good is still not a sin) Sadly, I did not take a pic! I vow to re-dress him soon.

But, I did indulge in one thing for myself for this special Sunday...a mani-pedi. This time, I was the one coerced into the pink by my daughter Grace. Her exact quote: "Rock the pink mom, it is Easter." (I have since purchased the pink)

A verse and a report

2 Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

The treasure we have is the gospel of Jesus Christ and the peace and freedom that comes through knowing him. Treasures were hidden in jars of clay which had no real value and did not attract attention to themselves or what was hidden inside. Here, the jars of clay represent the frailty of a human and the all surpassing power of God within us.

Por exemplo, (I honestly love the way for example sounds in Spanish) this past Sunday was pretty huge for our church. As you might guess there are two major holidays in the Christian church: Easter and Christmas. And, this was an amazing Easter for us at theMovement.

Over 1500 people walked through the doors of the church. And, although that number is amazing and great, the people behind the scenes that prepared the way are truly the most incredible report of the weekend.

It is always so encouraging to see people with different backgrounds, different gifts and abilities come together for a common purpose. I cannot begin to count the number people who sacrificed their time to make Sunday such a huge success.

And, as I stood out in the "courtyard", sipped a coffee in theCanvas coffeeshop, walked the kids' hallway of classrooms or sat in the sanctuary I saw many faces that reflected the treasure that was held in "jars of clay". Not always perfect, but with God's all-surpassing power, able to things greater than ourselves.

A memory verse

I initially saw the concept of memory verse blogging while visiting a blog that a friend of mine writes. http://www.thesimplewife.typepad.com/ However, it didn't really connect with me for quite some time. The final straw/conviction was seeing my children walking around the house quoting scripture for school.

Today, I am "borrowing" my friend Joanne's (the simple wife) memory verse.

Psalm 56:3 When I am afraid, I will trust in you.

Short and simple and the one I need this week.

My fear creeps in at random times. And, this is a taste of how it goes. A friend telling me about her 24 hour flu. I am suddenly paralyzed with the fear that 'I am next'. Farrah Fawcett in the hospital. 'Could that happen to me?' Natasha Richardson falling on the slopes and dying. 'I did two unintentional frontflips on my last snowboard trip.' A child missing. 'Could that happen to my kids?' A rebellious child. 'Am I ruining mine?'

I am fairly confident I am not alone in my fears. Thankfully, in those moments of anxiety and confusion, I can whisper a prayer and ask for the peace of God. Make no mistake, it is not magic. Quite often, 10 seconds later I feel stressed out again. And then...I realize the only thing I know, the only thing I trust...is my saving faith in Jesus.

Since nothing else is certain in life, thankfully HE is.

Oh, and the saying goes, two other things are certain in life: death and taxes. But, based on the news, apparently taxes are negotiable. But...I digress.

An addendum

Addendum: a thing to be added

I would like to add to the application of my last post. As you may remember, I am being challenged in my relationship with my daughter. She is very much like me and likes to have things planned out and solutions to those plans.

When there are not simple and IMMEDIATE solutions to those plans, the result is often frustration.

A story from this past week:
Grace had a project due this last Friday. She, like me, does not like when deadlines loom in the future. It tends to consume her and seep into other facets of her life.

Myself, when I am prepping for people coming over, or planning an event or simply looking at the dust all over my house, my frustration leaks into my everyday life.

So, for the past two weeks, I have been listening to the repetative: 'Mom, I have to work on my project.' 'Mom, can you help me with this?' 'Mom, this looks horrible.' 'Mom, this looks great.' 'Mom, let's paint this, print that, sew this, do that.' etc. Mom, mom, mom.

And, since I have things to do and stuff going on, quite often her edginess would greet my edginess and things would not go well. I would look her in the eye and think, 'oh my.' Or, I would wag my finger and threaten that 'you cannot talk to me or demand that from me little missy.'

Fully convicted, I took my last memory verse to heart. "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap what we harvest."

As the project deadline loomed, Grace had a meltdown of a night. In a moment of cowardice, I sent Jeremy in to put out the fire. Unfortunately, he fanned the flame. It was 9:45pm and peaceful sleep was the primary objective at this point.

In a moment that could have only come from God, I went to Grace's room, bent down close and voiced this promise. "Tomorrow morning, I will get up 45 minutes before you and do all of the things I need to do. I will run, shower, eat breakfast and pack your lunch. Then, when you get up, I will focus on everything YOU need to do. We will button up your project and get the final things in order."

I would pay money to have been able to capture the look on her face in that moment. Crocodile tears still in her eyes, a smile crept across her face. 'Ok' she said. That was it. That was all she needed.

The next morning, we walked a fine line. It wasn't all roses and giggles but, it was a victory. We all got out the door in relative calm with smiles on our faces. And thankfully, I did not give up doing good because I am looking to the harvest.

A verse for this week

The preface to this verse is that you reap what you sow. Immediately I think of how my actions and reactions affect my children and the people around me. I am already aware of some parenting patterns I have created that I want to undo. Parenting a teen and a tween is quite interesting.

My friend, Christina suggested this verse due to some tough circumstances in her life. For me, it is a reminder to keep "fighting the good fight".

Galatians 6:9
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

My personal illustration/application:
When my daughter gets short and demanding with me; respond in gentleness. When my guilt attacks since I fear she learned it from me and I am tempted to lecture her; respond in gentleness. Put a hand on her shoulder, give her my attention...slow down.

A life in my kitchen

I am going to give you a peek into my kitchen. This is somewhat frightening and revealing because you will see the total chaos and messiness that occurs there. First off, you must know that my house measures in at a whopping 1485 square feet. Even though I joke, it is usually enough space. Space only becomes an issue when life crowds in. And life in the kitchen is: A pile of dirty dishes in the sink after dinner. The one chore I refuse to do is unloading the dishwasher. I am confident that this is something the kids can do handily. ( I am still a bit controlling when it comes to loading because I am also confident that only I can load the dishwasher efficiently. I am working on this.)

If you pan to the kitchen table you see this:

I absolutely LOVE this table. As you can see it serves as a workstation for me and a landing zone for the kids' school stuff. Many nights you would see Jeremy in the chair closest to you. (With his back against the wall,of course. There is something about him being able to survey the room.)

If you look far to your right you see this:

This is the family computer which doubles as a television. (Hence, the obnoxious screen size. BTW, I rule at Wii bowling) Tonight it is also a staging area for Noah's "Science Faire Project". This project is a thorn in my side but, I really shouldn't complain because I was homeschooling 2 months ago and this was my EVERY day.

Thankfully, a large portion of the square footage of my home was alotted to the kitchen. And, I quite enjoy living life here. But, I must add just one more pic that signifies the inclusivity of this room:

My two scandalous puppies waiting and scrapping beside an open dishwasher. As if I am that sloppy! Oh wait, they must know I hand out scraps.

Please ignore the ugly yellow cord that stretches the length of my home when the nighttime falls. That is my sons' direct connection to the internet that ensures his timely kills in "Call of Duty." (Yes, my son plays killing games...sorry)

So, that is a little look into the life of the McGinty's that is lived within the walls of the KITCHEN. As I am sure you have realized too, everyone gathers in the kitchen.

A verse recap, new verse and a celebration!

I am going to start with a recap of the verses I have meditated on and somewhat memorized since we began this journey. I say somewhat because I have realized that I need to put the verses all in one place and review them often to keep them fresh in my memory.

Philippians 4:6-7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition,
with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
And the peace of God, which trancends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds
in Christ Jesus.
[I shortened the portion of the verse ;) and used the NIV translation which is my favorite]

James 1:2-4
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perserverance. Perserverance must finish its good work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Isaiah 61:1
"The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners."

My goal this week is to find a small notebook of some sort or maybe notecards to keep with me so that I can keep track of what I am learning. I am so excited to press on and refuse to be discouraged over my "forgetfulness". I would love to hear from you guys as to what your memorization experience has been. Please feel free to comment.

For the new verse this week, I am choosing one that I want to not only memorize but also put into immediate action.

Ephesians 4:29
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for
building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

Now....for the celebration. (insert drum roll) 12 years ago today, my husband Jeremy and I commited our lives to Jesus Christ. I will save the whole story for another post but, I thought that was an exciting thing to share. Thank you Lord!