episode 11: we talk with switchfoot

happy thanksgiving!

"Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen."

- Revelation 7:12

docious-ali-expi-istic-fragil-cali-rupus.

Main Entry: frag·ic
Pronunciation: \ˈfra-jik,
Function: adjective
Date: November 19, 2009

1. constitutionally delicate: Little B from next door screeched, "Watch it, I'm fragic!" after C2 tried to knock him over with the ripstick.

[synonyms: fragile, breakable, delicate, frail]

episode 10: funning avay

we're clearly soldiers in petticoats.

I scored major points in the ‘hood this afternoon when C2 heard I had a dream that he defeated the Crystal King from the deck of the Death Star. I let him in on all the details, a swirl of the latest afternoons swished together into what my subconscious randomly spit out last night. And to be honest, later I felt quite validated as I overheard my eight year old buddy excitedly describing his “babysitter’s dream” as he picked up the 168-piece Lego creation from which my dream originally drew inspiration.

C2’s bedroom is something of a Lego universe. The little men are arranged shoulder to shoulder in precise rows and are put away in their home after a hard day’s work (see also: battling Droids, cave crushing). The adventures the little men go through, however, are absolutely captivating. I mean, if their little plastic heads could talk….

It starts off very simply. C2 sits, tearing apart and building back and grabbing and contemplating and – it’s finished. He gently crams a tiny miner into a Cave Crusher, locking in the front blades and answering all of my questions about the function of each individual piece. If the vehicle passes inspection (and it never does; tiny miner has a HUGE head), C2 flips it around to face the rock monsters under the bed.

I adore his imagination. I love that he will take 168 chunks of meaningless plastic and form something new for a purpose I’ve never heard of. It creates this set up for worship for a scale much larger than 6-inches.

“God,
Creator of the heavens—
he is, remember, God.
Maker of earth—
he put it on its foundations, built it from scratch.
He didn't go to all that trouble
to just leave it empty, nothing in it.
He made it to be lived in.
This God says:

"I am God,
the one and only.
I don't just talk to myself or mumble under my breath.
I never told Jacob,
'Seek me in emptiness, in dark nothingness.
'I am God. I work out in the open,
saying what's right, setting things right." (Isaiah 45)

Now to take one last verse completely out of it’s context, “Since then we are God's offspring, we ought not to suppose that Deity (the Godhead) is like gold or silver or stone, [of the nature of] a representation by human art and imagination, or anything constructed or invented.” (Acts 17:29)

He's way greater than the Lego creations, too.

dotty as you please.

C2 shut the front door, chunked his backpack under the dining room table, and continued on through the kitchen and out the back door without a word. By the time I caught up to him (struggling to get the garage door unlocked and his bike out) we managed to communicate the immediate plan: he was leaving for his friend’s house a few streets over. I grabbed the key to the garage and began jiggling to get it open for him. As he hopped up next to me and we shoved together, he asked if I knew where the friend lived. Yep. I followed you last time.

“You what?!” I followed you.

“Katie, . . . people are gonna wonder.”

episode 9: hello hurricane

aren't we sick yet of missing out on life?

My blog post failed, so check out this Katie's instead:

"Francis Chan wrote, 'How we live our days, is how we live our lives.' I had to read it several times as I let it soak in. Because it is true. So often we find ourselves waiting for a specific moment, a specific call, something special. For what? How we spend our days... that will be our LIFE. Because today could be it. If Jesus came back today and said, 'Let's go!' would we be ready? Would we be doing what we want to be doing when we meet Jesus? People say to me often, 'You are so lucky that you found your calling, that you know your purpose in life.' This statement boggles my mind. I AM so blessed to live the life that I do. But it isn't rocket science. God did NOT part the sky and shout out to me, 'Katie! Serve my people.' I read it in His word. You can too. We can all see as plain as day that Jesus says the number one commandment is to love the Lord and love your neighbor. I happened to move to Uganda and love those neighbors, but that is not the point. As believers, we should already KNOW our calling; it is to love the Lord and love our neighbors by caring for them in whatever broken state they are in. When He said that 'the poor will always be among us' I don't think he meant that as an excuse not to worry about it but as a reminder that there is ALWAYS a neighbor, no matter where we are, in a worse condition than we are. I can only believe that God created us to make this world a little better. That he designed us in love to show that love to others. I just don't know what everyone is waiting for."

Read the rest of her post HERE.

how to be lovely

update, yo

Hey guys,

I'm so sorry for a lack of stories lately. These days, my life is a jumble of cluster headaches and doctors appointments and studying. Nannying has continued, however, and as soon as I get our latest (mis)adventures typed, they'll be up!

Love you guys lots and lots and lots.

episode 8: throwing things

crazy love

"I think we naturally assume that if we look out for our own interests and concerns, we will be happy. But people who sacrifice for others will tell you that seasons of giving are the most rewarding of their lives.

"It turns out the Bible is right - 'It is better to give than to receive' (Acts 20:35). People generally do find greater joy in giving freely to others than they do in rampant self-indulgence. Regarding this, the playwright George Bernard Shaw writes, 'This is true joy in life, the being used up for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.'

"God is the only true Giver, and He needs nothing from us. But still He wants us. He gave us life so that we might seek and know Him."

- Francis Chan, Crazy Love

hebrews 13:7

"Remember those who led you,
who spoke the word of God to you;
and considering the result of their conduct,
imitate their faith."