Veggie Straws on Thanksgiving

You prepare a table before me

    GrubHub has nothing on my mother-in-law

    She made a Thanksgiving feast with all the fixin's 

        turkey, ham

        mashed potatoes

        green beans

        dressing

        rolls

        cooked apples

        deviled eggs

        lemon pound cake and chocolate earthquake cake        

        

in the midst of all humanity's current enemy -- the coronavirus

    and delivered it to our door

       for each family unit to eat separately

       because of a recent exposure to the virus

            that left us all quarantining

My cup overflows...

    Not with extended family in person

        but connected via technology

        and eating together, but separately, the same menu

        lovingly prepared

So why do I find myself,

    as I portion out the food for the six of us,

        grabbing for the stray veggie straws on the counter?

        It's -4 minutes until our Thanksgiving feast

            and I'm busy eating a snack

            

I tell the boys not to eat right before dinner

    so they don't lose their appetite

        and here I am...

These random happenings throughout my days

    often have spiritual parallels

                                and principles underneath

            if I let the Lord speak

I thought of the FEAST set before me, spiritually,

            and how I often settle for veggie straws --

                the quick

                    convenient

                    easy-to-grab

                    temporary satisfiers

                     and instant gratifiers

               those empty calories

                    and lesser pleasures clamoring for my attention

If I will discipline myself

    to sit at the table for the feast,

        I will leave full and satisfied

Or I can take the easy road of veggie straws

    and not have any appetite left

        for the feast that has been lovingly prepared

            for me

You, Father, bring me to the banqueting house (Song of Solomon 2:4)

    and prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies (Psalm 23:5)

Will I choose veggie straws 

                or Thanksgiving feast?

(poem written 11-28-20)

Magnify Him with Thanksgiving

It was a dreary morning, outside and inside. One brother accidentally kicked another while flipping over the couch, which led to hitting which led to crying. Another brother hit a different brother (I know, so many brothers!). And one boy declared he “hates school,” which is hard not to take personally when you’re homeschooling. 

It was Bible time. I was tempted to skip it because everyone was grumpy, and I didn’t have anything planned anyway. A friend reminded me last night on the phone, though, to be faithful to open the Word of God with our kids every day, never knowing when there will be a breakthrough.

I told the big boys to look up “thanksgiving” in the concordances of their Bibles, and Calvin chose this verse:

"I will praise the name of God with a song; 

I will magnify him with thanksgiving.” 

-Psalm 69:30

What does “magnify” make you think of? 

Magnets! (not exactly what I was going for)

I re-directed them to how magnifying glasses make things look bigger.  We talked about how we can’t make God bigger since He is already so big. BUT, we can make Him bigger in our eyes and in our priorities. 

The thought came to me to have the boys make a tiny pinhole circle with one hand to look at our Christmas tree. It reminds me of the line from the song "I have made You too small in my eyes. O Lord, forgive me."

As we thank Him, we magnify Him. I had the boys expand their hand circle to be able to see more of the tree. The tree itself did not change, but our perception did. We still couldn't see the whole tree ("for we know in part" -1 Corinthians 13:9a), but thanksgiving expanded our vision. 

So, friends, this Thanksgiving, "magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together!" (Psalm 34:3). When our thanksgiving is not just a generic gratitude but directed toward the Source of "every good and perfect gift" (James 1:17), we magnify Him.  Our eyes widen in awe. "The things of earth grow strangely dim...when we turn our eyes upon Jesus."

And later this morning when tempted to grumble about the rain keeping us indoors, we busted out the umbrellas and I sang in the rain instead:

Your exam treats are waiting in your dad's office

(poem written on 11-20-20 after observing an interaction between a graduating senior and his mama)

A bit disheveled,

    his eyes weary from lack of sleep

    his backpack weighing down his shoulders (and mind)

        with looming projects and passing deadlines

    his words expressing the worry and stress of "not enough" --

        not enough money

        not enough time

        not enough emotional bandwidth for all the goodbyes

Did you pick up your exam treats?

He said his schedule is booked solid

    from the time he wakes up

    until he lays his head down, exhausted

Places to go

Things to accomplish

People to see

    and the time left in the semester is running out

Your exam treats are in your dad's office

You should try to get them today

(Little does he know

    that there are treats!, chocolate!, and money!

        waiting for him

            if he will only make the time to pick them up)

And I think about my own disheveled self and my own chaotic day

    rushing from thing

                    to thing

                    to person

                    to task

                    to mess-to-clean-up

                    to toddler-to-console

                    to argument-to-mediate

And all the while

    there are "exam treats"

        waiting in my heavenly Father's "office"

They've been there all along

    but I was too busy yesterday to stop by

I complain

    about the chaos

    and the stress

    and the to-do lists...

Unaware...

    (or maybe it's just that the busyness has just caused me to forget)

        ...that taking the time

                to go to my Father

                    will bring the peace

                                            rest

                                  and joy that I'm craving

Press pause on the never-ending checklist

Treasures in His Word are waiting...

Will I take the time to stop by today?

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” -Matthew 11:28-30

Taste and see that the Lord is good;
    blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. -Psalm 34:8

Thankful Thursday

Lord, our God, to Thee we raise this, our hymn of grateful praise...

42,349. sweatshirts on chilly mornings 

42,350. chili in the crockpot on chilly days

42,351. able to stay safe at home

42,352. The Case for Faith

42,353. the flexibility in my days

42,354. looking forward to catching up with Barbara

42,355. not dependent on government or school board to tell me when school is open

42,356. ability to shop online

42,357. found a Luke 2 ESV song

42,358. a break in classes

42,359. Ticket to Ride from the library

42,360. warm cookie dough

42,361. meeting Dre's brother Derrion

42,362. neighbor connections at a distance

42,363. boys entertaining themselves

42,364. all 4 flipping over the couch in fits of laughter

42,365. tree hasn't been knocked over yet! 

42,367. a God who walks with me

42,368. logic games

42,369. Christmas lights help bring cheer

42,370. progress with vaccines

42,371. Cooper spontaneously bursting into song

42,372. following the routine

42,373. extended reading time with little boys today

42,374. re-discovering books we haven't read in awhile

42,375. hikes and walks as a family

42.376. the patterns on our stockings

42,377. brother conversations

Ten Things Tuesday - apple orchard

1. Coordinating outfits was way easier when we had only two boys.

2. I love fall!

3. The clouds look happy in this picture. :-)

4. This was our first time at the orchard where we didn't play on all the slides and swings and such. It was open, but there were too many people, and it looked too stressful.

5. The "r brothers" (Carter, Cooper) are wearing plaid. The "n brothers" (Calvin, Colson) are in stripes. This wasn't intentional -- there were limited options that fit, so it just worked out that way.

6. We've never visited the cows before, but the boys loved it. We probably stayed there for 10 minutes. Yes, the boys did moo at them, and yes, the cows responded with moos of their own.

7. Colson is trying so hard to be big.

8. We still got apple cider donuts and apple cider slushies.

9. Going to the apple orchard as a family was always a favorite part of the fall season as a child. There weren't fancy slides or corn mazes, but we got apples and carmel apples.

10. "Carmel" is apparently spelled wrong, according to this website. I pronounce it "carmel," not "caramel." 

Thankful Thursday

42,252. hearing the squeals of the big boys playing outside together

42,253. the little boys taking longer-than-usual naps

42,254. tweezers

42,255. You satisfy me more than the richest of foods

42,256. re-connecting with friends and acquaintances

42,257. looking forward to a camp zoom call

42,258. pomegranate seeds

42,259. lasagna for dinner already prepped

42,260. the flexibility of homeschooling life

42,261. finishing a quick graphic novel 

42,262. Scripture memory connections

42,263. David Platt's sermon on fearing God

42,264. looking forward to family time tonight

42,265. heat in our home

42,266. the boys learning to close the front door quietly

42,267. firming up some holiday plans

42,268. Bible time at the table this morning

42,269. Cooper singing "You are my sunshine"

42,270. the portability of the keyboard

42,271. carrots

42,272. seeing Tracy again this morning

42,273. Carter's quirky habits

42,274. Calvin excited about acquiring more of Daddy's magazines

42,275. boys completing their checklists without complaint

42,276. listening to boys plunk away at the piano

42,277. choosing to be less irritable instead of expecting others to be less irritating

42,278. a load of laundry done!

42,279. "I Rille Love Mary" posted on my wall as a reminder