Something New For You from Millinery

Next week begins the flurry of back-to-schoolness in our home. In our area, there are both city and county schools, which results in two different school calendars. Additionally I have two high schoolers in different schools, and an elementarian so we've got three different room meetings/orientations/sets of paperwork. (I'm not bitter but I did count papers last year and there were 51 separate sheets needing to be signed....ok, I'm a little bitter.) So, this year I have done a better job of prepping ahead of time for the upcoming year and I am actually excited to get everyone back in school and settled into a routine again.  As I have mentioned before, I am a "hamster on a wheel" kind of gal, so I thrive in structure. My husband is more "out of the box" than most, so in the summer I relax a lot to let us all breathe and chill.

As I have been praying this week for our city and our country in general, I have been thinking a lot about the verses that instruct the "older women to train the younger women...." (Titus 2:4) and how blessed I have been in my life to have had generous, kind, wise women to teach me and encourage me when I was a new mom and a young wife. I still love learning from my two mom's who I have recently had some good discussions with about teenagers. But as I listen to women in my office or just friends at church, one sad reality I see over and over, is many young mom's and wives do not have older women to guide them or mentor them. Many women my age don't have it either for that matter. I think in part that is why I began this blog- as a way to share so much of the wisdom and sound practical advice I have been given with others. So, as I have been praying, I see a few areas where women tend to struggle in managing their homes or loving their husbands/children and I am going to do a new weekly feature called Titus 2 Four U, on Sundays. I am excited to use that day to share ideas, scripture and insight I have gained over 16 years of mothering, 17 years of wifery and 5 years of counseling. Be prepared to hear my mistakes because that is mainly how we gain wisdom! And as always, feel free to let me know topics you'd like to hear about in this area. 

August 2nd

Tomorrow, August 2nd, is one of the more important days in my life every year. It is the day God gave life to  the little baby boy who would one day grow up to be the other half of my heart. I could tell you so many stories of who he is and why God brought him to me, but here is one of my favorites:

When we began our dating relationship I was a broken, but hopeful, single mama. I had recently gone through the very painful process of divorce and was still a bit wary of trusting any man besides God. However I am not a cynic by nature so dating was fun and exciting, just a little scary. We met on-line before anyone did that sort of thing so we had been talking via computer for 6 weeks before we finally went on a date in person. During six weeks of talking we had covered a lot of ground. Family history, views on God and theology, football, past romantic relationship highs and lows- you know, all the stuff you talk about when beginning. One little fact he had shared was his toenails had fungus that he couldn't get rid of. I logged it into my brain, but really didn't think much of it. My thighs have cellulite I can't seem to get rid of either, so that's a wash. But, it must have been weighing more heavily on him, because we were in person on our first date weekend, and were stopping to sit on a bench by a lake when he took off his shoes. "There they are, you may as well see them now" as he pointed to his toes. I have to tell you, I think I might have fallen in love right then. Who does that? Throws off the mask and reveals their insecurities so casually on a first date? Not me back then, I can tell you. I had spent hours picking the perfect camouflage for my faults and failures. But he just sat there grinning. I know I laughed at him, and assessed the toes (so not a big deal, and just to report he took meds and got rid of that stuff later- he will want that piece shared!) but I think inside I knew this was the man for me. I needed someone who was willing to be honest, even if it was a risk. I needed someone confident enough in Christ to take risks, but humble enough to admit he wasn't perfect. And I needed someone to make me laugh. I had cried a river in the year before I met Scott. And I have laughed more in the 11 years we've been together than all the years before put together.

So Happy Birthday my wonderful husband! I am ever so grateful you were born, so that you could grow up to be mine. 

Summer Wrap Up

Here are some bits of thought from the last two weeks of my summer, in no particular order, that I found to be interesting upon pondering them:

a. If you choose to look at your husband's behavior from the viewpoint of how you want him to look at yours you are often able to offer more grace (and by you I mean me)

b. It's really hard to raise teenagers, especially if you are unwilling to be humble and apologize when you screw up.

c. Getting a sweet card in the mail is such a delightful treat in this cyber era.

d. Back to school shopping involves buying new summer clothes, which is weird and not as fun.

e. High school football is unbelievably tough on a 14 year olds body! He looks like he got in a wreck from the knees down.

f. Making the decision to get up at 5:30 am to go the the Y to work out may have been delusional.

g. I miss my oldest son now that he has a car. School starting means I get to see him more and I am looking forward to that, with an increased awareness that the clock is ticking down on my time left with him at home.

h. I get more insecure around tan women. weird and true.

i. So many people believe that God just wants them to be happy, even though this idea never appears in scripture.

j. Finding joy in God's providence at all times is a challenge. A good challenge like searching for hidden treasure.

k. Approaching fall always makes me want to read cookbooks. It's a good time to break out of a cooking rut plus I like "fall food" such as apple bread, and chili and spiced cider.

l. I am getting more and more cranky with noise as I age. I think I should start wearing ear plugs at home as a general rule.

m. Having friends who know how to fix cars is an incredible blessing. When making new friends you should consider pre-screening for this quality. (just kidding about the last part. kind of.)