Bike Dates, Dark Moonlit Nights, and Doxology

Blonde hair shining in the sun, my three year old asked me on a date this afternoon.  Sandwiched between two parked cars, sitting astride his blue and yellow plastic tricycle, he turned expectantly. “Mom, bike a me?” (Mom, will you bike with me?) I grinned, and pulled out my towering two wheeler. 

Pedaling barely enough to keep my bike upright, I followed him down the road on this last summery day. The hot 79 degree weather belied the amber trees and the crunchy dried leaves under our wheels.  

Gleeful at being first, Daniel threw a glance over his shoulder and proudly pedaled on, leading the way. Suddenly a white windowless van barreled down the road towards us. Daniel, froze, looked at me, and waited to see what I would do.  I angled my bike in front of his, hemming him in between me and the curb. “Go to the grass,” I directed. “Hold still.” 

After the vehicle passed, he sped on, bravado back in place. Weaving across the road, Daniel was often unaware of curbs, and biker right of ways, and pedestrian sides of the road.  I biked alongside him, my heart swelling with love for this little guy, while I kept a clear watch on oncoming traffic.  Always aware of danger for him, I subtly angled him to the side of the road, staying on his outside rim. Several times, Daniel was blissfully unaware of approaching cars until they were right upon him. 

“Hemming me in, behind and in front of me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too large to comprehend,” whispered my God in my ear, reminding me of some writing about Himself.

Hours later, in the cool night air, as I am leaving a work meeting, my car brakes wheeze out and malfunction. Thankfully, my speed was slow and nobody was hurt. Lost in a foreign neighborhood, I roll through the dark streets, weighing the options. I knock on a door, a sleepy Samaritan loans me his phone, and I make arrangements to be picked up on nearby crossroads. Sitting back on the grass in a dormant suburb next to a dead car, I wait and listen. 

Distant traffic. Evening frogs and crickets orchestrate in the woods below. With surgical precision, the right side of the moon stares at me, bouncing back white light. Wind rustles the birch leaves above me. Two tall radio towers blink red, and I breathe deeply into the night air. Pneuma, breath. Isn’t that the Greek name for the Holy Spirit? His Spirit moves and wills as it blows. In the beginning, God’s spirit hovered over the waters, hovered over the deep, dark and formless, breathing life, rippling out onto the void. 

The trees blow overhead and I inhale Breath. “Thank you, God.” I choose grace counting. I inhale again. I choose thankfulness. “Thank you for the night air, for the warmth of this last summery day. Thank you for protecting me – the brakes gave out here in a safe, sleepy, slow-speed suburb, not on a highway during rush hour. Thank you for a second vehicle that runs to come get me. Thank you for hemming me in, behind and before. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too large to comprehend.” 

Late tonight, my toddler awakes crying, illogical and inconsolable.  The bedside clock blinked red 1:45, then again at 2:30. By 3:07, I climb out of bed, pad to the computer and type. I choose grace counting, but not by default. As wakefulness creeps in, and the Spirit convicts me of discontented responses and complaint, I stop, restart, and choose grace counting. “Thank you for health. Thank you for normally undisturbed sleep. Thank you for this boy, and this chance to choose grace, to see you, to practice doxology.” 

“How does that Psalm go? Where can I go from your Spirit? …If I go to the far side of the dawn (Very funny, God)… even there your hand will guide me… you hem me in behind and before. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too large to comprehend.”  I’m close but not quite there, so I pull up Bible Gateway in my dark living room, as the family sleeps. 

¹ You have searched me, LORD,
   and you know me.
² You know when I sit and when I rise;
   you perceive my thoughts from afar.
³ You discern my going out and my lying down;
   you are familiar with all my ways.
⁴ Before a word is on my tongue
   you, LORD, know it completely.
⁵ You hem me in behind and before,
   and you lay your hand upon me.
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
   too lofty for me to attain.
 ⁷ Where can I go from your Spirit?
   Where can I flee from your presence?
⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
   if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
   if I settle on the far side of the sea,
¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me,
   your right hand will hold me fast.  (Psalm 139: 1-10)

Hello, you. Thanks for stopping by just now. What has God been whispering to you? 

How can I pray for you today? (By the way, do you know of any reliable used vehicles for sale?) 

Car Conversations and Teen Talks

She climbed into the back seat of my car two weeks ago. "How was your day?" I asked. Short brown hair falling into her eyes, she buckled her seat belt as we drove away.

After a few minutes of conversation, my teen daughter burst out, the story tumbling from her lips. Someone had made barbed comments several times that day, couched in the term, "It was just a joke."

I listened to my daughter's accounts and tears, reaching back to squeeze her hand as I drove one-handed. We tried to reason out the situation, striving to understand and read pure intentions into the person's actions. Recognizing our own human insecurities, she and I talked of forgiveness, and grace, and love-filled assertive words.

Arriving home, we sat in our driveway for a few minutes to hug, wipe away last tears, and pray for a chance to show unconditional love to this person, while practicing helpful assertive phrases. Then we gathered our belongings and started through the door to prepare lunch.

Once upstairs, God suddenly nudged me. In all of our good psychological responding, I hadn't yet filled Morgan's void up with God's truth of who she was. Rushing downstairs, I grabbed her, pulling her close to me. Whispering in her ears for privacy, I started speaking God's words to her.

"You are loved, precious, highly valued, his child, bought with a price, a daughter of the king, a new creation, the apple of his eye. The king is enthralled with your beauty. He died for you, will rejoice over you with singing, takes great delight in you, carves your name into his hand, gathers up your tears, saves you, calls you his own, created by him, as his masterpiece, created to do great things which he has created in advance for you."

Her tears fell on my shoulder as she melted into me. A sigh shuddered her, and I felt truth course through her. "Thank you, Mom," she whispered, hugging me fiercely. "Thank you, God," I mouthed quietly to my Abba Dad.

What about you? What truths resonate deeply in you about who God says you are? What experiences have you had with teen children and friendships? 

(Update: My daughter is thankful for all the people in her life, and that situation is going much better now.)

5 Sure Signs You Haven't Been Working Out Consistently

1.) You have to introduce yourself to the new childcare staff when you drop off your son.
2.) The baby diapers in your work out bag are two sizes too small.
3.) Your locker lock is still at home in your "Let's go to the outdoor pool!" bag alongside sunscreen bottles. 
4.) Counting laps around the track involves sheer determination and internal bullying. ("No, you can NOT stop! Yes, I know you are dying. We are going to 30..."
5.) During cool down after the two miles, you seriously fear your legs will give out and send you toppling over the railing to the gym of basketball players below.

Grab your workout clothes and join me in the wobbly, sore legs feeling! It's a great sense of accomplishment. (For those who were with us last week, we were talking about persistence. This is me starting to be more consistent in working out.)

How about you? What do you wrestle with in being consistent? What victories have you seen this week? Spending time in God's word is a big thing too that Christians wrestle with in being consistent. Let's spur each other on. Where are you reading in God's word today/this week? 

The Romance in the Moment to Moment winner from this post is Britni. Britni, email me at douganemail@gmail.com with your address so I can send you a tailor-bought gift card for your town. Thanks.

Autumn is Here: Children's Homework and Pumpkin Pies

Are your windows flung wide open too? Crisp autumn air streams through my windows, almost making us cold. Navy storm clouds hover in the horizon teasing with their threat of storm.

My two teens lean over the kitchen table, working on a history project together, speaking of the Mayflower, William Bradford and the New Plymouth colony. My toddler son plays on the deck, splashing toys into a small pot of warm water.

Pumpkin pie sounds perfect right now, doesn't it? I can't resist and so pull the ingredients out of the cupboard, whirling, whisking and whipping the frothy cinnamon-specked pumpkin puree. Looking for pie pans, I am confronted with the fact that I packed all my pie glassware to stage our cupboards for this move. Drat! After some crashing and clanging into the far corners of my cupboard, I resurface with a cheesecake pan and a small round skillet. Experiments in the kitchen. (What does that say about me if I pack my pie pans yet save my cheesecake pan?)

The pies are baking now, the heat from the oven nicely offsetting the chill from the open windows and deck. My toddler talks from his bed, as he struggles to fall asleep for nap-time, and my children have moved onto more school.

Care to join me for pumpkin pie? Those who live close are welcome to stop by for a slice in forty-five minutes, otherwise whip out your appropriate glassware and join me. Here is an adapted recipe from one of the basic pumpkin pie cans that I used today.


Easy Pumpkin Pie
1 1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger (I was out so I omitted this today.)
3/4 tsp ground cloves
4 large eggs, whipped
1  29 oz can pumpkin pie puree
1  12 oz can evaporated milk
1  12 oz can full of normal milk from your fridge (use above can to measure)
2 refrigerated pie crusts

Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 and bake for about 45 more minutes. The pie is ready when a knife inserted at center comes out cleanly.

There is still time to put your name in the hat for the free gift card to get your first rate inexpensive dates started! Simply stop by here and leave a comment for me. Winners will be announced tomorrow on Friday, September 23.

What about you? What do you like best about fall? What foods have you enjoyed making lately?

Romance in the Moment to Moment --Plus Free Information & Free Giveaway!

The first aisle or two had hors d'ouevres-- small, savory, bites of all types. Next we ambled through the aisles with main dish samples. Stroganoff, pizzas and sandwiches. With a few more aisles to go, we were thrilled to discover that for this store's anniversary extravangaza, there were even dessert samples!

A college professor passed the word to my then-boyfriend husband in that youth ministry class years ago. "Bring your special girl to this free date on Saturday!"  Scrimping pennies to pay for an expensive private college, this announcement sent most guys racing out the door in excitement to secure a date for that Saturday. Mark and I were no exception, walking the mile or so to the store that sunny day for a free grocery store sample date.

He and I grin at that memory now too. While our budget has grown since that day, we recognize that romance can easily be found on a shoe string. We can rekindle the romance through small choices each day:
        -sitting close to each other at church, or on the couch
        -stealing kisses in the kitchen during meal prep
        -sending small gazes at each other across a public room
        -sincerely stating and remembering things we like about each other
        -spending date times together, even just at a coffee shop for an hour

I came across these two fun websites with ideas for easy cheap dates. Thanks to Rod Froseth's "21 First-Rate Cheap Date Ideas" and Dallen and Katie's "Ideas for a Cheap Date.com" for their info. Check out their sites.

What about you? What cheap dates have you found? 

In fact, as a thank you gift for your  ideas, I'll enter your name in a hat to buy you a small gift card to start off your date night. Here's how to win: 
1.) Post your answer in the comments below to get your name in the hat.
2.) Optional: Answer this question on your blog also with a link to my blog there for another chance to win.
3.) Optional: After commenting with your answer here, click Share to Facebook to post this site with your good idea on your facebook wall too.

Three ways to earn your name in the hat for the gift card. Let me know what you do in the comments section below so I can get your name listed as many times as possible. I'll post the winner on Thursday.

Potty Trips and Persistance

He reached down and with one flash flip of his hand, he sprinkled me and the wall behind me with wet droplets. Euuuh! It was my fault. Trying to be efficient, I had left an old pull up in the potty chair, to act as a sponge for fast clean up.  My preschooler, surprised by an unexpected item in his chair, whipped it out, accidentally showering me with the unthinkable. Euuh.

Who else is potty-training right now? What tricks have you used to get your toddler to race to the toilet? We've used rewards of m&ms, stickers on a wall, cheerios to aim at, and lots of praise. It's coming, and we have more and more successes! With my older children being 16 and 12 years old, I notice that I am mellower in my parenting. Life is short, and potty training will come! Consistency is key.

Wow, consistency is key in so many areas of life, isn't it? For this potty-training season I'm in with my brown haired toddler; for this new discipline of naming and counting God's gifts in my life; for striving with God's help to be my husband's biggest fan; for carving out time to be in God's word, listening, journaling, reflecting; for trying to be consistent in homeschooling, writing, and giving of myself in ministry.

I don't know about you, but I seem to have a hard time being consistent with everything at once. If I can keep the above things consistent then I'm often dropping a ball somewhere else. Right now, I am failing at being consistent with exercise. I want to add that to my juggling. Feel free to ask me about that to keep me accountable.

I'm enjoying Isaiah 50:4-5 right now, as I strive for consistency morning by morning with my Maker. I love that God doesn't change, doesn't wrestle at being consistent. He is unchanging, faithful, true, the same yesterday, today and forever.

What about you? What are you juggling? What helps you be consistent?

A Peek into a Last Summery Weekend

My brother flew in from out of state this last week and stayed with our family for five days. With my parents and sister, we were the "Original Five" again, sharing laughter, conversation, endless games of Rook, bike rides, picnics, and boccee ball with our extended families. One day, we drove up to a rural country church that used to be home, spying decrepit decaying tree forts, remembering romps in the graveyard, and wondering about a buried time capsule.

Sandwiched in that weekend, I sneaked away for an overnight annual camping trip with two close friends of mine. A thirteen or fourteen year tradition, we escape to a nearby cliff and winding river campground, cook tinfoil packets of food in glowing embers, and talk late into the night around a smoky fire in the crisp autumn air. Deep talks and silent shaking laughter under the full moon.

Now, my brother is gone, the vacation is over, and I catch up on family and home. Laundry whirs downstairs, the dishwasher runs, kids take a break from school by climbing high in a windy tree outside, and the toddler sleeps.

What about you? What did you do this last week and weekend?