New Year's Eve

Happy New Year, Friends! 

December 2013 

This is my family with my parents just a few days after Christmas. This was our first ever attempt at a picture like this. I think it turned out well. I think I have a good "eye" for poses (or whatever the proper name would be. Although I wish I had a flash from above for the glasses glare as well as the darkness at the top of the photo.) If only my family picture had worked out as well... but, no, we had one child crying in EVERY shot and another kid looking angry in every picture. It's too bad too, because I had such a cute pose. What's that? You want to see it anyway? OK. Here's the real deal -

Well... it's real anyway... Maybe not our best face forward, but we are still a good looking family, if I do say so myself. (winks)

Y'all have a great year!

Mopping - An Analogy

Rebecca mopped the floor for me a few days ago. It needed it. Six kids age 11 and under. 'Nuff said.

When Rebecca started mopping I had my usual thoughts. "How did the floor get this bad in just a week?" "Why didn't I mop sooner?" And the like.

The job was finished. It looked great...except for a few sticky gum-like spots that I actually got down on my hands and knees to scrape with a razor blade. "Strange that these spots didn't bother me before."

Then it hit me.

Mopping is like repentance. After we thank God for cleansing our heart through the blood of Jesus Christ the slate is clean. For a few minutes. Then, someone comes along and spills the milk. Or, you step on one blood red pomegranate seed. Those first few spots seem such a stark contrast compared to the fresh mop job. And, our first sins after confessing seem so offensive.

But, if I take a nap and Rebecca bakes brownies...and the little ones help. Well, there will be flour, sugar, chocolate chips (no, on second thought, the baby eats those off the floor), and egg yoke plastered to the floor. Most of this gets wiped up, but some will remain for a few days until the next mopping. Little by little, one day at a time, it seems like the messes blur together on the floor...and you start training yourself not to see them. "It isn't mop day yet." Or, "I'm too tired."

Likewise, our hearts become hardened to our own sin so quickly. We get lazy with our holiness. A little spill of poor speech here... a little dab of poor conduct there... a big pile of nasty thoughts marring the center of my heart.

In the case of my kitchen, it was not until I knew the landlord was stopping by that I saw the mess through someone else's eyes. The floor was appalling. I had gotten used to the mess. But, what would the landlord think?

In the case of my sinful heart, it is by reading the Word of God and seeing ourselves through God's eyes that we see the mess and the caked on sins that we have allowed to pile up and crust over our hearts of flesh. The solution is simple.

The cleaner I keep the kitchen floor, the cleaner I want to keep the floor.

The more I read the Word, the more I want to read the Word. But, a few sins spilt on that clean heart begins a hardening process that starts to quench my desire to meet with the Lord. We've all been there.

This little analogy is not meant to be a thorough treatise on sin and repentance. Far from it. Just an illustration of what the Lord showed me in the clean kitchen floor.

We need to keep our hearts clean before the Lord.

Hebrews 10:22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

update 12-7-2013

Update-

We are surviving the winter okay. Paul is working all the hours that the Dept of Transportation will allow. And, I am pressing on in my career as full time wife and mother/homeschooler.

I've been too busy to do any creative writing.

One of these days I will emerge from the dark, cold winter and write a real post.

{Bethany}