Water-Logged

A few weeks ago, Jesse and I decided that we would take a family outing to our neighborhood pool. We had a blast. We packed snacks, got our suits on, found everyone a towel, filled several water bottles, covered outselves in sunscreen, took a last minute stop at Walgreens to pick up more floaties, and we finally made it into the pool and eventually coaxed everyone into the water. About ten minutes later, the skies opened in a torrential downpour. Here are my children: sitting on the covered patio happily eating a snack. Such good kids! They didn't complain about it. When the rain let up a bit, we loaded everyone back into the van and went home. It stormed for the rest of the day.

At home, I put them all in a warm bath. The warm bath is more fun then a cold, big pool anyway. They splashed most of the water onto the floor and I washed the bathroom rugs, again.

Psalm 19:1

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork

Be Where You Are: Why I am quitting facebook

I have three favorite books of the Bible. Well, maybe four but we'll say three. Genesis, the first book of the Bible, makes the list as one of my top three favorite books. It really is an incredible book.

A few weeks ago, Jesse and I watched a movie called "Everything is Spiritual." You can watch the entire thing on YouTube and I highly recommend it. The movie is actually a lecture from a guy named Rob Bell on the first chapter of Genesis and modern science. I like science. We all know that I like Genesis. I like lectures, because I'm a school nerd. And I especially like giant, dry erase marker boards. So, this is the movie for me.

The movie was really interesting, even if you are not a school nerd like me. Rob Bell is a good speaker: funny and compelling. One point that he made stuck with me in particular. He quoted Exodus 24:12. This verse is when Moses was going onto the mountain top to receive the law from God. The verse says, "And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there." The verse sounds a little redundant, doesn't it? Come to the mountain, and be on the mountain. Rob surmised that the verse is not redundant at all. Instead, God was giving Moses very clear instruction. Go to the mountain. While, you are there, be there. On the mountain. I suppose Moses was a lot like us. He would have spent a long time planning to go to the mountain. The moment he arrived on the mountain, he would have begun planning his trip back down. In so doing, he would have missed actually being on the mountain.

Does any of this ring true to you? It does to me. How many time do I sit and play with the children while my thoughts are elsewhere? (about half the time, maybe more) How often do I sing their lullabies without listening to the words and without watching them drift off to sleep? (almost every night) How often do I surf the internet and ignore the precious sleeping baby in my lap? (more then I'd like to admit) I've been thinking a lot lately on simply being where you are and I find that I am often not where I am.

Several of my new readers are also my friends on Facebook. I love Facebook. It's a great way to connect with old friends and share pictures and stories. It's also a great way to escape my home mentally when I should not do so. It can be a great hinderance when I use Facebook as a diversion from my actual life.

So, what's the point? The point is that I need to be where I am. The point is that real life gets priority. The point is that I can't be where I am when I let my computer time squanders away my motherhood. Something has to go.

So, Facebook is out but blogging is still in. Blogging allows me to keep family and friends updated on our lives. It also allows me to write creatively, which I love and it serves as a sort of journal of our life for me. I hope to blog more frequently now that I am working to focus my computer time instead of frittering it away. I hope to post more often. So, see you here, and not on Facebook.