The year has flown by

2011 is coming to an end, and I still have things to do. I would have liked to have lost another 20 pounds...well, not lost, I certainly don't want to find them again. I would have preferred that I had organized my house a little better. I dreamed that my home would have completed windows, insulated garage, and a yard that boasts beautiful craftsmanship.

I realize that all of the things that I have mentioned are of absolutely NO eternal value. I do not believe that God cares what shape my lawn is in, whether or not my windows are complete, and certainly not how organized my desk drawers are. So then what is it that matters? Do I follow Jesus throughout every day? Do I find myself meditating on the Word daily? Do I pray without ceasing? Are my children being taught the way of the LORD? Does my husband receive the honor he deserves? Am I charitable, hospitable, kind, and generous? Do I look towards the needs of others rather than to the needs of myself?

Wow, I guess that I have many more areas to grow in the upcoming year.

This year has been one of many ups and downs. My health was compromised, but I rallied and am quite healthy. Friendships have been torn and mended. My marriage has seen good times and bad. My children have loved me and hated me. But here I am at the end of the year, and I honestly can say, I loved 2011. It wasn't perfect, but it was what God intended.

As I look forward to 2012, I realize that there will be many more challenges and hurts that I will go through. There will be days that I will wish I could undo. But with each of those hard days, God is gracious and will grant me peace for the moment and a joy to face the next step in a line of many steps towards the goal. Holiness. To be more and more like Christ.

Dear LORD, as I face the end of one year and march towards the next, I realize that a day is nothing to you. A lifetime is but a vapor. So rather than focus on the timeframes that man so desperately clings to, let me focus on Jesus Christ. Let me learn of His ways. Grow in His Word. May each moment be saturated with Jesus, so that in the moment when I face God Almighty, I might hear, "Well done!"

Food Obsession

We have become a people obsessed with food. There is the Food Network, cooking magazines, cookbooks, food blogs, and restaurants galore. Not only is taste a consideration, but presentation and aroma. Cupcakes have become an unnatural phenomenon. Cakes are looking like buildings, people, and animals. Burgers have become gourmet.

I don't like to cook. In fact, I find it nothing more than a monotonous chore. What to cook? That is a question that haunts me daily. On very rare occasions, I get slightly enthusiastic about a meal. Usually, I'm not the one cooking it.

Can you imagine what the world would be like if we took all the energy obsessing about food, and placed that passion towards something of true value, such as our walk with the Lord?

Teens

The teen years have got to be some of the toughest years of life. Not a kid. Not an adult. Stuck in limbo. People telling you what to do, and at the same time expecting you to mature and make your own choices.

I don't miss those years in the slightest. As I watch my kids fight their own personal battles during these years, it reminds me how grateful I am for parents that supported my accomplishments, pointed out my faults and loved me the same no matter what.

I pray that as my kids have up days and down days, good grades and bad, accomplishments and failures, I love them more and more through each one.

For the Love of...

If I entitled this post "Rant and Rave," one might think that it was of a political nature due to the hostility in the political spectrum. However this "Rant" is of a more personal nature. Introspective almost. At the grand old age of 42 it should be expected that an individual might have reached some sort of pinnacle of distinction. Arrived. Succeeded. However I find myself quite where I was ten years ago. Some of the surroundings are different, maybe slightly improved; the children have grown, taller, if not also minutely more mature; and lest I neglect to say, I have become thinner albeit grayer.

But why is it after 42 years I still struggle with the most ridiculous issues. For starters, my mouth. Maybe I should have it removed. Not only would my dietary consumption be reduced-drastically-but no longer would I catch myself mid-sentence desperately trying to change course from the direction I have begun.

Secondly, my temper. It is connected to my mouth. I'm not sure which is the bigger of the problems, nor am I sure which is the instigator. My mouth leads to debate, thus leading to frustration (from all parties I am sure) and then anger joins the fray. But often anger arrises first, only to have my mouth jump on the bandwagon. It truly is a vicious cycle.

For now, I press on. What else can I do? If these were the only two struggles I had, life would be quite peachy, but they are only part of the picture. Life is a challenge. From the big things to the small.

Done ranting. Time to drink coffee, think happy thoughts, love the family and say nice things. See, there is improvement already!

A symbol??

At the school of higher learning that my two eldest attend, the freshmen class participates in an advisory period each Wednesday. I personally believe it is one of the biggest wastes of time during the school day. Mind you, I think much of the day is a complete waste, but this seems to take the award in the waste category.

"Last week, we were asked to come up with a symbol that we felt represented who we are." When my daughter informed me that this was the topic of the advisory, I had to contain my enthusiasm. Doesn't every parent dream of the day when their child finally designs their own symbol?

I am curious which school administrator thought up this most creative method to dumb down the classroom one more notch. Was it in an effort to assure our kids are at the bottom of the intelligence pool, or was it maybe developed by a fan of the "Artist formally known as Prince?"

All in all, the high school experience provides a wide variety of learning. I am quite sure, most of what is learned will not provide them the skills to face the world I want for them. But then I'm not so sure the world I want, will be there for them.