Longing...

 Spring is here, in all its glory! This type of weather makes me want to spring clean from corner-to-corner, wall-to-wall, on the inside. I want to mow and weed and paint and power-wash, on the outside. Unfortunately, I have more ambition than time, and so I have to deal with the frustration of a check-less to-do list.  Say that ten times. Check-less to-do list. Bleh.

As much as I long to have things spiffed and in order, there are much more important, though intangible things I long to see happen, on what I call my "Longing List".

• To have a certain blonde-haired, green-eyed boy asthma-free, and able to romp and run without the worry of a wheeze
• For my Gracie-girl to have relief from swollen, blistered tonsils (going on 7 weeks now--they are coming out via tonsillectomy on Monday). 
• For my husband to regain his strength after a two-week bout of the crud 
• For true, old-fashioned,  soul-saving, life-changing revival in our churches and our country
• And, on a bit of a selfish note, a vacation

Here.

Seaside, Florida

photo via Pinterest 

photo via Pinterest 

I mean a real vacation, with nothing to do but curl up with a book, build sandcastles with my babes, catch a romantic sunset with my honey while I listen to the waves roll in. Phones of any type not allowed. 

 I might be waiting a long time for that last one, but...it's OK to dream, isn't it?

And, totally off subject, but I just have to share this GOR-geous pic of my beautiful girls, taken a month or so ago by my talented sis-in-law. So excited about her taking our spring family pics soon!

May the remainder of your week be all you need it to be, and  all the longings of your heart be fulfilled. 

On The Brink

Hello to all my dear readers! Are you still there? This blog may have been inactive lately, but I can assure you that its author has not. We just got out of a week-long revival with the Rev. Rick Simpson and family. We saw lots of great things accomplished for the Lord, and now it's time to clean up from the aftermath of a week of being gone every night, and sleeping too late in the mornings. Add 5 extra changes of clothes every night for a week, and you've got a resulting laundry-room-full of laundry to catch up with. But thanks to paper plates and the crockpot, the kitchen chores were not too overwhelming. Never underestimate the power of a crock pot.

There has been an atmosphere of charged anticipation in our home of late. We are on the brink of change, but it's good change. God is working for us in an area we have been praying about for years, and it's exciting to watch how He unfolds His plans. I can't disclose it all at this time, but when it all works itself out, you will get one loaded blog post!

There really is no shortage of blog subject material around here, as my 3 children supply me with plenty of it. The only shortage is time and opportunity to sit down and put fingers to keys. When I blog, I like to have quiet, uninterrupted time, and that, my friends, is a precious commodity.

I will leave you with a moment from last week, that is definitely one I do not want to soon forget. Elijah's latest "dream" has been to start his own pet business. He dreams big, that one. One evening a couple of weeks ago, he drug his aquairium of "pets", which consisted of snails and centipedes, to the front yard and parked it on a TV tray/table. He came back inside an annouced, "I'm tired of waiting, so I'm starting my pet business today!" So if you were to drive by our house, this is what you would have seen:

This was his expression after about 5 vehicles passed by without stopping. I felt sorry for him and sneaked a few phone calls to a couple of neighbors, who thought it was hilarious and was happy to give him a quarter for a critter. Of course, they really appreciated him taking care of their snails for them, since they didn't really have a place to properly care for one. He wound up making about $2.50 when it was all said and done! Isn't he adorable?

About Little Things, Again

So much to say about little things.

  They spoil vines, after all. They get between your toes when you're walking on the beach.

 They scatter over your floor and hurt really. bad. when your foot finds one in the dark {or the light for that matter}.



They stimulate imagination and awe.

Invoke creativity.




Strengthen the motor skills of little fingers in play.

You can't ignore such things. They demand attention and a response.

So...why do we think the little things we do don't matter? That unless we accomplish some great feat, we'll never make a difference in this world?

Don't fall into the trap of believing the lie that what you do doesn't matter. Because it DOES. God sees.

He sees every dish you wash, every towel you fold, every little tooth you brush.

Every bo-bo you kiss (we call them bo-bos around here, not boo-boos).

Every test you grade, every bedtime story you read.

Every. single. prayer you pray.

Every door you knock on, searching for a child in need of Sunday School, and every one that slams in your face.

The phone call you made to say, we missed you at church.
It's important. More than you know.

The text you sent that said, You're awesome. Glad you're my friend.
It lightened a load.



There's a bigger picture here--each little thing you do to the best of your ability is a stroke of paint on the canvas of your life.  Sometimes the colors are bright and vibrant, sometimes they are muted and gray, and everything in between. But He sees the melding of it all, that completes the portait that He is painting of you. He sits back, tilts His head, and smiles in satisifaction with what He has made.

So the next time you get frustrated with sweeping the floor (again), know that He is still holding the paintbrush and just because your task is little, doesn't mean it's doesn't matter.




*All photos were borrowed from Google images*