Lamp Lit Learnings

I'm having a moment here.  My son just hugged me, tight. I said, "I love you, son." And he responded with the typical, "I love you, too." Nothing out of the ordinary there. But these past few days have been filled with these tender moments. He had a moment of sheer disrespect but then apologized and had a repentant heart. He slept a night in my bed because his dad is away on a mission trip and I lay listening to his breathing. He sits in the rocker, engrossed by his rubix cube and I see his mind transforming, becoming more analytical. We went on a date while his sisters were at youth group and he made conversation like an adult. My son, my last born, is growing up. While on one hand I'm really not ready to see this transition, on the other hand this transition makes me so incredibly proud. I'm having a Mary mama moment and I need to treasure these things in my heart.

It was a short night. For reasons that will go unnamed I only got about five hours of sleep last night. If you know me at all, that is not enough.  Today will be a very long day. It seems that things often go this way.     Yesterday was a very fulfilling, productive and relaxing day. I got the house cleaned, I made some important phone calls, and I prepped crock pot meals for our very busy evenings this week. So, of course, because yesterday was incredibly kind, today will show me my desperate need for Jesus (and coffee). Does this happen to you? Does this cycle repeat in your life as well? Sometimes it takes longer than 24 hours for my cycle to repeat. Sometimes it happens by season, but inevitably it happens. It happens because that is life. It's very cliche to say, but it's true. I look at the book of Ecclesiastes for my encouragement at times like this. It's so easy to cling to the lows and the statement of "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meani...

It's a typical home school morning. While the rest of the kids in our county get a snow day or a "late start", my kids sit at the table working on math. Our neighbor came with his bobcat to dig us out, dumping huge drifts of snow into our yard. The fire blazes, the coffee is brewed and I actually got a shower. My desk is beside our front window so my view is breathtaking. Remember the scene in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, when winter is finally starting to thaw? The snow covered trees hang heavy with melting snow and the sound of water dripping from the branches almost sound like a serene rain. That is my view. The sun is shining and all seems right with the world. 24 hours later there is another 18 inches of snow and the once warm scene is now a frozen wonderland. Still serene, just in a different way. The snow is no longer melting, but rather floating down from a frigid sky. It clings to everything weighing it down until the trees look like frosted pointed tow...