Fall: More Than a Season for Me

Where have I been?!
In my defense, Fall is a very busy time for me. Starting on October 4, my family enters into a new dimension of busyness. My eldest daughter, the amazing and hilarious Angel- turned 12. A day later, my father promoted to 58. Five days after that,my one and only niece Sage graduated to 5. Then, twelve days after that, my youngest daughter celebrated her 9th birthday. Immediately following those birthdays, my husband and I coordinated our role in the Harvest Festival at our church (always SO much fun!). In between those October months, my family and I witnessed Angel's impressive display of athleticism in her first year of co-ed flag football.

November: Our "golden-boy" son turned 2 days after Thanksgiving and both my Mother (flying in from Florida) and Mother-in-law (coming from Washington state) visited a week before the festivities. Need I say more?

December: This month is self explanitory.

..and in the midst of these blessings =), there is ministry, sisters, gatherings, and a busy four letter word called Life.

I need to interject my excuses and redeem myself by saying, "I'm recommiting time."
This go around, I'm leaving my bag of expectations at the foot of the cross.

I'm no longer going to dance around my calling, but get right into the guts of it and lean not on my own understanding.

Pray for me =)

Crazy Invasion of Space!!

If you are or once was a mother of a very curious toddler (all hands are raised I'm sure!), I've captured a picture you once wish you had.

I'm comfortable in admitting that my smart phone is my new buddy. She travels with me everywhere I go...even to the bathroom. Don't ask why! I'm not so sure either! It's the compulsion to re review my calendar, text a friend, or view my email. Gross, sure. Cathartic, most definitely.

So here I am, phone in hand, appreciating my "private time" ..or so I think...

You'll have to look carefully at this picture, and when you do..you'll see the tiny fingers and a CRAZY INVASION OF SPACE!

I mean, c'mon Son, can Mommy use the bathroom in some form of privacy?!

What's even crazier is that this squirmy, wiggly hand game is not a new phenomenon in the Douglas household. These phantom fingers visit me the majority of the time I declare I deserve to have a shut door while using the potty. My son insists on probing his fingers in and out from under the door and have a conversation, all while Mommy uses the potty.

Tai's crazy, really. He gets it from my husband's side of the family =)

Okay, so YOU'RE next! Is your wallet manifesting into a CRAZY mini novel with receipts oozing out, awaiting to be penned into your checkbook register? Does your computer speakers innocently pick up your neighbor's CRAZY conversation from his CRAZY high frequency dispatching radio? Better yet, does your neighbor's car get pranked with vibrant colored post-it notes like Hillary's (http://www.theothermama.com)/?

Do tell! I'd like to know I'm in good company... =) It's comforting. I know my She Speak Sisters can relate and have tons of wacky tidbits to throw in the pot..

A Fresh Set of Eyes

So if you followed along yesterday's posting, you may have caught that I took my youngest daughter to have her eyes checked. This little girl, well- not so little anymore..she'll be 9 in a few weeks, is made up of all silly bones. She's a total riot- all of the time! Her consistent optimistic attitude is admirable and her response to change is an area I get on my knees to ask for. She recognized her [visual] perspective was off, embraced the outreach for aide, and welcomed a new normal. Asia, I am godly proud of you! At what point do we become so jaded to the point where we loose that litheness?

Dough Happens

It's funny how I can pray in the morning and ask God to interrupt my plans for His own.

According to my smart phone, October 7 was going to be a busy, yet manageable, day.

Get to the office by 7am.
Leave at 12n.
Pick up the girls from school at 12:30pm.
Run to Larry's Produce.
Take Asia to her optical apt at 1:45.
Pick up Tai by 3:30.
Asia has her first golf lesson at 4:00-5pm.
Angel has flag football practice at 5:30-7:00pm.

..and somewhere in between, Tai needed to get a bath, dinner was anxious to be cooked, kids bubbled over for hugs/kisses/attention, and the hubby deserved affection..

Freeze... remember what I said, "October 7 was going to be a busy, yet manageable day."

Women, can we take this time to pat ourselves on the back and lift up a high five to the Big Man Upstairs! Wow He's amazing! And yet we were made from a rib! Imagine if we were made from a mobile part of the body..say feet or thighs..good heavens! I digress..

ANYWAYS, just when I was ready to leave for work, I get a call from the school secretary that the cookie dough from the fall fundraiser has arrived. Because Angel and Asia vied for top seller, we had 46 boxes of dough! 46! And it needed to stay frozen?! Where in the world will they go?!

There wasn't even enough time to consult my smart phone. But the reality is that it just needed to get done.

Solution: Substitute Larry's with the healthiest option at Wendy's, solicit help from a willing husband and ex-husband, and smother the kids with silly songs and jokes during the taxi ride and stops to keep the spirits high.

Dough happens, roll with it.

Taste and See

Cleverly painted in a handsome font inside our church cafe, Psalms 34:8 became mere marketing decor in my eyes and within my heart. But on one Sunday morning as I entered church and was attempting to push aside the familiar thoughts of weight loss strategies, my eyes met His through those stenciled letters.

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!..

Taste? See- I get. But taste? How?

With head knowledge I understand what David had endured as he penned this alphabetical psalm but as God does- He spoke to my heart, as He personalized this verse to bring forth truth. You see 9 years ago,after I had my second daughter, I became oddly interested in running. But it wasn't until 2007 when I gave birth to my "Golden Boy" (hehe), that I also bore a new passion for this sport. I teetered on the borderline of athletic and obsessive. Gauging my speed, outdoing the previous days mileage, reading and rereading running forums and online threads consumed every neuron I had! The icing on the cake was knowing that on the month's springboard, when I'd completely lost it, I would weigh myself and witness drastic shedding.

This was never the case. I loathed the 1st of the month. With all my neurotic energy, how could this be?! Yesterday I did 6 miles in record speed and the day before that I sprinted for 3 whole miles!

Those were just a few thoughts that occupied space. It was then, when God opened my eyes to Psalms 34:8, I received understanding and support in my struggle. God knows that we humans gravitate to tangible. His choice of words, employing "taste", is an insight to yet another means He has proven Himself good. In the natural, we have the ability to taste and He has given us a harvest to enjoy. The sweetness of fresh strawberries, white peaches, and bananas, the juiciness of mangoes, oranges, and kiwi...the list goes on and on. All these fruits and veggies that grow out of the dust of the ground, just like us, are visual and tangible examples of how powerful, sweet, and good He is. Like Daniel, we can choose to reject the artificial byproducts our markets are saturated with and stand on what is good.

I wasn't loosing any weight because of my input not because of my output. I neglected to see that God is interested in every area of my life. I know I've heard that He is, but I didn't think weight loss was truly on that list. Training with Him now, means I run within healthy boundaries. If I miss a day of exercise, it's okay. If my flesh craves something sweet, I turn to what I know is good for both my spirit and body and reach for His creation.

From Timid to Transparent

Insert your favorite cliche to express shock here: ________________

________ is how I am feeling right now.

"I'm a Christian wife and mother of 3 who would love to quit her job to invest more time with the family and finally get a chance to scribe the numerous inner dialogues and share with an audience of......of....None. "
Ladies and gentleman, please let me introduce you to my successful incredulous friend:
Mia Sarah, better known as Mi . She is both adventurous and skeptical, outgoing and shy, whimsical and predictable.
She is Mi and Mi is me.
And I am absolutely _______ that I am now a colleague to fellow bloggers.

In keeping with my title for today, I'll confess: I have never read one full blog entry in its entirety. I've never really understood them. I've performed mental gymnastics trying to deduce who the target audience is and who the patrons are for this new communication portal. And then my "Manic Martha Moment" (you know, that moment when you tell God that what you understand to be true is indeed fact and everything else is rubbish) subsides and He reminds me to be still, sit by his feet, and breath Him in.

Who is your audience Mia? You are Lord.

Why write? Because you've given me this gift and Your Word exhorts that "A spiritual gift is given to each of us as a means for helping the entire church" -1Corinthians 12:7

My conclusion: It's not about Mi, it's all about Thee.

If the answer to my morning prayer of "Lord make me a vessel you can fill" is via blog, then C'est la Vie! (Or in Christianese, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.)

Transitioning from timid to transparent is not an easy task, but with Christ it's not daunting either.

And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him- Collossians 3:17

There is nothing as refreshing as having your thirst quenched by the Living Water now is there!