hard truth

In a family the barriers are opportunities to show each other our love; the same is true in a community.

As I go outside late at night, having waited until the teenagers are finished using our basketball hoop, I grumble, I complain....for crying in a bucket, do I really have to pick up after these boys/young men? 

Yes I do.  They toss our basketballs down the street, they leave their trash on our lawn.  We could take down our hoop, tell them they can't use it...but that is not really what we want.  We have told the kids they can use our hoop, even if we are not outside, I want to share what we have.  If they aren't busy playing a game of ball, what will they be doing?

I choose to trust that if we continue to share, continue to pick up after them without complaint (i'll work on that), at some level at some point some young man will take notice and glimpse our family living out biblical truths.  It's worth the picking up. 

I will be patient with them because God is patient with me, and what I really believe about God is how I will treat my community, and my family.

And if at some point I get tired of it all I can let Crocket and Tubbs loose on the neighborhood. 

EQ and Spunk have been patrolling our street.  One morning they even took along a trash bag and collected trash.  They look totally cute  I mean tough!

While the two younguns' cover the hood, Number One works landscaping wonders. 

Love that face!

Bis' second birthday

Spunk turned 9 on Sunday; it was his second birthday.

When our three boys from over the sea came home to us they did not know their ages, let alone their dates of birth.  We were given that info on a piece of paper - is it valid?  I don't know, maybe not exact but seemingly pretty close.  They are now on their second round of birthdays. 

They had never had a birthday celebration, never a gift, a cake, a candle, the song that most of us take for granted. 

Spunk's birthday bonanza started on Thursday with going to the movies.  We saw Rango, it was great, really funny, and all of my boys got most of the jokes - good deal.  

Then on Friday it was surprise surprise.  We surprised him with a trip to our local water park, small but thrilling.  Then we left there and met Man in the park, at a nice spot in the shade - Man brought pizza and soda.  Next Seth unloaded a gigantic pinata from my car; Biz was soooo excited.  My boys never get a turn at hitting the pinatas at parties - this baby was all theirs. 

Then we went back to the water park!  Then home for a movie. 

Sunday is our church group gathering.  So Sunday evening it was cake and THE SONG, with our awesome friends. 

273. birthday parties
274. friends that love on our kids
275. pinatas; they really do rock (our other boys have made it known they want a pinata, too)
276. water drops sparkling in the sun

beauty; gifts innumerable

For ever since the world was created,
people have seen the earth and sky. 

Through everything God made,
they can clearly see his invisible qualities - His eternal power and divine nature. 

So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

Romans 1:20

I love that truth but shrink from it as well, depending on my mood (it's all about me...).  

His beauty is always there for the taking; I can dine at His table of goodness and beauty, or eat the scraps from the floor. 

To know me you would think I love floor scraps. 

To dine on beauty fills me up and what shines from me is then beautiful.  The hard truths of sin have me forever falling back to the floor, even when I can see what's at the table is better.  I want my kids to habitually choose the beauty gifts, yet they look to me.  At times, many times, I don't want that responsibility.  But there it is, in 5 shining faces. 

269. note in my inbox reminding me that I am not being graded; it's okay to aim for a C on some days.  And the reality is that i will fail.  It's the trying, the hope, the counting that draws me nearer to Him.

On June 25th won't you join our family along with others around the world in applauding His beautiful, innumerable gifts? 

Make a plan, get up early, spend the day marveling, go to a place where you can see the sunset, applaud Him.  The notion of this, the thought of people the world over and around joining in on a great wave of gratitude, the HOPE; brings tears. 

270. the courage of Gifted, when I look I see it there
271. chocolate goo smear on pink and brown cheeks, pink tongues reach to catch it all
272. my friends who set such humble examples for me; they are patient with my blundering

invisible people

Who is invisible in your life?

The cashier at the grocery store?  the produce gal(our's is named Cres, I pray for her, she hugs my kids)?  the single mom with 5 kids and one on the way ?  Is she invisible to you as she struggles to get them all into the car and off to school?

Or what about the woman who needs two seats on the plane.  Is her discomfort your discomfort and so you don't look?  she is invisible, yet right there.

Are these not the face of Jesus?  Do we miss Him every day by failing to look around us at the weak, the meek, the humble, dirty, poor in Spirit and things?

We cry out Where are You!  and He is right there.

When I look on my child who frustrates me, I behold the Face of Jesus.

I look at the guy on the street corner, dirty hands, holding the sign.  Even if I have nothing from my hands, I give my eyes, my smile.  He knows that to me he is not invisible.

And my children take notice, they see my smile and nod at the dirty person, drinking from a paper bag.  They learn to smile, not to fear.

263. the guy on the corner who smiles back
264. cat sleeping on a pile of books
265. clouds racing
266. mama bird feeding fluffy chicks
267. sons 8 and 13 tackling a task together

268. art in the park

Take notice of someone invisible today; you might find Him.

a Sunday full

Oh, visit the earth, ask her to join the dance!
     Deck her out in spring showers,
         fill the God-River with living water.

Paint the wheat fields golden.      
  Creation was made for this!
    Drench the plowed fields, soak the dirt clods
        With rainfall as harrow and rake bring her to blossom and fruit.

Snow-crown the peaks with splendor, scatter rose petals down your paths,
   All through the wild meadows, rose petals.

     Set the hills to dancing,

Dress the canyon walls with live sheep,
   a drape of flax across the valleys.

     Let them shout, and shout, and shout! Oh, oh, let them sing!

psalm 65:9-13 msg

256. Sara Overall all in red

Sara Overall read this verse at last night's benefit concert at the Nutty Brown Cafe.  It fit our day well.

257. purple, the favorite color of both man and i

258. Austin style graffiti

259. twisted, but ultimately reaching up - much like me

260. a boy who sticks to things, even to his mom a little more and more

261. rock climbers in the shade, all quiet, looking like father and son

262. river bed all in gray, waiting for the God-water that fills like no other

We set out to find water on this 95-100 degree afternoon, we found beauty, but no water. 

Our day began with sleeping in, well not really, our boys don't actually sleep in.  but we did have a leisurely start to the day; chess as the sun came over the fence:

Our backyard is sorta like a wasteland, but we have sunflowers. 

We have plans to beautify our yard this year; I got antsy and started early with some things I found at GoodWill.  Our plans include a hammock under a trellis, a permanent arena for playing marbles, native plants, gravel, and just a bit of grass. 

The final destination of our dayfull was the Nutty Brown Cafe; an outdoor concert venue with an excellent cafe menu of fresh, healthy, yummy food. 

Well, okay, granted the giant bowl of brownie with icecream and hot fudge sauce was not totally healthy, but the boys all got high points for speed of consumption.

WaterNow is the charity benefiting from last night's concert; a worthy organization digging wells and providing clean water in Kenya.  The lineup of musicians were all Christians, most were new to our ears.  Man and Boys thrilled me by surviving almost the whole concert, 4pm - 9:30pm.

The venue is great.  There were lots of kids, a play area, one boy with a soccer ball that inspired a game that lasted most of the evening. 

And the music...great variety, awesome sound, Ethan and I loved it.

Ethan dances, or rather, he moves to the music in a way that only he hears it.  I think he is awesome.

Sara Overall dedicated her last song to Ethan, titled Firefly.  I think he was a bit smitten with this slender woman crooning out vocals with a classic flair. 

EQ was not alone on the dance floor; there were lots of girls.

I hope you find time to make some memories today.   And count the gifts, keep counting.