Life Lessons: Stay away from the mud puddles!

Lately, Caleb (9 yrs), has been having many difficult moments with a negative attitude. We have tried sending him to his room for quiet time. We've tried talking with him about having a good attitude; about choosing to have a good attitude. We've tried teasing/joking with him to try and pull him out of it. Nothing seems to have stuck with him.

Then today, I got a word picture in my head about it all...

"Caleb, what would happen if you saw a mud puddle? Let's say that you're walking along and all of a sudden, a huge muddy puddle was in front of you. What would happen if you walked into it?"

"I'd get muddy."

"Yes! And then you'd track mud all over the place until all of the mud had come off of you." (He smiled.) "What would happen if you walked around it?"

"I'd stay clean."

"Yes, you would!
Caleb, when we have a negative attitude about things, it's just like walking into a mud puddle. We get stuck and yucky, and we track that bad attitude all around with us until we run out of 'mud'."

(here I joked with him)" And I just cleaned up my floors and I don't want any mud getting tracked in here!" (He laughed.)

"So son, what are you going to choose to do? Are you going to walk into the mud puddle or around it?"

"Around it."

"Good choice, Caleb. Good choice."

How often we need to remind ourselves that we can choose to walk around those negative attitudes rather than drudging through them. We cannot keep bad things from happening in our lives, but we can choose how we will respond to them. Will we sulk and pout or accept and be thankful? I know that there have been times of extreme loss and grief in my life; and I'm not talking about 'put on a happy face' during those types of circumstances. I'm referring to the 'broken nails of life'; those things that irk you, but aren't issues of life and death.

Let's put these 'broken nails' into perspective the next time that we are tempted to throw a pity party for ourselves over trivial things. Let's choose to stay away from the mud puddles and keep our floors (and hearts) clean.


Psalm 40:2

He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.


Proverbs 23:15-19,22-26

My son, if your heart is wise,
then my heart will be glad;
my inmost being will rejoice
when your lips speak what is right.

Do not let your heart envy sinners,
but always be zealous for the fear of the LORD.
There is surely a future hope for you,
and your hope will not be cut off.

Listen, my son, and be wise,
and keep your heart on the right path.
Listen to your father, who gave you life,
and do not despise your mother when she is old.
Buy the truth and do not sell it;
get wisdom, discipline and understanding.
The father of a righteous man has great joy;
he who has a wise son delights in him.
May your father and mother be glad;
may she who gave you birth rejoice!

My son, give me your heart
and let your eyes keep to my ways...

The beauty of leaves changing colour; crisp mornings; walking our new puppy 'Brinkley' (who is 9 weeks old, we just got him about a week and a half ago) (named for Tom Hanks' character's dog in 'You've Got Mail'; which is similar to how Kevin and I met); talking with my 9 year old son (it doesn't seem possible that he's growing up as fast as he is!); hugs and kisses from my two beautiful fairy princess-daughters; teaching my children; celebrating 10 years of a wonderful marriage with my fabulous husband (who amazes me with the depth of his unconditional love for me); blooming flowers; bright blue skies; the lapping of water against the shore of the lake; making birthday plans for the upcoming birthdays; thinking ahead to Christmas (I still have 'Let it Snow, let it snow, let it snow', sung by Frank Sinatra as my cell phone ringtone and it's not going to change anytime soon. I LOVE that song! although I get interesting reactions from others when it goes off, ha!)... these are a few of my favorite things from this summer and early autumn!

sunny, blue skies; watching my children splash and jump on the trampoline with a sprinkler underneath (they had such giggles and smiles); reading a good book; Celestial Seasonings Madagascar Vanilla Roiboos Tea with sugar and cream; wearing sandals again; hugs and kisses from my husband; listening to my husband tell our children our story of how he proposed to me (almost 11 years ago now)(they were enthralled); my son saying how excited he is for his birthday (he's counting down daily); my friend Jenny's dill dip recipe with fresh veggies; my cell phone ring (Frank Sinatra singing 'Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow' HA! The looks I get now when my phone rings are hilarious! I'm not going to change it any time soon. ;) ).... these are a few of my favorite things today!

sunshine in a bright, blue sky; the strong breeze that kept the mosquitos at bay while I took the kids out for my walk and to play at the playground; the way A. talks in her precious baby-ish way (one of her funny phrases is saying 'Puppy-Duke' when she wants to watch the 'Marmaduke' movie); eating supper outside on the deck; finding out that I've lost 10.6 lbs since I started my 'healthy choices' lifestyle; watching the trees sway in the powerful wind tonight; seeing the birds soar high in the sky as the thunderstorm rolled in; teasing my husband.... these are a few of my favorite things today.

Somehow June has sprung into existence... somewhere between the swirling snow and rainstorms, my daisies and lilies and green garden fillers have been resurrected. The first deep pink rosebud is saucily getting ready to unfurl her petals and flirt with the honeybees. June... the month that I always wanted to be married in but for practical reasons did not. June... the month evokes childhood memories of sweetness, friendships, and almost being done the school year. I love June. It is the month that my firstborn was born in. Beautiful memories of June hide and peek out like the sun and shadows that play tag across my green lawn.

These are a few of my favorite things about June. I'd love to hear yours. :)

pale, silvery green tree buds, birds flitting about the branches, sunshine streaming in my windows, watching my girls play dress-up (one is Spider-Man, the other is a Ballerina), my son's grin, my husband vacuuming and helping clean the kitchen, my new magenta hoodie-shirt, the blooming geraniums that remind me of my Grandma Y's farmhouse, evergreens waving in the wind, the ice crashing in waves (earlier this week) which sounded like the wind blowing through a thousand trees right outside my window, the scent of my wedding dress as I placed so many of my beautiful dresses from high school into my steamer trunk with it, reminiscing about the times I wore each of those dresses and who I was with.... these are few of my favorite things today.

(but as an aside, I am definitely happier now than I was then!) :)

...the way you look tonight...

A week without my husband at home is just one week too long. So in my loneliness tonight, I'll just make a list of my favorite things about my wonderful husband...

the way his eyes crinkle when he smiles; when he twists his wedding band while he preaches; when he vacuums and mops the floors before we have company; when he plays tickle with our children; his hugs and kisses; when he whispers sweet somethings into my ear; laughing with him; dancing with him in our living room before/during/after supper while our children watch us from the dining room; he still opens doors for me; his prayers; his gentleness; his brokenness which keeps his heart tender and humble; his fabulous biceps; how he makes our bed up nearly every morning while I'm in the shower; he can cook a meal and makes better tortillas than me; how he usually folds and puts away the laundry mountains; he never, ever complains when I'm running late and he's got the kids buckled up waiting for me in the vehicle but instead, before driving, he looks at me, smiles, and says, "You look beautiful, my sweet princess." ... these are but a very few of my favorite things about my husband tonight.

green moss growing on tree trunks; the sound of water trickeling as it makes it way to the lake, bird song, the wind rushing through the thick branches of the old fir trees; my children's smiles; my husband's hugs; the helping hands of a friend; ... these are a few of my favorite things today.

poor neglected blog

have you missed me? :) I've been enjoying the beautiful sunshine lately and also enjoying the last snowstorms of the Spring... my husband told me that he wants to pack our winter gear up and I told him to wait until the middle of May at least. ;) I'm thinking that we're not quite done with winter yet... perhaps I'll be wrong. I'm sure that there are a few who live close by who hope that I am!

I've been walking lots since February and it's finally paying off. I'm enjoying getting out and though my body is so terribly out of shape that I have kinks and cramps and cracks and gimps, I'm still carrying on.

My favorite things today: song birds and winter birds and returning birds like geese soaring in the wind or chattering wildly in the trees; seeing the tips of trees change colour in preparation for budding leaves; sunshine; melting snow that trickles down the ditches in little waterfalls that bubble and gurgle their way to the lake; running shoes; clean water to drink and wash with; buying crackers for a really good price; singing a lullabye to A. and having her want to be held in my arms just like when she was a baby and we rocked and swayed with her yet-chubby arms holding and hugging me; watching my children play together so well; holding hands with my husband with his purr-fect scruffy-clean look that I find attractive; thinking about my mother's visit this next week and what meals to make and how to celebrate her (much belated) birthday while she's here...

walking in the sunshine; melting snow; setting up the patio set and eating lunch outside in a t-shirt (still with snow piled up all around!); watching my kids play so well together; cuddles with A.; C. coming to sit on my lap still; B. getting all 'boo-tiful' and 'pwetty' in her dress-up clothes; my husband making supper; my meeting with other pw's; friends... these are a few of my favorite things today.

melting snow, throwing snowballs at my husband and son, our church family, berries, the warmth of the fire, high fibre cereal that actually tastes good (Kashi), tea with cream and honey or sugar, doing my daughters hair for church, my new pink eyeshadow (takes me back to high school), private jokes with my husband, cuddles and kisses with my girls and son, God's Word ... these are a few of my favorite things today.