What you do in your house is worth as much as if you did it up in heaven for our Lord God. We should accustom ourselves to think of our position and work as sacred and well-pleasing to God, not on account of the position and work, but on account of the word and faith from which the obedience and the work flow. ~ Martin Luther

Monday, August 10, 2009

Today I...........


* Cried over a terrible tomato tragedy which I can't think about, let alone talk about. Now now. Not today.

* spent hours in the garden in the middle of this hot and heavy-aired day with sweat glistening on my back and forearm. I realized I sorta liked seeing myself sweat like that. It's good to work up a sweat now and again.

* Realized I liked even MORE, the (well-earned) hose shower the kids and I played under afterwards in our every day clothes. (!!!)

* Heard the contagious laugh of children who are surprised by "old mother" doing something silly like playing in a hose.




* Talked to a friend on the phone for 59 minutes and 47 seconds after months and months, (ME! The one who hates talking on the phone!) I wondered what ever had made me wait so long.

* Spoke harshly to the children and apologized. They always enjoy the forgiving, and so do I.




* Made sausage gravy for supper tonight and Corynn just KNEW it was because that was her MOST favorite meal.

* Won a pair of cowboy boots on ebay for Andrew and they arrived today...but when he tried them on---they were too small! I was terribly disappointed but little Panda voice kep reassuring me "Dat dust awight Mama." "Dat dust awight."

* Had a meltdown on Mattie. And somehow, he made a crying gal laugh.

* Did dishes. LOTS. oddly---I never once pined for a dishwasher.



* Snapped beans. LOTS. They are dehydrating as we speak.

* Boiled corn. It is freezing as we speak.

* Watched an egg come out of a chicken!!! A case of the right place at the right time and a new (to us) chicken who doesn't quite get the nesting boxes yet. For a brief moment I relived that moment when a baby makes its final move out and you are FREE. I *FELT* it. (That happens when I see a calf birth too.)



* Noticed the pink clouds at sunset.

* Gave Jed a pat and apologized for all the flies that have been pestering him lately. He licked my hand in return and took a nice cool drink of water.



* Picked up all the books on the floor in the living room and returned them to the library basket only to discover a book that I borrowed but never even opened. I sat down on the couch for a brief moment to see whether I ought to renew it or if it wasn't worth it and didn't get back up for an hour. It's worth it.

* Wrote two letters and sealed them with a kiss.

* Tried to decide what to do with the bushel and a half of peaches I just got...and fast.

* Harvested enough cucumbers to make my first batch of pickles

* Tucked everyone in except Corynn and read her four chapters of a Magic Tree House Book. I didn't mind the sticky heat even when she pulled herself close and pulled my arm around her shoulder.

* Could not understand why almost-six-year-old-child snuggles are so rare.



* Had a shower "experience". You know...the kind that takes your breath away with it's coldness but then feels so good you are left virtually incapable of leaving. I did, eventually, force myself out and now here I sit, cool and refreshed. Oh-evening showers are So nice.

* Look forward to wrapping my toes around Matt's slumbering ones in just a few minutes.

~~~~~~~~~~~

This day was filled with trials and testing, failures and sins because I am me. Unclean to the core. But it was also filled with renewal and cleansing, forgiveness and strengthening.

The house is asleep; the only sounds the click click of this keyboard, the hum of the dehydrator and the nightsongs from the window. The kitchen is cleaned from a hard day within and my list is made for tomorrow. It goes something like this:


* blanch more beans
* make more pesto
* can pickles
* stuff squash
* live with JOY
*speak with tenderness
* act with patience
* be one day further ahead down this road called sanctification

** recognize each of these moments as the gifts that they are.

Celebrating gifts 26-49 with the gratitude community~

holy experience

7 comments:

Unknown said...

this was so beautiful to read at this late hour,
all the ups and downs of this mamma life
thank you

Bonnie said...

I do so love evening showers, but I must say in the middle of the afternoon showers feel positively extravagant.

Can you dehydrate some of the peaches?
How about peach butter/jam?
Do you have any raspberries? I made some raspberry peach jam that is wonderful.

Love your skirt, and love squirting my monkeys with the hose too, now I must away, as I have hours of canning ahead- ground beef, pizza sauce, herby green beans, peaches....

Anonymous said...

i love your words. you inspire me.

jamieguest4@hotmail.com

Unknown said...

Beautiful post...I might have to do this...thank you for sharing! :)

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed this post - and I'm curious about your tomato tragedy. Does it give you any comfort to know that we all have domestic tragedies??

My biggest one this year was when One of my children got out of the car and left the car door open and I didn't realise (Aidan and I were in the front seats of the car) and I reversed out of the garage. My fault for not checking really.........you should have heard the noise when the car door hit the side of the garage. My word, did I get a shock. As did the car door!!! Thank goodness for insurance!

Cheers, Wilma

Wendy said...

Not the dreaded tomato blight I hope!

Goings on at the Glenn's said...

This post was wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with all of us. It is great to hear the the sounds from another woman's heart and know you're not alone. Motherhood is wonderful!