What?!?!?!?!?

Following my turn as first-responder to a head-on collision between Charlie's truck and the adirondacks, during which he informed me that race cars "just wreck sometimes", I relaxed on the porch with my Kindle. 

Momentarily,  Charlie parked his truck in the garage and sauntered up to me...

Charlie:  Mama, I didn't die!
Mommy:  What?!?!?!?!?!  Well, thankfully, no you didn't.
Charlie: I didn't die!  Since I only drove for a little while.
Mommy:  Oh...your truck didn't die.  You're right, Buddy.  It didn't.
Charlie: Nope, because I didn't drive it for a long time.

...and he proceeded to check himself out in the glass reflection, admiring his NASCAR shirt...  Oh my...

Omnipotent?

I imagine I'm not the only Christian who has read verses like Philippians 4:13 or Mark 7:7 and taken them to mean that if I believe in Jesus I can have anything I want -- though I might be the only one who has read Matthew 18:19 and woken her husband up at dawn telling him that she found the key and if he'll pray with her right then, God will give them a baby (circa 2006...).

 

The thing is, that is clearly what some of the those verses seem to say, right?  "Ask, and it shall be given to you...";  "I can do all things through Christ..." 

 

So, why don't I get whatever I want?  I know that God is sovereign and has control over absolutely everything that happens in this world -- so since I believe this and have put my hope for eternity in the life, death and resurrection of His Son, why do I still have some unanswered prayers?

 

Again, I imagine that I'm not the only one who has wondered this or struggled with the newsflash that (gasp!), it's not all about me!  God's plan is perfect and as Romans 8:28 says, "all things work together for good", but could it be that what I want isn't what's best???  That maybe my desires are short-sighted, blind to bigger truths and (perish the thought) selfish???

 

Throughout this summer Corrisa's and my Monday night Bible Study has focused on individual verses that Christians commonly lean on for comfort, but often misunderstand because they are taken out of context of either the passage or the entire Bible. 

 

In an effort to clear up the apparent disconnect between the fact that I do have faith in God, but still don't get my way all the time, this week we dug into Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me" and the notes are below (just in case there happens to be anyone else out there who has it all figured out and just can't understand why God doesn't agree...)

 

Does faith in God mean I can do anything I want? have my heart's desire?

  "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me" Philippians 4:13

• What are "all things"?
• Context: Paul is writing to Philippian believers from Roman prison
• 4:1-23 is the conclusion of the letter
• Focuses on specific instruction for some church members in disagreement (4:1-3)
• Encourages Philippians to rejoice and not worry (4:4-7)
• Reminds Philippians of the importance of focusing on "good" things, not the world (4:8-9)
• Thanks Philippians for supporting Paul financially/practically (4:10-20)
• Concludes letter (4:21-23)
• 4:10-20: Philippians have been concerned with Paul's well-being (4:10) and provided for him financially (4:17)
• Paul is grateful for their support (4:10)
• Paul is confident in God's provision with or without their support (4:11-12)
• Paul knows that he can handle any level of wealth or lack thereof with God's help (4:13)
• 4:13 - Paul refers to his ability to handle any circumstances in which God places him, not to his ability to do anything Paul, himself, wishes with God's help
• Does this mean believers are not capable of doing "all things" with God's help?
• Matthew 7:20 - Disciples failed to exorcise demons because of their lack of faith -- Jesus says they could move mountains with just a little
• Mark 11:23-24 - Jesus speaks and a fig tree whithers following triumphal entry
• So do "strong/faithful" believers get anything they ask for from God?
• Luke 17:6 - maybe?
• Mark 9:23 - yes?
• John 11:40 - the focus/purpose/goal of truly faithful believers is the glory of God
• How does this purpose impact what believers ask for in prayer? (Matthew 6:10; 7:7,11)
• What satisfies a "faithful" believer? (Jeremiah 31:14)
• Conclusion: Believers can absolutely "do all things" through [Christ] who strengthens them" but God's faithful are satisfied with His goodness/His will/His commands and their desire is to see His glory, not their own; so God enables them to do all "good" things which are the things that will result in His glory as part of His perfect plan.

Surprise!

Despite an accidental post (that lasted less than 10 seconds) of my previous blog, Richard & Debbie were surprised Friday night!  The party was a wonderful celebration of 40 years of love and commitment, and the weekend was whirlwind of family fun. 

For the first time in 6 years we didn't let anyone other than Jason's family know we were coming to town, choosing to focus our limited time on the party and a bit of relaxation (a huge change of pace for Jason).  It was definitely the right choice -- but it still felt odd not seeing Uncle Jim, Aunt Jan, Matt & Emily, the Daniels, the Allens...etc, etc...

Nevertheless, I wouldn't change a thing.  Rather than exhausted with heads spinning, we boarded our flights to Charleston relaxed, but still ready to see the dogs.

A few highlights of the quick trip...

Necessities

One of Charlie's and my Activities of the Day today was packing for our whirlwind weekend trip to Kansas City for BaBa and PaPa's surprise 40th Anniversary party (and no worries... I won't be posting until after the party).

Anyway, I had thought I'd done a fairly thorough packing job: shorts, t-shirts, socks, underwear, swimsuits, jammies, toiletries, snacks...  But either I was downright negligent or Charlie knew an excellent pre-nap delay tactic when he saw one.  He added a few things to our suitcase:

• Crabby Towel
• Little Bella (stuffed version of Grandma & Grandpa's precious pug)
• 2 "Party" Monkeys (better known as Sock Monkeys)
• His "old" Bible and his "new" Bible
• Green blankie, 2 "blank" blankies and a boat blankie
• A Pocket for Corduroy
• A is for Ark

I am going to leave it up to Jason and Charlie to determine whether Charlie's reading and cuddling needs take precedence over Daddy's desire not to run around naked for 3 days...but one thing is certain, we will not be checking a second suitcase!



Fashion Sense?

I'm not sure if this is a sign of unique creativity or abject boredom, but apparently the layered look is back in style...at least according to one three year old we know...

Say it isn't so...

I will be the first to admit that I'm not always completely rational...  Once in a while I get worked up about something inconsequential or fail to recognize the importance of some other event or risk, etc...  What can I say?  It happens.

So it may not come as much of a surprise to those who know me best (Jason, Mom...) that one of my biggest concerns after losing my job was that I would have to start cleaning my own house again!

Lest you think I am a complete princess, I did grow up doing various chores including mowing the yard (until the blessed day we found out I'm allergic to all kinds of grass) and cleaning my portion of the upstairs, and I even worked at the carwash (albeit briefly...babysitting was more my cup of tea), and until June 29 of this year, I had not been without a job since I turned sixteen. 

I just don't like to clean.  When I lived in a 490 square foot apartment by myself it was at least quick, then for a while right after we got married it was like playing house, then after we moved South  I didn't mind it at first because I just adored our home, and before long Jason started to pitch in when I pointed out that unlike yardwork and other "boy chores" it's a mandatory, regular, year-round drudgery.

Then in May 2011 the heavens parted and the angels started to sing:  for my third Mother's Day Jason gave me the best gift a man could ever give a woman -- even better than the Wine of the Month Club or the Brita Water Pitcher!!!  He gave me Leslie.

The original intent was for Leslie to just come for a surprise deep clean, but I oohed and aaahed and thanked and begged and made all sorts of ridiculous promises (even going so far as to offer my ironing skills) that we got to keep her!  And for 13 beautiful months Leslie and Herman showed up every two weeks and transformed our home.  It was heaven on earth...

Then I lost my job, and the dream was over. 

Now, being the best cleaning team in history, Leslie and Herman actually gave me one extra cleaning about 2 1/2 weeks ago, so I was able to stretch the glory just a bit longer.  Then this weekend I realized we had family from Canada coming over for dinner, and the dust was thick enough to write in, so I scurried around Sunday afternoon and made the first floor presentable.

But today was the big day.  Today was the day that I dragged out the cleaning supplies, enlisted my three-year-old side-kick and tackled some serious cleaning.  We dusted, we mopped, we vacuumed (even behind the washer and dryer for some unknown reason), we scrubbed,  and you know what?  It wasn't so bad.

To be fair, I do think I might have gotten the job done a bit more quickly without Charlie's help, but he was having a ball and entertaining me at the same time.  Who knew a vacuum was so exciting?

And now that we're almost 2 hours into today's nap (following a 3 hour nap yesterday!), I think we just might have a chance of surviving this "at home" thing after all.  (But trust me, Leslie is still on my speed dial should I ever find gainful employment!)

Olympic Moment

Charlie: Can we watch girls do bar tricks?
Daddy: Sure.  Come sit down.

Charlie squirms around a bit until the opening montage of the Fab 5 starts...

Charlie: Wow.  Those are pretty girls.
Daddy: Do you watch the tricks for the pretty girls or for the tricks?
Charlie:  For the tricks...and the pretty girls.

Bliss

There is only one thing in the world that could make Charlie's and my days at home seem stressful: five days of nothing but swimming, laughing, watching the Olympics, visiting random animals and eating my mom's cooking!

Despite a wacky stomach bug that waylaid pretty much everyone at one point or another (poor Charlie on the plane!), we had an absolutely fabulous time in Texas.  Mom and Dad not only spoiled us with home cooked meals and extremely lowkey adventures, they even banished Jason and I from the house Saturday night without Charlie -- for a yummy dinner with a fabulous view, lots of laughter and a mountain ride in a convertible.  It truly doesn't get any better!

Aunt Angie and Uncle Bill were able to adjust their work schedules a bit and spend lots of time swimming and eating with us all -- not to mention visiting the El Paso zoo and whizzing around the go kart track at Bobo's. 

I think Charlie summed up how we all felt as we boarded our second plane yesterday, "I want to go back to Texas!!"  Of course, Jason and I were able to refrain from shouting it...

Thankfully, Mom and Dad's next trip to SC is already on the calendar and we should be spending an equally relaxing week at Edisto for Thanksgiving...I should probably start cooking now!