Instant-Gratification Cleaning

I'd like to think I and one of my former roommates, Becky, coined this term. It refers to the kind of cleaning that gives one a deep sense of satisfaction. It provides an immediate and noticable improvement. I'm not sure why I love this kind of cleaning, other than there's an immediate payoff on my labor. (One caveat: bathrooms. I'd rather they be as clean as possible before I start cleaning. I realize that's unrealistic. Why else would I be cleaning? So what I mean is that I don't get any great sense of satisfaction in cleaning a nasty bathroom. Yuck!)

Anyway, my project for this weekend was definitely instant-gratification. My husband rented a high pressure washer from Home Depot so we could give our back deck a much-needed washing. It was LONG overdue. (So long that I kind of regret posting this picture for fear you think I live in filth.)

This project also reminded me of when my Daddy built this deck for me. He was suggesting building materials. After mentioning all the possible kinds of lumber to use he said, "or you might want to consider using an composite. It's a bit more expensive, but very low maintenance." On that note, the deal was sealed. Composite it was. And, low maintenance is has been (though it's obviously been due for a spray down for quite some time now).

As they say, the proof is in the pudding...

5am Snuggles

My son awoke at 5am this morning. I gave him ample time to doze back to sleep, but after a few minutes of fussing, I got up to check on him. I picked him up and snuggled him up. He was antsy at first, but I held him firmly. He settled back next to me and just looked up at me with his big, lovely eyes. I just looked at him and smiled. We snuggled for quite awhile before he fell asleep again. Each time I would open my eyes he would still be looking up at me, until finally he was out.

Though I enjoy my own sleep, in a bed instead of a glider, I couldn't help but think these days are limited. Soon these snuggly mornings will be a thing of the past. Soon my son will be either "too cool" or too busy for cuddling with Mommy.

So, for now, I take hold of these precious moments and cherish them, for always, in my heart.

An Honest Grade Card

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! (‭Galatians‬ ‭5‬:‭22-23‬ NLT)

I memorized this one a long time ago, enough so it rolls off the tongue. Often I don't think much about what I'm saying when I recite the list, "love, joy, peace, patience..."

I've been thinking a lot about the fruit of the Spirit this week. I've been examining my own life and how I feel like I do in each of these areas. I've heard sermons/studies before about why it's the fruit (singular) of the Spirit versus the fruits (plural) of the Spirit. But, I can't reason that out in my mind tonight. I think it has something to do with the fact that we're not blessed with one or two fruits and lacking in others. Every believer has the FRUIT of the Spirit. We should have ALL of these qualities, in increasing quantities. (I'm going to pretend that's what it means. If I find out differently, I'll post on that another day.)

So, here's the grade card I give myself:

Love: C

I suppose it's easy to love those who love me. I'm not sure I excel at loving those who don't love me... or those who are very different than me.

Joy: B

I've made some improvements in this area. I remember a handful of years ago praying to be more joyful. Writing this is the first time I realized that God answered that prayer!

Peace: A

Over the years I've come to rest in that peace that "transcends all understanding" (Phil 4:6-7). I recognize worry as a sort of sin in my own life - a realization that I either don't trust God or don't believe he has good intentions toward me. I would never say those things with my mouth, so why should I live my life like I believe them?

Patience: A-

Eh. Always room to grow.  : )  I just asked my husband, and he said I get an "A."

Kindness: A

Is "kindness" the same as being "nice"? I was always the "nice" girl growing up. (Isn't that a sort of derogatory term these days?) Anyway, as I type this, I'm being reminded of the snide thoughts I was thinking about the women on the elevator with me today. 1) Why must people on the 2nd and 3rd floors take the elevator? There's nothing worse than having to stop on the 2nd floor so that someone can get on and ride down ONE floor. Stairs, people. Ever heard of them?

Then, they were walking slowly in front of me when they got off the elevator. Maybe they didn't see me, but why can't people be more self-aware. (I think the lack of self-awareness in people is a pet peeve of mine.)

So now I'm thinking I need to go back and address my grade on "kindness" AND "patience."  : )

Goodness: B

But, as Paul would say, there is no one who is good. The good I want to do, I do not do... In other words, only Christ in me is good.

Faithfulness: C

"Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love."  : (

Gentleness: C

It's difficult to carrry a work title of "Controller" and not be a little bit, um, gruff. In fact, I made a comment to my Assistant Controller today that "if someone needs help but can't make time to accept our help, that's on them." She said something like, "I wish you could teach me..." I finished her sentence, "to not care?" I told her that wasn't somethng to aspire to. I need her and others to balance me out, remind me to "care" even when I'm tempted to be done caring. Anyway, it reminded me that I still have some things to work on here.

Self-Control: C

This totally depends on the area of life. In some ways I'm incredibly disciplined. But, I've been highly frustrated lately at my lack of self-control when it comes to living healthy (eating right, exercising, etc.) and being productive in my evenings/weekends.

So, I scored lower than I expected going in. In summary: I have a lot of work to do.

Scratch that. The Holy Spirit still has a lot to do. I just need to be yielded to His work in my life.

Paul's Letter to the Galatians

I just finished re-reading Galatians. We talked a bit about the fruit of the Spirit in our connect group last weekend, so I thought I'd spend some more time there.

This passage stuck out to me in this reading:

22 The Scriptures say that Abraham had two sons, one from his slave wife and one from his freeborn wife. 23 The son of the slave wife was born in a human attempt to bring about the fulfillment of God’s promise. But the son of the freeborn wife was born as God’s own fulfillment of his promise. (‭Galatians‬ ‭4‬:‭22-23‬ NLT)

It just seems so much like my own life. How many times have I tried to "bring about the fulfillment of God's promises" in my own life? How many times have I rushed ahead or wasted my own human strength on trying to accomplish something when God calls me to simply trust in Him. Trust in His timing. Rest in His Presence. Leave the hard work to Him.

Sounds so much easier, doesn't it?

"I Love You"

That's what I'm going to pretend my toddler said to me this morning, though his garbled, three-syllable babble was mostly unintelligible.

Note the Number of Times I've Posted Since Becoming a Parent...

...well, and getting married, for that matter. I was just telling my husband this morning after church that I have no idea when I'm supposed to think, pray and reflect. I've done unfortunately little of any of those recently.

I don't know why I'm mentioning that now, as it's way past my bedtime. So, now's not the time. I think I tell you this, though, in the hopes that I'll do more of all that very soon. I must. I really must.