Category Archives: Jesus Christ

Boys, Jesus Christ, Parenting, psychology

Be Sad

4 Comments

I am “hollow in the pit of my stomach” sad.

I had a picture of how my life would unfold, where I would live and specifically in which town. My husband, Sexy Neck, has been working 60 kilometres down the lake since July.

We are moving so that we can have more time playing/eating/wrestling together as a family, instead of Sexy Neck spending two hours per day in his “steel box on wheels” with just the ability to talk with us on the phone.

BUT I AM SAD!  Right now my “work”, with the help of a very wise, God-loving woman, is learning to acknowledge what I am feeling and what my children are feeling.  I didn’t realize that my body lets me know how I am feeling even before my mind tells me.  This is a profound thought for me, as I am very in tune to my body due to many years of competitive sport.

My sadness comes in the form of a hollow stomach, my anger comes in sweaty hands/ battering heart and my fear come in tension in my shoulders and down my arms.   What does your body do/tell you?

My children love this new habit of me acknowledging their feelings, getting down to their physical level, naming their feeling (anger, frustration, happy, sad, excited) and giving them a hug/kiss.  This simple acknowledgement seems to diffuse almost every situation that occurs in our home.

So here is the house with the for sale sign:

Image

Not many people knew that we were going to sell our house.  We had an offer even before we put it on the market. Glory to God alone! The realtor had told us that it would take between six and twelve months.  God is helping us move forward, but I am not quite ready.

I am still sad.  I wish that as people found out about us selling that they could acknowledge my sadness.  The normal response is pointing out all the great things, activities, schools, people, areas about the new city that we are going to.

What is wrong with being a little sad?  Please let me grieve so that I don’t have to see a counsellor about this issue in ten years.

Today I will be with my feelings… tomorrow I will probably be jumping off the walls with excited.  I will keep you posted!

Boys, Jesus Christ, Parenting

Be Up All Night (Almost)

1 Comment

I am at a loss for words as I sit and write this.  I will let me emails to Sexy Neck (my husband) take you through last night.  He was away on work, but my emails to him helped me stay in the moment.  I have never had a night like this with my boys. Enjoy the ride.  Off to nap.

Strap yourselves in, here we go:

 

Tues, Feb 19 at 11:18pm

Subject: I am managing

CC is now throwing up.  He is all cleaned up, laundry is on and I am heading back to bed.  Please pray for us.  I am okay.  It is truly amazing that God never gives us more than we can handle.  Rest well. We are okay. 
Tues, Feb 19 at 11:48pmSubject: Vomit #2

CC again – poor guy.  But he is resting now.  I hope everything is out.  All is clean again.  We are sleeping with windows open tonight. 

Tacos are now off the menu for awhile as well as Salmon.  You are going to have to start cooking as that is 2 meals off my rotation!

 

 

Wed, Feb 20 at 12:16am

Subject: The Troops are…

Restless tonight!  Baby OC has made a few noises tonight.  He also had the worst poo I have EVER changed today – it was all the way up his back!  Wow! 

JC seems to be okay, but we should know more by the weekend. 

I pray you are having one of the best sleeps every and that you wake up feeling rested.  You have alot going on.  I appreciate that. 

One day/one moment/one person/one problem at a time.

 

 

Wed, Feb 20 at 12:57am

Subject: Vomit #3

You would be so proud of me!  If I don’t get sick, it is a miracle.  CC is resting again. Another load of laundry in.  I am going to try and rest.  *Note I NEVER clean up vomit when Sexy Neck is home, that is a blue job in our house!

 

 

Wed, Feb 20 at 1:46am

Subject: Vomit #4

This time you would have been proud of CC he got everything in the bowl!

We are hanging in there.  CC is so sweet even when he is sick! 

Love you.  Rest up.  Stay healthy!

 

 

Wed, Feb 20 at 2:20am

Subject: Baby OC now up…

Just woke up in pain.  Gave him Tylenol.  Just sitting with him and waiting for him to ho back to sleep.

 

 

Wed, Feb 20 at 2:35am

Subject: Please

Hopefully the boys sleep in.., finally hitting the hay!

 

 

Wed, Feb 20 at 2:48am

Subject: Baby OC is awake again!!!!

Dude!

Ok now I am going to try and sleep.  Don’t ask me any skill testing questions tomorrow(later today I mean).

 

 

Wed, Feb 20 at 3:01am

Subject: CC again

Another vomit session right after I pressed send on the last email.  Baby OC is awake and yelling “cookie” over and over – this is comical.  Seriously.

I hope you can laugh about all this!  What a night! What a week!  What a month!

 

 

Wed, Feb 20 at 3:14am

Subject: It is a Party

Every boy is now awake.  JC now vomiting

 

 

Wed, Feb 20 at 3:21am

Subject: Power Puke

There is now puke all over the toilet, walls, floor.  Thank God JC got up to pee first.

Breastfeeding Baby OC now and trying to get him calmed.  Waiting for the next round…..

Try not to worry about us.  I will rest with the boys today.  I have a feeling that everyone will be sleeping in.

I will phone you when we wake up.

——————————————————————————————-

–Sexy Neck has been woken up by all my pings on his email! Here is his first response, of many, but the only one I will post. 

Wed, Feb 20 at 3:21am

Subject: Come home?

 Do you want me to come home?

——————————————————————————————–

My final responses:

No,but if you could come home on the early side tomorrow that would be fabulous!!

It is comforting knowing you are awake too!

Wed, Feb 20 at 3:26am
Subject: Just trying
To get OC to sleep – he is a sensitive soul… Then off to clean the taco dinner off the wall.  I hope it doesn’t stain!  I am only as strong as I allow god to help me.  Gotta run – here jackakung noises and must get OC back into crib!
Wed, Feb 20 at 3:39am
Subject: re: Come home? 
CC again!  Poor child.  If this hits us we will be out for a month.  Please pray for strength for our bodies.
Wed, Feb 20 at 3:52am
Subject: Signing off
Both boys still awake in our bed.  Towels all around – only one more left so hopefully the next round makes it into the bowls. Rest well.  I am signing out. Joanna
Boys, Jesus Christ, Parenting

Be Enough My Son

Leave a comment

Image

A crib with blocks under one end, how curious!

A crib with blocks under one end, how incredible!  Absolutely, amazing.  Lie on the floor, cry your eyes out marvelous.  This crib has shown me the mind blowing influence that we have over our children.  They are truly watching everything we do!

Two nights ago, our little baby boy didn’t want to eat his dinner.  As you know in previous posts, he is a voracious eater.   After dinner, he was sitting on daddy’s lap (thank you Jesus!) and proceeded to vomit across the table, down onto daddy lap and all over his favourite fire truck book.  (Sorry OC, we threw it out.)

While we were cleaning up the mess, our oldest child immediately ran out of the dining room, into his bedroom then back out again.  I didn’t think anything of it.

UNTIL, I walked into the boys room to get a change of clothes for our little vomit-er and what did I see, but a crib with blocks under one end!

Before Christmas, Baby OC had a cough so we had raised up the end of the crib using the boys blocks.

TWO MONTHS LATER, our son immediately responded to his brother’s sickness by again raising up the end of his crib with blocks.  ALL BY HIMSELF!

Baby OC is 100% again, but we have left the blocks.  Thanks to my five year old son, for showing me how to BE ENOUGH in every moment!  You are a sweet, thoughtful soul!

Image

Book, Christianity, Jesus Christ, psychology, Self-help

Be Into James

Video 3 Comments

I had to share with you a new DVD bible study that I am doing on Jesus’ half brother, James. WOWEEE…

A few thoughts from my two week study so far:

Quote from Martin Luther that he wanted to throw “Jimmy” in the stove.

“There are no easy answers to difficult things. It’s not neat and tidy. We cannot simplify the infinite. We can’t catch the Holy Spirit with a potato sack.”

James may have been the first book of the New Testament.

Chairein, Beth Moore. (Which is the Greek work for James’ salutation in James 1:1. Chairein means “JOY to YOU!”.

Chairein Everyone.

P.S. If you have never heard Beth Moore speak before, strap yourself in!

Goals, Jesus Christ, Parenting, Uncategorized

Be Enough 2012

Leave a comment

“Enough” according to Webster’s:

“occurring in such quantity, quality, or scope as to fully meet demands, needs, or expectations”.

I was enough this year, for my family, for my friends, for my community.  There were some bumps in the road and some bumps that continue to move me to new places, but I was enough.

I learned not to be so judgmental, sometimes things just are.  They are neither good nor bad, but they just are.   I learned that I don’t have to be EVERYTHING to EVERYONE in my life.   I can just be enough!  I learned that sometimes my expectations hold me back.  I learned to let go and let God.   He can move mountains.  He is alive.

My children are happy and healthy, my house is still standing (and somewhat clean), my husband and I are best friends/in love and I counted one thousand gifts this year. (Thank you Ann Voskamp)

Thank you Jesus.

Christianity, Jesus Christ

Be on a Rock

Leave a comment

My life currently feels like I have been living in a shaker of sand and it has all been turned upside down.

Emotionally things are tenuous as I have always been prone to exaggeration and extreme emotions, just ask Sexy Neck. The greatest thing about your Expectations being spilled out all over the earth you get to see what and who matters in life.

I am blessed with a few supportive and minimally judgmental parents and friends.

I am also blessed with good books to spur me on. The first and foremost for me is the bible, checkout Matthew 6:34 “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Did you notice that word ‘enough’?

The other two books that are encouraging me right now are “Daring Greatly” and a book by John Bevere. You will have go google the title because I think it is a horrible title and doesn’t justify this great book about offense.

Here is what a read today from page 82.

“God showed my wife, Lisa, five purposes for shaking an object:
1. To bring it closer to it’s foundation.
2. To remove what is dead.
3. To harvest what is ripe.
4. To awaken.
5. To unify or mix together so it can no longer be separated.”

I found these 5 purposes oddly encouraging as I thought about my life and watched my sons playing on the rocks.

(Picture to come!)

Lord, my life feels like I am crawling along the rocks, but I know that You are my rock.

rockcrawling

Jesus Christ, psychology

Be a Tree Hugger

1 Comment

Every single place I have lived and loved has had fabulous trees! There is something about old gnarled trees with leaves floating along their branches. The beauty of how trees shelter us in the summer and then lose their leaves so that we can get more sun in the winter.

As humans, we try to make things “straight”. Our homes have 90 degree walls, our mattresses, coffee tables, shelves and chair have them too! We like things smooth and straight.

I often do this with my situations and relationships, I like them to go in a particular way, I don’t enjoy any rough edges. Sometimes, I feel very uncomfortable.

But, God created the things of this earth crooked, bend, gnarled and beautiful. I need to strive to be more like our trees in our backyard – knowing I am God’s creation, perhaps “imperfect” in the world’s eyes, but beautiful! I need to trust Him more.

Jesus Christ, Parenting

Be a Wrestler

Leave a comment

When you have 3 boys aged 5, 3 and 1, you need to come up with creative strategies to deal with the physical “combative” behavior that sometimes often comes out. My boys love to climb, build, run, bike, ski… they love to move!

We have recently moved into a stage when our one year old, OC, can get into everything. The big boys do their best to “move” him to safer areas, but sometimes it turns into a wrestling match. Let me rewrite that sentence: The big boys see their younger brother moving into their space and they try to wrestle/tackle him.

Last Sunday night, Sexy Neck and I decided that we needed to institute a formal wrestling time. Here is how it works:

Every night after dinner, each of the big boys gets to wrestle with daddy on the carpeted hardwood floor. Each person can wrestle for 2 minutes for 2 rounds. The person not wrestling must wait on the “bench” (bed). They can no longer wrestle each other or their baby brother during the day – whew! I LOVE THIS!

Two nights later I was at bible study, and my favourite DVD bible teacher, Beth Moore, talked about wrestling (isn’t God wild!). My understanding of what she said is the wrestling that Jacob did in the book of Genesis (check it out in the bible) involved a physical intimacy between Jacob and the angel. Jacob was getting the Holy Spirit all over him! I felt that God was giving us confirmation that we are on track with our evening wrestling time with the boys!

Everyone loves it! Look at that smile!