Re: Ta-tas and such

WARNING TO MALE READERS:  This post contains much estrogen-saturated material and may not be suitable for the male Psyche.  At the very least, a male reader may experience the WTMI (way too much information) effect after only a few lines.  Hey, I warned you.

A blog is for my thoughts and feelings, right?  And hey, this is my blog, so I’m going to blog about some personal stuff because it’s been on my mind so much the last few days.

It’s amazing how our self-image can be so tied up with our bodies.  I was born a “big-boned” girl and at the ripe old age of 9 months had rolls on my thighs that could cut off my parents’ finger circulation as they tried to change my diapers.  Puberty gave the thighs a come-back and I’ve been less than thrilled about the lower half of my body every since.  My sister and I used to joke that it would sure be nice if you could suck in your thighs like you suck in your belly.

I’ve heard there are two basic body shapes:  apples and pears.  I don’t know who came up with the fruit idea but it kind of makes sense if you look around you.  Apples have thin little legs, but tend to gain weight on top, either having round bellies or big chests.  Pears, like me, tend to be smaller on top but gain weight/hold weight in the lower half of the body more.  Invariably when I exercised more and watched what I ate more, my chest was the first to go.  Of all places I was NOT heavily endowed that was it, so the injustice stung all the more.   AND after breastfeeding all three of my girls, which I am so glad I did, what little I had became like deflated balloons or little empty tube socks.  I’m just sayin’.   Continue reading

mishmash

This morning I have so many thoughts, lessons, convictions swirling around in my mind I felt a little overwhelmed as I drove into work.  I talked with God about it but thought it would also help me to put some of them in writing.

I laid out a beautiful sermonette to John last night about how we need to trust the girls and God during these teen years when we can’t really control what happens and we oftentimes have to just sit, watch and pray.  Then today I woke feeling anxious.  God rewound the tape from my “message” last night and played it back right in front of me – the nerve!  Living by my own words is tough today.

If I really trusted Him completely I wouldn’t worry.  So, I’m practicing faith and trust, leaning on Him even though I still feel uncertain.  Sometimes letting go hasn’t been that hard but there are days…

What if my daughters choose ways and lifestyles other than what I hope for them?  Continue reading

The bed bug’s noble purpose

I’m not sure if the purpose of bed bugs is the same for everyone but God has taught me something through this process of trying to escort these persistent pests out of our house for good.

They are so stealthy and seem to come from nowhere.  Just when we think we’ve killed the last one, steamed every inch of the walls, corners and mattresses, we’ll see one on the wall or way up high, hiding in a paint crack in the edge where the wall meets the ceiling.

It’s become a morning routine for me to wake up, wipe the sleepies out of my eyes, then stand up and survey the ceiling edges all the way around the room.  Any bug spotted will be crushed with a Kleenex.  Then we steam that part of the wall in case there are any of the practically invisible eggs nearby.

For several days we saw none but now we see one or two a day, either in our room or our daughters’ room where they were the worst.

We’ve super-cleaned, we’ve sprayed “Kilz” over the stained areas so that new activity will be easily seen, we’ve vacuumed like crazy, washed our bedsheets over and over…all in an attempt to rid ourselves of this problem once and for all.  We’re so persistent because if we aren’t they will multiply and the problem will be worse and a big pain all over again.

search-heartOne night as I was steaming and scouring my girls’ room for the little boogers, God spoke to my heart and said I should be as diligent about making sure I’ve gotten rid of all the sin lurking in the edges and cracks of my heart.  I have to let God daily survey my heart, crush any sinful “pest” He finds there, and cleanse me again.  I have to search my heart all the time to make sure some bitter attitude isn’t growing in the corner or some small temptation I’ve let remain isn’t crouching in a shadow waiting for an unsuspecting moment to trip me up.

Thank God that His Holy Spirit can see every part of me, into even the tiniest crevice, and that He can wash away EVERY last smudge of sin and make me truly clean.  Thank God that He’s willing to do that time and time again and not give up on me, because I won’t be rid of the pest of sinfulness completely until I go to be with Him in heaven.  What a joy that will be!

I even thank God for the bed bugs, if only for the lesson He’s teaching me, and the reminder they will be each time I see them, to be ruthless about ridding my heart of sin.

“How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart?
Cleanse me from these hidden faults.”     Psalm 19:12

novacaine

I have these periods of times, sometimes only lasting a day sometimes a week or more, when I just feel “blah.”  I don’t really feel bad, just not much of anything and I really don’t like it.  I find myself not caring about things I think I should care about…it’s hard to explain.  I almost get the feeling that all of the stuff we expend our energy on around here in this life is futile – so what’s the point?   I think of myself as a caring, loving person so when these thoughts cover my mind, like an emotional novacaine, it really bothers me.  I pray and ask God to blow away the fog that’s settled on my heart, to bring back some emotion, some overwhelming sense of awe or love, some tears for someone who’s hurting or sick, some compassion for people I see that are down and out.  Instead I feel apathy.

I’ve heard that people with leprosy lose the feeling in their limbs, their nerve endings ceasing to perform their vital function of proclaiming sensation to the brain.  One might wish for a life without pain, but to not feel pain is to not really exist.  A leper might not have pain and so may not know if they place their hand on a hot stove and that their skin is being burned.  They may get cut and not realize they’re bleeding or get infected because they don’t know there’s an injury.  Pain seems to be an indicator of life, of things functioning the way they’re supposed to.  No pain truly is no gain!   Continue reading

On being dirty and knowing it

As part of my morning routine, I’m reading a devotional book in which there is an excerpt from one of C.S. Lewis’ books for each day.  They’re short and they’re all from books he wrote about faith…very interesting.  Sometimes they’re pretty deep for 6 in the morning, but most of the time they open my eyes to new ways of understanding this Christian journey I’m on.

Today’s was about how we view ourselves as good, bad or otherwise.  A person who has begun to be cleansed/changed by God begins to see more and more how bad they really are/were.  But a person who hasn’t begun that process has no frame of reference for good or bad and thinks they’re pretty good.  It’s a little confusing but I thought of this illustration:  there have been times when I’ve cleaned a spot on the carpet where someone spilled something or one of the animals didn’t quite make it outside and afterward the spot I cleaned is noticeably brighter and cleaner than the rest of the surrounding carpet.  It’s only then that I realize how dirty the whole carpet must be!  Yikes.

spotlightOr think of yourself wearing black clothes in a moderately dark room.  You could be covered in lint and “fuzzies” but none really show because of your dim surroundings.  Walk into a bright spotlight, like the ones they use in a play, and suddenly every little speck, hair or particle is visible to everyone.  Flaws and smudges you didn’t even realize were there are suddenly glaringly obvious.

As we grow closer to and more like Jesus, allowing God to prune away more and more of our old sinful selves, we realize what sad shape we were in and would still be in if it weren’t for his love and grace!   The more he washes us the more we realize we need to be washed.  Does that make sense? Continue reading