perspective of a child

Last night my sister relayed the latest Larson Lessons. My sister & brother-in-law have two incredible kids (Mikey, age 5, & Isaiah, age 3).

Recently Mikey & Isaiah were sent to their room as punishment. Mike (my brother-in-law) didn't tell them they were going to get spanked, but they must have been preparing for the worst. Haidee (my sister) overheard Mikey comforting Isaiah.

"It's ok, Isaiah. Even if Daddy spanks us, he always hugs us when he's done."

Hearing that beautiful, innocent perspective of a father's love in the midst of discipline caused me to contemplate my reaction to my Heavenly Father's discipline. All too often I focus on the "spanks" and don't even receive the "hugs" that always come. AH! It's so refreshing to learn life lessons from my precious loves!

care to hear my heart?

it's been almost a year since i saw one of my sweet friends. her smile was contagious, her laughter at times a bit excessive, and i sometimes wondered if her loving acceptance was genuine. i always felt loved by her with all her heart when she would greet me with one of her tighter-than-life hugs. our next embrace will be in our heavenly home. i don't understand her death. i question what she went thru to get her to the point of death. was it intentional? was it accidental? did she fully understand the heart of our God that beat with endless love just for her?

she lived the life of a servant. my memories of her are only of her selfless serving. sitting on a floor for hours while cutting & glueing pictures to a posterboard for a missions' fair at church (laughing the whole way through). dressing up in outrageous clothes to emcee a mother/daughter conference. going out of her way to love on each girl at a youth retreat and to make sure no one felt left out.

i wish our talks had gone below the surface. i wish my insecurities would not have kept me from fully engaging in a friendship with her. i wish i could have one more conversation with her to share my heart and hear from hers.

. date with michael .

ah! my day started out perfectly & has only improved with each passing moment. i baked muffins, cut up fruit, made juice & coffee, and chatted it up with amy as she set out jewelry for my friends & i to play in. (i was having a premier designs jewelry party). soon, my living room was full of friends & fashion.
after a quite successful jewelry party, i settled in for some schoolwork. as i was studying spanish vocab & talking with my newly engaged roommate about her upcoming wedding (i love love!) i received an unexpected text...
"do you like michael buble?"
as our texting continued i was invited to attend michael buble's concert in wichita in october and spend the rest of the weekend with one of my favorite arkansas people!

needless to say i am quite overjoyed and giddy with anticipation. *eek*

. unexpected visitor .

my 8 year old neighbor came over - as he often does - for his daily dose of loving attention. i'm ashamed to admit that it's become more common for me to turn him away than to invite him in with loving arms. tonight my home was filled with his contagious laughter as he humiliated me in the card game, war, to which i quickly retaliated with a brutal victory in slap jack. we ate graham crackers, spoke in english, scottish, & irish accents, laughed a lot, and even yelled a few times over who the TRUE winner was.

it was in those moments that i felt truly alive and fully engaged. my dear friend, Donna, recently said, "don't get so focused on your purpose of life that you don't live your life." tonight, i felt what she meant, and it felt FABULOUS!

Life, when fully lived, is truly glorious