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Silence Resolved

Silence

For more months than I would like to admit, that’s what God heard from me. Not complete silence, but compared to how I had been communicating with Him before, I’m thinking He noticed. I know I did.

In the beginning of December, I had back surgery. It was one of those things that was inevitable at some point. And, I had tried every single conservative option – at least once. So, when I was offered the date of December 8th, I figured I could hide my very fashionable back brace (a requirement until March 8 – but who’s counting?) under sweaters, I took it.

If you look back at the posts on this blog, you’ll notice that the last time I posted was on The Birthday of our Baptism. Yep. That was in October. It has been 85 days since I wrote anything. 85 days!

Granted, over the last month I have been recovering from a pretty major surgery – and, celebrating one of the best Christmases I have EVER had – but that still leaves about 55.  And even that is a big number.  I’m having a hard time getting past it…

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Is Love a Choice?

Choice

Last week, we celebrated my parents’ 49th wedding anniversary.  49 years.  That is impressive to me.  With the exception of my grandparents who were married for over 72 years, my parents have the longest marriage of anyone I have personally known.

Then, on Saturday, we attended a wedding of a couple at church.  As I watched their faces throughout the ceremony, I saw the joy and love just emanating from them.

So, I started thinking about the journey of a married couple.  Every couple pretty much starts out the same way…  They look into each other’s eyes with love and hope and excitement.  They have great visions of how their life together will play out.  And, I’ll bet that while they’re standing together, saying their vows, they are not planning on becoming “another statistic” and have their marriage end in divorce.

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Love, Love, Love

Love

After spending yesterday with my parents, celebrating their 49th wedding anniversary, I have been thinking a lot about love.  Obviously, to have a marriage that has withstood trials, hardships, and just the test of time, there is a lot of love there.

And, while I know there are other things that have contributed to the long life of their marriage, (I got some great advice from the happy couple. Be sure to check back to see what it is…), one of the most visible characteristics is love.

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Parenting Before the Storm

Parenting

Last weekend, Brad and I were asked to participate in a parenting class at church. The topic was Parenting Elementary School Children with a focus on relationships. We are definitely not experts on the matter. But, as we have one who has passed that stage, and one almost through, we certainly have experience!

When Brad and I first started talking about what we wanted to share, he immediately came up with the title, The Calm Before the Storm. I thought that was absolutely perfect. In elementary school, our kids still accepted us as the authority figures, and there really wasn’t that much backlash. Not that it’s been easy easy, but it hasn’t been as difficult as other stages have been and those I fear are coming…

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What I learned on a date with my son

Date

Sunday afternoon I went on a date with my son.  We had a great time!  I let him choose where to eat and what to do afterwards.  He almost couldn’t believe it – he was in control of pretty much everything! You could just feel his excitement!

For our date, Spencer chose a local Mexican restaurant, followed by a movie.  We had a great time just talking and hanging out – just the two of us. In fact, after the movie, he wasn’t ready to go home yet – he wanted to walk around the mall for a while!

Now, we’ve done things without Brad and Ellie before, but it has been a while.  It’s way more common for Brad and Spencer to head to Buffalo Wild-Wings for talks over the hottest wings they can handle.  Or, for Ellie and me to head to Justice or Claire’s in search of the latest toy craze. So, for it to be just Spencer and me – alone for the entire afternoon – it was awesome!

So, as I was reviewing the great time I had on Spencer’s and my date, I realized a few pretty key things.  The time we spent together really shed a lot of light as to what was in his head – and his heart.

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