Mind Doodles

Christmas Snapshots 2008

This Christmas has truly been a Sabbath of sorts for me.  I haven't done much but hang out with my family and take naps.  Here are a few of the highlights.  

I never got around to getting the Christmas cookies done.  The batter had been made and in the refrigerator.  I decided to bake them on Christmas morning while we were waiting for the girls to get up.  Courtney woke up and came in to help me decorate.

 The time Kelsey finally got up.

Remember those Christmas mittens?  I told you they would hold a lot!

 

Here's the funniest gift we got--a book from my Aunt and Uncle.  Looks like we got the wrong one!!

Okay, maybe this is the funniest gift. . .

Greg got 6 cans of black olives from our friend, Bonnie. 

He tried to eat a whole can at once!

 

                                                      

Merry Christmas from the Stoners!

Thought for the Day

Today I have been re-reading portions of one of my favorite books, Dangerous Wonder by Mike Yaconelli.  

Here's the thought that stuck with me:

"The critical issue today is dullness.  We have lost our astonishment.  The Good News is no longer good news, it is okay news.  Christianity is no longer life changing it is life enhancing.  Jesus doesn't change people into wild-eyed radicals anymore, He changes them into "nice people".

I'm ready for a Christianity that "ruins" my life, that captures my heart and makes me uncomfortable.  I want to be filled with an astonishment which is so captivating that I am considered wild and unpredictable and . . .well. . .dangerous."

Hmmmm.

Stop the insanity!

This past Sunday, Steve Daugherty, one of our teaching pastors at Crosspointe, spoke. His message, The Trouble with Jesus--Jesus Hid, has had me thinking all week. I'm not very good at hiding. I'm not very good at ceasing. I am constantly fighting the urge to let my identity be confused with my achievement. There are always these warped voices in my mind telling me that I need to be productive. Even on my day off. Even when I am suppose to be enjoying some down time. Just ask my family--I usually start the day with, "What's the plan?"

Why does there always have to be a plan? Why does there always have to be a to do list? For some reason I've been carrying this baggage around for years that tells me stay busy--if you're not busy, you're lazy.

It's interesting that I am also reading a book called Mudhouse Sabbath. I love this author. She seems to speak to me right where I am. Here's something she said that I have been thinking about today--
"When we cease interfering in the world, we are acknowledging that it is God's world". Hmmmmm

As a mom, I wonder what I have been teaching my kids about the rhythms of life? I look at their lives and I already see them repeating patterns that I have modeled. I really want them to understand that even Jesus recognized when it was time to shut down. He's a much better model than me.

Of course, I'm writing all this as I sit in my office at work, on my day off. Boy! I'm a mess.