Jesus Fell Off the Golf Cart

You gotta remember she's two. Okay 2 1/2.

My Sophie. She crack'eths us up'eth.

For several months now, her bedtime routine is to read one book and then turn off the light and have us tell her a story. Except there's always rules. She provides the characters, the setting, and the plot. For example,

"Momma...I want Sophie, Beezus & Ramona, riding in a golf cart." So here I go, making up a 3 minute story that for some odd reason, keeps her attention.

Well, lately, the story has changed.

"Momma....I want Jesus falling off the golf cart." ....was the proposed story the other night. Tonight it was Jesus changing his diaper. Gotta love Sunday School. They give the little baby birds fodder for their minds, right?

So, I asked her the question. "Sophie, who do you think Jesus is?"

"A man," she replied.

Ok....dig deeper, Flo.

"What else do you know about him?"

"He touched an ear."

Oookkkkayyy. Got it. I smiled and said, "Yes, Jesus did touch a man's ear and heal it. Did you learn that in church?" She nodded. Gotta love that Sophie girl.....

Rearranging the 'Ol Space

Like a true mother, I'm probably the only one who noticed that I spent several hours rearranging my space at Winnie & Tulula's this weekend. It needed it........

Stepping back, I like what I see, but I'm also ready to get the fall colors in there. Some pumpkins, some brown, some branches.......and maybe some colder weather to boot!

And....She's....Done!

This one was so easy, I almost feel guilty. Kind of like putting make-up on Cindy Crawford. I mean, really....does she need it?? Just a few touches of Duck Egg Blue and Old White, some distress, some wax, and some knobs and this baby is ready for the red carpet!

If only child rearing were this easy!.......Speaking of child rearing, I must be gettin' gone......

Generosity!

A friend of mine recently said, "Hey...I've got this piece of furniture that you can refurbish and donate the profits...want it?" Does a duck love water? YES!

I had no idea it was such a beauty! When my hubs rolled it in, I got that heart palipitation thing.....the kind only us dorky refurbishers get. It basically means, this one is gonna be fun....

She'll be a beauty.......no doubt. Can't wait to begin!

$2 a Day

We were set loose for an hour at M2, a children's remand center in Uganda, to socialize with a group of mostly teenage boys. This prison was similar to our Juvenile Hall system in the US, except the children had no representation. No one to speak for them. Many had committed crimes. Many had not. Most didn't have family that wanted them.

This group was a little different. They were street kids. Wise to the ways of the world. They knew what their future held if they did somehow gain freedom.....more street life, poverty, and scraping by. At M3, the kids were still so young....just needing a warm bed and someone to love them. At M1, it was hard to tell. They all seemed innocent, glad to have a bowl of beans to eat each day. Here at M2, I had to remind myself that yes - some of these guys were criminals.

Enter these two above. I scribbled their names down, but lost the little scrap of paper in my travels home. They knew enough English to talk. I knew enough to listen and be wary of stories.....but they didn't sound like stories. I felt they were telling the truth.

One said he had been working, and when it came time to pay him, his employer made up a story that he stole something so he wouldn't have to pay his wages ( a common practice we later learned). The other came up to me, begging for help to send him to school. He had no family. His mother and father were dead. His uncles did not want him. He had been on the streets where he had witnessed a fight. When the policeman asked if he was involved, he told him 'no', but the policeman said, "Pay me $6 or I will send you to prison." Having no money to his name, he had no options.

One loved science and wanted to be an engineer. One simply wanted to go to school and become "a businessman." Both wanted to be free, but neither knew how to live in the freedom. At one point, one said so realistically...."I know I can't go to school on my own. What....if I get out, I can sell eggs. That makes only $2 a day! I can't pay for school with that." Poverty is so real.

I am haunted by these stories.

I have so many stories to tell. But for some reason, they lay in the back of my mind and surface only one at a time. This is the story that surfaced tonight.....

www.sixtyfeet.org is doing their best to be the voice for these children.....you can help, too.

This is Me

A crazy-haired chicken.

Let me explain. In Africa, while walking in the dirt yards of one of the children's prisons, I noticed a small chicken walking around, probably looking for food. It literally looked like it had stuck its beak in an electric socket. Fried, crazy hair....wandering aimlessly.

My friend, Kristi & I, later joked that that poor bird sometimes resembled us. A mess. Crazy. Strange birds amongst normal birds.

I feel a bit like that bird now.
Uncentered.
On the wrong chart (where's the chart again?)
Too busy.
Too tired.
Giving my all & coming up short.
Not giving anything & coming up way short.
Ragged.
Undisciplined.
Unenthused.
Fake.
Distant.

Wow. What a great list, huh? Makes you want to come to my house for dinner for sure.

Well, as we all do, I package it pretty. I bundle it up, put it in this small little part of my brain *well, all except for the too tired part.....that I show!* and let it sit there.....festering. It festers. It festers. It festers. And then I try to do something about it. It works for a while, but the crazy-haired bird always comes back.

My hubs preached at our church the other night about how we, like the Israelites and most Christians out there, keep on forgetting about the awesome "IS"ness of God. What He Is. How He IS. Who He IS. How He IS the one and only God....Creator of All Things. Instead we focus on the "bizness" of God. What can He do for us? God help me with this. God I need you to do _____.

I can surely say that this post is me, yelling with my barbaric yawp (Dead Poets, anyone?), that I am in need of Him. My undisciplined self has been undisciplined too long. I've allowed the frontrunners to run in front for too long.......my "bizness" with God has been too shallow.

If I can't even take what I saw in Africa and turn that into a bigger, more disciplined desire for Him alone here at home, then what in the world will it take? I'm scared to answer that question.

September Slowness?

I've been blogging now for 3+ years. As I pulled up my chair to begin this post, I realized a trend. Every year, during the month of September, my blog posts decrease. Hmmmm.

It's no secret that adjusting back to "school mode" is hard. My hubs and I learn each year, again, that "quality time"...wait no "quantity time" is most definitely my Love Language. I'm a bit of a bear during this adjustment period of less time.

I'm also head over heels busy with my new class of kids. Trying to inspire, reach, teach, understand, and most of all.....figure them out! Each class is a new pot of vegetables. Thank goodness my pot this year is a sweet little group.....

Also, I can't forget precious days like this - Grace's last year in the Primary's "Freedom Parade". That's her in the blue dress (I'm beaming with pride, if you can't tell). She's growing up.

And I'll go ahead and let you in....I'm also trying to figure out life.

Yeah, that.

I read a quote the other day that's stuck with me....
"It's not hard to decide what you want your life to be about.... it's harder to decide what you're willing to give up to live that life."

...........big sigh.

Startin' Small with ASCP Olive

I had a cute little side table that was perfect for trying out Annie Sloan's Olive. This isn't a huge transformation, but it is a much improved piece of furniture......I picture it as an elegant table between two formal chairs.....or next to a child's iron bed......

Fall colors make me excited!

Peace with Projects

Here's part of a little girl's 3-piece bedroom set that I painted for a friend. Last coat of wax = done! I don't have before pictures, but just imagine brown, brown, brown!

I gotta say. This was my first 'custom piece' where I was able to say "just pay 60 Feet". I've always struggled a bit with pricing, and when friends would ask me to quote them - eeecckkkk....I hated doing that. So to be able to say that ....PEACE be my heart!

While I painted this set, I listened to my worship tunes and thought about how my small paintbrush will help those faces that are in my not-too-distant memory. It helps keep Africa fresh on my mind and heart. That's a good thing because with each passing day, "my good life" encourages me to push it under the rug.


I don't want life to push Africa under the rug.
I want my life to reflect what it's shown me.........