If you could ask God 1 question...

Derek's students discussed this at school today. They were to text 4 people with the question, "If you could ask God 1 question, what would it be?" At the time I received Derek's text I was VERY upset with my daughter. So my response was: "When will my daughter learn to not draw on the walls??"

Her artwork...

But I did take the time to think it over. What would I ask Him if we could sit down for a very short chat? I first came up with questions like, "Why do You love me?" "Why do you bless me so much?" "Are we doing what You want us to?" Etc. But I realized all these questions have answers in Scripture. 

I also thought of questions like, "Why must I have csections?" "Why did You allow me to make amazing friends in Scranton just in time for us to leave?" Etc. But honestly those questions seemed somewhat trivial.

I eventually came to a question that might have been my first thought but I'm not so sure I'd want to know the answer: "Are you proud of me?" Or in the words of a student's friend: "Do I make You smile?" 

I know how to please Him. That is very clear in His Word. But am I? Is He proud to call me one of His own? 

No time at all was wasted in the testing of this question... Marie has been ULTRA disobedient today. Jack had a screaming episode just because he wanted to sleep and is too picky about where he sleeps. We weren't at home so I couldn't lay him in bed. By the time we did get home I was beyond losing it. When finally both children were down for their naps and quiet settled over the house I realized that at that moment God would have to answer "no" to my question. 

Time in the Word and much prayer followed, and I know He's completely forgotten the ugliness of earlier today. It wasn't long before another test came...

The "Conor House" that we've been already imagining our lives in will never be ours. They rejected our best unofficial offer (can't blame them as they would still owe at least $15grand to pay it off). When Derek told me over the phone I could tell he was devastated. I am, too. But by the grace of God I was able to respond peacefully and encourage my poor husband. We just need to trust... trust... trust...

I'd like to think God smiled. 

I'd like to think He smiled because He knows exactly what house He has for us and it's WAY better! (Even though we can't imagine a better place...)

I'd like to think He smiled because He was proud of me.

If you could ask God one question, what would it be?

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My Babies

I have the best job in the world.

To-Do Lists

On facebook I'm a fan of Chalene Johnson, the creator of Turbo Jam and several other workouts. She's constantly posting status' about making and referring to your to-do list.

Back in Scranton I tried a to-do list countless times and always ended the day frustrated and disappointed in myself. I never seemed to be able to finish the list. Sometimes I wouldn't even get to anything on it! So I finally decided to-do lists were not for me and started ignoring Chalene's posts.

When we moved to Indiana life got, well, hectic. I am a very new mother of two, I suddenly have lots of family around, and we've jumped right into attending church as often as possible and spending time with Derek's students. It's a wonderful life! But a hectic one.

I kept forgetting things. The need for a daily to-do list was becoming imperative. I kept putting it off, trying to decide how best to go about this without ending each day feeling I failed. Finally I formulated a plan.

First, I pulled out a small sticky-note pad and told myself that my to-do list had to fit on a single sticky-note (4-5 things). This would combat the problem I had with making a to-do list 27 items long.

Second, I told myself to stick with broad to-do's. Instead of listing every separate room of the house and how it needed to be cleaned (1. dishes; 2. sweep kitchen floor; 3. swiffer kitchen floor; etc), I need to just write "clean kitchen." In fact, I've been going even more broad than that and on my list for today I simply wrote "clean." Since I don't need to clean to prepare for visitors, I can mark this off my list at the end of the day if I just did any cleaning at all!

Third, while there's a million things I could put on this list because at least a million things need to be done, I told myself to think through and decide what was most important to get done that day. Like today I am beginning a facebook contest for DandLs DangLs. That's important to get to. That's on the list.

Lastly, I gave myself permission to do things that are not on my to-do list. Like today, I did not have "blog" on my list. My previous attempts at to-do listing I would get frustrated because my list was so long that I felt I could only do what was on the list. Now that it's short, I don't feel guilty about doing non-list things. And also I've given myself permission to change what's on the list. You can't predict how a day is going to go. Sometimes priorities just have to change.

If you've been considering to-do lists or have been frustrated with to-do listing, I hope these ideas are helpful. Here's my list for today...

Now it's time to get to my to-do's!

God Box

The other day Derek suggested we get a box to keep little mementos in that are reminders of how God has protected us and taken special care of us. I'm almost certain he thought of this because we had just been at Michaels craft store and he saw these cool vintage-looking boxes that he was trying to find a reason to buy. But the crafty and thrifty momma that is trying to take over my body is going to find something in this cluttered house to repurpose.

Anyway, on to the point. The first three things we are going to put in this box (whenever I get to putting it together) are as follows -

1. Derek's backpack and helmet from his bicycle accident back in 2006. If I ever doubted God's hand in every tiny area of my life, I stopped after that horrific day. When we got home from the hospital and made it through the first long night of waking him up every couple hours to make sure he didn't fall into a coma or something, the little things started to become clear. All the bits and pieces of the previous couple of weeks that had a part in my husband still being with me after he should have died came together. I still get overwhelmed just thinking about it.

This is the bag that saved his back from serious roadburn.

They had to cut his favorite shirt. He begged them not to, the goof. 

This is the helmet that saved his life. Thank you, helmet. Thank you, God.

2. The night before Derek drove the HUGE moving truck from Scranton to Elkhart, his great friends (we love and miss you guys like crazy!) took him to a casino and handed him cash. He played craps. He loves craps. He won enough money to not only cover an outrageously expensive meal that night, but also to cover the gas to drive the monster of a truck 600+ miles. And he had a wonderful night with some wonderful friends. He kept this -

3. The Sunday night before Labor Day, my man and I were watching a movie and making tshirts for my little brother's soccer game the next day. At about 1 am we suddently heard shouting right outside our window. Then we heard a shot. I remember at this point we were on our feet, but I don't remember the actual standing up part. This was the conversation -

D - Get down!
L - But my babies!

In a matter of seconds Derek was upstairs grabbing Marie and I had Jack snuggled in my arms, huddled in the doorway of our main floor bedroom. By this point our house was literally surrounded by cop cars. While we all sat on the floor together waiting for the lights to go away, Derek told me he saw the scene from upstairs (there aren't any blinds on the windows upstairs. What on earth kind of landlord doesn't put blinds on the windows?) and saw that it was a tazer gun that we heard. And that the man who had been tazered was lying immediately next to my baby girl's playhouse. The creepiest part of it all I didn't realize until later the next day: we didn't hear anything until right before the guy got tazered which means the cops had just found him when we heard the shouting which means this guy was hiding out by our house for who knows how long... The next morning Derek searched the yard and found this to place in our future box -

The number of times God has protected and provided for this little family is humbling. Really we could consider this whole house a "box" full of blessings and provisions and protection. I think that's exactly what I need to think... this house is our "God Box." But also, I encourage everyone to make your own little God Box to remind yourself and your family of some significant times God has taken special care of you.

"Every blessing you pour out I'll turn back to praise. When the darkness closes in, Lord, still I will say 'Blessed be the name of the Lord!'"

Psalm 91:2 I will say to the Lord "My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!"