Steeling Myself for Life's Transitions

I did not go to church today. It is not often that I miss Liturgy and those times (you know the ones) where you wake up and just. Don't. Feel. Like. Going. - I usually still go because it is the right thing to do. And I am always glad I did.

One of my favorite of the Skeptic's icons
St. Patrick

Meditation Monday: What Drives You?

The kids were watching a Veggie Tales movie yesterday and I remembered - vaguely - seeing an interview done with the creator some time back. So I looked up the interview, out of curiosity, and found some things in the interview that resonated with me with regard to my business and the way I run things. It also resonates with how I live my life, and why we do things in our home the way we do.

These quotes come from the linked article if you want to read the whole thing.

... the question I ignored was, "How did God wire me?" Because He didn't necessarily call me to see how big an organization I could build.

Monday Morning Meditation - On Knitting

I guess it's the Mom in me, but every time I look at my kids - particularly when they are sleeping and very still - the verse about being "Knit in the mother's womb" runs through me. And just like with the counting of hairs last week, I am in awe. It is written as a Hymn, a song - Psalm 139 - 

1You have searched me, Lord,

and you know me.

2You know when I sit and when I rise;

you perceive my thoughts from afar.

3You discern my going out and my lying down;

you are familiar with all my ways.

Meditation Monday: Counting the Hairs

I have some random meditation going on lately...

This morning I looked at the baby sleeping and while he was still decided to count - or try to - the number of eyelashes he had on one eye. I got to around 75 but likely missed a bunch. There were all different lengths and sizes and thicknesses. 

29"Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30"But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31"So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.

Matthew 10:29-31

I don't have much to say on this except Wow. I know that the number of hairs on my head are a lot, so to think that He knows how many each person has (or doesn't!) is mind-blowing to me.  

Meditation Monday: The Peculiar Timing of Answered Prayers

Okay, this is such an exciting post to write that I've set aside another exciting post I started yesterday! My understanding of the Orthodox Faith is that there are no coincidences in life: God foresees everything and though we do not know to pray for something specific, He knows that the prayer is going to be said - and that prayer counts even for things that have happened in our past. But because God does not have a past, nor a future, He just IS, then all prayers are heard at the right time, no matter when we actually said them. I hope I haven't muddled this all up and confused the matter - because the concept is integral to this story today.

Meditation Monday: Be Worthy of the Answer

The other day Chef, now 12 years old, was pondering the age-old question about why men do what they do - the "why is there evil in the world" question. After much teasing by his older brother, (*sigh*), and a long discussion, it hit me: we had the answer to that question. It is because we are fallen. We have each, at some point, sided with "evil" temptations, whether big or small, they are all equally important to the matters of our souls. 

So what question should we be striving to answer? 

And it is this: If we continue to sin in our fallen nature, why does God still want us to be with Him? Why does He choose to accept us into his sphere for all time?

And the truth is, there is no way that I know of to answer that question. Our kids give us hard ones, don't they??

But here is the bottom line in the whole discussion: 

The answer itself to that second question does not matter. 

The important thing is to strive to be worthy of the answer.

Meditation Monday: On Success and Self-Doubt

All last week I worked on budgets - a budget for our church, one for our home finances that will take us through debt freedom and White Knight's retirement, and one for our time each day. Working on a budget can be a tedious, boring process; or it can be invigorating and give you a means of being inspired to work towards a healthier place in life, and encourage you to see where the gaps and personal flaws may be. I chose to use our various budgets for self-improvement, and as a way to really assess how well I am pursuing those things which matter most in life. 

This quest has led me to consider the following quotes today:

Meditation Monday: On Praying for Others

I don't know if my idea for "Meditation Monday" will continue or if this is a one-time deal, but it's something I thought of earlier today while on the way to church, and something I'd like to try to continue as I go along. This is the spiritual focus I'll be working on this week. I hope you'll join me as we work towards a healthier spiritual life!

The Scene:

Sunday morning, getting scones together for the kids's breakfast and generally preparing for church. 

An ancient place to pray: The ruins of Melrose Abbey in Scotland

The Events:

• The general "stress" of making sure everything was ready to head out the door on time
• Keeping the food from burning
• The to-do list, coupled with being (roughly six-months) pregnant, and having a still-tired undressed toddler to take care of
• The blessings of older kids getting themselves ready without too much instruction from Mom. 

Such stress, as you can imagine, takes its toll sometimes. When the old dog peed all the way down the stairs (again!), and the stairs then needed to be steamed before we left, the irritation and anxiety led me to a difficult moment. I had to stop for a minute and just. breathe.