Splash the Puddles

I woke up this morning, and my first thought was of Peter stepping out of the boat in the Scripture in Matthew about Jesus walking on water.  Ok, full disclosure...my actual first thought was, "I'm going to Dunkin..." but then after that, I thought about Peter.  I don't always wake up super spiritual, but I do often wake up super hungry!  As I was driving, I just began walking through this scripture in my head, asking the Lord what he had for me in it. I have spent a lot of time camped out in Matthew 14, over the years.  I know this scripture inside and out, and yet even this morning, God revealed more to me.  I love how living and active His Word is, fluid to the core. Let me give you the CSV (Cole's shortened version). The disciples had just witnessed Jesus feed over 5,000 people from five loaves of bread and two fish.  They were fresh off of a miracle experience as they boarded the boat at Jesus's command.  I am sure at this point, they were wil...

There’s something that’s been on my heart and mind a bit lately, and I think surely it’s not just me that is bothered by this. I believe at the core, we all truly want to offer love and support to one another, but we so easily fall into the habit of criticizing things that we don’t understand, or ways that are different than the way we choose. Specifically, I’m talking about “momming” right now-you know, the act of mothering, in case my slang isn’t clear to you. :) With the rise of social media over the last couple of decades, there are so many vessels of awareness that weren’t available to the generations that came before. I’m sure momming had its own set of struggles then, but I’m not certain any generation prior to the one raising kids in the age of technology and social media experienced the pressures and opinions  quite like we do. It’s nothing to scroll Facebook and see articles posted about the “right” way to raise your children. Topics such as breast or bottle, which is...

I shared a post that I quickly read on Facebook the other day.  On the surface, and without much thought, it looked good.  I liked it.  It was a neat concept.  I shared it.  And for the most part, it was good.  Most of it was agreeable. I am not sure who the original poster was.  I don't know them.  I saw it shared many times by people I do know. Here is the post I shared: There's a lot I liked about this post when I originally read it. I don't disagree with most parts of it.  I'm just here to offer a different perspective that I believe the Holy Spirit whispered to me through wise council.    It's true, that like Judas, we have betrayed Jesus, we have exchanged righteousness and faithfulness for worldly treasures.  Yes, we have surely sat at His table, soaking in his words, and walked right out into temptation that ultimately led to a conscience choice of sin.  In the garden of Gethsemane when Jesus prayed, surely...

You've heard the saying, "I've got a good heart, but this mouth..."   That resonates with me.   Y'all, I swear the very depths of my heart desire to honor God with my words, actions and thoughts, but so often this mouth of mine gets in the way.  And out of that mouth comes the overflow of this heart-the one that yearns for complete surrender to Jesus, and yet so often wanders off on it's own selfish path.  Help me, Jesus.  Y'all just don't even know how often I have to pray, "Bind my wandering  heart to thee..." I've shared with you that my word right now is change.  I've also shared with you how much I don't like change.  So, it's ironic and totally God's way, that He'd speak this word over me. Even crazier, that He'd prompt my heart to pray for change.  I don't like change!  Change is hard and scary and difficult and...new.  Remember the spiritual things I said about change in my last post when...

I've been doing the word of the year thing, long before it was a trend.  Or maybe it's always been a trend, and I just wasn't aware.  Regardless, words and I go way back.  This year, in particular, it seemed like anytime I scrolled social media during the first few days of the new year, all I saw was others proclaiming their word for the year.  And that's great, really it is.  But honestly, it made me not want to shout my word from the rooftops.  Something about sharing it with everyone else, made it feel less sacred to me.  Something about it becoming a "trend" has made me want to tuck my word deep into my heart and keep it hidden there, where only the Lord and I can know it and have access to it.  This year, I knew what my word was almost immediately, a stark contrast to last year where it was well into February before I felt certain I knew my word.  The simple, plain word popped into my brain before I'd even had my coffee one morning, mu...

Years ago, I walked the difficult road of losing a child.  I can remember feeling like I was on a never-ending rollercoaster ride of emotions. I was scared and I was sad. I felt peace and then I didn’t. I willed myself to accept our loss as part of God’s perfect plan, but I was angry. So angry. I can recall not having a clue what to do with all of those emotions, and so I cried. A lot. Weeks passed and the heaviness did not lift, though life around me carried on. Those closest to me, inevitably moved on with their lives as did we. Days would come and days would go. Some were good, others dawned with an over-powering awareness of my empty womb and an unfulfilled desire. Where was God in all of this, I wondered?  With every passing thought of that nature, I stuffed the emotions deeper. Guilt overtook my already fragile emotional state and I willed myself to just accept God’s plan. Oh, how I struggled to do so. I had zero understanding of the truth that God could handle all of t...

The other evening I was in the grocery store with my boys grabbing a few items I needed to complete a meal we were taking to another family.  I used the self check-out because we had few items.  I decided at the last minute to grab some "cash back" with my check-out, so I pressed the $20 option and completed my transaction.  I loaded my groceries from the bagging area into the cart, convinced the littlest one to stop spinning the balloon stand 'round and 'round, yanked my receipt from the machine, and headed out the door.  I was sitting in the turn lane at the red light of the intersection when it dawned on me that I hadn't grabbed my cash back. I whipped the car across the (thankfully empty) next two lanes, circled back around, knowing that my cash was probably gone.  A small part of me held onto hope that it would still be there, in that drop down slot, waiting for me.  I went back in and the registers were empty, as well as the cash slot that should have...

     Two years ago, our family visited Disney World for the first time as a family of four.  (Except the one day we spent there when Will was very newly growing in my tummy!) We realized at some point during the planning that this would be our very first trip we had taken as a family of four that didn't include other family members or friends.  Mixed emotions of excitement and an expectancy of complete and utter exhaustion filled us.  Disney tends to be 24/7 on the go, and we wouldn't have back up.    It turned out to be the trip of a lifetime for our family.  There was a noticeable absence of sibling arguments and harassment.  Standing in lines, something that would normally spark complaining and whining, was about as enjoyable as could be.  (It helped that strategic planning on the front end ensured that no wait was longer than 15 minutes for us...)  We laughed.  We learned new things about each other.  We ate a l...

The weather has been a tad bit dreary where we live lately.  It's temperamental at best.  This evening as I was riding down the road, I noticed how dark the clouds and sky were for the time of day it was.  As I watched, suddenly the grey skies parted for just a moment and the most beautiful light shone through, casting sunbeams across the clouds.  I smiled as the Lord whispered, "This is how it is with me sometimes. Life may seem grey, the rain keeps falling and the clouds linger, but when those times come, if you wait and if you watch, you will see that I am still there.  The Son, behind it all, shining through with my Light that casts itself across your clouds."  With that, the clouds in the sky came together, leaving only a hint of the brightness that had so clearly shone just moments before.  I smiled, knowing that tucked within this cloudy forecast and these grey skies, there was a great light, shining bright.  Though momentarily clouded by ...

Recently, my pastor spoke one simple sentence that has taken hold of my heart and hasn't loosened it's grip since. "We have [His promised] peace as Christ followers, but it is up to use how we cultivate this fruit..."  When we enter into relationship with Jesus, He freely gifts us with His peace, but how thoroughly that is manifested throughout our lives is in our hands. In other words, whether it lies dormant, or whether it brings the life that is intended, is determined by how dependent we are on it, how well we utilize the gift of peace He's given us. Peace in my circumstances, in the "bigger" areas of life seems to come fairly easy to me.  When we've faced difficult roads as a family, the loss of our first baby, and other various trials, I've basked in the comfort of God's peace throughout the hardship and healing.  I know that peace that passes all understanding... There's one area, however, where I've had a lifelong struggle...

In the parable of the Lost Son, Jesus teaches of a man with two sons.  He divided equally each one's share of his estate, withholding nothing from them.  Having been equipped with all he needed for a prosperous and victorious life, the youngest son soon set off on his own.  Venturing out in his own strength,  he managed to squander everything he had been given, wasting it all on wild living.  Once it was all gone, there was a famine in the land and he was in need.  By this time, desperation had set in, and he hired himself out to a citizen of the country to feed his pigs.  Scripture said "he longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything..."   He'd been given everything he needed, and abundantly, by his father who loved him.  Yet, he wasted it all.  Face to face with his shame and guilt, he had a choice. He could continue to perish in the suffocating circumstances that were a result of ...

Some mornings, Will wakes up as a baby dinosaur.  Sometimes a pterodactyl, but usually a baby T-Rex.  This morning, he had a hard time waking up and stepping into the shower.  So, I encouraged him with a little mommy T-Rex nudge.  I whispered to him, "Wake up, little T-Rex and hurry into the shower before the raptors attack us..."  (I was desperate to not be late to work again, y'all...) It worked. Wide eyed and well aware of my dinosaur ignorance he confidently replied, "But we are bigger and more powerful than they are, mommy T-Rex.  They can't hurt us..." By then he was awake and cold, so into the warm shower he hopped, not phased by the threat of a raptor attack. My boy knows his dinosaurs, and whether it is true or not that a raptor could not hurt a T-Rex is beyond me.  I honestly have no clue. I've seen a Jurassic movie or two.  I'm sure they could leave a scratch, maybe draw some blood, even temporarily weaken a T-Rex with cunning st...

Our little Will has struggled with fear for as long as he has been able to recognize the concept. It seems he’s always had a thing. Fearing Mommy not coming back, afraid of going potty, afraid of going into rooms alone, fear of being left behind, and most recently a debilitating fear of weather. When I say debilitating, I’m not exaggerating. At the beginning of the school year, he’d come out to the playground during our shared recess time and he’d stand right beside me. When I went inside, he’d move to his teacher’s side. The only way he’d go play and enjoy his friends was if the sky was perfectly blue without a cloud in sight. He was terrified of the possibility of what could be, even when there was no justifiable reason to feel afraid. When it actually would storm, a new form of terror would come over him, and it was all-consuming.  I have prayed over him daily. Nightly. And in between. 1 Peter 5:7 was my banner over his life. I begged God to release him from the grips of fear...

I like words. I mean, I REALLY like words. I think there is such beauty in both written and spoken language. If you open safari on my phone, you’ll likely find an online dictionary open in the first tab, if Amazon Prime hasn’t claimed its spot that particular day. (I also love Amazon Prime).  I look up definitions all the time. Ask anyone who knows me better than most. I’m obsessed.  I write words. I speak words. I teach words. These days I even hang words...ALL OVER MY HOUSE! (My best friend and I have admitted we have a problem with this. We have a pact: no more words on the wall. Then Hobby Lobby and Southern With Grace happen. Words, words, words).  They just call out to me. They speak to me. They give me expression. I love word meaning.  At the beginning of each year, I ask the Lord to give me, you guessed it, words . Words for the year, words He wants me to hear. Words he wants me to live. Last year he gave me one word. Peace. This year, like on the interior w...

Last night when we got home, Will was pogoing in the house. (We’ve allowed this because it’s so cold and also he’s obsessed and he’s being active. It helps that we are on a concrete slab.) I was in the bathroom, but apparently Cliff told him to stop and get ready for bed, and it took him another few hops before he actually stopped. He stopped by accidentally landing on one of my new wall decor pieces from Southern with Grace. (Gasp). It broke.  Hasn’t even been hung yet. Have I mentioned that’s pretty much my favorite home decor provider? I knew none of this because I’m still in bathroom. (Maybe hiding for a little peace and quiet. I’ll never tell). I heard him start crying loudly, but figured he’d gotten in trouble about not listening or something and didn’t think much of it. Anyway-when I finally came out of the bathroom he was sitting on my bed crying pitifully. I smiled at him and patted his head, but I didn’t really coddle him or anything because I didn’t want to undo any dis...