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your monday morning hattie joy


I had just said, "have you seen Hattie in a while? She's never this quiet." When she came down Rory said quietly to me, "I'll discipline, you get the camera." Thankfully this picture was taken back in January. But I kept the picture for a day like today...

Hattie is so much work these days. She is nonstop, and we are exhausted. Today she got up way earlier than usual and was a hot mess because of it. She ate three breakfasts and then got in trouble because she still wanted rice krispies. Things are about to get a little rough around here as boundaries are put down and enforced. It will be worth it, but sometimes you just have to step back and make a plan to help shape the character and obedience of your child.

At 9:30 today I called my sister who is home with her girls for a snow day (congrats, girls!). Hattie was noisy and frustrated in the background the entire conversation so at the very end I said, "Alright, well, I'll load Hattie up and push her sled in your direction. Be looking for her in about an hour. Just grab her when she whips past your window." We laughed and Annika said she really did wish she could take Hattie for the day. I hung up and Ivar commented that he didn't like me saying I would do something like that. So I apologized to him.

A bit later Hattie came back in the room with the black mop bucket on her shoulder. Inside the bucket she had placed a bunch of butter knives, a big serving spoon and a sippy cup. She said, "Bye, bye, Mama." I asked her where she was going and she said, "Onkuh! Shshshshed." (which means Annika and Jedd). She had heard me and had packed up, ready to hop on her sled.

I picked her up and told her she wasn't really going there and that I wouldn't really send her away on a sled. I told her I was glad we could spend the day together and that I love being her mom.

We walked into the kitchen and then I saw the new box of Rice Krispies dumped all over a chair that had been pushed to the counter so she could reach the cereal. Krispies were dumped in a trail from the chair to the laundry room and she looked at me and shook her head and agreed, "No, no, no."

three things you cannot do without



Last night I was trying to find video from Billy Graham's funeral service, and while looking around on youtube, I came across this sermon. It dawned on me then that I had never actually heard a full Billy Graham sermon from one of his crusades. So I started watching.

Oh please watch this. And watch the whole thing, all the way to the end, when the choir sings. The sermon is so powerful. It builds and builds. It was a joy to watch a man so gifted by God and empowered by the Holy Spirit do the work he was so clearly called to do.

You will not regret spending 30 of your minutes listening to this man preach to you today.

it's tree tapping time!

Here is is, the very last of our 2017 batch of Maple Syrup, just in time for the trees to start pouring out the new stuff! We have fun plans this year of converting the shed next to our chicken coop into a Sugar Shack. We have a friend from church who did this by raising the roof, putting in vents and adding a chimney. So that's the plan.

Rory got a new evaporator pan this year and we are excited to get our Sugar Shack all set up. I've spent the last two days cleaning the garage and moving stuff from the shed into the garage and barn. There are few things I enjoy more than cleaning and organizing and sorting and making a system where there needs to be a system.

This weekend I have our babysitter coming to watch the kids so Rory and I can tackle the barn. Do you know what a barn is? A big garage. It just collects stuff. Stuff just ends up there. Plus we had the construction out there, so there is still clean up from that, as well as the whole storage area that had to be emptied into the main space until the construction was completed. Now we need to put it all back where it came from.

Some people may not get excited about this sort of task, but I am totally serious when I say that I can't wait to hit it out there. Rory would like me to capitalize on this love of organizing and systematizing some day. I would too. I think I'd be very happy going into people's homes and helping them sort through their stuff.

So that's our weekend plan. Sort and clean and organize and get everything set up for Project Season. We tapped our maple trees today and pick up our pigs next Sunday. There is much to be done!

fun for the fly

Elsie told me, "Mom, I can't pick these toys up because this is the little park I made for the fly that is crawling around on the carpet. I think he is dying."

songs for lent

The church I grew up in held Lenten services each Wednesday night. We sang no Alleluja's for those 40 days and things were thoughtful and weighty. Ash Wednesday was a powerful service that, just like a tragic funeral, reminded you of your mortality. A harsh reality we are so great at avoiding most of the time. Ash Wednesday set the tone. From dust you came to dust you shall return. We then had 40 days to contemplate what that meant. Wondering how our sinful selves stood a chance in front of an Almighty God. And over and over it was preached to us: you don't stand a chance.

That's the point of the 40 days. Those days would get me good and uncomfortable, aware of my sin, aware of my need for rescue. And then the gospel of Jesus would be proclaimed: You don't stand a chance in front of our Almighty God, but God loved us so much that he sent a rescuer to save us. His son came and died on a cross, the ultimate sacrifice so that no more animal sacrifices are necessary. He bridged the chasm of sin with his blood.

By Good Friday, I often felt positively heavy. The weight of The Passion, the darkness of our sin, the gravity of a hopeless and lost world felt very real. The Good Friday service was also a favorite, with the seven last words of Jesus sang by the choir and then reflected on by seven different people in our congregation. The service ended with a woman singing, "Were you there when they crucified my Lord?" And the altar guild would come up and quietly remove all decoration from the front of the church as the lights began to dim. And then the church was completely dark and silent.

We left the sanctuary in silence and everything felt holy and heavy.

***

Andrew Peterson is about to release an Easter Album that I'm very eager to hear. But before that album is released he is sharing five songs he wrote surrounding Lent. I want to share them with you because they have left me in a similar posture as the Lenten services did growing up.

Wrestle with this story. Be sure you are standing on the right side of truth. I actually find the entire storyline completely believable. It is no stretch for me to believe that left to our own devises, we are full of sin and greed and jealousy and lust and are eager to make and worship idols. We see these truths played out all around us.

It is also not hard for me to believe that there is a God who made the stars. A God who is loving and creative and imaginative and good.

When I read my Bible knowing that man is fallen and God wants his relationship restored with his creation, the whole story rings completely true. It is true. Every word.

So crack open your Bible. Get back into God's Word. It's the only thing that makes sense these days.

And enjoy these songs to prepare your heart for Good Friday.
Well Done, Good and Faithful
Last Words
Always Good