Over-spiritualizing the Ordinary

Lately, it seems like I have stood at sinks and washed an overwhelming amount of things. I wash dishes at home. I wash out paint brushes and paint plates at school. I wash my 3-year-olds' face and hands about 8 million times a day. I wash spit up from the baby out of my clothes, hair, her clothes, the carpet and furniture, etc. I wash pump parts 3-4 times a day. It's a lot of washing that goes on in my world right now, people. So, during one of these many washing sessions, I began to wonder 'What is God trying to teach me through this time? Maybe I am supposed to be getting some deeper meaning from this. Perhaps I should be contemplating something in particular during the hours I spend washing stuff.' Then, it hit me...nope. It really just is what it is.

In reality, I am pretty sure I was just bored and craving some deeper meaning to all of it. Sometimes, it just isn't there. The clothes and art supplies and children and messes...they just have to be cleaned. And let's face it, some days they just stay dirty, because I am tired. I'm learning that it's ok if at every corner, there is not some grand revelation. In every task, there is not necessarily a new perspective. Pre-k lunch duty is just not likely to inspire gratitude and feelings of making a difference in the world (shocking, I know).

I'm not saying these everyday things are not important, because they absolutely must be done by someone at some point. I don't even mind them all the time...there are days and moments when I need to be able to do something that doesn't require a whole lot of thought and focused concentration. I believe it's also essential that we (I) stop attempting to squeeze spiritual truths out of each and every moment, just to justify its worthiness. It's much more important to rest in the one truth that God is pleased with faithfulness to accomplish what He has set before me today. He is pleased with simple obedience. He is pleased when we do the things we must do in the phases of life we are in with joy in our hearts that we are able, only through Him, to do anything at all.

Maybe it's just me, but when I realize that everything I do is not required to have monumental meaning, it's like a weight is physically lifted from my shoulders. I'm suddenly free to be thankful for the mundane and to relax, knowing I'm exactly where He wants me to be.

Favorites

Today is a milestone, because our sweet baby girl is 6 months old today! Because it's a Saturday, I've had some moments to reflect about where we are and how each of our children is so completely different. I decided to write a few favorites we all have in our lives right now. The kids crack us up every day, but I don't always get to sit down and write about it. Here are some things we've been spending our time with lately.

Mollie loves playing with her feet and putting her toes in her mouth. Sometimes she will just stare at them. Then, she'll move them and it will startle her. She gets a quizzical look on her face like she's trying to figure out what they will do next. It's quite entertaining...for her, and us. She likes to laugh at her silly big brothers. They will run up to her and say silly things and she will just giggle and coo and bat her long eyelashes at them. She does the same thing when we give her ticklish kisses on her neck. She has recently been playing in her johnny jump up swing, and she is figuring out how to move around in it. She talks to her toys and animals and seems to be a very good listener, which makes her counselor mommy proud. I can't leave out her daddy's all-time favorite: scream talking. *insert sarcasm here*

Luke's most recent favorite word is 'impossible'. The other day when Brandon and Cal were at basketball, I was feeding Mollie. Luke wanted to move a toy into the living room, and I could hear him in the sunroom: "This is IM-POSSIBLE! It is impossible for me to move this. It won't stay together and I can't pick it up. It's impossible." My 3-year old...verbal like a 5-year old. Luke is obsessed with fighting bad guys, being a superhero and inventing new super-powers. His latest is running in a circle really fast to make a tornado in which he makes the bad guys live. He loves his mommy and baby sister fiercely and wants to be just like his daddy and big brother. He keeps us laughing constantly. This middle child is the sticky, messy, unpredictable glue that holds us all together. He also, since recently conquering potty training, likes to inform us of the shapes of what he leaves in the potty. So creative. He likes to hear stories, tell stories, make up stories and sing and dance.

Calvin is loving basketball and playing tag with his friends on the playground. He really likes math this year in school (thanks, Mrs. York!). He loves to read and rise to challenges. He is a sweet friend with a compassionate heart that nurtures and cares for others. He loves to do puzzles, build with legos and do anything that makes him think. He eats a lot, all the time. He likes to tell us what he dreams about at night. One of his favorite things is holding his baby sister and making her laugh. He is not fond of her scream-talking because it hurts his ears. He also likes to memorize scriptures.

Brandon currently likes asking the boys theological questions over meals. When they answer, he follows up with "What does that mean?" I'm sure they will grow to love the fact that daddy is a Bible teacher. This morning, over breakfast, we established that being a Christian means you choose the right path, which means you follow Jesus and not the enemy, which means you make wise choices.

My favorites...them.

What I'm Learning From My Kids

This week is screen-free week, and my bright, 5-year-old rule-follower (like his mommy) has not let us forget it at home. I'm thankful his teacher and school are encouraging the students to participate, but I have to admit that I wasn't instantly thrilled at the idea. Having a newborn, emotional 2-year-old and exploring-the-limits 5-year-old has resulted in some satisfying-my-sanity 'yes, you can watch a show' moments fairly often lately. This post seems like a repeat for me that takes place annually when I am convicted about how much time I am spending on my phone, watching TV, letting my children play on the iPad, etc. The last time I wrote a post similar to this was when I was living Colorado, nursing Luke and spending every second of nursing on Facebook on my phone. I realized that I was wasting precious bonding time with my baby that I would not be able to get back. So, I (gasp) took the Facebook app off my phone. Of course, after a while, the world of technology, be it Facebook, Netflix, Words with Friends...eventually pulls me back in and once again, I am spending more time than I want to with my eyes glued to a screen.

Monday afternoon, when the boys got home from school, Luke (2) asked (as he does almost every afternoon) "Can I watch a show?" Before I could respond, Calvin (5) came running into the living room, puts his hands up and says "Wait! We Can't! It's screen-free week!" His clever brother replies "You can't, but I can." Calvin informed us that it actually includes little brothers and sisters, as well as mommies and daddies. So far, we have done pretty well this week finding other ways to spend our time. We've played more games, read more books and spent more time outside. One time in the car, while running errands, we accidentally forgot and turned on the DVD player for a couple of minutes before I remembered. I said something, causing Calvin to cover his eyes and then quickly turn off the movie.

As Brandon and I discussed it on Monday night, I told him how important it was to Calvin that we try to stick to screen-free week. We decided that when the boys aren't here or after they're in bed, we won't force ourselves to strictly adhere to the guidelines of screen-free week. However, during the day, I have really limited my TV-watching time (proving easier now that I've finished Gilmore Girls!). I've noticed an ability to connect with Mollie more and find a rhythm with her that is not as often interrupted by the distractions of the TV screen or my phone screen. Tuesday night, after the boys were in bed, we could have turned on the television, but we didn't, and it was really nice and peaceful to just sit in the quiet and be. If our 5-year-old has the discipline to say no to screen time, then surely, so can we...and we are reaping the benefits of moderation.

One thing, among many, I'm learning from my beautifully frustrating 2-year-old is about security. His love language is the same as mine: quality time. Unfortunately, with a new baby in the house, our one-on-one time has been limited. He senses this, and even though he doesn't understand it, it's just hard. He LOVES his baby sister. Tonight at church, he introduced himself to a complete stranger who asked his name as "big brudder". He holds no visible resentment toward his sister, although he did tell me this afternoon that he did NOT want her to eat! I'm fairly certain he holds it more against me than her.

What it's teaching me is that it's ok to want to feel secure in the love of those with whom we do life. It's ok to feel insecure and seek comfort from those who care for us. It's most important to find our true identity and security in Christ. For me, it's painstakingly evident when I'm not doing that. For Luke, he doesn't completely know how to do that consistently, but it's something I want to intentionally teach him. He understands and perceives way more than I realize sometimes.

Finally, what I'm learning from my youngest, 7-week-old, only daughter. There are so many things, too many to write about here. The one thing that stands out and is accurately represented by this picture is that sometimes we need to cry, we need to take a moment and be emotional and we need to be comforted without feeling like we have to have it all together, be strong or pretend we're ok, when we're not.

She has to be held, like all the time. It's exhausting and frustrating and just plain annoying. I'm not worried that she will be spoiled...she's a baby, not a manipulator. I want to feel like, in a tangible way, that I have accomplished something each day. Sometimes it's difficult to feel that way when I have held her and fed her and changed her (and sometimes managed to feed myself and get dressed), and that is all I've done all day. I understand that this is my main job right now, that I shouldn't feel guilty about getting nothing else done, blah blah blah. It's just increasingly hard to sit and look at a house that needs to be picked up and cleaned and organized and literally just look at it while I sit. all. day. long.

So, while I'm sure Mollie had every right to cry about being stripped down naked, put in a basket, with a bow bigger than her head, I think it reminds me that it's ok to be frustrated with circumstances I can't control. It's important to remember that it's temporary. It's pertinent to treasure the moments that are already passing by much too quickly. Rarely, if ever, will I have the opportunity again to sit and hold my babies, just because they need me. 

I am so thankful for my children and all that the Lord is teaching me, through them, each and every day.

*These pictures were taken by the talented Stacie Stine, whose style I love, as it captures the every day, natural rhythms of life.