Psalm 46:10

Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!

I have usually only heard the first part of Psalm 46:10 quoted. Be still and know that I am God. Yet when read as a whole it has much greater power in my opinion. I have to confess that in the past when I heard "Be still and know that I am God" quoted, it was always a little confusing to me. I always felt that the first part (quoted on its own) requires blind obedience, but God doesn't call us to that is this verse.

Just hearing the first part makes you think that God is calling us to sit and contemplate the fact that He is God and that is it. We are told to quietly sit and contemplate the fact that He is God but that is not all! We are told to sit quietly knowing He is God and has the power to accomplish all His holy will! Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!

God is not sitting around fretting that Christians are not doing their jobs well enough. He does not worry that the world will forget Him and become a huge Sodom and Gomorrah (I do, and what that means particularly for my babies). I am not saying He doesn't care, He does or He wouldn't have sent His Son, but He isn't helpless in the situation. He is the Lord over it! And He doesn't call us to feel helpless in the situation either. What an encouragement it is to read this verse in its entirety! Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!

Melt My Heart

Sitting in the nursing mothers room with Calvin, I was upset by having a disruptive three year old at yet another Sunday morning church service. We were sitting in a rocker. He was struggling to loosen my grip as I struggled to hold him still, trying to make being taken out of the service a more boring experience than sitting through it. Discouragement began to set in and I searched for ideas on how to make the struggling stop. "What color are my eyes, Calvin?" I asked. He stopped struggling and looked at me. He brought his nose within an inch of mine, looking deeply into my eyes. "Um, pretty," he said.

Thomas the Tank Engine Rolling Along!

We bought tickets for Calvin (and the rest of us) to ride Thomas the Tank Engine for his birthday.

It was hot and dusty and not exactly very exciting in my opinion. Calvin liked looking at all the overpriced Thomas stuff (none of which we bought). And Evie tried eating overpriced smashed popcorn off the ground (we did not buy the food either). By the time the day was over we were all hot, tired, hungry, and cranky. Calvin and I were the crankiest, but he's 3...

This was the only picture I could get with Calvin's face (sort of) and Thomas in view at the same time. Whenever Thomas was around Calvin wanted to be looking at him. He was afraid to miss anything. It was cute how all the kids thought it was the real Thomas. Calvin was very excited to get to ride on him, in the train car he kept saying, "I'm riding Thomas!"

Although the passage I read yesterday was very pertinent to my life right now, I was thinking that I needed a little more direction in my study, so I picked up an old Tabletalk. I had just been reading whatever sounded good, or sometimes where ever the pages happened to fall open. It isn't the best way to study, in my opinion. But God will use whatever means He wants to get you to hear the message you need because the passage for today was Genesis 12:1-9 (the call of Abram). And the corresponding study about how God called Abram, and kept him, and blessed him. Not because of anything Abram did, but because He chose him. All Abram had to do was trust God. I think God is trying to tell me something. And when I realized this, how the tears began to fall.

Oh How I Love Them!

It has been pointed out to me that my attitude lately has been bad, to put it honestly. Someone who loves me very much and whose job it is to say these things if they need said, told me so recently. He was very right. And I am glad he told me, not that I hadn't noticed myself, but sometimes you need someone else to say something to actually kick you back into place. I am sorry I didn't take the criticism well when it was given, but I hope (Craig) that person has seen that I have been trying. I am ashamed to say my attitude was bad in regards to my sweet babies. Oh, how I love them! But I have a heart prone to wander, and if it is not brought back to God on a regular basis it will stay out there.



It is impossible to keep my heart in the right place if I am not reading the Bible. So I have made the promise to read my Bible every morning while I have my breakfast. It has to be done at this time because I am the queen of "I'll do it after I...", and if it isn't done then it won't be done. I am also going to have to start journaling it because I read my Bible at breakfast this morning, and by lunch I couldn't remember what the passage I read was about. So MKC (My Kaleidoscopic Cornucopia) will be my journal. After every post you will see what passage I read, what it was about and some way that applies to me. I'll have to go reread today's so I can actually tell you.

As for getting back on track with my babies, that's easier. It has always amazed me how forgiving children are, especially of their parents. I have offered my sweet ones my apologies and even though they didn't really know what is going on, it is obvious they have no ill feelings toward me. I am rereading books on making early childhood happy and special, and have been surprised how much I missed just having fun (singing, playing, dancing, reading) with my babies. It makes me wonder how I got to where I was? But I guess I already answered that question. Thankful for God's grace to give, and use, faithful husbands.

This morning (and a few times since then), I read 1 Corinthians 1:1-9. Paul was writing to the Corinthians and giving thanks for God's grace in granting them gifts. And encouraging them in the fact that the God who had called them, would keep them, and perfect them for the Coming day. What a encouragement it was for me to read that the God who had called me, used the husband He gave me in order to call me back again, that He might continue to perfect me, so that I could stand blameless on the day of Christ.

Chubby Pink Face

After dinner, I pulled the bench from the dining room table over to the window so I could read by natural light. I don't know why I wanted to read there, just an urge for some reason. Craig and our babies were in the other room watching some strange kids movie that Craig had found on Netflix. Normally, I would've sat in with them, wanting to just spend time with them, but this time I wanted to read. I was grateful to Craig for letting me spend a while with myself. Completely absorbed in the story, I didn't notice Evelynn waddle up. By the time I did realize she was there she was already smacking my arm and yelling "Ma!" I looked down at her and my heart melted.
Her chubby little face was still covered in sauce and grease from the pizza we had for dinner. The light from the setting sun shone in the window and illuminated her shiny face in pink light. When she moved the shine showed every little curve on her face. She looked beautiful... young... dependent. I was overcome by the feeling of my responsibility to guide this little one in life, to be an example to her of what a Godly woman should be.
I know you're thinking, "Whoa, all this from a little grease and sunshine?" But it's true. I put down my book and cradled her. Does God really think I can do this?

Drawing Lines

I am naturally pretty laid back when it comes to parenting. My kids are not on a strict schedule. They normally eat whatever I am eating, run around bare foot all the time (even have been known to be naked occasionally) and are free to try to do things themselves. Sometimes I feel irresponsible because I don't have special rules for them to follow. Unless there are clear signs of impending doom, I usually let them roam, play and generally figure things out on their own. My mother says I parent as if Calvin (my first) was my fifth child. I believe my parenting style mostly comes from being the second oldest of 6 kids, and experience tells me that the majority of the things little ones do won't kill them. They usually end up learning something from all their shenanigans. Yeah, this way of parenting is pretty groovy to some, but I feel like most of the time I am seen as lazy or apathetic.

Lately though there have been several times where my laid-back-ness has allowed some hurts and very near catastrophes to happen. So I have been interested in tightening up the reins on my own parenting style. The problem is I don't know where to draw the lines so to speak. Are there clear lines between irresponsibility and hyper-parenting? I just don't know when to say, "Yes, now I am responsible enough." Sure there will always be times when I feel like I am not as good as a parent as I should be. But there is always room for improvement too. Just wondering where to draw the line. It can't all be hazy, can it?

A Picture of My Heart

Yes, I know this picture is not cute. How can such a pretty little girl look so... disturbing? But it has a story with it. Craig gave Evie her own bowl of ice cream to eat because we were busy doing other things. This was the end result. But before she made herself look like a monster she was trying to actually eat the ice cream. It wasn't going very well because she doesn't know how to use a spoon for anything other than dipping right now, so I would periodically stop and try to help her get a little bit in her mouth. I would have to pry the spoon from her fingers and yell over her that I was trying to help her as she screamed bloody murder. Doesn't she trust her own mother enough to know that I would never be trying to hurt her in any way? Hhmm... I thought. Did I just get a glimpse of my own heart?

How many times has God had to pry things out of my hands as I screamed bloody murder? Don't I trust my Creator and Heavenly Father enough to give Him control, even if at the time, it looks like He is just trying to steal my ice cream?

I Want Gray Hair.

In a society that WORSHIPS youth, I am longing for my older years. I am really longing for the wisdom that comes with years. Sometimes it is extremely frustrating to be inexperienced and immature. I am not despising my youth, I love it, I just despise my present perspective, temperament, and rationale. My prayers consist of me practically begging God for wisdom. There must be something wrong with the way I am going about getting it because I am not any wiser.

Dawning of a New Era...

Time flies now. It didn't when I was younger, single, and without my own children. Now that I am a mother, time flies. Especially when it comes to my babies. They grow up so quick. Calvin is only two, but the last time I thought about it he was only 20 months (he was 20 months when Evelynn was born, I haven't had a lot of time to think about these things). Everyday both of my babies, surprise me with something they know, that I did not knowingly teach them, or just had no idea they knew, as some things don't need to be taught.

Calvin has a weakness for playing in the baby powder. Even though he gets in trouble every time he does it. He has been getting better. But if he finds himself alone in the room with a bottle, the temptation is just too great. He succumbed to temptation today while I was in the kitchen. I called for him to come to me thinking it was much too quiet. He appeared in the kitchen doorway holding the bottle of powder. I gave him a look, took the bottle from him and headed for the play room preparing myself for the worst. To my surprise I did not see anything, "Phew," I though to myself, "a bullet dodged. Way to go Meg!" It wasn't until after I had already put the babies down for a nap that I learned the truth. Powder sprinkled on the floor, and then carefully wiped away until it it virtually invisible in the eyes of a two year old. Invisible enough even to fool his mother for the time being.
My mom teases me sometimes by saying I didn't know my children were going to be sinners. Don't misunderstand me, I know the reality of sin, especially its presence in my own life. But it coming from my sweet little ones catches me off guard sometimes. It did today. So we're moving from plain disobedience to plain disobedience with a cover up, hhmm... Let the praying continue. And perhaps more diligently?