lovelovelovelovelovelove

Have I mentioned that my big girl has been riding her bike without training wheels for a few months now? Or that she has lost THREE teeth!?
I told you.....we've had a lot of things going on around here. And there is life that I feel like I am missing & yet i am with them every day!! I'm thankful that most of their days are still with me. I'm thankful that I understand most of what they are talking about becuase, well, I was probably there. I love these kids more than I ever thought I could.
And this love I feel for them has had me meditating on this Love that the Father has for me.
My love for these children pales in comparison.
I know that.

I am overwhelmed by that.

But I am learning that there really is nothing they could do to make me stop loving them.
Nothing.
I am thankful for a Father who stands at the door and knocks.
Not waiting for me to get it right.
Not waiting until I clean up my act.

And I am grateful that I can convey that love to my children.
Not that I always do.
But it is my daily prayer.

That I would not get in the way.
That I would not misrepresent who He is.
Knowing that His love covered it all on the Cross.

a picture

I will be back to this thing....soon....i promise!
We had a great summer - one that ended with a whole lot of activity. Fun - super fun activity. And getting back into the groove of the real world has been harder than I thought. As if I have moved to a new country & learning my way around .... and it even feels as though there's a new time zone here in the real world.

I'm adjusting.
With the aid of strong coffee.
This isn't the best picture of the summer......obviously. But it is one of the ones that makes me smile.

being good stewards

As most people these days, the family budget has been under intense scrutiny.

Which isn't a bad thing.

And in the middle of all of this scrutinizing, we are gaining a greater understanding of the choices we make with the money we spend.
Learning, for instance, that the money I spend on the luxury of a cup of coffee for me could benefit a person who has no food to eat.

Choices are important & they effect people.

And when Lee & I do a great job at cutting back where we spend we high five and feel proud & that's good, right?

But there's this other side....I have watched business I love go under.
And those are people.
Those are families.

I don't want to make excuses for living extravagantly by any means. But I don't want to forget some people simply by remembering others.

A good friend a while back was frustrated because her dryer was broken & she didn't want to spend the money to have it fixed. That's never fun. When you're trying so hard to stay in the black. To maintain life as we know it sometimes.
But then we began to think of the person fixing the dryer. A person who has probably been really hurting in this economy. A person who may have a family praying for work.

I hope I don't forget that by not spending money I can hurt people too.
I hope I remember that it's so much about people. And putting dollar signs in place of those faces, those stories, can be hurtful.

I don't think this is even a complete thought written in this post. But it's been on my heart for some time now....and I wonder if anyone else has felt this way. I wonder if anyone has some wisdom to share for keeping the balance.

Because we want to be good stewards.
But we want to encourage others in their work, too.