My girl is absolutely amazing...

After my ecstasy Tuesday with the Daphnes I got some bummer news, but Jazz totally lifted my spirits. She writes all the time, but this time she gave me permission to post this. I save all this junk I write for them someday, and I so wanted to add this "psalm" she wrote. Made me laugh and cry as I thought about how much our kids "get it" when we don't even know it. God is at work, my friends...and it's a beautiful thing.

"MY PSALM" by Jasmine
"Praise be to the father in heaven who helps us survive the everyday horror of middle school.
Let every man, women, teen, tween, child and infant fall to their knees and praise the God who sent His only son, Jesus Christ, to save all people including teenagers with raging hormones who change their mind on average every ten minutes.
Praise my God who helps me walk through the valley of the shadow of death known as Ms. Whitman's Science Room.
Oh my God, Oh my God, thank you for helping me survive the cruel words of queen bees, for helping me resist the temptation of cute high school boys and thank you for giving me great friends who will always be there to pick me up when I fall face first in the mud at lunch.
Thank you for my fellow sisters-in-Christ who will always have their arms wide open for huge bear hugs that always guarantee you will end up falling, who always have their shoulders ready to be cried on, who will always be the first one to hear about the new cute boy.
Please help me to not be pulled into the crowds whose favorite brand has and always will be Victoria's Secret.
Please help me not to be overcome by the drama of girls who are currently PMS-ing and to not let anyone take a piece of my heart which belongs to You.
Thank you for all the fun in middle school- dancing in front of school with my friends, giggling when that boy stares at you, wearing flip flops in the rain and just laughing and chilling out with my best buds. THANK YOU, God!"
Her heart always astounds me. :)

Give a kid a hug today...

Wow- yesterday was a good reminder to never take my kiddos, or any kiddos for that matter, for granted. Carson decided to crush his finger, and to see my sweet little nephew covered in blood and guts (no, not really, but to mom and auntie it looked like a massacre)was truly terrifying. Give me a good motor vehicle accident or suicide attempt in the ER any day- just no 2 year olds with tears in their eyes. What a wimp I am, I know.
It is such a blessing to be a mom, and have children in my life, and I too often get so busy with the "stuff" of life, I forget to appreciate the moments. Steve and I were talking the other day, and it is so obvious that no matter what the news wants to say, life in America is pretty good and we are all so incredibly spoiled. If things were really bad for any of us, the nit picky things we get up-tight about wouldn't matter anymore, and we would all love each other better, and fight a lot less.
I have been thinking about how badly I want wisdom, or even more to the point- discernment, and how if only God would give me what he gave Solomon- "understanding"- I would quit messing things up and be so effective for him. It is such a struggle to be "wise", and short of hanging out on this planet for the next 30 years and gaining it from experience, how do we "get" wisdom? I don't want to be like the idiots Hebrews 5 talks about who stay on milk forever, even though they should have graduated to solid food, but most days I feel like he was talking right to me- always wasting time being a goober, rather than trusting God with a childlike faith- not childish- but childlike. There is wisdom in trusting the Creator of the Universe, the One Who truly can direct the future, and the One True God.
"Give your servant therefore an understanding mind...that I may discern between good and evil..." 1 King 3:8-9 (parts of)