Patience- A virtue? I think not.

The quote that keeps coming back to me as PURE TRUTH:
Definition of:
"Patience, noun. -- A minor form of despair, disguised as a virtue." Ambrose Bierce

Just Sayin...



Summer is here...in spite of the weather. Really.

So I will stop reading Bitter Ol' Bierce's "A Vision of Doom: Poems by Ambrose Bierce" and start looking for the moments that take my breath away. My son provided me with an AMAZING God Stop this morning, I adore that kid. I hope you saw God today too, friend.

9 year olds can be so wise...

I came upon something yesterday that reminded me of yet another reason I adore my Jazz. I found a little card she had made me about 5 years ago. It was a crookedly cut piece of a 3x5 card, and she had written on the front " With my God I can skale any wall! You can do it, Mommy!" Oh- I remember the day she gave that to me! We were living in Yacolt, dealing with broken down cars, a broken down marriage, and a feeling of despair as we looked at our life and couldn't see God in it. I was in nursing school and had to miss a clinical assignment because I couldn't get the van to start...and just bawled like a baby. The kids and I took a walk down the driveway (it was a little over a mile to the mailbox) to get the mail and some fresh air. My sweet 9 year old decided to forgo her usual mode of transportation (her incredible purple bike complete with flowery basket on the front and ribbons shooting out the handlebars) and chose to walk alongside me, hand in hand, the whole two miles. I remember getting back to the house with a little more perspective. Later that night, my sweet faced girlie brought me her handwritten card. You see, we had been memorizing Psalm 18: 29 in school ("with your help I can advance against any troop, with my God I can scale any wall"), and I had just been encouraging her the week prior that nothing God wanted for her was out of reach if He was giving her a boost.

What an amazing reminder she gave me...a reminder that with the Lord, nothing would be too overwhelming, nothing too difficult. Sometimes it amazes me how God chooses to talk to us...and through what mouths. Chad Eastham says it really well "You NEVER know how God can use you when you just be YOU." Thank God Jasmine is willing to just be her...sweet, tenderhearted, and an absolute blast. (And we REALLY worked on her spelling...much better now!)

"You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning;
my God turns my darkness into light.

With your help I can advance against a troop ;
with my God I can scale a wall.

As for God, his way is perfect;
the word of the LORD is flawless.
He is a shield
for all who take refuge in him.

For who is God besides the LORD ?
And who is the Rock except our God?" Psalm 18:28-31

(In other related news...God blessed me yet again yesterday in an unexpected way. My insanely patient husband knew I was feeling crummy, and this is what I came home from The Zone to:

Just call me "Blessed". May God bless and keep you today, with His people surrounding you, His Spirit within you, and His grace abounding for you)

Rain, rain, go away...

It's been a crazy week with family affairs to care for, busy days at the hospital and the clinic, and too many appointments with too few hours. But the kids have enjoyed the end of a first trimester in school, volleyball season is over and Jordan played for his first Homecoming game. Parent/teacher conferences went great and nobody is sick...miracles are real!

But now I know why God has been working me so much at both my jobs. Today is my first real day off in weeks, and all I can think of is... I really miss my horses. I just want to bundle up and spend the whole day grooming and cleaning, scrubbing tack and hugging horse necks. I would love to take any of my sweet horses for a nice cruise. Just moseying along where ever we can. I could let Chester walk along in a dry wash bed with mesquite trees and cactus all around, stirring up dust and watching out for those nasty Emus...or wrestle with Stetson as he sprouts wings and thinks he can fly as he runs up the hill behind our house in Yacolt.
Too bad all I can do is sit in my suburban house and watch the Hannah Montana movie. There is nothing left to clean, the kids are hanging with friends... maybe I will take up the trombone.

Another day, another chance...

What a crazy week, waiting to hear if we got the house we wanted, waiting to move, waiting to have a day off with my kiddos. Now that I have the day, I feel like it will all be wasted. My daughter doesn't want to get up yet, my son has Pokemon on the brain, and I can only scrub so many counters. Having patience is always going to be a difficult thing for me, but I so hope I can learn how to do it. Instant gratification is my downfall. :(

Today I think I will praise God for His goodness to me- when it is so totally undeserved, and I will enjoy the moments I have with my kids, no matter what they look like.

"Patience and fortitude conquer all things." Ralph Waldo Emerson