God and Fog

This morning I woke up to a very foggy day. The fog was thick that it hid the cornfield right behind our house. I love fog. It is beautiful and mysterious. The familiar becomes the unknown. Time seems to slow down during a foggy day. Fog is one of God's more unique and expressive ideas.

Fog is also like God and like Christianity. We read the Bible, we pray, we go to church and learn about God. We become familiar with Him. Then we have a day or an experience and all of a sudden God seems hidden, just like the cornfield was this morning. We know that God is there that He hasn't moved, yet we can't see or feel Him as easily. Our knowledge tells us God is still there, but our experience says "I can't see him, I'm lost."

It is very easy to get lost and turned around during a thick fog experience. You can walk in circles and not even know it. I know that in my life I've done this a few times with God. I know where He, and I know who He is, but my experiences have me going in circles and getting nowhere.

What is the answer? Today I just had to wait for the fog to "burn off" and slowly the cornfield was revealed. When it comes to Christ I have to do the same thing. I keep reading and praying and slowly the veil of knowledge and feeling is lifted and once more I am headed in the right direction. It is about faith and trust and knowing that even in the fog God is still there and still watching out for me and that if I am patient I will once more see Him.

-JLP-

Why I Smile

Hi! I hear that Mommy calls me Punky Jr. here on her blog. I kinda like that. I think that it means I'm spunky and a lot of fun, which I am. I'm GREAT, or so everyone tells me. Don't tell Mommy but I am doing her blog today. I thought it would be fun, she sure seems to think writing is fun.

Today I want to talk about why I smile and giggle all the time. I smile and giggle because it is so much fun! Life is fun! During the day I get to play with Mommy A LOT, and we do lots of neat things. We go for walks where Mommy pushes me in the stroller, now that's living, though if I could walk I could go where I want to go! We also read a lot, books are so interesting. I am learning to count, learning about colors, science and fairy tales. My favorite book though is my Precious Moments book about Easter. Or maybe my Bearenstain Bears book about being sick.

What else do we do? We eat, and food is yummy. I especially love fruit, or whatever Mommy has on her plate. Her food is always yummier, so I try to get a few bites! I give her my cute smile and just like that I get a couple of bites! I also spend time in my bouncy chair thing, that is fun!!! Oh and we dance a LOT, mommy LOVES to dance with me and the way she dances is CRAZY, I think my Mommy is a bit weird, but she loves me so being weird is ok. Let's see...I'm just 9 months old so remembering things is hard. Oh yeah, I am learning how to play ball! That is fun because we can play outside and after we pass the ball back and forth Mommy lets me swing in my swing and I go so HIGH, it is like I am flying!

Oh, I think Mommy is coming and she has a bottle, so I'm going! Mommy says today is Windsday, but I think she is wrong, it isn't windy at all, it is sunny so it must be Sunday. Whatever day it is, have a happy one and remember to smile because smiles are fun!

-Punky-

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

It is just about THAT time again! The time when kisses happen under mistletoe, sleigh bells ring, chestnuts roast on upon fires and Jack Frost comes nipping our noses! The most wonderful time of the year! I am very excited to celebrate Christmas this year with my husband, daughter and his family (and of course all of our friends)! I hope that Punky Jr. learns to love Christmas as much as I do.

It isn't just the presents, the beautiful lights or the fun songs that are so magical to me. It is being in His presence and celebrating His birth, knowing that Jesus is the most wonderful gift the world will ever know, the only gift the world really needs! Jesus is the reason for the season.

Darby and I plan to make Christ the central focus of our celebrating, yet Christmas should also be a lot of fun. I know that our Lord has a sense of humor (we get it from Him) so I know that He enjoys having fun and wants us to have fun as well. One tradition that we are starting this year is the Elf on the Shelf tradition (gotta go order my elf)! The elf was originally designed to remind kids to be good. The elf starts out on a shelf, but every night after the kids go to bed he goes back to the North Pole to report to Santa on the behavior in the house.

I really have no problem with Santa, I think stories about Santa are fun. They are make believe and fun. Yet, I see easy ways to turn the Elf on the Shelf into lessons about Christ. The Elf watching over us reminds us that Jesus is sees EVERYTHING, Jesus is watching us and it makes Him happy when we do what we should. On the other hand it makes Him sad when we are naughty. I do think it will be fun to see where Mr. Elf pops up each morning!

There are so many traditions that I can't wait to celebrate with my family and as Punky Jr. grows up I can't wait to pass on those traditions to her. Christmas really is the most wonderful time of the year, and that is why I can't wait to decorate our house and prepare to celebrate the most important birthday ever!

What are your favorite Christmas traditions that you are really excited about this year?

-JLP-

I THOUGHT I Knew!

Growing up I spent a lot of time babysitting. I have always loved being around kids. Kids are such a joy to life. So I thought that I was 100% prepared to be a mother. I am an expert at changing diapers, making bottles and playing with little kids. I love to read to kids, cuddle babies and play. So, I'm going to be pretty good at this mothering thing, right!?!

Famous last words! I am good at changing Punky's diaper and feeding her. She and I play a lot and we have fun and she is happy and healthy, so in the grand scheme of things everything is going really well. Most of all she knows that she is very very loved and that is what is most important.

The part that has thrown me for a loop though is her development. Being around all sorts of babies in my life I know that every child develops at their own rate. Some have teeth by 5 months, some by 13. Some babies crawl early and a lot, some babies for a day or two and by 10 months they are off and walking all around the house. Each baby has her own schedule for when she is going to accomplish something new.

I was not ready to worry about Punky and stress that she isn't doing everything as quickly as her friends! As a counselor and someone that has studied and understands child development I know that she is just fine. Yet as a mother I want my baby to be able to do what she seems to want to do, but hasn't figured out! The mother in me worries for her! I was not prepared for that feeling!!!

I thought I knew all about what I was going to feel and how this parenting thing would go! Alas, babysitting and being a nanny is not the same as being a mother! Being a mother just means that you worry. I want the best for her.  I am learning though that she is just fine, when she is good and ready she will buckle down and figure things out, and till that day we are going to relax and enjoy the stage that we are in and soak up all the cuddles before she is off to the races!

-JLP-

I Dreamed WHAT!?!

I have no earthly idea why, but I tend to have the craziest, most outlandish dreams of anyone I know. I can usually trace where many of the elements came from, but still why they combine in such a way I do not know. A lot of my friends and family say that I should make them into a book, maybe one day I will. It would definitely go in the comedy section.

I have been fighting a cold (day 8 now) and this morning Punky Jr. and I were resting in the master bed when we both drifted off. I had Fox News on when I fell asleep and as I slept I was whisked away into one of the weirdest dreams that I have had, and that is saying something. The amazing thing for me is how well I remember my dreams. I remember my dreams better and longer than I remember most real life events (my psych friends would enjoy that tidbit)! Honestly! Here for your enjoyment is my dream!

I was at home with my husband, daughters (Punky was 3 and her lil twin sisters Addy and Alex-short for Alexandra were 18 months). It was Nov. 1 and we were gearing up to watch the last presidential debate when we get a telegram informing us that the venue for the debate had to be changed due to terrorist threat so the new venue was our house.

Now, we lived in a forested area outside of Charlottesville, VA. We were on Afton Mountain overlooking Waynesboro. We had about 5 acres of land. It was very pretty. We lived in a log home that my husband and his company designed and built. It was 3 stories.

You entered a grand foyer and to your left was a spiral staircase that spanned all three levels. In the "basement" (it was a walk-out in the back, had a great patio) were two wings each had a 2 bedroom 1 bath in-law suite. In the center was a living area with a galley kitchen and Darby's man space complete with pool table, home gym, and a state of the art entertainment and gaming area.  On the first floor was open living space with a living room, dining area and state of the art kitchen. There was also a master suite which led to my library/writer's room.

The top level was the kid level. It had a dedicated study/reading space, tv/play space and each kid had their own bedroom, specially designed for them. They shared a generously sized bathroom.  From the study space you could access the attic where we kept all our Christmas stuff (and it was a lot).

As soon as I received the telegram I began to panic! How was I going to decorate the house to look tv ready for the debate? Darby looked at me and said, "Don't worry the girls and I will help." I laughed because I knew 18 month old girls were not much help decorating! Not long after a bunch of my girl friends showed up (Amanda, Kaley, Jessy, Candice, Noelle, Kim, Christina, Bethany, Sherri, Amy and Kimberly). It was an army of awesome helpers!

Only they were dressed in normal clothes, they were dressed up as Disney characters (Amanda was Belle, Kaley was Pocahontas, Jessy was McQueen, Candice was Eeyore, Noelle was Cinderella, Kim was Tigger, Christina was Mrs. Potts, Bethany was Lady from Lady and the Tramp, Sherri was Nemo, Amy was Goofy and Kimberly was Pooh Bear). I'm beginning to wonder what was going and why they were dressed up but there was no time to talk. Darby went up into the attic and before I knew it the house was decorated for Christmas!

Now, I said we lived in a log house and that is not totally true, the more I looked at it the more I realized that it was not logs at all that made our house, but baby bottles painted to look like logs! That threw me for a loop! I began to hope that America wouldn't think I was weird, living in the baby bottle house!

We were about half finished when the candidates showed up to prepare! It wasn't Obama and Romney though. It was Bob the Tomato (from Veggie Tales) and Papa Bear (from the Bearenstain Bears). Bob was the Whig party candidate and Papa was a Federalist.

Punky and her sisters of course wanted autographs. And to talk, and they got all excited when they were told that the candidates would be here for awhile, so Punky said, "Daddy has a hidden swimming pool in his dog pound, you want to go swimming?" Of course they did, and we all went downstairs only it wasn't the man space anymore but a full fledged water park!

I didn't know what twilight zone I was in, I wanted to go upstairs and relax while everyone (thing!?!) was downstairs partying. So I walked up the stairs only I wasn't in my living room when I got upstairs, but a lamp, it looked like the inside of the lamp on the old television show. I was just trying to figure out how to escape when I woke up.

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I hope you enjoyed. I certainly thought it was interesting!

-JLP-

Life...Very Valuable!

For a few months back in 2002 I was mired in a pit of despair. I was confused, angry, scared, hurt, lost and felt totally alone. I was alive but I was in such a place emotionally that I was not really living, just existing. I didn't want to just exist, so I tried to end it all.  God had something else to say. My time here was not up.  Since that dark dark night I have learned that even when things seem bleakest, life is very valuable. God loves us and wants to help, to shine His light in our lives, to fill us with love and joy.

Life at all stages is very valuable. From before conception our lives, or days are known by God. He knew us before we were born, He knit us in the womb, He created us to be the special individual that we each are. As we grow and develop God is there, holding us, guiding us, encouraging us to learn, to grow and to know Him. Throughout life we learn, we gain wisdom and hopefully we seek His face and develop an abiding love for our Savior.

As seniors we will hopefully have a wisdom that comes from life experiences and from a lifetime of communing with the Savior and his Holy Spirit. Pre-born babies are awesome and amazing, fragile and special. Old people are also awesome and amazing, there is a lot that we can learn from them.

Yet, this 21st century American culture values neither the pre-born or the long lived. Both are seen as disposable. The pre-born are disposable because they can't defend themselves, we can't see them with the naked eye, so they are obviously not "alive". The long lived are no longer able to work to provide money for the government (so it can share the wealth) so they are not important either, they life is almost over so why not hasten it?  (sounds eerily like communism)

I fear that God up in Heaven is looking down in dismay at how we don't value each other. Not only in life and death matters, but we are not nice to each other! We are rude, hateful, bullies! We hurt each other physically and emotionally. We are not a loving, Christ following culture.

In God's eye all life is valuable. Everyone deserves love and respect. Everyone is a special creation, a child created by HIM. If only more of us could see with God's eyes, could feel with God's heart. If only more people had God's hands and feet.

Dear Lord,
   As I go about my day help me to see each person as you see them. Help me to reflect Your love with my actions. Help me to value life the way You do!

Thank you.

-JLP-

Checking My Attitude

In just about 2 weeks my book, Joyfully After All will hit the online "shelves" on amazon.com! It has been quite an adventure, and a huge answer to a life time of prayers. Nothing worth while seems to happen quickly or without effort, and this book certainly has been a long time coming and a lot of effort, but that just makes me even prouder to finally say I am a published author!

Part of the struggle has been to find the time to work on the book and the marketing and meet the needs of my husband and daughter. As most mothers can relate, working (even working from home), being a wife, and a mother are each full time jobs and to hold down all 3 is quite the juggling act! The first thing to go is generally sleep.

I am feeling the lack of sleep today, not sure why it hit me so hard today but about an hour ago I hit a wall and I am pressing on because bed time will not be till 9 or 10 pm. It is on days like today that I have to remind myself to always be checking my attitude. Being tired can easily lead to being crabby and impatient and that is not fair to my daughter or my husband, so I have to constantly say a quick prayer, "Lord you know that I am tired and trying to serve my family. Please help me to have the necessary energy and an attitude that honors you."

No matter what you are juggling in your life, make sure you check your attitude. It may not be easy, but your family, friends, and co-workers will appreciate it and having a pleasing attitude in the midst of the drudgery of daily life is a great way to model Christ!

Save your pennies for Joyfully After All! It will be worth every one, I promise!

-JLP-