Be Still

The dinnertime/ bedtime chaos erupted tonight, right as I was telling Frank about how I don't chaos or clutter in my home. Ironic huh? We ate a nice, healthy dinner tonight, as a family, for the first time in a long time it seems. The boys ate well too...they loved their corn on the cob and their baked beans. Go veggies! They cleaned up their toys and then I thawed out some frozen strawberries for them. Jonathan has been begging for strawberries and being that it is January and all, I went with frozen ones. He came in as Frank and I were discussing how I feel about the clutter in the house. It really bothers me, and I don't think that he realized that. Having a small house and two young boys with toys, the clutter seems to be overwhelming most of the time. So, Jonathan comes in and announces that he doesn't like the strawberries and they are "yucky." We corrected him..."They aren't my favorite, but thank you Mommy." That felt better than "yucky." Jacob loved them. He looked like he had bathed in them, but none hit the floor, which is a huge feat for him these days!!!! Meanwhile, Jonathan broke his wooden car and Frank went to fix it in the kitchen with the superglue that is supposed to be the in junk drawer in the kitchen. Which led to me asking why we have a junk drawer? Why can't we organize it? Frank answered, "then it wouldn't be a junk drawer and everybody has a junk drawer." I confess that I rolled my eyes at him, on the inside though (like that makes it ok).

At this point in time Frank notices that I am fed up for some reason. He hugs me and tells me to go sit down and rest, ignore it all, go get a cup of coffee, whatever I need to do. I respond with an ok. Then I call Jonathan for his meds. Then I go looking for the superglue, which isn't in the junk drawer. Back to the kitchen I head and I hear the radio playing a song by Steven Curtis Chapman called Be Still. How cool is the Lord. I called for Frank and the boys and we sat on the kitchen floor and listened. I watched in awe at how hard it was for my kids to "be still." Wow. You would have thought that they were trying to get away from a shot or something.

What is so cool is that this morning I was praying for the Lord to discipline me, because I know He loves me. That is why you discipline...out of love for your children, because you know that there is so much more for them. I am in desperate need of His discipline in my life. When my time spent with him becomes disciplined and consistent, then He can work on the other areas of my life that I have struggled with for a long time. The picture with the boys tonight was perfect. How I resist sitting still before the Lord. Psalm 46:10 says "Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth." When I can take the time to quiet my mind and my heart, that is when He will be exalted in my life. But that doesn't usually happen without a fight. But, the fight is worth it. Case in point, the boys finally quieted and Jonathan told Frank, "Daddy, close your eyes like Mommy." Not that I had done anything great, but the Lord used that moment to teach me and to quiet my heart. Thank you Lord for your grace and persistence with me...that is LOVE!

On a much lighter note, Jonathan noticed and commented for the first time that the characters in the VeggieTales don't have arms:)

And, I still can't find the superglue!