One of Those Days

Lest you think it's always roses and sunshine in the Jones household, I'm going to be honest. I don't want to pretend to be a perfect mommy who has everything together. I don't. I try my best, but there are times (lots of times) when my little spitfire and I have epic battles. And, as you can tell from the picture above, she's not always smiling. Today has been one of those days.

It's been a trying morning...

Yesterday evening, after the storms had finally passed through, Dennis and I headed North to rendezvous with my parents and pick up Micah. We enjoyed a gourmet meal at the Golden Arches in Waynesboro, Tennessee, then we loaded up and headed home. As soon as we walked in the door, I got Micah into her pajamas and into bed. It was well past her bedtime.

This morning, she slept in, so I thought we'd have a pretty low-key morning. I don't know why I think things like that. It always turns out to be wrong.

At any rate, by the time Micah woke up, I had biscuits {the frozen variety} ready, so after I changed her diaper, we headed to the kitchen. Which is where World War III went down. Seriously. She didn't like the cup I got out for her milk, and she wanted nothing to do with her highchair. She writhed in the highchair wailing for at least 20 minutes while I sat at the table and ate breakfast. I guess she finally realized that she wasn't getting another cup, and I wasn't getting her out of the highchair, because all of a sudden, the wailing stopped, she picked up her biscuit and started eating.

What in the world??

After breakfast, there was more general crankiness, so I thought I'd share it with the rest of Iuka. We went into town and dropped by Caytee Belle's Closet to visit with Carly, and then we headed next door to dine at the Mexican restaurant. I dined, but Micah mostly sat there. Not much eating on her part, but thankfully, there was no more wailing.

As all of this was going down, I couldn't help but think of the curriculum series I'm working on at the moment. The lesson that I'm wrestling with this week is on Ephesians 6:1-9, which is about proper relationships in the household, including the parent/child relationship. Specifically, the passage instructs parents "not to provoke [their] children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord."

As I have meditated on the passage this week, I can't help but wonder if there are moments when I unnecessarily provoke Micah to anger. When it comes down to it, it doesn't really matter what cup she drinks out of or whether or not she sits in her highchair to eat. But teaching her to obey does matter. So does teaching her to be grateful for the things that she's given. To say please and thank you. To show gratitude for the milk, whether you like the cup you're drinking out of or not.

Part of bringing Micah up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord is giving her a home where there are rules and boundaries. A home where her father and I are in charge and where there are consequences for disobedience. When we set boundaries and expect obedience and discipline her, we reflect our heavenly Father, who also sets boundaries and expects obedience and disciplines us. As one of the commentaries I read yesterday put it:

"The NEB well translates 'give them the instruction, and the correction, which belong to a Christian upbringing' ... This is the highest duty of Christian parents. As Dale puts it, 'parents should care more for the loyalty of their children to Christ than for anything besides, more for this than for their health, their intellectual vigour and brilliance, their material prosperity, their social position, their exemption from great sorrows and great misfortunes.'"

Francis Foulkes, The Tyndale NT Commentary on Ephesians

When it comes down to it, I deeply desire for Micah to grow into a young woman who loves and serves the Lord cheerfully. Molding her into that type of woman starts now as we are deep in the throes of toddlerhood. I care more about shaping her character than the crocodile tears she sheds when she doesn't get her way. Sometimes I feel like a mean mommy, but establishing boundaries is one of the most loving things I can do for her.

That's what I tell myself anyway.

Until next time, grace and peace.

And the Rains Came Down

It's a dark and stormy morning around these parts. Very dark and very stormy. So far, I've seen three tornado warnings expire for our county, but another one is issued until 10:45 a.m. You see that big white spot on the map that says "Greatest Risk?" We're right in the middle of it. Fun times.

The good thing about living in a small, one-story house is that no matter what room I'm in, I'm always on the ground level. The bad thing is that we really don't have any interior rooms. Our master closet is the closest thing to an interior room that we have, so, basically, if a tornado hits our house, we're doomed.

I have a long history of fear when it comes to tornadoes. It all started in the fifth grade when an F4 tornado ripped through my neighborhood. I was standing at the top of the stairs when it passed over our house, and I'll never forget what it felt like to have the house tremble around me. By the time I made it downstairs to the bathroom, it was all over. Four people died just down the street from us. My dad helped search for their bodies. It was one of the longest and scariest nights of my life.

That experience left me quite skittish of days like today. I don't want to live in fear, but I do have a healthy respect for such violent weather.

I hope you're all staying safe and dry today. I'll be huddling in a closet before too long, I'm sure.

Until next time, grace and peace.

Easter in the Jones Household

What a weekend we had! It was filled with egg dyeing, visiting with my parents, celebrating at church, egg hunting, and general fun. It's no secret that I'm striving to be more intentional this year, and that includes the way we celebrate holidays. More than anything, I want Micah to know that Easter is about more than a fictional bunny that delivers candy in the middle of the night. It's about more than new clothes and egg hunts and yummy food. It's about a risen Savior. That changes the way we approach a lot of things in our home. For one thing, the Easter bunny doesn't know our address. Micah still received a basket of small gifts, but it came from her daddy and me. We still dyed Easter eggs because we can use them as object lessons for the new life we have in Christ, and yesterday afternoon, Micah hunted plastic eggs in the yard because empty Easter eggs are a great way to convey the message of an empty tomb. We're trying to be thoughtful about the traditions we practice and honor in our home. For us, it's worth it to sacrifice the Easter bunny because it allows the cross and subsequent empty tomb to be the center of our Easter reflections.

At any rate, the way we celebrate Easter may be a little different than most American families, but it works for us. Here are some images from the weekend.

Egg dyeing with Micah was a lot of fun. She was patient and interested in the process, and she even "dyed" her own (plastic) egg while I took care of the real eggs.

Since my parents were here to visit, we had someone to take our picture yesterday afternoon after church. Yay for a family portrait!

Micah enjoyed hunting eggs for a little while, but she soon lost interest and preferred hanging out with her Nana and Grampa, who took her home with them yesterday afternoon. It's a quiet house around here without my little spitfire, but that also means that I have a little uninterrupted time to do a bit more writing and designing.

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend! How did you celebrate??

Until next time, grace and peace.