listen

June 19, 2013

It’s that time of year when we fall into bed at much too late an hour every night, only to have the sun awaken us before the alarm the next morning. We drag ourselves out of bed while promising ourselves that elusive afternoon nap that never materializes. Hurried breakfasts and more hurried routines and the dishes and laundry are never quite done. And before we know it, the day is over and we start the cycle anew.

We spend all winter looking forward to spring, then all summer looking forward to the coming of fall. By the time fall arrives, we’re too tired to do anything but anticipate our coming hibernation–which again, never quite looks like we anticipate. There’s always something to rebuild, something to plan, something to work on. And just like that, the winter is over.

The days and the seasons, they ebb and flow–but the busyness, it seems, doesn’t change any more. And when I listen to my schedule and my calendar and my recently organized to do list, I absorb the stress of every task I have yet to do, every item I’ve left undone. The routines become more hurried as the stress mounts, and I can’t enjoy anything when I’m listening to the stress.

But today, I’m making the commitment not to listen to the stress (it only makes me more stressed). Not to promise myself that life will slow down (I should know by now that it won’t). Not to hurry through every moment of every day (hurry doesn’t make for a job well done). Not to miss the ever-changing people and opportunities God has placed in my life (stress makes me selfish).

So tomorrow, when you see me, please feel free to ask me: what are you listening to today? Because I know I’ll need the reminder.

{Five-Minute Friday Prompts: “fall” and “listen“,
because apparently I get writer’s block when I skip a Five-Minute Friday}

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song

May 23, 2013

Last week, I awakened to the sound of three little voices singing in the next bedroom.

“God is great! God is great…”

Their own tune, their own words, praising Him.

(For once, they must have slept long enough to wake up on the right side of the bed.)

The next morning, I heard the patter of raindrops when I awoke.

Thank You, Lord. The fields needed this rain.

(And I was cheerful because it meant less hours my husband would have to spend irrigating.)

This week, the Meadowlark song has been heard outside long before we are up inside.

“Let every thing that has breath praise the Lord.”

(The birds love the spring and the rain and the sun as much as my children do. Except, I don’t think the birds get half so dirty.)

It seems there’s always a song somewhere, praising Him.

If only I remember to join in the praise.

(Forgive me, Lord, for being so silent the rocks have to cry out!)

{Five-Minute Friday Prompt: “Song”}

friends and infertility

April 27, 2013

I suck it in as I glare at the mirror and do my best to dress to hide my extra baby weight. Even as I remember that some of my friends would do almost anything to have those stretch marks and that baby weight.

They hope against hope each month that they will need to test. But sometimes I almost hope I won’t.

I’ve had the news to share three times now, and I never know quite how to say it to some of my friends. How do you tell someone that you are once again getting what they want so badly and have never had?

friends and infertility It’s hard to complain about being up in the night with a fussy baby to a friend who wishes she had a baby to be up in the night with. And the endless laundry and dishes and toys all over the floor look like a tremendous blessing when seen through their eyes.

And now, with a friend facing her first Mother’s Day with empty arms rather than the newborn babe she was to be holding, I weep anew with those who weep.

I can’t begin to imagine the grief so many of my friends face on a daily basis. Yet their stories lend perspective to my own.

I don’t understand why I have little ones to hold while they are left with empty arms. But I know God is sovereign.

So I beg Him to bless their wombs and fill their arms and hearts. Because I long not only to rejoice with those who rejoice; I want to witness miracles in the lives of my friends like those in the stories of Sarah and of Hannah.

{A post based on the Five-Minute Friday prompt “Friend”, in honor of Infertility Awareness Week, and my friends who walk that path…}

Filed Under: Faith, Motherhood Tagged With: Five-Minute Friday 8 Comments

Jump

April 20, 2013

It feels like we’re jumping into the busy season with both feet. All except for Mom–she’s not doing anything with both feet at the moment.

My mother-in-law broke her ankle on Tuesday. And her fall threw us all into a bit of confusion, as we rearrange schedules and plan for a summer without the help of the greenest thumb on the farm.

But we know God has a plan, even in this. So we pray and we plan and we jump in with both feet, in full faith that He will sustain us for the summer ahead. Trusting that as He heals Mom’s leg, He will also grow us more like Him and closer to each other.

And isn’t that what faith always is? A big leap into the unknown, knowing only His hands are there to catch us. And isn’t that what each day should be like? Full reliance on Him for the strength we are never guaranteed.

So we face our summer, differently than we thought, but perhaps more as we ought.

{Five-Minute Friday writing prompt: “jump”}

Filed Under: Faith, Farming Tagged With: Five-Minute Friday 6 Comments

Les Miserables

March 22, 2013

When the beating of your heart
Echoes the beating of the drums
There is a life about to start
When tomorrow comes!
^{(lyrics to “Do You Hear the People Sing”)}

It was over ten years ago that I was first introduced to Les Miserables. I knew it was a classic book, of course, but that was all I knew—until the boy I loved started raving about the story and made me watch the 10th Anniversary Dreamcast version of the Broadway musical. He tried to explain the storyline to me as it went, but it would take a few viewings before I could follow along (especially since he fast forwarded through a song or two). Meanwhile, the stirring songs gripped my heart (but then, I’ve always been a sucker for songs from musicals!).

Phantom faces at the window.
Phantom shadows on the floor.
Empty chairs at empty tables
Where my friends will meet no more.
^{(lyrics to “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables”)}

Then the Focus on the Family Radio Theatre presentation of Les Miserables came out. I could finally follow the story from start to finish, and such a tale of forgiveness and redemption it was.

I made one attempt to read the book sometime in my late teens. But even the paperback version was inches thick and had too much French for me to be able to get through the first chapter.

When we heard there was a new movie version of Les Miserables coming out—well, my husband was excited! We frequently listen to the CD from the Broadway musical, and we’re always telling someone about the story. But we missed out on seeing the new movie in the theater due to travel and sickness, so I was thrilled to be able to tell my husband that I got a copy for review (and one to give away to one of you!).

The Movie

Though I’ve never seen a non-musical version of Les Miserables, I was still surprised to find out that this newest movie is a musical. It presents a very unique experience for the modern day viewer. While being a musical makes the movie a bit harder to follow for those who are not familiar with the storyline, it enables you to connect with the story on a deeper level. It was simply beautiful when the voices blended into a trio and even a quartet or two. My husband recognized the priest’s talented voice immediately: Colm Wilkinson played Valjean for years in the Broadway musical. But this was not your usual Hollywood film with lip-syncing to a studio recorded song: the lyrics were sung on set, as the film was being shot, providing a Broadway-like experience (though with much more lavish sets!)

Les Miserables is not a family film. I will not be showing the movie to my children until they are much older, but I will be telling them the story as they grow old enough to understand it. Because the story of Les Miserables is about so much more than an orphan, a convict, and a prostitute. It is about redemption and forgiveness, mercy and grace. It is very raw and very real; but the very rawness of Les Miserables is a reality we need to be confronted with. Otherwise we run the risk of turning a blind eye to suffering, just like Valjean first did to that of Fantine. As one blogger put it, “Misérable means miserable… But only les misérables find mercy.”

But what struck me most throughout the movie was Eponine. Somehow, in focusing so much on Cosette and Marius’ love story, I’d always missed Eponine. And what a story of sacrificial love hers is!

I love him,
But every day I’m learning,
All my life,
I’ve only been pretending!
Without me,
His world will go on turning…
^{(lyrics from “On My Own”)}

Whether or not you choose to watch the latest musical adaptation of Les Miserables, please familiarize yourself with the story. Because you can’t experience Les Miserables without coming face to face with the paradox of grace.

Giveaway

Allied Faith and Family has put together a brief, 8-page film companion guide with discussion questions that is free for anyone to download (and is available in print upon request). It highlights the principle characters and the biblical parallels.

And, Allied has also provided a giveaway copy of Les Miserables for one of you! (My friend Kristen is also giving away a copy of “Les Miserables” on DVD over at her blog Five in Tow, so head over there for another chance to win!)

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“a story filled with the gritty filth of sin and the pure glory of grace.”
-Natasha Metzler in a review of Les Miserables Radio Theatre

“This powerful story of grace and mercy, redemption and forgiveness completely levels me, and speaks deeply to the tender places of my own fragile heart.”
-Kris Camealy in a review of Les Miserables Radio Theatre

“The story powerfully represents the struggles of each individual soul. The struggle of choosing between right and wrong when the path is unclear. Between conscience and duty when the two seemingly contradict each other.”
-my sister Jessica Elisabeth in a book review of Les Miserables