Fulfilling Day

Today was a very full AND fulfilling day for us. Craig and I, along with some brothers and sisters from church, attended the Dave Ramsey Total Money Makeover event in San Antonio, and it was a lot of fun. A lot of sitting, but still fun, and very worthwhile. Dave talked all about how and why we have to make our money behave for us, the stupid mistakes we’re making and how to fix them, and what the Bible says about it all. He also talked quite a bit about marriage and kids, and that you cannot attain peace in any of those areas, including your finances, if Jesus isn’t the center of your life. Now, how often do you hear THAT at a financial seminar? Not often enough, I tell you.

Tonight, our family watched Fireproof, the third movie put out by Sherwood Baptist Church in Atlanta, GA. Just like its two predecessors, it proved to be a great movie, full of truths and wisdom that you certainly don’t get from Hollywood. It is so refreshing to be able to watch a good-quality movie with no cursing, no violence, no nudity, and no taking of the Lord’s name in vain. You can’t even get that in G-rated cartoons anymore! Then you add the message of Christ and his saving grace and peace, and you’ve got the best movies to ever hit your television screen. (We didn’t see this one at the theater, regrettably.) This one is about marriage, and it is very inspiring, to say the least, especially in a country where marriage is taken so lightly. It seems that people enter into it without fully considering the person to whom they are committing their lives, and the covenant that it requires. It’s no longer a covenant to most, however, but more of a business deal. ‘We’ll try this, and as long as it remains mutually beneficial to both parties involved, our contract will remain intact. However, when (not IF) one party is no longer satisfied with the performance of the other partner, the deal is off. It’s time to find another party with which to merge.’ It’s such a frightful thing to me, that most people think love is a feeling – one that comes and goes, and we are to follow it at will. THAT is not love. Love is verb. It’s an action that must be performed every day, whether you feel like it or not. Whether I like my spouse or not, it is my duty and my commitment to LOVE him every day, the way the Bible teaches love. And that means that it is a conscious effort to deny yourself and serve the other person, just as Christ did for the church. Marriage is HARD, yes, but if you follow God’s plan, it is so fulfilling, and glorifies Him daily. You HAVE to learn that selfishness has no place in a marriage, though, or you’ll never get it. That’s a hard lesson to learn, and for me, one that I must refresh daily. Sometimes I don’t do so well, but thankfully, I have a husband who is extremely unselfish (99% of the time, anyway) and he reminds me how it’s done. It’s very sad to think of, or know people who don’t have the blessing of a spouse that truly loves them(in the active sense), and I thank God every day for that. I pray that He will make me into a wife for which my husband will be just as thankful. Some days, it’s easy to be loving and kind, if the mood strikes you. But, there are others, for women, anyway, that you just feel mean and vindictive, and nothing he does is right. (I can hear him saying “AMEN!” to that already.) The challenge is to override those feelings with Biblical, agape love, and still treat him with honor and kindness. That is not always easy. I’m sure men go through the same thing, but they aren’t as moody and cyclical as women. Craig seems to be much more level, anyway. Okay, I got a little preachy there… I didn’t mean to write a column, just going with what my tired and up-too-late brain is dwelling on at the moment.

Back to my regular train of thought… Last night (before I became a philosopher), some of my good girlfriends and sister came over for the night, and we had a grand time. Dinner, kiddos, girl-chatting, and just catching up made for a very nice evening. We sent all the boys, and one lone little girl, to the bedroom with Open Season 2 to keep them occupied while we had our girl time. Craig and I had to bail out of here early this morning, though, so I left them breakfast groceries, and Cari got to do today’s entertaining. It’s really weird to have a house full of company and leave them all here. It’s not something I’ve done before, I guess, but we had the live thing today, so we went. The boys stayed here with Cari after everyone else left, and she even had them clean the house before we got home. Now THAT is a good babysitter, especially considering I didn’t have to pay her!

I’ll leave tonight with some excellent dialogue I managed to scribble down in the car on Wednesday night as we drove home from services. Now and again, when the conversations take a turn for the ‘interesting,’ I dig for a pen and some scratch paper and just start writing as fast as I can. Craig will ask what I’m doing, and I have to tell him I’m getting good blog material!

1 - Our friend Karen, on a cold night, wore a crocheted collar/cape and hat. When we got in the car, I was telling Craig that another friend had crocheted it for her, and Jake said, “I don’t see why they wear that stuff when it has all those holes in it!” I had to explain to him that it’s not as much for warmth as it is for decoration. Men!

2 - I don’t remember how we got to this point, but we were talking about the boys growing up and moving out.

Christy- (sarcastically to Craig) You know they’re all gonna live at home.
Craig- NO, they’re NOT!
Levi- (whines in disappointment and shock)
Christy- (to Levi) Don’t you want a wife and kids? You can’t ALL live with us.
Levi- (screws up his mouth in contemplation, then answers decidedly) I’d rather have an automatic car. You know, one where you sit back and it does all the driving.
Craig- You’re going to have your own house and your own car and your own kids and your own tetherball pole in the backyard.
Levi- (with a look of confusion and hopelessness, shrugging his shoulders in the universal “I don’t know” gesture) But, sometimes you ask someone and the one you want says no!
Craig- What are you talking about?
Levi- A wife!
Craig- (Forceful, but reassuringly) WELL, then you keep trying ‘til you FIND one! I’ll HELP you!

3 – Levi was standing in his little whitey-tighties, washing his hands, and I poked at one of his
little nipples and asked him what ‘those’ are called. (I know what he calls them, I just like to
hear it!) His reply was, “Nibbles! But yours are not called nibbles. They’re called boobies.”
“Breasts,” I lovingly corrected him, with a smile.
“Yeah,” he said, “ and I call my underwear ‘underwear’, and I call your’s ‘pantie-o’s’.”
I didn’t correct him. It’s just too cute! Just like when he used to call his breakfast ‘yote-meal.’
You know they’ll figure it out at some point, so enjoy it while you can!