echoing

(** i wrote this post after coming home at christmas and somehow it missed getting posted. hmmmm...)

we just returned from a trip visiting family. i smile thinking about how haven now kneels on one knee when singing 'ring around the rosies' with her babies. and how when we pass a mirror or picture of herself she exclaims, 'that's you!' in a way that you know she thinks this phrase to be her name. time spent playing with grandad and his aging knees and listening to a mama recount over and over again the baby in the pictures with mommy and daddy have left their mark. she echoes what she sees. hears. she clearly displays what we do. are. i wonder what i echo. soon, she won't be so obvious in her mirroring. like me, she'll be inundated with things to reflect back. but, oh, to echo one thing. and to echo it well. simplify my voice in 2010, lord.

i listened to this sermon ten years ago and passed it along to a sweet friend this christmas. you can listen or read, it's lengthy and challenging, but oh so worth the investment.

repeat the sounding joy

may you be filled with peace, granted much grace, and given many opportunities to bless others in 2010

merry christmas

giving

(*it's about time for a new post, huh?)

ever since i returned from kenya, my mind has been stirring about giving. y'all, i have stuff. a lot of it. not enough to make it on that hoarders show, but definitely more than one needs. and money. it spills out of my purse, haven finds it in between the cushions and we even keep a little in the bank too. i bet you have some in all the same places. anyways, this week i've really been thinking about this story...

The Widow's Offering

21:1 Jesus [1] looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, 2 and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. [2] 3 And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. 4 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”

... and pondering what it means. for me. for now. not that i'm looking to regift the three half-used bottles of body lotion in the bathroom. but what if i gave more like the widow and less like the rich? joyfully. trusting. all. less like the couch cushion fund-- more like the bank account. more like heifer international-- less like best buy.

haven just learned the fabulous new word, that she doesn't just say, she articulates. 'MIIINEEEEE'. as we try to emphasize sharing, it's our hope that she learns nothing is really ours to hold to tightly.

Lord, my prayer is that she, that we, would give as the widow. trusting that you will provide for our needs. giving freely of what you've entrusted to us. not what comes easily, but what takes sacrifice.