Family

The Time Machine: 3 Weeks of Thanks Week 2

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The Time Machine series features posts from years past.

This week I’m continuing with 3 Weeks of Thanks. It’s tough when you’re in the middle of raising kids to stop and remember the little things, and that’s why I’m so glad I posted this a few years ago! This is one of my favourite memories of a quiet moment with our oldest daughter, who turns seven this winter. She was nearly three years old at the time.

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pink clouds

Pink clouds one October morning

This morning I got to watch the sunrise with my oldest daughter.

“What’s that pink stuff?”  she asked.

“The clouds.  They sometimes turn pink in the morning,” I explained.

“When’s they come back?”

“Usually when the sun goes down.”

It was a particularly beautiful way to start the day!

3WT Week#2:

Romans 1:20 (NIV)

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

The Time Machine: 3 Weeks of Thanks

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The Time Machine series features posts from years past.

Five years ago I started to make Thanksgiving a bit more of a season in our home with something I call “3 Weeks of Thanks”. This was originally posted in September 2015.  Enjoy!

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wildflower bouquet

We grew these in our backyard in the summer of 2015

This is my third year attempting to make Thanksgiving into something of a season in our home.  I call it 3 Weeks of Thanks.

Christmas gets a nice long season with fun festivities.  Easter gets at least a week.

But Thanksgiving?  Usually it’s like, “oh by the way we’re having Thanksgiving dinner in three days from now – what do you want to bring?”

“YIPES!  Cook the potatoes!  Did we get a big enough turkey? Should I mash that can-shaped cranberry sauce or leave it in the shape of the can?  I think we need more stuffing.”

Fun and yummy!  BUT…  it’s more than all that.  Reading the news lately makes me realize that my kids are experiencing a life that most people do not.  The things that are so normal for them are completely out of reach for many kids their age.  My heart aches to think that they will become entitled and take these things for granted.

And yet, I know they probably will.  It’s human nature.  They will look back at my ideas like 3 Weeks of Thanks and think, “boy, my mom was the cheesiest woman on the planet.  Remember when we used to write all those things we were thankful for on those construction paper leaves and tape them to the wall for the Thanksgiving Tree?  No one actually has a thanksgiving tree.  What a ridiculous thing that isn’t a real thing.”

But you know what?  I don’t care.  I want them to understand that everything we have is not because we are awesome and can do it all by ourselves.  I want them to know that God is real.  He is present.  He is WITH us.  He is worthy of our worship.  He is the source of Life.

And when they begin to realize that life is not fair, bad things happen, and even that people do bad things, I want them to know everything is not random and pointless.

Hard to imagine that a construction paper tree is going to make a difference when that time comes.  But God shows up in very ordinary things.  And He uses very ordinary people.
3WT Week#1:

“But Jesus said, ‘Let the children come to me.  Don’t stop them!  For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.”

Matthew 19:14 (NLT)

The Big Question in Our Home These Days

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I sat down on the floor. Almost immediately, all three girls surrounded me. One climbed into my lap, one tucked herself under my arm and the other nestled into my side. As I pulled a Berenstain Bears book off the shelf and began to read aloud, I could feel their bodies relaxing. Mine was too, which came as a surprise to me. Only moments before, I was about to dive right into Screaming Mama Abyss, moving closer to the edge with each shrill word exchanged between the three of them. Instead, I breathed deep and did the OPPOSITE of what I felt like.

I got real quiet.

I sat.

I read.

I cuddled.

I hugged.

I poured some mama love all over those children.

love

It was exactly what our hearts needed that afternoon. You see, the big question in our house right now is “do you still love me?”. A new baby brings amazing joy into a family but it also brings a wave of change that’s enough to spin-cycle you right out into the middle of the ocean. These sweet girls of mine are desperate to know that their parents still love them more than ever, even with a new cute little brother on the scene. He’s starting to coo and smile and getting a ton of attention, and they really want to know how this is all going to work out for them in the long run.

As with any change, we need amazing grace and the gift of time.  Grace for each other, time to adjust. You simply cannot rush into a “new normal”, whatever that new normal happens to be. It’s enough right now just to know that no matter what the day holds, we’re not walking through it alone!