Reasons to Stay Home

As I approach the final deadline for telling my work what I will do next year, I find myself resigned to resigning. And yet part of me really hates that. I don't want to resign myself to a course of action. I want to know why I'm choosing whatever I choose, so that when life gets difficult, I can focus of my purpose and not on the yuckiness. Either choice will be difficult. Staying home can be isolating. Working can be stressful and distracting. I don't want to stay home just because of peer or family pressure.

So here are some reasons why I'm considering staying home...

1. I can teach my son the ways of God. This includes teaching, training, loving, disciplining, serving, and all sorts of things I don't even know yet. Granted, this is not excluded if I do work. Even if I do work, I have a responsibility to parent my son. Yet, there is a time factor that cannot be ignored. The more time I spend with my son, the more opportunities I have to take advantage of teachable moments and to model Christlike values. (That thought is very scary to me by the way. Who am I to model these values?)
2. Daycare is not needed if I stay home. I know what my son experiences and how he's cared for.
3. I would have more time to participate in ministry opportunities with my church. If I work, my time would be more limited and my ministry focused at work.
4. We don't need my income. I don't work for the money involved. Every penny I've earned since we've been married has gone to a down payment on a house, giving, or long-term saving.
5. I could pursue other careers--teaching piano lessons, getting a master's degree, teaching community college....

This decision would be a lot easier if I considered my job just a job. But I don't. I see my job as an opportunity to impact people, and that's why I work.

Kid Prayers

Ways I'm praising God for the Kid...

• for the life God's given
• for his perfection in creating the Kid for his purposes
• for planning and ordaining the Kid's days
• for knowing him better than I ever will
• for meeting his needs before I know them
  

Ways I'm praying for the Kid...

• that he'd passionately, wholeheartedly follow Christ
• that he'd thank God for the days he's given
• that he'd seek God's help during difficult times
• that he'd know Scripture and live by it
• that he'd glorify your name
• that he'd open his eyes, heart, and mind to know you from a young age
• that he'd understand and discern the truth about God
• that he'd boldly share that truth with others in love and with grace
• that he'd seek to make you known all over the world
• that he'd inherit L's teeth and my eyesight
• that he'd be filled with joy and laughter and yet be able to seriously connect with others
• that he'd love the outdoors
• that he'd be astounded by God's creation
• that he'd be healthy
• that he'd love learning--both in terms of knowledge and experience

Ways I'm praying for L and me in regards to the Kid...

• that we'd be faithful stewards of God's gift
• that we'd seek wisdom in parenting
• that we'd trust God's sovereignty
• that we'd be faithfully patient
• that we'd seek God's guidance
• that we'd follow Christ's example of sacrificial love
• that we'd pass on a passion for loving and knowing Christ
• that God would shelter the Kid from our weaknesses
• that God's power would be made perfect in our weakness

This is a long list, and I guess I sum it all up by thanking God for the Kid's life and praying that the Kid would glorify God by passionately and wholeheartedly follow Christ. May it be so....

The Smallest of Flowers...

...often go unnoticed.

...are usually hard to find.

...survive harsh climates.

...demonstrate beauty even when no one is looking.

...praise their Creator, no matter who's looking.

...are so unique.

...and yet are not alone.

...bloom for the short time their climate allows.

...cover even rocky earth with color.

...reveal the mind of their Creator.

Perspective

Warning: Drama queen moment ahead.

Amazing what a few seconds can do to change your perspective. One moment I'm writing a list for the grocery store with thoughts of the job/no job debate running through my brain. A few moments later, I'm staring at my husband who has passed out at my feet. First of all, I realize I have no idea what to do in medical situations like this. I can't rouse him, and I don't know what to do. Then of course the proverbial flood of questions bombard me while I'm trying to figure out what to do. What if...? What if...? What if...? You can fill in the blanks.

I'm thankful for my husband. I'm thankful that he's very healthy. I'm thankful for an urgent care facility mere blocks from our house. I'm thankful for a slow morning at the said urgent care facility. I'm thankful for a soft surface to catch fainting husbands. I'm thankful for a God would still be God even if all the "what ifs" came true.