Eating as a social event ...

As a mom, I spend a lot of time preparing food. Most days the kids and I have 3 square meals together around the table. Tom usually gets to join us for at least one.

Phoebe refuses to eat alone. She has to have somebody sitting with her. She will settle for her brother in a high chair, but she usually insists on having me right next to her. If I am still in the kitchen or trying to get a load of laundry in the dryer, she'll persistently tell me to, "Sit down Mommy! Mommy eat!"

I've been ruminating on her dislike to eat alone --- or anyone's dislike to eat alone for that matter. Since infancy, meals are a social event. As a baby nurses, he is pressed up against his mother looking her in the eyes. Or if an infant takes a bottle she is still in the arms of a trusted adult interacting and making connections. Once a baby graduates to table food, he still needs someone else to help him eat: to be near.

To eat is to commune with others. Maybe this is why important holidays include a feast of some sort. Maybe this is why we ask new friends to join us for a meal. Maybe this is why God invites us to the Table to partake of the gift of His Son.

I love that when we share eternity with the Father, Son, and Spirit it will be at a huge banquet table with good food, good friends, and good conversation. We will never have to eat alone. Phoebe will LOVE that.

Spiritual Disciplines as a busy mom ...

As a kid, I remember time creeping by. The minute hand took years to get to it's destination for recess. Christmas was a decade away in November. My birthday seemed to happen once a century.

Now I wake up, change a few diapers, fix a little food, maybe get a load of laundry done, and poof it's bed time. The hours race by me leaving me feeling dizzy and a bit disoriented. I often ask, "Where did that day go?"

So in a day that lasts a minute, when do I find time to practice the spiritual disciplines: prayer, study, solitude, etc.?

My experiment of the last couple of months looks something like this ... I've let the lines of the spiritual and the everyday blur. For example, at the breakfast table Phoebe and I read the lectionary passages intermittently with her children's Bible story book. She loves to pray for her family and friends by name. While I throw a load of laundry in the dryer I try to contemplate the scripture we read in the morning. During nap time I sit for at least ten minutes in just the quiet. When we go on walks I try to remember to celebrate God's creation. If I wrong one of my children, I confess it to them even if they don't understand.

I'm realizing God fully knows the demands of motherhood. He doesn't expect us to grow in spite of our circumstances, but uniquely through them.

Friend how do you incorporate faith in the everyday?

Things we are learning

Each week is full of new discoveries for each of the Fuerstians.

Phoebe has learned to ...
click her tongue
say thank you on a consistent basis without prompts
count to two
talk our friend Janet into almost anything :)
be a hostess (she gets capri suns out of the fridge for friends who come over)
"swim" in the bathtub
hugs from friends are a good thing not a threat

Tommy has learned to ...
sit up by himself with no support
eat cereal
roll over with the aim of getting something or going somewhere
bite fingers (he's got two teeth now)
sleep in his crib for 7 hours at a time at night
pull his socks off and suck on them
yell just for the pure pleasure of making noise

I've learned ...
to let dirty dishes sit in the sink overnight so I have time to talk to my husband
people feel more at home in my house when it is a bit chaotic like theirs
God wants to give me good things not just expects good things from me
Living in Florida in February is quite nice
freshly made Krispy Kreme doughnuts are a taste of the heavenly feast
having moments just to be myself with friends makes me appreciate being a mom and wife more

Dear friend I hope you have been learning too.

Learning to call a friend

Just for the record, the phone intimidates me. In person, I can seem to put words together in an effective way to communicate what is going on in my head. Put me on a phone and I become all consonants. Until recently I had to write myself a script to order pizza.

But there are times when face to face meetings with friends are impossible, but yet I feel lonely. I just need another adult voice in the midst of toddler talk. The phone stares at me. When I pick it up to dial a number I begin to think things like ...

- I bet my friend isn't home
- or maybe she is busy
- should I really bother her?
- what if her husband is home and they are having family time?
- or she might finally be having a peaceful moment should I interrupt that?

Many times I regretfully put the phone back on the counter thinking to myself that I'll call another time.

You know what I've realized lately: the worse that can happen is my friend can ask if we can talk later. What a revelation huh? But a freeing one.

As I have begun picking up the phone and actually dialing I've found friends who need to talk, too.

God created us to live in community. He, himself, is a community: Father, Son, and Spirit.

Go ahead and call someone.

Season's of a woman's life

"Women's lives happen in seasons." This phrase from a wise leader at Asbury Seminary rings in my head quite often. The more I ponder it, the more it rings true for me.

Currently I am in the season of young motherhood, which includes rainstorms of tantrum tears, mudslides of dirty laundry, refreshing breezes of children's laughter, and long droughts of tiredness.

At times I think this one will be my favorite, other times I wish for the sunny days of seasons past or to come. I wish for the freedom and spontaneousness of the newly married season. I long for the individuality of the working season. I crave the wisdom of future seasons.

As I have oft been reminded lately -- to live as God intends, I need to live fully in the now. The season I am in now has beauties that won't be repeated. In this season God is planting seeds that will only bear fruit in years to come.

Dear friend as you read this I encourage you to abandon yourself to your present season whatever it may be.

Maybe not perfect days but perfect moments ...

The past few days have been a little rough. The whole family has been sick; the house is a disaster; the bills are piling up; I feel like I've been run over by a truck. I know I am not the only one who has had days or weeks like this.

I have the tendency to put pressure on myself to create a "perfect day" especially during a holiday or when Tom has a day off. No perfect days exist, but perfect moments do.

Last night I experienced one. It had been a hard day, but bedtime was approaching. All four Fuersts were on our bed just being together. We had our quilt tossed over us as a tent. We giggled. We laughed. Phoebe gave everyone kisses. Tommy squealed in excitement. It was 30 minutes of perfection.

Thank you God for perfect moments in the midst of hard days.

Phoebe and Tommy are getting so big ...

Phoebe can now do so many things including ...
Jumping up and down.
Sing twinkle twinkle little star (thanks to grandma)
Open doors.
Put her shoes on.
Eat very successfully with a fork and spoon.
Carry her own bag of stuff into church.
Open skype when my computer is up.
Climb into her car seat.
Climb up and go down slides on her own.
Throw Jet his ball then chase after it herself.
Say please and thank you when she is in the mood.
Set the table (sort of).
Help put laundry in the dryer.
Talk you almost into anything (I think she gets this from her dad.)

Tommy is learning new things too. He can...
Grab things he is aiming for.
Sit supported by a pillow or couch.
Roll over.
Pull himself up with a little help.
Put EVERYTHING in his mouth.
Goo and Gaa.
Laugh the most adorable little laugh.
Follow his sister everywhere with his eyes.
Charm the ladies.

My kids are growing and learning and they are teaching mommy things too.
I am learning that...
a messy house sometimes means happier kids.
stolen moments for yourself are necessary.
running in the yard is a lot of fun.
you can pray for the same person 12 times a day.
peaches and toast make a good lunch.
kisses do cure a lot of ailments.
patience develops through hard moments.
love ever expands.

It will be fun to see how we all grow over the next months.