The Jesus Chair

Since Will has been 3 months old, I've sang him the same song as a lullaby.  It's calmed him down through the years, has taken on pretty significant meaning, and is one of his favorites.  According to him we're not allowed to sing it during the day...it's only for bedtime.  When Micah was born I wanted him to have his own song, but nothing ever seemed to stick....except for one.  Jesus Loves Me.  It's not specific to him, like Will's is, but he loves it and it's taken on the same purpose as Will's song.

Over the past few weeks Micah has woken up in the middle of the night screaming.  I'm not talking about, 'Hey, come get me!' scream.  I'm talking holy terror, nightmare screams.  Before when Gregg and I have gone in to comfort him when he's woken, covering him back up and patting his back for a bit is enough...he's back off to dreamland in no time.  But these have been different.  He's actually needed me to pick him up and rock with him to get him to finally calm down.

So I pick him up and sit in the rocker in his room and we rock.  The first time it happened he kept talking.."Bye, bye, car. Bye, bye."  Kind of in a whimpering sort of way.  Was he dreaming...having night terrors about being out in the road?  Then he started asking (what sounded like to me) for Cheez-Its.  "Chejus, Chejus." I kept saying no...not now, buddy.  After a few more time of him asking, it finally got through my foggy, sleep-deprived head...he wants me to sing "Jesus."  So I sang to him, and when I was done there were a few moments of silence, then a sweet, quiet, and much calmer voice..."Chejus?"  So I'd start again.

That first night I must've sang Jesus Loves Me to him at least 10 times.  Only then was I finally able to lay him down and get him back to sleep.  It happened again last night and after he told me something about eyes (man, what kind of dream was that?), he asked for Chejus and you better believe this momma knew exactly what he was asking for.  So we sat and rocked and sang Jesus, and he was back asleep in no time.

It's caused me to give that chair a special name...it's our Jesus Chair.  I'm so glad we found a song that has stuck and gives him comfort when he's upset.  I'm even more glad it talks about the love of our Savior.  From the early days of his infancy he will have heard about the love Jesus has for him, and as he gets older it will be a platform for me to actually talk to him about it and pray he understands.  This morning Will asked to hold Micah, which he does from time to time.  I said, "Okay, but if you sit in that chair you have to sing Jesus to him."  So he sat and held him and sang.  When he was done, he proudly stated, "Mom!  I told him about Jesus!"  Thanks, buddy.  I'm a proud momma.

Ain't Nothin' But a God Thing

I don't even know how to start this post except to say...we sold the house!!  Cue the music...it ain't nothin' but a God thing, baby...  Oh, c'mon...am I the only one who has a pre-salvation love of Snoop Dog?  Okay, maybe.  I probably just lost half my readers (all two of you). But, anyway...the story...

Our realtor was over to the house Monday morning to take pics and video so we could finally get our house on the market.  He told me to be ready for lookers by Tuesday afternoon since it usually takes a while for new listings to show up on the MLS.  So you can imagine my surprise when Monday evening I had a realtor call me asking if she could show my house in half an hour.  I was in the middle of making dinner...and it was one of those lazy nights when you make breakfast for dinner, so we had bacon cooking.  Um, yes, do you want to buy my house?  What's that smell?  Frying pig...that okay with you?  So I flew around the house...cleaned up dinner, opened windows, turned on fans, lit a candle and ran out the door.  Yes, I know leaving a lit candle is totally unsafe, but would you like to buy a house that smelled like bacon?  I didn't think so.

So we went out to eat...I didn't want to cook anyway.  I don't really remember talking much about the house or if we thought the lookers might be interested, but on our way home we got a call from our realtor.  For some reason when Gregg answered the phone I just knew it was him and when he said, "You're joking"  I knew we had our first offer.  Long story short, within 24 hours of our house hitting the market we had an accepted offer.  And I thought our house sale in Indiana was fast at two and a half weeks....we just broke a record, folks! 

Now I know that things can fall through...inspections go bad, financing goes south, whatever.  But right now it's never been more clear to me that this is what we're supposed to be doing and I'm trusting Jesus that this will work out.  Now our prayers have shifted from providing a buyer to providing a new home.  We'd appreciate if you'd pray with us!

No Time For Blogging

I'm a super task-oriented person.  Give me something to do and that will be my obsession until the job is done, and not only done, but done to my standards.  I'm my own worst critic...aren't we all?  Well, guess what...I have a job to do.  We are selling our house, so every waking moment seems to be consumed with executing this task and doing it in the least amount of time possible with the greatest return.  My whole purpose in life centers on this one thing.  Eat, sleep, work...sell the house.  There's weeds that need pulled, rooms that need painted, laundry that needs folded, cleaning, mowing, organizing, packing...the list seriously does.not.end.  Somewhere in there I have to squeeze Gregg and the boys.  Geesh!  Doesn't leave much room for anything else, does it?  And that includes blogging.  Unfortunately it also includes Bible reading...

...and prayer and daily meditation on His Word.  Seriously, aren't I getting a little too old for this?  Haven't I learned by now?  Wasn't my blog post just a few weeks ago about how I'm going to STOP running so fast and START putting Him first?  Isn't this why we're going through the pain of selling our house??? ARRGGH!!

But I have a job to do....

Blinders on.  Tunnel vision.  Sell the house.

I was standing in my kitchen the other day.  I was the only one home.  I was (you guessed it) cleaning up.  The iPod was playing.  Not a super abnormal scene.  My mind was on track...sell the house...sell the house.  For one second though, I let my guard down and I realized the same song had played twice in the span of about five minutes.  I don't know why, but it made me stop...and listen...  The voice of Jeremy Camp flooded my head and the words took over the thoughts that had been plaguing my mind for weeks..."In the morning when I rise, In the morning when I rise, In the morning when I rise, Give me Jesus."

How long has it been since I read my Bible?  Where is my Bible?  When was the last time I prayed?  Was it a prayer for myself?  I'm so thankful for the way God uses things...little things...like music to break in and meet us where we need to be met.  To remind us that we need Him.   

Give me Jesus. 

I'm always amazed at how quickly I can forget this.  I can be doing so well...in daily communication with Him and it shows.  My attitude is better, my thinking is crystal clear, the Holy Spirit seems to be super close and super active.  Then I get distracted...I have a job to do.  Hey, Jesus...you won't mind if I just take today to...?  Okay, I'll see you tomorrow.  Then tomorrow turns into next week and I'm short with my boys, hostile to Gregg, not speaking to my Savior. 

Give me Jesus.

Why do I think I can do this without Him?  In John 15 Jesus tells us to remain in Him and He will remain in us...that apart from Him we can do nothing.  To remain: to continue in the same state.  He tell us to continue to walk with Him, to continue to talk to Him, to continue to search for Him in His Word...and He will continue with us.  

Give me Jesus.

I went straight to my knees that day.  To the feet of Jesus to tell Him what He already knows...I need You.  Please help me remain in You, so that Your presence is evident in me.  Please help me to remember that You have a plan and me not pulling that unsightly crop of crab grass is not going to make the buyer You have picked out for this house change his mind.  Help me to remember that.  Help me to put You first.

Give me Jesus.