Sacred Mundane: The Blog

a href=”http://www.karipatterson.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/20120824-231927.jpg”>

• That I’m still alive after Leg 1. (Hood to Coast)
• That it’s not 100 degrees.
• Picking apples with my boy.
• Sun streaming through the windows, falling on peaches ripening on the counter.
• “Squeezing and freezing” 40-lbs. of plums with my man. My idea of a romantic datenight. 🙂
• Seifers home.
• Believing.
• Trusting.
• Struggling.
• Heidi’s mastery over her thumb.
• Watching Jeff and the kids run through the field at dusk.
• Bulldozers parked in the field.
• Swim lessons every day. Wish we could keep doing them forever!
• Kids risking.
• Asking for the yellow house.
• Waiting on Him.
• *Surprise!* someone secretly putting a brand new huge Traeger grill in our carport with a sign: “For Renew Church” — whoa!!
• Being part of the blessing.
• An unexpected visit with a friend.
• SO incredibly blessed by everyone at RENEW so far. What an adventure and so grateful to be part of it.
• Being really tired but knowing it won’t last forever.
• Looking ahead to rest.
• Rolling burdens.
• Getting on my face. Again.
• Heidi’s growth.
• Dutch’s words after Renew: “Mommy, we’re the happiest family in the whole world!” Pretty sure that’s not true, but grateful that he felt that way in the moment.
• Persevering.
• Feeling down but learning to look up.
• Making everything His concern.
• Clinging to Him.
• Dinner from the garden.
• Rhubarb-strawberry crisp!
• His Word that’s always on target every day.
• HIM, the anchor.
• That He never changes.
• That His mercies are new every morning.
• That He never gives up on us, never loses His temper, never rolls His eyes.
• That despite all my failures, His love endures forever.
• That we (you!) are accepted because of Jesus.

Bless you, friends–I pray for a weekend full of His grace. Thanks for your prayers are finish Hood to Coast, and thanks for reading!

This weekend we have a few plans:

1. Run a 200-mile relay
2. Don’t sleep
3. Attend 4 church services
4. Attend a baptism
5. Say goodbye to 1,500 people
6. Host 40 people for a BBQ at our house

I don’t know, does that seem like a lot? I’m not sure how we managed to have Hood-to-Coast and our farewell Sunday at WCC land on the same weekend, but there we have it. It’ll be a blast. Thankfully we have dear people around who will run their legs, watch kids, make food, wash dishes, and hold us upright if we fall asleep.

When everyone pitches in it’s amazing what can get done. 

None of these things would be possible alone. We are only 2 of a team of 12 runners. There are dozens of blessed, generous saints who serve tirelessly at RENEW BBQs. This week as I made lists of all that needed to happen for this weekend, it felt overwhelming. But thankfully, when everyone does their part, it’s really reasonable.

I’m learning continually how this must happen in our homes. 

I’ve used CHORE CARDS (above) in the past, which were really helpful for us. Now the kids’ morning routine is (fairly) ingrained in their minds. The thing I still struggle with is the vast amount of work still leftover that can’t be done by the kids. Any other moms feel like that?

So, I’d say there are 2 important steps to mastering this family-chore idea:

1. Divvy up all responsibilities between family members

2. Be ok with the fact that it’s always a work in progress and will never work perfectly.

3. Embrace the fact that even when everyone else does their part, life still involves a lot of work.

#2 and #3 are where I’m focusing right now. A few weeks ago I sat down and did our 2012-2013 Master Plan for homeschooling curriculum, schedule, chores, etc. It was so helpful to sit down and put it all in one place. Even though we don’t follow it to the minute, it still provides a great guide for our days. I’m sure you all have much more ingenious chore-plans and calendars for your family, but here is what I include in case it can be helpful at all. If you’d like to actually see a copy of ours, I’m happy to share, just let me know. Didn’t want to bore you to tears with our daily schedule.

• Daily schedule (including Letter Lessons)
• Morning routine and evening routine
• Homeschool subjects for each day (Tue: reading/writing, Wed: Spanish & history, etc.)
• Ideas for kids’ play-time each day (they don’t need this much anymore)
• Menu Plan (for the most part, we just rotate 10 meals)
• Housework for each day (Tues bedrooms, Wed bathrooms, etc.)

Attention, attention: We’ve had a victory!

There is now one fewer thumb-sucker in the world.

That’s right. Thanks to a friend supplying us with some no-bite gel for Heidi’s thumbs, she is now weaned off the thumb. In fact, even though it’s supposed to be applied for 30 days in order to break the habit, it was so effective she quit sucking her thumb after one day and hasn’t used the gel since.

If only it were that easy for us, right? (A friend of mine commented, “I need to put some of that stuff on the chocolate in my house!”)

The day we took the no-thumb plunge was such a picture for me. I applied the bitter liquid and laid down with Heidi for her nap. After a few tries she realized it was not going to be a pleasant experience. She cried. She sweated (it was 100-degrees that day). She kept raising her thumb to her mouth then remembering and pulling it away. She was miserable. She couldn’t get to sleep. I must admit, it was a little heart-breaking, watching her struggle so. But eventually, after about an hour of tears, she fell asleep on her own.

She woke up a new girl.

It was like a detox in so many ways. She was miserable, trying to get comfortable, unable to find that same relaxing self-sooth method she’d relied on her entire life. (She even sucked her thumb in the womb!) But once the habit was broken, she woke up a new girl. Stronger. Calmer. More mature.

That’s what happens when we quit sucking our thumbs as well.

I must admit, my girl has inspired me. I’m asking God to show me all the areas where I still suck my thumb. I know there are many. He’s so gracious and He lets us tackle one area at a time. But it does take drastic measures in order to break free–disgusting, bitter gel on the thumbnails. We must figure out ways to make our sinful and/or self-soothing methods become distasteful in our lives. Perhaps a friend can hold you accountable? The truth is, Heidi wouldn’t have broken the habit on her own. She needed someone a little older and wiser to help her along the way.

We do too.

Only God knows what habits in our lives need to go. What is ok for some might not be for others. Don’t compare, just let God decide. And once He highlights an area, take immediate and decisive action to let go of that thumb-sucking habit. Find a stronger friend and ask for help.

You’ll wake up better for it. Stronger. Calmer. More mature.

{If it’s appropriate, would you share what thumb-sucking habit you are leaving behind? I am choosing to eat when I’m hungry, not just when I’m stressed or tired.  I’m also “checking in” online only once a day. I’d love to pray for you as you make this step in growing up. Thanks so much for reading.}

It’s true that as we follow Jesus, we will often feel alone. He will call us to hard things. He will require of us whole-hearted obedience. He will not allow us to do things which others seem to enjoy. If we truly want to follow Jesus we must understand that Others May, You Cannot.

However, let this be tempered with humility.

It is easy to think that we are the only ones called to run this hard race. It is easy to look around, feel alone, and immediately conclude that perhaps everyone else has called it quits. Or is way behind. Or that we are in some special race reserved for only a few. That may be true. But …

It could be there are just so far ahead that you cannot see them. (Smile.)

Or that they are running an entirely different race altogether.

You see, the truth is that God calls each of us to follow Him. What that looks like will vary with every single life. Some will be called to singleness. Some to serve a difficult spouse. Some to care for a child of special needs. Some will need to sell their home to give to the poor. Some will move to Africa. Some will plant a church. Some will stay in their church. Some will care for an aging parent. Some will move away from home. Some will scrub toilets. Some will  appear on TV.

Let us be careful that just as we do not rely on others to assure us that we are following God, we also must not assume that just because others are elsewhere, that they aren’t truly following God. 

We must, once and for all, quit taking our cues from the crowds. Their presence or their absence does not indicate the blessing or curse of God. We must, always and forever, take our cues from the Holy God. He alone can lead our course. He alone has the answer to every single dilemma we will ever face. When we silence all other noise, get on our knees, and listen intently for His still small voice, we will hear His will for our life. We will get to know the heart of God.

We will change.

It’s true, others may and you cannot. But let us temper this with an ever-increasing hunger for humility, which simply lets God deal with us and others as He sees fit.

When we are content with His dealings, whatever they may be, we have found joy. 

Thanks for reading.