My little boy's prayers

My name is Mommy, Prayer2 Comments0

Sometimes the high points of life with toddlers can be few and far between, but this was a kiss from God for my little boy and me.

Last week, when we’d visited OMSI with a friend, we had run into another girl who was the friend of my friend.  We introduced ourselves and I met her little boy Brock, 6 months older than Heidi, and hit it off and had a great time just talking.  Well last night, we got a horrified phone call from my friend, saying this girl had accidentally hit or run over her son with her car (every mom’s most horrible nightmare).  He was in critical condition at OHSU, and could we please pray like crazy for them. Of course Jeff and I did, as we drove home from our Community Group last night.

So last night as I tucked Dutch into bed, I said it was time to pray, and I started it out for him just like I always do, “Dada God, thank you for…” but he said, “No, let’s pray for Brock.”  My eyes widened, “Yes, Dutch. Let’s!”

“Dada God, help Brock get better.”  Of course my heart melted.

So today, we were thrilled to receive news that he has been stable, with a concussion and broken ribs, but on the road to full recovery. Hooray! I told Dutch the good news and he got this big smile and said, “Brock is all better!”  Of course he got embarrassed when I told him it was because he prayed to God for him, but what an encouragement to my little boy’s heart, and to mine.

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*Please continue to pray for mom Charmin & baby Brock as he continues to recover.




The Place of God

Devotional Thoughts0

It’s really been an amazing week.  Anyone who’s checked this blog or seen my facebook status knows that between the success of potty-training, really getting in the domestic swing of things (who knew being a 50s housewife was so awesome?!), and a couple other non-bloggable things, this week just seemed to go from blessing to blessing.

What’s challenged me is realizing what a fragile thing my happiness can be.  A tiny shift of circumstances can seem to crumble what I thought was a sure foundation of joy, hope, faith.  Or, put another way, a tiny nudge of another person can send me tumbling off my tight-rope of happiness, when I had thought I was firmly planted on the ground of inner peace.  My grandfather, Howard Zoet, was a prize-fighting boxer and a poet. He was also an amazing man of God, the kindest man I’d ever known (until I met Jeff, who truly is the kindest man I’ve ever met), and a lover of words. He is the one who gave me my passion for writing.  In fact, it was at my grandma’s funeral, at the age of 11, standing before the kind eyes of my grandpa, that I read my first poem out loud–a tribute to her life.  I did it for him. Now, right above my kitchen sink I still have a photo of him, holding me as an infant–asleep in his arms.  He died when I was 13.

But when I was just a toddler, he published a book of poetry. In the back he included a section where he wrote a silly little poem for each of his grandchildren–just five of us.  I was the youngest, and the only girl.  And the part I’ll always remember, from A Poem for Karina, is this stanza:

Kari, you are kind of funny. When you’re good, you’re oh so sunny!

But when you decide to cry, things sure change–oh me oh my!

Yes, I was 2 at the time, but I think if my grandpa were here today to write my poem almost 28 years later, it may read exactly the same way.  I still am amazed at how I can swing from high to low.  Why? We all know the answer–not keeping our eyes on Jesus, being too concerned with self, etc. But I love this example in Genesis, that I just read again the other day.  Joseph’s brothers, who had long ago acted our of jealousy and sold him into slavery, now had experienced the grace and deliverance of living in the land of Goshen, in Egypt, and receiving provision during the famine. They’d experience miraculous grace, forgiveness, provision. But as soon as their father, Israel, died, they panicked.  Chapter 50 tells us they feared Joseph would pay them back for all their evil, so they sent a message to him (too scared to go in person!), begging him to be kind to them, then they went in person and fell down before him, offering themselves as his servants, if Joseph would just promise to be kind to them.

And what I love is Joseph’s response, which is a comfort and a rebuke all at once:

“Do not fear, for am I in the place of God?” (50:19)

The comfort is, don’t worry–I’m not going to harm you. But the rebuke is–why have you put me in the place of God? Why have you set your hope on my mercy, rather than God’s? Why have you made me big and God small?  Or, perhaps applicable to us today, Why have you set your happiness on my approval, my provision, my decisions.

Their fear, anxiety, and turmoil was all simply because they had forgotten the place of God. They’d put Joseph there instead, and there’s only room for One. And amazingly, Joseph himself is the one to remind them that he belongs in no such place. No one is in the place of God–no boss, no spouse, no friend, no family member, and no circumstance.  What they had meant for evil, God meant for good.  Nothing can thwart the will of our God.

Of course as long as we live we’ll have those ups and downs, but my hope and prayer is to at least be a little more stable than I was when my grandfather penned those telling words.  I believe Joseph reveals the key to it all.  Who or what is in the place of my God?  There’s only room for One.

A Big Answer to Prayer!

My name is Mommy, Prayer5 Comments0

*For those of you who are SICK of hearing potty-training stories, feel free to skip this one. But it’s such a cool reminder that God cares!  This is mostly just for my sake of remembering!

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It just continues to floor me that God is intimately involved in the most mundane details of our lives. I am amazed that He is so creative He can use potty-training — POOP, of all things!– to bring us nearer to Him and show us His love.

So ya’ll know I was pretty discouraged after our initial round of potty training. Saturday was no better.  He just was not getting it, and the straw that broke the camel’s back was as I was late to church, having held him over the toilet for ages waiting for him to go, only to finally be done, get him dressed, walk out to car and find that he’d peed his pants again.

So last night I stayed up late again, but this time just praying that God would please just show me what to do–drop it, keep it up, etc.  Two things came to mind–one was a great article about why letting kids be naked from the waist down really helps them potty-train–because when they have underwear they get confused because it feels like they have a pull-up on. So they suggested going totally naked.  Well since we would be spending 4.5 hours at church today I could hardly pull that one off, but I figured when we were at home I’d give it a try.

The second was that we couldn’t find anything that would really motivate Dutch.  I’d thought of spanking, but I just felt like that wasn’t a right move right now–it would motivate him to be sure, but I felt like it wasn’t the right kind of motivation because this wasn’t outright defiance, it was more of stubbornness (sort of defiance) mixed with fear mixed with trying to learn a new skill.  But there was just nothing positive I could find to motivate him. He got embarrassed when we cheered for him, he didn’t care about treats or candy, matchbox cars are old news.  The one and only thing he is totally crazy obsessed with is Thomas the Train.  His friend Cody has the complete set, with tracks on a train table, and for the Rose Bowl we were at their house and no joke, Dutch played upstairs, all by himself, on that train table with Thomas the Train, for FIVE hours straight.  He didn’t even eat.  He’s totally obsessed with those trains.  But those little guys are spendy.  I’d gone to Target to get him one and they’re $15-20 each! Yikes! And a train table is at least $100 too.  Anyway, pray pray pray, well last night I finally have this ephiphany–Craigslist!  But usually the downside of Craigslist is that you find exactly what you want… in Battleground, WA or Forest Grove or somewhere else you don’t want to drive.  So I found a bunch of trains in remote locations, but they were still spendy–$100 for a collection of them.  I found a set with a train table–for $350.  Gulp.  Then, just when I’m about to quit, I see two listings–with Thomas collections: for $15 each!  Location: West Linn.  No way. I email. Close the laptop, pray, go to sleep.

Then this morning, I go to church and somehow (because God is amazing and we have a pastor who preaches His Word!), God totally speaks to me through a message in Nehemiah of all places! I’m pretty sure Nehemiah was not thinking about potty training when he was speaking to the king about restoring the walls of Jerusalem, but it was a kick-your-teeth-in message about perseverance and waiting on the Lord.  He spoke at length about persevering through the battles–how just because it’s hard doesn’t mean it’s not God’s will, in fact that usually means it IS God’s will!  He spoke about what to do when we don’t know what to do.  Joel said: When you know the What, but you don’t know the How, that’s when you go to the Lord in prayer and ask Him for the how and wait on Him to show you. He also gave an illustration about how we pound and pound a kick at locked doors, striving and stressing and crying and whining, instead of praying and waiting for God to miraculously do his *click*–unlock the door and open it right before us.  It applied on so many levels, but I knew that had been me–angry, frustrated, pounding at that stupid potty training door, about to knock it down I was so mad. Then He shared about how God took the worst day in history (Good Friday), and turned it into the best day in history (Easter).  In a matter of days, God turned the worst worst into the best best. It can all change in a day.  Hmm…ok I know this is WAY ridiculous to compare potty-training to the crucifixion of the Son of God, but I admit I did have the thought–ok, Friday was by far the worst day of parenting I’ve had to date…I wonder if today could be resurrection Sunday?!

So we came home, I took off every stitch of clothes Dutch had on, and we played and talked about Thomas the Train. I even showed him pictures of the collection on Craigslist, and sure enough–he could name every one and was so excited he could hardly stand it.  Then, the lady emailed me back to my amazement she lived less than a mile from us!  So after another meeting we had at church, I swung by her house, happily paid the $30 and toted my brown paper bag worth its weight in gold, back to the car. (BTW, when I paid the woman she said she’d been reading my blog!  How fun is that?!)  When I got back home I told Dutch what was in the bag and I thought his eyes were going to pop out of his head.  We kept him naked all day, and sure enough–he peed (and pooped!), all by himself, on his own initiative, all day long. We had one accidents, but he earned 7 new trains (and we still have many more to give!).  You would have thought Dutch won the lottery the way he go so excited for his trains.

Then, after we put Dutch to bed, my parents called and said they found a train table for $25 on Craigslist… in West Linn!  They said they’d buy it for Dutch (to get after a week of successful potty-training), if we picked it up. We called–the woman lived walking distance from our house. It was comical.  Jeff and I were just shaking our heads. And she had advertised that it wasn’t in great shape and I have no idea what she was talking about because it is brand new–absolutely brand new, beautiful, even with drawers underneath to stow things.

ANYWAY, obviously this isn’t the end of potty training.  And yes, eventually we will run out of trains, so we’ll see what happens then. But this is a huge answer to prayer.  And what amazes me is how God weaves all of it together. He knew I’d be frustrated, discouraged.  He knew I’d need to run to Him. He knew I’d hear this sermon. He loves my son so much He provided a dream-come-true train collection for him. And He loves me so much He was and is willing to take me through the process to show me more of His love, His character, His tender care for me.

Thanks for ya’ll listening to me along this journey. I know it’s “only” potty-training, but our good God numbers the hairs on our head and even cares about the little bottom of my three-year-old boy.  Glory to God.