Good Friday

“So then Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him. And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe. Then they said, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they struck Him with their hands. Pilate then went out again, and said to them, “Behold, I am bringing Him out to you, that you may know that I find no fault in Him.” Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, “Behold the Man!” Therefore, when the chief priests and officers saw Him, they cried out, saying, “Crucify Him, crucify Him! ” Pilate said to them, “You take Him and crucify Him, for I find no fault in Him.” The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God.” Therefore, when Pilate heard that saying, he was the more afraid, and went again into the Praetorium, and said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. Then Pilate said to Him, “Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?” Jesus answered, “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.” From then on Pilate sought to release Him, but the Jews cried out, saying, “If you let this Man go, you are not Caesar’s friend. Whoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar.” When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus out and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. Now it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, and about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, “Behold your King!” But they cried out, “Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar!” Then he delivered Him to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus and led Him away. And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha, where they crucified Him, and two others with Him, one on either side, and Jesus in the center. Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Then many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. Therefore the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but, ‘He said, “I am the King of the Jews.” ’ ” Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.” Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and also the tunic. Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top in one piece. They said therefore among themselves, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be,” that the Scripture might be fulfilled which says: “They divided My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.” Therefore the soldiers did these things. Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!” Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home. After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst!” Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth. So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe. For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, “Not one of His bones shall be broken.” And again another Scripture says, “They shall look on Him whom they pierced.” After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took the body of Jesus. And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury. Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews’ Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby.”
‭‭John‬ ‭19:1-42‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Leggings . . . They Still Aren't Pants

Recently, there was a whole debacle because United Airlines asked two young girls wearing leggings and flying on buddy passes to change before boarding. Like there's so much drama that the world might possibly end over this. While, given the age of the girls, I think they may have been overreacting just a tad, anyone who knows me in real life (or who is lucky enough to be my friend on Facebook) knows that I have a personal calling to stop people from wearing leggings as pants. I have to say "people" because some lone man out there is trying to wear leggings as pants, and he needs to be stopped. Immediately. But before we go any further, here's my disclaimer. If you have no sense of humor, you can go ahead and stop reading now. I am well aware that there are real issues in the world. Heavy issues. But sometimes you just have to address those less earth shattering issues and help people make better clothing choices thus avoiding being plastered all over "People of Walmart". You can thank me later. And if you think I'm making fun of your questionable style choices, ya'll everybody needs a little help now and then. I'm not making fun of you. If I was I wouldn't tell you to stop. Finally, if you're a girl under the age of 10, rock on with those leggings my little friend.

In order to explain the ridiculously simple rules when it comes to wearing leggings, I think we need to establish exactly what is and is not the article of clothing in question

Yoga Pants . . . The media really messes this one up. They are not the same thing. Yes, yoga pants can absolutely be questionable, but for the most part they're thicker and looser than leggings. If they're not, maybe go up a size. Yoga pants are the uniform of stay at home moms everywhere. Can I get an "amen"? No, they're not dressy attire, but they're fine for hanging around the house on a Saturday afternoon, or running to Walmart because, well, it's Walmart, or chasing and cleaning up after your very active three year old. Whatever, they're just not the same thing as leggings.

Jeggings . . .  Talk about questionable territory. They usually contain some denim and are, as a rule, thicker than normal leggings. Just use the brain God gave you on this one. They can go either way, but if they look like you painted them on, yeah, just say "no".

Running/Work Out Leggings . . .  For the 5 days a year it's cold in Texas, I own a few pairs of these. My shirt is rarely long and loose when I wear running leggings. It's too hard to run with a long loose shirt. Here's the thing, if you're not going to work out, just wear a pair of jeans. But if you're headed to the gym after dumping the kids at school, more power to you.

So to what am I referring when I use the term "leggings"?

Anything remotely resembling these. They can be solid or patterned, but they are typically thin, unforgiving, and just a step above tights. 

Now the rules . . . there's actually only one real rule.

Wear a long shirt/tunic/dress over your leggings. Basically, if you wouldn't wear it with tights then there's a good chance you shouldn't wear it with leggings.

That's it. It should give you good coverage of your bum and your front. If it hits you mid thigh, you're golden. If you're a teenager you can get by with a slightly shorter shirt but still leave something to the imagination. Always leave something to the imagination. You'll appreciate that advice one day when you're looking back at photos with your kids.

Contrary to popular belief, I actually have no issues with leggings in and of themselves. I even own a few pairs. They're comfy and perfect to throw under a tunic or sweater dress on a cool day (or if you haven't shaved your legs . . . either way). Just remember. Leggings . . . they still aren't pants.

Happy 4th Birthday Anna Girl

Happy 4th birthday to our sweet, spunky, fighter of a girl. You have changed my life and changed me in ways I could've never imagined. You have stretched me, and pushed me, and made my heart grow a thousand times bigger and more accepting than it ever was before you came along. I thank God for you, my beautiful girl! I love you!

(These aren't birthday pics. Blogger won't let me post them so here a couple from the last week or so. Bday pics to come.) 

Another Catch Up and Catch All

While I'd like to promise to blog on a more regular basis, the truth is, it's not going to happen. Anna just keeps me too busy, and when I'm not chasing her, I'm trying to clean or do laundry or cook or just take a moment to breathe.

Having said that, we're all good. Anna started school on Feb. 13, and I wasn't sure how she'd do. However, it has been good for her. She goes three hours per day, and she's excited to go and excited to come home. As of right now, her biggest delay is in speech. Everything else is pretty much caught up, and her vocab is growing by leaps and bounds. Her receptive language is off the charts good so now we just have to keep trucking on the expressive language. But she knows her colors, numbers 1-10, most letters, and shapes. She also has an amazing memory. Once she's taught something, it sticks. The other plus of school is definitely the social interaction. She's learning to take turns and share and play. It doesn't always thrill her to learn these things, but it's still good for Miss Priss. And of course, school gives me a chance to get stuff done around the house and run errands. It's amazing what I can accomplish in three short hours.

Anna on her first day of school.

Andrew is doing really good as well. He works so hard at school and is just an all around good kid. He is growing like crazy, and I can't keep clothes that fit him. He's also a great big brother, and his sister's biggest protector and fan. 

Cowboy day at school ... his pants are a little on the short side, but we made them work.

We've broken ground on our house, but things have been slow going due to a lot of rain. It looks like we have clear sunny weather in the forecast for a while so work should pick up, and of course, we're thankful for the rain. I'm hoping to be moved in by the end of August. We'll see. 

Finally, we're going on our first little road trip since bringing Anna home. We're keeping it simple and praying she does okay. Both of my kids are homebodies so I'm taking everything and the kitchen sink to make sure they feel comfortable and "at home" no matter where we are. 

And that's all folks. Hope you're enjoying your week!

Anxiety and Adoration

I know. I'm a bad blogger. I have the best of intentions, but life happens. Laundry happens. Dishes happen. Cleaning happens. Kids happen. It seems like free, quiet minutes are hard to come by, and when I have one (like now ... Anna's still asleep), blogging isn't always at the top of my list.

But last night, while reading an awesome Ann Voskamp devotional my good friend Cris gave me, this quote jumped off the page.

I am no stranger to anxiety and worry. There's not a time in my life that I don't remember wrestling fear. The kind of fear that makes you physically nauseated. That presses on your chest like an anvil. That makes your heart race and blood pound in your ears. Fear was woven into almost every moment of my existence. It was the companion I never wanted that wouldn't leave, and by worrying, I felt like I maintained some semblance of control. 

There was a time when I would've just told you that's who I was, an anxious person, but a few years ago, God corrected me in that. He in the most gentle way, revealed the lie. It's a lie so many believe and live under. That this is somehow "who we are". That God made us this way. He did not create me to be an "anxious" person. Anxiety and fear may attack, but they are not who I am. And they certainly do not come from God.  And so I started to fight. But too often I fought in my own strength which is glaringly inadequate. These past few years I've been on a journey to live free from anxiety and fear, but not just free from those things. Free to live in the fullness of who God created me to be. It's been a journey of learning and growing. Of pushing and pulling. Of seeing my need for control and perfection as a way to deal with my fears. It's been a journey of learning to trust and letting go. 

Then a week ago, my friend gave me the devotional, "One Thousand Gifts Devotional: Reflections on Finding Everyday Graces". And wouldn't you know, it deals heavily with overcoming fear and anxiety. It also, in the beautifully written words, focuses on God's grace, praise, and thankfulness as the way to overcome the anxiety that plagues our souls. 

The world says, "Take a pill ... have a drink ... fill your life with stuff."

God says,

"28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." Matthew 11:28-29 NKJV

"6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.  8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. 9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you." Philippians 4:6-9 NKJV

I used to think a project, work, busy-ness would keep the anxiety at bay, and to some extent, it did. Now I know in quiet reflection, in focusing on and praising my Savior, fears aren't just kept at bay, they are banished.