Mom vs. the Dot: Making it COUNT!

This week, I have tried to include a lesson or story about Easter every day during breakfast with my kids.  I have read Bible stories, shared detailed devotions, and personal stories of what I thought Easter was when I was a child. The goal of this time together is to share the Great News about Jesus Christ with my kids. My almost 8-year-old, who asked Jesus into her life at age 2 1/2, was drawing Easter pictures today.  I was so proud of her recall and artistic ability as she diligently depicted the events leading up to Easter on construction paper eggs.  We were making decorations to hang in her Sunday School hallway, and she is always willing to draw pictures, especially if they will be displayed.  So she drew a picture of the tomb with the stone rolled away and the women who were walking there to take care of Jesus' body on Easter morning.  Oh how precious! And then I spotted the giant purple Easter bunny just down the hill from the tomb.  Here...

"You Need To Change Me!!"  This is my morning alarm. I wrestle my way out of the blankets, stumble to the bathroom, laugh at my sleep-induced hairstyle and go downstairs to do the dirty work.  For a moment, I take in the sight of my frowsy-haired children snuggled up on the couch.  Aren't they cute?  I love those little people. Before my feet hit the living room carpet, I am greeted by my darling children in a chorus of: "He stinks!" "You need to change him!" "Chocolate milk!" Sigh.    This morning, I recommended the following greetings as alternatives to their usual ones. Dear, sweet children, why don't you try a different morning greeting, such as: "I love you mama!" "Good morning mama!" "I'm happy to see you mama!" "Can I make you breakfast, mama?"  And they laughed at me. I don't understand -  we listen to Christian kids' songs on cd, ...

Do you remember when Walmart first installed the self-checkout lines?  They were so cool! Over a decade ago, I went with my future husband to pick up a few items at Walmart and had a funny surprise:  while I was waiting for him to check out his purchases, I leaned up against the checkout area.  When he placed his purchase there, the machine loudly declared, "UNEXPECTED ITEM!"  Josh looked at me with a funny grin on his face and said, "Yep - You're my unexpected item!"  He realized all the items had specific weights and my leaning on the scale (of which I was unaware) caused the alarm to go off. Neither one of us expected to find the perfect match, yet there we were! As married life has progressed, I've heard the mental shout of "UNEXPECTED ITEM" many times.  After two years of marriage, we decided it was time to try to have a baby.  When the baby came, it was an Unexpected Item.  I thought having a baby meant having a sweet little someone...

Six months ago, my parents-in-law packed up and moved out of their house, ready to begin retirement.  They were told they would be able to move into their newly built house by the end of summer.  The construction company was a bit off schedule, as September, October, and November passed by and the house still wasn't finished.  Finally, the weekend before Christmas, the house was ready! We loaded up the kids and headed over to help them move in.  My dear husband made multiple trips with a U-Haul truck for four days - loading, unloading, carrying.  We were so glad, so relieved that the time had finally come!  We wanted so badly for them to be in their house before Christmas. My husband recently shared a story during one of his sermons:  Growing up as a United Methodist pastor's kid, he moved from house to house fairly frequently, his father being assigned to a different church every several years.  When they'd pack up then set up house in t...