Archives for April 2011

Rolling with the Punches

by CyleAugusta Leave a Comment

I love estate sales.

The last estate sale I browsed through left me loaded down with a plethora of treasures.

Among the treasures were some old yellowed books, books that served us well with Easter projects on a whim.

My oldest tore the pages in small strips and placed them in a bowl of water.

I was going to complete the next steps, much to my surprise I couldn’t handle the wet paper and cover the egg too well.

The five year old proved better at managing the wet paper than mama.

He might have given me three- step instructions and I might have followed.

We covered fourteen eggs with wet, torn paper and then when egg was covered we painted deceopauge glaze over the egg.

I placed one more paper strip and then stamped a word or phrase.

When they were dry, we glued sisal string and then hung them outisde.

The final step involved spraying with clear laquer.

The kids had their egg hunt and then hid these eggs for the adults to find. I think all the adults enjoyed finding an inspirational egg and having something to take home. Next year I will surely make these in batches.

I felt the usual guilt when Easter approached and I had spent more time preparing baskets and outfits than talking about the real story.A trip to Books a Million brought home a great read that fully details the story in a a picture book.

Daddy read, boys asked questions, mama asked questions, Daddy explained. Then joy happened as I watched my babies understand their maker.More joy errupted when I heard the oldest singing a song covering all of the Easter events, including an explosion sound representing Jesus Ressurrection.

We had a little modeling session Saturday afternoon, I’ve learned a few things in my six years of mothering, a few good lessons.By way of error I now take photos before Holiday events or dinners, especially Easter when the outfits are covered in chocolate before one can say camera.

Our Easter photo shoot was less than perfect, since Tucker happened to have a big ‘ole shiner on his face. A superhero act landed him head first out of our 1800 clawfoot tub earlier in the week. A head scratcher for sure, I do try to roll with the punches around here. What’s that saying that is everywhere right now? Stay Calm and Carry On. That’s the goal. You never know what’s around the corner with two wild, fully alive boys. They are FULLY. ALIVE.

And cute as a button. Trust me the next day these pretty suits were COVERED in chocolate. Oxy clean is my best friend. Again, I try to roll with the punches.

Hope your Easter was special and filled with the knowledge of our Lord and Savior who came to bring us life. I was reminded during a Maundy Thursday service just how much I need his redemption and his precious Grace to live day by day.

Reprieve: A weekend away

by CyleAugusta 4 Comments

I recently recieved an e-mail from the girl who was planning a 30th b-day getaway trip for a friend. Her message was an itinerary and menu for the weekend.

I almost cried when I read the menu.

Something about that menu awoke pure gratefulnes in me.

Frankly, I can’t remember the last time I was told what I was going to eat for the next three days.

I’m always the one being asked “what are we gonna eat?”

I have three guys I regularly cook for. I enjoy being the meal planner but recently I had grown extremely burned out on going to the grocery store, making menus, keeping up with the coupon madness, AND trying to buy organic and healthy on a “processed food”-budget. STRESSFUL.

The meal plan was just one tiny piece of the reprieve I experienced while spending last Thursday through Sunday with eight girls on a beautiful lake-front Ranch in North Georgia. If you were to listen in on the soundtrack of our weekend you would hear non-stop chatter – multiple conversations going on all the time – with belly laughter, several labor and delivery stories, mothering tales, some tears and regular exclamations of how healing it was to spend a weekend away from our busy lives. Between us eight women we totaled 15 Children under 6 and two more on the way. Did I mention we are busy?

The similarities of going to camp abounded: sharing a bed with a girl friend and waking three mornings to a house full of kindred women. It was medicine for my soul. The converstations brought out into the open those things that weighed heavy on our hearts – true conversation was achieved on so many levels.

Nurturing just overflowed naturally form one mother-heart to another. I felt strengthened as we encouaged one another, relating with: “I know how you feel“, “I have been there“, “We have the same situations“, and “We struggle with the same things“.

The ministry of women one to another is powerful. In all honestly, our heart-to-heart conversations didn’t stop til I pulled in my driveway and was dropped off.

I had a strange feeling this morning that I was understood, heard, and I didn’t feel the need to talk to anyone. You think? I spent the entire weekend around amazing mothers and talked and listened for three straight days. My mind wonders to the marriage retreat I recently attended, one truth the lecturer explained was womens need for heart connections, as women we do this through talking.

I had simply had my fill.

If I asked my husband, he would probably say I have been unusually quiet today…

He even wanted to know all about the trip and I responded with a grin,“your not gonna believe it, but I think Im all talked out “…

“No”, he said, in a sarcastic tone, “there is no way.”

Deciding to go on this trip was not an easy one for me, but in the end it was exactly what the doctor ordered – we even squeezed in manicures and pedicures, shopping, good eating ,and some good ‘ole photo booth fun.

I stumbled upon 1 Thessalonians 5:11 today: it says therefore encourage one another and build each other up. There was a panicky situation on the home front while I was away (another post for another day). As soon as I was notified these women gathered around me, praying and encouraging. The situation resolved itself in 15 minutes, but I was very grateful for their support. I definitely returned to home life recharged and rejuvenated!

Kindness- to ourselves

by CyleAugusta 6 Comments

A friend turns 30, a trip is planned, nine girls spending a weekend on a ranch overlooking a lake, horses, and all that girly trips entail. I nearly declined the invitation due to finances and the feeling that this was way too luxurious. I recognized the voice of the enemy and decided NOT to listen. ” Ok self, no, I really don’t have the extra money to do this, but who cares, Im going anyway”. The husband was fully supportive.

First, I got a call to play piano in a wedding that Saturday, Beatles songs -that is. The chance to challenge myself as a piano player and make some {needed} money. The voice started rolling “ Your really do need to become better at playing classic rock music and you really should make some extra money.” I recognized the enemy was once again trying to steal this opportunity for rest and relaxation. The hubs was still rallying that I go on the trip. I declined the Piano Job.

Next, My husband and our band were asked to open for Caleb The band, that Friday night. The voice started ranting again ” You have to stay now, you can’t dissapoint your husband, after all, y’all minister together”. My saga was pouring out to the husband and he looked unmoved, “ what do you mean you need to stay? no, you don’t, I knew you were gonna be gone, I’ve got a free-form acoustic variation set already planned, band practice scheduled”. So, I said ” You know what self, I am putting a guilt trip on myself, STOP IT! I will go on this girls trip”.

Then last night the dishwasher broke, and not a quiet death, dear dishwasher decided to bathe the entire kitchen with it’s contents before calling it quits. Thanks, dear dishwasher, did you have to do this at 11:35 p.m? The house was a wreck and I started doubting my decision. I really shouldnt do this, go out of town with the dishwasher broken”. I grabbed my yardstick of truth I’ve been storing in my brain this week and started swatting at that nasty thought. I told it where to go and where to stay. I also informed myself that the hubs was quite the talent of a dishwasher .

I have a new mid year resolution,

To be kinder to myself.

At the moment these words become live on the web I will be in a mountain cabin on a ranch over looking a lake with nine fab girls, my kids might eat hot dogs three times a day and the hubs might forget a change of clothes for church but in the end, It will all be ok.

What about you? Could you be kinder to yourself?

*pic taken by yours truly, Saint Simons Pier at dusk. This image says reprieve and peace to me.

The “Us”

by CyleAugusta 2 Comments

Photo by Sarah Deshaw
We were minutes from the Church where the wedding was going to be held and would most likely slide into a seat seconds before the wedding would begin. The parking lot approached and I gently touched his hand and said, ” Is it Us that is walking into this wedding?” He smiled, knowing exactly what I was implying. He further explained that his mind was focused on some deadlines and the stress from the early part of the day, however he was at peace with me, rather Us. We joined hands and walked into the wedding. Weddings have a way of re- kindling the love, don’t they? I mean, who can sit in a wedding and not entertain flashbacks of their own special day? not me.

I heard a lecture on the power of Us versus You and Me two weeks ago while attending a connected 4 Life Marriage weekend. This talk invited me to see how often I am relating to my husband from the perspective of Me and not Us. It is true that you can be away from your spouse and still feel the Us factor, it is also possible to physically be together and not operating in the Us mode. I was struck by how often I can abide with my husband, perform family activities and all the while foster a demeaning and defensive heart towards him. We were enlightened to learn how easily Us can be broken. It might be a simple rebuttal, a smart retort or my specialty; the blame. Following the retreat we have become keenly sensitive to Us seeking to restore it as soon as possible when broken. Life throws a lot of unforeseen punches, and why complicate it with marital conflict? Who am I kidding? I do die to my personal desires some days in order to remain amiable towards my spouse. Other days I nurse the self, therefore, amiable towards husband is nowhere to be found.

I was particularly fond of the Saturday afternoon session about fun times in Marriage. The exercise was: number your paper 1-10, write the top ten things you would love to do with your spouse, the first three would be things that involve planning and saving. We wrote the lists separately from our spouses, then came together to compare. When Shannon handed me his list, the waterworks released, as if I hadn’t been teary-eyed all weekend. It greatly touched my heart that our lists were almost identical. Some of these things we had never even talked about!

The day also held a four hour window to go and check something off the list! Shannon had written on his list that he wanted us to share a Strawberry italian cream soda together. I found that particularly sweet and even better, I had never had one!

That weekend was a reprieve for us, a welcome oasis. I appreciate the Lord providing these rest spots. We, truly were extremely busy when the opportunity arose to attend this retreat; kids, deadlines, ministry, house remodeling and on and on. We knew we needed to take some time out.

To Strengthen ourselves in the Lord.

What about you? let’s chat, leave a comment and share whatever is on your mind today!

THE BIKE…

by saintlewis Leave a Comment

“Out of the mouth of babies and infants you have established strength…” – Psalm 8:2a

It was a normal Tuesday afternoon last January. My two year old was sleeping and the 4 year old was doing an art project. I was on the phone sitting in our family room generally facing the direction of our back yard. Sunlight was streaming in through the bay window filtered by the glistening leaves on the towering oak in our back yard. Sometime during the conversation – for no specific reason – I turned around to look out the window.

What I saw still baffles my mind.

A boy from – I assume – a neighboring neighborhood – somewhere between the ages of 8 and 10 – appeared to be tiptoeing in my backyard. He was walking towards our back patio, locked eyes with my own, and suddenly looked as though he had seen a ghost. The boy let out a shriek,, did an immediate 360 and sprinted off – leaping entirely over our fairly high stone wall. I let out a laugh thinking to myself “that was odd” then an uneasy feeling set in. I asked Kenimer if he had known the boy he said “no”. I walked outside onto the patio and saw what the boy found enticing which had been just out of his reach when our eyes had met: Kenimer’s shiny new red bicycle that he had received for Christmas.

Then it hit me: that boy was trespassing in my back yard attempting to steal my son’s bike!

Anger overcame this mama hen, especially in light of the major burglary of our home just one year earlier. I became livid – this was a boy a kid! “Who is teaching these kids to walk in yards and steal anyway?”, I thought.

I brought the bike inside and called my husband to process is all. Kenimer heard the whole conversation. I expected that he would share my anger. After all, it was his beloved bike that was almost stolen.

However, Kenimer’s behavior was a bit strange. He was very quietly sitting at the bay window. While I was complaining about the decline of the American family and the fate of children who steal my four year old came over to me put his hand over my mouth and said “SHHHH. Mama – don’t be mad. It’s OK. I want to give that boy my bike.” “What?!” I thought. He looked at me with deep conviction and said “I want to ride real fast find that boy and give him my bike. That will make God happy and I think that is a nice thing to do. That boy does not have a bike. I think I don’t want my bike any more.”

Please know that I did not prompt any of this. I was in particular disagreement over his undeserved generosity towards this boy, finding myself more than a little embarrassed that my son was displaying such amazing compassion and I his mother was so angry.

Over the next hour he asked non-stop to be taken to find the boy and give him his bike.

Another familiar voice was ringing through my mind “Do you not think that I can speak to a four year old?” This was a spiritual conviction – the burden of God on Kenimer’s heart – something he believed that God wanted him to be willing to do.

So I decided to die to my anger – my desire to get even had to wilt away. We prayed for that young boy: that he would stop stealing and that he would get a new bike just like Kenimer’s then took off to the nearby park to look for him. We never saw the boy, but we were totally prepared to give this young boy a bike.

Returning home, I attempted to lock Kenimer’s bike in the shed but he protested “I want to leave my bike out for the boy!” So we had a little devotional time about generosity and compassion but also stealing and how it’s best not to tempt someone to sin – wanting to give the boy the bike was great but we didn’t want to enable the boy to steal, which Kenimer seemed to understand.

I want that kind of compassion: to see a person and their situation or pain – to see their need, not just what they have done or how they are acting.

“And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic let him have your cloak as well.” – Matthew 5:40

A lesson learned from my four year old son.

This blog is my participation in a “She Speaks” scholarship give-away by Ann Boskamp. The She Speaks conference is all about women connecting the hearts of other women to the heart of God. Please click the link above to find out more.