This week, Augy has served served served. Even though he wanted to give his baby brother to Goodwill last week, he continues to bless him by picking up dropped toys, singing songs to him, and wrestling Tobias in his crib. YAY for big brothers!
Got a boy? Want to brag? Link up to The MOB Society "Let's Hear it for the Boys!" Thursday.
Thursday, May 17, 2012 at 6:35AM
One day our floors will be clean and so will their fingernails
One day we'll sleep late and not rely on caffeine quite so much
One day the laundry won't be taller than a 4 year old and he won't find it fun to jump into
One day the dog won't be harassed or led around like a horse
One day there will be time to stare out the window, finish a book, finish a thought
One day dinners will be relaxing and much too quiet
One day they will be out of the house and no little cars will decorate the floor
One day we'll meet them for coffee and to catch up
They won't need their laundry done (maybe), they'll have their own dog, and they might share their newest read with us
One day comes much too soon
But when you're in the trenches of kid-dom, one day is all you can live by
----------
Need extra encouragement today or a laugh?
Think about this mess you don't have to clean
Because all we really have is grace
We live Day-by-Day, make a choice
Tuesday, May 15, 2012 at 5:59AM 12 years and 24 seasons of Survivor have taught me 1 thing- I’m a hopeless Survivor Junkie. It’s stupid television, and I DVR it. All those people stuck on an island, on purpose, without food, water, or a good razor- oh what a waste of time. The social game turns awkward and sneaky and everyone’s always surprised by a blindside. It’s all about the blindside.
The Survivors come on to play the game. Like Monopoly without the luxury of owning Boardwalk, they vie of position and the chance at some money. But like life, they sometimes get caught up in each other’s stories, in the lives of their fellow Survivors. There was the older plastic surgeon with such great love for his wife everyone took notice and wanted to emulate his marriage. Or the inner-city teacher who was laid off right before going on the show. And the younger, naïve girl in need of a 3rd open-heart surgery. Their stories often changed how others perceived them on the game. Suddenly he wasn’t some weird old kooky guy, he was a husband. She wasn’t a lazy tough girl from the city, she cared about her students and wanted to show them the world. The young one wasn’t as inarticulate and heartless as she looked, she knew to let her candle snuffing teach her a thing or two about forgiveness after a blindside. 
How different our scripts could be if we knew the story of others we met. If we allowed their stories to be woven into ours somehow and to let it shape and mold and be a part of who we are becoming, it could all be profoundly different.
When we open ourselves up to other people’s Survivor Stories, we might learn about the single mom living on less than $200 a month without running water in her home. We could meet the grown child who grew up bouncing from foster-home to foster-home, never calling any of them home. You might find something out about a wife who just lost her husband. Or about the amazing trip your neighbor just took with their family because someone is dying.
Stories of survival are rich. They’ve shaped and molded and made people who they are becoming. And often we’re too busy building our own shelters or looking for our own wood for fire to actually get involved and let their stories take hold. Instead of staying within our own tribes, getting involved and becoming a character in someone else’s story takes guts. It takes time. It takes investment in another human’s life.
How different our islands could look if we knew the story of others we met.
Monday, May 14, 2012 at 6:20AM The good thing about reading a particular passage or book of the Bible is that at some point, it starts to sink in. For my thick head, this means reading it over and over and over. And over.
"Take note of this: everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. For anger does not bring about the righteous life God desires," James 1:19. (NIV)
And in The Message it says, "Lead with your ears, follow up with your tongue, and let anger straggle along in the rear. God's righteousness doesn't grow from human anger."
"Be all ears," (Heather Revised Version). 
How different could relationships with spouses, children, and friends be if we were quick to listen instead of quick to pipe up with our ideas and anger and what we think is most important? Often we're quick to vomit out our thoughts, only to play clean up later.
It's a paradox of sorts because the one thing we're instructed to do quickly, or to lead with, is listening- something often seen as inactive. Afterall, listening doesn't allow us to dominate or tell others or instruct or let 'em have it. Listening requires patience and self-control and the willingness to perhaps learn something before we open our mouths and perhaps cause trouble.
Oh, to be quick to something that requires such restraint.
Friday, May 11, 2012 at 6:59AM Augy: "Mom! She has a necklace on her teeth! Why does she have a necklace on her teeth?"
Me: "Buddy, those are called braces."
-----------
Augy: "You have something on your leg, Mom."
Me: "I know dear, it's called a birthmark."
Augy: "Well, how did it get there?"
Me: "It's just how God made me."
Augy: "He made you that way? What happened?"
Me: "It's like God stamped me and claimed me. And it left a mark."
Augy: "Oh, so a birthmark means you bumped into God."
----------
After we read Psalm 24, referring to the King of Glory, Augy had this commentary:
"This King of Glory, I like Him. But I need to ask Him to bring more sheep to Virginia."
---------
Brandon: "Come on, Augy, you're running an errand to Goodwill with me."
Augy: "Why are we going there?"
Brandon: "To give some stuff away so other people can use it. We're going to try and be a blessing."
Augy: "OH! I want to give some stuff away! Let me pick something!"
Brandon and I glanced at each other, then spotted what Augy had eyes on-
Augy: "Okay, I pick Tobias! He can bless someone else now."
You can find Augy Says Part I here
Monday, May 7, 2012 at 7:54AM