Mother’s Kisses

They’re good for bumps and good for lumps
They’re even good for dumps and grumps,
They’re good for stings of bumblebees
And barks from shinnying cherry trees.
For splinters, sunburns, “skeeter-bites,”
For injured feelings after fights,
And scratches, scratched while Tabby hisses —
Mother’s kisses.

There’s naught so pure, there’s naught so sure,
Indeed, they seem a heavenly cure,
For pounded fingers, and stubbed toes,
And all the long, long list of woes.
Yet did you ever think it queer
That while they’re fine for every fear
They’re just as fine with all the blisses —
Mother’s kisses.

~ Annie Badcomb Wheeler

A few other poems for Mother’s Day are here.

My tribute to my mom, written last year, is here. This is one of those days I most miss her.

Happy Mother’s Day!

(Graphic from Anne’s Place)

Mother’s Day Funnies

WHAT MOMS REALLY WANT FOR MOTHER’S DAY

* To be able to eat a whole candy bar (alone) and drink a soda without any “floaties” (ie, backwash).
* Five pounds of chocolate that won’t add twenty pounds to her figure.
* A shower without a child peeking through the curtain with a “Hi Ya Mom!” just as she puts a razor to her ankle.
* For her teenager to announce, “Hey, Mom! I got a full scholarship and a job all in the same day!”
* A grocery store that doesn’t have candy/gum/cheap toys displayed at the checkout line.
* To have a family meal without a discussion about bodily secretions.
*To occasionally get to sleep late on the weekend.
*To take a hot bath without her toddler suddenly screaming, “Mommy, I have to go potty!” as soon as she hits the water.

Laws of Parenting:

1. The later you stay up, the earlier your child will wake up the next morning.
2. For a child to become clean, something else must become dirty.
3. Toys multiply to fill any space available.
4. The longer it takes you to make a meal, the less your child will like it.
5. If the shoe fits… it’s expensive.
6. The surest way to get something done is to tell a child not to do it.
7. The gooier the food, the more likely it is to end up on the carpet.
8. Backing the car out of the driveway causes your child to have to go to the bathroom.

MURPHY’S LAWS FOR PARENTS

1. The tennis shoes you must replace today will go on sale next week.
2. Leakproof thermoses will.
3. The chances of a piece of bread falling with the grape jelly side down is directly proportional to the cost of the carpet.
4. The garbage truck will be two doors past your house when the argument over whose day it is to take out the trash ends.
5. The shirt your child must wear today will be the only one that needs to be washed or mended.
6. Gym clothes left at school in lockers mildew at a faster rate than other clothing.
7. The item your child lost, and must have for school within the next ten seconds, will be found in the last place you look.
8. Sick children recover miraculously when the pediatrician enters the treatment room.
9. Refrigerated items, used daily, will gravitate toward the back of the refrigerator.
10. Your chances of being seen by someone you know dramatically increase if you drive your child to school in your robe and curlers.

(Authors Unknown)

The Mother at Home

When my older children were little, a book making the rounds among young mothers at church was The Mother at Home by John S. C. Abbott. It was originally published in 1833. Some of the principles discussed in that book were foundational to my parenting.

For instance, he instructs mothers (and this would go for teachers as well) to punish for disobedience, not the results of disobedience. He writes:

Never give a command which you do not intend shall be obeyed. There is no more effectual way of teaching a child disobedience, than by giving commands which you have no intention of enforcing. A child is thus habituated to disregard its mother; and in a short time the habit become so strong, and the child’s contempt for the mother so confirmed, that entreaties and threats are alike unheeded.

“Mary, let that book alone,” says a mother to her little daughter, who is trying to pull the Bible from the table . Mary stops for a moment, then takes hold of the book again. Pretty soon the mother looks up and sees that Mary is still playing with the Bible. “Did you not hear me tell you to let that book alone?” she exclaims. “Why don’t you obey?”

Mary takes away her hand for a moment, but is soon again at her forbidden amusement. By and by, down comes the Bible upon the floor. Up jumps the mother, and hastily giving the child a passionate blow, exclaims, “There then, obey me next time.” The child screams, and the mother picks up the Bible, saying, “I wonder why my children do not obey me better.”

…Is it strange that a child, thus managed, should be disobedient? No. She is actually led on by her mother to insubordination; she is actually taught to pay no heed to her directions. Even the improper punishment which sometimes follows transgression, is not inflicted on account of her disobedience, but for the accidental consequences…. Had the Bible not fallen, the disobedience of the child would have passed unpunished. Let it be an immutable principle in family government, that your word is law.

He describes a better way to handle the situation, then comments, “I know that some mothers say that they have not time to pay so much attention to their children. But the fact is, that not one-third of the time is required to take care of an orderly family, which is necessary to take care of a disorderly one.”

There are many other good principles here, among them: “Never punish when a child has not intentionally done wrong.” “Allowances must be made for ignorance.” “Guard against too much severity.” “Every effort should be made to make the home the most desirable place.” You might not agree with every point (I disagree with his suggestion to have the child ask forgiveness a second time), but overall it is a very helpful and thought-provoking book. I wish I had read it about once a year.

Show and Tell Friday

Kelli at There’s No Place Like Home hosts “Show and Tell Friday” asking “Do you have a something special to share with us? It could be a trinket from grade school, a piece of jewelry, an antique find. Your show and tell can be old or new. Use your imagination and dig through those old boxes in your closet if you have to! Feel free to share pictures and if there’s a story behind your special something, that’s even better! If you would like to join in, all you have to do is post your “Show and Tell” on your blog, copy the post link, come over here and add it to Mr. Linky. Guidelines are here.

I’ve been eying several things in the Cottage Accents line at Michael’s. When I found out they were discontinuing the line and had marked it all half-price, I snagged these:

Our family room is basic tans and beiges, and I wanted to bring in those colors as well as some blues in accessories, so these fit the bill.

My middle son’s girlfriend often came over on Saturday and Sunday afternoon and evenings from college, and since school was out, she traveled back to her home state for the next several weeks til they meet up again at the camp they will be working at this summer. We have enjoyed getting to know her this year. I am so glad they have done most of their dating at home. Before she left she gave us these and a sweet note thanking us for letting her come over and do laundry and spend time away from school here.

And this was an early Mother’s Day present from her to me:

Awwww!

Thanks and an opportunity

Thanks to those who left encouraging words and/or prayed about my cold and the baby shower I mentioned the other day. The shower went very well, I think. Once I got started the nervousness fell away. The hour beforehand I made about twenty trips to the bathroom, though. My cold was still there, and I took a cup of water, tissues, and a cough drop up with me “just in case,” but thankfully they weren’t needed. The Lord took care of all the other physical concerns and gave me time to think through and write out what I wanted to say the day before. I was very glad they had my part first! I was able to relax and enjoy the rest of it afterward.

I guess it might seem silly getting so nervous over a 5-10 minute devotional when some people face much greater challenges. But to me, that was a pretty big challenge!

My cold is still there but today is the first day I can say I actually feel better. I’ve been wiped out and draggy for a few days, but today is much better, though my throat is still a little sore.

The redness and swelling in my leg is still a factor as well, though it is also better. When I am at the computer or on my feet for a long time, it is worse: when I have my feet up for a while, it is better. I hope this isn’t the schedule for the rest of my life! It makes it kind of hard to get things done. I do enjoy those breaks throughout the day, but I’ve been needing to do some things in another town 35-40 minutes or so away that I don’t think I’d better try while this is going on.

I wanted to tell you about a giveaway at Blogged In Network. This is an outgrowth and development of the Family Friendly Network. They’re having a BloggedIn Bounty giveaway at the end of March — and the prize is a $100 Target gift card! Click on the button for more details. The contest is open to non-bloggers as well.

Now I am going to put my feet up again….

Booking Through Thursday: Manual labor

The Booking Through Thursday question for today is:

• Writing guides, grammar books, punctuation how-tos . . . do you read them? Not read them? How many writing books, grammar books, dictionaries–if any–do you have in your library?

These days I only read that kind of thing if I need to look up something in particular. Harbrace College Handbook from English Comp. 101 and 102 over 25 years ago was my go-to book for grammar and usage for ages. Though I still have it on the shelf along with an ancient dictionary, Roget’s Thesaurus, and a few other related books, I most often look things up on the computer these days. Dictionary.com has both dictionary and thesaurus functions. I can usually find answers to grammar and usage questions just by googling.

In fact, I have been needing to clear out some books (no room for any more bookshelves!) and I’ve been thinking of getting rid of a lot of that kind of thing both since my copies are old and since I am more likely to use online versions. I don’t know if I could give up Harbrace, though — he’s been an old friend.

I’b gotda hed code

Translation: I’ve got a head cold.

Which wouldn’t be too big of a deal…

Except that one of the out-of-my -comfort-zone opportunities I alluded to the other day is giving the devotional at a baby shower. Tomorrow night!

So I am going to lay low and rest today in hopes that the worst will be over by then and I won’t be hacking and dripping (and contaminating everyone in the same air pocket) while trying to say something helpful.

I did learn, after TM, that resting seems to be the best way to fight off these things. Right at first, any kind of illness or infection exacerbated the TM symptoms and wiped out my already-low stamina, and about all I could do was rest. But I discovered I got over colds a lot more quickly than when I felt I had to push myself to soldier through as I used to. Sometimes you just have to do that, but I’ve noticed that people who do that routinely seem to have lingering effects for a long time. I can’t take decongestants due to a propensity for SVTs. So, rest it is.

I was hoping to have some rare hours alone today to work out what I was going to say at the shower, but that seems to have fallen through. I’ve had several ideas running through my head, though — I just need to get them down in hopefully coherent fashion. And probably trim them. I tend to be wordy anyway, and after 23 years of being a mom, I could probably run on and on, but I’m sure that wouldn’t be beneficial.

Not that I am an expert on being a mom. One of my first reactions when asked to do this was to become acutely aware of my faults and my children’s. But…if God only used perfect people…nothing would ever get done. So I am trusting this opportunity is from Him and that He will enable it to be a blessing.

My initial reaction when asked to do this was…fear. I am much more comfortable writing, where there is more time to reflect, rewrite, delete — and no one is looking at you. :)  When I see that panic-stricken look on ladies’ faces when I ask them to share a testimony or give a devotional or serve on a panel at a ladies’ meeting, I encourage them that it’s a friendly audience, that no one is going to throw tomatoes, that people there want to hear what they have to say. I don’t always say this, but, as I said here, sometimes God wants to lure us out of our comfort zones (just ask Moses) to use us in some way and to demonstrate His power and ability and enabling. So…I figured I had better practice what I preach.

It seems like every effort at serving the Lord, though, is met with obstacles. Whether that’s “just the way life is” or whether it is the enemy’s efforts or further character-building from the Lord, I don’t know. I just know things always tend to come up at those times and usually at some point in the process I tell myself I am never doing this again. I have learned in other venues, like the ladies’ luncheons, to just know that that’s part of it and take it in stride. Or try to.

Meanwhile, I am reposting my “Ode to a Summer Cold” written and posted last June. It’s not summer yet…but it’s close enough.

To the tune of “Do Your Ears Hang Low?”

Oh, my nose, it runs
At most inconvenient times
Leaving overflowing trash cans
Filled with tissues full of slime.
It’s become a drip-o-matic.
My condition still is static!
Oh, my nose, it runs.

Oh, my head is filled
With such pressures in my sinus
And such fogginess of brain.
And my energy is minus.
Who’d have thought a simple head cold
Could cause scheduling to implode?
I’m ready for a nap.

Morning prayer

All praise to Thee, who safe hast kept,
And hast refreshed me while I slept.
Grant, Lord, when I from death shall wake,
I may of endless light partake.

Direct, control, suggest, this day,
All I design, or do, or say;
That all my powers, with all their might,
In Thy sole glory may unite.

From “Awake My Soul and With the Sun” by Thomas Ken

Book Review: The Forbidden

The Forbidden by Beverly Lewis is the second book in “The Courtship of Nellie Fisher” series. The local Amish church has split between two factions: the Old Order group who wants to keep to the strict rules they have always had and a new group who believe one can know they are saved and that they belong to God. There are some in the new group who are primarily interested in being able to use more modern conveniences like tractors and cars, but the core group began by reading the Bible on their own (something frowned on in the old order) and finding truths that they were never taught. They have found joy and peace in trusting Christ, but the old order folks believe it is prideful to feel sure of salvation.

Nellie is caught in the middle. Many in her family have become believers, and she can’t deny the changes in them. But her beau, Caleb, is very much Old Order and his father one of its strictest and most stubborn members. Caleb’s father has forbidden him to see Nellie, but they still manage to find ways to be together while hoping Nellie’s continuing to go to the Old Order church will convince Caleb’s father of her stand.

In one of the subplots, Nellie’s friend Rosanna, who has not been able to have children, has been given the gift of twins by another cousin, Kate, who already has several children. Yet it is obvious that Kate is having trouble letting go, and on top of that, the two women find themselves on opposite sides of the growing rift in the church.

In another subplot, Nellie’s sister Rhoda’s life shows that though every outward vestige of “the world” is removed from the life, worldliness is a matter of the heart.

I always enjoy Beverly Lewis. Her Amish grandmother’s influence and much research make these stories real, and it is easy to love these gentle, hardworking people and to long for their eyes to be opened to the truth of the gospel. Lewis also weaves many truths of life, character, Christianity, and family within her stories.

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt: Time

PhotoHunt

Theme: Time | Become a Photo Hunter

This the clock tower downtown, picture borrowed from my son.  I used it a few weeks ago when the theme was “High,” but it fits this week’s too.

The Idaho clock was made for us by my husband’s former pastor. My husband’s family moved to Idaho when he was in his early teens, I think, and the pastor of his church there did woodworking as a side hobby. He has given us several lovely gifts over the years. This was used previously as a “Show and Tell Friday post,” but it fits here as well.

Come over to TN Chick’s place to join in on the fun.