Thursday, January 31, 2013

You're Never too Old...

I read somewhere recently that you're never too old for macaroni and cheese. I'm going to have to agree with that. It's certainly not just a kid's dish and it's wonderful comfort food. It's especially good if you put tuna in it. (I know that might sound gross, but if you like tuna, you should definitely try it.)

This got me thinking about other things you're not too old for. Like... well, like...

1. Hugging and kissing your parents. As teenagers, some of us might have been (or might currently be) embarrassed by our parents. (I never was. I was proud to say these were my parents. I never, ever hid from them when we were out and I ran into my friends.) That's an individual issue we must work thru. But as a teenager and even as an adult, I say you're never too old to hug and kiss your parents. Let them know how much you love them. Let them know how much you appreciate them. I lost my mom on December 7, 2010 (at the very young age of 54) and I can thankfully say that I hugged and kissed her right up until the end. I lived about 90 miles away, so I didn't get to see her very often. I praise God that I was at her house just 2 days before she passed away. So just 2 days earlier, I'd given her a hug and a kiss. My heart delights in the fact that, when my mother passed away, she knew I loved her.

2. Playing with toys. Come on. You all know it's fun. That's why some of us have kids. (I'm just kidding, of course.) Especially nowadays. Some of the toys my kids have now are way cooler than the toys I had when I was a kid. And I just love it when my boys bring out their remote controlled cars! Oh, I crash them into things, I ride them down the stairs... I even have the boys stand in different places with their legs apart and I try to drive the car under their legs like a bridge - without hitting their legs. (I miss quite often. They love it!) But there's nothing like getting out a toy to de-stress after a hard day. And it's a great way to bond with your kids. (You should've seen my dad and older brother playing with a Speed Racer car my boys got for Christmas one year. It flips completely over. They cheered it on! It was hilarious! Here is a link to the car on Amazon if you'd like to get one. It's cool. It drives, flips completely over, and keeps on driving.)

K, sorry... commercial over. back to the list.

3. Riding a bike. I know they make bikes for adults, and I'm not talking about super-serious mountain biking or losing-weight-and-keeping-fit biking. I'm talking about biking like kids do it. Get on and ride around, purely for the fun of it. To feel the wind on your face as you glide around, swerving back and forth. The feeling of freedom. That's what I always felt when I rode my bike as a kid. And riding a bike as an adult brings back that same feeling.

4. Learning something. I'm sure you've heard the phrase "you can't teach an old dog new tricks." Well, I don't really believe that. My dog is 14 and I taught him something new recently. (lol) But, with people, there's always an opportunity to learn and grow. There's new things you can experience. God created this whole world with surprises buried in it. How fun it is to discover a new treasure every day! :)

That's it for my list. Well... that's all I can think of right now. What would you add to the list?

Sunday, January 13, 2013

3 Little Fellows Follow Me...

Wow, it's January 13th already? Where has the month gone? It seems to have just flown by! I wanted this blog to be more active than this, but every time I sit down to write, something comes up.

But I have a few minutes today, so here's what's on my heart.

I saw this poem, and I'd love to share it with you:

A Little Fellow Follows Me
by Rev. Claude Wisdom White, Sr 
 
A careful mom I ought to be,
A little fellow follows me.
I do not dare to go astray,
For fear he'll go the selfsame way.

Not once can I escape his eyes;
Whate'er he sees me do he tries.
Like me he says he's going to be,
This little chap who follows me...

I must remember as I go
Through summer sun and winter snow,
I'm molding for the years to be-
That little chap who follows me.

*NOTE: In the original poem, the first line reads "A careful man I ought to be," but I'm a woman. So I adapted it. This poem is for the parent of a little boy, but it works just as well for parents of little girls.

Wow. What a wonderful picture. Parent navigating through life, followed closely behind by her small son. Watching her every move and gesture, listening to her every word and tone, paying attention to every mood and attitude.

It's true, actions do speak louder than words. I can tell my kids to be kind to others until I'm blue in the face, but if I don't demonstrate kindness myself, they'll never learn it.

The apostle Paul actually told the Phillippians to follow after him, to do as he did:
Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. (Phillippians 4:9)
I want to be able to say that to my children. Nowadays, many parents live by the "do as I say, not as I do" mentality. They tell their kids to live one way, then they themselves live another. It's much easier to raise children this way - tell them what we want them to do, and live whatever way we want. But is it better for our children?

I'm not perfect. By any stretch of the imagination. And I do or say things I shouldn't, as anyone does. But my heart aches when I see or hear these things coming from my children. Because I know they got it from me. I need to constantly remind myself that there are kids around. I want them to be kind, loving, obedient, godly people. So for them to become that, I must first become that. 

It's definitely not easy to change one's thoughts or behaviors, especially since you've been thinking or behaving that way for 34 years. That's when I pull out Philippians 4:13: "I can do all this through him who gives me strength."