Unerring Wisdom

Unerring wisdom ordained your lot, and selected for you the safest and best condition. Remember this, had any other condition been better for you than the one in which you are, divine love would have put you there.

You are placed by God in the most suitable circumstances.

Be content with such things as you have, since the Lord has ordered all things for your good.

- Charles Haddon Spurgeon

I discovered this little treasure of a snippet from dear Spurgeon this past week. I have been mulling over it since, and have been so thankful for the truth of this statement. Scripture after scripture comes to mind as I think about this quote and break it down in thought.

The promises of God to protect us, to work all things for the good of those who are called, and the sweet umbrella of God's perfect love in all circumstances come to mind, and keep it occupied.

The truth of the phrase, "unerring wisdom"- God never makes mistakes, no matter what we think in our wisdom. His thoughts are higher than ours, and he is the perfect source of truth and wisdom.

I just had to share these things, letting anyone who may read this chew on them for a while. You will be blessed.

Not Me! Monday: A Restaurant Tale

Welcome to another installment of Not Me! Monday where I admit the shortcomings in my life and live to tell about it for the laughter of others. This carnival blog was started by MckMama, and you can visit her blog to see what others aren't doing.

Yesterday was Father's Day, and what better way to celebrate dad than not having to cook for him?! So out we went, to Red Robin to be exact, and there the following did not happen.

Thinking it most prudent to strap our youngest down, we requested a booster seat, and he certainly didn't howl very loudly at the idea upon being seated in the booth. He wasn't threatened with a "trip to the bathroom" at all because of his reaction, and for the next 10 minutes I didn't snuggle so close to him as to give him the illusion of affection... but really it was incognito restraint. That so did not happen.

When it was time to order, I did not skip the waitress past drinks and go straight to entrees hoping that would make food come faster. No, I wasn't in a rush. Not me!

As I sat by my son, I did not make up a game in which he took the germ-infested strap that is attached to the booster, put it up to his mouth, and then I would pull it out playfully, saying, "NO!" I wouldn't allow a game like that because every mom knows that would lead to actual placement of said germ-infested strap in the mouth because a mom can't keep up that game for the entire meal. So yeah, I didn't do that. I didn't do that knowing the outcome. And I certainly didn't regret it about 2 NO's into it, thinking about all the children who had previously sucked on that strap and that it was like my son licking those children's tongues, and who knew where those other children have been?! No. None of that happened.

When our meal came, my heart didn't sink as I saw that on my burger was dreaded mayonnaise and tomato. Upon seeing the defiled bun, I did not realize that I was in such a rush to order that I forgot to ask to have those things left off. And then when the waitress asked if everything was all right, I did not remain mum feeling guilty about that it was my fault for not making the request in the first place. And it wasn't my husband who requested a new bun. Can't I do those things for myself?! Apparently, not me!

While I was waiting for the new bun, I did not give all my fries to my son without thinking to break them up and blow on them to cool them off. He didn't shove a big bite in his mouth and whimper in the pain of each bite. I'm very careful about that... uh, not me?

Finally, as our meal went on, and the fries diminished, my son did not turn to the humorous cardboard coasters for his nutritional benefit. And after telling him that they were "yucky," I did not just ignore that he was taking nibbles off because frankly, he was quiet, and I got a late start on my meal anyway. Not me!

What about you? I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who is imperfect. In fact, I know I'm not.

The Kids' Daddy

Today I am thankful for God's provision in allowing me to have a husband who loves and serves Jesus, honors His word, and leads our family accordingly. He disciplines our children with love, instructs them with the wisdom God provides, and diligently watches over them.

Many men can be fathers. But fewer men choose to be dads. Casey Lute chooses to be daddy to the children he has been given and takes that responsibility to heart.

He is strong, discerning, and gracious.

I am humbled by the grace that is poured out on our family through the work of the Lord in the life of my husband.

A Lot of Thinking

There haven't been many posts as of late, but that doesn't mean that I haven't seen God's grace daily or His provision in my life and the life of my family and friends. I have!

I have also been learning and thinking about many things. I probably could have written many a post about it all. And believe me- I have done plenty of things worthy of a Not Me! Monday post!

There are just stuff rolling around in my head, and when I am able to put them into words, then it will come out in blog form for the two people who read this! I have also been a bit preoccupied with the whole full-time, stay-at-home-mom, mother-of-two-young-children thing.

So until that time comes when I have sorted through all the junk rolling around in this empty cavern called my thick skull, it will be typed out and posted magically on the Internet for folks to peruse to their hearts' content.

Renewed Sparkle

One of my favorite possessions is a gift I got from my husband, and I wear it every day. Of course there are the occasional mishaps like when I take it off to put lotion on my hands and forget to put it back on, or when my fingers were a little swollen when I was pregnant with Norah, but on the whole, I wear my wedding ring every day.

Recently, I noticed that the prongs were crooked on the main diamond, and so I had been wearing my "fake ring" that I bought from Gottschalks when I was pregnant with Norah. At the time, I purchased it because I had quite the baby face, and I didn't want to walk around pregnant without a wedding ring on!

My real wedding ring was sitting in my jewelry box awaiting for me to take it to get fixed. Well, it was fixed this week.

Yesterday I walked in to Fred Meyer Jewelers, and got my ring back. As I looked at it, I commented to the gal behind the desk how much it sparkled. Rings are always extra shiny after getting them cleaned or inspected at the jewelers!

I was actually distracted by how much it shined on the drive over to meet my mother. Little specks of light shone all over the inside of our van as the May sunshine hit the facets of the diamonds.

It's funny though. When I first began wearing my ring as a single engagement ring, and then as a set, it was so sparkly at first. After time, it has been on my hands as I have washing dishes, taken many showers, changed diapers, vacuumed, dusted, played, and weeded. Of course it has been cleaned to a sparkly shine many times, but I guess what's different about this time is that I was without it for so long. It was kind of dull when I took it in to be repaired, even though I didn't notice it.

I think we're that way sometimes. We get into the daily grind of chores, errands, and the business of each day, that sometimes we don't notice how dull we have become. Maybe time with the Lord slips, or praying throughout the day doesn't happen. Then the Spirit moves. We open up that Bible or seek God's face in prayer.

And the greatest thing happens. We're cleaned up. We're renewed. We're opened up to the instruction of the Word.

Sometimes it takes us seeing that we need fixing. All we have to do is look. We didn't notice before because we were too busy to look. Sometimes we don't want to look because if we did, we would indeed notice that there are areas where we need work.

You know what though? If we allow the Lord to fix the problem, then we'll see that one the other side is something so much better than what we knew before just like my ring that had dulled from the business of life. How long the prong was bent, I will never know. What matters is that I saw it and it was fixed. Now there's a renewed sparkle.

"And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you

will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."

Philippians 1:6

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me."

Psalm 51:10

Not Me! Monday: Of Humility and Stuff

Welcome to yet another Not Me! Monday, a blog carnival created by MckMama, where we can laugh at our mistakes and at those of many others. It's a lesson in therapy and humility all in one. So, sit back, relax, and have a laugh at my expense- really, it's okay! So many are doing this. Just go over to MckMama's blog and see what everyone else isn't doing!

Here we go!

I certainly didn't need to use the bathroom so badly this week that I nearly forgot to disrobe all necessary garments before doing what Nature was calling me to do! No, I certainly wouldn't be in such a predicament because I was too busy cleaning the house or meeting the needs of my children- who, by the way, have forever altered my ability to hold it. Nope, not me!

I don't take a little bit of pride in remembering people's birthdays, so when I remembered that this week was the 13th, I surely didn't make a mental note to be sure and wish a certain friend a happy birthday on their Facebook. After posting, said note, I wouldn't delete it promptly after realizing that his birthday is next month on the 13th and hope to gloss over this little faux pas as if it never happened and that the recipient of the accidental birthday greeting would be blissfully ignorant. Not me!

Upon finishing perusing last week's Not Me Mondays, on Wednesday, I didn't have to stop Norah from holding down the toilet knob and stop the gushing water that she was wasting in doing so. And upon walking away from stopping this wasteful action, I did not step on a piece of peanut butter toast and got it stuck to my foot. That couldn't happen because I wasn't in the kitchen, but in the hall. (Besides, that wouldn't happen in the kitchen either... right?) And I would never miss that a stray piece of toast made its way into the hall. Seriously, not me!

Oh, and I positively did not take my husband's glass of water in my hand, bring it to my mouth, smell the scent of the lemon he added to it, and still think that it was my water only to have him say, "That's mine." Uh, yeah. Not me!

Because I don't love certain t.v. shows and have such better things to do with my time, I really, really don't care to check on nbc.com to see the deleted scenes from the most recent episode of The Office on Friday, practically every Friday. That would be silly. Nope, that's not me!

Finally, I should make sure that you know, I haven't been working on this off and on this past week to make sure that I remember my stupid stunts. Really, I'm just this on top of things on a Monday morning. Really.

Since I Was a Crusader

Tonight was my 10-year high school reunion, and I just can't sleep. My mind keeps thinking of questions I had for different people, like what their siblings are up to or things like that. There are a few folks that I didn't get the chance to speak to much, and that's too bad.

I am also awake because it is quite warm and uncomfortable in our home. That always makes sleeping hard.

So, with these two reasons keeping me awake, I figured I might as well do something, and in doing something, I just got lost looking at old photos.

Now, put together having a nostalgic night with old photos of my children, and what you get is a full heart.

I am so very grateful for the things that have happened in the 10 years since I was a Salem Academy Crusader. I met the greatest love of my life, and married him (who, by the way, was the most handsome husband at the reunion-thankyouverymuch!). I became a mother to two of the most beautiful children, and I have had the honor of serving my family at home and in two churches that God led us to.

I am grateful for every heartache and trial, for God has woven them into a tapestry of joy.

So, tonight's events have left me thankful, thankful for what He has done since I was a Crusader.