10 million miles

A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine passed along this little bit of time-saving wisdom from a homeschooling convention:

USE YOUR DISHWASHER!

This has revolutionized my life. And came at a good time when we just installed a new hearty dishwasher. Did you know that you can load up the dishes, pots, pans, and children (well, not the children really) in a fraction of the time, water, and energy it takes to stand at the sink and wash them by hand? Did I say that loudly enough: you can load in the pots and pans!! I used to skimp on running the dishwasher, thinking I was saving the environment. No longer! I now run a load every day or two; my pots are cleaner than ever; and I feel great.

People everywhere are bursting with amazing moves that influence me…

That Thing You Do #45:

In a stunning sermon on Father’s Day, Jonathan said one line that took my breath away:

“The one who spends the most time, wins.”

People everywhere are bursting with amazing moves that influence me…

That Thing You Do #17:

Some people really never say anything at all unless they have something good to say.

I notice them and take copious notes.

“Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.” Colossians 4:6

People everywhere are bursting with amazing moves that influence me…

That Thing You Do #247:

‘You know when your friend asks you to be a reference for her upcoming job, committee, or Board of Directors opportunity?

Here are two things to keep in mind:

1. Only agree IF you plan on being an advocate for your friend. That’s why she asked you anyway, right? She wouldn’t have asked you to represent her if she knew you would slam her reputation and guarantee an “I’m sorry; position filled” form letter.  If you plan on including information about your friend that could jeopardize her chances, either have the guts to tell her those things first or politely decline the opportunity.

2. When you come to the inevitable question,

“What is this candidate’s greatest weakness?”, consider my friend Renee’s awesome response:

“I don’t know Charise well enough to answer this question, though I’m sure if you asked her, she would answer honestly.”

Sheer genius! That question has always driven me batty! While I could spend a full day answering that question about myself, when it comes to answering for another person… that’s dangerous territory. I believe Renee’s response trumps the old “turn a strength into a possible weakness” advice. I had the opportunity to use Renee’s line two times recently and I felt incredibly protective, supportive, and nonjudgmental. (Who doesn’t want to be that every once in a while, ya know?)

You know, if we don’t proactively fill our hearts and minds with “home-loving” things, we might quickly forget the beautiful endeavor of building a home, loving a few hearts well, and creating a life-giving atmosphere. Two things that have been encouraging me lately:

1. The Shaping of a Christian Family by Elisabeth Elliot: a rich account of Elisabeth’s childhood home that is contagious, thought-provoking, and refreshingly other-worldly.

2. Season 1 of The Waltons: we grew up watching The Waltons re-runs on Philly 57, but nothing compares to spending time with this family as a grown woman who endeavors to establish a similarly loving home. Truly, Olivia Walton is my “hollywood hero” as she is consistently honest, gentle, wise, and hospitable. We picked up our Season 1 set at Sam’s Club and will save up for the rest of the seasons. Ryan and Vivienne are equally in love with this simple family.

“NOONLES!” Lia says with her characteristic foodie passion.

Okay, okay, the sea otter can stay.

(Until the next garage sale anyway.)

I appreciated your input so much that I decided to throw another question your way.

My one million dollar question of the day is:

WHY IS MY FOUR YEAR OLD SUDDENLY BITING EVERYTHING?? Silverware, pens, pencils, money, THE DEADBOLT (I am not kidding), her fingers, the dining room chair, her blanket, her shirt, puzzle pieces, books…

You must understand that this is totally out of character for her and I am befuddled. I don’t think she chewed on things this much even when she was teething! I handed her a carrot, but it didn’t seem to give her the fix she was looking for. She doesn’t realize that she’s doing it and is, of course, adorable - and quick to stop - when I point it out to her.

So, what do you make of it?

Nerves? An iron deficiency? A dental phenomenom? A 4-year-old’s right of passage? A “this, too, shall pass”? Help!

The next time you want your child to fall in love with the prickly stuffed sea otter that you’ve been saving since your college days because of that niggling thought, “I guess I should hold onto that; every kid should have a sea otter”, finally resolve to sell it in a garage sale.

I’m telling you, the moment that sea otter hits the “out-going” pile, your child will need a prickly stuffed sea otter in the worst way. She’ll gleefully exclaim things like, “But, LOOK: He fits right over my arm!!” and “This is my little porcupine and I need to babysit him.” and “Aw, I think my raccoon is teething. Can you see his cute little teeth coming through?”

So, I’m back into the niggling.

What’s your vote: should the sea otter stay or go?

(I had heard that this kind of thing happens around garage sale season; now I can say I’m a veteran.)

While Vivienne and Ryan attended a children’s musical, I plopped Lia onto the pile of laundry on our bed and begin folding. The pile was so big, Lia patted around knowingly calling, “Viiiivvvviiii,” just waiting for her sister to pop out from under the mound. We were both disappointed when the mound was, indeed, just a solid pile of clothes.