Stretch Armstrong

I remember a toy my brother got for Christmas one year, not because he loved it so much, or because it was what he was begging for "just gotta have it mom" - no I remember it best because it was toy he let me play with too. Stretch Armstrong!
He was the best! No matter what you did to him, he always returned to his original formed muscle self. He didn't warp in the rain, break from dropping, and Stretch could withstand the worst punishment imagined. L. would take one arm and I would take another and L. would try to climb as many stairs up to the second floor before one of us gave out. His limit was 13 stairs - whatta record.
Our neighbor twins L & J. would race on their bikes down the street, moving farther and farther apart from each other as Stretch was suspended between them, doing his job, stretching to beat the band. L. would be on one sidewalk and J. would be on the other and Stretch Armstrong would be thinner than anything fully crossing the street. And we all stood back in a form of awe.
We thought it was the coolest thing.
Me opening a bedroom window on the second floor with L. outside on the ground level and I'd lower stretch by a string until L. grabbed him and then we'd see if Stretch could make it to the second floor stretch - He always did! Stretch was beyond belief. And even though these exercises were extreme, he never lost his integrity or his shape. he was ready for the next torturous creative idea another kid would have.
One day, my brother L. put Stretch in the freezer, as an experiment, to challenge the conditions of his stretchiness - what will happen now?
Well, the next stretching exercise was an eye-opening one for us. Fresh from the deep freeze, Stretch Armstrong, ruler of this physical stretch space of our neighborhood, simply snapped open - his arm came right off. And out oozed this maple-syrup looking gunk - none of us wanted to touch it, it was Stretch Armstrong blood, you know. It was gory, disgusting and disappointing. No duct tape was going to fix this problem, no stapling or gluing. Stretch Armstrong as we knew him as gone.
Though we replaced Stretch Armstrong, we never played with him in the reckless abandon we had done before, it didn't seem right to ignore the fact that there were physical boundaries that could not be overlooked. We stretched this new Stretch Armstrong, but not to test his limits, we knew what could break him and we didn't want to see it again.
Stretch Armstrong is present in my mind right now because I have felt the pull of the imperative this week. This week brought three funerals, and each circumstance brought a new way to pull, to stretch our time management, office management, program management, family management. Stretched to the limit, and I made some mistakes which I could not correct. I needed help (thank you so much Tom and Sue - really where would I have been without you?!) Many miles to travel for spiritual and emotional counsel to others. Finding the sheet music to the perfect key of The Lord's Prayer. (Dave needed it in D, not Ab or C or Eb - the ones I had. No he needed D. So D he got! Whew!) My husband and I also had an Advisory Board meeting this week, a very important one, not to be missed. Christmas applications. A meal for 25. And T. had two hockey practices. He also had review for Tenderfoot and Second class ranks for his scouting (and achieved them both). A. and N. have a Fall festival Friday and need costumes. Cub Scouts, brownies and Juniors added in.
The week was reduced to the imperatives: what absolutely has to be accomplished? What can wait? Will we die because we had cereal for dinner or left-overs for breakfast? And the laundry gave me the biggest freedom - everyone's closet had 7 matched outfits, they might not have been the favorites, but they were clean.
The stretchiness of my flexibility would have been like that Stretch Armstrong from the freezer if I didn't have the words of God protecting this week...Psalm 121
I lift up my eyes to the hills - where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD, maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip - He who watches over you will not slumber;
Indeed, He who watches over Israel will neither slumber or sleep.
The LORD watches over you - the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.
The LORD will keep you from all harm - He will watch over your life. the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.
With God in charge of all the areas ministry will bring our way, we can encountner the "Stretch Armstrong parts" and survive. None could have happened without the help of neighbors, friends, staff, congregation, family - and God had placed them all right there, right then, and lubricated the circumstances with His grace, His understanding.
Now, I may need a St. Bernard to come and find my ailing body beneath this mountain avalanche of dirty clothing - there's no avoiding it anymore. Tonight's job may be about 20 loads. Glad I have a Low Carb Monster in the fridge...I keep a spare exactly for these type of occasions.
Enjoy your evening as you walk with the Master and stretch your envelope of faith and devotion under His care and guidance.

Place and Time

Another trip to the emergency room this week (an endless revolving door it seems) this time for my youngest son N. During recess, he found himself solidly in the wrong place at the wrong time, underneath the basketball hoop waiting for a rebound. A taller boy with a little higher jump reached the ball before N. and came down hard with his elbow directly at N. eye. An accident, to be sure, but a gash, blood, pain. I was already planning on being at the school within half an hour, N. and K. had dentist appointments in the afternoon, released early from school. As I am travelling to get them both (two different schools) the nurse from N. school calls.

Now, this nurse and I have become friends, in constant contact last year because of the daily medical attention given for T. and his daily glucose checks, insulin shots and then the more intensive role as he became an insulin pump wearer. There are only a few people in my life that I spoke with every single day, and she was one of them. As T. finished his school year, it was the end of elementary school for him-he was now a middle school student. It was a natural progression, an expected one, and one which brought great results.

And one lonely one-the nurse and I didn't have that same daily contact anymore. She is exclusively assigned to the elementary school, not the middle school. We hadn't had a chance to talk ever since school began, which from a mom point of view is exactly what you want. Two of my children were at her assigned school and neither had as much broke a fever or pulled a hangnail.

A different time. A different place.

Hearing her voice on the phone didn't bring the instantaneous sense of fear that T. was in a blood sugar coma, or registered a glucose reading over 500. But I was confused why she needed me, none of my other children have needed her expertise, something must be wrong. While she is explaining the accident, the wound to prepare me so I won't freak out when I see this beautiful boy with a bloody eye, the actions she took to containing the bleeding, her reassurance and patient manner were still present.

A different child. A different situation.

Yet our connection had remained the same - I'm so glad she was there. Her attention helped stop the bleeding long enough to be able to fulfill this dentist appointment and then go the er for stitches. The men in my life seem to be collecting these "character scars", I'm done with the collection, thank you very much.

The wrong place at the wrong time...have you ever found yourself there? Flip the perspective - have you found yourself in the exact right place at the exact right time?

Are you there right now, with God leading you through events that only He knew about? You being the one that received the vented anger from someone else's wrong actions, but able to share compassion, understanding.. You helping repair the affects of a broken heart from someone else's carelessness or callousness. You picking up the pieces so carelessly strewn about. You correcting wrongs. You drawing up blueprints. You killing rats and cockroaches. You cleaning up the stained areas. You wiping away tears.

The place and time chosen by God, and He has prepared you for it by the things He has brought you through.

Esther's story in the Old Testament carries many messages, but none of them more poignant to me than these verses when she was facing a devestating situation requiring courage and strength. "Do not think that you will escape this evil within the king's house, more than anyone else, more than any other Jew. For if you do not engage right now, there will be safety and peace brought from another source, it will not be from you; but you and all you hold dear will be destroyed; and who knows that you have not been brought to this place in time for a such a time as this?" Esther 4:13-14 Have you found that God has brought you to this place, this time, step by step, experience by experience? Do you hear the echoed words through the centuries reaching out to you from the pages of the Living Word and holding you still in the presence of God? Do you know you are in your place for such a time as this? Lovingly prepared, specifically detailed, ready because God has been at work for a very long time. I praise God for His provision, for His character molding within my life, celebrating the person I was, the person I am and the person I will be because of God's providential will.

I'm at my mom's house tonight, with everyone tucked snug in their "grandma" beds and the coolness of the evening seeping in through a slightly opened window. As I try to close the frame (it's only 40 degrees outside tonight) I am captivated by the night sky. I love the stars, and I trace the different constellations everytime I can. The first one I always look for is Orion, with his three star belt. He's been with me forever it seems, on long walks when I needed a study break, casting romantic charm on a loving embrace, calming my moods when "I needed some air" to keep me from saying the things which might hurt or disappoint. I don't step outside to get away from other people, but frequently to collect my thoughts and speak with my God-given friend Orion. I don't feel alone or misunderstood when on a clear night I can find him, sometimes on his head, sometimes rotated around because of the motion of the night sky. The constant routine, this predictable placement of stars reminds me at the core of my understanding, "God knows, God has always been here, You have never been alone."

Starry night and sweet dreams.

Loving every minute!

Dave and I can't believe sometimes how blessed we are to have four children! We love being with them, making new friends with them and doing all all sorts of "kid things" with them. This week in the adult world was Christmas applications, full of meetings - Army and community, property bids, DHQ conferences, budget and statistical closings and openings - e.g lots of work, lots of people, numerous phone calls, a slew of details, not much laughing, horsing around or fun.

But to the kid world, this week was a bonanza!

Our family had two birthdays this past week, one for Nate(8) and one for Ty(12), 8 days apart. We are flying high on birthday cake, which counts as a healthy breakfast because it has eggs and butter and milk! Special Guest Day is a classroom visiting opportunity for Abby, Nate and Kate. Their chosen special guest comes to school for about 1 hour with them and they have their selected activities with them, share a poem they wrote just for them, show new projects in the works - and dad got a chance to see them all. Dave was each of their special guest, and the time set aside was in the beginning of the day (his busiest and most demanding part of any day). When he arrived at the office after these special day visits he was literally shining, so happy from the kids surprise that it was him stopping by, not me. It was like an innoculation to a demanding day - "Nothing bad can happen to me today, my boy thinks I'm as strong as Superman, he said so with this picture he drew of me and got an 'Awesome' from the teacher who asked me if I really did wear a cape." Three different Special Guest Day visits, three different days, what joy!

Abby's Girl Scout Troop was completing a float for the Homecoming Parade which was last night. She had a ball stapling and wrapping and getting everything ready with her new friends, and then last night being on the float and throwing candy at what turned out to be the entire town of Perkins Township. A perfect fall night, the streets were lined with row after row of parents, children, grandparents...it was so exciting! I think the parents, alumni and other adults have as much fun, if not more, than the high schoolers when it comes to Homecoming! It was a riot.

Soccer games this morning: Abby 2 goals and 1 period goalie, Nate 4 goals and 1 period goalie and Kate with 4 goals and a full body sacrifice to prevent a score from a kid who I swear was in 4th grade (but that's just this mom's point of view!) Tyler's hockey game this afternoon brought 2 goals 2 minutes in the penaly box, 2 assists and one amazing check - we're on cloud nine! From cheering on the sidelines in the cold crisp morning to cheering on the sidelines at the ice rink, I feel so proud to be their mom, watching them grow and do the best they can.

Kate just helped me with emergency first aid cause I just sliced my hand open in the stupidest of ways - after I threw away the top of the can from tomato soup, I threw more trash away and pressed it down to make more room - youch, what a fool! Around my entire pinky finger, ugh the blood. So I can't do dishes for a few days, was it worth it?!.

The sun is setting earlier each night, but I don't feel I have lost a minute of shine'cause my kids just light me up!

Living in the Spaces

Living in the Spaces

The printed words are
Kept within the margins:
Aligned together into sentences
Which carry deep thought and care.
They speak of love, true deep love.
And yet to focus on the spaces
Between each idea, each word
Giving these ideas room
To breathe,
To grow,
To attach –
The spaces for the words leave room for me
Leave room for thoughts of God,
Leave room for transformation:
Living in the spaces brings power.

The stars in the sky are
Caught within their constellations:
Aligned together into formations
Predictable and dependable.
They evoke constancy, reliability
Orion is always there for me, wearing his favorite belt.
And yet to focus on the spaces
Between each constellation, each star
Giving these stars room
To shine,
To connect,
To revolve –
The spaces for the stars leave room for me,
Leave room for thoughts of God,
Leave room for transformation:
Living in the spaces bring power.


Thank you LORD for your divinely prepared spaces which insulate all the activity I encounter. You reach to me through the day from these spaces, helping me practice Your presence. Thank you for who You are, the Creator and Sustainer of this divine space each day.

“I am convinced of this: I would have given up long ago if I had not seen the LORD of the hope in the land of the living.” Psalm 27:13

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