1/365: Flame

Umm – today was supposed to be Esmé’s first ballet class, so my first shot in the 365 Project was supposed to be memorable…

But plans change, kids get sick, and life requires flexibility.

So let’s take out our brand new point-and-shoot, figure out how to get the battery charged and how to turn the thing on, and see what we get!

Ah hah!  Flame cat!  Sleeping in the doll’s cradle!  Definitely makes me happy.  He’s a glistener, all right.
 
And the camera works!  Now, to check out the manual…

Kiwi

“I don’t like kiwi!”

This said by three-year-old as she cried in protest at my cruel and unusual punishment…

I’ve been pretty lax on the healthy-eating principles with my child – I’ve always wanted food and eating to be a non-issue for her.  God knows it’s been a huge issue for me.

My past MO has been to put a plate of colorful, relatively healthy options in front of her and let her have at it.  No stress over what she does or doesn’t eat.

The result?  A carb-lover extraordinaire.  She hates almost all fruits and veggies.  She’ll occasionally eat a few bites of apples, grapes, watermelon, or a bite of banana, but that’s about it for fruit.  And on the veggie side, it’s occasionally carrots, broccoli, corn, and cucumber.  No interest whatsoever in anything else.

Enough is enough already!  I decided it’s time to start the courtesy-bite concept – try at least one bite of everything on your plate.  It can be a small bite, and you don’t have to eat anything more if you don’t like it, I say.

Enter the kiwi.  Which, by the way, had been approved by three-year-old as a grocery cart addition at Costco.  I try to go through her approval process as much as possible while shopping to avoid future battles…

But this kiwi just did not cut it.  The two little chunks on her plate had her running the other direction.

I stuck one chunk on her fork.  Come on, eat it!  Get it over with!  Then we can play and do fun activities.

NO!  Tears and sobs commence.

Time out, then – let’s go!  More tears and sobs.

Why do I have to eat it?

Because it’s good for you. you need to learn to try new things, you need to be polite and eat a tiny bit, and you need to eat HEALTHY food.  Lots of reasons.

I DON’T LIKE IT!

We battle for more than two hours.  I think of all the fun things I had planned for the day.  I actually had all the activities lined up and ready to go this time.

PLEASE, I plead, just take a bite!  It’s just a little thing!  Once you’ve finished, we can have fun!

FINALLY, we negotiate.  I cut one of the little chunks into thirds, and she eats one third.  No more tears!  All is forgotten!

Why do I ask God for the opportunity to do big things, and balk at the little things? 

Why?

Hugs

My little 3-year-old is most generous with her hugs.

Some are a tad bit disconcerting. She runs and runs and runs after a boy until he finally allows himself to be caught, and then she wraps her little arms around him, squeezing him tight while his eyes dart around the room, looking for something or someone to rescue him, hoping his image isn't tarnished forever.

Mostly, though, her hugs are little prizes; blessings bestowed on the participants who make her world a brighter place.

She spontaneously hugs a new friend goodbye, then wraps her arms around the friend's mama, too, as if to say, "Thank you for sharing your little girl with me today! She's my new BEST friend!"

Or she wraps her arms around the legs of a new "teacher," sharing her gratitude for the teacher's time and also saying in a way - "I may not do everything you tell me to do, but don't take it personally - I like YOU!"

My little girl lavishes her love on us, and boy, does it feel good when she does.

How much greater is our Father's love for us, lavished on us through the life of Jesus Christ...

Time

Is 20 minutes of time worth $50?

I locked the keys the car while stepping out to the ATM yesterday. Husband was out of cell phone range, so my only recourse was to call the locksmith. And wait 20 minutes.

I had just been thinking about how my To Do list isn't necessarily God's plan for me - so now was the time to put things to the test.

I grabbed a blended mocha from Dutch Brothers - a treat I haven't afforded in ages. Then I sat on the car bumper, doing a little surreptitious people-watching (trying not to look like I was casing the people visiting the ATM).

OK, God - what do You have planned for me here?

Is there someone You have destined me to meet here? Someone I can speak to on Your behalf?

Nope - nobody special showed up. Nothing profound happened.

$50 was an expensive price to pay - for a moment of absent-mindedness on my part.

But I DID get something out of it. TWENTY minutes of time. With nothing pressing - no list of things I SHOULD be doing - because I COULDN'T do anything - except wait.

I looked at is as a gift, and that made all the difference.

Colorful

There is not one blade of grass,
there is no color in this world
that is not intended to make us rejoice.

~John Calvin

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For more colorful photos, check PhotoHunt.

To Do List

"Devotion."

That is one of the items on my To Do list.

Don't knock it - if it wasn't on there, it would never happen. You've gotta prioritize and schedule in the important stuff...

Though checking it off the list always seems a little odd.

What do I do if God's will for my life today differs from my To Do list?

Would I even know? Or am I too absorbed in checking the next thing off?

What is my priority?

Am I willing to follow Christ at the expense of my To Do list?

In practical terms, can I keep the grumpies at bay when husband asks me to do something not on the list? When little girlie demands my time even though the vacuuming is the next thing up? When slow traffic impedes my commute to work?

Can I wait with a happy heart when things don't go according to MY plan?

Nectarine

Ahhh - a nectarine!

Summer flavor assaulting the tastebuds;
juice dripping down the chin.

Bite into it.

Pithy.
Tasteless.
Dry.
(Bruised.)
Disappointing.
Dead.

Is this the state of my heart?
Not a heart of stone (well, maybe a little one in the center).
But a soft, dry, tasteless (bruised) one.

Good from outward appearance,
until one gets too close and finds disappointment.

"Create in me a new heart, O God, and restore a right spirit within me."