The Hills are Alive!

Hello from Colorado! Land of mountains, trees, and wildlife.

My dear friend Lori and I are attending the Colorado Christian Writers' Conference this week. We arrived two days early to get acclimated to the altitude and the excitement level. Tuesday we drove into Rocky Mountain National Park and took pictures. What fun!

We enjoyed a beautiful drive and stopped often to tromp through the rocks for the perfect photos. Upon arriving back at lodging, we discovered a hitchhiker - the insect kind. There's nothing like "Tick Checks" to bond people together for life. (No picture available)

We wrote almost 5000 words in the past 24 hours. Then as conferees began arriving, we mingled with old friends and greeted newcomers.

The evening opening session included worship with Tom Ewing and a message from Sandy Cathcart about writing God's answer. Bonnie Calhoun blessed our socks off with the well-known song, His Eye is on the Sparrow. What an amazing way to get focused on why we write!

No Free Puppies

Most mornings I make a pot of decaf. It still has some caffeine despite its claims. (My daughter's science fair project proved it.) Today, however, I'm on a robust high octane version. I sure need it!

My youngest child, Quin, offers moments of exasperation on a daily basis. This week I was pushed over the edge. You see, he wants everything... every toy on TV, every item on sale 30% off (this week only), every free pet.

His impulsiveness leads to some parental trials. This week's temper tantrum topics included:

• Wanting to sign up for online gaming so he could win money
• Deep desire to play tennis, or soccer, or be a cheerleader
• Craving for papaya since they were on sale at the grocery store. (Mom, what's a papaya?)
• Passion for learning how to use crutches
  
• Urgent need to own a puppy. (Mom, I've never had anything to take care of except that hermit crab that died after two days.)

Frankly, I'm exhausted. Two months ago he randomly emailed people online trying to buy an exotic monkey to have as a pet. He lost his Internet privileges indefinitely.

You might think to offer all kinds of parenting advice. Maybe he's not getting enough attention being the youngest of five children. He could suffer from deep emotional disorder. Some of you might say he just needs a good spanking, while others assume I had spanked him which caused this entire problem.

A few of you have a Quin of your own. A child who leaves your jaw dropped. You ask yourself, "How did this happen?"

I don't know. But what I DO know, I will share with you. God has it all worked out. Every challenging day comes with His promise to be with me always. Discipline, counseling, and other man-made tactics will help me through the struggle, but ultimately GOD will be the cure. Today, with java and my Jesus, I will pray and pursue His holiness.

Do you have a challenging child? How is God showing you His grace through the struggle? Leave a comment.

One Thing at a Time

Did you miss me?

Here I am back at my desk with a warm cup of coffee on a very rainy day. Many of you will be shocked to discover that I spent time weeding my garden this week. You probably didn't even know I had a garden. To be honest, it came with the house.

My youngest daughter joined me in the quest to rid our flower bed of miscellaneous weeds and wild grasses. At first she thought it would be easy to grab a handful of the green stuff and pull. Of course she only ended up with wisps of leaves in her fists. The root and some of the plant taunted her from the mulch.

"That's just going to grow again tomorrow isn't it?" she said.

"You are right," I answered. "Each one needs to be plucked out individually."

"But that takes a long time."

"Yes, but if we take care of one at a time, we will have a beautiful garden. Those weeds will stay away much longer." I answered.

I've been telling myself the same thing for two months. On thing at a time.

Stress has hit our family like a hurricane. When we have two urgent priorities, something else happens and we must add another. Car repairs, crashing computers, water leaks, hurt feelings, financial debacles all demand my attention. If I try to grasp the whole list in my fists, I end up with strands of success, but the roots remain to pull out tomorrow.

Don't misunderstand me. I know that God has everything under control. I am certain that His plan is perfect even when I feel like I'm drowning. (Psalm 69: Lord save me. The waters are up to my neck) I've never doubted God's faithfulness, but I can still fail to have enough hours in the day to get everything done. There are some thing you just can't delegate to others.

So here I am. A long list of weeds to pull. Instead I am drinking coffee and blogging... and praying. I am praying for YOU.

Are you overwhelmed? Maybe your To Do list has grown over night. Maybe you are single parent trying to keep half an acre cleared by yourself. Maybe you have guilt or anger that is suffocating your joy.

Take a deep breath and pray. Then as God leads you, take hold of each weed one by one.