Starbucks: Holy Detrimony

You may have heard of the recent comments made by the CEO of Starbucks.  His intolerance of those who support traditional marriage made me seriously question why we allow them on our Christian campuses.  I am all for free speech and freedom of religion.  I'm not about to demand that they see things my way or keep their mouth shut.  However, I do not think it is wise nor beneficial for them to continue to have a presence on our Christian campuses when they publicly oppose values and beliefs that we hold dear.  How can we profess to promote and preserve traditional marriage while at the same time having the "opposing team" occupying our own campuses?  Our message loses its value and credibility and our witness simply becomes a watered-down version of the greater American world-view.  Taking a stand is not very popular but we're not called to be popular and trendy.  We are called to be holy, blameless, a living sacrifice, Christ-like.  It is time to sacrifice our pride and possibly our reputation to defend what we know to be true and right.  Jesus upset a lot of folks with what He had to say.  The truth ended up costing Him his life.  What if He had remained silent?  We are called to be like Him.  We wear His name, for goodness sakes- Christians.  Think about that for a minute and let it sink in.  There is a time to be silent.  This is not that time!

Searcy is the Greatest!: A Couple's Debate

The following is a conversation that Justin and I had in the car on the way home from church this afternoon.  I am blessed with a husband who is very good at noticing inconsistencies and shining a spotlight on them.  Not everyone can appreciate such a gift, but I do.  It keeps things interesting.  :)

Justin: "Ah, Searcy, Arkansas!  The greatest town in all of America!  Isn't that right, 'Momma'? (no response)  I say, 'Isn't it, 'Momma'?'"

Me: "Eh, maybe."

Justin: "What?  Why not?  Where else is better and why?"

Me: "...I don't know."

Justin: "Then, we're agreed! Searcy is the greatest!"

Me: "Hmm...I can agree that it's 'one of'."

Justin: "'One of'?  Why just 'one of'?"

Me: "Well, I haven't lived in every town in America so I can't say with certainty that Searcy is THE greatest."

Justin: "Well, I guess you can't say with certainty that I'm the greatest husband either, then, since you haven't been married to every man in America, huh?"

Me: "Touche, husband.  Touche."

Justin: "Then, we're agreed!  Searcy is the greatest!  Maybe I should have been a lawyer after all. What do you think?"

Me: "Yep, you'd have made a good one."

Lessons from a 6 Year Old: A Rose is Blooming

 My facebook status update last night: 

"I think I missed my calling as a firefighter since all I ever seem to do is put out fires. I'm really highly qualified. ;) Currently, I'm trying to smother the flames that Rhea Lana consigning has created. In the meantime, our apartment is catching fire. Then, of course, there's the MOPS newsletter that is FULLY ablaze. (Whose brilliant idea was that again? ;)) Spring break x 2 (my husband's, then the boys'), birthdays x 2 (mine, then Sadie's), Easter... You get the picture.  March is an inferno!"

With that in mind, here is what happened on the drive to school this morning:

Autism: A Parent's Perspective

Photo courtesy: Arkansas Autism Network

As many of you know, our son has Asperger's Syndrome (and we recently learned that this term is no longer being used.  Now, it's just called high-functioning autism or autism spectrum disorder (ASD).).  Anyway, I'm often asked about the signs of autism.  Parents want to know the symptoms so they can keep an eye on their own children and recognize any problems, to answer the question of "how and when did you know?".  Those who have children with a recent diagnosis want to know how we handle certain situations, the logistics, and how we cope with the challenges that having a special needs child creates.  Students want to hear from a parent's perspective and humanize the clinical description of the term "autism", to find an answer to the question of "who are these kids, what do they look like, and how will I recognize them out in the real world?"  Others are just curious and wish to know more about it and raise their awareness. 

The truth is, the spectrum is wide and varying.  I can give you our personal experience and some general things to look for, but every child is different.  And I mean, EVERY child-from the neurotypical to the not-so-neurotypical and the last thing I want to do is limit or stereotype a certain "kind" of child.  The "not-so-neurotypical", though different by nature, are still children and still enjoy what most children enjoy.  Jackson, for example, loves pizza, ice cream, french fries, candy, playgrounds, video games, movies, camping, and parties.  He forgets to pick up his toys or brush his teeth.  He argues with his brother and sister.  I guess that is part of the reason that there are so many questions about autism.  In many ways, they are like any other child.  Any one of the symptoms, when isolated, doesn't necessarily mean your child has autism.  It could just mean they are "quirky" in that way or a little "high-strung".  It's the combination of symptoms that should give you pause.  Here is what we observed in our son...

Joy Comes In the Mourning

I got a little emotional during class Sunday morning as we discussed finding joy in our affliction.  We are studying the book of Isaiah, which I've really enjoyed.  It's not really the most uplifting book (overall) but there are great moments of hope to be found as well.  That's one of the many awesome things about God.  He never leaves us without any hope.  The people of Isaiah's day suffered many afflictions.  Many of them were of their own making.  Some were simply the product of living in a fallen world.  Either way, we would be wise to heed the warnings from Isaiah, learn from the mistakes of their time, and to remind ourselves that even in the midst of suffering and woe, God remains faithful to His people.  He will bring restoration.  He will make everything right.  He will bring atonement for us.

So, back to finding joy in our affliction...  You've probably heard the verse, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds..." (James 1:2).  Well, most of us don't.  Pure joy?  Come on, let's be real.  Pain and suffering hurt.  And we don't like to hurt...at least I know I don't.  But did you know that having joy is not the same thing as being happy?  You can have joy and be sad at the same time.  How?  I'll try to explain.

Noah Webster defines joy as "the passion or emotion excited by the acquisition or expectation of good; that excitement of pleasurable feelings which is caused by success, good fortune, the gratification of desire or some good possessed, or by a rational prospect of possessing what we love or desire; gladness; exultation; exhilaration of spirits. Joy is a delight of the mind, from the consideration of the present or assured approaching possession of a good." (emphasis mine)  Joy is an anticipation of something better, something good, something we desperately want.  It is a confident hope of what our heart most desires.

Today is my brother's birthday.  He would have been 32 years old.  Over three years have come and gone since his death.  I miss him so much.  I miss the sound of his voice, his laugh, his funny phrases like "That's messed up" or "Tighten up".  I'm pretty sure that if he had lived long enough to hear it, "yolo" would have been at the top of that list, too.  (For the older generation, that's short for "you only live once".)  I miss his hugs, as painful as they could be.  I remember one particular time when I hugged him upon seeing him for the first time after several months and it was like hugging a rock!  He was so muscular and strong.  He, on the other hand, probably felt like he was hugging a marshmallow. lol

So, today we have a birthday with no "birthday boy".  This is the fourth time we have endured it and I wonder how many more birthdays we will "celebrate" without him.  So this cycle will continue every year until Jesus returns or we die.    But what else can we do?  We wait.  We give thanks to God that Matt was born.  We give thanks to God for his life, for his influence, and for his heart.  We give thanks to God for His mercy, His forgiveness, His love.  We give thanks that because of His great love, He has given us an escape from despair, pain, and loss.  He is our Hope.  He is...you guessed it...our Joy.  So, today we celebrate Matt's life, earthly as well as eternally.  We wait expectantly for that glorious day when we will see him again face to face and praise our heavenly Father forever and ever and ever amen!...together.  Until then, we will cry tears of joy, for joy can be found in the mourning.  Happy Birthday, lil bro!  Love you bunches!!

Marker Memories

So, I decided to use the kids' bathroom earlier this evening, rather than disturb my husband who loves to sit in ours with the hair dryer running while he either reads or uses the laptop for his schoolwork.  (I just realized how that sounds.  Kind of weird, I guess?  Well, we're a pretty weird bunch for those who hadn't yet noticed. ;))

Anyway, the point is that when I walked in, I didn't notice that Sadie was already in there.  Then I realized that she was very obviously trying to hide from me.  Never a good sign, right?  So, I made her turn around and face me so I could either see what she was hiding or why she didn't want to look at me.  This is what I saw...

 

That's brown marker on her face.  The interrogation went something like this...

Me, in my best calm and collected voice:  Sadie, why have you been writing on your face with a marker?

Sadie:  Because I want to look like different people.

Me, thinking I already knew where this was going:  What do you mean by "different people"?

Sadie:  Because I want to look like brown people!

Ah, Sadie!  How I do love you, girl!  She makes life so fun and unpredictable!

Happy are those who persist...

for they shall receive...eventually!  After much weeping and gnashing of teeth, we FINALLY have our AR tag!  Seriously, that was WAY too complicated.  Shortly after our move, we discovered that our title was lost.  Some of you are already aware of the unpleasantness in our home associated with that.  Yes, we played the blame game.  I kept the title in the van.  Justin found it there and didn't think it wise to leave it in the van (in case someone stole the van, we shouldn't leave the title with them too.  I see his point.) so he brought it inside.  At that point, who knows what happened to it but suffice it to say that when the time came and despite our searching, neither of us knew where to find it. 

So earlier LAST YEAR, we applied for a GA replacement title.  We even paid to have it expedited.  In case you were wondering, the cost for a replacement title is $8.  The additional fee to have it expedited is $10.  And by "expedited", that means you get it (theoretically) in about 2 weeks rather than 4-6 weeks.  The only thing is, we didn't get it in 2 weeks...or 6 weeks...or even 6 months!  In retrospect, I should have been more on top of them about it but hey, life happens.  Besides that, is it too much to ask that people do their job so I don't HAVE to resort to breathing down their necks???  And people want to entrust our government with their healthcare?!  I just don't get it.  Anyway, I digress.  So, September came and having thought of it again, and finding a tiny sliver of time, I sent an email to the lady in charge asking what was taking so long.  I never received a reply.  (P.S.- Have you ever noticed how few government offices' contact information includes a direct line or an extension number to reach someone specific?  And I mean someone whose name is posted on the website with their contact information.  Many times there is either no phone number listed, or just the general number for the entire agency.  Not helpful.  In fact, it's just annoying.)