The color red seemed like a fitting title because it seemed to be a theme in all of our activity this weekend!
I have had so many thoughts this weekend that I would like to expound upon in my blog...but my hands have been busy painting, not typing (so maybe I'll be able to get some of those thoughts down in print this week). The entry way got a fresh coat of paint as well as the family room, dining room, hallway, kitchen and fireplace room...I wasn't kidding....I really did paint!:) A second coat was all that was needed in most of the rooms, the entry way and stairway had never been painted and, on Sunday evening, in honor of Valentine's Day, I painted part of the kitchen and one wall of the fireplace room red! I love it!:)
How was I able to do all that with 6 kids and without completely neglecting them? That is where another shade of red came into play...the color the Canadians wear in the OLYMPICS!!! Talk about getting a kids imagination soaring...the Olympics did that for ours! Add a couple of empty boxes to the mix and, with the help of dad, they had all cut out their own skis, snowboard and even an extra hockey stick! It has been so fun to see how excited they have been to watch the Olympics and how they have had just as much enthusiasm for re-inacting what they watched! We did have to draw the line, though, when they asked if they could "bobsled" down the stairs. :) We didn't think our landlord would take to kindly to that!
Canadian TV has been showing Olympic coverage all day every day...so that just may be a wonderful incentive to get their school work done in a timely manner! And, did you catch sight of the lone Ethiopian contender in the Olympics! Our house was full of cheering and hollering when he was announced in the opening ceremonies.
I think we also had a few moments of "seeing red" on Friday, too. We seem to keep going to the same place over and over (border crossing, Social Services Dept., bank, car insurance, licensing, etc...) and always walking away needing one more piece of paper. Friday felt like a groundhogs day of last Friday and it looks like we will have one more of those kind of days still. Prayerfully, by March it will all be straightened out!:) We had to go across the border one more time to finalize some paperwork at the Canadian crossing and we were so excited when we realized the US Border line was only a couple of minutes wait. But, for us, the Lord had other plans as Bryan was "detained" for ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco and Fire Arms) for 4o minutes. We can laugh now, especially if you know Bryan and how foreign all three of those items are to him...but, in the midst of an already long day, we were truly having to preach the sovereignty of God IN ALL THINGS to our hearts and minds!!!! Isn't it amazing how sometimes it is so easy to "trust God" and "rest in His plan" in the big things but it can be those little things...the day in and day out "irritations" that we often find ourselves acting and thinking as though God does not exist at all and had nothing to do with what was happening!
In closing, tonight my family is all wearing a dot of red on their wrist. In family devotions Bryan spent time talking about the fact that we have been freed from sin....and we have been made slaves of God, bought with the precious blood of Christ. And, the red dot...well, it's a reminder to help us remember who we belong to and the price that was paid! And I know that I need all the reminders I can get to help keep me focused on the Cross of Christ!!! Valentines Day is extra special for the believer because we know the AUTHOR of love...in fact, we get to call Him Abba Father...Daddy!
I have had so many thoughts this weekend that I would like to expound upon in my blog...but my hands have been busy painting, not typing (so maybe I'll be able to get some of those thoughts down in print this week). The entry way got a fresh coat of paint as well as the family room, dining room, hallway, kitchen and fireplace room...I wasn't kidding....I really did paint!:) A second coat was all that was needed in most of the rooms, the entry way and stairway had never been painted and, on Sunday evening, in honor of Valentine's Day, I painted part of the kitchen and one wall of the fireplace room red! I love it!:)
How was I able to do all that with 6 kids and without completely neglecting them? That is where another shade of red came into play...the color the Canadians wear in the OLYMPICS!!! Talk about getting a kids imagination soaring...the Olympics did that for ours! Add a couple of empty boxes to the mix and, with the help of dad, they had all cut out their own skis, snowboard and even an extra hockey stick! It has been so fun to see how excited they have been to watch the Olympics and how they have had just as much enthusiasm for re-inacting what they watched! We did have to draw the line, though, when they asked if they could "bobsled" down the stairs. :) We didn't think our landlord would take to kindly to that!
Canadian TV has been showing Olympic coverage all day every day...so that just may be a wonderful incentive to get their school work done in a timely manner! And, did you catch sight of the lone Ethiopian contender in the Olympics! Our house was full of cheering and hollering when he was announced in the opening ceremonies.
I think we also had a few moments of "seeing red" on Friday, too. We seem to keep going to the same place over and over (border crossing, Social Services Dept., bank, car insurance, licensing, etc...) and always walking away needing one more piece of paper. Friday felt like a groundhogs day of last Friday and it looks like we will have one more of those kind of days still. Prayerfully, by March it will all be straightened out!:) We had to go across the border one more time to finalize some paperwork at the Canadian crossing and we were so excited when we realized the US Border line was only a couple of minutes wait. But, for us, the Lord had other plans as Bryan was "detained" for ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco and Fire Arms) for 4o minutes. We can laugh now, especially if you know Bryan and how foreign all three of those items are to him...but, in the midst of an already long day, we were truly having to preach the sovereignty of God IN ALL THINGS to our hearts and minds!!!! Isn't it amazing how sometimes it is so easy to "trust God" and "rest in His plan" in the big things but it can be those little things...the day in and day out "irritations" that we often find ourselves acting and thinking as though God does not exist at all and had nothing to do with what was happening!
In closing, tonight my family is all wearing a dot of red on their wrist. In family devotions Bryan spent time talking about the fact that we have been freed from sin....and we have been made slaves of God, bought with the precious blood of Christ. And, the red dot...well, it's a reminder to help us remember who we belong to and the price that was paid! And I know that I need all the reminders I can get to help keep me focused on the Cross of Christ!!! Valentines Day is extra special for the believer because we know the AUTHOR of love...in fact, we get to call Him Abba Father...Daddy!
Comments
I love the pic of Titus with his skiis on...too cute!
Your post made me have flashbacks of being in Australia for the Sydney 2000 Olympics. Thanks for the trip down memory lane and for sharing what's going on in your neck of the woods. Wish I could think of a smart Canadian saying right now but alas I'm at a blank. Oh well. Maybe next time. :) T. is so precious with his skiis!!! ♥
We're tired of having to stay up until midnight to see the Olympics on NBC. If you could post a little earlier in the efening (since BC is showing the games live - 3 hours earlier) then maybe the kids could re-enact what they watched that day, and you could post on your blog well before midnight. Then your Mom and I could get some needed sleep! Thanks ... Love you!
Dad