When a Superhero is Learning to Read...

... there is no reason for him to remove his head gear ...

... a mask does not prevent him from learning sounds...

... gloves just might help him follow the letters ...

... and he should be free to use his powerful superhero voice ...

... because learning to read is fun for superheroes too!

~ with thanks to our superhero's big sister for capturing this reading lesson in pictures ~

Little Warrior spreads joy...

... and I am swimming in its sweetness...

"Mama, when you kiss me, my cheeks and your kisses dance together."

"And when you say something nice to me, I'm so happy and my brain actually has a party!"

Defender of Fun, meet Spreader of Joy!

Little Warrior swaggered up to me this afternoon, fists clenched, and announced boldly, "I... am... The Defender of Fun!"

He handed me a green play silk and asked me to tie it around his neck, then he pulled two more long scarves out of the dress-up collection, tied them together to form a rope, and efficiently lassoed my chair.

 After tipping my chair (with a little leg power from Mom) he busied himself with other important super hero-y projects.  I was settling back into my work when the door flew open and The Defender of Fun leaned in.  "Do you need to get saved again?"

What else was there to say but "Oh yes!"

He grinned and scowled simultaneously (no easy feat) and raced off.  He returned with his homemade rope and tied it to my damsel-in-distress wrist.

Oh this little boy with his dreams of saving the day.  I nurture that desire in him because the world needs heroes.  I don't know why he decided to call himself "The Defender of Fun."  Apparently he doesn't either.  He told me he did not pick the name, it is just his job "to save the fun."  I can accept that.

I want to be a defender of fun too.  Some days I feel more like a defender of the to-do list.  And let me tell you, that is one loooong list.  I check my list, I check everyone else's lists, I look at the clock, I remind, I suggest, I warn.  Bleh.

I am adding something new to my list.  I am challenging myself to spread joy every day.  I want to be intentional about this.  The bud of my heart has joyfully bloomed with the living water that Jesus has poured upon me, and I want so much to share that.

I know that sharing Jesus is at the heart of spreading abiding joy, and it is my desire to be brave and bold and true in doing this.  But what I am talking about is doing something, however small, each and every day, to bring a little extra joy into someone's life.  A way to say thank you to the dear Lord who has given hope to this scared little girl.

I want to go about this intentionally, and I want to be held accountable.  I will be the maker of phone calls, the writer of encouraging notes, the baker of unexpected cookies.  I will choose to play with my children instead of checking one more thing off my to-do list.  I will commit random acts of kindness upon loved ones and strangers alike.  I will just do it.

Pass the purple cape!  I... am... a Spreader of Joy!

Masking Tape

{Mumble mutter} {Mumble mutter}

Busily focused on the task at hand, it took a moment before my brain caught up with my ears enough to discern the slow whisper of "Mas...king...tape.  Mas...king...tape."

I looked up to see Little Warrior, walking toward me, his face fixed in earnest concentration, repeating those words over and over.  When he caught my eye he said, "Papa said to ask you if we have any masking tape."

"We do," I smiled.  "Was it hard to remember those words?"

"Yes!" he said wide-eyed.

As I walked to retrieve the tape I thought how very like myself he is.  The words I often find hard to remember are not so much difficult sounding words, but words I have a hard time believing.  Words like "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness" (Exodus 34:6).

Why should I have such a hard time believing this?  God's compassion to me all my life shouts this out.  Yet I still wait for judgment, for anger.

And those are words God himself actually spoke to Moses!

To my amazement, I discovered recently that this statement occurs not once, not twice, but nine times in the Old Testament.  Nine times!  And not just in one book; it is spoken in Exodus, Numbers, Nehemiah, Psalms, Joel, Jonah and Nahum.

Oh how I must whisper these words over and over to remember them... The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.

Oh yes... whisper them... masking tape them to my heart.

photo credit

Warrior Health Update

Just a quick happy note... On Monday Little Warrior was tested for all the icky diseases we don't want to bring on our trip, and was cleared for take off.  Our wonderful doctor thinks he is probably at the tail end of a minor virus.  I am praying that no one will be coughing in a week when we arrive at my in-laws.  Would be grateful for your prayers too!

Loving the moment = joy

Have you ever taken a photo with your mind?

Today I was lying on the couch singing with Little Warrior (age 4). Now that he's "big" he "does school" like his siblings, and singing nursery rhymes is part of his new routine. But today I was running on just a few hours of sleep, and by the time we got around to singing, I was one tired mama.

Little Warrior and I lay side by side on the couch. He chose the songs that he felt we could comfortably sing in a prone position. We sang "Itsy Bitsy Spider". We sang "The Alphabet Song". We sang "The Wheels on the Bus" (with all our custom verses, including giggling sisters and knitting grandmas). We sang and sang and sang.

At one point I turned to look at him, and he took my face in his hands, leaning his forehead against mine and singing.

{snap!} went the camera of my mind, catching the close-up of green eyes and curly golden halo. {save!} whirred my heart as I felt those soft little hands and the vibrations of his wobbly song against my face.

Present in the moment... joy.