A lazy Sunday at our house seems to be pretty loud and pretty active. Getting to church with six children...four of whom are AA girls (hair)... resembles a military maneuver. But we did it with minutes to spare. This was particularly impressive today as it also entailed clearing snow off the truck, shoveling, and getting everyone into winter gear. I personally was glad I didn't waste any time working on my own hair since the minute I walked out the door the wind picked it up straight off the top of my head. It was great to get out and worship, and even get to take communion. This afternoon the children have been happily playing church. Our 12yo daughter made vestments out of an old knight costume and winter scarf, and stacked plastic bins together to make a pulpit. She preached FOREVER on how lying is an abomination to the Lord, and how if you do it you'll get a punishment "bigger than your head!" She got off on a tangent about how "homosexuality is gross, gross, gross." Hmmm. She didn't hear that from any services we have taken her to. I just gently asked her to finish up her sermon on lying. As usual, the rest of the children got bored before the sermon was over, and drifted off to do other things. We ended with the rest all "spying" on the preacher with a variety of spy gear they had made for themselves. She was not deterred, and just set up dolls for a congregation, and continued preaching.
Now the spies/former congregation and preacher as well, are watching a Star Wars movie. And in the midst of it all, the dog even got her hair and nails trimmed, I tidied up a bit, and got three loads of laundry moved along the endless conveyor. You know, basket to washer to dryer to closet to body to basket....it never ends. The washer and dryer hum constantly. I am praying they hold out long enough for us to "find" the money for new ones. Front loaders would be nice. Right now we have a twenty year old dryer that takes 3x as long to dry as the washer takes to wash. It makes for some back up. Hubby is in the kitchen making something marvelous. I think Salisbury steaks and potato wedges. Also sauteed onions and mushrooms. Yum. He really is a marvel, particularly as the cupboards start looking empty. He can make a gourmet meal out of a can of tuna and some stale bread crumbs!
It has been a good week all in all. It is nice to have a day like today, a bit out of the routine, to reflect on it. It has been a grueling week of tantrums, and raging, and messes. Life is very messy and loud right now. We are incredibly tired. I dream of sleeping late. I dream of sleeping all day and into the next night. As I was telling my married daughter the other afternoon....just please pray for us for endurance to keep going. It's not like we need strength to do anything remarkable. There is no magical, impossible THING TO DO. It's not like we need the wisdom to say something earth shattering. There is no incredible wise THING TO SAY. It's just a thing that needs doing, day in and day out, for long years into the future. The relentlessness of it can be overwhelming, disheartening, exhausting. I hate that when I get tired I get cranky, and I let the joy get sucked out of my life. There's no need for it. I mean, you can be tired and still have joy, right?
Now the spies/former congregation and preacher as well, are watching a Star Wars movie. And in the midst of it all, the dog even got her hair and nails trimmed, I tidied up a bit, and got three loads of laundry moved along the endless conveyor. You know, basket to washer to dryer to closet to body to basket....it never ends. The washer and dryer hum constantly. I am praying they hold out long enough for us to "find" the money for new ones. Front loaders would be nice. Right now we have a twenty year old dryer that takes 3x as long to dry as the washer takes to wash. It makes for some back up. Hubby is in the kitchen making something marvelous. I think Salisbury steaks and potato wedges. Also sauteed onions and mushrooms. Yum. He really is a marvel, particularly as the cupboards start looking empty. He can make a gourmet meal out of a can of tuna and some stale bread crumbs!
It has been a good week all in all. It is nice to have a day like today, a bit out of the routine, to reflect on it. It has been a grueling week of tantrums, and raging, and messes. Life is very messy and loud right now. We are incredibly tired. I dream of sleeping late. I dream of sleeping all day and into the next night. As I was telling my married daughter the other afternoon....just please pray for us for endurance to keep going. It's not like we need strength to do anything remarkable. There is no magical, impossible THING TO DO. It's not like we need the wisdom to say something earth shattering. There is no incredible wise THING TO SAY. It's just a thing that needs doing, day in and day out, for long years into the future. The relentlessness of it can be overwhelming, disheartening, exhausting. I hate that when I get tired I get cranky, and I let the joy get sucked out of my life. There's no need for it. I mean, you can be tired and still have joy, right?
2 comments:
I remember playing church with my cousins and brothers when I was younger. Except it was Catholic church. We would use bread, the bottom circles of bathroom cups, or even pieces of paper for communion. My cousin always got to be the priest and give out communion. I think bathrobes were our garb of choice. I never did get to be priest, I think I made it to altar girl status once....
We also played church. A family of 9 children, former Catholics turned Pentacostal, WOW! We did have lots of fun but our doctrines were quite mixed-up...we went from "Body of Christ"...prayer for healing lines....and pretending to speak in tongues.Well I guess there were worse things we could have been watching on the Television, if we had had one....Maybe that's why we had 9 kids????
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