"Genius is neither learned nor acquired.

It is knowing without experience.

it is risking without fear of failure.

It is perception without touch.

It is understanding without research.

It is certainty without proof. 

It is ability without practice.

It is invention without limitations.

It is creativity without constraints.

It is…. extraordinary intelligence!"

So begins Mrs. Peterson's introduction to Patricia Polacco's gradeschool classmates in Junkyard Wonders. I have sometimes felt bad that so much of the most influential material I read comes by way of children's books instead of thick dusty volumes.  But there are treasures here too and my children and I have been blessed to unearth them together. Patricia Polacco is one of our favorites so I slip any new titles I find by her into the book basket without second thought. 

I have read few of her books which did not cause me to choke up before we were finished and this was no exception. Turns out Ms. Polacco was dyslexic, a fascinating revelation, considering she went on to become a successful author/illustrator. She was in a special ed room in school, the object of scorn by the kids in other rooms. Her teacher helped her and her friends to see the wonder inside them and indeed in everything around them with such advice as,

"Forget what the object was… imagine what it could be."

Which, you know, is my mantra. And you know, of course, that this does not apply only to the concrete, don't you?    Forget what was, imagine what can be. 

"Some people look at things the way they are and cry,'Why?' But I want you to look at things and see what they could be ask, 'Why not?'

Which, I say again, you know is my mantra. And you know, of course, that this does not apply only to the concrete, don't you?    Forget what was.   Imagine what can be.  : ) 

I will be holding this in my heart today. 

Here's to men who know when to bring home flowers. : ) 

HT to Stacy McDonald

We have been listening to the audio bibles Ann Voskamp mentioned some time back from Faith Comes by Hearing.  They are AWESOME recordings.  All dramatized and each person is represented by a different voice.  They are complete with wind and waves and music in the backgrounds. I have been totally captivated and am choosing this over the music on the ipod now. Time and again I think that I have never heard a verse put that way. This is probably because I have literally not HEARD the verse that way.  

To make it even easier they now offer both the OT and NT as an iphone app.  No iphone? You can listen on Facebook too, which is probably a heckuva lot better than most of the other things a person could be doing on FB.  Way cool. 

Yesterday I was listening to the exhortation in Philippians 2:14 to 'do all things without murmuring or disputing" sometimes translated as 'grumbling' and 'complaining.'  Basically a biblical command to be cheerful and cooperative IN ALL THINGS.  Tall order, but one that is repeated several places. I had recently printed out Wise Woman's essay She Delights Him based on the Botkins Sisters words and placed it on my fridge as a reminder of what "bringing him goodness and not harm" looks like in daily life. It seems more and more that it all begins with attitude.  Choosing to be grateful vs resentful, choosing to be joyful vs brooding, choosing to be positive vs critical. 

I printed Phil 2:14 for the fridge as well because it applies to all members of the family. How much strife could be avoided if we just followed this direction and went on with our work?  I mentioned back in lent a discussion at the dinner table when we heard about a frustration Zach had.  He just smiled and said he had given up complaining for lent. And then refused to vent about it.  It made a big impression on me and I was reminded of this yesterday. The bible makes it clear we are not to grumble – period. The commentary linked points out that protest and complaining is 

"sometimes prominently displayed in the countenance."

Oh yes, it is. Even when we button our lips and press on we often make it clear we are not happy about a thing and our faces complain when our voices do not. So this is my challenge currently. Am I bemoaning my circumstances? Snapping over petty frustrations. Or doing ALL things without complaining? I figure the best way to bless my husband AND my children right now is to be a smiling wife and mother. To be diligent is admirable as well. But the 'how' of it often impacts more than the what of it all. So smile. : )  It's all happening for a reason – to bless and not to curse. 

Several readings and snippets of conversation have come together over the past few days.  I tend to mark it down when this happens because surely it is for good reason.  Yesterday's gradual reading was from Ps 117:

"It is good to confide in the Lord, rather than to have confidence in man. It is good to trust in the Lord, rather than trust in princes."

Husband and I talked about this around the table last night.  How much sadness follows from failure to consider this direction?   Too often we look to each other for answers only God can give.  Misplaced confidences burden the one confiding as well as the one in whom we confide. The one is following counsel given by man, not God.  The other is led to hold his own counsel in perilously high esteem. That is, in part, our fault too, since we have favored their opinions over God's. 

The counter to this error is found in Mt 6:

"Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things will be added onto you."

Then and only then. Yet we are so surprised when we circumvent this flow and all those "things" we are so desperate for elude us. Perhaps because what we really seek is the notice and approval of others. We need them to affirm our choices, validate our frustration, justify our decisions, take up our case before others. We stir ourselves up and seek out another to help calm the storm brewing inside. But, there is only One who calms storms – and there would be fewer storms to calm if we rested more quietly in Him, if we sought His direction before others'. 

When I opened Msgr. Landriot's words this morning they not surprisingly echoed this same counsel. He reminds us 

"Men will take no account of your sufferings, nor of the drops of blood running from your heart and falling upon the pavement of your hidden life; but God counts them, every one, and angels will gather them up. Each unseen tear thus falling from your heart is changed into a pearl of great price."

He goes on to say those pearls will adorn our brows in heaven and the crown will be 

"all the more beautiful and glorious, the weaker has been the nature of her who has thus gloriously conquered."

Where does he suggest we find the means to conquer these temptations? To remain steadfast while the waves of trial and upset rush at us?  

"I know none better than confidence in God." says he. 

Of course. There are no coincidences, of that I am certain. So I take note of this message sent from many directions over a few days. 

Is your heart heavy today? There is One waiting to hear your secrets and bear your burdens, to direct your steps. One who never fails. I am trying to step back more now and remind myself to place my confidence there. Life is not necessarily 'bad' because of others. It is often a trial because we neglect the very simple path leading straight to God.

 .

I followed a link from a comment on my Flickr account this weekend to a lovely blog which linked to a sermon on  suffering given by Josh Harris.  The topic was Fiery Trials and addressed the big and little tribulations that inevitably enter our lives – the kinds, the reasons why, and our responses.  He so beautifully said that God loves us too much to leave us in the lie that this world is our paradise.  Trials are often the only things that break our hold on the things that do not last.  

He points out that while most people tend to assume that most of the time things will go along smoothly punctuated by the occasional rough patch, in reality struggle is the way of this life.  Therefore we are not to be surprised or worse, resentful. The only way to heaven is by a cross, although we  choose how we carry it.  He encourages us to do so graciously and with joy because those trials are actually an invitation to share in the suffering of Christ. 

He also addresses a rarely discussed issue.  We are not to lump all our troubles together.  Too many Christians are quick to play the persecution card and too easily assume an unwarranted martyrdom. While we do face bigotry, rejection, and ridicule for our walk with God, often we are simply suffering the consequences of our own behavior.  It may be the result of obvious sin such as murder or theft.  It may be more subtle sin such as the 'meddling' the passage mentions. We are not to rejoice over that, nor write off all negative feedback from others.  If we do, we are missing valuable lessons and the opportunity to humble ourselves and grow.  

It happened that I had a read a similar exhortation by Fr Lovasik that same day. He writes:

"To be sensitive is good, but to let oneself grow overly sensitive leads to unhappiness…. Some by nature appear well armored against the disappointments of life.  But there are others who by nature are highly sensitive and are inclined to be introspective and melancholic. It is very easy for them to recognize slights, even sometimes where they do not exist. They are inclined to brood over these real or imagined slights with the result that they make themselves and those around them miserable."

Being very thin-skinned myself, I know whereof he speaks, and husband and I discussed this very thing recently.  Taken together these talks go a long way towards helping us put suffering into perspective. 

Our Lady's Church, Trier 

Becky Higgins recently did a Q and A on her blog where she was asked how she gets so much done.  Here was her response:

"A: You’re a smart woman and exactly right. I hardly watch TV. I wouldn’t say I never watch it. It’s just incredibly limited. I absolutely rely on my toddler’s naps and my kids’ bedtime. I recharge with regular date nights with the hubby. I try to cut out anything in my life that doesn’t fit into one of these categories: essential, enriching, serving. Being overcommitted isn’t all that fun.

 But being busy and serving and doing … that’s all good.

 I try not to multi-task if I can help it. 

I struggle with that, but I’m working on it. I also use iCal to keep all of my commitments organized."

I highlighted those two middle points.  A service oriented life is different than a 'busy' life.  And that part about multi-tasking….  something well worth considering.  I am reminded of the Take Your Time book and his comment about eating while reading amounting to poor eating and poor reading.  Doing a few things well has the rollover effect of being able to do more things it seems. If your mind was wholly on your previous task while you were doing it, it is then freed to focus wholly on the next activity, having put the former to rest. Multi-tasking often results in one's brain on continual overdrive because there are a number of unfinished or poorly finished things that could use your attention. 

Another good point here was nap and bedtimes.  If you are tempted to multitask, try not to make child-rearing share time with other projects. Got that Self?  

Projects will wait. 

Childhood will not.