Good Deeds

Every now and then one of my kids has an exceptionally good day. Kaleb chose to shine last Monday, Feb. 7th. I made myself write down his good deeds since they kept piling up. What a gift to his mommy!

• Pulling into the garage after school, Kaleb noticed I had a full load of groceries in the van. He made many trips (unasked) to help me carry everything inside. He did it cheerfully.
• Inside, he began unpacking the bags and had fun putting the groceries away. I was stunned!
• After snack time he did his homework without complaining.
• He practiced his piano without being reminded and again, did so cheerfully.
• I needed the doggy do-do cleaned up in the yard--the dreaded chore among our boys. I told all 3 kids I'd pay them $1 for each scoopful they picked up. (the scooper is pretty big) Guess who took me up on my offer with a smile? Kaleb! His brothers made themselves scarce.
• Before going out to a banquet with my handsome husband that evening, Kaleb looked at me and said, "You look very nice Mommy."

I felt continually blessed by Kaleb all afternoon that day, and as I typed this out I realized something else. It was his attitude that made all the difference. I completely understand what God means when he says he loves a cheerful giver. If I'd asked Kaleb to do all of those things for me, and if he'd grumbled and complained about doing it, he would obey out of duty and obligation. The jobs would be complete, but would there be any love in that? No. I would feel weary and drained after listening to constant complaining and whining. I'd also feel unappreciated, not to mention unloved.

At the end of the day, I loved all 3 of my boys just as much as I did when they woke up that morning. I didn't love one of them more than the other one. But which one did I want to bless? Which one made my mother-heart skip a beat? Kaleb of course. This is not a new revelation to me. But to experience it as a parent helps make it very real in an eternal perspective. God doesn't say he loves only a cheerful giver. His love is there unconditionally. But he must love it when we do things for him with a cheerful heart. It means so very much to me as a mother, so it must mean infinitely more to him as our God!


Mom's night at Awana means I have 3 pretty pink carnations. :)

 To wrap this post up, I have a few funnies and one oops! At Mom's night last Wednesday, Aaron's class was asked to share what they love about their moms. Some kids said their moms are pretty, they play with them, things like that. What did Aaron share? "I love my mom because she plays a cd for me at bedtime." Well, that was easy! Forget all the millions of ways I love that boy. All he needs from me is a cd at bedtime. :)


Aaron's using "the force" to control his humidifier. :)

Last Tuesday I heard a local dj tell of his drive to work. Bottom line--his car was smarter than he was, and wouldn't let him drive above 50mph until he put more air in his tire. I heard this on my way to the library and laughed at the thought of a car being "smarter" than it's driver. Well. Being zero degrees, I decided to leave my van running while I dropped my books in the outdoor book drop. Quick as a wink I dropped off my books and ran back to my driver's door. The door was locked. My van decided I was announcing to all would-be car thieves that it was there for the taking and proceeded to show me who was smarter. Hmm. A running van with all 4 doors locked. With my purse and cell phone inside. The nice librarian let me use the phone to call my husband. Praying he'd answer, I called him. God must have had pity on me for Derek actually had time to drive home, pick up our extra key, and drive to the library to rescue me. 20 minutes later and he would've been in an all-day training session unable to help me. As it was, he didn't have time for lunch because he chose to be my hero. True love! I will never pass judgement on a radio dj again. :)

Finally, we rented the movie "Secretariat" last weekend. Very good movie! Taking place in the early 1970's, the main character wore lots of tweed skirts and blouses. Nothing revealing by any means. She portrayed a married mother of 4, and of course owned the most magnificent race horse, Secretariat. Aaron looked at her in one scene and said, "Those pushy things are low." Let me translate: "pushy things" are "breasts." HAHAHAHAHA!!! :)