That’s all for now…

By admin | Published: August 5, 2011

Homefront is now taking a hiatus. Comments will be closed.

Thank you for joining in conversation with us. We hope you’ve found this blog helpful. Blessings!

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Confession Time

By Kasey Beckham | Published: June 23, 2011

Did that get your attention?

Well, here’s my confession. I got a pedicure today.

I know, I know.

Was it necessary? No. Was it actually a budgeted expense? Not really…not unless you count it as mental health care costs. Did my family swing from the light fixtures while I was gone? Probably. But am I rocking pretty toe nails and smoother heels as well as some relaxed calves? Yep.

It was just a relatively small thing. Didn’t break the bank. I was actually literally only away total time for an hour. But it was really a helpful thing to me. I treated myself, and I felt better for it.

Why are we so self sacrificing? I’m pretty sure it is ingrained on us from the cradle somehow. And, by the time some of us become ministers’ wives, we put ourselves WAY DOWN on the priority list. But then how good are we to others?

Have you ever thought about why the pre-flight instructions on any air carrier include verbiage to put the oxygen mask on yourself before anyone you are traveling with? It’s because you won’t be any good to anyone else if you’re dead!

You know, the Bible talks a lot about rest. In writing this blog post, I searched for references to rest, Jesus and rest, and being apart…and came up with a lot of references. I won’t even list them all here, but have a go at it yourself and see what you find. (hint — this will push you into some extra Bible time for yourself like it did for me, and that’s never a bad thing…even if you read your Bible faithfully every day!)

And I think this has been on my mind a lot lately because I haven’t been getting much rest. If you’ve read the past few posts, you’d know my family is going through a lot of transition right now, and I honestly can’t remember the last time I got a complete night of good, sound rest, much less any “me” time. To that end, I’ve been emotional and snappy and, according to my husband, “fierce” lately. None of those are flattering adjectives about myself.

God wanted us to rest for a reason. He carefully outlined it in the creation story, after all, didn’t he?

So, maybe my pedicure doesn’t count as great rest, but it was something that helped me out, just a little. Baby steps, so to speak. I just kept hearing the paraphrase of something Jesus said about coming apart before you come apart (loose paraphrase there!)…and there have been times lately where I’ve very nearly come apart.

How do you rest? How do you come apart? Any other confessions? ;-)

And with that, I’m finally off to bed. ;-)

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The Right-Now

By Kasey Beckham | Published: June 14, 2011

I’m watching a Reds game right now.

I’m also missing my babies right now (they’re spending the night at their grandparents’ house).

I’m making a mental list of things to add to tomorrow’s to-do list right now.

I’m writing a blog post right now.

Lots of things going on right now. But that’s nothing compared to a rapid succession of “right nows” over the past 4 weeks.

Man, what a roller coaster.

Some days were cry-fests. Some were filled with anxiety. There were a few tinged with fear…and yes, even at moments, anger. There was a lot of laughter at memories, and there was a lot of love. Each day brought something new. Goodness, each hour brought something new.

Perhaps today’s technology and cinematography have trained my weak brain, but a slide show of pictures have played in my head (complete with music!) with memories from the past nearly-14-years. As we sat in worship services Sunday morning, I was nearly overcome with all the “right nows” I’d experienced over those years.

I had to sit still and try to focus on them. Those pictures, those songs, those faces…those feelings.

Do you know how hard it is for me to sit still? Yes, if you’ve read more than one of these blog posts, you know I don’t do that very well. I just can’t sit still. Even in my “right now” right now, I’m doing more than one thing. And my kids aren’t even here!

But the Bible tells me I should. I should sit still and soak up some more “right nows.” I should recognize God more often.

Be still, and know that I am God.  I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! — Psalm 46:10

A friend of mine had that as her status update on Facebook the other day.  She must have known I needed to be reminded…I’ve sang the words and quoted the words, but do I practice them?

I can answer that simply. 

No.

God gave us direction to be still.  When we’re still we are able to worship him.  When we’re still, we’re able to focus.  He will come into sharper focus for us, and we will exalt Him!

There are so many things that distract us during a “normal” day, much less a time of transition.  I have worn myself out lately with activity, effort, worry, tension, sadness, loss, excitement, regret, confusion…well, you name it, I’m sure I’ve done it.  But how often have I been still?  Not often.

Sunday was our last day at FBC.  It’s time for us to move on.  We’re sad, but we’re consoled by the knowledge that God has more service to Him in store for us.  What’s next?  Well, I’m not sure what all He has planned, but I’m sure we need to be open to all the possibilities.  We’ve taken some big steps, but we know God is in this, and because of that, it’s hard to say what all we may be doing by this time next year.

But I know for sure that I need to “be still” more often.  If I am, I know I will hear His voice more often.  And what possibly could be better than that?

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Emotional Changes

By Kasey Beckham | Published: May 27, 2011

I haven’t written much lately. There’s a reason for that.

It isn’t because I haven’t had time, although to be fair, I don’t think I would ever have time to do much unless I just set my head to do it. Two little ones, a full-time job that is more than full-time, a minister’s home, and a few other random commitments make for a busy girl.

But no. That isn’t why I haven’t written much. No, I haven’t written much because I didn’t think I could write without all my storm of emotions showing through. I tend to be kind of transparent. And unfortunately, I couldn’t seem to rein in my emotions to be able write what I needed and what you need as well (or at least what I perceive you need).

You see, in our home, we’ve been undergoing a lot of changes lately. Can you relate? I bet even non-minister’s wives homes can relate. But a minister’s home is particularly sensitive to change. Any job can infuse stress into a family’s home, but when your job is something as personal as being the minister to families and people you love, change can mean happy times…or sad times…or sometimes, even a combination of the two.

We’ve served at our church for nearly 14 years. We’ve seen people join, and we’ve seen people move away. We’ve lost people we loved, and we’ve seen kids go from kindergarten to graduation…and beyond.

And to be honest? My husband and I grew up there.

Oh, we thought we were grown-ups when we came there. But who doesn’t when they are in their early-to-mid 20’s? But we really grew up here. We finished degrees here, we learned how to manage change, we learned how to grow, and how to be (more) graceful when we were wrong. We had children here…children who have been surrounded by such great love since their birth that they don’t know anything but an abundance of love.

So when the Lord started impressing on my husband’s heart…and later mine…that it may be time to leave, our hearts were broken. I’m not sure how to articulate how that feels, but I bet you understand. We didn’t understand the plan, or the direction, but we did understand the emotion.

And so, on May 15, when my husband resigned from our church, we were able to begin the emotional healing process a little more publicly. I won’t lie. The past 2 weeks have been hard. We have been blessed by the outpouring of love and emotion that has been shared with us…and we’ve been humbled. All we had done was love this church, and this town, and this county…and apparently some people reciprocated that feeling.

Was it always perfect? Nope. Did we all always get along? Not really. Did we always see eye to eye? Were we ever grumpy? No…and yes! Were relationships ever strained? Of course. But the beauty of love is that it can transcend even those circumstances.

So, I apologize to my blog readers for my (most likely) gaps of absence lately. But I just couldn’t write very much without laying my soul bare…and I couldn’t do it yet.

Perhaps now I can talk a little more about it over the next couple of weeks…and prayerfully someone will benefit from being able to identify with our journey.

In the meantime, perhaps it would help you to share how a major change in your life has helped you to grow…or forced a move you weren’t prepared for? We’re here for you.

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Settling in…

By Kasey Beckham | Published: April 25, 2011

I’m ready to go to bed.  It’s been a busy day, hasn’t it?

Easter Sunday, and all of Holy Week around it, has been crazy-ville around our household.  It generally is, as I’m often reminded that this is one of the busiest weeks of the year for our ministry-called husbands.

We have seen a lot of different things this week.  Funerals, good worship times, excitement, trepidation, unusual occurrences, travel, ups and downs…all besides our community’s mid-day services and Good Friday observances.

I’ve lost my temper more than once.  My husband has had some things happen to him that are out of the norm.  Some days the kids were good, some days they were making me long for some Calgon to take me away.  I had frustrations beyond my control, and had minor surgery on the bottom of my foot.  The next day, I walked 6 1/2 miles.  (Guess what?  My foot bled.  Shocker, I know.)

All in all, a pretty typical week.

And yet, not.

This was the week that we celebrated the most holy and life- and world-altering event that ever took place.

Easter is over again for another year.  As I’m typing this, it’s officially Monday morning.  But maybe I didn’t do the best job of looking forward to Easter as I drowned in the details.  Maybe I’m realizing that as I’m ready to settle in for the night, I just sailed through another “church holiday” the way I do most of them as a pastor’s wife…by sailing through them.  I’m struggling with what I did to make it special.

I do know that I thoroughly enjoyed the day with my kids, my husband and my parents and sister.  I relaxed a little (after this morning’s service, of course, in which Grayson busted a move during the kids’ chorus special — sigh — leaving little doubt that his momma executes a few dance steps around the house when no one is looking!).  We actually had a break in the rain and thunder storms for a few hours, offering a least a bit of dryness for the day.  And I think the Lord honored that as I’m not the best at relaxing and enjoying my family the way I should.

But what did I do personally to deepen my worship of Him and reverently respecting what He did for us on the cross and from the tomb that made me a possibility in the first place?  I’m struggling.  As a pastor’s wife, I (and many of you!) hear more theology on a daily basis than some people will ever hear in their lives!  My husband is beyond knowledgeable of the Bible and has a strong walk with the Lord.  I’m afraid that I allow myself to get into a lull of believing I can coast by on his coat tail and absorb enough of what he’s saying or doing to allow that to be my engagement.  Am I doing this consciously?  No, of course not.  But have I tuned him out before?  Yes.  (I know he will read this at some point and I’m cringing.  Once again, a vulnerable moment for ole’ Kase — right out there on the world wide web.)

My point is this — I am responsible for my own walk with the Lord.  I can’t allow myself to pretend my minister husband can strengthen my relationship with our Father any more than he can be responsible for doing it for any of our church’s membership.

So, since I’ve missed looking  forward to Easter, what can I do to look back and not lose out on something valuable from this season?  And better yet, what can I do in the future to protect Christmas, or Easter of next year?

Something to ponder as I settle in for the night…

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Who, me? Competitive? No way… (?)

By Kasey Beckham | Published: April 2, 2011

The Reds opened their season on Thursday with a walk-off home run win in the 9th.  Doesn’t get more exciting than that.  I screamed and whooped and hollered until I was hoarse.  GO REDS.

The good-natured ribbing (or maybe not-so-good natured?) has already begun between my friends who support other teams.  I’m wanting my Reds to squash the competition this year and become a powerhouse in the National League.  I want to beat some of our arch rivals every time we face them.

On a slightly less intense level, my four-year-old has his first t-ball practice Monday evening.  He is, I proudly say, playing for the Reds.  What luck!  I do have, however,  a few concerns about his future on this team as he has already declared to me that he “already knows all there is to know about baseball.”  My husband is more concerned about my behavior apparently.

I remember that I once told someone that I didn’t consider myself a very competitive person.  That was met with stunned silence and raised eyebrows.  I was taken aback by the reaction…am I really competitive?

Apparently I am.

When I try to think about the things in my life I would be competitive about, I guess there is quite a list.  I want my sports teams to always win — UK basketball and the Reds.  I want to be the best in my job.  I want to be a perfect parent.  I want to always be at the top of my game no matter what.

So, even though I’m competing against myself part of the time, I guess I am always straining to cross the finish line first.

And even more startling, I realized that sometimes I won’t even try something or do something if the odds aren’t in my favor to be number 1 or the best.  Do you know how many things that would mean I wouldn’t have done over the course of my life so far because I didn’t try it if I couldn’t be the best?

But I digress.  Competitiveness also reigns in our ministry lives.  How many of us keep score at church?  There are so many ways to do that!  One group is more spiritual because they don’t have a building…but another group is more spiritual because they do.  One baptizes more than another, but one runs more in attendance on Sunday morning (or Sunday night, Wednesday night, fill-in-the-blank).  One person is a better Christian than another because he/she has more official roles at church, or more prominent ones, etc.  You get the picture.

We all see this, unfortunately, and it breaks our hearts as we know that God can use us all in different situations.  But for those of us as ministers’ wives, we know that we are competing against a lot of different markers.  We compete against the previous pastor’s wife, the future pastor’s wife, our peers, our own congregation, time, and ultimately, against ourselves.  Generally, our odds aren’t that great in those situations.

So what’s a girl to do?  Give up?  Not hardly.

We just need to be the best we can be, and utilize our time and talents for our families and God.  Being too competitive won’t benefit anyone in the end.  And worrying about targets that are unrealistic won’t move us an inch closer to where we need to be.

So, whether you are too competitive at your kids’ sports matches or in the pew on Sunday, take a few seconds to reflect on what the real goal is, and if you’re doing is a positive thing or a not-so-positive thing.

You may just stun you yourself.

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Owning Up

By Kasey Beckham | Published: March 28, 2011

I’ve been bad.

That in and of itself really isn’t news…just ask anyone who knows me.  But I am confessing that I’ve done a bad job this month on this blog.   For those of you who read regularly, I openly apologize.  Although I often wonder what it is that I really have to offer, and fear that I ramble aimlessly sometimes on here, I owe you more than you’ve gotten this month.  So, you are liable to get a lot of Kasey in the next few, last, days of March.

Bet that made your day, huh?  ;-)

As I was thinking about what I would write after my big confession there, I decided to just expand on my title.  After all, I’ve made a career (haha) of owning up to my many mistakes and failings…at the very least in my own mind.

Recently for work, I had to write my own self-review (a painful process we have to do twice a year, and is a standard practice for most people who have a performance review process at work) for the first half of our fiscal year.  During that review, I had to “own up,” or take accountability for, two different groups of things — what I had done that I was supposed to do and what I hadn’t done that I was supposed to do.

Self reflection is hard.  When you are honest with yourself, and really dig deep, you have to admit things to yourself that are not always comfortable.

On the flip side, sometimes we take too much accountability.  We “own” way too much.  We shoulder the burdens of our own making, our spouses, our kids, our families in our congregations.

So what is the right thing to do?  How do we strike a correct balance, that forces ourselves to be accountable and own up to what we should, but yet not feel frustrated by things that are not in our control?

I’m not sure.  I don’t have the perfect “silver bullet” answer because I haven’t figured it out yet and mess up this balance a lot.  But I will say, I pray about it.  And I need to pray more about it.  The Lord gave me a brain and wants me to use it more!    As ministers’ wives, we are prone, as a group, to take on more than we should.  We take on more duties than any normal, rational person could accomplish and we feel the burdens of whole congregations and sometimes feel obligated to try to fix them all.  But sometimes, in doing that, we drop the ball on something else that is very important.  Sometimes it is our families, sometimes it is our work, sometimes it is a volunteer job we’ve taken on…and sometimes it is a blog for the KBC!

As I was writing my self-review, I realized how easy it would be for me to start making excuses for some of the things I hadn’t gotten done yet, or was off timeline on (which weren’t many, by the way.  I really am a good employee!).  I had a lot of excuses.  I really did.  But the bottom line was that I was accountable for certain things, and I had to own up to what I hadn’t gotten accomplished yet and have a plan for getting it done.

But on my flip side, I also needed to learn how to say no sometimes, and to not own everything.  I’m pretty sure I’m my own worst enemy of over-activity.  Sometimes it is even a simple thing like talking myself into doing a major project around the house…at midnight.  I’m not superwoman, but I play one on tv.  ;-)

So, I’m “owning up” to the fact that while I am accountable and responsible for some things, I’ve found the world does not revolve around me.  I can’t fix everything.   It’s an amazing balance, and I don’t always get it right.

What do you need to “own up” to?   Think about it, but most importantly, pray about it…it could make a difference in ways you’d never imagined.

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No Pain, No Gain…or Loss

By Kasey Beckham | Published: February 16, 2011

So, it’s Spring, right? Well, not really. But after the winter we’ve been “experiencing,” the past few days of flirting with actual non-cold has a girl hoping.

Plus, for those of you who are largely uninformed about very important things, (insert sarcastic grin here) today (by the time you are reading this) is a national holiday for me — pitchers and catchers report for Spring training at the Reds’ camp in Goodyear, Arizona. Yes, this is a very important day for me…very symbolic of a wonderful Spring, Summer and Fall to come. I love baseball. All 162 games a year of it. (But until actual Spring training games kick in, I will tide myself over with a little college basketball and some NASCAR.)

But with this Spring comes a renewed commitment on my part to do a little better in some things in my life. (There’s actually a fairly lengthy list of these things, but for the sake of this blog post, I’ll narrow it down some.) One of those things is to take a little better care of myself. I’m not exactly a Spring chicken anymore, and I have two little ones to keep me on my toes. I need to do a better job of taking care of my physical self, and I think, by default, that will influence my emotional self (which is, admittedly, a mess most of the time).

So, you may ask, what are you doing to make yourself better?

Yeah, I’m exercising.  And counting calories.  Is it fun?  Not really.  ;-)

But, I’m feeling a little better every day.  I used to be a lot more “fit” than I am now.  Five years of being pregnant and having babies (2 of them) and not taking the best care of myself have taken their toll on ole’ Kase.  I remember feeling better…and now, every day, I’m remembering how much better I felt.  Does it always make up for not eating a pan of brownies?  Hmmm…not every day.  Do I like taking ibuprofen because my knees are sore after a round on the elliptical machine?  Not so much.   But I’m remembering that anything worth having doesn’t usually come easy.

I’m not just being selfish and self-centered in my desire to be a little healthier…nor am I taking it to extremes (which is hard for me since I’m an extreme sort of girl).  But the Bible does tell us to take care of our bodies.

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?  You are not your own, for you were bought with a price.  So glorify God in your body.  –I Corinthians 6:19-20

And, like I said, trying to regain my fitness level, and trying to lose weight isn’t nearly as easy as it was in my 20′s.  What is?  I digress.  However, it is helping keep what I said before in the forefront of my mind — generally, anything worth having requires a little extra effort on our part.  That’s not particularly Biblical — I can’t give you chapter and verse — but I can point to a lot of examples in the Bible where serving Christ wasn’t the easy thing to do, and I think that provides a precedent for us today.  It certainly wasn’t easy, I imagine, for God to give His Son to die on the cross to save us, but he did.  Can you imagine Mary’s anguish as she watched them crucify her earthly son?  Chill bumps roll over my skin as I type that.

Are relationships easy?  Nope.  Not even close.  Is parenting our children a walk in the park?  Not so far that I’ve seen.  How easy is it to support husbands or spouses in any ministry role?  Do I even need to answer that?

I just keep coming back to my mantra as I chug and sweat along on the elliptical, or as I turn down Chicken O’Tenders at O’Charley’s…no pain, no gain.  Or, in my case, no loss.  I try to be self aware in this life as much as I can — I truly want to learn and experience as much as I can in this world that God has given us.   Part of that is accepting that Christ wants me to be a better reflection of Him in every area of my life.  So, with His help and hand in my life, I need to strive to do better.  And if that means I need to shed a few pounds and not look like something the cat (well, a really, really big cat) dragged in, I will.  And if that means I need to work harder on my relationships so that I can be a better Christian friend to people, I will.  And if I need to step out of my comfort zone to support my husband in ministry, I will.

Will it be easy? 

No.

But that’s okay.

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I Choose Joy

By Kasey Beckham | Published: February 8, 2011

A friend of mine reminded me recently that I told her something fairly profound last year.

“I choose joy.” 

A little smile crossed my lips when I thought about that.  Sometimes something good comes out of my unruly mouth.  It’s rare, to be sure, but sometimes even I surprise myself.

That little statement has helped me through a lot of situations as I strive to be a better person, not just for myself, but because I represent Christ.  There are all manner of self-help books, lectures, courses, and articles out there.  I’m not saying they aren’t valuable.  But as far as I can tell, the best reason to be the best I can be is because I represent Christianity to anyone I’m around.  Wow.  How many ways can I mess that up? Lots of ways. Last year I was going through a particular rough patch and I’m pretty sure I wasn’t shining my light very bright at the time. And I needed to be reminded of that statement very recently as I wasn’t choosing joy, but rather getting mired in some angst.

The reason I shared with my friend that I choose joy is because the alternative isn’t a great place to be.  What is the alternative, you might ask?  Disappointment.  Hurt.  Anger.  Bitterness.  Pretty simple, right?

Well, not exactly.  Of course I don’t want to be disappointed…or hurt, or angry or bitter.  But how often in life do those emotions swamp us?  They can take us down and destroy us if we let them take hold.  Of course it sounds  better to say that I choose joy.

But as with most things in life that are worth having, choosing joy becomes a daily initiative for me.  Inevitably, I will not be able to pass through many days floating high as a kite.  Part of that is just me — I’ll own that.  Some would call me touchy and defensive at times…perhaps even having a tendency to want to hold a grudge.  I prefer to think that I am “sensitive.”  :-)    In any case, because of who I am, I wind up feeling not so great every once in a while.

Let’s face it.  People disappoint us.  We get our feelings hurt.  Quite often, many of us can’t disagree without getting angry or feeling resentful.  It’s hard.  If we as a human race could do better at that, we probably wouldn’t have fought quite so many wars over the centuries.  But alas, this isn’t a history lesson.

So, how can we “choose joy” over the alternative?  I believe the Bible teaches how to in so many ways.  Here’s just one passage that helps me:

“If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.  By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.  As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.  Abide in my love.  If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.  These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”  John 15:7-11, ESV

Christ promises that we may be full of joy…that we can choose joy…but there’s a catch.  We have to abide  in Him…and His word.

It isn’t a bad catch!  We can only be better by doing this…and it’s what He wants for us and from us.  But nonetheless, we have the option of choosing that joy if we want it.

So…the next time my friend and I have to remind ourselves to choose joy, we are, in essence, reminding ourselves to abide in Him.  But what better place to be?  I’d choose it over hurt and anger and disappointment and bitterness any day, wouldn’t you?

Here’s something pretty happy and peppy to help remind us why we should be so joyful.

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The Countdown

By Kasey Beckham | Published: February 4, 2011

As I stood at the kitchen counter shaking out vitamins and carefully counting out glucosomine tablets for my pitiful, fairly-blown-0ut knee (thank you, Atlanta airport!), I was struck by how many things I had counted today.  I could probably get a job at Mission Control for all the countdowns I’d done.

Let’s see, here’s at least a partial list of my “countings” today:

  • counted out change to the penny at the gas station this morning
  • a friend and I are counting down to baseball’s first day of spring training (pitchers and catchers report!) and Opening Day…for the Cincinnati Reds, its 13 days and 55 days respectively, in case you were wondering
  • every single stinking calorie I’ve eaten today…and for the past few weeks (do not get me started on this)
  • how many times my 4-year-old watched the same episode of the Dukes of Hazzard this evening (and I can’t complain about this…it really is all my doing)
  • the afore-mentioned vitamins and supplements, necessary for me because I’m not doing a good enough job of maintaining balance in my diet (read: why I’m having to count calories…bleh)
  • multiple situations in my job today called for tabulations
  • at least once counting to 10 to prevent road rage…yes, I am one of “those” drivers
  • watched the countdown on the microwave impatiently at least once
  • how many more days to Spring
  • some number crunching for a potential upcoming mission trip

I’d probably better stop there and spare myself further “self-disclosure.”  Or further mortification to my husband.

So, why do I count so much?  Is my life really a countdown?  Possibly.  Let’s take a look.

I know, to the minute, how long it takes me to get ready on any given day depending on the level of “readiness” that day requires.  Come on, girls.  You know what I mean.  Some days are full hair fixing, face making-up, neat-clothes-wearing days.  Some days are quick showers and scrunching hair and lip gloss.  But no matter the combination of readiness, I can tell you how many minutes it will take me.  Yes, I’ve timed every variation.

I can tell you, to the minute, how long it will take me to get from point A to point B.  No, not just “oh, about an hour.”  I mean, “it will take me 56 minutes to get there.”  Yes, I’ve timed it.

I can also tell you my driveway is 1/10 of a mile.

Am I some kind of mathematical genius?  No.  Absolutely not.  Not in any sense of the word.  What I am is impatient.  Impatient.  With a capital “I”.  I’m also antsy, unable to sit still very long, and always looking for something new to get into.  All of my countdowns and countings help me move from one thing to another.  I’m all about moving on to my next “project.”

In a minister’s family, the countdowns are never ending.  How many were at church on Sunday? (whether or not we like to admit it, that’s always there)  How is the church budget…or, even more important to us some days, how is our budget?  How many different houses have our children lived in?  How many crises can we avert this week?  And I’m certain these aren’t reserved for minister’s families.

So, in the middle of all this mental rambling and all these numbers floating around in my silly head, what else pops in?

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?  And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.  But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.  Fear not, therefore:  you are of more value than many sparrows.”  Matthew 10:29-31

Our Father does some counting of His own.

He reminds us of just how precious we are to Him.  Even when we’re hurrying the microwave along.  I’m pretty sure I need to remember that more often.

So, this weekend, whether you are counting inches of snow, touchdowns, or trips you have to haul your kids out of church for an “attitude adjustment,” keep in mind that our Heavenly Father knows how many hairs are on our heads, whether it’s a bad hair day or not, and that he loves every single one of them.

And for those of you “counting down” days to Spring and Summer like me, what screams those seasons to you more than sweaty kids on rickety carnival rides at the county fair?  Enjoy.  ;-)

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