My Valentine for Jesus Devotion

Good Wednesday morning!

The Gallery Pics are from our sick day yesterday. Roxie is at home this morning... still sick... still miserable. Today, however, she is more miserable about not going to go to school than being too sick to go (which is a good sign, I think).

RANDOMNESS #1 - I have a new appreciation for David Letterman's Top Ten List Writers. I wonder if that is really their job description title?

Top Ten Reasons I Love Babies

10. I love big, toothless, drooling smiles. They literally melt my heart.

9. I love tiny fists wrapped around my finger.

8. I love the sounds on a baby monitor when a baby is sleeping.

7. I love bath time with baby wash, baby lotion and last, but not least, baby powder. And when everything is expertly applied, I LOVE smelling that clean baby smell.

6. I love a baby's first laugh, giggle or chortle.

5. I love walking into a nursery and seeing a baby trying to cram both feet in his/her mouth. There will never be another time in a person's life when this is an acceptable action, and also a photo-worthy one.

4. I love rocking, patting, feeding, burping and even changing a baby. I love all of the "ings."

3. I love their faces when they look in the mirror and think they have a playmate for the day. (So easy.)

2. I love nap time.

1. I love putting a baby in a specific place and a little while later when I go to check on said baby, the baby is still in the same place. (SO unlike teenagers!)

I have another list for tomorrow. Any guesses?

RANDOMNESS #2 - As promised, I will finish re-sharing my one and only skiing story today and tomorrow.

SKIING ADVENTURE - PART TWO

If Skiing Doesn't Kill You, the Chair Lift Will

When we last left off, I was contemplating the chair lift.

After getting specific instructions from the people in the line, I took my place at the end. A group of three came up behind me and asked if I was riding alone, to which I responded, "Yes." They then asked if one of them could ride with me on my double chair. I really wanted to ride alone for several reasons. (1) I was wet, tired and not really in the mood for small talk (plus, with a frozen brick of a brain, I knew I wasn't really saying a lot of things that made any sense at the moment); (2) I didn't want the chair lift to break down for any reason with me and a stranger stuck in the air for several hours. I would rather suffer that misery alone; and (3) I was so cold and wet I couldn't tell if my nose was running or if there was snow on my face. There, I said it. I was afraid I looked like an 18 month-old whose mom never wiped her nose. Even with all those reasons, (3) being the biggie, I heard myself say, "Yes," and pulled my toboggan down even further over my face. I was missing "the snowbank that ate me" more and more.

As the line started to move, I began concentrating on how people were getting on the chair lift. It looked "doable." In fact, it looked too "doable," if you know what I mean. I was not trusting what I was seeing. After all, I had thought I would be able to swoosh down a Green Slope after Lessons With Earl, but I was wrong. These people made things which were incredibly difficult look incredibly easy. They acted nice and caring and happy, but they were really quite evil.

We were next in line. The two people in front of us got in place, sat down and were swept away by the chair lift. I had become quite adept at "sideways walking" by this time, and that is how I quickly got in place for my chair. The chair was swinging and it hit me in the bend of my knees, which was perfect, and I sat down with little or no drama whatsoever. I still had my poles (which is a plus), both skis secure on my feet (another plus), and the ride began. I foolishly let my guard down and relaxed a little. Big mistake. "Is there someone at the first drop who helps you get off and out of the way of the people behind you?" I asked my companion.

"No. You just push off with your poles and ski to the right since that is the side of the chair you are sitting on. If you ski to the left, you will hit me."

As you can imagine, the sense of dread was already falling upon me. "Will I have time to get off and 'sideways walk' to the right before the next chair comes behind me?"

He looked at me confused... I'm sure mainly because I had started making up my own "ski language" and he had never heard of "sideways walking." "You know, when you stand sideways and walk rather than ski to get to your destination?"

"Why would you do that?"

"I think an inept ski instructor named Earl released me from class before I had actually grasped all the things you need to know to properly ski," I replied.

"I know Earl. He's a good guy," the man replied.

"Yeah, he's a great guy if you already know how to ski," I thought, but did not say aloud. I knew I might still need this man's help in just a few seconds.

I was unable to really see the dismounting technique as we approached the first drop, but I could see people skiing to the right and skiing to the left as the man had explained.

We were very close to the first drop. I was so wet inside and outside of the suit, I didn't know if it was from the snow, flop sweat or thousands of tears. The man glanced over at me and these were the last words I heard him say, "Do the best you can, and I'll yell at my friends behind me to help you get out of the way if you fall."

That was the closest thing to comfort I was going to get. It was time. And to my horror, we weren't getting off in a puffy pile of snow... it was a solid sheet of ice... on a small hill! It might as well have been Mt. Kilimanjaro! Someone yelled "Now!" and I stood up. I was already sliding on the ice heading for a "tailbone fall" (that's an "ice skating" term in case you didn't know), when the swing knocked me forward and onto my face at the foot of the icy hill.

Now, if you'll remember, I had never gotten up without assistance. And this time was no different. As I lay face down in the snow, I could hear shouting and then I felt multiple little kicks all up and down the side of my body. The two people behind me in the chair had gotten off and with their skis (and poles), they were trying to kick, roll, scoot me out of the way. In their defense, they didn't hurt me, and I don't think they were angry... I really think they thought I was dead, and they were just trying to get me out of the main stream of traffic. I think this because when they had successfully removed me from the direct path of other chair lift people, they just left. They didn't try to help me up, or say good-bye, or anything. Just skied off.

I now felt the familiar "ski patrol man" grip under my arms as I was hoisted to my feet. "Are you okay?" came the age-old question.

"Yes. I'm just dandy!" I said a little testily. He started to ski off, but before he left I asked him the one question that I had been asking all day long, but I worded it a little differently. "Does anyone at this resort go by the name of Sven?"

"Sven? What kind of name is that? No. No Sven here. My name is Joe," and he was gone.

As I "sideways walked" to my hotel in the distance, dreams dashed, my heart almost as heavy as my arms and legs, I asked someone passing by if they had the time. "Almost 12:30," they replied.

"Oh, goody," I thought. "Only two and a half more days to go."

Join me tomorrow for my second day on the slopes! And just so you know... it doesn't get much better!

Wednesday Wisdom - I picked the subject of Friendship for our Wisdom theme this week. Enjoy the wisdom of others!

"A friend is one who knows you and loves you just the same." Elbert Hubbard

"A friendship can weather most things and thrive in thin soil; but it needs a little mulch of letters and phone calls and small, silly presents every so often... just to save it from drying out completely." Pam Brown (This is a great reminder for Encouraging Wednesday. Be sure to "mulch" a little today!)

"A true friend never gets in your way unless you happen to be going down." Arnold H. Glasow

My Valentine for Jesus Devotion

If you have little ones (in the two to five year-old range), this book/devotion will be a perfect addition to your Valentine's Day traditions.

The book is called My Valentine for Jesus by Laurie Lazzaro Knowlton. It is a very simple rhyming book about a child who made a Valentine for everyone in the family. Each page shows the child giving a hand-made heart Valentine to a family member and tells a reason he loves them. As you can imagine, the last Valentine is saved for someone very, very special.

Cut out a heart for each person in your family. After your Valentine's Day family time, go to the "family devotion spot" in your home and read this book. After you finish the book, give each member one of the hearts you made. Make sure each heart has the reasons you love that specific person written on the back.

Next, read John 3:16.

"I have given each one of you a big, red heart. On the back of the heart, I have written some of the reasons I love you so much. I am your Mom (or Dad), and the love a Mom (or Dad) has for their child is SO BIG. It is HUGE!

"God is Jesus' Father. In the Bible verse we just read, it says, 'For God so loved the world, he gave his only begotten Son.' Wow! I can't even imagine how much God loves us, can you?"

Talk about any gifts the kids received Valentine's Day (cards, candy, balloons, etc.) Make sure before you finish your devotion, the kids understand Jesus was the greatest gift EVER given.

To make the devotion more memorable and fun, go to a different part of the house to have your devotion. Or jump in the van (in your PJs) and go through a drive-thru for milkshakes. Pull in your driveway and have the devotion in the van! The kids will remember it for weeks and months to come.

Have a fantastic Wednesday. Thursday's date is so much fun. Thursday's linkage is so entertaining. Thursday's third and final part of my skiing story is so interesting. Yep. I already anticipate Thursday being a very good day.

Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda