It’s a rainy morning but I love it.  There is nothing better than waking to the sound of thunder then spending a bit on the couch in the dark watching the lightning show outside.  I love those quiet moments before the kids wake up.  Ryan has been down and out with another cold for the past two days and didn’t make it to school.  A simple cold absolutely knocks him out; yesterday he woke up at 7:30 and by 8 am he was sound asleep on the couch already and slept all day until 2:45.  He needs to be checked today for an ear infection because these colds go right to his ears.  It’s concerning to me because he will be on his sixth ear infection since October or November if he does indeed have another one.  I don’t want to think about tubes because that means surgery and surgery for Ryan means another bowel obstruction.  So we will see…..one day at a time.  I just don’t want him to have pain.

Brad has been extremely busy with golf when the weather cooperates although he’s spent quite a bit of time out in the rain and cold swinging his clubs.  He’s really enjoying himself but is finding it hard in high school to balance homework, studying, sports and his social life.  It’s a learning curve and I’m sure most other kids his age go through the same struggles of balancing priorities and fun.  Sidney, Travis and I are heading to Kansas City tomorrow after school for another volleyball tournament.  She is so excited and has been packed for three days already.  I’m glad she enjoys the sport and is learning so much about relationships and tolerance in the process.  Like I tell all the kids, life is not fair, you have to learn to tolerate people who drive you crazy and in the end if you’ve learned something and had fun in the process, you’ve figured it out.  I’m sure the kids get sick of me telling them they need to learn now to deal with difficulties and that real life means taking the good with the bad and learning to focus on a cup that is half full instead of half empty.  She is having fun and for that I am thankful.  And sweet Trevor is with his friends all the time.  School comes so easy for him and he is really enjoying jr high.  That boy has matured so much this year and I absolutely love the unique personality he has; he’s a great kid.  Travis and I are doing well and are simply trying to enjoy these moments with the kids.  The older they get the faster time goes by; I don’t want to miss a second of these years because they will be gone in the blink of an eye.

Just thinking about the tragedy in Boston this week is enough to remind all of us that each day is a blessing.  It’s so easy at times like this to focus our attention on all the evil in the world, but I want very much to constantly remember that we live in a fallen world.  These events are the result of sin, but thankfully God paved the way for all of us to find freedom in Him.  It’s through Jesus Christ that we have hope of an eternity full of perfection and beauty.  All of our days are numbered and our job is to trust that our Heavenly Father is in control no matter what the news cast says, no matter how many people are dying from senseless acts of brutality, no matter what threats of war lie beyond the next sunset.  It’s that hope in Jesus Christ, the knowledge and faith that leads me to the conclusion of the story we are all a part of and that is this – in the end, God receives all the glory and He wins.  It’s that simple.  I am grieved and full of sorrow for those affected by selfish, brutal evil in the world, but at the same time, I have to focus on the good that is coming, on the hope of eternity, on the random acts of kindness that occur every day. 

John 10:10 ~ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

Colossians 3:2 ~ Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

John 16:33 ~ I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

Romans 8:38-39 ~ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.