A Village, Expanded With a Postscript

We've heard it said that it takes a village to raise a child. If I was smarter, I'd tell you who said it. I was blessed to be raised in a village, that is, the church. My grandmother and my mom were both members of a local church that we walked to on Sundays. My grandmother was well known for her devotion to the nursery babies, and my mom was the well known and well loved church secretary. So when my mom got pregnant with her first and only baby after almost 20 years of marriage, the entire church celebrated. The women threw her a shower, and one woman even wrote a poem for the future me. I was born, and I was surrounded with love and Godliness. I grew up being taught about God and Jesus, always under the watchful and caring eyes of the adults. Even in my bratty and rebellious teen years when I was about as much fun as a stinkweed, the Godly adults at church lived the joy of the Lord and always set before me the joy of walking in obedience. It is now my prayer that I will surround the kids at my church with love, and demonstrate in my life that the path of obedience to God is a path of joy . . . even for the kids who are stinkweeds now.



One of the ladies at church who helped organize my mom's shower also sat by me at my mom's funeral. I have been truly blessed to be surrounded by the love and support and prayers of Godly women.

A Nice And Well-Balanced Day

Today is a good day. A lot of days are good days, but today is especially good. As I sat outside in the sun, sipping my HOMEMADE iced coffee (instant coffee+raw, turbinado brown sugar+ just enough boiling water to cover the power, then refrigerate it for an hour or so, and then when you're ready for leisure, fill the mug with milk and stir--I can't believe I didn't figure this out earlier! How many unnecessary dollars did I give to Starbuck's?), so as I was sipping my coffee alone (except for sleeping Rufus) in the sun, I reflected on an earlier conversation with a friend about the luxury of relaxed alone time, and also the luxury of friends and parties and social activity.

Then, after I thought about that, I reflected on NBC's Parenthood. Today, one family was waiting nervously at home for a very important phone call. Suddenly, some friends showed up on the doorstep, and said, "We're going swimming. So are you. Go get ready." How many days have I needed someone to force me to go have fun? I thank God for friends and family who say, "We're going on vacation (or "to the movies", "to the beach", "to Starbuck's", etc.), and so are you. Go get ready." It is an odd thing to need to be reminded to enjoy life, but I think it is something we all need from time to time.

Later that day

Here I still sit at the computer, furiously trying to drum up new readers to get more comments, since I think my thoughts are just so fabulously original and someone would be crazy not to care, and also, I am just stalling for time so that I can postpone my trip to the store. My fingers are just itching to write and the caffeine in my homemade iced coffee is kicking in something fierce. Enough lollygagging. I better get myself to the store, stop staring at the computer screen and stare at a book instead.

The Life-Giving Ministry of Women

We all know Eve was the first woman. Adam named her the "life-giver." That was before she gave birth. This tells me that women are to be life-givers in any situation, regardless of their status. Christian woman are to be life-givers in their homes, churches, and communities. We give life in our homes by making them safe havens for family, friends, and neighbors. We give life in the church by investing spiritually in younger women, and by helping ensure the success of other ministries. We give life to our neighbors and communities by being kind, loving, and approachable.

For further reading on this subject, I recommend A Legacy of Biblical Womanhood by Susan Hunt and Barbara Thompson.

Love at First Sight

Shortly before the good Mr. M. and I were married, I was walking in the 'hood where I grew up, when a guy in a car stopped at a red light, and said to me, "Hey, Baby, do you believe in love at first sight?" I looked at him with a sarcastic smile and said, "Yea. That's how I met my fiancé!" As he drove off, he said, "You can't blame a guy for tryin'!" I suppose you really can't.

A Legacy of Love

There is a church not far from here with a nursery room dedicated to my grandmother. I have always been proud of this. My grandma died when I was 5, so I don't remember too much about her, but I always liked to look at the plaque in her honor when my mom and I walked to church every Sunday. I am still just as thankful, if not more, for the legacy of faith that my grandma passed to my mom, and my mom passed to me. I pray I will leave this kind of spiritual legacy for my girls-for the young women in my family, church, and community. I want so much more than to be remembered for being a good writer, and being funny and witty and charming. I want those who come after me to remember that I loved God and loved His people.