Lately...

Ahhhh me... the boys are in bed and Dusty's upstairs watching a he-flick with his buddy Jordan so I'm sneaking a few moments to update y'all on the family.

Lately, Dusty has been showing houses (after paying a joyous mountain of real estate dues and insurance fees) and meeting city leaders. I haven't seen him this dressed up, this OFTEN in a long time :) New things excite him, so he's having lots of fun. He continues to meet people, blog, and design websites and media for upcoming events. As usual, he tends to excel at whatever he touches. My own proverbial Midas. :)

Lately, Daxton has been grounded from video games. And I note this SIMPLY because he asks EVERY DAY what remains of his sentence. It's becoming apparent we must move to a different consequence for our "attitude infractions." Between offenses, however, he's a lot of fun, a great helper - we have daily chores now - and he loves his brother, when he's not strong-arming him, just because.

Lately, Draes... well, scares me. He RUNS to everything, fears NOTHING, except maybe Daxton :). LOL His body's like a little, human segway. Buddha belly leans forward, forward we go. Buddha belly straightens up, we stop. Buddha belly leans back (or too far forward), we fall down. I laugh a lot. He's a toughy, that one. He face plants, bangs his head and trips over whatever's on the floor that he wasn't looking for so didn't step over, but he rarely cries. No, crying is reserved for the realization that Mommy has no more ice cream to share. Then we shriek in utter disdain and flail across the room into the pantry to pout. Bystanders think he's hurt and rush to his aid. Mom just laughs - I wish I looked cute doing that.

But lately, mom? Well, I'm just "WAY BIGGER" than I ought to be. My buddha belly is NOT cute, nor are the buddha body parts which have expanded to offset its gravity. POO! I know, "you're pregnant!" But that is no excuse for THIS - sorry. Oh well, I went for a walk tonight... For those who've been wondering, we might know what the baby "is" as early as next week. My fun comes in learning with the boys. Dax reads more each day and Drae's at that GREAT age where EVERYTHING is a new adventure. It's nice having Dusty around more. It's fun to share with him in those "look at that!" moments. I love connecting with new people around here and watching what God is doing. 

So that's what we're up to! What are you doing lately?...

Freedom

Celebrating freedom is an interesting thing. I think, like so many holidays in America, we can get more caught in the traditions than the meaning. It's important to reflect upon our reasons for doing what we do. 

I did that for me this year, but didn't do a great job with my son. (I'll talk to him about it tomorrow I PROMISE. And he'll probably give me that funny look, but better late than never.) We had a great get together at our neighbors' house - about 35 people! And our fireworks display included something tres unique (that's my contribution from 4 years of French in HS - see Dad, I DO use it :)) - we got to see someone blow up an airbag - yup, retrieved from a vehicle. Long, unnecessary story, but it was cool to see - and quite educational for the kids. :)

I got to thinking, in the midst of the beauty, the noise and the friendship, about what freedom really is. Galatians 5:1 says, "It is for freedom that Christ has set you free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." I think true freedom, and the perception of freedom are often mistaken in our lives. The street may seem like freedom to my little Draes, until he becomes burdened by the yoke of injury... or worse. Endless supplies of candy seem like freedom to my four-year-old, until he's burdened by the yoke of stomach pain or tooth decay. So many things can seem like freedom: anger, stubbornness, arrogance, self-righteousness, substance abuse, gossip... Until we realize they've strapped us with their yokes: guilt, broken relationships, loneliness, self-loathing, addiction, insecurity... 

So what is freedom? I think we have to be careful in what WE define as free. Look at that passage again... "It is for freedom that CHRIST has set you free..." In the context, Paul is referring to living under grace and not the law. But I think the key lies in who sets us free. Because of our nature, we often struggle to truly understand what freedom is - as noted earlier. Only Christ can truly make us free - and in order to remain free, we have to "stand firm" and, I believe, continue to run to the source of that freedom, or risk being caught in the crossfire of reality and perception (a hazy line sometimes, I know). 

Recently, God is calling me to some tough things - mostly things that require me to trust Him more and rely less on my expectations of people to make right choices. It's tough for me because I'm a big "justice for the masses" girl: always cheering the underdog, always trying to even the playing field. But God is calling me to let Him do those things - His job anyway - but BOY I feel incarcerated! And yet, He is the author of freedom, so I have to believe that it is for FREEDOM He has set me FREE. If we can do that (Oh Lord, help me!) I think we get to experience true peace and joy. If not, we often end up building prisons with our own 2 hands. 

I don't know what your yokes might be, but I'm believing Christ set us free so we could be free. Wanna walk with me? Let's lay down the bars we think are protecting us and let Him show us true freedom? Hee hee - then maybe we'll have our own little fireworks display!