Kraft Dinner on the Ceiling

The ceiling is 8 feet from the floor. More importantly, the top of the dinner table is just over 5 feet from the ceiling. That's quite a trajectory for a few pieces of pasta. For us it's exciting to travel around the world. For a piece of macaroni, flying across the room could be considered an equally satisfying experience. The obvious culprits include an eight year old male, a six year old female, a four year old male, a two year old male, and a 6 month old female.

I suppose you'll need some circumstances or a backround story to properly assess the situation. There was no food fight, no temper tantrums, no overt silliness going on. The tone of the meal was actually quite somber as I had just finished chewing the kids out...AGAIN. At this point you could ask a question that would get you closer to the truth. WHY are we eating KRAFT DINNER for SUPPER? This is not normal in The Gordon household.

It was a rough day to put it nicely. I had retreated to autopilot. You see, when things get beyond the point where I know what to do, I become really quiet and start working madly. It's best if no one speaks to me--in fact, please don't. I move silently at lightning speed, hoping to eventually work myself past the situation and into that great era called bedtime. I needed to get the kids fed and packed away for the night. The quickest meal I could put together was Kraft Dinner. I figured I would eat toast later. (Hubby had a stomach flu and wasn't eating anything).

So we now have 4 kids eating their starchy, unhealthy supper silently. The pot, with the scoop, is sitting in the middle of the table. I strap my baby into her carseat (cause that's where she eats when she gets her rice cereal in the evening)and I plop her, carseat and all, down on the table. Unbeknownst to me, the carseat hit that scoop with enough force that it catapulted a spoonful of orange pasta into the air, hitting the celing and rained down on the poor unsuspecting 6 month old (wonder how many hours of therapy that's going to trigger). Of course, the kids thought it was great and they broke the unspoken code of silence. Pandemonium broke amongst the 4 oldest and there was an eruption of uncontrollable laughing and cheering, yes cheering. Lovely. Glad I could make their day.

For me, it didn't even phase me. I didn't say a word. You'd think Kraft Dinner on the ceiling was normal. I simply brushed the macaroni off my daughter's forehead, pointed at my children's unfinished plates, and spooned another pile of mushy baby food into my daughter's mouth.

My ceiling still has blobs of orange on it. In fact, I don't even care too much. I will have to paint it since I have not been able to wash it off. I can probably find some time to do that today.

There you have it. Kraft Dinner on the ceiling put there by none other than....me.

To Despise this Present Life

I don't quote John Calvin much, pretty much because I have read very little of his work. But I came across an article and I really appreciated it. Here is a portion of it.


"Our mind never rises seriously to desire and aspire after the future until it has learned to despise this present life. For there is no medium between the two things: the earth must either be worthless in our estimation, or keep us enslaved by an intemperate love of it... If heaven is our country, what can earth be but a place of exile? If departure from the world is entrance into life, what is the world but a sepulcher, and what is residence in it but immersion in death? If to be freed from the body is to gain full possession of freedom, what is the body but a prison? If it is the very summit of happiness to enjoy the presence of God, is it not miserable to want it? (2 Cor. 5:6). Thus when the earthly is compared to the heavenly life it may undoubtedly be despised and trampled under foot. We ought never, indeed, to regard it with hatred, except in so far as it keeps us subject to sin; and even this hatred ought not to directed against life itself. At all events, we must stand so affected towards it in regard to weariness or hatred as, while longing for it's termination to be ready at the Lord's will to continue in it, keeping far from everything like murmuring and impatience. For it is as if the Lord had assigned us a post, which we must maintain till He recalls us.

Paul indeed, laments his condition, in being still bound with the fetters of the body, and sighs earnestly for redemption (Rom.7:24). Nevertheless he declared that in obedience to the command of God, he was prepared for both courses, because he acknowledges it as his duty to God to glorify his name, whether by life or death, while it belongs to God to determine what is most conducive to His glory. Wherefore, if it becomes us to live and die to the Lord, let us leave the period of our life and death at His disposal. Still, let us ardently long for death and constantly meditate upon it, and in comparison with future immortality, let us despise life and on account of the bondage of sin, long to renounce it whenever it shall so please the Lord.

--Excerpted from The Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin, Book 3, Chapter 9: "Of Meditating on the Future Life."

Introduction

I'm not an exciting person. Really, if you don't believe me come and talk to me for 5 minutes. As I get older I find that I have less and less to say. Maybe by the age of 30 I'll be completely silent:-) Besides, I've been told I write better than I speak.

This blog will regale you with tales of my children--some sweet, others horrifying. Enjoy! Sometimes I like to write some thoughts on any book I am reading. This may be intensely boring to many of you, but since I am the writer, editor and publisher of this blog I get all the say:-) At times you'll get a strongly worded rant on something I feel passionate about. Sometimes you will get a host of random thoughts rolled into one post. I love quoting authors I am reading so you will be sure to see a bunch of that too.

I'm not going to apologize if my posts have large lapses of time between them. Caring for 5 little ones, homeschooling, laundry, meals, paper route, church library and cleaning ALL take priority to this blog. My calling is not to blog. God has called me to be wife and mother. However, I love to write and as I have time I will update this little space.

I believe we ought to live life in such a way that we are always looking toward eternity. With eternity constantly in our minds it puts life into it's proper perspective. The time is short, there is much work to be done. There is little value in what the world deems exciting and glamorous. Oh give me Christ instead! That is why I chose the title of my blog that I did. We live here in this world, working hard at the post God has placed us. But it is just an assignment. It's not our home. And any pilgrim will always have their thoughts directed toward home. Oh, this reminds me of a quote already! I will leave it for the next post as it is a tad lengthy.

Now lest this post become too serious, I confess that I really should sign off and clean off the Kraft Dinner that's been clinging to my ceiling.