Deep Cleaning

I was watching a show the other day while folding laundry. It was a comedy sitcom full of funny little lines. One of those funny little lines really struck me. 

The son in the family was given a chore to clean the bathroom. He was a thorough individual so he googled a youtube video on "how to clean a bathroom" and followed the instructions to perfection. He realized that much of the grime and mold between the shower tiles needed more attention and in the process he ultimately de-tiled the entire shower to tackle the filth underneath. When the mom walked in she was livid. She saw a bare wall and tiles all over the ground and exclaimed, "What have you done?!?!?! I ONLY asked you to clean the bathroom! We are not a "DEEP CLEAN" family  we are a "SUPERFICIAL CLEAN" family. It is the filth and the grime that holds this whole place together! Without it we would fall apart!"

The statement made me laugh. Then, it made me think. 

There is no question our family is a mess. So is yours, by the way. 

We have so many issues, and flaws, and filth and grime. Sometimes you can see it easily and sometimes it hidden behind tiles. Unlike the mom in the sitcom I really want to get all those parts clean and it starts with me. 

Ironically when I look around my house or others people's homes, I don't see physical messes. I really don't. I think God gave me blinders to the deep dirtiness that accumulates in a house because He knew I would not be able to live my life in peace if I could see it all. (I sympathize for those of you who can see the deep dirt and grime.) I have always been perfectly happy with a "picked up" home- a superficially-clean dwelling. But then.....a cleaning lady came. Her profession is to deep clean houses and she is good at it. She and her partner spend 4 hours in my house and the house is amazingly clean when they leave. I can't even tell exactly what they did (remember, I can't see these things) but it looks and feels and smells great!

Did you know God is a professional cleaner? I invited him to live in my heart when I was a young girl and I often let His home get filthy. I have had moments when I have felt like I was all cleaned up but ultimately, on my own, I don't even see all the filth. Yet, he promises in 1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." I need a good cleaning and I am not capable of doing it on my own. Lord, please forgive me of my sins and purify my heart. I don't want to be superficially clean. I want to be deeply clean and be a proper dwelling place for you. Amen.

I am hoping as this mama's heart undergoes some deep cleaning that it will pour out blessings on our entire household. I don't imagine it will do much for the physical state of our house but I will continue to be exceedingly grateful that God has provided the resources for my sweet cleaning lady to come each month and do her thing.

P.S. We had some family pictures taken. I love my filthy crew! We clean up pretty well (superficially)!

Nothing is better than BEST!

God is good all the time….All the time God is good. 

I know this statement to be true because I have experienced it. I have seen and felt God's goodness on easy, happy days and on tough, painful days. 

God is BETTER lately.  Is that even possible?

"Better" implies some sort of change, albeit in the right direction but nonetheless, it implies a step-up, an improvement. 

But, God is unchanging.

-good

-faithful

-trustworthy

God does not change.  It is us who change. 

If I have felt as if God has been "better" lately it is simply because I have opened my eyes to His works around me. The opposite is also true. If it feels like God is far away and not very engaged in my life, it is not because he has moved away. It is not because he has lowered His standard of goodness. He only knows one standard...the highest level of good...the BEST!

God has been constantly and consistently good and I have missed so much of it? That is a HUGE bummer for me and you. Can you imagine how much we have missed?

Despite our ignorance or poor priorities or lack of discipline…God is still good and faithful and trustworthy. 

Nothing we have ever done or could ever do will EVER change God. That is powerful!  He is never LESS good or LESS faithful or LESS trustworthy. He is unchanging. 

Even on the highest of high days or the lowest of low days, He is always BEST. 

When my best friend, Kristen, was battling terminal liver cancer she always joked about being God's favorite child.  She felt that way because her eyes were fully opened to his miracles in her life. Her eyes were fully open to his goodness and faithfulness and trustworthiness and because of that she didn't miss His goodness. She was dying of cancer and felt like God's favorite child. 

My God and your God has not and will not ever change.  Not only is He good all the time but He is best all the time. You can't be any better than best. 

This post is dedicated to my friend, Laurie Griffith, as she starts chemo today to blast leukemia. Laurie, May God give you strength for the journey ahead and may you feel like His most favorite child as your eyes are open to the miracles around you. I pray God uses this chemo to wipe out the cancer from your body and uses the journey of this trial to make you more like Jesus. "Weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning." Psalm 30:5

From peaches to oranges

In May our family sold our home, packed our stuff and moved from Georgia to Florida.

"Blessed in the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord and on His law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers." Psalm 1:1-3

It is my prayer to bear good fruit. Peaches or Oranges. It doesn't really matter where I am bearing the fruit. I just want it to be good fruit.

Lately, I feel like I am trying really hard and the fruit that I bear looks really good on the outside but then you cut it open and it is not good at all. I mother 4 kids, two of whom I adopted from Ghana last year. I serve families with a terminally-ill parent and young children through Inheritance of Hope. I pack, unpack, decorate, organize, shuttle kids, plan events and most often keep it all running smoothly. The fruit looks good. But I have been cutting it open and finding rotting cores and dried-out pits.

I know the problem.

I am not the PRODUCER of good fruit, only the bearer. I cannot bear good fruit unless I am attached to the vine.

"Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit, apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:4-6

A perfect but somewhat harsh example is in the love I have for my youngest child. She is precious. She is beautiful and kind and helpful and loving. She is also so desperate for approval, affection, and attention. It is exhausting. Every day I wake up with a resolve to "do better". I commit myself to try and be more patient, loving, encouraging....." I fail EVERYDAY. Sometimes I fail within 5 minutes of waking up. I go to bed praying, "please God help me do a better job tomorrow. Help me love her better, be more patient, give her what she needs....."

Precious! (Photo creds to big sis, Liz)

This week God taught me something. He doesn't audibly speak to me or anything but He has spoken a truth to my heart. "You can do nothing apart from me. When it comes to loving this little girl, you will never be able to love her enough to "fix" her. Even your best love is not enough for her. You are only called to point her to Me. My mercies are new every morning. Stop praying for perfect love for her. Your love for her will never be perfect but mine already is. Abide in me. That means spend time with me, talk to me all day, fill your mind with my words. I will take care of the rest."

"If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers, such branches are thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be given to you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourself to be my disciples." John 15:7-8

I know that this God is not a genie in a bottle. "Whatever you wish will be given to you" is a promise but it has the condition attached "IF YOU REMAIN IN ME AND MY WORDS REMAIN IN YOU." This is my most important job today. Yours too. Yes, the kids need to get to practice or camp. They need to learn to read. They need clean clothes and they need food on the table. Yes, some emails need to be returned and some bills need to be paid and some calls need to be made. But all of this is secondary to remaining in Christ and having His words remain in us.

Lord, I want to bear YOUR fruit. The good and best kind. I want to be used by you so you get all the glory not me. Please love that little girl (and the others) in your perfect way. Transform her heart and mind so she knows her true value in you. I will do my best to keep pointing her to you.

For now, I am going to find a juicy orange and share it with my sweet little seven year old who will soak up every second of my attention.

Forever Family...One year!

One year ago we became a forever family...February 23 is a day I will never forget.




Over the past several weeks I have been reflecting and reliving last year and I am so overwhelmed by God's faithfulness!!! I have been in tears when I remembered several specific moments in the journey to get our kids home. (Ebe Fialley, Meggy Dankers, Sandy Garcia, Edie Koller, Rick and Emily Everswick, Gloria Thompson, Allison and Dwayne Stanton...I will forever be grateful for your help during this week last year!!!)

We will always celebrate February 23rd as our "Forever Family" day but it is also a day that holds a special place for me since it is the day my stem cell sharer went to be with Jesus. (I was a match to donate stem cells to a stranger in 2011. I have come to know and love him and his wife over the past year.)

On the day that Gabriel ran into the arms of the first father he has ever known, Montie Duncan ran into the arms of his heavenly Father. It makes me happy to celebrate both occasions on the same day and to know that the same God who welcomed Montie into heaven with open arms also was holding and carrying our family through the long journey home from Ghana to Georgia. Abundantly blessed, indeed!

Montie Duncan

Personalities Defined

I am SO THANKFUL we all remained sickness-free over the holidays but February has presented a different story entirely. As Gabe and Grace experience their first true winter I have been prepared for some runny noses, sore throats and coughs.

It started with Grace and then Gabe and then Liz and then Adam and then me and finally Cael. Now...it is back to Grace! Liz missed 4 days of school last week and Grace has already missed 2 this week.

Thankfully, it is pretty standard runny nose, fever, sore throat stuff and nothing severe. But...I have been doing a lot of middle-of-the-night comforting, medicine-giving, nursing and I think it is so funny how each of my children's personalities have been highlighted in the way they receive my middle-of-the-night care.


Grace- (With major high-pitched whining, heavy breathing and LOTS OF TEARS) "I don't want to take medicine. Will it hurt? I'm scared. Do I have to go to the hospital? I don't want to take medicine? Will I miss school tomorrow? Will I get a shot? Do I have to go to the doctor? I don't want to take medicine........" (gasps, sobs, more whining......)











Liz- Drinks the medicine, goes back to sleep.












Gabe- "I will not take this."
Please buddy just take it. It will help your cough.
"I will not take this."
Please. It will make you feel better.
"No"
Please. Take it FOR ME. Please. I can't sleep when you are coughing so much. Please. It makes me feel like a good mom.
With a frustrated sigh, he swallows the medicine and goes back to sleep.







Cael- "Thank you so much mom for giving me this medicine. Thank you for helping make me comfy. Mom, do you remember the last time I was sick and I threw up? I'm not going to throw up this time...I just have a bad cough and a runny nose. (I bring him a tissue.) Thank you so much, mom. I love you. Thank you for taking such good care of me. This medicine tastes really good."









This reiterates to me:
Grace is still very needy and fearful. She needs a lot of affirmation, reassurance, and TLC!
Liz is very compliant and responsible and doesn't require many words.
Gabe still wants to be in control but he also really wants to protect me and take care of me.
Cael likes to talk! He is also very affectionate, sensitive and loving. If something can be said using 3 words he will find a way to turn it into 30.

I love these 4 treasures so much!!!! Looking forward to seeing how God is going to use each of them and their unique talents and personalities for His glory!

Pinch me...I'm dreaming!

On Christmas morning I looked at Adam and said, "Am I dreaming?" 

I looked around our living room at the four amazing kids that God has given us. They are all healthy. They are all happy. They are all home.  Sometimes it's hard to believe. 

Last Christmas I remember the presents under the tree that went unopened and the uncertainty at what the future held for us. 

We had many opportunities this holiday season to reflect and share some of the joys and sorrows of the year.  We are so thankful to God for sustaining us through a tough year and binding us together into a true team...Team Thompson! Looking forward to 2015!