Four Things

Almost 3 years ago Doug spent a few months traveling heavily for work. It was not a fun time for any of us, but we survived (click here for more on that!). Every time Doug had to leave for Chicago, he would sit Evelyn down (Matthew was too little at the time to understand) and tell her to remember four things while he was away. Toward the end of his travels, he would only have to ask her what those four things were and she would answer readily:

1. Be good and obey
2. Be helpful
3. Have fun
4. Remember daddy is coming back soon.

He left yesterday morning for Canada, the first time he has traveled in about a year. He is gone all week. As he was talking to the kids about his trip he reminded them of the 4 things listed above, and encouraged them to both remember to do all the things on the list.

As I again hear and reflect on these things, I realize just how poignant they are. For me. For my kids. For life in general.

Be Good and Obey

“Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.”
~ Matthew 19 : 17 NIV

Both my children had their share of "moments" during Doug's absence 3 years ago. Evelyn had times when she was mouthy, times she didn't share, and many times she did not listen. Matthew discovered that he could climb out of his crib, discovered he enjoyed hitting his sister with his toy cars and discovered that throwing anything is fun. He also was a bit (read: A LOT) fussy. I, too, had my not so proud mommy moments. Probably more than I want to admit. All of these times seemed to suck the life right out of us. Yet when the kids were getting along and behaving well, when I was rested and gave more grace and had more patience, things went so much better. I am sure there will be some "moments" this week, too... it's inevitable, really. But hopefully more good times than not!

Let's face it, we all fall short. But Jesus said that when we DO obey and do good, we will "enter life".. and I think that means we can live it to the fullest and not feel weighted down by our shortcomings. Doing the right thing IS the best way. Always.

Be Helpful

"The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."
 ~Matthew 25:40

Doug and I hope to be raising our kids to be good helpers. When Doug is gone we expect them to be helpful. By getting along and obeying (see above!) and helping me by doing things they know they need to do and do it without complaining...just to name a few.

The Bible calls us to be the hands and feet of Jesus.  To be helpful is the chance to lift a burden, or to just bless someone in general. Sometimes it is an action. sometime it is an attitude. No matter what, by being helpful you are being like Jesus, our "ever present" help.


Have Fun

"You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand."
~Psalm 16:11

When Doug is out of town, the kids miss him. I miss him. Matthew woke up this morning and immediately was in tears because he knew his daddy had left on his trip. I reminded him (both of the kids actually) that even though daddy is gone for a bit, we still have SO much to be thankful for and to be happy about, and we can still have fun while he is away. We actually do have some fun things planned to keep us busy until Friday.. and they are looking forward to those sctivities. Fun stuff is a good distraction from the sadness of missing their dad. 

If you truly stop and think about it, we all have so much to be thankful for, so much to be joyful about on this journey of life. Because He is with us. He wants us to see life thru His eyes... and when we do there is much joy (and fun) to be found!

Remember I am Coming Back

"For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words."
~1 Thessalonians 4: 16-18

In these verses, Paul confidently affirms that there is a resurrection to come.. that Jesus IS coming back.. Christians, unlike others who have no promise of an afterlife, should look forward to being with God after their physical death. How awesome is that! Because of this, we should live our lives like we believe that our heavenly Father IS coming back (see the first 3 things on the list...!), just like my kids should be excited because they know their daddy is coming back.


Four simple things.. rules, ways to live, whatever you want to call them. I could get way deeper each of them, but keeping them simple is easy for this old lady to remember myself!

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Here's to living life tot he fullest... and counting the days until Doug gets home!