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Building Houses

Yesterday David and I set off on quite the adventure. Last February we booked a cruise for this week. It’s the K-love cruise so both of us being musicians and the fact that we would be on board with several Christian artists was right up our alley! You can definitely say we’ve been looking forward to this trip for some time now.

Things started off rather well. We got up early, finished our packing, had our daughter drive us to the airport, checked in, ate lunch, got through security and to the gate with plenty of time to spare. More than we even knew…our flight had been delayed.

We were supposed to take off at 1:40 pm. When we settled in at our gate everything was on time. Then came the dreaded announcement that our plane was having some maintenance and would not be ready until 3:00. Ok, not too bad. I can hang with that. Around 2:30 the announcer declared we were still on for that time so I decided now was the time to put my Dramamine to work. Immediately after ingesting said medicine came another announcement stating how very sorry they were but our time was once again moved. This time to 4:30. No problem. We had met others that were headed to the same cruise as us and enjoyed visiting with them.

Yet another announcement informed us we needed to switch gates and our new takeoff would be 4:50. Ummmm ok. Meanwhile the coffee I had didn’t agree with me and I had to make several trips to the bathroom. Wow. What a day!

After switching gates we met a few other fun travelers and visited some more. We always enjoy talking with others from different parts of the country. It’s nice to know we are all truly connected in many ways.

David pulled out his ukulele bass and proceeded to play. I only wished I had a piano to keep me entertained. Then I remembered I could download a keyboard to my iPad and soon we were playing a few songs together in the middle of the airport. Since music helped bring us together when we met, it’s always a good thing when we play together.

Finally at 6:00 pm we were pulling out of the gate and headed down the runway…4 hours past our original departure time. Oh well. Our flight wasn’t full so we had some extra elbow room and I got in a little nap. We touched down 2 hours later and we were off again!

After a quick stop to the restroom I exited to see my sweet husband praying for a lady in a wheelchair. She and her husband were so appreciative and I was blessed to see my other half ministering in the airport.

We collected our luggage and I scheduled my very first Uber pickup. Our driver was there quickly and whisked us away to our hotel! Yes! Finally I was going to get some rest after a very long day!

David’s sister and brother in-law met us outside the hotel and escorted us to our room. We visited for a bit and then we were all going to turn in for the night.

I went to my luggage to get what I needed to prepare for bed…did I mentioned it poured in Houston before we departed? Much to my chagrin my whole suitcase was soaked. I had one shirt with water stains I had to wash out and the majority of my clothes were dripping wet. Seriously?!? I just wanted to go to bed.

There were no dryers at the hotel so David and I proceeded to hang up clothes to dry. It took longer than I wanted but it had to be done. After a short trip to his sister’s room for extra hangers we finished that task and headed to bed.

David began to rub my back, but his hands were rough and I started to complain his hands were tearing up my skin. (I have a little flair for the dramatic.) This was after several other times I had snapped at him for various things. I mean my clothes got soaked and his were bone dry! What’s up with that?

Now I had done it. I knew immediately I had hurt his feelings. He was just trying to make me feel better. At this point of the night I had 2 choices. Let him hurt and get some much needed sleep or use my words and actions to heal instead of hurt.

I switched on my lamp, walked to the suitcase, and got out the lotion. I went to his side of the bed(where he had retreated), took out some lotion and rubbed it into his hands. See my husband’s hands are rough because he is a welder by trade and he works very hard to provide for his family. Must of the time I appreciate those hands, but this day had gotten the better of me.

Wives, we have the ability to make or break our husbands. I could have turned over and easily gone to sleep, but Jesus set a very different example for me. He served. He washed feet for goodness sake!

As I rubbed the lotion into his hands I could feel his tenseness go away. He began to relax and we were able to not let the sun go down on our anger as Paul says in Ephesians.

Proverbs 14:1 says a wise woman builds her house, but a foolish one tears it down with her own hands. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I want to be that wise woman! However, to be the wise woman we must be open to doing the right thing even after a crazy day.

I’m thankful I took care of that right away and didn’t let it fester overnight. Was I too tired to make the effort? Yes! Did I feel like getting back up? No! Was it necessary to make amends? Absolutely! Ultimately in everything I do I want to please my Heavenly Father. I believe he was pleased in that one simple act and will bless me accordingly.

Friends let’s choose to be the wise woman! May God give us the strength and ability to do His will in our marriages.

Ready. Set. Build!

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How a Svengers T-shirt Taught a Lesson in Gratefulness

I am a lover of all things schnauzer! We have 2 miniature schnauzers named Zelda and Fitz. Since David and I didn’t have any children together, these are our babies. 

I am also a Marvel nerd. I love all Marvel movies no matter how cheesy or bad they may be, and if they are good then it’s a bonus! 

When these two things collided, I was excited! Enter the ad I saw for a Svengers T-shirt. Captain America, Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, and Nick Fury were portrayed as schnauzers! What more could a girl ask for? Or so I thought.

My next course of action was to tag David in the post that had the link to purchase said shirt. I know my husband well enough that if I really want something he will do his best to make it happen. So much so that I have to guard my words or he would work his hiney off to have the ability to get me whatever I want. This was not an expensive item so I tagged away. He commented that I didn’t really need the shirt, so I contemplated about purchasing it myself. I am less of a spender than David. Consequently, I didn’t buy it for myself and proceeded on with my life.

Last night David walked in the front door after work and handed me a small package. I opened it and was thrilled to see he purchased the Svengers shirt for me! At least for a moment. Then I started picking it apart. It wasn’t the type of material I usually buy. It wasn’t the right size for the style. It wasn’t the color I wanted. (My favorite color is blue and he bought me the blue one. How dare he!) And then I had the NERVE to say from now on if he’s going to buy a T-shirt for me off the internet he should get with me first so he orders the correct item. Yes, I know. I’m cringing now just writing this at how ungrateful I actually sounded. In my mind at the time I was thinking I was being “helpful”. I probably went on for 10-15 minutes about how it was the wrong shirt. He even told me maybe we could return it and get the correct shirt for me. He didn’t say you ungrateful person that’s the last thing I will buy for you. He actually wanted to fix this for me. My wonderful, loving husband ignored the tantrum I was throwing and wanted to make me happy…think on that for a moment. 

How many times are we unhappy with the way our husband or wife does something for us? How should we respond when something just doesn’t quite measure up? Let’s take a look at what the Bible says about being thankful.

The book of Ruth has always been one of my favorite books. In fact I always felt like David was my Boaz. There are a couple of instances I want to point out. After Naomi’s husband and sons died, her daughters in-law were headed back to Israel with her. They had stayed with Naomi in order to help her. She told them to head back to their land and left them with this blessing, “May the Lord reward you for your kindness.” (Ruth 1:8) Ruth, however, refused to leave her mother in-law. She felt she needed to take care of her. She went so far as to glean heads of grain in the field of Boaz. He took notice of what she did for her mother in-law and also pronounced a blessing on her. “May the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge, reward you fully for what you have done.” (Ruth 2:12) Additionally, you will find many blessings in the Bible that were spoken over different people at different times. God’s people were to be thankful for one another.

How much different is it today? We as God’s people should be thankful for one another and openly show our gratitude as well as pronounce blessings over one another. In a world filled with gift receipts in case someone doesn’t like your gift and registries that make sure the right gifts are purchased, we are to stand out and be a light to others by being grateful for everything given to us. Now don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against gift receipts and I am a huge fan of registries because I dislike shopping and this makes it easier for me. But I remember as a child how my parents taught me the simple act of being grateful for whatever was given to me. I thought I had learned that lesson well…until last night. 

This morning as I began to think about the words I spoke the night before, something inside me winced at my ugly comments. I went to retrieve the offensive T-shirt and put it back on. David was right. The blue was a much better choice than the black I would have purchased for myself. The fit wasn’t as bad as I had previously imagined. It was actually really cute! I’m wearing it right now as I write this.

Then it was time to eat crow. I picked up my phone and sent a text to David thanking him for the T-shirt and how much I really liked it. I relayed how he made the better choice of color and fit than I originally thought and how I couldn’t wait to wear it to see Avengers: Endgame. I apologized for the negative comments I spoke and the ungrateful attitude I had displayed. He, being the generous person he is, accepted my apology and thanked me for the change in my attitude. 

I am so very thankful that God placed David in my life and can’t imagine living without him. God reminded me that I should not just think this, but actually LIVE it. I want to challenge you to do the same. Be open with your gratitude. We are not promised tomorrow and today may be the last chance you have to show those you love how much you appreciate them.

I needed this lesson in gratefulness that came about all because of a Svengers T-shirt.

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Puppies, Brewing Coffee, and Washing Feet

So yesterday morning I got out of bed and I was a little ticked. I have 6 week old puppies and I haven’t been getting a lot of sleep. It’s like having a newborn again. Me+No Sleep=Not a Happy Camper. My beloved husband can sleep through anything, and I mean ANYTHING. Basically, I’ve been taking care of the puppies mostly by myself since I’m home the majority of the time. I get power naps when possible so I’m not completely running everyone off with my crankiness. 

Rewind to the night before, David and I had a disagreement about letting our adult dogs outside, and it sort of spilled into this morning when I got up at 4am. It’s the kind of thing that can get under your skin and you like to hold onto sometimes. 

As I got up to let the dogs out and walked past the puppies, they began to whine and cry cause they saw their mom and their human mom. They were ready to eat! So I set off to get them some food and play with them for a short while hoping they would go back to sleep quickly so I could also. Fat chance! I have a potty box attached to their pen area and they are mostly good at using it, but every once in a while they potty inside the pen. This was one of those times. One of them decided to go poo in the pen. I went to go get a paper towel to pick it up and someone had used the last paper towel and had not replaced the roll! Ugh! So I went to get a new roll, opened it and leaned over the side to get the puppy’s little deposit. Maybe you can guess what happened next…I overreached, lost my balance, and the plastic pen collapsed under me. I can only imagine what I looked like! (It’s ok to laugh here. I most certainly would.) I was able to catch myself somewhat to protect the pups, but now I was really frustrated. As they were eating their food, I decided to relax for just a bit. As I went to sit down I noticed one of the pups had gotten past me and had left another deposit on my tile. Insert eye roll here. I cleaned that up, herded the puppies back into the pen, and sat down in my recliner. Over an hour after this episode of “Puppy Wars” began, they FINALLY settled down and went back to sleep, and I was still wide awake! 

I said all that to give you an idea of what state of mind I was in. Notice no one came to my rescue. Everyone else was sleeping peacefully in their own beds, while I was in the middle of chaos. Even the puppy mama had gone back to sleep at this point. 

Somewhere during all of this I walked by the coffee pot and noticed that David had gotten it ready to brew for today. He takes coffee with him almost every morning. The only exception is when he rides his Harley to work. I noticed that there wasn’t enough water in the reservoir to make his usual cup and at that moment I had a chance to get back at him. I mean all he had to do was get some filtered water and put it in there, but I SAW it y’all. I had an opportunity to serve or walk away. See he usually gets up just in time to push start and let it brew, and to add the water takes a little more time. It could be the difference between leaving on time or running late. I chose to serve and get it ready for him. I don’t always choose the right thing, but this morning I did.

As we celebrated the resurrection of our Lord this weekend, someone on my social media posted a picture. On it was a quote from Steve Bezner that said, “Sometimes I joke about what I’d do if I had one day left to live. Eat junk, go crazy, etc. Today it hit me: Jesus knew. And he washed feet.” That got my attention. The perfect Lamb of God washed feet right before he knew it was his time to die. He chose such a selfless act to teach one more lesson before he fulfilled prophecy and died a horrific death. I’ve known for a long time that washing feet back then was for the lowliest of servants, but it wasn’t until I read this quote the enormity of Jesus’ decision to wash the disciples feet. HE KNEW. He still washed feet. Here I am contemplating whether or not to fill up the water reservoir. That’s not even close to washing someone’s feet. 

Romans 12:10 says “Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another;”.(NKJV) The Message Bible says practice playing second fiddle. As a musician that speaks volumes to me. Second fiddle means you back up the first fiddle. As second your job is literally to make them look and sound better. All the while they get the attention and applause. They would sound good by themselves, but with backup they really shine!

Are you willing to serve your spouse so truly as to allow them to be in the spotlight while you back them up? No one saw me fill up the reservoir. David didn’t even brew coffee in the end. You guessed it, he took the Harley. He didn’t even know I did it, but it would have helped him to get to work on time and look good in his boss’s eyes. 

Did I add the water in vain? No. When I chose to serve David, I also chose to be obedient to God. Anytime we choose to live out the Word of God, we allow God to refine us that much more. That should be our heart’s desire, for God to make us more like Jesus. And Jesus washed feet.