Wednesday's Jewels 9.14.2010

I love it when I stumble upon words that quietly take up residence in my soul:  a quote worth sharing, a question worth asking, a prayer worth repeating. I love it when someone's reverent musings lift my thoughts above dirty diapers, dirty dishes and dirty laundry. I feel grateful when someone else's words chase me shamelessly to the Living Word. As the wise writer of Proverbs declares, "The right word at the right time is like a custom-made piece of jewelry. . . ." (Proverbs 34:11). 


I'm setting aside Wednesdays for digging in someone else's jewlery box (or diaper pail) for a change. I'm looking forward to accessorizing my posts with some poignant pearls of truth and pointed diamonds of delight.  If you've found the "right word at the right time" this week, feel free to share it here. I'd love to pick it up, polish it off and enjoy its beauty, too!


Anne Voskamp, one of my favorite writers, posted this musing not long ago on her beautiful blog.


(What if) Parenting isn't so much about instructing people as it is about invitation into Presence...
Each child came to us directly from the presence of God and a parent's daily work is to lead the child back from whence she came --- back into the presence of God. To simply keep inviting the child into the transformative presence of God -- to live before Him ourselves... It's our tender love that woos them back to His. And we practice the hospitality of parenting -- inviting children into our presence and His.
 http://www.aholyexperience.com/2010/08/figuring-out-how-to-parent-teenagers.html


Dig deeper into Anne's jewelry box at  www.aholyexperience.com.

The Princess in Disguise

     I wish you could see the fingernails tapping out this post today. Though they are coated with a quiet shade of baby-blanket pink, the silver sparkle sprinkled on top demands a second glance. Yestereday I visited Hannah's Super-Spa. I didn't have far to go, just a few steps into the basement and around the corner to the bathroom. There, I was invited to sit on a porcelain throne (aka: a closed toilet lid) and to enjoy a personalized regiment of beauty and bling.  When my six-year-old make up artist had completed her work, I was a hot-pink-head-turning-body-glitter-masterpiece.  (If only I'd thought to take a photo!)
     As Hannah placed yet another layer of gloss on my puckered lips, Joshua stepped into the bathroom (I mean, the spa) to take a look. 
     "Mommy?" he asked, unsure if the woman beneath the bling was the plain old mom he'd always known.
     "Yes?"
     "What are you doing?"
     "I'm visiting Hannah's spa."
     Joshua's solemn green eyes grew large. Tenderly, he touched my flamingo-pink cheeks and patted my dripping wet hair accessorized haphazardly with shiny ribbons, bows, and clips.
     "Mommy," Josh gushed, "You don't look like a mommy anymore...." He climbed cautiously onto my lap in case the woman beneath the painted face could no longer hold his slight frame. "You look like a princess."
     I glanced at my reflection in the mirror. The woman staring back at me made a circus clown look dull. But the six-year-old beside her beamed with pride. "You ARE beautiful," Hannah said sincerely as she echoed her brother's compliment. "You should visit my spa EVERY DAY!"

     The buzzer on the washing machine beckoned me to switch the laundry, so I paid my in-house-cosmetologist in Skittles and headed back to "real life." I pulled the hot clothes from the dryer to make room for another round of laundry and  thanked God for the unexpected reminder of my royal identity in Christ. I may look like a mommy on most days, but the woman folding Builder Bob underwear is actually a princess in disguise- whether or not she is wearing seven layers of sparkling purple lip gloss!

Today's Overflow:  "The king is enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for he is your lord." Psalm 45:11