Drafted Heart

It’s been a while, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been thinking about this place; this home away from home, where I share what makes me tick, what makes me smile, what makes me cry, what keeps me moving on after the tears. I often stop and take a moment to draft the beginning of a post because for that one moment I want to write and I want to share. The trouble is, that moment is never long enough to complete the thought, to complete the process, to dot the i’s and cross the t’s. It’s just enough time to start a draft, save it to my phone, or as was the case just over a week ago, accidentally post it because the location of buttons and processes have changed while I’ve been away.

Today I have taken a little more than a moment and cleaned out two e-mail boxes, and started on a third, which is currently full of weekly posts from a blog I follow called “Classroom Freebies”. I get a lot of inspiration for what goes on both educationally and behaviorally in my classroom from other teachers that blog, and this inspired me to write today. If only for a moment…13 draft await, and as the school year comes to a close I have that and so much more to talk about! Can’t wait to finish 22 more days and school and get back on track right here, not drafting my heart, but actually sharing my heart!

The Heart of Easter: Eggs

I remember hunting eggs at my grandparents, parks, and other family residences growing up, but the most memorable Easter egg hunts have been watching my children, nieces and nephews over the years. One year in particular my siblings and I asked my Dad not to purchase 5 pounds of those sugar covered marshmallow filled eggs called hide and seek eggs pictured on the right. We all agreed that we did not like them, in addition to the fact that we preferred our children have the protein of hard-boiled eggs and not all the sugar he had purchased year after year. Needless to say my Dad did not listen to us, and to his surprise the grand kids left his sugary eggs on the lawn, filling their baskets with real eggs instead. He just knew we had told them to stay away from the candy, and he was not at all amused. Fortunately, he never bought those awful things again.

Eggs are a big part of Easter tradition in our family and most others. We dye them in various colors and enjoy that process as much as we enjoy hiding, hunting and finding them, but have we ever thought about how the egg relates to the real story of Easter: the resurrection of our Savior?

There are many elements of Spring that are symbolic of what Christ did for us on the first Easter, and we will start here with the symbolism of eggs. The shell of the egg is thought to be an example of the tomb that held the body of Christ for 3 days. It is also thought to show protection for the baby chick before it is ready to hatch. The hatching itself is similar to Christ’s resurrection from the grave. The hatching of the baby chick is also symbolic of the new life that we gain through Christ in His resurrection from the grave.

While Easter for many is just the sign that Spring has begun and white shoes are back in style for a few months, it is important that we celebrate the real meaning and share it with others. Christ took on all the sin of the world and died for our sake so that we might live. He was buried in a borrow tomb for 3 days before rising from the dead and taking His rightful place at the right hand of God the Father. In His stead He left the Holy Spirit to intercede on our behalf. There is nothing more wonderful about Spring and the Easter season than these truths. How will you incorporate these into your holiday celebration and take this opportunity to share the love of Christ with your family?

For more on the real meaning of Easter check out http://www.billygraham.org/articlepage.asp?ArticleID=422

5 Minutes from the Heart: Home

5 minutes to write from the heart with what Lisa Jo calls a flash mob of writers who congregate each week to share their hearts and their thoughts. This is the first time I’ve been able to join this calendar year and it feels great to be back again! Linking with www.lisajobaker.com for just 5 minutes on the topic: Home.

Start: 5:21 PM

It’s great to be home again. I feel at home in different ways. It feels like home to be writing again. I feels great to be home from school for the next 9 days on Spring Break. I miss both.

I miss spending quality time at home with my family and spending quality time at the keyboard sharing my heart with my family, friends and followers.

This has been a very different school year, especially for the past 6 weeks. It’s a learning experience that takes me away from home more than I would like to be away, but I know in the end it will benefit me and my family to have been away during this season.

Home sweet home. So glad to be here again.

Stop. 5:26 PM

My Sweetheart

Reblogged from Our Crowded Heart:

For Valentines Day I want to share with you my love story. It's a tale of how God brought two people together at just the right time and place.

Les and I met in 1985 at Texas Christian Academy in Arlington. For two years Les dated my best friends and I tormented him relentlessly for every wrong move he made with them.

Read more… 849 more words

I had such a great response on FB and here on WP, I wanted to share this again for Valentine's week this year!

Our Crowded Heart: 2012 in Review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 2,700 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 5 years to get that many views.

Click here to see the complete report.

The Heart of Christmas: Snow!

A portion of my family Christmas morning 2009

Living in Texas, it’s quite unusual to experience a white Christmas. I cannot remember every having snow on Christmas Day as a child. In fact, the first year I remember this phenomenon in our area was December of 2009. As we headed to my Dad’s on Christmas Eve that year a blizzard ensued. A real life blizzard I tell you! The roads covered in snow, the crisp air, filled with flakes like nothing I had ever seen before. It was more white and cold than I could have imagined.

It was so thick that my daughter who was following directly behind me missed the exit just as I was taking it. This was my middle daughter who gets a little upset when lost. So, we immediately called and advised her to take the next exit and wait for us. We also took the next exit, headed back to the highway we had just left and were on a mission to find her. It was a slow process and my heart was pounding as my mind raced with worry for how upset she must be.

We caught up to her at a gas station, calmed her, filled her car with gas, and tried to start it. Unfortunately, her battery was weak and her lights had been left on since she stopped. In this blizzard of all blizzards, I got the jumper cables out of the trunk, connected them to both cars, and waited for what seemed like an hour (even though it was only about 5 minutes) for her battery to charge. It was so cold and the snow blowing so hard I had to wrap my scarf around my face. I remind you, this is Texas. We rarely have snow here! We certainly do not have blizzards.

We survived and made it to my Dad’s to open gifts, and then home safely. The next morning Christmas breakfast was at my house for the first time. We had more family and more fun that morning than any Christmas I can remember. My yard filled with nieces, nephews, cousins and snowmen. My living room and kitchen filled with friends, family, and food. Everyone sharing and bonding right there in my home. At that point, the snow was beautiful and a very welcome sight. The wonder, white and warmth of it all…yes, I said warmth. The snow with all its fluff and glimmer had a warmth about it that filled the hearts of us all with love for one another on a once in a lifetime Christmas morning that was white and wonderful. This is what I believe to be the real meaning of Christmas; family gathered together to celebrate the birth of Christ in a loving and meaningful fashion.

Related articles

• The Heart of Christmas: Decorations (ourcrowdedheart.wordpress.com)

The Heart of Christmas: Decorations

When I was little we had a Christmas tree that I remember as being white, but it’s also possible that it was silver. We had a color wheel that sat near the tree and rotated lights on it. We thought it was the coolest thing, and loved to sit and watch it in the living room in the evenings while listening to Christmas records on the stereo. It’s my most vivid memory of Christmas decorations from my childhood. I do not remember if we ever had lights on house or in the yard. It’s just not something that impressed me as a child, so maybe that means we did not have any. I’m not sure.

In more recent years my mother has done away with the Christmas tree, opting for a large nativity in its place. In her home, Christmas is about the birth of Christ; it’s His birthday celebration, not a celebration of Santa and all of his reindeer. We usually spend Christmas morning at her house eating home-cooked breakfast with family and exchanging gifts that represent the gift that God gave us when Christ was born. Besides the nativity, there are few Christmas decorations other than cards and family photo’s adorning the living room and kitchen area’s.

From the time my girls were young until recently, my home was loaded with snowman decor throughout. I have collected snowmen for years and loved to get them out and put them on display. In recent years we have put up lights and filled the yard with candy canes or white deer. Last year my husband asked why people put out deer for Christmas. I told him that it reminds me of the verse in the Bible talking about deer panting after water the same way our souls long for God. However, for a lot of people I believe it has to do with deer, more specifically reindeer, being winter and possibly holiday animals that would roam during the holiday season. Either way, they are pretty and we have enough of them to fill the yard and light it up!

This year we went a little more simple in our decorating. White lights on the bushes, red and white on the house and an inflatable nativity in the yard. We wanted our decorations to signify what Christmas is really about; God’s gift.  Christ our savior  is the real reason we celebrate Christmas and our decorations should show others what we believe. My brother used to have a large lighted sign in his yard that said “Jesus is the Reason!” Some day I would like to have a similar sign in my yard to proclaim to all who drive by that I believe in the deity of Christ and that he is the real reason for the Christmas season.

What do your decorations say about you and what you believe about Christmas. What do they say about your relationship with Christ? What do you want them to say?