Lion's Roar

Hosea 11:10 

They will follow the LORD; he will roar like a lion.  When he roars, his children will come trembling from the left.  

Yikes.  It has been 40 weeks since my last post.  Thats right, 40.  And I literally forgot what this blog was called in that time (Tiny Little Blessings being my old one).  I wish I was joking.

I searched ALL MAIL in my Gmail account with words like "Joy" (surely it was called "joy", right??) and "Blog" (I think you can guess how fruitful that search was).

In a grandiose gesture last September I announced I was a writer and then I apparently fell asleep and hit the snooze button for 40 weeks.  Daily life had lulled me into a stupor.  Thankfully I got a wake up call when I read One Beautiful Dream: The Rollicking Tale of Personal Passions, Family Chaos, and Saying Yes to Both of Them by Jennifer Fulwiler.  You should read it.

As you can imagine, a lot has changed since my last post, including our home address (more on that later).  One things that hasn't changed is the struggle to raise four young kiddos to be kind, courteous, respectful individuals.  It always feels like I'm doing something wrong.

Last week in a race to get four kids to three different camps on different parts of town between 8:30-8:45 AM we struggled a bit.  I should probably add that time management baffles me. So does rush hour traffic.

The kids lost their minds.  I lost mine.  Although in hindsight, I may have been the first one off that bridge.

"No, this has to stop." I said, "We're all on the same team." Then I blasted Jeremy Camp's Awake O Sleeper in the car so loud I couldn't hear their protests.  I added some mild dancing and fist bumps, which was completely out of character for me.  They were stunned into silence.  It was a beautiul vicory.

When the song was over they had all completely forgotten their arguments and asked for it again.  And again. And again.  We have now listened to that song on repeat so loudly that my windows rattle.  (Who really won that battle?)

The daily treks to and from all of the various camps and physical therapy appointments has given me some time to really soak up the lyrics:

Oh, Abraham would raise his handsAnd mourn this very dayFor his children left the promise landIn search of their own wayAnd they kick and scream like wayward sonsAnd always wanting to sleepAnd dream away these evil daysIn hopes that God can't see
[Pre-Chorus]Chains upon Your children, LordChains upon Your childrenChains upon Your children, LordChains!
[Chorus]Do you hear the lion roar?Awake O SleeperStand with me we'll fight the warAwake O Sleeper......

In a way I've been asleep these past 40 weeks, knowing that I needed to get up and do God's will, but allowing myself to get zapped by things that don't really matter and then literally and figuratively going to sleep to escape and hide, when really I should be hiding and resting in Him. Does that ever happen to you?

There is so much to praise Him for and so much glory when we stop hitting the snooze on the life He has given us.  So let me ask you, do you hear the lion roar?


P.S. A lion is totally going to be my next tattoo.  We're talking a half sleeve on my arm. Some day.