Adventures in Organization

Today I put off killing a chicken (Jenette has been telling me that this week she wants that rooster in a pot!) in favor of building one of two locking wooden cabinets that Jenette got me for Christmas. That was quite a story in itself. Before Christmas Jenette and the kids told me they got these two cabinets for me (they were pretty expensive). She told the kids that in order to buy these cabinets for me, there would not be any money for buying Christmas presents for them. (Which was true, although I don't know if they all believed that at first!)

So, the kids and Jenette sacrificed any possibility of getting gifts. I was the only one that got any Christmas presents! (Kind of sounds like the intro to a sappy hallmark movie!) Of course they got presents from grandparents and other family, and we are still giving away and throwing away skads of stuff (especially girl's stuff). June Ivanov was so touched by the story that she brought some fun gifts over for the kids (including the Blokus game, which was the single greatest hit of the holiday season!) Just imagine, we may not have got a Blokus game if the kids and Jenette were not so generous!

So anyway, these are locking cabinets made by Osullivan (makes me think of the really annoying guy on the commercials here where the guy raises his hands gloriously in the air and says, "Ohhhhhhhh, sullivaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan." Only thing I didn't like about it was the back was cardboard (not laminate like the rest) and they shorted me some of the screws. As I was finishing up, Jason came up to me, clearly upset, and asked me if he could help me. I could tell there was some other motivation there, so I just kind of waited. He got more upset as he said, "and also there's something I need to tell you." "I broke another window."

At this point I was trying to remember if this was three or four windows Jason had broken in this house when he said, "I was throwing a snowball at the chimney and it accidently hit the window and broke it. " Because this has come to be something that I totally expect, I just said "ok." He cheered up instantly.

I took Joel to soccer practice at the church tonight - he loves soccer. They sure played an awesome game on Saturday.

The kids watched the Tweety and Slyvester video again today. I am always amazed to think that one guy did all the voices for all those cartoons. The cartoon where Sylvester keeps trying to eat Tweety even though there are 100 bulldogs in the yard always makes me laugh. It makes me think of our culture - people will go and go and try again and again to get whatever they want, even though it always ends up biting them. Whether it is money or power or affection or love or whatever it is they want, if you chase after the world and trouble your own house, you will only "inherit wind." (Proverbs 11:29) (Or in the case of Slyvester, you will repeatedly get shredded by bulldogs)

That's why living on the bombproof budget has given me more peace - it helps me face the reality which is, "I can't have it all." I love the line from a Casting Crowns song, "I'd rather have a shack on a rock, than a castle in the sand."

Better is a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and turmoil with it. Proverbs 15:16

jc