Hello, hello, hello....is anybody in there?

I am stealing a line from Comfortably Numb/Pink Floyd for my title today in order to reinforce Scott's recent point that you shouldn't blog if you don't have anything to say. As a reader of multiple hilarious blogs on politics/sports/and sometimes the two together, Scott thinks that a pregnant stay at home mom can't have much to say, much less very many people reading her blog. I know this isn't a stab at my chosen proffession, b/c we are in complete agreement that my being at home is best for our children, but he knows that my experiences are limited to pretty much what happens in our home and what I read on the internet during the day.

So, there lies my intro to today's words.....it is amazing what you learn reading with your 18 month old.

Let me introduce you to one of our favorite books....Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson. For those of you who have not had the pleasure to read this wonderful book, let me tell you that it is pretty great as far as children's books go....it has a wonderful rhythm and a lesson that I took as my own teaching for the day today. Did you know that God can use children's books to speak to us? Of course, why would he be limited? He is amazing.....The story starts with telling us about a bear in the deep sleep stages of hibernation. Other wild animals find their way into his lair and start a party of sorts with a warm fire and many yummy goodies, including my dad's favorite line "so they pop white corn and they brew black tea" while "the bear snores on". This book has been a favorite of my parent's and Danny since I gave them a few of my "bear" books to read. One of the blessings of having a mommy that is a former Kindergarten teacher is the wealth of books as Danny's disposal. He even has his own library and reading couch in our upstairs landing of our new house....but I digress. So this bear sleeps as everyone parties until a "small pepper fleck" makes him wake up and give a huge "raaaaa-choooooo!!!!" At this point in the story the whole crowd(mouse, hare, badger, gopher, mole, wren, and raven) "freezes" and awaits the punishment of being caught in a bear's home uninvited. After much gnarling, snarling, roars, rumbles, and other such angry emotions, the bear begins to whimper and moan about there being a party and he slept through it....what a whiner! But the animals reassure him that they can still have fun and proceed to "pop more corn" and "brew more tea" as they "spin tall tales through the blustery night".

I have read this story at least 50 times and have never seen it quite like I did today. How many times am I like that bear? I whine about something that seems ridiculous when you see the big story. Not only is the bear failing to get prospective here, but it seems as if he is unaware of the fact that his ability to dwarf the other animals in size gives him the power to call the shots here. Do I have God's power at my fingertips and fail to see the blessing because I am caught up in the "little" circumstances? And how many times have I looked at my circumstances and only seen the negative and not the the blessing that lie within, such as having friends around you when you wake up. All he saw was the fact that he missed out....it took the little mouse's wise words to bring him back to reality and then be able to enjoy himself with the wealth of food and friends that surrounded him. In light of this revelation, I am determined to begin thanking God for my blessings more than I currently am doing....Danny and I started by thanking Him for our wonderful house(despite the circumstances of work to be done) and the wealth of great neighbors(despite the fact that we officially have no "real" friends yet). I want to see the positive in even the situations that seems difficult. And remembering that God is worthy of my praise even when the things around me are REALLY bad, which of course is not the case right now. In fact, other than those two mentioned negatives, life is pretty great for us here in Richmond. We know this is where God has called us to be for this stage in our life!
So, I go back to the beginning and say to Scott that I hope this post has qualified me as having "something to say". And for the five of you who read this blog, I hope this has been a blessing to you. And go check out Bear Snores On or another good children's book and look for the message that lies within. I wonder if Ms. Wilson ever intended this message when she penned this great classic!