Wedding Week Interview #2

Posted on June 18, 2014 by dinahoverlien

Wedding week continues….

Next up: big sister Katie.

Me: How do you feel about your little brother getting married?

Katie: Oh….I feel old. I changed Jake’s diapers and carried him on my hip. Not recently, but like 22 years ago.

Me: What are you most looking forward to on Saturday?

Katie: Seeing Jake’s face when Kelsey walks down the aisle and watching him cry his eyes out.

Me: Where do you see the happy couple in five years?

Katie: I see them living in the woods and having their own reality TV show.

Me: What are three words that describe your relationship with Jake?

Katie: Ummmm…long-distance, book-ends, favorite 🙂

In all fairness, this interview was done in the kitchen while five babies were pulling on Katie’s pant legs. One was crying, one was screaming, one was whining, one was drooling, and one was shouting.

All this while eight adults were in the other room watching “Thomas the Train”.

Wedding Week Interview #1

Posted on June 17, 2014 by dinahoverlien

It’s officially wedding week in our household! I thought this blessed event should be commemorated in a special way, so for the next few days I will be doing a series of interviews of various members of the family. Given the nature of this slightly dysfunctional, but entirely charming clan, this should be fairly entertaining.

Day one: Sister Anna

Me: How do you feel about your little brother getting married?

Anna: (My gosh, I can’t do this…. sniff, sniff) I feel sad that it’s the last wedding because I really like these parties. I’m excited to see the culmination of five years of them getting to know each other and learning to love each other well.

Me: What are you most looking forward to on Saturday?

Anna: Babysitters. Also, the crying during the father/daughter dance, and the laughing during the mother/son dance.

Me: Where do you see the newly married couple in 10 years?

Anna: In their new hand-crafted house, built by Jake……with a baby, maybe two…..continuing to pursue the things they love.

Me: What are three words that describe your relationship with Jake?

Anna: Spontaneous (free tote!), loving (nook me), and open and honest (brother-sister time on the roof).

Um…I think these are inside jokes….half the time I have no idea what these two are talking about.

Me: That was four words, Anna.

Anna: (laughing)

A Blessing For My Son

Posted on June 11, 2014 by dinahoverlien

This is my baby.

He’s getting married in a few days, so naturally I’m getting all sentimental about this child.

I love this picture because it captures a moment I treasure, the perfect day.

A summer day, barefoot on green grass, peaceful river, gentle breeze, garden ready for planting, Wisconsin cheese t-shirt, worn out blue jeans, favorite blankie hanging on the clothesline.

So, reflecting on this photo, here is a blessing for my son as he marries his love:

May you have the perfect summer day to begin your life together.

May you walk in green pastures of provision and rest by still waters of peace.

May you be refreshed by the wind of the Spirit blowing through your lives.

May you sow seeds of faith in the fertile ground of love and reap a bountiful harvest.

May you remember where you’ve been, who you are, and whose you are.

May you find satisfaction in hard work and a job well done.

May you always feel wrapped in the security and comfort of the love of God and family.

Love, Mom

Powering Down

Posted on May 23, 2014 by dinahoverlien

Life used to be so much more simple before all the time-saving, productivity-boosting, technology-driven gadgets came along. Ironically, I often feel like my gizmos steal a lot of time and keep me from being more productive. Huh.

For instance, I used to get ready for bed by washing my face, brushing my teeth and setting my alarm clock. This nighttime routine took about 10 minutes.

Now, here are the steps I go through each evening:

Wash face and brush teeth.

Check email for messages.

Check Facebook for messages.

Check blog for messages.

Download podcasts to listen to in the morning.

Plug in laptop to charge overnight.

Plug iPod into computer so it’s charged for my morning walk.

Check tomorrow’s weather forecast on phone.

Check GroupMe and Instagram to see if the kids added anything.

Set alarm clock on phone for 5:25 a.m.

Pick which song I want to wake up to and set it.

Check the Up app to see how many steps I took during the day.

Close all the apps I opened throughout the day.

Plug in phone to charge overnight.

Switch my Up bracelet to “night” so it can track my sleep.

Turn my Kindle’s Wi-Fi on to download books I may have ordered.

Check battery level on the Kindle and plug in if needed.

Kiss PB goodnight.

Goodness gracious, my bedtime routine is a production and a half. It’s no wonder I sleep so well. Powering down is a lot of work.

When Jesus sent the disciples out by twos for a season of ministry, He told them, “Don’t load yourselves up with equipment. Keep it simple; you are the equipment.” (Luke 9:3)

Ah yes. So for the next two weeks, I’m going to unload my equipment, simplify, and focus on the people in my house. And there will be lots of them — five little grand-people and all the adults that go with them. It’s a good time to disconnect from my gadgets and equip my heart to love my people.

Amazing

Posted on May 17, 2014 by dinahoverlien

Amazed.

That’s what I was last Sunday night when my big, grown-up boy came in the house carrying a card and a dozen roses. Now that he’s married and has a sweet baby girl of his own, there are plenty of women in his life to remind him of important things like Mother’s Day. (God bless daughters-in-law.)

It doesn’t take much to make my jaw drop. I can be blown away by a song, overwhelmed by an unselfish act of kindness, and astounded by a home-run-robbing catch at the center field fence. I am easily awed by people who write stimulating words, understand quantum physics or run a marathon. This world should inspire some serious marveling, what with sunsets, ocean waves, redwood trees…..need I go on?

But this word keeps popping up in the Bible. The gospel writers used the word “amazed” thirty-five times to describe people’s response to Jesus.

Curious crowds — “The people were amazed at His teaching…” Mark 1:22

His followers — “The disciples were amazed at His words…” Mark 10:24

Even Pontius Pilate — “But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.” Mark 15:5

There’s no doubt Jesus was completely amazing in every way.

But what amazed Jesus?

Only two things.

“And He was amazed at their lack of faith.” Mark 6:6

I don’t want to amaze Jesus. Not like that.

“When Jesus heard this He was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following Him, He said, ‘I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.'” Luke 7:9

I want to amaze Jesus. Like that.

What astonished Jesus? Zero faith and great faith.

What astounds me? Grace.

Amazing grace.

I’ve Got a Secret

Posted on May 10, 2014 by dinahoverlien

When someone says, “I’ve got a secret,” what they are really saying is, “I know something you don’t know and I’m dying to tell you, so try to get it out of me.” Stating that there is a secret is like letting half the cat out of the bag. The rest will come soon.

After reading the book “I Like Giving: The Transforming Power of a Generous Life” by Brad Formsma, PB and I have been challenged to be more creative and thoughtful in this area. Two things are happening that I didn’t expect. First, we are learning that there is nothing like generosity to bring a crazy amount of joy into life. Second, drawing attention to the act of giving takes all that joy away.

Jesus warned about this in Matthew 6, where He addressed the whole idea of giving — how to do it right and how to do it wrong. I read it over and over, then rewrote it in my own words. (Alert: I am not attempting to re-write scripture here — I just find it really helpful to think about each word and try to express the same thought.)

Here is Matthew 6:2-4 in DPR (Dinah’s Personal Rendition):

“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it on Facebook, as the self-promoters do. Do not write blog posts or books about it, so that everyone will say what a good person you are. If you want the truth, that little thumbs-up “like” is your big prize. That’s it.

But when you give to the needy, be more sneaky and stay behind the scenes. Don’t let your left hand know that your right hand is writing a check. Let it be a secret between Me and you.

My Father pays close attention to that undercover-style giving and He has a special surprise planned for those kind of givers.”

I think we might have it backwards. Instead of keeping God hush-hush and making much of ourselves, what if we used all this online media and social networking to make much of Him and keep ourselves out of the limelight?

“Let us labor in our service for the Lord to be more and more hidden; as much as the proud desire to catch the eye of man, let us endeavor to avoid it.” Charles H. Spurgeon

The Trailblazer

Posted on May 6, 2014 by dinahoverlien

This child is the trailblazer. The pioneer. The leader of the pack.

This boy is the first of the gaggle of grands that have been added to our family in the past two years.

(Gaggle, noun: an often noisy and disorderly group; an assortment of related things)

He is not yet aware of his prestigious position.

He doesn’t know that someday the siblings and cousins will want to be in his secret club, sit by him at the kids’ table, and copy the way he sets up his trains. He will tell them the rules to the games he makes up, show them a better way to build towers, and tattle on whoever is misbehaving.

He will be the teacher when they play school, the father when they play house and “not it” when they play tag.

It’s not easy, being first.

But there are perks, starting with lots of pictures.

May Day

Posted on May 1, 2014 by dinahoverlien

There’s been nothing particularly wrong with this day.

It’s just that the clouds and the cold and the rain have made my mood a bit overcast.

I sent out a distress signal:

Mayday! Mayday!

Send sunshine! Send some color into this gray world!

Coming home tonight, I see it on my porch. My rescuer has come.

A pop of pink and two tulips on my weatherbeaten chair.

My weatherbeaten spirit is lifted.

Thank you to whoever heard my distress call!

May Day! May Day!

Taking Charge

Posted on April 30, 2014 by dinahoverlien

Sometimes I’m a take-charge kind of person.

If I see something that needs to be done and nobody is doing it, I don’t mind stepping up to the plate and gettin’ ‘er done. However, if there is someone in my midst who has more take-charge-ness than me, I am more than happy to step down and let somebody else get ‘er done.

Taking charge can be a good thing when there needs to be some leadership to accomplish a task. Taking charge can be a bad thing when it’s motivated by control and comes off as bossiness.

So, I had to smile when I read this scripture:

“Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, ‘He is out of his mind.'” Mark 3:20-21

Families are funny that way. We tend to think we have a right to interfere. As a mother, I’ve done my fair share of meddling. And I’m not proud of it. Jesus’ family seemed to think it was time to put an end to the craziness and take Him back to the carpenter’s shop where He belonged. But Jesus didn’t let His mother and brothers derail His mission. Trying to control adult children doesn’t work any better now than it did 2,000 years ago.

Besides, who can take charge of Jesus?

I need Him to take charge of me.