Tearing down some statues

. This picture in front of Lenin's tomb really says it all, doesn't it? Hannah and Sarah Beth are giggling, John is making some kind of strange gesture, Marc is trying to look normal, and I look like I'm going to kill someone. (I was trying to look stern and Russian...but crazy was what I came up with, huh?) We are an interesting group.

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. II Corinthians 10:3-5

It is downright chilly this morning in Prague, and the cats and I are enjoying a rare quiet morning together. Our friends took John and Hannah yesterday to their house, and we are meeting them in Plzen this morning, so the house is VERY quiet. It's pretty nice, I have to tell you. Actually, the cats are sacked out on the couch, curled up with John's jacket that he left there yesterday, so I'm pretty much enjoying this time to myself. We went out to dinner last night (a rarity for us), and we just thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. I pray I will never become so accustomed to the beauty of Prague that I fail to be awed by the city at night. It truly is one of the most beautiful places in the world. Today we will get on a train to Plzen and enjoy the Czech countryside outside our window. Not a bad way to spend a morning. Of course, the big news today is that it's the start of college football season--yes, for those of you who know us, Marc IS making his famous chili for us tonight. We have plans made for an entire afternoon and evening of watching football with our friends. It's not a bad life.

Marc and Hannah returned from Poland on Tuesday, and they had a wonderful and productive trip. We are headed back to Poland for Thanksgiving, and I can hardly wait after seeing their pictures. It's gorgeous. It is definitely a perk of this life that we get to do some traveling around Europe. I began teaching English lessons on Tuesday afternoon (that is a tale for another blog), and on Friday I agreed to help fill in for an English teacher at the Christian school three blocks away. (I can't help myself. It's a sickness, really. All you have to say to me are the words 'English' and 'teacher'--it's like Batman's signal in the sky. I gotta buy a cape.) Again, that's a topic for another blog. Something interesting happened with John this week, and I really want to share it and tell you how God used it in my life.

If you have been a reader of this blog for a while, you know that John is hyperactive. Now, if you haven't dealt with hyperactive kids, you probably think that means he just has a lot of energy. He does have a lot of energy, but there are a host of other issues that come along with hyperactivity. Let me go on the record as saying that I firmly believe God created John for a purpose, and that his hyperactivity is part of that purpose. John could be the guy to cure cancer, because he does not see the same world you and I do. He has John-vision, and I thoroughly believe that some day, that is going to be a tremendous blessing not only for John, but for all of us who love him. It does, however, come with some challenges, one of which is a tendency toward obsession. John is not a let-it-go kind of guy. And the things he can't let go are often strange to me. For example, this week, it was his "statue."

John's "statue" was a plastic cup filled with water and a McDonald's toy that John put in the freezer as a science experiment. John loves science, and he often asks to "make an experiment," and as long as it isn't going to hurt him or blow anything up, I generally agree. You cannot imagine the many things that have been frozen in my freezer over the years. So when he asked to put this in the freezer to see how it would freeze, I agreed. What I didn't know was that we would spend two days checking on it every ten minutes. In the middle of math. In the middle of reading. "Can I check on my statue?" was the question of the day. I finally asked him, "John, do you think you're becoming a little obsessed with this?" "Yes, Mommy. But I just can't help myself." Finally, in what was a pretty big moment of growth for him, John came and asked if he could destroy his statue. "I just think I can't stop thinking about it if I know it's there, Mom." I agreed that this was a wise decision on his part, and then we had the fun of watching it melt and seeing how long that took. I was proud of John. It's hard for him to let go, and he did it on his own. That's big and giant for my little hyperactive boy.

It occurred to me later in the week that I could use some statue tearing down of my own. While I don't have anything in the freezer besides hamburger at the moment, there are some pretty persistent things in my thought life that keep me from being who God created me to be. Things like my perception of what I "bring to the table" on the field. Things like who I think I'm supposed to be as opposed to who God created me to be. Things like what the next step in our lives is. Those are some pretty hefty "statues" that have been keeping me metaphorically checking the freezer every ten minutes instead of focusing on this moment, on what God has laid in my lap in terms of ministry, on what my family needs from me now instead of next year. I don't know about you, but in my life, sin creeps in through my thought life. I'm unlikely to do something outrageously sinful in the eyes of the world--murder, adultery, theft--I'm probably going to leave those alone. But God sees my thought life, and His word says He is just as mortified by what He sees there as He is by those "obvious" sins. It's those things that keep me from Him, that keep me at a distance from the person I am supposed to be. And I really want to be that person. I really do.

Well, it's time for me to jump in the shower and get going. Marc is still asleep, and I have cinnamon rolls in the breadmaker to surprise him. Today is a big day for all of us--we are truly college football fanatics. I'm going to enjoy every second of it. Wherever you are in the world, I challenge you to look around at your own statues that need tearing down, and I hope that your husband is making his fabulous chili for college game day, too. Blessings to you and yours!

His,
Kellye