Lauren Sparks

The Sparks Notes

Doesn’t Everyone Have a Lasso in Their Linen Closet?

by 26 Comments

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

I wanted to make some changes here at the house.  My husband?  Not as much.  But once I layed out my vision and assured him it would cost next to nothing, he got on board.  Then we got to work.  We began by rearranging some furniture and purging and organizing a couple of closets.  Well, that just lit my fire.  I decided next I needed to clean out my dresser drawers and my computer/work space and our filing cabinet and our linen closet.  Three weeks later and we MAY have come to a reasonable stopping point.  I say MAY because now I see some spots on walls and baseboards that need touch up paint and so on.

 

During these three weeks, I walked into several rooms and tried to think completely outside the box about the space.  This took some imagination since we have lived in this house for 16 years now and many things sit in much the same place they did then.  Over those years we have replaced furniture and freshened bedspreads and curtains, but I can’t honestly say we gave any thought to moving things around.  And I have to tell you, some of the things we did 15 years ago, don’t make a whole lot of sense anymore.  When our daughter with special needs was small, we made some very necessary decisions to keep some things under lock and key for her safety and our sanity.  And while we still have to keep some of those considerations, by simply choosing to look at things differently we definitely streamlined and simplified our space.

 

In light of the John MacArthur/ Beth Moore kerfuffle that’s been in the media of late, I think it might be time to look at some other things, in addition to my closets, in a new light.  I don’t want to go into the whole thing here because it wasn’t glorifying to God (and didn’t make Christ followers look too good either).  You have google and can find videos and quotes and comments galore if you choose.  My point is, when it comes to matters of our faith, the stakes are too high to just maintain the status quo.  We can’t just continue to do things because that’s the way they have always been done.  And we can’t continue to believe things just because that’s what we were taught.

 

We owe it to our own faith and our witness to the Creator to constantly hold up what we are taught and what we believe against the words in God’s Holy Bible.  And as beneficial as good books and preaching can be, we can’t simply take the word of others as gold.  We have to take the time to study for ourselves.  Read the ancient scriptures and then read commentaries (here‘s one I love) and study notes and look up the words in their original language (blueletterbible.org is a great free tool to help with this).  The older we grow in our faith, the more we should grow in assurance from study and prayer.  Let’s test our faith.  We will make it stronger, and maybe find out some things need to be rearranged.

 

And that lasso?  I left it in my linen closet as a sweet reminder of my daughter’s horse themed 5th birthday party.  Not EVERYTHING needs to change.

 

2 Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment,  1 Peter 2:2 NLT

 

Sharing is caring! If you liked this post, do me the huge honor of sharing it to your favorite social media accounts. And if you want to get these essays emailed to you once a week, subscribe!

 

And look up these great writers I link up with every week:

InstaEncouragements, Literacy Musing Mondays, Hello…Monday,

The Good. The Random. The Fun.

BloggerClubUK, Tea and Word Tuesday, Purposeful Faith,

GraceFull Tuesday Link-Up, Hearth and Soul Link Party,

Let’s Have Coffee, Welcome Wednesday, Recharge Wednesday,

Worth Beyond Rubies, #TellHisStory Link Up, Porch Stories,

Encouraging Word Wednesday, Tune In Thursday,

Stories of Hope, Moments of Hope, IHeart Verse Link Party,

Legacy Link Up, Fresh Market Friday, Feature Friday Time,

Friendship Friday Blog Hop, Faith on Fire, Traffic Jam Weekend,

Faith ‘n Friends, Dancing with Jesus, Grace & Truth, Booknificent

 

 

Lastly, my posts may contain affiliate links. If you purchase anything from one of these links, I will receive a few pennies to help offset the cost of this website at no additional charge to you. Thank you in advance for your help.

And So We Part with October

by 40 Comments

Photo by Clarisse Meyer on Unsplash

It’s finally starting to feel like fall here in the South.  And I’d like to start my monthly muster by telling you another way (besides the cooler air) that God showed His kindness to us.  Believe it or not, it involves helping someone move.  During the last two and a half years, my hard-working husband experienced some pretty intense and repeated job upheaval, so the coffers are a little thinner than in previous years.  What we do have, though, is an extra vehicle because the hubs now has a work truck.  So we have two full size pick up trucks.  And God has provided multiple ways for us to be generous with this truck when we can’t be generous with funds.  So kind.

 

Chuck and I got dressed up to finally attend the Double Down for Dravet, a fundraiser for the Dravet Syndrome Foundation.  Spending time with fellow families and hearing one of our favorite docs talk about how close we are to a cure for the condition my daughter suffers from made for a great night.  My daughter also had her first high school homecoming.  For those of you not from Texas, that is a mum she has tied around her neck.  I don’t know how to describe it exactly except to say it is a thing.  If you like to laugh while you learn, my friend Heather wrote a great post about homecoming mums here.

 

My best friend flew in for a weekend we have been looking forward to for six months.  We did a wood sign painting class, watched Baylor (Sic ‘Em!) and Dallas football and went to a Popcast Live Show.  If you don’t listen to the Popcast podcast with Knox and Jamie, you are missing out on about 100 laughs a week.  My BFF and I connect across multiple states over this weekly ritual and the live version was, although more expensive, much more fun.  And I only cried a little when I put her back on the plane.

 

Allie had her first official high school choir concert and we are sooooo excited about her future her musical endeavors.  Shelby bowled in the Special Olympics area meet and brought home a bronze medal.  I think she likes the medals even more than the bowling.  Our church threw a 20th anniversary celebration for our neighborhood with food, games, rides, magic shows and an outdoor service.  After attending, serving and playing, we made an exhausted b-line to Sonic for Route 44’s.

 

I’m always happy to see the return of fall TV.   A new This is Us season always debuts the week of my birthday.  Because God is good.  We are trying a couple of new shows.  Bob hearts Abishola is a cute 30 minute sitcom and Almost Family fascinates me in a train wreck/can’t look away sort of thing.  Time for reading mostly eludes me.  I fall asleep entirely too quickly.  I did start Rosemary:  The Hidden Kennedy Daughter, but have yet to finish.  And I’ve been re-reading The Road Back to You:  An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery in order to lead a discussion of it with a group of friends.  The Enneagram is having a moment.  If you haven’t looked into all the fuss, I highly recommend this book.  I even wrote a review of it here.

 

I picked up a new snack on a whim while standing at the check out.  I couldn’t find the exact flavor online, but these are close.  These chips are yummy but the flavor is strong.  And there has not been a gum or mint yet invented that can handle the breath they left me with.  I had to basically start my day all over with a brush and floss!

 

The rest of our month feels like it took place in one doctor’s office or another.  Allie has continued follow up and therapy for her concussion and, although not fully released, is working diligently to catch up on the school work she missed while impaired.  Shelby moved to a less restrictive version of the drug trial she continues to benefit from.  Yay!  Chuck, now that he is 50, started his grown up journey to longevity by finally scheduling with a primary care doc.  A family member endured a big surgery (I don’t want to tell someone else’s story – hope you understand), and the whole family suffers from congestion and cough.

 

To finish the month on a fun note, the winner of the Quest Q and A Study Bible is Leslie Coffey!  Please check your email for details on getting your prize!  Thank you to all who subscribed to enter.  I hope you will stay for the fellowship.  And…I dressed up for Halloween with my co-workers.  Can you guess what I am?  Drop your comments below.  I know it’s punny, but I just can’t help myself.  And I love you, I thank you, and I hope November treats you well.

Categories

Archives