This morning came fast and the two banjos I call boys were at it again.  It’s amazing how similar they look but how different they are.  One loves to sleep in the morning and the other wants to jump out of bead clapping his hands yelling for the rest of us to join him as he embraces the morning.  One cannot be bothered until chocolate milk passes his lips and the other needs edible food.  Last year Rhett was in the four-year-old class at preschool and this year Luke has the same teachers.  Both boys were and are the last ones to finish their work at the tables.  However, they are last for different reasons.  The older “perfectionist” cannot make a mistake and is meticulous about what he does.  The younger “social creature” has many stories that need to be told and people to be entertained.  Being in the car with them, you get the full dueling banjo effect.  They feed off each other and I find that just like many adults I know they have to have the “last word”.  Dueling Banjos.  I can’t wait to see what melody they come up with next!

I have a question.  Maybe this question if for guys only.  Do clothes matter that much?  I thought that by having boys I would not have as much of a “dramatic scene” every morning getting ready.   My four year old is very particular about clothes.  They are too wiggly, too long, too dorky.  (I’m afraid I said that word so I’m to blame for him using it …)  Why should it matter?

Independance is setting in and I’m grateful that he has some, but couldn’t it be less of a dramatic moment every time we start to get ready?  I thought I had set up the scene really good last night.  We tried on the clothes.  He liked them.  He didn’t want to take them off.  Sounds promising.    I’m not sure what he dreamed last night or what was in his chocolate milk, but all of a sudden we have drama.

So, again I ask:  Do clothes matter that much?

I was listening to a local radio station today and they had a caller asking the DJs to help with her quest to find out if her husband was having an affair with his personal trainer.  He had hired the trainer to help him lose weight and the wife was questioning what was happening.  I went into Starbucks to get my coffee so I don’t know what happened, but I’m sure I’ll find out tomorrow morning when they do the “day after” discussion.  (Starbucks always takes precedence.)

It made me question why a person would want to find out on the radio.  If I found myself in that position, the last place I would want to ask that question was in front of people I didn’t know.  Maybe it made her feel better to know that people were sympathizing with her.

I’ll be listening tomorrow.  No matter what results, she’s a braver woman than I would be in her situation to let other people she didn’t know be in her business.

While taking my youngest son to school today, we were enjoying the time. Usually he tells me stories or sings or he asks lots of questions. Today was no different. He was still telling me stories about skunks. (Skunks are his favorite right now. I don’t really understand the fascination, but I know a lot of stories about skunks. I just don’t like the ones where they are in my house!)

All of a sudden he yells out to me that there is a hooker on the truck in front of us. I was startled and surprised that he would be saying that and then I realized that he couldn’t possibly know what a hooker was. Or did he? Well, I asked him what he said and he replied loudly (assuming I just did not “hear” him the last time) the same thing. This time I asked him what he meant and with an exasperated sign he described the “little thing” that helps put trucks together so they are in a line.

I was relieved that my four-year-old did not know what a hooker was, but had described a truck hitch. It reminded me that he knew what he saw and what he saw was a hooker. It made sense to him. Now, it makes sense to me as well.

That made the skunk stories not so bad.

Have you ever thought about what it means to experience something? I have this new book called “The Starbucks Experience”. I love Starbucks! After I have gotten everyone ready for the day and dropped the boys off at school, I can relax as I head to my Starbucks. It doesn’t have a drive thru, and at first I didn’t like that because I knew I would have to get out of my car and go in to get my favorite coffee. However, I am so glad that I go in because I get that experience each day.

I work with college students and it is our goal to help students on our campus come to know Jesus or grow in their personal relationship with Him. I had talked with the leaders before school started in August about the “Starbucks Experience”. That was even before I knew there was a book. I just knew there was an experience. We decided that the leaders needed to go and experience it together so we can “get it”. The goal was for us to learn more about the experience so we could bring it back to the campus ministry. We want for students to come to lunch or whatever and when they leave know that they have experienced it.

The question is always “What is It?” It is more than just a feeling. It is a lifestyle. We want to have a place where people can be themselves and know that they are loved for who they are. It is like that place where you know you are completely accepted. It is the knowledge that what you believe is the truth. It is the experience that only you can have. I know that I have it.

It is the experience of a personal relationship with Jesus. The Starbucks Experience reminded me that they work hard to make an atmosphere where you want to be. Where else would a person want to stand in line so they can pay a lot of money for coffee? They are going for more than the coffee. They are going for the experience. What kind of atmosphere is my life that makes people want to experience Jesus for themselves?

That’s what it is. Now, I have to make sure I have it.

I have always thought that the choices we make determine the path we take. Choices are important, but when I think about my choices I also think that the choices of others also play a big part in my path. So, I believe that “it is what it is”. Life is what it is and we are free to choose to keep moving forward, go backward, or stay still. Moving Forward doesn’t always make me happy, but going backward is not good for me! It probably wasn’t great the first time around so the second time is just not going to be better. I do think that staying still for a moment to collect my thoughts helps. Especially since I am an emotional, talk it out loud kind of person. So, it is what it is.