Chaos and Peace

Two thoughts have entered my mind as I sat down to type this entry. Chaos and peace.

I had the most fun this weekend at my sweet niece's (Alayna) birthday party. She turned four and didn't mind showing you how she could count to four on her fingers. I went by their house on Friday to see if there was anything I could do and was commissioned to help clean up the kids room. Joshua, being the adorable 8 year old that he is, paid me a dollar for helping them.

The next day as the moonwalk arrived, I think I was more excited than the kids. It is just so much fun to watch it blow up and take form. It was a strawberry shortcake (or strawberry cake...as Lanie calls it) moonwalk and she loomed over the doorway in a kind of scary way. I admit that I was a bit frightened when I would go in and out.
Of course, moonwalks aren't just for kids and the older "kids"...the adults...got in also. Little did we know that the moonwalk had slipped off the air compressor just enough to make the airflow not so good. We jumped a while...well, they jumped and I held a scared 2 year old in my lap trying to convince her that moonwalks are fun. There was another 2 year old that was being bounced around but she seemed to like it. Two big boys (my 6'4'' brother being one of them) got on one side of the moonwalk and it started caving in and the screams of fear began. They went back to the middle and every thing was ok. Then back to the side and it caved in again. The boys thought it was oh, so much fun while I was left trying to console one screaming child with another one grabbing my leg. I guess the moonwalk couldn't recover the last time it caved in because it wouldn't fill back up with air and the boys were holding up the ceiling with their hands. I was a tad bit frightened but they were all laughing so I figured it couldn't be that bad. I tried to get out through the tiny door but the scary Strawberry Shortcake kept collapsing on the doorway. I shoved one 2 year old out the door, yelling for a parent to grab her and the other child had a death grip on my neck so I had to head out the door with her.

Side note: if you've ever been on a moonwalk lately, the doors really lack in size. They are so tiny and you really have to squeeze to get out. Not a graceful entrance or exit.

So I'm trying to get out the door head first. That was my big mistake. There was no air on the step right out side the door and it was just collapsing on the ground every time I tried to squeeze out. I think I could have made it if the baby wasn't climping up my neck and the others in the moonwalk would have stopped jumping for just 2 minutes. But no. It was so much funnier to keep jumping and laughing and pointing. I get out on the step and was bounced into the grass face first. Grass is not as tasty as you think, especially when it's mixed with mud. Thankfully the child had made her way around to my back so she was not injured. What was injured was my pride because the jumpers were laughing and the collapsing of the moonwalk had drawn the attention of all the other partiers and they were sitting around the tables watching my try to get out with two kids. Did they help? Absolutely not. They were too busy laughing to get up.

The lesson learned. Don't get out of a moonwalk head first when there's not much air in it and you have children hanging all over you and others are still jumping.

The moonwalk was hooked properly back up to the air compressor and it's amazing how well you can jump when it has air in it.



I keep trying to pack for my trip to Italy. Yes, that's right, I'm going to Italy!!! I have tried to get things together for the past 3 days with no avail. I keep finding other things to do like cleaning the bathroom, going to a birthday party, my taxes, sleeping. It's like I'm doing every thing but what I'm supposed to be doing. Amazing how good I am at procrastinating. I wonder if it's a spiritual gift.


I've been thinking all weekend about how a Godly woman is to keep a quiet heart and then my pastor speaks on the very thing this morning in his sermon. Elisabeth Elliott had a great quote and also quoted Amy Carmichael about this very thing.

"Jesus slept on a pillow in the midst of a raging storm. How could He? The terrified disciples, sure that the next wave would send them straight to the bottom, shook Him awake with rebuke. How could He be so careless of their fate? He could because He slept in the calm assurance that His Father was in control. He was a quiet heart." Elisabeth Elliott
"Thou art the Lord who slept upon the pillow,
Thou ar the Lord who soothed the furious sea,
What matter beating wind and tossing billow
If only we are in the boat with Thee?

Hold us in quiet through the age-loing minute
While Thou art silent, and the wind is shrill:
Can the boat sink while Thou, dear Lord, art in it?
Can the heart faint that waiteth on Thy will?" Amy Carmichael

Oh to have that quiet heart and peacefully rests in Him through all situations. Even the storms. Especially the storms.

And it was such a peaceful ending to a fun-filled, crazy weekend to know that I can have a quiet heart. I just have to rest.