25 1/2 Gallons

25 1/2 gallons of paint and primer later and all the painting at the house is finished. Well except a little from the moving in and laying of new carpet. So now I have no excuse to not have all the boxes unpacked. Well except for the fact that I am still parenting a very head strong 3 year old and a clingy 1 year old. I know some of that is their personality, but I also feel some of it is the chaos they have been living in. So the chaos caused by the boxes is hard to put to rest with the children under foot, but if I could get it all done they would most likely be under foot less. It is kind of a vicious cycle. That is what has reminded me lately about all the cycles that make up life. Like I used to tell the first graders I taught cycles are like circles, one event leads to the next. A cycle that is not one I like to concentrate on is the cycle of sin. Usually we make a bad choice which puts us on the cycle and one sin leads to another. Not a fun cycle to be in, and that is exactly what Kyle and I have been trying to get across to Landon. One bad choice often leads to another and eventually we are really far from where we want to be.

At church I was reminded that even though this life has lots of little cycles we find our selves in (the seasons, daily routines, etc) the big picture really isn't a cycle or circle at all. We have a place we are all heading to and we won't have to cycle back through this life. We will all live eternally with God or without. I am glad that once I leave and am in Heaven I don't have to cycle back through and see if I can do it better. Now don't get me wrong sometimes at the end of the day I wish I had a do over, but overall once is enough for me. The scary reality though is that not only will I not have to do this life over, my neighbors, friends, and family that don't know Christ won't get a second chance either. There are no do overs. So I have a renewed desire to pray for and share with those around me that Christ loves them and He is their salvation. So even though heaven is going to be great, I know God has me here for a purpose to bring glory to Him and in doing so bring others to Him. Which for me today is going to start by loving on my children by getting their house in order so it can be their home. Then we will run some errands and who knows how God will have us share His love with those we meet.

The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. Galations 5:6

Now back to the boxes...I promise pictures of the house are coming soon.