A weekly list of things accomplished, enjoyed, learned, tried and remembered.
1.Hello Neighbor. My younger son, Grayson has a new obsession. It’s all about this– new to him– video game called Hello Neighbor. We let him buy it with some money he received back in July and it has been the topic of everything that comes out of his mouth since then. Hello Neighbor this, Hello Neighbor that. He will work it into ANY and EVERY conversation. “What did you do at school today, Grayson?” “Oh, just some stuff. Did you know that in Hello Neighbor you can……?” He even had me order him a Hello Neighbor backpack for school AND he wants to be the main character of the game for Halloween this year.
It’s rated E for everyone, but it’s one of those video games that kind of skates the line of what I think is appropriate for kids or not. It’s all about trying to sneak into this guy’s house to collect keys, get into various rooms and accomplish various tasks. The main character’s name is Mart and he’s a bit of a shady character–he has coffins in his basement and a sketchy back story about his wife and kids. It’s unclear if Mart is a serial killer or just a weird guy that collects some suspicious looking things. While you’re trying to sneak into his house, he’s wandering around and he will often “catch” you. It kind of has a horror movie type feel, but there’s no blood or murdering or anything like that. Just—like I said—kind of skates that line. Both my boys love it. If you want to know more about it, just come on over–Grayson will give you an ear full.
2.The scariest place in my house. Every year, at some point, I am forced to do a chore I dread more than anything else on this planet. To me it’s worse than watching a horror movie, going to a haunted house, or being stalked by a serial killer….it’s cleaning out my window wells. I get the willies just thinking about it. I seriously have to spend about a week mustering myself up to get in there and get it done. I bathe every square inch of each window well with the most powerful bug killer I can find before I will even THINK about setting foot in one. Nothing makes me hyperventilate more than if I even glimpse a rustling leaf or feel the slightest touch of something on my skin. All I can picture is this:
After each one is complete and I have not been attacked, bitten or slithered upon–I breathe a small sigh of relief. I would pay serious money to never, never, never, EVER have to do this again.
3.Decisions to make, anxiety and worry, the power of prayer, and the counsel of a good friend. A couple of weeks ago brought us to a major fork in the road. We were given a major life decision to make and only 48 hours to make it. Super Rockstar and I did everything we knew to do–we asked friends to pray for us, we weighed the pros and cons, and we prayed together. This was nothing life-threatening, but we both felt the weight of not wanting to get this one wrong. The choice was excruciating –one way would mean things will probably stay the same and the other would mean making a HUGE change for us–but would it be for the better? We just couldn’t figure it out. I would have given ANYTHING for God to just make it plain–heck even speak through my dog, Barney (THAT would have gotten my attention).
And then–we remembered a dear pastor/friend of ours that we hadn’t seen for a while. We have always known him to speak wisdom and if we ever needed some–now was the time. So, Super Rockstar invited him to lunch. Their conversation about this issue that we had been wrestling over for DAYS– lasted all of about 5 minutes. He simply asked a question that neither of us had considered and–quite honestly–should have been the first thing we thought of. “Would making this other choice cause you to violate your faith in God in any way?”
We realized that in fact–it could potentially require that of Super Rockstar. The answer became crystal clear and I cannot even tell you the relief that washed over us as soon as we realized this. I think in our heart of hearts we knew the right answer–but, couldn’t quite put our finger on why. We needed a why and God blessed us with it through the counsel of a friend. I think we both felt a little sheepish that this had been the last thing we had even considered in this situation. But, I’ll tell you–it will be the first question I ask next time. Even though God didn’t use Barney to speak His truth this time–maybe some day He will. Although Barney would have to actually be awake for two minutes for that to happen–so I’m not optimistic.
4. FOOTBALL! It’s time, it’s time, it’s TIME!!! Football season is FINALLY here! I know you all are DYING to hear all about America’s Team–The Cowboys. So, I’ll make sure I give you detailed updates all throughout the season. Even though we live deep in the heart of Broncos country and I was born in Kansas–home of the Chiefs, the Cowboys are my team. My grandparents were Cowboys fans, my Mom is a Cowboys fan (although the Chiefs are her main team), and I married a diehard Cowboys fan. I am a realist when it comes to my team–you will never hear me say anything that is untrue such as: “I think we’ll have a winning season this year!” or “This game is won!”–even when there are only 30 seconds left and they are up by two scores. Whomever you are cheering for this season, I hope they win. Unless they are playing the Cowboys–then I hope we CRUSH YOUR DREAMS! Just kidding! (not really) Go Cowboys!
Have a great week!