It's all just puzzling.

Have you ever taught a child how to do a puzzle? A few years ago, I taught my then four year old son Joshua how to do his first “big” puzzle. It was only 24 pieces, but for a four year old, it was a truly daunting task. No fear, I said, the first thing you need to do is find all the edges….put those together and the puzzle gets much easier. The next thing to do is find all the pieces that make something like Spiderman or Batman (his favorite characters). Then after that you have all the extra pieces like the pieces of the sky or the ground. They're harder, but if you get the more important pieces done first…..putting the puzzle together will be so much easier.

Now, on Saturday, I am doing an icebreaker for the women at my church. We’re putting puzzles together to show how important it is to participate in women’s ministry. It got be thinking about a ton of different analogies.

1. Ever look at a good puzzle piece? Some have smooth sides, but many have holes, circles, and squares cut into it. Ever feel like God is just filling your life with holes? He’s just cutting into you with one tragedy after another? Take heart, dear one, God is creating you into His most perfect puzzle piece. You may not know now, but you are part of God’s most perfect plan…..the most beautiful puzzle in the world.

2. Ever feel like the unimportant piece? You see all those women out there teaching Bible studies, leading groups, and other such important services. Yes, those services are so important and often, they stand out to so many people. I suppose you could call them the edges of our puzzle. Still, I am going to do something, mmmmm, shall we say, not nice, to my little group. I am going to take out one of those “secondary” pieces. Maybe a piece of sky or ocean. I am sure it going to cause mayhem as there will be four groups racing to get their puzzles done. There will really be no winners….I am actually a bit nervous. There are some seriously competitive women there that I am afraid will be quite upset and even angry at me. Frustration may abound…..thank goodness they have to be forgiving. After all, the pastor’s wife will be there. ;-)

Anyway, you see, I run this playgroup for my church. There have been problems with my little playgroup called PEP (Pray, Encourage, Play), and there have been so many times that I have just wanted to give up. I would tell my husband and others quite frankly…it’s just a playgroup, it doesn’t really matter…..it’s not like a Bible study or even a Sunday School class…..it’s just a playgroup. Shoot, it almost became a mantra for me. But then, thinking about my little ice breaker, I thought, it’s not JUST a playgroup, it’s God’s playgroup….and He has a reason for me facilitating it…..God never uses me for nothing. He has a plan for that little playgroup….a plan for good. So, yes, my playgroup may be a blue piece of God’s puzzle for my church, BUT since it’s HIS group, I need to serve in it joyfully and thankfully knowing that it will bring God glory. The thought itself almost made me fall down right in my kitchen and beg for forgiveness….

3. Finally, know this, no matter what puzzle piece you are, and we are all one….after all, God put all of the place that we are at for a reason, without you, the puzzle won’t be complete….

So there’s my thoughts on puzzles……It’s amazing that such a little toy can have such a profound influence on my life, Kind of like how just my little playgroup may have a profound influence on someone in that little group. Stay the course my friends, and if you’re not in the race….jump in!!

Blessings to all who read,

Laurie

Help, I'm being held hostage by a potty chair!!

OK, so did you ever wish that God would include an instruction booklet with each child when they're born? Not a generic one like you can buy at Walmart, but one that will tell you the exact way to comfort your crying child, feed him or her, "sleeptrain", and oh yes, what I am currently going through right now....."potty training". Can you picture it? Maybe, Kyla's would read something like this....

Congratulations, I have blessed you with a brand new baby girl. Now, I let you pick out the name (with of course a little help from me), but I thought, being the most awesome God that I am, I would give you a few other tips. Your daughter, Kyla, will not sleep for the next six months. Don't try to soothe her with perfumed blankets, loud noise, or her daddy. All she will really want is you to feed her every two hours or so, but take heart, at around six months, she will get the hang of it all on her own and will blissfully put herself to sleep with little help from you. What was once your "screaming nightmare" will turn into the girl of your dreams......

And so said letter would go....you knowing every detail without wondering if you should listen to Ms. "Really Knows Everything's" advice or you should just let it go with your gut instinct or throw all that away and just cry. Now, why am I musing about such things so early in the new year? Well, as I said in the title, I am now being held hostage, once again, by the potty chair. My daughter, although rather young to me (neither of the boys even looked at a potty chair at this age) has decided to rip her diaper off as soon as she has well.....soiled it. Thus, after numerous rather....well, yucky? incidents, I have decided to give this whole potty thing a try. And so we sit and wait and wait and wait, playing games, reading books, and playing with toys in a room that really was not made for such goings-on in hope that Kyla will get the hang of this whole potty thing once and for all.


Still, I wonder, is it the right time? Is it too early? Does she really understand? Is she ready? Am I using the right little gimmick (currently M&Ms) or should I use gimmicks at all? Should I wait and hope that my daughter will be one of those rare children who will just figure it out on her own? *Sigh*, Oh how I wish for my little instruction book. But, God knows best.....and, knowing us, it would have gotten lost or thrown away anyway.

Ooops, gotta, go. Had a brief break, but my captor is calling again.....