I Was Born With Them

We partook of a high and holy ceremony this past weekend, two of our dear friends made their marriage vows under an ancient sprawled-out tree at a Lancaster, Pennsylvania winery and the sun was descending at just the right time for the rays to break through and shine between all the branches. The whole scene was lit-to-bursting with Glory Be. After their pledging sacrament, we celebrated here on earth the way we imagined God and all the angels were partying on the other side of the veil. But—NO doubt—the best part of the entire event was watching our three boys and their from-birth friends CUT. IT. UP. on the dance floor. I mean, they didn’t quit for two hours and Seth even said after, “Me and Eli kept wanting to take a break, but then another good song would come on and we just couldn’t stop dancing!” GAH! They “couldn’t stop dancing” and my heart couldn’t stop bursting with smiles and joy while watching their totally uninhibited freedom of motion – limbs flying, souls soaring.

When Seth was asked by a friend of mine: “Where did you get all your awesome moves?”, he replied, “I was born with them.” And truer words have never been spoken. Isn’t every one of us born with all the moves we need for the unbridled kind of dancing (and living), before the world with it’s systems and boxes and rules and institutions and lies dry them out and bind them up?

I am just so much HAPPY that their young bodies can still feel all the good moves they were born with and I pray so big to know how to nurture those moves so they don’t get dead and gone.

These videos are dark and blurry and bouncy, but they still might bring your heart some joy. Seth is wearing a green shirt with black vest and his best friend Eli is right there with him in his white shirt and black tie. The other boys are being crazy all around too. Enjoy!

I Am My Children’s Priest(ess)

It was the first thing I did when we started our at-home learning this year, I grabbed their three fledgling hearts and circled them with me on the living room rug and then my mama-body just had all these exhort-emotions lifting up from the soul and I spoke them strong and softly fierce-like over their growing heads—purposed Spirit-words that I don’t even exactly remember now, but truly carried the essence and flavor of inspiring these God-sons into becoming more of who they are. Next to all that, I felt some big, prophetic prayers pressing against my lips and for some reason it seemed like not even another molecule of a moment should pass by without me releasing my own children into greater understanding of who God is, releasing them into more authority as His sons to minister to the Kingdom while they make their paces on this earth.

Would you follow me today over to Deeper Family for the rest of this story? The ending is so sweet and the questions are good.

A Black Friday Reflection

Their small hearts are so big with compassion and generosity and I pray so good that I can fan to brighter flame the holy emotions that already flicker inside them . . .

Love is cross-stiched straight through little-boy, God-pumping aorta and when they get the World Vision Sustainable Gift Catalog in the mail, my little-flesh-shoots come whooping from the front-porch-postbox with manly excitement and all 3 fast-talkers are shouting over each other. They beg me again, this year, if we can bake cookies to sell so they have money to feed some hungry bellies for Christmas? A mama’s smile can’t get any bigger then mine that day. They have yet to ask me for any presents for themselves and what comes first in their minds? It humbles me right to the floor. —————————–>

The rest of these words can be found over at Deeper Story today . . . Join me?

Love,

Erika

Quotable Family

“It is such a great thing to wake up and look over at you . . . I love you Erika!” ~ Austin

I heard his quiet leaving before the sun-up, the early-waking-working-man slips around like a ninja collecting clothes and various bits for the day. He’s gone and I stretch out full across the bed and miss his warmth . . . I miss his warmth just until the text message ring comes to my phone and his love words greet my still sleepy vision, ”It is such a great thing to wake up and look over at you . . . I love you Erika!”

He is so big with all the ways he his warms.

“May the breeze of Your light blow through us today, making our hearts shine.” ~ Seth

Says the 8 year old during morning prayers. His spirit is so mystical and free and sometimes I get the feeling that he has this secret deep inside, that he gets something that I don’t.

“Redemption makes everything look ordained.” ~ Erika

It was in a moment of fervency that this phrase fell out of my mouth. Austin and I were story-telling with a newer friend, revealing to him some of our marital history and the black places we had been and how we could never imagine being as good together as we are now without having traveled through the rot of our humanity toward the choice of redemption. I leaned in with all my heart and said, “I would swear to you that every dark moment, every dirty decision was ordained and I don’t even know if my theology believes that, but maybe, maybe . . . Redemption makes everything look ordained.”

“Mama, quit being such a hypocrite.” ~ Gabe

The thing about kids is, they grow up. And when they grow up, they get smarter and you can’t get away with nothin’. If they’re not exposing one fracture, their highlighting another. Excuse me while I go bandage my wounds.

“Does anyone want to know what my poop sounds like?” ~ Jude

He gets all his deep thoughts from his daddy.

The End.

Long Miles And Family Funnies

We road-tripped it to the south side of the Mason-Dixon line, leaving at 4am on a Friday morning because our 3 wee hooligans begged us to depart while it was still black out, exclaiming that adventure is better when you’re up before the sun. (Like, duh!!!) We conceded to their enthusiasm for an un-godly exit for our own reasons . . . I mean, WHO, I ask you, wants to drive through NYC and across the GW Bridge during rush hour?

Adrenaline for the kids, caffeine for the adults, we travelled through the still star-lit sky towards our holiday destination of Williamsburg, VA. My generously-giving Gramma gifted us with a timeshare at a lovely resort in the center of our nation’s “Historic Triangle”.

The following performances are examples of how the Morrison’s amuse themselves when the miles get long. You’ll notice which two of our little men crave the camera and which boy doesn’t, non-performer that he is.

Love,

E-Mo (A friend of mine decided this should be my new nickname. I’m using it to determine if I like it.)

The End.