Sandwiched: Soggy or Fresh?

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. 

– Matthew 11:29-10 NIV

  

The phone rings and I take a deep breath wondering who's on the other end. Is it the insurance company inquiring about our snow damage? Is it my husband asking for help at the office? Is it the nursing home or my mother needing help? Maybe it’s my child needing empathy or advice or simply my grandkids asking for a special outing?

At my weakest moments when the fatigue of caring for everyone else’s needs wreaks havoc with my emotions, I fall into my husband’s arms weeping. "Where do we turn? Who's there to care for us?"

Members of the sandwich generation are everywhere. I see them on Facebook, at the grocery store, in the doctor’s office; adult children with an aging parent on one arm and their grandchildren on the other. Our parents are living longer, thanks to better nutrition and modern medicine—three and four generations needing support simultaneously. So, just when we’re starting to enjoy our empty nests, our parents, children and grandchildren all need us. Some days caring for the older and younger generation can leave me feeling like a soggy tuna fish sandwich!

With so many people tugging at our shirtsleeves how do we keep our sanity and build healthy boundaries for our personal lives and marriage?

(Grab your cup 'o tea or coffee and join me over at Encouragement Cafe  or Crosswalk for some helpful tips).

Hey, here I AM. I love you.

The calendar reads "spring" but somehow I'm not convinced it's here, yet. I yearn for warmer temperatures, soaking up sunshine and yard work. Yes, call me crazy, but I love yard work.  It serves as my playtime, really. Digging in the dirt, creating designs on my lawn, watching nature's changes from every corner of my yard, neatening unruly bushes, and enjoying visits from the birds and butterflies thrills me. It's like playing at God's house. He lays things out there and says, "Hey, here I AM. I love you."

(I'm playing over at {re}fresh today. Grab your gardening tools and let's dig in! Just click here)

Purging the Attic

Image from addspacetoyourlife.com

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26 NIV

It's not the first time we've cleaned the attic. In fact, it's been a process over that past six years since our kids married and flew the nest. We thought we had a good handle on our "accumulated garbage" until an insulation contractor crept up the attic stairs and started poking around. 

Armed and ready we climbed up the attic steps last weekend and began hurling unwanted, broken household items out the window and filling garbage bags to overflowing. It was easy, even liberating to rid ourselves of all that unnecessary stuff. Why would anyone keep old wire hangers or old curtain rods or broken lamps? What's the use? Those things were easy to toss!

Some boxes, though, stopped us in our tracks; (Pssst! Join me for the rest of the story at Christian Children's Authors blog. Just click here.)