He stamped you good!



The Byrd genes are super-powerful. Every one of our five beautiful children look like their dad. By the time our fifth was born, I pretended to see myself in her. In fact, we told everyone that she was a brunette like her mom. (Her hair was one shade darker than the bleached-white-sheets-brightness of her siblings). Julia believed us, used a brown crayon for self-portraits, and reported that she had brown hair until she was in 3rd grade. Who were we kidding? She was another mini Dave.

When the kids were little, their hair was towhead white. With my brown hair, lack of defined chin, and itty bitty nose, there wasn't a great resemblance. I was often asked if I was their au pair. "No, older sister," I would joke. Haha. But put them with their father, oh my! There was no doubting which gene pool they swam out of.

I'm not the only one who notices the strong Byrd genes. Listen to what happened this week! Both of our 15-year-old twin boys work at Chick-Fil-A. (When they both are at the counter, it's amusing for staff and customers alike!) The other day, Danny was working at the counter when a man came up to order. He said, "Is your father David Byrd?" Danny nodded and said, "How did you know?" The man, a pharaceutical rep like Dave, said, "'Cause he stamped you good!" I love that. Danny's dad stamped him good. Anyone who knows the father can recognize the son...or daughter.
I wonder if you think your heavenly father "stamped you good." Consider Genesis. As mankind was being designed, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit have a little conversation. An excerpt:

"Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness." (Genesis 1:26a). And He did. "So God created man in his own image, in the image of god he created him; male and female he created them." (Genesis 1:27).

He stamped us good. I can't explain what God looks like, or even scratch the surface of what it truly means to be made in the image of God. But I know it's a good thing. It's as good as a boy looking like his dad. I want to be known by my Father, too. The highest compliment I believe we can pay is "I see the Lord in you." Lord, let it be.

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You were always on my mind


Don't picture Willie Nelson when you hear that. I think it's what God wants to assure each of us. We are always on his mind. We are the apple of his eye. He loves us with a crazy and extravagent love. It's hard to comprehend. Constant, unwavering, unconditional love is really hard for our puny brains to grasp.

Think about it. Is there anything that is always at the forefront of your mind? Or can you be easily distracted? I'll put myself in the easily distractable category. I rarely finish a project, a book, a load of laundry from start to finish without one or one hundred interruptions. Therefore, nothing is always on my mind.

I read this book by a monk, Brother Lawrence. It's called Practicing the Presence. Brother Lawrence trained himself to always be aware that he was in God's presence. I felt envy..and disdain. Envy, because I would like to be a monk with nothing else to do but feel God's presence. Disdain because, COME ON, how hard was it for him? Brother Lawrence had nothing on his mind but God and a bushel basket of potatos to peel. He wasn't bothered by school supplies, school uniform changes, overdraft protection, poison ivy, smart-alecky kids, Facebook, what's-for-dinner, or really, anything. What a life.

God is not distracted or even distractable. That's an accusation that is often thrown out. People seem to think God is taking His eye off the ball. "Where was God when this happened?" We act as if He stepped out for a latte and gosh darn it, a tsunami came and took away the population of an entire island while He was not looking. God is not like us. He is not distracted. He can keep me always on His mind, and you always on His mind, and everyone...all at the same time. We just can't understand how that would be. But it's the Truth.

Zephaniah 3:17
The LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing.

I love this Scripture. God is with you...whether you practice His presence or not, He is there. Whether you love Him back, or have just a nodding aquaintance with Him, He's there. And He's not going anywhere.
He is mighty to save. He takes great delight in you. Not small delight, or gets-a-kick-out-of-you. GREAT DELIGHT! You are His favorite. He knows you are worried. That's why He promises to quiet you with his love. And best of all, He rejoices over you...

I can scarcely absorb that Truth. And when you look up "rejoice" in the original Hebrew, it means, "to spin around, to be glad and joyful." Wow, He's not kidding around. He's rejoicing!

Over you! And me!
Lord, I pray that you help us see the truth in these promises and feel your love more and more every day.

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Advanced Awareness

In the movie Next, Nicholas Cage can see 2 minutes into the future. That's it...two minutes. But he changes his life in those seconds. For instance, he imagines different ways to approach a woman he's noticed. Because he can see two minutes ahead, he pictures what won't work with her. He imagines at least ten scenarios until he happens upon the right one. Needless to say, he gets the girl.

Likewise, he avoids the punch. He stops the car. He holds his tongue. All because he has what he calls "Advanced Awareness."

I can't stop thinking about Advanced Awareness. How would my life change if I had it? And how would yours? Avoiding accidents, of course, is a biggie. Not saying things that I've said, and regretted, comes in close second. A restraining hand, or a gentle nudge, would really make a difference in my life.

Now clearly God has Advanced Awareness. Nothing is a surprise to God. He knows everything about, well, everything. Job 28:23-24 says,
God understands the way to (wisdom) and he alone knows where it dwells,
for he views the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.

We may not be able to see past dinner tonight, but God can. He loves us, so He sent us a helper. (He knew we'd need some help!) So the God of the Universe allowed for believers to have some Advanced Awareness. He sent us the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will fill in the blanks.

Jesus himself tells us how it's going to work in John 16:12-15.

"I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you."

Let's review. We can't see the future. But God can. And He sent a helper, the Holy Spirit, to guide us. The Holy Spirit will tell us what he hears from God, and tell us what is yet to come. And that will bring glory to Christ.

Advanced Awareness. You don't have to see it in a movie. We can have it...if only we Believe...Listen...and Obey.


Now, do you think Nic Cage knew the movie would be a big flop? Just wondering....






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Just don't feel like workin'






"I've got plenty to do at home, but I'm sick of it all." I agree! The words rang so true, from the lips of the lady next to me at the Blood Drive, that I casually wrote them on the back of a WalMart receipt. She was a wonderful chatterbox. She confessed that retirement was too much work, so she returned to Work. She told me she didn't care for the chores she had at home. She could keep busy there, but simply didn't feel like it.

Man, can I relate! Every day, my mind flips through tasks like cards in a deck. Laundry...dishes....shop...clean....pay...wash...fold....repeat! Flip, flip, flip.

Nope, don't feel like doing ANY of those things. My dear friend Amy used to say she'd come visiting to "flee the scene of my own life." Yup, that sounds just about right.

Life can just be so darn daily and exhausting. Especially the "repeat" part. Is it even worth it? Replace a toilet paper roll, but it won't be the last time. Buy milk so often, you price out a cow and find it'd be a bargain. Dust bunnies reproduce overnight in a suspiciously fertile way. It's enough to make a grown woman cry.

Yet tonight I heard another quote, and it lifted me up. "The work of a home is love made visible." Love made visible. Now that sounds downright inspiring. Important. Life-changing.

It's okay to be tired, just don't give up. Push on, even though you don't feel like it. And take heart knowing you are not alone. Most of us don't feel like it, either. And that's okay.

PS. As I was getting ready to post this, I spilled a someone's half-full Diet Root Beer in the family room. Of course it spilled stickily on the carpet that we just paid hundreds of dollars to Stanley Steamer for cleaning. Don't get weary, Martie, don't get weary!



Galatians 6:9
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

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No Time for a Prodigy






As Seen in the July Issue of Bella Magazine

Recently I took time away from my busy laundry schedule to drive a bunch of sophomores on a field trip.

We went to the ballet. I sat in between two of my favorite lively 10th graders…Mark on my left, Alex on my right. Alex is my oldest son. He’s not yet 17 but he has way more facial hair than American Idol’s David Archuletta, and a much deeper voice, too. I imagined this seating arrangement would keep everyone happy and I waved merrily to the other chaperones as the show began.

To introduce the production, the Director called out some Tiny Dancers. They were in elementary school but announced that they had been dancing for years and years…and years.
As the lights dimmed, Alex leaned over to me and dropped this bomb. “I could have been something, you know. If only you had encouraged me, I would have been good at something by now.” The curtain opened as I squeaked out, in dismay, “Did you want to dance?”

In an audible (read: REALLY LOUD AT THE BALLET) voice, he replied, “No, but I was a prodigy at gymnastics. You never encouraged me.”

For this I’m skipping my laundry duty? I fumed all the way through the performance. Is this my legacy? I’ve created scrapbooks of every report card, art project and potty training picture, but I haven’t encouraged you? Is that the accusation? I sat through decades of T-ball games, laughed at thousands of knock-knock jokes and told you I loved you every single day of your life. Not encouraging? Was it all for naught? I was speechless.

After the performance, I shared the story with two mom friends. I guess I was a teensy, eensy bit upset. I’m afraid I was ranting. “Prodigy!“ I sputtered, “We didn’t have time for a prodigy!“ The moms laughed at my declaration. One friend, let’s call her Mrs. Smith, said,
“You didn’t have TIME for a PRODIGY! HAHAHAH! Good one! You are hilarious!”

Here’s the thing. I wasn’t kidding.

We had five kids in 6 ½ years. Alex really was a gifted young athlete. He sat up at 3 months old, no kidding. At nine months old, he scaled the toy cupboard. I counted to three, meaning, “You’re in trouble now, buster.” When I got to three, he jumped. He was fearless.

At age two, he could do the hand-over-hand at the playground. Without diapers, he was so skinny his pants fell down around his ankles. He kept going. His dad and I watched crowds form. One kids yelled, “Hey, it’s Amazing Boy! That kid is amazing!” We still call him Amazing Boy around the house. With different parents, and fewer siblings, he could be on his way to the Olympics right now. But that was not to be.

I’m sorry, Alex. You are the oldest of five. We simply had no time for a prodigy. Breakfast, lunch and dinner consumed all of our energy for years. Now it’s up to you to shine. If you are going to be stellar at something, it’s going to have to start now, when you can drive yourself there. Yes, you heard me. Now that you have a driver’s license, feel free to Go for the Gold. Just consider this. If your Pursuit of Prodigy is going to be expensive, you’d better get a second job. Mom is just trying to keep gas in the tank, you know what I mean?

No time for a prodigy. I’m serious. Both Dave and I decided early on that we were okay with Slightly Above Mediocre for our darlings. We don’t have a smidgen of Stage Mom or Dad in our DNA. Those dedicated parents who get up at 4 am to drive their child to an audition in Manhattan? No, that wouldn’t be us. The ones who sit at the ice rink freezing to death for years on end? Nope, can’t hack it. The parents who consider an outing to be a trip to the library and perhaps a soft-serve cone? Now that’s more like it.

Now that the teens are getting older, however, I’m ready for evidence of excellence. I tried to explain to dear Alex that he can still be a prodigy. He’s in the early chapters of his life story. Be a prodigy all you want! Go ahead and excel at something. And when you succeed, please don’t blame your poor mother who simply did the best she could.

When confronted with this article, Alex said, “Oh Mom, I was only kidding.”

I’d like that in writing, please.

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Books on my Bedside Table

  • The Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng
  • A Mountain Too Far by Karl Purnell
  • Tents in the Clouds by Jackson & Stark
  • The Relationship Principles of Jesus by Tom Holladay
  • Twisting the Truth by Andy Stanley
  • Anna Karenina

    Favorite Bible Verse of All Time

    Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

    Psalm 90:12

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