Healthy Toys

I was surprised to discover the toys deemed safe, and those considered very unhealthy for our young ones.  One in every three of the more than 1,500 children's toys tested in time for the holiday shopping season have been found to contain medium or high levels of chemicals of concern, such as: lead, mercury, cadmium and arsenic. 

Children's jewelry remains the most contaminated product category, maintaining its spot at the top of HealthyToys.org's "worst" list for a second year (including High School Musical and Hannah Montana jewelry).

Read a news article on the findings at http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2008/12/03-2.

Look up toys and statistics at http://www.HealthyToys.org.

Sabbath Rest...Really?

Life with kids is abundant and joyful.  It also feels relentlessly hectic. Balancing schedules and needs is no small daily task.  We were just invited to four kid birthday parties this month (not to mention Amos' first birthday).  I feel both gratitude for the many friendships that hem us in, as well as concern over the plethora of good things that fill our lives.  Concern because too many things - even good things - can crowd out God's voice and rest for us.

And then there are the too many not good things.    Poor choices of loved ones that drain and worry us.  Strained relationships. Our own mistakes and shortcomings.  And then there's the annoyance of illness, which has been no stranger to us.  Jeremy wasn't too well last week.  Days on end of nausea.  Then Amos began vomiting on Friday. Eli and I joined him on Saturday, and Jeremy took care of the three of us.  Good man indeed.  It's now Monday night, and we're just beginning to perk up.  The boys quicker than me or Jeremy.  I nearly pass out every time I stand up, and am on a steady chicken broth & gatorade diet. Jeremy is badly sleep-deprived.  Not one of our family's better moments, at least from our perspective.

Today I got to thinking about Sabbath, about taking deliberate time to rest and just be with God, and with each other.  I felt cynical at first.  It's hard enough to make the Sabbath a priority in our normal routines, to care out rest space that is freeing and restorative.  How can we possibly do it with these unannounced interruptions?  With emergencies and stomach flu?  Sabbath rest...really?  Yes.  It is the unending invitation from our Creator since He showed us what rest looks like in his own creative work.  It is the invitation and call to be refueled by the One who knows us best and knows what we need most.  

I think Sabbath must become a rhythm of life.  Each day must contain moments of rest, of reflection, of living very presently with God and those around us.  The weekly day rhythm (found in the 10 commandments) is also a necessity as well.  But sometimes, people like me have to start small.

So today, in the midst of having been inside and feeling yucky too long.  I rested as I held Amos in my arms.  I enjoyed doing nothing but playing with Eli's hair as he watched a video.  I allowed myself to sleep while the boys were sleeping.  And we'll try to carve out a day of rest this coming weekend, as we had last weekend until we all got sick.  Life is so complicated, it forces us to be deliberate in reclaiming the values God has for our lives.  And I am so grateful we love and are loved by a God who longs for us to be enveloped in his rest.

For further thoughts on Sabbath check out: http://www.christianitytoday.com/childrensministry/articles/daysetapart.html.

Depleted Immunities

Sick again? Yes, sick again. Since the entrance of children into my life, there has been a steady stream of fluids - snot, saliva, drool - that make their way to my left shoulder and skirt hems, as well as blanketing my face, daily. I generally don't have time to be sick, and therefore will myself not to be. Sort of the way I willed myself not to vomit through my entire pregnancy and labor with Eli (my will had waned by the time Amos came along).

But here I am, sick again. I saw the doctor yesterday after flirting with symptoms a month and being officially ill a week with on-and-off fevers, headaches, dizziness, sore throat, ear pain, coughing, body aches, sinus pain, and finally, laryngitis. After tests confirmed that I did not have mono (score) and am not pregnant (double score given the double scooters), it seems I have a complicated cold and nasty sinus infection. What better day to start a blog?

What better day to also ponder the greats in the faith? I think specifically of great medieval men and women serving in the monastic tradition, caring for others in dark times such as the black plague, while needing to nurse their own illnesses as well. I am a bad sick person. I torture myself by pondering their lives when I feel too sick and self-pitied to get out of bed. Catherine of Siena tirelessly cared for others in poverty and grotesque physical ailments. I think about her a lot when I am wishing I had more strength in me to carry the ailments of everyone in my life. But then I remember, she didn't live past 31. I hope to have a long life. And then I also remember, Catherine knew she wasn't the Savior, just an extension of his power, and I better keep that knowledge straight too.

So here are my questions: what does self-care look like for the life of a parent who cares more about snuggling with a sick child than preserving herself? How do we stretch our arms beyond our immediate family unit to care for the wider body of humans - both inside and outside the church - who need us and to whom we are called? What role does spiritual and emotional exhaustion play in our depleted physical capacities?

I have to admit, the last few months have been long and wearying for me. There has been little space for me to refresh myself in the One who pours out living water for thirsty followers. The depleted immunities of my body are an external snapshot of the depleted immunities in my soul right now. I always feel compelled to serve others. Serve my kids, make my calls, schedule another meeting with someone to talk. But I want to serve God from a wellspring of love and abundance, not human scarcity. And on this sick day, I am led back to the God who restores immunities.

For another tidbit on Catherine of Siena, and some good words on being at home with ourselves, check out: http://www.christianitytoday.com/childrensministry/articles/beingathome.html.