I'm pretty excited! This blog can now be read at leannepenny.com. Quick and Easy to remember, if you can remember how to spell my name. So tell your friends, leannepenny.com is the place to be. I'm surely going to rent a sky writer and some billboards later this week, but for now I'll start small.
This morning at the Casa de Penny there was an epic battle, a saga of good vs evil that draws so many biblical parallels you can probably count it as your devos for the day. It has rainbows and snakes, mystery and victory and even people dancing in their underwear! So grab a cup of coffee and prepare yourself.
This morning started like any other morning at the casa, with one small difference. Rain. As the sun came up I noticed that our patio was wet, which can only mean one thing. Unbeknownst to us as we slumbered, it rained. Which if you read my post a few week ago, you know has been ridiculously rare this summer. As we were wrapping up breakfast I lifted the shades a bit and noticed a huge rainbow stretching from one end of the sky to the other. It appeared as though it started in a far away land and ended right in our pond. In our excitement we took the kids out to the patio to show them a real live rainbow, which turned into our 2 year old dancing around in the drizzle in nothing but her diaper.
It was one of "those moments" and for once I was aware of the momentary beauty going on around me. I grabbed my coffee and held my baby boy as he watched his sister play and dance in the backyard. As I enjoyed the rainbow, I couldn't help but drift to Gods faithfulness from the days of Noah to now. He picked a pretty great way of reminding us, nice job in the rainbow department God.
As I sat there on our patio in bliss I had no idea that the makings of an epic battle were beginning behind me in our living room. My dreamy moment was cut short as my husband, Kel, opened the door and uttered the words no one wants to hear and everyone dreads. "Hey Baby? I found a snake in the living room. I'm going to go take care of it" He made his report and returned to the front to vanquish the beast. I frowned but decided to continue enjoying my rainbow moment as best I could. The gauntlet had been thrown and I had complete faith that my man was on the job and that our home would be snake free in a moment or two. I was thinking Frodo vs Sauron, Harry vs Voldemort and other very nerdy thoughts as I imagined Kel beheading the sake and raising it above his head victoriously. Yes our house would be safe and snake free in seconds. I should buy that man a sword or something.
A few moments later, even worse news came. "Baby, I can't find him anymore, maybe I never saw a snake." But he did see a snake, and it had disappeared in our house where it would cause me pretty intense anxiety and stress until it was evicted from the casa. How was I supposed to have a day with our kids in our house with a snake? That snake must be found, and either killed or put in a gunnysack and driven to a remote location where it would be swung in the air until dizzy and then dumped in a field. Clearly these are the only two options. However victory was still elusive because the snake had gone undercover.
I think so often I find myself in situations like this in life. There I am enjoying a rainbow moment and a snake pops up and ruins it for me. And rightfully so, because you can't just let snakes roam about in your life. You have to find them and kick them right out. Sometimes our snakes are addictions and bad habits, painful circumstances or broken relationships in need of repair. It is very tempting to pretend they never happened and try to go about with life as usual instead of dealing with them. Here's the thing: You can't comfortably live with a snake in the metaphorical living room of your life, I mean it's aptly named isn't it? The living room? It's the room where you do life. It needs to be as snake free as possible. You can't very well enjoy a good episode of Grey's Anatomy or Cupcake Wars with a carpet swimming with snakes.
So you have to pick up your snake killing tools, this morning my husband used a pair of turquoise tongs and a steamer bowl, but you should use whatever tools you have in your personal arsenal. If you know you have snakes, arm yourself accordingly and go in swinging. Snaky problems and issues have to be dealt with, because like a snake in your house, they will just pop up at inopportune moments and ruin things for you.
Here are some tools that I keep in my metaphorical snake killing arsenal.
1) Community: Don't even try to deal with snakes on your own, call a friend, confess the issue and get encouragement, wisdom and advice. Ask for accountability and prayer. Do it. Do it now.
2) Time with God: So often I don't want to go to God with my issues because I would much rather ignore them than drag them out in prayer or on paper. If I talk to God about them they become so much more real. However when I do bring them out, however painful that process may be, my snakes get smaller and more manageable and they go from rattlesnakes to glorified shoe-strings types. It always makes me wonder why I didn't go to God in the first place. Every time.
3) Solid teaching: Some people who follow Jesus avoid church. Which is not great. I have been convicted and brought to tears at church in the middle of many battles in my life. Those days where I am tempted not to go to church are almost always the days I need to be there the most. If you are hurting because of a bad church experience, start by pod-casting a teaching until you deal and heal from the snake bite that's keeping you away.
4) Quiet Reflection: I recommend a glass of wine in the bathtub as a perfect place to plot your snake killing plan, but maybe you are more of a walk in the park type. And that's okay too we can still be friends, but you need to think things through. So find your zen place and spend some time there.
So lets all grab our bright turquoise tongs and kick out a few snakes.
Oh and by the way, Kel did end up getting the little guy, tonging him and sending him packing. Sadly there were no gunnysacks or rides in the trunk of the car. But, he did take him all the way across the street where he will never bother us again. Hopefully.
So there you have it. A pretty exciting start to our week. So, what snakes do you have creeping around in the corners of your living room? I pray that this week you have the strength to find them and that God gives you the bravery needed to vanquish them. Find your inner warrior friend, and thank you for reading. I am so thankful for you and I pray that God helps you make this a week of Joy.
Those are my thoughts, a penny for yours?
This morning at the Casa de Penny there was an epic battle, a saga of good vs evil that draws so many biblical parallels you can probably count it as your devos for the day. It has rainbows and snakes, mystery and victory and even people dancing in their underwear! So grab a cup of coffee and prepare yourself.
This morning started like any other morning at the casa, with one small difference. Rain. As the sun came up I noticed that our patio was wet, which can only mean one thing. Unbeknownst to us as we slumbered, it rained. Which if you read my post a few week ago, you know has been ridiculously rare this summer. As we were wrapping up breakfast I lifted the shades a bit and noticed a huge rainbow stretching from one end of the sky to the other. It appeared as though it started in a far away land and ended right in our pond. In our excitement we took the kids out to the patio to show them a real live rainbow, which turned into our 2 year old dancing around in the drizzle in nothing but her diaper.
 |
| The most glorious rainbow ever! |
It was one of "those moments" and for once I was aware of the momentary beauty going on around me. I grabbed my coffee and held my baby boy as he watched his sister play and dance in the backyard. As I enjoyed the rainbow, I couldn't help but drift to Gods faithfulness from the days of Noah to now. He picked a pretty great way of reminding us, nice job in the rainbow department God.
As I sat there on our patio in bliss I had no idea that the makings of an epic battle were beginning behind me in our living room. My dreamy moment was cut short as my husband, Kel, opened the door and uttered the words no one wants to hear and everyone dreads. "Hey Baby? I found a snake in the living room. I'm going to go take care of it" He made his report and returned to the front to vanquish the beast. I frowned but decided to continue enjoying my rainbow moment as best I could. The gauntlet had been thrown and I had complete faith that my man was on the job and that our home would be snake free in a moment or two. I was thinking Frodo vs Sauron, Harry vs Voldemort and other very nerdy thoughts as I imagined Kel beheading the sake and raising it above his head victoriously. Yes our house would be safe and snake free in seconds. I should buy that man a sword or something.
A few moments later, even worse news came. "Baby, I can't find him anymore, maybe I never saw a snake." But he did see a snake, and it had disappeared in our house where it would cause me pretty intense anxiety and stress until it was evicted from the casa. How was I supposed to have a day with our kids in our house with a snake? That snake must be found, and either killed or put in a gunnysack and driven to a remote location where it would be swung in the air until dizzy and then dumped in a field. Clearly these are the only two options. However victory was still elusive because the snake had gone undercover.
I think so often I find myself in situations like this in life. There I am enjoying a rainbow moment and a snake pops up and ruins it for me. And rightfully so, because you can't just let snakes roam about in your life. You have to find them and kick them right out. Sometimes our snakes are addictions and bad habits, painful circumstances or broken relationships in need of repair. It is very tempting to pretend they never happened and try to go about with life as usual instead of dealing with them. Here's the thing: You can't comfortably live with a snake in the metaphorical living room of your life, I mean it's aptly named isn't it? The living room? It's the room where you do life. It needs to be as snake free as possible. You can't very well enjoy a good episode of Grey's Anatomy or Cupcake Wars with a carpet swimming with snakes.
So you have to pick up your snake killing tools, this morning my husband used a pair of turquoise tongs and a steamer bowl, but you should use whatever tools you have in your personal arsenal. If you know you have snakes, arm yourself accordingly and go in swinging. Snaky problems and issues have to be dealt with, because like a snake in your house, they will just pop up at inopportune moments and ruin things for you.
Here are some tools that I keep in my metaphorical snake killing arsenal.
1) Community: Don't even try to deal with snakes on your own, call a friend, confess the issue and get encouragement, wisdom and advice. Ask for accountability and prayer. Do it. Do it now.
2) Time with God: So often I don't want to go to God with my issues because I would much rather ignore them than drag them out in prayer or on paper. If I talk to God about them they become so much more real. However when I do bring them out, however painful that process may be, my snakes get smaller and more manageable and they go from rattlesnakes to glorified shoe-strings types. It always makes me wonder why I didn't go to God in the first place. Every time.
3) Solid teaching: Some people who follow Jesus avoid church. Which is not great. I have been convicted and brought to tears at church in the middle of many battles in my life. Those days where I am tempted not to go to church are almost always the days I need to be there the most. If you are hurting because of a bad church experience, start by pod-casting a teaching until you deal and heal from the snake bite that's keeping you away.
4) Quiet Reflection: I recommend a glass of wine in the bathtub as a perfect place to plot your snake killing plan, but maybe you are more of a walk in the park type. And that's okay too we can still be friends, but you need to think things through. So find your zen place and spend some time there.
So lets all grab our bright turquoise tongs and kick out a few snakes.
Oh and by the way, Kel did end up getting the little guy, tonging him and sending him packing. Sadly there were no gunnysacks or rides in the trunk of the car. But, he did take him all the way across the street where he will never bother us again. Hopefully.
So there you have it. A pretty exciting start to our week. So, what snakes do you have creeping around in the corners of your living room? I pray that this week you have the strength to find them and that God gives you the bravery needed to vanquish them. Find your inner warrior friend, and thank you for reading. I am so thankful for you and I pray that God helps you make this a week of Joy.
Those are my thoughts, a penny for yours?
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