Emotions and Building Your Own House

Be true to yourself! Follow your heart. As you feel, so you are. To stifle, deny, or repress your emotions is not only unhealthy, it's actually dangerous.

These messages are the gospel of our culture, the good news that you not only may but must embrace how you feel and indulge it to the full.

So let's follow the line of thought to its conclusion.

Examples taken from my personal experience:

Scene 1: I feel frustrated because I can't get anything done. I snap at my kids, growl at my husband, slam around backpacks and water bottles trying to get out the door, and glare bitterly at the piles of work that taunt me with my futile efforts to make headway. In anything.

Outcome: full family misery

Scene 2: I feel needy, emotionally fragile. I wait for my husband to sense the specific tenderness and attentiveness that my soul craves. He fails, being a mere mortal. I grow silent, sullen, withdrawn. He is very confused about what the trouble could be.

Outcome: sad, disconnected evening

Scene 3: I feel industrious, ready to tackle anything. I charge into a project, getting knee-deep in work (the kind of thing that looks like a total tornado before getting better). My children come to me with tiny, insignificant matters: they need a snack, there is a squabble over a toy, they can't find their special bear. I brush them aside when possible, deal with the issues begrudgingly, ignore all that I can.

Outcome: bigger mess, tangled hearts that have not been shepherded, frustration (and loop back to Scene 1 above)

Our emotions powerfully speak to us, and they are no small part of what shapes our desires, attitudes, priorities, and responses. But they are tyrants if given mastery, and the fulfillment promised by boundlessly indulging what we feel is actually an empty one. "By what a man is overcome, to this he is enslaved" (2 Peter 2:19b).

What is the better word that the gospel of Christ brings? Nothing less than an entirely new heart.

"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).

Because we are deeply loved by Christ, because our ugly hearts have been put to death with Him and we have received new hearts with the very life of Christ, a new path is open to us.

The same strong native emotions course through us, but with the Spirit of Christ within we  see that those are not our deepest identity. And so the words of Proverbs 14:1 come to life: "The wisest of women builds her house, but folly with her own hands tears it down."

What does this look like on the ground?

Examples also taken from real life:

Scene 1: I feel frustrated because I can't get anything done. A heart check indicates that I'm craving significance through accomplishment. Truth reminds me: Christ has done it all. God is pleased with my humbly opening my hand for today's labors to receive what He is pleased to give. He knows when I need to get where I'm going. He may use the weakness of my hands and home to point to His sufficiency, even by contentment in what I can't get done. I'm still late and messy, but I'm able to walk in peace with my family and see the joy of these crazy days.

Scene 2: I feel needy, emotionally fragile. I wait for my husband to sense the specific tenderness and attentiveness that my soul craves. He fails, being a mere mortal. I quietly plead for an ability to trust God to minister what my heart needs and tell Ben that it might be a nice night to just cozy up on the couch and watch a show together because I'm tired and feeling needy. He prays for me.

Scene 3: I feel industrious, ready to tackle anything. I charge into a project, getting knee-deep in work (the kind of thing that looks like a total tornado before getting better). My children come to me with tiny, insignificant matters: they need a snack, there is a squabble over a toy, they can't find their special bear. I sigh deeply and offer up my project to God. I stop and help the boys work through their conflict and restore fellowship together. I ask for help to push through my work. I am surprised to find that I actually make some headway.

Oh friends, this is not a war we can win on our own. But the good news is, our Victor has come. We are no longer slaves to our emotions. The Shepherd of our heart may show us a new way, and we may find the grace to build our house instead of our own hands tearing it down. May it be, Lord!

First Family Dinner

Oh yes, I have a blog. I forgot there for a few months... Doh.

Without attempting to recap all I've missed, here is a new thing: Saturday Family Dinner (like a melding of Sabbath Dinner of "What Have You" acclaim and pizza night from my childhood).

Yes, we pretty much always have dinner together. And yes, Saturday was already pizza night. So what's actually new?

Well, not so very much. Special new dishes. A centerpiece. Root beer in actual glasses. The goal: re-casting Saturday dinner as a time for special enjoyment of one another, special preparation for worship at church on Sunday, special celebration of the sweet gifts of God to our family in Jesus.

It was a fun beginning. Calvin grooving in his seat to the music. The discovery of a big, industrious ant in the centerpiece flowers. Lots of homemade pizza. Chocolate syrup stains on the tablecloth. Lots of giggles over the notion of barbecue sauce-topped ice cream. All the normal shenanigans, plus a little special flavor.

It's not really a time to hone dinnertime etiquette with the cloth napkins and rare appearance of knives at each place (though wouldn't that be a pleasant by-product!). We are trying to expand our own capacity to enjoy the gifts God has put right in our laps, invest with a sense of priority and heritage in our boys, and prepare our hearts for gathering with believers and praising God on the Lord's Day. 

A joyful start to something I hope will grow richer with time.

To hear more about "Sabbath dinner," give this a listen.

The Other Addition This Summer

Calvin, of course, was the most exciting addition to our family this summer. But there was another big project that kept us busy in anticipation of his arrival: turning our attached garage into a family room.

Although I didn't do a great job chronicling the progress of the house project, here are a few mid-way photos. I have never been a part of any major house remodeling project, so this was an educational process to say the least. Nor did I realize at the start that this would be a "family participation" sport. Nor had I any previous experience mudding, taping, or sanding drywall (not to speak of the floor installation and trimwork that Ben learned/did along the way).

In the end, the extra space has been such a gift from God! And I have nearly recovered from the nervous twitch associated with the term "house project." The Lord is kind.

 The new exterior wall, which used to be a garage door

Not only did I have no previous experience with mudding and taping (what's that, anyway?), 

I also had no idea that this priceless experience required multiple coats. 

At every joint. And every screw hole.

Yes, perhaps there were some tears. #36weekspregnant

Ben, mudding and taping. Me, in the supervisory position. 

(Also shown, Calvin) #firstsummerbaby

I did get a decent dose of mudding, taping, and sanding in as well.

#withmaskandgoggles #supercute #contractions

When the mudding, taping, and sanding was done, we had a painting-blitz. The whole family room and half-bath got double coats of paint (including the ceiling) over a weekend, mostly knocked out by the superhero-like efforts of Grandad, Mr. Steve and Miss Lulu, and Ben. It made me so happy to look at those beautiful painted walls...

Next up was floor installation. We got some luxury vinyl plank flooring off craigslist, and Ben gained a new skill set in installing it. It was a bit of a mathematical puzzle, but the quantity turned out perfect, and it is so pretty!

Ben and Mr. Steve also installed window and door trim and baseboard trim. It really is a bright, comfortable, usable space, and I'm so thankful for it!

House Tour

Well, I took these photos before Thanksgiving so that our out-of-town family could get a glimpse of our house, now that we've lived here almost a year...

So, now that it's almost Christmas, here you go.
Note: Rooms are never this clean in real life.

View from front door to left

View from front door straight ahead (toward bathroom)

Living room

Loft area above living room

Victor and Josiah's room

Bathroom

Elliot's room (to the right of bathroom)

Master bedroom (across from Elliot's)

Yes, actually we do have a kitchen/dining as well and an attached garage we use as a family room. But those were not in public-viewing condition at the time of these photos (nor have they been very frequently since then). We'll leave the mystery alive so you still want to come visit us.

It's been a sweet home, now for almost a year! Kindness of the Lord.

Home Sweet Home

Yesterday we bought a house. Our first.

It feels like one of those pillars to remember, of God's kindness and generosity, so much beyond expectation. A tale of God's surprising provision, and the evidence of so much grace in our lives!

We are rounding the bend in Ben's seminary, last semester underway (just one class). What a significant season! I can hardly believe we are nearing the end of this long road of preparation and getting ready to invest all that training in a fuller focus on ministry.

We are loving this little home. But the thing that really makes it sweet is being here with all the promises of God to bank on and the anticipation of His hand behind and before us and resting upon us in all the days to come.

And if you happen to be near Lexington, MN, you should drop on by to see us!

Gallery Wall

Tonight, at long last, our living room wall is complete. Those of you with a discriminating eye (i.e. anyone) will notice that the writing on the canvases is ... very homemade. And everything is not as straight and symmetrical as it could be. And it may be evident that my motto regarding this wall has been, "I don't care! I just want something up on the wall!"

Idiosyncrasies aside, in the life of this Katterson family, it is a happy moment. :)