There was a Middle Aged Woman who lived in a Zoo.

Sometimes I believe with all the animal-like behavior going on in our home I could probably charge admission and at least make some money off this zoo I live in.

It's a thought.

Maybe it's the cabin fever or the extreme amount of chocolate I've been serving  myself  the crew.  But needless to say things have been somewhat crazy around here.

Aside from the regular gun-slingin' and wrestle-mania we usually have going on, the Yahoos have been particularly barbaric lately.  I mean LITERALLY climbing the walls.  These kids climb EVERYTHING.  I am constantly pulling these monkeys off the piano, the bar, the kitchen table, the sink....the barn.  Ok, you get it.

And this has been going on since Ninja was a baby.  He has always been somewhat....ummm.....full throttle.  Some might choose to medicate that behavior but I am learning to embrace it.  God obviously has big plans for this little mischief maker  rebel-rouser  firecracker.  But I won't go on about Ninja.  His story is deserving of its own post.  Which will have to wait for another day.





Even though the Middles are not quite as high octane, they still add to the mix.  They add volume.  Screams and giggles and the like.  And then along came Baby.  Shew wee.  It's probably that I've just gotten too old to deal, but this child is a maniac.  He is into everything!  Whoever wrote the book Love you Forever must have been thinking of him:

"The baby grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was two years old, and he ran all around the house. He pulled all the books off the shelves. He pulled all the food out of the refrigerator and he took his mother's watch and flushed it down the toilet. Sometimes his mother would say, "this kid is driving me CRAZY!""

So by the time I put the animals back in their cages during the afternoon for a few hours to refuel I am beat.  I have been trying to avoid the typical 2:00 pm pantry raid, but a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do.  My most recent therapy session involved a Mississippi Mud Cake made by a dear friend.  Here is her blog link.  You MUST go to it.  She is baking through her grandmother's recipes.  It's a super sweet story.  And considering my soft spot for grandparents and my sweet tooth, this blog is a no brainer.

Look at this:

Yes, this is what I chew on during my therapy sessions while the children are resting.  And it has been masterful at helping me get my second wind for the day.  Thank you, Sugarmamma.

Back to the zoo.

Lately Baby Yahoo's favorite book is one about Noah and the Ark.  He loves me to read it over and over to him.  He loves the pictures of the animals and the rainbow.

I've been thinking a lot of about Noah lately.  Not only about his incredible amount of faith.  Faith that worked itself out over the course of 100 or so years as he built the ark, without a cloud in the sky, in full assurance that the God he worshiped was a God of his word.

But I have also thought about that part of the story that is not detailed for us.  About how Noah cared for his family during a terrifying and overwhelming year.  How did he keep himself focused on his daily tasks that were required of him without being distracted by the storm outside?  How did he care for the zoo that was entrusted to him while the world was being turned upside down outside those gopher wood walls?

And then as I read back through the story on my own I realized that God gave Noah more than a blueprint to build the Ark.  He gave him a blueprint of faith to build to help him weather the storm.  As Noah worked out his faith all those years.....cutting wood.....applying the pitch....gathering supplies... he was laying the foundations of faith for himself and his family so that when the water broke forth and the sky literally began to fall Noah and his family could have divine peace. 

I'm sure Noah was very aware of his circumstances  That the Weather Channel was not predicting rain for the whole 100 years that he was getting the ark ready.  That every facebook friend he had had defriended him long ago. And then the incredible devastation that finally ensued.  But he continued to press on...to build his home.  The word for 'rooms' in the Genesis account of the Flood is 'nests.'  I love that.  As a mama to young ones I do spend lots of time preparing and caring for my Yahoos' nests.  How do I teach them to be secure and at peace when trials come?  How do I fortify our home, our nest, so that trials buffet but never destroy? 

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

I believe that is what Noah had.  Blest assurance.  God had regarded his helpless estate and had made provision.  And still today God regards our helpless estate and has provided for us in Christ.  But more than that, he has given us everything we need to weather the storms of life.  His blueprint for our spiritual house is written all throughout His Word.  All we have to do is trust and obey.

These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock.

 "But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don't work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards." 

Matthew 7:24-27

MSG

So instead of the abundance of gopher wood to build up the ark, I can use an abundance of encouragement and instruction.  Instead of pitch to seal the cracks from water and wind I can use love that covers over a multitude of sins. And instead of nails I can use grace and mercy to hold it all together.

And now, I think I hear a monkey calling.....