Owner: The Wellblog URL:lauraboggess.blogspot.com Join Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2008 10:54:52 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: The Wellblog is the overflow of my website, The Wellspring. The name comes from Proverbs 4:23: "Above all, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." As I share the overflow of my heart, we encounter praise in the midst of everyday Site statistics:Click here
The Birdz and the Beez part II 2008-03-05 07:34:00 So I was tucking Jeffrey in the other night, you know; the night of the two-headed bird incident. Nonchalantly, I said to the dark: "So, do you have any questions for me?""No, not really", he responded sleepily, "Why do you ask?""I was just wondering if there has been anything on your mind.""No, not really. Why?""Oh, no reason, really. Just wanted to talk, I guess."He rolled over to face me and threw his arms around me in a gentle hug."We don't need to talk."I should have stopped right there. I mean, who could ask for anything more? But the image of the two-headed bird kept popping into my mind. What if it was a topic of discussion at school that day?"Well, I was just wondering....if you had any questions about...the birds and the bees."I said it quickly, as if that would counter any
Mucked Out 2008-03-03 14:58:00 I know why the sound of a vacuum cleaner soothes a fussy infant. Today, as I sucked up the dirt of our life, the world ebbed away and there was nothing but me, alone in the womb of my thoughts. I was erasing the filth, “mucking it out” as my horse friends say, spurred on by the threat of a visit from my mother which served to anger my husband because he was doing the taxes and felt dissatisfied with life today and so was looking for a reason to be angry when my mother called and announced a rather spur of the moment visit because she would be "in the neighborhood". There was this anxiety, coupled with that of the impending visit; which is getting better, but still is always filled with trepidation. But I wasn’t really alone in that womb, because the umbilical cord that ties
The Birdz and the Beez 2008-03-03 08:13:00 What a gorgeous day it is! Happy March, Dear Ones! It’s only nine a.m. and already almost 60 degrees. The sun is shining and the birds are singing. The birds are, of course, doing other things too. This morning, as my nine-year-old was looking out the window, I heard him exclaim, “Oh, my goodness! What kind of bird is that?” Afraid of what I would see, I moved over to survey his view. What appeared to be a two-headed bird was thrashing around on the lawn. I had a flashback to when I was about Jeffrey’s age, witnessing the coupling of our old farm dogs. Country girls learn the facts of life in the most peculiar way. “Spring is really on its way,” I proclaimed. “The season of the birds and the bees.” Nine year old looked quizzically at his odd mother. Eleven
Blessed not Stressed, part II 2008-03-01 09:19:00 This is the second part of a message I delivered to my circle at church last week. I hope it is helpful to you and blesses you in some way!In order to express gratitude, we must see what Deborah Norville, in her book Thank You Power, calls “the magic in each moment”. A big part of our stress problem is that, as a society, we don’t slow down enough to see the blessings that each day holds. There’s even a name for this! This guy, Jonathan C. Smith, Ph.D., a psychologist and founder of the Roosevelt University Stress Institute, in Chicago, calls it “hurry sickness”. Dr. Smith has studied more than 10,000 people in his research on stress over the past thirty years, and says our culture has promoted in us a sense of guilt when we have free time. "We're psychologically addicted Read more:Blessed
Blessed, Not Stressed, part I 2008-02-29 09:13:00 This is part of a message that I shared with my circle at church last night. I hope you enjoy it! Stress. The American Heritage Dictionary defines it as: 1. A mentally or emotionally disruptive influence; distress. 2. A force that tends to deform a body. 3. To subject to pressure or strain. 4. Laura Boggess on a weekday morning. This morning, as I hurried around getting me ready for work and the boys ready for school, the news came in that there was a two hour delay due to snow. This necessitated making arrangements for the boys for the next two hours so I could head on to the hospital. That done, I hopped in the car for the commute. It took me an entire hour to drive 25 miles. Traffic was moving extremely slow because of the road conditions. I barely arrived at work in ti Read more:Blessed
Driving Lessons 2008-02-27 09:13:00 I have been practicing humility. I’ve been doing great at church, at work, even at home I’m not doing too badly. Where I really need some work, though, is behind the wheel of my car. I’ve come a long way, but I have been known as an aggressive driver in the past. Something happens when we get into that driver’s seat. Despite the obvious fishbowl phenomenon, there is a sense of anonymity. I guess that’s why we always see people picking their noses in their cars!! (heehee, sorry, it’s true, and you know it!) I guess that’s why I tend to become another person during that evening commute. “Drive like a Christian, drive like a Christian,” has become my mantra when I am in a hurry. I knew I had to re-evaluate my methods when I was waiting at a traffic light with my Read more:Driving
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No Goodbyes 2008-02-25 20:49:00 When my boys were toddlers, I remember reading an invaluable piece of advice. The author was addressing the issue of separation anxiety. In this particular article, parents were encouraged to allow their child to prepare for larger separations by having them participate in smaller ones. In this manner, the child would be well practiced at separating before the impending significant separation. The author further advised the parent to allow the child to be picked up from their home, and taken away to the separation destination. This way the child was leaving the adult, instead of vice versa, and therefore was supposed to experience a greater feeling of control over the situation. I recall trying this experiment out on my own children and it did, indeed, seem to make a difference. I
The Joy of the Redeemed 2008-02-23 10:40:00 Hello, Dear Ones! Today is my Sabbath, and I have spent the morning with the Lord. I am anxiously listening for His voice today. He has told me something sweet and beautiful this morning. You might remember that a few posts previously, I likened myself to a crocus in the early spring, just beginning to poke my head out of the earth. With this image fresh in my mind, the Lord took me to Isaiah 35. Listen to what it says. The heading is entitled: The Joy of the Redeemed. Vs 1-2: “The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor
A Longing Fulfilled 2008-02-22 07:40:00 A beaming face. A glowing smile. There is, perhaps, no greater joy for a parent than to witness the joy of one’s child. I was blessed with this joy yesterday. My little brainiac, my redheaded fact monger, my pride and joy, came in third in the region’s math field day competition. Here he is, sporting his new jewelry. Stunning, eh? The thing is, math is not Teddy’s strength. He loves history and social studies. Verbal facts and concepts are his thing. When he was in the second grade, we used Census data as a behavioral reinforcer for him. Yes, that’s right. At age eight he could tell you the population and racial breakdown of every county in West Virginia. When he misbehaved, we took away his data. It devastated him. I guess, that is a kind of math. Statistics any Read more:Longing
A Floating Saturn 2008-02-20 21:21:00 My nine year old sleeps with the covers pulled over his head. I just woke him up a little bit ago so he could see the lunar eclipse. In his groggy state he asked me what would happen when Mars collides with the moon in ten years. I gathered that he read this interesting prediction somewhere. Perhaps a science fiction journal of some type. I don’t think we need to worry about that now, says I, ever so gently. His eyes gradually widen as he watches the earth’s shadow creep along the big cheese. “Wow! Mommy that’s cool!” He exclaims. Then he bounds back into bed. Up go the covers, like the earth’s shadow passing over the moon. I snuggle in with him, like a spoon, and his bare shoulder smells so good to me that I press my lips against its sweet softness. This youngest c Read more:Floating
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Dunkin' Donuts 2008-02-20 12:09:00 I have a precious friend who shares the remnants of a painful past as part of her ministry. Through the baring of her heart she has helped many to be healed of shame. By opening herself up to humility and human judgment, she has also opened herself more completely to Love. I am learning that there is rarely the one without the other. She has used her mistakes to make something beautiful, and I am proud of her. God has been faithful to His promise; all these things in her life He has worked for the good of those who love him. A while back, my friend was preparing to share her testimony with her own church family for the first time. She asked her husband if he would stay for both the early and the late service, as she would be speaking at both. She needed to see his face in the se Read more:Donuts
Blue Like Jazz 2008-02-15 10:44:00 Last night, on my way home from work I stopped at Kroger’s to pick up the ingredients for my husband’s favorite gourmet dinner. It was a special day, and I wanted to demonstrate my affections by cooking for him with the freshest ingredients. As I pulled into the lot, I winced in dismay at how crowded the place was. Maybe all the other wives were doing the same thing. Oh, no, thought I, they might be sold out of chicken wings and fries. I needn’t have worried. The owners of all the cars were in the floral section. The place was teeming with men sporting pensive expressions and purchasing bouquets of roses. I smiled sympathetically at the poor souls who weren’t as savvy as my own guy. He picked up his bouquet from Kroger the night before. Jeff truly appreciated his din
Don’t Give Up on Love, Valentine 2008-02-11 06:57:00 This morning, my husband stands impassively beside me at the bathroom sink, readying himself for the day, a parallel existence to mine. I hesitate briefly as I study his countenance; a face I know as well as my own. To reach out and touch him would be to breach another world. You see, we have grown comfortable. Besides, there isn’t time. I have a good marriage. My husband and I talk about the things that mean the most to us, our dreams and daily happenings; we laugh a lot, we are committed to spending time alone together. But sometimes, I wonder, are we just going through the motions? I’ve heard all the stories about couples waking up one day and realizing they don’t love each other anymore. And I wonder to myself, “Is this possible? Can this happen to us?” In her bo Read more:Valentine
A Flight of a Different Kind 2008-02-09 13:08:00 I just got off the phone with a friend who was giving her toddler a bath in the middle of the day. As we talked, I could hear her little one babbling in the background, the soft swish of water lapping the corners of my mind. I found it difficult to concentrate on our conversation, for I was lost in the imaginary scent of baby soap and the image of clean pink flesh. Oh, the sweetness of a babe! Motherhood has given me my greatest happiness in this life. Through the giving of love to my offspring, I have found a well of purpose that never runs dry. Perhaps this is one reason it has been so difficult for me to look back and reflect on my own childhood. Now that I am a mother myself, some of the decisions that my parents made are even more difficult to understand.So, I have been readi Read more:Flight
The Call of the Meadowlark 2008-02-08 11:45:00 I just got back from a run, during which I heard my first Meadowlark of the season! One of my favorite running routes is along a narrow road that parallels some empty fields. One of my greatest joys was seeing my first Meadowlarks in these grassy meadows. But before I saw them, I heard them. A few years ago I became interested in birding, and began listening to a CD of various bird calls. There were so many birds featured, that I rarely remembered the calls that I listened to. But one day, as I was out running, I heard a beautiful call fill the air. Somehow I recognized this distinctive melody, and was overjoyed to hear it live! However, when I looked around to find the singer, Mr. Meadowlark was nowhere to be found. He spends most of his time down in the grassy meadow, see, hidden
Ashes to Ashes 2008-02-06 21:57:00 I have Jesus’ fingerprints on my head. We’ve just returned from Ash Wednesday service, and I have been touched by His hand. We are entering the Lenten season, and as with every year, I am giddy with gratitude. As much as I love Contemporary Worship, the keeping of the traditions of the Church move me in unspeakable ways. The heaviness of hundreds of years of hearts and minds standing in the same place that I am settles deeply within me. It is not a burden. It is a kinship. And my heart longs for those deep reaching roots. Tonight I stood in line with my brothers and sisters and waited for my Pastor to make a cross of ashes on my head. My two children stood in front of me, and when I heard her speak the words over Jeffrey, a lump formed in my throat. “Jeffrey, you are du
The Crocus 2008-02-06 13:03:00 It’s frightening to read one’s own words 28 years after the writing. But this is where God has chosen for me to begin this journey, and so, the last few nights I have been reading my old journals before I go to bed. I have kept one on and off since I was ten years old. Interestingly enough, this is when my parents’ marriage began to fall apart. I read about these things with a new eye, filling in the blanks with my memories. There had already been much pain in my young life by that time; with my father’s alcoholism and the degree of separateness that the Jehovah’s Witness faith required, my brothers and sister and I had a hope chest of experiences that were quite different from most of your classmates. So far, the words I read have revealed little of what I desire to know
The Journey 2008-02-04 12:31:00 I love driving my guys to school in the morning. We have a story that we’ve been weaving since the beginning of the year that we usually fill the trip with. But this morning, we were a bit off, it being a rainy Monday and all, so we just talked instead. Somehow, we got started talking about the smartest kids in their classes. Teddy, of course, being the modest little guy that he is, volunteered himself for this role in his class. But to his credit, he began talking about different kids who had different areas that they were better at than he. Susie is better at spelling, and Joe is better at math, etc. I made the comment that this is how God made us, so that we would each have our own gifts to help each other and do the special role God has planned for us. About this time Jeffr Read more:Journey
New Love 2008-02-02 19:06:00 I fell in love again today. Yes, that’s right, again. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I have this perfectly good husband and I keep falling for these younger men. His name is Connor. And he’s about three years old. He came running full force at me and Lucy Mae today as we walked the neighborhood. When he got close, he stopped abruptly. Imagine a race car slamming on the brakes. Then he turned his gorgeous brown eyes on me. But it wasn’t me that he was interested in. “Wook at da puppy,” he said, eyeing me shyly. “I want ta pet her.” From the moment he opened his mouth, I was his. He had that not quite a baby, not quite a little boy voice. He was all honesty and energy, trust fired out of a cannon. I picked Lucy up so he could get a closer look. Bend
Breakdown 2008-01-31 22:19:00 As I was driving to work this morning, I saw a CINTAS truck pulled over on the side of the road (for those who do not know, CINTAS is a medical uniform company, specializing in scrubs and thingies like that). The sight of that big ‘ol truck brought back a memory.I’ve spent a lot of time broken down on the side of the road, Dear Ones. My mama always told me not to talk to strangers, but somehow, in my earlier days, that advice didn’t take. There was the time I was picked up by an elderly couple and their two miniature (and yappy) poodles in the land yacht. They were traveling the country in style. They were very sweet and seemed harmless (So did Ted Bundy! My mother exclaimed.) Then there was the young black man. I was only about five miles from my sister’s trailer, and I re
The Feast 2008-01-28 08:38:00 Yesterday I entered into a day of Fast. I know you’re not supposed to tell others, the scriptures warn against the pride this can cause in a person. But you won’t tell, will you, my friends? I just want to share how special this time was for me, Dear Ones. Fasting is something I do infrequently. Usually, around Easter, I feel God calling me to lift up my body to Him in this way. But He doesn’t ask me to do this often. So, yesterday when He awakened me before five o’clock with an immediate suggestion to fast, I knew that He had something special He wanted to reveal to me. To fast has always been to feast for me. A feast for my heart. I am preparing a lovely banquet for my Beloved. I do not endeavor upon this task lightly. My preparation begins early; I begin to ready Read more:Feast
Van's Review 2008-01-25 19:35:00 I am so blessed that a few years ago, God directed me to Proverbs 31 Ministries. This small group of ladies with such a large heart for Jesus has helped me to grow in my faith, exponentially. They have connected me to a part of the body of Christ that has given me an amazing perspective on the term “girlfriend”. Never have I met such a group of women who truly desire to empower other women to share their stories and their faith with others. They are teachers and cheerleaders, friends and mentors, filled with both wisdom and silliness… I love these gals! Last year, God called me to step out of my comfort zone and asked me to begin considering a speaking ministry. Those who know me know that I love to talk, but have a great deal of performance anxiety. Enter Van Walton. Van is
Hands and Feet 2008-01-25 12:17:00 I received an email yesterday that had this comic strip in it: It touched me deeply. This time in history is so incomprehensible to me, that I am ashamed to say that I have avoided learning about it. I recall flipping through the channels a few years ago and stumbling across a PBS special on the Holocaust. It was like driving by the scene of a horrible accident; I couldn’t stop looking. The scenes that passed in front of me on the screen paralyzed me in disbelief and horror. People who had been stripped of everything, including their dignity, were paraded before my eyes. Naked mothers and fathers, grandfathers, grandmothers, aunts, uncles, cousins, children, friends… all standing in line waiting to walk to their deaths. These people loved, I remember th Read more:Hands
A Bloggy Giveaway 2008-01-23 07:34:00 Hi, friends! I've just been visiting some of my online friends and wanted to tell you about this giveaway that one sweet lady is doing. If you visit Mariel at: make a comment on her blog, you may be the winner of her newest e-devotional book! This wonderful lady is an incredible Bible teacher and I think you will enjoy visiting her! More later and good luck!
No title 2008-03-08 15:11:00 Four years ago I would have told you my marriage was dead. In fact, the one thing that should have brought my husband and I closer together was creating a huge chasm between us: Church. Before we were married, we had discussed religion. Although we were both brought up in a strong background of faith, neither of us was attending church at the time. But we both felt it was important. We specifically agreed that our children would be brought up in a church family. Four years after we married, I joined a local church. Without my husband. I was seven months pregnant with our first child when I was baptized. I was deliriously happy: expecting my first baby, rediscovering my spirituality, madly in love with my husband. Two years after the first, our second son was born. Luggi
The Dark Night of the Soul 2008-03-12 22:41:00 It has been a beautiful day here in WV, and I have had difficulty settling down into the evening. The night is crisp outside, the moon is a lazy wide smile, and I feel good. We’ve spent a large portion of the day outside and I am now enjoying that good kind of tired that comes with sunshine and physical activity. We even took our tweens outside for Wed. night church. They played Bible tag and “Christian” football. It was a scream. When I went for my run this afternoon, this was what the sky looked like. Not a cloud to be seen. Just that gorgeous sky blue sky. The brightness of the atmosphere around me seemed to illuminate my gaze, and I began to see so many things that gave me pause and wonder. I was filled with the goodness of God, so I decided to take him along wi Read more:Night
Tales of a Fifth Grade Field Trip 2008-03-15 15:03:00 Hello, Dear Ones! I survived my trip with 130 fifth graders to Cincinnati and back. Thank you for all your prayers! It was touch and go at times, but all in all, a growth inspiring experience. Mr. T seemed to have a great time hanging out with his friends and I enjoyed hanging back and watching. If you ever get a chance to go to the Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal, you are in for a treat. “Originally built in 1933 as the Union Terminal train station, the building was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1977. Union Terminal stands on a prominent location one mile northwest of the city center. Visitors approach the 10-story, arched, limestone and glass facade of the building from the east through a quarter-mile plaza. The dome is flanked on either side by curving Read more:Field
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A Cup of Tea 2008-03-17 13:25:00 Happy St. Patty’s Day, Dear Ones! I just realized that I sent both of my boys to school unawares. They’ll be pinching posts all day and will probably be scarred for life. Well, one of them will turn it into a social opportunity and the other will be scarred for life. Ugh. Live and learn, I always say. A little bit of scarring gives a person character, eh? I pray that your Palm Sunday was a sweet experience. It is such a special day on the church calendar. When I was the Director of Children’s Ministries for my church, this was one of my favorite lessons to plan. It was the only time that Jesus was ever recognized by the masses as Lord and Savior! Oh, the joy! And then, of course, the sorrow of all that followed. It always boggles my mind how we can be so fickle. I
The Friday of Lamentation 2008-03-21 07:46:00 Today is the day of the feast. My heart is ready. I have spread the banquet. My love is here. I rejoice on this Friday
of Lamentation, because I know how the story ends. But my heart is tender, nonetheless. Last night, we read Matthew’s account of Jesus’ prayers in the Garden and His arrest. I explained to the boys what Nisan 15 was, and how we know that on the night of Jesus’ arrest, there was a full moon. We parted the curtains and stared in awe at the same moon that witnessed the events of that night. How do you think they felt when they saw Him taken away? Quiet. Somber. Downcast eyes. And then later, a flood of tears. Why do you cry? I asked. I don’t know, he said. More tears, trembling, gasping tears. I wrapped him in my arms. Whispered softly in
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