Edie Wadsworth

A Cross Country Meet from the Eyes of a Six Year Old…..translated "We’re going to the park and McDonald’s"

September 24, 2008 by Edie Wadsworth 1 Comment

“Emme, come look at all the snacks, you wanna some poptarts?”
“You wanna play on the monkey bars?”
meanwhile, Caiti shows off her new pinkilicious running spikes and tells us how they make her run soooo much faster and feel soooo glamorous…..
despite the fact that the girls are oblivious to the fact that people are actually RUNNING A RACE here, they are, in fact…..
“Emme, you wanna take some pictures with mom’s camera?” Dibbs lurks in the background.
They steal the teams’ water…..
while Caiti continues to run and sweat….
oh, she said her shoes make her feel like a superhero too…….
“I can scoot all the way down this bar like an inchworm, can you?”
more running and sweating…..
“I bet you can’t do tricks on this bar like me.”
“I bet I can”
“Mom, Emme’s trying to get on this really tall bar” “MOOOOM”
“Can you just lift me up there? Mom can we stay here til it gets dark? This is my new*BFF* and she said if she sees me next time, she’ll play with me again.”
And Elea, a bit discouraged by Emme’s new friend, takes charge of the camera again. Maybe they did know that there was a race going on but they were so in their own little girlie worlds. I love that about kids…..how they make everything adventurous. Both the girls and the guys teams’ won, Emme made a new friend, and Elea ate the teams’ poptarts and drank their water. Throw in McDonalds, and it was a perfect day at the park.

September 23, 2008 by Edie Wadsworth 3 Comments

Dedicated to Jamie Knoxville- On my knees for ya! The ‘Monday’ prayer from the Lutheran Prayer Book;

Lord, in this morning hour I come boldly to Your throne of grace in full assurance that there I shall obtain mercy and find grace and help in time of trouble. I need Your help and Your grace as I again turn to the routine of my vocation and schedule. Grant me true faithfulness in the performance of my calling. Guard me against becoming selfish, careless, and lazy in carrying out my daily work, so that all I do has not only the appearance of being pleasing among men, but it also true service to my neighbor, that I may be a servant of Christ, doing the will of God.

GRANT TO ALL WHO ARE OUT OF WORK USEFUL EMPLOYMENT! Feed us all with food necessary for our lives, and teach us to receive it with thanksgiving. Grant us the godliness and contentment without which there can be no true happiness, and let us so walk through the things temporal that me may not lose sight of the things eternal; for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

https://www.lifeingraceblog.com/2008/09/73/

Letting go……..

September 22, 2008 by Edie Wadsworth 9 Comments

So, the Dibbs (Taylor’s best friend Andrews’ parents) and Emme and I take off to go see our boys perform near Johnson City yesterday. As you might remember, they won Battle of the Bands about a month ago and part of their “prize” was that they would get to open for Group One Crew, a christian hip hop band that reminds me a lot of BlackEyedPeas. We were all excited…..I even did my best Tammy Faye eyes with my favorite ‘Humid’ MAC eye shadow. (thanks Jamie Knoxville). On the way it occurred to Cindy and I what horrible ‘stage’ moms we are. “We should have helped the boys make some T-shirts or buttons or something…….ya know ‘band paraphernalia’ that they could sell at the concert.” But because we’re not good stage moms and because we feel proud of ourselves that we’re actually gonna MAKE it to the concert….and likely ON TIME….we didn’t dwell on it too much. How surprised were we to find THIS when we got there…..
THEY HAVE T-SHIRTS…….and paraphernalia……and no, they don’t have stage MOMS……they have stage GIRLFRIENDS! How did we miss this Cindy? We are slowly being replaced, aren’t we? It’s an insidious inevitable process I guess, but I am so not ready for it……
I mean, they look so grown up…..and responsible…..and talented…….it hardly even seems possible that when they get home tonight we’re gonna threaten to take their cell phones away if they don’t keep their rooms tidy…..but we are, for a few more short months. Alas.
I feel like I still have so much yet to teach him….like how to make a killer red sauce, and how to use a plunger , and which fork is the salad fork. I sometimes lie await at night and wonder if he knows how to use a mouse sander. It makes it hard to breath when I even entertain the thought that he’ll be gone. He is so predictable and kind and thoughtful. The sound of his guitar playing upstairs has been a steady, soothing comfort for so many years.
How do you learn to live with the changes? The tears already flow for me. (which makes me regret the whole Tammy Faye thing). Maybe it’s better to let him go in small pieces, day by day. I’m not sure it makes it any easier but maybe it’ll save a complete break down next fall.
So bear with this ‘poor excuse for a stage mom’ as she laments the losses. I will miss finding your guitar picks in every single nook and cranny of the house…..I will miss the amazing speed with which you text message…..I will miss how you pile your food in a conglomerate heap…..I will miss how Emme runs upstairs to ‘bug’ you while you do your homework…..I will miss how you turn sideways so I can kiss your cheek (or more frequently: the air)…..I will miss scrambling around making sure your uniform is clean…..I will miss the way you sling your head to the left and right to get your hair just perfectly messy….I will miss your smile…….I will miss your smelly car……and your ‘i love you too’s’ and your frequent calls and mostly……. just you. I will miss you so much Taylor. I know it’s early but I can feel it. The winds of change are blowing. I felt so privileged and proud to watch you and your band. I will miss that too.

Enjoy the video!
FYI: I am completely sobbing now!

Find more videos like this on The Wittenberg Trail

Day of Reckoning……

September 19, 2008 by Edie Wadsworth 4 Comments

I woke this morning and knew today was gonna be the day. I don’t want to do it…but it has to be done. So, I sheepishly, almost as if I was apologizing as I got on, stepped on the scale. WHAAAAAAT? How does this happen? I haven’t gotten on in quite a while. I was sick, then I was busy homeschooling, then I missed a few runs, then I baked a few sweets, then I…..well, heck, I just mentally threw in the towel. I give up okay? I even thought I had convinced macdaddy to throw in the towel with me. We’re in love. Why fight it? Let’s just get chubby together and it’ll cancel each other out–kinda like garlic, right? Yeah, well except he promptly went to the gym again today and what did I do? I got off the scale all motivated to lose 10 pounds before lunch….or at least before my twenty year class reunion in October…..maybe I’ll get a stomach virus or a good case of strep throat….or a few days of an eating disorder. So, I had a small bowl of raisin bran and 10 cups of coffee and by 10 am, I was calling my wonderful nurse neighbor friend Donna to come check my pulse and my blood pressure ’cause I was just about to pass out. I can’t even cut back without drama. I can’t even skip the mid morning snack without issues. That’s when I decided I’m just gonna get me some ‘mom jeans’

and some comfortable shoes……
and a ‘mom’ haircut (unfortunately that’s me like 18 years ago) and
call it a day. What’s so great about skinny? Or three inch heels? or long flowing hair? Right? Can I get an amen? BTW, lest you fear that I’ve gone off the deep end….I will probably get my lazy bum out of bed in the mornin’ for what some call a ‘run’ ….macdaddy and I call it ‘slog’ which stands for Slow Jog. At any rate, I hear ‘mom’ jeans are really coming back. Speaking of mom, I do believe that this is my mother’s all time favorite ‘look’ for me. I have no lies to tell.

Oh yeah, and after the whole fainting/hypoglycemic scare, I made 3 dozen chocolate chip cookies. I think I need an intervention.

What it means to be Lutheran…Part 1

September 19, 2008 by Edie Wadsworth 15 Comments

Raised as a very outspoken, dress-wearing independent Baptist,

I grew up believing that what determined how it is between God and me, depended on me. As long as I didn’t “drink, smoke, chew or run with boys that do” and as long as I really focused on MY spirituality, MY quiet time with the Lord, MY sanctification, then I was pretty much okay. Of course, the official teaching of the church is that you are saved by grace through faith alone, but everything else you see around you screams something else. The huge pitfall to this way of believing is that it turns you so inward…..you become obsessed with your own spiritual life and walk and at least in my case, second guess yourself all the time:

“Am I spiritual enough?

Am I sincere enough?

Maybe I wasn’t even REALLY saved back when I was 8?

Why else would I continue to sin?

Am I becoming more Christlike?”

You see where this is going. Pretty soon, this pietistic, self-focused form of religion leads you into a tailspin and in the end, you fall into either despair or pride. I fell into despair knowing that I was not ‘pulling’ this off. And I saw so many people around who seemed to be ‘managing it’ , somehow. So, what was wrong with me?

I nearly lost my way. Others fall into the pride pitfall. They really think they are ‘pulling it off’. They are living the ‘sanctified’ life, becoming more and more spiritual, almost not sinning any more, saying to themselves a familiar saying, “I thank God that I’m not like those people”.

So, what’s different about Lutheranism? It’s intensely cross-centered and Christ focused. No pietists allowed. Lutherans believe like Saint Paul who said he was the chief of sinners. They REALLY believe in the ‘solas’ of the reformation:

GRACE ALONE THROUGH FAITH ALONE IN CHRIST ALONE.

My salvation and my sancification are not my work. I don’t have to worry about MY sincerity, MY spirituality, or MY anything. It is through the vicarious atonement of Christ on the cross that provides everything I will ever need. This marvelous plan for my redemption leaves me free: free from self-obsession, free from the shackles of works righteousness, and most of all free to serve my neighbor. Now, all my energies can be focused on my neighbor and what my neighbors’ need is. This focus on the cross is rampant in the conservative form of Lutheranism that we are apart of (Missouri-Synod) and I would never subject myself again to the heresy of any denomination that is always focused on the christian rather than Christ.

Check this out in your own church for the next few weeks. Just listen to the sermon. Who is it about? 7 ways to be a better wife?, 10 steps to a better marriage? Becoming a better you? Almost every church marquis I pass tells me everything I need to know. It was an eye-opener to me when I looked at my own bookshelf. You probably have all the same ones: The Purpose Driven Life, Your Best Life Now, The Power of a Positive Mom, Promise Keepers, etc, ad nauseum. Our society and our churches are obsessed with self.

I only know one Man who lived the purpose driven life and who kept His promises.

We should trust in HIM alone.

If I had to describe my decorating style as a person, it would be…….

September 17, 2008 by Edie Wadsworth 16 Comments

an eclectic shabby-chic Texan meets a cozy, cottage porch sittin’ Tennessean. I love mixing old with new, color with neutrals, traditional with distressed and elegant with casual….kinda like wearing a beautiful black wrap dress with riding boots. Maybe I just like being unpredictable. At any rate, I follow the Nester’s recent advice pretty closely and would only add that I teach my children from a young age that they are never under any circumstances whatsoever to turn on an overhead light. Lamplight is not optional, it is the absolute final rule of the house. No discussions. All this decorating discussion has been sparked by a new blog post I just found called Kari & Kijsa in which there is a fun “share your decorating style” link party. I couldn’t decide on just one room like they suggested, so I thought I’d bring you on a tour to show you some of my favorite things:

My daughter Caiti’s room with faux painted walls, stars (which she hopes to be someday with her singing), adorable homeade burlap bedskirts, and the most splendid animal print chair.

My dining room where I feature a beautiful original abstract oil painting and robin egg blue linen “tablecloth”– a piece of linen fabric that I frayed the edges and otherwise left in its natural state.
The upstairs bathroom that had a recent makeover and of course features lamps, black distressed cabinets, and a loosely arranged container of grasses.
Now on to where the Texan meets the Tenneseean. I love this grouping. I bought the dresser at a yard sale for $25, painted it and paired it with the appalachian-looking homestead sign.
Then, there’s quite possibly my favorite ‘spot’ in the house. A black bombay chest that features an eclectic array of things I love…..books, pictures, paintings, candles, a lamp and a hope for a simpler life.
So, there you have it. A peek into how I decorate and who I am: a heap of contrasts and contradictions; where you’re just as likely to find 67 tubes of lip gloss as you are almost every good piece of classical literature you can think of. And a scary number of lamps and boots.