Birthdays, books.....

My very handsome husband is about to turn 50 in a couple of days, and lovely Helen has her tenth birthday today.

So ten years ago this weekend, with a four day old baby, we had a crazy 40th birthday party complete with two cakes, surprise guests he had not seen since college, a little round of pin-the-tail on the donkey.

Today, Helen and I went out for breakfast....which was delightful as she is such good company, she's getting a really cool new desk and shelves and stuff so she can create her own little lair. And tonight it's the all-you-can eat Chinese buffet which is always her request for birthday dinner. Next weekend we have the girls sleep-over party.

And the fun ahead for Jon cannot be mentioned here, because he might check in and it would wreck the susrprise.

Meantime, I am reading this awesome little book called Leadership and Self-Deception which might well be called Hey You, You are the Only One Who Can't See What a Clod You Are .

Well, no that's not entirely true, but it has given rise to some real self examination here, up to and including a conversation with my kids about what a hypocrite I am. The kids were kind and gentle, but truthful.

Another book, in the same vein only with deep and real gospel solutions to some of the same issues of self deception is Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges....this was not on my original book list, but it arrived in my mail a couple of weeks ago, and so I have read it, and am now going through it again. This is a great eye-opener, with even greater assurances of help and pardon through Christ. I highly recommend it.

I am heading out for another long run on Tuesday.....having run little shorties of only an hour each for the past two weeks. At the moment, I am tired tired tired, but I am having a little weekend away with my distinguished older husband and I plan to return looking (or at least feeling) like an athlete again.

Then maybe I'll tell what we did and where we went......