New Years Eve

New Years Eve...what a thought.

Hallelujah...

All that has been...hallelujah.

All that was packed within the year...hallelujah.

All that will be...hallelujah.

All the unknowns...hallelujah.

All the knowns...hallelujah.

All of the needs and wants...hallelujah.

Everything, all of it...hallelujah.

Hallelujah...

The New Year has come.

Hello Hands, Meet Your Eyes!

Happy Holidays!

Decorating the home in blankets of color - what could be better! There are so many fun ways of bringing home-made decorations to life, especially in the eyes of a child. It is all new to them; things that they have never done and have barely even begun to imagine. What is even better about the home-made aspect of decorations is getting the kids involved; AND, they are learning and growing in their development during the fun process. While giving them instructions, the conversation involves colors, shapes, sizes, textures, and numbers. What they do not realize is that in the midst of the fun, their hand-eye coordination is growing by leaps and bounds. Which in turn equates to future things like strumming a guitar or measuring liquids for a science project or scanning through a variety of books to find out where a country is located.

Hand-eye coordination is essential in the development of a child's life. They start recognizing how the two work together a few months after birth. Once the process begins, all that is needed are different creative opportunities to develop the precision of the fingers. Hallelujah for creativity, patience, and provision!

"Teach me your decrees, O LORD; I will keep them to the end. Give me understanding and I will obey your instructions; I will put them into practice with all my heart. Make me walk along the path of your commands, for that is where my happiness is found." Psalm 119:33-35

Roll'em Out!

Ah, the holiday season...! It brings out the desire for sugar cookies! Just thinking about them brings a smile to my face. There is just something about the process of rolling out the dough and then pressing the cutter shapes into it that brings joy and contentment.

Introducing Isaiah to the cookie world has been so much fun - trying on my patience at times, yes! He is so eager to learn and do what he sees others doing. For this, I am thankful. I can only imagine how the wheels in his brain turn as he watches, listens, and then does each step of the delicious process. And oh, the excitement he expresses - priceless.

As much as possible, I want to continue allowing him to have hands-on experiences in our home. His growth depends on his freedom to discover and apply himself - with guidance and help of course.

Cookie making - mixing the batter, rolling out the dough, pressing the cutters, and baking the little treasures - is a learning exercise. It is fun. It is effective. It is inexpensive. It is easily accessible. The whole process helps Isaiah learn to follow instructions, recognize smells, recognize colors, follows steps and procedures. I have never looked upon the home as much of a school environment as I do now. Children indeed change everything! Hallelujah for them!

May God continue to give me the desire to grow in my creativity and wisdom; Isaiah's growth depends upon it.

"My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding - indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God." Proverbs 2:1-5

Together

Experiencing the boys playing together is such a pleasure! At times I sit in amazement as to how well they respond to guidance - guidance in how love is a "together" matter. It is not harsh - which they have to often be rebuked for wanting to shove or pummel or pull (more Isaiah right now, but I know I will be rebuking Jeremiah much more very soon!). It is not greedy - sharing toys and space. It is not selfish - sharing mommy and time does not always come easily especially when it comes to food, being tired, or wanting a hug.

I praise the LORD for the on-going teaching that he is bringing my family through in how to be a family - a team. People that encourage one another, build one-another up, listen to what someone needs to say, and how to care is so vital to our success.

Love is not easy, but it is good and beautiful. May God give us the grace to overcome and conquer all that will come our way today and the days to come - together.

"Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Life's Roughness

Life is rough. There are images all around us in God's creation. From the bark on a tree to the gravel roads we drive on, we cannot escape the reality of its texture.

We live through rough days when we are tried and pushed to our limits. Someone says a harsh word. A project is rejected. Sleep evades us when we need it the most. Our cupboards are bare and we do not have the means of filling them. The baby is crying and we cannot figure out why. On and on the examples come of what challenges us and makes us want to quit. But we keep going...

"In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

"We know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us." Romans 5:3-5

The Ultimate Washing

Bath times are a big deal in our home! The boys LOVE the water. They love the splashing and swimming (of course to them that is what it is when they can lay down and move their limbs like a fish!) and playing and being naked - and sometimes even doing their laundry (Isaiah is all about doing what I do, so of course, he needed to do the washing in his own way!). There is so much that must remind them of the womb - being surrounded by a cushion of liquid - warmth and nourishment.

God has made water to be such a crucial part of our lives. He fashioned us to be brought forth from a womb filled with water; He had the earth covered in it before undergoing six days of creation; He used it to cleanse the earth from sin when Noah built the ark; He had John the Baptist baptize Jesus in the river; Jesus turned water into wine. One amazing moment, that stood out the most to me, was Jesus kneeling before his disciples with a basin filled with water to wash their feet. "He got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him." (John 13: 4-5) The Maker of Heaven and earth, in one of the most humblest of positions - the position of a servant, washing another persons feet.

I could not help but take notice of the fact that Jesus chose the feet. It was not the head or the hands or any other part. It was the feet. Of what importance are the feet? Why did the feet get so dirty and be in such a need to be cleaned? I think it has something to do with what Paul spoke about in Galatians when he mentioned the "feet fitted with the gospel of peace." Our feet take us places. They represent who we are. And if we are going to be bringing the gospel of Jesus Christ to the nations, then we need to be pure and clean - holy as our Heavenly Father is holy (I have heard that explained to me in the best way: Obey God in all that He reveals to you.).

"Thank you, LORD, for the sweet reminder of what water represents and how You have used it in so many ways. Let me not be afraid of it, nor the boys, but let us gladly drench ourselves in the water You have provided to cleanse us from the inside out."

Look Close

I am often too quick to dismiss an idea or an option when I merely glance at it or briefly consider it. When I constantly skim the surface of things, I can miss great things if I do not look close.

The boys are good at staying busy and moving from one thing to the next. They are very capable of being in the moment. Each thing that they do is fully enjoyed and extremely concentrated. Their capability of experiencing life to the fullest is like a bullion cube (a tasty cooking analogy!); it is rich with flavor - so much that it can be dissolved in a large amount of water - they can have their fullness effect and bless everyone around them. Just as the bullion cube gives flavor to the water it dissolves in, so the boys give flavor to everyone they are around - without even trying. It is simply part of the purity of being a child.

I am reminded of Jesus exhorting us to be the salt of the earth. Salt always brings out the true flavor of any food. It is the common spice used in any dish - in any culture. “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot." (Matthew 5:13)

Once again, I am so blessed to have the boys in my life. They have so much to teach me - bringing me back to what once came naturally to me when I was their age. In the small and big moments of each day, they help me look close at what matters.

Ibis

The Ibis...

When we first moved down to Miami from Minnesota (about a year and a half ago now!), I saw the Ibis and did not know what it was. I thought it looked funny because of its long beak! I would ask around to neighbors and sometimes to random strangers , but no one could tell me what it was. Finally, one day, I went onto the friendly Wikipedia site and searched out different options of birds until coming upon the right one: the Ibis. So, now, I can look out the window and say to the boys: "Look at the Ibises!". No longer do I have to say "Look at the birds". It is a blessing to be educated!

"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ... So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:26-34

Dedicated to the LORD

You know those times in life when everything seems to pile up at the same time and you can barely keep your head above it all...Well, that is how life has been over the past week and a half. So, please forgive me for "having gone missing" for awhile. Believe me, it was not intentional. I often found myself wanting to write to you, but could not muster up enough energy. Anyway, I am back!

One of the many stories to share is of Jeremiah's dedication to the LORD! It was a beautiful time of surrendering him to the LORD and making the public declaration that we, as his parents, are willing to walk in the ways God desires so that he can be raised according to the days ordained for him, from the beginning of time.

"Abba, Father, thank you for Jeremiah Samuel! He is such a pleasure to have and raise and experience life with. Please have your way. Come, Holy Spirit, and fill him up. Drench him with your presence and make your face shine upon him. Protect him from the schemes of the enemy. Give him favor all the days of his life. Put the fear of the LORD in him. Give him wisdom. Establish the work of his hands. Thank you. Amen and amen! He is so beautiful and I love seeing the reflections of your holiness in him."

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, 

for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

Matthew 19:14

"Blessed is the man that trusts in the LORD, and whose trust is the LORD." 

Jeremiah 17:7

Righteous Appetite

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness
for they will be satisfied." Matthew 5:6

"Whoever pursues righteousness and love 

finds life, prosperity, and honor." Proverbs 21:21

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, 

and all these things will be given to you as well." Matthew 6:33

Just as Jeremiah is learning to express his hunger for my milk, I must pay attention to his hunger for "God's milk" - righteousness. The body has a system in place, that God designed, to alert us of a need for more food - hunger pains. The spirit within us acts similarly. It longs to be fed and nurtured. When it doesn't receive the proper nutrients, it begins to faint. The Word of God - the Bible - is a way to feed the spirit. Waiting before the LORD - thinking upon His beauty and majesty, declaring praises, and hearing Him speak Truth - is also food for the spirit. And just as Jeremiah will gradually be eating more and more solid foods while decreasing in the amount of milk he drinks, so are we to do in the spirit. We are to grow in what we consume in the spiritual - more time before the LORD. May God deepen and expand Jeremiah's hunger and thirst for righteousness - for God.

Nevertheless

Life is full of challenges, obstacles, and pressures. There does not seem to be a day when there is a break from that truth (how I would love if there was). Hallelujah for growth and learning. Just as Isaiah looked so small up against the giant basketball hoop, that is how the pressures of life can seem when we are up-close to them. When we step back and see them from God's perspective, they don't seem as insurmountable. He has a way of showing us truth like no one can - as no other god can. When Isaiah saw the basketball hoop from far off, I am sure he felt like he could get the ball in there. Seeing others playing the sport also probably helped him find the encouragement that he could do the same - like us when we see others overcoming and making it through challenges. Hallelujah for the Word of God to do the same for us. We can look to those who have gone before us in the faith to see that it is truly possible to overcome and press on. Thank you, Isaiah, for once again revealing truth in such a simple moment of your life!

"Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead! I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us." Philippians 3:8-14