Happy Wednesday, all! We have made it back home from our travels visiting family, and are almost back into the swing of things. I had an encounter this last week, regarding my faith and what I am teaching our children. In response to Lexie exclaiming excitement about the crosses at a church we passed by, and her telling us that “Jesus died on the cross to save people from their sins,” I was told that children will learn whatever you want to teach them. I guess that’s true? If we teach our children to hate the sinner rather than the sin, their hearts will be filled with anger and contempt for other humans. This was not at all God’s plan for our hearts. If we teach our children to only care about themselves, find all the answers to life in their own minds, or hate other people for their beliefs or lack there of, they are going to learn those things. They are also probably going to grow up to be self centered, “me generation” adults, with no sense of liability for their actions or concern for others.
I say this because when we only take care of ourselves, causes that we want to be a part of, and we lean on our own understanding rather than God, life becomes messy, confusing, and depressing. We can become angry, bitter individuals with little compassion for others. We are teaching Lexie that there is something much bigger than herself; there is a God that loves her unconditionally, and we should live life treating others like his son treated others. Lexie is learning to be kind, loving, and responsible. She is learning that her actions have consequences, and that while we are all sinners, it is our faith in Christ that saves us. We aren’t saved by being kind to others, alone. Or by being vegetarians, pro-lifers, liberals, or animal rights activists. We are saved by his Grace, his love for us which He shed on the cross. So when my faith or what we teach our children, are questioned, I have one verse in my mind that can explain our lifestyle and beliefs.
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God
Ephisians 2:8
Until you let yourself experience his love, and his grace, I’m not sure it can be understood to what degree the word “faith” is meant. I would think that an athiest, or someone who doesn’t believe in God and Jesus Christ as it is written in the Bible, could care less what we teach our children in terms of religion and God. And faith aside- I’d much prefer Lexie excitedly explain what she knows about Jesus and those crosses, than see someone that has a different skin color than her own and refer to them as sub human. Or treat another child who has a disability differently than she would a typical child. The flesh is not what matters- it is our spirits that matter. I pray you all have a wonderful week, and allow yourself to experience His grace.
This study was going to be a challenge for myself. I have so many thoughts and ideas running through my head all the time, I am endlessly googling things, “pinning” ideas to save for later, looking for easy DIY tutorials for specific projects I have in mind.
But I rarely pick up books anymore. I haven’t read a good book in months and months, at least not one since before Max was born, I know. And before, I was a book-aholic; I had to make myself stop reading a book so I didn’t finish it too quickly, and still I flew through several books a month.
I miss books. And when I saw this study from GMG, and read that it was both a book and Bible study, I thought, “score.”
But in all honesty, while I have done the Bible reading and prayer journaling …. I haven’t picked up the book yet. =/
This blog post solidifies one big reason why I was on board with moving to Nebraska.
It was a risk.
A big risk.
I remembered a very good friend in middle school (who came from a Christian family) once telling me that her Dad said to be “content” and just satisfied with everything in life was being farthest from God.
For whatever reason that has always stayed with me.
So when JTom asked what I thought about Nebraska, and if it was something we might really want to consider, those were the exact words I told him- The story from when I was 13, hanging out with a great girl friend (who, btw, does missionary work now), and feeling like if we prayed about this enough, and it felt right, we should do it. I wasn’t afraid to be out of our comfort zone anymore, like I had been for so long.
When we are so comfortable with everything in life that we are just coasting right on through, we rarely seek God. As a matter of fact, that is when He usually becomes a God of convenience.
But to take risks, to be in a place that is sitting right on the edge of uncomfortable and unknowing, that keeps our eyes on Him. That is when we live with the utmost faith.
“Trust Him. Live Boldly. Live in such a way you HAVE to depend on Him. Life is more exciting when you live it fully engaged.”
Maybe I was craving that faith; maybe that is why God has kept me from being scared or saddened by the move or being so far away from what I have always known. I haven’t shed one tear over being lonely or far away from everything I’ve known for the last 6 years.
Not because I don’t miss it, but because here is good too.
And while it is risky, and nerve wracking sometimes, it isn’t bad, or lonely, or miserable.
Someone at the pool last week asked JTom and I if we were homesick; we looked at each other kinda puzzled, and said, “no. not really.”
We have always had the mentality that we are home. Our family; J.Tom, me, and the babies are home. Do I miss the idea that my family was 3 hours away …. sure. Do I miss the familiarity of Hot Springs, I guess so? But every day is new here. Every time we venture out we meet new people that may be who God has put in our path for a reason.
Sometimes I feel impatient about why we haven’t found the right church, or a consistent group of friends or play groups. But then I remember that we are putting forth the efforts, actively praying and searching, and He will take care of the rest. He knows his plans for us.
For I know the plansB)’> you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.Then you will callE)’> to me, and I will listenG)’> me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.B)’> joy, peace,B)’> joy, peace,A)’> but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6
Then I think about things like the families of Oklahoma this week. Not their homes that were destroyed, but the lives taken; the families that are now in pieces because they lost a child, or loved one. And I think, what would I tell them? There is nothing to say. It makes my worries, for today anyway, seem small. Because I know my babies are safely sleeping in their beds. JTom is safe. We are comfortable, have food and water. And warm clothes on our backs. God wants me to give my fears and worries to Him; I don’t have to carry them. If I am anxious, if I am fearful, I can’t be as close to Him, or as much like his Son as he wants me to be. So I give it to Him. One of my very favorite verses:
For I know the plansB)’> you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11
From everything comes good; whether it be pain, illness, or suffering. Above all, His plan prevails.
I am starting a new series on my blog for each Wednesday. It may eventually become a link-up… it just depends on the response. Each week, while I am planning out our Bible study for the week, I always come across scripture that I needed to see. Something that speaks to me and fills my heart with joy and blessing. Don’t you love it when that happens? There is always something in my mind that I want to write about many of these verses. So, I thought what a good way to share it, than on my blog? Hopefully these scriptures will speak to you as well. I encourage you to pick up your Bible and read along if you’d like, and you can share your thoughts with me and my readers in the comments. =) Test the Spirits:
You dear children are from God, and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. I John 4:4-6
The Bible tells us the world is evil; God reminds us to not be of the world. He tells us not to love things of the flesh, because the flesh is corrupt and the world is full of sin. He tells us to love things that are good, and Godly.
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life — is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. 1 John 2:15-17
Whenever things are so hard, when people are discouraging you from doing what is right or good, know that He is with you. His plan for your life will prevail over the world’s. Sometimes knowing that your choices as a mother, wife, friend, (or whatever other rolls you play), will be criticized by some of the most important people in your life is one of the hardest things to think through. I have had nightmares about some people’s reactions to mine and JTom’s choices. Nightmares! How ridiculous is that?! We know our plans are what has been placed on our hearts by God, and we have come to our decisions through prayer. It’s not like we do things all willy-nilly for the heck of it. I know He is greater than any of their criticisms. And yet my mind, the flesh, tells me to worry about it. My mind tells me it is something that will affect our family negatively and that I need to prevent it. The truth is that God will take care of it. Maybe they won’t react that way at all. Maybe they will completely understand and agree. Maybe God has already been working on their hearts and their response to our decisions. But maybe not.. And the truth is, my brain needs to step aside, and let God do the leading. THAT IS SO HARD sometimes. But I know, I am from God, my family is for God, and He is greater than the world. I sin, I fall short all the time, but that doesn’t keep me from trying. And that doesn’t keep Him from loving and blessing our family. He is greater than jealousy. He is greater than selfish ambition or envy. {Galatians 5} He is greater than the world and the spirits that are in it.
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
*I have been building this post all week, so “today” isn’t actually today ….* Max has grown by leaps and bounds in the last 5 days! He suddenly went for a bitty baby to a big boy! He is almost crawling (edit: AAAAh! He crawled 2 knees worth today!), waving hi, giving wide, slobbery, open mouthed kisses, and laughing more than ever. Tonight for bedtime was the first time he put his head on my shoulder and his arms around me while we sang for night night. I usually hold him like a baby while he sucks his thumb and winds down. He’s such a sweet bear. Today, he also went from the crawling position to sitting position for the first time. …. see, lots of firsts! He said Mama while we were playing downstairs, hiding out from the rain. I was so excited. He is trying really hard to talk. A lot. The past few days I have had the living room fan, he is mesmerized; and I know all babies love fans. But this boy like instantly smiles and is hypnotized by the fan! He likes to play games now, like throwing his head back so you will hold him upside down, and putting his chin up so you can tickle his neck. It’s so funny. These are all things Lexie was doing long before 8 months. But it’s like he just decided, “Hey, I think I’m ready to move and have fun!” Before, he was so lazy and laid back. He is still laid back, just enjoys moving around now. He gets so excited and is so proud that he can get up and rock on his knees, push up on his toes, and crawl backwards sometimes. He will be crawling more by the weekend, we are sure! Lexie gets very excited with him. She likes to show him how to do it. He really enjoys playing in the grass. One of the great things about having a real lawn, is he can play and feel the grass without the fear of stickers. I have him his first asparagus this week. He loved it! He also likes dill pickles (did I mention that last time?) and blueberries. Lexie has been the sweetest most affectionate two year old ever this last two weeks. She is constantly telling me how much she loves me, hugging my neck tight, kissing me, playing and teasing, loving on her bubby even more, and just growing more kind and loving every day. Lexie has a tender heart; she doesn’t like for other people to be hurt or upset, but has had her share of not being so nice (like a typical two year old)… Pushing, chasing the dog, hitting Max … terrorizing the chickens comes to mind too. But lately she has been so affectionate. Last night we were doing bedtime routine, and she just wrapped her arms around my neck, hugged me and said, “i love you more than this much!” I’m sure my monster toddler will return soon, but until then i will take all these loves i can get! Her new favorite *obsessive* topics to talk about are the things that make God happy, and being grateful. It’s wonderful to see Christ in your child’s life, even before they completely understand the implications of their relationship with Him.
Max has been very clingy this week. His second tooth is here, and he is chewing like crazy with his side gums, so I am wondering if he is getting more teeth?! But I’m not sure. For the most part this last week was good. Minus the screaming. Oh my! The screaming. And it isn’t screaming like, “Oh, I’m mad so I’m screaming.” Or “feed me now!” (though he does that sometimes while I get a bottle ready.) No, it is just screaming. For FUN. A high pitched “Wheeee!” sounding scream. He was doing this while we ate lunch the other day. Lexie leaned over, put her hand on my forearm and said, “Mama. I do not like that sound.” Oh sweet girl, neither do I! Hopefully he will grow out of it before long. He is signing milk all the time now. While I make his bottle, that little hand is just going to town signing for “milk.” It’s so sweet. He has been eating okay, but not great. Since the first tooth broke through he has good days and bad; he usually is only taking 4-5ounces, but will finish the rest mixed into cereal. However, because his new meds are working for his reflux, he is able to eat lots of real foods he couldn’t eat before, and now protests plain oatmeal! The boy wants real food. haha So we have been doing lots of avacado, carrots, peas, green beans, pears, apples and blueberries, etc. His sleep has been better this past week, with only a few short naps. This weekend he had *perfect* sleep. All. Weekend. Long. It was amazing, really. I also found the activity table; it was hidden in the garage. We started using it this past weekend, and he did really well. For a baby who doesn’t seem the least bit interested in crawling or moving around at all, really, he stood up on his own for a long time playing at the table. He hasn’t mastered the art of bending his legs when he falls; so rather than fall onto his bottom … he just topples over like a stiff log. haha He doesn’t think it’s very funny, and usually gets really scared when it happens, so I try to avoid it… but the boy needs to learn how to fall onto his booty. So we are working on bending his knees and bouncing while standing, but those feet are firmly planted; I just don’t think he’s ready for all that yet really.
Considering Mister has been having such good sleep as of late, it is fitting that Lexie has been a little hit or miss. A few weeks ago, she went from not wanting to go to bed at night (read: saying she is tired, wanting to sleep, but also wanting us to pat her or rock her, which we don’t do because she has always gone right to sleep) to sleeping in her rocking chair. For some strange reason she has decided she wants to fall asleep in her rocking chair; and despite our attempts at keeping her in the bed, she gets up. But we have been going in and putting her back in the bed. The craziest part about all of this is she has been NAPPING. Consistently. For an entire week! I think this is partially because she is done teething. All her two year molars are in, and now she is back to eating and sleeping well. We considered taking the rocking chair out of the room, but I think we will just wait and see how long this phase lasts. Maybe she is just ready for a big bed… I am not sure. The 2.5 year mark usually is a developmental milestone for children when you generally see added clinginess, sleep disruptions, and new fears develop. She is definitely more clingy to both JTom and me, and has mentioned being afraid a few different story characters were going to “get me.” We have reassured her nothing is going to get her; she doesn’t mention this at bed time or anything, just sometimes while playing alone in her room.
Moni, Shelby, and Lilly watching us play doll house
Her imagination is wild! We still have engines that are beyond wearing out their welcome. haha I think I tell them things 200 times a day. “Will you tell me engines what I am eating? Will you tell my engines they need to sleep at nap time? Will you tell my engines they need to stay on the swing set and leave Scarlet alone?…..” Oh my. Then, the other night we had dinosaurs. On the ceiling. The engines go everywhere with us; she even includes them in her stories during stretching at gymnastics. They really like the museum. As long as I don’t have to feed them, I guess they can stay. 😉 Right now, Lexie is really into reading her devotional and Bible. I mean … like they are attached at her hip. As a matter of fact, the devotional is falling apart, and she can read every day, word for word, from January until today. Not kidding. That’s what we read for every nap and bedtime. It is her favorite. She is now acting like a little Mama to Max and her dolls. When Max cries she says, “Oh! Let me go see what is wrong to Max. Max, what is wrong to you? Tell me why.” haha I am not sure why she says “to” instead of “what,” but I’m sure she will figure it out soon enough. Her new favorite words are “fantastic!” and “earlier.” Hearing her say earlier is hilarious.
chewing on a pear
dyeing Easter eggs … a week late =/
painting her fingernails
We visited a church this past Sunday. It was really nice; it reminded me of my church growing up, which was a Full Gospel church. This is a non denominational church, it is small but has many young families. I am excited to maybe visit it again this coming Sunday. J.Tom was raised Presbyterian, so it is different than he is used to. But I actually felt like I was in church. For the past 5 years in Hot Springs I just didn’t get what I needed from our church; provided I didn’t give much back to them in way of serving. I never felt like it was home. The sermons were more like the new school way of thinking-motivational sermons or get people involved in serving the church, but let’s not talk about sin, salvation, the devil, or how to grow in Christ. That’s how I felt, anyway. The church we visited Sunday had an amazing sermon, though a little long, and a great worship service. Lexie walked into children’s church like she owned the place. haha She enjoyed herself (although she was supposed to be in the nursery since she isn’t 3 yet..) I don’t know if we will visit a different church this week or try this one again. We will just pray about it and see. We just hope to find a church that gives us what we both need, and that we can be a serve as well. How did you find your church home? Is it one you grew up in or one you found after marriage, college, children…?
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