This morning, in devotions, this bit of chatter occurred amongst our family:
Loren: (reading out of Matthew) "Then, Jesus was led out into the desert to be tempted."
Bella: Did you say "tooting" giggle giggle
Loren: no...tempted
Bella: Oh....giggle giggle giggle...tooting
Hope: giggle giggle giggle
Then later tonight:
Hope: Mom, do you think Jesus really tooted?
Me: Yes, of course. Everyone does, right?
Hope: (hesitantly) I guess.............that's weird to think about.
Me: ...........yeah.........it kind of is, isn't it? giggle giggle giggle
We are sooooooo spiritual. :)
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Why I celebrate Lent
An excerpt from Reliving the Passion: Meditations on the Suffering, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus as Recorded in Mark by Walter Wangerin Jr. :
"[For the disciples] death reigned everywhere.
Death alone.
But in the economy of God, what seems the end is but a preparation. For it is, now, to that attitude and into that experience that the dear Lord Jesus Christ appears--not only an astonishment, gladness and affirmation, but joy indeed!
It is the experience of genuine grief that prepares for joy.
You see? The disciples approached the Resurrection from their bereavement. For them the death was first, and the death was all. Easter, then, was an explosion of Newness, a marvelous splitting of heaven indeed. But for us, who return backward into the past, the Resurrection comes first, and through it we view a death which is, therefore, less consuming, less horrible, even less real. We miss the disciples' terrible, wonderful preparation.
Unless, as now, we attend to the suffering first, to the cross with sincerest pity and vigilant love, to the dying with most faithful care--and thus prepare for joy."
"[For the disciples] death reigned everywhere.
Death alone.
But in the economy of God, what seems the end is but a preparation. For it is, now, to that attitude and into that experience that the dear Lord Jesus Christ appears--not only an astonishment, gladness and affirmation, but joy indeed!
It is the experience of genuine grief that prepares for joy.
You see? The disciples approached the Resurrection from their bereavement. For them the death was first, and the death was all. Easter, then, was an explosion of Newness, a marvelous splitting of heaven indeed. But for us, who return backward into the past, the Resurrection comes first, and through it we view a death which is, therefore, less consuming, less horrible, even less real. We miss the disciples' terrible, wonderful preparation.
Unless, as now, we attend to the suffering first, to the cross with sincerest pity and vigilant love, to the dying with most faithful care--and thus prepare for joy."
Monday, February 21, 2011
I AM NOT potty training...yet
Let me just say right off the bat that I AM NOT potty training Ava any time soon. She is 16 months old and there are definitely people out there that would tell me to go for it. It's all the rage. Potty training earlier and earlier. But, I don't have the stamina. I just don't. I like to wait until they can say, "Excuse me, mom. Urine is about to come out of my urethra and I would like for it to go into the toilet instead of in my pants. Could you take me to the bathroom, please?" Okay, maybe they don't have to be that articulate or, in this case, creepy, but I generally wait until after they are two and have a good grasp on communication. And, I have to say, with Hope and with Bella it was a total breeze. They both picked it up really quickly...like within a couple of days...which I know could totally be a coincidence but, honestly, I just prefer to think I am super awesome.
All that being said, my darling youngest child...have i mentioned that I think she's a genius...woke up from her nap today and headed for the bathroom. Now, that's no surprise. We usually keep the bathroom door closed at all times because Ava is totally obsessed with the toilet. And, while I'm being honest, it is quite possible that she might have dipped a piece of bread in it the other day and tried to shove it in her mouth, after which I wrestled her to the floor, pried her lock-jawed mouth open with my finger and scooped that bad boy out of there. Ugh. The things I do for love. At any rate, as she headed to the open bathroom door today I gave her the look and said, "No, Ava." Then, she looked at the toilet, pointed to her diaper and said, "poopy" (which is a new word these days). Well, I had to change her wet diaper anyway so I told her she could sit on the potty. I mean, how cute is a little baby tooshie on the potty, right? So, I took her little diaper off and set her up there. A second later I heard the definite sound of little-girl-tinkling! And, I looked down to see her totally going to the bathroom and then looked up in astonishment to see the biggest smile on that girl's face.
So, even though I AM NOT potty training, I congratulated her and made a big deal and gave her a little treat. And then, of course, I snapped a picture.
What in the world, people?!? This child is seriously smart. I am in trouble.
All that being said, my darling youngest child...have i mentioned that I think she's a genius...woke up from her nap today and headed for the bathroom. Now, that's no surprise. We usually keep the bathroom door closed at all times because Ava is totally obsessed with the toilet. And, while I'm being honest, it is quite possible that she might have dipped a piece of bread in it the other day and tried to shove it in her mouth, after which I wrestled her to the floor, pried her lock-jawed mouth open with my finger and scooped that bad boy out of there. Ugh. The things I do for love. At any rate, as she headed to the open bathroom door today I gave her the look and said, "No, Ava." Then, she looked at the toilet, pointed to her diaper and said, "poopy" (which is a new word these days). Well, I had to change her wet diaper anyway so I told her she could sit on the potty. I mean, how cute is a little baby tooshie on the potty, right? So, I took her little diaper off and set her up there. A second later I heard the definite sound of little-girl-tinkling! And, I looked down to see her totally going to the bathroom and then looked up in astonishment to see the biggest smile on that girl's face.
So, even though I AM NOT potty training, I congratulated her and made a big deal and gave her a little treat. And then, of course, I snapped a picture.
What in the world, people?!? This child is seriously smart. I am in trouble.
Friday, January 28, 2011
A Whole Lotta Hope
It is possible that my children may hang out around high schoolers too much. I mean, it kind of comes with the job. Teenagers are at our house all the time and we are at their events, and in their lives, too. We love it, and wouldn't change it for anything. But, occasionally, one of the kids does something that makes me shake my head and throw up an extra prayer that our life filled with teenagers doesn't make them grow up too fast.
Hope has me look over her reading journal each night after she does her homework. Last night, she gave me her journal with a wicked grin on her face. This was what she had written about "Curious George and the Dinosaur Museum."
If you don't know, "pshshsh!" is the equivalent of "duh!" in teenage language. I laughed and told her she couldn't write, "pshshsh!" on her page. She said, "Well, obviously Curious George is the main character of the book. Pshshsh!"
She was right. It was kind of a silly question for that book, but I made her change it anyway. And, I made her get rid of the "like" too...although I can't really blame that one on the teenagers. I use that word way too much.
Hope cracks me up and she is growing and changing before our very eyes. And last Sunday, after church, she told me that she needed help reading her bible so that she could have a relationship with Jesus. She told me she knew she needed one because she wasn't a good friend and she knew if she had a relationship with Jesus that he would help her. So, that night, after some good conversation she prayed and told Jesus that she needed him and wanted to follow him. And I balled my little eyes out.
Hope has always known about Jesus and always believed and Loren and I have struggled a little with how to encourage our kids to make their faith their own. My tendency was to, at the first conversation we had about following Jesus, invite her to "pray the prayer" and seal the deal. I'm not completely sure why that is what always seemed to well up in me in those moments. But, a bigger, hopefully wiser, part of me knew that my kids, each in God's timing, would have to come to this decision on their own, without my rushing it. As Loren and I have talked, we have always said that when our kids recognized their need, it would feel like they really got it, really understood.
On Sunday, Hope faced her need head on. And, I'm not gonna lie, it was hard for this momma to watch her child suffer over the understanding of her sin. But then...oh the joy of watching her giggle at the thought that Jesus has taken it away and will walk with her forever. Her pink, frilly room became the sanctuary of God as we prayed and we basked in His delight.
So, family and friends, when you think of it, pray for Hope. That she would stand firm in her faith. That her life would be guarded from the schemes of the Evil One. That she would fix her eyes on Jesus and run the race marked out for her with faithfulness. That she would be bold and be a light in this world. That she would know in her depths, the delight the Father feels for her, and live out of that place. And...and...and....you get the picture.
And Jesus, the word gratitude...for this life, this child, this redeemed heart...doesn't even come close. Praise your name!
Hope has me look over her reading journal each night after she does her homework. Last night, she gave me her journal with a wicked grin on her face. This was what she had written about "Curious George and the Dinosaur Museum."
If you don't know, "pshshsh!" is the equivalent of "duh!" in teenage language. I laughed and told her she couldn't write, "pshshsh!" on her page. She said, "Well, obviously Curious George is the main character of the book. Pshshsh!"
She was right. It was kind of a silly question for that book, but I made her change it anyway. And, I made her get rid of the "like" too...although I can't really blame that one on the teenagers. I use that word way too much.
Hope cracks me up and she is growing and changing before our very eyes. And last Sunday, after church, she told me that she needed help reading her bible so that she could have a relationship with Jesus. She told me she knew she needed one because she wasn't a good friend and she knew if she had a relationship with Jesus that he would help her. So, that night, after some good conversation she prayed and told Jesus that she needed him and wanted to follow him. And I balled my little eyes out.
Hope has always known about Jesus and always believed and Loren and I have struggled a little with how to encourage our kids to make their faith their own. My tendency was to, at the first conversation we had about following Jesus, invite her to "pray the prayer" and seal the deal. I'm not completely sure why that is what always seemed to well up in me in those moments. But, a bigger, hopefully wiser, part of me knew that my kids, each in God's timing, would have to come to this decision on their own, without my rushing it. As Loren and I have talked, we have always said that when our kids recognized their need, it would feel like they really got it, really understood.
On Sunday, Hope faced her need head on. And, I'm not gonna lie, it was hard for this momma to watch her child suffer over the understanding of her sin. But then...oh the joy of watching her giggle at the thought that Jesus has taken it away and will walk with her forever. Her pink, frilly room became the sanctuary of God as we prayed and we basked in His delight.
So, family and friends, when you think of it, pray for Hope. That she would stand firm in her faith. That her life would be guarded from the schemes of the Evil One. That she would fix her eyes on Jesus and run the race marked out for her with faithfulness. That she would be bold and be a light in this world. That she would know in her depths, the delight the Father feels for her, and live out of that place. And...and...and....you get the picture.
And Jesus, the word gratitude...for this life, this child, this redeemed heart...doesn't even come close. Praise your name!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Ava
This girl is growing up way too fast. I can hardly believe she is 15 months old! Ava is our little comedian and our 23 lb tornado. She has taught me the art of walking into a room and immediately assessing all the damage she could cause if left to her own devices. She is curious and needs to touch, smell, and taste everything. She also feels the need to see if she can climb every piece of furniture we have, thus sending her mother into near cardiac arrest every three days or so.
She makes us laugh all the time with her funny little personality and her goofy faces. Her favorite, these days, is this fish face. :)
And, I may be biased here, but I think she is seriously smart. She understands so much and is starting to be able to communicate more and more. Her first words have been, mommy, daddy, and doggie....oh...and "uh uh", which mostly means no, but can mean yes, too and she says that because she hears it from me about eleven hundred times a day.
What fun she has brought to our family! I can't imagine our life without her.
She makes us laugh all the time with her funny little personality and her goofy faces. Her favorite, these days, is this fish face. :)
And, I may be biased here, but I think she is seriously smart. She understands so much and is starting to be able to communicate more and more. Her first words have been, mommy, daddy, and doggie....oh...and "uh uh", which mostly means no, but can mean yes, too and she says that because she hears it from me about eleven hundred times a day.
What fun she has brought to our family! I can't imagine our life without her.
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