Yesterday, Jack was carrying around the little orange Gideon Bible that Lily used to carry all the time. "My Bi-bowl," he says. He pretends to read it. I can't help but look at Jack and see a tiny little pastor. He loves to pray, his sweet little whisper prayers. When I hurt my back, he just kept praying all evening that Mommy's back would get better, and he still prays it at meal times. He loves to sing Jesus Loves Me, Jesus Loves the Little Children, and Praise Him, Praise Him. These are his favorite songs, and he will often be singing them to himself, or sit at the piano and sing them. He and Lily both ask for their Bible story after dinner every night, and Jack insists on holding hands when we sing and pray after the story. It is a precious time, and I love how he looks around at his family with a smile as he sings. He has such a precious little heart; he's such a love. I hope he retains that sweet spirit as he grows up. His dad did.
Some of the verses I read this morning reminded me of Lily and Jack, and my prayer for them. They're from Isaiah 44:
3 I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring,
and my blessing on your descendants.
4 They will spring up like grass in a meadow,
like poplar trees by flowing streams.
5 One will say, 'I belong to the LORD ';
another will call himself by the name of Jacob;
still another will write on his hand, 'The LORD's,'
and will take the name Israel.
This is my deepest prayer for my children--that they would know they belong to the Lord, and would flourish like beautiful trees well-watered by the Spirit. I see the Lord working in their lives, and I long for the day when they really know Christ as their Savior and are confident in their adoption into his family. It reminds me that in my daily life, my chief goal is to point them to Christ, and to our need for him, rather than just parenting their behavior. It's a fine line sometimes. Lord, give me the patience and love for them to keep showing them you no matter what else is going on.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Monday, July 12, 2010
Foundation
He will be the sure foundation for your times,
a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge;
the fear of the LORD is the key to this treasure. (Isaiah 33:6)
I have Scripture readings delivered to my inbox every morning; it goes a long way toward helping me stay on track with a reading program. This verse stood out to me this morning. Thinking of God as "the sure foundation for your times" is very settling. I remember sitting on the giant granite boulders on the shore between Manchester By the Sea and Gloucester, feeling how settled and secure they were. Such a contrast to the rolling waves crashing in front of me. God is like that. He is a sure foundation, and I sit there and life rolls and crashes around me, but I have a steady place from which to observe and experience it. Not only that, he is a rich store of three things: salvation, wisdom and knowledge. I need those things so clearly: to parent, to be a helpful wife and dear friend to Joel, to counsel others, to know how to live, to have hope for the future. And finally the verse points us to the way we access the Lord's salvation, wisdom and knowledge: reverent submission to him (fear of the LORD).
Last night I watched a sobering documentary on Netflix: Maxed Out. Man. It told the story of how the credit companies work, interwoven with politics, legislative bills, creditor collection services, and the stories of people who have declared bankruptcy, who are living beyond their means, even who took their lives because of the mess that their irresponsibility with credit had made of their lives. It was very well-done, and very troubling. It made me all the more committed to living as much as possible in a debt-free lifestyle. It also made me that much more passionate about offering the opportunity for our college and career friends (and whoever else wants to go) to hear Dave Ramsey when he comes to Atlanta in the fall. I've already talked with them and they have a wonderful group rate for church groups. I wish I had studied this stuff when I was in my early twenties, and I look forward to sharing these wise principles with our friends.
I am enjoying the clouds this morning after days of heat. We even had rain in the night, and I hope it will revive my garden. My watering does not seem sufficient...it needs a good, soaking rain. Boy, do I understand that.
a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge;
the fear of the LORD is the key to this treasure. (Isaiah 33:6)
I have Scripture readings delivered to my inbox every morning; it goes a long way toward helping me stay on track with a reading program. This verse stood out to me this morning. Thinking of God as "the sure foundation for your times" is very settling. I remember sitting on the giant granite boulders on the shore between Manchester By the Sea and Gloucester, feeling how settled and secure they were. Such a contrast to the rolling waves crashing in front of me. God is like that. He is a sure foundation, and I sit there and life rolls and crashes around me, but I have a steady place from which to observe and experience it. Not only that, he is a rich store of three things: salvation, wisdom and knowledge. I need those things so clearly: to parent, to be a helpful wife and dear friend to Joel, to counsel others, to know how to live, to have hope for the future. And finally the verse points us to the way we access the Lord's salvation, wisdom and knowledge: reverent submission to him (fear of the LORD).
Last night I watched a sobering documentary on Netflix: Maxed Out. Man. It told the story of how the credit companies work, interwoven with politics, legislative bills, creditor collection services, and the stories of people who have declared bankruptcy, who are living beyond their means, even who took their lives because of the mess that their irresponsibility with credit had made of their lives. It was very well-done, and very troubling. It made me all the more committed to living as much as possible in a debt-free lifestyle. It also made me that much more passionate about offering the opportunity for our college and career friends (and whoever else wants to go) to hear Dave Ramsey when he comes to Atlanta in the fall. I've already talked with them and they have a wonderful group rate for church groups. I wish I had studied this stuff when I was in my early twenties, and I look forward to sharing these wise principles with our friends.
I am enjoying the clouds this morning after days of heat. We even had rain in the night, and I hope it will revive my garden. My watering does not seem sufficient...it needs a good, soaking rain. Boy, do I understand that.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
What is it?
My definition of "quiet moment" has changed. At this very second it means that I am sitting. Lily is, I believe, rolling up the carpet in the hall so she can pull the cloth-bottomed laundry hamper down the hall into my room. I decided to let her attempt it, and she is very pleased with herself. And now she is replacing the rug. I will take all the help I can get.
I am learning to harness Lily's desire to be helpful. This morning I asked her to teach Jack to put all of his laundry into his laundry basket (it had been in service holding some clean laundry)--I returned to find it all neatly placed in the basket. Lily had finished the job. She's great at finding "old juice" (sippies from earlier hours) around the house and placing them in the sink for me. She'll take a stack of kitchen towels and place them in the baskets in the kitchen. I find that if I give her one task, she's great. It's more a matter of training Mommy than training Lily in some jobs, because I cannot say "Please clean your room" and expect anything to be finished. Gotta break it down.
Which is not a bad lesson for me, too. Breaking tasks down into more manageable parts is about the only way I can get things done. Right now I am typing. I am also holding a stuffed lambie who apparently scratched his leg. I am holding him while Lily gets things together for drawing. And now I am being asked to help Lily to work on her drawing. It's a very orange picture of Lambie crying. Oh dear. That may be the end of this post.
I am learning to harness Lily's desire to be helpful. This morning I asked her to teach Jack to put all of his laundry into his laundry basket (it had been in service holding some clean laundry)--I returned to find it all neatly placed in the basket. Lily had finished the job. She's great at finding "old juice" (sippies from earlier hours) around the house and placing them in the sink for me. She'll take a stack of kitchen towels and place them in the baskets in the kitchen. I find that if I give her one task, she's great. It's more a matter of training Mommy than training Lily in some jobs, because I cannot say "Please clean your room" and expect anything to be finished. Gotta break it down.
Which is not a bad lesson for me, too. Breaking tasks down into more manageable parts is about the only way I can get things done. Right now I am typing. I am also holding a stuffed lambie who apparently scratched his leg. I am holding him while Lily gets things together for drawing. And now I am being asked to help Lily to work on her drawing. It's a very orange picture of Lambie crying. Oh dear. That may be the end of this post.