School at Home

Bethany and Ethan

Bethany

Ben - doing his own thing

Ethan -this picture was taken by Bethany my aspiring photographer.

Time & Intentionality

This morning I've been thinking about time. About how I never seem to have enough of it. How I feel like I am always chasing after it. Trying to catch it. Slow it down. Stop it. There are so many things to do each day.

I wish I could capture time. Keep it. Tell it to wait so that I can get everything done. Yet, I suppose I'm getting the things done that the Lord wants me to get done...or maybe not. Intentionality must play a part. If I am intentionally using my time, will I still be chasing after it? Seems not, and yet...craziness happens despite my best intentions to be intentional.

I've been pondering intentionality. Questioning what it looks like lived out and how I can stay motivated enough to be consistently intentional. I have a tendency to decide to do something and then completely forget that I made the decision to do it. There is just so much going on...time spinning fast.

I want to live an intentional life. Intentional for Christ. In every. aspect. of. my. life. Yes.

The question is:  what does an intentional or intentionally lived life look like? In real time. Time crammed full with children. School. Noise. Screaming toddlers. Sickness. Laughter. Good. Bad. Boring. Exciting. Life.

A life of purpose. A life of beauty. A life of order. A life of love. A life of sacrifice. A life of praise. A life well lived. Christ.

Yet, how? What is it? What does it look like? And how do I find time and strength to attain and maintain it? Revolutions in my mind.

Elisabeth Elliot's famous words come to mind..."do the next thing". And yet,...

I was reading another blog that I enjoy and the author was answering a question from a reader who asked how the author of the blog never got tired of being intentional. The author answered that she does get tired, but that it is a good tired. I agree. Work is good. Being intentional is good (and important), but I also agree with the questioner. Living an intentional life is not easy. It is tiring. Especially for a wife whose husband is often absent due to long work hours or other obligations. Intentionality then falls primarily on the wife/mother - and for a mother of many this can be a tiring thing. A difficult thing.

Weary. There is always the call of the couch. Do you hear it? It calls, "come and sit for you are weary". The computer calls too, "come and lose yourself in endless web pages and other's words". And books. They call too. And the shower. Ha!

As mothers we must laugh. Find humor in the crazy. Proverbs 31 says, "she laughs at the time to come". I've been thinking that we must laugh at the days that are. Today. This moment. It helps us stay sane. Or me at least.

My husband is once again teaching from 1 Peter. This book of the Bible is all about intentional living. Holy living. Glorifying God. Good works. Following Christ. And suffering. I'm going to try to carve out a few free minutes today to delve into it's pages and see what I can glean about living intentionally.

But now another is calling me from his crib. His babbles say, "Momma, come and get me. I am awake. I'm ready for the day. No more sleep. Here I am!" And so I go...to begin my intentional day or not. We shall see.

May the Lord bless you my sweet friends.

Two Kingdoms and the Grace of God

A simple wonderful thing that I love: When my husband teaches on a Bible passage in Sunday school and then our pastor preaches on the same passage (or subject) during worship.

Something similar and just as wonderful happened last Sunday.

A bit of background: Sometimes I know what Mark (my husband) is going to teach on or at least the gist of it, but sometimes I don’t. Last Sunday I knew nothing of his lesson except that he would be finishing up the book of Acts (28:11-31). In fact, last Saturday I wasn’t even sure if he would have a lesson to teach on because as of 9:00 pm Saturday night he was suffering from a (another) terrible headache and had been unable to focus on studying at all that day and the clock was ticking - so to speak.


9:30 pm last Saturday night: Mark asked me what he should do (about teaching on Sunday morning) and I asked him if he could teach the passage without studying it. He said he could. I told him to go to bed. He did. I spent some time praying for the next day - that God would take away his headache and that God would give him a lesson - God’s words to speak. Then I went to bed. I did not think to read the passage he was going to be teaching on the next day. I was worn out and Sunday is often a joyful, but busy and tiring day.


Sunday morning: About an hour and a half before we needed to leave for church I woke Mark and asked him how he was feeling and if he wanted to get up and study a bit. He said he felt a little better (not great) and would get up. I had a few extra minutes Sunday morning so I spent the time looking up verses on healing and then I spent a few minutes before we left reading Voices of the True Woman Movement, A Call to Counter-Revolution by Nancy Leigh DeMoss and others. I was reading in chapter 4 of the book and the subject matter was the kingdom of man vs. the kingdom of God. Looking back I realize that should have spent my extra time reading the passage Mark was going to teach on, but as you will see God spoke through what I did read.


9:30 am/Sunday school: Mark is teaching and I am silently praising God because He has given him words and his headache has receded a bit. It is a good lesson. I am thankful. I am also sitting in amazement because God is speaking…at least to me. Guess what Acts 28:23-31 is about? Yes! So amazing! Or maybe not. Just God. Exactly what I’d read about in those few minutes before we left for church. Of course! Paul preaching about the kingdom of God in Rome. So what do you think the main part of Mark’s lesson was about? Yes! The kingdom of man vs. the kingdom of God. Wake up O sleeper and see. Precious.


Marvel. Amazed. Blessed. Grace. Gift. Precious. These are the words that best described how I felt that morning and still feel. God is so good.

When they had appointed a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in greater numbers. From morning till evening he expounded to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets. -Acts 28:23

To follow Him we must give up our own kingdoms - whether relationships, wealth, or power - and embrace God’s kingdom.  -Hettinga

In all of life, it’s important to recognize that there are always two stories going on at the same time - two perspectives, two worldviews, two ways of looking at life. There’s the drama that you can see, and then there’s the drama behind the drama. There’s the obvious plot, as well as the plot beneath the plot. The first plot is the visible, human one - the drama taking place on earth. We might call this the kingdom of man,…Backlighting the human plot and story is a heavenly drama, an unseen story that’s always going on behind the scenes in the spiritual realm. It is the Kingdom of God, overshadowing and outdistancing the kingdom of man as God fulfills His eternal purposes through the events on earth. …Therefore, we as true women, playing out our individual roles in the story of our times, must keep our eyes on what is unseen, knowing that what our God is doing in the background is higher, broader, and more eternal than anything we can see with our natural sight. -Nancy Leigh DeMoss

Please believe me when I say that the wondrous acts of God are not limited to by-gone days. Our powerful, redeeming God is alive; He has not abdicated His throne; He is intent on displaying His glory in our world. And our minds cannot fathom all that He is able to do in and through the lives of those who trust in Him. - Nancy Leight DeMoss

P.S. Mark is still suffering from almost non-stop headaches and they are wearing him down mentally and physically. Your prayers are appreciated.

Just in case you forgot...

Today is Maundy Thursday.
Tomorrow is Good Friday.
Saturday is a day of silence as we reflect upon Christ being in the tomb.
Sunday is Easter or Resurrection Day.

Don't forget. Don't ignore. Prepare. Remember. Celebrate.

For many weeks our family has been reading through Amon's Adventure during our family worship time. This week (Holy Week) we added in the DVD our pastor made many years ago to help us prepare our hearts for Easter. (We watch it every year.) Holy Week is a precious week for our family and my favorite week of the year. What are you doing to prepare your heart and the hearts of your children for this most Holy of Days?

Here are a few ideas that we do at our home:

Go to church tonight (Maundy Thursday) and celebrate the Lord's Supper or have your own Passover meal.

Lenten Lights (Our candles are pictured above - we start with all the candles lit and then one candle is blown out each night of Holy Week. On Friday the final candle is extinguished and the candles remain unlit or dark - Christ in the tomb - until Sunday morning. On Easter morning all the candles are lit before the children awake and then the rejoicing begins. Easter baskets are reserved until after we have had our Bible reading, have read the final chapter of Amon's Adventure, and watched the last day of the DVD. I also usually have the children dress for church before they are allowed to dig into their baskets. All of this usually takes place before 8:30 am. This year the order might change a bit as we are considering - or rather I am considering, I haven't discussed this with Mark yet - attending the 8:00 am service. We usually have family over after church so all of these activities have to take place before we leave for church in the morning.)

Read Amon's Adventure by Arnold Ytreeide (Last night's reading was so exciting!)

Read the corresponding Scripture passages nightly to your children and/or yourself.

Make these Resurrection Rolls (we will make these on Saturday morning since Sunday is much too busy; this will be our first year to try this recipe).

Get Noel Piper's book Treasuring God in Our Traditions and use some of her wonderful ideas for how to prepare and celebrate Easter.

For the older folk in your home - watch The Passion of the Christ.

And this egg hunt is a neat idea that I just heard about this year and hope to somehow implement into our Easter day celebration (we already celebrate with a large family gathering and egg hunt).

Go to church Easter morning and celebrate the Risen LORD!

I pray these ideas will get you excited and spark some ideas of your own. Leave a comment and share what you do to celebrate and prepare for Easter.

I pray that you all have a blessed, peaceful, and restful Easter. Remember the point of these ideas is not to get stressed. Family worship is not about being stressed. It should be a joy and a delight.

Hiatus and Back Again

Hiatus - a break or pause in the continuity of action, speech, writing, etc. -The New Lexicon Webster's Dictionary of the English Language

I've been on Hiatus. I hope to be back now - at least every once in awhile.

Okay, let's get caught up:

The most exciting news (most of you know it by now) is that we are expecting baby # 6. A boy. Due around September 16th, 2011.

This is beauty for ashes as I miscarried last year on the 16th of September and God has graciously granted us a new life at the same time one year later. And NO we did not plan this baby or time the baby so that he would be born in September - we were not trying to have a baby at all we stopped "trying" and planning after #3 (but that is a whole other post).

Other happenings - Bess (5) broke her leg in a freak accident. She has been in a purple cast for about eight weeks now. We are hoping that she will get it off this Friday. She has been a real trooper and hasn't complained about it at all and we have been amazed watching her manage to get around by herself. She has been in a walking cast for about the last four weeks so that has helped. She is our first child to break anything. 

The last few weeks have been crazy with mechanical failures and other household disasters occuring. About two weeks ago the toilet in our half bath, which has a tendency to get clogged, overflowed again. (This occurred a day or so after our trip to a high risk pregnancy specialist to find out if our sweet boy had Downs Syndrome -he does not - and later that night a trip to the ER to calm my crazy heart. I had a SVT attack.) Caleb was the one to notice the water on the floor in the front hallway (outside of the bathroom) and his cool comment was, "Mom, there is water on floor" no emotion. Understatement of the year! It was a flood! All the way out of the bathroom to the front door and into the laundry room.  It was one of the biggest, grossest messes I've cleaned up in awhile. And I still don't own a real mop! At first I was completely bewildered as to how to clean up the mess, but God is good and cleared my crazed mind long enough for me to remember that we own a wet/dry vac. What a blessing! My amazing husband with the help of our oldest child spent all of Saturday morning unclogging the toilet. What a job. And so disgusting. I'm so proud of both of them. This is the man who used to know nothing about home repairs and now fixes everything. He has been homeschooling himself. Hee, hee. Praise the Lord for the internet!

Later, on the toilet night, as I was tucking the children in they all asked me why all these terrible things were happening to us and I had a chance to share that these things were not terrible, not even if our sweet baby had been diagnosed with Downs Syndrome, just inconvenient and unpleasant. Terrible is a death or something life threatening or worse - and even then there is good somewhere unseen in the mess. Our toilet overflowing was just a disgusting inconvenience. I was also able to tell them that God hasn't promised that our lives will be good/easy all the time. I told them that we should expect trouble because it will come and it is in those times that we have the greatest opportunity for growth and to glorify God through our attitudes and actions. I tried to explain that during the hard times we either grow closer to God or we turn away from Him.  It is a choice. And our response - to an overflowing toilet or worse - either glorifies God or not. I realized as I was talking to the children that over the last few years my own perspective and responses to the good and bad that happens in life has changed. I now see or try to see everything as from the hand of God for my good - even when it seems to the world and possibly to myself as the opposite. This is rarely easy but I try to always choose to see God's hand in a thing - His good and loving hand.

A sweet friend who recently lost a baby called the loss bittersweet. I smiled a sad smile when I read her words. My heart understood perfectly. Bittersweet was "my" word. I used to use it a lot. It is a word that I believe describes much of life. And I've come to beieve that, oddly enough, it is in the midst of the bitter that either the sweetness of joy is found or bitterness takes over. Choose joy.

Kid Hits x 2

1. Caleb (almost 8): Mom, I’m in the 3rd book of the Bible. Leviticus. I think you need to read the Old Testament first so that you will know what the New Testament is talking about.

Later that night as I was tucking him in he told me: Mom, that Bible (referring to a Beginner’s Bible on the floor by his bed) is the Bible I am reading to Ben (2). I am going to read it to him everyday.

(Awesome! Mom feels very humble and grateful.)

2. Bethany (10): Mom, do you want me to help Ben put on his Pajamas?

(Yes!)

Titus 2 - An Interview with Michelle Duggar

It is not about us. It is about making Him known. Making Christ known. - Michelle Duggar

Amen!

Dear Ladies,

Single, married, mothers of none , mothers of one or two, mothers of many may I encourage you to listen to the following interview with Michelle Duggar. She is a godly, sweet, wise, and precious woman with lots of experience raising children…I guarantee that you will be blessed. Topics range from whether or not she and Jim Bob always wanted a large family to dealing with the difficult times in life.

#14 Ladies' Symposium: An Interview with Michelle Duggar

Michelle’s favorite exhortation for young mothers - Don’t grow weary in well doing. For in due season you will reap if you faint not. … You will rejoice in time to come if you faint not.

P.S. Many of you know that a few weeks ago our sweet baby #6 went to be with the Lord through miscarriage. Going through this process has been horrible and precious at the same time. We thank God for giving us the gift of this child - even for the brief 9 weeks that I carried him/her. God has been so present throughout it all. We mourn, but we rejoice. Blessed be the Name of the Lord. Thank you to all of you who lifted us up in prayer. Know that your prayers were felt and very appreciated. And to those of you who offered to bring us a meal - “God bless you!”.

If you have ever experienced the pain and sorrow of losing a child through miscarriage or later, Doug Phillips message “The Hopeful Theology of Miscarriage” is a beautiful, tough, and wonderful message that will both encourage and challenge you. It is a message that you will not hear from many pulpits, but it is one which should be proclaimed. There may be a few points in this message (like the age of accountability) with which you might disagree, but listen anyway. Plus, did I mention that this is a challenging message? As in it requires thought.

#31 The Hopeful Theology of Miscarriage

“Mom, I just wish I could have seen his face.” - Aaron, age 12

“God is good. God is so good. God is good, but He can stop a baby. But God is so good.” -sung by Bess, age 4, as she played with her dolls.

“Mom, you can still (we can still) have another baby right?” - Asked by all of the children.

“Mom, now we can have all those things that you (and Dad) told us that we would have to give up because of the new baby - vacations, new shoes, clothes, toys. …I still want a baby.” -Bess, age 4

God gives a good gift. -Doug Phillips
Life isn’t just about life it is about death. -Doug Phillips

Oh, Lord, thank you, thank you! for the nine weeks that you gave me. Those weeks were so precious. Thank you. I honestly thought that I would never have the joy of carrying a baby again. What a sweet, precious gift you gave me…I love you Lord. Thank you. I trust you God. Blessed be the name of the Lord. -danielle, age 42

The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. - Psalm 16:5-6

Every 4 Hours for the Last 3 Days

My sweet Ben.

And he has been such a trooper. I'm so, so proud of how he has behaved through it all.

On Wednesday his nose started dripping. Thursday morning he got progressively worse. By 3:30 p.m. on Thursday he was clutching me and crying "mommy, mommy" and refusing to lie down or let go of me. I decided it was time to call the doctor. I was blessed to be able to get a 4:20 p.m. appointment. We rushed over there (I live close). The doctor took one look at him - in the hallway and heard his wheezing - and this was the result along with a steroid. The doctor said it was a "close call" and later told me that she was very worried about him. And to think that I wasn't even sure he was sick when I took him in. He just had a runny nose and was acting strange. The reality was that he couldn't breathe.

What caused it? We don't know. Either allergies or a virus.

Tonight we get to move to every six hours. Same for tomorrow and tomorrow night. I will call Monday to get new directions.

I'm so thankful that

1. I had the van that day.
2. I decided to act on intuition and not just symptoms.
3. The doctor was able to see me right away.
4. I took him to the doctor!

God is so good.

Here are the facts so that you will know what I did not: if your child starts breathing excessively fast - look at his tummy to determine this as it will be pumping in and out at an amazing rate of speed - and/or if your child starts to repeatedly grunt in a kind of "uh-uh" manner. It might be time to see the doctor or head to the emergency room.

A Few Random Pictures from the Vacation

1. Outside a Subway in either Alabama or TN. on the way to KY.

2. In Berea, KY.

3. Outside of Nancy, KY.?

My Dad. I just had to take a picture of this. I haven't seen one of these gas pumps in years.

4. Dollywood - Day 1/Green Day

Planning things out. (Gotta love Lands End sales.)

This is how Ben and I spent much of our time.

Bess. My 'smiley' girl.

Mark, Aaron, Beth, and Bess on the Smokey Mountain River Rampage.

Bess, Ben and Bethany in a Bumblebee.

And with Caleb in a duck. Quack! Quack! Five little ducks went out to play, over the fields and far away...

Aaron and Caleb in the bumper cars. (A big hit.)

4. Dollywood - Day 2/Red Day

Don't they look thrilled? Can you tell it is day 2?

Thought this was interesting. It was outside of the schoolhouse which I think was in Craftsman's Valley. There is also a church but I didn't take a picture of it.

And finally, a picture of the Tennessee Tornado - Beth and I were in the first row of the second car.

On Forgiveness

Again.

Ann Voscamp has such a gift. If you haven’t visited holy experience in awhile, it is time. Grab a Kleenex. You will need it.

Start here, but be sure to read this. Be sure to make yourself a cup of tea or java before you sit down - you will be spending a bit of time with her.

She writes about forgiveness, pain and thankfulness. Truth in prose.

I have been thinking about similar things. About my parents too. Not abuse, but...something like. Not what we have now. Joy. Beauty. Peace. Quiet. Family. Love. Togetherness. Christ.

I'm thinking about Lydia Brownback and all that she has been teaching me about joy. About how it is not and should not be based on circumstances. About how it is a gift and a responsibility.

So I pray.

Last time they (my parents) were here I failed. Miserably. Horribly. Maybe the worst ever. I've gotten good and making it through, but last time. I don't know...I wasn't ready. Wasn't "prayed up". I had decided that I wasn't going to be moved - i.e. affected. But, I was. During the entire visit I was 16 again. I was caught. Later, after the worst, I saw them.

Who? What?

Vultures. My husband laughs at me, but...their timing was impeccable. I never see them...and yet...on that day at that time...gotta wonder.

The invisible made visible.

And again a few days later when I lost it again because I still had not recovered from before…I saw another. A single vulture closer to home. Too close for comfort. The first time I saw a group. The second, one alone, feeding. Ugh! If you have read Dekker's Circle Trilogy you will understand.

Sometimes I look at my past and I wish I could rewrite it. Often.

I know what it is to live without Him and I've never gotten over my thankfulness...that He chose to save me. Plucked right out of the pit.

Yesterday I was listening to Christy Nockles sing about grace and I was thinking about Jesus taking the wrath of us all upon Himself. I needed Kleenex then too.

Sometimes forgiving is easy - it is figuring out how to live with the person or persons once you’ve forgiven them that is hard.

So we cultivate joy by clinging to God in times of sorrow and by repenting of all known sin in our lives. Along with these we fix our minds on God and pour ourselves into discovering who he is. The more we know him, the more joyful we will be as the wonders of his character are increasingly revealed to us. Joy is not only a gift but also a responsibility. -Lydia Brownback

Jack, Jackie, Jack-Jack

We finally adopted.

Isn’t he cute!

These pictures don’t really do him justice.

He is a little camera shy.

He looks happy here. The kids are happy. Tech. he is Aaron's dog. But, we are a family. One for all and all for one. :)

Jack (I know, I know...we did not name him and no, I do not know if he was named after C.S. Lewis or Jack from LOST) is a two year old beagle mix (mixed with Jack Russell Terrier or dachshund). He was given to us by a friend. The friend got him from the beagle rescue here in Houston. The friend decided that Jack was not getting along with the beagle he already owned. The rest, as they say, is history…

Jack has been with us for three and a half days. He is a really sweet dog and has already become a treasured and precious member of our family.

Welcome home, Jack.

Gifts

On May 24th my oldest child turned 12. I can hardly believe it. Where did my smiling toddler go? Suddenly he is a lanky, serious middle-schooler with a heart for God and a desire to please everyone.

On the Friday before his birthday, he and father went to an Astros baseball game. They had seats in the rafters. Their seats were so high up that the day before when Mark took our fourth child, Bess, she couldn’t make it all the way to their seats and they had to stop half-way there.

On the night of Aaron's game, while he and his father were standing in line to get into the game, a young couple came up to them and gave them two $44 box seat tickets for free. Just because. What a precious gift. Aaron called me later (from the game) and told me, "Mom, we are in the rich section." Needless to say, they were both very excited. What a sweet gift.

Now, maybe you think that it was just luck, or that they were 'in the right place at the right time', or that the guy was just being nice - and he was and maybe he had no use for the tickets, I don’t know, although Mark claims that the guy looked like he was having an inner battle over whether to give them away - but for my son and husband it was a gift from God. Clearly from His hand. God using that young man for His purposes.

We see everything through God colored lenses and to us this had God written all over it. Practically the minute Aaron arrived home he said to me, “Mom, God gave me a birthday present." Which is exactly what I had been thinking only I hadn’t told them so yet.

Rejoice in the LORD, o you righteous, and give thanks to His holy name! -Psalm 97:12

How does my garden grow?

My garden is an honest place.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Guess I stuffed it too full. The cucumbers are taking over.

This is a picture of a "wee" cuke. I'm so excited.

These are cherry tomatoes.

My first ripe tomato.

I love this little garden. Wish I had two.

Need a garden read? Try Simple Living – One Couples Search for a Better Life by Frank Levering and Wanda Urbanska. It is an autobiography which recalls how Frank and Wanda left their writing careers in Los Angeles, CA and decided to take over Frank’s family’s orchard in Virginia. Good stuff.

My Name

Today Bess drew me one of her famous circle people pictures. Circle mom and circle Bess. Luckily we are always happy, smiling circle people. I take that as a sign that I’m doing something right.

On the opposite (outside) side of her picture (she likes to fold her pictures in half and turn them into “letters” or gifts) she wanted to write my name. She is just learning her letters so she needs a bit of help.

My initial unthinking response was to actually write my name, but somehow that seemed wrong.

A minute later I said, “Bess hand me the paper.”

To which Bess responded with her typical spunk, “No I want to write it myself.”

To which I responded, “I know. I’ll write it. Then you can copy it.”

So how did I spell my name?

M O M

I love that name.

Monday

I glimpse: children running in the backyard.
I see: a mud smeared boy pressing his face against the glass of the back door.
I hear: the cheep, cheep of a bird outside, the whoosh and whir of the washer and dryer, and the muted sounds of children playing.
In a few minutes I will: call Caleb in to so some school work.
I’m thankful: that school is winding down and summer is almost here.
I’m thinking about: my youngest being so undisciplined (and where and when I dropped the ball) and being told that my two year old Sunday school class at church should be lining up at the door when we go out (I guess I dropped the ball there too).
I’m hungry for: a good book and a sermon that will stir my soul.
Today I will be: potty training Ben (in process), finishing many loads of Monday laundry, school, and evening clean up.
Dinner tonight: Black Bean and Grilled Chicken Salad
If I have extra time I will: write out a meal plan for the next two weeks.

Random Pictures

Just a little something to take up space and let everyone know I’m still around.





Ben - 2 years



Over the fields and through the woods to our new homestead...(Just joking. This is really a picture of Barrington Farm at Washington-On-the-Brazos State Park. Btw, I really think that Dogtrots need to come back into vogue. Very cool for extended family living.)



Bess - 4 years



Ben is all boy. He loves dirt.



The finished garden (so I can remember what it looks like when it is 100 degrees and everything has shriveled into nothingness).

And a few flower pictures...

Holy Week

Tomorrow is Palm Sunday.

One of the few things I miss about no longer being a Catholic is the lack of palms on Palm Sunday. There is something about actually having a palm branch in your hand on Palm Sunday that makes a difference…especially for the children. And now that I think about it I also miss walking the Stations of the Cross…

Next week (starting today actually) is my favorite week of the entire year. I love this week.

Holy Week

Holy – consecrated, saintly, sacred, awe-inspiring.

Awe-inspiring

Don’t allow this special week (which culminates on Easter Sunday) to pass by without a glace or thought…

What can you do?

1. Lenten Lights: Eight Biblical Devotions to Prepare for Easter
2. Treasuring God in Our Traditions – Noel Piper
3. Through the Bible Through the Year – John Stott (specifically chapters 32-33)
3. Check out what is going on at your church or mine and attend.
4. Do you have really little ones? Veggie Tales Easter Carol, Children’s books/Bible stories about Easter, Nightly Bible readings using Lenten Lights or something simpler (your Bible or your child’s Bible) and/or candles.

Special Days: Palm Sunday (tomorrow), Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

Don’t let this week just pass by. Spend it in the Word –spend it riding a donkey with Jesus; hearing the rustle of palm branches and shouts of “Hosanna”; savor the Last Supper; share in the sorrow as friends desert, betray and deny; walk dusty streets bleeding and torn feeling the weight of the cross; imagine the pain (can we even?) of nails, and weight, and suffering; hear others beg to be remembered and hear soft words of forgiveness; taste the bitterness of vinegar, and the saltiness of sweat and blood; hear the words from the cross; shudder and weep at His death; feel the depth of loss; wait in the weight and despair of darkness and confusion and then, and then…walk to the tomb. Notice that the stone has been rolled away; that the burial clothes are empty; marvel; see the angel; listen in wonder and awe; be filled with JOY and run proclaiming…

He is not here; He is risen, just as He said (Matthew 28:6). !!!

He is risen. Place your hands in His wounds. Touch His hands and feet. Weep for joy. Rejoice!

Awe-inspiring? Uh-huh. Now you understand why.

Hallelujah!

Holy Week. I love it.

Remember and walk.

Deep Thoughts

Bess: Why doesn’t God talk to us?

Mom: He does talk to us. Most of the time we just aren’t listening. Talk to Him and then listen for His response.

Later…

I guess she went off and prayed.

Bess: Mom, I talked to God. He still didn’t talk to me.

Mom: What did you say to Him?

Bess: I don’t want to tell you.

Mom: Okay...

A few minutes later…

Dad (after overhearing Bess saying, “I talked to God, but He didn’t talk to Me.”): What did you say to God?

Bess: I don’t want to tell you.

Dad: That’s okay. God talks to us in our hearts and through His Word – the Bible. Would you like me to pray with you?

Bess: Okay.

They pray. Mom (the narrator) cannot hear what is said.

A few minutes later. Dad has left the room.

Mom: Bess, what did Dad tell you about how God talks to us?

Bess: (After taking a moment to think the question over.) I can’t remember.

She runs off to play. End of conversation.

Bess turns four on the 28th of March.

Let the Games Begin

Ben say...

“cow”

gow

"cat"

gat

"dog"

awg

“one, two, three, go!”

un, eww, eee, go!

And on and on. Bethany was having a blast. Not so sure about Ben but he was playing along – no chocolate required.

Cow is a new word (for him). Cat too.

Go Benny!

My Youngest

Ben doesn’t talk.

Sorry, I take that back. He does talk, but most of it sounds like this, “ching-gow-now-how-san-tiwan". Or something. Said loudly and often to me and/or anyone else he is addressing. And said with the two middle fingers of his left hand held backward in his mouth. (And, no, it isn’t just because of those two fingers that everything he says sounds like Chinese although they probably don’t help.)

Every once in a while a word or two will pop out, “Mama! MAAAAMMAAA!” or “go, go, go” and of course, “no, no, no”. And sometimes more pleasing words like shoe or sock. He seems to like words that start with “s”. I counted once and I think he can say about 17 or 18 words. The baby book says that he should have upwards of 50. So, not good. He can also do a few basic signs, but he gets them confused. He is almost two.

Anyway, I’ve been wondering what is wrong with him. He seems perfectly normal in every other way. He climbs on things. He can put puzzles together. He can go up and down stairs, stack blocks, kick a ball, walk, sit on the potty, and obey me on occasion. He can even toss a ball with some accuracy. And he knows no fear - except of battery operated robots. He just can’t "talk".

I admit it worries me.

He and I are together in a room on Sunday with nine of his peers and they are all talking. Oh, and the other thing he can’t or won’t do is point to an object and name it or name it when I point to it. (So I guess he is not normal in every other way.) Every once in a while, if the picture he is looking at is an animal, he will make the animal’s sound, but usually nothing. I have to admit that this problem worries me more than the not talking. Even if he never said a word, but could point to stuff I would be good because at least then I would know that he was processing information.

It is a little weird too because my other four all spoke in complete sentences by the time they were two. Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating a little, but by the time they were two I had no doubt as to their verbal abilities and honestly one or two of them did use short phrases and simple sentences.

Today the prize for each correctly spelled word in our little family spelling bee was a Chocolate Skittle. How does that relate, you wonder? Well, as I was handing out Skittles Ben reached out his little hand for his share and it crossed my mind that maybe I could bribe words out of him or at least give him a yummy reason to try and say a few more. So I tried and ‘by golly’ it seemed to work. Soon the older children had him saying all the words he knew. He ended up getting quite a sugar high. You should have seen his smiles. He can be really cute when he tries.

So, that is my plan for now. I'm going to try bribery. I’ve never heard of bribery being part of speech therapy before, but who knows…

Chocolate is a force to recon with and I don’t know anything about speech therapy.