The fruit of the Spirit is…
I do have this verse committed to memory, but have found that I need to be reminded of each fruit separately…and daily would be good–so here is my solution!
*sorry for the not so great photos, it is a gloomy day*
special delivery. August 25, 2009
You know how some days you find yourself really struggling with something whether it is jealousy, doubt, pride…and then you open up your Bible or devotional and God has words that are just for you. Words that are exactly what you need to hear? Well, God does that very same thing for 3 year olds! This morning as we were driving to speech therapy, Greta said, “Mommy, I don’t want to die.” We then had a long conversation about how she doesn’t need to be afraid to die- that she will go straight to heaven to live with God and Jesus who love her even more than Mommy. I told her there would be friends there and lots of singing and probably even ice cream! She talked about heaven pretty much all the way there, which for a 3 year old is a long time to talk about anything.
At bedtime each night before we say our prayers and she thanks God for all of her dresses and for her family, we read a page from her daily devotional. I just wanted to share with you what God had to say to my little Greta tonight.—
AUGUST 24
Our Heavenly Home
There are many rooms in my Father’s house…
I am going there to prepare a place for you.
John 14 :2, ICB
When company comes to your house, you probably have to put all your toys away and make sure your room is clean. Now imagine Jesus getting heaven ready for all his friends. Maybe he’s setting up a special spot just for you or getting a feast of all your favorite foods ready. Whatever Jesus is doing, he’s making sure that heaven will be a special place- just for friends like you!
Jesus is busy in heaven today,
Preparing a home I’ll live in someday.
G.K. Chesterton. March 30, 2009
I’m not sure exactly how old I was, but I would guess sometime in my early highschool years I had an obsession with looking up and memorizing quotations. I would go to the library, find the very thick books on quotations, look up any particular saying that I found relevant to my teenage life and commit it to memory. Sometimes I would write out a quotation on paper, make it all pretty and hang it on the wall. Looking back, I can see that it was the beginning of my thirst for the word of God. I was looking for wisdom, answers from those who knew much more than I. Now that I am older, I get any wisdom I need from the Bible. I actually do not read much else. Memorizing scripture has been an invaluable asset to my life as a Christ follower. As a throwback to my highschool days, I’ve decided to share some of my favorite quotes as of late. They are all quotes of G.K. Chesteron…
“The main point of Christianity was this: that Nature is not our mother: Nature is our sister.”
“The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and left untried.”
And my favorite-It’s long, but worth it!
“Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, “Do it again”; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, “Do it again” to the sun; and every evening, “Do it again” to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.”
house tour. March 10, 2009
So far 2009 has been an unbelievable year for our little family. 2008 was not the greatest, so this is very, very welcome! Many of you know that we moved a little over a month ago into a home that God has miraculously provided for us to live in. To make a long story short- we had been praying for months and months that God would bless us in a way that we could not anticipate. Did he ever! What a relief that God is over all things and he cares for each of us like a mother cares for her young. Anyway, here is a tour of our new home.
The living room
The dining room
The bathroom
Miles’ Room
Greta’s Room
Bedroom
Kitchen
Basement
We just love how bright and sunny this house is. It is pretty much 10 minutes from anywhere we need to go and we love that it takes less than 5 minutes to get to our church! The back yard is huge and will be great for playing once it warms up. We are incredibly blessed to be able to live in this home!
Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. -Psalm 107: 28-29
santa who? December 7, 2008
We do not do Santa at our house. Yes, we are weirdos. Growing up, Joe and I both believed in Santa. For me, Santa and the idea of lots and lots of presents definitely overshadowed the real Christmas story; which of course is the story of Jesus coming to this earth as a baby to redeem our souls. We decided that for our family, we did not want the focus of our Christmas to be anything other than the anticipation and celebration of Christ’s birth.
Anyway, the way that Greta reacts to Santa is has become quite funny. Last year, she saw Santa on some wrapping paper and called him a pirate! To her defense, he did have black boots and a big belt on- I can kind of understand what she was talking about. A couple of days a week, the kids come with me to work at the flower shop. They have a life sized Santa that talks and dances if you press the button. Greta is TERRIFIED of him! She literally runs away screaming and crying. At the bank today she told me, “Mommy, I’m scared of the Christmas guy. I don’t like to press the button.”
It’s cute and funny now, but I am really looking forward to explaining to her why we do not use Santa to celebrate Christmas when she is a little older. To me, Christmas is so much more than simplistic reindeer and elves. In celebration of the birth of Jesus, I have made some ornaments for our tree. My dear friend, Dorene, had the idea of making ornaments with the some of the different names of Jesus. I promptly STOLE that idea 
Hers turned out so beautiful and classy. Black and silver…so crisp and classic. Mine are—well, “me”. Sloppy and colorful. We had fun making our ornaments and I love what they add to our tree. Now when I pass by our tree and see one of the names- I am reminded of songs and Bible verses. How cool is that?!?!
I want to see Jesus. November 8, 2008
“Take your finger out of your nose!”
“Be gentle with your brother.”
“We do NOT stand on the table.”
“Do you want to go into time-out?”
“NO whining!”
Some days I feel like all I do is correct Greta. It can be very discouraging (for both of us). There have been days where I have wondered if my little girl felt loved at all!
When your child is only 2 years old it can be difficult to see the fruit of your labors. And, it is hard to say if she really understands why Mommy does the things she does. But, every once and a while I get a moment like this and it makes me realize that we must be doing some things right.
This morning, Greta told me- “I want to see Jesus.”
My heart just melted! I told her, “we won’t be able to see Jesus until we are in heaven, but we can talk to him and pray to him when ever we want!”
I was just overjoyed by the fact that we have presented Jesus to her as a person that she wants to see! It is our prayer that our little girl (and little boy) would desire to know Jesus more with each and every passing year. I can’t wait until she is a little older and I can explain to her that she can see Jesus in many, many things here on this earth; a friendly smile, the beauty of the falling leaves, the love that Mommy has for her children. I love guiding these little hearts!
changing views. July 17, 2008
Isn’t it amazing how God can just change the way you see something? I remember the first time I saw a baby with hydrocephalus online. I couldn’t believe how big the baby’s head was! It looked so odd-so unnatural. I struggled with these thoughts even when I saw my own son for the first time- of course I loved and adored him instantly, but it took a little getting used to. Joe and I were laughing how in just 6 months God has completely changed how we see our son…and all babies in general! Now when I (or Joe) see a baby with a regular ol’ head- my first reaction is, “where is the rest of that baby’s head?, it looks so strange”. It is pretty funny to think that God has made us so enamored with our little boy that our first instinct upon seeing other children is that there is something wrong with them! We are so thankful for our perfect little boy. We know that he is just perfect in God’s eyes and are grateful that we are able to see him in the way that God does.
We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.- Isaiah 64:8
lessons. June 11, 2008
God has been teaching me so many lessons. This past year has been full of learning things I didn’t necessarily want to learn. Lately, I’ve been feeling like I’m in a really good place as far as accepting the trials that God has given me. But, of course, God wouldn’t be, well…God if he didn’t show me that I still have so much to learn!
This past Sunday we were sitting in church. Joe and I were sitting towards the back and I was holding Miles. Families with small children are asked to sit in the back of the church for obvious (noise) reasons. It just so happens that the back of the church is also a popular place for the teenagers to sit as well. Last week, there were a group of girls sitting next to us talking loudly almost the entire service. And this week there was a group of 3 high school boys sitting in front of us. One of the boys kept looking back and staring at Miles. From the time we got there till the end of the service, this boy was just gawking at Miles. I was thinking to myself, “how rude, doesn’t this kid have a clue??”. Then I was thinking, “I’m not going to let this kid ruin my time at church”, so I just kept on snuggling with my son and listening to Pastor Carl. Still I was having a hard time not thinking about how teenagers are “these days” and just how difficult my sons life could be when people like this kid are inconsiderate and stare at him just because he looks a little different. The service continued on and when it was over, that kid stopped and said, “your little baby is soooo cute!”. I felt so ashamed. Instead of assuming the very best of this boy, I assumed the worst. This boy was not what is wrong with the world today, but what gives me hope for my children’s future. The kind of teenager whose parents should be proud! The kind of teenager I would like my Miles to be one day. Even us old folks can learn from those who are younger.
Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. -1 Timothy 4:12
4 months. May 5, 2008
Little Miles Jacob is 4 months old! Well, actually 4 months and 2 days, but I wanted to wait to post anything until I had his 4 month stats. We had a Pediatrician’s appointment this morning and… Miles is weighing in at 16lbs., 3 oz. and is 27 1/2″ tall. The pediatrician addressed our concerns about his left eye crossing. He said that his eye is actually not crossing. The bridge of his nose is so wide that it is causing his eyes to lay funny and appear unparallel. The way you can tell his eyes are not crossing is to lay him flat on his back and see the reflection of the overhead lights- if the reflection of the lights is on the same part of the pupil on both eyes, they are parallel and not crossing. He said we will want to keep an eye on things, but again not to worry!
It is so exciting to see how Miles is developing. With any child you celebrate their milestones and growth, but it’s just a little more special with Miles. Every new thing he achieves is proof that his little brain is growing and developing. Just this past month Miles learned how to laugh, suck his thumb, turn his head from side to side, sleep up to 8 hours in a row, bat at toys and even scoot a little on the floor. We are so excited for our little boy. He is absolutely incredible.
When I think of the Doctor (I won’t name his name, but the one who mentioned termination) who said Miles might not even live and if he did he might not be able to move or interact- it makes me so angry! Not for our little situation, but for the other parents who’s hopes are being crushed. Kind of makes me want to some send him photos of our gorgeous little boy. None of the other many, many Doctor’s said things like that. They did say that the future was uncertain, but never painted a picture of despair.
I am so thankful that Joe and I have our faith to lean on (as well as great family and friends). I am also so very thankful for our little boy. I am in awe of how perfectly God has made him!
He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say this to the mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”-Matthew 17:20
