Lessons in Love

Like I mentioned, God has been teaching me some lessons recently...many small lessons relating to the same theme. The theme is Love.

God has been teaching me how to obey Him out of love (no other motivation should do--not expectation of blessing, fear of consequences, or simply because I have no other choice).

God has been teaching me to be willing to drop the everyday chores in order to love those around me.

He has been showing me that my baby, who I thought much like his Daddy in temperment, is actually more like me. He is laid-back and charming when he is well-rested and well-fed but a bear to live with when he is not. I am better about the well-fed bit than David, but I respond very poorly to lack of sleep and stressful situations. I am learning through a daily intentional effort on my part to respond more lovingly (still in process of learning!) to those dearest around me when I am tired or stressed.

None of these lessons are easy or painless, but I am just thrilled that He sees it worthwhile to "prune" me, to make me more like Him.

As an after-thought: God could have/did use so many circumstances, quiet times etc...to teach me these lessons, but one of the ones He has consistently used in my life (and one which I have missed so much until recently again) is Bible Study Fellowship (BSF). It is an international, inter-denominational Bible study that is purely God's word over and over again! We are studying John this year. Check out their website if you are interested- bsfinternational.org. And if you live locally and want to go with me on Wednesday mornings, let me know. They also have evening classes and likely have a class in your city too--remember they are all over the world!

Deep thoughts in a puzzle

God has been teaching me a lot of lessons recently so bear with me as I share a thought.

I was watching David try to fit a puzzle piece in a new puzzle I bought him. It is a nice wooden puzzle with trucks for pieces. He has so much trouble with this puzzle, however. This got me to thinking "why?"

The puzzle is one where the piece only loosely fit into the piece openings. This means that there is wiggle room around the piece. While this might sound easier for a child, it actual was harder since it gave David no sure boundary to verify that the piece was in correctly.

Isn't this true of life in general? When we give our kids loose boundaries, thinking we are being kind, they only struggle with actually determining what the boundaries are. I know I too find it far easier to obey when there is no wiggle room. I may not like the restriction but what safety and reassurance there is in actualy knowing where our boundaries are. Thank the Lord that He has laid out clear boundaries for us in His word!

A fire truck and a birthday party

****For those reading this on a RSS feed, I am sorry that this is from several months back!****

We went to Babies r Us recently; I splurged on the 50 cents for a ride for David on the fire truck with Snoopy. He loved it!!! (except the getting off part where he threw a temper tantrum!)

We also went to cousin Caleb's birthday party at the park. A fun time was had by all, except at times by me. I found myself literally corralling David on the playground like a shepherd. He kept running off!!! He did eat well though, even without his booster seat.

the love of adoption

I was thinking about adoption this morning as once again I was listening to one of my favorite CDs, Rise and Shine by Randy Travis. If you like country music, or even if you don't, you might appreciate this CD also. The words to all the songs are so thought-provoking, touching, and challenging spiritually.

The song "Raise Him Up" (lyrics here) talks about adoption and first brought to my mind the image of the ultimate adoption story--Jesus. What could be a more powerful testimony to share with adopted children than the story of Jesus--adopted by Joseph as his own?

And now we, as Gentile believers, are also adopted into the Lord's family.

Ephesians 1:4-6 4For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.

What joy there is in adoption!!! And what love... hopefully the same love that motivates us to obedience (as I was reminded again in BSF this morning).

"Cause it's time he knew
What a son can do
With a father's love.
He can change the world"

a modern-day miracle

Some may just laugh this off as a coincidence, but I want to give God the praise for His obvious hand in a minor situation yesterday.

We have had a possible, small gas leak below our cooktop for a couple of weeks. Several folks have come and tried the soap and water method (see where the bubbles appear to find the leak). One miniscule leak was spotted and fixed, and yet the smell still resided at times. We finally called the gas company yesterday and asked them to come out.

The gas man arrived and checked the meter and told me if there was a leak, that it was very small. Then, he took his sniffer and started testing the lines under the cooktop. As I expected all the lines were fine. He went down to the fitting on the copper line that came out of the house (and this is where it can get quite a bit costlier and a nuisance to fix). His sniffer, however, picked up a small leak right below the gas shut-off valve but above the floor. He started to tell me though that since it was in a place that he could not fix, he was going to be required to shut off the gas until it was fixed...possibly days. I know I should not be complaining, but it has been really cold at night (30s) and no heat (especially with a baby) would be miserable! Here is where God stepped in...

As he was telling me this policy, he soaped up the pipe. He didn't see any bubbles and then he went back to "sniffing" the same joint that had had a problem earlier. No alarm signal! He tried for 10 minutes to recreate the signal but couldn't. He even went out to check the meter and it was completely stationary. He came back in and sniffed again. I too "sniffed" with my nose and could not even smell the gas. I already suspected God was being gracious to us. We now knew where the possible leak was but would not have to have our heat cut off. This was confirmed when a couple of hours later, I opened the cabinet back up and could smell the gas again! What a blessing for a momentary lapse in the escaping gas!!! I know it was a little miracle from the Lord!

Update: Michael thinks he pinpointed and fixed the problem last night, but time will tell.

My grown-up boy at a year and a half

This month was a bit of a difficult one. You had a double ear infection that lasted for about 2 weeks and then a week of happiness followed by several days of fever and more sadness--turned out to be another ear infection (#4 that we know of). I have treasured the moments of puny-ness where you just sat for 30 minutes at a time cuddling with me on the couch...a "never before, never thereafter" experience. We have discovered that bubble gum medicine is one of your favorites though!

You have suddenly started to show more interest in language. You added a few new words to your vocabulary and have tried to copy me a bit more. You now say "happy," "puppy," "two," "three," "fish," as well as jabbering away all the time! When I start counting, you will often skip "one" but chime in with "two" even before I say it. It amazes me how much you understand already!

Speaking of that, you have started pointing to all sorts of things too. You love your buttons! You will point to the puppies on your pjs, the general vicinity of your belly button, and even occasionally your mouth when asked.

You also have added a lot of new food to your repertoire (see previous post)...also including raisins and split pea soup again. (funny story: you refused the split pea soup I tried to feed you yesterday, even spitting it back out. Then, your Daddy and I were eating the same soup half an hour later. You decided you wanted some. You happily ate bite after bite of Mama's soup! You are at the funny stage that is easily influenced by what we eat. I have decided I feel a bit like the cupbearer to the king; I must try your food in order for you to eat it. Do you really think it is poisoned???)

You have outgrown all your smaller clothes and are pretty much entirely in 18-24 month clothes (mostly 24mo. or 2T). However, after your 18 month check up, not a surprise due to your eating strike at least half this month, you weigh exactly the same as you did at 15 months-- 25 lbs. 4oz. (25-50%ile). You have grown 1/2 an inch and now are 33" tall (50-75%ile) with a smaller head than last visit(47 1/2 cm--25-50%ile).

You got your first "real" haircut this month. Meaning...you looked like a shorn sheep when they were done. It was long overdue!

You still sleep well and play in your crib semi-quietly before I get you. I say "semi" because your new favorite is to reach through the slats in your crib and push the buttons on the baby floor gym that is sitting next to it. You then will often stand up and dance to the music. When it ends, you get on your belly and push the button again so the whole process starts over. I have often watched quietly from the door and love to see this. You dance is like a penguin waddle!

You still adore you Daddy and run to the door, try to open it, and laugh hilariously when I tell you that he is home. You have gotten to where you recognize if his car is in the driveway or not. (after I accidentally misled you one time--oops)

You love to play outside--whether in your car or on the small play structure in the back.

You went to the K-2 Academy this month with your playgroup and even with your ear infections, you enjoyed running around.

You also went to McDonald's playground this month (also with playgroup) and amazed me by climbing up to the top and crossing all the hurdles!

You are more and more fun each day as you start to communicate, react, and interact. We love you, David!

Life underwater and above

We went to the Downtown Aquarium last week with our playgroup. David was not impressed by the fish (in fact, he barely even gave them a second look), but he loved the illuminated signs telling about all the fish! He spent a minute or so looking at the white tiger. We bundled up (brrr...although it did warm up a tiny bit by lunch time) and went outside for the train ride through the shark tunnel. We also went on the carousel (David was not a huge fan of his alligator he rode). He did, however, sit still for the ferris wheel. His mama was not so happy with the ride though. Caution: never sit on the uphill facing side if you are not fond of heights. It was also a little more apparent how high we were because we were going very fast (they opened up all the outdoor rides just for us and went extra long and fast) and we were looking down on the highway with all the cars and up at the skyscrapers.

A fun day of fishing-watching for me and sign-spying for David!