Not So Terrible

My little man turned two on Saturday.

His sisters helped make cupcakes.


They turned out pretty cute.



He played with his sister in the 'wops' (rocks).



He had fun playing with his chalk,

and jumping in the bubbles.

Despite everyone's predictions, he blew out those candles on the first try!

Happy Birthday, my little man. You are so loved.

To believe and obey

I am a member of a conservative, reformed denomination. I consider it a privilage to have a local, bible-believing, gospel-preaching church. Since joining this denomination, I have been increasingly challenged to live my life from a biblical perspective. This means that my opinions no longer matter, that I must live my life according to what the Lord has revealed in his word. With this perspective, there's no more 'I'm okay, you're okay.' There is simply right and wrong.

Many Christians will consider a social issue from a worldly perspective and thoughtfully form their conclusions based upon their own feelings or experiences. But, I can't do that. My feelings and experiences don't trump God's word. His word rules. This is a more rigid way of living. Some might even call it closed-minded. But, for a Bible believing Christian there really is no other option. We are called to believe and obey.

My heart is aching tonight for a fellow Christian, and others like her who have bought into the world's lies on social issues. Believing that a woman has a right to her own body more than a child has a right to his own life is flat out lie. God says that murder is wrong. Period.

It saddens me to discover that even in my conservative little church, Satan is still at work deceiving. I am not angry with this person, but I pray for her that the Lord will change her heart. And, I pray that he will reveal to me other areas of my life where I am not fully submitting to his word.

May he continue to sanctify us until we reach our glory.

Getting Ready

The scent of Ivory Snow fills the house as tiny little girl clothes are re-discovered in their rubbermaid boxes. Memories flood my mind of what it was like to hold my firstborn, and what my second daughter looked like in this pretty Christmas dress. What a gift to be able to do it again. What a treasure this new daughter already is.

At nearly thirty-two weeks, I am feeling a sense of urgency about being prepared. So, the office off of our bedroom is being relocated to a corner and the empty room being made ready for our newest little heir. Fabrics are being chosen and fashioned into a new bumper, quilt and curtains. Storage boxes for under the crib are being filled with sweet baby blankets and sheets. Organized chaos is occurring, and I believe that my husband would like to begins seeing more organization and less chaos. So would I...

I'll be sure to give you all a peek when the nursery is done.

Creeping

You know how vines creep, sometimes rather quickly, up the wall and through the window? An old house may have nice green ivy floors and wallpaper after several years of abandonment.

As I gaze about my house, I've noticed that books and curriculum have begun to spread out from their original small shelf in the dining room. They've claimed several shelves in the living room. There are lesson plans strewn out on the dining room table (which is now in the living room as the dining room has been completely eaten up by the homeschooling vine). My office has stacks of our new Tapestry of Grace binders and Dolch word flash cards awaiting their appointment with the scissors. Often, our Pathway Readers are left on the couch. And, I'm always finding bits of cut-up construction paper on the floor. I suspect this is due to my four-year-old's recent interest in scissors.

Yes, homeschooling has changed our home. It is a different place than it would be if my children attended school during the day. Heck, I might actually have a dining room! But, I wouldn't trade those sweet moments of reading with my children on the couch, or sweeping up the paper scraps for the long days of wondering how they're doing. Because of homeschooling, I know exactly how their reading is progressing, and whether or not they're learning to obey cheerfully. Sure, there are wonderful parents who are able to send their children to school and still remain very aware and involved with them, and that's great. But, I'm glad see the vine spreading in our home. It makes me smile because I know that He has called us to this, and because I get to see so many of their smiles.