At All Times

if you're wondering...

2011-05-17T09:07:00.002-05:00

I've been in the process of re-prioritizing my time.

And the blog just didn't make the cut this time around.

So for now, updates on the adoption and our lives

will be given via facebook.

rainbow treats

2011-04-04T15:05:00.004-05:00

It is Hannah's week at school to bring treats.

I let her pick the menu for the week

and she came up with a great idea for rainbow treats.

I take no credit for this - every bit of it was her idea!

Her idea was to put together fruit in the colors of the rainbow.

Red: strawberries

Orange: oranges

Yellow: pineapple

Green: green grapes

Blue: blueberries

Purple: purple grapes

She originally wanted to put these all on a stick,

but the crisis-oriented part of me

didn't want to give pointy skewers to a bunch of Kindergartners. :)

So we put them in baggies instead.

She had a great time making them all!

Our little helper.

depraved indifference

2011-04-01T21:13:00.000-05:00

six

2011-03-14T09:03:00.000-05:00

remind me who I am

2011-03-10T21:25:00.004-06:00

Thankful that God is patient with me.

Thankful that He reminds me again and again of my true identity.

1 Peter 2:9

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

another freebie

2011-02-28T19:46:00.004-06:00

This time it's some music

for YOU.

I recently listened to a new split EP album

by Jamie Barnes and Brooks Ritter.

And I really liked it.

I'm terrible at classifying music,

but this is maybe a bit indie, a bit alternative, and a bit worship?

You can stream the entire album for free here.

And you can download the first song for free here.

This song ("Approach My Soul, The Mercy Seat")

has been running through my head all week.

I love it!

It borrows a lot of language from the Old Testament Law,

which I am currently reading through.

So the themes have had a lot of meaning for me.

Before you listen to the song,

look up the meaning of the word alchemy.

Now think through the third verse.

Powerful!

I need His mercy every day.

And I'm so thankful that He's poured it out on me!

Freebies - really good ones

2011-02-19T10:29:00.004-06:00

I love free things.

Especially when they're as great as these!

I've got three free resources to point you to today.

And one more that isn't free, but is pretty crazy cheap.

1. Practical Prayer Books

These are excellent books!

I use Prayers of an Excellent Wife to help me pray for Adam daily.

Setting Their Hope in God is a book to help you pray for your children

and Water of the Word is one for husbands to pray for wives.

All three of these can be downloaded for FREE here.

If you're old-fashioned like me and prefer to read off the printed page,

you can buy them for only $4.82.

Find that coupon here.

2. Audio Book

Do you know someone who was adopted?

Do you have friends who are adopting?

Are you considering adopting?

Adopted for Life is the best book on adoption I've read.

We even went to a conference called Adopting for Life by this author.

And it's seriously not just for people who are adopting.

If you care about adoption - it's for you.

And you can get the audio book for free! (link here)

(I think it's only free this month,

someone correct me if I'm wrong.)

3. Children's Music

I love having a variety of music for my kids to listen to.

I especially love music that fills their mind with truth.

And I highly respect Matt Chandler and the ministry at The Village Church.

So naturally I also love this free children's CD put out by their church.

4. More Children's Music

{not free, but an amazing price}

My favorite children's CDs are put out by Sovereign Grace Ministries.

I also love their worship music (we do a fair number of these at our church).

Sovereign Grace is having a February sale -

you can get any CD for only $6!!!

You can listen to samples as well:

Walking With the Wise

To Be Like Jesus

Books are on sale as well.

the pass

2011-02-15T19:17:00.003-06:00

My girls are experts at wearing me down.

Shocking, I know.

So lately I've been trying to come up with creative systems

that cut out the manipulation before it starts.

Sometimes it's worked,

other times it hasn't.

"The Pass" is one thing that has really worked.

Hannah loves to get out of bed at night again

and again

well - you get the idea.

No excuse is beyond her reach.

And no form of discipline has really deterred her from the goal

(which I'm assuming is to not fall asleep).

So I gave her a pass.

One pass to get out of bed.

Like a "get out of jail free" card.

She gets the pass before going to bed.

She can choose to use the pass (and turn it into me)

or keep it until morning and turn it in for a prize (like a piece of gum).

And it worked like a charm!

Most nights she's kept it until morning (she loves gum!).

A few nights she's used it once.

Notes:

-I never told her what would happen if she came out again after using the pass.

She never asked and never tried.

This was a bit shocking to me.

-We used this very regularly and successfully for about 2 weeks.

Now on most nights she forgets and we forget.

But that's ok because she's now in the habit of staying in bed anyway!

-We give a bigger prize on the nights that a babysitter puts her to bed.

She struggles more on those nights, so we figured the prize should be bigger.

-We don't do this for Sophia.

What works for one child doesn't work for every child.

Plus she isn't struggling in this area - yet.

I'm loving getting creative in coming up with systems that work for my kids.

It's great to cut the manipulation out before it starts!

And I'd love to hear your ideas.

What systems work around your house?

Songs of L'Amour

2011-02-08T20:59:00.005-06:00

I love a good love song.

Especially around Valentine's Day.

Here are a few of my favorites.

(Warning: I use the word "favorite" way too much in this post.

Evidently it's my favorite word.)

First, you have to check out Dave Barnes' EP record

entitled You, the Night & Candlelight.

It's only $5!

Perfect for a Valentine's gift!

Preview the songs at the above link.

I Have and I Always Will is my favorite.

Another definite favorite is

Dancing In the Minefields

from Andrew Peterson's Counting Stars CD.

(You can watch the music video here.)

And three favorite love songs from Andy Gullahorn.

1. Someone to You off of his The Law of Gravity cd.

2. Enough Time off of his Reinventing the Wheel cd.

3. And Give it Time off the same record:

"Love is nothing like what I expected
I had no idea it would expect so much of me
But it's worth committing to
And if you don't believe
Just give it time, give it time
You have to wait through the winter cold
For the spring sunshine."

Happy listening!

Go Pack!

2011-02-03T08:58:00.000-06:00

The Winner!

2011-01-27T12:36:00.003-06:00

Thank you for all the interest in our t-shirts!

It was so fun to meet some new friends through this!

Today I placed all your names in a Packer's hat

and let my 5-year-old draw the winning name.

And the winner...

Alyssa S!!!

Yeah Alyssa!

Do you like seeing your name in green and gold? ;)

Even though you're a Viking's fan

and could never cheer for the Packers,

I'll bring you a shirt on Sunday. ;)

If anyone else is interested in buying a shirt:

they are $20 a piece (add an extra $2 if I need to ship the shirt).

All proceeds go to our adoption.

Just leave a comment letting me know the color you want (lemon or grey)

and the size (they run pretty true to size).

And just as a side note:

these are seriously the softest t-shirts I have ever worn!

Thanks again everyone!

And keep us in your prayers as we take this adoption journey.

Sanctity {Giveaway}

2011-01-23T20:51:00.004-06:00

Today was Sanctity of Human Life Sunday.

The reason we chose Life Choices for our adoption

is because we truly believe that life is sacred.

ALL life.

We believe it so strongly that we want to

be the choice of life for a woman who seems to have no other option.

(Read more about that here.)

Thank you to everyone who wore our t-shirts today!

It is truly overwhelming to see so many of you in them.

We are grateful for the support of our family and friends!!!

So...

t-shirts.

We still have them and are still selling them.

If you want one, just let us know the color and size.

They are $20 - all the money goes to support our adoption.

And, in honor of Sanctity of Human Life Sunday,

we're going to give away a t-shirt this week.

ANYONE can sign up for this giveaway.

If you've already bought a shirt - you could get another color or one to give away.

If you haven't bought a shirt - now's your chance to get one free!

Here's how it will work:

1. To enter the giveaway:

Leave a comment telling us who you'll be cheering for in the SuperBowl.

Those of you who know us know that today's win by the Packers was a big deal!

Don't worry, I will enter your name in the drawing

no matter who you're cheering for. :)

2. To receive multiple entries:

We're still needing to raise money for our adoption.

Think about how you can help us spread the word about our t-shirt fundraiser.

Do you know someone you could tell? Could you post a link on facebook?

This is not a requirement in order to enter the giveaway,

but for every way you help us spread the word

(for every person you tell or link you post)

your name will be entered again in the drawing.

(You'll need to tell me if you do this so that I can enter your name more than once.)

3. The drawing will end on Wednesday the 26th at midnight.

I will announce the winner on Thursday.

So don't be shy...

Seriously, we don't have that many readers;

your chances of winning are high!

And I'd love to see YOU wearing our t!

Adoption Update {Q & A style}

2011-01-19T18:31:00.004-06:00

I've been getting a lot of questions lately

regarding our adoption status.

Bottom Line:

We are officially on file with LifeChoices

and could get a call any day with a match.

Or it could be a year or two before we're matched.

There is no set timeline, so we're just in waiting mode.

For those of you who want more details than the above,

here are the answers to some questions I've been getting lately:

Q: When will you get a baby?

A: We really have no idea.

It could be a matter of weeks. It could be several years.

Our profile will be chosen by the birth parents,

so we're just waiting for someone to choose life for their child,

and choose us to be that child's forever family!

Q: How much notice will you have before you go pickup the baby?

A: We really don't know this either.

It will all depend on how far along the birthmother is in her pregnancy when she chooses us.

We could have several months or several days.

Q: How old will the baby be?

A: The baby will probably be 14 days old when he/she become legally ours.

This could be a little different if we run into legal issues.

Q: Will you get to name your child?

A: Definitely. As soon as the baby is placed with us,

we can give him/her whatever name we want to.

Q: Where will the baby be from?

A: The baby will be from Memphis, TN.

Q: What will the baby's race be?

A: We don't know this either.

We are open to any race.

Q: Have you chosen a gender?

A: No. We're open to whatever child God places in our family.

Q: Do you have any t-shirts left?

A: YES! Let us know if you want one!

As you can tell, there is a lot that we don't know.

Most of this is out of our hands now

because we wait to be chosen by birthparents.

This is actually really freeing to me.

God is always in sovereign control

and He will choose the right baby for our family at just the right time.

Do you have any more questions?

I'd love to answer anything.

Seriously anything.

All you have to do is ask! :)

Snowmen Bread

2011-01-13T18:36:00.006-06:00

We've had some snow here lately -

hurray!!!

On Monday we made some fun snowmen bread.

It was a blast!

And pretty easy too.

Below are the directions if you want to make your own:

1. Make your favorite bread dough.

(I set my bread maker to "dough" and let it do the work.)

2. Divide your dough into equal pieces:

1.5 pounds of dough made 8 snowmen.

3. To make each snowman,

divide each piece of dough in 2 pieces:

1/3 of the dough for the top,

2/3 of the dough for the bottom.

Roll each into a ball and pinch together.

4. Place on a buttered cookie sheet,

cover and let rise for 30 minutes.

(I like to let mine rise in a warm oven.)

5. Brush each snowman lightly with milk

and decorate.

I used Pull 'n' Peel Twizzlers for the scarf,

gumdrops for the buttons (I cut each in half),

raisins for the eyes,

and a small piece of dried apricots for the nose.

6. Cover with foil to prevent candy from burning and

bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 25-30 minutes.

(Note: Because I was sending these to school with Hannah,

I pushed the candy into the dough again halfway through baking to secure.)

7. ENJOY!!!

I need to confess

2011-01-09T14:43:00.003-06:00

Like many of you,

we pray with our family before meals and bedtime.

But I have a confession to make:

this does not usually go well.

At least not from my point of view.

Someone is sneaking a bite.

Someone is saying, "I see her eyes open!"

Someone is getting mad at the kids for not being reverent.

Is anyone paying attention?

Do your family prayers feel more like

a quick obligation

than a moment of family connectedness before the throne of God?

Ours do.

That's why I was so encouraged by this post by John Starke.

It's short and to the point (which I love at this stage in my life).

And he gave some practical thoughts.

With patience, thoughtfulness, and a view for the long haul, prayers before meals or bed are important seed-beds for our children’s spirituality. You may end a prayer and think, They didn’t hear a word I said. That may be true, but over three weeks, three months, or three years, they can slowly learn from their parents how to talk to God, how to be thankful, and how to apply gospel truths.

Read the whole post here.

It's definitely worth your time.

Instead of making you feel guilty for where your family is at,

it will encourage you to keep it up.

Even if your 3-year-old is throwing food at your 5-year-old

as you say "Amen."

Happening Too Fast {another first}

2011-01-06T19:16:00.004-06:00

Seriously.
It seems like yesterday she looked like this:

And now, she looks like this:

The first baby tooth is gone!

At least we have a very handsome toothfairy
that visits this house.

Do you have a plan?

2011-01-01T09:51:00.016-06:00

At the last staff and elder's Christmas party

we were asked to briefly share

what God has done in our lives over the past year.

I quickly noticed a common thread:

how God used His Word to change & challenge.

I was struck by how many of these people I respect

cited reading through the Bible in the past year

as a highlight of their year, as something God used in their lives.

Now, before you think that I'm saying you need to do this,

I want to clarify a few things:

Reading through the Bible in a year (or 2)

is not the only way to be in God's Word.

Reading through the Bible in a year

is not commanded anywhere in the Bible

nor will it make you a saint.

Yes, it's definitely worth doing every once in a while,

yes, it has extreme benefits,

but it has it's downsides too.

What I am saying is that I was challenged to do this again.

And my challenge to you is:

pick a way to be in God's Word A LOT this year.

It will change you if you let it.

I've found that goals for being in the Word are more easily reached if you:

1) Have a plan!

If you want to read through the whole Bible,

here are some great plans to choose from:

-The one I plan to use is a chronological plan.

-Here's a great two-year reading plan.

-An easy and very forgiving plan.

This plan is great if you're the type of person

who will easily quit or beat yourself up if you get behind.

There are no definite dates;

just days of the week with chapters to read.

-Or, pick from any of the 10 plans listed here.

The best thing about this link is that you can pick the best format for you:

look at it on the web, subscribe to it by RSS,

podcast and listen to it, download it to your iCal,

view it each day on your mobile device,

or be old-fashioned and print out the plan. ;)

2) Have a partner!

Get someone to help hold you accountable.

Someone you trust.

Someone who will do it too.

3) Have a time and place.

I know it's hard to have a regular time and place

(especially when you have little ones around!)

but habits are more easily formed if you can do this at least most of the time.

I hope that this new year finds us all in God's Word more!

And if you're needing some extra helps for how to read God's Word,

both of these books would be worth your while:

Read the Bible for Life

by George Guthrie

How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth

by Gordon Fee & Douglas Stuart

Stickers!!!

2010-12-28T13:56:00.003-06:00

If you scrapbook

or if you (or your kids) like stickers -

I have a great deal for you!

My friend Gail, who blogs at A Journey to His Heart,

is holding a sticker and paper sale on January 1.

I went to her house last week to check it out -

seriously a HUGE amount of stickers!

And everything is under a quarter.

I even scored several for a penny.

I told you it was a deal!!!

The best part?

All the proceeds are going toward finishing adoption expenses

for this little guy:

Here's the info if I've peaked your interest:

What:

HUGE Scrapbook sticker and paper sale
including Mrs Grossman stickers

When:

1/1/11

9 am - 8 pm

Where:
Bethel College of Performing Arts
123 E Broadway, Newton Ks
across the street from First Bank of Newton

The Perfect Gift

2010-12-21T23:45:00.004-06:00

I try to put a lot of thought into the gifts I give at Christmas.
But do I put a lot of thought into the words I use with people?
Because my words can also be a gift.
A powerful gift.C.J. Mahaney says:

Here’s what I’ve come to realize: too often I can put more thought into the gifts I buy them than I do the content of my conversations with them at Christmas. In fact the content of my conversation can be a gift of greater substance and of more enduring value.
By using words that are carefully and skillfully chosen, we can give the gift of grace to others. And Christmas provides us with many opportunities for conversations with a variety of friends and family. But are you prepared?

The Apostle Paul writes, “let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear” (Ephesians 4:29).

This promise is stunning! By carefully choosing my words I can give grace to those I care for.

I would encourage you to read the whole article,
which includes practical thoughts for how to give the gift of good words.

I don't want to waste my words this Christmas.
I want to use them wisely.
Will you join me?

Santa's Special Cookies

2010-12-17T19:46:00.004-06:00

Some friends in Green Bay taught me to make these cookies before I had kids.

And I still make them every year!

The best part?

Sneaking the m&ms - mmmm!

Santa's Special Cookies

2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup butter

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup chopped plain m&ms

vanilla frosting

additional m&ms

Sift flour & salt. Cream butter until smooth. Add sugar & vanilla; cream well.

Add flour & salt, stirring until well blended. (Sometimes I add in 1-2 T. milk if the mixture is too dry.) Stir in chopped m&ms. Wrap (in wax paper) and chill until easily shaped (1-2 hours). Form 1 T. dough into 2 inch long finger shape. Bake on cookie sheet at 375 until lightly brown (10 minutes). Cool. Top with frosting and m&ms. Must be eaten in three bites! :)

School Christmas Concert

2010-12-15T21:01:00.002-06:00

Proudly reciting Luke 2:1-20

Christmas Crafts

2010-12-12T19:58:00.003-06:00

I recently spent a weekend here

crafting with my friends.

It was so refreshing to

relax

talk

laugh

craft

watch movies

eat

sleep

etc.

all weekend.

In addition to deeper friendships and much needed R&R,

here is what I have to show from the weekend:

I made 4 of these shirts (one with a different shirt and fabric for my nephew).

I had a basic idea for these shirts and bought the fabric,

but I gained much from the creative genius of my friends.

The ideas that turned into the finished product were a cumulative effort.

Thanks ladies!!!

I also made these headbands (and one pin like it for my purse).

They were so easy! You don't even have to use a sewing machine!

You can find the tutorial here.

I have found that crafting is a great outlet for me.

Finding time to do it is another matter!

What fun crafts have you made lately?

Christ is ALL

2010-12-08T14:11:00.002-06:00

In this season of charity, gift-giving, and goodwill to men

it is often easy to forget that Christ is ALL.

Am I leaning on my own good, or on Christ's?

Am I making much of myself, or of Him?

Am I trusting my works, or His finished work?

Consider what George Whitefield reminds us:

There is nothing lovely or desirable in man; his heart is a sink of pollution, full of sin and uncleanness. Yet our modern, polite preachers tell us, that there is a fitness in men, and that God, seeing you a good creature, gives you his grace. But this, though it is a modern, polite and fashionable way of talking, is very unscriptural. Many pulpits ring of nothing more than doing no one any harm, living honestly, loving your neighbor as yourselves, and doing what you can, and then Christ is to make up the deficiency. This is making Christ to be half a Savior, and man the other part; but I say, Christ will be your whole righteousness, your whole wisdom, your whole sanctification, or else he will never be your whole redemption.

t-shirt update

2010-12-03T12:10:00.002-06:00

Just wanted y'all to know
(not sure why I felt like using "y'all", but I did)
that the adoption t-shirts are ordered and being made!

We'll have them in hand in about a week
and then we'll get them to you.

We also ordered extra,
so if you didn't order but still want one,
or if you want to exchange sizes, etc.
just let us know!

And THANK YOU!!!
Seriously can't say it enough.
We truly couldn't do this without you.
We need the support of our community
and we THANK YOU for it!

Courage {the winner}

2010-12-02T10:20:00.003-06:00

And the winner of the Seeds of Courage CD 2-pack

(literally drawn out of a hat!) is...

PAIGE!

Paige blogs at Fly 2 His Heart

and is the new mommy to 6 year old Emma,

their beautiful daughter whom they recently adopted from Peru.

My favorite song from Seeds of Courage is from this verse:

1 Corinthians 16:13-14
Be on your guard. Stand firm in the faith.
Be courageous. Be strong.
Do everything in love.

I prayed that verse for you and your dear family today Paige!

The rest of you can head over here and look at all the CDs from Seeds.

$12.95 for two CDs

A pretty good deal!

Buy them as gifts, or split the cost with a friend.

Courage {give-away}

2010-11-26T20:22:00.004-06:00

Have you heard of

Seeds Family Worship?

They have produced quite a few quality kids albums.

The songs are taken right from Scripture.

So not only are your kids listening to music,

but they are also getting Scripture in their heads and hearts!

We have 4 of these albums and really love them all.

Seeds of Courage is one of my favorites.

And I have one - actually two! - CDs to give to you.

Each CD comes in a 2 pack - one for you, one for someone else.

So if you win this giveaway, you'll either have 2 gifts to give,

or a great CD for you + a great gift to give someone else!

To enter this giveaway

(which you'll have a good chance of winning on this blog!):

1) Decide who you'll give the extra CD to if you win

(you don't need to tell me this, just decide)

2) leave a comment telling me either a favorite children's album

or a favorite Christmas album

The giveaway will end on Wednesday (December 1)

at which point I will put all the names into a hat

and let my kiddos draw the winner!!!

already?

2010-11-19T12:45:00.004-06:00

I'm usually a pretty die-hard "no Christmas until after Thanksgiving" person.

But not this year.

For some reason the Christmas mood is strong and steady.

So I've given in and pulled out my favorite Christmas albums.

And I'm excited about these as well.

You can preview and order this album by Andy Gullahorn (probably my favorite artist) and his wife Jill Phillips here.

This looks like a great kids Christmas album! You can listen to samples and pre-order it here.

So, I hope you have a holly jolly Christmas...

after Thanksgiving, that is.

Thank You!

2010-11-15T22:14:00.002-06:00

Thank you to everyone who has ordered a shirt already!

We are honestly overwhelmed by those of you

who have shown your support

and are choosing to help us raise funds for our adoption.

We're learning that this isn't about us.

It's about supporting each other as the Body of Christ.

It's about reaching out and offering the hope of Christ to someone in need.

It's about glorifying Christ with our lives.

And you are doing that with us.

Thank you!

If you still want to order,

you only have until Sunday (November 21).

See the previous post

and let us know by email or by commenting on this blog.

t-shirts {finally!}

2010-11-04T14:25:00.008-05:00

Many of you have been asking, and yes -

we're finally ready to announce our adoption t-shirts!

Selling these t-shirts is one of the ways that we are saving

for our upcoming adoption.

In case you haven't read about Life: Be the Choice, do that now. :)

A shout out to my brother who designed these for us!!

In case anyone is wondering:

these are American Apparel shirts - super comfy! :)

Here's how it will work:

Leave a comment here, on facebook, through email, or in person to let us know:

1) which T you want (lemon or grey)

2) what size you want (we have toddler, youth, and adult sizes)

3) do this BEFORE NOVEMBER 21

4) we will order the shirts and you will receive yours after we receive your $20 donation

*note: if you aren't local, please add $2 for shipping so we can send you the shirt

ALL PROCEEDS GO DIRECTLY TO FUND OUR ADOPTION!

Thanks for your part in helping us with this adoption.

Very Special Visitors

2010-10-30T11:24:00.005-05:00

Adam's parents and brother are here this week.
Can you tell we're having a great week?

Think: Love

2010-10-23T09:11:00.005-05:00

I am currently listening to podcasts from the

2010 Desiring God National Conference.

I'm so glad they post audio and video from these conferences

so that people like me, who want to go but didn't get to,

still get to hear & be edified by the sessions!

Today I listened to Francis Chan's session while I ran.

Let's just say I didn't want to stop running!

It was just the exhortation I needed to hear. Especially right now in my life.

I'd highly recommend his session, or any of the sessions from

Think: The Life of the Mind and the Love of God.

Here's a link to Francis Chan's message.

Seriously.

Watch it or listen to it.

Candy Corn Craft

2010-10-14T20:35:00.005-05:00

We had a candy corn craft day.

***Well, actually this took us 2 days. My original plan didn't work (I had heard that you could "paste" pieces of colored tissue paper onto white paper using vinegar. When it dries, you peel the tissue paper off and the color is left behind. Didn't really work for us. So below is what DID work.)***

We started by making candy corns out of tissue paper.
The girls simply glued pieces of yellow, orange, and white tissue paper onto a candy corn shape.
It was easy.
They loved it!
We also ate our favorite fall snack: candy corn and peanuts. YUM!
I bought the fall mix so that they could also sort the different candy corns (another fun activity).
For yet another activity, I drew an outline of each type of candy corn.
I put out an example of each one, and they were to color each.
It was a fun fall craft!
And even though my original idea didn't work out, they didn't care. In fact, they enjoyed having another day to do another version of the craft!

Be the Choice

2010-10-08T16:21:00.000-05:00

Abortion kills millions of babies in America.
Did you know that in Shelby County, TN (where Life Choices is located)
there are over 9,000 abortions every year?

Politically speaking, it seems we are loosing this battle.

But maybe this is more than a political battle to be won
by checking the right ballot box.
And maybe this is more than a social battle to be won
by picketing and making judgments
without ever stepping in to offer HOPE.

Maybe this is a spiritual battle to be won
by offering the hope of the gospel to women without hope.
By offering the hope of a loving home to a baby
who would otherwise be orphaned by death.

We are convinced that the answer does not lie primarily in a vote or a sign,
but in the open arms and homes of believers who are ready and willing
to be the hope of a family to a woman looking for answers.
The answer lies in the church of Jesus.

But the sad reality is that the government has done a better job
of providing an answer for these women
than Jesus' Church has done.

Adam and I have been convicted.
If we truly say that we abhor abortion,
then we MUST be willing to give women another option.
If we truly say that we believe in the sanctity of life,
then we MUST be willing to open our hearts, home & family to that life.
If we truly believe that babies have a right to life,
then we MUST provide a life for them.

We can no longer simply vote pro-life,
rally against abortion,
and speak up for helpless babies in the public square
without also offering the answer to a woman in a hopeless crisis.

So how can we value life in a world of choice?
By offering a tangible choice of life to women.
By being the choice of life for her and her unborn child.

Life: Be the Choice

Adoption Update

2010-10-04T16:00:00.004-05:00

People are asking again,
so it must be time for an adoption update!

Our adoption homestudy will be done very soon (in the next week!),
and we will send our profile and application in to Life Choices.
After a few phone interviews with them, we will begin phase 2 of waiting.
Waiting for a birth mother to choose life
and choose us.

I've already told you a bit about why we're adopting here and here.
And I told you a bit about Life Choices in this update.

And now that we're so close to phase 2,
I want to tell you why we believe God has us partnering with Life Choices.
I want to share our passion for this with you.

And I will soon.
It's just hard for me to know how to best share all of this.
(I'd rather sit down with each of you over coffee and share it face to face!)

Watch for a post soon with the theme God has laid on our hearts
for this time in our lives.

Copycat {that's me}

2010-10-02T15:52:00.006-05:00

I'm learning that my oldest, Hannah,

is very creative.

She is an outside-of-the-box thinker,

an adventurer,

and simply LOVES to create.

Problem:

I am NOT a creative person!

BUT I can copy others' ideas;

I do love to make things

and I am pretty good at following directions.

This makes me a great copycat.

I love my friend Megan's blog for many reasons,

one of which is that she does a craft Thursday

(which incidentally is almost never on a Thursday).

I've gotten some GREAT ideas from her

and found some other great resource blogs from her links.

This week we painted an idea from this blog.

First, Hannah wrote her full name in crayon.

Then, she painted each space a different color,

which she highly enjoyed!

Sophia woke up and wanted to paint too.

I just gave her a piece of paper with her initial on it and told her to paint.

They seriously could have painted all afternoon!

The finished products:

A few more paintings (including Sophie's first drawing of people!):

Sink In To All That Matters

2010-09-22T20:49:00.005-05:00

Do you ever feel insignificant?

Like what you do doesn't even matter?

I often struggle with feeling as if my job as a mom

is insignificant.

I play the comparison game far too often.

Other moms do such a better job at being mommies.

Other women I know have awesome ministries.

And my husband reaches so many people each week

and is often given words of encouragement or thanks.

(To be honest, he also has his fair share of problems with people

and complaints from people!)

Who do I reach?

What do I really do anyway?

Does my life matter for God?

for eternity?

And then this week God sent me three reminders.

He is so gracious! He knew I needed every one of them.

A note from a friend reminded me that:

God can use small things to accomplish big things in His Kingdom.

(Remember David and his 5 small stones???)

God uses the weak as vessels for His strength.

A few words and a song from Andrew Peterson reminded me that:

I am influencing my children for eternity;

sharing the hope of the gospel with them every day.

And they will in turn influence others, who will in turn influence others...

for GENERATIONS to come, by God's grace.

And my Tuesday morning Bible study reminded me that:

I'm not just parenting to get through the day (so often I think this way!),

but for the long view and ultimately for eternity.

I have the chance every day to share Christ with my children,

to teach them how to live for Him.

That's NOT insignificant!

That MATTERS!

So if you are a mom like me

and are struggling with purposelessness

or feeling unappreciated and weak

or just trying to make it through each day

(tell me I'm not alone in this!)

then remember:

I did it!

2010-09-18T22:07:00.003-05:00

Almost didn't finish, but I did.
I ran a 5k race today.
I've been running now for 3 weeks and had gotten up to 3 miles.
But I usually run in the morning when it's cool.
And the race today was in the late afternoon,
and it was 93 degrees out!

Thanks Dad for running with me and keeping me going.
I seriously would have given up and ran home (the course went near our house)
if you hadn't been with me!
Adam ran it too.
He did MUCH better than me, of course.
But I keep telling myself that it's because he has much longer legs. :)
The race was a part of our church's Run for Hope,
a kick-off to our Judgement House that will take place in late October.
It was followed by a hog roast (for which I've never been more thankful!)
and a concert by Andrew Peterson (always a joy!).

The girls handed out water during the run,
but we left them with a babysitter during the concert
so that we could enjoy it to the fullest.
Hannah, our babysitter, did an awesome job with them!
When I got home, this is how I found the girls:
Too precious.

8 years

2010-09-14T14:51:00.000-05:00

Eight years ago today I married my best friend.

Our ceremony program had this quote on it:

"The world says of marriage:

A short joy and a long displeasure.

But he who understands it finds in it

delight, love, and joy without ceasing."

- Martin Luther

A lot has happened in 8 years.

We aren't the same people we were

on the day we vowed to spend our lives together.

But God has graciously given us delight, love, and joy without ceasing.

Adam, I have loved growing with you,

learning with you,

changing with you,

learning more about you,

and cultivating our relationship

for the past 8 years.

And by God's grace I look forward to many more years of loving you.

Now for some pics.

These are actually pictures of pictures (taken with an old 4 mega pixel camera). So forgive the quality! :)

And this was given to us by Elmer Reimer as we left the church:

So now, at 2:51 p.m. on September 14, 2010:

Happy Anniversary!

3 years old

2010-08-29T13:16:00.010-05:00

Three years ago today, God gave us a gift named Sophia.

Sophia, we love that you are spunky, talkative, and that you love to laugh.
We thank God that He has gifted you with a nurturing and sensitive heart.
You are a delight to our family!

Here are Sophie's pictures with pooh bear.

1 week (with an older sister who is still used to being the center of attention):
6 months:
1 year:

2 years:

And now, 3 years:

And in case you haven't seen enough ;)
here is a short video of some more pictures.

Thanks to Andrew Peterson for the song! :)

Cling

2010-08-23T20:26:00.001-05:00

God gives to His people the propensity to cling. Though this is a very simple sort of faith, it is a very complete and effectual form of it. In fact, it is the heart of all faith, and that to which we are often driven when we are in deep trouble or when our mind is somewhat bemuddled by sickness or depression in spirit. We can cling when we can do nothing else, and that is the very soul of faith. Always cling to what you know.

-Charles Surgeon

First Day

2010-08-18T21:39:00.004-05:00

I put my first born on a bus today.
Couldn't let go so I rode with her all the way to school.

My baby will now be away from me 20 hours a week at Kindergarten.
Can I handle that???

We celebrated with family and a bus cake tonight.
Don't look too closely at the details - I'm not very experienced in cake decorating yet. :)
(Though I didn't follow the recipe exactly, I found the idea on Family Fun.)

adoption update

2010-08-04T15:13:00.004-05:00

We're neck deep in paperwork for our adoption, which is why I've had little time to blog lately. But so many of you have been asking for an update, so here it is: we're in the paperwork stage.

We've chosen an adoption agency, though actually they are primarily a pregnancy medical clinic. We will be partnering with LifeChoices, located in downtown Memphis, TN.

We have been so impressed with the mission and vision of LifeChoices! Located by 3 major abortion clinics, they seek to serve women in crisis pregnancy situations, giving them free ultrasounds, testings, and counseling. LifeChoices hopes to disciple all the woman they serve (regardless of the choice they make) and ultimately wants to introduce them to Christ & they hope they have in Him.

They also serve as an adoption agency (rare to find in a clinic of this nature!), which is where we come in. A woman considering adoption for her unborn child will be introduced to profiles of families like us who are willing to adopt.

We are so excited to be working with LifeChoices, and of course very passionate about this cause! In Shelby County (where Memphis is), there are over 9,000 abortions a year. In a country where choice is a legal option, it is easier for a woman to find a doctor willing to perform an abortion than a family willing to adopt her child. The solution for women in crisis is not our legal system but the Church of Jesus Christ. The Church must be willing to help these woman in hopeless situations. That is what LifeChoices is all about. And we want to be a part of it.

So... what's next?

Once our homestudy is done and our profile is on file with LifeChoices (this will probably be done by the end of September), we wait. Wait for the birthmother of our child to see our profile and choose us. Wait for God to guide a woman in need of hope to us. This could happen right away, or it could take a year or more. Only God knows - and we believe that He is in control of it all. He is preparing us for the right child, and the right child for us. Waiting is a good place to be.

Psalm 5:3
In the morning, O Lord, You hear my voice;
in the morning I lay my requests before You
and wait in expectation.

After a run

2010-07-20T20:57:00.003-05:00

The girls couldn't wait to join Daddy when they saw he had returned from his morning run:

Love It!

2010-07-13T19:23:00.001-05:00

Can't wait to get the whole album!

life

2010-07-07T20:52:00.000-05:00

I don't wear a lot of jewelry.
I've just never been that type of person.
But I do have a few pieces that I love.

And now I have a new favorite.

A sweet friend made me this necklace.
She is making them as a way to raise money
for their adoption from Peru.
Check out her blog!

(Please excuse the terrible clarity here. I have an extremely old & junky camera.)
It says "life."

It reminds me that somewhere in Memphis there is a woman
who will courageously make a choice for LIFE.

It reminds me of the precious LIFE
that we will be entrusted with in God's timing.

It reminds me that I have a relationship
with the Author of LIFE.

Thanks for this beautiful reminder Paige!

Deuteronomy 30:19-20
Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life...

yummy

2010-07-03T20:36:00.000-05:00

My new favorite buy at Dillons:
Kroger 3 Pepper & Onion Blend

It's often on sale for $1
which is much cheaper than buying all the peppers fresh
not to mention so much easier than having to cut them all up!

I LOVE adding this to scrabbled eggs for breakfast
or cooking it in teriyaki sauce with shredded chicken, mushrooms, and cheese
and wrapping that in a tortilla for lunch.
It also makes for fast beef fajitas.

I have not nearly exhausted the possibilities of what I could do with my favorite new buy.
And I'm loving trying new things with these.

A simple pleasure.

9,000

2010-06-25T21:19:00.003-05:00

The number of babies who loose their lives every year in Shelby County, TN.

The number of mothers who have lost hope.

9,000.

Every year there are 9,000 abortions in 1 county alone.

Every year there are 9,000 woman who feel they have no where else to turn.

9,000.

We want to change this number.

By offering the hope of adoption,

we can reduce this number by 1.

By partnering with Life Choices and area churches in Memphis,

we can help them to reduce it by much more.

By offering hope.

By offering our home, our hearts, our lives.

Will you please pray with us as we begin this exciting journey?

Walking With the Wise

2010-06-22T20:12:00.004-05:00

So I know I've mentioned it before (ok, really recently),
but I LOVE this CD for my kids:
To Be Like Jesus by Sovereign Grace Ministries

And now they've come out with another CD for kids:Walking With the Wise

It is GREAT!

You can buy it here for $12.
Or if you download it (here), it's only $6!

Pretty great deal for a pretty great CD.

painting bread

2010-06-19T20:39:00.000-05:00

Last week we painted the house with water.
This week we painted bread with milk.
Yep, milk.We colored milk with food coloring.
The girls picked out their favorite cookie cutters
and cut pieces of bread into fun shapes.
Then they painted them.
I threw each finished piece of art into the toaster to finish it off (this brightens the colors).
I loved this project because the fun never ended:
we poured the leftover milk together to learn about color combinations,
they LOVED drinking the leftover colored milk,
we served daddy some fun toast for dinner,
and walked to the lake to feed the ducks our leftover bread scraps.
And the only one who spilled was me.
If you come over, do me a favor and pretend not to see the blue splash on my carpet.

Water Fun

2010-06-15T19:57:00.005-05:00

We have one favorite way to keep cool during the hot days of summer:
WATER.
The girls love to play in it!
We've found ourselves in various pools, splash parks, and sprinklers this year.
I wanted to change it up a bit, so we decided to "paint" with water.I gave each of the girls a paint brush with a bucket of water.
Their imaginations did the rest!Hannah later added hair, eyes, a smile, and clothes to her outline.

I loved doing this.
It was free.
The mess factor was zero.
And the girls played for a LONG time,
talking and singing to themselves the whole time.

Oh, and another favorite way to keep cool:
lemonade with frozen strawberries.
YUM!

Free Music for Kids

2010-06-12T14:37:00.006-05:00

I'm a big proponent of having my kids listen to quality music.
They very quickly memorize any song they hear,
so I figure the music I play for them should have lyrics worth memorizing!
My two all-time favorite albums for my kids:

But now on to the real reason you're reading this post:
FREE MUSIC!The Village Church (where Matt Chandler is pastor)
produced a short kids' album called Jesus Came to Save Sinners.
You can buy it on amazon or iTunes for only $4.99,
OR you can download it from The Village Church's website (link here)
FOR FREE!!

And here's another really good deal.
Seeds Family Worship has some great CDs for kids.All Scripture verses set to music.
Now that's quality lyrics!
If you are a girltalk blog reader (which I highly suggest!),
you can get a free download to one of their songs.
Check it out here.

AND if you read Justin Taylor's blog (which I also highly suggest!)
you can get 20% off their CDs.
Each CD comes in a set of 2 identical CDs,
so if you buy one set and split the cost with a friend,
the CD will cost only about $5!
Check it out here.

Enjoy!

Family Camp '10

2010-06-08T21:15:00.003-05:00

Prayer

2010-06-01T16:22:00.002-05:00

I was humbled and encouraged by this post from a blog I read:

All I Can Do is Pray

If you have ever thought of prayer as a last resort,

if you sometimes wonder what good it does to pray,

if you are discouraged in your prayer life,

if you are a control freak,

(because ALL of these statements are true of me!)

read this post. (It's short and worth your time!)

Dog Days

2010-05-28T12:09:00.003-05:00

It's the dog days of summer, so we decided to have a dog day! Everything we did had a dog theme - much to the delight of my girls.We started the day by making puppy chow with some great friends down the street.

Then we colored dog pictures and made a dog craft.

Next we curled up on a dog pillow in a make-shift dog house and read books about dogs.

After naps, we headed to a splash park - because everyone knows that dogs love to jump around in the water!

We made dog bone bread sticks for supper - YUM!!!

And we finished by visiting the puppy store. (My girls LOVE to hold puppies there!)

It was a great way to spend one of our dog days of summer!

4 weeks until

2010-05-23T14:17:00.000-05:00

Father's Day. If you are going to order or make a gift, it's time to start thinking!

Growing up, we always got my dad a tie for Father's Day. Always. Probably because we had no idea what to get him. We still don't. When asking him for ideas, he will respond, "Oh don't get me anything. I don't need anything." Thanks for the help, Dad!

Guys are hard to buy for. At least all the guys in my life are! So to avoid the proverbial tie, here are a few ideas ideas for Father's Day.

For the music lover:Andrew Peterson's new album, Counting Stars, is releasing July 27. A little too late for Father's Day, but you can give him a coupon for the album! You can listen to one song from the album, The Reckoning, here.

For the sentimental dad:
We did this for Adam last year. It was fun & cute; perfect for his office. The girls look so young in these pics! Maybe we need new ones...

For the book lover:I just bought this book (haven't even finished it yet) but I can't overemphasize how good it is. It is a wise buy for anyone who loves either reading, history, or theology.

For something free:
A sermon by Mark Driscoll has been put into a small book that you can buy, read online, or download for free here. It offers scriptural insights for fathers who realize that they are pastors to their families.

For the father of your children:Buy this book for yourself and commit to praying for him everyday this year. Tell him of this commitment as your gift! I recently bought this book; my prayer life has been so blessed by it! Far from the typical book about praying for your spouse, this book is a book of prayers (full of scripture and sound Biblical doctrine) that you can pray for your husband. You can also buy the one for husbands to pray for their wives and ask him to pray for you as well. :)

Those are just some ideas. I'm sure you all have great ideas too - I'd love to hear them!

The first of many graduations

2010-05-21T18:10:00.001-05:00

The Unrivaled Friend

2010-05-16T13:30:00.000-05:00

Great thoughts from Charles Spurgeon:

"Our Lord when he came in mercy to us, found us in the rags of our self-righteousness, and in the abject poverty of our natural condition. We were houseless, fatherless; we were without spiritual bread, we were sick and sore, we were as low and degraded as sin could make us. He loved us, but he did not leave us where love found us. Ah! Do you not remember how he washed us in the fountain which flowed from his veins; how he wrapped us about with the fair white linen, which is the righteousness of his saints; how he gave us bread to eat that the world knoweth not of; how he supplied all our wants, and gave us a promise, that whatsoever we should ask in prayer, if we did but believe his name, we should receive it?

We were aliens, but his love has made us citizens; we were far off, but his love has brought us nigh; we were perishing, but his love hath enriched us; we were serfs, but his love has made us sons; we were condemned criminals, but his love has made us 'heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ.'"

From a sermon entitled "The Unrivaled Friend," delivered November 7, 1869.

Her First Recital

2010-05-14T11:00:00.000-05:00

The Best Kind

2010-05-12T16:12:00.003-05:00

of mail:

I have this kind of eager anticipation that lingers in the back of my mind from the time I order books until the time they show up on my front porch.

Love that I got these today. Can't wait to crawl into bed tonight and crack one of them open!

Here are two good reviews for your consideration if you are interested:

Prayers of an Excellent Wife

Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy

Why Minivans are Cool

2010-05-10T14:39:00.002-05:00

Not sure why I can't get this to show full-screen (let me know if you know!). But if you click on the video, you can see it full screen.

All I Have is Christ

2010-05-07T17:00:00.000-05:00

All I Have Is Christ from Sovereign Grace Ministries on Vimeo.

I once was lost in darkest night
Yet thought I knew the way.
The sin that promised joy and life
Had led me to the grave.

I had no hope that You would own
A rebel to Your will.
And if You had not loved me first
I would refuse You still.

But as I ran my hell-bound race
Indifferent to the cost
You looked upon my helpless state
And led me to the cross.

And I beheld God’s love displayed
You suffered in my place
You bore the wrath reserved for me
Now all I know is grace.

Hallelujah! All I have is Christ
Hallelujah! Jesus is my life

Now, Lord, I would be Yours alone
And live so all might see
The strength to follow Your commands
Could never come from me.

Oh Father, use my ransomed life
In any way You choose.
And let my song forever be
My only boast is You.

© 2008 Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI), by Jordan Kauflin

Radical

2010-05-03T10:00:00.000-05:00

When Adam and I attended Adopting for Life in Kentucky, we met David Platt.
(Go here to listen or watch the sessions, including the one by Platt, from that conference.)
We were compelled,
not by him but by the message he brought.
The message to deny ourselves,
take up our cross,
and follow Christ.

We were able to get an advance copy of his book,
Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream.
And God has been confirming some things
that He has been teaching us over the past few years.

Go here to see more about the book.
Go here to read Chapter 1.

This book is available to buy on May 4.
And if you are ready for a challenge,
then I would encourage you to buy it and read it.

update

2010-04-12T11:14:00.000-05:00

Just taking a break from blogging.

Indefinitely.

In case you were wondering. :)

The surprise about discipleship

2010-04-03T13:28:00.003-05:00

We try to do special things with our kids the week leading up to Easter to help them understand its significance. (We're doing the same thing this year as we did last year.) But I also enjoy doing something for myself to help me meditate especially on the events of holy week. I enjoyed reading this book last year:

And this year I ordered a copy of Jesus, Keep me Near the Cross edited by Nancie Guthrie. I would highly recommend both of these books - not only for this time of year, but for anytime!
There is so much in this book that I have been soaking up, contemplating, etc. But one part has left me particularly challenged. I thought it good enough to share with you here. It's a bit long, but well worth the read.

From the chapter by John Piper entitled "He Set His Face to go to Jerusalem." Referring to the texts Luke 9:51 & John 10:18.

"Here is a question put to every believer by this text: does discipleship mean deploying God's missiles against the enemy in righteous indignation? Or does discipleship mean following him on the Calvary road which leads to suffering and death? The answer of the whole New Testament is this: the surprise about Jesus the Messiah is that he came to live a life of sacrificial, dying service before he comes a second time to reign in glory. And the surprise about discipleship is that it demands a life of sacrificial, dying service before we can reign with Christ in glory.

Jesus' journey to Jerusalem is our journey, and if he set his face to go there and die, we must set our face to die with him.

One might be tempted to reason in just the opposite way: that since Jesus suffered so much and died in our place, therefore, we are free to go straight to the head of the class, as it were, and skip all the exams. He suffered so we could have comfort. He died so we could live. He bore abuse so we could be esteemed. He gave up the treasures of heaven so we could lay up treasures on earth. He brought the kingdom and paid for our entrance, and now we live in it with all its earthly privileges. But all this is not biblical reasoning. It goes against the plain teaching in this very context. Luke 9:23-24 reads: 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.'

When Jesus set his face to walk the Calvary road, he was not merely taking our place; he was setting our pattern. He is substitute and pacesetter. If we seek to secure our life through returning evil for evil or surrounding ourselves with luxury in the face of human need, we will lose our life. We can save our life only if we follow Christ on the Calvary road."

Bedtime Tonight

2010-03-30T20:49:00.004-05:00

Bedtime seems to be their time. Their time to open up and talk. Their time to want our attention. Their time to be cuddly. So we try to listen and answer questions and cuddle. Because we know that they won't want us forever!

Tonight I had interesting conversations with both of the girls. After Hannah and I were done reading (we are working our way through the Chronicles of Narnia), I cuddled with her in bed for awhile. She suddenly asked, "Is Jesus God?" When I answered yes, she said, "But I thought he was the Son of God."

Boy. How do I answer this in a way that is truthful but also makes sense to a 5 year old? (This is often my dilemma.) Using language she would understand, I tried to explain that God is 3 persons, but one God. I figured she probably wasn't following me until she said, "So, it's like this: I have three parts. My bones, my muscle and my skin. But there's just one me! And doggies have four parts: bones, muscles, skin and fur. They are different then us."

Not a bad grasp on the Trinity for a 5 year old!

Then I went to check on Sophia, who was crying in bed. Our conversation went something like this (only all of Sophia's "l"s and "r"s are "w"s):

Sophia: "I don't want to go to Awkansaf where we were at that place with that picture of that lady. She was scary."

Me, thoroughly confused: "Do you mean Wichita?" (She often gets Arkansas and Wichita mixed up.)

S: "Yeah." Sniff, sniff. "And Nana was there and I was really scared of that lady at that restaurant."

Suddenly I remembered. Mom and I had taken her on a shopping trip to Wichita about a month ago. We ate at Bella Luna (on the west side) and there was a picture of a lady that scared her half to death. But we hadn't talked about it for a month!

Adam and I spent the next 10 minutes trying to convince Sophie that we would never take her to Bella Luna again. I guess I'll have to settle for McDonald's next time!

Sophia: "No more Beluna!"
We love our girls and wouldn't trade these moments for the world!

To be His Hands

2010-03-24T13:32:00.002-05:00

"I love you and want you because Christ loves me and wants me."

Foster Care Video from Cornerstone Church on Vimeo.

Matthew 25:37-40

"Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'"

His Steadfast Love

2010-03-22T20:59:00.002-05:00

Meditating on Psalm 103 this week. So thankful that He has not treated me as my sins deserve! His steadfast love and mercy are abundant!

Romans 8:31 - 32
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

treasure hunt

2010-03-17T18:47:00.003-05:00

Gramsy sent us a treasure hunt to do for St. Patricks Day. The girls were super excited!

The girls searched for the clues, then gave them to Daddy to read.

They finally found the treasure (a bag of chocolates!) in Hannah's bike basket.

YUM!!!!

Do you know the real story of St. Patrick? Check this out for some interesting details to his story.

They said it would go fast

2010-03-14T22:12:00.006-05:00

And it did. Our baby is no longer a baby. Today she turns 5.

We've taken a picture of Hannah with her pooh bear each year. Here she is at 1 week:

1 year:
2 years:
3 years:
4 years:
And now - 5 years old!
Here is our Ode to Hannah and the last wonderful 5 years. Happy Birthday sweetie! (It takes a few seconds before pics appear.)

(Thanks to Andy Gullahorn for the music.)

Aunt Stacy Comes

2010-03-12T15:25:00.000-06:00

Adam's sister Stacy came to visit us this past week. HOORAY!!! We love being with Stacy and the girls get so excited when they know she's coming.

The week was full of fun. We made cookies:

did crafts:

and no one can visit us without a trip to Drubers!

Somehow Daddy is still able to refuse these adorable faces:

Stacy took the girls on a date to Burger King. I love this picture; Sophia makes this mischievous face often:

We also celebrated Hannah's birthday a little early. (She turns 5 on March 14.)

Aunt Stacy gave her these CUTE shoes. (Check out this website. For every pair of shoes you buy, a pair is given to a child who needs them.)

We also opened Hannah's gifts from Gramsy & Grandad. She loves these Berenstain Bears that she got to stuff and dress all by herself!

She also loves the ballet outfit and instructional video!

Don't tell anyone, but Daddy likes it too!

Thanks for coming Stacy! We love having you! Not only are you good company and fun & edifying to be with, but you also help out around the house & with the girls. We all love you!

What a Mighty God We Serve

2010-03-08T21:24:00.003-06:00

Sophia is our little song bird. It seems that she's almost always singing. Here's what she was singing tonight:

The "Why"

2010-03-07T15:12:00.000-06:00

The statistics are staggering. There are between 132 -147 million orphans worldwide. Every 2.2 seconds, another orphan child ages out of the system with no family to belong to and no place to call home. In the United States, 80% of children who age out of the foster care system end up homeless, on drugs, or dead. In Ukraine and Russia 10% -15% of children who age out of an orphanage commit suicide before age 18; 60% of the girls are lured into prostitution; 70% of the boys become hardened criminals.

And Scripture is clear: "And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'" (Matthew 25:40)

Videos like this one have tugged at my heart and challenged my comfortable way of life.

But that's not why Adam and I are choosing to adopt.

Yes, the need is great. But the world's pain will always exceed my passion and resources to help. If I am primarily motivated by the need, then I will soon be overwhelmed and disheartened.

So what is our primary motivation?

I John 4:19: "We love because he first loved us."

I am an orphan. I am not a rescuer; on the contrary, I need to be rescued. Far from being the solution the orphan crisis, I am in crisis and need a Savior.

In Adopted for Life, Russell Moore says this:

The universe was meant to be a home - where the image-bearers of God rule and serve under their Father. It was all to be ours. The primeval insurrection in the garden, though, turned the universe into an orphanage - the heirs were gone, done in by their appetites. A serpent now holds the cosmos in captivity, driving along the deposed rulers as his slaves. The whole universe is now an orphanage.

But then there's Jesus.

When we were still orphans, Christ became a substitute orphan for us. Though he was a son, he took on the humiliation of a slave and the horror of death (Phil. 2:6-8). Jesus walked to the far country with us, even to the depths of the hog pen that we'd made our home, and hung on a tree abandoned by his Father in our place.

The cross is the solution to my crisis. I was an orphan, but now I am a son. I was needy, and God sent a Savior to rescue me. In love, God the father adopted me. Ephesians 1:4-6 says, "For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love hepredestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves."

So why are we choosing to adopt? We love because He first loved us. We pursue adoption because He pursued our adoption.

Nancy Guthrie's new book

2010-03-05T00:14:00.001-06:00

I will write a bit about the conference we attended and my thoughts on adoption soon, but not now. :) For now, I want to share about a book that I have not yet read, but hope to soon.

I first heard about Nancy Guthrie from our friends Joel and Jess. Then I read several of her posts as a contributor to The Gospel Coalition blog. So when I saw that she edited a new book called Be Still, My Soul: Embracing God's Purpose and Provision in Suffering, my interest was piqued. Then I saw the list of contributing writers. Check this out: Joni Eareckson Tada, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Corrie ten Boom, John Calvin, J. I. Packer, John Piper, Jerry Bridges, R. C. Sproul, Charles H. Spurgeon, Helen Roseveare, John Newton, D. A. Carson, Martin Luther, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Jonathan Edwards, Timothy J. Keller, Sinclair B. Ferguson, Philip Yancey, Augustine, Os Guinness, A. W. Tozer, Abraham Kuyper, Wilson Benton, Jeremiah Burroughs, and Thomas Manton. More than a handful of my favorite authors in that line up!

Yep. This is a book worth reading and owning.

Justin Taylor (whose blog I read regularly and whom I recently had the privilege of meeting at the conference we attended) did an interview with Nancy Guthrie about this book. This interview is worth watching.

Justin Taylor Interview: Nancy Guthrie from Crossway on Vimeo.

Now I'm off to amazon to get my copy.

A Weekend to Consider Adoption Part ONE

2010-03-02T08:03:00.000-06:00

Greetings everyone. Jill told me last night that she wants to blog about our weekend experience in Louisville, KY but she is still processing and did not know what to write. So I am stepping in for part one.

Jill and I attended the "Adopting for Life Conference" at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. The Conference went from Friday afternoon to Saturday afternoon. It is amazing that such a short period of time could be packed with SO MUCH! Here is a link to the Conference website. There are several short videos on this page that you can check out. The videos are of Dr. Russel Moore (author of the book "Adopted for Life") explaining God's heart for adoption.

Jill and I read this book last Fall and were absolutely wrecked by it. Let me explain.

God's heart is for orphans. You say, that's great for God to care for those less blessed than us. Maybe you don't understand. YOU are an orphan. I am one too. That's right. You and I were once totally lost, without hope, without God. Spiritually speaking, we had no father but the devil. Then, by God's grace (Eph. 2:8-9), He rescued us through the blood of His Son on the cross. We have been adopted as his sons (Gal. 4:5). I don't include "daughters" because in biblical times sons were the ones who received the inheritance. So for you ladies, you are a "son" adopted with full rights of inheritance! If God's heart is for us orphans, we ought to have a heart for the orphans in our world. Jill and I are going to adopt (don't know exactly when-we are working on that). We not only see adoption as a way to rescue a child from a life of despair, but we also love the fact that it reminds us that this is what our Heavenly Father did for us. Adoption is living out the Gospel.

Adoption is not easy. The speakers at the conference made that clear. We have more than an inkling about what we are entering into. But we choose it anyway. Jesus said in Luke 9:48, "Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. For he who is least among you all is the one who is great.” So we enter this journey with a full understanding that it will not be easy. We must remember, however, that the Christian life on this earth was never meant to be easy! We are called to take up our cross and follow Christ.

Pray for us! Jill will chime in soon I am sure.

Some Bear Fun

2010-02-20T22:42:00.001-06:00

Adam almost always works on Saturday mornings, and today he worked basically all day. I usually try to come up with something creative and fun for the girls and I to do - especially when the weather confines us to the indoors.

I let Sophia pick out her own outfit today. This is all it took to make her happy.

Then we decided to make some bear bread. After the dough was ready, the girls formed the bears.

All ready to go into the oven!

While the bears were rising and baking, we had some music time together. We sang songs, danced around, etc. They always love music time! Then I got out my shapes. We sang some songs with these, but they really just wanted to play with them.

They sorted them by color:

And then by shape:

Then Hannah decided to "make designs" with them:

Our bears were ready just in time for a healthy lunch. They loved eating the bears!

On a lighter note

2010-02-18T14:53:00.000-06:00

Here is a little of what we've been up to lately:

Hannah making valentines for her first school Valentines party. She loves to do crafts and often says to me, "I'm feeling crafty!"

Building a tall tower with our favorite blocks. (One of them built the tower, the other saw to its demise.)

We went into Hannah's room to see what the girls were up to. Here's what we found:

All their favorite stuffed animals were sick! But they were being the best nurses!

Hannah reading to Sophia.

A play date with the Buhler kids. They all LOVE each other!

And the classic pink heart-shaped pancakes for Valentine's Day.

*These pics were all taken last week. This week we are too sick to do much of anything! Sophia has a double ear-infection and Hannah has bronchitis, high fevers (104.5 last night!) and is moderately dehydrated. So we are camped in front of the tv drinking as much juice and water as we can!

Be Faithful to Teach

2010-02-11T21:22:00.001-06:00

Before I completely wear out the subject (but maybe you think I already have), here are some encouraging words regarding teaching the gospel to our children. I have borrowed these from John Starke, a contributor to The Gospel Coalition blog.

Sinking Stones and Evening Devotions
I am a father of three small children – two of which are old enough (2 and 4) to take part in evening devotions. Last night we read the story of the Passover in Exodus in The Big Picture Story Bible. Even though David Helm (author of Big Picture) does a superb job of telling the story for young hearts, while still preserving the deep truths, I often finish reading and think – They didn’t understand much of this story, much less its significance. I can, at times, have anxiety or display impatience in teaching my children to trust in the Gospel.
I once heard (sorry, I don’t remember where) that evangelism to children is like throwing rocks upon a frozen pond. Everyday you throw one rock after another, as they begin to pile on top of the ice. Nothing seems to penetrate the frozen surface. Until one day the sun comes out, the frozen surface melts, and all your rocks that you have thrown over the years sink to the floor of the pond.
How God works his sovereign goodness over my children’s salvation with my responsibility to faithfully teach them, I don’t know. His wisdom is unsearchable and his paths untraceable. Yet, may we, as parents, be faithful in giving our children categories to know God and understand his Gospel, so that when the warmth of God’s light shines upon their hearts, they will believe and rejoice with great joy!

2 More

2010-02-06T21:07:00.000-06:00

I thought I should clarify one thing regarding The Jesus Storybook Bible from my last post. I didn't mention an appropriate age range for this book. The book itself says for ages 4 and up. Sophia (my 2 year old) doesn't have the attention span for it yet. However, Hannah (now 4) would probably have loved it at Sophia's age. So it just depends on your child.

There are 2 other resources for kids that I am excited about. I've just purchased these, and have yet to read them in their entirety, so I don't have a lot to say about them other than: I think they are worth owning. :-)

The first is called The Big Picture Story Bible. At this link you can read a description as well as some endorsements and reviews. This book is more properly suited for younger children with shorter attention spans (like my Sophia).

The second is called Big Thoughts for Little Thinkers. This is a series of 4 books that teach God centered theology to little kids. The topics of the books are the trinity, the gospel, scripture, and mission. At this link you will read a review by Justin Taylor (an editorial director at Crossway) as well as short descriptions about each book.

I know there are many theologically sound resources out there to help us teach our children about our amazing God. What about you? What resources have you found helpful?

The Jesus Storybook Bible

2010-02-06T00:57:00.000-06:00

I have a confession to make. I'm leery of most children's Bibles. They too often get details wrong and skip over important stories that I want my children to know. But my main criticism is that they often turn the main characters into heroes, as if their actions saved the day. As if Noah, in all his goodness, managed to save the human race by building a boat when in fact, GOD, in all His mercy, showed great patience and saving power. Or that David's bravery against Goliath is the lesson to be learned when in reality, GOD is the hero - and He used an unlikely vessel to prove it!

But enough with this rant. My point is that Jesus is the Hero of the Bible. All the stories point to Him. And I want my kids to know that it isn't about their goodness or their bravery. It's about Christ's sacrifice for them, and their willingness to humble themselves before Him and be used by and for Him.

Now for my second confession. Not all children's Bibles are as I have described. (I'm sure you're shocked.)

We recently purchased The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones. I highly recommend this children's storybook, where all the paraphrased stories point to Jesus, our Hero, who is coming to rescue us.

To whet your appetite, here's an excerpt:

“No, the Bible isn’t a list of rules, or a book of heroes. The Bible is most of all a Story. It’s an adventure story about a young Hero who comes from a far country to win back his lost treasure. It’s a love story about a brave Prince who leaves his palace, his throne–everything–to rescue the one he loves. It’s like the most wonderful of fairy tales that has come true in real life!

You see, the best thing about this Story is–it’s true.

There are lots of stories in the Bible, but all the stories are telling one Big Story. The Story of how God loves his children and comes to rescue them.

It takes the whole Bible to tell this Story. And at the center of the Story, there is a baby. Every Story in the Bible whispers his name. He is like the missing piece in a puzzle–the piece that makes all the other pieces fit together, and suddenly you can see a beautiful picture.”

Here are 2 great reviews by men I respect (if you're not already convinced):
What the Bible is Not by Tullian Tchividjian
Telling the Story by Andrew Peterson

And now for confession #3: I have learned something by reading this Bible for children. It has opened my eyes and reminded me that:

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. - Colossians 1:15-20

At the culmination of redemptive history stands Jesus, my Hero.

Taking it Like a Man!

2010-02-02T08:15:00.001-06:00

I have to start by telling you that this is Adam. I rarely blog, but I read something this morning that I wanted to share.

I have been reading in 2 Samuel in the mornings. The life of King David is fascinating to me and I recently read his moral failure with Bathsheba (ch. 11). Nathan's rebuke in chapter 12 is powerful and he tells David what the Lord's punishment will be. Because David murdered Uriah and committed adultery with Uriah's wife the Lord says, "the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife," (v. 10).

Flash forward to chapter 16. David's son, Absalom, has made a coup and is inhabiting David's house. David is on the run (again) and he comes to Bahurim (v. 5). All of a sudden, a guy named Shimei (a relative of Saul) comes out and starts throwing rocks at David and his men (not a wise move). He adds insult to injury by ripping David's character, "Get out, get out, you man of blood, you worthless man! The Lord has avenged on you all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned, and the Lord has given the kingdom into the hand of your son Absalom. See, your evil is on you, for you are a man of blood," (v. 8). David's mighty warrior friend, Abishai, is furious about this guy's disrespect. He provides a tempting offer to David, "Let me go over and take off his head," (v. 9). David could have nodded his head and the ridicule would have been silenced in one swift blow. However, David replies, "If he is cursing because the Lord has said to him, 'Curse David,' who then shall say, 'Why have you done so?'... Leave him alone, and let him curse, for the Lord has told him to. It may be that the Lord will look on the wrong done to me, and that the Lord will repay me with good for his cursing today," (v.11-12). So the ridicule goes on and Shimei continues to toss rocks and fling dust at David and his men (v. 13). Wow! David is humbly taking this ridicule like a man, in part because he knows he deserves it. Yet, David knows that what this man is doing is wrong and he trusts the Lord to be just in the end.

Three observations.

1. When we sin, we are despising the Lord! I don't think of it that way very often. I think, "Oh, I made a mistake." It is more than that. I confess I rarely see my sin for what it truly is. My sin is an affront to the holiness and glory of God. My sin is a stench in His presence. My sin is the reason Jesus Christ died a horrific death on a scornful cross. We have to take our sin seriously. When we do, the cross in our eyes in magnified!

2. I find it interesting that the man who ridiculed David was sinning. He should not have treated the Lord's anointed with such disrespect. It was not his place to sit in judgment over David. Yet David attributed the action to be from the Lord (v. 11). Here we find a man's sin being used by God for His purposes. God is sovereign! Is God responsible for this man's sin? No. Did God use the sin as punishment for David? Yes. What an amazing God we have!

3. As a dad, I have the responsibility to discipline my children when they sin. Sometimes they take it well, sometimes they do not. Who disciplines me? The Lord. If we adults could only take punishment from the Lord with David's integrity! When we have sinned and things begin to go awry, let's take responsibility for our sin and trust the Lord for mercy in the end!

Antidotes to Stir Craziness

2010-01-29T20:06:00.000-06:00

We've had a fun week. Hannah and Sophia are starting to play so well together! It's so fun to watch and it gives me a chance to get a few things done. They made a new favorite hide-out:

Hannah played in the snow today. Sophia decided she was too girly to get in a puffy snowsuit and play in the snow.

We also worked on a Gramsy-Gram. The snow projects in this Gramsy-Gram were perfect for today! Hannah had off of school because of all the snow, so we needed these fun activities. Thanks Gramsy!

Tonight was family night. We had a carnival complete with music, tickets, games, prizes, and popcorn. The girls had a blast!!!

Funny Girls

2010-01-26T20:58:00.001-06:00

Go here to see a great post my mom did about her afternoon with my girls. They say the funniest things!

Raising Purity

2010-01-14T21:11:00.000-06:00

I worked with Jr. and Sr. High youth alongside Adam for 4 years while he was a youth pastor in Green Bay. With all its challenges, I loved working with the girls in the youth group and still miss those relationships today. I loved hearing about their lives, praying for them, teaching Bible studies, and walking through life with those girls.

But the hardest subject I had to deal with was that of sexual purity. Specifically the question, "How far is too far?" I never knew how to answer this question. It's seemingly so arbitrary! Where is the definite line in the sand?

If only I had known about Gerald Hiestand's book Raising Purity: Helping Parents Understand The Bible's Perspective on Sex, Dating, and Relationships . I just finished reading this insightful and gospel-centered book.

Gerald's unique take is refreshingly Biblical. And while you may not agree with every specific conclusion, I can almost guarantee that you will find practical guidelines to apply with your children or those you mentor/teach.

As I am not currently mentoring any teens, and as my oldest child is not yet 5, I found chapter 8 (Foundations for Application: Some Thoughts on The Heart of Rule Making) most helpful. In fact, a pleasant surprise in this book, I found principles tucked within this chapter that I can apply as a parent of preschoolers. Specifically, I have been pondering this:

It is love, not rules, that give birth to obedience. When we teach our children to love God, their obedience will follow.... Ultimately our goal is not to get our children to behave as God desires but rather to desire as God desires. If they view the world from a God-centered perspective, they will invariably make right decisions. This reminds us of our need to birth within our children first and foremost a love for God and his image.

I encourage you to pick up Raising Purity and give it a thoughtful read. My guess is that you will be challenged to think through the issue of purity (specifically as it relates to teen dating) from a Biblical perspective. At the very least, you will be challenged to think through your values. Why do you believe what you believe?

Thank you, Gerald, for the opportunity to read this book. You have given Biblical clarity to an issue often muddled in confusion and individual discretion.

I'll leave you with this final thought:

All God's rules are meant to direct us back to his own nature, which teaches us about who He is and ultimately increases our love for Him. Give your children merely rules and ideals, and they will not even desire holiness. Give them a knowledge of how those rules fit within the character of God, and they will crave to follow the rules in order that they might find the God of those rules.

The Ultimate Holiday Party

2010-01-09T10:25:00.001-06:00

Meet the Buhler family. They are good friends of ours and happen to live just down the street! We've tried to have get-together celebrations for the past few holidays - and failed each time for one reason or another. So, being the fun people that they are, the Buhlers came up with a great idea: celebrate all the holidays in one big ultimate party.

The Ultimate Party was a blast! We started by coming in our halloween outfits:

I was also celebrating The Superbowl (because we all know that is a holiday) as a former Packer Hall-of-Famer.

Though we had to force him to take this picture, Tim was celebrating New Year's for us. And Adam... well, we're not really sure which holiday he is representing. I think it was supposed to be Cinco de Mayo.

We then moved on to Thanksgiving. The kids decorated these apple turkeys and sang turkey songs.

After dinner, the kids went on an Easter egg hunt. The eggs were filled with Valentine's Day candy. Yep, 2 holidays in 1. That's the way we roll.

Then we listened to the Christmas story (told by a Charlie Brown ornament) and opened Christmas gifts.

Adam did a quick celebration of St. Patrick's Day for us.

And before we left, they guys lit some sparklers in honor of the 4th of July. They did this in front of the kings who are visiting Jesus for Epiphany. We also yelled Happy New Year. It was negative something degrees outside, but you gotta do what you gotta do to celebrate!

We had an AWESOME time Buhlers! Thanks! My favorite part of the evening: the random yelling of "Happy _____" whatever holiday you felt like celebrating. Pretty sure we covered them all!

We will definitely be making this a yearly tradition. And the good news is - we can do it at anytime of the year!

Snapshots of Christmas

2010-01-02T20:41:00.003-06:00

Here's a bit of what we've been up to the past few weeks.

Hannah had her first school Christmas program. She is very animated and does actions throughout:

She does us proud:

We traditionally open new Christmas pajamas on Christmas Eve:

Acting out the Christmas story & opening presents:

Hannah and Daddy are sad to put away the crib:

But Sophia keeps singing "big-girl bed, big-girl bed!"

She loves it!

Hannah claims this is what "Swahili" men and women wear:

We get to meet our new nephew Eli!

Sophia is enamored with Eli:

Hannah hangs out with her cousin Emeri. (Actually, they are glued to the television.)

We spent the last few days with my brother and his family. I didn't take hardly any pictures because everyone else has much better cameras. So, I'm counting on my mom to blog about this. :-)

A New Tradition

2009-12-22T16:07:00.000-06:00

I saw one of these cute advent calendars at a friend's house last year. She gave me some great family ideas to do with it. So when I saw this one at Target this year, I knew exactly what to do with it.

Each night we open one of the doors to find a fun family activity inside. (Some nights we have other obligations and limited time, so candy has been known to be found on these occasions.) The girls look forward to this time every day! And the activity remains a mystery until after dinner, adding to the suspense, and therefore the fun!

We've gone and looked at Christmas lights, had a dance party (complete with a disco ball!), had movie night, made cookies,

and the favorite so far...

"snowball" fights using giant marshmallows. This activity has been repeated due to overwhelming popularity. Hannah and Adam love pelting each other, I usually hide until I'm found and ambushed, and Sophia is content to run around collecting as many "snowballs" as she can.

The baby Jesus from our manger scene is hidden in door #25. We'll start our Christmas day activites by opening this door, placing Jesus in the manger, and acting out the Christmas story.

We've thoroughly enjoyed this new Christmas tradition! If you have any ideas for fun family activities we could add to our advent calendar (that work for a 2 & 4 year old), let me know!

In My 4-year-old's Mind

2009-12-17T15:15:00.000-06:00

I love it when my 4-year-old gives me a glimpse into her mind. She seems to do this when I least expect it, instead of when I'm posed and ready for a deep conversation. This was the case a few days ago. We were cleaning her room together when she very nonchalantly said, "Sometimes God answers 'yes,' sometimes He says 'no,' and sometimes He just says 'wait.'"

"Really?" I answered her, a bit amazed. "Who told you this?"

Her answered left me more amazed: "Well, I just figured that I ask God to make me not scared every night. Sometimes He makes me not scared. Sometimes I'm still scared. And sometimes I'm scared but then later I'm not."

Oh, to be 4 again. When faith in God was this easy.

On Stage

2009-12-16T21:06:00.000-06:00

Growing up with a Daddy who is the worship pastor does afford certain privileges. Both of our girls love to go on stage at church. They love the piano and especially the drums. Once, their daddy even took them on a date to church to play on the stage! Yes folks, it doesn't get much better than that. :-)

This Sunday the girls both had a chance to sing Christmas songs with their Sunday School classes on stage during church. I wasn't too worried about either of them being nervous or crying, seeing as how they are so at home on stage!

Sophia:

Hannah (in the middle back):

And one last picture of Hannah and I. I was gone for several days on a crafting weekend with some friends. Hannah was so happy to see me when I got home that she wouldn't let go of me. We took a number of these pictures:

I asked her, "What was your favorite thing about your weekend with Daddy?"
Her reply: "When you came home!"

True Love

2009-12-09T13:59:00.000-06:00

This Christmas season I am struck in a new way by God's love for us. In all honesty, I usually tend to focus more on God's justice and wrath than on His love and grace. This is not because I'm a morbid person (at least I hope not!) but because I think we (by "we" I mean most American Christians) overemphasize God's love to the point that we make it all about us. That God has such a mushy gushy feeling toward us. That all He thought about on the cross was us. That He'd rather die than live without us. These statements bother me. Christ's death was about His obedience to His father's will. It was about God's glory.

True. But this year I'm beginning to gain a new perspective on Christ's love for us. I haven't purposely set out to study this, but my time in God's Word, a Beth Moore study I'm doing, a book I'm reading (Crazy Love by Francis Chan), and some of Pastor Dave's sermons keep bringing me to this. And I'm learning that Christ's love for us is emphasized in Scripture. But it is not some mushy-gushy feeling. Christ loves us with AGAPE love. Agape love is more an action or response than a feeling. Agape love is driven by seeing and meeting a need. It is demonstrative. It always produces action. Look at the action of love in these well-known verses (emphasis mine):

John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son..."
Romans 5:8 - "But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
1 John 4:10 - "In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son..."

Does God love me? YES!!! How do I know?

He came. He left the glories of heaven and came to earth as a lowly infant in a poor family. He lived. He lived a life dedicated to spreading the good news of the New Covenant. He died. He went through the horrors of a Roman crucifixion and the unspeakable pain of having God turn His back because of my sin. Because of your sin. He lived again! He conquered death and the grave.

This is how I know God loves me. He came. He lived. He died. He lived again. His love is demonstrative. It is an action.

Now here's the kicker. And here's the truth I cannot escape:

My love should look like God's.

1 John 3:16-18
By this we know love, that He laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

Family Pics

2009-12-05T00:29:00.001-06:00

My talented friend Meg took some great photos of our family! Here are just a few of my favorites:

Now I need to order some and decide where in the house they will go. Fun!

Thanks Meg! We love them!

Gobble, gobble

2009-11-30T22:29:00.000-06:00

We spent Thanksgiving with my family and our good friends, the Peterson's. Tommy & Helen are friends from college, who are currently raising support to go to France with Avant as church planters. It's always great to see them and we were glad they were able to come for Thanksgiving!

Unfortunately, the only pics I took were of the kiddos making apple turkeys.

Christian, Hannah, and Tobie were pretty detailed with their turkeys.

Daniel got a little crazy. We all agreed that his turkey looked more like a spaceship.

Sophia just wanted to eat her turkey. She pulled all the goodies off the toothpicks!

Thanks for coming Peterson's!

Switchfoot Concert

2009-11-24T22:58:00.006-06:00

I took Adam to a Switchfoot concert in Oklahoma City for his 30th birthday. This was supposed to be a surprise, but well... I'm terrible with surprises. Just can't keep things to myself when I'm excited!

Seeing a band live makes or breaks my opinion of them. I was on the fence with Switchfoot until this concert. Now I'm a fan. They were amazing live! (Which was a bit of a surprise to me. We have a video of a live concert which didn't impress me.) They have really developed as a band. They had a clean, tight sound. They were personable. The mix was awesome. Add to that the great lyrics and the way they intentionally engage our culture and point to God. Yeah - we loved it!

Now for some pics. I drove most of the way so that Adam could "study."

Dave Reimer let us borrow his GPS to put above our dusty dash.

We stopped at Red Robin first so that Adam could eat this enormous chip.

Excited!

We stood about 15 feet from the stage. Adam had a great view - what else would you expect at 6'4"? I had to look between heads and shoulders.

Yes, it was loud. My jeans and throat bounced with the bass.

And yes, we stood the whole time. It was great, though our old bodies felt it the next morning!

They started by performing their new album in its entirety. Then they played some older stuff. They even let a guy (from Wichita!) in the crowd come up and play drums during one of their songs. You can see that video here. Pretty cool!

Flying High

2009-11-23T18:21:00.008-06:00

We had a fun quick visit from our brother-in-law (Adam's sister's husband) Travis this weekend. He is a pilot, needed an overnight stop somewhere around here, so he stopped in to see us!

The girls had lots of fun exploring Uncle Travis's airplane!

Thanks for stopping in Travis! We had a great time with you. Thanks for dinner and for taking apart, I mean fixing our iPod dock! :-) We missed you Jenny and Alyssa!

30

2009-11-18T09:17:00.007-06:00

Today Adam turns 30!

I love this picture of Hannah and her Daddy. She was more excited about it being his birthday then he was!

He blew all 30 candles with one breath! (Of course, you can see that he had two little "helpers.")

Hannah wanted to buy him a present and wrap it all by herself. She chose the heart bag because "all the hearts show all the love." Then she put a bow on top "for extra love."

She is so proud of her gift! :) Hannah knows what Daddy likes!

He also got the new Switchfoot CD and tickets to their concert in Oklahoma City. (The concert deserves it's own post; more on that later.)

Happy birthday Adam! You are a godly husband and father - always putting our needs before your own. You are an example of Christ to us! We love you!

Chickens and a Nocturnal God

2009-11-12T20:24:00.005-06:00

Hebrews 13:16 "Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God."

We love Samaritan's purse! There are some excellent ways to share what we have in their gift catalog. What a perfect, tangible way for children to give. We like to have our kids do extra chores in order to earn money to buy gifts for kids who don't have anything by comparison. Some things Hannah is excited to buy this year:

Now, for a cute story about this.

Hannah has been having issues with being scared at night. We've been talking about how God doesn't sleep; He is always with us and watching over us. We've been singing the good old song by Steve Green - "When I am afraid I will trust in You..." And we've been saying Psalm 4:8 with her: "In peace I will both lie down and sleep, for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety."

Last night as I was leaving the room after putting Hannah to bed, she told me, "God is nocturnal and not-nocturnal - all at the same time!"

When I came back to check on her, she said, "I need a parent to lay with me so that I know you are here with me. I already know God is here with me, so I don't need Him to lay with me. That would be bad if He laid with me in real life. It'd break my bed!" Well, it worked. I agreed to lay with her for a bit. As I lay my head on the pillow, she sighed and said, "I love having parents. After we have saved money to buy chickens for a child, we could find a child who needs parents and buy her some parents!" How I wish we could!

I love being your mommy, Hannah. I love the sensitive heart that God has given you. He's going to do some awesome things through you for His glory!

A Visit from Gramsy and Grandad

2009-11-02T10:22:00.006-06:00

Adam's parents came to visit this past week to help with the kids while we were busy with Judgement House. The girls had loads of fun!

Sophia got to do plenty of her favorite thing: cuddling.

Hannah got to make her favorite thing: a HUGE fort.

They went to the zoo:

read books:

made cookies:

went to the park:

even celebrated an early Christmas:

Gramsy got Hannah ready for her preschool Silly Dress Up Day:

The girls went trick-or-treating to my parents and grandparents:

Thank you so much for coming! The girls treasured their time with you! We really appreciate all you did - not only taking care of the girls, but also cooking, cleaning, fixing things, and basically taking care of us! We love you!

Judgement House

2009-10-19T19:31:00.003-05:00

Excited for the next few weeks. Excited to see what God is going to do to glorify His name!

(Sorry that the video is cut off. Click on it to see it in full.)

"But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us." -2 Corinthians 4:7

A Purple Cast

2009-10-13T20:28:00.005-05:00

In her 2 short years of life, Sophia has accomplished what took me 20 years: she broke a bone.

Yesterday afternoon, Sophia and Hannah were sitting on the top of the couch downstairs. They aren't supposed to do this and I wasn't downstairs to hold them accountable for that. I was sitting upstairs when I heard the crying and screaming. Hannah was up the stairs yelling for me as fast as I was down the stairs trying to get to my baby. Sophia was laying behind the couch, holding her arm and screaming.

I knew it wasn't good when she cried for a half hour. She's not much of a crier. But, it didn't turn black and blue or swell. So we waited until this morning when we could go to the clinic instead of the ER. And yep, it was still hurting her this morning. I honestly didn't expect a break, but the x-rays proved otherwise.

She chose a pretty purple cast. (I was really hoping she wouldn't go for the neon pink!) It will need to be on for 6 weeks. The kicker is that it's on her left arm - which is the thumb she sucks to go to sleep. When she tried sucking her thumb after the cast was on, she said, "This not works!" That has been more traumatic for her than any of the rest of this experience.

Here she is sporting the cast and sling:
I've actually been quite amazed at how she's handling this. Not many tears. Hardly any drama. She still runs around singing and dancing. Our little happy-go-lucky kiddo. She doesn't like that she can't suck her thumb, but tonight she showed me that she can rub her bunny's arm against her lips: "This works. I'm happy."

Hannah, in the meantime, isn't sure what to think about it all. At dinner tonight she said, "Do you know what Sophia's cast is teaching me? It's teaching me not to climb things or sit on things that are tall. It's teaching me to be more careful." Good. Not that Hannah needs more caution in her life. Hopefully Sophia learns something too and calms down from her monkey-climbing ways! :-)

Time Away

2009-10-10T19:53:00.009-05:00

Adam and I had a mini vacation in Kansas City this week. My parents were gracious enough to take the girls for 3 days & 2 nights so that we could get away! Adam has been really busy at church since this summer, and we haven't had a lot of time together. So, this was a time to be together with no interruptions. It was great!

We stayed here:

Yes, there was a Starbucks in our hotel. We slept in late every morning. I think Adam was surprised that we still have it in us to sleep as late as we did. I loved it!

My cousin made us a dining guide for the area. We chose several restaurants off that list and were not disappointed. Thanks Clint! We ate at Garrozo's, a wonderful Italian restaurant; Arthur Bryant's BBQ (you can't go to KC without getting good BBQ!); and Mimi's Cafe, where we were given 4 free huge muffins just for being first time customers!

We shopped here:

And here:

We also went to a movie and read a great book together. (I'll be blogging more about the book later).

And we took lots of silly pictures:

Unfortunately for you, our camera batteries gave out about this time, so no more crazy pictures!

We had a wonderful getaway! Not sure yet what all our girls did, but I'm pretty sure that my mom will blog about that soon. :-)

A Pair of Great "Greats"

2009-10-06T13:23:00.005-05:00

They don't call 'em "Great" for nothing! My kids have the privilege of having some wonderful great-grandparents. Peter and Lois Voran, my mom's parents, are still in excellent health and live right here in Newton. They love spending time with my girls, and my girls love spending time with them!

I know this picture is old (it was taken the day Sophia was born), but it's one of my favorite pictures of Grandpa and Grandma. You can just see the love and joy on their faces!
This past Saturday, they took both Hannah and Sophia to Bethel College's Fall Fest while Adam and I had worship team practice at church. The girls had a blast!

Hannah loved the BIG slide. Unfortunately, Sophia wasn't strong enough to make it to the top, though she tried.

Sophia loved the moon walk. She was too much of a crazy jumper to get a good picture! :-)

The both rode on the fire engine and fed the animals.
They played so hard! Grandpa & Grandma were gracious enough to buy them all the tokens they needed. (Who says great-grandparents can't spoil too!) When Adam and I came to pick them up, Grandpa & Grandma treated us all to lunch, followed by a few more rides for the kids.

Thanks for a wonderful morning Grandpa and Grandma! The girls are still talking about it! We all love you lots!