Questions and answers

I have to brag about our 18 month old. We started asking Abigail a series of questions that we feel are important to be able to answer when she was 2. Josiah has started earlier. We ask Josiah "Who loves you most?" He replies, "JESUS" with enthusiasm. We ask "Who made everything?" He replies, "God" like you should know. And of course Travis likes to ask "Who's daddy's boy?" And he replies lovingly, "ME." I will see if I can get all this on video. It's very cute. The newest question we ask is "What is God's Book?" It doesn't take long before he gets what to answer. We know he doesn't understand yet but it's still a good start. We are beginning to ask Abigail more difficult questions and she is doing well. She is thinking more about things and it is really interesting to watch. She did ask one day, "Is God really real?" And I of course said yes and she said "I was just checking." So we began talking about how all things in the Bible are real. It was a great conversation. I look forward to days ahead that we get to talk. I pray God gives me wisdom to answer her questions.

Hours of Family Fun!

We were at the store over the weekend and guess what my husband stumbled upon? He found a whoopie cushion. So Saturday night was filled with whoopie cushion family fun. It is a self-inflating kind so it's never ending. Whoever invented the self-inflating part really must have enjoyed having a whoopie cushion as child! My children and husband can't seem to get enough.

First Chucky Cheese Experience

"So how was it?" you ask...

Travis says "if I never get to go back to a Chucky Cheese for the rest of my life it wouldn't hurt my feelings."

It was very very crowded and very very loud. It was a Saturday and the last Saturday before school. So you can imagine. Travis could not hear what I was saying and we had to keep a hold of Josiah who wanted to run around. Josiah is very fast so it's a challenge. By the time we left my throat hurt and my arms were sore.

To add to the misery, Chucky Cheese is almost 2 hours away from us.

We went for a child's princess birthday party. That is the reason for Abigail's apparel.

Gone Fishin'

Abigail caught five bluegill. Travis caught one and I caught none! Apparently the princess pole was the only pole capable of catching fish.

Josiah loved running around the place. He especially loved running up and down a little incline from the barn.

"Renewing Marital Intimacy - Closing the Gap Between You and Your Spouse"

My husband ordered a new set of booklets from Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation on a variety of subjects. I picked one up and began to read "Renewing Marital Intimacy." It was a great booklet so I thought I would share what I learned.

Why do marriages become distant? Well you have to go back to the first marriage to answer that question. The first marriage was Adam and Eve. They had an intimate relationship with each other and with God in the garden. But all of that was broken when they disobeyed God. So the concept of a distant marriage and a distant relationship with God came into existence. The condition of our heart changed. So now we have a heart that reflects how our relationship is with our spouse but also our Lord. I hadn't thought of the fact that how we relate to God is also how we may relate to our spouses. "The same things that cause distance in your relationship with God cause distance in your relationship with your spouse." The booklet gives the parable of the sower. Not only does the four different kinds of soil give a picture of our hearts towards God but also could be used to reflect our hearts toward our spouses.

The first soil: The hard heart doesn't know how to love
The second soil: The disappointed heart gives up on love
The third soil: The distracted heart is too busy to love
The fourth soil: The fruitful heart perseveres in love

It was good to look at these soils in this new light to see where my own heart is.

Now once you know the condition of your heart then check your priorities.

I love that the booklet makes this statement:
"Don't make your goal in life to have a good marriage. Instead, make knowing your Redeemer your goal." It gives us the right focus. We too often start with the wrong focus but not this booklet!

Our priority is making sure our intimacy with our Redeemer is fruitful. "Seek intimacy with God and intimacy with others will be added to you." Our love for others will come as we experience the love from God. And the way we become intimate with God is by meditating on the way He treats you. The booklet gives several verses to "make your own."

If you are seeking an intimate relationship with your Lord then He will give you what you need to love your spouse without demanding intimacy from him. Always looking for intimacy from your spouse can cause you to be disappointed but if you strive to love your spouse the way God loves you, then you will not be disappointed. When we strive for our own interests and are only concerned for ourselves then we cause distance and lose intimacy in our marriages. However, if we strive for an intimate relationship with our Lord and are concerned for others with the lovingkindness that God has for us, then our relationships are fruitful.

Change only happens with the power of God. So calling on God for help is the only way. The booklet points out that confession of sin is important and that once we have a heart of repentance God shows us more sin to confess. Which is painful "but you will see that where sin abounds, grace super-abounds." These convictions will lead you to love your spouse well.

The booklet then gives strategies for change.

Asking your spouse for forgiveness.

Enter into your spouse's world by asking:
1. What are your burdens?
2. What are your joys?
3. What's your purpose?

Express your love in small, daily kindness

Engage in constructive Confrontation

Lastly, the booklet gives encouragement to those who may have a spouse who doesn't see the distance in their marriage as they do. It takes time to rebuild, but there is hope.

"...remember how God broke down these same walls in your life by sending his own Son into your world."

This is all easier said than done of course. It's hard because it's calling for humility. A true humility. It's a call to love your husband as God loves you. This is a very high standard but it is attainable through Christ. He is the one who gives us the power and the changed heart condition. I am very glad to be reminded that our relationship with God and our relationship with our spouses are connected.

Our children

I didn't know this but we have a puppy named JOSIAH! Travis found him biting the coffee table and left marks with his teeth. I could not believe it!

How do children manage to get as dirty as possible? Our childen played in the sandbox and managed to get it everywhere!! No little spot uncovered. Then they got soapy with bubbles.

The Power of the Cross

Sometimes when I'm not focused well a song like this one helps to keep everything in perspective. The eternal perspective.

The Power of the Cross
Keith and Kristyn Getty
www.gettymusic.com

Oh, to see the dawn
Of the darkest day,
Christ on the road to Calvary
Tried by sinful men,
Torn and beaten, then
Nailed to a cross of wood.

This, the power of the cross
Christ became sin for us;
Took the blame, bore the wrath --
We stand forgiven at the cross

Oh, to see the pain
Written on Your face,
Bearing the awesome weight of sin.
Every bitter thought,
Every evil deed
Crowning Your bloodstained brow.

Now the daylight flees;
Now the ground beneath
Quakes as its Maker bows His head.
Curtain torn in two,
Dead are raised to life;
"Finished!" the victory cry.

Oh, to see my name
Written in the wounds,
For through Your Suffering I am free.
Death is crushed to death;
Life is mine to live,
Won through Your selfless love.

This, the power of the cross
Son of God -- slain for us.
What a love! What a cost!
We stand forgiven at the cross.