A Misty Morning

We had a mildly foggy morning recently , the kind where if you look at a dark background you can actually see the water droplets swirling up around you. So I went out web-shooting. It's a little creepy to consider how very many spiders are all around us but we just don't see most of them. I like seeing their webs in the dew though. One of those displays of God's glory my Mom taught me to appreciate.

I don't know what kind of spiders make these webs in the grass but our lawn was spotted with them all over, this was the biggest.




Our pretty Tiger Liles at the back of the yard


I had to run to Walmart for a few things this morning. I often feel silly having Xavier use my girly smelling soap, though he never complains. So I offered to get him some manly soap. He was very excited! He sniffed each package until we found a winner. As I added it to the basket he asked, "Can I get some deodorant too?" The clerk in the aisle laughed at him and reminded me how very quickly these years are passing.

When we got home he helped put things away and was eager to open a bar of "his soap". To his amusement the bar actually says, "Dial for Men" on it :-) I told him to look manly so I could take a picture of him with his manly soap. In the first shot he must have been distracted by those big biceps. Doesn't he look macho... in front of the flowery shower curtain? ;-)




While praying before lunch Xavier said, "... and thank you Lord that they stopped killing the flock..." I wasn't sure what he meant by that, but the rest of the prayer was pretty sound so I had to ask what he was thinking of here. He clarified that it was in reference to making animal sacrifices. He concluded that "no one must have enjoyed that - except David because he sure sacrificed a lot." He didn't hesitate when I asked him why we don't need to sacrifice animals anymore. Thank you Jesus for becoming the only sacrifice we'll ever need!!!! It was a neat opportunity to recount all the ways scripture points to the saving death of Christ from the beginning of creation. The Lord is really working in Xavier's heart to trust and love him. Any time Xavier prays, no matter what the initial point is, he always thanks Jesus for paying for our sins on the cross. That is so precious and encouraging to my heart! Thank you God for the mercy you pour on our family!

While he was finishing lunch I was reading from our dessert book "A Gospel Primer for Christians" by Milton Vincent. I found this quote so refreshing. The Lord has been focusing my attention on how I have nothing to boast in but Jesus Christ and his willingness to save me. So as I finish going through Romans, and C.B.'s wrapping up Galatians, and I'm relfecting on notes from this series which explain that the gospel is freedom from self not freedom to self (oh that is what I need! Thank you Lord!) I get to read this:

"God deliberately designed the gospel in such a way so as to strip me of pride and leave me without any grounds for boasting in myself whatsoever... Pride wilts in the atmosphere of the gospel... Conversely, humility grows lushly in the atmosphere of the gospel... such humility intensifies my passion for God and causes my heart increasingly to thrill whenever he is praised."

"My soul makes its boast in the Lord; the humble shall hear it and rejoice." Psalm 34:2
Oh I want and need more of this - what wonderful news that Jesus had done all that is necessary for me to obtain it!

Our Growing Family and Praises to God!

First of all - and LEAST importantly - I think today may end a little quest I've been on. It is extremely rare for me to wear a bathing suit. Some summers I don't even get in a pool once so I don't think much about swim suit shopping. I have one that has functioned but I'm not satisfied with the modesty factor on it. With our trip to Hawaii in view I've been praying for a solution and remembering how very difficult it is to find suitable swim wear. I am not an ocean person at all but I have a feeling that will change when we get to Oahu :-) Andrew has offered to teach me to surf and I have every hope of making an "attempt". I'm not expecting it to be pretty, but it will be worth the memory. Today I found some board shorts that, after a little altering, I think will go quite nicely with a full length swim top I have. Niiiice. God is good!

Second of all - and more significantly - my younger sister, Jill, is officially engaged! Next spring I get a new brother-in-law and Xavier gets an Uncle Andrew! We are very excited for them and have seen this coming for many months. Xavier's been tackling him like an uncle for several holiday gatherings now. I love how the Lord keeps adding to our already big family and all of my brothers-in-law just fit in so perfectly with our craziness even though they all have one sibling or were only children growing up. They are some of the neatest men I know and give me hope for what the Lord may have ahead for me.

Third of all - and a little more exciting because I was not expecting this one - I'm going to be an Aunt again! Lord willing, in February, Lori and Jason will welcome their second little one and I get to torment them with snuggles and kisses and tickles! I love having nieces and nephews and Xavier gets such a kick out of how his cousins admire him. The oldest ones are 2 years old and both talk about him quite a bit and watch his every move when they're together (which I remind him of regularly!).

And lastly - and HUGEST of all! - it seems like the Lord is really doing a work in Gene (Xavier's father)! He is really wanting to come to church and is not showing the opposition he once had to the gospel. Several men in our church have been seeking to reach out to him and he is open and responding to them! I can't put in to words what a blessing that is to me as it can be very difficult for me to care for him as a single woman. Please be praying that God would save him and that he would be firmly rooted, not spring up for a time and then wither away. There seems to be a real conviction to turn from a pursuit of sin and he no longer disputes scriptures I mention. This is such a change from even a year ago! Please also pray for his girlfriend, Angie. She is a professing Christian and is supportive of him making these changes (specifically moving into separate homes) while still hoping to one day get married. This is exciting stuff! Could it be that after years of prayer and pleading the Lord is bringing repentance and salvation? Oh please join me in prayer here! God is so merciful!

Bless the Lord!

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy
name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who
forgives all you iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems you life
from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you
with good so that your strength is renewed like the eagle's.

Psalm 103:1-5

After more than a week of having growing discomfort and swollen eyes that would impair my vision at times and make it very difficult to work, I am now doing amazingly better. My doctor was not sure how to treat me at first since I have no known allergies other than to dairy and this was lasting too long (and worsening) for any dairy to still be in my system.

My mom was such a hero yesterday. She picked Xavier and me up to get him to school and me to work because I was really having trouble seeing well enough to feel comfortable driving. If you don't know this about me - it takes a lot for me to not be willing to drive. I feel handicapped without a car - yes the Lord is working on idolatry here and where I place my hope. Then a couple of hours later she picked me up at work and went with me for a follow up appt w/ the Dr. I was going to be treated for cellulitis with antibiotics, I have a prescription for bloodwork to be done on my kidneys and thyroid, and about 7 other prescriptions which I have not filled because they've all been, "You can try this, just in case that's what you have and see if it works". The Lord has ordained that my budget prohibited lots of drug "sampling" and I've just had to seek him for wisdom. The first prescriptions were not helpful.

Yesterday the Dr consulted with an allergist and he wants to see me on Tuesday and gave some recommendations for how to better treat an allergy. So I am now on Zyrtec and Prednisone and already looking incredibly recovered! I woke up this morning and could see! The swelling is so minimal now you can hardly tell and the redness has all but subsided. I actually have open cuts under both of my eyes from how raw they have been! I keep putting chapstick on them to heal the skin and Xavier says, "Your eyes smell minty."

God is so good! For those of you who knew and were praying - Thank you! Please continue to pray for wisdom for the Allergist this week and for God to continually provide the means for treatment. I'm curious to find the allergen since I've never had anything and then to out of no where have such a strong reaction. Some coworkers avoided me or squinted their eyes, saying it was painful for them to even look at me, but most of my close friends helped me to laugh at myself and were gracious with my impaired speed and inability to think clearly at times (when I was consumed with my body screaming at me). Thank you Lord, you are strong and kind to heal!

A Date Night

Tonight I got to share a special evening with my little man. First I took him to Isaac's. This is one of our very favorite restaurants. It's rarely busy and we both enjoy the food and atmosphere for a pretty good price. Here he is making his own Peanut Butter, Jelly and Marshmallow Sandwich on Rainbow Bread. He had a lot of fun with the extra long bendy straw. He had it tied in knots and zig zags. This is a heart he made for me.

Then we paid a visit to Miss Leah for some fabulous new do's.


Before

After - The back is higher than before, not sure if you can really tell

While she trimmed me up Xavier flipped through a book Leah had made of styles she likes. He changed his mind a couple of times, but settled on a very fun punky looking teenage boy. I think he looks adorable! He's curious if his friends will recognize him tomorrow.

Before with his beloved Shag look

getting close to bed time, yet Miss Leah plugs away

Ta-Da! A more modern rocker look
His sense of style cracks me up

Thank you Lord for Xavier and the fun I get to have with him!

As we were waiting for Leah to finish with her client before us I picked up the newspaper (which is extremely rare for me, but God had us waiting there and drew my attention to it) and read a very sad article about someone I used to know and how her sin was hurting her child and the judgment she is now facing for it under our nations laws. I sat there weeping and praying for this family and God pierced my heart with grace. If it were not for him drawing me out of death and away from my pursuit of sin I have no doubt that it would be me in the papers and the story would be much worse. I would not be out enjoying my child and talking about God's goodness together over dinner. Xavier snuggled up to me when he saw the tears and I just held him and reminded him again that God has been so merciful to a sinner like me! Thank you Jesus for standing in my place! I go free because you have taken every last drop of the punishment I've earned!

New Mercies

Mercy - compassionate treatment , esp. of those under one's power. a disposition to be kind and forgiving. a blessing

(from the American Heritage Dictionary)

"But this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:21-22

I was reminded of this verse recently as Xavier came home with some fun and surprising news. I think I've battled with anxiety over him starting school from the time he was about 9 months old. I would worry about where he would go to school - would God provide for us to move out of the city? Would he know when and where to get off the bus? Would he face bullies? All kinds of absurd things which I was never called to bear.

God did provide for us to move out of the city and what an unexpected way to answer prayer! This home is far beyond what we asked or imagined! Yet I must not have been convinced of his faithfulness because I would still have to fight hyperventilating when I thought about adding homework into our daily routine. His homework load has been extremely light and is usually finished when I pick him up from daycare so I just go over it with him. He is doing wonderfully in school despite the small amount of time I get to spend with him in the evenings before bed.

Two weeks ago Xavier came home with his first project: a diorama. I don't know how many times I had to cast that care as I kept looking at the calendar and my wallet. This had come at a time where I was particularly short on money, supplies and time. I didn't know how this was going to look or how I was going to help him learn to budget what's been laid before him. Through hard work and sacrifice (and much prayer) he was finally finished! He was quite proud of his work and eager to get to school on Monday. On Wednesday I picked him up and he was excited for me to guess what grade he received on the diorama. I guessed a letter and he responded, "No! It's a number!" So I guessed a percentage and he said, "Mommy! There are only 3 numbers to choose from... I got a 3." He then showed me a Third Place ribbon! Not what I was expecting at all. It was so neat to get to encourage him for working so hard at his task and being rewarded, but what was foremost in my mind was God's faithfulness. He does not fail to meet me right where I am and fulfill each need for that season!

He is so good to us beyond what I deserve. He gives me the desire and the strength to put forth these weak efforts and he just multiplies the benefit and lavishes me with blessings!

Another of our latest adventures was when Xavier almost stepped on a snake in the backyard. I saw something ahead of him in the grass and realized what it was in time to calmly put a hand out and encourage him to wait. I was trying to be very deliberate not to make him afraid but to make him aware. As he stopped I could tell something wasn't right. This snake was missing it's head! I'm not sure what happened but it was only half a snake and completely harmless. I asked him if he would like to get a stick and dump it in the woods. He didn't hesitate. He ran back and scooped it up to examine it before sending it back to the dust. We were talking about how the Bible said that Jesus would crush the head of the serpent and we would be free from sin and death. There was nothing left to fear. How kind of God to send an illustration that would pique the interest of a young boy :-)

Welcome Spring!

"Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,

Sun, moon and stars in their courses above

Join with all nature in manifold witness

To Thy great faithfulness mercy and love"

- "Great is Thy Faithfulness" by Thomas Chisolm & William Runyan -

I love spring! But much of my enjoyment in spring really flows from how much I LOVE summer!!! Anticipation is half the fun, but I do get giddy over seeing the buds coming forth and hearing the Spring Peepers in the creek on warm nights. I love leaving my winter coat in the closet when I go out the door and I'm beyond eager for the first night I can leave the windows open. Aaah. I was driving home this afternoon and something caught my eye, something beautiful - Magnolia blossoms! They were barely open but I was still stunned by them. I think I may have actually gasped when I saw them because I forgot how they delight my eyes :-) I've been thinking about how Spring is evidence of God's faithfulness. Just like the seasons in a year there are seasons in my walk with the Lord. Each time I feel this great coldness in my heart - when I'm lacking passion, when my eyes only seem to see myself and immediate circumstances, when I am downcast and sinning in unbelief - God is absolutely faithful to bring "spring" to me again. Because of the desperate places my sin takes me, and because he kindly allows me to see that, I long for renewal and fresh vision for his glory. He consistently meets me there and I am never disappointed with where I end up on the other side.

some of the tree buds in our yard

Tonight I was looking at Zechariah 10:1 "Ask rain from the Lord in the season of the spring rain, from the Lord who makes the storm clouds, and he will give them showers of rain, to everyone the vegetation in the field." I was reminded of something the Lord was teaching me this morning on the way to church. I drove past a small pond which is often full to the brim, but today I saw several inches of bare bank above the water level. I was surprised because I haven't been aware of a lack of rain. It seems to me to have rained quite a bit lately, but I tend to be more aware of those days than the amount of sunny ones in between them. But God spoke to me of his wisdom and faithfulness. I am so subjective and my measure of what is "best" is often what makes me most comfortable. Be glad God's wisdom is far beyond mine. He knows just how many sunny days to give and just how much rain we need to be full and effective for him. The direct result of those cool drizzly days are the flowers which are starting to come alive and the trees that are reawakening. God gets glory over how he perfectly measures and balances the sunshine with the storms. He is so trustworthy!

We had a fun day visiting with my sister Cheryl on Saturday. I love getting to spend time with her and my niece and nephew. Her husband was coaching his Quiz Bowl team in a tournament that day so we took the kids to That Fish Place and then later for a walk to a construction site in their neighborhood. Xavier and I had a blast and were smothered with hugs, kisses and giggles. Here are some fun shots from our day.

this eel had his mouth wide open at us like he was waiting to
chomp at anything that crossed his path - very intimidating

you probably can't tell but this hermit crab was about 6 or 7

inches tall and probably almost a foot long to the end of his shell

Xavier's Pet!

Xavier has been asking for a pet. I am not an animal person by anyone's standard. Also, as long as I'm renting we are not allowed to have pets which is FINE with me! We were shopping for a birthday party a few weeks ago when we found these little toy animals which grow when you let them live in water for three weeks. So we brought a little lobster home to watch him grow. Xavier has talked about him like a pet and named him Hermie. This works for me! No training, No feeding. No clean up. No shots. Just 88 cents for three weeks of enjoyment!





Day 2, I think he had already grown a couple of inches overnight!






Week 2, he was promoted to a larger tub after this picture






Week 3 - I put him back in the old tub for perspectives sake

On another note we did something new and exciting today - with the help of our dear friends the Uchida's we purchased our first ever plane tickets! This August we will be flying (Lord willing) to Hawaii with them to visit their family and friends! We are very excited but it still seems unreal. I have never flown, I have never seen a palm tree, I have never seen ocean water which I would want to go into... this will be monumental! Being the newbie I am I picked window seats so Xavier and I can see just a bit more of the grandeur of our great big God and what he has created and perfectly maintains. I'm fully expecting this to be a huge worship experience! Please pray for us that our focus would be God-ward in anticipating and enjoying this gift! I've already been convicted that I am excited to tell people that I'm going to Hawaii so they will share my delight. Shouldn't I be even more excited about going to Heaven? Shouldn't that preoccupy my thoughts and overflow in my speech? And the kicker is - I can offer anyone I talk to a free invitation to join me by trusting in Christ's saving death and resurrection! Oh Lord, grow this heart in me!