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!

Girly Things Through a Boy's Eyes

I stopped into Green Valley Nursery tonight to pick up a gift for a coworker. After smelling 90% of the candles they had I made my selection. As I was finishing up Xavier asked me to turn and look at something behind me. He pointed to a shelf of taper candles and asked, "What are these?" Before I could answer he whispered excitedly, "Dynamite?"

My Little Theologian?

Xavier was trying to sing the song John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt the other day. I never heard that song until I was a grown up but people assure me it's very popular with children. There's a scene in a movie we watched recently where they show kids singing it for a few seconds so I guess that's where he was introduced to it. He couldn't remember the words apparently because he was walking around singing "John Piper Jambalaya Smith".

Last night I asked him to pick a book for us to read together. He chose a book about George Muller - not what I expected. After reading a bit I asked him why he had chosen that one, and with such enthusiasm. He replied, "Cause that guy has really cool hair!"

Happy Birthday Xavier!

Please be kind enough to tell me if I ever sing like this! The lyrics are "Happy Birthday to me, in one more day"



Wow! 7 years! I am so thankful that I've had seven years with my son! He is such a joy to me and God has used him to reveal my sin more clearly than any other individual I know. It's been fun over the last couple of days recounting his birth story with him. I remember holding tiny baby clothes up and trying to picture a face in there... what would my baby look like? I was telling him tonight that when I first saw him I remember clearly thinking, "Oh, of course - how else would he look?" He was just right. He looked just like his family. I was able to let go of the soap opera fear that maybe someone would switch my baby and I wouldn't be able to tell - there was no denying this boy was mine! The sweetest part was the day after he was born ~ when God stripped me of my heart of stone and gave me a new heart of flesh! I look back and see how God was softening me over the months prior but there was a distinct turning point on April 25th as I lay there alone in that hospital room and the Lord drew me to repentance for a life spent on sin. In days to come I would get a taste of the magnitude of love a parent has for their child and this overwhelming desire to protect this little one. God allowed me to marvel at the work of the cross and how he crushed his son for a wicked rebellious thing like me. I love Xavier's birth story but it's extra special to me because of how inseparable it is from the story of God's saving grace over my life!



7 of My Very Favorite Things About Xavier

• His love for scripture - he is always very eager for Bible time each morning and evening and if we have a late night out he will ask me to come lay in bed with him to read so he won't miss out on it


• His sense of humor - we love being silly together and I love how he's learning to laugh at himself


• His desire to protect me and how he still insists he will marry me one day


• How he is growing in joyful obedience and self-control


• His admiration for men and how he is drawn to those he sees serving and caring for others


• How he is growing in repenting quickly, specifically and sincerely


• That he loves to rock - he shares my appreciation of music and amuses me with his taste. He has liked the band Skillet since he was about 3 years old. He told me the other day that he looked like Elvis when I gave him white athletic pants to wear (they did not have sequins down the side, just a green stripe! I have no clue how he knows about Elvis!) He heard a bit of Stayin Alive this morning by the BeeGees as I flipped past the oldies station and he said, "This is disco." I asked him where he learned that. He said, "I just figured it out."
  

Xavier wanted me to get a video of us singing Amazing Grace together because I've been trying to teach him this harmony. Sometimes he gets it, sometimes he just makes something else up (hey, he's his momma's son!) I told him he could cover his ears so he won't hear me singing my part when we do the harmony if it would help him. You'll see that it didn't work. He still sang something else, but it was funny. I'm embarassed to post this with me singing as well, but you've probably all heard me sing anyway.

Here we are getting ready for his party on Saturday and rather than sucking down whipped cream he asks me to squirt his mouth full of deviled egg filling. He is very serious about his deviled eggs.

This was Xavier's special birthday dinner on Wednesday since he'll be eating w/ Daddy on Thursday

Thank you Lord for Xavier Ryan Speedy Monkey Indiana Jones and thank you for calling me out of death and into life through your work on the cross!

A New Look for Christmas...

We had such a fun time celebrating our Savior coming with our family. Almost all of my immediate family was able to go to church together on Christmas Eve. (Even Dawn was able to leave in the middle of her work shift, despite the fact that they were over-worked and short-handed her coworkers wanted to release her to be with her family at church! What kindness from God!) Xavier was giddy over the fact that he got to hold a lit candle at the end of the service. My 21 month old nephew, Braden, was pretty excited as well. Through the service he collected as many unlit candles as his little hands could hold from other family members.

Christmas morning Xavier found his last verse in the stocking for this year, "For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior who is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:11 Then we finally read over the biblical accounts of Christmas. We had our traditional holiday breakfast of cinnamon rolls, then Xavier and I opened presents together - Thanks Dawn for taking him shopping for me, that was so much fun!.

Later we joined my family for lunch and lots of snuggle time with my niece and nephews. Evening brought more relatives and mountains of presents. We are so blessed to have a large family and all live so close together! Thank you guys for how you love to lavish Xavier with gifts. We're so grateful for your generosity! Hopefully this weekend I'll get around to finding a "home" for all of the new things he received. They're still sitting under our tree waiting to be put away.

Annelise, Braden, Logan & Xavier

I think the highlight of this Christmas for Xavier was the "gift" he got on Christmas Eve. He's had a wiggly tooth for a few weeks now and was finally able to pop it out on Monday. He kept saying, "I can't believe I'm going to lose my tooth on Christmas Eve!!!" When he realized it was pretty close to coming out he became frantic and started saying, "Call the Ruths!" (our landlords) He knew he would see the family in a couple of hours at the church service and wanted to surprise them. But our dear neighbors the Ruths had to know now! As soon as he was able I let him call them and they very kindly received his news with much enthusiasm :-) They are so precious to us!

New Shoes!

We had the Franks' over this week and they brought bags of outgrown clothes for Xavier. I love "free shopping" and God kindly provides opportunities for me to indulge in it. There was one particular treasure I found in the bundles that I knew Xavier would really enjoy. A pair of cowboy boots! (Forgive me if that's not the 'politcally correct' term) They're still too big so don't expect a public appearance any time soon, but he has fun wearing them around the house and has endearingly named them his "Texas Shoes". I think it's funny that he associates them with Texas. Where do they pick up on this stuff? I think it's official - we're country now. It's crept in over the last year and a half. Can you see me in a pick up truck??? Hmm...