An update on the little ones...

Hello friends! Another quick update on the fam. We have had a great last couple of weeks, despite drama in some arenas. :) We went bowling a couple of weeks ago and had a blast! Everyone loved it. There are also some pics in the slideshow from the recent snow in KC. We built a fort, and I am proud to say that I donned snow gear and worked for close to an hour mounding the snow before daddy came home to finish digging out the tunnels. WE all had a blast!

Finally, I had to include this little snippet into the Little Man's world. We were sitting eating lunch, and he came out with this all by himself. Enjoy!

The Fellowship of Believers, Part 3

So this past weekend we had a reunion with our friends the Chaneys, and all things said it was wonderful. The Lord was good and protected our health (just say no to Chariganitis!). His grace and peace was felt as our kids played so well together. You'll have to look at Candace's post to hear more about that, but I was struck by something else. The act of service with other believers. You see, on Saturday afternoon, we spent time together cleaning up sticks from my parents yard. They had an atrocious ice storm last week, lost power for 6 days, and were left with wreckage equaled only by tornadoes. Praise the Lord their house and health were not effected, but the damage to the yard was crazy. See above. That's my dad standing in their front yard.

The kids helped pick up tons of sticks and we were all basically happy for close to 3 1/2 hours! Even the little ones. I guess that's what started my thinking. I mean really, Samuel and Zeke (both almost 2 yrs old) stayed outside with everyone and played the whole time! And Benjamin and Anna Grace (not known for their 4-year old ability to follow through) stayed outside and worked almost the whole time, excluding a short snack break. :) Why is it that I have to fight to get them to clean up the blocks, and yet they helped in the yard for close to three hours? What is that dynamic that motivated all of us to serve and have loads of fun!?


"Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does," Ephesians 6:7-8
Jesus himself says, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." Matthew 25:40
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with alll your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than this." Mark 12: 30-31

Doesn't it look like fun? I don't know the dynamics of this, but I do know a couple of things.
I know from my own experience and from the testimony of the bible, that serving others, and putting them before ourselves is very important to the heart of the Father. I know also that he has designed us to live together in love, to be bound to each other as we are bound to him. I also know that doing something together binds our hearts. There's got to be something to it- if it wasn't an important aspect of a believing community of people, then the Lord wouldn't have mentioned it. And I can tell you, this weekend was possibly one of the best we have had. We loved on each other, we loved on my parents, we played together, we ate together, we prayed together, and we served together. We will stand before the Father one day, knowing that we obeyed his heart this time, and that he has used obedience to him to bring us all closer. We know the Father better because of it, and we know each other better because of it. Thank you dear friends! Let us continue to serve Him together, to run the race to which we have been called, and to love wholeheartedly all the days of our lives.

p.s. I totally wish I had a better before and after pic to show you, but the difference was truly amazing!

Just for Gigi. . . .

I don't know if you can see them very well, but we looked out the back window at dinner the other night and caught these two sitting on our now not-so-alive (i.e. dead) tomato plant. I was thinking about my dear Grandmother and her love for most things natural. She often points out to me and my sons the birds that make their various appearances around this place. I am also so grateful for her knowledge and experience in all things plant-like. She has taken the time to teach me about flowers and vegetables alike. Her experience in such things is a lost art and I only hope to continue in such things as the Lord is willing and Gigi is able. It's an honor to have such amazing grandparents and great-grands in our family. What a heritage of love for Jesus that cannot be falsified or quantified. It is wonderful and I am humbled to be but a part of it.

p.s. I will also give a valuable shout-out to the wonderful art of quilting that my great aunt, Gigi's twin sister, has so amazingly mastered. Though I have yet to even attempt such greatness, it is another of the skills that the generations are losing if we aren't intentional about learning them. Aunt Bobbye, are you ready to start giving lessons? I better start now, it will take me a LONG time to catch up.