Marks of the True Christian [Wife and Mom]

This is the passage our pastor preached on Sunday. It struck me that in reading about how I should treat "others," I should be thinking of my precious family. Seth, Benjamin and Talia are the primary "others" in my life. With that in mind, I created this Mom paraphrase:

Romans 12:9-21

"9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil [that which can well up so quickly in your heart at the sound of a screaming baby or the sight of a disobedient toddler]; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love [your husband and children] with ... affection. Outdo [them] in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord [even when you're exhausted to the very core]. 12 Rejoice in hope [that God is working through your efforts], be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of [your family] and seek to show hospitality.

14 Bless [your children when they] persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with [them when they] rejoice, weep with [them when they] weep. [This goes for your husband too.] 16 Live in harmony with [your family]. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be conceited. 17 Do not repay [your husband or children] evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with [your family]. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.' 20 To the contrary, 'if [the dear one who has hurt you] is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.' 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

For the grandmas!

I finally downloaded some of our recent pictures. Here are a few fun ones:

Benjamin is very serious about coloring

Giving (Raggedy) Andy a "love"

Talia handles her sippy cup like an old pro
(the first time she used it)

Sick kiddos watch Baby Einstein

Talia decides, halfway through the bowl,
that she doesn't like squash today

A funny little pastime

Some evenings we spend our family time, after dinner, taking a walk. Sometimes we take a serious walk through the neighborhood, intent on exercise. Other evenings we take a stroll through the park-that-is-our-yard. (We rent a house on an enormous piece of property that really could be a small city park.) Sunday was one such evening, although on this particular occasion we combined routines, taking a short, slow walk up the sidewalk across the street so Benjamin could ride in his shiny red Radio Flyer wagon.

When we reached the end, where the street intersects with the main highway, we stopped at the corner. Seth and Benjamin sat in the grass belonging to the corner house; Talia and I sat in the wagon and we watched the cars go by. With great enthusiasm Seth would narrate the stop and go rhythm orchestrated by the traffic lights. Holding out his hand he'd show Benjamin the cars that had to stop. Then as the opposite light turned green we would all yell out "go! go! go!," or sometimes "Go, Dog, Go!," which is the title of one of Benjamin's favorite books. Invariably we would all wind up in hysterical laughter, Seth and I laughing at the tiny little voice squealing out "go! go!," Benjamin and Talia laughing because we were. We must have passed 15 or 20 minutes in this delightful sequence.

While we sat it struck me how few motorists had a smile to spare for this little family sharing such an enchanting moment. Although it mattered little to my enjoyment of the moment (my world was full of the joy of simply sharing life with my sweet family), in some distant corner of my mind I felt sorry for the people in those cars. Their minds were full of hussle and hurry, appointments and engagements, maybe even bitterness, self importance, or meaninglessness.... I wondered about the stories of the people speeding by and whether they ever experienced the inexplicable contentment that comes from taking time to see life through the eyes of a two-year-old. And then I wondered how often I was the disinterested passerby, too busy or hurried to drink in a simple joy like a little family with a red wagon watching traffic go by.

Hard at Play

Benjamin loves to stack things, for instance his Duplo blocks. It is quite enter- taining to watch him. If, in the course of a construction project, the teetering tower should fall he just adds the block in his hand to whatever is left and keeps building. (His building tendencies are not limited to Legos. He can also be found stacking blocks, books, and soup cans in the grocery cart.)




Sometimes the best part of playing is putting things away! (We put all the Legos away about 3 times in a row that day.)

For Talia, life is at its best wiggling, kicking, and "talking" to her toys. (As the world's sweatiest baby, she occasionally requires "diaper only" attire on hot afternoons. She doesn't mind as it means her legs can go even faster!)

Talia has also recently (almost) conquered the fine art of sitting unsupported. She may be motivated by the "terror" of falling over--no matter how soft her landing she wails in protest every time!