Sparkles!

This past Saturday Leila took her first step toward womanhood, according to her Daddy: she got her ears pierced. Here are some pictures of this momentous occassion. (Sorry it took so long, Papo! :) )

Foundations for Biblical Counseling

This post is a bit out of the ordinary for me. Nevertheless, I was so struck by the profound implications of a recent study of a passage of Scripture I decided I needed to share publicly what I found there. I hope it will be an encouragement to you, dear friends, as it was to me. 

I have been digging back into some of my biblical counseling (my college major) textbooks lately and remembering with great awe how completely God has provided in His Word everything we need for life and godliness. In preparation for a meeting I had with a friend from church recently, I was searching for a way to encapsulate the foundations for Biblical Counseling using an encouraging passage of Scripture--the idea of God Himself giving us hope that He can change us. I was personally encouraged that God has given us just such a hope in Romans 8:1-17. You may want to continue reading with an open Bible as I have not quoted the text here.

This passage contains some powerfully encouraging facts (for the Christian):

• I am no longer under God’s condemnation for my sin. (v 1)
• I am set free from “the law of sin and death.” (v 2) This means I don’t have to do these things anymore. Sin has no power over me! 

  “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 6:1 (emphasis mine) 

• The Law condemns me since the Law is a perfect standard and is therefore unattainable. With it alone, because of my sin, I could not reach God. I was hopeless. (v 3)  But!, I am no longer dominated by sin. My nature has changed.  When I became a Christian I began to walk by the Spirit, bearing the very seal of God. (v 4) 

  "And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee." 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 (emphasis mine)

  
  

  "But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: 'The Lord knows those who are his,' and 'Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.'" 2 Timothy 2:19 (emphasis mine)

• My mind is set (by God) on the Spirit. (v 6) This is not a matter of mustering up the goodness to keep my mind there by sheer willpower. It is set there by God as a fact of my salvation. (see v 5)
• I have life and peace with God through the Spirit. Notice Paul doesn’t say “to set the mind on the Spirit leads to life and peace” it says “to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” It's already done. No condemnation (see v 1).
• Because I am “in the Spirit” I am not in the state described in verses 7-8 (hostile to God, does not submit, can not submit, can not please God.) (v 9)
• My body is dead because of (my) sin, but the Spirit in me is life because of (Christ’s, not my) righteousness. (v 10)
• God gives me life through the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. Not just eternal life, but life in my "mortal body." I am reconciled to God so that I can live on this earth the way He intended for me to live. Jesus said, 

  "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." John 10:10 (emphasis mine)

Only after I remember these remarkable facts about my salvation am I urged to change the way I live. In his commentary on Romans, John MacArthur points out, "All biblical exhortations to believers are based on the blessings and promises they already have from the Lord. Without the provisions we have from Him, we would be unable to fulfill the commands we receive from him."

Based on the facts above I am strongly urged to respond:

• by no longer acting as if I have an obligation to live according to the sin that seems, some days, to permeate every pore of my being. (v 12)
• by recognizing that living according to my sin makes me miserable and separates me from God. But even as I resolve to "put off" my perceived obligation to sin I must "put on" a conviction of the truth that by the Spirit I can put to death the deeds of the body and LIVE! (v 13) 

  "...put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and...be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and...put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness." Ephesians 4:22-24

• by not falling back into slavery and fear, but instead choosing to dwell securely in the love of my new adoptive Father. (v 15)
• by recognizing the hope I have: hope for now, that I can conquer sin in my life and live in freedom, and hope for eternity, that I will one day, at last, be glorified with Christ.

I was so encouraged in reading and studying these verses! They give me hope and courage, strength and understanding of my position. They tell me that change is possible, freedom is possible, righteousness and godly living are possible for me to attain. What an encouraging thought! I hope you are also encouraged in that thought today.

On heroes and jobs well done

 The other evening I found a huge, I mean HUGE spider crawling on the bathroom counter. Legs and all it was about the diameter of a slice of kiwi fruit. It was a BIG spider. I won't retell all the gory details but Seth trapped and then killed it and even took its nasty carcass out of the house. The next morning I was telling the kids about how Daddy had killed a big spider. With eyes wide Benj speculated seriously, "Maybe when I'm a 'dult I can kill a big spider like that and I can be a hero too!"
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This morning during breakfast Talia asked me, "Mom why you not eating?"
"I already finished my cereal," I told her, "I'm all done."
"Fingers up!" she said cheerfully.
"Fingers up?," I asked, puzzled. "What does that mean?"
"It means good job!"

(Get it? She meant "thumbs up." :) )

Our Summer...so far

Here are some pictures, finally! Turn on your speakers and have fun! :)

 

A wise admonition

Our family decided to take an impromptu trip to McDonald's with a friend after church this morning. Not having planned it out beforehand, I had not packed our customary "allergy survival kit" which includes a Healthy Life hamburger bun and our bottle of Hunt's ketchup, both of which are corn syrup-free, unlike their standard McDonald's counterparts.

When we got to McDonald's we debated for a minute on whether or not to strip Benjamin's hamburger of its bun and deny him the delight of ketchup for his fries. We have been extremely diligent about his diet lately and he has not had any reactions for awhile. Based on this, and the fact that the amounts of corn syrup in a hamburger bun and 1/2 tablespoon of ketchup are most likely extremely small, we decided not to make a big issue of it. Our McDonald's trip passed without incident.

After dinner this evening Benjamin was seized with a sudden and severe case of stomach cramps. He laid down in the living room and the next thing we knew he was moaning, crying, writhing, and screaming in pain. I took him to sit on the potty which, suffice to say, produced results which relieved his symptoms entirely. Knowing I hadn't fed him anything taboo for dinner, I concluded that the reaction was a result of the earlier indulgence we allowed him. Obviously I concluded that we would not be able to take such risks in the future.

Wanting him to connect the pain he had just experienced with the cause to help him accept what we would have to deny him in the future, I took him on my lap and said,

"Benj, do you remember the bun you had on your hamburger and the ketchup you ate with your fries this afternoon?"
"Yes."
"Well those had a little bit of corn in them. Mommy and Daddy thought it would be ok, but I think that's what made you feel so sick a few minutes ago."

Looking at me with great big, serious eyes he said, "Mommy! You shouldn't do that to me!"

Leila

It's been quite awhile since I've given an update on the kids. I'll start with Leila since hers is most ground-breaking news to share: she has begun, this very day, to crawl!! She is hesitant but determined. She's not quite sure what she has just discovered but she wants more! Fortunately I was able to catch her first "steps" on video. What an exciting moment. Talia was right there next to her, cheering her on.

Let me back up a bit for those who might be confused about the timeline: yes, she is now 13 months. I guess she's taking the "laid back" approach like her sis. We've never had reason to be concerned about her gross motor delay, just as we were never really concerned about Talia's, but I have been a bit perplexed. With Talia we were sure that her constant ear infections were the major factor in her nearly complete stand-still in gross motor development from about 6? 9? months on. Since ear infections/fluid affect the inner ear, which of course is related to balance it seemed that she was simply unable to progress in movement until we finally resolved the ear issues with an ear tubes surgery. This has not been the case with Leila. She has only had 3 ear infections in the past 13 months, 2 within the last 3 months, but her delay can be traced back farther than that. I guess we can just chalk it up to her doting big brother & helpful big sister who get and/or do everything her little heart desires. She really is the princess of quite a lot. :) We will be working, starting next week, with our beloved "Miss Aimee" (the physical therapist we had for Talia), but at this rate we may not be with her for long. (Since I started the process of pursuing the PT 2 weeks ago, after months of little progression, she has decided to start rolling over, getting up on her hands & knees, and now crawling!)

In other Leila news, she turned one last month. We had a "Once Upon a Time" themed party for her, complete with a pink castle cake. Separate post with pix to come.

Growth-wise she has been following the same general curve as the other two with a huge drop-off in weight percentile around 6-9 months and a slow climb back onto the chart since then. At 12 months there was much rejoicing at the pediatrician's office: she was back on the chart at the 3rd percentile after having gained only 1 lb. between 4 & 6 months and 10 oz. between 6 & 9 months. She may be small, however she is mighty in appetite! I have never seen a baby put away food like this girl! Last month she was eating 1 c. of cereal, 20 oz. of fruits & veggies (that translates into 5 jars of baby food), and up to 4 cups of milk a day!


I don't know that I have recorded yet the happy fact that I FINALLY have a cuddler and a bit of a Mama's girl to boot! :) Don't get me wrong, she loves her Daddy, and squeals loudly with the best of 'em when he walks in the door at the end of the day, but she always has a cuddle for Mama and often "leans" toward me when I come within hand-off distance from whomever is holding her. Sigh happy sighs. After 4 1/2 years of selective (at best) huggers, I am completely in love with the novelty of a cuddly baby!

Truth be told Leila sort of has us all wrapped around her adorable little pinky finger. Sometimes Seth & I just can't put her down! Benjamin loves to do tricks for her, read books to her, and make her laugh. Often he will just stand nearby and say "Leeeeeeeee-la!" over and over in a sweet little voice. Talia also adores her baby sister and dotes on her a tad more than is strictly necessary (also a bit more than is sometimes appreciated by said baby sister). She loves to get her paci, her blankie, her cup, her toys.... I think for her it's like having a real live doll. Unfortunately I frequently have to put a stop to some of these "helpful" activities, such as the sudden snatching of her sippy cup with the announcement, "I think you're all done!"

Unclogging

Editorial note: I'm no longer "here" emotionally as I've had 3 or 4 more weeks to unwind, but I decided to post this anyway. I'll chalk it up to my catch-all: posterity. :)

I haven’t blogged in eons. You may have noticed (or maybe not :) ). The problem with not having blogged is when I sit down to update I wonder how on earth I should begin, especially in the face of the significant and monumental events which have recently occurred. Should I give a general update? Should I attempt to capture the enormity of graduation in an epic post about God’s faithfulness? I might do both of those things later. The latter certainly deserves some focused attention after all the challenges and trials that have been recorded here. The truth is I’m not sure I can muster up enough emotional energy to give these things, especially graduation, the ceremony they deserve. Yet. So my intent is to just write whatever comes to mind, let some thoughts flow, allow my brain to “unclog” a little, if you will.


I’m tired! Sort of fundamentally, down in my depths. I know I will slowly begin to gain back the energy to approach life with excitement and passion, but right now it’s hard to imagine getting excited about much of anything.

Just after graduation Seth & I had the incredible opportunity to go on a 4-day cruise. That time to truly relax was a gift. We had a wonderful time; it was all we could have asked for! It was wonderful to just be with my husband and put aside the many responsibilities of daily life. It was so restful to have a week with practically no schedule, no commitments. We could (and did) take naps whenever we felt like it. We had breakfast in bed. We sat on the deck reading and watching the sea go by. We took walks out on the decks at night. We even got some exercise in on the ship’s jogging track. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

I was hoping to come back from our break full of life and energy and new passion. I was hoping to feel overflowing with happy emotion at the achievement of a long-awaited goal. Instead, I have come to understand that our week away jump-started the process of unwinding from the incredible stresses of the past many months.

I have been tempted to feel guilty for not being “fixed” by the magic of the break everyone kept telling me I needed. I wonder how I can possibly have the audacity to still be so unenthusiastic about my daily tasks. I feel positively ungrateful for not gushing over with bubbly emotions about having Seth home evenings, weekends, and the recently passed holiday. I am grateful, just quietly grateful....

...And now, because (as I stated at the beginning) I am feeling so much more refreshed it has become impossible for me to wrap up this post satisfactorily. But I think it worked. I feel much more "bloggy." Stand by.