Wishful Thinking

for the boy's bathroom

I made this WITHOUT scrapbook paper. It's actually all digital scrapbook art and photoshop skills (sorry). I am getting with the times, folks. It's a whole new world ;) ShabbyPrincess has some cute free stuff!

"In John 11, Jesus weeps. His tears, shed in response to Lasarus' death and Mary and Martha's grief, are full of embodied truth, beauty, and goodness.
Why did Jesus weep? He delayed coming to Bethany "so that the Son of God may be glorified through it" (John 11:4), and, when He arrived, informed Martha that He is "the resurrection and the life" (v.25)... why did He not simply wave His "magic wand" to "solve the problem"...Instead, He made Himself vulnerable, stopped to feel the sting of death, to identify with frail humanity, who struggled to know hope...
Jesus' tears transformed Mary's view of her Lord. Soaking the hardened ground of Bethany, Jesus' tears commingled with hers. Jesus was not only a Savior but proved to be an intimate friend; the glory of God shone through such a deep friendship with the Son of Man."

-Makoto Fujimura

Opportunities

At the beginning of the season and almost all of last b-ball season, EJ would take Owen to practice (and stay). Well, recently I have discovered I quite like taking Owen myself. I get almost an hour of peace and quiet no one needing me ;) Plus EJ gets some one on one time with Mason (after Ryan is in bed) which rarely happens otherwise.

I also attended this weekend's game by myself. EJ stayed home to wait for the delivery of new mattresses for the big boys.

Between Friday night practice and game time on Sat. morning I had quite a bit of car time with Owen. It's so much easier to "enjoy" him when it's one on one. He calms down so much and we usually have great conversations. Well, I am usually just answering lots of questions. And they are usually sports related, so I am probably not answering them too well ;)

At the beginning of each new sport season, I drag my heels, for selfish reasons. It's a time commitment for all of us. But I quickly remember and SEE the advantages in team sports. Especially as Owen gets older. There are so many opportunities to talk about people's character, moral choices and loving others. (Remind me this in a few weeks with Little League starts).

His first ever foul shots. He was so excited and nervous. He missed the first one but sunk the 2nd one. His teammates were so excited for him. I loved watching a new confidence wash over his face.

 

His first successful "lay up." The tongue helps ;)

Love Them

He Loves Us

"How, though, can we move from simply affirming the sovereignty of God to resting in it?
We will rest in His sovereignty when we remember not just that He is almighty, but that He who is almighty loves us with an everlasting love. It is because He is with us in that valley of death that we do not fear. It is because He has prepared a table for us in the presence of our enemies that we can be assured that goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our lives. Our fears in the end are grounded in either a failure to believe in His strength or a failure to believe His gospel. The solution is to believe both."Dr. R.C. Sproul Jr.

The word sovereignty keeps popping up. Unfortunately, so does my children's food. "your servant" is taking on a new meaning ;)