In the midst of stress and some sadness, I never want to stop noticing and celebrating the beautiful and wonderful gifts of this time in our lives. Here are a few of God's amazing gifts to me at this time (and they will change soon) that I do not want to forget!
Anderson says "pinkle, pinkle little tar" when he sings "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star"--it is precious and so funny! A friend heard him sing it today and told me I had to get it on video.
Alex's face lights up when his Dad comes home, and loves spending time with Jeff more and more. It is such an amazing thing to see how God is growing their relationship and how Alex is learning much about being a young man from Jeff.
Aerin is very proud (and so am I) when she picks up her school reading books and can read most of them on her own! This is a HUGE accomplishment for our sweet girl, and I love to see the look on her face when she reads the pages with very few pauses and little "stumbling" over her words. Last year was a difficult year of reading for her, and we cried many tears together. So, I am beyond proud of how hard she has worked and far she has come. She enjoys reading now (99% of the time) rather than dreading it as she has in the past.
My favorite times together as a family are when all 5 of us somehow find a way to pile onto mine and Jeff's queen size bed and have family prayer/bible/worship time just before bedtime. I wish this happened every night, but it is more like once a week. One night last week, we talked about trusting God and how we know that we can trust Him--what His word says about how He has planned our good (Jeremiah 29:11); that we do not need to worry about our needs being met but should seek His kingdom above all things-He will take care of us (Matthew 6:25-33); and that we are more than conquerors through Christ- nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8:28-39). For "extra" fun in school (and family), we learn a traditional hymn each week--listening to it, reading the words, and reading the story of who wrote it and what inspired the writer(s). Last week's hymn was 'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus. So, after talking together about trusting God, reading the scriptures, and praying together, we listened to the Casting Crown version of the hymn here. We didn't even watch the video, just turned off the monitor and listened and sang. The kids kept asking us to replay it, and we ended up listening to it 4 times before Dad declared it was time for bed. I am so grateful to God for us being able to share that time together as a family.
There are so many moments I want to remember, because they all bring me back to the place of gratitude - thanking God for His gifts and realizing that even the hard moments are filled with His grace and marked with His love. Praying that you see and take time to stop and remember some of those grace moments in your life today.
Loving and Learning,
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