Category: General Family News

Someone once challenged us as parents that we should not only be teaching our children memory verses, but we should also be teaching them, by our own example, the value of hiding God’s Word in our hearts. (In other words, what Scripture passages are you as a parent memorizing and applying to your life?)

I was convicted by that. I do value God’s Word, and I want my children to value it too. But as my former pastor used to say, “Time is the great revealer of the motives of the heart.” And often the way I use my time reveals that I don’t, in fact, value God’s Word above many other things in my life.

Last year, I had a goal of using Desiring God’s Fighter Verses to memorize one Scripture passage/week. A goal which I did not achieve. I won’t say that I failed  miserably though, because the passages I did memorize were alternately a blessing, encouragement and a rebuke to my heart.

We would like our children to memorize out of the English Standard Version, and I have found very few children’s memory resources written using the ESV. John Piper’s church has a ministry called Children Desiring God, and this week I was delighted to discover that there is a CD for the Fighter Verses (Set D only) set to music, using the ESV! This Works for Me! The songs begin and end with the reference, and repeat the text of verse a couple of times. Some songs have the verse text spoken in the middle of the song as well. The music is not particularly amazing–but certainly a helpful memory tool!

I was so excited! I’ve purchased this CD, and I plan to learn the verses with the kids this year.

My goal is to play the entire CD a couple times throughout the week, just casually, while the kids are playing. Mara memorizes most of the CDs we listen to, and Micah, the child who screamed through nursery every Sunday for months, now wants me to sing “The Wise Man Built His House Upon a Rock” and “My God is So Big” every night before he goes to bed. He can hardly talk, but he uses the signs and says “Wise Man” and “God. . . Stars!”  They learn so much, just being exposed through “casual” listening!

Then I want to focus on one verse each week. Listening intently to one song three times. Then trying to recite the verse without the song.

This week it is “Isaiah 41:10.” Before bed tonight, I sat with all three kids singing along with this song: “Isaiah 41:10. Fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed; for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10.” Then I said the verse (with Mara repeating after me and Micah trying to repeat after me).

Mara wanted to know, “What’s ‘dis-maid’?”

Of course, Carissa sat on my lap listening quietly.

As I sang along (“I will uphold you”), my little Micah climbed onto my other knee, asking, “Hold you? Hold you?”

“Yes, buddy, I will hold you,” I told him. He snuggled for the rest of the song, and before I turned out their lights, I sang it again to both Mara and Micah in their beds without the CD.

Even though Micah’s not really grasping the concept “God will uphold you,” I’m encouraged that he’s hearing. And someday, hopefully soon, God will work these truths in his young heart.

“Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”

May God speak to their young hearts through His word!

My side of the family was together in Florida last month for my sister’s wedding. Here is our family picture taken by my sister’s wedding photographer:

All of us together! Doesn’t happen very often, so it’s certainly worth noting!

The photographer, Erin Nicole, did a great job! Check out more of her pictures at her website here.

Because I’m skeptical that you found Cinderella on your own!

Wordless Wednesday

I’m not sure what spawned all the talk about death and heaven, but naturally for these discussions, Mara picked the day when Daniel almost called out of work because I have been so sick. Maybe she was worried after overhearing our conversation that I might not make it.

It always goes this way for me: moderate cold turns into terrible cough, sleepless nights, no voice. . . If I do talk, my cough is much worse. Laying down makes it worse, and basically unless there is warm liquid on my throat, I am coughing incessantly. So I drink soup and hot tea, recline on the hugest pile of pillows I can assemble, and pray for either sleep–or morning–to come quickly. Sometimes I cough for weeks before it goes away. Sometimes it turns into bronchitis or a sinus infection.

Of course, use of medications, even over-the-counter, is limited while breastfeeding, but I finally broke down and took Sudafed Saturday night when my ear and all the way down my jaw hurt so badly I thought we were going to have to drive to the nearest Minute Clinic as soon as they opened on Sunday.

Anyway, Daniel and I had a lengthy conversation Monday morning over whether he should stay home to help with the kids or not.

I was conflicted: Part of me thought that it’s pretty crazy to make my husband call out of work, because I’m sick, so he has to watch the kids. I mean, you just gut it out. There are hard days.

But then, I have had little to no sleep since Friday. I’m coughing all night long and most of the day. I do want to recover.  But it’s impossible to “not talk” with three kids, three and under. You are constantly instructing or correcting or answering questions or mediating. . . And then to that, add Mara’s vociferousness.

First, she told me that Tosta and Donna Eiselind are dead. . . Wow, she killed off her imaginary sisters! That’s an interesting twist. Hmmm. I’ll be curious to see if they are still dead tomorrow. A lot of her story-lines carry on for days, but this one seems so. . . irreversible.

Then I wondered, Does she even know what “dead” means?

Who’s to say?

In any case, she started asking questions about heaven:

“How will we get up to heaven, Mom? Because the sky is really high!”

“What are we going to do in heaven?” [We will get to see Jesus and God. We will worship God.]

“How long will we stay there?” [Forever.]

“Oh.” She looked disappointed, as if maybe that interfered with her other plans. “Because I really wanted to be with my family.”

“Will our whole family there? Will Daddy be there? Will Micah? and Carissa?”

“Will you? Because I want to be with my Mommy!”

“Will Grandma Bunton be there? Because I want to see her too.”

She doesn’t really understand yet. . .

Tonight as I shared her questions with Daniel we were reminded again to earnestly pray for our little ones that the eyes of their hearts will be opened; that God will reveal Himself to them and draw them to Himself; and that they will accept the forgiveness Christ offers as they trust in His work on the cross to pay for their sin.

Because we really want to see them in heaven too!

Last night I was getting ready for bed when I noticed the curtains around the air conditioner were sopping wet, and water was dripping down the sill into a tote in which I was packing away some winter sweaters and skirts.

I was quite irked that the curtains and some of the clothes (dry clean only) were wet, but I was thankful that I found it right away.

Of course, after I threw the clothes in the laundry and laid the curtains out to dry, I had to figure out what had gone wrong, so I pulled a towel that we keep under the air conditioner (to reduce the potential that bugs could crawl in). When I pulled that towel away from the air conditioner, feathers flew out at me! Not what I was expecting. Then some dried grass and a cellophane wrapper.

By now, you’re probably thinking what I was thinking: how in the world did a bird build her nest under there? But sure enough, it was there.

I was a little creeped out by the thought of these nasty city birds sleeping that close to me every night, without my noticing. And then I remembered several weeks back, telling Daniel, as we drifted off, that it sounded like the birds were right outside the window. He said, Well, they are–the tree is right there. And I said, No, I mean, it sounds like they are in our house!

Now I had to find out. I grabbed a hanger and scooted the nest out from under the air conditioner. I had to get Daniel to open the window–I was afraid the air conditioner would fall out the second-story window if I tried it.

Sad to say, it was a birds nest, and the baby birds didn’t make it. 🙁 Those who know me won’t be surprised I was pitying the baby birds. Although now that I look down on the floor next to my bed, I see another feather the vacuum missed . . . Every additional feather I find reduces my pity quotient.

Hold on, while I throw this feather in the trash . . .

So if you come over today, this explains why you’ll see curtains and my winter clothes spread around the living room to dry.

[In addition to the regular laundry that I’ve been attempting to fold.]