Wednesday, June 20, 2012

June 2012 Devotional

Fixed


We have had a lot of sickness passing through our house the last few weeks, nothing serious, just the typical for a family with little people. Because of that, Peter (age 3) has been doing a lot of talking about being “sick” and getting “fixed.” When Tom was having his turn with the stomach virus, Peter kept telling him to get fixed. He was very concerned that his daddy was sick.

Ever since Peter’s life hung in the balance when he was a newborn, I have known that if he lived, I would spend the rest of his life telling him about the miracle that he is, beginning with his earliest understanding. Sometimes at bedtime, Peter likes to talk with me for a few minutes and I’ve used the opportunity of having a household of sickness to share his story with him. I’ve kept it very basic with no details, just the facts that when he was a baby he was very sick and God healed him. I’ve only told him about this a couple of times because I’ve wanted to be careful not to lay something too heavy on him yet. It’s important for Peter to know his story, but also important that it be on a level he can understand.

Tonight, as we were having our usual few minutes of conversation at bedtime, Peter said, “I was sick and God fixed me.” No one has been sick for awhile and we haven’t talked about this in a few weeks, so obviously what I shared with him has stuck in his head. When he said those words, I was stunned – stunned that he understood so completely, stunned that he remembered, stunned that he has been thinking about it. Most of all though, I was filled with praise to God. To understand being sick and being fixed is basic to the good news of the gospel.

The same can be said of me. I was sick, actually dead – dead in my sins. And my sovereign God fixed me. He gave me new life in Christ.

How about you? Have you been fixed – really and truly fixed? Once dead and now alive in Christ? The course of your life changed completely?

We need the good news of the gospel in our lives every day. We constantly need to be reminded that we were dead in our sin, and then we have been fixed by Christ. This message is not just for the moment of conversion. This is the message that needs to sink deep into our souls. This is the message that makes life worth living. This is the message that should cause us to continue and carry on in faith. This is the message of hope and joy. We were once dead and now alive. Praise be to God!

Even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved. – Ephesians 2:5

Monday, June 18, 2012

Scripture Memory - June 15, 2012

I'm running a bit behind, but better late than never....

Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! - Psalm 37:1

I'm going to build on this verse for the next few weeks.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Isaac's Birthday - Cake

I don't think these pictures need any commentary!



Our little food-lover enjoyed EVERY SINGLE BITE of his first birthday cake!

Peter wanted me to take a picture of his "cake-face" too. 


I can't believe Isaac is one.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Isaac's Birthday - Entertainment

After Isaac observed us opening his birthday presents (all the while never letting go of the red balloon), we moved the party outside.  We spread out Isaac's pool on the ground and let him sit there with his red balloon and pack of 100 balls.  We didn't even blow up the pool or put any water in it!  He was quite happy to sit and watch Alana and Peter play with his new slip-n-slide:)





Isaac is quite easy to please.  (I adore those dimples!)

Friday, June 8, 2012

Isaac's Birthday Party - Presents

I went round and round with what to do for Isaac's birthday party.  I struggled because we did a "big" party for Alana and Peter for their first birthday parties, but Isaac is so content with just his family that I knew he could care less about a big party.  He has also been struggling with a cold/teething for the last couple of weeks and I knew that was likely to make for a grumpy first birthday.  I was right too.  Isaac grumped and whined all day yesterday while his nose ran continuously.  His mood improved greatly for his small party, but I'm so glad I kept it small and simple.

My parents came over and I made baked ziti (something Isaac loves).  We gave him this balloon first thing and Isaac was THRILLED!  We really didn't need to give him anything else.  He barely stopped holding it the whole night.



Knowing that anything we got for Isaac would probably be played with by all the kids, we decided to go with a blow-up pool.  Fun for everybody.  As you can see, Isaac was still captivated with the balloon. 



My parents got Isaac a bag of balls for the pool.  He did finally let go of the balloon for those balls.  He will have so much fun sitting in that pool on hot summer days with 100 balls surrounding him. 

All night, Isaac kept saying "ball" over and over and over and over.

More to come.

Thursday, June 7, 2012

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ISAAC!

One year ago today, this precious baby was born.  It may have been his birthday, but I was the one that got the present.  My sweet Isaac has been a blessing and pure delight since the day he came into the world.

Having had a miscarriage before Alana and another very difficult one when she was about three, Tom and I weren't sure we would be able to have any more children.  Then years later, I got pregnant with Peter.  We were thrilled!  However, Peter's life began with open-heart surgery at two months old and a long recovery from that and several other complications.  Because of that, I felt like I lost Peter's baby days.  His entire first year of life was a blessing because he was here and improving every day, but it was also stressful.  Peter was recovering from all he had been through, and so were we.  I was always sad that Peter's first year had been so hard, but my most prominent emotion was total gratitude that he was here and God had seen fit to spare his life.

How little did I know that God was not done blessing me in the area of family.  Because He is aware of every single emotion and thought of this mother's heart, He knew I missed something with Peter.  God gave Tom and me the surprise of our lives when we found out I was pregnant with Isaac.  We were shocked.  I love the look on my children's faces when we surprise them with something really special, and I'm guessing God does too when He surprises His children.  It took Tom and me every day of the nine months I was pregnant to adjust to the idea of three!

After an extremely pleasant (although painful) labor experience, Isaac was here and I was in love.  I am not normally a believer in "love at first sight," but that was certainly true with Isaac.  I loved him immediately and I love him so much more now.

Isaac's first year of life has been so fun and SO easy!  He ate like a champ right from the start and he still loves to eat.  He slept through the night early on and did it consistently from two months on.  Isaac transitioned easily from sleeping in our room to sleeping in a room with his brother when he was not even four months old.  I thought for sure that would be one of the most difficult things we would face, but like everything else where Isaac is concerned, it was a breeze.  He loves Peter and I couldn't separate them for anything now.

Here is Isaac on his birthday a year ago.


Here is Isaac today. 


At one, Isaac:
  • has 8 teeth
  • drinks from a sippy cup all day, but still takes one bottle at night before bed (which I'm going to hang onto for as LONG AS POSSIBLE)
  • sleeps from about 8:30 to 7:30 - and wakes up partying with his brother in the morning:)
  • still takes 2 naps a day - a morning nap of an hour and an afternoon nap of about 2 hours (although I don't think this will last for a whole lot longer)
  • eats pretty much all regular food - graham crackers are his favorite!
  • crawls everywhere, but is pulling up and walking along furniture - I think walking is still another month or two away for him
  • plays VERY contentedly
  • is happiest in his mama's arms
Isaac also LOVES balls - of any and every kind.  His first word (other than "Mama" and "Dada") is "ball" and he says it all the time.  It's funny because Peter has always been into vehicles (trucks, cars, trains, etc.) from the time he was a little baby, and Isaac seems to be into balls.  It will be funny to watch if these differences continue.


Isaac also loves these two people!  If I let Alana and Peter play outside while Isaac is awake, then he just crawls around and whines, or stand at the sliding back door and watches them.  Isaac is so funny because he doesn't have to be playing with them, but he wants them nearby always. 


We chose Isaac's name for two reasons.  One, because of the story of Isaac when Abraham was going to sacrifice him out of obedience and God provided a ram instead.  We could definitely relate to that experience after all we had went through with Peter, but also Abraham said, "The Lord provides" after that and provision from God is what we have learned to depend on in a whole new way ever since Peter was first diagnosed.  Financial provision, mental provision, emotional provision, but mostly "grace sufficient" provision.

The second reason is because the name Isaac literally means "laughter."  After a time of many tears, God brought us laughter.

We are so very blessed.


Isaac, we love you so much! 
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, OUR PRECIOUS BOY!