Favorite Chore

Aidan loves to feed Leo.  It's become his favorite chore (not that he has many!).  Yesterday, he enlisted some help.

 I was surprised to see that he scooped the food onto the floor instead of the dish...

until I saw what he was up to.

 "Johnny Tractor help feed Leo," he'd say.

 Oops - when Johnny had filled the dish, we started the process over again.

See the patient dog in the background?

Yay - Leo.  You're the best.

All done!

Yay Johnny and yay Aidan!

What hard workers they are.

Catechesis

Tim Keller wrote an excellent article on The Gospel Coalition site

Why Catechesis Now?

He begins:

"The church in Western culture today is experiencing a crisis of holiness. To be holy is to be "set apart," different, living life according to God's Word and story, not according to the stories that the world tells us are the meaning of life. The more the culture around us becomes post- and anti-Christian the more we discover church members in our midst, sitting under sound preaching, yet nonetheless holding half-pagan views of God, truth, and human nature, and in their daily lives using sex, money, and power in very worldly ways. It's hard to deny what J. I. Packer and Gary Parrett write:

Superficial smatterings of truth, blurry notions about God and godliness, and thoughtlessness about the issues of living---careerwise, communitywise, familywise, and churchwise---are all too often the marks of evangelical congregations today (Grounded in the Gospel: Building Believers the Old-Fashioned Way, 16)."

So why catetechis?

Keller goes on.

"...catechisms take students step by step through the Apostles' Creed, the Ten Commandments, and the Lord's Prayer---a perfect balance of biblical theology and doctrine, practical ethics, and spiritual experience."

And what is it?

"Catechesis is an intense way of doing instruction. The catechetical discipline of memorization drives concepts in deep, encouraging meditation on truth. It also holds students more accountable to master the material than do other forms of education. Some ask: why fill children's heads---or for that matter, new converts'---with concepts like "the glory of God" that they cannot grasp well? The answer is that it creates biblical categories in our minds and hearts where they act as a foundation, to be gradually built upon over the years with new insights from more teaching, reading, and experiences. Catechesis done with young children helps them think in biblical categories almost as soon as they can reason. Such instruction, one old writer said, is like firewood in a fireplace. Without the fire---the Spirit of God---firewood will not in itself produce a warming flame. But without fuel there can be no fire either, and that is what catechetical instruction provides."

I pray the Lord would do just that in Aidan's life - take the truths he learns from his catechism and apply it to his heart and mind.  I'm so thankful for the opportunity to learn it along with him.  We're working on question 5 from this book:

 So next time you see our little man, feel free to ask him how he can glorify God and why he should glorify God.  You can ask his mom too - I should know!

Brian teaches the catechism beginning in seventh grade at our church so our goal is to know all 167 questions & answers by the time Aidan is 13!

 

Fun Weekend

Despite the frigid temperatures, the sun was out and we had a wonderful weekend!

On Friday, Brian spent the morning with his boy and I got to shop alone!  Grocery shopping is my least favorite housewife chore, but it's not so bad sans toddler.  That evening we had some new friends over - I'm so thankful for the Tapper family!  They recently moved to the area and it's been fun to get to know them.  Their children, ages 4 & 5, keep Aidan on his toes as he tries to keep up with all that they do!  When Sydney got into the Cool Whip, Aidan was right behind her - "double fisting" it!

Brodi was enjoying some Cool Whip too (and Sydney was eating it out of Aidan's hair!).

Early Saturday morning, Aidan made some Halloween crafts with me.  He's been very proud of them and says to everyone who visits, "I MADE dat!"

.

Saturday, my sweet friend, Jenn, invited me to Clear Lake's Harvest Festival. We had an absolute blast browsing all the vendor tables, sipping wine, and ducking into stores to warm up (yes, it was only 42 degrees that day).  We drank coffee & Bloody Marys too.  We forgot to take our picture, but here's what I purchased:

These FAITH letters came from Heartfelt Designs, Hampton, IA (you can find her on Facebook).  They match my new living room decor perfectly!

I can't wait to order this birth & name info for Aidan when I redecorate his room.  She'll do any color scheme.

[Oh, while I'm talking room decor, I found this Customized City State Heart that I would love to order for Aidan's room.  I think I'll do San Diego, CA where he was born.]

Thanks so much, Jenn, for the fabulous afternoon!  I needed the girltime!

That evening Gigi and Papa Jake came to Garner and took us out for supper!  It was super fun to see them.

 

On Sunday after our naps, we visited Lake Cornelia.  Our new friends recommended it to us and it was beautiful!  Due to the frigid temps, we were the only people there so Leo was able to run like crazy.  He had a blast - he even dipped his feet in the water.

 Aidan absolutely loved the playground.  It was nearly impossible to pull him away from it.

 Our son is not afraid of anything.  He always gets too close to the edge, wants to climb way higher than he's physically able (even with Mom or Dad's help), and insists that he'd only get a "scrape" if he fell.

 Aidan also likes the Merry-Go-Round.

However, most of the time he'd rather be pushing it (that means Mama & Daddy are riding on it - ha!).

 Best Buddies

 What a wonderful weekend we had!  Yay!

Fall Schedule

I love schedules.

I love to plan.

This is often much to the chagrin of my parents.

But I'm thankful my husband loves my love for plans and schedules!

This summer we had such a blast staying up late, running here and there, and having spontaneous nights out with friends.  However, I knew it was time to get on a good schedule with the arrival of fall.

I spent some time researching two year old schedules (I love the Chronicles of a Babywise Mom site), but finally just created one that works for our family.

Schedule

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday

Time	Aidan	Mama
5:30a		Cardio Sculpt (MWF)
6:40a		Devotions
7:30a	Wake-up
7:45a	Breakfast	Breakfast
8:15a	Watch show	Shower & dress
9:15a	Independent play	Housework
10:15a	“Mama Time”	“Aidan Time” (Play, school, read, color, crafts, etc.)
11:15	Outside	Outside
12noon	Lunch	Lunch
12:30p	Nap	Blog, read, phone dates, nap, deep cleaning, friends
3:30p	Outside, errands, walk Leo	Outside, errands, walk Leo
5:30p	Supper	Supper

  

On Thursday mornings, we either go to Mommy's Group or to the library and a park.

Fridays are Brian's day off so we try to do something special as a family.

If you are a stay-at-home-mom (or have been), what is your schedule like?  I'd love suggestions and to see how others do it.

Yay for Fall!

I'm not one to say, "I love fall" because I'm a summer-lover.  When fall arrives, my summa-love is leaving me - for nearly 9 months.  But this fall has been especially beautiful, and I've found myself saying, "I like fall."  Maybe it's because I'm set on savoring every last bit of warmth, long evenings, and time spent outside with my boys.  Or maybe it's because I can legally go to bed at 9 pm (yay for it being dark by 8:15).  Or maybe it's because I'm now getting up for my exercise class at 5 am (because I'm going to bed early) and am feeling better physically!

With the arrival of fall has come my desire to clean clean clean.  It was jump-started by the fact that I got to help my mom & dad do some deep cleaning and the house turned out soooo good!.  Here's a picture of their basement:

So today I deep cleaned our three bathrooms and the back hallway.

Yesterday I worked on the kitchen cabinets, the toyroom and Aidan's room.  It was nice to bring boxes of baby toys and books down to the basement - my boy is definitely growing up!

Cleaning has also reminded me of our need to transition Aidan to a toddler bed.  That gets me thinking about decor ideas for his big boy room.  So when my sore body needs to rest, I sit at my computer and pin room ideas to my Pinterest boards!  There are so many neat boy rooms out there - I think I'm narrowing down a few favorites.  Have you visited Houzz?  It's simply amazing.

Despite the cleaning craziness, we found some time to paint!  Aidan recently had a babysitter who painted with him, and he's been obsessed with it since.

We were in the Cities Friday-Saturday at the Desiring God 2012 National Conference.  It was super fun to drink Starbucks, eat at Chipotle, see old friends, and worship with thousands of other believers.  The topic was Sanctification: God's Role and Ours; it was exceptional.  My favorite speakers were Piper, RW Glenn, and Kevin DeYoung.  I'll post more about them later this week (if I get my cleaning done!), but you can find some of the talks here.  I think more will be posted later.

Christ-Centered Conversations

The Girltalk Blog posted a wonderful quote yesterday by George Whitfield on conversations:

"[I]f you are in company, let your time be spent in that conversation that profiteth: let it not be about your dressing, your plays, your profits, or your worldly concerns, but let it be the wonders of redeeming love. O tell, tell to each other what great things the Lord has done for your souls; declare unto one another how you were delivered from the hands of your common enemy, Satan, and how the Lord has brought your feet from the clay and has set them upon the rock of ages, the Lord Jesus Christ; there, my brethren, is no slipping. Other conversation, by often repeating, you become fully acquainted with, but of Christ there is always something new to raise your thoughts; you can never want when the love of the Lord Jesus Christ is the subject. So let Jesus be the subject, my brethren, of all your conversation." O Come Thou Long Expected Jesus p 13

I love this - if Christians truly do share with one another what Christ has done & is doing in their lives - focusing on Him alone - not only is that a rich and satisfying conversation, it's God-glorifying!  I think we've all been in those conversations that don't go anywhere; you may discuss the weather, how your kids are doing in school, or what your weekend plans are, but are those conversations fulfilling or Christ-exalting?  I haven't found them to be.  It's my favorite when a friend calls and immediately asks, "So how are you really doing?  What have you been learning lately from Scripture?" OR the friend just dives right into what she's been struggling with in life and how God has been helping her see the good from it all and enabling her to persevere (James 1).

One of my Cali besties and I discussed once how boring it is to just talk babies, husbands, work, etc.  Isn't there anything else - more soul satisfying?  Let's encourage one another to go deep; to not just know about each other but to KNOW one another as sisters in Christ.  Yes, the walls of pride and self-preservation must be torn down; it's during these times that our faith and friendship is most strengthened.  We can then be encouraged in the LORD and know how to pray for one another better.

(Are babies and husbands and work important?  Absolutely!  But let's make Christ the center - not the earthly gifts He's so graciously bestowed upon us.)

So I want to encourage you today: Share with others what you've been reading and learning from in God's Word lately.  What has he been teaching you?  Let's strive to make our conversations Christ-centered and not focused on the earthly things that are passing away.

O tell, tell each other what great things the Lord has done for your souls...

Today I spent time reading and praying over Isaiah 45.  My favorite verse from the chapter:

"Woe to him who strives with him who formed him,

a pot among earthen pots!

Does the clay say to him who forms it,

'What are you making?'

or

'Your work has no handles?'"

I was very convicted by these words this morning - it's too easy for me to tell my Maker what I think He should be doing with my life and then fussing when it doesn't look the way I want it to.

****

Recent Instagrams:

 Our boy loves bubbles.

 We dogsat last week.  Aidan just adores this little puppy; she's the perfect size for him.

 Aidan's borrowing a few toys from Grandma & Bop's house.  They've been the biggest hit!

Brian comments about how Aidan has my packing skills - let's just say that's a good thing!?  Ha.

Mama's favorite helper.

House chores have never been so much fun!

A Spiritually Encouraging & Fun Package

While we were in CO a special package was delivered to our door:

BOOKS!

I am such a sucker - I can't keep rewards points in my account for anything.

We started our women's bible study The Wisdom of God: Seeing Jesus in Psalms & Proverbs and I just love the author, Nancy Guthrie.  While I was Amazon-ing her name, so many other books she's written came up.  I was ready for a new devotional so I took full advantage!

I was praying for so much grace to enter life again in Garner after a week of vacation.  Right before we left, there were some hard meetings for Brian in addition to the everyday "wear-and-tear" emotionally & spiritually of being in the ministry full-time.  I was ready to shut myself up in the house!  

So last night after unpacking, I sat down and ate up five of these devotionals.  After losing two babies to a genetic disorder at 6 months, Nancy Guthrie knows all about finding your hope outside of this world and its circumstances.  She writes to you as a friend.

The following quote encourages believers to be grateful for life with Christ (as well as a million other earthly blessings) despite circumstances that scream "Just quit":

Gratitude plows up the ground for God's peace to grow.  This is the kind of peace in the midst of pain that is foreign and unintelligible to the world, and can only come supernaturally.  Peace is a gift of God, but we prepare ourselves to receive this gift as we pray about everything, cultivate gratitude, and refuse to surrender to worry.

(Based on Philippians 4:6-7)

 Be Still, My Soul -Embracing God's Purpose & Provision in Suffering is a devotional edited by Nancy Guthrie with big names (classic and contemporary) as authors of the individual devos.

The first one I read is by Tim Keller.  It is soooo good!  It's titled Suffering: The Servant of Our Joy.

He writes that we are the first culture to be surprised by suffering - how true!  I have been surprised by my "suffering" because I had nothing more stressful than a big test or a teacher evaluation in my life before full-time ministry!    What a wuss I've been.  

Keller, in this first devotional, goes on to say how the people of Corinth (II Cor. 11:24-28), Job's friends and most Christians today say, "If God is with you, this wouldn't happen...etc."  Paul doesn't say that, though.  "Paul says that the suffering and hardship he has experienced is not a denial of the gospel, but a confirmation of the gospel."  "Jesus' suffering and death led to a greater life..."  Suffering leads to not only greater spiritual life in those around Paul (and Christians), but also in him (and in you and me!).  I LOVE his analogy for this:

It's like what happens to an acorn.  Do you know how much power there is in an acorn?  An entire huge tree can come out of one small little acorn.  And out of that tree can come innumerable other trees.  One acorn has the power to fill a continent with wood.

But only if it dies.  Only if it "falls to the ground and dies" (John 12:24) is that enormous power released.

Every human soul in the image of God has infinitely more life potential than an acorn.  Every soul has the capacity for compassion, beauty, greatness, composure, and character - but it will not be released until there is death, the death that comes through suffering and trials.

How do we know that this will work?

II Cor 4:14 "... because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence."

Yay!  I could go on & on - this devotional is awesome.  If you have any pain or suffering in your life (don't we all!?), then it's a must purchase.

 

I haven't started this one yet, but I love Gary Thomas.  Hoping I can bless Brian with ideas from this book.

Fearlessly Feminine - Boldly Living God's Plan for Womanhood by Jani Ortlund is a book that was highly recommended by a seminary-wife friend of mine.  I can't wait to get started.

On our trip, I read the fictional novel Gilead by Marilyn Robinson.  It was very good - I mostly enjoyed the random, wise quotes in it.  The setting is Gilead, Iowa in 1956.  A dying Presbyterian pastor is writing to his seven-year-old son about his life.  I'm looking forward to reading the sequel Home about this pastor's best friend (a Congregationalist minister in the same town) whose wayward son is coming Home.  The back says, "Home is a luminous and healing book about families, family secrets, and faith from one of America's most beloved and acclaimed authors."

Happy reading!  Please pass along to me any devotionals or books you've been enjoying recently.