Happy Birthday, Sweet Leilani!

My dear little girl is eight today! What a fun day it was, too! We started the day with VBS with all your friends from church. We sang songs, learned from God's Word, painted crosses, ate yummy snacks, played games (and got all wet). We had lunch and cupcakes, then we took you to the movies! It was a full day of celebration! We played at an indoor playground until it was time to go to the VBS finale tonight. You and the rest of the kids sang your VBS songs and shared with the families what you've been doing all week. You learned some important truths about God's Word from Psalm 119. I'm so glad to see you growing in tenderness toward God and maturing in your faith. You are a precious, tenderhearted, compassionate child, full of spunk and energy! You love to laugh and be silly! You give your all in everything you do both in work and play. I'm so thankful that God has blessed our family with your precious life, and I'm thankful for these eight years we've had to know and love our sweet Leilani!

Remembering what God has done

It amazes me that God chose to save me. I am so undeserving! I wonder why He chose me to bless, to show His unfailing mercy to. This coming weekend we are looking forward to the baptisms of my dear niece and brother-in-law! And again, I marvel at His Grace to those I love. He hears and answers our prayers. He preserves us and makes us new. He draws us to His irresistible self and makes us love Him, and long to know Him, and be with Him forever. Left to myself, I know my life would be a wasted effort of self-serving that would be of no value, but to condemn me forever. It is His life I cling to with hope and confidence and gratitude. So if you’re reading this, join me in praising God for His Great Salvation!

Psalm 66:16-20

16 Come and hear, all you who fear God,
and I will tell what he has done for my soul.
17 I cried to him with my mouth,
and high praise was on my tongue.
18 If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
19 But truly God has listened;
he has attended to the voice of my prayer.

20 Blessed be God,
because he has not rejected my prayer
or removed his steadfast love from me!

Come my children, Listen to me

"27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”
These past two days, my husband and I have been trying to teach our son the importance of listening and responding to our call. Not that this is a new lesson, but as he had become laxed in his obedience in this area, we've been taking more time and effort to convey to him the importance of listening for our voices. Tonight I read the following from Spurgeon's Evening portion of "Morning and Evening" for May 20th, and oh, how convicted I was, yet, also thrilled that God was lovingly disciplining me as well. Isn't it funny how we often see our own childish foolishness toward our Father when we are disciplining our children. It's such a simple lesson to hear and obey, but so hard to follow, even when we know it's foolish not to.
Evening, May 20


“I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love.”
— Hosea 11:4


Our heavenly Father often draws us with the cords of love; but ah! how backward we are to run towards him! How slowly do we respond to his gentle impulses! He draws us to exercise a more simple faith in him; but we have not yet attained to Abraham’s confidence; we do not leave our worldly cares with God, but, like Martha, we cumber ourselves with much serving. Our meagre faith brings leanness into our souls; we do not open our mouths wide, though God has promised to fill them. Does he not this evening draw us to trust him? Can we not hear him say, “Come, my child, and trust me. The veil is rent; enter into my presence, and approach boldly to the throne of my grace. I am worthy of thy fullest confidence, cast thy cares on me. Shake thyself from the dust of thy cares, and put on thy beautiful garments of joy.” But, alas! though called with tones of love to the blessed exercise of this comforting grace, we will not come. At another time he draws us to closer communion with himself. We have been sitting on the doorstep of God’s house, and he bids us advance into the banqueting hall and sup with him, but we decline the honour. There are secret rooms not yet opened to us; Jesus invites us to enter them, but we hold back. Shame on our cold hearts! We are but poor lovers of our sweet Lord Jesus, not fit to be his servants, much less to be his brides, and yet he hath exalted us to be bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh, married to him by a glorious marriage-covenant. Herein is love! But it is love which takes no denial. If we obey not the gentle drawings of his love, he will send affliction to drive us into closer intimacy with himself. Have us nearer he will. What foolish children we are to refuse those bands of love, and so bring upon our backs that scourge of small cords, which Jesus knows how to use!
Spurgeon, C. H. (2006). Morning and evening : Daily readings (Complete and unabridged; New modern edition.). Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers.

Lists

This morning in school Melanie had to take a little field trip to the park to make some observations. She was supposed to make two lists. One for all the kind behavior she observed and one for all the unkind behavior she observed. Then she had to come back home, compare the lists and write what she learned about her own behavior from observing other kids' playtime actions. Melanie's still working on writing her report, but I'll tell you what I was thinking:
Psalm 130:3-4
3 If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
4 But with you there is forgiveness,
that you may be feared.
I was thinking how God watches all we do and must be grieved to see those He paid for, living as though he hadn't bought us at the cost of His son. But as my thoughts continued, I knew that it pleased Him to crush His son, to satisfy His justice and show us mercy.
Isaiah 53:10
10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
he has put him to grief; [1]
when his soul makes [2] an offering for guilt,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
Joel 2:13
Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.
I am so grateful that God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. I am so grateful that I do not have to stand before His judgement with my own life as my defense. I have Christ's in place of my own, and because of Him, I can stand.

High Seas Expedition

We are looking forward to this summer's VBS, June 14-18th. We hope some of our friends will come and join us!

Our Daily Prayer

Everyday, when I pray with my children, we thank God for his daily provisions. Our home, our food, our clothing, health and protection have all been given to us as a gift from our loving Father. We never know from day to day what the future holds, but each day we can see that we have what we need right now and be thankful. It is so precious to see Braden at four thanking God for His mercy and for being faithful. As I read Matthew Henry's Method for Prayer today, it reminded me of this prayer, but is so much more powerful, since it comes from God's word.

Thank God for the Supports and Comforts of this Life

2.2.5

For the supports and comforts of this life, which have thus far made the land of my pilgrimage easy and pleasant to me.

Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears me up; God is my salvation. Psalm 68:19(ESV)

You make me lie down in green pastures; you feed me beside the still waters. Psalm 23:2(ESV) You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head, and my cup overflows. Psalm 23:5(ESV)

It may be I was sent out with no moneybag or knapsack, but did I lack anything? Nothing, Lord. Luke 22:35(ESV)

The lamp of God has shone upon my head, and by his light I have walked through darkness, and the friendship of God has been upon my tent. Job 29:3-4(ESV)

You have richly provided me with everything to enjoy, 1 Timothy 6:17(ESV) and have brought plentifully into my hand. Job 12:6(KJV)

Many a time I have eaten and been filled, and have delighted myself in your great goodness. Nehemiah 9:25(ESV)

When I remember all the ways that the LORD my God has led me for so many years in this wilderness, Deuteronomy 8:2(ESV) I must here set up a stone and call it Ebenezer, for till now the LORD has helped me. 1 Samuel 7:12(ESV)

She's One Today!

Our sweet little Emily turns one today! Can it really be a year? I look back at her newborn pictures and see how much she's changed in such a short time. From a helpless babe to an independent little toddler in the blink of an eye! She's still a cuddle bug and likes to give kisses, but now that she can walk and climb, she likes to practice her newly acquired skills whenever she can. She's always on the move, and pretty much always has a dolly in tow. What a precious little girl she is, always singing and dancing and laughing to the music in her head! We are so thankful God has blessed our family with this bright little life, and thankful for this blessed first year!