Living in Romans 7

Yesterday was Easter, and we spent the afternoon at Great Grandma and Grandpa's house. Tons of family and activity... and distractions. This made it easy for 3 year old Becca to help herself to the candy dishes set out in several locations around the house.

After Tanya caught Becca (once again) with her hand literally in the candy dish full of M&Ms, the conversation went something like this:

Tanya: "Rebecca, that's enough! If you take any more candy without asking Mommy or Daddy first, you will need to get a spanking."

Rebecca, with shoulders slumping and a pouty look on her face: "I was just talking to myself 'bout dat. I know that I shouldn't have any more candy, but my belly says that it wants to eat more."

I'm glad I never struggle like that :)

Jesus wants to eat with us

I can't remember for sure, but I think it was Rebecca who started it...

When we say grace before meals as a family, we can never really be sure what to expect. But recently a certain phrase comes up that really makes me smile.

"Thank you God for Jesus coming to eat with us."

The first few times that the twins started including this phrase in their prayers, I thought it was a cute misunderstanding or combination of thoughts. We would often thank God for our guests joining us for dinner (if we had any) and they knew that Jesus is somehow involved in their prayers. But recently, I have come to appreciate this reminder from the girls of just what kind of relationship God wants to have with each of us.

Revelation 3:20 - "Listen! I stand at the door and knock; if any hear my voice and open the door, I will come into their house and eat with them, and they will eat with me."

Sharing a meal together is an incredibly intimate act in the Jewish culture, yet that is the kind of relationship that God wants to have with me. Who knows how much the girls really understand of all this, but maybe it is just another demonstration of that childlike faith that Jesus talks about. Don't we say that we believe that when two or more of us are gathered in his name, Christ is in our midst. Maybe we should all be thanking God that Jesus has come to eat with us today.

Praying for Chutes and Ladders

Carissa and I were in the middle of an intense game of Chutes and Ladders yesterday, and suddenly she realized that her Zoe game piece (we have the Sesame Street edition of the game) was in a precarious position. Although she was way ahead of her daddy (Big Bird), Zoe had a 2 out of 6 chance of landing on a chute with her next spin (which would drop her way back on the game board). Suddenly, Carissa paused, turned slightly away from me, closed her eyes and grasped her hands together.

"Dear God, please let me get a 4, OK, please let me get a 4, alright."

Wouldn't you know she spun the wheel and got a four. After a quick shout of joy and a "Thanks, God," we continued to play.

Now, as cute as this was, this whole situation left me a little perplexed. When I took the time to think about it, so many thoughts have been running through my mind.

• We have never really talked about praying for help in sports or games, and never really demonstrated this behavior, so where did Carissa pick it up?


• Is this a good thing for Carissa to do? Should we encourage her to think about God as an actively interested party in her board game play (and later with sports, etc)?


• I've always struggled with imagining that God cared a whole lot about the winners of athletic and other contests (even the Super Bowl), let alone Candyland or Chutes and Ladders. At the same time, I claim to believe in a God that cares about the smallest details of my life and my children's lives.


• To see Carissa model this level of dependence on God and trust that He cares is a humbling example to me... are there things that I consider too trivial to bring before God that he wishes I was humble enough to take to Him?

Maybe I'm thinking too much (OK, I know I am), but it is important to me that I raise up my daughters with a right understanding of who God is, and understanding that He is not some genie in a bottle waiting to grant our every wish and whim.

Most importantly, I got to see yesterday that my 5 year old daughter thinks about God as a friend who can help her and cares about what is important to her. Maybe she has as much to teach me about God as I do her.

Baptized in bed

Bedtime conversations can be very entertaining, and pretty deep.

Last night, our Bible story at bedtime was a short one, about John the Baptist - not very plot driven, just an intro to who he is - sometimes I wonder what "Bible story book" author/editors are thinking. But last night, this led to an interesting discussion about baptism.

After I explained that John the B was Jesus's cousin, Carissa said, "yeah, he's the one that Jesus came to and baptized."

"Well, actually John baptized Jesus."

"Oh, how did he baptize him."

"John and Jesus walked out into the river, and then John kind of lowered Jesus's head under the water."

"Why do they baptize people?"

"As a symbol that God cleans us from the bad things we do and so that we can show people that we want to follow God."

"I can baptize myself in the pool... I just hold my breath and go like this." Carissa dunks her head under the covers and then pulls herself back up to shake the imaginary water off her face.

Jesus makes the rules...

How am I supposed to beat my daughters in board games when they pull this on me?

A couple nights ago, Carissa, Jenna and I are playing "Memory" (with modified rules so Jenna has a chance). Carissa was being a bit fussy and didn't want to take turns the way she should, so I decided to impose a new "rule" - something along the lines of "if you don't let your sister have a turn, you will have to go to bed early and not get a bedtime story."

Carissa asserted that I couldn't make up rules because "Jesus makes the rules."

"Oh, really?" I replied. "What rules does Jesus make?"

"The rules for loving and caring."

"What are some of Jesus's rules?"

"Like when you go to someone's house you shouldn't want to have all their stuff."

So much for Daddy changing rules mid-game to gain an advantage.

Insight

Read this quote today:

The man who seldom finds himself in hot water is the one with a wife, several daughters and one bathroom.
Unknown.

This is why I agreed with my wife that we needed to move last summer, and although only 2 of the girls are potty-trained so far, the extra 1 1/2 bathrooms have already proven to be worth the price and aggravation of last year's move.

Aslan

Last fall, anticipating the new movie, I decided to reread some of the Narnia Chronicles. I wanted to read them to the older girls too, but was pretty sure they were too young. Once Carissa saw the cover and asked what it was about, I decided to give it a try.

She loved it (so did Jenna, but I think she just liked being part of a new nighttime tradition), remembered very detailed parts of the story and talked about it often. She often talks about Aslan being just like Jesus - dying for Edmund and rising again.

When the movie came out we decided not to take her to see it because it would probably be a bit violent. Once her Aunt Shaina got the DVD though, it would have been a recurring struggle to convince her why she couldn't see it, and I gave in (what a strong father I am).

Well, she loves the movie as much or more than the book, and would probably watch it 3 times per day if we let her. It has also opened up even more conversations about the spiritual themes not so hidden in the story.

As for the violence... should I be worried that her favorite scene is the big battle with the Witch's army?

A wonderful wife and mother

As part of our church service yesterday (Mother's Day), we had a testimony time for people to share thoughts about their mothers. About an hour after the sharing started, Pastor Vince stood up to say he thought God provided a wonderful sermon, and then he closed the service in prayer.

Many touching, challenging, encouraging things were shared, and the sanctuary was getting pretty dusty on several occasions, and when I tried to share, my allergies really started acting up (if you don't get my code, I'm admitting to more than a few tears).

Some of my thoughts - I tried to share these, but I'm not sure how well it came across:

My wife and my mother both have a handle on something that we are told is essential in the life of a disciple, and I don't think I'll ever get close to them on this: Death to self.

My wife dies to her self every day as she cares for our 4 little girls (and me) in a way that I will never be able to approximate. Compared to her, I feel like the most selfish man in the world. As I struggled to express this in church, Damaris (a friend sitting a few rows up) said, "it's a woman thing." And she is sooo right. The most selfless man in the world will never compare to the average mother in this area.

Watching my wife daily give of herself for our girls amazes me. It also shames me to realize how little I recognized this in my own mother and her care for me and my 3 brothers. God has blessed me immensely with the women in my life, and I am so grateful.

Meet the ladies

Carissa - almost 5
Jenna - almost 3
Rebecca - 1 1/2
Sarah - ditto

Tanya - none of your business

The best conversation ever

A couple of weeks ago, Carissa and I had a great bedtime conversation. It started with talking about Lemmy’s body (Ken’s ferret) being buried in the backyard and Carissa asking “he’s not gonna come back and be alive again, right?”

“No honey, when animals die, they just stay dead”

After talking about decomposition and the cycle of life (just kidding), she said…

“But Alyssa is alive again and in heaven.”

“That’s right”

“And we’ll get to see her again when we get there.”

“Yep”

“Daddy, will I get to see my friends in heaven too? Like Abby?”

“Well, yes, if your friends believe in Jesus then you will see them again in heaven, too… do you believe in Jesus?”

“Oh yeah! He lives in my heart!”

“Really, how do you know that?

“Because I asked him to…”

“Really, when?”

“One day when I was downstairs dancing and singing, I stopped and closed my eyes and said ‘Jesus, will you come and live in heart’ and he did. And then I started dancing again.”

Needless to say, it was getting a little dusty in the pink bedroom that night. Her simple faith and confidence is inspiring to me. Don’t you love our kids?

-Jack

Dancing for Jesus

I'm not much of a dancer... back in junior high and early high school I used to think I was pretty good, but over time I've realized I was also pretty deluded. Those semi-pogo wannabe footloose moves were mighty-white, and yes, the overbite was often there as well (you know the white-boy overbite dance).

Anyway, maybe that's why I've never really understood interpretive dance, ballet, or movement worship and flags... who knows. But watching Carissa, my almost 5 year old, has given me a new appreciation for dance. She loves to dance, no lessons or anything, just put on music (or sing to yourself) and dance in the living room. I love to watch her as well, especially as she invents new moves and incorporates stuff she'll glimpse on TV or see in videos.

Her dancing really took off after watching a worship team that visited our church over a year ago. I admit, even in my cynical eyes, their dancing was beatiful, moving, and worshipful. But to Carissa, it was a true revelation, she was enraptured. For weeks, every day she would ask me to put on the Chris Tomlin CD so that she could dance. One day when I walked into the room and saw her spinning and bending much more deliberately and slowly than most 3 1/2 year olds do when they dance, I asked her what she was doing.

"I'm dancing for Jesus," was her simple reply.

Can a 16-month old have the gift of mercy?

Carissa, our 4 1/2 year oldbegan to demonstrate a sensitive spirit at a very young age, but to be honest, looking back it's hard to remember when we first saw signs of it.

Tanya just told me this story about Sarah, one of the twins:

On Thursday, Jenna (our almost 3 year old who is battling allergies and general grumpiness) was having another rough day. She came from outside into the kitchen where Tanya and her mom were talking and something (stubbed toe? no snack? time of day?) sent her into a full-fledged crying/whining bout.

After a couple of minutes spent trying to comfort/quiet her, Tanya looked up to see Sarah waddling in from the living room (she's only been walking about a month) carrying Jenna's special bunny pillow (her nightly comfort piece). Sarah walked right up to Jenna and held out the bunny, hoping to make everything alright. Jenna refused to be comforted, so Sarah laid the bunny down right in front of Jenna and curled up on it herself.

Getting Started

I'll get this thing started soon. Looking to share thoughts on life from the perspective of an ever learning father of 4 beautiful little girls. Everything from deep life lessons on God, love, and parenting to the things that make me laugh.

-Jack